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aker, and fireman lecturing me on my irresponsible behaviour. When they asked me why I did it I gave the most honest answer I could at fourteen which was ‘I don’t Know’. I asked myself that question many times afterwards.
There is another thing that influences the defiant nature within me and it’s to do with how people communicate. If asked with respect I’d literally do anything to help. Tell me I HAVE to do something and it’s a whole different outcome. I have an instant urge to do the opposite of what the person said and if I happen to do what I’ve been TOLD there is usually is a feeling of resentment towards the other person and a sense that I’ve been controlled.
This subject of defiance is relevant because large numbers of children, teenagers and adults with ADHD are failing to reach their potential. Many are being excluded from classrooms or getting suspended and expelled from schools or colleges and adults are getting sacked from jobs because of traits that is just part of who they are. I feel that as a society we need to change our approach to conditions such as ADHD and bring about a better understanding of differences. I recognise those with a defiant nature will probably read this and say ‘you’ll not tell me to change my approach to conditions such as ADHD’. Nonetheless I really do hope that we begin to recognise that some individuals, many of whom have ADHD, find it difficult to understand why rules are in place and perhaps need a different approach to help them understand and accept them.
Reading back on this I realize that there needs more balance in this post for it to be accurate to my own experience. I may do another blog called ADHD and Defiance No. 2 and explain the positive aspects of this trait and how defiance can also be a helpful quality on occasions.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it, like us on Facebook Adult ADHD NI and follow us on Twitter @Niallgreene01 & @AdultADHDNI.
Niall now offers One to One support for people affected by ADHD support through Skype. If you wish to avail of this support service please contact Adult ADHD NI by Email – Niaadhd@gmail.com
AdvertisementsThis is a list of female motor racing drivers who have taken part in the Formula One World Championship since the inception of the World Championship for Drivers in 1950.
Five women racing drivers have entered at least one Grand Prix, although only two of them ever qualified and started a race. The woman who competed in the most Grands Prix is Lella Lombardi, with 17 entries and 12 starts.
Desiré Wilson became the only woman to win a Formula One race of any kind when she won at Brands Hatch in the British Aurora F1 championship on 7 April 1980. As a result of this achievement, she has a grandstand at Brands Hatch named after her.[1]
History [ edit ]
Lombardi : first and only woman to score points.
The involvement of women in Formula One was pioneered by Italian Maria Teresa de Filippis who entered five races in the 1958 and 1959 seasons[2] and started three[2] scoring a best result of tenth position in the 1958 Belgian Grand Prix.[3][4] In the following race in France, the race director denied her involvement, saying that "the only helmet that a woman should use is the hairdresser".[5][6] Maria ended her career at the Monaco Grand Prix the following year.
After fifteen years without any women in the category, another Italian, Lella Lombardi, competed in three seasons, from 1974 to 1976. She entered seventeen races and started twelve having her best result in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix where Lombardi finished in sixth. With the race being stopped before three quarters of the scheduled race distance was completed, only half points were awarded. Lella became the first and so far only woman to score points in the World Championship.[7][8][9][10]
In 1976 the Briton Divina Galica tried to qualify for the British Grand Prix. This was the only Formula One Grand Prix in which multiple female racers (Lombardi and Galica) were entered, but both failed to qualify.[8][10][11][12]
In 1980, the South African Desiré Wilson tried to qualify for the British Grand Prix, not succeeding. In the same year she became the only woman to win a Formula One race of any kind when she won at Brands Hatch in the British Aurora F1 championship on 7 April 1980. As a result of this achievement, Wilson has a grandstand at Brands Hatch named after her.[1][13]
The last woman to try to compete in a Formula One Grand Prix was Italian Giovanna Amati in 1992. She tried to qualify for three races, but failed in all attempts. She was replaced by Damon Hill, who also failed to qualify the car in the 6 out of 8 following races he entered that season.[14][15][16]
Drivers [ edit ]
Official drivers [ edit ]
Drivers listed in this table are those who have entered a Grand Prix. Actual starts are stated in brackets.
Test drivers [ edit ]
Susie Wolff: test driver
Some female drivers have participated in non-competition testing and evaluation sessions with Formula One teams. IndyCar driver Sarah Fisher performed a demonstration run with McLaren after first practice for the 2002 United States Grand Prix.[17] Katherine Legge tested with Minardi at the Vallelunga Circuit in 2005.[18]
Other female drivers have been contracted to Formula One teams in testing and development capacities. In 2012, Williams signed Susie Wolff as a development and test driver,[19][20] and María de Villota was a test driver for Marussia[21] until her crash in 2012 and death the following year.[22] In 2014, Sauber signed IndyCar Series driver Simona de Silvestro as an "affiliated driver", with the goal of having her compete in 2015.[23] In 2015 Lotus F1 signed Carmen Jordá to a deal including a run in a car.[24]
In 2014, Susie Wolff was the first woman to take part in a Formula One race weekend in 22 years, when she participated in the first practice session at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone;[25] the previous time being in 1992, when Giovanna Amati made three unsuccessful Grand Prix qualification attempts.
Sauber signed Colombian driver Tatiana Calderón as development driver for 2017.[26] Calderón was promoted from her development driver role to test driver for the 2018 season, and tested an F1 car for the first time with Sauber in Mexico in October 2018.[27][28]
Milestones [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]If biting into your regular vada pav after stopping at the train station has become too stale and boring for you then Mumbai railways is offering a reason to rejoice. Now train commuters will have the option of tucking in a freshly made pizza at the station courtesy a machine that will dispense it within five minutes. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, also known as the IRCTC, plans to install anytime-pizza machines for a pilot project at five busy railway stations in the city: Kalyan, LTT, Mumbai Central, CST and Andheri.
The machine will be able to dispense a freshly made pizza in just five minutes at the touch of a button, according to local media reports. All you have to do is insert a token and then select from any of the four varieties and the toppings. This special pizza ATM also allows one to observe the entire pizza preparation process.
The idea of pizza dispensing machines was conceptualised in Netherlands. Their parts are manufactured in Japan and assembled in China.not
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Eighty-eight male and female students were asked to rate facial attractiveness of models on a computer. The pictures were close-ups of young adult faces, unfamiliar to the participants. The eye color of each model was manipulated, so that for each model's face two versions were shown, one with the natural eye color (blue/brown) and another with the other color (brown/blue). The participants' own eye color was noted.
Both blue-eyed and brown-eyed women showed no difference in their preferences for male models of either eye color. Similarly, brown-eyed men showed no preference for either blue-eyed or brown-eyed female models. However, blue-eyed men rated blue-eyed female models as more attractive than brown-eyed models.
Update 8/3/08
Most people learn in high school (if they're paying attention) that human eye color is a genetic trait which follows fairly simple rules. The primary gene that controls eye color exists in several forms, called alleles. The protein produced by one of the alleles causes the eyes to be brown, while a variant allele producing a slightly different protein does not. Since the human genome contains two copies of each gene, if even one of these copies is the allele for brown eyes, brown will be the resulting color, regardless of the other allele. Such an allele is said to be "dominant". Another eye color (e. g. blue) will result only if both copies of the gene are non-brown alleles. Such alleles are said to be "recessive".Children receive one copy of each paired chromosome from each parent. It follows that if one parent has two copies of a dominant gene, every one of their children will receive at least one copy, regardless of what the other parent has. All children of this mother and father will have brown eyes, if even one parent has two brown eye alleles, and even if the other parent has two blue eye alleles.If both parents have one brown and one blue allele, then for any particular child, there's a 1 in 4 chance of receiving two brown alleles, a 1 in 4 chance of receiving two blue alleles (the only case that will result in blue eyes), and a 2 in 4 chance of receiving one brown and one blue allele (hence brown eyes). If one parent has blue eyes, and the other has both a brown and a blue allele, then the odds are 50/50 for each of their children to have either brown or blue eyes. So if one or both parents have brown eyes, it's possible for them to have blue-eyed children. But when both parents have blue eyes, so all of their alleles are for blue eyes, all of their children will have blue eyes. In that case, if any child has brown eyes, it must be the case that one parent – most likely the male – is not the biological parent. Oops.So a blue-eyed man has an interesting advantage over men with brown eyes – a very dependable way of knowing that he isthe father of a particular child,he mates with a blue-eyed woman. Further, a blue-eyed man who regards blue-eyed women as more attractive than women of other eye colors is more likely to mate with blue-eyed women. And so such a blue-eyed man has a selective advantage overblue-eyed men who have no such preference (or a preference for brown-eyed women).This would be advantageous, at least in prehistoric times, ifsuch a man was less inclined to provide for a child without blue eyes – even if there was no conscious recognition that the child could not be his own. Some recent research has indicated that blue-eyed men sometimes actually, if unconsciously, do have a tendency to regard blue-eyed women as more "attractive", and hence (presumably) are more likely to choose them as mates:Since a mother almost always can be sure a given child is hers (except for rare events like accidental switching of infants), a mechanism that provides a way to recognize that a child isn't her own provides little additional advantage. And so, blue-eyed women do not have an evolutionary advantage from a tendency to regard blue-eyed men as more attractive than others. So they do not, in fact, have that tendency.If you're looking around for an example of specific, and unexpected, behavior for which evolutionary psychology offers the simplest explanation, this may be a good choice.: There is more recent news on this subject here and here Tags: biology
Labels: evolutionary psychology, eye color, sex and relationshipsAs Ukraine Presses Military Offensive, The Facts Are Fuzzy
Enlarge this image toggle caption Petro Zadorozhnyy/AP Petro Zadorozhnyy/AP
The Ukrainian government claims its armed forces have recaptured a large part of the eastern city of Luhansk following fierce battles Wednesday with pro-Russian separatist fighters.
This is part of a broader campaign by the Ukrainians that has been marked by a number of successes recently. But as is often the case here, it's impossible to independently verify what either side says. Both the military and the rebels prevent reporters from getting near embattled areas, and in many places like Luhansk, phones and Internet are not working.
It's certainly been difficult trying to confirm Ukrainian government claims that separatist fighters using mortars and Grad rockets killed a large number of refugees Monday who were trying to flee the fighting in Luhansk.
"The terrorists fired at a column of peaceful residents who tried to leave the zone of combat action," National Security Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said, calling it a "bloody crime."
"Many people died, including women and children," he added.
If true, Monday's shelling attack would be the largest single incident of civilian deaths in the escalating war. But Ukrainian officials have yet to offer any proof of the attack, including photos, videos, eyewitnesses or survivors. Nor have they said how many were killed, although the spokesman Lysenko later said 17 bodies were retrieved.
Pro-Russian separatists deny the attack happened and say even if it did, they didn't do it.
The U.S. condemned the attack, but couldn't say who was responsible.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Roman Pilipey/EPA/Landov Roman Pilipey/EPA/Landov
Searching For The Scene Of The Attack
In hopes of finding out what really happened, I joined a small group of reporters invited by the Ukrainian military to interview survivors at a hospital in Lutuhino — near where it said the convoy was attacked.
A handful of Ukrainian soldiers from an eastern Ukrainian military airport led the journalists in a convoy of taxis and private cars into the no-go zone along the front lines. The hilly roads we traveled on at breakneck speed were small and badly damaged — due more to decades of neglect by the Ukrainian government than to the current war.
We hit our first snag as the besieged city Luhansk appeared in the distance. Our military escort explained that unexpected fighting ahead required us to change course.
We could hear steady shelling that sounded like it was getting closer. But the military escorts said they were determined to get us to Lutuhino, somehow. A short while later, we were told the rebels knew our media convoy was approaching Luhansk and planned to attack us.
One Ukrainian journalist asked the lead soldier with us: "How do you know?" His answer was rather vague — something about intercepted radio communications.
Not that it was hard to figure out who we were, given the large "TV" and "Press" signs taped to the front windows of our cars, which passed through recaptured villages where many people are sympathetic to the rebels.
The military escort took us to a nearby hilltop where the leader radioed his bosses to figure out what to do with us next.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson/NPR Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson/NPR
Poor Conditions For Soldiers
But the stop proved useful, as Ukrainian troops securing roads for combat and supply units had set up camp there. They gave us a rare glimpse into the poor conditions of Ukrainian troops on the front lines and the pessimism they feel.
A small generator provided power to worn tents that were set up next to trees, where an aging armored personnel carrier was also parked. Thick logs were tied to many of the armored vehicles and heavy army trucks in lieu of winches and other equipment used to pull vehicles out of the mud.
In an interview with NPR in May, Boris Filatov, who is deputy governor to the oligarch in charge of the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk, said their country's military was so poor that he and his boss spent their own money to supply local troops with basics like sleeping bags. Millions of dollars were also collected in recent months in donations from Ukrainians to help pay for their military.
On the hilltop outside Luhansk, soldier Vitaliy Yakymenko said he believes the supply shortage, compounded by poor planning, is costing soldiers' lives.
Yakymenko added that he believes a military victory in eastern Ukraine is a long way off.
"We will have conflicts here again and again until the Ukrainian government closes the border with Russia," he said.
He was referring to the widely held belief that Russia is arming and reinforcing rebel troop numbers, something the rebels deny.
Fellow soldier Grygoriy Pisarenko was less pessimistic, but agreed that the lack of supplies is a problem — as is where Ukrainian troops are fighting.
"We are in our own country and these are our people, so we have to take care even if the Russians don't," he said.
As to the deadly attack on the refugee convoy, I still don't know what happened, as the Ukrainian military decided to make us leave the area before we met with the injured refugees we were told we'd be interviewing because the fighting was too intense.
Nor did we meet the military driver who served as an escort for that ill-fated convoy. Ukrainian officials said they would bring him to us outside the no-go zone since they failed to take us to see the wounded refugees. But in the end, the military did not deliver the driver, either.If yesterday you were sitting at your desk wondering to yourself why a large number of the IT staff called in sick, you'd probably forgotten that it was November 6, a.k.a. the release date of the video game blockbuster, Halo 4.
It goes without saying that the Halo franchise beat ridiculous odds to find its popularity. From starting out as a game that was originally going to be released on the Mac (of all platforms), it has since transcended its form and made icons of its principal characters: Master Chief and Cortana. But you don't need to be a video game enthusiast to notice the changes to the character design as the series progressed. Sure, technology has undergone immense improvements since 2001 so the renderings would definitely be sharper but see if anything about Cortana gets you to do a double-take:
Above: The progression of Cortana from Halo 1 to 4.
Yes, friends, there's no need to be shy about it. For inexplicable reasons (to the plotline that is), Cortana has undergone a Grinch-like transformation and her boobs have grown several sizes since her debut. Let's take a look at the numbers to try to get to the bottom of this. The entire franchise has sold over 46-million units since, while also breaking sales records every time a new instalment is released (and you can bet we'll be seeing some pretty numbers when the fourth chapter gets tallied up) so it seems obvious why Cortana will be suffering from back pain by the time Halo 7 rolls around.
The unfortunate reality is that Microsoft and friends are trying to get these games to appeal to a mainstream audience, that is, the male demographic. Back before the first Halo was released and might have been considered a niche game, it didn't really matter. In fact, Cortana's sexual appeal wasn't even a primary factor back then, rather, her brains, quick wit, and manoeuvring to guide the player through the game were what originally brought her to icon status (even with classic flubs like "This cave is not a natural formation"-- stated when examining a structure that was clearly built by aliens).
But Cortana's somewhat miraculous evolution isn't exactly a new or even the most extreme example of this particular phenomenon:
Why can't female characters, especially ones that were created to break the mold of the male-hero-saves-the-day, retain their brains and problem-solving abilities as their selling point? When Lara Croft first hit the scene, she was praised for being one of the first leads to break the female ("help, I'm trapped in X castle") archetype formerly found in most video games. With today's version of the famous archaeologist, she appears much more as a trophy for the male gaze (and that's without even mentioning the rape/sexual assault undertones hinted at in the upcoming reboot).
Even Samus, who famously shocked Nintendo fans when the revelation that she was a woman came through at the end of Metroid (because of the non-sexual nature of her suit, one could assume she was a man throughout the entire game), hasn't managed to escape from being sexed-up as her franchise found renewed popularity.
Despite all of the above, there are developers working to undo these stereotypes. Games like Portal and Mirror's Edge place emphasis on the lead female character's skills rather than... her assets. In fact, you tend to forget about the characters' genders while you're playing games like these, which should really be the case in any aspect of life.
We live in a golden age of video games, not just because motion-controlled technology has helped to multiple its audience many times -- but because with the technology that now exists, everybody has the tools available to make one. This means that more games will continue to emerge with characters that break the tropes that we're used to. After all, video games are supposed to be escapism from the messed-up, patriarchal world we live in, so it's about time they started living up to that expectation.For voters in five states, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab that go to polls starting February 4, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has a message. The BJP mentor wants electors to pick their representatives based on their merit and “not caste”.
The statement assumes significance as the BJP has been making concerted efforts to woo the so-called lower castes, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the two states that have a high percentage of voters from these social groups.
On Sunday, RSS joint general secretary Krishna Gopal lashed out at caste-based political parties for perpetrating casteism in the country and using caste as a means to consolidate personal gains.
Without naming parties such as the BSP and the RJD that represent a political system based on caste cleavages, the RSS senior functionary said, voting on the basis of one’s social group is “not good for a healthy democracy”.
“People don’t have to do anything to attain a certain caste…they are born into it and can’t change it. But to differentiate on caste is wrong and does not work now. We don’t know what led to it (caste hierarchy)…but for personal vested political interest some people exaggerate the issue of caste,” he said speaking on the issue of Samajik Samarasta (social harmony) and Hindutva at the World Book Fair.
The Sangh functionary underlined educational qualifications, capability and other virtues as necessities to pick a representative, and even cited the example of its ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhaya, who lost an election after refusing to seek votes on the basis of his caste.
The Sangh’s pitch for a caste-less society notwithstanding, the BJP’s overtures to expand its vote bank among communities that traditionally vote for the BSP or the RJD has been conspicuous in the appointment of functionaries from backward castes.
In Uttar Pradesh for instance, where the party is dogged about winning a majority, appointment of Keshav Maurya, an RSS man from the Keori caste was a clear hint of its effort to shun the tag of ‘Brahmin-Baniya’ (upper castes) party.
Efforts to win over the dominant castes like Yadavs, Kurmis and Koeris that could stack the numbers in its favour at the hustings were reinforced with the inclusion of former BSP General Secretary Swami Prasad Maurya in the party.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014, in Uttar Pradesh the party reached out to the Apna Dal, founder by Sone Lal Patel, from the backward Kurmi caste and a one-time associate of Dalit leader Kanshi Ram.
While the Sangh has called for a review of caste-based reservation, to ascertain whether the benefits of quotas in jobs and education have reached the intended classes, the BJP giving in to political pressure agreed to include Jats and Jat Sikhs as Backward Classes (BC) in Punjab; which was seen as another instance of caste-based politics.
First Published: Jan 09, 2017 00:26 IST"The bottom line is that if you’re an X-Files fan, and want to play around in that world, I think you’ll enjoy this. It’s clearly assembled by a team that loves the property, and it showcases a high degree of detail and polish that makes it feel top-notch." [Matthew Golden]
"You can't really call The X-Files: Deep State just a hidden object game, seeing as it also has numerous other mini-games, dialogue-driven decisions that affect the story and much more. It's an intriguing mix of elements worthy of its source material..." [TouchArcade]
"If you’re a massive fan of The X-Files, you really owe it to yourself to download Deep State right now." [Droid Gamers]
"I would absolutely recommend this game to anyone a fan of the unknown and mysterious. The game offers much more than it asks for." [Gamerz Unite]I just celebrated my 15th wedding anniversary and I am coming up on the 7th anniversary of the 1st time I walked into a gym. So what does this mean? It means I had been married for 8 years, and I had 2 kids (5 and 3 at the time) and I was about to start walking down an unexpected road. I started in Judo and I was training 3 days a week. After 6 months I walked in to a Jiu Jitsu gym and my training went from 3 days a week to 6. So did I get kicked out the house? Did my wife divorce me? No, she stayed with, supports my journey and has even supported me through a move and career change so I could open my own school. So how did I get away with this? Magic? Mind control? No, but there are some things that I think most of us don’t do and that leads to the something I hear from guys all of the time. Most common quotes go something like this:
“Wife says I’m not home enough”
“I never see my kids”
So what are the steps to a good family life and a good Jiu Jitsu life?
Communication- How many guys complain about their partners not telling them what is on their mind? A lot of us, I always hear “I’m not a mindreader, how was I supposed to know?” Well that door swings both way friends! If you can’t explain to your partner that you love Jiu Jitsu and you need it in your life, how can expect them to understand? Jiu Jitsu is complicated to the average person. Tell your friends that you do Jiu Jitsu and they look at you funny and make Karate noises, so what do you think your partner is going to say? Sit down with your partner tell why you love Jiu Jitsu and why you need to train. If they have concerns, listen to them, address them and overcome them. Bring them- I started training with my son. I had no intentions of joining myself and I got talked into trying it out as well. Ever since it has been our thing. When she was old enough my daughter stepped out on the mat with us and that lead to my wife as well. It has become a family bond. Even if your spouse isn’t into it, you are giving them time to themselves to pursue their own interest. It’s great! SO at minimum take your kids and give your spouse some time to pursue their passion, and create an awesome bond with your kids. Make time- To make this work you must be organized and schedule driven. Have time to train and have time to spend with your family. Sounds easy right? Well it is if you keep to the schedule. When you do this there will always be exceptions, but if you stick to it things will be smooth and you can juggle work, family and training. Some times one of these things will take precedence, but if you maintain the balance you will be happy and have a good home life. Do what you say- Part of making your spouse okay with spending time away from home is follow through. If your job is to do the dishes every night, when you get home from training do them! You got your ass kicked for 2 hours, do them anyway. Overtime I came home sore and exhausted from training trying to wiggle my way out of doing something my wife would always say “Sore huh? Well you pay for it!” and she is right. If you follow through at home your spouse is going to feel better about you going out and having fun at Jiu Jitsu because she knows that the family (and him or her) are still your #1priority. Make sacrifices (on both ends)- Daughter has a dance recital? You’re missing class? Wedding anniversary? You’re missing class. Big tournament coming up? You’re eating salads and less in general. Life is all about making the hard choice. If you want to be successful in anything sacrifices will be made. Sounds hard right? Sacrifices always are, but if you do it right (like weight cutting) it’s much easier. If you have a family or work event coming up, tell your instructor ahead of time so they don’t wonder where you are. If you have a big tournament, seminar or belt promotion coming up tell your spouse so you can plan. Sometimes you will miss class, sometimes you may have to move around a family event, but if you keep things organized it works out. Encourage them- Your spouse or kids want to do Jiu Jitsu? Great, encourage them! I made a mistake I made with my wife early on and she has been gun shy ever since. They don’t want to? Okay, be supportive in whatever they choose to do. If not they will always look down on Jiu Jitsu, like they were forced. I ask my kids all the time “Do you still want to come? If you say no, daddy won’t get upset” and they believe me. Sometimes the harder you push, the harder it is for them to stay in.
Jiu Jitsu can be (and should be) an awesome family activity and if you do right it will be. Follow my steps, and make this an amazing part of not just your life, but your family’s.
Advertisements"Muddy dragon" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Mud dragon
The Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) (simplified Chinese: 扬子鳄; traditional Chinese: 揚子鱷, yáng zǐ è), also known as the Yangtze alligator,[4] China alligator,[2] or historically the muddy dragon,[5] is a critically endangered crocodilian endemic to China. The American alligator and it are the two living species in Alligator, a genus in the family Alligatoridae. Dark gray or black in color with a fully armored body, the Chinese alligator grows to 1.5–2.1 metres (5–7 ft) in length and weighs 36–45 kilograms (80–100 lb) as an adult. It brumates in burrows in winter and is nocturnal in summer. Mating occurs in early summer, with females most commonly producing 20–30 eggs, which are smaller than any other crocodilian. The species lives to age 50 on average, although some captive specimens have reached age 70. It is an opportunistic feeder, primarily eating fish and invertebrates. A vocal species, adults bellow during the mating season and young vocalize to communicate with their parents and other juveniles.
Living mostly in bodies of fresh water, the Chinese alligator's distribution range is restricted to six regions in the province of Anhui as of 2015. Originally living as far away from its current range as Japan, the species previously had a wide range and population, but beginning in 5000 BC, multiple threats caused the species' population and range to decline. The population in the wild was about 1000 in the 1970s, decreased to below 130 in 2001, and grew after 2003, with its population being about 300 as of 2017. Listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, multiple conservation actions have been taking place for this species. Several breeding facilities, both in China and foreign countries, have bred specimens in captivity and sometimes released them back into the wild.
The Chinese alligator has been a part of Chinese literature since the third century. In the late 1200s, Marco Polo became the first person outside of China to write about it. In many writings, the Chinese alligator has been associated with the Chinese dragon. Biologists John Thorbjarnarson and Xiaoming Wang have studied the relationship between the alligator and the mythological creature. Many pieces of evidence suggest that the Chinese alligator was the inspiration for the Chinese dragon.
History and taxonomy [ edit ]
Chinese alligators have appeared in Chinese literature since 222–227 AD.[6] Marco Polo was the first person outside of China to write about the alligator, when he came to China and discovered it in the late 1200s. He said that the alligator lived in "caverns" in the day and hunted at night, and that humans targeted its meat and skin, with its gall bladder having multiple medical purposes. He stated that it was found in lakes, rivers, and springs in the province "Karazan". In 1656, M. Martini, a priest, wrote about the Chinese alligator in a book. The book said that it lived in the river Yangtze and was "much feared by the local residents". Unlike Polo, Martini wrote his description using information from Chinese literature.[6] Chinese alligators were later thought to give priests merit if the priests were to buy alligators held in captivity and release them. In 1869, Robert Swinhoe saw a Chinese alligator in an exhibit in Shanghai and wrote the following year:
In February, 1869, some Chinese were exhibiting in the native city of Shanghai what they called a dragon, which they declared had been dug out of a hole in the province of Shense. It was a young crocodile about four feet long, which they kept in tepid water. They made so much money by showing it that they refused to sell it. I can not, of course, guess its species; but I nevertheless think the fact worth recording, as evidence that a species of this group does occur in China.[6]
The alligator was described by French naturalist Albert-Auguste Fauvel in 1879, as Alligator sinensis. The genus Alligator had previously contained only the American alligator since its creation in 1807.[9] Fauvel wrote a detailed description of the species in a book titled Alligators in China: Their History, Description & Identification, including information about its historical account.[6] In 1947, it was suggested to group the Chinese alligator in a separate genus from its American relative, due to the Chinese alligator's bony plate on its upper eyelid. This bony plate is present in caimans, but is rarely present in the American alligator. At the time, the plate was thought to not appear in the American alligator at all. This produced the belief that the Chinese alligator's relationship with other crocodilians was between caimans and American alligators. Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala described the genus Caigator the same year, which only contained the Chinese alligator, making its scientific name Caigator sinensis. However, paleontology has shown that the Chinese alligator was developed as an offshoot of other now-extinct animals in the genus Alligator. This and the fact that the American alligator does infrequently have a bony plate on its eyelid has caused Caigator sinensis to now be classified as a synonym of Alligator sinensis.
The genus, Alligator, is based on the Spanish word el lagarto, which translates to "the lizard". The specific name, sinensis, is from the Latin plural possessive sinaensis, meaning "belonging to China".[11]
Description [ edit ]
Comparison of the American alligator (top) and the Chinese alligator (bottom)
Detail of head
One of the smallest species of crocodilians, the Chinese alligator attains a length of 1.5–2.1 metres (5–7 ft) and weight of 36–45 kilograms (80–100 lb) as an adult.[5] Females are roughly three-quarters the length of males. It is less than half the size of the American alligator, which typically grows to a length of 3.4 metres (11.2 ft) for males and 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) for females.[13] Reports are known of alligators in China reaching 3.0 metres (10 ft) in past centuries, but these are thought to no longer be accurate.[11]
The Chinese alligator is almost completely black or dark gray in color as an adult. It has a short and broad snout, which points slightly upwards and narrows at the end. Its head is robust, more so than that of the American alligator,[15] with a bony septum dividing its nostrils. It has 72–76 teeth, of which 13–14 are maxillary, five are premaxillary, and 18–19 are mandibular.[11] Unlike the American alligator, the Chinese alligator is fully armored,[5] including its belly.[16] It contains up to 17 rows of scales across its body, which are soft on its belly and the side of its body, and rougher on its back. Its upper eyelids have bony plates on them, a feature usually not present in the American alligator. Its tail is wider than that of the American alligator and has a ridge-like formation at the end of it where its scales intersect.[17] It does not have webbed feet, in contrast to the American alligator, which has extensive webbing on its toes.
Ecology [ edit ]
The Chinese alligator is dormant in burrows during winter. After its dormancy, it frequently spends time in the sun before summer begins.[15] It is nocturnal throughout summer, feeding at night and sheltering in the daytime, to avoid both humans and the summer heat.[16] This behavior gives it the ability to live in areas where humans are common.[2] A docile species, it does not intentionally hurt humans outside of potential extreme circumstances.[5]
Burrowing [ edit ]
The Chinese alligator brumates[15] in its burrows from late October to mid-April, emerging in early May. It constructs these burrows next to ponds and other small bodies of water, using |
IVE: All right, we're going to have a - I'm going to read you this formal stuff which is long...
BAYLEY: [Coughs] Loading DETECTIVE: Okay, Adrian, the time is now, ah, 1.50am and it's now Friday, the 28th of September. Can you tell me where we went? BAYLEY: I took you - took youse to where Jill was buried.From an exclusive interview with the Nintendo Force
The latest issue of NF Magazine is one of my favorites. We managed to squeeze interviews with Yacht Club Games (Shovel Knight), Lorne Lanning (Oddworld), Crazy Viking Studios (Shinobi, Volgarr the Viking), Yuji Naka (Sonic, Prope), Bertil Horberg (Bionic Commando, Gunman Clive), Ryan Vandendyke (Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Citizens of Earth), and Chris Seavor (Conker's Bad Fur Day, The Unlikely Legend of Rusty Pup). You can score a print copy of the periodical right now for $7 if you subscribe to Year 2 of the magazine. It's a steal!
All of the interviews were enlightening, but Chris's was potentially the most revealing. There are few people in the industry today who can say that they created a M-rated N64 game that would later find a sequel on the original Xbox. That's a pretty special place to hold in the industry. How did it happen that Conker made its way to Nintendo's "kid-friendly" console? According to Chris "... I'm not even sure they [Nintendo] knew what they really had with Conker. Tim [Stamper] and Chris [Stamper] did and they said 'Yes, we want to make this'. And such was the trust between Rare and Nintendo that they were fine with that... Trust. A lovely concept, sadly lacking today with some publishers."
If Nintendo was so trusting, then how was it for Rare to transition from Nintendo to Microsoft?
Sadly, it doesn't sound like it went very well. "...a promise from Microsoft that they wouldn't touch the way Rare was run (I guess because they didn't understand it), soon started to give was to little prods and pokes here and there... 'Production Managers' started to appear, asking all sorts of banal questions (not you Alison, we liked you). More and more strange people were appearing in the corridor, like a parade of eggs with eyes, wanting to see the game...You'd strike up a friendship, develop a rapport and then 'Poof' that person was gone and replaced by someone you didn't know. Then Tim and Chris left, there were more changes, then even more changes, then I didn't care anymore. And that's that I suppose."
Parade of eggs. Pretty amazing. That's just the tip of the iceberg of our interview with Chris. We talked about his work on the first two Killer Instinct games, how he'd like Conker to play in Smash Bros., his new game Rusty Pup, and a lot more. Check out the full issue for the rest, and tune in next week when we interview Chris live on Sup Holmes. We're going to ask him to sing the Mighty Poo song. It should be a hoot.
You are logged out. Login | Sign upStory highlights Drone fires on area in northwestern Pakistan, sources say
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan says it was involved in first Karachi airport attack
Pakistani Taliban claim responsibility for both attacks in Karachi this week
The latest assault targeted the Airport Security Forces academy near the airport
A U.S. drone Wednesday fired on an area in northwestern Pakistan, according to two Pakistani intelligence sources and a witness.
Details about what the drone hit and whether there were any casualties weren't immediately available.
Northwestern Pakistan is home to loosely governed tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan, and the area is a base for foreign fighters and a place of refuge for members of the Islamist militant Haqqani movement.
The drone strike comes just days after two brazen attacks on or near Pakistan's largest airport in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi.
Earlier Wednesday, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan claimed that it carried out one of the attacks -- the weekend airport assault that resulted in an hours-long siege and left 36 people dead, including the assailants.
The claim was made in an e-mail that included pictures that the militant group said were of the 10 attackers.
The militants said the attack was carried out with the Pakistani Taliban, which has confirmed that members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan conducted the Karachi airport attack, Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Bahar Mehsud told CNN in a phone conversation.
Mehsud said the pictures in the e-mail claiming responsibility were indeed photos of the 10 attackers. He said the Pakistani Taliban helped coordinate and provided material support in the attack.
Late Sunday night, 10 militants stormed the airport's cargo area in a siege that left dozens dead.
JUST WATCHED Taliban attack Pakistan airport Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Taliban attack Pakistan airport 02:43
JUST WATCHED Militants storm parts of Karachi airport Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Militants storm parts of Karachi airport 01:57
Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – A woman weeps upon receiving news that a relative was killed in an attack on Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan. Militants launched the first attack in the cargo area of the airport on June 8, leaving at least 36 people dead, including 10 militants, then struck again on June 10, targeting the Airport Security Forces academy near the airport. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks. Hide Caption 1 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Security personnel guard the Karachi airport on Tuesday, June 10. Hide Caption 2 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Mourners arrive for funeral prayers on June 10 in Karachi. Hide Caption 3 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Smoke rises from Jinnah International Airport on Monday, June 9. Hide Caption 4 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Employees leave the airport on June 9 after the first attack. Hide Caption 5 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Police examine bodies of security personnel at a Karachi hospital on June 9. Hide Caption 6 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – A police commando gives a victory sign June 9 after returning from an operation against militants at the Karachi airport. Hide Caption 7 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Pakistani police display weapons seized from militants in the attack on June 9. Hide Caption 8 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – A Pakistani soldier holds his weapon ready at the airport Sunday, June 8. A building caught fire in the attack, but no planes were damaged, a military spokesman said. Hide Caption 9 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Pakistani security officials take positions after the attack began June 8. Hide Caption 10 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Pakistani rangers check ambulance staff at a boundary wall at the airport on June 8. Hide Caption 11 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Pakistani security personnel arrive at the site of the airport attack on June 8. Hide Caption 12 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Fire illuminates the sky above a terminal at the airport, Pakistan's largest and busiest, on June 8. Hide Caption 13 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Smoke rises from a fire at the airport on June 8. Hide Caption 14 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Pakistani commandos get ready to enter an airport terminal on June 8. Hide Caption 15 of 16 Photos: Photos: Attack on Pakistani airport Attack on Pakistan airport – Soldiers approach the airport on June 8. Hide Caption 16 of 16
The Pakistani Taliban also claimed responsibility for that assault, saying the attack was retaliation for the death of former chief Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in November in North Waziristan.
The Uzbek militants have not claimed responsibility for a second attack Tuesday on airport security forces that forced the airport, Pakistan's largest and busiest, to shut down.
Tuesday's assault targeted the Airport Security Forces academy near Karachi's Jinnah International Airport, the airport's manager told CNN's Saima Mohsin in Karachi.
Security forces told CNN that an unknown number of gunmen attacked the academy's entrance and were met with an armed response. The attackers fled, and no one was killed in the attack, officials said.
Once again, the Pakistani Taliban, which is formally known as Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claimed responsibility.
"This wave of attacks will be continuing in retaliation for the shelling and atrocities of the government," spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said by phone Tuesday from an undisclosed location.
Shahid said earlier this week that the Pakistani Taliban would engage "in a full-out war with the Pakistani state, starting on June 10."
But the airport itself was safe Tuesday, Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority said.
"#Jinnah Airport is safe, #ASF academy is under attack," the aviation authority tweeted Tuesday.
The Civil Aviation Authority said flights were temporarily suspended but later resumed Tuesday.
By Tuesday afternoon, the situation was "under control," military spokesman Asim Bajwa said.
"3 to 4 terrorists fired near ASF Camp, ran away," Bajwa tweeted. "No breach of fence, no Entry. Chase is on, situation under control."
Airstrikes killed 15 militants
Hours before the renewed violence in Karachi, the Pakistani military launched a deadly assault targeting nine militant hideouts Tuesday.
At least 15 militants were killed in the airstrikes on Khyber Agency, in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, the Pakistani military said.
A military spokesman said he could not confirm whether the airstrikes were directly related or in response to the airport violence this week.
But it's those kinds of strikes that the Pakistani Taliban warned would spur more violence from their end. When the TTP claimed responsibility for Sunday's airport attack, it called on the government to end airstrikes -- or face more attacks like the Karachi airport terror attack.
Apparently, the TTP followed through with its promise.
History of terror
The Pakistani Taliban has long conducted an insurgency against the Pakistani government.
"Their primary target is the Pakistani state and its military," said Raza Rumi of the Jinnah Institute, a Pakistani think tank.
"It resents the fact that (Pakistan) has an alliance with the West, and it wants Sharia to be imposed in Pakistan."
The U.S. Justice Department charged former TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud in 2010 for his alleged involvement in a 2009 bombing at the United States' Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan. The attack killed seven U.S. citizens, including five CIA officers and a member of Jordanian intelligence.
Hakimullah Mehsud took over from Baitullah Mehsud, a fellow clan member, in 2009 after the latter was killed in a U.S. drone strike. Four years later, Hakimullah Mehsud suffered the same fate.View Caption Hide Caption The Heat have extended a qualifying offer to Tyler Johnson. (Getty Images)
Erik Spoelstra always warns people not to trust Heat guard Tyler Johnson’s medical updates because Johnson wouldn’t hesitate to lie if it gets him back on the court, but this would be a big boost for Miami if Johnson is accurate about his shoulder injury.
He said Tuesday he remains optimistic about his earlier goal of getting back on the court before the playoffs start. There are five games left before the regular season ends April 13.
“I want to,” he said. “I’m still on track. I’m still optimistic about it, for sure. It’s really based on how I feel. We go through the same routine after every workout to see how it feels and the next day coming in and seeing how it feels. When it’s sore I usually don’t work out two days in a row. That’s what we’re trying to be able to do, put consecutive days together.”
When pressed to put a number on the chances of him returning for regular-season games, Johnson said “at least 70.”
Johnson has battled an impingement in his left shoulder, the one with which he shoots, all season and underwent rotator cuff surgery Feb. 3. He has not played since Jan. 26.
A lot has changed for the Heat during his absence, including the acceleration of their offense to compensate for Chris Bosh being out. Johnson is eager to involve himself in that.
“That’s how I play, up and down, so it’s not like I really need to adjust my game a whole lot,” he said. “Obviously I won’t be in game shape when I start, but I don’t think it’ll take me that long.”
At the moment, Johnson is shooting long-range and can make all the necessary game motions, but the problem is he feels sore during and afterward. The Heat will not clear him to play until he can do so without soreness.
Johnson is also unsure whether his shoulder can withstand the physical duress of fighting through screens and scrapping for loose balls.
“That is one thing we’ve been getting through, seeing how it’ll hold up if I get in a jump-ball situation or going for a rebound,” he said. “I don’t know how it’s going to react to that, yet. I don’t think it would feel that great right now. There’s no way to really simulate that. Hopefully it doesn’t happen.”After high-profile departures at the New York Times and Le Monde, a survey confirms that top businesswomen work on the edge of a glass cliff
The perception that high-achieving businesswomen are more vulnerable than their male counterparts to being abruptly fired – pushed off the "glass cliff" in the contemporary corporate vernacular – has been borne out by a new study from a global management consultancy.
Researchers at Strategy&, formerly known as Booz & Company, found that women are forced out of chief executive positions more than a third of the time, while only a quarter of men in similar positions suffer the same fate.
The precarious position of women in the highest echelons of power – illustrated last week by the dramatic departures of Jill Abramson and Natalie Nougayrède as the editors of the New York Times and Le Monde – remains a stubborn fact of corporate life.
According to the authors of the 2013 Chief Executive Study, women's higher rate of failure is not because they are placed in more challenging roles or set up to fail. The research looked at CEO turnover over the past decade at the top of the world's 2,500 largest public companies and found that, while women represent only 3% of new CEOs, they are often forced out of top jobs sooner.
The report finds that men and women are broadly comparable in every area –except one: "Women are more often outsiders," says co-author Ken Favaro. "So they're more vulnerable. They don't know the organisation. They can't diagnose the problems as quickly and don't understand the culture or how to get it to work for them – and they aren't necessarily given more time to deliver."
While the proportion of women in the CEO class has doubled to nearly 4% in the past five years, a figure that the study's authors believe could rise to 33% by 2040, the sex norms of global corporate leadership remain stubbornly hard to shift.
With a smaller internal leadership pool to choose from, companies hiring female executives from outside are also likely to be less tolerant of shortcomings than they are with executives groomed in-house. And external CEOs are seven times more likely to be dismissed after a short tenure.
"We tend to like those that are most like us," says Favaro. "Sadly, company boards are still mostly men, and they're more inclined to pull the trigger on women if things aren't working out. Women are treated more harshly by men because there are more men in the boardroom." As long as this lasts, he adds, "women will be at a disadvantage".
Last week, after claims that Abramson was paid significantly less than her male predecessor at the New York Times had been challenged by the owning Sulzberger family, reasons for her dismissal fell back on cliches no less likely to cause offence. Abramson was described as "bossy" – a term that, at least in the US, is loaded with sexist hostility. On Saturday afternoon, New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr released a statement detailing his decision to fire Abramson and responding to the growing controversy that gender played a role in her dismissal. He said a pattern of behaviour that included "arbitrary decision-making, a failure to consult and bring colleagues with her, inadequate communication and the public mistreatment of colleagues" was behind her dismissal.
Earlier this year Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg launched a campaign to stamp out "bossy", claiming that it discourages young women from developing leadership skills. "I'm not bossy. I'm the boss," announced Beyoncé in one of Sandberg's anti-bossy TV adverts. The same issue appears to have brought down Nougayrède, who had covered the Chechen wars for Le Monde before being forced out by a staff insurrection at the paper.
Faced with such treatment, many female CEOs are choosing to not go quietly over the glass cliff. In 2009, Carol Bartz became chief executive of Yahoo!, but her appointment was viewed less as a victory for women than as evidence that women are more willing to accept positions at companies with no future – and then take the fall. After Bartz was fired two years later, she characterised Yahoo!'s board as "doofuses" who "fucked me over".
While the authors of Strategy&'s report refuse to comment specifically on the saga at the New York Times, Favaro believes that Abramson's experience at the paper was "not inconsistent" with its findings: "She wasn't given a whole lot of time to develop her track record and earn her tenure."
Gary Neilson, another co-author of the report, believes the data, though thin, shows an improving situation. While women may be forced out of companies faster, they are coming in faster than they are going out. Neilson believes that as companies start to do a better job of developing internal female executive talent, they will be less likely to look outside to fill top positions. That, in turn, will reduce the risk that women are taking top jobs at companies that may already be in crisis, experiencing performance problems or be in transition.
In 20 years this is all going to be quite different, says Neilsen. As more women move up the corporate ladder and sit on boards, companies will have a stable source of homegrown talent.
"The data is clear – being an outsider is a tough situation," he says. Companies care about performance, their boards are under pressure, so they need to be doing a better job developing female talent internally. The situation is, he says, improving rapidly – "but from a very small base".Image: panthermedia.net/JCB Prod
FAU researchers develop method for DNA programmed material synthesis
For the first time, FAU engineers have succeeded in producing complex crystal lattices, so-called clathrates, from nanoparticles using DNA strands. The programmed synthesis of clathrates represents a template for the precision modelling of novel nanomaterials. These findings have recently been published in the acclaimed journal ‘Science’ (doi: 10.1126/science.aal3919).
DNA is the blueprint of biological life: it contains all hereditary information and the arrangement of its base pairs determines the structure of amino acids and ultimately the whole organism. For some years now, scientists have been using the structuring potential of DNA in other disciplines such as computer science or for creating new materials on the nano scale. In collaboration with the world’s leading nanotechnology experts from the University of Michigan and North Western University, FAU engineers have opened up a new era in DNA programmed material synthesis. The team has succeeded in reordering pyramid-shaped gold crystals to form complex clathrate compounds.
DNA determines lattice structure
For the synthesis process, the 250 nanometre gold crystals – which in the experiment represent atoms that can form clathrates – are held in a suspension which is supplemented with artificial DNA. ‘The DNA strands attach to the gold particles and move them into a certain position during a self-assembling process,’ explains Professor Michael Engel, member of the Institute for Multiscale Simulation. ‘Depending on the length of the DNA sequences and the arrangement of the base pairs, different three-dimensional lattice structures form. Through DNA programming we can more or less determine the structure of the crystal lattice in a very precise manner.’
Clathrates – nuclear cages with a wide range of applications
Clathrates are of particular interest in the field of materials research because they are composed of nuclear cages in which other substances, usually gases, can be embedded. ‘The controlled production of colloidal clathrates opens up a wide range of possible applications,’ says Michael Engel. ‘Materials could be used for recognising proteins or viruses and targeted manipulation of certain parameters of the crystal lattice can lead to material properties which are not achievable in simpler colloidal crystals.’
The research at FAU is part of the Cluster of Excellence Engineering of Advanced Materials (EAM).
The research results were published in the acclaimed journal ‘Science’ under the title ‘Clathrate colloidal crystals’.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Michael Engel
Phone: +49 9131 8520857
michael.engel@fau.dePARIS (Reuters) - Vattenfall unplugged! With flyers, posters and an animated film of a bear disconnecting the Swedish utility that operates the Berlin electricity grid, campaigners tried to convince voters to put power distribution back in public hands.
A general view shows the Boehlen-Lippendorf power station of German power supplier Vattenfall November 16, 2013. Picture taken November 16. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle
The November referendum in Berlin failed, but in September, citizens of Hamburg, Germany’s second-biggest city, voted to return their power grid, also run by Vattenfall, to public ownership.
The votes were organized by citizens’ groups who want municipalities to buy back electricity distribution networks from private utilities, because they say local authorities can provide a cheaper and better service.
The German movement is part of a Europe-wide reversal of the trends towards liberalization and privatization that have driven energy policy in the past decade.
While ostensibly backing free energy markets, many European governments squeeze utilities by intervening in power generation while also capping energy prices. This creeping renationalization cuts utilities’ profits by billions of euros.
The idea behind the EU-driven energy liberalization was to force the old monopolies to compete so that prices could fall and services improve.
Countries privatized utilities and split them into private power producers and independent, but government-regulated network operators. Energy retailing was also freed up for vendors to compete for household accounts.
But as Europe created a free market for power generation, it also brought back regulation by encouraging wind and solar power generation with generous state subsidies.
As renewable energies boomed, their priority access to the grid and cost-free operation crowded out the utilities’ traditional plants, to the point that gas-fired generation has become virtually uneconomical in Europe.
With their investment choices for producing power limited by government policies, utilities also saw their retail prices regulated. Spain and France limit energy prices for consumers, while Germany provides big discounts for industry.
But keeping prices low for consumers and industry, while also favoring green power generation and maintaining security of supply is just not possible.
“RENATIONALISING OUR REVENUES”
Critics say that these mutually exclusive targets have made much of Europe’s energy regulation so inconsistent that private firms can no longer operate profitably. Investment in non-subsidized generation has virtually dried up.
“At some point the regulatory risk gets so bad that it might be better to give the political risk back to the policy makers by renationalizing the sector,” said Georg Zachmann of Brussels think tank Bruegel.
A country close to this point is Spain, where generous subsidies to the renewables sector and caps on energy prices have led to the build-up of a 30 billion euro power tariff deficit - the difference between the cost of energy and what utilities are allowed to charge for it.
Last month, the Spanish government scrapped plans to reduce the deficit by sharing it between utilities, consumers and the state, and pushed the debt back onto the balance sheets of utilities such as Iberdrola, Endesa and Gas Natural, which will have to hold it for 15 years.
For the Spanish utilities, this boils down to a creeping nationalization of their profits.
“They are renationalizing our revenues, but not our assets. That is worse,” Iberdrola CEO Ignacio Galan said.
Spanish Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria told Reuters in November he does not think utilities should be renationalized and more competition is better for consumers.
But Spain might serve as an example of where other countries are heading, as more and more EU governments dictate investment choices through subsidies and regulate tariffs.
Britain - the cradle of European energy liberalization - seems like an unlikely candidate to lead the way: its Electricity Market Reform, to come into force this year, will introduce the “Contracts for Difference” scheme, which offers price guarantees for low-carbon energies.
The British package will also dictate which power plants receive public money to provide backup power generation.
In October, Britain agreed to give unprecedented loan guarantees and a 35-year power price guarantee in a deal with France’s EDF to build a nuclear plant at Hinkley Point.
This will reverse more than a decade of non-intervention in power generation and turn Britain’s low-carbon energy production - essentially offshore wind and nuclear - into a government-regulated activity.
Britain’s opposition leader Ed Miliband promised more regulation in September by saying he would freeze retail energy prices for 20 months if he were elected in 2015.
“The UK led the way in liberalization and I think it is leading the way - for better or worse - in changing its market framework towards having a much greater role for the state,” said Compass Lexecon energy consultant Fabien Roques.
“EXPROPRIATION”
The most radical renationalization drive in Europe is in Hungary, where the government wants to turn utilities into non-profit organizations.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to nationalize six or seven utilities and if he is re-elected this spring he plans to make them “community-owned” within a year or two.
Most of Hungary’s energy sector is foreign-owned, mainly by German, French and Italian firms including E.ON, RWE, EDF, GDF Suez and Eni.
Late last year, state-owned energy group MVM bought E.ON’s gas trade and storage businesses and it is also in talks with RWE about buying its stake in Budapest gas utility Fogaz Zrt.
Hungary does not confiscate the foreign-owned firms, but pays for the assets, albeit at prices depressed by a tough regulatory regime and state-imposed energy price caps.
RWE East chairman Martin Herrmann says Hungary’s moves are unacceptable and has spoken of “expropriation”.
“PLANNED ECONOMY”
Germany’s movement to put local power networks in municipal ownership is relatively benign, as it allows utilities to sell their assets at market prices and redeploy capital elsewhere.
“It is not renationalization but remunicipalisation that we are after. Energy issues should be dealt with on a local level,” said Stefan Taschner, head of BurgerBegehren Klimaschutz which drove the Berlin campaign.
Taschner thinks all power distribution networks should be in municipal hands, although he does not object to “a good mix” of public and private ownership for power generation assets.
After losing the Berlin referendum, the group is now helping citizens’ groups in cities such as Essen and Karlsruhe wrest distribution networks from private ownership.
“I have been in the industry 25 years and I have seen cities go three times private and three times public so I would not overinterpret the moment,” E.ON CEO Johannes Teyssen told Reuters, adding that public owners would face the same cost pressures as private utilities.
Teyssen is part of the dozen-strong Magritte group of utilities CEOs, which represent half of Europe’s electricity generating capacity. They say European energy policy is a failure, as retail power prices are higher than ever, security of supply has weakened and investment has stalled.
The group wants an end to subsidies for “mature” renewable energies such as onshore wind and solar.
Two of its proposals - strengthening the European carbon market and the establishment of EU guidelines for capacity remuneration mechanisms - actually offer more regulation and would increase the role of the state in energy policy.
Capacity mechanisms - under which utilities are paid, and sometimes forced, to keep idle plants on standby - are the most recent development in EU utilities regulation.
In Germany, where utilities are already told by government in which assets to invest (renewables) and which not (nuclear), they are now also told where not to divest.
Related Coverage Toy train town takes back grid in German power shift
Utilities must get approval from the regulator to close plants and can be forced to maintain unprofitable operations to minimize blackout risk.
Dirk Uwer, partner at German law firm Hengeler Mueller, said utilities can no longer take plants off grid for economic reasons, since grid operators and regulators can order them to stay online in exchange for compensation payments.
“We have arrived at a planned economy,” he said.To support your efforts to help Vancouver become the greenest city in the world by 2020, we make it easy to park your environmentally-friendly mode of transportation.
On this page:
Find parking spaces just for motorcycles and scooters
There are over 200 parking spaces, including over 100 metered spaces, that are only for motorcycles and scooters. These designated spaces are marked with:
Green-topped meters
Motorcycle parking signs
White painted zones
Metered spaces for motorcycles and scooters
The parking rate for motorcycle meter spaces on a block is 50% less than regular parking meter spaces on the same block.
Electric scooters, both registered and unregistered, may park for free.
Find a metered space
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Save money parking motorcycles and scooters at regular parking meters with Paybyphone
You get a 50% discount on parking rates when you use Paybyphone to park your gas-powered motorcycle and scooter in regular parking meter spaces.
Electric scooters with licence plates can get a 75% discount.
Electric scooters without licence plates can't park in regular parking meter spaces.
Space sharing
You can share a parking space with other motorcycles or scooters if there's room. Make sure your bike fits within the painted lines of the space.
When you share a space, here's how to pay for parking:
By Paybyphone – this covers your bike only By coin at the meter – this covers all the bikes in the parking space
If you're parked in a space with no time left on the parking meter or no current Paybyphone transaction, you can get a ticket.Tom Huddlestone was part of the Hull side relegated from the Premier League last season
Steve Bruce says Hull City will be unable to prevent Tom Huddlestone leaving if any club matches the release clause in the midfielder's contract.
Bruce said after his side's 1-1 draw at Wolves on Sunday that Hull had received no bids for any of their players.
But he confirmed an interest from West Ham in ex-Tottenham man Huddlestone.
The Hull manager said: "I am sure West Ham, like anybody, knows he has a buy-out in his contract and if they get to that figure I am powerless."
Bruce added: "The agents will be touting him around everywhere, which I know they are. But there's nothing I can do."
Huddlestone, 28, capped four times by England, joined Hull from Tottenham for around £5m in August 2013 and has made 78 appearances for the club.Jesus may have been progressive in more ways than one, according to a new billboard in Auckland.
The St Matthew in the City billboard, which is released each Christmas, this year depicts the baby Jesus in his crib surrounded by a halo of rainbow colours.
"It's Christmas," the billboard reads. "It's time for Jesus to come out."
Reverend Glynn Cardy said the sign was about trying to lift the humanity of Jesus.
"The fact is we don't know what his sexual orientation was."
While some conservative Christians might point to the more absolutist parts of the Old Testament as proof of the Messiah's sexual preferences, Cardy said that homosexuality was not even a word until the 19th century. Any mention of it would therefore have been a mistranslation.
More importantly the billboard was meant to ask whether Jesus' desires in the bedroom would make a difference for those of faith.
"Would it make a difference if he was gay? Would that change the picture for you? Would it mean what we revere about him changes?"
St Matthew's billboards have something of an international reputation. Last year its exposure through Facebook had a reach of over 21 million, brought 30,000 visits to St Matthew's website in a week and was featured internationally in blogs and internet news sites including the Huffington Post.
For some, however, any deviation from conservative Christian doctrine has been a step too far.
Last year a poster portraying the Virgin Mary holding a pregnancy test was ripped in half by a Whangarei man leading a Catholic Action Group protest.
Cardy said such actions also seemed to be part of the tradition.
"In the internet age though the image will be out there forever. They can do what they want to it."Your FastMail account is valuable. It’s your identity in the online world, your username on the web; it’s how you identify that you are you electronically. Companies use it to deliver important information to you. Your stored mail contains memories, personal details and sensitive or critical information.
Making sure that you, and only you, have access to your account is a top priority for us at FastMail. That’s why today we’re delighted to announce a raft of new features to help you keep your account secure.
What do I need to do?
Unless you are currently using our "alternative logins" system, there is no immediate change to your account. Probably the most noticeable change is that the login box is now on its own page, not the homepage.
We do recommend you review your account recovery options by going to the new Password & Security screen, and that you add at least one recovery phone number. As always, we take your privacy very seriously and will only ever use these details to keep your account secure. We never share them with anyone else.
If you were using our alternative logins system
The new combination of two-step verification and app passwords is replacing alternative logins. You will need to migrate over to the new system by the 31st August, when all remaining alternative logins will be removed.
A few rarely used types of alternative login were discontinued today. If you had one of these set up, you will no longer be able to use it to log in. You will need to use your master password. The affected types are:
Yubikey one factor (no base password)
1 hour SMS
1 hour printed OTP list
Printed OTP list
What are the new features?
All new security features can be viewed and configured on the Password & Security screen. You will need to type in your password at the top and unlock the screen to make any changes.
Two-step verification
Two-step verification (also known as ‘two-factor authentication’ or ‘2FA’) increases the security of your account by requiring something you have (your phone or a special security key), to be paired with something you know (your password), in order to log in to your account.
If you choose to enable it, when you log in you’ll first enter your username and password as normal. After you submit this you’ll then be prompted to finish logging in with any of your registered devices. You may add as many second factor options to your account as you like – you can use any one of them to log in.
Even if you don't usually log in over the web interface, spammers, phishers and other nefarious villain types do: stop them in their tracks. Learn more about two-step verification in our help.
Note for users of our old "classic" interface: To configure the new security features you will need to log in to our normal interface. Only TOTP and Yubico OTP are supported with the classic interface; you cannot use SMS or U2F to log in.
App passwords
If you turn on two-step verification, you will now need a separate password for each third party app that accesses your account (This does not include the FastMail mobile app.) Don’t worry, you won't have to remember it! We'll generate a secure password for you. This password can't be used to log in to the web interface (and so can't change any of your settings), and can be restricted to specific protocols (e.g. just mail, or just calendar) for further security.
You can see when each of your app passwords was last used, and the location/IP it was last used from, on our updated Password & Security screen. If you lose a device, go here to immediately revoke access, without having to change your password elsewhere.
App passwords can be used even without two-step verification. We will gradually move all users over to app passwords for client access over time.
Learn more about app passwords in our help.
New server names
Because messagingengine.com is hard to remember and even harder to type (especially on mobile), we have now added support for all our services on a simple to remember scheme of {protocolname}.fastmail.com. We have updated our docs to use these server names, and recommend using them instead of *.messagingengine.com for setting up all new apps in the future.
If you are updating a 3rd party client to use an app password, please also switch to the new server names, to save having to update it again in the future.
The new server names are:
IMAP : imap.fastmail.com (port 993, no prefix)
: (port 993, no prefix) SMTP : smtp.fastmail.com (port 465)
: (port 465) POP : pop.fastmail.com (port 995)
: (port 995) CardDAV : https://carddav.fastmail.com
: CalDAV : https://caldav.fastmail.com
: WebDAV : https://webdav.fastmail.com
: FTP: ftp.fastmail.com (port 21)
There are two important changes compared to the messagingengine.com servers:
You must use an app |
that they have not voted and are qualified to vote. Any applicant providing false information may be guilty of a Class C felony pursuant to state law.
Idaho I.C. § 34-408A Voter Registration FAQ 1994 Election Day Precinct polling place where voter resides. Voters doing same day registration are required to show a photo ID and proof of residence, i.e. a bill, bank statement, check stub, or any other document with their name and residence address within the precinct printed on it. Voters also complete an oath as prescribed by the secretary of state.
Illinois 10 ILCS 5/5-50 Registering to Vote in Illinois 2015 “Grace period registration” is from the 27th day prior to the election through Election Day Office of the election authority, at a permanent polling place, at any other early voting site beginning 15 days prior to the election, at a polling place on election day, or at a voter registration location specifically designated for this purpose by the election authority. Two forms of identification with at least one showing current address. Driver’s license and university or collage ID can be one of the two, as can current utility bill, bank statement, pay check, government check, or other government document that shows name and address. Local election officials verify information of same-day registrants, usually after the election. If duplicate registrations and voting history are found, it would be up to each local official to provide that information to their local state’s attorney. If a voter is unable to provide the required identification would vote provisionally.
Iowa Iowa Code Ann. §39A.2, §48A.7a Election Day Registration 2007 In-person absentee period through Election Day. At the county auditor’s office or satellite voting location during in-person absentee period, and precinct polling place where voter resides on Election Day. In order to register and vote on election day voters must show a current photo ID as well as current proof of residency. The applicant also completes a written oath. Counties do use e-poll books, but they are not connected to the statewide voter registration database. If a voter did register and vote at more than one location on election day it would be caught when vote credit is applied through the statewide voter registration database. Voting more than once is election misconduct in the first degree.
Maine 21-A M.R.S.A. §112-A, §121-A, §122 Voter Registration in Maine 1973 Election Day, however there is no registration deadline when registering to vote in person at the town office or city hall. The deadline for mail registrations and voter registration drives is the 21st day before the election. In person at the town office or city hall prior to the election, and precinct polling place where voter resides on Election Day. If a voter registers to vote on Election Day, and can show proof of identity and residency, then they vote a regular ballot. If they don’t show satisfactory proof, then they vote a provisional ballot. Real-time registration is not available, but if a voter attempts to register and vote in more than one location, the local election official would be alerted when trying to enter voting history after the election in the statewide voter registration database. The voter would be referred for prosecution for dual voting if applicable (Note that Maine has had election day registration since 1975 and has only had four prosecutions for double voting).
Maryland MD Code, Election Law, § 3-305 Voter Registration in Maryland 2013 and 2018 Early voting period through Election Day. (A legislatively referred constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to enact election day registration was approved by voters in November 2018). Early voting locations and precinct polling place on Election Day. During the early voting period, Maryland partners with the Motor Vehicle Administration to obtain the drivers licenses of those who are eligible to register, but aren't in the statewide voter registration database. An individual would supply their driver's license to register and vote. If the individual doesn't have a driver's license they would vote via provisional ballot. E-poll books are networked together during the early voting period, but not on Election Day. With the passage of the ballot measure permitting registration on Election Day, state legislators will likely enact legislation with guidance on how to implement the new law.
Michigan M.C.L.A. §168.497 Ballot Proposal 3 2018 Early voting period through Election Day. At the city or town clerk's office where the voter resides. An individual who applies to register to vote during this period must provide proof of residency in the city or township. The ballot is considered a provisional ballot and will be counted unless determined otherwise.
Minnesota M.S.A. §201.061 Register on Election Day 1974 Election Day. Precinct polling place where voter resides, county offices, and in-person absentee voting centers. Election Day registrants must provide proof of residence. Voting history and election day registrants are input simultaneously into the statewide voter registration database after the election. The system provides notifications if there is an indication that an individual voted before an election day registration, or if more than one Election Day registrations were input for the same individual. Data provided by an Election Day registrant is verified with the Division of Vehicle Services and/or the Social Security Administration, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Public Safety.
Montana MCA 13-2-110 MCA 13-2-304 MCA 13-2-514 How to Register to Vote 2005 Late registration (after the registration deadline 30 days before an election) is available through Election Day (except between noon and 5:00 p.m. the day before the election) at county election offices. County election office. Local Election officials verify signatures and identification of voters. Anyone who transfers their registration on election day must do so at a central location and must vote a provisional ballot that is counted only if it is confirmed that the individual did not vote previously.
New Hampshire N.H. Rev. Stat. §654:7, §654:7-a Registration in New Hampshire 1996 Election Day. Town or city ward where the voter resides. Voters must provide sufficient identification and proof of residency in order to receive a ballot. Those who present insufficient photo identification to get their picture taken at the polls and sign an affidavit. New Hampshire sends letters with return post cards to all who sign affidavits on election day, and submits to the attorney general all who fail to return signed post cards or whose letters are returned marked “undeliverable.” After the election, New Hampshire runs a variety of checks to identify potential double voters. A check is conducted against the statewide voter registration database to identify those that may have voted elsewhere in the state, and the Interstate Crosscheck to identify those that may have voted out-of-state. If found, double voters are referred to the attorney general for enforcement.
North Carolina N.C.G.S.A. § 163-865 One-Stop Early Voting and Same Day Registration 2007 Early voting period only. Early voting locations determined by county. Voters must attest to their eligibility and provide proof of residences. Within two business days of the person’s registration, the county board of elections will verify the registrant’s driver license or social security number, update the voter registration database, search for possible duplicate registrations, and proceed to verify the registrant’s address by mail. The registrant’s vote will be counted unless the county board of elections determines that he or she is not qualified to vote.
Utah UCA 20A-2-207 2018 Early voting period and Election Day. Early voting locations and polling places. Voters may register to vote and vote via provisional ballot. Voters must provide valid voter identification and proof of residency, and the provisional ballot is counted at canvass if the voter has met the required qualifications. The ballot is not counted if the county clerk finds that the voter is not eligible for registration or not legally entitled to vote the ballot.
Vermont 17 V.S.A. §2144 Registration in Vermont 2015 Up to and including Election Day. Town or city clerk’s office before the election, and precinct polling place where voter resides on Election Day. Vermont has the ability to conduct a post-election audit that would identify any individual who registered and voted in more than one town in the same election. The results of that report would be sent to the Attorney General’s office for investigation and prosecution.
Washington RCW 29A.08.140 *Effective June 30, 2019. 2018 Up to and including Election Day. County auditor's office, a voting center, or other location designated by the county auditor
Wisconsin Wis. Stat. §6.29 Voter Registration Guide 1975 Election Day. Precinct polling place where voter resides. All individuals must provide both a proof of residency document and proof of identification document to register on Election Day. The statewide voter registration system provides notification to local election officials to prevent duplicate registration records, although that process happens only after the registration is entered into the system which is usually after Election Day. Voting at two locations on Election Day is a felony offense.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
March 20, 2017, 6:54 PM GMT / Updated March 20, 2017, 7:56 PM GMT By Alex Seitz-Wald
President Donald Trump is not backing down from his claim that former President Obama wiretapped him — despite FBI Director James Comey’s testimony to Congress on Monday that he had no evidence to support the allegation.
“No. We started a hearing, it is still ongoing,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said when asked during his daily press briefing if Trump would back off the charge.
Trump made the unsubstantiated claim over two weeks ago and promised evidence will be forthcoming.
Earlier Monday, Comey became the latest official to counter the wiretapping allegation.
In his first public comments on the matter, Comey told the House Intelligence Committee that the FBI had “looked carefully” at Trump’s wiretapping claim and that both the bureau and the Department of Justice found “no information that supports those tweets.”
The Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, along with both U.S. and British officials, have previously said they know of no evidence to support the claim.
But Spicer said Trump was not having second thoughts about the charge and suggested new information might be revealed.
“There’s a lot of areas that still need to be covered. There’s a lot of information that still needs to be discussed,” Spicer said.
Meanwhile, Comey also confirmed — for the first time — that the FBI is investigating potential links between Russian intelligence and Trump’s presidential campaign.
Spicer downplayed the news from the FBI director’s much anticipated testimony.
“Following this testimony it’s clear that nothing has changed,” Spicer said.
As Spicer noted, numerous officials, including former top Obama appointees, have said they have seen no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence services.
However, during his testimony on Monday, Comey said it is possible for people to have colluded with a foreign power without knowing they had done so and called these people “co-optees. " He suggested that they could still face legal jeopardy.
The White House has repeatedly denied any collusion with Russian officials, and said it is a victim of a partisan witch-hunt abetted by illegal leaks of classified information from Obama holdovers in the federal government.
Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, stepped down after it was learned Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other senior officials about his discussions with a Russian ambassador to the U.S.
National Security Adviser Michael Flynn waits before the start of a White House news conference with President Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan on Feb. 10. Ron Sachs / Zuma Press
Spicer noted that Comey said it was possible for Obama administration officials to “unmask” people caught in intelligence probes, and noted that Comey refused to deny if he had briefed Obama on Flynn’s calls.
Comey also said that leaks had seemed to be “unusually active” in recent weeks, Spicer noted.
And both Comey and Adm. Michael Rogers, the director of National Security Agency, who also testified as well Monday, said leaks can hurt national security.
“Who was being surveilled? Why were they being surveilled? Why were they being quote unmasked?” Spicer asked.
Spicer also noted that both Comey and Rogers had said they had no evidence that Russian meddling had affected the vote tallies in key swing states.
Earlier, Trump’s official Twitter account highlighted similar portions of the hearing.
Before the hearing, Trump said in a series of Tweets on his personal tweets that, "The Democrats made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse for running a terrible campaign."
But Comey and Rogers reaffirmed earlier intelligence assessments that Russian President Vladimir Putin interfered in the U.S. election to hurt Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton.
"Putin hated Secretary Clinton so much that he had a clear preference for the person running against Secretary Clinton,” Comey said.
The director said the FBI’s investigation is ongoing.
“That includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian Government and whether there was any coordination,” Comey testified.
In his testimony, Rogers also said Trump’s unfounded allegation that a British intelligence agency helped Obama snoop on Trump during the election could damage U.S.-British relations.
“I think it clearly frustrates a key ally of ours,” Rogers said of the president’s claim.Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby should have been pulled from Game 6 after crashing into the end boards, and put in the NHL’s concussion protocol for further evaluation.
Except he couldn’t be pulled from Game 6, based on the NHL’s current concussion protocol standards.
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“Depending on the mechanism of injury, ‘slow to get up’ does not trigger mandatory removal,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told USA TODAY Sports. “The protocol has to be interpreted literally to mandate a removal. ‘Ice’ as compared to ‘boards’ is in there for a reason. It’s the result of a study on our actual experiences over a number of years. ‘Ice’ has been found to be a predictor of concussions — ‘boards’ has not been.”
Holy [expletive].
That he wasn’t pulled is an indictment of the League’s concussion spotters system and its criteria; an indictment of the Penguins’ approach to the their players’ health; and the continuation of a disturbing trend in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs in which potential brain injuries are shoved aside for competitive advantages.
Let’s start with the spotters.
The Spotters
Beginning this season, the NHL expanded its concussion spotters mechanism to include not only observers inside the arena, but also ones monitoring games off televisions in New York.
The entire system was dismissed as a PR ploy by some, but the hope was that this was another failsafe in place as players and teams seemingly made their own rules about when a potentially concussed player should leave the ice.
(See Wideman, Dennis.)
Story continues
The spotters have specific criteria they use to judge whether a player should enter the concussion protocol. In general, the criteria are applied “after a direct blow to the head (including secondary contact with the glass, boards and ice) or an indirect blow to the head (such as a blow to the body that causes acceleration/deceleration of the head).”
Here’s where we observe a failure in this system in the case of Sidney Crosby in Game 6.
This part of the criteria deals directly with an incident like Crosby’s, in which a player is “slow to get up” after potentially injuring his head.
Take a look at that again: The criteria for the concussion evaluation goes from a broad, sweeping “direct blow to the head” and is boiled down to three specific instances, none of which technically applied to Crosby. Technically, his head hit the boards; and the “secondary contact with the ice” as presented here is very much about it happening after a hit or a punch.
It’s completely semantic and borderline ridiculous, but as Daly noted, there’s a mechanism in the criteria where removal of Crosby on a play like that isn’t mandatory.
Now, let’s recall when Connor McDavid was pulled from a game earlier this season by the spotters:
Said McDavid, at the time:
“It kind of sucks because that’s the rule. You go down, you hit your head, you reach up and that’s the rule. They take you off the ice. I hit my head. Well, I hit my mouth, reached up and grabbed my mouth and they took that as something that it wasn’t. I guess that’s the rule. The guy stuck to the script and did his job.”
And again, the Crosby play:
Are we honestly satisfied with a concussion protocol whose justifiable application depends on whether a player covers his face with his glove momentarily after falling headfirst into the end boards? Or if a player hits his head on the ice rather than the boards?
Because that’s the deal. Just like goalie interference, if the [expletive] rulebook doesn’t completely spell it out, then they can’t call it.
Let’s stay on this criteria for a moment. You know what isn’t mentioned in this document? Context.
This isn’t “Player X.” This is Sidney Crosby, a player with a demonstrable history of concussions, including one diagnosed approximately one week prior to slamming his head against the boards on Monday night. Should there be a provision in the criteria that deals with “at risk” players?
Further context, and perhaps the most frustrating part about the spotters’ role last night:
They were just over two minutes away from the damn intermission.
This isn’t taking Crosby off the ice in the first two minutes of a period. This is, literally, him missing one shift before getting a full evaluation for a concussion in the back. These tests take upwards of 18 minutes. If he passes, he’s back for the second period.
Why risk his health, given that?
Then again, we can’t exactly assume anything with the Penguins after the postgame mess last night.
The Penguins
Coach Mike Sullivan had the following exchange in the post-Game 6 press conference:
Q. Mike, were you concerned when you saw Sid was sorta slow to get up in the first, and was he evaluated for a concussion during the first intermission?
SULLIVAN: “No … no.”
Crosby was asked about the play after the game.
“Yeah when you go in like that, it just kind of knocked the wind out of me. Kind of a fluky fall but not one that you want to take too often,” he said, via Brian Metzer.
Crosby was asked if he was evaluated between periods.
“Yeah, yeah… standard,” he said, without specifying if it was for a concussion.
Again, this is the franchise’s biggest star, one week removed from a concussion that made him miss a playoff game. He crashes headfirst into the boards. He claims he just had the wind knocked out of him. The team is off the ice for intermission.
What, exactly, is the harm in putting Crosby in the protocol, unless you’re worried you risk losing him for the game if the doctors discover something?
If Sullivan is correct, and Crosby wasn’t tested, this is a horrible look for the Penguins.
But then, the entire Crosby situation in this round has been a horrible look for the Penguins, and for the NHL.
The NHL
Sidney Crosby isn’t the player we saw in the first three games of this series. Not even close. So are we going to assume that in his one-game absence the Capitals suddenly figured out how to neutralize the best player in hockey, or is it that Crosby rushed himself back and no one is going to tell him “no?”
Here’s the reality for the League on this Crosby matter: I’ve had more conversations with people involved in the NHL in the last week about Crosby that devolved into exasperated rants about how frustrating it is to see him playing now.
I had one person chew my ear off for 20 minutes about how disgusted they were that Sid was allowed to play. I had another begging the media to write a takeout piece on the Penguins’ complicit role in it. I had another text me after Game 6 to say, “Crosby’s head-first crash without immediate evaluation makes me sick, and also pissed off.”
It all comes from two places: The genuine hope that Sidney Crosby, one the greatest players in NHL history, isn’t going to end up with irreparable damage to his brain, now or in the long term; and a general frustration with the approach to concussions from the NHL in the postseason.
First, there was the bizarre ordeal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and defenseman Nikolai Zaitsev in the opening round, in which the Leafs deemed him “playoff ready” but not healthy enough to play in the IIHF world championships.
This seemed to indicate that the Leafs allowed Zaitsev to play with a concussion, although others dismissed it as “gossip.”
In the case of Crosby, it seems unlikely that he could recover that quickly from a concussion, and his play is an indication that he maybe hasn’t.
But in the interest of equal time, the venerable Bob McKenzie offered this via Twitter:
“Crosby, like any player on the ice, could get concussed on his next shift but I believe, in this instance, Crosby wouldn’t be playing if he weren’t cleared beyond on all doubts. He’s getting next level diagnosis, care, treatment that is as cutting edge as it gets. Knowing Sid, knowing those who look out for him, knowing the care he gets, I don’t believe he’d in in lineup if he weren’t truly ready. Don’t doubt for a minute protocols are often ignored, twisted, manipulated but I’d wager that most certainly isn’t the case on this one. But like you, we’re just neophytes and novices expressing opinions shaped by our own personal experiences and quasi-research.”
But again, here’s where the concussion protocol needs improvement.
Sullivan said that Crosby passed a baseline test – which have their own drawbacks – and was cleared by doctors. The Penguins’ doctors. And while we’re not trying to call anyone’s integrity into question (although I guess we are), shouldn’t these evaluations be done by independent neurologists, giving them the final say?
Because here’s the current standard:
The Club Physician remains solely responsible for making return to play decisions based on these parameters, including in circumstances where the Player is referred to a consultant for management and treatment. Prior to making the return to play decision, the Club Physician shall ensure that all aspects of the Protocol have been satisfied, including referral for neuropsychological assessment.
Is it too much to ask for someone to look out for the player’s best interests that isn’t paid by a team trying to win the Stanley Cup? Hell, if the NFL mandates an “unaffiliated physician” must clear the player, shouldn’t the NHL? Oh, that’s right: We’re not football, right Gary?
Although, if you ask the player, one assumes winning is the only interest.
Sidney Crosby
Here’s the part I struggle with when it comes to concussions, spotters, the protocol and all of it:
If Sidney Crosby wants to put himself at risk, who are we to stop him?
He made the decision, at a very young age, to play an injurious sport that’s left former players with brain damage or in a wheelchair. It’s a sport with catastrophic accidents and devastating collisions. Yet it’s his choice to play it, his risk to succeed in it, his life after it’s all over.
Now, that’s the long-term view. That’s the view that makes me side-eye concussion lawsuits, because these players understood the bargain they’re making with their own health.
The short-term view is that the players are never going to pull themselves off the ice, so the NHL and its teams have to do it for them. Just like they mandate safety equipment that the players don’t want to wear. Just like they support rules that make the game safer, if a little more difficult to play at this velocity.
Ultimately, it takes a village to rehab or prevent a concussion. The NHL has to do its part. The teams have to do their part. The player has to be forthright and humble, and buck decades of tradition in which they outright lied about their fitness to protect a roster spot.
And we, the fans, have to support efforts to protect the players from themselves even if it means our teams might be at a competitive disadvantage.
Which means if Crosby missed several shifts in Game 6 because he was being evaluated for brain damage, the proper response is “that’s OK, it’s better to be safe than sorry considering what we know about concussions,” and not “THE NHL WANTS THE CAPITALS TO WIN BECAUSE REASONS!”
It’s a problem we all have to acknowledge and address, because the last week has made many of us queasy. We want Sidney Crosby as the face of this League, playing some of the greatest hockey we’ve witnessed in decades. We don’t want to see a shell of that player because he rushed back from injury. And we certainly don’t want to see that player put at further risk due to an insufficient set of standards for “concussion spotters” established by the NHL.
It doesn’t matter that, ultimately, he wasn’t injured. At least on that play. What matters is the integrity of the League’s public commitment to the safety of its players, and how that commitment seems perfunctory and slipshod when things like this happen.
—
Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTSAmphetamine withdrawal (AW) is accompanied by diminished pleasure and depression which plays a key role in drug relapse and addictive behaviors. There is no efficient treatment for AW-induced depression and underpinning mechanisms were not well determined. Considering both transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 1 (TRPV1) and N-Methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors contribute to pathophysiology of mood and addictive disorders, in this study, we investigated the role of TRPV1 and NMDA receptors in mediating depressive-like behaviors following AW in male mice. Results revealed that administration of capsaicin, TRPV1 agonist, (100μg/mouse, i.c.v.) and MK-801, NMDA receptor antagonist (0.005mg/kg, i.p.) reversed AW-induced depressive-like behaviors in forced swimming test (FST) and splash test with no effect on animals' locomotion. Co-administration of sub-effective doses of MK-801 (0.001mg/kg, i.p.) and capsaicin (10μg/mouse, i.c.v) exerted antidepressant-like effects in behavioral tests. Capsazepine, TRPV1 antagonist, (100μg/mouse, i.c.v) and NMDA, NMDA receptor agonist (7.5mg/kg, i.p.) abolished the effects of capsaicin and MK-801, respectively. None of aforementioned treatments had any effect on behavior of control animals. Collectively, our findings showed that activation of TRPV1 and blockade of NMDA receptors produced antidepressant-like effects in male mice following AW, and these receptors are involved in AW-induced depressive-like behaviors. Further, we found that rapid antidepressant-like effects of capsaicin in FST and splash test are partly mediated by NMDA receptors.
Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Introduction [ edit ]
The "Dabang ASL Team Battle" (다방 ASL 팀 배틀), or "ASL Team Battle Season 1" was hinted at at the Afreeca Starleague Season 2 Finals and properly announced on February 7, 2017[1]. The Team League, featuring teams which include the strongest Players of the post-KeSPA era in a Single Elimination Bracket, will be organised by Afreeca and sponsored by O2O Realty. Every Top 8 player of ASL2 was tasked to build a team consisting of three players with the final teams being revealed on February 13. Starting play on February 18, the league will be broadcasted every Saturday and Sunday and will span three weeks with the finals being played on March 19.
Tournament Information [ edit ]
Prize Pool [ edit ]
₩10,000,000 KRW (~$9,000) is to be awarded to the top placing teams per the distribution below[2][3]:
Format [ edit ]
Quarterfinals and finals: single-elimination
Semifinals: dual tournament
Quarterfinals through finals: best-of-five Maps 1,2,4 and 5 are played 1v1 while map 3 is a 2v2 matchup
Map Pool [ edit ]
Note: Hunters is used exclusively for all 2v2 matchups
Teams [ edit ]
Participating Teams Team Flash Team Sea Team BeSt Team Bisu Team hero Team GuemChi Team Stork Team Mind
Player Roster [ edit ]
Note: Jaedong had to decline participation because of a wrist injury and was replaced by MindIn 1991, as Edward St. Aubyn was about to publish “Never Mind”—the first of five highly autobiographical novels, in which extremes of familial cruelty and social snobbery are described with a tart precision that is not quite free of cruelty and snobbery—he went for a walk with his mother in the English countryside and told her that his father had repeatedly raped him as a young boy. Her response “wasn’t totally satisfactory,” St. Aubyn said, several weeks ago. “She said, ‘Me, too’ ”—meaning that his father had raped her as well. “She was very, very keen to jump the queue and say how awful it was for her.” St. Aubyn was eating lunch in an almost empty restaurant a short walk from his home, in the Notting Hill area of London. The only other diners, a few tables away, were two of his friends: Lady Antonia Fraser, the writer, who is also the widow of Harold Pinter; and Tristram Powell, a filmmaker who is the son of Anthony Powell, the author of “A Dance to the Music of Time,” a cycle of autobiographical novels centered on the English élite, to which St. Aubyn’s work has been compared. When St. Aubyn had come in—a long cashmere coat over a gray jacket, and his right hand braced and bandaged after a skiing accident—they had asked him to join them for a glass of wine, and for fifteen minutes there had been good-natured talk about the Tony prospects of the recent Broadway production of Pinter’s “Betrayal,” and about a sad decline in the quality of literary feuds. Then St. Aubyn had moved to his preferred corner, and recalled some of his life’s most fraught experiences with steady irony, and in an unhurried accent of English privilege that—like the paintings that hang in his drawing room, and the tone of amused contempt that sometimes marks his prose—is part of his inheritance from a father who tortured him. Like his father, Roger, he is a member of White’s, the oldest gentlemen’s club in London. St. Aubyn said that his mother, Lorna, a descendant of American industrialists, “was very keen to establish that she had no idea” about the sexual assaults, and “didn’t even know such a thing existed.” She “really was a person of good intentions, but if ever it was clear that good intentions were not enough...” He narrowed his eyes. St. Aubyn’s movements have a bomb-disposal delicacy. He’ll brush the tips of two or three fingers against his lower lip for half a minute, or he’ll tilt his head slightly backward, as if in response to a tiny surprise. He is fifty-four and the father of two, and has the air of someone who is puzzled, and rather impressed, to find that he is not dead. The novels that draw on the St. Aubyn family disaster—the fiction and the life both involve a perfect house in the South of France, a brutal English snob, an American heiress with good intentions, and a son who becomes a suicidal junkie—were initially resisted, by some, for their upper-class milieu. But the books, which focus on a family named Melrose, are now widely admired for their forensic and comic variation on the theme of trauma and imperfect recovery. In Britain, the publishing marketplace has become so saturated with nonfiction reënactments of this theme that the genre is known, with brusque mockery, as the “misery memoir,” and bookstores have “Painful Lives” sections filled with such titles as “Tell Me Why, Mummy” and “Please, Daddy, No.” St. Aubyn is seen to have done something remarkable with his balance of wretchedness and wit. For someone who used to think that he had met every reader of his work, the literary recognition has been gratifying. In 2006, the fourth Melrose novel, “Mother’s Milk,” was nominated for a Booker Prize. Rachael Horovitz, a producer of “Moneyball,” is working on a complete series of Melrose films for television, a project that she recently described as “a modern-day, albeit twisted” version of the miniseries adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s “Brideshead Revisited.” St. Aubyn told me that Pinter, not long before his death, took him to lunch in a Notting Hill restaurant a few doors away and sternly praised his work. “He could be very ferocious,” St. Aubyn recalled. “But when that was actually in the form of kindness it was very impressive.” He is entertaining, teasing company. We had several meetings, at a time of flooding in the south of England. One day, when a London paper’s banner headline was “RED ALERT,” I met him after having just crossed the Thames, and I said something about the river not looking as swollen as I had expected. He later e-mailed: “Someone with a wide variety of extreme-weather channels available to him in America is unlikely to be shaken until several herds of cattle and a large number of cars and houses have been lifted into the air, swirled about and dumped onto exploding power lines or into the corpse-strewn floodwaters of ruined cities.” This is also how he speaks. He recently finished a novel that, for the first time in more than a decade, does not involve Patrick Melrose, his psychologically fractured stand-in, or the awful senior Melroses. He also gave up his usual work habits—wrenching personal excavations, repeated revisions, and “the tyranny of the artiste maudit cliché”—in favor of a quick attempt at fun. The new novel, “Lost for Words,” describes antics surrounding the awarding of a Booker-like literary prize. “I rather missed out on play,” he told me. (He also missed out on the Booker.) “It’s a bit late in the day, but why not start now? If not at five, then at fifty.” “We’re watching your side of the room with growing fascination.” The irony in the title of St. Aubyn’s third Melrose novel, “Some Hope,” published in 1994, points both to a career-long interest in the idea of psychological deliverance and to a desire not to be mistaken for an artless writer. To read the novels is to watch a high intelligence outsmart cliché (or, to use a more Melrosian word, vulgarity), and so protect his protagonist’s literary distinction. Similarly, St. Aubyn has been careful to protect his own life from the dull tarnish of remembrance-and-release; it would pain him if readers mistook a twenty-year literary project for a therapeutic one. “What he wanted was a very pure success,” Oliver James, an old friend of St. Aubyn’s, and a clinical psychologist, told me. But the awkward fact is that writing saved St. Aubyn’s life. Years of psychoanalysis, and the controlled fiction that followed, deferred the threat of suicide. St. Aubyn describes Patrick as an alter ego, though there are some differences. Patrick ends up with a day job—he’s a barrister—which St. Aubyn, with a seeming shrug of privileged incomprehension, barely makes convincing. More important, Patrick has no experience of therapy, beyond a group meeting or two in rehab. Instead, he ruminates, and makes sour, studied jokes. The novels enact, and describe, therapeutic progress, but St. Aubyn, led by a literary taste for compression, and by the desire to create “vivid and intense and non-boring” fiction, left out much of the process that helped him survive to midlife. James, who has known St. Aubyn since childhood, and who once saw him, as a teen-ager, teaching others how to inject heroin, has charted his friend’s progress, and calls him an “extraordinarily emotionally intelligent person.” But the stability that St. Aubyn has achieved isn’t quite calm. The novels can feel like heavy fabric that has been pulled beautifully taut by sweating effort that’s just out of frame, and there’s some of that in St. Aubyn’s wary charm: his equilibrium requires constant monitoring of experience and thought. He said that there are certain words that, in an instant, can raise his blood pressure from a hundred and five to two hundred. He paid almost obsessive attention to the plans we made, and was distressed by any threat to them. In conversation, he’d talk over any attempted interruption but hold the truncated question in his mind and answer it several minutes later. When I arrived, punctually, at his house, he answered the door, in coat and scarf, four or five seconds after I pressed the bell. It seemed important not to disappoint him. Thanks to his unfamiliarity with cell phones—he had just bought his first one—I heard, at the end of a voice-mail message to me, a snatch of peremptory conversation on another line, in which he complained about “one or two villains” who were “not contributing to my peace of mind.” (When I mentioned this to him, he was relieved I could tell that I was not one of those being slighted.) That voice-mail accusation could serve as a précis of the Melrose books, if one wanted to contrast the subtlety of Patrick’s self-scrutiny with his tendency to measure others on a simpler, more severe scale—in which someone either is making things better for Patrick or is not. (Most are not.) Patrick is enormously empathic, but largely on his own behalf. Secondary characters can be knocked flat by satire and scorn. St. Aubyn approached our conversations with good humor, but they were probably not helping his peace of mind. “I couldn’t give a master class on relaxation,” he said, as we left the restaurant. I’d asked about his skiing vacation, in the shadow of the Eiger, with his thirteen-year-old son. We walked back to his house, on a route that gave us a view of the gate over which Hugh |
us to Jack Lifton, who has written extensively on natural resource issues of supply and demand, focusing on the underlying drivers of economics and human nature. As he puts it, “I am not a ‘peakist’ of supply or demand; I am a peakist on the amount of capital the human race is willing to commit to achieve a goal.”
Jack has a post coming soon on how China is managing the prospect of resource constraints, and in the meantime, sent a short and informative e-mail on the UK’s government’s plan to ban all diesel and petrol vehicles from the roads by 2040. An overview from the BBC:
New diesel and petrol cars and vans will be banned in the UK from 2040 in a bid to tackle air pollution, the government has announced.
Ministers have also unveiled a £255m fund to help councils tackle emissions, including the potential for charging zones for the dirtiest vehicles….
Other points include:
The funding pot will come from changes to tax on diesel vehicles and reprioritising departmental budgets – the exact details will be announced later in the year.
Councils could change road layouts, retrofit public transport, and encourage local people to leave their cars at home.
A Clean Air Fund would allow local authorities to bid for additional money to put in more air quality control measures.
A new Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill will allow the government to require the installation of charge points for electric vehicles at motorway service areas and large fuel retailers.
The Telegraph reports that upgrading the grid to handle the intended shift to electric and hybrid vehicles would be a “tall order” and the UK would wind up increasing its electricity imports from 10% to 30%.
But Jack highlights an even bigger impediment: cobalt production. Via e-mail:
The UK has less than 1% of the world’s population, so let’s assume that it has 1 fossil fuel powered motor vehicle of some kind for every 2 citizens (The ratio in the USA is 1:1). So there would today be 30 million fossil fuel powered privately owned vehicles in the U.K. The 200+ mile on a single charge range of a Tesla using a 60-80 KWh battery requires 19kg of cobalt. 30 million such vehicles would therefore require 570,000 t of cobalt, which would be immobilized (taken out of the market) for 5-8 years (the currently projected lifetime of the Li/Co type of battery used in the Tesla. This is nearly 5 times todays annual output of new cobalt production.. So the UK’s less than 1% of the globe’s people would require by 2040 around 20% of the world’s production of new cobalt at today’s production rate to completely eliminate fossil fuel powered cars and replace them with vehicles with a 200+ mile range. China in the meantime has mandated 5,000,000 EVs to be on the road in their country by 2020! This would require 95,000 t of cobalt immobilized in Chinese batteries within 3 years. This WILL require about 30% of all global new cobalt production between now and the end of 2020. China has mandated that 30% of its motor vehicle production by 2030 be of the EV type. At today’s level of production this would be 7.5 million vehicles using 142,500 tons of cobalt ANNUALLY from then on. All of this of course is predicated upon all of the EVs being pure long range types. But even if only half of them, or less, are of this type the IMMOBILIZATION of the world’s production of cobalt in operational EVs and the absolute limit of the new production of Cobalt, which is produced 95%+ ONLY as a byprodcut of the mining of base metals such as Copper and Nickel, will limit the production of new EVs to a maximum dictated by only what is produced new each year plus what is EVENTUALLY recycled. The conversion of today’s fleet of 1 billion vehicles totally to pure long range EVs would take ALL of the world’s known resources of cobalt MOST of which are not today recoverable economically, and therefore could not occur in much less than 50-100 years and then ONLY if direct financial profit were not the motive but rather quality of life. This is against the neoliberal agenda. Politicians simply do not have the intellectual resources to comprehend this problem. I thought that only American politicians were that short sighted. I see that it is a larger problem.
Unfortunately, the way to achieve the biggest reduction in energy use quickly is conservation, and not new technologies, particularly since creating the new infrastructure has its own energy and resource costs. And contrary to popular opinion, there is a fair bit of low-hanging fruit on the “reduce use” front. But a good bit of that requires changing habits and systems, and people are remarkably resistant.Charities say removing benefits could jeopardise addicts' recovery and goes against principles set out in NHS Constitution
Leading addiction charities have expressed deep concerns over government plans to cut the benefits of people suspected of suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction who refuse treatment for their condition.
In a sign of the government's new benefits regime – which lies at the heart of Iain Duncan Smith's cost-cutting welfare changes – staff in Jobcentre Plus offices will be encouraged to cut the jobseeker's allowance of claimants who reject treatment for addiction.
The new rules will come into place in October 2013, when the universal credit, which is designed to wrap benefits into one payment, is introduced.
A new claimant contract lies at the heart of the universal credit reforms. Claimants will have to sign a contract in which they agree to look for work in exchange for an undertaking from the government to support them while they do so.
Government sources said the contract would allow Jobcentre Plus staff to say that suspected addicts were in breach of their commitments if they refused help for alcoholism or drug addiction.
However, some of those involved in helping people addicted to drugs and alcohol warn that removing benefits could jeopardise their recovery.
Niamh Eastwood, the chief executive of the charity Release, said: "Iain Duncan Smith's proposal is tantamount to coercive treatment. The previous government attempted to introduce mandatory treatment through their welfare reforms of 2009. The clause was dropped in the final hours before the legislation was approved because of concerns over legality.
"There are similar concerns around what is being proposed by the secretary of state for the Department for Work and Pensions today. In no other area of health would we see such an approach being taken, but again and again successive governments seek to stigmatise further those with addiction who are often vulnerable and marginalised individuals and fail to recognise the complex nature of this condition."
Eastwood said she was concerned that at no time during the parliamentary passage of the welfare reform bill was it proposed that the claimant contract would include a "treatment or sanctions requirement". Without proper scrutiny of the proposal this should not go through, she said.
Martin Barnes, the chief executive of DrugScope, has written to the work and pensions secretary asking him to clarify the plans.
"We are surprised and concerned at reports that ministers believe that stopping benefits is an appropriate or effective way of engaging people with drug or alcohol treatment and supporting their recovery," he said. "If accurate, this would be a reversal of the government's publicly stated position."
Barnes said there was no evidence to suggest that "using the stick of benefit sanctions" would help people engage with treatment and aid recovery.
He added: "Indeed, the risk is that people will disengage from support services, potentially worsening their dependency and the impacts on their families and communities. Linking benefit to a requirement to undergo treatment would set a dangerous precedent for people with physical or mental health problems and would be against the principles for healthcare set out in the NHS Constitution."
Barnes said that while DrugScope welcomed the government's commitment to supporting people in treatment and recovery, "much more needs to be done to make this a reality".
Simon Antrobus, the chief executive of Addaction – one of the UK's largest specialist drug and alcohol treatment charities – said people could not be forced into abstinence.
"Encouraging people with serious drug and alcohol problems to access support is always the best option," he said.
"Those that Addaction help on a daily basis will tell you how coming off drugs or alcohol is extremely difficult, and how deciding to access treatment took them a very long time. Remove financial stability during that time, and you can severely damage someone's chances of beating an addiction and recovering."
Antrobus said family-focused, properly funded and integrated community treatments would prove far more effective, adding: "The jobcentre could prove to be an excellent referral to that kind of support, without resorting to measures that could only add to a person's problems."
That view was echoed by Eric Appleby, the chief executive of Alcohol Concern.
"Incentives are only part of the story; the real answer is to make sure that high quality treatment services are fully funded and available all over the country," he said.
"At the moment only one in 16 people with an alcohol problem are receiving specialist alcohol treatment. In order to make this work, jobcentre staff will need to be properly trained in order to recognise when someone has an alcohol problem and to be able to offer the right advice."
Sir Ian Gilmore, the Royal College of Physicians special adviser on alcohol, said: "Current treatment facilities for addicts in this country, particularly those with alcohol dependence, are woefully inadequate and we strongly support initiatives to improve this. However, patients must be treated with respect and given genuine choice in their treatment options, and these must be fully respected in any scheme."
Duncan Smith will give a sense of the new rules when he addresses an event in parliament organised by Alcoholics Anonymous on Wednesday.
He will say: "The outdated benefits system fails to get people off drugs and put their lives on track. We have started changing how addicts are supported, but we must go further to actively take on the devastation that drugs and alcohol can cause.
"Under universal credit we want to do more to encourage and support claimants into rehabilitation for addiction and starting them on the road to recovery and eventually work. Getting people into work and encouraging independence is our ultimate goal. Universal credit will put people on a journey towards a sustainable recovery so they are better placed to look for work in future and we will be outlining our plans shortly."
It is understood that the work and pensions secretary will not make a formal announcement on Wednesday of the powers that will be handed to Jobcentre Plus staff, but a government source said Duncan Smith believed it was right to give them powers to cut benefits if an addict refused treatment because they could detect signs of trouble.
The source said: "The universal credit will allow staff in Jobcentre Plus offices to say: this person has been unemployed for some time. The staff know if people are addicted to alcohol. They know the people they are dealing with.
"But we want this to be positive and to be about signposting people to superb organisations that can help them. This is about changing their lives. It is very important to support addicts into the workplace."
But if claimants refuse they will have their benefits docked. "There will be sanctions," the source said, citing cuts to the jobseeker's allowance as an example.If flannel is the fabric of the winter months, linen belongs to the summer. Except, unlike your pilling red-and-black checked shirt, you don’t have to pretend to be a lumberjack or worry about your facial hair upkeep to wear linen. In fact, effortlessness is the best thing about the thin, breezy material: Linen just is. It doesn’t get in the way. It’s the perfect medium through which to live unencumbered.
Linen shirts have long been a summer staple, but they’re particularly relevant in a menswear moment that’s all about being rugged and prepared, as if you’re going to need a hard-wearing leather gear bag, industrial work jacket, and an axe to go work in an air-conditioned office. Wearing a linen shirt, in a light pastel or even a pleasantly colorful madras, communicates that you don’t need anything but what’s on you, and even that much is negotiable. It’s the clothing version of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
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Not to be confused with its denser, denim-like cousin chambray (so 2014), linen is made solely from the fibers of the flax plant. The name comes from the Latin word for the plant, linum, and it’s correspondingly one of the earliest man-made fabrics. 36,000-year-old linen fibers were discovered in Georgia in 2009. Ancient priests wore it and pharaohs were buried in it.
Lately, linen is simply part of the palette of global fashion, as easy to encounter on the streets of Istanbul as Williamsburg. As for concerns that a loose, wafting shirt somehow degrades masculinity, Leonardo DiCaprio donned full linen for his megalomaniacal turn as The Great Gatsby, and the pre-Gonzo journalist Tom Wolfe is known for his white linen suits. (Fight the temptation to overcompensate; one linen item at a time is more than enough.)
It’s not hard to find a great linen shirt, and it won’t even cost as much as your usual Oxford. Uniqlo has a perfectly serviceable high-end version for $35. J.Crew sports classic Irish linen for $80. Club Monaco’s $90 striped linen button down is a solid choice for active day trips.
But once you go professional, you won’t look back. Try Ouur’s archly minimalist linen raised neck shirt, only available in Japan and San Francisco (of course). Zegna has tightly tailored long- and short-sleeves. The Japanese brand Boarder makes a pure linen t-shirt with stripes like the sun setting over the beach. Still, maybe don’t buy this weirdly double-breasted Balmain number, unless the subterranean German dance club you’ve been partying at suddenly hosts a beach day.
Fancy sweatpants and “athleisure” wear have lately become men’s fashion memes. Linen plays off the same impulses—sure, we all want to be comfortable—but it avoids the utter moral abandonment required to wear your gym clothes outside all day. After all, linen was made to be flexible, breathable, and suitable for many weather conditions. Pair a shirt with some board shorts or light chinos rolled up before the point at which they become flood pants and you’re ready to go drinking, surfing, or both at once.
It’s this low maintenance quality that makes linen so appealing. The material wrinkles naturally, so it’s hard to complain if an outfit isn’t crisp. Without button stays, the shirt collar leafs tend to point in different directions like you’ve just been rolling around in bed, which, hey, you probably have been. Tuck it in, or don’t! As one friend and fellow linen aficionado put it, “They look nice ironed, but if you don’t iron them people are like, ‘ooh how dishabille’ rather than ‘what a slob.’” Looking fashionably disheveled while being actually sloppy: Have we ever aspired to anything more for summer?
Linen is the essence of sprezzatura, the Italian word for “spirit and nonchalance: cool,” as the writer Robert Angell put it in The New Yorker. (Menswear bloggers have recently taken to shortening it to “sprezzy”—a decidedly un-sprezzy slang, if we’re keeping score.) The thing is, you don’t even have to try to attain a look with linen. The material gives you no choice but to let go a little, to stop caring that everything’s not perfect.
Just please, don’t go for white. It actually gets messy when you only want to acknowledge that life itself is messy, sometimes. If you can’t stomach wearing brighter colors, pick up something in gray or a safari canvas hue, closer to linen’s natural tones. That way, when you get splashed with a gin-and-tonic Super Soaker you can either ignore it or rinse it out and wait 30 seconds till the shirt dries on its own in the afternoon sun. #chillsitch
Photos by Everett CollectionI have a problem. It causes me an endless amount of headaches, frustration and pain. Not just me either, but the people in my life as well.
It’s a common problem. It’s also very simple.
I extrapolate things.
The Stoics would say that it’s not external things that are our problem but our assessment of them. I would push back and say it’s our extrapolation of things that ails us.
Extrapolation is when we project our known experience into the unknown and conjure up some vision for the future. It’s when we look at one little thing and extend it out into some global judgement about the universe. In psychology they even have a name for it: fundamental attribution error. It’s a cognitive bias.
How does this actually work?
Let me give you a personal but somewhat unusual example.
When I run down things I have argued with my girlfriend about—our biggest fights—almost every one of them was not about the thing itself. Because that would have been a quick, clear and probably level-headed discussion. Instead one or both of us think we are defending some vague principle. Of course what we were really doing was extrapolating. We took a single instance and said: I will not stand for this going forward.
We weren’t talking in the present, we weren’t even referencing the past. We were projecting forward an unpleasant future and fighting about that. How much better we would be if we could exist in the moment, to deal with the thing itself and not the baggage we brought to it or fear would accumulate if left alone. How much better it’d be if people didn’t make value judgements based on single instances.
But that’s what we do. The sad truth is that we do this to many of life’s problems. And make them so much worse as a result.
There is a solution. The next time you are frustrated, the next time you feel acute pain or resentment or unfairness, all you have to do is remember one thing.
I don’t even know where I first heard it but this line is one of the most profound and true statements about the human condition.
This moment is not your life. This is just a moment in your life.
That’s it. That sentence will help you endure much. It will help you let so much go.
Someone cuts you off in traffic. This inconveniences you for what, four seconds? Yet it matters because our mind suddenly starts thinking, “Am I going to let people treat me this way?” And now you feel like you need to do something about it. When you’re sick with the flu, it’s particularly awful because it feels like it will never end. We’re taking a moment and mindlessly extending it out indefinitely.
Elsewhere, that crap day at work becomes “I can’t live like this for another forty years, man.” So your job seems so much worse than it is. You get dumped or you strike out with prospects and now you tell yourself you’ll never find anyone, ever ever again. Why do you think Millennials have such a problem taking shit jobs when they first start? Because they wrongly play out a lifetime of being at an entry level position.
It’s not just bad things. You do snag a job and you start adding up how much money you’re going to earn over the next year. Stuff is going well, so you plan a future where they will always go well (counting chickens before they hatch). I love looking at start-ups’ growth projections on Angel List. They’ve been in business two months and they’re confidently (and graphically illustrating) how much money they’re going to be making in 2017.
This of course is silly. And it only sets them up for ridiculous expectations and likely disappointments.
The present is more than enough to justify dealing with the future prematurely.
What we need to be successful in life is to be able to see things clearly, to be able to push past the petty frustrations that hold others back and to focus wholly on what is in front of us.
These are also the ingredients to happiness and contentment. Their antidote—their enemy—is extrapolation. It is a toxic, unproductive force that we can cut out.
Or maybe not cut out but counteract. That little saying is the closest thing I’ve found so far.With Battlefield 3 having “taken significant market share” from the Call of Duty franchise within the past few months, should publishers like Activision and developers like Treyarch be concerned over a declining demand for Call of Duty titles?
“The first-person shooter category has always been a competitive space,” John Rafacz, Treyarch Director of Communications, told VideoGamer in a recent interview. However, he continued, “Treyarch will do what they have always done – and what I think you could say any Call of Duty developer has ever done – which is staying focussed on making the best possible experience they can. It’s very easy to get caught up in mind-boggling numbers.” He reminds us, “Quite literally every night Call of Duty gamers fill about 250 Madison Square Gardens around the world. Who else does that? That is an insane number, but it’s also a great responsibility.”
Declining or not, there are still a lot of Call of Duty fans out there to please. Rafacz reveals that “the real art lies in really trying to listen to the community and make sure we’re delivering on their expectations. And at the end of the day, doing what any creative professional can do, which is delivering the best game possible.”
The question is, do developers like Treyarch need to step above the “call of duty” and put in that extra effort to win back players who’ve discovered the Battlefield series? Rafacz believes that “with Black Ops II, I think we’re offering such a diverse set of experiences and such new elements that I think people will find a fresh take on Call of Duty.” While we’re still not entirely sure what to expect of the gameplay, Black Ops II is sure stand out when it comes to setting, having been announced to take place in the near-future of the year 2025.
Of course, not only will Black Ops II have to continue competing with Battlefield 3’s extended lifespan well past its launch thanks to a hefty serving of Battlefield 3 DLC, but there’s also Danger Close’s Medal of Honor: Warfighter to keep an eye on. However, Treyarch seems confident as Rafacz explains, “Just focus on what you do and do it as well as you can and everything will fall into line.”
What do you think? Are titles like Battlefield 3 and Medal of Honor: Warfighter stealing Call of Duty’s thunder? Do they still have a long way to go?Six Republican governors, including Maine’s Paul LePage, have asked the federal government for authority to investigate Department of Veterans Affairs facilities in their states, citing the scandal over the treatment of veterans at a VA hospital in Phoenix who were put on a secret waiting list for health care.
The letter, dated Tuesday, was sent to President Obama and signed by LePage and Govs. Rick Scott of Florida, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania and Rick Perry of Texas.
Additional Images Gov. Paul LePage There have been no reports of major problems at the Veterans Administration Hospital facility at Togus. 2007 Press Herald File Photo/John Ewing
The governors’ request seeks unprecedented permission for states to exercise authority over federal facilities and the practices of federal personnel. Scott said Wednesday that he will pursue a lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs for the authority to inspect the state’s hospitals.
“Reports from states around the country of wait times in a system manipulated by VA leaders to hide the growing problems are not only inexcusable, they demand your immediate and full attention,” the letter said. “Given the claims that high-ranking VA officials, including former Secretary (Eric) Shinseki, were unaware of the critical nature and scope of the problems at VA hospitals throughout the country, it is clear that a system for significant oversight is nonexistent.”
No major problems have been reported in Maine’s VA system, and wait times for care have been in line with federal standards.
Shinseki resigned in light of the scandal in Phoenix, which led to scrutiny of veterans’ health-care systems nationwide. Twenty-six VA hospitals are now under investigation for allegations of long waits and delays in treatment.
The six governors urged the president to suspend a VA bonus system that rewards managers for meeting performance goals, including giving veterans care within 14 days of requests for appointments. They also asked that veterans get federal vouchers to seek care elsewhere if they cannot get it from a VA facility within 30 days.
MAINER SAYS SYSTEM IS INEFFICIENT
The voucher system, and a closer watch on the system as a whole, resonated with at least one veteran, Randall Simonse, adjutant at Amvets Post 2 in Yarmouth.
Simonse said he has had trouble getting the VA in Maine to respond to requests for repayment of recent medical transportation costs. He said it would be easier for the farthest-flung veterans to use vouchers to get care closer to home.
“There’s just got to be a more cost-effective way to deliver health care to veterans,” he said.
The fact that LePage got in front of the issue didn’t seem politically motivated to him. “There’s a lot of chest-beating going on in all fronts,” he said, but “his gruff exterior aside, I think (LePage) is a good advocate for veterans.”
LePage’s office did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday about whether he knows of problems at VA facilities in Maine that have not been reported.
State veterans groups and U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, have said no problems have been reported at the Togus VA Medical Center in the Augusta area.
Since the VA scandal erupted, LePage and independent candidate for governor Eliot Cutler have been highly critical of Michaud, who also is running for governor. Michaud has defended his work on the veterans’ affairs committee, saying its oversight process is working.
Michaud has called on Obama to act, and has submitted a bill in the Republican-controlled House that’s designed to increase accountability in the VA, while removing civil service protections for 80,000 VA employees, making it easier to fire them. The bill awaits action by the Senate.
SUSPICIONS OF POLITICAL MOTIVE
Of the six governors who signed the letter, four are running for re-election. Three of the four – LePage, Corbett and Scott – have been identified as holding hotly contested and vulnerable gubernatorial seats.
As a political tool, the letter accomplished the dual purpose of keeping pressure on Obama while advancing the Republican Party’s opposition to the president. In Maine, the letter also emphasizes the idea that states are better equipped to handle such affairs, said Ronald Schmidt Jr., a political science professor at the University of Southern Maine.
Schmidt said the letter highlights a contrast between LePage’s position on veterans affairs and Michaud’s record.
“As a political scientist, I try to not sound partisan in response to press questions, but it’s hard to not see this as skeezy,” Schmidt said. “It’s a serious enough issue nationally that the ‘me-too’ aspect is a little distasteful.”
Kyle Kondik, a staffer at the University of Virginia Center for Politics and the managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a well-regarded political magazine, said the letter is about politics, pure and simple.
“The White House really wanted to get the VA thing out of the news, and the Republicans wanted to keep it in the news,” Kondik said. “I think that’s why these letters get sent. I think it’s about positioning and politics.”
VA DATA: TOGUS MEETS STANDARDS
According to a Department of Veterans Affairs database comparing VA hospitals around the country on several measures, including safety and effectiveness, Togus falls within the department’s national standards.
No information was available from the database on Togus’ performance in timeliness of outpatient care, but spokesman James Doherty said two weeks ago that in fiscal year 2013, more than 98 percent of established primary-care patients – those treated at the hospital previously – got appointments within 14 days of requesting them.
The average wait time for new patients, about 10 percent of the total, grew from 24 days in 2012 to 30 in 2013, Doherty said.
The VA’s Office of Inspector General has widened its probe to VA clinics nationwide, to determine whether staff members purposely omitted the names of veterans who sought treatment, and whether any deaths were caused by delayed care.
An interim report released by the office said 1,700 veterans awaiting care in Phoenix were not on the official electronic waiting list. Until a veteran gets on the list, the clock recording the wait time – one factor in employees’ awards and salary increases – does not start.
The Office of Inspector General looked at incidents involving 266 veterans in Phoenix and found that 84 percent waited more than two weeks for an appointment, about twice the number reported by VA officials. It also found that veterans, on average, waited 115 days for an appointment – nearly five times the 24 days reported by officials.
The interim report recommends immediate action, such as providing appropriate health care to the 1,700 veterans who are not on any waiting list, prioritizing those who are at the greatest medical risk.
Matt Byrne can be contacted at 791-6303 or at:
[email protected]
Twitter: MattByrnePPH
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filed under:It has been a while since I posted anything here, but I can’t resist this one.
Let me just give three numbers. The first two are:
314, the number of seats predicted for the largest party (Conservatives) in the UK House of Commons, at 10pm in Thursday (i.e., before even a single vote had been counted) from the exit poll commissioned jointly by broadcasters BBC, ITV and Sky.
, the number of seats predicted for the largest party (Conservatives) in the UK House of Commons, at 10pm in Thursday (i.e., before even a single vote had been counted) from the exit poll commissioned jointly by broadcasters BBC, ITV and Sky. 318, the actual number of seats that were won by the Conservatives, now that all the votes have been counted.
That highly accurate prediction changed the whole story on election night: most of the pre-election voting intention polls had predicted a substantial Conservative majority. (And certainly that’s what Theresa May had expected to achieve when she made the mistake of calling a snap election, 3 years early.) But the exit poll prediction made it pretty clear that the Conservatives would either not achieve a majority (for which 326 seats would be needed), or at best would be returned with a very small majority such as the one they held before the election. Media commentary turned quickly to how a government might be formed in the seemingly likely event of a hung Parliament, and what the future might be for Mrs May. The financial markets moved quite substantially, too, in the moments after 10pm.
For more details on the exit poll, its history, and the methods used to achieve that kind of predictive accuracy, see Exit Polling Explained.
The third number I want to mention here is
2.1.0
That’s the version of R that I had at the time of the 2005 General Election, when I completed the development of a fairly extensive set of R functions to use in connection with the exit poll (which at that time was done for BBC and ITV jointly). Amazingly (to me!) the code that I wrote back in 2001–2005 still works fine. My friend and former colleague Jouni Kuha, who stepped in as election-day statistician for the BBC when I gave it up after 2005, told me today that (with some tweaks, I presume!) it all works brilliantly still, as the basis for an extremely high-pressure data analysis on election day/night. Very pleasing indeed; and strong testimony to the heroic efforts of the R Core Development Team, to keep everything stable with a view to the long term.
As suggested by that kind tweet reproduced above from the RSS President, David Spiegelhalter: Thursday’s performance was quite a triumph for the practical art and science of Statistics. [And I think I am allowed to say this, since on this occasion I was not even there! The credit for Thursday’s work goes to Jouni Kuha, along with John Curtice, Steve Fisher and the rest of the academic team of analysts who worked in the secret exit-poll “bunker” on 8 June.]
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Like this: Like Loading... RelatedHOW does the appointment of blogger and die-hard Duterte partisan Margaux “Mocha” Uson as an assistant secretary in the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) mesh with President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration last March 10, during the launch of government channel PTV4’s Cordillera hub, that he would open the government media system to Muslim groups and to the members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) so they can air their grievances and explain their views to a larger audience? Or is this latest presidential appointment an implicit repudiation of what at the time looked like an enlightened media policy in the making?
The Duterte statement, if made into policy, would transform the government media system from the public relations arm of whatever administration is in power into a vehicle of authentic public information by not only being available for the airing of views other than solely those of the administration, it would also demand adherence to such standards of productive dialogue as civility, accuracy and fairness.
Mr. Duterte in fact suggested that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) could be the model for a Philippine government media system that would reflect the diversity of views that’s currently missing in it, and even joked that PTV4 personnel could just copy the BBC. He went even further: he declared that he would give the government networks “some freedom,” presumably in the course of their discharging the journalistic duty of truth-telling by consulting multiple sources rather than only official ones.
During the same occasion, Mr. Duterte also pledged not to use the government media system for either his personal or his administration’s benefit, in acknowledgement of the fact that that is how the system has been used by past regimes.
The appointment of Ms. Uson, however, seems at odds with that pledge. Ms. Uson is extremely hostile to criticism of President Duterte and his administration, and is apparently unaware that calling people names doesn’t win arguments and that one has to support one’s claims with factual evidence when it comes to such matters of grave public concern as extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
Her appointment was obviously a reward for her steadfast support for Mr. Duterte during the 2016 campaign for the presidency as well as for her acerbic verbal assaults on the media and Mr. Duterte’s critics since the latter took office. It raises the question of whether, in her new role as a civil servant whose loyalty is to the entire citizenry and not just to that portion of it that voted for her idol, Ms. Uson will continue to defend Mr. Duterte’s policies, statements and acts with the same partisanship, and to criticize, to the extent of name-calling, his alleged detractors.
Ms. Uson is apparently continuing her blog, although with the caveat that it contains her views and not the PCOO’s. However, because her appointment puts her in charge of that office’s information campaign via social media, she will inevitably have to reflect in her blog and other public issuances the policies of the office she now holds as those have been presumably developed and are being implemented by her PCOO superiors.
Hopefully, those policies reflect the thoughts Mr. Duterte publicly expressed last March 10 (every presidential utterance on State matters is presumed to reflect official policy) – thoughts which correctly assume that government media can contribute to the democratic discourse by allowing a multiplicity of views, including unpopular and unofficial ones, access to the government’s radio, television and social media networks.
If that is indeed the case, Ms. Uson will have to reinvent herself: from a passionate partisan of Mr. Duterte and his administration who has been accused of name-calling and disseminating fraudulent, unsubstantiated “information,” into a sober, fair and professional purveyor of truth open to the views of others who may not agree with her, but who certainly have the right to their opinions.
To be specific about it, as a PCOO assistant secretary implementing an enlightened media policy, she will have to give time and space to the views of the people she loves to hate, among them Vice President Leni Robredo, Senator Leila de Lima, the critics of the anti-drug policy, and yes, even Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
If that is not the case – if, in short, Mr. Duterte was merely filling what would have otherwise been dead air last March 10 – Ms. Uson’s appointment will be a most telling indication that this administration is focused on silencing critics and denying those who disagree with it the use of a system that, let us all remember, is sustained by the people’s taxes.Sometimes big ideas come from unexpected places. A proposal to power the entire United States with solar energy, without wires or solar farms, by using solar cells to pave roads and parking lots, is certainly a big idea. It comes from the Idaho couple, Scott and Julie Brusaw, yet it’s promising enough to have received finding from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration.
The Brusaws began by simply wanting to create a grid that would make electric vehicles, but quickly began to see other uses for the hexagonal paving squares. Their company, Solar Roadways, will see its FHA contract expire in July and they’re looking for another $1 million in funding on Indiegogo to manufacture the product commercially.
Even when roads are congested and parking lots are full, there’s still enough exposed pavement to produce energy.
In the latest prototype, a tempered glass shell allows light to hit solar panels inside a hexagonal tire-sized panel. But, withstanding up to 250,000 pounds, the glass protects the panels and, beneath them, a circuit board. Multicolored LED lights allow transportation authorities to display various traffic lines or text.
The glass is textured with additional hexagonal bumps that provide more traction than asphalt. They also help the solar pavers perform their core functions.
“Those little hexagons have six sides and they’re angled at a 45-degree angle, so it becomes a prism. No matter where the sun is in the sky, it bends that light down on the solar cells. And our LEDs are underneath those hexagons, so the LED lights emanate out six different directions so you can’t miss them,” said Scott, an electrical engineer, in a Solve for X talk.
As shown off in a demonstration parking lot (above), a trough would run alongside the pavement, housing |
’ve been through a couple of marriages. He’s had shows come and go, and I have had my career come and go. Every Friday night at my [annual charity] event, I take the players and the celebrities out on our yacht. And I know a couple of years ago when I was going through marital problems, he was the first one there to give me some advice and to give me some better understanding about what was going on. We have had some private talks and moments where, you know, it wasn’t like Alan Thicke talking to Chris Evert, the celebrities, but Alan and Chris just talking as friends.
Dan Le Batard (Miami Herald columnist, ESPN TV and radio host): We do a crappy celebrity segment [on the radio show]. Crappy because it isn’t good. And crappy because the celebrity is usually not much of a celebrity. [Alan] wowed us with cheese and fun the first time, so we kept going to him. He gets it, man. He understands entertainment, and doesn’t have the ego and self-importance you too often find in even minor celebrities. How off-putting is the guy with modest fame who takes himself seriously? The dad in Growing Pains and the guy who likes talking to our sports-radio show, they are the same goofy guy. Wouldn’t we all want to hang around with a lovable sitcom dad if it was easy and fun? And he’s got a son who is a rock star, for the love of God.
Evert: It was funny because we talk about our kids all the time. I remember he would go, “You know, my son really loves music.” And I would look at Alan thinking, OK, here we go. Oh great, Alan. Then the next year he would be, “You know, my son is trying to write some songs. He is doing really well, he really has a passion for it.” And I go, “Yeah, OK, Alan, great, great.” And then the next year, he would be, “You know, things are starting to happen for Robin, he cut his first album and he’s going to tour.” “Oh, wow, OK, great, great.” But I never heard of the guy. Then all of a sudden there is Robin Thicke right out there, and there is Alan, the proud papa.
Thicke: It kind of came full circle. Robin was 10 years old when he met Michael Jordan, and [last] year Robin sang at Michael’s wedding. So it’s a multigenerational thing. And Michael in turn was one of the guys who recorded a nice little tribute to me when I was inducted this year into the Canadian Walk of Fame, which is a big deal up there for anyone who didn’t make the National Hockey League Hall of Fame.
Le Batard: He is a combination of cool and goofy and cheesy. He seems like he’s in character all the time because the character he is playing is actually him.
Thicke: In case you’re making a list, I wouldn’t want anyone to be left out. I have close friendships with Mike Piazza, Phil Esposito, Luc Robitaille, and, of course, Wayne and Michael. Joe Carter and I have a special bond because my son Carter was named after him. My wife was pregnant, and we knew it was a boy, and I just happened to be sitting in the bathtub one day watching an ESPN special on Canadian baseball history, which, as you can imagine, was pretty short. And out came the names Gary Carter and Joe Carter. I had my eureka moment.
Barry Bonds was one of the guys that I met at Michael’s tournament, and we hit it off. And then there’s Donald Driver, and I had some fun with guys like Brett Favre in the old days, and Chrissie Evert has been a great pal, and Serena Williams is my secret crush. Jimmy Connors is a pal. Greg Norman is one that I like. Jack Nicklaus has been very kind to me in the past. Steve Garvey and Roger Clemens from baseball. Al Joyner from track and field is a pal. Richard Dent and Julius Erving and, significantly, Marcus Allen. I don’t know anyone from water polo or women’s softball.
Gretzky: Whether it’s Michael Jordan or Leonardo DiCaprio, I think that everybody has a real sense of easiness around Alan. He’s very intelligent and yet very personable. There’s a comfort zone for anybody who gets to meet him. And anytime I had a charity event, he was one call away. He was always there. He was always the first guy to show up. And although he lives in the United States, he’s one of the proudest Canadians that you could ever meet.
Thicke: I think it really comes from my upbringing, coming from a small town that teaches you basic, corny old family values. Then you spend the rest of your life being lucky and feeling fortunate for every opportunity you’re blessed with, and that makes you a fan. You come to appreciate excellence. These guys are my heroes. I didn’t get to play hockey with Gretzky or basketball with Jordan because of my athletic skills, but I was always one to jump at those opportunities. I considered it one of the very greatest perks of being on television — that and meeting fabulous women. But it all starts by genuinely appreciating people who are good at something. It all starts by being a small-town kid.According to the Conference board of Canada, Vancouver will be the fastest growing economy in Canada this year with a GDP growth expected to reach 3.3 %. Abbotsford-Mission and Victoria also make the top ten.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the largest measurable amount of a nation’s total economic activity. More specifically, GDP represents the monetary value of all goods and services produced within a nation’s geographic borders over a specified period of time.
“Vancouver’s economy performed exceptionally well last year and this trend is expected to continue in 2016. Vancouver is projected to be the only Canadian metro region that will post economic growths above 3 per cent this year nearly double the national average” said Alan Arcand, Associate Director of the Center for Municipal Studies.
The Conference Board of Canada report suggests that export-oriented industries such as tourism and manufacturing are benefiting and will continue to benefit from the current low Canadian dollar and the rising U.S demand.
It also proposes Vancouver’s fastest growing sectors this year will include manufacturing, construction, transportation, and warehousing.
Sea span’s ship building contracts with the federal government and higher export rates due to the low Canadian dollar along with the U.S maintain a healthy economy are what will contribute to the manufacturing sector.
The growth in the construction sector is due to non-residential and mixed-used projects including the expansion of the Vancouver International Airport, the Trump International Hotel and Tower, and home construction remaining stable.
With credit to the low Canadian dollar, 2016 is set out to be one of Vancouver’s busiest cruise ship seasons with an increase in tourism activity to grow the warehousing and transportation sectors.
Vancouver’s economic performance should support job gains in the city to add around 26,600 new positions.
This is the third year in a row that Vancouver’s economic growth will beat three percent with Canada’s overall growth of about 1.8% over the same three-year time span.
Written by: Luisa Alvarez
Image via BC Lions/FacebookThe Collection... Kodak Retina & Retinette Cameras
My 1950s & 60s Kodak Retinette and Retina Camera collection... a work in progress.
Top Row:
Retinette IIA, Retina Ib, Retina IIc, Retina IIIc, Retina IB, Retina IIC, Retina Automatic I, Retina Automatic II, Retina IF, Retina IIF, Retina IBS, Retinette II
Bottom Row:
Retinette 022(early), Retinette 022, Retinette 030, Retinette IA, Retinette IB, Retinette IIB, Retina IIS, Retina IIIS, Retina Reflex S, Retina Reflex III, Retina Reflex IV
There are three of the round bodied ones left for me to get:
Retina Reflex, Retina IIIC (big C) and Retina Automatic III
Also, there are a couple of sub-variants that i would like to collect:
Late Retinette IA with hotshoe, Late Retinette IB with hotshoe and Retina IB Ausf I (lightmeter but single small viewfinder window)
DoneHONG KONG (Reuters) - The Philippines wants formal negotiations with China to explore pathways to peace and cooperation, the Southeast Asian nation’s special envoy, Fidel Ramos, said on Friday, after a meeting with former Chinese deputy foreign minister Fu Ying.
Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos gestures as he speaks to journalists during a trip to Hong Kong, China after the Hague court's ruling over the maritime dispute in South China Sea, August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Ramos was speaking near the end of a trip to Hong Kong undertaken in a bid to rekindle ties with China, which have been soured by a maritime dispute in the South China Sea.
An arbitration court in the Hague ruled on July 12 that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights there. The decision infuriated Beijing, which dismissed the court’s authority.
“Informal discussions focused on the need to engage in further talks to build trust and confidence to reduce tensions to pave the way for overall cooperation,” Ramos and Fu said in a joint statement on Friday.
They added that China welcomed Ramos to visit Beijing as the special envoy of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in June and has signaled a greater willingness to engage with China than his predecessor.
“It’s not really a breakthrough in a sense that there is no ice here in Hong Kong to break but the fish we eat... are cooked in delicious recipes,” Ramos, who had earlier referred to his visit as a fishing expedition, told reporters.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, believed to be rich in energy deposits.
The statement added that both Beijing and Manila would seek to promote fishing cooperation, marine preservation, and tourism but made no specific mention of the South China Sea or the ruling, and did not set a time frame for possible talks.
Ramos said neither side asserted its own sovereignty over disputed areas in the South China Sea, such as the Scarborough Shoal and Mischief Reef.
“There was no discussion on that particular aspect, except to mention equal fishing rights,” said Ramos.
The statement said the discussions were held in a private capacity, and Ramos said later other back channel talks with China were underway.
“We hope this type of exchange can assist China and the Philippines in returning to dialogue and improving relations,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement on the ministry’s website.
China seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012, denying Philippine fishermen access, one of the factors that prompted Manila to seek arbitration.
Ramos was president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998, when China occupied the submerged Mischief Reef.State tourism body Fáilte Ireland is concerned at the impact on Ireland’s landscape of plans to install 750 large pylons across 10 counties.
In a submission to EirGrid on the plans earlier this week it said the country’s landscape has been the cornerstone of international tourism marketing campaigns for decades.
“International visitors to Ireland consistently rate scenery as an important reason for their trip. Therefore as the Irish landscape is one of the primary reasons for visiting the country, it is essential that the quality, character and distinctiveness of this valuable resource be protected,” it said.
“It is vital also that a full and comprehensive consideration of the potential visual and landscape impacts be carried out and taken into consideration as part of the route corridor selection process,” it added. It argued the potential impacts on tourism “have not yet been rigorously assessed”.
The €500 million project involves installing 200km of high-voltage cables across Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, Wicklow and Kildare.
Groups opposed to the project have pointed to alleged health risks, visual impact, the impact on tourism and the effect on property prices.
Fáilte Ireland commissioned a report from consultants Brady Shipman Martin that formed the basis of its submission dated January 7th.
The report criticises EirGrid’s route assessments for insufficiently considering the landscape that underpins tourism. It also says many tourist elements appear not to have been considered, including walks, forests and golf courses.“We had the enjoyable quasi-grilling of Hillary on the emails, and Trump had a strong performance,” Dr. Sebastian Gorka said of Wednesday night’s national-security forum, on Thursday morning’s Breitbart News Daily on SiriusXM.
Gorka suggested Trump “may have been playing with us a little bit” with his positive comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“There’s clearly some sympathy between the two men, but I think it’s one of style,” he said. “I was analyzing the speech afterwards on Fox with General Mike Flynn, and Mike Flynn is very close to the Trump campaign, in terms of advising him. I’ve spoken to the General privately about these issues, and let me tell you, he’s no lover of Vladimir Putin. I think he’s had very frank conversations with Mr. Trump about how Moscow does not share our interests.”
Breitbart Editor-in-Chief and SiriusXM host Alex Marlow suggested Trump was “trolling” with his comments on Putin, and pointed out Clinton has “much more clear-cut” connections to the Russian president.
Gorka agreed that “if there’s anybody who’s in the pocket of the Kremlin, it’s Hillary.”
“Just look at the Clinton Cash revelations, the uranium deal,” he suggested, referencing the book by Peter Schweizer. “It’s just nudge-nudge euphemism, when it comes to Trump and Moscow. With Hillary Clinton, it’s the smoking machine gun on the table, when it comes to how she is purchasable by people such as Putin.”
He advised Trump to project a simple and consistent message, like Ronald Reagan’s game plan of, “We’re going to rebuild the American people’s pride in their nation, and we’re going to beat the Soviets.”
Gorka suggested Trump’s three points could be, “the wall, the economy, and defeating ISIS,” and if he sticks to that message, “he could waltz into the White House, come January.”
He viewed the question Trump was asked at the forum about illegal aliens serving in the military as a “gotcha” question, and doubted it would be a “decisive issue” in the election, because “the average American voter couldn’t care less” about it.
“We have foreign nationals, we have people who got in trouble with the law, who are serving in the U.S. military, for all kinds of reasons – because otherwise they would have gone to prison, or they would have had to wait for years to become a U.S. citizen,” he pointed out.
“This isn’t a new issue. Maybe he was caught off-guard,” Gorka said. “But I think if you look at sanctuary cities, if you look at Kate Steinle’s law – those are the issues Americans care about, when it comes to illegal immigrants, and the future security of the nation. It’s ISIS, it’s the southern border, and Trump will be measured based upon his response to those questions, and his response to those is quite unequivocal.”
Later in the interview, when a caller mentioned the “green-on-blue” attacks U.S. troops have suffered from turncoat members of allied forces in the Middle East, and worried that allowing aliens to serve in the military could create similar security risks, Gorka pointed out that Trump has made enhanced vetting of refugees a major part of his campaign, so “there’s no way he would be saying, I want people who cannot be vetted, and are a potential threat to our own servicemen and our own citizens, filling the recruiting officers or staying inside the U.S. military.”
Dr. Sebastian Gorka is the senior National Security editor for Breitbart News, and author of the best-selling book Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War.
Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
LISTEN:You are What you Wear - Wearable Technology at Work
Transparency Market Research forecasts that the wearable market will be worth U.S$5.8 billion by 2018. That’s some serious dollars. We already know that wearables can do fun things like track your heart rate and remind you to walk around every hour, but surely this isn’t the driver behind a U.S$5.8 industry. Wearables are starting to make small waves in the business world, but when it comes to business what are wearables good for? Source: Statista
One word: apps.
Yes, your smartwatch can go beyond measuring your heartbeat, it can be harnessed to perform a variety of business functions, and this is an area that is set to boom. The International Data Corporation has found that apps for wearable technology is set to explode from 2,500 in 2014 to a staggering 349,000 by the end of 2019. Source: StatistaJohn Jackson from The International Data Corporation said that:> “Applications designed for wearable devices deployed to address specific enterprise workflows are the highest value targets for developers in the wearable technology space in the near term…enterprises will find numerous points of intercept for existing and new workflows and are prepared to invest substantially in wearable solutions that deliver potentially transformative productivity and competitive benefits.”What does this mean concretely? It means that apps designed for wearables that address business needs will be invaluable in the future. Wearables can be used in two ways for business: employee wearable use and customer wearable use. It’s expected that the next two years bringing a dramatic increase in businesses using wearables to access customer data in real time, view business analytics and create immersive customer experiences. 14% of companies are using wearables to gain real-time customer and business analytics, and receive important alerts such as deal closings and case escalations. Salesforce apps Wave Analytics and Salesforce1 are already offering these services,> “Sales personnel will be able to make discount requests and pull customer information regardless of their location, and customer-facing staff will be able to receive alerts about urgent issues in order to handle them more quickly, and both will be able to receive motivating notifications when they have reached a goal or received positive client feedback,” said Raj Mistry, SVP for solutions engineering at Salesforce. Employees can stay on top of tasks with Trello, which has joined the foray. This popular organization app has been adapted to smartwatches, with some limited functionality, such as adding tasks, view due dates and changes, access cards recently viewed on the smartphone and respond to comments. A Salesforce report found that 20% of companies are using wearables for communication, such as Slack, the corporate-friendly chat app. Slack can be integrated on your smartwatch allowing you to read and reply to direct messages, and manage unread notifications. The same report also found that 20% of business surveyeduse wearables for employee time management, with apps such as Invoice2Go, which is perfect for employees who are paid by the hour. Using Geofencing technology, the app sends a prompt to start logging time when the employee arrives on site. Users can also change their times, send invoices and receive notifications when they’re paid. However, the biggest area of growth centring around customer experience. Customers are using wearables for customer loyalty programmes. Starbuckshas developed a customer loyalty program that gamifies coffee drinking. Customers can earn stars by drinking Starbucks coffee, these stars can then be redeemed for rewards, such a free coffee. While this sounds like the good old customer loyalty card you used to get stamped at the coffee shop, the advantages are you can’t lose it, the app can provide directions to the nearest branch and you can pay using Passbook - all from your wrist. As with every wave of new technology, security is a concern and consumer devices like wearables are more prone to data breaches because their very nature demands ease of data sharing - meaning that sensitive corporate data could potentially move undetected outside the realms of the company. This means that in order to protect sensitive data, businesses who want to implement wearables have to think about keeping their data encrypted and controlling data flows to wearable and other smart devices. Another concern highlighted in a recent report from Appceleratorhas found that 72.4% of developers struggle to create apps for wearables citing lack of mobile-optimized backend data as the biggest hurdle. This means that new infrastructure has to be created so that data can be easily shared on wireless networks. With these two serious issues to consider, it will take some time for wearables to reach their full potential in the business environment. Nonetheless, wearable technology has the potential to shape the future of the workplace. Love apps? Check out our blog post Top 5 Apps Guaranteed to Boost Productivity.The Church of Scientology has strayed from principle and devolved into a cash-hungry enterprise that misuses parishioner donations to protect itself from questions and to intimidate its own members, a California couple charged Wednesday.
The couple said in a federal lawsuit that the church had misused about $400,000 of their money, including donations meant for construction projects and for relief from natural disasters.
They also said that church donations had been used to finance a high-priced lifestyle for its leader, David Miscavige.
The lawsuit, filed in Tampa, Fla., by Luis and Rocio Garcia of Irvine, Calif., accuses the church of fraud and breach of contract.
Read the complaint filed in federal court
The church said in a statement that it had not been served and could not comment on the lawsuit.
It added: “We can unequivocally state all funds solicited are used for the charitable and religious purposes for which they were donated.”
The Garcias were members of the church for 28 years before leaving in 2010, their lawyer Theodore Babbitt told NBC News.
The church uses “large, high-pressure fundraising drives” as a main source of revenue and has morphed into an organization “whose primary purpose is taking people’s money,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit alleges that the church has used contributions to “stifle inquiries into the Church’s activities and finances, to intimidate members and ex-members” and “to finance the lavish lifestyle of Miscavige.”
Five Scientology organizations are named as defendants.
The lawsuit focuses on a Scientology building in Clearwater, Fla., that Babbitt said remains unopen. The California couple said that the church had accepted more than $200 million in donations in all for the building, known as “Super Power,” and spent less than half on construction.
The lawsuit makes specific charges about how the church misused the Garcias’ money. The couple claimed that they gave $340,000 for the building, in more than a dozen donations between 1998 and 2005, and were made promises that the church did not fulfill.
One of those donations came in August 2005, according to the suit, when the Garcias were asked to give $65,000 for a cross to go on top of the building and were told that contractors were ready to do the work. The cross did not go up for five years, the suit said.
The couple also charged that the church had misspent money meant for eradicating child pornography and helping victims of natural disasters.
The Garcias have spoken out against the church before.
Luis Garcia told the Tampa Bay Times newspaper, for a profile published in 2011, that the church had strayed from the teachings of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and had been “corrupted.”
The church said that it had expelled Garcia, while he maintained that he resigned, according to the newspaper. The paper did not quote the church as giving a reason for the claimed expulsion.
Babbitt said it was the first time his law firm had been involved in legal action against the church.
Perhaps the highest-profile defection from the church has been that of Paul Haggis, the Oscar-winning writer and director of the 2004 movie “Crash.” He belonged to the church for 34 years before leaving in 2009.
Haggis, in an interview last week with the NBC program “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” described the church as a cult and said he was disturbed by allegations of abuse at its highest levels, including violence and involuntary confinement.
The church said that Haggis is a hypocrite and hasn’t been an active member in years. The church said that “no independent evidence exists” to corroborate claims of abuse."All (the triangle) is, is good basketball. Good movement, good cutting, ball reversal, making the extra pass. Jerian Grant played in the best offensive system in college basketball, in my opinion," says Brey, who has guided Notre Dame to seven NCAA appearances in the last nine years. "We play that way. People love watching us play because we move the ball and we're unselfish and we're skilled.... All those instincts that he had with us are going to serve him well in the triangle. The one thing I think is interesting and I think the Knicks will find out: there wasn't a better guy in the draft — and I would put him up there with a lot of the guards in the NBA — in terms of reading ball screens. He's a fabulous ball-screen reader, which is what the game has become. You screen-and-roll a lot. Not as much in the triangle. But I bet you Derek Fisher works in more ball screens at the end of the shot clock for Jerian because it's going to be very effective for them."Police officers who killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York City saw their cases handled by grand juries. In both instances, they ultimately faced no charges.
State Rep. Brandon Ellington doesn’t believe justice was served in either case. He points the finger at the grand jury process itself. He wants to abolish it in Missouri by asking voters to strike grand juries from the state’s constitution.
To critics, grand juries are part of a secretive process too easily controlled by prosecutors. Often, they argue, prosecutors turn to grand juries as a way to insulate themselves against responsibility in dicey cases — especially those involving police officers they rely on to pursue criminal cases.
“Missourians should have the chance to consider whether the antiquated grand jury process still serves a legitimate purpose in our modern criminal justice system,” said Ellington, a Kansas City Democrat and chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus.
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Supporters reject the notion that prosecutors control grand juries’ decisions. Though widely misunderstood by the general public, they say, grand juries are guaranteed for federal crimes in the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution for a reason.
“Our nation’s founders thought the grand jury was so important that they enshrined it in the Bill of Rights,” said Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd. “It is one of the bedrocks of the criminal justice system that we shouldn’t tamper with.”
Ellington’s efforts face incredibly long odds in the Republican-dominated General Assembly. But the legislation lays bare a growing frustration with the justice system in Missouri following the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer last August. It also demonstrates that the issues exposed by the shooting continue to ripple through the state’s politics.
Grand juries in Missouri are appointed by judges and consist of 12 people. They are presented with evidence and asked to decide whether someone should be charged with a crime. They vote to either indict the accused or not. If they don’t indict, the case is effectively over.
Grand jury proceedings are usually swift, with several cases presented in a day. In more complicated cases, the grand jury takes on the appearance of a formal trial except that only the prosecutor presents evidence or questions witnesses.
The process is also secret. It’s a crime for a juror to disclose anything about proceedings or evidence. A member of the grand jury who voted not to indict Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson recently filed a lawsuit asking a judge to allow him to speak publicly about the case.
Grand juries originated in England as a way to provide protection against overzealous prosecution. They made their way to British colonies around the globe, including the United States, Australia and Canada.
In the last century, however, grand juries began being abolished. The U.S. is the only former British colony that still uses them.
In Missouri, whether a case is presented to a grand jury is up to a prosecutor, who has the discretion to instead go before a judge and present evidence in a far less secretive preliminary hearing.
The reasons behind going to a grand jury vary, Zahnd said. For crimes involving sexual abuse of a child, for example, the grand jury process protects victims from having to testify multiple times in court in front of their alleged abuser.
“One of the things we’re trying to do in these cases is not to re-victimize a child,” he said.
But critics of grand juries say their outcome is too easily manipulated by prosecutors. Prosecutors control what witnesses appear and in what order. And there is no cross-examination. Getting an indictment from a grand jury is generally thought to be easy, said Thomas Nolan, associate professor of criminology at Merrimack College in Massachusetts.
“The mosaic can be painted in any way the prosecutor sees fit,” Nolan said. “If a prosecutor actually wants to secure an indictment, they will secure an indictment.”
Former New York Chief Judge Sol Wachtler famously remarked that a prosecutor could get a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.” That perception helped fuel anger at St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch after the grand jury declined to indict the Ferguson officer who shot Michael Brown.
“A prosecutor can go before the public and say they presented the evidence to a neutral body who decided there wasn’t enough to proceed,” Nolan said. “It passes the buck in a way.”
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker dismisses the idea that grand juries are manipulated by prosecutors.
“I’ve had grand jurors give an indictment to me and I’ve had them not give me an indictment,” she said. “And I’ve certainly been surprised by their decisions.”
If it seems that grand juries typically vote to indict, Zahnd said, it’s because ordinarily prosecutors only bring a case if they think there is evidence warranting an indictment.
“I’m not going to take a case to a grand jury in situations where I don’t believe a crime was committed,” he said.
The exception to that rule, Baker said, is police shootings. In those cases, she said, prosecutors generally turn to grand juries “to allow 12 impartial citizens from the community to decide whether or not to charge the officer and what those charges ought to be.”
Short of doing away with grand juries, lawmakers could mandate that special prosecutors be appointed in cases involving police. Republican state Rep. Jay Barnes of Jefferson City is supporting legislation that would give the state attorney general’s office the responsibility of determining whether charges should be filed against law enforcement officers who fatally shoot people.
“There’s an inevitable appearance of bias in a case where a prosecutor has to decide whether to take action against an officer who works for an agency that prosecutor works hand-in-hand with every single day,” Barnes told the Associated Press.
Baker believes that would be a mistake.
“I am accountable to the public,” she said. “If they don’t like how I’m handling cases, they can remedy that quickly with their ballot. A special prosecutor is not accountable in that way.”Washington (CNN) -- In many ways, the debate over taming the nation's spending and deficit beasts can be compared to a family's hand-wringing over what to cut, and what to keep, in tough times. It may be easy to nix "luxuries" like vacations and eating out. But should "essentials" like a car or a home be downsized or gotten rid of to save money?
Tough choices about what to keep, kill or cut back on are the kinds of things the nation's lawmakers are considering as they try to trim a $14 trillion debt.
Should familiar yet costly "essentials" -- entitlements like Medicare, the nation's health insurance program for seniors, and Medicaid, which provides health insurance for the nation's poor -- be phased out or dramatically overhauled?
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan laid out the Republican plan last week. It would radically overhaul Medicare and Medicaid while lowering top tax rates.
President Obama on Wednesday laid out his plan for long-term deficit reduction, renewing his call for ending the Bush-era tax cuts for families making more than $250,000 while strengthening Medicare and Medicaid.
The Tea Party's mantra to "stop the spending" largely refocused the national conversation on spending. Is it willing to see entitlement programs fundamentally changed?
Levi Russell, a spokesman for the Tea Party Express, says one way to reduce spending is to cut waste, overlap and excess in government programs.
And yet Russell also partially endorsed Ryan's plan, which would dismantle the current Medicare program starting in 2022 in favor or a voucher program, though it would not affect anyone who's 55 or older now.
"[The Ryan plan] addresses the fact that people who have paid their whole lives, that you don't want to put them into a hardship, through no fault of their own," Russell said. "At the same time, we need to make changes to the plan, for people who are younger."
"Medicaid is something we talk about like it's a God-given right, when it's only been around since the 1960s. It's a program that we phased in. We can easily start to phase it out," he said.
FreedomWorks, another prominent Tea Party group, echoed similar sentiments.
Adam Brandon, a spokesman, told CNN, "The first thing you have to do is roll back entitlements you can't afford. Second is moving them towards solvency. One of the best ways to do that -- especially for younger workers -- is through some kind of voluntary personal accounts."
And yet, Brandon acknowledged that his and other Tea Party support organizations would have a tough time selling such ideas to everyday Americans.
"It's part of our job to get out there and to educate and make sure that voters have a choice and understand what we're talking about," Brandon said. "We're not talking about throwing Grandma out on the street. What we are talking about doing is making hard, difficult decisions that are going to get the country, the fiscal house in order."
A fresh CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, released Wednesday, shows how steep the hill may be.
The poll finds that while Americans are nearly evenly split on whether Republican proposals to cut spending go too far, only three in 10 think the GOP budget treats all groups in society fairly, while seven in 10 believe that Republican proposals favor some groups over others.
Meanwhile, FreedomWorks advocates going beyond radically reforming familiar entitlement programs and calls for the elimination of some very familiar government functions.
Specifically naming the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Education, Commerce, Agriculture and Energy, Brandon said, "I think you could pretty much do away with the entire departments... just eliminate them."
Norm Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, doesn't think that will happen.
"I don't think you're going to find much appetite for that," he said.
Ornstein also criticized calls for dramatic overhauls of Medicaid and Medicare, especially as seen in the Ryan plan.
"You're really talking about... shifting the cost of health care from where seniors pay about 30% to where they pay closer to 70%," he said.
"My guess is, at best, you're going to get a mixed reaction from that group to this set of proposals."
Though Ornstein feels that now is a good time to discuss the nation's debt problem, he equated lawmaker support for Ryan's plan to "falling on a grenade."
It "doesn't take a dime from Defense, or takes very little from Defense. And cuts taxes for the wealthy and for companies, even as it takes a lot out of Medicare and Medicaid. So it becomes a question of whether this is seen as fair," Ornstein said.
As many lawmakers frame the debate around protecting future generations, one noted historian says it's worthwhile to look at the past.
"Cutting and balancing budgets is never really, in the end, that big of history stuff," Rice University professor of history Douglas Brinkley told CNN.
"If I asked you, 'What did [President] Grover Cleveland do with his budget? What did [President] Benjamin Harrison do with his budget? What was [President] Taft's budget?' -- you wouldn't know. Because 100 years from now, people won't think about budget fights so much. But they're going to know, 100 years from now, that America pushed through civil rights acts in '64 and '65, America created Medicaid and Medicare... NASA sent a man to the moon. Big stuff that happens in history is being done by the federal government, not by people just carping about it all the time."
Brinkley continued: "This sort of gutting mentality that the Tea Party has, a kind of visceral hatred of the federal government, it comes out of a lack of historical understanding and appreciation."
Calling Medicaid and Medicare "wildly successful programs," Brinkley said that the Republican Party has been trying roll them back for decades.
"I think if they're given a magic wand, they would melt them away."
And Brinkley had a warning and prediction.
"Not just Congressman Ryan, but if the main Republican candidate for president said he wants to shut down Medicaid and Medicare, if that happened, welcome to the second Obama term."India and Africa have historic ties India PM Manmohan Singh says the country will invest heavily in development projects in Africa to bolster economies ties. He was speaking in the Indian capital, Delhi, at the first summit aimed at strengthening trade and diplomatic ties between India and Africa. India would provide more than $500m for projects in Africa, Mr Singh said. Correspondents say India is increasingly interested in Africa, as it looks for new sources of energy. India is also said to be trying to counter the influence of China, which is building ties with African countries that are traditionally close to India. Mr Singh also said India would give easier access for exports from the world's poorest countries, many of which are in Africa. 'Historic ties' "No one understands better than India and Africa the imperative need for global institutions to reflect current realities and to build a more equitable global economy and polity," Mr Singh said. The two-day summit is being attended by 14 African leaders. They include Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi. President Mbeki told the summit that India and Africa had many challenges in common |
Merge Wizard in 2.x. While the wizard may be good for limited cases, it does not handle the variety of mail merge tasks we needed. It is actually fairly simple to go through the steps manually once you get used to them.
Creating data sources
The first step in preparing for any mail merge task is to set up your data source. If you will be doing a lot of mail merge with a lot of data sources, it is appropriate to plan ahead how your files will be laid out. Our receptionist has a directory for each department. When using dBASE files as your data source, you only need to set up one data source for each directory (as will be explained later), and can add and remove files as needed. If you are working with existing data, you can probably convert it by opening it in Calc and saving it as a dBASE file. This works for spreadsheets, comma-delimited (CSV) files, and any other filetype that Calc will open. In the first row of the file, specify field names. A limitation of dBASE files is that field names can only be ten characters—Calc will shorten whatever you put in to this length. You may also wish to specify the field type and length. Character fields may be specified as "FIELDNAME,C,10", and dates may be specified as "FIELDNAME,D", while numeric fields may be specified as "FIELDNAME,N,4,2". On numeric fields, the first number is the length allowed before the decimal, and the second number is the number of digits stored after the decimal. If you do not specify these, Calc will determine the proper values based on the data in the column. I recommend that you specify zip codes especially, either as character or as number with no digits after the decimal, so you won't receive any surprises when you merge. When you save the file, Calc will ask you to choose a character set. The default "Western Europe (DOS/OS2-850/International)" has always worked for us.
After you have one or more dBASE files, it is time to set up your data source. From any OOo application, click on File→New→Database. You will be taken to the Database Wizard. On the first screen, select "Connect to an existing database", and choose dBASE as the type. On the next screen, either click on Browse and locate the directory where you stored your dBASE files, or type in the full path of the directory. Again I emphasize, you only point to the directory, not to an individual dBASE file. If you use the file browser, click OK when you are in the directory with the dBASE file(s). On the final screen of the wizard, leave the default to register the database, but probably turn off "Open the database for editing". When you click Finish, you will be presented a Save dialog. I refer to the file saved here as a database connection—it contains only the information for OOo to access the data, not the data itself. Give it an appropriate name and save it wherever you wish. I prefer to designate a single directory for all of these files.
OOo database connections point to a directory of dBASE files, not an individual file
You can verify that the data source is set up properly by opening either Writer (the word processor) or Calc, then selecting View→Data Sources (or pressing F4). The document portion of your window will split vertically. You will see a list of your data sources on the left side of the top area (see figure 1). If you click on the + next to the name of your new data source, and on the + next to Tables, and on the name of the dBASE file, you will see your data on the right side. From this view you can edit the data, as well as add and delete records.
Figure 1: viewing data sources in OOo
Using mail merge for letters
Now it is time to put the data to use. Open Writer and start your form letter. You may either type your entire letter first and then add the fields to be merged, or you may add the fields as you go. There are (at least) two ways to add fields. Using View→Data Sources, you may click on a column header (field name) and drag it to the letter in the spot where you want the field. Our receptionist did not care for this approach because she did not have as much control over where the field ended up, could not view as much of the letter at a time with the data view at the top, and had no control over formatting of numbers, dates, etc. The other method is to place your cursor where you want the field, and go to Insert→Fields→Other..., which opens the Fields dialog box (see figure 2). Go to the Database tab, and click on "Mail merge fields" on the left, then open up your table on the right and select the desired field. If any special formatting needs to be applied, use Format→User-defined→Additional formats... (if necessary) at the bottom.
This opens the Number Format dialog used for formatting cells in Calc. For example, you can force a numeric field to appear as currency, with two digits after the decimal and the appropriate currency symbol in front. No formatting is available for character fields. After you have the formatting set appropriately, click on Insert, then click on Close (or move your cursor and repeat with the next field). If you do not need to format a particular field, you may double-click the field name instead of selecting it and clicking on Insert. At this point you will see a tag inserted in your letter, with the field name inside brackets on a grey background (some settings can cause the tag to appear differently). You can apply font formatting to this tag just like any other character.
Figure 2: adding mail merge fields to a letter
One important question is often asked: How do I get rid of the blank lines caused by empty fields? I have found several answers, but will only describe the method we use. As an aside, this is one area where OOo could learn from MS Office (at least 97 has an easier method). Anyway, the key is to tell OOo to make the line a hidden paragraph if the field is empty. Place your cursor before the tag, and go back to Insert→Fields→Other... (see figure 3). Go to the Functions tab, and select Hidden Paragraph. On Condition, type NOT followed by the field name (in my example screenshot: "NOT ORGANIZATI"). Click on Insert, then Close. At this point the line will disappear unless you have marked View→Hidden Paragraphs.
Figure 3: hiding blank lines
If you think your data might have an effect on the pagination of your document, and want to check it before you print, return to View→Data Sources. Click on the empty box to the left of a record you want to check, highlighting that record. Find an icon in the toolbar immediately above the data with the tooltip label "Data to Fields", and click on it. The appearance of the icon can vary depending on what build of OOo you are using. In figure 1, it is the second icon after the last divider (these screenshots are from OOo 2.3.0 in Ubuntu 7.10). You may repeat this with other records, but only one record at a time can be applied (this isn't so important on letters, but can become an issue on labels). This method can also be used to ensure that data will be formatted properly.
Use "Data to Fields" to check pagination and data formatting
When you are ready to merge the data, proceed as if you were printing the letter. A question will appear: "Your document contains address database fields. Do you want to print a form letter?" Answer Yes, and the Mail Merge dialog will appear (see figure 4). Under Records, you may choose to print all records, a range of records by number, or records you have selected in the top part of the dialog. Again, records are selected by clicking on the box to the left of the record. You may use shift-click to select single additional records or control-click to select a range of records (just like selection in most GUI lists these days). Under Output you may choose between sending your merged letters to a printer or to a File. If you choose Printer, clicking OK will send you to a standard print dialog. If you choose File in version 2.3, you will then need to choose between saving as a single document (in ODF format), or in individual documents with a naming convention you specify (older versions do not have the single document option).
Figure 4: doing the mail merge
Using mail merge for envelopes
Depending on what printer you use with OOo, envelopes are probably the most complicated type of document to get right. Start a new envelope in Writer by going to Insert→Envelope..., opening the Envelope dialog (see figure 5). On the initial Envelope tab, you may lay out the Sender and Addressee portions of the envelope. Fields are added at the cursor by specifying the database, table and field in the dropdowns, then clicking on the black left arrow. You may turn off the Sender block if you are using envelopes with pre-printed return addresses. On the Format tab, specify the envelope size you will be using under Size→Format. Most envelopes I have worked with do not need any other changes on that tab. On the printer tab, it is important to tell OOo the envelope orientation for your printer. I have never seen any difference in the top and bottom settings—YMMV. If the current printer is correct, you may click on New Doc. Rarely if ever will you want to Insert, which will add the envelope as a page to your current document and greatly complicate printing.
Figure 5: setting up envelopes
As an aside, how do you remove an envelope that has been added to a document? This is a common question for people first getting used to OOo. The quickest fix is to change the page style from Envelope to Default (or whatever page style the rest of your document uses). This can be done using the "Styles and Formatting" dialog (opened with Format→Styles and Formatting or F11) or by right-clicking on the page style in the status bar. Then the Addressee and Sender blocks can be cut and the blank page can be removed with a single press of the Delete key. Undo will also remove an envelope if no further changes have been made to the document.
I have seen three common "gotchas" with envelopes. The most confusion I have seen with envelopes is from people using printers that feed envelopes in the center. OOo handles this by creating a custom page size that will reach from the proper location for the bottom of the envelope to the right edge of the printer, with a margin that restricts text to the printable region of the envelope. Numerous times I have found people attempting to change the page size to an actual envelope, and it doesn't print correctly. In most cases, it is important to leave the page settings alone. The second problem is that some printers don't print the envelope on the area where OOo intends. Most of the time you can return to the Envelope dialog and add a "shift right" value on the Printer tab to correct this. If you must do this, click on Modify to change the envelope you are working with, rather than create a new one. I also recommend that if you have a printer that needs non-standard settings for envelopes, save a blank envelope and use it as a template for future envelopes. The third problem is that, for some reason, the Envelope dialog uses line breaks instead of paragraph breaks, which can be seen if you mark View→Nonprinting Characters. This is also true of the Labels dialog below. I have not investigated why, although I am sure there is a very good explanation tucked away in a bug report. What this means is that the trick for hiding blank lines given above will hide the entire address. If you need to hide blank lines on envelopes or labels, the quickest fix is to place your cursor at the end of the line, then press Enter followed by Delete. This will replace the line break with a standard paragraph break.
If your printer feeds envelopes in the center, the page format will appear wrong—it is not
Once the envelope is laid out, merging works just like for letters.
Using mail merge for labels
Sometimes instead of printing envelopes directly, you want to print on labels and put them on envelopes. Even when printing envelopes, our receptionist likes to keep a sheet of "labels" printed on plain paper for each mailing, as a record of who received the mailing. Go to File→New→Labels to open the Labels dialog (see figure 6). Lay out the fields as you did in the Envelope dialog, and choose the appropriate labels under Format. Since Avery is a de facto standard in label formats, whatever brand of labels you use will probably provide an equivalent Avery number. If you do not know the number, you can browse through the list until you find one with dimensions that match the labels you are using. It is important to note that where the dimensions are shown, the first pair of numbers are the physical dimension of each label, and the second pair in parenthesis gives the number of labels across and down on the sheet. In the screenshot example, Avery 5160 has 3 labels across each sheet and 10 down, for a total of 30 on the sheet, with each label measuring 2.63" x 1". If you find a format that matches your labels, you will not need to visit the Format tab. If you need to use it for an odd format, it is self-explanatory. On the Options tab, you will want to mark "Synchronize contents". You will see why shortly. You can also specify what printer you will be using on the Format tab. When you are finished, click on "New Document".
Figure 6: setting up labels
Other than the problem with line breaks mentioned in the previous section, the biggest problem I have seen with labels is that there is no way to scroll within a label if the text is longer than will show on a single label. This can be a problem if you have a lot of fields. The only solution I have found is to select the entire label (Edit→Select All or Ctrl+A), change the font to a smaller size, do your editing, then set the font back to the desired size.
Line breaks from the Envelope and Label dialogs can lead to hidden addresses instead of hidden blank lines
If you choose to start with a blank label template and insert fields as I showed you with letters, or if you are just curious, you might wonder how to make a different record show up on each label. Place your cursor at the end of the label, go to Insert→Fields→Other, and go to the Database tab. Click on Next record on the left, and the table name on the right. Click on Insert, then Close.
By now you have probably noticed a little window floating over your main window, with a single button "Synchronize Labels". If you make any changes to the labels after you finish the Labels dialog, you can make your changes on the first label only, then click on the button. This will update all other labels to match the first label.
Once the labels are laid out, merging works just like for letters and envelopes. I would highly recommend printing a page on plain paper first and make sure the labels line up. If they don't, you may need to use the Format tab in the Labels dialog to make everything fit. One of the biggest problems I have found with OOo is that you cannot modify an existing sheet of labels—you have to start over with the Label dialog and create a new document. If anyone knows a better solution, please add it to the comments.
Conclusion
Hopefully this answers many questions about mail merge in OOo, and makes it simpler to understand the basic steps. As I stated in another article on mailmerge recently, once you understand the basics of mail merge, you will find yourself applying it in other totally unrelated projects.
Finally let me say, for any IT person who supports OpenOffice.org users, anything written by Solveig Haugland is required reading. She has helped me overcome numerous hurdles, especially in early versions of OOo that required workarounds to get normal work done.
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After After originally defending the image as “an expression of art” in reaction to the “tremendous damage to the country and the world” she believes Trump is responsible for, Griffin quickly realized there was no way for her to successfully weather this storm, so she apologized.
In some ways, the backlash is understandable. You can’t stage a photo like Griffin’s without freaking people out. It’s grisly, gruesome, provocative and, sure, distasteful and even disrespectful. But that’s the point.
The photo is the latest ― and, yes, arguably the most disturbing ― in a long line of recent political and artistic presidential protest pieces ranging from The photo is the latest ― and, yes, arguably the most disturbing ― in a long line of recent political and artistic presidential protest pieces ranging from a grotesque statue of Trump’s naked body to murals of Trump making out with Vladamir Putin
These pieces are meant to shock ― to shake American citizens from their sleepwalking in hopes of inspiring them to not only recognize the terrifying direction in which our country is being led by Trump and his administration, but also to fight it.
Desperate times call for desperate measures and it’s ridiculous to pretend that anything that is going on right now is “normal.” At a time when the most dangerous policies and actions ― from the Desperate times call for desperate measures and it’s ridiculous to pretend that anything that is going on right now is “normal.” At a time when the most dangerous policies and actions ― from the “Muslim ban” to cutting access to women’s reproductive health to rolling back pro-transgender directives, not to mention that whole alleged Russian collusion mess ― are being touted as just another day at the (Oval) office, pieces like Griffin’s, which intend to offend in order to highlight the offenses we’re experiencing, shouldn’t be silenced. Because when we silence art, when we tell creative people to stop pushing boundaries, we miss the opportunity to healthy, difficult conversations around what it means to be an American and how and why we should participate in how our country operates, especially at this dire moment in our history.
Griffin was not calling for Trump’s assassination. Earlier this week she said that she “ Griffin was not calling for Trump’s assassination. Earlier this week she said that she “ does not condone any violence, that provocative art should remain just that: art” and that “does not want life to imitate art.” Rather, she was drawing attention to the violence ― literal and figurative ― that the Trump administration is responsible for and capable of.
It’s also important to realize that there aren’t violent consequences to Griffin’s image. When she shows Donald Trump’s severed head, she isn’t putting all men like Donald Trump in danger of beheading. On the other hand, while the president hasn’t ever posted gruesome images like the aforementioned, the hateful language he uses to describe certain groups It’s also important to realize that there aren’t violent consequences to Griffin’s image. When she shows Donald Trump’s severed head, she isn’t putting all men like Donald Trump in danger of beheading. On the other hand, while the president hasn’t ever posted gruesome images like the aforementioned, the hateful language he uses to describe certain groups absolutely has consequences
And while I can understand conservatives lashing out at Griffin (though, it’s rich that staunch supposed supporters of freedom of speech like Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos and And while I can understand conservatives lashing out at Griffin (though, it’s rich that staunch supposed supporters of freedom of speech like Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos and even Mike Pence didn’t have Griffin’s back, isn’t it?) I was most disappointed in liberals and progressives who were quick to attack her without nuance or context.
Over the last 36 hours, though, something curious has happened: people started to realize that what Griffin did might not have been as unforgivable as once believed. And as the initial hysteria begins to wear off, more and more people are coming to her defense.
“I think it is the “I think it is the job of a comedian to cross the line at all times — because that line is not real,” Jim Carrey said in an “Entertainment Tonight” interview Wednesday. “If you step out into that spotlight and you’re doing the crazy things that [Trump] is doing, we’re the last line of defense. And, really, the comedians are the last voice of truth in this whole thing.”
Even more intriguing to me was that, my own Facebook feed, which three days ago was filled with angry posts about Griffin’s photo, has suddenly flipped in the other direction.
In a country that has as a gay man In a country that has officially told me that it does not care about my well-being ― or, worse and probably more accurately, is actively working in opposition to my existence and survival ― I have been longing for statements of outrage to disrupt the normalization, and even glamorizing, of the destruction of America as a humane, empathetic, progressive nation.
Ultimately, I saw Griffin doing the tricky, difficult work of calling out her own government in an era ― like so many before in our history ― when dissent is labeled as poisonous, if not treasonous. No, we don’t have to like what she did. We can think and say it is tacky or gross or juvenile, but we can also defend her right to do it and attempt to understand her reasoning.What's More Distracting Than A Noisy Co-Worker? Turns Out, Not Much
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Sounds, particularly those made by other humans, rank as the No. 1 distraction in the workplace. According to workplace design expert Alan Hedge at Cornell, 74 percent of workers say they face "many" instances of disturbances and distractions from noise.
"In general, if it's coming from another person, it's much more disturbing than when it's coming from a machine," he says, because, as social beings, humans are attuned to man-made sounds. He says overheard conversations, as well as high-pitched and intermittent noises, also draw attention away from tasks at hand.
The popularity of open offices has exacerbated the problem. The University of California's Center for the Built Environment has a study showing workers are happier when they are in enclosed offices and less likely to take sick days.
This does not bode well for some workers facing cold and flu season, when hacking coughs make the rounds. But some people, such as Milwaukee Web developer Taj Shahrani, contend with it year-round.
He had a colleague who sat a short cubicle wall away and would, as he says, "shout-cough" at regular intervals.
"He never covered his mouth," he says. The violent episodes, which Shahrani and another colleague kept tallies of, would shake his desk and interrupt conversations and phone calls.
"I would always know when it was coming because you would hear that sharp intake, like he's about to cough, and you'd always wince and stop what you're doing because you knew it was going to be sort of loud and hard to hear," Shahrani says.
After months of this, he went from concern about contagion to irritation about the interruptions. Still, he never broached the subject with the offender or the boss.
"It's sort of taboo to criticize someone for an illness," Shahrani says. It's only months later, when he was moved to a new desk in an office reshuffling, that he realized just how much more work he accomplished without constant interruption.
Rue Dooley, an adviser at the Society for Human Resource Management, says HR professionals often call in, asking how to manage co-worker complaints about various bodily noises.
The answer? It depends on the circumstance. For example, in a previous job, Dooley shared an office with a man who liked to eat frozen carrots and had the hacking cough of someone with chronic bronchitis.
Dooley says he found the carrot-munching funny. The coughing was less amusing, he says. While employers worry about contagion and lost productivity of someone bringing an illness to work, they also have a legal obligation to accommodate employees who have an illness or a disability. He says by law, employers have to accommodate them.
What those accommodations are might vary. A waitress or shop clerk with a hacking cough might require a sick day or a reassignment, in which case Dooley says it's OK for a manager to say: "That cough is turning customers away. We can't have you on the floor with that."
There are other noises that fall into that indelicate in-between territory — like flatulence.
Four years ago, the Social Security Administration reprimanded a worker for his "excessive flatulence." After numerous complaints and warnings, the agency charged him with "conduct unbecoming a federal employee." The employee claimed he had lactose intolerance, and after his union intervened, the reprimand was rescinded.
Then there is the gross interruption that is totally preventable.
Denver electrical engineer Kendra Lyons sits a few cubicles down from an unfiltered loud talker whose phone conversations include details about her gynecology and family disputes.
"It would throw me off, and then I would find it really hard to tune out and not listen to her for the rest of the conversation, so I would end up eavesdropping rather than doing my work," Lyons says.
Now, she says she drowns it out with headphones blasting electronica or the Hamilton soundtrack — anything with a strong beat.
There are solutions, says Cornell's Hedge. The trend toward open offices and hard office furniture makes noise distraction worse, so adding carpet, drapes and upholstery can help. He recommends, perhaps counterintuitively, getting rid of cubicle walls, which provide the illusion of sound privacy, but actually make people less aware of the noises they create.Hitting the fertility jackpot! Childless couple who won IVF as raffle prize are expecting triplets after four-year struggle to conceive
A childless couple who won a round of IVF in a raffle last September are expecting triplets after a four-year struggle to conceive.
Serena and Travis Mackrell from Draper, Utah, entered a lottery run by a local non-profit organization called Footsteps for Fertility last fall which awarded five winners the pricey fertility procedure free of charge.
Expressing her delight, Mrs Mackrell, 29, who is now nine weeks pregnant, told Deseret News : 'I never expected this... I still can't believe it sometimes.'
Triplets on the way: Serena and Travis Mackrell entered an IVF raffle last September and were one of five couples to be awarded the fertility treatment free of charge
Footsteps for Fertility was set up by Mrs Mackrell's two siblings Holly Bryant and Laurel Sheppard last year.
Both women, who have children of their own, were inspired by their sister's struggle to get pregnant and launched an initiative to help others in her position.
Their charity aims at raising awareness of infertility and helps secure grants for those who are unable to afford treatment, which often costs more than $10,000.
'It's the love of two sisters for their sister,' their mother Denise Segura previously explained.
Raffle run: Six hundred childless couples took part in a five kilometer run in Draper, Utah last September with the hope they would win the grand prize - one round of in vitro fertilization
Showing support: One round of IVF was donated by Dr Russell Foulke, an IVF specialist with the Utah Fertility Center in Pleasant Grove and four more grants were provided by the Pay it Forward Fertility Foundation
Mrs Bryant and Mrs Sheppard staged a 5k run in Draper on September 15 2012 and a post-race raffle. Only 47 couples with infertility issues entered and the remaining 950 participants were friends and family members.
One round of IVF was donated by Dr Russell Foulke, an IVF specialist with the Utah Fertility Center in Pleasant Grove and four more grants were provided by the Pay it Forward Fertility Foundation.
Each entrant was required to pay a $35 entry fee which secured them a spot in the race and a raffle ticket. In total five couples were awarded cycles of IVF.
Along with the Mackrells, Brian and Ramsi Stoker of Holladay, Utah, also had their names drawn.
The couple had been trying for a baby for four years and spent more than $25,000 on artificial insemination and a first round of in vitro without success.
For a good cause: The 2012 race raised $35,000 and helped raise awareness of infertility
Winning couple: Brian and Ramsi Stoker of Holladay, Utah, who had been trying for a baby for four years, also won a free round of IVF in the fertility raffle last September
After their win they exclaimed in disbelief: 'We're going to Colorado to buy a lottery ticket today too. This is our lucky day.'
The 2012 race, which also raised $35,000 for the Pay it Forward Fertility Foundation, has resulted in three pregnancies so far, with a total of five babies on the way.
Of the remaining two women who won a grant, one failed to conceive and another woman is yet to undergo the fertility procedure.
The next Footsteps for Fertility race is set to take place on August 31 at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City.With the Enthoo Mini XL DS, Phanteks has a unique case for dual systems in its portfolio, which comes with a lot of features and at an attractive price. This model is compatible with mATX and mini-ITX motherboards, if you are looking for a case that can accomodate two different system then this Phanteks is made for you. Apart from that especially friends of custom water cooling loops will love this case, since it offers a lot of flexibility in that direction. In addition this model supports a multi color illumination and a fan controller for up to six fans. For now, we're really curious to find out how this case is going to do in our review.
Rating Cooling Features Layout Build Quality Value for Money Pros + Good compatibility for watercooling
+ Numerous spots for fans
+ Dust filters + 6x PWM-Fan controller
+ Dual System
+ Power Splitter sold separately + Interior space
+ Velcro straps
+ Dual GPU + Good build quality + Well priced with a very good bundle Cons - 5.25" tool less system
- Space for Mini-ITX CPU cooler limitedThe number of He nuclei produced each second corresponds to the number of fusion reactions occuring (as each reaction produces one He nucleus). Divide the energy output of the Sun by the energy of one fusion reaction to find out how many reactions per second are required to power it, and we'll have our Helium count as well.
Since Putrix has twice as much fuel to burn as the Sun it will take it twice as long as the previous calculation. It also means that Putrix will release twice as much energy as the Sun will over its lifetime. So by the mathematical reasoning in part (b) E P = 2E and thus
We can mathematically represent this reasoning in the following way. Luminosity is energy per time so L ~ E/, where E is the total amount of energy emitted by the star over its main sequence lifetime, and is the main sequence lifetime. The amount of energy emitted will be equal to the amount of energy produced by fusion of hydrogen to helium over that lifetime. E = mc 2. Here m is the amount of matter that was converted into energy. As in the previous problem, 10% of the Sun's mass is available to undergo fusion, and 0.7% of that is converted into energy. So m = 0.007 x 0.1M. The same will hold for Putrix. So we can make a ratio
Luminosity is the amount of energy per second being given off by each star. It is therefore the rate at which energy is used up by the star. Since Putrix is 16 times more luminous that means that it is burning its fuel 16 times faster than the Sun. Since they have the same amount of fuel to burn (0.1M ) then Putrix will run out of fuel 16 times faster than the Sun.
When a cluster reaches 10 billion years old stars that are like the Sun begin to leave the main sequence and turn into Red Giants. There are no stars on the main sequence above it as they have all died as either supernovas or as Planetary Nebulae into White Dwarfs. Thus the main sequence terminates at the position of the Sun and there is a considerable Red Giant and White Dwarf population.
When a cluster has reached the age of 300 million years A stars are now running out of hydrogen in their cores and turning into Red Giants. All stars more massive than they (O and B) stars have long since turned into Red Giants and died as type II supernovae. The some of the A stars that are now turning into Red Giants are not massive enough to go supernova and will instead puff off their outer envelopes and end up as White Dwarfs. Remember that stars below 4M will turn into White Dwarfs. The A stars run from about 10 to 100 times the Luminosity of the Sun and since the Luminosity is proportional to mass to the fourth power that means the masses of the A stars are about 2M to 3.2M. So there should be a small population of White Dwarfs as well as a considerable Red Giant population visible.
When the cluster is only 2 million years old none of the stars are yet old enough to have left the Main Sequence. So there should be a full main sequence stretching fom M stars to O stars. Since no stars have left the main sequence yet, there should be no Red Giants or White Dwarfs.
Not all red giants are older than all main-sequence stars. Massive stars, born relatively recently, quickly evolve into red giants, while we know the Sun has been a main-sequence star for the last 5 billion years. As an example, a red giant of 10M could not be a very old star. Stars born with 10M will have luminosities of 10 4 L and thus consume their main-sequence fuel 10 4 /10 = 10 3 times faster than the Sun. Since the Sun's main-sequence lifetime is 10 10 years, the 10M star's lifetime will only be about 10 7 years. The red-giant phase is even shorter than the main-sequence phase --- say, 2 million years in this example. Thus, the 10M red giant has been a star for only about 12 million years. Compare that to the 5 billion years of the Sun's happy time on the main sequence.
When Stars Explode
Type I supernovae are observed to have no hydrogen lines visible in their spectra. They are seen in all kinds of galaxies. They arise when a white dwarf star is accreting matter from a binary companion which is overflowing its Roche lobe. If the white dwarf mass exceeds 1.4M (the Chandrasekhar limit), the star can no longer be supported by electron degeneracy pressure. It starts to collapse and a runaway chain of nuclear reactions occurs. Lower mass nuclei, such as carbon and oxygen, are fused into heavier ones, such as nickel and iron. A vast amount of energy is released which causes the star to explode and leave no remnant star. Material, enriched with heavy elements, is flung into space.
Type II supernovae are observed to have hydrogen lines visible in their spectra. They are seen primarily in the arms of spiral galaxies (where young stars live). These kinds of supernovae are the endpoint of evolution for very massive stars (M > 10M ). After the helium fusion process ends in the cores of these stars they have enough mass to ignite carbon fusion and fusion of heavier elements. An onion layered effect of fusion shells fusing different elements builds up in the interior of the star. The fusion process stops at iron; fusion of iron does not yield more energy than is put into it. An iron core builds up. When the core reaches a mass greater than 1.4M it collapses under gravity and becomes a neutron star, forcing the electrons of atoms into the nuclei and combining with protons to become neutrons and releasing neutrinos. The envelope of the star falls down upon the neutron star and rebounds off in an enormous explosion. Most of the energy released is in the form of neutrinos. Heavy elements, including some heavier than iron, are created during the explosion and flung out into interstellar space.While President Donald Trump has met with many male heads of government, First Lady Melania Trump has often mingled with their wives. But on Thursday, Mrs. Trump was introduced to the First Gentleman of Luxembourg.
Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, joined Trump and other spouses for a dinner while their significant others attended a gathering as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) conference in Brussels, Belgium.
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Prime Minister Bettel, 44, and Belgian architect Destenay entered a civil partnership in 2010 and married in 2015 after Luxembourg’s legislators approved gay marriage. Bettel became the first openly gay Prime Minister of Luxembourg in December 2013, after an election campaign in which his sexuality was not a secret nor an issue.
Bettel is the world’s only gay head of government since Iceland’s former Prime Minister Johanna Sigurðardóttir, a lesbian, and Belgium’s Elio Di Rupo finished their mandates in 2013 and 2015 respectively.
YORICK JANSENS/AFP/Getty
“I have just one life, and I don’t want to hide my life,” Bettel previously said in an interview. “But I was not the ‘gay candidate.’ People didn’t vote for me because I’m gay or I’m straight.”
In April, Bettel and Destenay irked conservative members of the Catholic Church when they were invited to Rome by Pope Francis to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the European Union’s founding Treaty Of Rome. Others saw the visit as a “powerful message” on the Vatican’s position on gay rights.
FROM PEN: Learn The Process Behind Time Selecting The 100 Most Influential People
Also in attendance at the dinner with Destenay and Trump were First Lady of France Brigitte Macron, First Lady of Turkey Emine Gulbaran Erdogan, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Ingrid Schulerud, Desislava Radeva, Am |
as JNF Toronto’s 65th Negev Dinner Honouree.”
The prime minister’s outstanding support of the state of Israel, his efforts towards combating anti-Semitism and preserving the memory of the Holocaust made him an obvious choice
After the inception of the state of Israel in 1948, the Negev Dinner was introduced to acknowledge leaders in the community, particularly in their support of Israel. With proceeds originally going directly towards the Negev, donations now go to various projects across Israel.
This year, donations will go toward the building of the Stephen Harper J. Hula Valley Bird Sanctuary Visitor & Education Centre in Israel. “Given his well documented love of animals, we felt this would be an appropriate project to present to him,” said Mr. Cooper.
Hula Lake Nature and Bird Park is a hub for some of the 500 million birds flying over Israel during migration season and serves as a major attraction, with hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Money in the fund will go towards a visitor center.
Chaired by Senator Linda Frum and Howard Sokolowski, the event is being held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Although exact attendance numbers will not be announced until Sunday, Mr. Cooper says the event is sold out so it is “safe to say thousands” of people will be there, making this “the largest Negev Dinner in JNF Canada’s 65-year history.”
Previous honourees include John Tory, Frank Stronach and Tony and Elizabeth Comper.
National PostImage caption Julie Phillips has already been given a lifetime ban from Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium
A football fan who ripped up pages of the Koran during a match has been banned from every football ground in England and Wales for three years.
Julie Phillips, 51, tore pages during Middlesbrough's 2-2 draw away at Birmingham City, last December.
Police said Phillips, who already had a lifetime ban from Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium, caused or contributed to other acts of disorder.
Phillips said she did not know the book was the Koran.
She is the first woman in the North East to receive such a ban, which was imposed by Teesside Magistrates' Court.
A trial at Birmingham Magistrates' Court in May found Phillips and another Middlesbrough fan guilty of causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress.
Cleveland Police applied to the court in Teesside to have her banned from all football grounds saying the Koran incident was one of several involving Phillips.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The incident is said to have happened during Middlesbrough's Sky Bet Championship fixture at St Andrew's
They said she was arrested last year during another Middlesbrough game where she allegedly racially abused a steward.
And the court heard that while travelling back from another game Phillips was drunk, abusive towards British Transport Police officers and made threats to another group of fans while shouting and swearing at them.
Phillips said she had not realise the book she was tearing up was the Koran and denied using racist or abusive language, but the Teesside judge said she had "underplayed" her role in the incident.
James Langley, the solicitor for Cleveland Police who persuaded the court to impose the ban, said Phillips' case should act as a warning to other football fans.
Phillips said she has supported Middlesbrough for 40 years and thought the club's lifetime ban was "very harsh".
The court heard she has also now lost her job with Middlesbrough Council.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It's a sign of the times: Americans are pulling back on the debt they use to spend and fuel the economy, while their net worth is declining.
The government reported Thursday that household debt in the third quarter fell for the first time ever. Meanwhile, net worth dropped by the largest amount on record based on data going back to 1951.
Household debt fell by a seasonally adjusted $30 billion, or an annualized 0.8% in the third quarter to $13.91 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve's flow of funds report.
Americans holding less debt may sound like a positive, but it also means consumers are spending less, as debt has become more expensive and harder to come by.
"Interest rates have shot rapidly higher in the last few months, and people are borrowing less because they don't want expensive credit hanging over their heads," said Michael Englund, chief economist for Action Economics. "The other component is the credit crunch, where qualified borrowers are unable to get credit."
Debt mainly fell because more than a million Americans have lost their homes to foreclosure since the housing crisis hit in August 2007. When a home is foreclosed upon, the debt is transferred away from the homeowner to the bank. As a result, home mortgage debt sank a whopping 2.4% in the quarter.
As the credit crunch intensified in the third quarter - and exploded late in the period with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers - Americans were increasingly unable to finance big purchases like homes, cars and big-ticket goods. Accordingly, consumer credit rose by a measly 1.2% in the quarter, the lowest seasonally adjusted rise of that measure since the second quarter of 1992.
Automobile purchases have been sinking all year, but began to fall sharply in the third quarter as the credit tightened. Auto dealers across the country have reported that many consumers are interested in buying cars but cannot acquire the financing to purchase them.
Furthermore, the U.S. economy has shed 1.9 million jobs so far in 2008, with precipitous declines since September. As a result, the economy has entered a vicious cycle, in which Americans spend less and have less to spend.
"Today's announcement shows us that American households are pulling back on spending in the face of strong headwinds in the job market, and it highlights the reduced willingness of a still-stretched financial sector to extend credit," said Economic Policy Institute economist Josh Bivens in a statement. "Neither tells us anything good about the kind of economic growth we can expect over the next year."
That's a worrisome sign for the economy, as consumer spending makes up 70% of overall U.S. gross domestic product. The economy entered a long and deep recession in December 2007, and the prospect of a turnaround will weigh heavily on consumers' confidence to spend money.
"Everyone over the past three months decided to become thrifty at the same time, but our incomes depend on other people spending," said Englund. "If we all start saving and cut back on our spending at the same time, it means more people will ultimately get fired."
And fourth-quarter debt data is likely to be even lower, as the peak of the credit crisis came in mid-October.
"There has been a particularly steep rise in the savings rate recently," said Englund. "With a large part of thriftiness due to panic, this trend could continue for a long time."
Net worth in 12-month tailspin
Consumers watched their net worth fall for the fourth quarter in a row as it dropped by $2.8 trillion, or 4.7%, to $56.5 trillion, dragged down by huge drops in home values and in the stock market. It was the largest decline in the 57-year history of the report.
Americans' wealth also sank $393 billion in the second quarter, $2.4 trillion in the first quarter and $1.5 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2007. Until then, net worth had been rising steadily since 2003, climbing nearly 31% over those five years.
The four straight quarters of declines have resulted in a net 11.1% drop in Americans' wealth in the last 12 months. During the bear market of 2000 through 2002, household's net worth dropped just 6.2%.
The net value of financial assets for households fell by $2.1 trillion, or 4.4%, led mainly by falling values of stock holdings and mutual funds.
Americans' share of corporate equities plummeted $943.5 billion - an 11.5% drop - in the quarter, to $7.3 trillion. With major stock indexes like the S&P 500 falling 40% or more since January, shares of mutual funds, a primary investment of 401(k) retirement funds, declined $597.4 billion, or 12.4%, to $4.2 trillion.
Financial assets account for about two-thirds of households' net worth, but consumers have also been hit hard by sinking home prices. Home values fell by $347 billion in the quarter to $19.1 trillion.
"Consumers are going through a major change in their spending and savings habits," said Lyle Gramley, a former Fed Governor. "Throughout the housing bubble, consumers had a savings rate of zero, relying on the rising price of their homes. Now they're saving money for the future instead of spending it."People have feared that the demise of California would be a massive earthquake that flattens buildings, destroys infrastructure, and sends the southern part of the state floating out to sea. Alas, the downfall of left coast could be death by dehydration.
The state of California is in the midst of a severe drought. “Experts” in fields such as Paleoclimatology suggest that the area has not experienced such scarce precipitation for five hundred years. This dire situation has caused the governor of California, Jerry Brown, to ask residents to decrease water usage by 20%. Many local communities have already put in place more stringent limits.
At a time like this it is prudent for libertarians to use this unfortunate circumstance as an opportunity to expose the problems created by a state controlled water supply. Why would we trust probably the most important resource for human existence in the incapable hands of the State?
To gain clarity on the issue of water rights we will be turning to Murray Rothbard. Before we hear from Murray, it is pertinent to read an excerpt from a letter submitted to the Foundation for Economic Education in November 1955. Later in the article Rothbard replies to this letter, submitted by an anonymous professor, who cites it as a guide to the correct libertarian viewpoint for water rights. The anonymous professor provides a good introduction to the discussion by defining the two common-law systems used at the time to allocate surface water, riparian and appropriation. The professor’s inquiry in its entirety can be found at FEE.org.
Basically, one of two common-law systems of allocating surface water (other than diffused) for private use is followed in this country. Statutes have codified and modified both. The first is called the riparian system, which still governs in most of the eastern states. According to this rule of law, the owner of land through which or along the boundaries of which streams flow has rights to the continued, undiminished, and unpolluted flow of the stream past his land. No one upstream, even another riparian landowner, can use the water so as to interfere with the flow to downstream riparian owners. This rule of law is usually qualified to permit reasonable domestic uses and stock watering by riparian owners even if such uses diminish the flow. The riparian owner can insist on maintenance of flow even though he is making no use of the water himself and does not even contemplate doing so. The riparian water right thus is attached to the riparian lands and is a right to use as long as the natural condition of the stream or lake is not appreciably altered. The other doctrine, which prevails in most western states, is called the appropriation doctrine. According to it, water rights may be acquired by either riparian or nonriparian landowners on a “first-come, first-served” basis. The first to make “beneficial” use of water acquires the right thereto, and in case of water shortage the rights acquired later in time have to give way first. This is not a system of pro rata distribution but a system of priorities in which prior (in time) water rights are entitled to be fully satisfied before subordinate rights can claim any water at all. These appropriation rights are rights to use certain amounts of water during specific periods of time for certain purposes. The holder of the right cannot ordinarily change the use without losing the right and cannot sell the water to someone else to use for any other purpose at any other place. The continuance of the right is dependent on exercise of it. Failure to use the water for a period of time results in forfeiture of the right.
In California, the main water storage facilities, reservoirs, and lakes are owned by the state. The opponents to a private property centered free society would argue that it would be more of a hassle than a help to privatize the system now.
In the past week, the authorities that run the State Water Project in California announced that they will stop releasing water from their large reserves in Northern California this spring. If the area does not receive substantial rain soon, things could get very bad in the golden state. There is no debate that the current situation in California is terrible. The people of California are left with few options and for many their ability to procure water is entirely out of their hands.
We will next look to Rothbard to define the ideal setup for flowing water in a private property centered society. The following excerpt was originally printed in the letters sections of the Freeman in March 1956.
Fixing the ownership of flowing water, as the professor points out, is more difficult. What’s the solution? We must concentrate first, not on extricating ourselves from the present property relations in water, should that be necessary, but in trying to visualize an ideal arrangement. After the ideal is known, then one can begin working toward it, given the present situation. But it is crucial not to confuse the two. The ideal for scarce goods, then, is first-ownership-to-first-user. It is immediately clear that the route to justice lies along the appropriation rather than the riparian path. Why riparian? What claim does a landowner have to any part of a stream just because his land adjoins the stream? No moral claim whatever. His riparian claim is not based on his having made use of the water; in fact, his only purpose seems to be to block anyone else from using the water, and the result is criminal waste of rivers and streams. Why should a riparian owner have a claim to a flow of water? The appropriation method is therefore far closer to the just one. Its chief flaw is that it has been too limited, and we are all indebted to the professor for his clear explanation of the various methods of property allocation. The way to amend the appropriation method is as follows: 1) eliminate all requirements for “beneficial” use — the term is meaningless, and can only be concretely decided on the free market; 2) the water must be the appropriator’s absolute property, not at the sufferance of the State. Hence, he must be free to sell his right to the water to anyone else for any purpose, or to stop using it altogether. If he fails either to use his property right or sell it, the inference is that it is not worth using on the market. At any rate, the decision must be the property owner’s — the appropriator’s. How to establish the absolute appropriation method in the Eastern states — whether with or without compensation to the present riparian owners — is something that must be settled. If downstream owners want to avoid pollution, there is one simple way they can do so, under the appropriation method: buy the stream together — as a corporation, perhaps — from the first appropriators, and then put it to nonpolluting uses, or keep it “fallow” altogether.
As Rothbard says it is important to focus on the ideal arrangement, and then begin to work towards attaining the ideal, given the obstacles and circumstances surrounding the current set up. The ideal arrangement would be the appropriation method applied to all flowing water. A stream or body of water that has market value would be put to use by the market. If it is not put to use, then it has no market value.
If the appropriation method is fully implemented, then a water shortage could never occur. All suitable water reserves would hold value on the market. As the supply of water decreased, in the case of the Californian drought, the price of distributing the water would rise accordingly. This would cause water to be allocated to the areas of the market with the highest demand. Price would rise, but water would be available.
The appropriation method might also prevent areas from attracting more people than water resources could support. It could even encourage investment in water transportation methods that could move water to areas where it is not naturally abundant. This could be appealing to investors if the economics are favorable and the project could be executed at a price acceptable to the market. Water would not be moved by government decree, but by the will of the people.
In today’s State worshiping society people are more inclined to demand more State involvement to fix problems that are a byproduct of the State distribution model. As a society, we must stop putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound. The road to peace and prosperity is not paved by State coercion, but instead is built brick by brick through peaceful transactions with others looking for a favorable return from the marketplace.
If you’re craving more Murray, you can read all of the previous editions of Mondays with Murray by visiting the full archive page!
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Andy Warner's comics have been published by The United Nations Human Rights Council, IDEO.org, Slate, Medium, American Public Media, Symbolia, KQED, popsci.com, The Showtime Network's Years of Living Dangerously, The Center for Constitutional Rights, The United Nations Refugee & Works Agency, Generation Progress, UNICEF, Buzzfeed, Upworthy, and The Cartoon Picayune. He lives in San Francisco. Follow him on Twitter at @andycomics.
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Andy Warner's comics have been published by The United Nations Human Rights Council, IDEO.org, Slate, Medium, American Public Media, Symbolia, KQED, popsci.com, The Showtime Network's "Years of Living Dangerously", The Center for Constitutional Rights, The United Nations Refugee & Works Agency, Generation Progress, UNICEF, Buzzfeed, Upworthy, and The Cartoon Picayune. He lives in San Francisco.BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Brexit talks are deadlocked over money, the EU’s Michel Barnier said on Thursday as he ruled out discussions on future trade being launched by EU leaders next week but spoke of possible progress by December.
European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier holds a joint news conference with Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis after the latest round of talks in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
Barnier and his British counterpart, Brexit Secretary David Davis, told reporters there had been some progress this week on the other two issues around Britain’s March 2019 withdrawal from the bloc on which the EU demands “sufficient progress” before it will agree to discuss a transition and future relationship.
With concern mounting about the possibility they might run out of time for any deal, Davis renewed his call for EU leaders to give a green light to trade talks after they meet Prime Minister Theresa May at a summit in Brussels next Thursday.
Barnier made clear, however, that despite new momentum from concessions given by May in a speech at Florence last month, British proposals on expatriate citizens’ rights and the Irish border still failed the EU test, while London’s refusal to spell out a detailed cash offer was “very worrying” for business.
May said then that the other 27 countries would not lose out financially from Brexit in the current EU budget period to 2020 and that Britain would honor commitments — but Barnier said London was failing to say exactly what it was ready to pay.
“Regarding that question, we are at an impasse, which is very worrying for thousands of projects everywhere in Europe and also worrying for those who contribute,” he said.
Nonetheless, he offered hope: “I am still convinced that, with political will, decisive progress is within reach in the coming two months. With David Davis, we will organize several negotiating meetings between now and the end of the year.”
With signs that nerves are fraying on both sides as less than 18-month remains before the deadline, some hardline Brexit supporters want May to just walk out of talks. Both negotiators repeated that they were ready for any eventuality including a collapse. But, Barnier warned, “no deal would be a very bad deal”.
May herself said there had been “good progress” and welcomed Barnier’s talk of further progress “over the coming weeks”.
RESIDENCE RIGHTS
Davis announced a “streamlined” new system for the 3 million EU citizens in Britain to claim residence rights, answering EU concerns, and said he expected good further progress on other issues. Barnier repeated that Brussels stills wants them to have recourse to EU judges to safeguard their rights and said there were still differences on rights for future family members.
A British demand for its million or so citizens on the continent to have lifetime rights to move to any of the bloc’s 27 countries after Brexit is held up by doubts among the member states. Barnier said those are rights to do with post-Brexit decisions and should be dealt with in the next phase of talks.
“I make no secret of the fact that to provide certainty we must talk about the future,” Davis said, stressing his demand for trade talks. “I hope the leaders of the 27 will provide Michel with the means to explore ways forward with us on that.”
“As we look to the October Council next week, I hope the member states will recognize the progress we’ve made and take a step forward in the spirit of the prime minister’s Florence speech.”
Barnier was pressed to say in public whether he would ask EU leaders’ permission to make some preliminary exploration of what a transition after March 2019 would look like. EU officials and diplomats say he has raised that issue with governments.
He told the news conference that he would follow a mandate ruling out any discussion of the future before issues arising from Britain’s past membership are settled and said it was important to respect the “sequencing”.
Diplomats have said that German and French envoys quashed a suggestion by Barnier last week that he start looking transition issues. On Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose scope to change policy is limited by ongoing coalition talks, stressed Berlin would negotiate to minimize damage to Germany.
Slideshow (4 Images)
With the talks poised at a delicate stage, EU officials say it is unclear what leaders will tell May next week. They all rule out a clear move to trade talks but many expect “positive language” to try to defuse British accusations of Brussels intransigence and to help May stand up to her own party critics.
Officials see the early part of next year as a virtual deadline for agreeing to move on to discuss the future relationship. Failure to do so would raise the risk of there being no smooth transition and even of no deal at all.
($1 = 0.8446 euros)In horrifying food news: Photos emerged this week of nearly 100 endangered scalloped hammerhead sharks for sale at a fish market in Sanya, in southern China’s Hainan Province, according to Chinese media. An outraged passerby posted photos of the animals on Chinese social media. The sharks were being sold for 15 yuan ($2.31) a pound.
Scalloped hammerhead sharks can be found in temperate and tropical waters all over the world. They get their name from the scalloped shape of the front edge of their unique head structure.
An international treaty, which China is a signatory to, restricts trade in the species. Despite this protection, the sharks are widely exploited to meet demand for their meat and shark fin soup, which is considered a delicacy in China.
Local authorities seized the hammerheads. They’re still investigating the case, but have said that the fishermen didn’t realize the animals were protected.
Some other wildlife crime busts, convictions, and confiscations around the world announced this week:
SAME OLD SONG: Customs officers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, arrested a passenger who allegedly attempted to smuggle endangered songbirds to Taiwan, according to Thanhnien News. The man was found with 18 live birds hidden under his pants. The birds included protected species such as the white-rumped shama and melodious laughingthrush.
IVORY THIEF: Police nabbed a Chinese national at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, in Nairobi, Kenya, who’s accused of attempting to smuggle worked ivory worth about $600, says the Star. The suspect was on his way from Cameroon to Guangzhou, China.
PANGOLIN STEALERS: Forest officials busted three men suspected of poaching two pangolins in a wildlife sanctuary in Karnataka, a state in southwest India, reports the New Indian Express. At the scene, law enforcement officers found cooked pangolin meat and scales, as well as a dead pangolin. Pangolins are believed to be the most trafficked mammal in the world.
IMPRISONED POACHER: A Chinese court sentenced a man to ten years in prison for the illegal transport of wild animal products, including items made from ivory, rhino horn, and lions’ teeth, reports ShanghaiDaily.com. The man attempted to move the products from China’s Guangxi region to the city of Fangchenggang, and then intended to smuggle the items to neighboring countries, the court said.
TIMBER SMUGGLING: Police in Atmakur, a town in India’s Andhra Pradesh, arrested four people for allegedly smuggling 23 red sanders logs, according to the Times of India. The suspects tried to flee, but police eventually caught them. Native to India, red sanders trees are endangered.“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
This section of scriptures the second section of the The Way Back (Genesis 35:1-29) by Bible.org. One Year Bible Blog also has writings on these passages: Genesis 35:1-36:43 ~ Matthew 12:1-21 and Psalm 15:1-5 ~ Proverbs 3:21-26. Please visit Mike, because he really does pour out his heart trying to help us in our walk. 😉
The Death of Rachel and Isaac
35:23-26–1Ch 2:1-2
16Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give and had great difficulty. 17And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have another son.” 18As she breathed her last–for she was dying–she named her son Ben-Omi. But his father named him Benjamin.
19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.
21Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
23The sons of Leah: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. 24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali. 26The sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah: Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. 29Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
AdvertisementsWhen NASA sends a new probe to Europa, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab will have two devices onboard.
NASA is sending a probe to Jupiter’s smallest moon after evidence collected on a previous trip suggested a vast saltwater ocean could lie beneath its icy shell. Where there is water, of course, it’s believed that there may be conditions for life.
The probe, which has yet to be named, is slated to carry out 45 flybys, getting as close as 16 miles to the surface of Europa.
Using its space savvy, JHUAPL managed to make the top nine out of more than 30 device proposals that were submitted to measure different aspects of the moon.
The Laurel-based lab is sending the following:
Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS) : According to APL, this device will measure the thickness of the icy shell and determine the depth and salinity level of any ocean that might be discovered below. The device takes measurements of plasma and magnetic currents that surround the moon.
: According to APL, this device will measure the thickness of the icy shell and determine the depth and salinity level of any ocean that might be discovered below. The device takes measurements of plasma and magnetic currents that surround the moon. Europa Imaging System (EIS): This high-resolution camera instrument will be designed to provide up-close pictures of the surface of the moon, as well as topographic maps and color maps. It’s designed to take the detailed pictures during “fast flybys” amid Jupiter’s high-radiation belts, which have been known to damage space probes.
-30-Quick: What do Republicans want in exchange for ending the government shutdown? If you know the answer, congratulations — because Republicans sure don’t.
When this saga began, it was about defunding Obamacare. House Republicans passed legislation to keep the government running while defunding the president’s health-care law.
Senate Democrats rejected it.
Next, the House passed another government-funding bill but attached a one-year delay of Obamacare and repeal of the medical device tax.
Senate Democrats rejected it.
So the House passed yet another government-funding bill, this one with a one-year delay of just Obamacare’s individual mandate, plus a provision requiring the president, the vice president, political appointees, all members of Congress and their staff to enroll in Obamacare’s health-care exchanges with no employer contribution.
Senate Democrats rejected it.
This week, the House tried passing small appropriations bills to keep specific portions of the government running individually — with no Obamacare conditions whatsoever.
Senate Democrats ignored it.
So we’ve gone from defunding Obamacare... to delaying Obamacare... to delaying parts of Obamacare... to funding the government piecemeal without touching Obamacare at all. If Republicans have already conceded the defunding of Obamacare, what’s the point of keeping the government closed? Why on earth would the GOP pass “clean” bills to fund individual parts of the government but not the whole government?
It calls to mind the episode of “Seinfeld” where Jerry and George are coming up with an idea for a show to pitch to NBC — and decide it will be “a show about nothing.” That’s what this standoff has become — the Seinfeld Shutdown, a shutdown about nothing.
Fortunately, it’s not too late to make it a shutdown about something. The GOP can still turn the tables on the Democrats and win the standoff — if it makes the fight about spending and preserving its one legislative victory of the Obama era: the Budget Control Act.
Senate Democrats gave Republicans an opening to do this when they passed a continuing resolution that keeps the government funded at the spending level the GOP wanted ($986 billion) rather than the one Democrats wanted ($1,058 billion). They did this to put Republicans in a box, so they could mock the GOP relentlessly because its members “won’t even accept their own number.”
The way Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) persuaded his fellow Democrats to go along with the GOP number was by promising that this spending level would last for only six weeks — and that after Nov. 15 Democrats would fight to get more spending as part of a debt-limit deal.
What if Republicans said to Reid: Okay, let’s not change current law at all. We’ll pass your continuing resolution to keep the government running, at the spending levels Senate Democrats agreed to — not for six weeks but for a full year. Then come January, we’ll let the second round of sequester spending cuts will take effect -- the cuts you agreed to in the Budget Control Act — automatically reducing spending even further, to $967 billion.
All of a sudden, the Democrats would be the ones in a box: If they were to refuse, then instead of Republicans shutting down the government over a law they don’t like (Obamacare), the Democrats would be shutting down the government over a law they don’t like (the Budget Control Act).
Think about it: Reid has been deriding the GOP as a bunch of “Tea Party anarchists who deny the mere fact that Obamacare is the law.” Well, the Budget Control Act is also the law. In fact, it is a law that Democrats voted for and President Obama signed. Are Democrats now “anarchists who deny the mere fact that the Budget Control Act is the law?” Are they going to (in Obama’s words) “hold the economy hostage over ideological demands” to increase federal spending? Are they going to “hurt our economy and millions of innocent people” in order to repeal “a law that passed both houses of Congress; a law that bears my signature”? Are Democrats going to “burn the house down simply because you haven’t gotten 100 percent of your way” on increasing spending?
The Democrats are not going to keep the government closed in order to bust spending caps they voted for and their president signed into law. That would be a politically unsustainable position. They would lose the moral high ground. The GOP can say, we are agreeing to live under current law — and continue under existing funding levels and the automatic spending cuts that both parties agreed to. Overnight, the GOP would trade a losing hand for a winning one.
Republicans could then pocket that victory and use the debt limit (where they have real leverage) to fight for further spending reductions. In that fight, they would have the backing of a supermajority of Americans who believe that there should be deep spending cuts in exchange for any debt-limit increase.
Will Republicans do this? Or will they continue the Seinfeld Shutdown? It depends on whether they want to continue putting on a show about nothing — or whether they want a win.
Read more from Marc Thiessen’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.The European Union’s chief executive called on Wednesday for a joint command headquarters for EU military missions and greater defense cooperation, reviving long-running efforts to reduce reliance on the United States.
In his annual speech to the European Parliament, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said no single EU government had a military big enough to deal with security challenges on Europe’s doorstep, from Islamic militants to a more hostile Russia.
The proposals, echoing a plan put forward this week by France and Germany, are part of a broader attempt to rally EU nations after Britain’s vote to leave the bloc and to capitalize on its departure – London having opposed the idea.
“We must have a European headquarters and so we should work towards a common military force,” Juncker told the European Parliament, although officials stressed this did not amount to an EU army. “This should be to complement NATO,” he said, also outlining proposals for a common defense fund.
Read moreSerge Gnabry has joined West Bromwich Albion on loan for the 2015/16 Premier League season.
The 20-year-old forward recovered from a spell out with injury last term to play for Arsenal Under-21s and represent Germany at the Under-21 European Championship in the Czech Republic this summer. He enjoyed an impressive 2013/14 campaign, making 14 appearances for Arsenal’s senior side and netting his first goal for the club, in a 2-1 victory at Swansea City. Gnabry, who joined the Gunners from VfB Stuttgart in 2011, heads to West Brom for the opportunity to gain further first-team experience in the Premier League. Arsène Wenger said: "We know Serge is ready to play in the Premier League, but we know as well that what is needed for him is to get 25 to 30 games to show that he can produce it on a regular basis and cope with it physically." Everyone at Arsenal wishes Serge well for his time with Tony Pulis’ side.Spending by the Conservative party on the 2015 general election campaign is currently being investigated by several police forces. What is going on? And why isn’t it a bigger scandal yet?
What is the Tory election expenses story and why isn't it bigger news?
What are the allegations about Conservative party election spending?
It has been claimed that the Conservatives have misallocated spending during their 2015 general election campaign. The Electoral Commission issues clear guidelines on spending. These state that:
There are two types of spending by or on behalf of parties at elections. These are: Party campaign spending on campaigning to promote the party and its policies generally. For example, national newspaper adverts for the party, or leaflets explaining party policy. It also includes spending on promoting candidates at elections where the party nominates a list of candidates for a region, instead of individual candidates for local areas. Candidate spending on campaigning to promote a particular candidate or candidates in their local area. For example, leaflets or websites that focus on one or more candidates and their views. Different rules apply to the two types of spending.
A Channel 4 News investigation claims to have uncovered receipts that show that the Conservative party spent money allocated as party campaigning, which should have been assigned as candidate spending. It states that the amounts spent in key constituencies would have, in some cases, tipped the local candidate over their spending limit.
The allegations centre in the main around the resourcing of the Conservatives’ “battle bus”, which visited seats the Tories were targeting.
The total spending Channel 4 has identified amounts to more than £38,000. It was spent across 29 constituencies, of which, it suggests, 24 constituencies would have gone over the local spending limit. Twenty-two of the constituencies were won by the Conservatives at the election.
There is an additional allegation that the Conservatives failed to declare almost £100,000 during byelection campaigns in Rochester and Strood, Clacton-on-Sea and Newark-upon-Trent during 2014.
In order to investigate these claims, the Electoral Commission has had to go to court to get the Conservatives to agree to hand over key documents. In a statement, the commission said:
If parties under investigation do not comply with our requirements for the disclosure of relevant material in reasonable time and after sufficient opportunity to do so |
to be in place to protect electricity users.
The public call for reducing electricity costs is getting louder and louder. It’s time for real change to reduce electricity costs, not the same old gimmicks we’ve paid for with higher taxes. These five proposals would deliver sustainably lower costs for consumers. Benjamin Dachis is an Associate Director of Research at the C.D. Howe Institute.
Read more about:Scientists have discovered a second code hiding within DNA. This second code contains information that changes how scientists read the instructions contained in DNA and interpret mutations to make sense of health and disease.
A research team led by Dr. John Stamatoyannopoulos, University of Washington associate professor of genome sciences and of medicine, made the discovery. The findings are reported in the Dec. 13 issue of Science. The work is part of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements Project, also known as ENCODE. The National Human Genome Research Institute funded the multi-year, international effort. ENCODE aims to discover where and how the directions for biological functions are stored in the human genome.
Since the genetic code was deciphered in the 1960s, scientists have assumed that it was used exclusively to write information about proteins. UW scientists were stunned to discover that genomes use the genetic code to write two separate languages. One describes how proteins are made, and the other instructs the cell on how genes are controlled. One language is written on top of the other, which is why the second language remained hidden for so long.
"For over 40 years we have assumed that DNA changes affecting the genetic code solely impact how proteins are made," said Stamatoyannopoulos. "Now we know that this basic assumption about reading the human genome missed half of the picture. These new findings highlight that DNA is an incredibly powerful information storage device, which nature has fully exploited in unexpected ways."
The genetic code uses a 64-letter alphabet called codons. The UW team discovered that some codons, which they called duons, can have two meanings, one related to protein sequence, and one related to gene control. These two meanings seem to have evolved in concert with each other. The gene control instructions appear to help stabilize certain beneficial features of proteins and how they are made.
The discovery of duons has major implications for how scientists and physicians interpret a patient's genome and will open new doors to the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
"The fact that the genetic code can simultaneously write two kinds of information means that many DNA changes that appear to alter protein sequences may actually cause disease by disrupting gene control programs or even both mechanisms simultaneously," said Stamatoyannopoulos.If I were the Managing Director of an engineering firm, I’d start investigating the availability of office space in Queensland’s regional centres, including Maroochydore, Rockhampton, Toowoomba, and Townsville. I would want the firm well-positioned to win new work from a State Government that will undoubtedly spend more on regional capital works, to satisfy the likely new power brokers from One Nation, which is expected to win several regional seats. And I wouldn’t count on Cross River Rail going ahead.
Today’s Sunday-Mail is reporting One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson is anti-Cross River Rail, and instead wants some major regional projects funded, including a duplicated Sunshine Coast rail line and an expansion of the Borumba dam (to rival Wivenhoe in capacity) in the Gympie region (see this Gympie Times report). After the Traveston dam debacle, I suspect the likelihood of getting environmental approval for expanding the Borumba dam is pretty close to zero, but no doubt One Nation will find many other regional projects to fund.
The betting odds reported by Centrebet currently suggest Tim Nicholls is favourite to become Premier after the upcoming State election (see screenshot below). This is plausible, given Queensland currently has a minority government, One Nation is expected to win several seats, and Labor has ruled out a deal with One Nation. Election punters have obviously heavily discounted polling results suggesting Labor is well in the lead, as these are based on an assumed 55-45 preference flow from One Nation to the LNP and Labor, respectively. Many poll watchers expect the preference flow will more heavily favour the LNP than is currently assumed by Newspoll, so the election will be closer than Newspoll suggests.
Despite the betting markets currently favouring an LNP victory, I still expect Premier Palaszczuk to call an election this year. The Government is already in campaign mode and won’t want to lose momentum over the Christmas-New Year period. Also, it can point to an improvement in economic conditions over the last year or so (see my previous post). And consider that, by holding the election this year, the current Government would shorten the term of the next Government, possibly by over half a year. This may be attractive to Labor if it thinks it will lose the upcoming election. As explained in the Brisbane Times earlier this year, due to the transitional arrangements for four-year fixed terms:
…if an election is held before December 31, 2017, the next election will be held on October 31, 2020. If it is held between January 1, 2018 and May 5, 2018, the next election will be held on October 30, 2021.
Betting markets can be wrong, of course, as they were in the 2016 US Presidential election. Labor is exceptionally good at campaigning in marginal seats and can generally rely on more manpower and dollars, much of them coming from the union movement, than the LNP. So it would be unwise to discount Labor’s chances. It is certain to be a bitter and hard-fought election battle.
Even if Labor ends up winning in its own right, I suspect One Nation will remain influential and may force the Government into boosting its regional capital expenditure. Expect to hear a lot about so-called “good debt” being used to finance Queensland infrastructure in future years.
As I have noted in previous posts (e.g. see Townsville Bulletin report on funding feud), capital works spending per capita in Queensland has been higher in regional Queensland than SEQ (partly because of economies of scale and the need to spend so much on disaster recovery). I expect the regions will continue to receive a generous share of State Government capital spending after the next election regardless of who wins, and that the share going to the regions would increase sharply if an LNP minority government assumes power with One Nation support.
AdvertisementsESWC have announced six invitations to the $50,000 tournament to be held in the beginning of November in Paris, France.
The French organizers have previously announced that the 2014 version of ESWC, to be held at Paris Games Week from October 29 to November 2, will feature a $50,000 prize purse.
Four teams, namely iBUYPOWER, Virtus.pro, Canadian Mobility Gaming and Japanese Cipangu.GO have previously qualified for the event, which has now added six more teams:
fnatic fnatic NiP NiP Cloud9 Cloud9 dignitas dignitas KaBuM KaBuM Planetkey Dynamics Planetkey Dynamics
A total of 24 teams will take part in ESWC 2014, which will see nine more teams qualify from national qualifiers and three from ESEA's European online ESWC qualifier.
Additionally, two more spots' fate will be announced at a later date. You can find out a list of all attending teams and remaining qualifiers on ESWC's website.Share. The fighting game promises to immerse players in the visceral world of the TV series. The fighting game promises to immerse players in the visceral world of the TV series.
Ubisoft has announced an upcoming fighting game called Spartacus Legends, based on the popular TV series.
Little is known about the title, other than it's been slotted for a 2013 release. Ubisoft has revealed the title will be released on multiple consoles, though precisely which ones remains unclear.
The gladiatorial beat 'em up promises "primeval gladiator moments, from training inside the ludus to brutal battles in the arena, all while striving to become a legend.
"Featuring thousands of ruthless weapon combinations and a robust skill system, Spartacus Legends delivers a variety of tools for gamers to customize their gladiators and dismember their foes. Gamers will be able to fight as Spartacus, Crixus or one of their own created gladiators as they battle with friends offline or in online multiplayer to join the ranks on the worldwide leaderboards."
Liam McIntyre, who plays the titular character in the cable show, will lend his voice and likeness to the game. All we have right now are screenshots, but the title will be available to play at Comic-Con from today until Sunday so expect more info as we have it.
The third and final season of the sword-and-sandal drama, War of the Damned, is due to air in January 2013.
Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.Arriving in Tangier as a first-time visitor to Morocco can be overwhelming and disorientating, especially if you’ve just arrived by ferry from Spain. The crowds of touts that meet you off the boat are rarely found in Europe and make for a dizzying introduction to North Africa and Tangier.
If you’re willing to make an effort and overlook the initial annoyances, Tangier Morocco can be a fascinating and rewarding destination. Its location in the northwestern corner of the country has led to architectural and culinary influences from Spain, Portugal and France, as well as Northern Africa, creating a clash of cultures that makes Tangier unlike anywhere else in Morocco.
Here are our recommendations for things to do in Tangier:
Visit Tangier Kasbah
Tangier’s Kasbah is located high on a hilltop, offering panoramic views over the medina, the city and the bay of Tangier. Head to escape the crowd the medina – life is calmer in the Kasbah. Within the walls lies Dar el Makhzen, a former royal palace from the 17th century, which now serves as a museum. Inside, you’ll discover a selection of mosaics, Moroccan crafts, and artwork from across the country. Aim to spend at least an hour here, exploring the history, culture and art that helped form the Morocco of today.
After spending time in the Kasbah, exit through the Bab Bhar gate and gaze out over the ocean to catch a glimpse of Gibraltar – if it’s a particularly clear day you’ll be able to spot its famous Rock on the horizon. This is one of the few places in the world where you’ll be able to see two continents at once.
Go Shopping at the Souks
Thursdays and Sundays are best for shopping in Tangier’s souks, a collection of traditional markets dotted around the city. These are the most popular days for locals so look out for the Berber women in traditional dress selling homemade products. They’ve travelled long distances down from the mountain to be there and provide the perfect opportunity to pick up a holiday souvenir or two.
Here are our recommendations for things to do in Tangier:
If you haven’t been to a souk before, or want to make sure you’re not getting charged obscene amounts of money, hire a guide before you arrive. They’ll help you navigate the stalls quickly and without hassle, show you how to negotiate and pass on information on the sellers’ wares.
The Caves of Hercules
Located just 15 kilometres west of Tangier are Cape Spartel and the Caves of Hercules, both of which are well worth adding to your Tangier itinerary and are considered one of Tangiers top attractions. Cape Spartel marks the most North Western point of mainland Africa, has a beautiful yellow lighthouse to explore, and offers views across the Strait of Gibraltar.
The Caves of Hercules get their name from a legend that states the Greek hero once spent time in the cave. Upon arriving, descend down a set of steps — bypassing the numerous vendors that will no doubt also descend on you. Walk for just a few minutes and you’ll be greeted with a gaping hole in the cave wall, facing the ocean. The hole is particularly special as it takes the shape of the African continent.
The Grand Socco (The Large Market)
Grand Socco, which is Spanish for Large Market,is considered the dynamic heart of the city, it is connection the old and new parts of the city. Grand Socco is a busy square and good place to watch locals and enjoy local atmosphere. You can just relax and enjoy the passing parades of locals and Rif women in their colourful traditional costumes.
Also called Place 9 Avril 1947, becasuse itwitnessed the historically famous call for independence speech made by late king Mohamed V in 1947. The Grand Socco is a dynamic mixture of contrasting lifestles, colors, architechture and house styles; a bridge between the old medina and modern town.
Ride Camels on the Beach
Visit the American Legation
If you don’t get a chance to ride a camel in the Sahara Desert while you’re in Morocco, Tangier offers an enjoyable alternative. Head to popular Agadir beach and you’ll find no shortage of vendors willing to offer you a bumpy ride across the sand. Camel riding can be uncomfortable at times but it’s also exciting, surprisingly peaceful and makes for a great holiday snapshot.
The only National Monument outside of the United States is The American Legation, a museum located in the southwest corner of the medina. Morocco was the very first country to recognize America as an independent nation and the museum aims to celebrate this.
The museum is open Mondays-Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is closed Sundays and Moroccan holidays. Entrance fee 20 dirhams; guided tours 50 dirhams per person. You could easily spend at least an hour exploring all it has to offer. You’ll find artworks depicting the history of Tangier through the ages, information on Morocco-US correspondences and a fascinating account of the country relations.
Café Hafa
Located along the cliff top overlooking the Bay of Tangier, Café Hafa is one of the oldest cafes in the heart of the town dating back to 1921. The café features a mix of ancient and modern style décor and through the years has been a significant hangout spot for locals and visitors alike include renowned writers and singers such as Paul Bowles and William Burroughs to The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
One of the reasons why Café Hafa has gained much popularity is because of its mint tea, a special brew unique to Tangier. The café is a perfect place to catch stunning views over the Bay of Tangier and to enjoy relaxing time after a stressful day. On a very good, very clear day, you can see to Spain. Your trip to Tangier will be considered incomplete without visiting Café Hafa.
Festivals
That if your visit happens at the same time as the international jazz festival Tanjazz festival
Looking for a day trip from Tangier?
Asilah
Asilah, can be reached by either by train or bus from Tangier. However, once you have arrived, the best way to get around is on foot to explore the city. The town is small but features a medina that is decorated with African art. If you happen to arrive in August, you can witness the art festival that ensures murals go up on the walls for the enjoyment of visitors. When you aren’t looking at art, roam around the beaches that occupy the south and north ends of the town.
All of the wandering around is bound to work up an appetite so make sure to try some of the town’s Spanish inspired restaurants. You can find Paella and tortillas but also traditional mint tea and couscous dishes. Asilah is about 30 kilometers south of Tangier -40 minutes by car-.
Read More: Tangier Quick Guide and Hidden Sights TangierClive Palmer loses cool over ice bucket challenge, storms off from The Project
Updated
The prospect of taking on the ice bucket challenge has proved too much for Clive Palmer, who stormed off from a television broadcast.
Last night on the lawns of Parliament House, the Palmer United Party leader was preparing to pour a bucket of ice water over his colleague Senator Jacqui Lambie on Channel Ten's The Project.
But Mr Palmer became angry when he spotted a second bucket of ice that he assumed was meant for him.
"Look, that's the last time I'm on The Project. Goodbye," he said.
He tipped the bucket out, slightly wetting a producer, then uttered a few words unsuitable for broadcast and stormed off.
Asked about his extreme reaction and what he was worried about happening, Mr Palmer said: "Nothing. Well I've got no comments to make."
Meanwhile back on set, Senator Lambie simply shrugged her shoulders and said: "Welcome to my world."
Moments later the water was poured on the Tasmanian Senator, leaving her drenched, shivering and covered in ice.
"How refreshing is that? Yes! Yes!" she said.
Topics: clive-palmer, government-and-politics, canberra-2600, qld, tas
First postedJust thirty years ago, the idea of the Book of Mormon as non-historical inspired scripture brought forth through the mind of Joseph Smith and not an actual, literal history of ancient American prophets was a heretical notion. Now, among some progressive LDS scholars and thinkers the idea is gaining traction. There seems to be clues in the text and other evidence that leads us in this direction. The church established a precedent for this idea with the publishing of the essay of the Book of Abraham, using the “catalyst theory”. ie the scroll that Joseph believed he was translating was not the actual record of Abraham, but Joseph needed the scrolls to tap into the revelatory spirit, allowing him to bring forth the inspired scripture we have today. The biggest obstacle in adopting this same kind of view for the Book of Mormon is the gold plates. We have clearly established a (false?) paradigm that either the plates were authentic or Joseph was a fraud.
Don Bradley, LDS historian, introducing research from non-LDS scholar Ann Taves on Joseph Smith and the gold plates said:
Taves, a non-Mormon scholar, has taken up a challenge laid down by Richard Bushman and Terryl Givens. The argument by Bushman and Givens is that the nature of Joseph Smith’s claim to have the Nephite golden plates is such that one must either fully accept it or think that he was a fraud: i.e., there is no middle ground on which to reject Joseph Smith’s claim to have the Nephite plates while accepting his sincerity. This is an argument I’ve also made myself, in various discussions online, going back several years.
In this blog post, I will explain Ann Taves’ answer to this challenge, add some additional pieces to the theory, and then ask the same question Don asked.
When I posted this on Facebook I also had one LDS friend weigh in as accepting Taves’ hypothesis while also embracing the reality of the Nephites. Would such a combination of beliefs place an individual within or without the scope of Latter-day Saint faith?
Ann Taves published an article Joseph Smith and the materialization of the golden plates. I will quote and borrow from Taves heavily in this post. Ann previews the issue talking about the polarity in people’s opinions of Joseph Smith and especially the golden plates.
Richard Bushman said “unbelieving historians … repress material [evidence] coming from eyewitnesses close to Joseph Smith [who] consistently wrote and acted as if he had the Book of Mormon plates.”
Non-believers explain Smith’s claims regarding the plates in terms of deception, fantasy, or a prank that got out of hand.
Materiality of the golden plates presents secular historians with a significant stumbling block.
Dan Vogel believes Joseph made the plates out of tin and calls this “the most compelling evidence for conscious misdirection.”
Vogel considers the materiality of the plates “the most compelling evidence” that Smith consciously misdirected his followers and compares the making of the plates with the practices of adepts who comingle trickery and sincere belief.
On the flip side, believers, even LDS scholars, are reticent to discuss the possibility of the golden plates being anything but the actual ancient Nephite recorded on metal plates. There seems to be no middle ground. Taves’ challenge is to provide a plausible explanation for the two seemingly opposite assumptions: 1) there were no actual ancient golden plates and also 2) Smith was neither fraudulent nor delusional.
The relationship between Materiality and Sacrality of the Golden Plates
Taves points out the complex relationship between materiality and sacrality using this quote from Jesse Smith, Joseph’s uncle who critically said the following of Joseph “[He had] eyes to see things that are not, and then [had] the audacity to say they are.”
Taves concurs with Bushman, that is is right to point out that Smith consistently acted as if he possessed ancient plates. But there was something different about the physicality of the plates. They seemed to be not an ordinary material object, but something only the Angel Moroni operating in a spiritual realm could deliver, display, and take away.
The three witnesses saw the plates only through a vision.
According to Lucy Smith, even the 8 witness event, even though Joseph was the one who showed them the plates, they retired to the grove without the plates where they were delivered by “one of the ancient Nephites”
Joseph monitored the safety of the plates from a distance using the seerstone.
Martin Harris according to two separate witnesses said the three and eight witnesses did not physically see the plates only saw “the plates with his natural eyes only in vision or imagination””
Even in the LDS canon, it appears to reference the plates as something that could only be seen through faith. D&C 17:5: “And ye shall testify that you have seen them, even as my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., has seen them; for it is by my power that he has seen them, and it is because he had faith.”
Examples of Materialization of Sacred Objects
Taves establishes a precedent for the materialization of sacred objects by discussing some examples of cases when something natural is believed to be transformed into something sacred. I’m adding a couple more introduced by Mark Bukowski.
Catholic Eucharist
Transubstantiation is the belief in the Catholic church that by the authority and faith of the administering priest and the power of God, that the bread and wine is actually and literally changed to the physical flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. If you were to ask a Catholic partaking of the sacrament, whether the bread they eat is bread symbolizing the body of Christ or the actual body of Christ, they would say the latter. Joseph would be familiar with this belief and could have viewed this as a true principle of God that could be extended to the materialization and transformation of other sacred objects.
Brother of Jared and 16 stones
The 16 small stones that the Lord transformed through his power and the faith of the Brother of Jared into lights. The Brother of Jared was commanded to do something but not given everything to complete the task. The Brother of Jared created a natural solution which God blessed and transformed.
Ten Commandments
God gave Moses a stone tablet with the 10 commandments written on them by his finger. The first set of tablets were destroyed, whereupon Moses made a second set of tablets himself by his own hand. God made that second set of tablets sacred by writing again on them the 10 commandments.
Consescrated Oil
In the LDS faith, we take simple olive oil, and bless it and consecrate it for the healing of the sick. At this point, we treat the oil as sacred and set it apart for its holy purpose, only for the involvement in blessings. We believe God transforms the simple olive oil into consecrated oil. If we were making a recipe that called for olive oil and checked the pantry and found we were out of EVOO, it would be unthinkable to use consecrated oil. In our minds, it is no longer cooking oil, it is a sacred object.
Garments
LDS garments are considered to be sacred. But, like the other examples they start as a material object that becomes sacred through the human modification of the object combined with God’s sanctification.
Transformation of a natural object into the Golden Plates
After a visit to the Hill Cumorah to obtain the plates, Joseph told his parents he had just received “the severest chastisement that [he] had ever had in his life … [from] the angel of the Lord.” The angel told him he had been “negligent [and] that the time ha[d] now come when the record should be brought forth.” But he also told them not to worry. He now knew what to do. “Father give yourself no uneasiness as to this reprimand I know what course I am to pursue an[d] all will be well.”
Taves hypothesizes that up until this time, Joseph assumed his role in receiving the plates was more of a passive one, but now he understood it to be an active, participatory role. Joseph used the verb “obtain” to describe his journey in receiving the gold plates. Obtaining implies an active effort.
Smith’s logic, however, may have been less like an adept deceiving his subjects and more like a Catholic priest making Christ present in the Eucharistic wafer. In the first case, the adept knowingly misleads his viewers, albeit for their own good. In the second, a priest calls upon the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. Comparison of the golden plates and the Eucharist allows us to consider the possibility that Smith viewed something that he made – metal plates – as a vehicle through which something sacred — the ancient golden plates — could be made (really) present.
Taves believes at this point Joseph crafted some metal plates, and then approached God to make them sacred, to materialize them into the ancient gold plates. This is very similar to the Moses precedent and the Brother of Jared example, of a prophet being expected by God to do something to get things started through a natural process and then having God finish the process through a sacred process.
An important, final step in the materialization process was for others to see the plates in vision and to be persuaded by the power of God to believe in them. This explains why Joseph is so genuinely happy when the three witnesses obtained the same vision of the plates.
Father! — Mother! — … you do not know how happy I am[.] The Lord has caused the plates to be shown to 3 more besides me who have also seen an angel and will have to testify to the truth of what I have said for they know for themselves that I do not go about to deceive the people… I do feel as though I was relieved of a dreadful burden which was almost too much for me to endure … it does rejoice my soul that I am not any longer to be entirely alone in the world.
My Twist on the theory
An added dimension from myself: it’s possible that between the time Joseph “discovered” the plates and when Moroni finally took them back up, Joseph believed these crafted plates intermittently transformed between regular non-sacred object not having the ancient record attached to it to a the actual gold plates with ancient record attached to it, depending on when God needed them to function this way.
Jan Shipps believes Joseph through his money digging activities found a Native American artifact, that inspired the golden plates story. I think this could be a real clue. Here’s an additional aspect to the theory I’ve heard from others, but am folding into this Ann Taves materialization narrative. Josiah Stowell is the only non-insider who claimed to view the gold plates outside of the three and eight witnesses. His description taken from a court record for a money digging charge against Joseph Smith:
Josiah Stowel, being by me sworn, saith,… that Smith, the prisoner, went in the night, and brought the Bible, (as Smith said;) witness saw a corner of it; it resembled a stone of a greenish caste; should judge it to have been about one foot square and six inches thick; he would not let it be seen by any one; the Lord had commanded him not; it was unknown to Smith, that witness saw a corner of the Bible, so called by Smith; told the witness the leaves were of gold; there were written characters on the leaves; prisoner was commanded to translate the same by the Lord;…
According to BYU professor Anthony Sweat, this occurred at the Smith home the night Joseph brought home the plates the first time
(Stowell) testified under oath that he saw the plates the day Joseph first brought them home. As Joseph passed them through the window, Stowell caught a glimpse of the plates as a portion of the linen was pulled back. Stowell gave the court the dimensions of the plates and explained that they consisted of gold leaves with characters written on each sheet.
Imagine the possibility that Joseph, instead of crafting gold plates, with pure intent and full of faith, went to the Hill Cumorah, and dug where he believed the Angel Moroni had led him, and when he dug, he found something like this.
This is an actual Native American artifact with etchings. Perhaps Joseph found a squarish stone unlike any natural object he had ever seen. Maybe it was a greenish-goldish color. Perhaps it had actual Native American etchings or looked like it could have been some sort of ancient record. When he tried to take hold of the gold plates, he was blocked from doing so. Maybe the materialization process had not taken place. Through Joseph’s faith and the power of God, the object would first need to be transformed and sanctified, before he could obtain the object as actual gold plates.
Mark Bukowski said
There are words, I think we can put together, which can be read and understood as “naturalistic” explanations and as traditional LDS explanations as well. I think once we figure out those vocabularies, so we can speak as Taves does, yet even with more nuanced meanings, the church really could fill the earth as the “stone cut without hands”. We are completely compatible with a theistic view of humanism, we are materialists, and there are atheist philosophers who describe a god they would believe in terms of solidarity with humanity, with their god being a “friend” to humanity (Rorty and others). We are so dang close it drives me crazy. If we could just get past these sectarian linguistic blocks, and I think Taves work heads in that direction for us- we could actually suddenly have a Mormon revolution. If we can get the world to see it as Taves does, we are very close to being there.
In the sacramental/metaphorical paradigm I introduce on this site, interpreting Joseph’s motives and especially how the gold plates fits in are critical components. Historical problems in scripture and religious foundations are generally not a problem. But Joseph Smith is such a central and key figure in the LDS church, that I feel it’s important to come to terms with a view of him that we can appropriately revere and respect him and view the scripture and doctrines he restored as truth.
Can this view of Joseph Smith and the gold plates fit within the scope of LDS faith?The Heretic
by Tim Doody
For decades, the U.S. government banned medical studies of the effects of LSD. But for one longtime, elite researcher, the promise of mind-blowing revelations was just too tempting.
http://www.themorningnews.org/ar ticle/the-heretic
At 9:30 in the morning, an architect and three senior scientists—two from Stanford, the other from Hewlett-Packard—donned eyeshades and earphones, sank into comfy couches, and waited for their government-approved dose of LSD to kick in. From across the suite and with no small amount of anticipation, Dr. James Fadiman spun the knobs of an impeccable sound system and unleashed Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68.” Then he stood by, ready to ease any concerns or discomfort.
For this particular experiment, the couched volunteers had each brought along three highly technical problems from their respective fields that they’d been unable to solve for at least several months. In approximately two hours, when the LSD became fully active, they were going to remove the eyeshades and earphones, and attempt to find some solutions. Fadiman and his team would monitor their efforts, insights, and output to determine if a relatively low dose of acid—100 micrograms to be exact—enhanced their creativity.
It was the summer of ’66. And the morning was beginning like many others at the International Foundation for Advanced Study, an inconspicuously named, privately funded facility dedicated to psychedelic drug research, which was located, even less conspicuously, on the second floor of a shopping plaza in Menlo Park, Calif. However, this particular morning wasn’t going to go like so many others had during the preceding five years, when researchers at IFAS (pronounced “if-as”) had legally dispensed LSD. Though Fadiman can’t recall the exact date, this was the day, for him at least, that the music died. Or, perhaps more accurately for all parties involved in his creativity study, it was the day before.
At approximately 10 a.m., a courier delivered an express letter to the receptionist, who in turn quickly relayed it to Fadiman and the other researchers. They were to stop administering LSD, by order of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Effective immediately. Dozens of other private and university-affiliated institutions had received similar letters that day.
That research centers once were permitted to explore the further frontiers of consciousness seems surprising to those of us who came of age when a strongly enforced psychedelic prohibition was the norm. They seem not unlike the last generation of children’s playgrounds, mostly eradicated during the ’90s, that were higher and riskier than today’s soft-plastic labyrinths. (Interestingly, a growing number of child psychologists now defend these playgrounds, saying they provided kids with both thrills and profound life lessons that simply can’t be had close to the ground.)
When the FDA’s edict arrived, Fadiman was 27 years old, IFAS’s youngest researcher. He’d been a true believer in the gospel of psychedelics since 1961, when his old Harvard professor Richard Alpert (now Ram Dass) dosed him with psilocybin, the magic in the mushroom, at a Paris café. That day, his narrow, self-absorbed thinking had fallen away like old skin. People would live more harmoniously, he’d thought, if they could access this cosmic consciousness. Then and there he’d decided his calling would be to provide such access to others. He migrated to California (naturally) and teamed up with psychiatrists and seekers to explore how and if psychedelics in general—and LSD in particular—could safely augment psychotherapy, addiction treatment, creative endeavors, and spiritual growth. At Stanford University, he investigated this subject at length through a dissertation—which, of course, the government ban had just dead-ended.
Couldn’t they comprehend what was at stake? Fadiman was devastated and more than a little indignant. However, even if he’d wanted to resist the FDA’s moratorium on ideological grounds, practical matters made compliance impossible: Four people who’d never been on acid before were about to peak.
“I think we opened this tomorrow,” he said to his colleagues.
And so one orchestra after the next wove increasingly visual melodies around the men on the couch. Then shortly before noon, as arranged, they emerged from their cocoons and got to work.
***
Over the course of the preceding year, IFAS researchers had dosed a total of 22 other men for the creativity study, including a theoretical mathematician, an electronics engineer, a furniture designer, and a commercial artist. By including only those whose jobs involved the hard sciences (the lack of a single female participant says much about mid-century career options for women), they sought to examine the effects of LSD on both visionary and analytical thinking. Such a group offered an additional bonus: Anything they produced during the study would be subsequently scrutinized by departmental chairs, zoning boards, review panels, corporate clients, and the like, thus providing a real-world, unbiased yardstick for their results.
In surveys administered shortly after their LSD-enhanced creativity sessions, the study volunteers, some of the best and brightest in their fields, sounded like tripped-out neopagans at a backwoods gathering. Their minds, they said, had blossomed and contracted with the universe. They’d beheld irregular but clean geometrical patterns glistening into infinity, felt a rightness before solutions manifested, and even shapeshifted into relevant formulas, concepts, and raw materials.
[The volunteers] remained firm: LSD absolutely had helped them solve their complex, seemingly intractable problems.
But here’s the clincher. After their 5HT2A neural receptors simmered down, they remained firm: LSD absolutely had helped them solve their complex, seemingly intractable problems. And the establishment agreed. The 26 men unleashed a slew of widely embraced innovations shortly after their LSD experiences, including a mathematical theorem for NOR gate circuits, a conceptual model of a photon, a linear electron accelerator beam-steering device, a new design for the vibratory microtome, a technical improvement of the magnetic tape recorder, blueprints for a private residency and an arts-and-crafts shopping plaza, and a space probe experiment designed to measure solar properties. Fadiman and his colleagues published these jaw-dropping results and closed shop.
At a congressional subcommittee hearing that year, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy grilled FDA regulators about their ban on LSD studies: “Why, if they were worthwhile six months ago, why aren’t they worthwhile now?” For him, the ban was personal, too: His wife, Ethel, had received LSD-augmented therapy in Vancouver. “Perhaps to some extent we have lost sight of the fact that it”—Sen. Kennedy was referring specifically to LSD here—“can be very, very helpful in our society if used properly.”
His objection did nothing to slow the panic that surged through halls of government. The state of California outlawed LSD in the fall of 1966, and was followed in quick succession by numerous other states and then the federal government. In 1970, agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration released a comprehensive database in which they’d sorted commonly known drugs into categories, or schedules. “Schedule 1” drugs, which included LSD and psilocybin, have a “significant potential for abuse,” they said, and “no recognized medicinal value.” Because Schedule 1 drugs were seen as the most dangerous of the bunch, those who used, manufactured, bought, possessed, or distributed them were thought to be deserving of the harshest penalties.
By waging war on psychedelics and their aficionados, the U.S. government not only halted promising studies but also effectively shoved open discourse of these substances to the countercultural margins. And so conventional wisdom continues to argue that psychedelics offer one of a few possibilities: a psychotic break, a glimpse of God, or a visually stunning but fairly mindless journey. But |
ivehi as sariatu, forms the Maldives' basic code of law, as interpreted to conform to local Maldivian conditions by the President, the attorney general, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Majlis. On the inhabited islands, the miski, or mosque, forms the central place where Islam is practiced. Because Friday is the most important day for Muslims to attend mosque, shops and offices in towns and villages close around 11 a.m., and the sermon begins by 12:30 p.m.
Adhan (prayer) sessions are held five times daily. Mudimu, the mosque caretakers, make the call. Most shops and offices close for fifteen minutes after each call. During the ninth Muslim month of Ramadan, cafés and restaurants are closed during the day, and working hours are limited.
Mosques [ edit ]
Most inhabited Maldivian islands have several mosques; Malé has more than thirty. Most traditional mosques are whitewashed buildings constructed of coral stone with corrugated iron or thatched roofs.
Dadimagi miskit in Fuvahmulah, 1981
Kede-ere miskit in Fuvahmulah, 1981
Gen Miskit, Fuvahmulah, 1984
Dharavandhoo Friday Mosque
Bandos island mosque, North Male Atholl
Some Maldivian mosques host mandala-like decorative elements, cultural influences from the pre-Islamic period and/or from the Indian sub-continent.
A mandala on the ceiling of Darumavanta Rasgefaanu mosque, Malè. Lacquered wood carving. The damaged Mandala was covered with a simple geometrical drawing painted on plywood.
Photograph of a mandala on the ceiling. Lacquered wood carving; quite damaged. Kalhuhuraage mosque, Malè, Maldives, 1987
Photograph of a mandala carving on wooden door panel. Fua Mulaku Island, 1986
Photograph of a mandala on the ceiling. Lacquered wood carving. 'Idu mosque, Malè, 1989
In Malé, the Islamic Center and the Grand Friday Mosque, built in 1984 with funding from the Persian Gulf states, Pakistan, Brunei, and Malaysia, are imposing elegant structures. The gold-colored dome of this mosque is the first structure sighted when approaching Malé. In mid-1991 Maldives had a total of 725 mosques and 266 women's mosques.[19]
Old Mosque of Malé, white coral decorations
Sample of decorative Arabic writing on lacquered wooden panel. Idu Miskit, Malé
Filitheyo graveyard
Radicalism [ edit ]
In the late 1990s the spread of Wahhabism challenged more traditional Islamic practices. After the 2004 tsunami, Saudi-funded preachers gained even more influence.[20][21] Indian Newspaper The Week reported that charities that served as fronts for Pakistani terrorist groups like Lashkar e Toiba used disaster relief missions to tsunami-torn Maldives as an opportunity to recruit potential jihadists.[22]
The Guardian estimates that 50-100 fighters have joined ISIS and al Qaeda from the Maldives.[21] The Financial Times puts the number at 200.[23] Radicalization often happens in jail where the "only thing to read is the Qur’an or religious literature. There are also lots of older militants and young guys look up to them."[21]
2007 Malé bombing: On 29 September 2007 a homemade bomb went off in Sultan Park near the Islamic Centre in the Maldivian capital Malé, injuring 12 foreign tourists. In December, three men were sentenced to 15 years in jail after they confessed to the bombing. Two of those imprisoned, Mohamed Sobah and Ahmed Naseer - both Maldivian natives in their early twenties - had their sentences changed from incarceration to three-year suspended sentences under observation and were later set free in August 2010. [22]
2011 Ismail Khilath Rasheed controversy
In February 2012 almost all the Maldives National Museum's pre-Islamic artifacts, dating back to before the 12th century, were destroyed during an attack: "Some of the pieces can be put together but mostly they are made of sandstone, coral and limestone, and they are reduced to powder." He said the museum had "nothing [left] to show" of the country's pre-Islamic history.[24][25] Among the damaged objects were a six-faced coral statue, an 18 in (46 cm) high bust of Buddha, as well as assorted limestone and coral statues[26]
After 2012 all the administrations worked to tackle the growing number jihadist. No major incidents were recorded however politically motivated speeches from previous politicians believe the number is still rising which is yet to be proved.
See also [ edit ]Image copyright Getty Images
A second teaching union is to ballot its members on taking industrial action over their workload.
The Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA) said an indicative ballot showed the majority of its 8,000 members supported taking action.
Last week, Scotland's largest teaching union, the EIS, said its secondary school members would go on a partial work to rule.
The Scottish government said it was committed to reducing workloads.
The SSTA said it had "no option" but to move to a formal ballot after its indicative ballot showed 91% of respondents were prepared take industrial action short of strike action, while 64% were prepared to take strike action if necessary.
General secretary Seamus Searson said workload has been "the major issue" for teachers for a number of years.
He said recent guidance from teaching bodies Education Scotland and the SQA had not addressed the problem.
'Tackle bureaucracy'
Mr Searson said: "In the short term, SSTA members across Scotland are asking for some action to be taken to address the workload that is demoralising teachers in the 2016-2017 qualification cycle.
"The SSTA acknowledges the statements that John Swinney, cabinet secretary, has made on cutting teacher workload but teachers in schools have had promises made in the past which have not come to fruition.
"The SSTA hopes action can be taken quickly to resolve this dispute."
The Scottish government said it was taking steps to address the issues and industrial action by teachers "would not be in the interests of anyone, least of all children and parents".
A spokesman said: "We have set out the various actions we are taking to tackle bureaucracy and free up teachers to teach, and we are already actively considering further measures.
"We are committed to reducing teacher workload and continued engagement with the profession will play a critical role in making this happen.
"We urge the unions to work with us to ensure our teachers feel supported and empowered to deliver an education system that gives all young people the chance to reach their potential."The Fight Against Poverty
The world has long been challenged with finding an effective and sustainable way to end poverty. To date, most are inclined to support social programs that provide opportunities for the underserved to feed their families, seek education, or provide investments for micro-businesses; but a World Bank study shows that “skills training and microfinance have shown little impact on poverty or stability, especially relative to program cost.”
To that end, many experts are looking at how viable it would be to give people money instead of skills aimed at helping them make money.
Indeed, recently, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Bank Ki-moon stated that “cash-based programming should be the preferred and default method of support.” This has prompted a renewed attempt by disparate groups to look into how cash could change the very backbone of current anti-poverty programs and foreign aid.
If fact, one organization, GiveDirectly, is attempting to test how extreme poverty can be alleviated through the concept of a guaranteed basic income—a basic income that can provide for all the fundamental needs of individuals.https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/government-security-dictated-by-prank-calling-sadist-in-walmart-shooting/
The shooting death of John Crawford in an Ohio Walmart store well illustrates the difference between private security and monopoly government security which is the final judge of its own actions, and which enjoys essentially limitless access to cash via the taxpayer.
The basic facts are these: Crawford picked up a BB gun (which is not in any way a “firearm”). The BB “gun” is store merchandise and is sold in the store by Walmart. Crawford walked around the store holding the non-firearm in a non-threatening manner while talking to the mother of his children on the phone. In response to a phone call from another shopper, police stormed the store, guns drawn, and shot Crawford dead on sight with no warning. Another woman, a 37-year old mother Angela Williams also died of a heart attack in the ensuring police-caused chaos.
We now know that the person who called the police, Ronald Ritchie, lied to the 911 operator when he said that Crawford was pointing the BB “gun” at people and that he was trying to load bullets into it. Ritchie lied when he said that Crawford was pointing the gun at children. And just as an illustration of Ritchie’s reliability, we also know that Ritchie lied about being “an ex-marine.” Nonetheless, police officers and dispatchers unquestioningly deferred to Ritchie, and based their entire response on Ritchie’s claims.
So, we apparently live under a system of public-sector policing in which a phone call from a single “witness” can trigger an aggressive police response based on no evidence, no intelligence gathering, and no regard whatsoever for whether or not the person calling into 911 is to be regarded as a credible source or just a lying man-child.
This isn’t the first example of this sort of thing, of course. We know that police engage in SWAT raids and other forms of police violence based on nothing more than a single phone call from a single witness with not even the most cursory investigation into whether or not the “tip” is based any anything other than boredom, spite, racism, or simply sadism. If anyone has an enemy, he need only call the police and report that the target of one’s ire is selling drugs out of one’s home or that he’s some sort of “terrorist.” Police with then descend on the “perp” with assault weapons drawn and smash up the person’s home. In fact, a violent police response is so reliable, that the “game” of calling police with the intent of calling out military-style police raids on innocent victims in called “swatting.”
Would private police respond in a similar way? Would one phone call from an anonymous caller precipitate a private police agency to send out an armored vehicle filled with para-military assault-rifled soldiers pointing weapons at innocent bystanders? When government police point loaded weapons at innocent women out walking their dogs, they regard it as their prerogative to do so and make no apologies. As we know in the case of Crawford, even when an innocent person is gunned down, we’re told it’s “policy” and can’t be avoided.
First of all, it’s a fair bet that such overblown responses would not be employed by any sort of private security for no other reason than the fact that armored vehicles and military-style raids cost time and money. In the real world of the private sector, resources are limited, while for government agencies like your local police, one can simply turn to federal funds and the local taxpayer for the latest law-enforcement toys. Taxpayer-funded police forces face no true obstacle to spending outlandish amounts of money on any minor incident, which is why police departments will use a SWAT raid to seize one-tenth of an ounce of marijuana, and then declare the raid a “success.” What is the cost-benefit ratio of such a raid?
It’s also unlikely that private police would be willing to point loaded weapons at people they are paid to protect, without at least some evidence that the targets pose an actual violent threat to the community.
Moreover, the fact that government police see no problem in employing maximum violence with virtually no knowledge of the situation at hand illustrates yet another problem with centralized nature of government power in a modern state. In situations such as the Walmart case, clearly it was Walmart management that had the best knowledge of the situation. The police, who claim a monopoly over the entire municipality, county, or state, can’t possibly know the true situation on the ground in any given Walmart. Any policing model that relies on a single phone call from an unknown source to trigger a military assult on unfamiliar territory is ineffective at best, and tyrannical at worst. Any measured response, on the other hand, would be to have security personnel that are de-centralized, localized, and directly familiar with each and every store. Government policing clearly cannot provide this sort of service, nor is a government police agency motivated to do so when it enjoys immunity and cannot be put out of business no matter how many botched raids it engages in.
Is Walmart Partly to Blame?
Based on press reports, it’s difficult to ascertain if there way any consultation with Walmart management before the police entered the store guns ablazin’. Based on this report, we know that management was aware of Crawford and sensitive to the fact that his casual handling of the non-firearm could be misinterpreted by other shoppers. According to a witness, Walmart staff was in the process of approaching Crawford to deal with the situation. Before they could, however, police shot Crawford dead.
Did Walmart staff stand aside and send in the police without first ascertaining the reality of the situation and attempting to communicate that to police? If so, that’s alarming, and a good reason to never shop in a Walmart store. Moreover, will Walmart continue to allow Ronald Ritchie to shop in their stores? If so, Walmart apparently has no problem with some customers who pose a true threat to other customers. In either case, the situation could have been greatly improved if Walmart employed (competent) security of its own and refused to tolerate sadists among its clientele.
2:10 pm on September 29, 2014
The Best of Ryan McMakenATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke to European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Monday and asked for help in securing a short extension of the country's bailout to allow time for a referendum on its terms, a government official said.
Previous requests for such an extension had been refused.
Greeks struggled to adjust to shuttered banks, closed cash machines and a climate of rumors and conspiracy theories as a breakdown in talks between Athens and its creditors plunged the country deep into crisis.
Tsipras told Juncker that "obstructing the Greek people's democratic expression by closing banks goes against the democratic tradition of Europe," the official said. He asked Juncker to help get the program "extended by a few days and help restore the Greek banking system's liquidity."
The Greek prime minister also spoke to the European parliament President Martin Schulz and asked for parliamentary support.
(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; writing by Matthias Williams)This is an image I have been working on for quite a while now. The original painting goes by the same title and it was painted by Jean-Honoré Fragonard The style is Rococo where there is very bright colors, cupids, Venus, love and playfulness.However, the original painting had a more darker meaning than the one I gave this one.In the original, a husband is pushing his wife on the swing, and in the bushes a guy is looking at her. She is having an affair with the guy in the bush. The meaning to mine is a bit different, but the same in a way.This is during when Twilight was a filly and still being babysat by Cadance. I image her going on a play date with Twilight, but she was really there to see Shining Armor which Twilight not knowing. Also, originally there was a cupid statue behind the man in the bush, however, I changed the cupid to Flurry Heart as a precursor that they will eventually get married and have a family together.I spent atleast 2 weeks on this with many many many breaks in between.--------I also drew this because I cant finish ANYTHING (commissions, comic etc) because of the issue with my hard drive. I recently got a new computer and some of the files are missing, including my comic assets and commissions that Ive already started to work on. Its currently in the process of being resolved, but believe me when I say I am very frustrated with this long wait. I want my files, I want to continue my art projects....but I cant.This is the reason why I haven't completed the Rarity image from my Epic Mane 6 series, continued My Little Sterelis, or finished up any commissions. Because all of my stuff is somewhere else....Please be patient, It shall eventually get here. Thank you.-----Anyways I hope you liked the image! I might do more of these fine arts crossover images. Perhaps not all with ponies, but its fun!An U.S. Navy picture shows what appears to be a Russian Sukhoi SU-24 attack aircraft flying over the U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea in this picture taken April 12, 2016 and released April 13, 2016. REUTERS/US Navy/Handout via Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Russian Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes were in the skies above an aid convoy in Syria at the precise time it was struck on Monday, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday, citing U.S. intelligence that has led them to conclude Russia was to blame.
Russia has denied its aircraft or those of its Syrian government allies were involved in the incident, in which 18 trucks from a 31-vehicle convoy were destroyed. The strike appeared to deal a fatal blow to Syria’s fragile week-old ceasefire.We seem to be seeing more political debates online, often leading to insults and frustration.
So we decided to try something different.
We brought six political independents into our studio to talk face to face about the issues.
Three of them; Matt, Ethan and Mike voted for President Trump.
While John, Anne and Josh voted for Hillary Clinton.
Brian Allen: I want you to give me one word or phrase that in your estimation describes the president. And John lets begin with you.
John Hay: Immature.
Anne Weyer: Distraction.
Josh Wolters: I was going to say distraction also.
Mike Lewis; Overall decent job.
Ethan Fluit: Chaotic.
Matt Staab: Doing what he said he would do. Like Donald Trump or not he pretty much has been doing what he said he was going to do.
John Hay: He's being vocal and disruptive like we kind of said here. But is he actually affecting law? Changin law? Working the process? Getting things done that he said he was going to get done? I don't see that.
Mike Lewis: The guy is a great businessman. So he's doing exactly what he said he is going to do.
Brian Allen: Is that a good thing?
Mike Lewis: Yes.
Brian Allen: Josh?
Josh Wolters: I think he has had a hard time getting traction. I think that overall he has done a lot of what he said he was going to do.
Anne Weyer: I think he ran on a very aggressive economic platform. Being opposed to NAFTA and wanting jobs to stay in America. I don't see that happening. I don't see jobs coming back to coal country. I don't see him working with the people and the people in leadership to make that happen.
Brian Allen: By a show of hands, who here believes that President Trump is an honest man?
(Ethan Fluit raises his hand)
Ethan Fluit: I would say somewhat. I think he believes what he is saying. Doesnt necessarily means its true. He definitely believes that he didn't do anything wrong with the Russia thing for example. He definitely believes that. And he probably didn't. In my opinion.
Brian Allen: But out of six of you I get half a vote of confidence That the president is an honest man.
Matt Staab: Brian ask the question again just slightly different. Do you believe any politician? Raise your hand. This country wanted a change and we got a change and it was a huge change. If we had elected Hillary we would have had the same stuff Chapter two.
Brian Allen: Now the back row I want to ask a question so this is for Matt, Ethan and Mike. You voted for the President last November. Do you feel good about voting the way you did?
Matt Staab: I didn't feel good about voting for him in the first place. But I sure wouldn't have voted for Hillary. To do it all over again, Donald Trump hands down. Not even a second thought.
MIke Lewis: I believe it was a great decision and I would probably do it again. For the reasons we said earlier is that the guy's a great businessman. He's bringing that to The White House. He's doing exactly what he said he was going to do. It's just unfortunate that the Congress is going against him.
Ethan Fluit: I definitely stand by my vote. I'd love to have a better candidate but I definitely stand by it through and through.
John Hay: I saw Donald Trump as a guy that just does not have the sensibility to be calm and rational at times and I think we see that over and over again displayed. In every Tweet he sends out. Every irrational change of plan that he comes up with.The way he can't unify his own party. He has total control of the government and can't get anything done.
Anne Weyer: Donald really embraced the populism that was going on in the nation similar to Bernie (Sanders) but more I think in a negative way. In a negative direction and so I felt Hillary was the safer choice to make on Election Day.
Josh Wolters; Part of the issue in our country is that we are only given two real choices.
Brian Allen: By a show of hands I want to ask you this question: Should we be investing time, money and resources in investigating if Russia had any influence in the last election? (John, Anne and Josh raise their hands).
Mike Lewis: They've been investiagting for the last year and a half. Haven't found a bit of evidence that Russia had been involved with the election.
Matt Staab: I have yet to talk to anybody that said 'Yes, I changed my vote because I was influenced by the Russians'. It just isn't happenig. It's not there.
John Hay: There should be investigations. Benghazi was investigated I don't know how many times. No charges were ever brought. End of story. The Russia thing will be investigated. Charges may be brough. Charges may not be brought.
Ethan Fluit: I don't go to Facebook and think 'Yes I saw an ad and I'm definitiely going to change my vote.' It's just not going to change my mind.
Brian Alen: If its proven that there was collusion either with the president directly or members of his campaign staff on his behalf, raise your hand if you think that is an impeachable offense.
(All raise their hands expect Josh Wolters)
Josh Wolters: i just don't think it does anyone any good to go back in time and to change things.
Brian Allen: Republicans control The White House. Republicans control both houses of Congress. Yet there is still continued gridlock. So who is to blame? Is it more on The White House? Is it more on Congress? Or do you just split the blame and say they are both to blame?
Mike Lewis: At one point you have Donald trump who should be able to get stuff done as president. But at the same time Congress...the House of Representatives...you know even though they have a Republican majority they....for whatever reason... they're just not getting the votes they need to pass laws.
John Hay: You kind of have at least two maybe three different parts of the Republican Party trying to decide what they want to do. So you truly don't have a united idea.
Brian Allen: Remember that video from a couple of weeks ago of Senator McCain walking into the Senate chambers showing his thumb down vote saying they he was going to vote against it and that killed the (health care) reform plan.
Matt Staab: He needs to go. I've just had it with him. You can throw Olympia Snowe in the bucket with him and throw them both out.
Ethan Fluit: I definitely respect Senator McCain as a person.I have been in the miltary 10 years and I can repsect where he is coming from on some positions. So as a politician I'm looking forward to him leaving. But as a person I have a good amount of respect for him.
Mike Lewis: He will be voted out the next eleciton for Arizona. He ran on certain stipulations and he just hasn't voted on them the way he said he was going to in the elections.
Brian Allen: So in May there was a NATO summit and there was that piece of video of the President pushing himself past the Prime Minister of Montenegro.
John Hay: That's the unqualified...what I saw in this guy that has no busines being president. He has no experience on how to handle himself in public.
Anne Weyer: When our president does something like that it tells other world leaders'maybe he doesn't respect us'. Maybe this is an example of what Americans are and how they behave.
Matt Staab: He has said to the world we're the United States of America, like it or leave it. And for people like me it's about time. It was 8 long years of sitting around and being the doormat. we shold be the leader in every aspect.
Brian Allen: Walk me through that.
Matt Staab: We conservatives suffered through eight long years of no leadership. You know the bowing to the Saudi princes. Our President should never bow to another person.
Josh Wolters: I would rather be a leader in other ways. Through my actions and through my words rather than bullying people around.
Brian Allen: Ethan, is it ever OK to insult someone because of their political beliefs?
Ethan Fluit: I think it's pretty childish.
Brian Allen: But it happens.
Ethan Fluit: Obviously it happens. The internet is a breeding ground for people to say whatever they want anonymously. It's a cesspool.
John Hay: The internet is just a mess. I don't know how many people I've blocked and stopped following over the last year. You don't have the kinds of conversations we're having right here and have people speak like that to each other.
Brian Allen: The fact that we have all of you in the same room together talking about political ideals and political beliefs it seems that that is the rarity now. It seems like the norm is lets go on Facebook and lets go on Twitter.
Mike Lewis: Unfortunately it is truly unbelievable what you read on Facebook and what you read on Twitter.
Brian Allen: Have you ever taken part?
Mike Lewis: I have not. I have not.
Brian Allen: Have you ever been tempted?
Mike Lewis: I have. Plenty of times.
Brian Allen: What stopped you?
Mike Lewis: I don't want to get involved in anything like that.You know not that I don't want to get my beliefs out there and talk to other people about what they're thinking about but I just don't want to get involved.
Brian Allen: One word that describes media coverage of The White House.
Matt Staab: Lousy.
Ethan Fluit: Pathetic.
Mike Lewis: Dreadful.
Josh Wolters: Thwarted attempts.
Anne Weyer: Relentless.
John Hay: I don't think they're getting what they need to.
Matt Staab: I just saw something on the news the other day that the coverage of Trump is 95% negative.
Brian Allen: Just because it's negative doesn't necessarily mean that it is untrue.
Matt Staab: Can we not run a story of some successes? The lowering of the unemployment rate. People coming off the Welfare rolls. Some of us like the idea of building a wall. Can't we show some of the positive parts of that?
Mike Lewis: The one video that I think of is that time where he is throwing paper towels out there at the crowd. CNN went on and on about that story. Just making fun of him.
Anne Weyer: I think that the media has a responsibility to educate people. And we're not seeing that. We're seeing them feed into emotion.
Maat Staab: The liberals complain about Fox. Fox no longer is a conservative network. I dropped watching them like a year ago because of their liberal bias. The Drudge Report is my choice for news. For national news.
Brian Allen: But you said something there that's interesting. You don't watch Fox anymore because of its liberal bias.
Matt Staab: Correct.
Brian Allen: But you did watch Fox when there was a conservtive bias.
Matt Staab: Correct. OK the liberals have CBS, NBC, ABC, New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, and conservatives have Fox. And there's an overwhelming bias there? Come on. It doesn't even come close to being equal.
Brian Allen: How many of you support the way the President uses Twitter? (Anne and Mike raise their hands).
Mike Lewis: i love the fact that he puts his schedule out there. Everybody knows what he's doing that day. His thoughts. What's going through his mind as the President. Just the ability to get inside the Oval Office. Get inside not necessarily Donald Trump as a person but Donald Trump as the President.
Anne Weyer: I think there's transparency there that I'm sensing that he is communicating with the public regularly. He cares that the public knows what he's doing. Whether that's personal promotion or what we benefit from knowing what he's up to.
Matt Staab: Like they say about writing a nasty letter; you wait a day to send it. If he would wait two hours before he hits the send button on his Tweets I think his approval rating would be considerably higher than it is.
John Hay: It's careless. He's very careless with it.
Mike Lewis: I think that...not to interrupt you...but I think that's where the insight of the actual presidency comes from. It's the instant thought.
John Hay: It's very legitimate but it's not being sent just to his supporters. He's sending these things out to the entire world. Someday he just might say the wrong thing. Not saying we're gonna start the next world war over it but he can be pretty reckless with what he is saying.
Brian Allen: If you could give the President once piece of advice on anything what would you telll him?
Ethan Fluit: I would probably just quote another president...speak softly and carry a big stick.
Matt Staab: You have far more support than you probably think you do...but act more presidential.
John Hay: Words matter. That would be it.
Anne Weyer: I would encourage him to keep learning and keep trying to understand the world. and surround himself with people who know what they're doing.
Josh Wolters: Being the leader of the greatest country in the world means being the leader of the world and he needs to act like it.
Mike Lewis: I would say despite all his critics...continue what he's doing. I believe the country is going in the right direction. There's a lot of negativity out there saying he needs to stop Tweeting. Stop Facebooking. Continue what he's doing.NEW DELHI: Petrol price was on Friday cut by Rs 1.27 per litre and diesel by Rs 1.17 a litre, the second reduction in rates this month following global cues.The revised prices will take effect from midnight tonight, Indian Oil said on its website.Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 63.20 per litre from Saturday instead of Rs 64.47 a litre at present, while a litre of diesel will cost Rs 44.95 as against Rs 46.12 currently.There were straight three cuts in fuel prices in the last month.Petrol and diesel rates were last revised on July 31, when the price of petrol price was lowered by Rs 2.43 per litre while that of diesel was reduced by Rs 3.60 per litre.Petrol and diesel prices are reviewed every fortnight by oil marketing companies and revised in accordance with international oil rates."The movement of prices in international oil market and rupee-dollar exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes," IOC said.(Input from PTI)Seahawk defensive lineman Michael Bennett says trying to win another Super Bowl is more important this off-season than thinking about holding out.
A year ago at this time, Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett was contemplating a training camp holdout in search of a new contract.
Now, with his contract situation the same but after a season in which he added only more evidence to back up his contention that he has outplayed the four-year, $28.5 million deal he signed in March, 2014, Bennett says he isn’t thinking of holding out.
During an interview Saturday after conducting his annual Ocean Health Fest to promote healthy eating and lifestyles for families with young kids, Bennett reiterated that while he’d like a new deal, he’ll be at training camp (even if he is currently working out on his own while the team is going through the voluntary portion of its off-season program).
So what’s the difference?
Bennett, who turns 31 in November, says this season is all about getting back to the Super Bowl, and winning it.
“Just trying to win another championship,’’ Bennett said when asked what’s different in his approach this off-season from last year. “I hated seeing Cam Newton in the Super Bowl because I know that if we had won that game (the divisional playoff against the Panthers) we are back in the championship and we do it all over again. That left a nasty taste in my mouth. So everything I am doing now is just to get better for the season.’’
Bennett also knows understands that the team has a policy of not giving extensions to players with more than a year remaining on their contract — Bennett’s runs through 2017 —- while trying to take care of those who have a year remaining.
That means Seattle is expected to re-up receiver Doug Baldwin — whose contract has one year left — at some point in the next few months, which would alternately mean waiting until after the season to give new deals to Bennett and/or safety Kam Chancellor. Chancellor held out and missed the first two games last season but isn’t expected to hold out this year. Like Bennett, Chancellor has two years remaining on his contract.
“I don’t care who gets done first,’’ Bennett said. “I want Doug Baldwin to get rewarded. I want Kam Chancellor to get rewarded. They have put in the work. They have put in the time. They are worthy of their contracts.’’
That the Seahawks appear set to have a much quieter off-season this year as opposed to last season — when there also almost daily stories about Russell Wilson’s contract situation until he signed right before training camp — has led some to wonder if the players learned some lessons along the way.
Coach Pete Carroll seemed to hint at that in March when he said “our guys realized during last season that it took us a long time to get going again to where we really hit our stride and that we are the only guys that were in the way of that.’’
Bennett, though, said he thinks the disappointment of the Super Bowl loss was toughest hurdle for the team to overcome last year
“I don’t think it was so much the stuff that happened in the off-season,’’ he said. “I just think it was from the Super Bowl. I think a lot of guys kept that on for a while. That was the biggest thing. Even though Kam held out, things like that, I just think people were hungover by the Super Bowl. … I think that’s what people held on to last year.’’
Bennett says he’s preparing for the long haul of a long season. He was quoted in an ESPN story Saturday that he is “feeling really Defensive MVP-ish right now, the way I’ve been training.’’
Saturday, he didn’t back down from that statement, saying there’s no reason he can’t have that kind of a season.
Bennett said he is increasingly mixing in activities such as boxing and swimming into his off-season training regiment — he said he is swimming 20-30 laps up to three times a week — of workouts generally conducted by trainer Kevin Chang.
“I’m trying to be in way better condition to the point where I don’t ever get tired,’’ Bennett said.
As for winning the MVP, Bennett knows he’d have to rely on the votes of others, something he realizes is fraught with risk.
“It’s like when you pick the Pro Bowl,’’ Bennett said. “You can’t pick the Pro Bowl without picking Cliff Avril. You can’t have a top 100 (a reference to the NFL Network list) and you’ve got guys like (Pittsburgh’s) Cameron Heyward (who was N. 88) over Cliff Avril. It doesn’t make any sense.’’BANGKOK — A senior commerce official on Monday admitted to stealing paintings from a hotel in Japan and announced his resignation.
Speaking about the scandal for the first time since it erupted last week, Suphat Saguandeekul said in a statement released to the media he unreservedly apologized for bringing shame to his country through his actions. He said he was drunk at the time.
Suphat’s apology came a day after the Ministry of Commerce suspended him from duty and launched a formal investigation.
Read: Thai Official Who Stole Hotel Paintings Freed by Japanese
Suphat, who served as a deputy director for the Department of Intellectual Property, said he was out drinking with his Japanese colleagues late into early morning. He said he was extremely drunk when he “committed an act that I should not have.”
“I stress that I have no intention to find an excuse. Now that I have committed wrongdoing, I admit my guilt,” Suphat’s statement said. “I merely ask for an opportunity to explain what happened in that night.”
He said he took responsibility because growing up and studying in Japan had instilled him a sense of honor that requires holders of political office to resign if they do something wrong.
It is not immediately clear whether Suphat’s resignation would affect the investigation.
Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn announced on Monday that Suphat was suspended from his position and transferred to an inactive post as punishment while the inquiry is ongoing.
Suphat was a deputy director in the Department of Intellectual Property. He returned to Thailand on Saturday after a settlement was reached and Japanese prosecutors dropped charges against him.
Apiradi also did not say what the penalty for Suphat would be if he’s found to be at fault. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Friday that Suphat could be found guilty of either a minor or serious offense.
Penalty for the former is a reduction of salary while the latter could mean expulsion without retirement benefits.
Officials said he was in Kyoto for a meeting with his Japanese counterparts to talk about patent rights. He was later arrested Jan. 24 and accused of stealing |
New York: Macmillan, 1919. ------. Winders, Richard B. Mr. Polk's Army: The American Military Experience in the Mexican War. College Station,......TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1997. 46 CMH PUB 73-3 PIN: 082592-000 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; DC area (202) 512-1800
Fax: (202) 512-2250 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402-0001 ISBN 0-16-075744-4 47
Return to CMH Online Last updated 23 May 2006THE BATTLE to take back Marawi City from Islamic militants, martial law over all of Mindanao and damage from the Visayas quake added to the weakening peso and the rainy season to weigh on business sentiment this quarter, taking the overall confidence index to its weakest in three years, the central bank reported on Friday.
The third-quarter Business Expectations Survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) – conducted July 3-Aug. 18 among respondents of 1,480 firms nationwide – showed that 37.9% of Philippine firms were optimistic about local prospects, declining from a 43% confidence index in the second quarter. The reading is also the lowest since the 34.4% logged in 2014’s third quarter.
“This means that the number of optimists declined but continued to be greater than the number of pessimists during the quarter,” BSP said in a press release summarizing survey results.
“The confidence level, although lowest in three years, remains… robustly positive.”
Respondents were drawn from the combined list of the Securities and Exchange Commission‚’s Top 7,000 Corporations in 2010 and BusinessWorld‚’s 2015 Top 1,000 Corporations in the Philippines, consisting of 586 companies in Metro Manila and 894 firms outside the National Capital Region.
Companies grew less upbeat as they expect weak demand crops and retail products during the rainy season.
BSP Deputy Director Marriel M. Remulla said in a press briefing on Friday that respondents also cited battle for Marawi City – which is now on its fourth month – and the subsequent declaration of martial law over all of Mindanao that will stay in place till yearend which have “affected people’s mobility to and in Mindanao.”
Other factors which affected sentiment include increasing prices, stiffer competition, damage and power outages after the magnitude 6.5 earthquake in the Visayas, along with a weaker peso.
Inflation rate picked up to 2.8% in July from the previous month’s 2.7% and the year-ago 1.9%, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
On the other hand, the peso traded at the P51 level to touch fresh 11-year-lows in August amid heightened market volatility.
Market players grew less optimistic across the country, the BSP said, even as it noted that firms in Southern Luzon were more upbeat about their operations on the back of strong consumer demand, business expansions and bigger government spending.
Across markets, export firms grew more bullish with a confidence of 50% from 46.9%.
On the other hand, importers reported a substantial slide in optimism with the net score down to 39.2% from 46.5% the previous quarter, as they took a hit from higher shipment costs with the peso depreciation.
Domestic-oriented firms also grew less positive as they were affected by natural calamities and the ongoing conflict in Mindanao.
By type of business, the industry sector saw improved sentiment during the quarter especially manufacturers, the BSP said. This came alongside dampened optimism among firms engaged in construction, services, as well as wholesale and retail trade, as they expect softer demand and fewer activities during the rainy season.
The firms also foresee slower growth in total orders and business activities during the quarter amid tepid demand, alongside higher interest rates, faster price increases, and a weaker peso. They likewise see tighter financial conditions between July-September, but said that any financing needs can be accessed through bank credit.
At the same time, respondents grew more optimistic towards the fourth quarter as they expect demand to rebound in time for the holiday and harvest seasons. In particular, the confidence index jumped to 51.3% from 42.7% the previous quarter, although it was lower than the 56.8% reading in 2016’s third quarter.
The continued rollout of public infrastructure projects, bigger production volumes, business expansions, favorable weather for crops, as well as the positive impact of tax reform now still pending in Congress also drove business confidence higher for the last three months of 2017.
More companies also said they expect to hire more workers between October to December, especially those in the wholesale and retail sectors. – Melissa Luz T. LopezNew window tint inspection law takes effect this weekend Copyright by WIVB - All rights reserved Video
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - With the new year comes new laws taking effect in New York State, including one that could potentially keep your car off the road for a while.
Starting January 1, auto shops will be required to check window tinting on all vehicles as part of the annual inspection process.
"We're the bearer of bad news enough as it is and unfortunately, good or bad we have to tell you," said Rick Tringali, the owner of Tringali's Auto Service on Hertel Avenue, as he explained why he's not looking forward to his customers' reactions to the new law taking effect.
The law that's already on the books in New York State already requires your vehicle's windows to let at least 70 percent of the light through, but until now, that rule was only enforced by police who checked the tinting with special meters when the pulled over a vehicle. Now, every vehicle in New York State will be checked to ensure compliance with the law.
State police say it's important all drivers follow the rules for window tinting. Having windows that are too dark can create dangerous situations for drivers who may not be able to fully see their surroundings, and those dark windows can also create dangerous situations for law enforcement officers.
"We don't know who's in there. We don't know what's going on," explained Trooper James O'Callaghan, public information officer for New York State Police Troop A. "In law enforcement, to have that window tint removed is a nice thing in the routine traffic stop."
But, while auto shop owners like Rick Tringali say they understand the safety aspects behind the law, they say they're not happy about being the ones to enforce the rules.
The auto shops will be required to buy meters to check the tint and they'll have to take more time for each inspection to complete the checks, which will cost labor, and they'll have to eat the added expenses. "We can't charge any more for the state inspection. The state inspection is regulated by the state," Tringali said.
Having to bring your vehicle into compliance if your windows are too dark can get very expensive for the vehicle owner, too.
Not only do you have to pay to have your vehicle inspected when it fails because of the window tinting, but you'll have to repay to have it reinspected when the windows are changed, and that tint removal process often isn't very cheap. "It does not come off very easily," Tringali said. "I would think you'd have to have some very strong solvent or a heat gun. It's going to take some time to get those properly off."
And, Tringali says he expects to hear some flack from customers about it. Many of the people who have the darker tinting on their windows paid good money to put it on in the first place. "It's a luxury item," Tringali said. "A guy could have a perfectly brand new car but he could have a window tint that's too dark, and now the car is technically illegal for inspection."
Tringali said he wishes other shops would not have sold the illegal tint in the first place, and he says he wishes there was a longer grace period for vehicle owners to get their windows fixed, but he says his hands are tied in this situation. The state licenses his shop as an inspection, so he has to follow the state's rules.The Negative Voice in My Head: Guest Blog by Carly C.
Occasionally when I’m writing, I run into a mental roadblock. It starts innocently enough: what’s the point here, why am I writing this, what do I want the reader to gain from this? This is common for writers or creators of any type, and it’s healthy. It helps us stay relevant.
But I’m also a master of finding the unhealthy. This line of thought frequently warps in my mind, becoming: why am I trying, this is crap, I am crap (except worse because I can’t be flushed down a toilet), no one wants to read this, none of this is important, I have nothing important to say, it would be offensive to ask someone to read this because I am not worth any amount of time from anyone, I am worthless.
Besides being a writer, I’m the worlds foremost expert on precisely just how much I suck. I compare my work to the work of others in unforgiving death matches that lead to me lying on the couch staring into space trying to justify to myself why I should continue living. I don’t know why I go through this, or why I can’t stop it, but it’s a something I deal with daily. I compulsively read CVs and Wikipedia articles and interviews with writers and creators that I love, trying to figure out the formula to their success—of course, I do this instead of writing.
They always have interesting lives. They’re high achievers, they overcame steep obstacles, they have some interesting life quality that gives them the perspective they’re famous for. I don’t see this in myself. My life’s not interesting, I live it and I’m bored with it, so I must not be important or interesting in any way. Pretty much everyone’s life can be interesting when distilled to a CV, or a Wikipedia page, or an interview. But mine wouldn’t be, even if I were important or interesting enough to have a Wikipedia page. I’m a piece of garbage and no one cares about me.
This voice in my head breaks down under scrutiny. For starters, it’s only triggered when I try to write, which is something I care about more than anything in the world. I’ve never contemplated suicide after over-cooking my spaghetti noodles so I know I have an off-switch somewhere. It’s also very easy to argue with: am I really producing crap? Probably not, and it’s disingenuous to compare my tweets to King Lear. Am I really a piece of garbage? I mean, I guess I might have value as a person that isn’t dependent on my writing. Am I really a failure? No, not really. Most of the time, I’m so afraid to fail I stop myself from even trying.
Despite knowing the counterarguments, on some level I still believe the things my inner voice tells me about myself. If the key to succeeding as a writer is working hard and being fearless, it feels more comfortable to have control over my own failure than leave it up to chance. So I’ll verbally abuse myself into stagnation before I allow myself to earnestly try. Every success is cast off as chance and every failure, no matter how small or imagined, is held up as the emblem of Truth. My own mind is the biggest obstacle to me. Even now, I’m fighting the urge to throw my computer into the path of an oncoming train rather than finish writing this essay. Every word is a grapple with my emotional center, which is setting off fireworks inside my head and screaming no one cares, stop writing, don’t even try because no one cares, you will never be successful at anything because you’re not worth it. Self-doubt is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
In dark moments with thoughts like these, when the voice wins and I stop writing and curl into a ball on my couch, sobbing at the injustice of my own self-hatred, I wonder if my heroes ever felt this way. I wonder if Shakespeare contemplated killing himself because he thought Macbeth was just that offensively bad, how many times F. Scott Fitzgerald burned manuscripts of The Great Gatsby and vowed to never write again, or if Lin-Manuel Miranda ever looked up from his computer while writing Hamilton and asked himself why he was even trying. I don’t know the answer, but somehow my heroes were able to overcome and if I really want to be like them I suppose I’ll have to find a way also.
Carly is a writer from Indiana. You can follow her on Twitter @neutronsoupYou are here: Home / Weird Stuff / Society / World’s Most Deadliest Prisons
Bang Kwang Prison : (Thailand)- Known as the “Bangkok Hiltonâ€, Bang Kwang is understaffed, overcrowded, and filled with inmates who struggle with insanity as they spend the first months of their sentences chained in leg irons. The Thai culture doesn’t believe in coddling prisoners, and, in the words of Director of Prison Khun Nattee, “Thai prisons are tough…you don’t want to be in Bang Kwang.†Poor medical care is standard at this prison, with sick inmates shackled to their beds as they wait for medicines they probably will never get. If you find yourself on Death Row at Bangkwang, you will have leg irons welded on until your execution, and you will be given only two hours notice before dying by lethal injection.
Carandiru Prison : (Brazil) – The body count was sky-high at this notorious Brazilian prison, where riots in 1992 triggered a massacre of the general population by local police: inmates, who had already given in and surrendered to police, were shot as they cowered in terror in their tiny cells. Deaths at this facility are thought to be as many as 1300 over its 46 year history: the reign of terror by prison officials was stopped in 2002 when the prison was closed, amidst campaigns from Amnesty International, and reports of gross human rights violations that could not be quieted by Brazilian officials. The violence wasn’t the only thing threatening the unfortunate residents of this dark place: an AIDS epidemic at the facility spread rapidly, with as many as one in five of the inmates suffering from the disease.
ADX Florence Supermax Prison : (Colorado) – This prison was built in response to the violent attacks on guards and prison staff at other US prisons – it was meant to be the ultimate deterrent, a place where inmates were completely isolated from prison staff, and left to live in slow psychological torture as they spent 23 hours a day in barren cells. Inmates at ADX are the worst of the worst, often repeat offenders who have killed or injured other inmates, or even prison guards, during their time in other institutions. Describes by inmates as a nightmare vision of punishment, “meant to inflict misery and painâ€, this “clean version of hell†is also a violent place, despite all the steps taken to segregate and isolate the general population. In its 13 years of operation, two prisoners have been killed at ADX Florence. Another prisoner, named Lawrence Klaker, was shot and injured as he entered the Supermax prison for the first time: he later killed himself within prison walls.Follow the money. More importantly, follow the logic. That’s all it takes to see where corruption in the climate industry.
“I have never known so much naive conviction allied to greater intellectual poverty.” – Claude Levi-Strauss
A while back, I overheard a conversation between two people. One person said that they had no idea what Obamacare really was, but they were singing up for it anyway. This person then asked the other “I just know people keep saying it’s so bad, but it don’t know why.” Their friend replied–who had previously indicated he also had no idea what Obamacare really entailed: “I really just think they’re trying to do good.”
This is naïveté. It’s a belief in the inherent goodness of someone or something without having put even a modicum of research into the person or subject. It’s a roll of the intellectual dice based on what someone “feels.” It’s wrong; naïveté in one subject often perpetuates naïveté in other subjects. Example: global warming—sorry, climate change—sorry, climate disruption.
I hear it all the time—and I mean ALL THE FREAKING TIME: “The science is settled.” Then I ask: “You really don’t believe anyone has a vested interest in the perpetuation of these ideas?” And they usually reply incredulously with something along the lines of: “Why would they? They’re just trying to save the environment.” It’s like a tautology. They’re trying to save the environment, therefore the the environment must be in trouble…because they’re trying to save it.
Well, according to Steve Milloy of Breitbart, allegedly “independent” Harvard and Syracuse University studies supporting the EPA and the global warming/climate change/climate disruption narrative may have been influenced. Put on a pearl necklace, because you’re gonna need to clutch it:
“An online search of EPA’s web site revealed that Syracuse’s Driscoll has previously involved as a principal investigator in studies that received over $3.6 million in research grants from EPA. Co-author Dallas Burtraw, a researcher at the think tank Resources for the Future, had been involved in previous EPA grants totaling almost $2 million. Harvard co-author Jonathan I. Levy had been involved in over $9.5 million worth of grants. Co-author Joel Schwartz, also of Harvard, had been previously involved in over $31 million worth of grants from EPA.”
Wait, so they received money from the agency whose notions they are propping up with their studies? Huh, that seems totally above board. Hang on–gasp! *clutches previously mentioned pearls*
Yeah, the climate initiative isn’t some purist “SCIEEEENCE!” It’s an economic industry, just like everything else. Nothing is pure, yet the climate narrative is just assumed to be so, like the conversation I overheard regarding Obamacare. I think they’re just trying help people. I think the environmentalists are just trying to save the planet. What other interest could they possibly have?
People have been brainwashed into believing that environmentalism is the only field in the history of the universe that has been untouched by corruption. It’s clean of self-interest. That brainwashing has been wildly successful. Meanwhile, government grants have been handed out in the form of millions and billions of dollars to those who just somehow always end up supporting the same narrative. Any dissenters have their names smeared and their money evaporated.
Henry Payne of National Review writes:
“[Michael] Mann is the controversial director of Pennsylvania State’s Earth System Science Center. He was at the center of the 2009 Climategate scandal, in which e-mails were uncovered from climatologists discussing how to skew scientific evidence and blackball experts who don’t agree with them.
Mann is typical of pro-warming scientists who have taken millions from government agencies. The federal government—which will gain unprecedented regulatory power if climate legislation is passed–has funded scientific research to the tune of $32.5 billion since 1989, according the Science and Public Policy Institute.”
Google Climategate, Google Harold Lewis, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He resigned from the American Physical Society in 2010 after decades of membership because of the corruption in the industry, and the relentless promoting of the warming narrative. Read his resignation letter here. It’s a stunning indictment of the power of corruption in the environmental industry.
Here’s the point: Do not believe that the anthropogenic climate change narrative is pure. Don’t be like those who say of Obamacare (without any research): “I think they’re just trying to do good.” Don’t be those people. It’s an intellectually bankrupt way of life, and leads to further allowances of corruption, and lies.
Follow the money. More importantly, follow the logic. That’s all it takes to see where corruption lies, and where intent is selfish—whether it’s about money, or power, or both.
Don’t be convinced of what you don’t know. Don’t believe the warming tautology.TORONTO -- It is of "great importance" to hear Canadian Muslims condemn the attacks which killed two soldiers in Montreal and Ottawa this year, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said as he expressed his gratitude for those who spoke out against the events that rattled the country.
The comments -- believed to be Harper's first public words of support for Canadian Muslims following the incidents -- were made as he addressed a gathering of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in north Toronto on Thursday night.
"Just as you need to hear that your community is embraced by this country, so non-Muslim Canadians also want to hear from their Muslim neighbours that Islam is a force for peace in our country and not something to be feared," Harper said. "You offer them this reassurance."
Harper had been criticized last month by certain Muslim groups for not publicly stating his support for Canadian Muslims in the wake of the attacks. The groups had said their efforts to demonstrate that most Muslims do not share extremist beliefs and to show solidarity with non-Muslim Canadians needed to be reinforced by political leaders.
The attacks took place within days of each other this October, sending shock waves across the country.
Warrant Officer Patrick Vincent died when he and another soldier were run down in Quebec by a man harbouring jihadist sympathies. Two days later, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was shot dead by a gunman in Ottawa who then went on to open fire in the halls of Parliament before being killed.One of the Al Nisbet cartoons about the government's breakfast in schools programme.
A court has questioned whether controversial New Zealand cartoons are akin to pro-Nazi propaganda materials designed to incite hatred towards Jews prior to World War II.
A legal debate over the cartoons, which were published in The Marlborough Express and The Press newspapers in 2013 and featured negative depictions of Māori and Pacific people, played out in the High Court in Auckland on Wednesday.
Labour MP Louisa Wall is appealing a decision by the Human Rights Review Tribunal, which rejected Wall's complaint that the cartoons were "insulting and ignorant put-downs" of Māori and Pacific people.
AL NISBET The Marlborough Express Al Nisbet cartoon.
Panel member Dr Huhana Hickey, who is hearing the case alongside Justice Matthew Muir and former National MP Brian Neeson, asked how Al Nisbet's cartoons could be viewed any differently to those that incited violence towards Jews in pre-1939 Germany.
READ MORE:
* Labour MP Louisa Wall takes Fairfax to court
* Tribunal finds 'provocative' cartoons did not breach Human Rights Act
* Cartoons: negative, insulting
Dr Hickey said she had personally been spat at and abused just for being Māori.
JAMES IRELAND/STUFF Labour MP Louisa Wall says the cartoons were insulting.
"I do know that a lot of racism exists quite strongly down south, so did this make it worse? Where do we draw the line to protect those who are being vilified?"
Nisbet drew the cartoons in response to the government's breakfast in schools programme in 2013.
One depicted a group of adults, dressed as children, eating breakfast at school and saying "Psst... If we can get away with this, the more cash left for booze, smokes and pokies".
The other showed a family sitting around a table littered with Lotto tickets, alcohol and cigarettes and saying "Free school food is great! Eases our poverty and puts something in you kids' bellies".
Wall and the south Auckland youth group Warriors of Change complained to the tribunal over the cartoons.
The tribunal ruled in May while the cartoons may have "offended, insulted or even angered", they were "not likely to excite hostility against or bring into contempt any group of persons in New Zealand on the ground of their colour, race, or ethnic or national origins".
It said for that reason their publication was not unlawful.
Wall then appealed that decision to the High Court.
Fairfax Media, which publishes The Marlborough Express and The Press, also owns Stuff.
Appearing for the company, lawyer Robert Stewart said contemporary New Zealand was completely different to pre-WWII Germany.
"It would not happen in today's society because there is a free press, because of the fact these ideas do get debunked," he said.
"It's not the German press controlled by the Reich. We live in a very different age.
"As uncomfortable as it might be to see confronting and offensive views, ultimately that is for the good of society."
Earlier, Justice Muir agreed the cartoons were insulting.
The question was whether they had caused "public hostility" against Māori and Pacific people and breached the Human Rights Act.
Justice Muir said the aim of the hearing was to "look afresh" at whether there was a breach of the Human Rights Act.
"No-one is contending that the cartoons were not insulting, we certainly all regard them as insulting.
"It is a grossly inappropriate generalisation of Māori parents. What is insulting about the cartoon is to suggest that this is the exclusive preserve of Māori and Pasifika parents.
"This is about how we apply the balance of the test of Section 61."
Section 61 of the Human Rights Act states it is unlawful to publish any material that is "threatening, abusive, or insulting" and "likely to excite hostility against or bring into contempt any group of persons" in New Zealand on the ground of the colour, race, or ethnic or national origins.
Speaking on behalf of Wall, human rights lawyer Prue Kapua said the cartoons did bring Māori and Pacific people into contempt.
"It is colouring the view of general people who are looking at those cartoons.
"How does this not bring Māori and Pasifika into contempt, if they are defined as welfare bludgers and negligent parents and consumed with smoking, drinking and alcohol?"
Justice Muir said he agreed, but he was not convinced most people would take the cartoons at face value.
"The tribunal took the view that in the context of a 'free market of ideas' in an essentially socially liberal country, the reasonable person would concede that, albeit incredibly tasteless, the cartoons were not likely to incite hostility or bring people into contempt."
Most people would say the cartoons were simply Nisbet's "warped view of the world", he said.
Kapua said there had to be some limits to freedom of expression where it was discriminatory and prompted "negative and unhelpful" conversations.
"All this did was encourage people to express their views about Māori and Pasifika families.
"There is an expectation that cartoons do exaggerate a matter to highlight it, but the way Maori and Pasifika were portrayed here is not about highlighting an issue, but is done as a criticism, a stereotype, a cheap shot."
Justice Muir said freedom of speech was a "foundational cornerstone" of democracy, and any attempts to curtail it needed to be considered in that light.
Stewart said Fairfax accepted the cartoons were insulting, but said disallowing them was a slippery slope.
"If you try and somehow stop something like this, what do you try and stop next? This is a case of 'where do you draw the line', and in our view the tribunal got it right.
"Without freedom of expression, all of that would be swept under the carpet. A cartoonist holds a looking glass up to society and sometimes that's an uncomfortable view to see."
During the first hearing, on November 1, Justice Muir expressed discomfort with hearing the case alone.
He acknowledged Wall's work in sponsoring marriage equality legislation in parliament that granted same-sex couples the right to get married, and said it was public knowledge he lived with a male partner.
While the lawyers present did not object to Justice Muir's jurisdiction, he went on to appoint Hickey and Neeson as lay members on the panel to hear the case alongside him.Amtrak sets another ridership record Written by Daniel Clark
Amtrak set an all-time record for the most passengers in one month—2.9 million—for the month of July 2013, a 4.8% year-over-year increase.
Northeast Corridor services, state-supported and other short-distance routes, and long-distance trains all showed gains for July. State-supported routes continue to lead the way in ridership growth. Under federal law, beginning Oct. 1, 2013, 19 states will take greater control of routes of fewer than 750 miles, but first must reach new operating and capital cost-sharing agreements with Amtrak to ensure the corridor services continue to operate beyond the deadline. Currently, Amtrak has agreements with three states.
Thus far in Fiscal Year 2013 (October 2012-July 2013), Amtrak ridership is up 1.1% vs. the prior year, “with strong ticket sales forecasted for the final two months of the fiscal year,” Amtrak said. “In addition, Amtrak set individual monthly records in October, December, January, March, May, June, and July. We are on pace to meet or exceed last year’s annual ridership record of 31.2 million passengers.”
“Record numbers of passengers continue to choose Amtrak for their travel needs, making July the best single ridership month ever in our history,” said President and CEO Joe Boardman. “Amtrak is delivering record ridership across the country and serving as an economic engine to help local communities grow and prosper. Amtrak is a vital part of the national transportation network and provides mobility, connectivity, economic development, and jobs. Since 2010, for every dollar of federal investment, America’s Railroad® has returned nearly $3 back into the economy.”Beccy Cole fights for same-sex marriage while making wedding plans with partner Libby O'Donovan
Updated
Country music star Beccy Cole has invited Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to her same-sex wedding.
Cole plans to marry her partner, cabaret singer Libby O'Donovan, if the law is changed to allow same-sex unions.
"It's one thing to turn up at Mardi Gras as Prime Minister, but let's get it right, let's turn up to my wedding — you're invited," she said in a comment directed at Mr Turnbull, who attended this year's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney.
The winner of nine Golden Guitar awards, Cole said she never intended to be a political flag-waver, but is now keen to add her voice to the campaign for same-sex marriage
"When it's something that you really believe in and something that affects you directly and you can see it affecting people within your community, then I think there is a time to stand up and say, 'Come on, let's get this right'," she told Australian Story.
"The law as it stands I think is silly and it's not fair. It's not equal, and that's all we want, to be recognised as equals."
The couple would like to have the marriage ceremony performed by O'Donovan's parents, both of whom are ministers in the Anglican Church.
O'Donovan's father, Reverend Bart O'Donovan, is in favour of changing the law to allow same-sex marriage.
But even if the law is changed, he would be unable to perform same-sex weddings until the Anglican Church changes its policy.
"Once the law allows the marriage of gay people, eventually the church will catch up," he said.
"If we were in America, Canada and other parts of the world, the Anglican Church has already done that."
'Big gay Brady Bunch' family
Cole and O'Donovan met at a gay pride event in Adelaide, just weeks after Cole revealed she was a lesbian on Australian Story in 2012.
Cole had been married to musician Mick Albeck but the marriage lasted only 18 months. They have a son, Ricky, who is now 17.
O'Donovan has a daughter from a previous gay relationship.
Within a year of meeting, they had set up a blended home together, likening themselves to a "big, gay Brady Bunch".
"When people asked what the family situation was, I'd just say 'we're living with mum's girlfriend and sometimes her little girl comes over'," Ricky said.
"Once mum met Libby, she was much happier."
Conservative country fans embrace Cole's sexuality
Prior to falling in love with O'Donovan, Cole had been a supporter of gay marriage but had no intention of getting married again.
Her feelings changed as the relationship grew and she decided to pop the question at O'Donovan's 40th birthday party in January.
"I married a bloke and that was legal, now I just want to do it right, but I want to be allowed to," Cole said.
O'Donovan said as a law-abiding citizen who pays taxes and contributes to the community, she would like her country to recognise her marriage.
"I don't want to get married in another country and then come here and not have the marriage recognised," she said.
When Cole came out in 2012, her biggest fear was that conservative elements of the country music audience would reject her because of her sexuality.
At the Gympie Muster that year — her first gig after the revelation — she was apprehensive about how the crowd would react, but instead she was met with a standing ovation.
In a sign of how much the country music community has accepted her sexuality, this year Cole was named as the ambassador for the Gympie Muster.
"She was full of trepidation about coming out, but the audience here and the country music community couldn't be more accepting of her," Muster organiser Jeff Chandler said.
"Her sexuality doesn't matter, it's not relevant."
Cole said the reaction from her fans should be an example for politicians currently debating the same-sex marriage issue.
"I've been accepted by supposedly conservative regional Australian country music fans. If they can accept me, then the politicians can accept me," she said.
Watch Australian Story: When Beccy met Libby on ABC TV at 8:00pm.
Topics: human-interest, marriage, family-and-children, lgbt, australia
First postedThis week, our former website hosts, Sublime IP, are contesting a Final Link Deletion Notice that was issued to them for content on our website in May 2009. (See the story we posted at the time.)
Sublime, with our support, are arguing that (a) the notice should have been issued to EFA, not our hosts; and that (b) the issuing of the notice infringes our constitutionally protected right to free political communication. This is particularly important as, under the legislation, only the person to whom the links removal notice was issued has standing to appeal the decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Dale Clapperton, former chair of EFA, is arguing the matter before the AAT on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
It is my understanding that the hearing will be open to the public for any members in Sydney who may wish to be present. Details are:
Tuesday and Wednesday this week, 10am start both days
Level 5, 55 Market St, Sydney
We will post any updates here as they become available.In theory, quantum computers should be able to perform certain kinds of complex calculations much faster than conventional computers, and quantum-based communication could be invulnerable to eavesdropping. But producing quantum components for real-world devices has proved to be fraught with daunting challenges.
Now, a team of researchers at MIT and Harvard University has achieved a crucial long-term goal of such efforts: the ability to convert a laser beam into a stream of single photons, or particles of light, in a controlled way. The successful demonstration of this achievement is detailed in a paper published this week in the journal Nature by MIT doctoral student Thibault Peyronel and colleagues.
Senior author Vladan Vuletić, the Lester Wolfe Professor of Physics at MIT, says the achievement “could enable new quantum devices” such as quantum gates, where a single photon switches the direction of travel or polarization of another photon. This goal has been very hard to attain, Vuletić explains, because photons ordinarily interact, at best, only very weakly with one another.
Encouraging such interactions requires atoms that interact strongly with photons — as well as with other atoms that, in turn, can affect other photons. For example, a single photon traveling through a cloud of such atoms might pass through easily, but change the state of the atoms so that a second photon is blocked when it tries to pass through. That means that if two photons try to pass through at once, only one will succeed, while the other is absorbed.
So, in the new system, no matter how many photons are sent into such a cloud of atoms, only one at a time emerges from the other side. The cloud acts as a kind of turnstile for photons, forcing a jumbled mob into an orderly succession of individuals.
Atac Imamoglu, professor of physics at ETH Zurich, who was not involved in this research, says “I view this work as a true breakthrough in quantum optics, as the authors realize a completely novel way of inducing strong interactions between single photons.”
The system is based on a phenomenon called electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), used previously as a way of slowing a beam of light. (The well-known invariance of the speed of light, first formulated by Albert Einstein, only applies to light in a vacuum. Light traveling through matter can move at different speeds.) Various research groups, including members of this team of MIT and Harvard researchers, had published results a decade ago showing that light, and even single photons, could be slowed to a walking pace — or even stopped altogether — and then allowed to resume a normal speed.
This slowing of light is achieved by passing a focused laser beam through a dense cloud of ultracold atoms (in this case, rubidium atoms) chilled to about 40 microkelvins, or 40 millionths of a degree above absolute zero. This cloud is normally opaque to light, but a separate laser beam produces the EIT state that lets photons pass through at a slow speed while elevating atoms to an excited state. Atoms in this state (called a Rydberg state) interact very strongly with each other, meaning that a second photon does not meet the EIT condition if the first photon is still in the medium. So whenever a single photon enters, it passes through the temporarily transparent medium; when two or more enter, the gas becomes opaque again, blocking all but the first photon.
“If you send in one photon, it just passes through, but if you send in two or three, forcing them to squeeze through the tight focus of the laser beam, just one passes,” says Ofer Firstenberg, a Harvard postdoc who is |
Texture TextureUnit TextureName | SetSampler TextureUnit ( Maybe SamplerName ) | RenderSlot SlotName | ClearRenderTarget [( ImageSemantic, Value )] | GenerateMipMap TextureUnit | SaveImage FrameBufferComponent ImageRef | LoadImage ImageRef FrameBufferComponent
As we can see, this instruction set doesn’t resemble that of a conventional assembly language. There are no control structures, and we don’t deal with values at this level, only data dependencies. In essence, the pipeline program defines a suitable traversal order for the original pipeline definition. The job of the front-end compiler is to figure out this order and the necessary allocation of resources (mainly the texture units).
Most of the instructions – the ones whose name starts with Set – just specify the GPU state required to render a given pass. When everything is set up, RenderSlot is used to perform the pass. It can be optionally preceded by a ClearRenderTarget call. We also need some extra machinery to keep the results of passes around for further processing if the dependency graph refers to them several times. For the time being LoadImage and SaveImage are supposed to serve this purpose, but this part of the IR is still in flux.
The nice thing about this scheme is its clear separation of static structure and data. We basically take the standard OpenGL API and replace direct loads of data with named references. The rendering API is used to assign data during run-time using these names. This doesn’t necessarily have to involve a hash lookup, since the API can provide additional functionality to retrieve direct references to use in time critical code. The language maps closely to existing graphics interfaces, so it’s easy to create a lightweight interpreter or even a native code generator for it. Finally, there is a straightforward way to extend it with features we don’t support yet, like instancing or transform feedback, if the need arises.
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In a 2010 radio interview, Frazier Glenn Miller, the man suspected of killing three people Sunday at a Jewish community center and a Jewish retirement center in Kansas, said he was interested in the tea party, voiced support for then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and spoke approvingly of Ron Paul, the Texas Republican congressman and presidential candidate. In late April 2010, Miller, a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon, was a guest on The David Pakman Show, a nationally syndicated left-of-center radio and television program. At the time, Miller was running for US Senate as an independent in his home state of Missouri with the slogan “It’s the Jews, Stupid,” and Pakman pressed Miller on his extreme views.
During the interview, Miller was unabashed about his anti-Semitic positions. When asked whether he thought the United States would be better off if Hitler had succeeded, Miller responded, “Absolutely, the whole world would…Hitler would have created a paradise on Earth, particularly for white people. But he would have been fair to other people as well.” He added, “Germans are blamed collectively because of the alleged so-called Holocaust.”
Not surprisingly, Miller denigrated most American politicians, but cited one positively: “If I had my way [all US senators] would be in jail right now for treason, if not hung from a sturdy oak tree…Ron Paul is the only independent politician, representative in Washington.” He also spoke highly of another conservative: “Patrick Buchanan, he’s a great man, he’s a great historian, he’s one of the very few journalists who has the courage to speak out against Jewish domination in the country.” Miller called Howard Stern “a Jew liar.” When asked whether he supported the tea party, Miller replied, “The school’s still out on them. They’re a new movement. I’m watching them closely. I suspect, however, they’ll be infiltrated by the Jews and therefore led into defeat.”
During the interview, Pakman asked Miller whom he would “elect, deport, and waterboard”—given the choices of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and former Fed chair Alan Greenspan. Miller answered, “I like Obama more than the other two, by far.” He chose to elect Obama, deport Greenspan, and waterboard Biden. Miller said, “I have a great deal of admiration [for] Louis Farrakhan,” and he called Ahmadinejad “a great man” because he “has guts and he tells the truth about the Jews.”
“I’m a convicted felon and I’m proud of it,” Miller boasted, noting that he “was convicted of declaring war on the federal government and possession of illegal weapons.” He added that Jews “were responsible for my conviction that prompted me to go underground and declare war…Morris Dees mainly, he’s a Jew that runs the Southern Poverty Law Center.” (The SPLC monitors hate groups.)
In November 2013, Pakman had an exchange of emails with Miller in which Miller noted that he was “close friends” with Craig Cobb, a white supremacist who had attempted to form an all-white town in Leith, North Dakota. According to Miller, the two had worked together “on several White Nationalist projects, including the Aryan Alternative newspaper.” Referring to the recent news that a DNA test indicated that Cobb had African ancestry, Miller told Pakman, “I can’t believe a man as intelligent as you, actually believes Craig Cobb is an octoroon. Surely, you know it’s just another jewsmedia fraud.”Given Tuesday’s slate of primaries, there’s a good chance that it will no longer be mathematically possible for Bernie Sanders to secure sufficient delegates and superdelegates to win the Democratic presidential nomination. Yet even if that scenario occurs, whether Tuesday or at any other moment, Sanders has pledged to continue his campaign through the late July Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, raising the strong possibility of a contested convention.
The question, however, is not whether there’ll be a contested convention, but rather what kind of contested convention Sanders and his supporters might produce. If we examine the history of contested conventions in prior presidential campaigns (there have been 18 total since 1868), two clear, distinct trends emerge: destructive contests that resulted in divisions between political parties; and those that contributed instead to constructive conversations and significant political and social progress.
For the worst case on the Democratic side, two 20th century contested conventions reflected and extended the party’s ideological splintering on issues of race and culture. In 1924, Ku Klux Klan members and other white supremacists attacked the Catholic Democratic front-runner, Governor Alfred Smith of New York, leading to a convention that went through more than 103 ballots before settling on a compromise candidate, West Virginia Congressman John W. Davis. And in 1948, the entire delegations from Mississippi and Alabama (among other Southern delegates) walked out of the convention to protest the party’s addition of a civil rights plank to its platform; these delegates would help create the new Dixiecrat Party, which nominated Strom Thurmond in opposition to Democratic nominee Harry Truman.
See also: Why 2016 Political Conventions Can’t Attract Corporate Sponsors
Both the 1924 and 1948 contested convention signaled deep ideological and social divisions, but led to debates and policies that furthered — and worsened — those divisions. If Sanders and his supporters emulate these prior conventions, whether by opposing the nomination of Hillary Clinton at all costs, walking out to form a third party, or seeking to nominate their own candidate by capitalizing on party and national divisions, these historical examples — moments of infighting and ideological extremism that pulled both party and nation apart — bode poorly for the results.
Yet a contested 2016 Democratic convention doesn’t have to follow those models, and the more constructive historical examples suggest vital alternatives. Two of the most influential 20th century Democratic presidents, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, were nominated in their initial presidential campaigns at contested conventions. In 1912 the Progressive Wilson needed 46 ballots to secure the nomination against a far more conservative front-runner, Missouri Congressman Champ Clark; while in 1932 Roosevelt needed four ballots to secure it over Speaker of the House John Nance Garner and KKK favorite William Gibbs McAdoo.
In both cases, the contested conventions and the debates they produced continued in meaningful ways into the men’s presidencies: Wilson’s opposition to Tammany Hall, the conservative political machine that had endorsed Clark, helped him refine and articulate his own Progressive platform; while Roosevelt chose Garner as his VP running mate and in his convention acceptance speech promised to provide “a new deal for the American people” (the first such framing of his overarching plan to battle the Depression).
Offering even more overt models for candidates exerting influence despite suffering defeat at a contested convention are the examples of Richard Bland and Robert Pattison at the 1896 Democratic convention. Although it was the populist Senator William Jennings Bryan who was nominated on the convention’s fifth ballot, the anti-imperialist Bland and the anti-corporate Pattison both helped pull the Democratic party and its platform in significant new directions, ones that would influence the party’s opposition to President William McKinley’s imperial ventures and contribute to the rise of the Progressive movement.
It’s a separate question, of course, whether these contested conventions helped or hindered their party’s electoral chances. In truth, the results seem mixed: Truman, Hayes, Wilson, and Roosevelt won their respective elections, while Davis and Bryan lost theirs; overall, only seven of the 18 eighteen candidates nominated at contested conventions went on to win the presidency. Yet Sanders would be the first to note that the goal isn’t simply or even principally winning the 2016 election; it’s influencing both a party and a national conversation for many years to come. To achieve that end, he and his supporters can’t just angle for a contested convention—they (along with Clinton and her supporters, to be sure) have to work to make it a constructive rather than destructive conversation, one that contributes to policy debates and social progress rather than reflecting and furthering party divisions.
Ben Railton is a professor of english studies at Fitchburg State University.Patch 0.7 Preview
Hey folks,
We’re still hard at work on the next patch; In theory we should have a collection of incredible things to show you, however as a lot of our asset work is related to the campaign we can’t possibly show you that, we have to avoid spoilers after all!
Fear not however, we still have plenty of development news to share with you this week, focusing on the contents of the next patch, due out in february! We’ve also have some backer related news and a livestream announcement. Read on for more!
Patch 0.7 Preview
Four Player Fantasies: Starting with this patch you will finally be able to play the game against more than one Underlord. We’ll be implementing new four-player skirmish and multiplayer maps into the game and with it the opportunity to play against three AIs in Skirmish or a combination of human and AI players in Multiplayer.
Below is an image of one of the upcoming maps.
Campaign Updates: Over the past few weeks we’ve been progressing extremely rapidly with the campaign, internally we’re about to finish the first pass of the whole thing! Overall we’re extremely pleased with the reception the first three levels have received thus far and we can’t wait until release, when we can put the whole thing in your hands!
We’d like to thank you all for the feedback we’ve received on the first three levels of the campaign. We’ve been listening to you and we’ve taken on board a lot of the things that have been said and we’re applying the lessons we’ve learned throughout the whole campaign.
When the next patch is released you’ll be seeing a huge swathe of improvements coming to the three available levels, you can expect objectives and triggers to be overhauled, some changes to the level layouts and the re-introduction of voice over by Richard Ridings.
Although we’re not going to be pushing any more campaign levels to you before release we will be teasing some other parts of the campaign with a few new screenshots, here’s the first one.
Visual Updates: If you’ve been paying attention to our social media feeds over the course of last week you’ll have seen a new batch of screenshots were uploaded last week, these screenshots featured some more of the improvements that you’ll see as part of the visual overhaul.
To view the other screenshots, check out this imgur gallery or this facebook gallery.
Backer Site
We have some fantastic news for all our crowd-funding backers, we expect that our backer site will be ready for you soon. This site will be the central control hub for controlling everything regarding your pledge, including your address for physical reward deliveries, voting for flex-goals and choosing which rewards you want e.g. T-Shirt size and design.
We expect this site will be launching before the end of the month, we’ll be sure to give a heads up to all our backers when it is ready.
Livestream Next Saturday! (January 24th @ 10PM UTC)
Finally, we’ll be hosting a livestream over on our Twitch channel next Saturday, to show off some of the content from the upcoming patch and answering any of your questions regarding it. Mark it on your calendars, and be sure not to miss it!
We’ll be back next week with more news regarding the upcoming patch, and some details on a feature that has been the subject of never ending questions.
Until next time Underlord,
– WFTO Team
Click here to discuss this update on our forums!Funding from the United Nations Democracy Fund was the last to dry up and in December, CGNet Swara, a citizen journalism venture that uses mobile phones to collect and disseminate local news in central Gondwana, Chhattisgarh, cut its staff from 45 to just 10.
“If this continues, we’ll have to shut down completely," said Shubhranshu Choudhary, founder of CGNet Swara, in a phone interview.
In 2004, Choudhary gave up his job as a BBC South Asia producer to start CGNet Swara with the help of William Thies, then a PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US who was working on a software for mobile phones.
In 2010, CGNet Swara won the mbillionth Award in the m-news category. The award is given each year by the New Delhi-based Digital Empowerment Foundation to recognize organizations that are using mobile phone to deliver important services to people in remote areas.
Since it received the award, the number of listeners on CGNet Swara has grown threefold and the number of people recording messages has increased ten-fold. But the technology that set CGNet Swara apart—mobile telephony—has also become a cause of its financial troubles.
“The monthly phone bills are in excess of Rs1 lakh," said Choudhary.
“As soon as we start charging for a service, we notice the number of callers dropping substantially. The model works, but it is not sustainable," he added.
Here’s how the service works: CGNet Swara has trained citizen journalists to publish reports on its voice-based portal using their mobile phones. These reports, about local issues like broken roads and contaminated water, are usually in Gondi, the language of the Gond Adivasi community in Chhattisgarh, and sometimes in Hindi. People record and listen in to these messages by giving a missed call on +91 8050068000. They get a call back in under a minute, and can choose an activity (listen to up to four messages at a time or record) from an interactive voice recording menu. The messages are verified before being shared on the platform.
Choudhary said: “1,000-1,500 callers listen to recorded messages on the site every day; and 100-150 people call to record something."
CGNet Swara has been testing Bluetooth radio technology. People can record messages themselves or reach out to a trained citizen journalist in their locality. The message is verified, and compiled for a “radio show" typically hosted by two anchors. The programmes can then be downloaded from a village panchayat office with a broadband connection and shared with others using Bluetooth, for free.
The weaknesses of Bluetooth radio, according to Choudhary, are: you need someone with access to the Internet nearby; and it is a top-down approach where information flows one way compared with the mobile phone which enabled two-way communication.
But Choudhary is optimistic about the Bluetooth radio technology. “Under the Digital India campaign, optical fibre cables are being laid at the village level. That is the difference between 2010 and 2016," he said, adding, “Bluetooth radio couldn’t have worked then. Now, we have Internet in a village 15km outside Mandla city in Madhya Pradesh."
A second idea CGNet Swara is trying out is starting an institute of rural journalism and reaching out to rural entrepreneurs to support CGNet Swara.
“We are starting a college of skill development called the Indian Institute of Rural Journalism and Entrepreneurship. We want to see if rural entrepreneurs can support our bottom-up, democratic journalism," said Choudhary.MIAMI (CBSMiami) — A former Miami firefighter convicted of possessing and receiving child porn was sentenced Wednesday.
A judge sentenced Alexander Rousseau to 27 1/4 years in prison. His family did not react.
CLICK HERE To Watch The Report
Judge K. Michael Moore said, we need to “promote respect for the law and deter others from engaging in similar type of activity. These 120 videos included depictions of toddlers being subjected to sexual abuse.”
City of Miami Fire Rescue fired Rosseau in April following his arrest for the charges.
READ: Firefighter Fired, Accused Of Possessing Child Porn
During the sentencing Wednesday, a prosecutor read an impact victim statement from the mother of one of the children shown in the videos.
She wrote as read by the prosecutor, “She’s in weekly counseling. She knows people are viewing this.”
She asked that the people watching these videos should be treated the same way as the people making them.
“They are re-harming children,” the unnamed mother wrote.
In addition to the 27 years, he will be on supervised release for life. His defense team had had asked for five years.
Rousseau had no expression during the sentencing.
RELATED CONTENT:BOOM! Clinton Campaign, DNC Paid for Bogus Russia Dossier on Trump: Report
The Washington Post has a bombshell report published Tuesday evening that the 2016 presidential campaign of Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee paid for the Fusion GPS dossier alleging Russian ties with the presidential campaign of Republican Donald Trump and sordid phony personal smears of Trump.
The Post reported that Clinton campaign and DNC lawyer Marc Elias and his law firm Perkins Coie paid Fusion GPS to continue researching Trump after a Republican donor who originally funded the research pulled out in April 2016.
The dossier has been at the heart of accusations by the Clinton campaign that Trump stole the elcetion by colluding with the Russians.
The Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped fund research that resulted in a now-famous dossier containing allegations about Donald Trump’s connections to Russia and possible coordination between his campaign and the Kremlin, people familiar with the matter said. Marc E. Elias, a lawyer representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC, retained Fusion GPS, a Washington firm, to conduct the research. Fusion GPS hired dossier author Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer with ties to the FBI and the U.S. intelligence community. Elias and his law firm, Perkins Coie, retained the firm in April 2016 on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the DNC. Prior to that agreement, Fusion GPS’s research into Trump was funded by a still unknown Republican client during the GOP primary. The Clinton campaign and the DNC through the law firm continued to fund Fusion GPS’s research through the end of October 2016, days before Election Day. Fusion GPS gave Steele’s reports and other research documents to Elias, the people familiar with the matter said. It is unclear how or how much of that information was shared with the campaign and DNC, and who in those organizations was aware of the roles of Fusion GPS and Steele. One person close to the matter said the campaign and the DNC weren’t informed of Fusion GPS’s role by the law firm. SNIP Elias and Fusion GPS declined to comment on the arrangement. Spokespersons for the Clinton campaign and the DNC had no immediate comment. People involved in the matter said they would not disclose the dollar-amounts paid to Fusion GPS, but said the campaign and the DNC shared the cost.”
End excerpt. Complete Washington Post article at this link.
Earlier on Tuesday, a liberal protester threw Russian flags at President Trump at the Capitol and yelled at Trump about Russia and treason.
WATCH: Pres. Trump arrives on Capitol Hill for lunch with Senate GOP, as his feud with Sen. Corker escalates https://t.co/i6O2iANctF pic.twitter.com/WN9d8HuWH3 — CBS News (@CBSNews) October 24, 2017
Protester ID’d self as Ryan Clayton from Americans Take Action got very close to Trump and threw these flags at him pic.twitter.com/hIk1v2qpHS — Erica Werner (@ericawerner) October 24, 2017
President Donald Trump’s entrance to senate lunch was interrupted by a protester who threw Russian flags and shouted “Trump is treason” pic.twitter.com/7BnxcxSLXH — Tara Golshan (@taragolshan) October 24, 2017
Photo of the protester after the flag-throwing.
There is still no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to steal the election. President Trump has vehemently and consistently denied the charges which are now being investigated by a special prosecutor, former FBI Director Robert Mueller.Republicans have bashed Hillary Clinton after a report was released by the State Department's inspector general about her private email use. | Getty Republicans rip Clinton after IG email report
Republicans on Wednesday seized on the State Department inspector general's report finding that Hillary Clinton flouted agency rules with her private email server, saying it's just the "latest chapter in the long saga of Hillary Clinton’s bad judgment."
"This detailed inquiry by an Obama appointee makes clear Hillary Clinton hasn’t been telling the truth since day one, and her and her aides’ refusal to cooperate with this probe only underscores that fact," Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement. "Although Clinton has long claimed her practices were like those of other Secretaries of State and allowed, the report states she was in clear violation of the Federal Records Act."
Story Continued Below
Priebus pointed to the report's recounting of Clinton's "incredible 2010 email exchange" with aide Huma Abedin in which Abedin wrote, "we should talk about putting you on state email or releasing your email address to the department so you are not going to spam.” That exchange "only further underscores her motivation was secrecy, not convenience," Priebus said.
"The stakes are too high in this election to entrust the White House to someone with as much poor judgment and reckless disregard for the law as Hillary Clinton," Priebus said.
Plenty of lawmakers also weighed in on the report, which noted that the agency has long suffered from problems with electronic records but sharply criticized Clinton for how far she deviated from standard email practice.
“[A]t the very least, Secretary Clinton completely violated federal recordkeeping requirements while serving as our nation’s chief diplomat,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement.
He added that her actions posed a real risk to national security.
“This raises serious concerns about whether Secretary Clinton compromised national security secrets for what she describes as a matter of ‘convenience,’” he continued. “Moreover, no public official is above the law. Secretary Clinton’s actions were at best negligent and at worst harmful to our national security.”
While remarking that Clinton's emails were never the focus of the House Select Committee on Benghazi's investigation, Chairman Trey Gowdy pointed to his panel's role in pushing for greater transparency.
“There is only one reason why these facts are now available to the American people: thorough congressional oversight, including the Select Committee on Benghazi’s insistence that any truly comprehensive review of what happened before, during, and after the 2012 terrorist attacks in Libya must include public records from the former Secretary of State and her senior staff," Gowdy said in a statement. " While the emails have never been the focus of our investigation, it was necessary to obtain them, and this committee is the first and only one to do so. If anyone wonders why the investigation is not yet complete, the malfeasance and numerous problems identified in this report are Exhibit A, and prove the committee has faced serial delays from day one at the hands of public officials who sought to avoid transparency and accountability.”
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) called it a "very scathing report," suggesting that Donald Trump should focus on attacking Clinton for her email practices rather than dredging up decades-old attack lines.
"Now, this is not coming from some right-wing group," he said on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports." "This is coming from, again, an inspector general appointed by the president. I know he's independent. But again, we're not talking about anybody from the right wing or any conservative or any Republican. This is an independent report coming out by an individual appointed by the President of the United States."
Responding to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) statement that Clinton acted out of "good conscience," House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffez (R-Utah) expressed surprise that his colleague could reach such an assessment.
"I have not gone through every word of this report but on the top-line issues of concern, she didn't answer questions, nobody has been disciplined at the State Department for lack of compliance and when you cannot interview the actual person, that says a lot about where they are going with it," Chaffetz told Fox News, referring to Clinton herself. He continued, "I’d like to have that (the FBI investigation) concluded sooner rather than later. I think that’s fair to the secretary and to the American people trying to make some vital decisions, but if you're trying to clean up your record, you would go and sit with the inspector general to do that and in this case, Secretary Clinton refused to do it."
Meanwhile, Clinton's allies quickly rushed to her defense.
“This IG report states in its conclusion that every single secretary of state did the same thing, and I have it here. I’m not reading it. I wanna show your viewers. This is the conclusion,” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) told CNN. “They don’t even mention Hillary’s name. They basically say the Department of State and the Office of the Secretary since Colin Powell did not follow the exact rules of preserving the electronic communications so I think that’s the key here for Hillary.”
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, responded to the report by remarking that its findings pointed to the need to "remedy the long-term departmental deficiencies that have been identified." Rather than engaging in partisan attacks, the Clinton supporter suggested in a statement, Congress could "achieve something productive, rather than to continue politicizing a systemic problem that has confronted both parties as the State Department has grappled with the need to maintain cyber-security and efficiency in an era of fast-changing events and ubiquitous electronic communications."
Rachael Bade contributed to this report.Tinkov Takes Over
Do you have some favourite jeans? For Oleg Tinkov it might be the ones he bought in a market stall in Uzbekistan during the 1980s.
The Russian entrepreneur is set to take over the Saxo-Bank team. The squad rose up from modest beginnings to become the sport’s top squad before fading back in recent years, in part because of a lack of sponsorship money. Tinkov came on board in 2012 as a co-sponsor but seemed to change his mind last summer as he watched Alberto Contador ride to fourth place, live-tweeting his frustration with often personal messages. Now he’s going to buy the team.
No Oligarch
He might be wealthy, he might be Russian but this does not make him an oligarch. Instead Oleg Tinkov is the opposite of shady or politically-connected. He loves the limelight and tries hard to portray himself as the Mr Transparent of Russian business, supporting the little guy against overlapping Russian big business and big government. He’s the equivalent of Ralph Nader or Richard Branson although in a modern Russian setting.
Jean Genius
His first break happened during a cycling race in the late 1980s. He was in Uzbekistan for a race and spotted some blue denim jeans, then the height of fashion and above all very rare. He spent all his cash to buy four pairs of jeans on sale at 35 roubles each but the seller spotted he wanted several pairs and upped the price to 50 roubles. Tinkov bought them and returned to St Petersburg where he sold them for 200 roubles each. He carried on with printer cartridges, caviar and cars.
The studies stopped prematurely and he became a full-time entrepreneur. Russia was poor but Russian goods were often even poorer and he started importing consumer electronics from Asia. Walkmans, stereos and CD players. He opened a shop and business was good, soon he had branded retail chain in and around St Peterburg called “Technoshock”, then alongside this a chain of record stores called “Musicshock” and even a recording studio too. He sold these in 1997 for US$7 million.
Tinkov switched into the food business, creating “Daria”, business that made pelemeni or Russian dumplings, an ordinary product but he resorted to shock marketing to get noticed although the billboard ads pictured above lasted a matter of hours until they were banned and removed. A few years later he sold the food business to genuine oligarch Roman Abramovich for $21 million.
Buy me a drink
With the money he started a brewery in St Petersburg called Tinkoff. Note the -ff, he borrowed the name from a street that sounded a bit like his name and created a story about the brewery serving the Imperial family, only this was a fake tale invented to lend authenticity and heritage to the new brand. In 2005 he sold the brewery for a genuine €200 million to InBev of Belgium, the world’s largest brewer was keen to get into the Russian market. But he kept hold of some of the rights to a brand and opened a chain of restaurants trading under the name of the beer. Which he again sold, this time in 2009.
By this time he was getting back into cycling but this time via his ambitions and money. He created the Tinkoff Restaurants team in 2005 and this became Tinkoff Credit Systems in 2007. Riders included the Tyler Hamilton on his return from a blood doping suspension – only to get blown away by Operation Puerto within months and end up at Rock Racing – and Vasil Kiryienka who won a Giro stage with them. The team was ultimately was bought out by Katusha. Again Tinkov built something up and sold it.
With this he created a Russian version of Capital One, the credit card provider. TCS Bank is not really a bank – nor is Saxo Bank – as it’s not into savings and lendings and has no branches. Instead it’s an online supplier of credit cards. It’s done very well and is now Russian’s fifth largest lender. But it was listed on the London Stock Exchange the other day only for the Russian parliament to announce a review of online credit days after, sending the stock tumbling 33%.
http://t.co/hWHsIJOkJm Why only 6? If i would buy I would pay 60million :-), 6 is cheap for me)) — Oleg Tinkov (@olegtinkov) November 30, 2013
So far a history of innovation, shock tactics and copycatting which has brought prodigious wealth. So if €6 million is cheap, why buy the modest Saxo Bank team that won just eight races this year? The squad has fallen far from its says as CSC, the number-one ranked squad. He’s linked to the team and there was talk of buying into Cannondale for 2015 so the €6 million entry ticket is the price to pay for a ready-made team rather than waiting for 2015 and setting up a team from scratch. It also suggests the team is a fun project for him, a game of fantasy cycling played out for real.
Tinkov is provocative to say the least on Twitter. He’s upset fans, irked riders and even publicly insulted Alberto Contador. But the two need each other. Contador is on a big contract which would be in danger if the team folded for a lack of sponsors whilst Tinkov has a rider still capable of winning a grand tour if the stars align. But we have to live with this, the UCI rules allow for a team licence to change hands, subject to a review. This includes a quick scan of ethics but rude and even offensive tweets don’t come into it.
“Already at the first team meeting, where we sat in a conference room, Oleg Tinkov said: ‘I do not care what you do, just do not get caught’. You can write this because there were many people in the room who can confirm it, if Tinkov decided to sue me for saying this,” said Hamilton.
cyclingnews.com
Nevermind Twitter, quotes like this from Tyler Hamilton are more chilling. But remember if Tinkov did say this it was an echo of what was being said in most other teams and a few squads had managers who did care what the riders did… because they sourced and administered the doping programmes themselves. Perhaps the question now is what Tinkov has to say, an interview in October suggests he’s got new things to say. But there’s an element of “he would say that, wouldn’t he” so better still, let’s see some tests of this. For example will Tinkov sign up his team to the MPCC, will he order his team staff to avoid painkillers like Tramadol et cetera?
As much as Tinkov has come on board for 2014 there’s little he can do right now. It’s too late to buy in riders; yes there are names still for hire but these are bolt-on riders rather than the more fundamental work of building a stronger team. Tinkov clearly wants a say in the team for 2014 but we’ll see if 2015 and beyond mean spending roubles to bolster the team, hire new talent and fund extras like support staff.
Maybe the big winner here is Bjarne Riis? He’s selling his team and reports say he will be retained on a very good fee. Only Danish investigations could cause him trouble. He can cash out before any trouble or even catastrophe engulfs him and his team.
Summary
A bike race and some jeans gave Tinkov his first break as an entrepreneur. He’s no oligarch cruising the Zil lanes of Kremlin power but a self-made man, a fact he’s always keen to remind you about. The ability to shock is part of his game so don’t expect modesty as he runs his team. The squad won’t want for advice in 2014.
But what happens beyond is interesting. Is this a personal project or a business plan with an objective for 2015 or even 2020. People laughed when Team Sky said they wanted to win the Tour de France at the launch in 2010 and it did feel like a line for the media. What does Tinkov want with this team?Coming into the 2014 season the expectations of the Miami Hurricanes varied greatly. Most sports writers projected the Canes to win anywhere from 6 to 9 games. The experts in Vegas projected the Canes to win 7.5 games. The uncertainty at the quarterback position along with the poor defensive performance in 2013 were the biggest knocks on the Canes. The return of 14 starters was the main reason for optimism. Nobody knew what to expect, especially with a true freshman quarterback in Brad Kaaya leading the way.
The Canes opened up the season with a 31-13 loss to Louisville. The fanbase was immediately fired up after the loss, and for good reason, as the team look unprepared and the playcalling was very conservative on both sides of the ball.
With wins against Florida A&M and Arkansas State the fans calmed a bit but were very cautious and wanted to see what the Canes could do against their next quality opponent.
Next up was Nebraska. Miami went into Lincoln and left with their second loss of the season, losing 41-31. The Cornhuskers star running back Ameer Abdullah ran for 229 yards and the team as a whole ran for 343 yards. With this loss the fanbase put Coach Golden and his defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio on the hot seat. This game brought back horrible memories of the 2013 Canes defense and its’ awful attempt of stopping the run.
A little shot of optimism was administered to the fanbase as the Canes beat the defending ACC Coastal Champions, the Duke Blue Devils. The fans saw a much more aggressive defense that held a high-powered Duke offense to 10 points. It was a quality win, yet, many Canes fans stated, “It’s just Duke.”
In my opinion, along with many others, the loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets was the worst of the season thus far (hopefully there will be no more losses). Most Canes fans were feeling pretty good heading into the game as the Canes had beaten Georgia Tech the past 5 years. The defense turned soft again while forgetting how to defend the Georgia Tech triple option which fired up the frustrated Miami fanbase once again. This loss dropped the Canes to 1-2 in the ACC. Coach Golden and Coach D’Onofrio’s seats were warming right back up at this point.
Miami then hosted Cincinnati and came away with a 55-34 victory in what was an offensive explosion from the Canes against an awful Bearcat defense. Canes fans were generally happy with the win especially against a quality quarterback in Gunner Kiel, however, giving up 34 points to the Bearcats left a sour taste in the fanbase’s mouth (even with the second-team defense playing a good portion of the game).
Playing in Blacksburg on a Thursday night against Virginia Tech can be intimidating. The Canes quieted the crowd and played arguably their best game of the season defeating the Hokies 30-6. Canes fans are starting to feel better about the defense and the team as a whole, even though Virginia Tech is having a down year.
The Canes then beat a poor North Carolina team 47-20. However, this win propels the Canes to 3-2 in the ACC leaving the fanbase to root for anybody playing against Duke and Georgia Tech. The Canes go into a bye week feeling like they have a good chance against an Florida State team who has been playing with fire but has yet to have been burned.
What a heartbreaker! Miami leads #2/3 Florida State the entire game until the Seminoles score a touchdown with 3:05 remaining and hang |
; the remainder participated 2 to 4 days.
Q. How many times a day do users interact with their phone?
A. People tapped, swiped and clicked a whopping 2,617 times each day, on average.
For the heaviest users—the top 10%—average interactions doubled to 5,427 touches a day.
Per year, that’s nearly 1 million touches on average—and 2 million for the less restrained among us.
We’re definitely letting our fingers do the walking, and they’re doing marathons. Each tap and swipe feels small and harmless—just a tiny fraction of our brain power and physical effort. But at these volumes, have the interactions become an onerous load?
Phone screen time was 2.42 hours for the average user, and 3.75 hours for the heavy user. That was time spent on everything from typing texts, swiping on Tinder, turning Kindle pages, and scrolling in Facebook.
Q. How about sessions—how many separate times a day do people actually pick up their mobile phone to use it?
A. The average user engaged in 76 separate phone sessions a day. Heavy users (the top 10%) averaged 132 sessions a day.
We aren’t necessarily glued to our phones for long periods. It’s more like 76 reps a day with a five-ounce dumbbell. Long usage sessions are rare—mostly Netflix and reading. In general, people prefer lots of little sessions with breaks in between.
Q. What time of day do people use their phones most?
A. Activity drops (but far from disappears) in the predawn hours. At 7AM, touches explode, ramping up almost continuously until dinner time.
And what happens after dinner? Are we simply switching to a new screen?
The chart below shows that people tend to put down their phones at bedtime. But we also found that on average, 11% of scouts are getting in a tap or two even at 3AM. In fact, over the course of our five-day study, 87% of participants checked their phones at least once between midnight and 5am.
The fingers never sleep.
n=94
Q: I can use my phone without even unlocking it. That doesn’t count, right?
A. Of course not—not any more than the calories we aren’t counting from that last donut. Nearly half (47%) of all user sessions were on locked phones.
We can track when users clicked their phone out of a sleep state, but we can’t capture all the clicks and taps made on locked phones. When a phone is locked—their password hasn’t been entered—a user can still conduct many activities: review notifications, check the time, change the volume, skip a song, etc. So that whopping 2,617 average daily touches is actually a low-ball figure.
But those locked-phone interactions are very shallow—and perhaps very OCD. Maybe just plain Pavlovian: My phone is down. Must check my phone. Whew, that’s better. I see my phone. Must check my phone. Ah, no messages. Good. Where is my phone? Must check my phone.
Is it worth the constant interruption? Few of us notice we’re doing it. It’s too brief. But give humans an opportunity for distraction, and we’ll take it.
Q: I have more apps on my phone than I can count. How many apps are people actually using?
A. So many touches, so few apps receiving them. More than half of active phone sessions were used for no more than one app.
Together, our scouts used 700+ different apps over 5 days. But more than half the times that they picked up their phone, their fingers had just one destination: 52% of their sessions were to use a single app. No app in particular, but no more than one per session.
Another 40% of the time, people used just two or three apps. Engagement is narrow and focused, not that much multitasking. Hop in, pick your obsession, and stick with it.
Q. Just one app per session? Let me guess…
A. Yes, it was Facebook who won in total number of touches. The app racked up more finger time than native messaging or even the home screen.
Overall, nothing gets the fingers moving like communication, which outweighed information gathering. Messaging and social media (unshaded in the graphic below) apps totaled 26% and 22% of interactions respectively, while internet search browsers comprised 10%.
After Facebook (15%), native messaging (11%), and the home screen (9%), Chrome came in a distant fourth (5%—or 8% if you combine the Chrome and Google apps).
Sure, it’s a hard to be one of the chosen few downloaded from the app store. But it’s even harder to design an experience that holds up against Facebook and Chrome—the most popular apps in the world. If you can’t, then your app, be it for banking or a mobile mirror, falls very quickly into that longtail.
Q. Are some apps touchier than others?
A. Given Facebook’s win for “most touches” and Google’s win for “most sessions,” we expected social media or search to take the “touches per session” prize, but...
Gaming, of course. And after gaming…still not social media or search. Our fingers are like to linger in shopping apps. Even here we were surprised—the touchiest shopping app was Etsy, followed by Groupon.
In general, apps lacking many touches also lacked sessions—with the exception of browsers. Chrome, specifically, has lots of sessions, but not so many touches. You go in, get what you’re looking for, and you get out.
Q. How often do we touch anything that’s *not* made by Google or Facebook?
A. Nearly half of touches were guided by apps made by Alphabet and Zuckerberg. The other half were split among the other 700+ apps.
Facebook, Inc. dominated the top ten with its four big apps: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and What’sApp (27%). The Facebook app alone recorded 50% more interactions than any other application or service.
Alphabet’s apps—Google, YouTube, Chrome, Gmail, Hangouts—came in second with 16%. (Note: As this particular study was conducted exclusively on Android phones, Apple was not present.)
The only independent app to crack the top 10 was Textra. (And, of course, dscout. Unicorn alert! Also, our app is where every participant recorded their qualitative research responses.)
Q. Why do I use Tinder and Netflix together?
A. We wish we knew! The two apps (plus OkCupid) had their highest use during the same time periods: the few hours after school, after work, and during prime time.
All day, we search, we message, we Facebook. Repeat. When the sun sets, we chill and swipe. Is Netflix complemented by or competing with Tinder and OkCupid? Probably neither, but we wonder which other apps are competing for share based on different times of day.
Q. Do people give a sh!t about tapping one or two million times a year?
A. Not really. According to 68% of scouts, learning about their level of phone use is stunning!
And then it’s not.
Very few had accurately estimated how frequently they would tap, swipe and click. In fact, 66% of scouts underestimated their phone obsession—by a long shot.
Participant reactions to the hard numbers of their actual phone use typically started with five seconds of shock and ended with a wholehearted “meh.” Most admitted to a very shallow desire or intent to change their behavior.
Are these touches well spent?
Was all this highly concentrated, highly tactile interaction good or bad? Is it time well spent? We don’t know. We’re just scratching the surface on touches. We’d love to incorporate your questions into our next round of research on this topic. Some questions we’re thinking about:
How will these physical interaction patterns be supplanted by voice interaction? Is that where new apps can gain their share of thumb miles—by turning them into voice miles?
How will this affect the shift to autonomous automobiles, when people are clearly more interested in their phones than their cars?
Is the phone a replacement for human socialization any more than your computer is a replacement for doing your job?
So that’s our next step—getting to the “why” behind all these touches and taps. What questions do you have? Tell us in the comments below!
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contributor: Jess MonsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration warned Congress on Wednesday that the government would likely run out of borrowing authority needed to help pay its bills by late February if lawmakers do not swiftly raise the federal debt ceiling.
A lone worker passes by the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, October 8, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed
Previously, the administration had projected the borrowing authority could last until as late as early March, but the Treasury Department said it now believed Congress had a more narrow window in which to act.
“I respectfully urge Congress to provide certainty and stability to the economy and financial markets by acting to raise the debt limit,” Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a letter to congressional leaders.
Congress passed a two-year budget deal in December to avert some spending cuts planned for next year, and the pact reduces the risk of a government shutdown.
But the legislation does nothing to avoid a potential unprecedented U.S. debt default that could occur if Washington does not raise the borrowing cap soon.
In October, Congress and the administration suspended a $16.7 trillion cap on borrowing until February 7. If the debt ceiling isn’t raised by then, Treasury will be able to juggle money between government accounts for a few weeks to keep just under the new limit.
Lew said a late start to the tax filing season, brought about by a partial shutdown of the government late last year, will likely increase the amount of tax refunds the government sends out in February.
He said the department would exhaust its so-called extraordinary measures by late February. After then, it would no longer be able to borrow to cover its expenses.
“We do not foresee any reasonable scenario in which the extraordinary measures would last for an extended period of time,” he said in the letter.
Once it loses the ability to borrow, Treasury would pay its bills by relying on incoming revenue and any cash left in public coffers.
After the money runs out, the government could start missing payments on its debt and other obligations, such as Social Security pensions. Many economists think a U.S. default could trigger a financial panic and perhaps even an economic depression.
Heated debates in Washington over the debt ceiling have periodically roiled financial markets since 2011, when the risk of default helped prompt Standard & Poor’s to downgrade America’s debt rating. Political dysfunction again rattled Wall Street in October.Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach on Monday endorsed Donald Trump for president — and he backed Trump’s plan to force Mexico to pay for a border wall.
Kobach, a conservative Republican, lauded Trump’s strong stand against illegal immigration, a cause Kobach has championed for years.
“On that issue, Mr. Trump stands head and shoulders above the other candidates,” Kobach said in his written endorsement. “Now, more than ever, America needs Mr. Trump’s aggressive approach to the problem of illegal immigration.”
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In a telephone interview with The Star, Kobach said he disagreed with critics of the billionaire businessman, who leads the Republican field going into the Super Tuesday primaries. Kansas holds its presidential caucuses Saturday.
About white supremacist David Duke’s endorsement of Trump and Trump’s response to it, Kobach said that nothing in Trump’s remarks indicated “any sort of agreement with the KKK,” calling such a conclusion “outrageous.” Kobach said Trump’s lack of government experience can be seen as a positive.
“The way he would operate as president is he would surround himself with a talented, conservative team,” Kobach said. “That’s exactly what (Ronald) Reagan did.”
Kobach said he appreciates Trump’s boldness. And at least the harsh rhetoric against opponents comes directly from him rather than third parties, he said. Many politicians unleash negative ads for that purpose, he said.
“Trump is actually doing it himself, and in some ways that’s more honest than having a super PAC do your insulting for you,” Kobach said.
Kobach is the first major elected official in Kansas to endorse Trump. Sam Brownback has endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, although the governor has said he would vote for Trump if he wins the Republican nomination.
Kobach, who has advocated nationally for laws curbing to curb illegal immigration, said that Trump is correct that the United States can compel Mexico to pay for construction of a wall between the countries to keep out illegal immigrants.
“We have the ability to shut down the flow of remittances to Mexico from illegal aliens working in the United States,” he said. “Mexico will then have to make a choice: Either make a single payment of $5 billion to $10 billion to the United States to pay for the wall, or lose most of the $23 billion in remittances that Mexico receives every year from its nationals working illegally in the United States.”
A lawyer, Kobach has represented U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in lawsuits against the Obama administration. In 2001-2003, he served as U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft’s chief adviser on immigration law and border security.While visiting the Philips research lab here in Amsterdam I came across a company that is getting the Star Trek replicator closer to everyday life. Imagine being able to create any 3D object you want-a World of Warcraft avatar, a chess set, a lamp, a Lego piece you are missing, a house for a train model, or a fully articulated astromech droid-print it remotely, and have it delivered to your house in just 10 days, even without knowing any 3D software. This is exactly what Shapeways does. Not next century, but right now, today.Shapeways is a spin-off from Philips' Lifestyle Incubator. On one side, it's a website where you can upload your 3D models-which can even have joins-or use an online 3D creator with access to everyday models. The online 3D creator is extremely easy to use, so anyone can modify them without any technical or product design knowledge. With this, anyone can make a candle holder or a fruit bowl out of song lyrics or a personal message by just typing it. Advanced users to access to 3D packages can upload any model they can imagine in a 3D standard format, like STL, Collada or X3D. On the other side, there are different types of rapid prototyping machines that can create that model using a variety of materials, from nylon to plastic composites, each with different properties. For example, the nylon one results in a semi-flexible object, while a plastic called "Cream Robust" gives you an extremely hard finish. Once you select the material and submit your model to 3D printer, you will get it in your hands in 10 days, with an average cost of $50 to $150, including shipping.
While the system is not perfect yet, there's no color yet and you can get different textures for the surfaces, the start is very promising and the possibilities are endless. As a consumer, the customization of objects is attractive enough, but the ability to upload any object and receive it in 10 days is even more exciting (and I don't mean printing dildos, which-apparently/sadly/fortunately for Benny-is not allowed). Model makers, Lego aficionados, product designers, and toy lovers of any kind, will absolutely love this one. [Shapeways and Philips Research Labs Tour][ ]/google-io-2016) During the keynote presentation at Google I/O 2016, about 7,000 developers, enthusiasts and media professionals sat in the partially sun-soaked Shoreline Amphitheater and learned what Google has been working on lately, and what it means for the gadgets and gizmos about to be unleashed on the world. Buried in among the messaging apps, VR headsets and developer tools was a common theme — in 2016, machines are smart. And they're going to get a lot smarter than we're used to — and maybe more than we're comfortable with.
Daydream believer
We can't dismiss the excitement around Google Daydream VR — the answer to "affordable" consumer virtual reality applications and one of the physical products we're going to be able to buy. And we shouldn't dismiss them! Russell Holly is our VR expert — seriously, the dude loves the stuff and he lights up like a spoiled child on Christmas morning whenever new stuff rears its head — and I know he's going to have a few words to say as the release draws closer about the how and the what and (more importantly) the why it matters. Because it does matter. Daydream is the next step towards affordable and portable VR, done by the only company who can afford to not make a dime from the devices themselves I'm not really into VR, mostly because I haven't found the kit that "works" for me just yet, but even I know it's cool, fun and will be an incredible learning tool as well as hours of entertainment. It's also a space where a company that can afford to make "cheap" VR better and readily available, and isn't afraid to keep trying until that happens — and that means Google — needed to step in and start working. Generation one Daydream devices are going to be loads of fun, but the next generation, and the next after that, are going to make a difference in how we work, play and learn. Google has joined the ranks of Oculus, HTC, Microsoft and Samsung when it comes to pushing consumer VR forwards, and it's very possible that their contribution will make the most difference because of their tendency to throw money and time into technology simply to drive it forward instead of looking for immediate return on investment. Google's business model means that their own products don't have to be the most successful in order for them to reap the benefits, and they don't mind developing ideas that make money for someone else as long as it gets eyeballs on the connected world where they can profit. I'm convinced that the ideas Google come up with in the VR space are going to be far more important — both for Google and for us — than the products themselves. I'm also excited for Russell, who is going to have to teach the rest of us exactly how this all works and what it means. Stuff is coming that will knock our socks off, and we've seen it and spent three days talking about it. Lighting a Fire under dev tools
How to get thousands of developers fired up and excited is another question we finally saw the answer for at Google I/O 2016? It's not changes to development languages, or improvements to Android Studio (that are really important and exciting in their own right) that needed to happen and did. It's one word — Firebase. Firebase is described as "the tools and infrastructure you need to build better apps and grow successful businesses" and on its surface is another improvement to the way software development works and is integrated, but when a room full of developers stand and cheer at the presentation of what's new and how it's integrated into the tools they love to use, you know it's important. If that's not enough, an endless flock of people standing in lines waiting to see a demo under a festival tent after the presentation and the looks on their faces after they've experienced it tells you everything you really need to know. Firebase is the complete package developers need to build the future of computer software If you're not a developer, know that Firebase is the complete package for analytics, infrastructure and monetization that the people developing the future of technology wanted and needed. Firebase lets developers focus on building technology that does what they want and need it to do, without worrying about the back-end infrastructure that makes the magic happen. It's easy (and free) to get started with, scales almost endlessly, and will allow the smart minds behind the future of computing and ideas be creative in the presentation and capabilities of the next generation of things instead of worrying how to make the sausage behind the scenes. And again — Google is the best company to bring this to the table, because they just want it to work for everyone so they can increase their bottom line. Firebase is tough for the non-developer to be excited about. But it's easy for the folks who needed it to happen to cheer, and we can understand the benefit of making the not-so-exciting underlying tools great so that the products using them can be more awesome. And they will. Whassup, Google Homie?
Google Home is another consumer product we're looking forward to, but the important part isn't the product itself. What makes Google Home work is far more important than the product itself I'm pretty sure most of us knew Google was working on something that works like Amazon's Alexa-powered Echo, and in typical Google fashion the technology is more important than the implementation. The product itself is compelling for many — "OK, Google, turn on the kitchen lights and play Adele" is easy to demonstrate and get excited over, but in truth doing that is pretty easy. I'm not discounting the hard work that companies like Apple or Amazon have put into the virtual assistants they build and users love, but the way the Google Assistant works — and the mountain of new technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning behind it — is something we've never seen before, but science-fiction writers and futurists have predicted for 50 or more years. Machines are now smart. They will get smarter. April 21, 2011, wasn't Judgement Day. But May 17, 2016 was. And so will "later this year," which is when we'll actually get to see this in action. Learny McLearnerface
Parsey McParseface, also known as SyntaxNet and TensorFlow — a custom ASIC Tensor Processing Unit that powers it all — means machines can think and learn. Yes, think and learn as defined the way you think the words mean. And this is what drives Google Assistant as seen in Google Home and applications like the Allo messenger. Syntactic parsing is the natural evolution of technology that started with engineers and scientists doing the same things over and over (and over and over) while computers "watched" it all happen until they could predict and define what was happening and what was likely to happen next. This is what Machine Learning means — having a powerful computation platform that's able to not only use what was programmed into it, but also be able to figure out what it is seeing and hearing to add to that programming. It's not new. Companies like NVIDIA have been involved in building the technology to get here for a while, but Google unleashing a few gazillion hours (and dollars) worth of engineering on the world — and making it open source so other great minds can make it better — changes everything when it comes to the consumer. Machines are smart. And will get smarter Machine learning is a difficult concept to wrap your mind around. Saying that a computer can learn the same way your 5-year-old can learn is a foreign concept for most of us. But the circuits and synapses inside a five-year old mind aren't that different that circuits and programming inside a new super-computer. Using what's inputted combined with what was already learned to build the output is exactly what's happening in both cases. One was built by engineers in lab coats, and the other was built by sperm and an egg cell, but they can do the same thing. Yes, this opens up a discussion about ethics and the importance of responsible management from the people who control the tech, but at a base level we really can think of both situations as equals.
Google Assistant will be the best — and worst — virtual assistant of them all The hard part was building machines that can learn more than a 5-year-old can learn. And Google Assistant, and the tech behind it, is that first step — or at least the first publicly available first step. True machine learning is now (or, rather, soon will be) out of the research lab and into the hands of billions of users, and the future is being created in front of our eyes. Like many previous Google products and "adventures" the focus was never about the consumer side. Google Now and Now on Tap are both the best virtual assistants and the worst virtual assistants when it comes down to using them, but the technology behind them was always hands-down better than what we've seen from Apple, Microsoft or Facebook. I expect Google Assistant to be the same. At the consumer level, it has to compete with Cortana and Alexa. It very well may fail there, because those products have features that make users enjoy interacting with them, just like Siri does. Personality, humor and a sense of friendship are important if we're to act like our computers are assistants and not just silicon and source code. But the technology that makes it all work — and get better every single time someone uses them — is more important when it comes to the future. In typical Google fashion, Parsey McParserface, TensorFlow and Google Assistant are more important than Google Assistant, Google Home or Allo. And don't think that companies like Microsoft, Apple or Facebook aren't paying attention. In a perfect world, everyone will get together and build a Jetson's-style Alice robot to serve us, but as long as everyone takes the ideas they each develop and work on making them better the tech itself will continue to grow. The fun — and difficult part — is the next step. Once we can build smart machines, what can we do with them? Google I/O 2020 may answer those questions. I'm excitedCo-authored with Lee Glenn
Some ideas don't fade, they simply adapt to changing circumstances. So we found in the rolling hills outside of Sonoma, California, home of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center on 80 acres of organic gardens, orchards and wild lands. We were drawn to the center after hearing Founder and Executive Director Dave Henson's compelling keynote address at the 32nd Ecological Conference. A committed educational program, a historical approach to agriculture, an "intentional community," the OAEC weaves together its resources into a comprehensive agenda of local and regional response to destructive global change.
As we wander the secluded property with Dave, each turn brings a break in the forest revealing the gardens, the common kitchen, dining hall, outdoor stage, swimming lake, guest yurts, green houses, the classic wood barn/shop and classroom, over 30 on-site buildings in all.
The OAEC offers six-, nine- and 12-month agriculture internships, acquainting with growing strategies. Based on Allen Chadwick's teachings from the 1960s combining the French intensive growing program of the 1800s, with the pollination-intensive approach of English gardening, they practice and teach bio-intensive growing, another branch of progressive farming to which we are being exposed.
As if feeling the smell on our skin while walking the multiple gardens, pockets of scent moisten the warm air. Its texture intermittently thickens like walking through invisible clouds. Sweet and savory aromas envelop us, the rich soil and bounty from the garden seductive.
"We're growing soil... that's what we grow," explains Dave.
This thread has been expressed by others committed to a new awareness of old practices in farming, nutrition and personal involvement. For OEAC, good medicine starts in their compost, a hot topic featured in "Health Begins in the Soil," our recent blog on bio-nutrient dense farming.
Advocating that market pricing should reflect the actual cost of production, Dave contrasts large-scale agriculture with small-scale organic farming. The bottom line... if conventional food were priced without government subsidies, organics would be competitive. Surprising to us though, is the belief that even small-scale, private, organic farming is frequently subsidized by personal wealth since revenue from ecologically sustainable farming frequently does not pay for agricultural land purchase and ongoing farm overhead.
A non-profit, the OAEC self-funds 50 percent of its expenses through for-fee courses, nursery sales, organic crop sales, consulting services and facility rentals. The remainder comes from donations, private foundations and government grants.
A parallel OAEC goal is bringing together the disparate elements of work and daily life. We talk over a delectable daily meal from fresh produce, prepared for the students, interns and residents by Chef Coby Leibman.
The menu is drawn from the garden: Spicy Amaranth Greens Pesto, Fresh Chickpea Falafel, Cucumber and Goat Yogurt Mint Salad. Interested in the recipes?
Culturally, OAEC is a "Sowing Circle Intentional Community," or what would have been called a "commune" during the culture wars of the'60's. It is the permanent home for ten owners, 28 people total, including six children. For them, the connection to place, growing, harvesting and preparing communally has physical, mental and spiritual benefits... a life choice. It is not for the dabbler, the vaguely committed or the faint of heart. Their sense of community embodies a collective energy responding to the dramatic changes they see overwhelming our planet.
The rapid pace of change is what Dave calls "The Great Acceleration," referring to the breakneck pace transforming our environment. He challenges the belief that technology can resolve our global issues: "There is not enough energy to power the full production of the systems that we think will solve our energy problems. Instead, we are focused on local or regional transition, on what we can impact. We cannot rely on market solutions to our ecological an social crisises."
This dynamic, alternative community is educating for "... the tsunami of peak everything: fossil fuels, water, food, population." A core teaching program, Permaculture Design, is a response to this predicted transition. It offers 28 students a two-week intensive, covering topics including sustainable agriculture, natural building, restorative land management practices and cultivating local economies.
"Permaculture, and Ecological Design, are systematic approaches to designing human settlement rooted in the ethics of caring for the earth and human communities, and guided by the uniqueness of each situation."
The Center strongly believes they can have a positive impact on a regional scale. They are helping communities restore watersheds in northern California, with a focus on supporting salmon recovery. "Regionally, salmon is a keystone species -- when salmon are healthy, it is indicative that the overall ecosystem is doing well."
OAEC is also working to restore the beaver population of the state. As per Dave, "Just like humans, beavers transform the landscape. High in the mountains, their dam systems slow down and sequester the snow melt reduced by global warming, preserving downstream water supply for ecosystems, agriculture and urban use in California."
Drawing upon the knowledge and experience of their former incarnation as the Farallones Institute, a pioneering center in appropriate technology and sustainable design, collectively, they have taught and inspired generations of practitioners. Combining demonstration, teaching, research and political activism, their audience is diverse, their mission:
"To develop collaborative, community-based strategies for positive social change and environmental stewardship."
Julie Brothers
Lee GlennIn April 2017, as a debate over the role of science in the United States continued in the wake of the international March for Science, an image appeared purportedly showing a still from an old episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy along with a caption stating “Gender is determined by your chromosomes”:
This meme gained popularity shortly after the debut of Nye’s new show, Bill Nye Saves the World, which featured an episode entitled “The Sexual Spectrum.”
Here’s how Nye opened the episode in question — not by saying that “gender is determined by your chromosomes,” but by discussing that the genetic basis of sex determination through chromosomes is more complicated than usually presented:
These are human chromosomes. They contain all the genes you need to make a human person. This one is called an X chromosome and this one down there, that’s a Y chromosome. They are sex chromosomes. Females usually have two Xs and males usually have an X and a Y. But it turns out, about 1 in every 400 pregnancies have a different number of sex chromosomes. Some people only have one sex chromosome, some people have 3, 4 or even 5. For me, I usually feel like I have a lot. But using science, we know that sex and every aspect of human sexuality, well, it’s a little complicated … The world is wonderfully diverse. As scientists we use the scientific method to try and understand that diversity. That is what is happening with the study of human sex and sexuality. Right now, biologists, sociologists, anthropologists, they all are trying to figure this out. And they are finding out that human sexuality is on a spectrum.
Conservative outlets criticized Nye for contributing to “transgender insanity,” and social media users shared memes insinuating that Nye’s science had been irrevocably tainted by liberal politics:
However, this meme did not accurately depict a genuine quote from Bill Nye. It was a screenshot pulled from a fifth-season episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy, entitled “Genes.” The clip, which can be glimpsed starting at the 9:05 mark of the following video, shows Nye explaining how humans generally have 23 pairs of chromosomes:
Our genes are stored in parts of our cells called chromosomes. They look like this. Chromosomes contain all of the genetic information, all of the instructions you need to make a person. Now humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes for a total of 46.
Shortly after this meme went viral and was subsequently debunked, Nye’s detractors latched onto a 20-year-old clip from Bill Nye the Science Guy which featured actress Amy Broder saying that there were “only two possibilities” when it comes to gender: “You’re either X and X. Girl. Or X and Y. Boy. The chance of becoming either a boy or a girl is always 1 in 2.”
This clip came from “Probabilities,” an episode from the show’s fourth season. The scene can be glimpsed at the 7:43 mark of the following video:
So what changed? Did Bill Nye alter his scientific conclusions to appease a liberal audience? Was he paid off to say that gender was a spectrum as some have alleged?
Nye may have provided some insight into this quandary in 2017 during “The Sexual Spectrum” episode of Bill Nye Saves the World. Before bringing out the “Abacus of Sex,” a tool used by Nye to describe four aspects of sexuality, sex, gender, expression, and attraction, Nye said that his understanding of sexuality, as well as the world’s, was still evolving:
“If you’re like me, and I know I am, you’re still learning about this field of science. We used to think that there were just two settings. Male and female. But it’s actually a lot sexier than that.”
Nye expressed a similar sentiment toward the end of the episode:
‘Take sex. We used to think it was pretty straightforward. X and a Y chromosome for males. Two Xs for females. But we see more combinations than that in real life … We have to listen to the science. And the science says that we’re all on a spectrum.”
Learning about science is a process. Although a character on Bill Nye the Science Guy may have said that there were “only two possibilities” when it comes to gender, that episode first aired more than 20 years ago in 1996. Nye’s understanding of sex and gender, as well as the world’s, has grown since then.
This clip was subjected to yet another rumor in May 2017, when outlets such as the Daily Wire published articles claiming that the Internet streaming giant had edited an old episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy to omit a segment about gender. A spokesperson for Netflix told us in an e-mail that “Netflix did not edit Bill Nye the Science Guy. It was delivered to us that way by Buena Vista TV.”The average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a record low of 3.88 percent for the week ending April 12, according to Freddie Mac.
The rate fell.10 percent from the previous week and is.01 percent below the previous 30-year mortgage rate of 3.87 record set in February. The average rate for 15-year mortgages fell to a record low 3.11 percent.
"Fixed mortgage rates eased for the third consecutive week following long-term Treasury bond yields lower after a weaker than expected employment report for March," Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in a statement.
"Although the unemployment rate fell to the lowest reading since January 2009, the overall economy added just 120,000 new jobs in March, nearly half that of the market consensus forecast," said Nothaft. "On a more positive note, the Federal Reserve reported hiring was steady, or showed a modest increase, across many of its Districts in its April 11th Beige Book of regional economic conditions."
For the week ending April 6, the Mortgage Bankers Association saw a 2.4 percent drop in mortgage applications from the previous week.
But, there has been some bright spots in the real estate market.
"The mild winter has helped lift expectations for the housing market after four years of sluggish sales," according to the Associated Press.
"January and February made up the best winter for re-sales in five years, when the housing crisis began. And builders in February requested the most permits to construct homes in more than three years," according to the AP.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.Back in June, India-based Rolocule Games teased its upcoming Dance Party game which would supposedly bring multiplayer fun to the living room with a little help from Apple’s AirPlay technology and the $99 Apple TV media-streaming box.
At first, I was skeptical. But as Dance Party launched earlier today in the App Store as a free download, I’ve come to the realization that my fears were unfounded.
Yes, the game indeed works as advertised!
Dance Party really has to be seen live to be fully appreciated. Much like dance games on the Nintendo Wii, users mimic the onscreen dancer to get feedback on how they are doing. The game is basically airplayed from an iPhone to the Apple TV and takes advantage of Rolocule’s award-winning motion tracking technology called Rolomotion…
As if that weren’t enough, Dance Party also tracks your calories so that you can enjoy a fun workout while busting a move.
Here’s a launch trailer.
And this is your gameplay video.
Games like Dance Party prove Apple doesn’t really need to engineer a dedicated game console from scratch, as pundits have been arguing for ages.
If you ask me, nothing beats the simplicity of just downloading an app from the App Store which airplays itself to your TV while using your iOS device and tapping its sensors as a sophisticated controller.
I know AirPlay suffers from a delay which makes action games tough to master, but Dance Party isn’t an action title and you’ll barely notice any lag.
Summing up, Dance Party is a great multiplayer experience for that fun family game night or a house party. You |
of its oil revenue.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says 51 journalists have been kidnapped in Iraq since 2004, with 12 of those killed.
It has called the war “the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history,” with a total of 127 journalists and 50 media support workers killed since 2003.
The news of Butler’s release came after a night of renewed clashes in Baghdad’s Sadr City slum, the scene of intense street battles over the past three weeks between security forces and the Mehdi Army of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The fighting has been more intense than at any time since the first half of 2007, thrusting the Iraq conflict back onto centre stage of the U.S. presidential contest.
In Baghdad, U.S. forces said they had killed six gunmen in an overnight battle in Sadr City, firing from M1 tanks and helicopters at fighters using rocket-propelled grenades.
“We heard the sound of bombing and clashes after midnight. It lasted for around an hour and then stopped. American planes were hovering in the sky until morning,” said grocer Ali Sittar.
A senior U.S. military official who requested anonymity said Apache helicopters and drone aircraft were “loitering” around the clock above Sadr City, hunting militants who have fired rockets at the Green Zone government and diplomatic compound.
In the slum, angry mourners carried a coffin containing the body of a man killed in clashes through the streets.
Slideshow (5 Images)
U.S. commanders have criticised the planning of the March crackdown in Basra, led personally by Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The Iraqi government has sacked 1,300 soldiers and police involved in the operation for failing to fight.
In a statement, Sadr urged the government to reverse the decision, saying those who refused to fight had only been following orders from Shi’ite religious leaders.UPDATED 12.24pm All Black star Dan Carter has apologised for drink-driving, saying he made a "massive error of judgment".
Carter posted the apology on Facebook after being caught drink-driving in Paris.
"No excuses - I made a massive error of judgment and have let down my club, my fans and most importantly my family," he wrote.
"I will have to now let the police/court process run its course and face the consequences. I am just glad no one was harmed. Sorry."
LISTEN ABOVE: Catherine Field, our French correspondent, spoke to Mike Hosking
French magazine, Closer, reported the two-time Rugby World Cup winner was stopped by police driving allegedly almost twice the legal limit near the Champs-Elysees – in central Paris.
The 34-year-old was allegedly found without his driver's licence and had a blood alcohol count of 0.98 g per litre. The limit is 0.5g/l.
Newstalk ZB correspondent Catherine Field told Mike Hosking it's difficult to know if his team, Racing 92, will have his back.
"In the past I've always stuck behind Dan Carter but if these reports turn out to be true, this is pretty serious. France has been cracking down on drink driving.
"In the last five or six years, it's been very difficult to not notice the warnings that have been on TV and posters on the street that the government's cracking down on this and that's the big one they've been cracking down on."
Ms Field said the drink driving limit in France is relatively low, at 0.5 milligrams, or about one glass of wine.
Carter's manager Dean Hegan said he "wasn't aware" of Carter being stopped for drink-driving when contacted by the Herald this morning.
The Racing 92 player will subsequently be summoned to court for trial, L'Equipe reported.A truck driver has been arrested after police said he rigged his truck with fishing line to hide his license plate as he drove through E-ZPass tolls without paying. Javier Marte, 41, of Yonkers, now faces multiple charges after he was stopped by police on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge on Wednesday night, NJ.com has reported. RELATED: Car rental companies overcharging New Yorkers for E-ZPass: Report Recommended Slideshows 4 Pictures PHOTOS: Singapore's treasures star in NY Botanical Garden's 2019 Orchid Show 4 Pictures 36 Pictures Oscars 2019: Red carpet looks and full list of winners 36 Pictures 36 Pictures All of these celebrities have had their nudes leaked 36 Pictures More picture galleries 16 Pictures These photos of Trump and Ivanka will make you deeply uncomfortable 16 Pictures 4 Pictures Inside Brooklyn's Teknopolis is tech that makes us more human 4 Pictures 4 Pictures Inside The Strand's Fight Against Being Named a New York City Landmark 4 Pictures Around 7:15 p.m., an official spotted the suspect driving a tractor trailer with no front plate and the rear plate bent to avoid being readable by security cameras, according to ABC. When the E-ZPass sign indicated that he had not paid the toll, Marte was pulled over, and police discovered the fishing line. "The vehicle's front plate was rigged on a hinge with monofilament fishing line that ran into the cab and ended on the dash where the suspect could control it to conceal the plate [pull it up out of view], and then restore the plate into view after exiting the toll and security cameras," a statement from police spokesman Joe Pentangelo was quoted by NJ.com.Marte has been charged with theft of services and tampering with public records, according to ABC. He has also been charged withpossession of burglary tools because he "used theline to facilitate the crime,” police said to NJ.com, which added that his toll at that hour for that truck would have been $126 without E-ZPass. Related Articles Car rental companies overcharging New Yorkers for E-Z Pass: Report Bridge and tunnel tolls going up Pa. Turnpike toll increase takes effect on Jan. 3In early December, the AP rankings mean about as much as SAT scores mean to John Calipari. That being said, a fair amount of conversation has arose about the #1 and #2 teams in the country: Indiana and Duke. Arguments can be made for both teams, but the debate has one, central theme: “What One Team Has Accomplished versus What You’re Pretty Sure The Other Team Can Accomplish” as Robbi Pickeral put it on ESPN earlier this morning.
“What One Team Has Accomplished”: On the one side, you have a Duke team who has done everything you could possibly ask a team to do entering December. The Blue Devils have knocked off former #2 Louisville, former #3 Kentucky, and former #4 Ohio State all within the first two or three weeks of the young season. When discussing tournament resumés, if that is even worth doing at this juncture, Duke is easily the top team in the country.
“What You’re Pretty Sure the Other Team Can Accomplish”: On the other side, you have the #1 ranked Indiana Hoosiers. The country’s deepest and most talented (arguably) team on paper, the Hoosiers entered the season as everyone’s preseason #1. Aside from a nail-biter in Brooklyn against a very underrated Georgetown team, Indiana has handled their business and shown little to no vulnerability as the nation’s top team.
For now, the AP rankings and our perceptions of them are merely speculation. Speaking of speculation, what if the season ended today and pitted Indiana and Duke in the national championship game? Would Indiana’s strengths on paper prevail against Duke’s battle-tested group, or would the Dukies prove too much for the resurgent Hoosiers?
Just for picks and dribbles, I’ve broken down the head-to-head matchup based on what I’ve seen from each squad so far this season. Remember, this is my opinion and there’s a comments section for you to provide yours. Use it (Casual Gamer Reed need not comment).
Starting Guards
Tom Crean’s “we have 7 or 8 starters on this team” theory makes breakdowns like this a little complicated, but for the sake of argument, we’ll pin Ferrel, Hulls, and Oladipo up against Curry, Cook, and Sulaimon.
Yogi Ferrell has shown outstanding vision and ball security for a freshman point guard. Under the wing of senior leader Jordan Hulls, Ferrell has embraced his identity quickly and has helped the team in a variety of ways on both sides of the ball. He is a pass first point guard with tremendous athleticism and great team defensive ability. He shows high basketball intelligence, but his low-volume, low-percentage shooting may allow defenses to play off him a little more going forward.
Jordan Hulls has been nothing short of a beast so far this season. We all know Jordan is a lights-out shooter from distance, but most impressive has been his more complete game this season. He’s shown elite passing ability and has expanded his scoring repertoire. All things considered, Jordan’s most important contribution to the team may be intangible. He is the fearless senior leader of the Hoosiers and really exudes the Hoosier spirit. What he lacks in size and athleticism, he makes up for in effort and basketball intelligence.
Victor Oladipo, for my money, has been the most impressive of the bunch so far this season. His speed, athleticism, and high-motor are electrifying. He has the ability to take over portions of the game with his ability to create turnovers and convert on the fast break. Vic is one of the premiere defenders in the country and can play/defend 3 or 4 positions on the floor. Not every coach has a guy like this, but every coach wants one. As long as he can keep his passion from negatively affecting his game, I like Oladipo as Indiana’s x-factor as the season progresses.
Seth Curry really needs no introduction. He is a highly skilled scorer who can light it up for 20+ on any given night. However, his health has become an issue as of late. He suffered an ankle injury in the game against Ohio State and was forced to sit out the game against Delaware, although it may have been more precautionary in nature as Duke didn’t need Curry’s services to take down the Blue Hens. Either way, it’s something to monitor going forward.
Quinn Cook has been outstanding in the first few games for the Blue Devils. He seems to really turn it on in key games, as he’s posted his best performances against Minnesota, VCU, Ohio State, and Louisville. Also, we’ve really seen him grow since the Kentucky game early in the year. Turnovers continue to be a problem for the young guard, however, and he’ll need to protect the ball if the Blue Devils are going to make a deep run.
Rasheed Sulaimon has been under the microscope all season long. Many speculated whether the freshman guard would be able to rise to the occasion this year. So far, he has been nothing short of impressive. He has protected the ball well and really attacks the boards for a guard, which isn’t surprising given his 6’4” frame. However, his ability to fill it up, especially from long range, is what makes him a special player. He’s scored double digit points in all but his first collegiate game.
The Verdict: Slight edge to Indiana due to experience, defense, and intangibles.
Starting Forwards
Again just to clear the air, I’m pitting Indiana’s Zeller, Watford, and Sheehy up against Duke’s Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly. The outcome of an Indiana-Duke matchup would likely be decided by this group, which features Duke’s twin-tower senior leadership group and arguably the best player in the country in Cody Zeller.
Cody Zeller is the best big man in the country. As long as he stays out of foul trouble, he is going to dominate down low. You can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him. Zeller may face his biggest challenge in a matchup with Mason Plumlee, who may be the only player in the nation who can even come close to matching Cody’s combination of size and ability to run the floor.
Christian Watford is a tough matchup for anyone and has ice in his veins; just ask Kentucky. He’s a streaky shooter with incredible range for a 6’9” forward, but also uses his size to dominate the glass. He struggles picking his spots at times, but is as close to a lock from the free throw stripe as you’ll find in a forward. If he can learn to penetrate instead of settling for jumpers, he could add a whole new element to his already dynamic game.
Will Sheehy has a very similar game to his freshman roommate Oladipo. He brings intense enthusiasm and passion to the game, but that’s not all. He doesn’t shy away from the occasional posterization, but he also has a sneaky effective jumper from mid-range. He plays great defense from the perimeter as well. Like Oladipo, he needs to avoid making emotional mistakes in the heat of the moment. Aside from that, he’s developed a very clean game.
Mason Plumlee is similar to Zeller in the sense that there’s nothing to say that hasn’t already been said. He’s a heady player who can get out and run or operate in the post. He may also own claim to the most impressive first 8 games of the season. Against a grueling early season schedule, Plumlee has average 20 points and 11 rebounds per game. He is a force in the middle and a senior leader for the Blue Devils and might just be the national player of the year if the season ended today.
Ryan Kelly is Plumlee’s partner in crime down low, but boasts a unique skill set. Kelly isn’t much of a force on the boards for a 6’11” forward, but has outstanding range. Similar to Watford, he shoots the three-ball like a guard and can get hot at any moment. His presence isn’t overbearing in the post, but he is an underrated on-ball defender.
The Verdict: Again, slight edge to Indiana. Two words: Depth and Zeller.
Role Players
At first, this section was called ‘bench players’, but it just didn’t feel right. I’d like to think Tom Crean would be proud of the ‘role players’ moniker.
Indiana already has incredible depth with the ‘six starters’ previously mentioned, but they’ve gotten some surprising production off the bench as well this season. Remy Abell, Jeremy Hollowell, Maurice Creek, and Austin Etherington have all provided meaningful minutes in the first 8 games. Some of these minutes may have to be adjusted for inflation considering all the blowout wins Indiana has been a part of thus far, but they’ve made the most of their time. As a group, they’ve played solid team defense and protected the ball well. Tom Crean has also spoke highly of Hanner Parea and Peter Jurkin, two players we haven’t seen yet due to NCAA suspensions. Parea in particular should add even more size down low.
Duke’s starters have logged a ton of minutes, which has really limited the production from their bench. The three consistent contributors have been Tyler Thorton, Josh Hairston, and Amile Jefferson. Thorton has posted decent all-around numbers in just over 20 minutes per game, but has struggled with turnovers. Hairston and Jefferson are both averaging under 10 minutes per game and making little contribution on the stat sheet. It appears as if Duke will move forward dumping 30+ minutes on their five starters, giving them a blow only when necessary. One has to wonder what type of effect this will have on their team late in the season, especially in the tournament when a deep bench is such an advantage.
The Verdict: Clear edge to Indiana for depth and volume alone, if nothing else.
Admittedly, even at the conclusion of this breakdown, we haven’t learned anything that we didn’t already know. Indiana is the better team on paper due to their depth, athleticism, and balance. Unfortunately for Indiana, the best team on paper is rarely the team that ends up wearing the crown at the end of the season. However, the best team on paper did take home the title last year, so that’s reassuring, or at least it would be if it was any team besides Kentucky. Duke definitely has the veteran leadership, size, and scoring ability to make a deep run in the tournament, if not win it.
Nothing can be decided in November or December, that is for sure. Once these two teams get into conference play, we’ll have a much clearer picture, especially with Indiana in the loaded Big Ten. Also take out the microscopes on February 13th, when Duke takes on UNC, a team Indiana absolutely decimated at Assembly Hall.
Questions to be Answered Going Forward
Indiana:
1. How do they deal with the pressure of being #1?
2. How do they navigate through the toughest conference in the country when Big Ten play begins?
3. How will other teams key in on Zeller as the season progresses?
Duke:
1. Can they continue to lean or 5 or 6 guys to do it all?
2. Can their young guards continue to perform at such a high level?
3. Is Mason Plumlee really this good?
Who is the best team in the country right now? Indiana Hoosiers
Duke Blue Devils View ResultsBaltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake paid part of her ALCS bet with Kansas City Mayor Sly James with a rendition of a baseball-centric cover of Lorde's hit song, "Royals."
This one's about to get very meta. Preakness infield performer Lorde wrote a song called "Royals" because she saw a photo of former Kansas City star George Brett. Then, apparently, Royals fan John Long wrote a Royals-based cover of that song, and one of the many stipulations on a bet between Rawlings-Blake and James was that she perform "Royals" if the Royals won.
The Royals, as this metropolis has tried to forget, swept the Orioles in four games.
Before the series, Rawlings-Blake stipulated that if the Orioles won, James had to congratulate the Orioles on video in full Orioles gear, light his City Hall orange, rename a Kansas City street after the Orioles, and donate fitness equipment to Baltimore's rec centers.
James agreed on the condition that a Royals win would require Rawlings-Blake to refer to crab cakes as Royal Blue crab cakes, travel to Kansas City to read to students, and record herself singing the Lorde hit.
Look through pictures of the Orioles and the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 American League Championship Series.
She instead went with a Royals-themed parody of it, and with the help of some Baltimore School for the Arts students, did admirably. Click for the mayor singing, and stay for those kids ripping it up.
jmeoli@baltsun.com
twitter.com/jonmeoliPosted by TMP Webmanager on 24 May 2013 / 3 Comments
By Joel Preston /Â @cleccambodia
Following the tragedies in Bangladesh the regional garment industry is getting a lot of attention.
Before the events of the last few weeks, we would have said that building safety is not so much an issue in Cambodia. However, only hours after international brands signed onto the Bangladesh Building and Fire Safety Agreement, a building collapse at Cambodia’s Wing Star Shoes claimed the lives of at least two Cambodian garment workers and injured more than ten. Less than a week later, twenty-three garment workers, one of them a pregnant woman, were taken to hospital after a collapse at Cambodia’s Top World Garment.
This begs the question; where is the improvement in the life of a garment worker?
Since 2010, the Cambodian garment industry has been gripped by an epidemic of mass fainting. There were no recorded fatalities but in the last three years more than 4,000 garment workers have lost consciousness en masse during work. As the gap between wage and living expenses has risen with inflation, so have the reported incidents of mass fainting. In 2011 the ILO commissioned a report into specific incidents. The report found that “workers initially suffered from illnesses such as low-blood sugar (due to lack or caloric intake), heat strain, or exhaustion causing them to lose consciousness.â€
Further, the report suggested that the majority of those affected suffered from a psychogenic illness “likely precipitated by a combination of physical (high heat, fatigue, lack of caloric intake to meet demands of the job) and psychological job stress (high pressure to work overtime and Sunday’s) and other life stresses (limited financial resources).â€
Since at least 2010, this has been the reality for Cambodian garment workers – full time employment leading to malnutrition and psychogenic illness. Since at least 2010, Cambodian garment workers have had to reconcile the fact that:
“Today I may lose consciousness at work.â€
That changed in 2012. On 20 February 2012, an unidentified male approached a group of around 6,000 workers protesting the poverty wages and exploitation that epitomize the Cambodian garment industry. That man shot three young women aged 18 to 23 for requesting a pay increase of 50 cents per day. That man was the District Governor, who later confessed to the triple shooting, yet was still not arrested.
Since that day Cambodian garment workers have had to reconcile the fact that:
“Today I could be shot.â€
Now in 2013, Cambodian garment workers have to reconcile the building collapses of this month. They have to reconcile that “today at work I might lose their life.â€
International brands invest millions in self regulated sustainability and responsibility initiatives but the sad truth is that we are now comparing garment industries based on who kills the least amount of people. Many people talk of the economic growth that the industry brings, but how inclusive is it? Where is the increase in those overcoming a non-adjusted poverty line in Cambodia, Bangladesh, or any other production country? This is merely clever marketing. Cambodian factory owners report annual turnover of up to US$16-18 million dollars. Further in 2012, the revenues of international brands H&M, GAP, Walmart, and Adidas were an amount almost 43 times Cambodia’s entire GDP. In contrast a Cambodian garment worker has a minimum wage of less US$75 a month and earns less than a self employed moto-taxi driver. The minimum wage is less than half the average cost of living in provinces where factories are located. Workers as young as 13 years old toil six to seven days a week, up to 16 hours per day just to cover expenses. They need to take loans to cover unexpected costs like doctor’s fees.
80-90% of these workers are employed under short term contracts that are perpetually renewed. If a garment worker asks questions about wage or maternity leave or freedom of association they will not receive another contract. Cambodian garment workers are hanging on by a thread – a combination of poverty wage, slave labor and the constant fear of not being able to provide for their impoverished families.
Pregnant women will work until they deliver as they are often denied maternity leave. This results in deaths on the delivery table, “do-it-yourself” abortion and suicide out of fear that infants will not survive during the three months it will take to resume work. Pregnant women will join strikes to demand increase in wage, maternity leave and milk for their infants, during which they are kicked and beaten by police. Trade union leaders and their members are also beaten, shot and criminalized for requesting that their basic needs are met.
What is frustrating is how easily this could be remedied. Increased wages would increase the price of garments less than a dollar per piece. Eliminating short term contracts and allowing space for trade unions costs nothing. The garment industry should be a revolving door for the impoverished but apparently people need cheap t-shirts and brands and governments need extortionate profits and kickbacks.
In its current format the Cambodian garment industry and the lives of those therein, are not sustainable. That should be a concern for everyone.
Joel Preston works for the Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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StumbleUponEMBED >More News Videos Valve sealed after leak in Gloucester County. Gray Hall reports during Action News at 4 p.m. on May 25, 2017.
Hazmat crews were able to secure a valve leaking propylene in Gloucester County that caused evacuations of area businesses and injured two workers."Everything looks like it is in pretty decent shape right now," Logan Township Administrator Lyman Barnes said in a Thursday afternoon press conference.Officials were called around 9:50 a.m. Thursday Center Square Road in Logan Township for the report of the leak.Barnes says while there was no significant health threat to residents, the primary issue was propylene being a fire hazard.Atlantic City Electric shut down power to the area as a precaution.Evacuations were issued for a half-mile radius around the site, sending 1,900 people out of their businesses. There were no residential evacuations.The 30,000 gallon SMS Rail Line car was parked and offloading material into trucks when it began leaking propylene from a valve, Barnes said.After a few hours, crews were able to secure the valve. As a precautionary measure, Barnes says a new pipe will be connected with another valve in series with the existing valve as a secondary source of containment in case of another failure.Two workers were injured in the incident. One worker refused treatment, the other was transported to the hospital and is expected to be OK.Barnes says crews are monitoring the air quality of the neighborhood and are going to door to door to make sure.Though the leak has been contained, the evacuation order remains.By 6 p.m. the Logan Township Police Department said those evacuated were able to access the parking lots of the businesses to retrieve their vehicles, but still should not enter the evacuated buildings.The incident caused the temporary closure of nearby roads and the I-295 ramp to Exit 10.An investigation is underway as to why the valve malfunctioned.----------Kurdish fighters of the YPG and YPJ bidding farewell to a comrade killed during clashes with jihadists in Aleppo countryside. Photo: ARA News
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Putin: Russia sees no need to arm the Kurds in Syria
Kurdish security chief says unity among Syria’s Kurds still possible
ARA News
A US official confirmed that although they recognize Turkey’s concerns over Kurdish forces in Syria, they will continue to work with the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Reportedly, US Senator McCain is worried that US alignment with the Kurdish YPG would lead to problems with Turkey.
“Well, we certainly respect Senator McCain’s opinion. Obviously, he’s a very experienced senator and he has broad knowledge of global affairs, including Syria,” said Mark C. Toner, Acting State Department Spokesperson.
“I think we’ve been clear in acknowledging that it’s a very complex battle space in northern Syria. We have chosen to work with the YPG as a part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which include Syrian Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs; so a diverse group of ethnicities in order to go after, destroy ISIS,” he said.
“We’re in common cause in going after ISIS, as is Turkey. Turkey also realizes the threat they face from ISIS,” he added.
Nevertheless, Toner said that the US recognizes Turkish concerns on the YPG. “But we also recognize Turkey’s concerns with respect to the YPG, and that’s why we’ve set out very clear ground rules about YPG’s role,” the Acting State Department Spokesperson stated.
“We’ve conveyed that both to Turkey and to the YPG forces who are fighting on the ground. And we would urge and continue to urge all parties operating in that space to work and maintain pressure on ISIS. That’s the goal here,” he said.
“Everyone agrees that ISIS needs to be destroyed and dismantled and can never again reestablish itself. So we need to keep our focus on that goal. But we also do that mindful of the fact of Turkey’s concerns with respect to the YPG, and we’re working with Turkey. Those are discussions that are ongoing,” Toner stressed.
The US official also added that they are concerned about the situation around the Yezidi district of Sinjar [Shingal] in northern Iraq and that they are holding talks with local actors after 7 Kurdish fighters were killed in clashes between fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (KDP) and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
“There’re discussions ongoing between the Government of Iraq and the KRG generally about building stability in those areas and those regions that hug the Syrian border that have been liberated from ISIS,” he said.
“Those discussions are ongoing. We’re also having those discussions with those two groups because we recognize there’re tensions in the area. And again, part of the success is once we’ve liberated an area from ISIS is how do we establish control, local governance, stability back in these regions? And that’s certainly something we’re focused on,” Toner concluded.
Reporting by: Wladimir van Wilgenburg | Source: ARA News
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Join our Weekly NewsletterAn asteroid the size of a school bus gave Earth an extremely close shave around 1:14 p.m. ET today.
The rogue object—dubbed asteroid 2011 MD—buzzed by at a distance of 7,500 miles (12,000 kilometers) from our planet's surface, or roughly 30 times closer than the moon.
Researchers with MIT's Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program discovered the asteroid on June 22 and pegged its size between 20 feet (6.3 meters) and 46 feet (14 meters) wide.
Astronomers clocked its top speed at around 63,000 miles (101,000 kilometers) an hour.
Although small by asteroid standards, 2011 MD was close enough for amateur astronomers to spot it with modest telescopes.
Watch video of the asteroid taken June 26 with a 20-inch backyard telescope.
If the asteroid had been on a collision course with Earth, the space rock would have been large enough and fast enough that it would have made it to the ground, said MIT planetary scientist Ben Weiss.
"You'd end up with some sort of explosion and a decent-size crater," he said. "You wouldn't have wanted something like this to land in Manhattan."
Future Asteroid Impact Inevitable
About one asteroid around the same size as 2011 MD comes as close to Earth every five to ten years, and one strikes Earth roughly once every 50 years.
"This was not an extraordinary event in the world of close asteroid approaches," Weiss said.
"We've recently tracked five other objects that came closer, and a small one of these actually fell to Earth."
That was asteroid 2008 TC3, which was about half the size of asteroid 2011 MD.
"Sooner or later," Weiss said, "a bigger one is going to hit us."
Newfound Asteroid May Be Back
Asteroid 2011 MD is considered an Apollo-type asteroid, because its orbit is very similar to Earth's yet longer in duration and more oval-shaped.
Astronomers expect the space rock to swing by again in the future—perhaps more closely the next time around—but it's tough to know for certain until the asteroid's departure path is measured in detail.A judge in Iran told a man sentenced to death: "If you're innocent you'll go to heaven after you're hanged."
Reza Hosseini, one of four people executed on 3 May on drug charges, pleaded not guilty to the charges in a trial that allegedly lasted just two minutes before he was found guilty and sentenced to death.
But the judge presiding over the case reportedly responded to Hosseini's protests that he was innocent by telling him if that was the case he would go to heaven after the execution, Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported.
Hosseini was hanged at Karaj's Ghezel Hesar Prison in northern Iran.
In a will seen by IHR, the 34-year-old insisted he was innocent, and mentioned the comment made by Judge Tayerani.
His wife Azadeh Geravand also asserted Hosseini's claims, adding that he had been subject to torture and had been prevented from seeing his family.
"In the first 70 days of his imprisonment Reza was subjected to torture and interrogations," she told human rights news site HRANA. "We were not allowed to visit him until he was transferred to Ghezel Hesar Prison. But, even then, we weren't granted our first visit with him until after 11 months of imprisonment.
"The narcotics mentioned in Reza's case file were discovered by authorities in our neighbour's home whom we don't even know. The only reason why Reza was arrested is because he got into a physical altercation with the authorities in the parking lot of our residence."
The majority of executions in Iran are linked to drug charges, with Amnesty International highlighting the rise in executions in Iran in a recent report.Earlier this evening, Joey Rosario, the agent for Eulogio "Frankie" De La Cruz, got in touch with me and informed me that his client has signed a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2013 season.
The 28-year-old De La Cruz did not receive a major league invite to spring training, but was informed that he would still be working in the major league portion of camp a fair amount with the World Baseball Classic taking place this spring.
De La Cruz, a right handed pitcher, spent the 2011 season with the Brewers, working mostly in Triple-A Nashville. He worked primarily as a starter, with 23 starts in 25 minor league appearances that year. He posted a 3.88 ERA with an 8.28 K/9 and 4.16 BB/9. He was called up by the Brewers in mid-August of that season when Chris Narveson cut his pitching hand and was placed on the disabled list.
De La Cruz made 11 relief appearances for the Brewers, with a 2.77 ERA and 3.26 FIP. However, in March he was claimed off of Waivers by the Chicago Cubs, where he spent much of 2012. For Chicago's Triple-A affiliate, he saw action in 27 games (14 starts) and posted a 3.80 ERA. He posted just a 5.42 K/9 and a 5.51 BB/9.
Rosario said that his client was unhappy during his time with Chicago and they negotiated De La Cruz's release in August 2012. De La Cruz then signed with a team in Taiwan. In his tenure there, Rosario said that De La Cruz gave up just one walk and no earned runs through his first 24 games. Currently, De La Cruz his pitching in the Dominican Republic with the Estrellas Orientales.
Rosario said that De La Cruz is very excited to be back with Milwaukee and to be back "with his Brewer family". He felt that the Brewers gave him a real opportunity to prove himself in 2011 and hopes to get the opportunity to help the team again this upcoming season.
It's certainly easy to see why De La Cruz feels he has a good opportunity to find meaningful playing time with the Brewers. The team's bullpen was one of the worst in the MLB in 2012 and has several holes following the departures of Jose Veras, Francisco Rodriguez, and Kameron Loe.
De La Cruz was a former top-10 prospect with both the Tigers and the Marlins, going from Detroit to Florida in the blockbuster Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis trade. De La Cruz has been able to touch 100 MPH with his fastball in the past and has nasty stuff if he can control it. He will also give the Brewers some flexibility as he can potentially work as both a starter or a reliever, though the Brewers likely see him as a bullpen arm. For more on De La Cruz, you can read my post from 2011 when the Brewers called him up to the major league squad.
De La Cruz may not receive an opportunity to be on the major league roster on opening day, but he is another low-risk signing in the effort to revamp the bullpen. He has helped the team in the past, and both parties appear to like one another. It's not difficult to imagine him being in the Brewers bullpen at some point in the 2013 season.Conversations about an actor’s life were mixed with observations about Muslims and the Supreme Court as the Santa Barbara International Film Festival saluted eight actors for their breakthrough work in 2016 films.
The first recipient of the fest’s Virtuoso Awards on Saturday was Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight” and “Hidden Figures”). He was asked about his SAG Awards speech about being a Muslim, and about his reaction to having his religion “dragged through the mud” for the past months. “The Muslims I know are peace-loving people,” he said quietly, adding that the actions of a few extremists have been reported so much that many people are getting a distorted view of the religion.
Janelle Monae, who also appears in both those films, said she was deeply moved when she first read Barry Jenkins’ script for the latter, because it depicted characters who are usually marginalized and discriminated against.
A third “Moonlight” actor, Naomie Harris, spoke about filming her role in three days, even though the script spans 15 years and they had to film out of sequence. She was scheduled to do the work over three weeks, but “For some reason, I had visa issues,” she said wryly.
Related Oscar-Nominated Producers Compare Notes at Santa Barbara Panel
Ruth Negga, Ethiopian-born and raised in Ireland, said she was unaware of the Supreme Court before she started work on “Loving,” but hopes the film raises worldwide awareness of the court and its justices. She said the true-life story of Richard and Mildred Loving wasn’t a black-white issue or an American issue: “It’s the world’s story,” because Supreme Court decisions often have global implications.
Dev Patel was a crowd favorite, inspiring whoops on the red carpet, during his entrance onstage, and for some of his answers. He spoke about having to fight for the role in “Lion,” after being typecast as “that goofy kid” in the “Exotic Marigold Hotel” movies, adding, “I was fighting against my own resume.”
Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Nocturnal Animals”), Simon Helberg (“Florence Foster Jenkins”), |
housing became a more widespread problem, the general public, Berkeley City Council, and the University of California became increasingly anti-homeless in their opinions.[65] In 1994, Berkeley City Council considered the implementation of a set of anti-homeless laws that the San Francisco Chronicle described as being "among the strictest in the country".[63] These laws prohibited sitting, sleeping and begging in public spaces, and outlawed panhandling from people in a variety of contexts, such as sitting on public benches, buying a newspaper from a rack, or waiting in line for a movie.[63] In February 1995, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the City for infringing free speech rights through its proposed anti-panhandling law.[63] In May of that same year, a federal judge ruled that the anti-panhandling law did violate the First Amendment, but left the anti-sitting and sleeping laws untouched.[63] Following the implementation of these anti-sitting and sleeping ordinances in 1998, Berkeley increased its policing of homeless adults and youth, particularly in the shopping district surrounding Telegraph Avenue.[76] The mayor at that time, Shirley Dean, proposed a plan to increase both social support services for homeless youth and enforcement of anti-encampment laws.[76] Unhoused youth countered this plan with a request for the establishment of the city's first youth shelter, more trash cans, and more frequent cleaning of public bathrooms.[76] 21st century Edit The City of Berkeley's 2017 annual homeless report and point-in-time count (PIT) estimate that on a given night, 972 people are homeless.[77] Sixty-eight percent (664 people) of these individuals are also unsheltered, living in places not considered suitable for human habitation, such as cars or streets.[77] Long-term homelessness in Berkeley is double the national average, with 27% of the city's homeless population facing chronic homelessness.[77] Chronic homelessness has been on the rise since 2015, and has been largely a consequence of the constrained local housing market.[77] In 2015, rent in Alameda County increased by 25%, while the average household income only grew by 5%.[78] This disparity not only contributes to the growing homeless population in Berkeley, but also presents an increased need for more affordable housing in the greater East Bay. According to the 2017 report, only 3% of unhoused Berkeley individuals reported that they would be "uninterested in permanent, affordable housing if it were available", demonstrating that homelessness in Berkeley is largely an issue of economic insecurity rather than individual choice, as it once was.[77] The over-representation of unsheltered minorities, primarily African-Americans, in Berkeley is a consequence of systemic and institutionalized racism and economic disadvantages, preventing homeless people of color from competing for rising rent, thus limiting access to housing for minority groups in Berkeley.[77] The City of Berkeley's 2017 report also estimated the number of unaccompanied youth in Berkeley at 189 individuals, 19% of the total homeless population in the city. Homeless youth display greater risk of mental health issues, behavioral problems, and substance abuse, than any other homeless age group.[69] Furthermore, homeless youth identifying as LGBTQ+ are exposed to greater rates of physical and sexual abuse, and higher risk for sexually-transmitted diseases, predominantly HIV.[79][80] The City of Berkeley has seen a consistent rise in the number of chronically homeless individuals over the past 30 years, and has implemented a number of different projects to reduce the number of people living on the streets.[81] In 2008, the City focused its efforts on addressing chronic homelessness. This led to a 48% decline in the number of chronically homeless individuals reported in the 2009 Berkeley PIT.[82] However, the number of "hidden homeless" individuals (those coping with housing insecurity by staying at a friend or relative's residence), increased significantly, likely in response to rising housing costs and costs of living.[82] In 2012, the City considered measures that banned sitting in commercial areas throughout Berkeley.[82] The measure was met with strong public opposition and did not pass. However, the City saw a strong need for it to implement rules addressing encampments and public usage of space as well as assessing the resources needed to assist the unhoused population.[82] In response to these needs the City of Berkeley established the Homeless Task Force, headed by then-Councilmember Jesse Arreguín.[82] Since its formation, the Task Force has proposed a number of different recommendations, from expanding the City Homeless Outreach and Mobile Crisis Teams, to building a short-term transitional shelter for unhoused individuals.[83] With the political activism of the UC, Berkeley has historically been vocal about the housing crisis that affects students and locals alike. An example of these efforts, to create and maintain space for those who cannot fight for themselves, lies in the movement to preserve People's Park as a place for the homeless population to call its own, instead of destroying it to make room for more student housing in the area.[84] The efforts made by the community to create and maintain space for the homeless population in Berkeley did not stop there. With the history of homelessness and lack of affordable housing, there has been masses of organizations opening up with the sole mission to help this vulnerable population with not only housing assistance, but other symptoms that derive from homelessness. These organizations have stemmed from church groups, non-profits, even the UC. One of the many UC Berkeley student run programs that focuses on assisting the homeless is the Suitcase Clinic. The Suitcase Clinic was established in the late 1980s by undergraduate and graduate level students to provide direct medical services to the homeless and underrepresented population of Berkeley.[85] Services provided by students have altered over the years to cater to the needs of the homeless population, and now include not only professional medical and dental support, but also health education, foot-washing, child care, a hot meal, and services that promote mental well-being.[86]
Transportation Edit
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Further reading EditThe marketing mavens behind
, the state's
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, quickly realized they needed to emphasize altitude. Colorado is "king of the mountains," points out Aaron Kennedy, the state's chief marketing officer. Still, pushing altitude also created another dilemma: They didn't want a logo-slogan combo that might confuse being in the highest state with getting high. But the Colorado lovers who quickly created
were under no such restrictions.
When polling residents about the campaign, "quite a number of contributions referred to Amendment 64," Kennedy admits. "But the mountains capture people's hearts."
And so do the brand parodies that started popping up as soon as the new brand was announced -- several of which emphasize a real Rocky Mountain high. Attorney Robert Corry sent us this variation on the new logo, created by associate Travis Simpson, a lawyer and award-winning artist, with an accompanying variation on the "It's Our Nature" slogan: "The Shit's Our Nature!"
Other parodies stuck to the simple and sweet: And another one simply pointed out strange coincidences in signs that already existed. No creative work was needed for this: Have you found more logo similarities/parodies? Post them below. And by the way, isn't that the state flag that's still the logo on the home page of makingcolorado.gov?
More from the Calhoun Wake-Up Call archive: "Nine new states that could secede from the state."There are three broad types of alerts in the national system: emergency alerts for storms and other threats to public safety; so-called Amber Alerts, which seek to enlist people in a search for an abducted child; and those issued by the president. Cellphone users can opt to block all but the presidential alerts.
To date, the president has not sent an alert using the system.
The system has been used in New York City several times since 2012, according to officials: three times during Hurricane Sandy, once for a travel ban during a winter storm in 2015 and twice during the Chelsea bombing — the broad alert on Monday, and a more limited one on Saturday night, warning people in the Chelsea area to stay away from windows as the police cleared an unexploded device from 27th Street.
Eric F. Phillips, a spokesman for Mr. de Blasio, said the decision to send the alert on Monday required a high degree of evidence that Mr. Rahami was connected to the bombing.
By early Monday, the authorities were confident enough to publicly identify Mr. Rahami. Around 7 a.m., John J. Miller, the deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism at the New York Police Department, directed his public affairs office to disseminate the information. The office then contacted the city’s emergency management agency; staff members there quickly decided to send out a Wireless Emergency Alert, or W.E.A.
“This was somebody they considered to be extremely dangerous,” Nancy Silvestri, press secretary for the emergency management agency, said.
It took about 15 minutes for officials to agree on the language for an alert, and give approval for the message that was sent across the city at 7:57 a.m.
Brittany Rocco was in a kinesiology class at Manhattan College in the Bronx when seemingly every phone sounded at once. “I thought, ‘Oh wow, I guess I should pay attention today,’” she said.Click to share on Weibo (Opens in new window)
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Colombia has to import coins from Europe for the first time in more than two decades due to an artificial coin shortage. CCTV America’s Michelle Begue reports.
According to Colombia’s Central Bank, the 500 and 1,000 peso coins are disappearing. Officials say that Colombia’s young and old are using piggy banks to save money throughout the year, which is causing the shortage. The new 1,000 peso coin, which used to be printed on paper, has been so popular that people prefer to save them rather than spend them.
The Central Bank says it has nearly doubled its annual production and produced more than 400 million coins to meet the country’s needs.
In addition to the local production, 95 million new coins will be brought from Slovakia in November. This is the first time Colombia has imported coins since 1992. The President of the National Federation of Merchants says that without more coins, there would be economic repercussions for businesses.
The Central Bank says it expects to see an influx of coins come back into circulation once piggy banks are opened for the holidays.
Piggy banks to blame for Colombia's coin shortage Colombia has to import coins from Europe for the first time in more than two decades due to an artificial coin shortage. CCTV America's Michelle Begue reports.The Web surfing history saved in your Web browser can be accessed without your permission. JavaScript code deployed by real websites and online advertising providers use browser vulnerabilities to determine which sites you have and have not visited, according to new research from computer scientists at the University of California, San Diego.
The researchers documented JavaScript code secretly collecting browsing histories of Web users through "history sniffing" and sending that information across the network. While history sniffing and its potential implications for privacy violation have been discussed and demonstrated, the new work provides the first empirical analysis of history sniffing on the real Web.
"Nobody knew if anyone on the Internet was using history sniffing to get at users' private browsing history. What we were able to show is that the answer is yes," said UC San Diego computer science professor Hovav Shacham.
The computer scientists from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering presented this work in October at the 2010 ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS 2010) in a paper entitled, "An Empirical Study of Privacy-Violating Information Flows in JavaScript Web Applications".
History Sniffing
History sniffing takes place without your knowledge or permission and relies on the fact that browsers display links to sites you've visited differently than ones you haven't: by default, visited links are purple, unvisited links blue.
History sniffing JavaScript code running on a Web page checks to see if your browser displays links to specific URLs as blue or purple.
History sniffing can be used by website owners to learn which competitor sites visitors have or have not been to. History sniffing can also be deployed by advertising companies looking to build user profiles, or by online criminals collecting information for future phishing attacks. Learning what banking site you visit, for example, suggests which fake banking page to serve up during a phishing attack aimed at collecting your bank account login information.
"JavaScript is a great thing, it allows things like Gmail and Google Maps and a whole bunch of Web 2.0 applications; but it also opens up a lot of security vulnerabilities. We want to let the broad public know that history sniffing is possible, it actually happens out there, and that there are a lot of people vulnerable to this attack," said UC San Diego computer science professor Sorin Lerner.
The latest versions of Firefox, Chrome, and Safari now block the history sniffing attacks the computer scientists monitored. Internet Explorer, however, does not currently defend against history sniffing. In addition, anyone using anything but the latest versions of the patched browsers is also vulnerable.
Sniffing out History Sniffing
"We built a dynamic data flow engine for JavaScript to track history sniffing in the wild. I don't know of any other practical tool that can be used to do this kind of extensive study," said Dongseok Jang, the UC San Diego computer science Ph.D. student who developed the JavaScript monitoring technology. The researchers plan to broaden their work and study what information is being leaked by applications on social media and other Web 2.0 sites.
The computer scientists looked for history sniffing on the front pages of the top 50,000 websites, according to Alexa global website rankings. They found that 485 of the top 50,000 sites inspect style properties that can be used to infer the browser's history. Out of 485 sites, 63 transferred the browser's history to the network. "We confirmed that 46 of them are actually doing history sniffing, one of these sites being in the Alexa global top 100," the UC San Diego computer scientists write in the CCS 2010 paper: http://cseweb. ucsd. edu/ ~hovav/ papers/ jjls10. html
Table 1 in the paper outlines the websites the computer scientists found that performed history sniffing during the data collection period. In some cases, the websites created their own history sniffing systems. In other cases, advertisements served by outside companies contained JavaScript code performing the history sniffing.
History Sniffing in Perspective
The computer scientists say that history sniffing does not pose as great a risk to your privacy or identity as malicious software programs (malware) that can steal your banking information or your entire Facebook profile. But, according to Shacham, "history sniffing is unusual in effectively allowing any site you visit to learn about your browsing habits on any other site, regardless if the two sites have any business relationship."
"I think people who have updated or switched browsers should now worry about things other than history sniffing, like keeping their Flash plug-in up to date so they don't get exploited. But that doesn't mean that the companies that have engaged in history sniffing for the currently 60 percent of the user population that is vulnerable to it should get a free pass," said Shacham.
Tracking History Sniffing
The UC San Diego history-sniffing detection tool analyzes the JavaScript running on the page to identify and tag all instances where the browser history is being checked. The way the system tags each of these potential history tracking events can be compared to the ink or paint packets that banks add to bags of money being stolen.
"As soon as a JavaScript tries to look at the color of a link, we immediately put 'paint' on that. Some sites collected that information but never sent it over the network, so there was all this 'paint' inside the browser. But in other cases, we observed 'paint' being sent over the network, indicating that history sniffing is going on," explained Lerner. The computer scientists only considered it history sniffing when the browser history information was sent over the network to a server.
"We detected when browser history is looked at, collected on the browser and sent on the network from the browser to their servers. What servers then do with that information is speculation," said Lerner.
The "paint" tracking approach to monitoring JavaScript could be useful for more than just history sniffing, Lerner explained. "It could be useful for understanding what information is being leaked by applications on Web 2.0 sites. Many of these apps use a lot of JavaScript."
###
Dongseok Jang, Ranjit Jhala, Sorlin Lerner, and Hovav Shacham. "An Empirical Study of Privacy-Violating Information Flows in JavaScript Web Applications." In A. Keromytis and V. Shmatikov, eds., Proceedings of CCS 2010, pages 270. ACM Press, Oct. 2010.
The computer scientists have a National Science Foundation (NSF) trustworthy computing grant on java script and Web security that is funding related work.Pillagers! 7dRTS Game Development Journal
22 July 2013 - 29 July 2013
I have decided to participate in the 7-Day Real Time Strategy Challenge, July 2013 edition.
I am working with Michael Weber who will create sound effects, music, and be in charge of the "atmosphere" of the game.
Cross-posted on ludumdare.com.
I am using chem, a canvas-based game engine I made for rapid development occasions such as this. It has been working out quite well and I think it has been playing a large role in my productivity today.
The game is codenamed "pillagers". The idea is to mix space physics with real time strategy and see what comes out. Instead of creating a carefully planned out base, you will be campaigning through levels, pillaging for resources.
That's the idea, anyway. We'll see how it pans out.
Here's a list of the things that work right now:
Selecting squads and telling them to move around.
Ships shoot enemy ships, destroying them when their health reaches 0.
Scrolling around the map.
Auto generated parallax background with stars and a planet.
The code is open source, hosted on GitHub. It's 941 lines of JavaScript:
46 src/bullet.js 33 src/explosion.js 432 src/main.js 19 src/militia_ship.js 241 src/ship_ai.js 165 src/ship.js 5 src/uuid.js 941 total
Screenshot of a squad of ships under attack:
Short video of me playing around with some elements of the game
It was a fun challenge to write the AI to get the ships to stop at the intended destinations. As is it's not optimal, but I think that's okay. Maybe later classes of ships will have better AI.
You can actually play this game right now. Since it's web based, you don't even have to download anything.
Here's what the TODO list looks like currently:
Edit the main militia ship to have short range.
Auto targeting enemies should only work when close enough.
Ability to right click an enemy ship to tell squad to target it.
Add enemy turrets and ships to level 1.
Add enemy flag which grants victory when destroyed.
Add 2nd class of ship which you get some of at beginning of level 1.
Instead of giving the player ships at the beginning, give them cash and buildings which they can use to create the ships they want. The user will thus be able to choose how many of class 1 and class 2 ships they want.
Put instruction label text in level 1 to explain the controls.
Start planning level 2.
Well, I'm off to bed to get some rest. Looking forward to Day 2!
Cross-posted on ludumdare.com.
opengameart.org has been very good to me. I think this will be my new go-to game dev art supply. So far I've found everything I've wanted on that site, except for a meteor sprite. Maybe I'll make one and contribute back.
Michael made a lazer sound and a ship thrusting sound, and I added the sound effects to the game. In addition to that, I made a ton of progress today:
3pm - draw flags only if selected
5pm - add another class of ship
8pm - found out I was using t * a ^ 2 + t * v for acceleration instead of a * t ^ 2 + v * t. I fixed all the math and made ships arriving at gather points nice and smooth.
for acceleration instead of. I fixed all the math and made ships arriving at gather points nice and smooth. 9pm - added team colors overlayed on ships
10pm - gave the Militia ship an electric melee attack
11pm - gave Militia ships smart attacking AI
12am - made Ranger ships pursue targets
2am - added TurretShip and FlagShip
3am - added support for ships with backwards thrusters
3am - added move & engage command
3am - improved ship selection capabilities
5am - added title screen, credits screen, and game over screen. I made it possible to win and lose the game.
Here's the title screen:
Here's a screenshot of a battle underway:
Battles can get hectic and chaotic, but it is fun to watch it play out. Here's a video of me demoing a battle:
Again, you can playtest this game in your browser right now using the same url as Day 1. Feel free to give me feedback or advice.
I came up with some ideas on what bigger picture gameplay will look like which I am pretty pleased with. There will be a bunch of different classes of ships, for example:
Militia Basic cheap unit. Has short range. Agile. Actually doesn't shoot lazers, shoots a short range but powerful lightning attack out the front. It must resort to charging other ships to attack them. Ranger Short range weak lazers. Less agile. Less defense. In a level, a Militia should be able to overtake a Ranger and kill it. Artillery Slower, shoots big lazers. Slow moving, weak defense. FlagShip Does not attack. Has high defense. Moves very slowly. Turret Stationary lazer shooter. Medi Heals other ships.
There will be some obvious deficiencies with the ships targeting systems and AI. These can be helped with upgrades, such as:
Targeting Target the first enemy found (default) Target the closest enemy. Communicate with others to divide up the targets evenly.
Ranger Upgrade range. Update bullet count to 3. Evasive maneuvers 1. Evasive maneuvers 2. Smarter aiming. Backwards thrusters.
Militia Evade lazers. Backwards thrusters. Smarter aiming.
You will start with only a flagship, and as you progress throughout the campaign, you will start to build up a convoy that gets ever bigger and more powerful. You'll need it to be bigger and more powerful to get through later levels, in fact.
Here's what's next on the TODO list:
Build simpler level 1 where you only have to navigate your flag ship around meteors.
Give the player some cash and let them choose to build Ranger ships or Militia ships using the Flagship.
Create level 2 where you have to destroy the enemy flagship and then fly your flagship through the created portal.
I'm at a pretty good checkpoint right now. I'm calling it a night.
Cross-posted on ludumdare.com.
Today Michael gave me the first music track he composed for the game and I am impressed. I am excited to have professional sounding music for a change.
That being said, the first thing I did after inserting the music into the game was program a mute button so that I could keep listening to techno while I coded.
Michael also delivered an electric explosion sound effect that works perfectly.
I mentioned yesterday that I could not find a meteor graphic to use on opengameart.org. I actually did end up finding art that works really well by searching for "rock".
You can see the three rock types in the current spritesheet for the game which is autogenerated by chem:
The first thing I did today was create a electrical disintegration animation, and I'm pretty pleased with the result:
I wonder if this is considered good enough to submit to opengameart.org.
After I finished that animation, I worked hard and had a productive day:
3pm - Finished electrical disintegration animation and added sound effect to game.
3pm - Added in Michael's background music and made it so you can toggle it with M key.
5pm - Added meteors with collision detection.
5pm - Fixed "ships rotating for no reason" bug.
6pm - Inserted a new Level 1 - meteor field that you have to navigate through.
7pm - Created a spastic portal graphic and added it to the level.
7pm - Fixed navigation bug for ships equipped with backwards thrusters.
9pm - Fixed scrolling when manual overriding.
11pm - Added a UI pane when ships are selected.
12am - Added a mini-map.
1am - Made it so you can send ships into a portal.
3am - Made it so selected portal shows what's inside it.
4am - Added ability to send ships out of a portal.
5am - Added announcement support.
6am - Made your convoy show up on the level complete screen.
6am - Added stats to the level complete screen.
8am - Finished level complete screen so that you can get to the next level.
The source tree has grown quite a bit since last time I checked, up to 2,704 lines:
49 src/bullet.js 77 src/credits_screen.js 43 src/flag_ship.js 30 src/fx.js 73 src/game.js 34 src/game_over_screen.js 178 src/level_complete_screen.js 20 src/main.js 81 src/meteor.js 58 src/militia_ship.js 91 src/physics_object.js 82 src/portal.js 60 src/ranger_ship.js 37 src/sfx.js 449 src/ship_ai.js 177 src/ship.js 7 src/ship_types.js 57 src/squad.js 933 src/state.js 23 src/team.js 105 src/title_screen.js 35 src/turret_ship.js 5 src/uuid.js 2704 total
I actually feel pretty good about the code organization right now. I have only had to pause progress and refactor 2-3 times and each time it was mostly painless.
Enough of the technical stuff. Let's see some screenshots.
Here's one of the meteor field level you start out in:
Here's what it looks like when you finish the level:
And here's me giving a walkthrough of the progress made today:
My TODO list is getting a bit unruly. I've divided it into "next steps" and "nice-to-have"s:
Next steps:
Add text instructions in Level 1 to explain the controls and how to beat the level.
Make it so that you start out the next level with the same fleet that you exited with.
Show your cash in the UI
Allow you to create ships that you unlock by spending cash.
Insert a level between 1 and 2 with some attackers. You'll have to build some Ranger ships to defend your Flagship.
Nice-to-haves:
Figure out why the game slows to a crawl when many ships are added and then deleted.
Experiment with speed cap on ships. (I'm reluctant to do this one - I like the idea of high-velocity dogfighting.)
If Ranger is in range, don't accelerate toward target.
Fix the thruster sound glitchiness
Each command should draw something on the screen to indicate that something is commanded. (Some commands do this already.)
When forming a squad, don't assume all ships have the same radius.
And now I must rest. I am exhausted.
Cross-posted on ludumdare.com.
It has been wonderful relying only upon circles in this physics engine. The math is simple and beautiful, and it's easy to write fast code. Who needs polygons anyway?
Today was a good day. Pillagers is now actually a game. What I got done:
5pm - Added more of Michael's sound effects into the game.
5pm - Tweaked the physics.
5pm - Added some cheats to help speed up testing.
6pm - Added text in Level 1 to explain controls.
7pm - The game shows how much cash you have.
10pm - You keep your same fleet when progressing to the next level.
12am - Added a new Level 2.
12am - Made unlocking ships work.
12am - Made it so you get cash from killing enemy ships.
12am - Tweak the money system.
1am - Made it so you can scroll and give orders while paused.
1am - Fixed some game crashes and bugs.
2am - Modified attacking AI to stay within certain speed limits. Makes the game less chaotic.
3am - Added ability to skip tutorial levels.
4am - Better squad formation.
4am - Updated the Move & Engage command to be more effective.
6am - Added Civilian ships and plan out Level 4.
7am - Add Artillery ship and finish implementing Level 4.
8am - Fix the crash which happened at the end of the demo below.
Screenshot:
Screencast demo:
Bed.
Cross-posted on ludumdare.com.
I spent a good chunk of the day trying to solve a performance problem. After approximately 100,000 bullets were fired, the framerate would drop to an excruciating 16 FPS.
I was able to figure it out by using Google Chrome's heap profiling tool. Here's what the heap snapshot looked like:
I found out that there was a memory leak in the game engine - every time a sprite was created it called setInterval but it did not call clearInterval when the sprite was deleted. Ever since I fixed the issue, FPS has stayed at a nice and smooth 60, no matter how many objects are created and destroyed.
Here are some other things I got done today:
9pm - Miscellanous small enhancements.
11pm - Fixed the performance issue.
12am - Added the new thruster sound that Michael gave me.
3am - Added Sandbox Mode.
4am - Added more features to Sandbox Mode.
6am - Added Ctrl+A to select all your ships. Also made WASD and J work the same as arrow keys and space.
7am - Added dogfighting mode.
8am - Added graphics so that ships display their targets when selected.
8am - Added 2 more dogfighting levels. Enhanced manual piloting of Militia ship so that you can use your melee attack.
Here's a screenshot of Sandbox mode:
Here's me playing through Dogfighting Mode and messing around in Sandbox Mode a bit:
I have only 2 days left to work. The last day will be primarily reserved for gameplay tweaking, bugfixes, touchups, and testing. That leaves only 1 more day to make actual progress.
These are my goals for tomorrow:
Add a rotating turret to the flagship.
Add a civilian to Level 1 and use that to explain the Move command vs the Engage command.
Add a dogfighting level where there is an ongoing battle and you have to rack up a certain number of kills to win.
Add more campaign levels. I reserve the right to ramp up the difficulty in the later levels!
Pan sound effects and volume depending on scroll location
Add some more ship classes and implement upgrades.
Thanks to the folks in the #7dRTS IRC channel for helping me playtest today. Specifically Zapa and Orava.
Cross-posted on ludumdare.com.
Today I worked on making the level format and core engine more robust. I added a bunch more dogfighting levels. There are 11 now, and they get pretty crazy at the end.
The cool thing about them is that the core game engine does not even know that you are in "Dogfighting Mode". There's no dogfightingMode variable that tells the engine that's what you're doing. Instead, the level format supports trigger conditions, events, and groups, and the logic of dogfighting is done in the level JSON file.
Michael gave me the battle music today as well. It sounds amazing. I made it so that the game automatically detects when you are entering or exiting a battle and transitions the music appropriately. I'm pleased with the effect.
Here's a list of what I got done today:
12am - Added battle music. The game automatically detects when a battle is happening and fades in the battle music, then fades back to normal music once the battle is over.
1am - Added more dogfighting levels.
3am - Worked on making dogfighting levels more fun. You have to try again if you die rather than respawning.
4am - Made the Militia ship show the area of attack when you are manually piloting it.
6am - Sandbox Mode: Ability to load and save. I was able to use this to build some dogfighting levels.
7am - Added more dogfighting levels.
I did not accomplish most of what I set out to today. Regardless, I am really happy with Dogfighting Mode right now. It's almost certainly more fun than Campaign Mode currently.
Here's a video of me playing through it:
This version of the game is going to be pretty close to the final one that I submit for 7dRTS. I will probably only spend about 6-8 more hours on this debugging on Firefox and bugfixing. I will not be supporting Internet Explorer.
Today was short. I added more sound effects that Michael provided, and lowered the difficulty on several levels. The game is in a stable state and I don't want to screw it up before submitting.
I experimented with adding aiming hints when manually piloting a ship, but I found that it actually made the game more difficult because it tricks the player into aiming directly at the enemy ships instead of compensating for relative velocity.
I tried to make my girlfriend play the game, but she said it was too hard. It probably is too hard. I like hard games.
Either way, I'm submitting.
View my entry on ludumdare.com.
Play the game in your web browser.If you aren't worried yet, try to imagine a situation this volatile happening while, say, Donald Trump is our president. Do you think he'll handle Duterte's burgeoning relationship with China and willingness to negotiate with Muslims in a chill way, or do you think he'll decide war is the answer?
iStock/pmmart
Choose wisely, America!
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To be honest, that might be the more favorable solution if Trump is in office, because I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he decided that extrajudicial killing is a reasonable response to crime and joined the unholy alliance Duterte is trying to form.
That said, imagine this situation happening while anyone is president. I mean, you don't have to imagine, because it already is, but you get my drift. We basically have two options, and neither of them are good. Either we help Duterte kill drug users, or we resign ourselves to making a new enemy out of what used to be one of our best friends in Southeast Asia. From a moral standpoint, the right choice is obvious, but since when do we base our military and foreign policy decisions on morals?
Of course, we do have a third option, and it's one we've exercised countless times over the years when foreign governments start acting up in a way that threatens our interests. That, of course, is to preemptively intervene and cut the problem off at the head by toppling the government. We do it all the time, and it's one of the main reasons so many countries hate us.
pixabay.com/gtriay
And why Canada still doesn't... for now.
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Remember when all those hostages were taken in Iran back in the '70s? It wasn't because Muslims hate freedom; it was because they elected a government with communist leanings, and we stepped in and put a stop to that shit. Have you heard of the Banana Wars? That refers to our policy of intervening in the affairs of Central American governments for like 40 years at the start of the 20th Century, solely because they were threatening our business interests in the region. The reason Hawaii is a state now is that American businessmen in the area launched a U.S.-supported coup. The list goes on and on.
In every single way, Rodrigo Duterte is setting the stage for the Philippines to be the next participant in that long-running drama. The only difference is that this time around, the country we're beefing with has hedged their bets by forming ties with China, one of the largest military superpowers in all the world. Taking down the Dominican Republic in the 1890s is one thing; taking down China without our key strategic point of access to Southeast Asia is something entirely different.
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At this point, if Duterte doesn't soften his stance a bit, some form of intervention on our part is practically inevitable. The only unknowns are how large the conflict will be, and more importantly, if we'll win. That might have been a given in the past, but not so much these days.
As if this country doesn't have enough to worry about right now.
Adam is on tour telling jokes starting tonight! If you're in Chicago, Iowa City, Omaha, Kansas City, or Denver, you should totally come watch. For details and tickets, visit Unpops.com/tour.
Check out a few crazytown rulers who make Duterte look sane in 7 Modern Dictators Way Crazier Than You Thought Possible, and discover the childish exploits of powerful people in 6 Rulers Who Abused Their Power In Hilariously Insane Ways.
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Cracked's Jack O'Brien, Soren Bowie and Daniel O'Brien are joined by Andrew Orvedahl and Maria Thayer -- stars of #ThoseWhoCant on @truTV -- to interview real-life (probably anonymous) teachers, who'll share all the filthy, outrageous, and hilarious tales from their supposedly squeaky-clean profession for the LIVE Cracked Podcast this Thursday, October 6th at 9 p.m. The show is FREE and the first 50 guests will receive a FREE Cracked gift!
More BlogsCynthia Dunbar (Liberty.edu)
The co-chair of Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign in Virginia cited some bogus statistics to argue that Christians must take over public education to stop the deception of children |
in publicly endorsing an “Open Borders” employment proposal very similar to the one we debated during one of their 2004 Presidential Debates. Their complete ideological agreement presumably reflected the near-unanimous consensus of all the wealthy donors they had encountered during their endless series of political fundraisers.
When a country’s ruling elites have become totally insular in their outlook and unwilling to examine the implications their policies would have for the bulk of their citizenry, the future seems rather bleak.
If the conclusions I drew from most of the debate were these rather depressing ones, there was one totally unexpected note of sharp encouragement.
As many may know, the main economic proposal I have advocated over the last few years has been a sharp rise in the national minimum wage, perhaps to $12.00 per hour, a policy whose consequences would extend far across the American social landscape.
ORDER IT NOW
An immediate jump of thirty or forty percent in the take-home pay of America’s working-poor would greatly alleviate their financial desperation. The service sector that mostly employs them is almost completely insulated from foreign competition, so job-loss would be probably be minimal, except in a few narrow categories such as the low-wage immigrant sweatshop industry, whose disappearance would be no great loss in a wealthy country. Employers could meet most of these extra costs by a small, one-time rise in prices and also by somewhat reducing their corporate profits, which are currently at record levels.
Meanwhile, our government would save tens of billions of dollars in reduced spending on Food Stamps, housing benefits, the EITC, and other social welfare programs aimed at subsidizing the working-poor, greatly reducing the pernicious tendency of corporations to maximize their profits by transferring many of the economic costs of their low-wage workers to the general taxpayer. And shifting an extra one hundred and fifty billion dollars of annual income into the paychecks of households that spend every dollar they earn would constitute an enormous and permanent economic stimulus program, but one funded entirely by the private sector.
Although such an idea seems likely to produce huge benefit across American society, it has been fiercely resisted by many of the influential theorists who dominate our academic departments and have their ears of our elites. Indeed, the conventional wisdom widely accepted by the latter is exemplified by an Intelligence Squared debate from earlier this year debating whether all existing minimum wage laws should be completely eliminated.
Given this ideological landscape, I was very pleasantly surprised when one of my debate opponents, Prof. Vivek Wadha, a high-profile technologist and free market academic, repeatedly endorsed my suggested minimum wage hike as a crucial component of any proposal for allowing much larger numbers of foreign workers to seek work here. He reasonably argued that measures along those lines would be necessary to protect the American middle class against an economic race to the bottom produced by competition with massive numbers of foreign workers. I readily concurred that a much higher minimum wage would go a long way to reducing the ill effects of heavy immigration levels, and at times the moderator had to intervene to steer the discussion back to the stated topic of the debate.
It is greatly encouraging to see a prominent figure of the free market economic right place logic and common sense above ideological dogma, and such indications are beginning to raise my hopes that a minimum wage hike so widely popular and beneficial might actually be enacted, notwithstanding America’s totally gridlocked and dysfunctional political system.
Admittedly, such ideas remain total anathema to many of our economic theorists. Indeed, Wadha’s debate partner, Bryan Caplan of George Mason University, a far more doctrinaire libertarian economist, took very strong exception to his erstwhile ally’s ideological heresy. Prof. Caplan instead argued that the unlimited influx of foreign workers should be coupled with the elimination of all current minimum wage laws and other employment restrictions, a combination of government policies whose social consequences seem very doubtful to me.
It is hard to imagine a more favorable venue for an “Open Borders” employment debate than the Upper West Side of Manhattan and an audience of elite New Yorkers, and the striking defeat of the proposal demonstrates how easily such fatal flaws may be understood once both sides of the issue are presented. That the proposal began with such strong support proves that our elite media have acted as unthinking cheerleaders for such extreme ideas, while refusing to disclose their drawbacks.
The “Open Borders” defeat—and the sharp disagreements of the two proponents about the minimum wage—inevitably led to some recriminations, which were expressed in several lengthy discussions on various free market or immigration blogsites. Meanwhile, anti-immigration bloggers crowed at the victory.
And by purest coincidence, I’ll be in DC this Tuesday to speak at an economic symposium regarding my Minimum Wage proposal, so perhaps the political momentum on that issue will continue to grow in the weeks ahead.Over the past few days, a 1.5 million acre (2,350 square mile) swath of the Central U.S. has burned. The wildfires, stoked by warm winds, prodigious undergrowth, and a nascent mid-western drought exploded across Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Six people have perished, numerous structures have been destroyed, and thousands of people have been forced to evacuate. According to initial reports, the losses in the form of cropland burned and livestock consumed by the flames are expected to be significant.
(Large wildfires and massive burn scars are clearly visible in this March 7 NASA satellite shot of North Texas, the Oklahoma Pan-Handle and Southern Kansas. For reference, bottom edge of frame is approximately 120 miles. Image source: LANCE MODIS.)
For Kansas, a single blaze covering 1,000 square miles was likely the largest fire ever to strike the state. Meanwhile, similar enormous fires ripped through nearby Oklahoma and North Texas (see satellite image above). Though more favorable weather conditions for firefighting are on the way, concerns remain that the fires could continue to grow throughout the weekend.
It is not an unheard of event for wildfires to strike the plains states during winter. However, the rising frequency and intensity of large fires during recent years has been a cause for growing concern among climate researchers. And though humans and lightning strikes often provide the ignition sources for the wildfires that do occur, it is the underlying heat and drought conditions which can cause a wildfire to explode into an out of control monstrosity when such an ignition inevitably occurs. To this point, it’s worth noting that a similar large wildfire outbreak occurred during the winter of 2010-2011 — a time when near record warmth combined with drought to scorch 4,000 square miles in Texas and Arizona. And we should also note that global warming will tend to bring on these wildfire favorable conditions with increasing frequency and intensity.
(Near record warmth and below average precipitation over the past month set the stage for extreme wildfire risks this week. Increasingly, such anomalously warm temperatures and rapid onset drought conditions are driven by human-caused climate change. Image source: NOAA.)
This year, similar climate change related conditions set the stage for this past week’s dangerous outbreak. And though some researchers consider the fire regime in this region of the U.S. during this time of year to be cyclical in nature (possibly driven at least in part by the ENSO cycle), the added heat and increasing risk of intensifying drought periods due to climate change plays a role in the worsening fire regime as well.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, wildfire season in the Western U.S. has already grown from 5 months per year to 7+ months per year due to rising temperatures. This added heat and related expansion of the wildfire season has helped to increase the average number of large fires burning during any given year in this region from approximately 140 per year during the 1980s to 250 per year from the period of 2000 to 2012.
(Union of Concerned Scientists graphic shows stark wildfire trend for the Western U.S. A trend that is being repeated in many regions across the country due to climate change’s rising temperatures and increasingly intense precipitation extremes. See full infographic here: Union of Concerned Scientists.)
For the Central U.S. the story is much the same as researchers have warned that the frequency and intensity of wildfires likely would continue to increase in the coming years, given the confluence of climate change related factors such as higher temperatures and lower rainfall amounts. In Phys.org today, University of Illinois atmospheric sciences professor Don Wuebbles noted that increasingly intense wildfires are:
“…Probably… the new normal. Thirty years from now, we may look upon this as being a much better period than what we may be facing then.”
Links:
LANCE MODIS
NOAA
Union of Concerned Scientists
A Look at Questions About Current Wildfires
At Least 6 People Have Died in Plains Wildfires
Hat tip to Colorado Bob
AdvertisementsAlmost everyone loves video games. From sports to fantasy adventure RPG, to about anything you can imagine, there are all sorts of games for any type of taste. Some games never get old: look at Mario, Final Fantasy, and the Legend of Zelda. Other games, however, should never have made their way out of the idea room. As a note: it’s amazing how many terrible games are out there. If you look at item 15, it’s hard to believe there are 14 games worse, and yet…
15 V-Tech Rampage (2007) System: PC
On the shame level, this one is up there with “Custer’s Revenge.” This game is based on the Virginia Tech massacre, and the creator of the game said he did so “because it was funny.”
14 Bebe’s Kids (1993) System: Super Nintendo
A terrible game based on a terrible movie, with one of the most boring games ever. Characters look like they were made by a 10 year old using Microsoft Paint program.
13 Extreme Paintbrawl (1998) System: PC game
This is one of the worst games ever, getting only a 6% out of 100 from PC World, and is best known as the game that was knowingly shipped without any AI programming at all. This remains the second lowest rated game by PC Gamer US of all time.
12 Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon (1993) System: CD-i
There were three bastard legend of Zelda games developed by a different company when one branch of Nintendo tried to go to CD technology and failed. The game is considered one of the worst ever.
11 Kabuki Warriors (2001) System: X-Box
This is the game that almost killed Microsoft’s video game dreams. Early on the system was strong, but the games were terrible. This video game was so bad that it received some of the lowest scores in the entire history of several video game reviewers. “Edge” only gave it a 1/10 (it is still the only game ever to score that badly) while “Game Informer” gave it 0.5 out of 10. That’s beyond bad.
10 Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis (2003) System: Nintendo Game Cube
This game was named the worst game cube game ever, and inspired G-4’s golden mullet award, based on the hair style of one of the evil bosses in this game. The “golden mullet award” is given to the worst game of the year, and it all started with Aquaman.
9 Shaq Fu (1994) System: SNES & Sega Genesis
How bad is this game? It is widely considered by many experts to be the worst fighting game of all time, and it needed Shaq’s image to make sure it didn’t completely bomb. The story is idiotic (Shaq is in Japan and learns kung fu to save the world… really?) The controls suck, game play sucks, and this is on almost every top ten list of worst video games ever made.
This game was so terrible, that there is an actual website of people whose mission is to buy every copy and destroy it. They will pay you for your copy of the game and then destroy it. That’s dedication, and worthy of a place on the all time bad game list.
8 FBI Hostage Rescue (2004) System: PC
The introduction starts out promisingly enough with a full brief, decent looking opening graphics, and the promise of good missions. And that’s it. This game is the epitome of terrible programming and AI. the professional video game players from GameStop said they NEVER got past level one. Hostages were stupid, would disappear into walls and thin air, and a ridiculous time limit would count down as you tried to do an impossible mission.
So the graphics are terrible, controls far more complicated than they should be, the AI is junk, and the game is literally impossible…from as early as level one.
7 Drake of the 99 Dragons (2003) System: Xbox
Early on, Xbox just could not get it right! Winner of the Golden Mullet award, an award given out for the worst video game every year, this game was generally declared an even worse video game than the Aquaman video game that was so bad it gave them an idea for the Golden Mullet awards.
There is nothing about this game that works. Not fighting, not graphics, not story line. With how many early Xbox games were terrible, it’s amazing the system survived long enough to hit its groove. Drake is one game that most likely, will not be on the top of anyone’s list to make Xbox 360 compatible.
6 Bubsy 3D: The Furbitten Fruit (1996) System: PlayStation
This is on the majority of top ten horrible lists. The graphics and controls are terrible, and this is a blatant rip off of Mario 64, with the stupid furry whatever it is yelling a “cool, hip” line every 3 seconds.
5 Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties (1994) System: 3DO
The 3DO is considered perhaps the worst video game platform ever, and many of the 3DO forums online brag about “as owners of the 3DO, we gamers know about truly bad games.” This game was the bar for bad, by which all the terrible 3DO games were measured. Most people have never even heard of “plumbers.” They’re much luckier than the ones who actually played this game, a sad attempt at a sim game about plumbers trying to woo women.
4 Super Man 64 (1999) System: Nintendo 64
There hasn’t been a good Superman game yet, but this one takes the cake. Terrible cube like graphics that were even worse than pixel games, a weird green haze over everything, and shoddy game play are just a few of the things wrong. One example: you’re supposed to be able to throw cars. Only problem is the game won’t let you ever pick one up. This game was on Nintendo Power’s list of “5 Worst Games Ever,” and this game even has an award named after it: the “Superman 64” award for most disappointing game of the year.
3 Desert Bus (planned 1995) System: would have been Sega CD
Okay this is kind of a cheap one since it was never technically released, as this was going to be part of a mini-game from an unreleased Penn and Teller video game that would have been released for Sega CD back in 1994. This game is now available as a download to PC. But the idea behind this game (even if it was meant as a joke, and it isn’t clear if it was or not) is so bad that it belonged on the top ten.
This game is very straightforward. You have to drive a bus through the desert from Tucson, Arizona, to Las Vegas, Nevada. And in an homage to accuracy, the entire trip is in real time, so it is a minimum of 8 hours. Even better:
There is no scenery or traffic or anything on the road. Only one plain desert scene that never changes for eight hours. At five hours of driving, one bug hits the windshield and becomes a green splatter. And the alignment is off just enough that the bus veers to the right just slightly, so it’s impossible to just tape down a button and go do something else. If you make it through eight of the most boring and painful hours of your life, then you score one point.
2 Any “Adult” game by Atari
Especially notable: Burning desire and Custer’s Revenge. As far as not only being bad, but being “shameful,” these are the worst games ever made. Either they’re trying to peddle violent sexual fantasies to kids, with those great Atari graphics, or the sheer stupidity of not catching what those games implied is just stunning. These are the types of games that give video gaming a bad name, and are by far and away the most shameful examples of games ever made.
Not only do these games make almost every list of worst games ever, but when Game Spy Magazine put together a list of the most shameful games ever, Custer’s Revenge came in #1. There is nothing redeeming in any way about these games, and quite frankly I’m amazed they were ever allowed to be produced.
1 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) System: Atari 2600
This game was so terrible that even after over 30 years of video gaming, there is still consensus that this is the worst game ever. So many returned cartridges came back that they literally buried thousands upon thousands of them in the desert, piling concrete on top of it. This isn’t even a myth. You can look up online where the dump site is in the Nevada desert.
Ouch. This game was so bad it single handedly destroyed the Atari corporation, and almost destroyed video games, being the biggest single contributor to the “Video Game Crash of 1983.” Wow. I mean, wow.
Follow us on Facebook or subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter so you don't miss out on our latest lists.Like any arbitrary benchmark, the 100-day point of a new president's term normally tells us only so much about what's to come. In the case of President Trump's all-out assault on our environment and health, however, we've already seen more than enough.
In his first three months on the job, Trump has acted again and again to undo half a century of bipartisan progress in protecting our rights to clean water, air and lands. He's moved to part ways with longstanding American values of conservation in the public interest. And he's betrayed the covenant we've forged with our children to leave them a livable world.
That's not a plan to put America first. It's about putting industrial polluter profits first―and putting the rest of us at risk.
Presidents don't get to roll back generations of hard-won gains with the stroke of a pen. Working with his fellow Republicans in Congress, Trump has already killed rules to protect coal communities from mountaintop demolition that destroys forests and streams. And he may expose more public lands to the ravages of coal mining.
Much of what he's ordered, though, can be halted, slowed or turned back around―in the court of public opinion or in a court of law. To do that, we'll have to stand together and give real voice to truth against a president intent on using the full powers of his high office to try to eliminate the tools we need to protect our families and communities from ongoing harm.
From his first week in office, Trump and congressional Republicans have attacked the commonsense safeguards we all depend on to protect the water we drink, the air we breathe, the lands that grow our food and the wild places we share. He's put the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the thumb of Scott Pruitt, an avowed foe of the agency's mission, while proposing to gut the EPA budget and staff.
He's taken on the very notion of responsible public oversight with an unlawful and baseless order to scrap two existing regulations for every new one put in place―as though we can cope with emerging threats only if we pretend the old ones no longer exist.
And he's sounded an ignominious retreat from the essential progress we're making in the fight against global climate change.
Any one of these tacks would be cause for national alarm and public rebuke. Taken as a whole, the Trump broadside attack on the nation's environment and health demands the united and concerted opposition of every American, from red state and blue, who cares about our common future.
Whatever our political leanings, we all should be shocked at this radical campaign to roll back environmental safeguards, abandon important national goals and hobble our environmental steward, the EPA. Trump's reckless attempts to do just that run wildly at odds with the will of the people, as a raft of recent polling proves.
A solid 61 percent of the country disapproves of Trump's big polluter agenda, an April poll by Quinnipiac University found. Just 19 percent want the EPA weakened or eliminated, according to a January Reuters poll, with 61 percent saying the agency should be strengthened, expanded or kept at its current strength. Trump, though, has proposed slashing the agency's budget by 31 percent, taking it back to 1990 funding levels and cutting staff by 20 percent.
In one policy area after another, in fact, the disparity between Trump's actions and public opinion is striking:
Protecting Our Waterways
Drinking Water: Nationally, fears over water pollution hit a 16-year high in March, with 63 percent of Americans telling the Gallup polling organization they worry "a great deal" about drinking water pollution. Who could blame them? Trump has directed Pruitt to dismantle the Clean Water Rule, put in place to protect wetlands and streams that feed drinking water sources for one in every three Americans.
Great Lakes: Trump's cuts would end federal funding to reduce industrial and municipal waste, toxic contaminants and other pollution in the Great Lakes, the largest surface freshwater ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere. Who's with Trump on that one? Not the people who understand it the most. In Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and nearby states, 86 percent of the public supports the federal effort to clean up the Great Lakes.
Chesapeake Bay: Trump has proposed killing, also, a multi-state plan to clean up the nation's largest natural estuary, the Chesapeake Bay, which is being strangled by the toxic runoff from a 64,000-square-mile watershed that reaches nearly to Canada. That flies directly against the interests of those who live at the mouth of the bay: 94 percent of Virginians support the federal bay cleanup program, according to an April poll by Christopher Newport University.
Energy Development
Clean Energy: What about Trump's belittling disdain for American clean energy innovation and enterprise? Turns out 71 percent of the country favors wind, solar and other alternative energy over oil, gas and coal, with all the damage and danger they bring, according to an April Gallup poll.
Dirty Energy: Fully 59 percent of survey respondents say environmental protection should come ahead of fossil fuel development, with just 23 percent preferring dirty energy to clean water and air. The 26-point gap between the two, by the way, is the largest margin since Gallup began asking the question 15 years ago.
Fuel Economy
Trump has directed the EPA to weaken or eliminate standards to clean up the cars and dirty power plants that together account for 60 percent of the U.S. carbon pollution that's driving global climate change. That's a stone-cold loser in the public mind. Drivers like saving billions of dollars a year at the pump, and an April poll by Quinnipiac found that 76 percent of the public is "somewhat concerned" or "very concerned" about climate change, with 62 percent saying Trump should not backtrack on standards and rules put in place to fight it.
Climate
Climate Action: Far from supporting Trump's retreat from the climate fight, 59 percent of poll respondents say the country needs to be doing even more to fight the carbon pollution that's causing seas to rise, turning croplands to deserts, and contributing to raging wildfires, flooding, droughts and storms.
Jobs: Fully 68 percent of Americans understand that we can fight climate change and support economic growth, like the gains that have put three million Americans to work helping us to become more efficient, building all-electric and hybrid cars and getting more clean power from the wind and sun.
Research: The Quinnipiac poll found that 72 percent of Americans say it's a "bad idea" for Trump to slash funding for the scientific research we need to better understand climate change and other threats to our environment.
A hundred days into Trump's presidency, we've already seen more than enough. It's time to gather as one and speak out against his senseless campaign to turn back the clock on 50 years of environmental gains and stanch the promise of more progress to come.
On Saturday, April 29, I'll travel, along with thousands of others, to Washington, DC, to march with the People's Climate Movement. I hope you'll join us, in the nation's capital or in any of dozens of sister marches across the country, to show Trump just how far out of step his policies are with the will of the people he serves.
Let's put Donald Trump on notice. Let's show him what we believe. We won't back down from this challenge. We won't back down from this fight. We'll defend our health and environment. We'll hold fast to the values we share. We'll stand up for our children's future and their right to a livable world.Competing in drinking for sales job, interviewees pass out
(Netease) November 8, 2010, in Jiulongpo district, Chongqing, 4 young men wearing suites were passed out on the ground at the Baguocheng Square which attracted many onlookers. It turned out these 4 young men went to their second around job interview for a sales position at this company. Two of them are still university students about to graduate next year.
At noon, the company leader invited them for lunch. Eager to impress the boss, they competed in drinking more alcohol. In the end they were wasted. At first, they just sat on the ground chatting, but soon three of them lied down and passed out. The fourth guy leaned against a telephone pole, standing unsteadily, occasionally muttered some words out his mouth and shivered non-stop.
2 of them slept while hugging each other and their backpacks. One other guy made a letter “t”.
The police eventually called 120. And minutes later three men were sent to the hospital by ambulance.
I wonder who got the job…There was a moment at the height of the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962 when Soviet ships approached to within just a few miles of a U.S. naval blockade and then, at the last minute, turned back — prompting then-Secretary of State Dean Rusk to utter one of the most famous lines from the Cold War: “We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked.”
The crisis in Ukraine never threatened a Cold War-like nuclear Armageddon, but it may be the first case of post-post-Cold War brinkmanship, pitting the 21st century versus the 19th. It pits a Chinese/Russian worldview that says we can take advantage of 21st-century globalization whenever we want to enrich ourselves, and we can behave like 19th-century powers whenever we want to take a bite out of a neighbor — versus a view that says, no, sorry, the world of the 21st century is not just interconnected but interdependent and either you play by those rules or you pay a huge price.
In the end, it was Putinism versus Obamaism, and I’d like to be the first on my block to declare that the “other fellow” — Putin — “just blinked.”
In fact, I’d like to say more: Putin got pretty much everything wrong in Ukraine. He thought the world was still shaped by “spheres of influence” dictated from the top down, when Ukraine was all about the emergence of “people of influence” — The Square People, organized from the bottom up and eager to join their own sphere: the world of liberty and free markets represented by the European Union.Just last week, the sound of bullets was so loud and close that we all rushed into the lobby of the hotel near the Media Production City. Since the imposition of an emergency curfew following the Brotherhood’s attacks on churches, journalists, government bureaucrats and ordinary citizens, the hotel has become a twin of Baghdad’s famous Rashid Hotel during the Iraq war: a place of gathering and shelter for journalists. When the bullets died down, we made sure no one had been hurt.
On my first night at the hotel, a motorcycle carrying three men tried to crash into the lobby. They fired shots into the hotel, and a police chase ensued. When two of the three were captured, they said that they had just been lost in the desert and confused, a funny excuse for something that was not funny at all.
Remaining in the hotel with other television journalists, also living under death threats, was terribly depressing. For safety’s sake, I asked a police officer to escort me back to Media City, even though my house is only 10 minutes from the compound. As the siren of the police car driving ahead of me blared its way through the curfew and I sat next to a police officer in a bulletproof vest holding an automatic rifle, I recalled the day in 1992 when I opened the door to my apartment and found an officer from the Interior Ministry, warning me that I had appeared on a militant group’s list of assassination targets because of my criticism of Islamists.
At the time, I was writing against the rising tide of terrorism and extremism during a difficult phase in Egypt’s history. I was also single. Looking around my small, sparsely furnished apartment in obvious distaste, the officer asked me if I wanted a moving guard (who would accompany me everywhere I went) or a fixed guard (who would just stand outside my home or workplace). I told him that I didn’t own a car, and asked whether the officer would just ride the subway or the public bus with me. The officer was fed up with me and decided I would get a fixed guard.
The guard’s job was to accompany me as I crossed the street, then stand by my side as I negotiated with taxi drivers to take me to work. Once I’d found my ride for the day, he would wave, then go back to his post outside my apartment building. Later, when I learned more about confessions by members of the group that had targeted me, I learned that they knew where I lived, that the sister of one of the men lived nearby, and that I had been under threat wherever I went. During this period, I learned to be brave in the face of death, and since then, I have not feared anything else. Since the start of my career, I have faced accusations of blasphemy and death threats. I have been fired; seen publications I’ve edited get shut down; and watched as copies of my novel “Assassination of the Big Man” were seized.
Last week, as I waited for the police car to escort me to the studio and for the fully armed officer next to me to shield me from a potential attack, I found history repeating itself on a grander, more dangerous scale. It’s as if terrorism will never end, and my fate is to face death because of what I write and what I say. Sometimes, when I set out for work and say goodbye to my wife and children, I feel like a soldier waving to his family from a train as he heads toward battle.BALASHIKHA/BASKAKI, Russia — On her third day in a new position at Russian Railways, Elena Kachalina heard a man die. She didn’t see the train hit him as he tried to cross the tracks at Saltykovskaya, a station in the heavily populated Moscow suburb of Balashikha, but she heard the impact.
[np_storybar title=”Russia is entering ‘full-fledged economic crisis,’ warns former finance minister Alexei Kudrin” link=”https://business.financialpost.com/2014/12/22/russia-is-entering-full-fledged-economic-crisis-warns-former-finance-minister-alexei-kudrin/”%5D
Russia’s government has pushed the country into an economic crisis by not tackling its financial problems fast enough, former finance minister Alexei Kudrin said on Monday, as evidence mounted of trouble spreading through the economy.
Continue reading.
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“He was young and was thrown right here, and he lay there for a very long time,” she said, pointing at a path across the railway tracks.
That was seven years ago, and since then Kachalina, whose job is to supervise a crossing point at the station, says she has had to deal with people dying on the lines with tragic regularity. “Now I’ve got used to it,” she said during a short break between the trains that thunder by her booth beside the tracks.
The railway and its death toll are emblematic of life in Russia under President Vladimir Putin. The country has prospered over the past 14 years, especially compared to the economic chaos of the 1990s. Russia boasts grand projects such as high-speed rail lines, new hospitals and the Sochi Olympics.
But behind these attention-getting projects, it has also, in some places, failed to provide basic infrastructure. At Saltykovskaya, for instance, there has been no safe way to cross the tracks, just a barrier and a red light that people routinely ignore.
Sergey Sobolev, a Moscow journalist whose wife was killed by a train at Saltykovskaya station in early 2013, started a campaign to push state-owned Russian Railways to build a safer crossing point. He put the annual death toll at the station and its crossings at 20 to 25 people, while local media reports put it at up to 30.
Russian Railways said those numbers are too high and blamed accidents on pedestrians who violate safety rules. In early 2013, it said there had been nine accidents at the station in the previous two years but did not specify how many people died. It told Reuters in an email that it had introduced safety measures such as limiting the speed of trains from 120 to 60 km per hour. It said there were four accidents in 2013 and 2014, again without specifying how many people died. The company said a new underground crossing point will help further.
The state’s ability to deliver services is likely to come under further pressure as recession looms. Many Russians complain that the country often comes up short. Basic amenities can be poorly built or non-existent, while the standard of living for the average citizen remains far below that in the West.
Kachalina earns 30,000 rubles a month – worth about US$520, down from US$860 before the ruble’s recent collapse. Her extended family of six lives in a nearby town in an apartment with one room and a kitchen, where her ex-husband sleeps on a sofa.
“He has no other place to live,” Kachalina said, adding that she struggles to get enough sleep before work. She shares the other room with her son and daughter, her daughter’s husband, and her 3-year old grandson.
It’s a world away from the comforts Russia’s elite enjoy. Russian media, mostly controlled by the state or people supportive of the Kremlin, keep the country’s vast disparities in wealth out of sight. Some aspects occasionally seep out, though. In 2013, prominent opposition leader and blogger Alexei Navalny published details of a lavish country estate owned by Vladimir Yakunin, president of Russian Railways and a longtime associate of Putin. Navalny’s allegations were based on anonymously leaked pictures of the property.
“We read on the Internet what houses Yakunin has. We know that,” Kachalina said. “That’s disgusting because nothing has been done for workers.”
In an interview with Russian online media outlet Gazeta.ru in November, Yakunin said he had sold the property, but there was “an agreement that he may visit it if he needs to.” His spokesman confirmed that information to Reuters.
STRIKING OIL
Putin took over as president from Boris Yeltsin, who had allowed both alcohol and oligarchs to get the better of him. Putin, a former KGB agent, brought rising living standards and order where there had been lawlessness.
The improvement wasn’t just down to oil and gas, which Russia has in abundance.
When Putin arrived in the Kremlin in 2000, oil was trading at about US$30 a barrel and it was still around that level in mid-2003. Yet Russia’s gross domestic product rose during that time. Income per head jumped from US$1,772 (in current dollars) to US$2,975 in 2003, according to the World Bank.
From mid-2003, the energy market boomed. Oil hit US$70 a barrel in 2006, dipped slightly, then soared to more than US$100 a barrel. Money flooded into Russia’s coffers. According to the World Bank, GDP per head rose to US$11,700 in 2008 and US$14,612 in 2013, the latest figure available.
That rapid improvement is one big reason Putin remains popular despite widespread suspicions of corruption among the elite. As Reuters has detailed this year, vast sums of state spending over the past decade have disappeared into the hands of people close to the Kremlin and hard-to-trace middlemen.
Billions of dollars in spending by state-owned Russian Railways have gone to companies that disguised their ownership and had little or no presence at their registered headquarters, Reuters found. Associates of Putin also extracted millions of dollars from a state health project and sent money to help build a lavish estate on the Black Sea, popularly known as “Putin’s palace” – though Putin denies any connection to it.
Examination of other data showed that close associates of Putin helped a Ukrainian oligarch with influence in Ukrainian politics make billions of dollars from cheap Russian gas.
At the same time, ordinary Russians have not seen the full benefits of Russia’s economic boom over the past 14 years. As Russia’s economy shrinks because of falling oil prices and Western sanctions triggered by Moscow’s role in backing the separatist movement in Ukraine, those two realities may get harder to square.
Despite such inequality, Kachalina, the railway worker, sees no sign of Putin and his style of government changing. She did not vote for him in the last election. “I can’t say anything bad about him. The only thing is, he’s helping others too much but not us,” she said, referring to the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. “Why not increase wages for those who live here, the Russians, why not give them what he gives Ukraine? I’m against it.”
IN THE FOREST
There are no high-speed trains where Pavel and Valentina Lunyov live. In fact, there are no trains at all. The elderly couple are from a village called Baskaki, more than 200 km from Moscow. The last seven km of road into the village run through pine forest and are unpaved.
This is old Russia. A lively village in Soviet times, according to Lunyov, it is now in decline. Only 15 inhabitants remain. Lunyov, 73, puts much of the blame on corruption and lack of discipline among officials.
“The village started |
apps that mine cryptocurrency in the background. That last bit is no joke, as security firm Trend Micro recently discovered.
Identified as Songs (1-5 million installs) and Prized (10,000-50,000 installs), these apps covertly mine either Dogecoin or Litecoin while your phone charges. These digital currencies are later converted into Bitcoin, which the apps’ makers cash in to generate profits. As of this writing, Prized is no longer available for download, though Songs still is available.
If your initial reaction was a big “huh,” we don’t blame you. Normally, cryptocurrency mining involves using your device’s central processor and graphics processor, a process that is both energy- and resource-intensive. After mining, the cryptocurrency payout you receive can be exchanged for “real” money, if you so choose. While it’s certainly possible to mine cryptocurrency on a low-powered device, such as a smartphone or tablet, miners would much rather use much more powerful computers with multiple processors.
However, because these apps were widely available to users, app makers were able harness the power of millions of smartphones to speed up the mining process. “We believe that with thousands of affected devices, cybercriminal accumulated a great deal of Dogecoins,” wrote Trend Micro’s team. Side effects of the covert mining include slow charging speeds, increased data consumption, and a shorter device and battery lifespan due to the constant processing required to mine these cryptocurrencies.
While the team didn’t specify what “great deal” means in this case, it is confident the app makers are not making much money off of the process. “Yes, they can gain money this way, but at a glacial pace,” wrote the team.EXCLUSIVE: Happy Endings alumna Elisha Cuthbert is taking on another comedy with Happy in the title. After fielding multiple offers, Cuthbert has been tapped as the female lead opposite Nick Zano in NBC‘s multi-camera pilot One Big Happy, from Warner Bros TV and Ellen DeGeneres’ A Very Good Production. The project reunites Cuthbert and Zano who had a recurring role on Happy Endings. Written by Liz Feldman and directed by Scott Ellis, One Big Happy centers on two platonic friends since childhood — a lesbian, Lizzy (Cuthbert), and her straight male best friend, Luke (Zano) — who have been living together and trying to have a baby via artificial insemination for some time. They finally get pregnant — just as Luke meets and impulsively marries the love of his life. Feldman is exec producing with DeGeneres and Jeff Kleeman.
Related: 2014 NBC Pilots
Cuthbert is part of the much-sought-after Happy Endings cast this pilot season. She is the latest to be scooped up, joining Eliza Coupe, Casey Wilson and Zachary Knighton, with Adam Pally and Damon Wayans Jr still in play. Cuthbert, who rose to fame with her role as Jack Bauer’s daughter Kim on 24, is repped by ICM Partners and John Carrabino Management.Blogger reveals rape accused Olympian
Updated
A blogger has revealed the identity of a New Zealand Olympian who was charged with raping and beating his wife, even though a judge had suppressed the man's name.
The judge ruled that the man's name, occupation and age could not be published or broadcast.
But that did not stop high profile right-wing internet blogger Cameron Slater.
This is the second furore to erupt in New Zealand over the issue of name suppression in the past month.
The blogger says he has done nothing wrong and is willing to fight the matter in court if he has to.
Mr Slater blogs under the name Whaleoil and is angry that the Olympian was granted name suppression. He says most average Kiwis do not get that luxury.
"I've posted a series of pictures. If you put it together I guess [it] will identify who it is," Mr Slater said.
"I've had the person's lawyer on the phone threatening me with all sorts and I just told him to go away. I'm not taking it down. I won't back down.
Mr Slater has not published the Olympian's age, name or occupation. But he has published four pictures.
"That's the way I'm going to get around it," he said.
Dishing the dirt
A few weeks ago a New Zealand judge granted name suppression to an entertainer who pleaded guilty to rubbing his genitals in a 16-year-old girl's face.
His lawyers successfully argued that the singer's career would suffer.
Mr Slater was livid and revealed the identity of the entertainer. When he heard about the Olympian he decided to do it again.
And he does not believe his actions will jeopardise the Olympian's trial.
"This sports person has actually been forbidden by the judge to approach witnesses. So what does that tell you about his demeanour?" he said.
Philip Morgan is a barrister in Hamilton near Auckland and a member of the New Zealand Law Society. He believes the blogger has crossed a line.
"I think it's disgraceful conduct and hopefully he'll get detected and prosecuted," he said.
"There is one rule that applies to everyone. Not everybody applies for suppression. Not everybody needs suppression.
"But where somebody has got a meritorious case for suppression then the court will consider it and if it is a genuinely meritorious case, grant it.
"It is almost invariably only interim suppression. Final suppression is rare. And the same rule applies to everybody."
Media law expert Ursula Cheer says bloggers need to be careful they do not blow trials.
"If a trial was going on yes... and in that case it could also be a contempt," she said.
But Mr Slater is sticking by his guns. He is positive he has done nothing wrong.
"[It's] more against judges. They seem to have name suppression willy-nilly for celebrities to protect their reputation," he said.
"In the sense the case here to protect his reputation is he doesn't have one. The guy has been in jail before. He's got previous violence convictions. There is no reputation."
The Olympian has been granted bail and will reappear in court next month.
Topics: assault, information-and-communication, internet-culture, law-crime-and-justice, crime, new-zealand
First postedSometimes good people make bad games. Sometimes bad people make good games. Sometimes you make a middling game and make the situation much worse by attacking and annoying game reviewers who share their honest opinions. Such is the case with Hydrophobia, developed by Dark Energy Digital, a newly released Xbox Live Arcade title that has been gathering some mixed reviews.
The company's strategy for fighting back is to attack the credibility of the sites that didn't like the game, and borderline harass writers who speak out against it. At what point does damage control go too far?
Edge "clearly haven't played the game"
Edge is known for rougher than average reviews, and the publication didn't much care for Hydrophobia. "The bugs that inhabit the waters of Hydrophobia are another concern. Ranging from fatal scenery clipping to an awkward inventory display that implies a lack of ammunition until a weapon is equipped, it indicates a title either unfinished, unpolished or simply unprepared for a world of digitally delivered games..." the review stated.
Deborah Jones is the creative director of Dark Energy Digital, the developer of Hydrophobia. "Clearly, they haven’t played the game,” she told VG247. "We’re extremely frustrated by the review. We’ve got reviews that are absolutely outstanding that say they love the product... If they don’t do the review properly, they shouldn’t do a review at all."
"We believe that the game hasn’t even been played," joint creative director Peter Jones repeated.
These are serious accusations, and Edge responded that their reviewer had, in fact, played the game to completion, along with its bonus content. This isn't the only publication that had issues dealing with the fallout of a bad score.
Negative Tweets are SERIOUS BUSINESS
Jim Sterling writes for Destructoid, and he mentioned on Twitter that Hydrophobia was not his favorite game. Jones apparently saw this message, and did something odd—she called Samit Sarkar, the site's sports writer. She wanted to talk to Jim Sterling, right now.
"She was very forward, very pushy, and if you ask me, completely out of line," Nick Chester, the Editor in Chief of Destructoid, told Ars. "It's one thing to try to contact a writer or even that writer's superior to discuss content that's been run—it happens, usually in an attempt to do damage control—but it's another to bother someone's co-worker based on a tweet. We're not even talking about content we had run on the site at this point.
"She also said something to the effect of 'We've put three and a half years into this game, and you just don't get those kind of scores if the game is bad," in reference to one review—OXM, I believe—that gave it a high score and praise."
According to Chester, she demanded Jim's phone number, saying that if he was playing the game wrong she needed to correct it. "After this incident, she called again, no more than an hour later," Chester explained. "Same pressure. Same spiel. She wanted to speak with the author of the tweet now, and later emailed him with similar complaints and requests that she had leveled at Samit earlier."
Chester understands the idea of a developer wanting to defend their game, but this crosses the line of regular PR work. "Working for nearly four years on a title, it can't feel good to see it being panned. I think casually reaching out to an outlet about poor coverage is okay, and I get why it's done. It happens often, and generally goes nowhere with us," he explained. "But I think more the point, she suggested that the game was being 'played wrong.' Which is absurd."
Games need to stand on their own, and if a developer feels they have to walk writers through the game, that's not a good sign. "I also think that it shows poor judgment on their part that they're so eager to publicly stomp on any poor reviews, flat out calling them wrong and calling into question the integrity of the reviewers."
It sounds like the nightmare is just beginning for Sterling. "Oh s**t. Speaking of which, I just noticed I have half a dozen missed calls from Hydrophobia's creative director, no fooling!" he posted to Twitter this morning.
Why this is such bad news
It's hard to escape the pull of developer and publisher interference when reviewing a game, and being told that the developer needs you to play a certain way is bad news. Gamers as a whole won't have the people behind the game showing them how it's done, and neither should reviewers. Harassing co-workers of writers who tweet about games isn't going to make your case.
We've played Hydrophobia, having received a review code, and we feel Sterling's pain. It's not fun. The platforming mechanics feel terrible, the water looks like a thick oil, the voice acting is annoying. I shut it off in about an hour in order to make time for another review. Sterling didn't have that luxury; he was assigned the story and had to play every last terrible drop. Of course that made him cranky, and having talked to Jim on a few occasions, I have a feeling that telling him he played the game "wrong" is not going to improve the score. Quite the opposite.
"Just to clarify, we have been receiving some excellent reviews and reviews can be mixed, particularly when you are doing something a little bit different than the norm," Jones told Ars when we asked about her communication with writers. "We absolutely believe in the freedom of the press to make a fair and independent assessment of a game's merit. And we believe it is our role as a developer to independently provide materials to facilitate a fair and accurate review." She confirms that she did contact Sterling to ask if he needed any information on the game, and included her e-mails in her response to Ars.
It's clear that Dark Energy Digital cares about the game, but in defending it so aggressively and making claims about how reviews were written it runs the risk of becoming the story themselves, instead of controlling it.
Poor, sad little kitten care of ShutterstockWe are Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.
-Anonymous
Long before they became vigilantes in the Wikileaks cyberwars, Anonymous was conducting large-scale “raids” against their enemies. In hilariously-titled Operation: Titstorm earlier this year, they took on the Australian Gov’t over net censorship. Here’s a poster from the raid:
They succeeded in briefly shutting down a few AU gov’t sites. More to their point, I believe, is that attention was drawn to the issue. All the big outlets covered the story.
One participant was quoted as saying, “No government should have the right to refuse its citizens access to information solely because they perceive it to be unwanted”. Another quipped, “The Australian government will learn that one does not mess with our porn.”
One issue raised with the censorship was its vagueness. For example, it banned films featuring small-breasted adult women who could be “confused” with minors. This message was posted to Youtube as part of Operation: Titstorm:
Hello, Prime Minister Rudd, Governor-General Bryce, and members of the Australian Parliament. We are Anonymous. Over the past several months, we have observed the actions of your government in regard to censorship of internet content in Australia. Your ban of pornography depicting small breasted women is not only discrimination against people based on physical characteristics, but also a first step down the slippery slope of internet censorship. Your proposed implementation of mandatory ISP filtering is an outrage, and Anonymous cannot allow this to happen. If there is any foreseeable threat to our organization, it is internet censorship. Therefore, we take your actions very seriously. We shall proceed to do everything in our power to annihilate your government’s presence on the internet. You have nowhere to hide, because we are everywhere. We are Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.
Anon’s standard arsenal of tools was deployed: DDOS attacks, faxing black pages en masse, flooding email servers with junk, and running scripts to autoclick ads (advertisers then balk/walk).
Encyclopedia Dramatica has more on Operation: Titstorm here, for those interested.
Iranian Activist Support
As Wired reported in June 2009, Anonymous teamed up with Pirate Bay to offer Iranian dissidents a way to plan demonstrations and connect with the outside world. The result was Anonymous Iran, a successful information-freedom project with 22k+ users.
The site offers Iranian activists tools and advice on how to remain anonymous and avoid detection. Forums are provided for coordinating activities and communicating with the west. I would assume that are employed in all aspects of the site.
Who are they?
Anonymous isn’t truly an organization; not in any traditional sense. They are a large, decentralized group of individuals who share common interests and web haunts. Among those commonalities are frustration with the status quo and a taste for Japanese anime.
They coordinate raids on forums like 4chan.org and ICQ chat rooms, among other venues. 4chan.org is a major hub, but I wouldn’t call it Anonymous’ home. Anonops.net was as close to an HQ as they had, but it has been shut down.
This mission statement, pulled from Google’s cache, indicates that anonops.net was, according to some, Anon’s “homepage”.
We are an anonymous, decentralized movement which fights against censorship and copywrong. This is our homepage. Please look around and/or join the discussion in our chat.
Here’s an example of forum activity before the site went down (from Google’s cache, screenshot). In a thread titled “Target Suggestions”, the following was posted:
Add your suggestions below the line: www.alvarouribevelez.com Paypal’s main site needs to be hit hard. With shopping coming up and people needing to pay for their online purchases, this will really put them at a halt and regret messing with Wikileaks and Anon.”
No idea what the reference to Alvara Uribe means. Coded message, maybe.
Whyweprotest.net, a spinoff, offers more insight on the group:
Recent developments regarding WikiLeaks and the corporate and political control of information have led to increased interest and participation in WhyWeProtest.net. We are inspired by this influx of energy and creativity. We invite all of our increasingly diverse users to collaborate with us toward real and substantive change on a widening range of issues. Anonymous is not an organization. There are no official members, guidelines, leaders, representatives or unifying principles. Rather, Anonymous is a word that identifies the millions of people, groups, and individuals on and off of the internet who, without disclosing their identities, express diverse opinions on many topics. As an offshoot of the larger Anonymous group, WhyWeProtest (WWP) has become the hub of the anti-Scientology movement that is often called Project Chanology. We have also initiated planning and discussion in other pro-free speech areas. Our role has been to provide a stable platform to discuss legal methods of protest and information dissemination. We take no position on other forms of civil disobedience, although from both a public relations and a technical point of view we cannot host the planning or promotion of illegal activities.
Scientology, AT&T, and other targets past
Anon’s first widely-noted raid was conducted against Scientology in 2008. It was dubbed Project Chanology (chan = 4chan.org, presumably). Video message Anon sent to Scientology.
Jeff Jacobsen has a nice writeup of the episode here. Anon’s message to Scientology:
Over the years, we have been watching you. Your campaigns of misinformation; suppression of dissent; your litigious nature, all of these things have caught our eye. With the leakage of your latest propaganda video into mainstream circulation, the extent of your malign influence over those who trust you, who call you leader, has been made clear to us. Anonymous has therefore decided that your organization should be destroyed.
Jeff Jacobsen has a nice writeup of the episode here.
Other entities they’ve tangled with include AT&T, Gene Simmons, KnowYourMeme, Hot Topic, Jessi Slaughter, and Tumblr.
A new spinoff movement has launched, as well. In Operation Leakspin, volunteers are crawling through leaked material, looking for stories others missed. Crowdjournalism is the tag line, not bad.
I suspect they will find some interesting stuff. Remember, it has primarily been journalists crawling through Wikileaks data so far. Anonymous is full of young programmers who will use their technical prowess to scour the data.
It will be interesting to watch the events unfold. Arrests have already begun, as a 16-year old Dutch boy was arrested in connection with Anon’s Mastercard attacks. Shortly after the arrest, the Dutch prosecutor’s site was hacked… Almost ashamed to admit how much I enjoy watching these events unfold. It is truly fascinating.
Further reading on Anon raids etc:When Ryze and I founded Riot and started creating League of Legends 10 years ago, we never could’ve imagined where League and Riot would be today. Every day we’re blown away by the community’s deep commitment to the game and to each other. As Rioters, we have had an unrelenting focus on supporting and improving League of Legends, and while this commitment has on occasion led to some criticism about Riot only having one game, we think it’s been incredibly important to build a foundation that will enable Riot to create great games and experiences long into the future.
Answering this question with specificity is a tricky for a couple reasons: First, we’re always exploring numerous game ideas that we think players would love to experience 5+ years down the road, but we’re not ready to talk about any of these projects just yet. Secondly, and more importantly, we chart our course as a company a little differently from others. We aren’t driven by external “business goals” such as “ship x games in 5 years” or “go hit X in revenue by 2020.” Instead, we’re guided by a relentless pursuit of creating meaningful experiences that will resonate with serious gamers and that we think players want to see.
Ideas are the easy part—everyone has great game ideas that would likely be fun if they could become a reality—the really hard part is actually building an incredible product and executing on the idea sufficiently to ensure the experience actually matches the potential that the initial idea promised. League MMO where?! League movie, where?! Those ideas are beautiful when they are in all of our heads, but realizing the full potential of ideas like those is what is really difficult to do.
So what does that mean for the future of League and for Riot? We do know a few things for certain. We’ll continue to evolve League of Legends as a holistic experience—we’ll keep improving the competitive side of the game while continuing to enrich the universe around the game. We’ll continue to evolve and improve the League Esports ecosystem to try to ensure League remains a global sport that lasts for generations. Beyond League, we aspire to deliver a handful of other games that we hope players love. Just like with League of Legends, we’re less concerned about mass market appeal and are more interested in deeply serving the audience the game is trying to delight.
As a company we’re dedicated to constantly raising the bar on the games, content, and service that we deliver, so as we learn and grow, we aspire to continue to improve across every dimension. While we work towards Riot’s future, one thing that will never change is who these experiences are made for: passionate gamers who make games in general a meaningful part of their lives. The passion and love within the League community is the reason League and Riot exist today, so we hope to live up to everyone’s expectations in the future as we bring new experiences to bear.
As a gamer and a Rioter I’m hopeful and excited to see how players and games in general continue to impact the world. There is going to be a lot of exciting change happening within gaming over the next couple decades, and we hope to find new ways to delight and connect with gamers all over the world as gaming continues to play a bigger and bigger role on the world stage.Recovery crew met Peake and his crewmates Colonel Tim Kopra and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko at 10.15
Father, Nigel, said it was 'a job well done' and mother Angela looks forward to seeing son at midnight on his return
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Major Tim Peake said he might treat himself to a 'pizza and a cold beer' when he touched down on Earth after six months in space today.
Recovery crews rushed to meet Britain's first astronaut as the tiny capsule parachuted down into the desert in Kazakhastan at around 10.15am.
Still dressed in his spacesuit, Major Tim Peake said: 'It was incredible. The best ride I've been on ever. Truly amazing. A life-changing experience.
'The smell on Earth is really strong. Looking forward to seeing the family. I'm going to miss the view, definitely.
'I'd like some cool rain right now; it's very hot in the suit. It's very hot in the capsule.'
Tim Peake and his two crewmates were welcomed back to Earth today by a party of photographers and locals brandishing gifts
Britsh astronaut Tim Peake has finally touched down after a 78million-mile journey through space during a six-month expedition
The first thing that Tim Peake did was call his family while still in his spacesuit after touching down in Kazakhastan at around 10.15am
Major Peake (left) returned home with crewmates Yuri Malenchenko of Russia (centre) and Tim Kopra of the US - the most dangerous part of the mission
This is the moment that the capsule finally landed in the dusty desert in Kazakhastan, marking the end of Major Tim Peake's space mission
His ship was seen parachuting back down to Earth after a terrifying descent, covering 67 miles in just six minutes
As Major Peake touched down, his father Nigel said it was 'a job well done' and mother Angela said she was looking forward to seeing her son at some time just after midnight
Tim Peake shared this photo of him and his two crewmates a few hours before they began their descent back down to Earth
A welcoming party of around 50 people is waiting in Cologne for his return. They clapped and cheered as he finally touched down safely
The space capsule, Soyuz, carrying Major Peake is seen leaving the space station and beginning its journey home just after 3am today
Tim Peake (left) and Commander Yuri Malenchenko, who will now fly to Cologne, Germany, via Norway
Members of a search and rescue team work at the site of landing of the Soyuz, which was blackened by the heat of the descent
Tim Peake is assisted by ground personnel as he walks out of a helicopter upon his arrival at the airport of Karaganda, Kazakhstan
Peake is helped as he gets off the helicopter. His body will take some time to re-adjust to gravity after six months of weightlessness
Asked what he is looking forward to, he said he will'maybe' treat himself to a 'pizza and a cold beer'.
However, he will have to wait because astronauts must fast for their first day after returning from space while doctors to essential medical tests.
He will now fly to Cologne, Germany, where he will meet his mother and father, as well as wife, Rebecca, and their two sons, Oliver and Thomas.
Major Peake was seen speaking to them on the phone before going to meet doctors, who will be testing to see what impact space has had on his body.
He will now have to undergo 21 days of physical reconditioning as his body adapts to working harder than it did in space, where astronauts experience weightlessness.
As he touched down today, his father Nigel said it was 'a job well done', and that he is immensely proud of his son.
His mother, Angela Peake, said they are due to see him just after midnight in Cologne, where they are with a welcoming party of around 50 friends, relatives and colleagues.
Nigel Peake added: 'I'm so proud of him and what he has achieved, and very grateful he had the opportunity.'
The terrifying descent was the most dangerous part of the mission, the ship slowing rapidly from 17,398 mph to 514mph.
It covered 67 miles in just six minutes as it re-entered the atmosphere, during which point the outer wall of the capsule heated up to more than 1,600C.
Major Peake looked tearful as he touched down today (pictured) following a 78million-mile journey through space over six months
Recovery crews met Major Peake and his crewmates at around 10.15am when they landed safely after the terrifying descent
The British atronaut (right) is now on his way back with his crewmates, American Nasa astronaut Colonel Tim Kopra (centre) and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko (left)
British astronaut Tim Peake has now ended the historic mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS)
But his parents said they were'very calm' as they watched the landing thanks to Major Peake's boss, who explained in detail what was occurring as it happened.
Yesterday, just a few hours before the 44-year-old former helicopter test pilot was due to depart, his wife, Rebecca, tweeted: 'Keep them safe.'
Major Peake was also tweeting, sharing the most incredible pictures he has taken during his trip, and one of Soyuz, which he described as'my ride home'.
He also wrote: 'What an incredible journey it has been– thank you for following & see you back on Earth!'
Helen Sharman was the first Briton in space, travelling to Russia's Mir space station in 1991 on a privately backed mission.
Several British-born American citizens flew with NASA's space shuttle program.
But Major Peake is Britain's first publicly funded British astronaut and the first to visit the International Space Station.
He performed the first British space walk and was honored by Queen Elizabeth II in her annual Birthday Honors List for 'extraordinary services beyond our planet'.
Tim Kopra of NASA gives the cameras the thumbs up as he is carried to a medical tent by members of the recovery crew in Kazakhastan
A Russian Mi-8 helicopter is seen before a flight to the landing area of the Soyuz TMA-19M capsule carrying International Space Station (ISS) crew members
Major Tim Peake faced a dangerous six-minute ride through a 'furnace' before crashing to the ground 'like a tonne of bricks'
He broke a world record by joining the 26.2-mile London Marathon from 250 miles above the Earth, harnessed to a treadmill aboard the ISS with a simulation of the route playing on an iPad.
Peake finished the race in 3 hours and 35 minutes, the fastest marathon in orbit, according to Guinness World Records.
The trio spent 186 days in space since their launch in December 2015 and conducted hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science.
For Malenchenko, it was a sixth mission, and he logged up a total of 828 days in space, the second-longest accumulated time after Russian Gennady Padalka.
Tim Kopra, with NASA, has logged up 244 days in space on two flights.
NASA astronaut Jeff Williams along with Russians Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos will now operate the station for three weeks until the arrival of three new crew members.
Today's journey back to Earth was the most dangerous and terrifying part of the mission, covering 67 miles in just six minutes.
The first British astronaut Tim Peake performed a spacewalk (pictured), which he said was an obvious highlight of his time on the International Space Station (ISS)
He also famously broke the world record for the fastest marathon in orbit (pictured) when he ran the London route shown on his iPad
Major Peake, by now a national celebrity, then appeared in an episode of Show Me Show Me on CBeebies filmed on board ISS, alongside the knitted toy character Miss Mouse
During his time, he also presented a Brit award to Adele from space (pictured). The star broke down in tears
In another TV appearance, Major Peake introduced BBC Sport's Six Nations coverage wearing an England rugby shirt, in a message recorded on the ISS
Soon after 3am the crew members scrambled from the ISS into the Soyuz TMA-19M space vehicle that took them into orbit on December 15 last year.
Closing the hatch between the station and the spacecraft at precisely 3.34am marked the official end of ISS Expedition 47 and the Principia mission.
The journey began with a four minute and 37 second rocket motor blast - the 'deorbit burn' - that set his spacecraft on track for re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
At exactly 6.52am, UK time, sprung hooks were released to undock and free the Soyuz, the capsule that took them from the ship to the ground.
An outside camera showed the toy-like spacecraft backing out from the space station with the Earth turning slowly below.
Then as the Soyuz moved further away, assisted by two rocket engine burns, a trick of perspective made it appear as if the astronauts were heading for the moon.
Only the middle section of the tiny craft, the descent module, completed the trip to Earth. Within it, Major Peake and his two colleagues were crammed side-by-side in special shock-absorbing seats.
Earlier Colonel Kopra formally handed over command of the space station to Nasa colleague Jeff Williams as they began their trip back.
The former test pilot's work over six months has earned him an honour from the Queen for 'extraordinary service beyond our planet'
Major Peake's space capsule is due to parachute down to a remote spot on the vast Kazakhastan steppe at around 10.15am UK time
He observed an old navy tradition - despite having an army background - of ringing a bell to mark the change of 'watch'.
Then it was time to say goodbye to fellow crew members Williams, Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin, who have remained on the ISS.
A grinning Major Peake shook hands with his colleagues before passing through the circular hatch.
The first step on the return journey happened shortly before 7am with the command from ground control to release the sprung hooks attaching the Soyuz to the space station.
A 15-second burn from the Soyuz rocket motor took the craft to a safe position relative to the ISS before beginning the no-turning-back descent.
The process of re-entry and landing was automated using data uploaded into the spacecraft's computer, but in an emergency, the crew could 'fly' the Soyuz manually using a hand controller that varies the aerodynamic lift on the capsule.
Before leaving the International Space Station, Tim Peake took a striking series of photographs of planet Earth from space. This shows aurora over northern Canada
This picture, taken by Tim Peake, shows aurora Australls, taken by Tim Peake before heading home
Despite the Space Stations soaring speed of over 17,000mph, the astronaut has managed to snap some extraordinary aerial photos of the Earth
Tim Peake was launched to the International Space Station in December 2015 and his six-month tour is due to come to an end today
Pictures from the International Space Station as it passes through aurora were shared by Tim Peake before he headed home
Many hours of practice are devoted to this, the most perilous part of the journey, during training.
A critical moment was at about 9.20am when the rocket motor fired for four minutes and 45 seconds to put the Soyuz on a trajectory that would take it out of orbit.
If the 'deorbit burn' was too short, the astronauts could have skipped across the atmosphere like a stone skimming a lake and fly out into space.
If it was too long, they could have come in at too steep an angle too fast, and risk being incinerated.
Next, half an hour before landing and at an altitude of 87 miles, explosive bolts fired splitting the Soyuz into three parts.
The descent module containing the crew then turned so that its heat shield was pointing in the direction of re-entry.
The other two sections, the service module containing propellant and control systems, and the spherical orbital module that housed the crew during their launch, were then allowed to plunge into the atmosphere and burn up.
He has taken part in more than 250 experiments, performed a spacewalk, run the London Marathon on a treadmill, and inspired more than a million schoolchildren
The 44-year-old astronaut, pictured, has spent six months in the International Space Station and will take time to readjust to earth
As the descent module shot through the atmosphere, it became enveloped in a ball of glowing plasma - hot, electrically charged particles of gas - which lit up and then blackened the windows.
Friction raised the heat shield's temperature to 1,600C.
One Nasa astronaut, Doug Wheelock, has described a Soyuz descent as being 'like going over Niagara falls in a barrel, but the barrel is on fire'.
Peake will be reunited with his family after 186 days shortly after touching down in Kazakhstan
Gravity will come as a shock to Major Peake and his comrades after six months in weightless conditions.
As the spacecraft slows from 17,398mph to 514mph, the rapid deceleration will push them back into their seats with a force of around 5G - five times normal Earth gravity.
Fifteen minutes before landing, four parachutes deployed in succession. Two pilot chutes unfolded first, followed by a drogue that brought the capsule's speed down to 178mph.
Finally came the main parachute with a surface area of 10,764 square feet. To dissipate heat, it is designed to swing the module at an angle of 30 degrees before shifting it back to a vertical position.
One second before touchdown two clusters of three retro rockets fired and the spacecraft hits the ground at 3mph.
The capsule landed in a remote location on flat steppe scrubland almost 300 miles south-west of the major Kazakh city of Karaganda.
Recovery crews arrived rapidly at the site to help the space travellers out of their capsule and take them for medical checks.
They are being taken by helicopter to Karaganda airport where, according to tradition, they were offered bread and salt and a traditional Kazakh hat.
Major Peake will then be flown to the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, while his American and Russian colleagues go their separate ways to Houston and Star City, near Moscow.
The father of two was the first Briton to join the crew of the ISS as a European Space Agency (Esa) astronaut.
His Principia mission was named after Sir Isaac Newton's landmark work describing the laws of gravity and motion.
Its primary purpose was to contribute to scientific knowledge by conducting experiments in zero gravity, but Major Peake did much more than that as he constantly kept in touch with the world by Twitter, took part in video-linked Q&A sessions, and engaged in educational activities that reached more than a million schoolchildren.
Putting Britain on the space-faring map earned him a unique place in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
Becoming the first person to be honoured while in space, he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George for 'extraordinary service beyond our planet'.
Speaking from the ISS, Major Peake said his spacewalk, conducted with Colonel Kopra in January to repair electrical components, was the highlight of his mission.
He added that he was looking forward to 'private time' with his family, fresh air and the feeling of raindrops on his face.
During his time in space Major Peake worked up to 14 hours a day, participating in more than 250 experiments devised by scientists from around the world.
Major Peake is likely to have lost 1.5 per cent of his bone mass for every month spent in space and it will take three years to recover
They included numerous studies of his own body's responses to the space environment involving his brain, lungs, stomach, muscles, bones, skin, immune system and body clock.
The tests will continue as he begins a lengthy process of rehabilitation on Earth.
While weakened muscles recover quickly after a long spell in space, it can take up to three years for bones to return to normal.
Despite their strict exercise regime, astronauts on average lose up to 1.5 per cent of their bone mass for each month spent in space.
Major Peake was originally scheduled to return at the beginning of June, but his homecoming was delayed when the launch of the replacement crew was pushed back.
'It's like going over Niagara falls in a barrel - but the barrel is on fire': The dramatic 17,000mph descent facing Tim Peake
Tim Peake will have to endure a hair-raising descent back to Earth today as his craft rapidly decelerates from 17,398mph on its way down.
The British astronaut has said goodbye to the |
Congressional Committee spokesman called Griffith a “woefully ineffective advocate for Tennessee Valley jobs” after the decision was announced in September.
Signs of Griffith’s dissatisfaction with his party began to surface publicly during the summer recess, when he received an earful of criticism from constituents.If each great city takes in a terror attack in its own way, in Barcelona they write on the trees.
Along Las Ramblas, on trees overlooking spots where the van ran people down, the beautiful patchwork of the bark teems with words and symbols.
"The plane trees of Barcelona witnessed the massacre," reads one message, written in Catalan. "They are still standing."
Spain attacks: What we know so far
Left by people from all over the planet, in a host of languages, they go from angry to inspirational. Here are some of them:
"Love from Northern Ireland"
"Love and peace. Israel" (In Spanish)
"Morocco is with you"
"You will always [be] in our hearts. Love. Pray for Barcelona. Russia, Moscow"
"Sons of bitches" (Spanish)
"Peace in the whole world. Philippines"
"Love" ("amor" means the same in Catalan, Spanish or Portuguese)
"We will never be afraid to live. Peace and freedom are a human right and we will not stop remembering it. We're not afraid" (Catalan)
"You will never defeat us" (Catalan)
"Love from Manchester UK"
"Enough already!" (Spanish)
"Barcelona is love, not war" (Spanish)
"Stop!"
"Love and peace" (German)
"You'll never be forgotten"
"We are all Las Ramblas" (Spanish)
"Hugs matters"
"Keep me in your memory. Leave out all the rest. Love, Barcelona"
"We will never give up" (Catalan)
"God is a god of peace, not of war" (Spanish)
"Love and peace will save the world"
"Love from Iraq"
"I still have hope in mankind" (Spanish)
"Love conquers all fears" (Spanish)
"Where is the love?"
"Barcelona like a jewel in the sun" (lyric from Freddy Mercury song)
"Terrorism never again" (Polish)
"Barbarity in the name of religion" (French)
"I am a Muslim. I condemn terrorism"
"The sky is shining brighter now" (Catalan)
"Rest in peace in Heaven"
"Without love there is no future" (Spanish)
"Peace is not written in blood!" (Spanish)
"Love wins"
"Terrorists are not Muslim"
"Make love not war"
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "Barcelona is going to rise up again with its spirit and its openness"
"No more hate. Islam is the religion of love"
"Hold on BCN we love u"
"Love against hate"
"Messages of love in times of war" (Spanish)
Photos by Patrick Jackson (@patrickgjackson) in Barcelona1. John buys 100 shares of stock at $100 per share. The price goes up by 10% and he sells 50 shares. Then, prices drop by 10% and he sells his remaining 50 shares. How much did he get for the last 50?
$5000 $5500 $4900 $5050 $4950
2. A teacher has 3 hours to grade all the papers submitted by the 35 students in her class. She gets through the first 5 papers in 30 minutes. How much faster does she have to work to grade the remaining papers in the allotted time?
10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
3. A satellite in a circular orbit rotates around the Earth every 120 minutes. If the Earth’s radius is 4000 miles at sea level, and the satellite’s orbit is 400 miles above sea level, approximately what distance does the satellite travel in 40 minutes?
1400 miles 9210 miles 4400 miles 4120 miles 8000 miles
4. What is the next-highest prime number after 67?
68 69 71 73 76
5. How many 3-inch segments can a 4.5-yard line be divided into?
15 45 54 64 84
6. Sheila, Janice, and Karen, working together at the same rate, can complete a job in 3 1/3 days. Working at the same rate, how much of the job could Janice and Karen do in one day?
1/5 1/4 1/3 1/9 1/8
7. A box of laundry detergent contains 16.5 oz of product. What is the maximum number of loads that can be washed if each load requires a minimum of 3/4 oz of detergent?
10 50 22 18 16.5
8. A blouse normally sells for $138, but is on sale for 25% off. What is the cost of the blouse?
$67 $103.50 $34.50 $113 $125
9. A crane raises one end of a 3300 lb steel beam. The other end rests upon the ground. If the crane supports 30% of the beam’s weight, how many pounds does it support?
330 lbs 990 lbs 700 lbs 1100 lbs 2310 lbs
10. A taxi service charges $5.50 for the first 1/5th of a mile, $1.50 for each additional 1/5th of a mile, and 20 cents per minute of waiting time. Joan took a cab from her place to a flower shop 8 miles away, where she bought a bouquet, then another 3.6 miles to her mother’s place. The driver had to wait 9 minutes while she bought the bouquet. What was the fare?
$20 $120.20 $92.80 $91 $90
Answers & Explanations
1. E
The stock first increased by 10%, that is, by $10 (10% of $100) to $110 per share. Then, the price decreased by $11 (10% of $110) so that the sale price was $110-$11 = $99 per share, and the sale price for 50 shares was 99 x $50 = $4950.
2. C
She has been working at the rate of 10 papers per hour. She has 30 papers remaining and must grade them in the 2.5 hours that she has left, which corresponds to a rate of 12 papers per hour. of her previous rate, or 20% faster.
3. B
The radius, R, of the satellite’s orbit is the sum of the Earth’s radius plus the satellite’s orbital altitude, or R = 4400 miles. The circumference of the circular orbit is therefore C = 2π = 2π(4400) = 8800π miles. Since 40 minutes is one third of the satellite’s 120-minute orbital time, it traverses one third of this distance in that time. So the distance, D = 2π × 4400 = 9210.66 miles, using 3.14 for π.
4. C
Prime numbers are those that are only evenly divisible by one and themselves.
5. C
There are 12 inches in a foot and 3 feet in a yard. Four and a half yards is equal to 162 inches. To determine the number of 3-inche segments, divide 162 by 3.
6. A
If it takes 3 people 3 1/3 days to do the job, then it would take one person 10 days:
7. C
16.5 x 4/3 = 22.
8. B
25% off is equivalent to 25 × $138/ 100 = $34.50, so the sale price becomes $138 – $34.50 = $103.50.
A. $67 ≠ $103.50
C. $34.50 is the amount of the reduction, not the final price.
D. $113 ≠ $103.50
E. $ 125 ≠ 103.50
9. B
30% 0f 3300 = 0.3 x 3300 = 990
A. 330 is of 3300, not 30%
C. 700 is of 3300, not 30%
D. 1100 is of 3300, not 30%
E. 2310 is of 3300, not 30%
10. C
The total distance traveled was 8 + 3.6 = 11.6 miles. The first 1/5th of a mile is charged at the higher rate. Since 1/5th = 0.2, the remainder of the trip is 11.4 miles. Thus the fare for the distance traveled is computed as $5.50 + 5 × 11.4 × $1.50 = $91. To this the charge for waiting time must be added, which is simply 9 x 20 cents = 180 cents = $1.80. Finally, add the two charges, $91 + $1.80 = $92.80. Since this value is unique, all other answers are incorrect.Most Americans understand the need for low-skilled labor in the U.S. and said they supported a visa program for “physically demanding work” for legal immigrants. However, most people did not know that such work visas are in short supply, according to polling that ImmigrationWorks USA published online Tuesday. Researchers found that 78 percent of respondents held a favorable view of legal immigration, and nearly 60 percent of them said they thought the U.S. benefited from and needed legal immigrants to do labor with little or no training involved.
Under current U.S. immigration policy, few visas are made available to immigrants for low-skilled occupations, including those in agriculture, construction and certain hospitality services. The U.S. government caps the only permanent, year-round visa for low-skilled workers at 5,000 annually, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The result has been that employers have often hired unauthorized workers in large numbers to do jobs that often require large amounts of physical labor.
The U.S. employs an estimated 8.4 million undocumented immigrants. Some segments of the economy, like agriculture, are almost entirely dependent upon unauthorized labor, according to the Hill.
ImmigrationWorks USA found that 86 percent of people polled said legal immigrants made an important contribution to the U.S. economy, and the same percent said issuing more work visas for low-skilled jobs would allow immigrants to pay taxes. Respondents were twice as likely to say they understood that the jobs immigrants were taking were not jobs Americans wanted, as opposed to taking jobs away from American workers.
Researchers also discovered that the majority of respondents harbored negative feelings toward undocumented immigrants and often confused questions about legal immigration with the debate over illegal immigration. “We repeatedly needed to remind participants who we were talking about and redirect the discussion back to legal immigration,” researchers noted.
The poll also highlighted some Americans’ misperceptions about legal immigration. For instance, one in two respondents said they thought the U.S. already had a system for immigrants to obtain work visas for low-skilled occupations.
Other recent polling found that Americans are sharply divided on the topic of U.S. immigration reform along party lines. Roughly 83 percent of Iowa Democrats said the U.S. should give undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. a chance to apply for permanent residency, as opposed to just 34 percent of Republicans.The email from a professor offered an unusual spring break adventure: Come spend five days in complete darkness. To Morgan Williams, then a sophomore at Swarthmore College and a psychology major, it sounded like a great way to spend his vacation week. “I’m not really one for going to the beach,” he says.
For those five days in 2012, Williams and neuroscientist Benjamin Backus lived in a large room that had been carefully outfitted to ensure that not a ray, not a gleam, not a single photon of light would reach their eyes.
InnervisionAr
The setting was a converted attic space that formed part of Backus’s apartment in New Rochelle, NY. Every aperture was sealed off with the aid of heavy theatrical blackout curtains. Electronic devices that lit up in any way were either modified or banned from the room. Instead of an airlock, they had a “lightlock” room that separated them from the illuminated world. A helper left their meals in that buffer room (a bathroom), and the pair retrieved them once they could be sure of doing so without light exposure.
Each day the two men tacked up a large piece of photosensitive film used in radiology. Days later, after they’d left the room, Backus developed those five sheets of film and was gratified to find them pure black, indicating zero exposure to light. “For our experiment, 23.9 hours of dark isn’t enough,” Backus says. “We can’t let those visual neurons have any hope of visual input coming back.”
There were also daily tasks. They used voice recorders to make notes on the experience. They took turns on an exercise bike, on which the light-up buttons had been covered with stick-on bumpy buttons. They listened to audio books, meditated, and studied a book about braille with their fingertips.
Their meals arrived on a strict schedule to preserve the normal rhythm of their days. They sometimes dined on handheld foods like tamales and sandwiches, but also tested themselves with more complicated meals requiring silverware. Backus says he found eating in absolute darkness to be a tricky business. “The problem is knowing if the food has been speared with the fork,” he says. Unless he used his fingers to confirm that he’d successfully snagged a piece of ravioli, for example, he’d often bite down on air. “I never got good at it,” he says ruefully.
So what was the point of this extreme exercise? Backus, a professor at SUNY College of Optometry, was doing a trial run. He needed to answer logistical and safety questions before he could embark on his real experiment involving people with a type of amblyopia, the visual disorder commonly known as lazy eye.
The researchers hope to help people with anisometropic amblyopia, which begins in early childhood but can go undetected for years. In this disorder, the eyes themselves are fine, but something goes wrong with the connections between the eyes and the brain’s visual processing center. The brain never learns to take in fine details from one side, causing blurry vision in that eye.
The disorder can often be corrected if caught early: A young child’s brain is still learning how to make sense of the visible world so the visual cortex is still “plastic” and changeable. In one standard treatment, the child wears an eyepatch over the good eye, forcing the brain to work with the bad one.
However, sometime between the age of two and six a child’s visual cortex becomes set (it varies between people). If the amblyopic child hasn’t received treatment by that point, he or she will be stuck with that blurry vision. “Even if they get glasses, it’s too late for the brain to use the good sharp retinal image,” Backus says.
Hence, the approach: Restore amblyopic people’s visual cortices to that changeable, childlike condition with a stint in total darkness.
Backus thinks the darkness may serve as a factory-reset for the visual system, and may therefore improve the patients’ symptoms. A neuroscientist at the University of Maryland, Elizabeth Quinlan, has kept amblyopic rats in total darkness for ten days, and demonstrated that the synapses in their visual cortices became more plastic. When they came out of the dark, it was as if they were seeing the world anew.
Staging a similar experiment with humans was the obvious next step. Will amblyopic people emerge from days of light-deprivation with new eyes, as if emerging from the womb?
“We hope that we will cure the amblyopia, but we don’t know if that will happen,” Backus says. “The effect could be anything from no benefit to complete cure, but we won’t know until we do the study.”
Now, with funding and approval for the full-scale experiment involving amblyopia patients, Backus is seeking 24 volunteers who are willing to live in the pitch black for either five or ten days this winter. He knows whom he needs to recruit: “We need people who are adventurous, who are team players, people who would be good astronauts,” he says.He’s looking for amblyopia patients with the right stuff.
Backus enjoys this comparison. During his trial run with Williams, he called the two of them “scotonauts,” based on the Greek word scoto for darkness. Their mission was to prepare the way for the next crew, the ones who may really take science a step forward. Backus and Williams were like the Apollo 10 astronauts who orbited the moon but never landed, preparing the way for Neil Armstrong’s big step.
They had a number of practical questions to answer. They needed to confirm that they could establish the proper experimental condition of pitch blackness, and also determine whether research participants would be able to perform the activities of daily living without sight. And one more thing: They had to be sure that five days spent in utter darkness wouldn’t drive the participants completely bonkers.
Backus can reassure prospective recruits on this count. “I was very relaxed and happy after five days,” he says. “I didn’t want to come out of the dark.”
Eliza Strickland is an associate editor for the science and technology magazine IEEE Spectrum. Find her on Twitter @NewsBeagle.PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A Sudanese man who in 2011 pleaded guilty before a military commission at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to charges of conspiracy and providing military support to terrorism has finished the portion of his sentence he was required to serve and will be sent home soon, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.
The transfer of the prisoner, Noor Uthman Mohammed, had been in doubt because Congress last year tightened a law barring the transfer of any detainee to a nation that has been designated a state sponsor of terror, like Sudan. The change removed an exception for transfers of prisoners who had reached plea agreements with military commission prosecutors.
The prospect that Mr. Noor — as he prefers to be called — would not be released had threatened to undermine the ability of military prosecutors to persuade detainees to plead guilty and serve as potential witnesses in more important cases. Mr. Noor pleaded guilty in early 2011 as part of a deal to serve an additional 34 months at Guantánamo on top of the more than eight years he had already been there.
But the Obama administration decided it was free to repatriate Mr. Noor because Congress later resurrected the older version of the transfer restrictions — which contained the plea agreement exception — when it passed continuing resolutions to keep financing the military in line with earlier budget bills.Image copyright NTSB Image caption The flight landed about six miles prematurely
Federal investigators are blaming pilot error for causing a Delta Air Lines flight carrying 129 people to land at the wrong airport in South Dakota.
The flight from Minneapolis landed at the Ellsworth Air Force Base, about six miles (10km) from Rapid City.
The US National Transportation Safety Board blamed Delta's two pilots for not using all the instruments at their disposal to determine their location.
The plane was held for more than two hours before it could take off again.
The incident happened last July but the NTSB report into it was released on Tuesday.
According to officials, the two airports have runways that face the same direction - from northwest to southeast - which likely contributed to the error.
The two Delta pilots had been suspended pending the inquiry.
Delta "offered a gesture of apology for the inconvenience" to the passengers involved.
A similar incident occurred in 2004 when another passenger plane landed at Ellsworth Air Force Base.
More wrong airport mix-upsSchoolchildren in Western countries are exposed to the basics of the major religious of the world. This is called instruction.
But some schools – and more and more, in fact – in the US and Canada are creeping from instruction to indoctrination
We’ve written about this several times. And it’s happening again.
The Toronto School Board typically designates a number of “heritage months” throughout the year for different cultures. May was “Asian Heritage Month,” January was “Tamil Heritage Month,” and October is “Islamic Heritage Month” … but they seem to have gone way overboard this month.
They’ve released a 170-page guidebook for teachers to use almost every day to “instruct” their schoolchildren on the ways of Islam, the Toronto Sun reports:
A list of announcements it suggests be read before or after the playing of O Canada include the Muslim greeting “As-salamu alaykum” (peace be upon you) and an invitation to visit a local mosque. Children are encouraged to use paper cut-outs to construct replicas of famous mosques around the world. One assignment for students includes writing an article about one of 12 Muslim Canadians, four of whom are Liberal politicians currently in office, including Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi.
The official curriculum encourages teachers not just to use October to promote Islam, but to embed the learning across the entire school year and “across the curriculum.”
The guide doesn’t just focus on historical or scriptural matters, but dives right into social issues – glossing over the controversies surrounding the faith.
It says that, while women sit at the back or a different section of the mosque during prayers, “Islam never considered where women and men perform their prayer in terms of gender superiority/inferiority, and as such, it should not be perceived in this way.” There is no mention of the second-class treatment Muslim women suffer in the name of the faith in countries, such as Saudi Arabia.
The guide ignores the notoriously intolerant view the religion has on LGBT rights, despite the school board’s stated “inclusion” policy on sexual diversity.
Interestingly, there isn’t a “Christian Heritage Month,” and while there is a “Sikh Heritage Month,” the guidebook is nowhere nearly as … complete … as the Islamic Heritage Month. And while there is a “Jewish Heritage Month,” there’s no guidebook at all for that group.
Lawmakers in Canada were trying to define “Islamophobia,” but the guide has their own definition — the mere dislike of political Islam:
“Islamophobia refers to fear, prejudice, hatred or dislike directed against Islam or Muslims, or towards Islamic politics or culture.”
Not a fan of Sharia Law? Don’t think women should be stoned to death for adultery? Not too keen on throwing gays off of buildings? Then you’re an Islamophobe.
The guidebook, which seems to have been released in late September, appears to be heavily influenced by the National Council of Canadian Muslims, an activist organization based out of Ottawa. Back in 2014, the RCMP pulled its support from a booklet published by the NCCM on extremism due to their problem with its “adversarial tone.”
Keep in mind that in the 11th grade, students are already exposed to world religions, so this is a “piling on” in essence … or maybe it’s indoctrination.
What do you think? Sound off below!
Facebook has greatly reduced the distribution of our stories in our readers' newsfeeds and is instead promoting mainstream media sources. When you share to your friends, however, you greatly help distribute our content. Please take a moment and consider sharing this article with your friends and family. Thank you.Two men and a juvenile were arrested early Saturday in the alleged sexual assault of a UC Santa Barbara student in Isla Vista, according to the UCSB Police Department.
At about 1:30 a.m., the 18-year-old woman flagged down a UCSB officer and reported that she had been sexually assaulted 20 minutes earlier in Isla Vista by three men.
This occurred as Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies and UCSB police were responding to Sabado Tarde Road and Camino Pescadero in Isla Vista on a report of a theft that had just occurred at a local convenience store, sheriff’s spokeswoman Kelly Hoover said.
They contacted a group that included three young males who were walking in the area and matched the descriptions of the suspects.
One of the subjects, a 15-year-old male from Oxnard, was identified as the person who shoplifted from the store and was arrested, Hoover said.
“About the same time, a citizen flagged down a UCSB officer in the area of Picasso Road and Camino Pescadero to report that he had witnessed a woman being sexually assaulted in the 6500 block of Sabado Tarde,” Hoover said.
“The citizen identified the same suspects who were involved in the petty theft case as being involved with the sexual assault.”
An investigation led to the arrest of Casey Avila, 22, and Charles Dunbar, 18, both of Santa Barbara, on suspicion of “rape in concert,” which is charged when two or more people act together to commit rape and/or other sexual assaults, Hoover said.
The teen, who also was arrested on the same charges, was not named because he is a juvenile, she said.
Hoover said the woman was transported to the hospital where she was treated and released several hours later, Hoover said.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.Get the biggest politics 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
(Image: Steve Tremlett)
A massive naked effigy of David Cameron and a pig will go up in flames at one of Britain's biggest Bonfire Night parties.
The eye-popping fleshy Prime Minister is the height of several men and was supposed to stay secret until tonight.
But he is so big he has been spotted by locals out and about in Lewes, East Sussex.
Mr Cameron is depicted sitting on a sand throne with swirly decorations up the sides and what appears to be a crab crawling up his leg.
It's now nearly two months since Lord Ashcroft revealed claims the Prime Minister put a 'private part' in a dead pig's mouth at an Oxford drinking society.
Read more:
(Image: Alamy Live News)
The PM refused to comment on specific allegations in the angry Tory peer's book Call Me Dave - but joked he'd been'stabbed in the back by a little pr***'.
Lewes is famous for its bonfire nights, when locals with flaming torches put on an eerie show in the otherwise quiet town near Brighton.
Seven bonfire societies will parade through the town's streets tonight to mark the anniversary of Guy Fawkes trying to blow up Parliament.
Each one has created an effigy of a hate figure from the last year - and Sepp Blatter features as one, just as he does for Kent's Edenbridge Bonfire Society.
The controversial FIFA boss was so engorged he could be spotted from a train window.
The society will also try to break the world record for the biggest ever Bonfire Night effigy with a 50ft Guy Fawkes - which has had to be built using a vast scaffolding tower.
Understandably the locals are excited.
One wrote: "My goddaughter has come to Lewes for her first bonfire tonight.
"Explaining it last night reminded me how deranged and brilliant Lewes is."
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Gallery: Last year's celebrations in Lewes
poll loading What's your reaction to naked David Cameron and a pig? 500+ VOTES SO FAR Yum Yuck Do I smell bacon?The real reason behind Apple’s $3 billion buy of Beats may be a plan for an epic mashup of music and tech by combining the hardware of headphones and Beats Music software.
Two notable patent applications published Thursday suggest that Apple could be thinking along exactly these lines.
The patents in question refer to “Ear Presence Detection in Noise Cancelling Earphones” and “Electronic Devices and Accessories with Media Streaming Control Features” — describing two systems in which headphone sensors can be used to detect the presence of a particular user and offer them specific (and potentially revolutionary) functions.
These might mean stopping streaming media from Apple’s iTunes Radio or Beats Music when a set of earbuds or headphones are removed from a user’s head, and instantly resuming playbook whenever they’re worn again. It could even, in another iteration, allow earphones to be shared by multiple users, with each user getting different content.
“Our media delivery systems are digital, so making them to react intelligently to the listener and watcher is a small step,” says Alexis Kirke, Research Fellow in Computer Music at Plymouth University in the UK, and a noted authority in this field. “No more skipping over tracks you hate, or searching the video streaming channels for something you feel like, or flipping around as you get bored. The machines will know you and how you are right now. The harder job is providing the machine with eyes and ear — non-intrusive sensors to understand what their human owners are feeling.”
While part of the appeal of Beats Music is its curated setlists, Apple could potentially use smart recommendation algorithms to sense a user’s emotional or physical state and stream them an appropriate soundtrack.
The move is in perfect harmony with the Cupertino company. From the 1980s on, Apple products have always been customizable compared to other products on the market. With the advent of the Mac’s G.U.I. in 1984 it meant changing the names and location of folders — or perhaps naming your own hard disc. In the 1990s, the first generation iMac let you decide whether Bondi Blue or Flower Power better described you as an individual.
Beats could be the impetus to rethink the headphone from the ground up. After all, it would be a great way for Apple to live up to its reputation as the music lover’s tech company.
Here Apple’s plans for incorporating accelerometers, capacitive touch sensors, force sensors, acoustic sensors and ultrasonic sensors into earphones could help set it apart from competitors. This isn’t the first time a tech company has tried this: Intel’s previous inclusion of a heart rate monitor in headphones provided excellent opportunities for people to hack together ways of modelling an owner’s mood and activity — shuffling tempo, genre and playlist according to whether it was predicted you were relaxing on your sofa or out on a jog.
Sound quality is one thing. But headphones that intelligently stream music to your device; not just when you want it, but predicting what you want also — that’s something else entirely.
And it’s an area Apple, thanks to Beats, could genuinely innovate in.
Are there any other features you think Apple could adopt to make its headphones the best on the market?
Drop us a line in the comments box below.
Source: Patently AppleKyrgios, so irritated by cameramen and ballkids and much else that punctuated his first-round singles win over Andreas Haider-Maurer on Monday, was jaunty and relaxed; Tomic, who has had his own dramas in recent months, was similarly chilled in the lower-stakes, lower-key setting.
When a Kyrgios winner converted the pair's initial set point in the tiebreak, his older partner was mock-reverential. After ripping a forehand return winner for 15-40 at 5-5 in the second set, Tomic turned to see his mate frozen in rigid disbelief/awe. One suspects, though, that Sock and Pospisil, both with top 20 doubles rankings, might have been slightly less impressed.
"They've just come from winning (in Beijing), so it's tough for them," said Tomic. "They have to come here, they have two days (to prepare) and we're serving good, so it's tough for them. It's not really doubles, it's just serve."
"Me and Bernard played pretty well at the US Open a couple of years ago," added Kyrgios, the young pair having lost the 2014 opening round in New York in three close sets. "Moving forward in Davis Cup I think it's an option. Obviously (Tomic) returns well and he knows how to serve. That's doubles these days: just serve and return."
And, in this case, apparently, swing, enjoy, win. So who is the better doubles player? Tomic, unhesitatingly: "Nick". Kyrgios: "Um... I'd say Bernard." Tomic: "We're never gonna (agree on) this, so next question."These days, games are protected under the First Amendment. No matter how violent, sexual, or offensive a game might be, they're considered art. That wasn't always the case.
A pivotal moment took place in 1993, when Democratic Senators Joe Lieberman and Herb Kohl used Mortal Kombat and Night Trap's increasingly realistic depictions of violence to demand figures in the industry answer questions—or risk video games being regulated by the government.
Video games were big business by 1993, but they had largely avoided controversy. Night Trap and Mortal Kombat, however, were early signals of how technology would change video games. Blips, bloops, and pixels were suddenly capable of channeling reality. Granted, they were using forms of full motion video to achieve an effect that looks antiquated in 2016, but at the time, the cinematic quality was novel, and it turned heads.
"When you're called, you come," said Perrin Kaplan, former VP of marketing and corporate affairs for Nintendo of America. While she wasn't on the stand in 1993, she was central in preparing Nintendo for Capitol Hill. Kaplan was with the company for 16 years, all the way from the launch of the SNES to the Wii. She's since formed her own public relations company.
You can actually watch the full hearings here:
There wasn't a group like the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) to rate games yet. This was largely because games didn't need to be rated; the violence was cartoonish.
"It sort of came in from left field a little bit," said Kaplan. "There were companies in a very quiet industry [where] millions of people were playing and it finally rose above ground and was noticed by people that don't understand it."
Politics are in Kaplan's blood; before she was marketing games, she was in DC. When it became clear games like Mortal Kombat and Night Trap were part of a growing trend, a family-friendly company like Nintendo rightly worried the government would notice them and forget what else was happening in games. Months before the hearings, she reached out to Lieberman to ask if the Senator would like to visit Nintendo. He agreed.
Dressed in a pressed white shirt and dark pants, Lieberman sat down in front of Nintendo executives and games like Super Mario Bros. Though he wasn't much of a game player, he took to Nintendo's games pretty quickly, apparently. "I think we had to stop him," she said.
"There were no hearings yet," said Kaplan. "Nobody knew that this was going to come down the line. Maybe he [Lieberman] hadn't even decided. It was mainly to educate him to what video games were about, and something as simple as a Mario game was such an easy way to communicate to him. It wasn't just about Nintendo, honestly. It was about the industry and saying 'Here's someone that's got power and he's asking the FTC [Federal Trade Commission, a group focusing on consumer protection] to take a look at all these different things. We really want to be a self-regulated industry. Let me show you what we do.'"
It was a weird time for Nintendo. Violent video games were becoming big sellers, and though Nintendo had little interest in producing one, other companies were more than willing. When Mortal Kombat was released on the SNES, Nintendo demanded the game's red blood be swapped out for bland-looking "sweat" and censored the characters' infamous fatality moves.
The original Mortal Kombat was a decent fighting game, but there's no doubt the violence, especially the gruesome fatalities, was part of its appeal. Sega, on the other hand, allowed Mortal Kombat to appear with the blood and guts intact on Genesis—with the use of a simple cheat code, anyway. It was a shrewd move, one that let played into Sega's edgy public image.
"I'll tell you that we definitely did not do well on on sales in comparison," said Kaplan. "People really wanted that kind of stuff in their games. [laughs]"
Though the ESRB wasn't assigning ratings until shortly after the release of Mortal Kombat 2 on SNES and Genesis, Nintendo didn't demand any changes to the sequel. The box art featured a warning for parents about the violent content featured in the game.
Though the ESRB didn't exist yet, there were several console-specific ratings systems. Sega had the Videogame Ratings Council (you might remember these tags on Genesis boxes), The 3DO Company had the 3DO Ratings System, and some PC games were classified by the Recreational Software Advisory Council. These ratings systems were fractured, voluntary, and didn't come with punishments if retailers sold mature-rated games to young kids. Without an industry-wide standard, Lieberman and others were threatening to step in and do it for them.
"The rating system must not be a fig leaf for the industry to hide behind," said Lieberman at the hearings. "They must also accept their responsibility to control themselves and simply stop producing the worst of this junk."
When comics was faced with the same question in the 1950s, it lead to the draconian Comics Code Authority, which effectively removed sex, violence, and other topics. The comics industry grossly overreacted to the threat of government intervention, impacting creativity for decades.
"I understand [the] concern about censorship" said Senator Herb Kohl, who co-chaired the hearing with Lieberman, in his opening remarks during the proceedings. "[...] I believe censoring what people say, or see or do or think is a trail that is a long, tortured, dangerous trail. [...] The access of those kinds of games to children is something that we cannot ignore."
Nintendo was willing to play hardball over its philosophical differences with rival Sega, however. When the hearings were announced, Nintendo made sure Lieberman and others were aware of Night Trap, hoping to draw a clear distinction between the two companies. Night Trap had become a lightning rod over its depictions of sex and violence. (Both were pretty tame, the equivalent of a cheesy horror movie, but player interaction and the larger assumption that video games were only for kids caused people to scrutinize Night Trap.)
"We actually leaked Night Trap to some press ahead of time," she said.'[...] It was basically to get more attention off of us because we wanted to remain |
; Editing by Leslie Adler)LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. rock singer Melissa Etheridge on Wednesday announced plans to marry partner Linda Wallem after the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings paved the way for gay marriage in California, the couple’s home state.
Singer Melissa Etheridge poses for photographers after receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles September 27, 2011. REUTERS/Phil McCarten
Etheridge, 52, came out in 1993 and was an early and prominent gay rights advocate in the entertainment industry.
“I look forward to exercising my American civil liberties and getting fully, completely and legally married this year to my true love of over three years, Linda Wallem,” Etheridge said in a statement.
“Once again our constitution stands strong,” the “Come to My Window” singer added. “All men, and women, and everything in between are created equal.”
Wallem, 52, is a creator and executive producer on the cable television series “Nurse Jackie.”
The Supreme Court affirmed on Wednesday a lower court ruling that struck down California’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage. The state would become the United States’ 13th state to legalize same-sex marriage.
The country’s highest court also struck down a key part of a the federal law, Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), that denied benefits to same-sex married couples.
The Supreme Court’s rulings reverberated in Hollywood, where some of the entertainment industry’s most prominent personalities advocate gay rights.
Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have said in the past that they would not get married until gay couples could as well.
Comedienne and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, an early gay rights advocate, tweeted after the ruling on Wednesday, “It’s a supremely wonderful day for equality. Prop 8 is over, and so is DOMA. Congratulations everyone. And I mean everyone.”
Like Etheridge, DeGeneres was one of the first stars to publicly say she was a lesbian, exploring the topic on her TV comedy series “Ellen” in the late 1990s. She is married to actress Portia de Rossi.
“We stand tall today. #DomaStruckDown So many fought for so long. Be proud, the prejudice are now the minority,” singer and prominent gay rights supporter Lady Gaga wrote to her more than 38 million Twitter followers.
“Big news from the Supreme Court. Goodbye #DOMA #Prop8. Hello #equality,” tweeted Ben Affleck, the director and star of Oscar-winning film “Argo,” while actor Leonardo DiCaprio tweeted the decision was a “historic day.”
Singer Cyndi Lauper, whose True Colors Fund promotes gay rights and addresses homelessness in the gay and lesbian community, said, “Both of these decisions not only impact the lives of gay couples, but of gay and transgender youth who struggle to find acceptance from their family and friends.”Haim Saban is a media titan and staunch supporter of Israel. He has a close and influential relationship with leading Democrats, including Hillary Clinton. WikiLeaks just released a number of emails that show that he brought our ad against Sidney and Max Blumenthal, which appeared last March in The New York Times, to Hillary’s attention, informing her advisors that a response should be readied. The ad detailed the extensive communications on Israel between Clinton and the Blumenthals, the younger of whom calls Israel a Nazi state and the IDF the SS.
I have a world of respect for Saban and I urge him to continue to use his influence to pressure Clinton to separate herself from the virulently anti-Israel Blumenthals, Sid and his son Max.
Saban is one of Israel’s fiercest supporters in the world. Few can compare in terms of willingness to speak out on Israel’s behalf and few contribute more generously their time and resources to causes that enhance Israel’s security and welfare.
We first met at CNN’s Heroes awards gala in Los Angeles, where I served as a judge. Anderson Cooper introduced us. I was struck by his kindness, humility and decency. We got to know each other better at the Campus Maccabees event, with Sheldon and Miriam Adelson.
The Jerusalem Post recently rated Saban the most influential Jew in the world, partially due to his close relationship with Clinton. He is obviously aware that many in the pro-Israel community have doubts about Clinton on Israel, given her past contentious relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu and, more importantly, her claim to be the architect of the Iran nuclear agreement. Those with concerns find some reassurance knowing that a man of his unquestionable dedication to Israel is an important advisor to Clinton on the Jewish state.
That’s why I’m asking Saban, here in public, to advise Clinton to repudiate her relationship with Sidney Blumenthal and his son Max because of the their rabid and vitriolic attacks on Israel and efforts to influence the Democratic nominee with their ugly views.
I am writing this in part because of the email he wrote to her campaign after reading The World Values Network ad we placed in March, asking Hillary to disavow the Blumenthals. He was quoted as writing, “Some unflattering points, that we better be aware of, just in case Trump (or whoever) gets a hold of this and uses it in states like Florida where it would be very damaging.”
The emails also indicate campaign chair John Podesta understands the danger of Clinton’s association with Blumenthal. He raised the controversy stirred by Blumenthal’s advice to Clinton on Libya during congressional hearings on the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. “Sid is the gift that keeps on giving,” Podesta said sarcastically. “I thought his troublemaking on Libya was plenty enough.”
Both Saban and Podesta correctly recognized the potential short-term political problem, but my anxiety goes much deeper. What concerns me are the large number of emails to Clinton from Blumenthal, many of which encouraged her to read anti-Israel screeds by his son.
But just who is Sid Vicious? Sidney Blumenthal was barred from the Obama White House because of his reputation for leaks and dirty tricks against political opponents. Perhaps out of a sense of loyalty, Hillary gave him a lucrative position at the Clinton Foundation.
While she was secretary of state, Blumenthal sent Clinton a steady stream of emails claiming Israel was acting contrary to U.S. interests, suggesting Prime Minister Netanyahu was plotting against the American government, that Israelis steal water from Palestinians and Israeli policy was endangering U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Sid’s attacks on Israel are tame, however, compared to the venomous writings he passed on to the secretary from his son. Max, a supporter of the anti-Semitic BDS campaign, routinely compares Israelis to Nazis. In his screed, Goliath, the younger Blumenthal refers to Israel’s “Nazi mentality,” calling Israelis “Judeo-Nazis,” and labeling Israel’s military the “Nazi SS.”
Perhaps she was being polite; nevertheless, it was disturbing to read her responses to some of Max’s work. On one occasion she told Sid to congratulate Max “for another impressive piece.” In another email, she wrote, “Your Max is a mitzvah!”
I heartily agree with the email that Saban wrote to Clinton’s campaign managers on June 20, 2015, advising Clinton to differentiate herself from Obama on Israel to recapture the large number of Jewish voters who abandoned him in the last election because of his tough policies on Israel.
I am gratified that either on her own accord or together with Saban’s advice she has forcefully reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security. I expect that Saban and other lovers of Israel will hold her to this commitment should she win the election.
I also hope that Clinton takes Saban’s advice and speaks out strongly against anti-Semitism in general and, specifically, against the anti-Semitic boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.
Who a candidate or president surrounds herself with says a lot about that individual. By and large, Hillary has assembled a respectable group of advisers. Why should her image in the Jewish community be tarnished, or her views on Israel negatively influenced, by continuing to associate with haters of Israel like the Blumenthals? Haim Saban should take a cue from his best known property, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and do the right thing.
Shmuley Boteach is founder of The World Values Network and the international best-selling author of 30 books, including Wrestling with the Divine and The Fed-Up Man of Faith. Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.(Last Updated On: April 27, 2017)
The steaming Washington Wizards, starring John Wall, lost a tough one at home last night against the Indiana Pacers, with their star Paul George (38 points) feeling it more than the Weeknd can’t feel their face when they’re with you. George naturally nailed the game-winning free throw after getting fouled on a final-second drive to the basket.
But of course basketball wiz John Wall would come out and steal the show from the winning team’s sweet-shooting backbone. Paul George would watch in awe as John freaking Wall drove and proceeded to hit this absurd spinning reverse layup.
The guy never fails to find a new and more ridiculous way to impress NBA fans each week.
What the hardwood magician will do next remains to be seen, but his ability to perfectly sidespin a ball into the small square box behind the basket is simply astounding. Watch as he eludes hesitation throughout and somehow throws up a beauty.
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Crystal Palace forward Kwesi Appiah has joined AFC Wimbledon on a permanent deal.
Appiah, who joined the Eagles in 2012 after a prolific spell in non-league with Margate, struggled to break into the first-team during his time with the Premier League club.
The 26-year-old spent several loan spells away from Selhurst Park in an effort to prove his worth, with his latest club Viking FK in Norway, but is set to leave as a free agent.
Appiah also had a successful loan spell with the Dons in 2014 and is delighted to be returning to Kingsmeadow.
Appiah said: “I really loved my short spell at AFC Wimbledon a few years ago and I am really hungry to do well after a couple of frustrating seasons.
"I know the people at the club well and I look forward to building a great relationship with the fans again.”
Manager Neal Ardley added: “This is such a good signing for the club.
"We tried several times to bring Kwesi back, but after he took the Africa Cup of Nations by storm with Ghana I thought it could never happen.
"He has been getting fit and sharp playing in Norway and all being well, he will be ready to hit the ground running."
Wimbledon finished 15th in their debut season in League One but only had the eighth worst attack in the division.Lilly Donahue | Indiana University
On Selection Sunday IU basketball was, to no one’s surprise, selected to play in the NIT. As a reward for beating two NCAA tourney #1 seeds, the Hoosiers were given a 3 seed in the tournament, which also gives them the right to host their opening game against Georgie Tech. But, IU, in what I can only assume was an attempt to further piss of their fan base, elected to not host. Yep, you read the right. A team whose home court advantage propelled them to a win over UNC decided that such an advantage wouldn’t be needed in the NIT, despite this being an opportunity for IU fans to see the Hoosiers play at home one last time this season. The athletic department’s reason for this bonehead move, you might ask? They were worried that attendance would be low because IU students, like myself, are off this week for spring break. Now, let me tell you some reasons why this move is dumb as hell:
People other than students live in Bloomington! The population of the city is around 82,000 people, around 40,000 of whom are students. If we whip out our handy-dandy calculators, we can find that if literally zero students attended, there’d still be 40k potential people in attendance. Assembly Hall only holds 17,000 people! According to IU Athletics, 2+2=3, because they obviously don’t care for basic math. People other than Bloomington residents attend IU games! People from all around the state flood Assembly Hall to watch IU basketball play, even when they’re bad. Even if the entire city of Bloomington was on vacation (spoiler alert: they aren’t), fans would still come out to watch IU play in a tournament atmosphere. Some fans cannot afford to attend regular games, but could’ve gone to this one. I don’t disagree that many IU students will be gone, and that this might leave open some seats. What IU could easily do is open up the student section seats to other fans, possibly at a limited rate, so that fans who usually can’t afford tickets can attend! Home court advantage is proven to help teams win. Even if less fans showed up than usual, the atmosphere would still be dominated by IU fans, and would still give the Hoosiers home court advantage. By allowing this game to be played in Atlanta, the IU athletic department is guaranteeing that IUBB will be at a disadvantage from the start.
This move is one of the dumbest things I’ve seen IU Athletics do in recent memory. The fans are pissed, and rightly so.Scroll down for video-
You know how bad you feel when your car has broken down and you can’t afford to pay for the tow truck?
Feel bad no more!
This footage straight from Slovenia shows you how easy it is to get your bike doing all the work.
All you need is a pallet trolley and a bit of rope.
Get the trolley under the car and jack it up. Tie it onto your seat post using the rope and off you go.
Unless you’ve got Andre Greipel’s thighs you’ll want to start pedaling in your lowest gear
For the VIP professional service, simply put your high viz jacket on the windscreen and a red sweater on the back. This way if anyone hadn’t noticed that there was a gnarly old boy towing a car, they will now…
Enjoy this bout of genius engineering!During last week's E3 Nintendo Direct, Mega Man was revealed as a new challenger in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. title and we even got to see him in action.
However, while we saw what the likes of Mario, Link and Pikachu battle in out the 3DS version of the game, we only got to see what the Blue Bomber would look like on the Wii U. For those unaware, the 3DS game will have a unique cel-shaded look that's designed to make the characters stand out a little more on the naturally smaller screen.
Well, Nintendo has now posted new screenshots on the official Super Smash Bros. website showing Mega Man in the 3DS adaptation and thankfully he looks just as fantastic as he does in the Wii U version.
Mega Man's design is taken from NES series of titles and he has a large range of attacks, from his humble blaster to the special moves he's acquired from defeated Robot Masters.
It's not absolutely clear if all characters from the Wii U version will be available on the 3DS iteration, but these screenshots essentially confirm Mega Man will be on both games.
What do you think to Mega Man's design on the 3DS version of Super Smash Bros.? Which do you prefer, his Wii U or 3DS look? Let us know in the comment section below.Throughout the entirety of the first presidential debate on Monday, Donald Trump just would not stop sniffling. It drove many in the viewing audience up the wall during the back-and-forth of the debate and some people had a pretty good idea why Trump kept doing it. Trevor Noah of The Daily Show was on the same page as many others watching, and put forth that theory during the post-debate live show. Noah put up a quick supercut of a handful of examples of Trump sniffling, then did a quick pantomime of sniffing coke off his shiny clean news desk to get his point across.
But that’s not the only reason Trump might have been repeatedly sniffing things all night. True, his “stamina” might not be where it should be for a presidential candidate (What if he’s dying?! What if this cold turns into pneumonia?!) but there’s another option as well. As Noah so succinctly puts it Trump was clearly “Sniffing all the bullsh*t he was saying…on stage…all night!” Lester Holt did a pretty decent job of keeping things in line, even if he didn’t fact check either candidate as much as opposing parties probably wanted, so maybe there wasn’t actually that much bullsh*t flying around the stage.On the 31st of March, we celebrated Transgender Day of Visibility. The day takes place each year and serves to celebrate transgender lives and highlight our experiences; both positive and negative. Many of these experiences are positive. For example, every year on this day transgender individuals of all identities flock to social media to share their smiling faces. There is no doubt that transgender individuals are as visible as ever. In many states, we are protected from discrimination based on our gender identities and gender expression. In some states, our coverage of our healthcare is required of insurance companies. We are visible on television shows and in the media. Some of us have access to human services and medical care that is designed for us.
Unfortunately, there is a negative element to this visibility. While we are as visible as ever, we are also being attacked at an increasing rate. Every element of our lives are believed to be up for debate. Politicians are even restricting us from using the bathroom we feel safest in, under the guise of protecting women and children from sexual assault. This takes the accountability off those committing rape and put in on us based on an age-old stereotype. Transgender individuals have experienced a long struggle with being attacked -- both verbally and physically -- in public restrooms. Just a few days before Transgender Day of Visibility, The New York Times ran a report on a transgender woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted at the historic Stonewall Inn.
One of the most critical issues we face is the need for supportive and inclusive health care, particularly reproductive health care. Gender identity and our physical bodies come together in a variety of ways, but this idea is lacking among healthcare providers. As a transgender person who is heavily involved in the activist community, I have witnessed individuals process the experience of being discriminated against by their health providers, I have spoken to individuals who were forced to jump through seemingly endless hoops to gain access to reproductive health care, and I have had the experience of having to decide between traveling 4 hours to find sensitive healthcare or neglect it all together. I was fortunate enough to be able to make the decision to rely on self-paid telemedicine for therapy and travel 4 hours for primary and clinical care, but many of us are not as privileged.
This lack of inclusive care has devastating effects on our communities. Transgender individuals are often afraid of being discriminated against or even denied services. A survey within the last ten years published by the Transgender Law Center reported that 15 percent of the 646 transgender individuals surveyed experienced being denied gender-specific care, 10 percent have experienced being denied primary care and an overwhelming 70 percent have experienced discrimination and blame from healthcare providers. This is startling considering that there are at least 1.5 million transgender individuals living in the United States.
This lack of competent healthcare is particularly frustrating for individuals in rural communities, where reproductive health care is already hard to access and facing funding cuts, harassment of patients and even terrorist violence. The addition of barriers created by the lack of transgender inclusion makes accessing family planning services even more difficult for us. Transgender individuals are in just as much need for reproductive health care as anyone else, not only because they -- like people of all genders and sexes -- want to become parents, but also because they are victimized by sexual assault at disproportional rates.
The experience of transgender individuals seeking reproductive and other related health services is one that is often not discussed in any activist circles. Reproductive justice communities are often abortion centric and inadvertently exclude transgender experiences from their discussions. Transgender communities are often too taxed by the need to provide basic awareness efforts and education on our identities to the general public. Both of these communities could greatly benefit from the inclusion of transgender experiences in conversations about reproduction and reproductive health.
According to a 2014 study of 41 transgender men released by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists many transgender men desire to have children and are fully capable of doing so. The study indicated that the struggle lies not in their body's capabilities, but in society's willingness to give them the care they need. The men in the study reported that they had been disrespected, referred to with inappropriate pronouns and even denied care when navigating a pregnancy or family planning.BRENTWOOD (CBSLA.com) — At least two patients have died and five more were infected after being exposed to a drug-resistant superbug bacteria at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center.
Another 179 patients may have been exposed to the carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, bacteria, the hospital told CBS2/KCAL9’s Erica Nochlin. Officials say they’re in the process of notifying those people.
CRE germs are resistant to almost all antibiotics and are more deadly than the more widely-known superbug MRSA.
California health officials found the majority of health care facilities do not perform CRE screenings as a prevention tool, even though this superbug is considered an urgent, growing public health concern around the country.
While the superbug can be passed from person to person, experts say healthy people are at a very low risk of infection. It usually is a source of concern for people with other medical problems in hospitals or nursing homes.
The potential exposure at UCLA occurred “during complex endoscopic procedures that took place between October 2014 and January 2015.” Officials say the scopes used in the procedures were sterilized in accordance with manufacturer standards but the CRE may have been transmitted during a procedure that uses this “specialized scope to diagnose and treat pancreaticobiliary diseases.”
They say that may have been a contributing factor in the deaths of two patients.
The scopes have a long fiber-optic cable with a light and camera at the end so doctors can see inside the body. They’re highly effective when used to treat certain cancers and gallstones, but the devices can accumulate bacteria that can be passed from patient to patient.
The two scopes infected have been removed and the hospital is performing a thorough decontamination process that goes “above and beyond the manufacturer and national standards.”
The hospital says it is offering those potentially exposed a free home-testing kit that would be processed at UCLA. They started sending out notification letters on Tuesday.
Officials say the hospital notified the Los Angeles County Department of Health and the California Department of Public Health in late January, as soon as they realized the equipment had been contaminated.AP Photo Bush deploys 'look over here' strategy ahead of fundraising figures
Amid revelations that Jeb Bush's fundraising juggernaut has slowed, his campaign appears to have deployed a "look over here" strategy to distract from the forthcoming official release of just how much money it brought in last quarter.
First came the news of his Hispanic leadership team, leaked in advance.
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There also was the Fox News exclusive: Not only will Bush be releasing his third-quarter campaign finances, but he'll be pairing it with his medical records, a bundling report and his 2014 tax information.
Then the announcement of a candidate roundtable on domestic violence — with the subject line "Important Update" that the campaign all but begged reporters to cover: "We are confident that given the importance of this issue, you will give it the attention it deserves," a spokeswoman admonished the media.
The note also seemed to needle reporters for requesting advanced notice of Bush's campaign financials, due in the form of a Federal Election Commission filing later on Thursday, not only from Bush but all 2016 candidates. A number of contenders, however, have already released their third-quarter figures.
"We have listened to your comments over the past two weeks requesting updates on important news coming on the 15th before it breaks," said the spokeswoman, Allie Brandenburger. "So in that spirit, we wanted to take this opportunity to provide information for all of you on news Jeb is making this morning in New Hampshire. "
In a statement, campaign press secretary Tim Miller emphasized that the note was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
"This email — as every other outlet that received it understood — was a good-natured joke with our friends in the media," Miller said. "We look forward to releasing our finances this afternoon with the rest of the field and are confident we are in strong financial position vs. our opponents in this primary."
It's a classic news cycle management strategy — the cousin of Friday news dump — and it all but ensures that the Bush camp is preparing to reveal an underwhelming cash position, after stunning with a $114 million haul between his campaign and super PAC during the first half of the year.
And the Bush team isn't alone. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who also hasn't yet released his third-quarter numbers, decided to unveil his campaign's most comprehensive policy platform of the year Thursday. It began with a leak to The Associated Press of a balanced-budget proposal. He also issued an op-ed in The Washington Post, declaring Washington D.C., "obsolete."Labour Future, the centrist grassroots Labour Party campaign group, has posted a fake NHS poster telling voters to buy health insurance, claiming that “from January 2018 the NHS will no longer be a free service”. The poster, bearing the official NHS and Public Health England logos, is complete fake news. It’s pretty distasteful too given it says: “Don’t put your family at risk”. The phone number on the poster puts you through to NHS England, and the poster has been shared over 3,000 times on Facebook. Labour Future are fundraising off the back of this BS, the Facebook post links through to a GoFundMe page. The NHS and Public Health England will not be happy to have their name put to such blatant lies…
UPDATE: Labour Future has now taken down the post.
UPDATE II: An NHS England spokesman tells Guido:French president Emmanuel Macron called on the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, to freeze the colonisation of the West Bank as a gesture for peace when they lunched together at the Élysée Palace on Sunday.
The tone of the meeting was markedly more chilled than during a previous visit by Mr Netanyahu last July. After condemning “all forms of attacks against Israel”, Mr Macron reiterated criticism of the announcement by US president Donald Trump on December 6th that he is formally recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
“France judges the recent statements by the US president as contrary to international law and dangerous for peace,” Mr Macron said. An earlier statement by the Élysée said the president repeated in a phone call with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that “Jerusalem has a vocation to become the capital of two states, Israel and Palestine. ”
During Mr Netanyahu’s long peroration on Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Mr Macron pointedly looked at the ceiling with his jaw set.
The Bible
“We respect your history and your choices, and we know that France respects ours,” Mr Netanyahu said. “There is an effort continuing in UN forums and elsewhere to deny the millennial connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem. It’s absurd. You can read about it in a very fine book. It’s called the Bible... Jerusalem has never been the capital of any other people. The sooner the Palestinians come to grips with this reality, the sooner we will move towards peace. This is why President Trump’s announcement was so historic and so important for peace.”
Mr Macron asked for Israeli “confidence measures” towards the Palestinians, in addition to a settlement freeze. An adviser said those might include greater freedom of movement for Palestinians, better treatment of prisoners or allowing Palestinians to complete agricultural projects. He said the tone was “very frank” during the half-hour the two men spent alone.
With the US discredited as an “honest broker” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there had been speculation that Mr Macron might step in with his own peace initiative.
French diplomacy
But Mr Macron said French diplomacy will concentrate in coming months on preserving the stability of Lebanon, on completing the military defeat of Islamic State and on pacifying Syria.
Despite his criticism of Mr Trump, Mr Macron said he would wait for the US “peace initiative” to play out. “There remains a US will to mediate,” he said. “I won’t condemn it in advance. We will have to see what is proposed in coming weeks and months... It is not up to me to arbitrate. The situation is complicated enough without external arbitration. If you have multiple initiatives, they cannibalise each other.”
Mr Netanyahu lashed out at Mr Erdogan, who has been extremely critical of Israel and the US. “I’m not used to receiving lectures about morality from a leader that bombs Kurdish villages in his native Turkey, who jails journalists, who helps Iran get around international sanctions and who helps terrorists including in Gaza kill innocent people,” he said.A North Carolina man suspected of dumping a boiling pot of water on a cat in a viral Facebook video who became the target of the Internet’s outrage on Thursday was not the alleged culprit, police say.Despite police in North Carolina searching for a suspect on Thursday, the incident happened in Chicago. Police have charged 18-year-old Leon Teague with felony animal torture, the Chicago Tribune reports.The name “Daquan Smith” circulated on social media. His address and other personal information was published by enraged animal lovers, and a Twitter account was set-up to details about him. It’s not clear if the North Carolina resident, who deleted his Facebook page, reposted the video.The police department’s Animal Crimes Unit worked with Cook County sheriff’s department to gather information during the investigation, identifying Teague as the person in the video, according to the release.The incident took place in the 6900 block of South Kind Drive, and the cat was last seen alive in that area but ran away when officers tried to catch it, according to police.Teague is scheduled to appear in Cook County bond court Friday.A 13-year-old boy is charged in connection with what police said was an unintentional shooting of another teen in March.
Cedar Rapids police arrested Dennis Warren on charges of involuntary manslaughter, a class D felony, and carrying weapons. He is also charged with Obstructing Prosecution which is an aggravated misdemeanor. Authorities are holding Warren at the Linn County Juvenile Detention Center.
On March 18, police found 15-year-old Senquez Jackson with a gun shot wound inside a home at 1424 Bever Avenue SE. He died the next night.
The Linn County Attorney's Office says Warren was handling a small 38-caliber semi-automatic pistol when he pulled the ammo clip from the handle. They say he thought that meant the gun was unloaded, but there was still a bullet in the gun. The prosecutor's office says the weapon did not belong to Warren or his mother. They also say during the investigation that Warren gave the gun to one of his friends so police couldn't find it.
Due to the type of charges and Warren's age, state code does not allow the county attorney's office to petition to move the case to adult court. Warren is 13-year-old and the minimum age is 14.
Police said they are still investigating the shooting.Day 722 to Day 748: Community Input Needed on New UI
We’re Back
We trust everyone had a good Christmas and New Years. After a great holiday season celebrating with family and friends, we are back and ready to launch WorldAlpha in the next few months. We are in the final stages trying to get everything to come together. It has now been 2 years since I first conceived of WorldAlpha and so it is good to see that the end of development is near, and the game is about to begin! Also, during the break we’ve had over 10,000 people sign-up to be beta testers.
Closed Beta #3
Just before the holidays we had our 3rd closed beta. I realized when scheduling the date that it was close to Christmas, but we still had a good response from our beta testers. Over 170 bugs/suggestions were submitted.
Community Input Needed on New UI
Well, we now have 2 concepts for a new UI look for WorldAlpha and we would like our community to have their say! Please let us know what you like or don’t like about each of the 2 new concepts and helps us for the final UI for the game. Click on them to see full size.
Current UI
UI Concept #1
UI Concept #2
UI Concept #2 Expanded
February 4, 2013 | William
January 14, 2013 | Martijnie
January 14, 2013 | Alias
January 13, 2013 | CamAllen
January 13, 2013 | Demon Lee
January 13, 2013 | d0m0n0
January 13, 2013 | Ivailo
January 13, 2013 | Albin
January 13, 2013 | Toad
January 13, 2013 | popu888
January 13, 2013 | popu888
January 13, 2013 | BNGY
I #2 looks the best - Will http://artcontrol.meI prefer the #1 one. The white theme and metal looking bars make it look like you're playing a space game.#2 but with the colour scheme of #1. Actually the white of #2 makes it look empty and is kind of a turn off but the buttons and navigation seems slightly more intuitive (tough to say without actually playing). Since things can always be made to look prettier later, I would vote #2.I prefer #2. #1 was too confusing to navigate. While neither is standing out, I think you need to rethink the navigation system if you are going with #1.I prefer if is posible to have grapchics of 1 and button design of 2. Will be very nice :)of those i also prefer #1..#2 just doesnt flow aswell and dont like the white sheet metal look at allI prefer UI Concept #2I think the fist one LOOKS the best. So, now answer my question. :>I prefer Concept #1. I like have the player information right at the top. Also because I like the activity and quest tabs at the bottom.Also like the quest and activity tabs in the bottom right and left. They would come in handy.Hey Mike, hope your holidays were fun. I just got back from China so i can start doing stuff again :P. I prefer the first UI concept because having expandable tabs jumbled around is disorientating and the background is prettier.UI concept #2 (both versions): too bright, seems like if glued from random designs found somewhere. Concept #1: cool, however, the icons look "strange".
You need to Sign In to post comments.The balance in cash-strapped Zimbabwe's government public account has fallen to just $217 after paying public workers' salaries last week, Tendai Biti, the country's finance minister has said.
"Last week when we paid civil servants there was $217 (left) in government coffers," Biti told journalists in the capital Harare on Tuesday, claiming some of the workers had healthier bank balances than the state.
"The government finances are in paralysis state at the present moment. We are failing to meet our targets."
Zimbabwe's economy plummeted at the turn of the millennium, after President Robert Mugabe began seizing white-owned farms.
The move demolished investor confidence in the country, paralysed production, prompted international sanctions and repelled tourists.
But after more than a decade - in which the country suffered hyper-inflation of 231 million percent and infrastructure that crumbled as quickly as prices went up - the situation is now more stable.
However, public finances remain a mess and local business battles against unstable electricity supplies, lack of liquidity and high labour costs.
Zimbabwe's government has warned it does not have enough money to fund a constitutional referendum and elections expected this year.
Biti said that left no choice but to ask the donors for cash.
"We will be approaching the international community," he said.
The country's elections agency said it requires $104m to organise the vote.
Government's national budget for this year stands at $3.8b and the economy is projected to grow 5.0 percent.
The mineral rich country is now using the US dollar and the South African rand.The federal REAL ID Act requires state driver’s licenses and ID cards to have security enhancements and to be issued to people who can prove they are legally in the United States.
OLYMPIA — People in Washington state likely won’t have to worry next year about the identification they take to the airport after Gov. Jay Inslee signed a measure Tuesday seeking to make the state one of more than two dozen in compliance with federal identification requirements.
Washington and several other states have struggled for years to comply with the REAL ID Act, a 2005 federal law that requires state driver’s licenses and ID cards to have security enhancements and to be issued to people who can prove they are legally in the United States.
The law was passed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to strengthen rules for identification needed at airports and federal facilities.
With a January deadline looming, lawmakers across the country have been pressed to scramble for legislative fixes so residents can board flights and travel without confusion.
“This will help to ease problems at border crossings, airports, federal courthouses, and military bases where REAL ID compliant documents are required,” Inslee said before he signed the bill, adding that the measure ensures the “convenience and security of our citizens.”
Just 25 states and the District of Columbia are in compliance with the federal law, though most of the remaining states and territories have been granted extensions of various dates.
Residents of states that are in compliance have until Oct. 21, 2020, before being required to show the REAL ID compliant identification.
Residents of states that are not in compliance with REAL ID and do not have an extension need additional identification for access to some military bases and federal facilities and, starting on Jan. 22, 2018, to board commercial flights.
Washington state already offers but does not mandate enhanced driver’s licenses and IDs that require proof of U.S. citizenship and are valid under the federal law. The state also issues standard licenses that don’t comply with the federal rule.
Starting in July 2018, those standard licenses will be marked to indicate they are not REAL ID compliant and thus not acceptable for certain purposes by federal authorities.
Residents of Washington state will have a choice of which license they want. Those with the noncompliant licenses will need additional documentation |
most of his money playing poker. The last time I saw him was at Kelly Holland's annual poker tournament fundraiser, and he said he made most of his money playing poker; he even went to Vegas to play in tournaments."
What most fans and even acquaintances also probably don't know is that Lincoln was one of the inspirations for the naming of Steve Orenstein's then-fledgling production company, Wicked Pictures.
"I was with Xcitement Video," Orenstein stated, "and Freddie did this movie for us called Wicked, and it had nothing to do with Wicked Pictures because that didn't exist then, but when it came time to—when I was starting my own company and separating from my partner at Xcitement, we were going through a lot of ideas for company names, and 'Wicked' was thrown out, and I said, 'Well, I liked it as a title; I think I still really like it, so let's do that.'"
"I've been in the business 33 years; I've probably known Freddie for over 20 years, and he was already around forever and ever at that point, and he was one of the old school guys. He did direct a few movies for us back in those days, and I just remember that Freddie was a hard-working guy, really cared about the product he would put together, and a very passionate, passionate guy about everything, and put that into his work as well."
Dan Metcalf, who's done press relations for Wicked for more than a decade, also remembered working with Lincoln.
"It was a thrill to me, when I first came to do PR for Wicked Pictures, to work with Freddie on several of the movies which he directed for Steve; in particular, Shadowlands, which is one of the biggest films he did for Stephanie Swift for Wicked," Metcalf said. "It was a true labor of love for him, because he had a great heart for the horror film genre and is remembered by everyone for having had a pivotal role in Wes Craven's Last House on the Left. He'd worked with Wes on a couple of projects prior to that, including another film that was actually done for the adult industry: Angela Fireworks Woman; he and Wes were behind the scenes on that, but he was part of that whole crew: Wes Craven, Sean Cunningham, and Steve Minor, that whole crew that came out of Last House on the Left. Obviously, Fred chose a different path for his career, but he brought the same skill and professionalism that he showed back then to the adult film industry; he lifted us all up to mainstream technical quality by doing that."
"One of the things I remember about working on Shadowlands," he continued, "it was a very difficult shoot, in the middle of the desert, brutally hot during the day, brutally hot at night—he treated everyone on the crew from the talent, Stephanie to the lowliest PA, he treated them with the same love and respect and got 100 percent return for doing that. Shadowlands was definitely a very personal project that came from him, and coincidentally, it presaged the whole 'J-horror' genre, The Ring and The Grudge and the other things that came just a few years after that from Japan, so this was a case where adult kind of got there first."
Veronica Hart was one of the last people to see Lincoln alive, and recalled her last visit to his hospital room.
"I knew Freddie from the very first time I got into the business, when he was with Tiffany Clark; he and Tiff were incredible," Hart recalled. "They used to come and hang out at the house. The last time I saw him, though, he knew he was going to go, and he just wanted it to happen. He just didn't feel that he could get better again, which was not true; he did get better, and he gained weight from the last time I saw him in the hospital, and then they sent him to rehab and it just knocked the stuffings out of him. He hated being there, he didn't want to join any of the programs like bingo or anything, and he hated it. He lost all the weight he had gained, and that was it; he just gave up."
"When Annie came to see him with me, and [Raven] and Bionca Seven were there at the same time, we talked about sharing the care together, and getting people to come over to the house, and we'd all take at least a day or two a month to try and take care of him, but he never was able to get it together to come out."
Bionca recalled that same visit:
"When we got there, Veronica was there and Annie Sprinkle, and my first thought was—I didn't know what I was going to see; I didn't know what condition Freddie was in, but when I walked into the room, he had plenty of food in front of him and he was sitting up and talking, and I thought, 'I'm going to try to get Freddie to cheer up and laugh,' so I said, 'You know, Freddie, I think it would be a good idea if Annie, Veronica, Penny and I and you have an orgy right here and now,' and he let out a big laugh. He went through a period when he was really depressed, and he had reason to be. His health declined, his lungs were really bad, very congested, but we had a really terrific visit. The last thing before I left, I kissed Freddie on his lips and I told him that I loved him, and he said, 'I love you too,' One thing that stands out was, Annie and Janie asked Freddie if they could rub his feet, and they did and they had such loving hands, and I talked to Janie yesterday and I said, 'I'll never forget that moment, that you thought of that and did that for Freddie.'"
The news of Lincoln's death has spread quickly over the internet, particularly on Facebook. The following are some comments that have been posted about Lincoln's place in the adult industry and sometimes in the lives of the posters.
"Our beloved Fred Lincoln has passed away," wrote director Luc Wylder. "Thank you to all who sent him your kind thoughts and wishes. May he rest in peace. Much love to you all during this sad moment."
"I just learned that an old friend and brother in (porn) arms Fred Lincoln has died," wrote director Carter Stevens. "I will miss him. The last time I saw him was about four years ago at the AVN Awards. We were both wearing tux and in the middle of the room both ripped open our shirts to compare our bi-pass [sic] scars. Fred was crazy and wild and fun and the porno dinosaurs club has lost another founding member. R.I.P. Fred, R.I.P."
"When legends pass we remember what they left us; we remember their faces, the laughs they gave us," reflected director Roy Karch. "We remember why we loved them as well as their work which still lives on. When legends pass, we remember why they are known as legends to begin with. Freddy... rest in peace with all those that came and left before you..."
Pictured: Fred Lincoln with fellow directors Bruce Seven and Alex de Renzy at an AVN Awards Show in the mid-1990s; photograph by Glenn Baran.On March 3, 2007, at UFC 68 Randy Couture and Tim Sylvia met for what would be perhaps the crowning achievement of Couture's long fighting career: a fight for the heavyweight title at the age of 43. Just one year earlier Couture had been knocked out for the second time by Chuck Liddell and announced his retirement in the cage. After winning belts in two different weight classes, the last well past the previously accepted age for elite MMA competitors, the UFC Hall of Famer could afford to walk gracefully into the sunset with his legacy intact. But when he saw Sylvia win the heavyweight belt, he decided he wanted one more go-round.
For many athletes, the desire to compete dissipates at a much slower rate than the one's body, and Couture had picked a fight that looked awful on paper. Sylvia was 12 years younger and at the peak of his career. He'd won the title and defended it against the dangerous kickboxer Andrei Arlovski and then outlasted grappling titan Jeff Monson. The giant from Maine cut weight to make the 265lb limit and enjoyed a height, weight, and reach advantage over Couture, who had spent much of his career at light heavyweight. So what was Randy thinking?
In addition to having fantastic athletic talent, Couture was a very smart fighter and knew Sylvia well. The two had lived together in Oregon when Couture was training for his fight with Ricco Rodriguez, and perhaps he'd been keeping a close eye on Sylvia. Even though the big man was enjoying a dominant reign as champ, Randy was an expert strategist and saw multiple holes in Tim's game—holes that were revealed mere seconds into their fight.
As soon as Big John McCarthy set the two men against each other Couture threw a light leg kick that set up an overhand right, which connected and sent Sylvia tumbling to the canvas. That image, of the giant Sylvia crashing to the ground, would become (and remain) one of the UFC’s most iconic.
After that punch the momentum never swung back. All through the fight Couture kept Sylvia guessing. Never did he engage in his classic clinch/dirty boxing style. Instead, anytime Sylvia tried to establish a jab Couture would counter with hard overhands and hooks. The fight never kept a steady rhythm and eventually Couture worked a takedown in the second, grounding and pounding, stealing another round.
As the seconds ticked by Sylvia was never in danger of being finished, but Couture's lead deepened and the big man’s expression turned to pure frustration. The crowd got louder and the broadcasters went from skeptics to believers: The old man was going to win. The fans shook with anticipation at the improbability of it all, and when the final horn sounded, the Nationwide Arena in Colombus, Ohio, exploded in celebration.
In his post-fight interview with Couture commentator Joe Rogan was speechless, and the new champion basked in the adulation. He acknowledged that he'd probably be an underdog for the rest of his career, but the old man was ready for it. Being the underdog had always served him well.
Check out these other Defining Moments:
Frye vs. Shamrock: Legend-Maker, Career-Killer
The Age of Rules and Wrestlers
"The Prodigy" BJ PennIn the first months of his administration, President Donald Trump has made good on a campaign promise: to tighten immigration restrictions and crack down on immigrants living in the United States illegally. Agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, have rounded up immigrants in raids across the country, creating a boom for private prisons — an industry that’s a growing part of the Texas economy.
CoreCivic and the GEO Group operate most of the private prisons in the U.S. Both companies’ stock has surged in value during the Trump administration, in large part because their facilities now house significantly more detainees, according to a recent story by Investigative Reporter Lise Olsen of the Houston Chronicle.
Olsen says Texas will soon be home the the nation’s largest immigrant detention complex: a privately operated facility in Conroe. The facility will have room for more than 2,500 detainees.
Olsen says it’s difficult to unravel the details of the contracts between some of these private prison facilities and the government. City and county governments working with ICE may manage the contract, or the private prison operator may have some other subcontracting relationship with a local or federal jurisdiction. The murkiness of the relationships makes it difficult for one jurisdiction to know what facilities another jurisdiction has planned, or how much public money is being spent.
Written by Shelly Brisbin.The worry when the Trudeau Liberals took office was that they couldn’t operate a spoon — that a two-house paper route would be beyond their organizational abilities.
Early signs were not encouraging: spending ballooned, deficits appeared to be running amok.
Keep calm and carry on, the Liberals said, “investments” in infrastructure and the new child benefit would spark economic growth. In effect, the budget would balance itself.
Credit then where it may or may not be due. While we are a long way from a balanced budget, fiscal meltdown also looks to be a remote prospect.
The government released its fall economic statement Tuesday and the books are looking more rosy than they have at any point since the first Liberal budget. Economic growth is likely to reduce deficits by a cumulative $32 billion over the next five years.
In the current fiscal year, the deficit has fallen from the $28.5 billion (with a $3 billion risk cushion) projected in the 2017 budget to $19.9 billion (with a $1.5 billion adjustment for risk).
Projected economic growth of 3.1 per cent this year is likely to yield an extra $8.9 billion of revenue for the government. Even the innumerate journalists in the press gallery were able to calculate that this should mean a deficit of $16.6 billion (before risk).
The money is borrowed; if results come in better than expected, you should borrow less. But this is a government with an aversion to slimming down — it’s like asking a chocoholic to learn to love lettuce.
Canada’s booming economy is clearly being viewed as a windfall, and instead of being used for deficit reduction, nearly one-quarter — or $1.8 billion — of the $8.9 billion in new revenue is earmarked for new “policy actions” — $100 million for improving security at embassies abroad; $93 million for fixing the government’s pay system; $59 million for regulating cannabis; $54 million for refugees and asylum seekers; and so on and on.
More “progress for the middle class” is promised in the coming years — the government said it will enhance the Working Income Tax Benefit for low-income workers by $500 million a year from 2019, and index the massive Canada Child Benefit so that it rises with inflation, at a cost of $5.6 billion over five years.
The Liberals again gave no clues about when the budget might be balanced — the deficit is forecast at $12.5 billion in 2022-23 — and this may yet hurt them in the next election.
But their preferred metric is the percentage of debt to GDP, and it is forecast to tick gently lower in the coming years.
The update will be a welcome channel-changer for the government, and in particular for Bill Morneau, the embattled finance minister. He claimed economic growth as a vindication for a patient calculated strategy, though in truth much of the good news is more by accident than design.
If the Liberals do have any legitimate claim to having kickstarted growth it is from the introduction of the child benefit program, which significantly increased the amount of money available to cash-strapped working families. Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz has described it as providing an economic floor, and said it may have encouraged some parents to enter the workforce rather than stay home.
The Liberals were elected after promising to invest heavily in infrastructure, but the annual financial report for the last fiscal year suggested that money has been hard to get out of the door.
It will be interesting to hear Poloz’s thoughts on the government’s latest stimulus move when he unveils his monetary policy report Wednesday. There are signs the economy is slowing — retail sales for August contracted.
But the belief among many observers is that the economy is close to full capacity and that additional stimulus could prove inflationary, prompting further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada.
At least by pushing off the child benefit indexation until the middle of next year, it reduces that prospect.
“If I were the governor, I’d look through this,” said Jean-Francois Perrault, chief economist at Scotiabank. “(New spending) is not on a scale that is going to have a significant impact.”
Morneau and company had better hope so. With a growing debt, and no plan to reduce it, Ottawa is also vulnerable to the negative shock of rising interest rates.
• Email: jivison@nationalpost.com | Twitter: IvisonJTime is running out before funding for the Department of Homeland Security dries up–a scenario that the head of the House Republican Policy Committee said he would welcome, if the President doesn’t adopt a policy on deportations suitable to conservatives.
Appearing on CSPAN’s Washington Journal on Tuesday morning, Rep. Luke Messer (R-Ind.), was asked if the current GOP strategy of trying to defund President Obama’s executive actions on immigration justified shutting down DHS.
“I believe it does,” Rep. Messer replied. “This is about way more than just our current immigration debate,” he added.
He then chastised Republicans in the Senate for not doing more to advance a DHS funding bill that strips deferred deportation status from millions of undocumented immigrants living and working in the US–a distinction granted by the White House late last year.
“When Rand Paul was concerned about drones, he did a filibuster,” Messer said. He also recalled how Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) filibustered continued funding of the Affordable Care Act in 2013.
“Each of those efforts brought the attention of the American people to the debate. I haven’t seen that kind of effort out of the Senate yet,” said Messer.
The obstruction the congressman applauded is actually happening in the Senate, although it’s Democrats leading the campaign, with the power dynamics reversed since the occurrence of the procedural moves referenced by Messer. On three occasions, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has failed to advance a DHS funding bill in the face of Democratic opposition over Republican bids to block the president’s decrees on immigration.
“I understand what the math is,” said Rep. Messer, acknowledging that “without some of the Democratic senators coming along, it’s difficult for the bill to move.”
But he stressed that “the fight matters. The debate matters.”
During the 2013 government shutdown, the majority of DHS employees were exempt from emergency furloughs, with a large number of them classified as “essential” personnel. Department activities including airport screening, immigration enforcement, and Secret Service operations continued during the congressional gridlock.
However, several other department operations including ongoing research, hiring, and non-emergency investments and grants would be affected by a shutdown.
Another DHS mission that could be hampered relates to cyber security. The White House announced on Tuesday the formation of a new office within DHS that will focus on disseminating information on cyber threats to other government agencies. The launch of that entity, the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, would be complicated by a department shutdown.
Current funding for the agency expires Feb. 27.
As chair of the Republican Policy Committee, Keller is charged with developing “conservative policy solutions.” He nabbed the post in January, at the start of the 114th Congress.It’s a step forward in the necessary integration of abortion into other forms of OB-GYN care: Feministing reports that the nation’s first-ever birthing center/abortion clinic has opened in Buffalo, N.Y. The clinic, run by Dr. Katharine Morrison, offers a traditional slate of gynecological services, including abortion up to 22 weeks, under the name Buffalo WomenServices. But they also have a freestanding birthing center called the Birthing Center of Buffalo, where women who want a nonhospital birthing experience can go while having the benefit of being attended by a certified nurse midwife and an OB-GYN who has admitting privileges at the local hospital in case of complications.
The place was set up with an explicitly feminist point of view, and it sounds like they go beyond the call of duty in making sure their patients are emotionally, as well as physically, cared for. “In our clinic, we have RNs, LPNs, social workers, counselors, and trained medical personnel, in addition to our physicians, to assist our patients,” the general information page reads. But having a single clinic provide both birthing and abortion services doesn’t need to be rooted in feminist ideology. Having a single place to go for all your pregnancy needs instead of sorting patients out depending on their preconceptions about outcome is just plain common sense. Being able to go to the same doctor to give birth and have an abortion at different times in your life is likely comforting for patients. And if you’re not sure what you want to do about a pregnancy when you first discover it, it’s going to feel easier to go to a clinic for counseling that understands all the options and can provide them in-house as well.
Which isn’t to say that there aren’t lots of OB-GYNs out there who do both abortions and deliveries, of course. But abortion is so siloed off in freestanding clinics that many doctors do most of their OB-GYN care in one office and then travel to a separate one to perform abortions. While this system can help women who are looking for abortion find it more easily, it also had the negative effect of stigmatizing abortion patients by walling them off from all the other patients seeking OB-GYN care. As Emily Bazelon reported in the New York Times in 2010, there’s been a move in the medical profession to rectify this problem by reintegrating abortion into mainstream medical care. “The bold idea at the heart of this effort is to integrate abortion so that it’s a seamless part of health care for women — embraced rather than shunned,” she writes.
This Buffalo clinic, then, is a major step in the right direction. It also helps counteract anti-choice propaganda that paints abortion providers as sleazy death-lovers who try to talk women into abortions to make money. The same doctor who is performing abortions is also delivering babies. There’s no contradiction there.What is TV Geek Army?
We're talking TV news, TV reviews, TV opinions. It's militarized and mobilized madness for seriously geeky fans of great TV. And of course, "great TV" can come in many forms, from the broadcast networks to the cable channels outer rim to an ever bourgeoning number of online sources. Is this the age of "peak TV"? The answer doesn't matter: in fact we're in a new TV Golden Age, and the TV Geek Army is here to report on and revel up in it.
You know you are one of us if you have opinions about what makes a great show (or the opposite thereof). So dive right in and join our community, start commenting and pontificating away, send us a tip, or submit a TV news story or review!
Featured StoriesBRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO said on Friday it had allowed private planes to fly high over Kosovo for the first time in 15 years, letting commercial airlines save time and money by taking more direct routes across the region.
There are regular civilian flights to Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, but private airliners have been barred from using the so-called “upper” airspace since NATO took over responsibility for policing it at the end of the Kosovo war in 1999.
The upper airspace was reopened to commercial overflights on Thursday after Hungary agreed to provide air traffic control for private flights.
Airliners travelling between northern Europe and southeastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia will now no longer have to skirt Kosovo but fly straight over it - “a significant step that benefits the entire Western Balkans,” NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
Reopening the air space took a long time because technical issues involving a number of countries had to be resolved, a NATO official said.
European air traffic organisation Eurocontrol estimated that around 180,000 flights a year will fly 370,000 fewer nautical miles, cutting operating costs by 18 million euros ($24.69 million).
While life became simpler for airlines over Kosovo, a new complication for them arose over Ukraine’s Crimea region.
Europe’s aviation safety authority warned on Thursday of “serious risks” for international airlines flying over Crimea because there may be two services managing airspace there after the region’s annexation by Russia.
The 1998-1999 Kosovo war pitted pro-independence guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army against security forces loyal to Serbia’s then-president Slobodan Milosevic.
The conflict ended after a NATO bombing campaign ousted Serb forces from Kosovo, then a province of Serbia, in 1999. A U.N. Security Council resolution authorised an international presence in Kosovo and gave NATO authority over Kosovo’s airspace.
Kosovo declared independence from Belgrade in 2008 and has been recognised by more than 100 countries. ($1 = 0.7291 euros)Chapter 10 (pages 130-144): “Marriage”This chapter abstracts from children, looking at marriage as a relation between men and women. Marriage has legal and religious aspects, though the legal aspects mainly formalize relations that exist even among primitive peoples and some animals. Russell claims that some apes and savages practice monogamy, not out of religious conviction but because this is what is required for successful reproduction. “Even in civilized mankind faint traces of a monogamic instinct can sometimes be perceived [p. 131].” Modern science agrees, to a point Economic motives intrude upon monogamy, and are disastrous for sexual relations, by replacing instinctive behavior with market or slave behavior. Wives and kids become economic assets, so sex becomes subordinated to value maximization. Rules around divorce and adultery become complementary to the economic motive; establishing, for instance, the sexual double standard whereby men can divorce their wives but women cannot divorce their husbands. [Russell, incidentally, cites (pages 132-133) Margaret Mead ’s 1928for the notion that in some less civilized societies adultery is tolerated.]With Christianity, the role of religion in marriage intensified, and adultery became an offense against God, while divorce became impossible. But Christianity also viewed women as theological equals with men, not solely their husband’s property. A woman could even leave her husband “for a life of religion [p. 135].” So generally Christianity helped to promote the advance of women.More civilized people have a harder time finding happiness in a lifelong marriage. In such societies, people are more heterogeneous, so you rightly might think that you would be markedly better off with someone else than your current partner. The Church thinks of marriage from the viewpoint of sex and not congeniality, so it is happy to forbid divorce, despite the human toll lifelong bad matches make.Men and women who lack the opportunity for extramarital sexual relations will generally find marriage to work well – a sort of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ argument. (Even if the lack of opportunity is because of strict moral customs and not physical unavailability, this argument will apply.) And the lower the expectations there are for marriages, the more satisfactory marriages will be!But in modern societies, these situations that tend to generate happy marriages do not exist, and “very few marriages after the first few years are happy [p. 137].” Some of the problems can be overcome by extending the depth of civilization. First, bad sexual education can be ended. Peasant children are better informed about sex, as their opportunities for first-hand observations (including of animals) are enhanced, saving them “from both ignorance and fastidiousness [p. 137].” Alternatively, “[t]he triumph of Christian teaching is when a man and woman marry without either having had previous sexual experience. In nine cases out of ten where this occurs, the results are unfortunate [pp. 137-138].”Well-brought up women used to think themselves morally superior to men on the grounds that they took less pleasure in sex. Not only is this lack of pleasure not virtuous, it is a shortcoming, “like a failure to enjoy food, which also a hundred years ago was expected of elegant females [p. 139].”Marital happiness is also compromised by the opportunities for extra-marital sex, which allow the satisfying of an instinct towards polygamy. Even if it is agreed that fidelity is not required within a marriage, jealousy can remain and undermine intimacy.Marriage has a tendency to make love into a duty, which destroys it, especially as it makes one cut off love from other relationships. (Russell, p. 141, quotes an apposite Shelley poem.) “And like every kind of restrictive morality it tends to promote…a policeman’s outlook upon the whole of human life – the outlook…which is always looking for an opportunity to forbid something [p. 141].”Easy divorce does not solve the problem, especially if children are involved, even though (p. 142) “every humane person must” agree that divorce has to be made easier in England.What is the appropriate ethic if kids are involved? Russell promises more on this later (Chapters 13-15), but he gives a bottom line at this stage: “I think that where a marriage is fruitful and both parties to it are reasonable and decent the expectation ought to be that it will be lifelong, but not that it will exclude other sex relations [p. 142].”So civilized society is not incompatible with marital happiness. It requires (page 143) four conditions: (1) complete equality; (2) “no interference with mutual freedom”; (3) “complete physical and mental intimacy”; and (4) similarity in values. With these conditions, marriage would be “the best and most important relation that can exist between two human beings [p. 143].” It generally falls short, because spouses tend to be cops towards each other.SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned all non-essential state travel to Mississippi following Mississippi's enactment of a law that many view as discriminatory to gays, lesbians and transgender people.
The executive order Cuomo signed Tuesday requires all state agencies to review all requests for state funded or state sponsored travel to Mississippi. The order bars all travel that is not essential to the enforcement of state law or public health and safety.
In a statement, Cuomo said Mississippi's law allows businesses and non-profits to refuse service to people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
"Discrimination is not a New York value. We believe our diversity is our greatest strength, and we will continue to reject the politics of division and exclusion," Cuomo said. "This Mississippi law is a sad, hateful injustice against the LGBT community, and I will not allow any non-essential official travel to that state until it is repealed."
In 1945, New York passed the first state law against discrimination on many bases including age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, gender identity, marital status, and disability.
Cuomo previously banned non-essential state travel to North Carolina after it passed a law barring transgender people from using public bathrooms appropriate for their gender identities. Last year Cuomo banned travel to Indiana because of a religious-objections law that had spurred concern about anti-gay discrimination. Indiana later amended its law.For the first time in the history of the National Hockey League, the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs will be available live and online starting this year.
NBCSports.com, in an effort to increase their live streaming efforts from 110 in 2012 to over 1,000 in 2013 (excluding Olympics), will offer the entire NHL postseason on the web, according to USA Today. NBC will stream pretty much everything else they have the rights to, including MLS, IndyCar, Formula 1 and horse racing. The service will be available for free to users of Cablevision, Comcast, Sudden Link and Verizon FiOs who can verify their cable service, and will start off available in about 35 million homes.
Prior to this, about a dozen Stanley Cup Playoff games per season (the ones on Saturday and Sunday afternoons on NBC, not NBC Sports Network) and select NBC Game of the Week telecasts had been the network's lone contribution to live, online hockey. NBC is the home to the Stanley Cup Playoffs via the network and three other affiliated channels (NBCSN, CNBC and NHL Network). We can suspect this will mean that NBC Sports Network will bring live online streaming to the regular season starting in 2013-14, if not sooner.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs joins the NCAA Tournament as the only major postseason sports tourney to be streamed live online in its entirety. Select MLB, NFL and NBA telecasts are also available on the web, but not to this extent. Incidentally, the announcement in America comes on the same day CBC announced that all of their postseason telecasts will be available via XBox Live in Canada.
More in the NHL:
• Complete Frozen Four coverage
• An NHL rink broken down: Sens edition
• Eric Wellwood’s horrifying injury
• Why puck possession matters
• The best of our hockey networkAmarna tablets: Letter from Kadashman Enlil I, king of Babylon, to Amenhotep III
Letter from Kadashman Enlil I, king of Babylon, to Amenhotep III EA 3 Kadashman Enlil of Babylon to Amenhotep of Egypt [....] How is it possible that, having written to you in order to ask for the hand of your daughter - oh my brother, you should have written me using such language, telling me that you will not give her to me as since earliest times no daughter of the king of Egypt has ever been given in marriage? Why are you telling me such things? You are the king. You may do as you wish. If you wanted to give me your daughter in marriage who could say you nay?
But you, keeping to your principle of not sending anybody, have not sent me a wife. Have you not been looking for a fraternal and amical relationship, when you suggested to me - in writing - a marriage, in order to make us become closer? Why hasn't my brother sent me a wife? [...] It is possible for you not to send me a wife, but how could I refuse you a wife and not send her to you, as you did? I have daughters, I will not refuse you in any way concerning this....
As to the gold about which I wrote you, send me now quickly during this summer [.... ] before your messenger reach me, gold in abundance, as much as is available. I could thus achieve the task I have undertaken. If you send me this summer [...] the gold concerning which I've written to you, I shall give you my daughter in marriage. Therefore, send gold, willingly, as much as you please. But if you do not send me gold [...] so I can achieve the task I have undertaken, why haven't you sent me any earlier willingly? After I have finished the task I have undertaken, why would I wish for gold? Even if you sent me 3000 talents of gold I would not accept them. I would return them and would not give you my daughter in marriage. After a French translation by Claire Lalouette, Thèbes ou la naissance dun empire, Fayard, Paris 1986 Kadashman Enlil I belonged to the 2nd Babylonian dynasty, the Kassites, and ruled until about 1375 BCE.
Burnaburiash sent a similar letter asking for gold to Amenhotep's successor, Akhenaten.Members of Progressive Democrats of America and other activists hold a rally in Los Angeles in 2013. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
I took a few days off over the Memorial Day weekend for my wedding and tried not to worry about the grim headlines, most of them generated by one man:
●President Trump, shoving a European prime minister.
●Trump, picking fights with Germany and France and destabilizing the seven-decade-old NATO alliance.
●Trump, responding to the pope’s plea, reportedly is ready to pull the United States out of the world climate-change pact.
●Trump, tweeting late-night gibberish — “covfefe” — as investigators probing the Russia scandal queried more members of his inner circle.
(Reuters)
Perhaps the most upsetting headline I saw, though, was generated not by Trump but by a 10-year veteran of the House Republican majority. In an astonishing interview Saturday on NPR, this lawmaker repeatedly demurred when asked whether Americans are entitled to the most basic human need.
NPR’s Scott Simon, a genial interviewer, asked Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), a member of the Ways and Means Committee and an influential figure on agriculture policy, about Trump’s proposal to make vast cuts to food stamps. Smith posited that the program could be cut in ways that “do not harm the most vulnerable.”
“Well, let me ask you this bluntly: Is every American entitled to eat?” Simon queried.
Smith was stumped. “Well, they — nutrition, obviously, we know is very important. And I would hope that we can look to — ”
Simon interrupted: “Well, not just important, it’s essential for life. Is every American entitled to eat?”
Smith agreed that nutrition “is essential” but continued to ignore the question about whether Americans are entitled to eat.
Simon tried a third time: “So is every American entitled to eat, and is food stamps something that ought to be that ultimate guarantor?”
Once again, the lawmaker demurred: “I think that we know that, given the necessity of nutrition, there could be a number of ways that we could address that.”
There was more, but it all came down to this: In the United States, in 2017, a powerful member of Congress refuses to grant that Americans should be able to count on eating food.
That exchange should put in perspective the real and present danger Trump poses. His undermining of NATO, European alliances and climate-change cooperation poses grave dangers, but those are somewhat abstract. But taking away Americans’ food is very tangible, and a real possibility.
Trump’s budget, released last week, would cut programs for low- and moderate-income Americans by $2.5 trillion over 10 years, accounting for 59 percent of the budget’s overall reductions, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The group, a liberal outfit with a reputation for solid math, puts the 10-year cuts to food stamps (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) at $193.2 billion, while millionaires would be poised to receive tax cuts of more than $2 trillion.
Trump’s budget is dead on arrival in Congress, but the threat to food stamps is very much alive. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) has routinely proposed cuts to SNAP in his budgets. Three years ago, for example, he suggested a $137 billion cut to the program over 10 years by turning it into a block grant for states.
Until the past few years, food stamps had the support of Republicans and Democrats alike. They’ve been around since the Great Depression, but the modern program was a creation of then-Sen. Bob Dole (Republican from Kansas) and late Democratic Sen. George McGovern (S.D.), who, appalled by hunger and malnutrition in America, formed the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs and worked jointly to expand food stamps in 1977.
Food stamps, which give recipients about $1.40 per meal, made serious malnutrition rare in America, and studies by CBPP and |
1990 and 2015. It found that in 2015, 2.2 billion people, or 30 percent of the world’s population, could be described as overweight with a body mass index (BMI) higher than 30. A BMI score over 25 is overweight, while anything over 30 is obese and over 40 is morbidly obese. This figure includes nearly 108 million children and over 600 million adults, the latter of which suffered over 60 percent of the obesity-related deaths. The overall global prevalence of obesity was 5 percent among children and 12.0 percent among adults. This is a figure that has doubled since 1980.
In 2015, some four million people died of obesity-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and many cancers in 2015, which is 28 percent higher than it was in 1990.
"People who shrug off weight gain do so at their own risk," Christopher Murray, one of the authors of the study, told Reuters.
READ MORE: Men are getting their beer-belly fat removed & injected into their penis
The researchers examined data from 195 countries and found that obesity among children is becoming increasingly common, even in more underdeveloped countries. The highest level of child obesity was found in the United States at 13 percent, while for adults it was in Egypt, at around 35 percent. Bangladesh and Vietnam had the two lowest obesity rates, at around 1 percent each.
Simply not being overweight does not mean one is healthy, either.
“The risk of death and diseases increases as your weight increases,” Professor Azeem Majeed from Imperial College London, one of the study’s co-authors, told the Guardian. “People who are overweight are at high risk of mortality and other diseases [beyond obesity itself].”
Read more
“People often assume you need to be really fat to be at risk,” he added. “But once you hit a BMI of 25, your risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer all begin to increase.”
Poor diets and lifestyle choices are mainly to blame for the rise in obesity, but also increasing urbanization, global development and poverty, which leads people to eat more processed foods.
"People are consuming more and more processed foods that are high in sugar and fat and exercising less," Reuters quoted Boitshepo Bibi Giyose, a senior nutrition officer at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, as saying.
The prices of processed food such as ice cream, hamburgers, chocolate and chips has gone down over the last few decades, while fresh fruit and vegetables have become more expensive. This is coupled together with these foods being intensely advertised, for instance at McDonald’s.
Meanwhile, 800 million people, including 300 million children, do not have enough to eat. A recent report from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has found that hunger and food insecurity is driving global migration and armed conflict as millions across the globe, facing starvation, flee their homes.0 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Whatsapp Pinterest Print Mail Flipboard
Congressional Democrats are lending their support to Walmart workers Black Friday action, and demanding that the company pay a living wage and stop trampling workers’ rights.
In a statement Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Ed Markey (D-MA), along with Representatives JanSchakowsky (D-IL), Judy Chu (D-CA), William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Jim McDermott (D-WA) said,
Across the country, there are countless Walmart workers who are paid poverty wages, cannot get enough hours, and have erratic work schedules that make it difficult to survive. Worse yet, as the National Labor Relations Board confirmed last week, Walmart has systematically and illegally retaliated against workers who have had the courage to stand up to improve working conditions. We stand with the courageous Walmart workers who are demanding better wages and an end to illegal retaliation. Walmart, the largest private employer in the United States, has a responsibility to their employees and our country to respect workers and their rights. No one should have to fear losing their jobs just for speaking up. With as many as 825,000 Walmart workers making less than $25,000 a year and a single Walmart store costing taxpayers nearly $1 million in public assistance, the need for change is clear. Taxpayers should not have to pick up the tab because Walmart refuses to pay workers a living wage. This holiday season we are proud to stand with the Walmart workers and their supporters who are protesting and calling on the company to do better. It is time that Walmart pays its workers a fair wage and stops trampling on their rights.
Unlike the shameful 39 House Democrats who voted with Republicans to kill the ACA, the Democrats who released this statement are providing leadership that America can be proud of. They are echoing the values of the Democratic Party.
The situation at Walmart provides a clear example of the difference between Democrats and Republicans. The Republican Party thinks that it is perfectly fine for Walmart to act like labor laws don’t exist. They support the fact that Walmart’s profits stay at the top with the Walton family and the shareholders. Walmart is the Republican economic ideology fully realized. The Walton family are the makers, and the workers are the takers.
The only thing that Republicans would change for Walmart is that they would take away Walmart employees’ access to Medicaid and food stamps, but the economic philosophy of Walmart is the Republican Party. The real issue isn’t the ACA or website. It’s inequality.
Republicans hate the ACA because it addresses the inequality of access to healthcare in this country. The reason why they think health care reform is socialism is because it gives millions of people on the bottom access to something that those at the top already enjoy.
The real issue that will define the elections of 2014 and 2016 isn’t the ACA. The big issue is inequality. The congressional Democrats who released this statement are not only taking a stand for the workers of Walmart. They are also standing up against inequality.
If you’re ready to read more from the unbossed and unbought Politicus team, sign up for our newsletter here! Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human:A Pokémon Go player who attempted to earn over a million XP a day was "soft banned" from the game after it mistook him for a cheater.
Go player Jimmy Derocher devised a circular route for his challenge that went through several clustered Pokéstops. By placing lures on every stop, using lucky eggs, and repeating the loop every five minutes he hoped to prove to Niantic, and other players, that amassing huge amounts of XP was possible without cheating.
Related: Pokémon Go tips and tricks
Pokémon Go has suffered regular problems with cheaters since launch. Enterprising coders have developed bots which automatically play the game in their absence, tricking the Go servers with false GPS data and allowing them to automatically farm pokéstops and Pokémon.
One player managed bring his account to maximum level using this method in hours, rather than weeks or months.
Since then, Niantic has cracked down on cheating and implemented several automatic measures that prevent players from abusing their systems. It seems that Jimmy was caught by one such anti-cheat measure, which blocks suspected foul play after a certain daily XP limit has been breached.
According to Jimmy, who was live steaming his attempt on Twitch, everything was going swimmingly until after the 13th hour, when every Pokémon he encountered started to run away with no chance of capture.
Related: Pokémon Go types explained: How to win gym battles
"In a sense I was trying to prove to Niantic that their limit was actually hurting players who play efficiently," Jimmy told Kotaku.
This is what is known as a "soft-ban" which doesn't kick players out entirely, but cuts off features instead. In this case, Pokémon catching – a rather vital part of the game that encourages you to 'catch 'em all', we'd say.
"I'm a bit of a hardcore gamer and I play somewhat efficiently, but the point is that I shouldn't be hitting a 24 hour ban limit in just over half that time," Jimmy added.
"Bots are far more efficient than humans are, and I think the effective soft ban was put in haphazardly...hurting a lot more players than I think they expected."
Jimmy even tweeted at Niantic to try and get the soft ban lifted.
Hi @johnhanke - I'm reddit user /u/jdero pgo: "Derocher" - 25% stream donos to charity - whitelist my inc softban?https://t.co/OUtmRx8Pf5 — Jimmy Derocher (@jderoc) August 18, 2016
We don't know whether Niantic responded, but he was able to donate some of the money raised by donations to his Twitch feed to charity.
Pokémon Go abusers are rightly getting permanently banned from and having their accounts disconnected, but Niantic clearly needs to adjust its systems so they don't penalise the most dedicated players.Tango still isn’t fully realized. It’s glitchy: apps sometimes freeze up or crash, and a few of its most promising apps are also the least intuitive. And there still aren’t that many apps to use with it. But when it works, it’s fun. It’s at least one step beyond a gimmick, and it’s easy to see how it could enhance the whole mobile experience if it comes to more phones.
The third and most important thing to consider is this is the only device you can buy right now that supports Google Tango. Tango is Google-made software that, combined with specific hardware, offers advanced 3D sensing. If basic augmented reality creates a flat layer of digital information on your smartphone screen — think Pokémon Go, with the game content built on top of your real world — Tango goes beyond that, to the point where it interprets and measures spaces and objects around you and then lets you interact with digital things as though they’re really, physically there.
There’s a lot going on with the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro smartphone, a dizzying array of things to consider. The first is that it’s massive, barely qualifying as a phone, with a 6.4-inch display and hard, chamfered edges that make it feel like a weaponized phablet. The second thing to consider is that this a Lenovo phone. For people in China, India, or Vietnam, this is not an anomaly. But in the US, where we prize our high-priced iPhones and Samsungs and various other Android phones, Lenovo is a brand-new entrant.
Here’s what most people said to me when they saw the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro in my hands, in this order: Wow, that’s a huge phone, followed a few minutes later by, How did that cat get in my living room? I’ll explain the cat thing, but first, the phone hardware.
The $499.99 Phab 2 Pro is big hunk of brushed aluminum alloy with a 6.4-inch quad-HD display. Its physical build really isn’t bad once you get past the size: the display is coated in Gorilla Glass and it has shiny aluminum edges that give it a solid feel. It has a fingerprint sensor on the back; loud, powerful speakers; fast charging capabilities; it even has — wait for it — a headphone jack. And as with most larger phones, it accommodates a giant battery.
The Phab 2 Pro has three rear cameras, which are a critical part of the Tango experience
The guts are what make this a midrange phone, not a premium one. It runs on a customized version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 652 processor, which is okay but doesn’t match the performance of Qualcomm’s current top-of-the-line mobile processor, the Snapdragon 821. When it comes to still images, its cameras are pretty subpar; even in average, stable conditions, like under office lighting, photos snapped with the 16-megapixel rear camera looked noisy.
But the cameras are where things get interesting, because they’re a part of the Google Tango experience that comes with this phone. There are three cameras on the back of the phone, plus the standard selfie camera on the front. In addition to the rear 16-megapixel RGB camera, the Phab 2 Pro has a wide-angle fisheye camera and another camera with an infrared emitter. These, combined with the accelerometer, gyroscope, Snapdragon processor, and a custom-built depth sensor module, all make Tango work.
Normally, you know where you’re going and what objects lie in front of you when you’re moving through a three-dimensional space, but the phone doesn’t. In this case, the phone does. It not only tracks motion, but also has depth perception thanks to the IR emitter and other sensors. So when you’re running a Tango app, the cameras are mapping out an area, sensing depth, and remembering the space around you (you can actually see the IR emitter flickering while you’re running an app).
The example that Lenovo has shown most often in early demos of Tango technology involves furniture. Specifically, using the phone to measure a room and "place" digital furniture around the room so you can try before you buy. You can put a lamp on your desk, or a wall hanging right above your desk, and see how it all looks. You can plop a virtual couch in the corner of the room, walk up to it, walk around it, and see how it fits. This is the ultimate representation of Tango as a utility, but it gets a little more fun than just interior decorating (which, really, is a commerce play).
With Tango, you can plop a virtual couch in the corner of the room and see how it fits
The super simple apps, or ones that were downright silly, were more fun to use. There’s an app called AR Pets that places a dog or cat in your living space. It jumps up on your coffee table and paws at your smartphone screen; it is bizarre, and adorable. Bubbles is a mind-numbingly dumb and addictive app that lets you blow virtual bubbles into the universe and pop them with your finger. With the app Woorld, I planted virtual flowers all around our office, and watered them with virtual clouds, hanging from the ceiling.
You can easily see the educational opportunities with Tango, too. The Dinosaurs Among Us app, created in partnership with the American Museum of Natural History, lets you place dinosaurs in your real-life environment. You can hang framed illustrations of dinosaurs on your walls. A little digital placard next to your wall hanging will tell you all about the archaeopteryx dinosaur, as though you’re in an actual museum.
There are only around 35 Tango-optimized apps in Google’s Play Store right now, which isn’t many. Some apps, like Holo, feel straight-up beta. The apps that are supposed to be more useful — like the Wayfair furniture app, or the Lowe’s home improvement app — are the ones that feel buggy or unintuitive. When you fire up the Wayfair app, there is literally nothing on the interface that tells you how to use it. (You have to tap on a nondescript search icon to start searching for furniture, it turns out.) And if you decide you want to buy something, you’ll have to do it from the main Wayfair app, not the Tango one, which is called Wayfair View. Sometimes I would place an armchair in the room, and only figure out how to move it a dozen swipes later.
Tango still feels like an experiment
This only goes to show that Tango, while officially launched, is a mixed bag. It still feels experimental. And I wouldn’t recommend buying the $500 Lenovo Phab 2 Pro just for the phone itself unless you happen to be looking for a gigantic, midrange Android phone right now.
But this is only the first real implementation of Tango on a smartphone. Google has indicated that the future of Tango may be in indoor navigation, which would be another valuable use case; and another exec has suggested that this combination of cameras and sensors could someday be as commonplace in smartphones as GPS. If and when that happens — if Tango were to become more polished and accessible, and if tons of apps were optimized for it — then it becomes a conversation about whether to buy a phone based on it. Right now, it’s mostly kittens and couches in living rooms. Then again, some of the most game-changing tech we use every day started out as just "fun."
Edited by Dan Seifert.
Photography by Vjeran Pavic.
Video by Mark Lingansan.IT IS one of running’s three great barriers. The first, a sub-four-minute mile, was achieved in 1954 by Britain’s Sir Roger Bannister, on a gusty day at Oxford University’s dusty cinder track. The second, a sub-ten-second 100-metre dash, was credited by hand-operated stopwatches to American sprinter Jim Hines in 1968, helped by the high altitude of the Mexico City Olympic games. Another fifteen years elapsed before his compatriot Carl Lewis matched that feat using automatic timers and no environmental assistance. Yet the third milestone, completing the 26.2 miles (42.2 km) of the marathon is under two hours, remains on the horizon.
The current men’s world record of 2:02:57, set by Kenyan Dennis Kimetto in 2014, is nine minutes closer than it was half a century ago. That improvement, of 6.8%, is greater than the 5.5% that has been lopped off the 1500-metre record in the same period, and the 4.8% trimmed from the 100-metre mark. Athletics aficionados had predicted that a further 30 seconds might be gained by an extremely strong field at this year’s Berlin marathon on September 24th, most probably by Eliud Kipchoge (pictured), Kenya’s 32-year-old reigning Olympic champion. But Mr Kimetto’s record survived—and those last three stubborn minutes may take decades to shift.
Officially, that is. Like all athletes, endurance runners strive against the conditions as well as their opponents and their own capacity. Over the course of a typical marathon, about 15% of their energy will be used simply to overcome air resistance, according to Ross Tucker, a sports scientist. Collaborating groups can share that burden more easily than individuals, as happens with the peloton in cycling races. But there are other, more artificial ways to reduce that drag. Perhaps the most effective (and illegal) method was that used by Nike in its Breaking2 event on May 6th. Nike booked the motor-racing circuit at the Autodromo Nazionale in Monza, Italy and signed three top runners, including Mr Kipchoge, for the exhibition. Then they hired an enormous phalanx of pace-setters (some of whom joined the race midway through) and sheltered them behind a Tesla vehicle with a giant clock mounted on top. Both of those tricks are prohibited by the IAAF, athletics’ governing body. Mr Tucker estimates that the total aerodynamic benefit to Mr Kipchoge, who crossed the finishing line in a historic 2:00:25, was approximately two minutes. With perhaps a further 30 seconds gained from the gentle corners of the track, his performance might have yielded a record under official conditions, though not by much.
Yet air resistance is not the only environmental obstacle that record chasers have to overcome. While it is unclear how much—or even if— rain or humidity alone affect marathon times, a little heat can make a big difference. One study published in 2012 found that the optimum temperature was a chilly 4°C (39 °F) for the top percentile of entrants, and that a rise of 10°C was associated with a 1.4% drop in speed, with bigger declines for lesser athletes. Another paper produced in 2007 offered no optimum point, but found that an increase in WetBulb Globe Temperature— an overall measure of heat stress —from 8°C to 17°C was linked to a 1.6% fall in performance for elite competitors. As Mr Kipchoge began his first lap in Monza at dawn on that crisp May morning, the thermometer stood at 11°C: nippy, but perhaps not quite cold enough. Working out how much those extra degrees cost is tricky, since Mr Kipchoge is not just elite, but the greatest marathoner of the modern era, having won eight of his last nine events. It was probably more than the additional 0.35% in the tank that he needed to break the hallowed barrier.
Last Sunday’s race in Berlin offered Mr Kipchoge his best chance of putting a similar dent in the official record. Joining him on the starting line were his compatriot Wilson Kipsang and Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele, two of the five fastest marathoners of all time, who might have served as pacers. Berlin’s course is flat, sharp turns are rare, and the weather is typically cool. Little wonder that it has produced the last six record-breaking performances; Mr Kimetto’s was set at 8°C. The running gods had other ideas, however, turning the heat up to 14°C. Neither Mr Kipsang nor Mr Bekele finished the race, and though Mr Kipchoge was pushed all the way by Ethiopian debutant Guye Adola, no other man came within two minutes of his final time, which was 2:03:32. At a rough estimate, an optimal temperature last weekend might have boosted Mr Kipchoge’s performance by 1%, or 75 seconds. That would have put him at approximately 02:02:20—which, once you adjust for the aerodynamics, course design and conditions in Monza, is about what Mr Tucker predicted “on a good day in Berlin” given the result of the Breaking2 attempt.
That, it would seem, is the limit of today’s strongest endurance runner in legitimate conditions. Marathoners typically compete only twice per year and can maintain peak-level fitness for less than a decade, so Mr Kipchoge will still need some good fortune to post an IAAF-approved record. He is not helped by the fact that none of the seven World Marathon Majors is hosted by a city further north than Berlin, and none between early November and late February, making chilly conditions less likely.
It will take considerably more than luck, however, for any active marathoner to post a certified time under two hours. Researchers employing a wide variety of techniques, from purely statistical approaches to physiological calculations of the capability of the human body, have arrived at ultimate official limits ranging from 1:57:58 to 2:00:47. Regardless of which peak is right, the two-hour mark is far from imminent. If the record continues to improve at the same rate it has for the last 50 years, the best time will drop about eight seconds per year until it crosses the barrier around 2040. It has tumbled more quickly in the last 20 years than it did in prior decades, as the rising profile and prize money of marathoning has drawn the strongest distance runners away from shorter events. But even the annual increase of 9.4 seconds in that period would leave fans waiting until 2036. It might happen someday—but don’t hold your breath.Two New Jersey parents have been ordered to contribute to their adult daughter's education, against their will. However, despite a midnight deadline to cough up thousands, they still say their estranged child is not entitled to a dime.21-year old Caitlyn Ricci sued her estranged parents for her college tuition and won.Her parents tell Action News that they haven't spoken with their daughter for almost two years. But now they may have to pay $16,000 this year and in future years for her college tuition."What child does this? It's insane," said Ricci's mother, Maura McGarvey."She comes from two loving families and she was given what she wanted when she was growing up," said her father, Michael Ricci.But Angela Ricci, Caitlyn's grandmother, has another take on it."How would you have a relationship with your parents if they don't want to contribute to college?" she asked.The fight for money to pay for out of state tuition at Temple University has turned into a down-right dirty war of words."'Caitlyn is a spoiled brat,' and that was the nicest thing any of them have ever said about Caitlyn," said Caitlyn's attorney, Andrew Rochester.Caitlyn's parents were young loves. Their marriage only lasted two and a half years but, the two say, they amicably parented to give their daughter the best life they could.Caitlyn's parents describe their daughter as a typical rebellious teen."Instead of following our rules, she decided she is going to leave her mother's house, where she was living, and move in with her grandparents," said Michael.And that's where the trouble started."Caitlyn did not voluntarily leave the home. She was thrown out by her mother," said Rochester.And the relationship crumbled.Caitlyn's grandmother, Angela Ricci, says, "They just don't want to pay because they have to pay by the middle of the week. The balance they owe. This has been going on for two years."It's interesting to note that her grandparents are the ones who paid for the attorney to sue their own son, Caitlyn's father Michael.The grandparents' brief comments paint a very different picture of the private war being waged inside this family.Action News is also learning the rift stated when her parents say Caitlyn got kicked out of an internship program.Maura explains, "From the time Caitlyn was a teenager she was a challenging child, but I think all teenagers are."They also say Caitlyn bought a new car after she moved out, and filed her suit against her parents for money."I think she just wants money. She wants us to pay for her education. She feels this is owed to her," said Maura.Caitlyn turned to attorney Andrew Rochester to represent her in the lawsuit. He spoke with us on Caitlyn's behalf."Caitlyn really is a good girl. She is the nicest, sweetest girl. All she wants is to go to college," said Rochester.And he paints a very different picture of the family's dynamic."They questioned her morality. They accused her of awful, awful things," said Rochester.Caitlyn's parents joined together and filed a motion to emancipate their estranged adult daughter but on the Friday before Mother's Day, Maura says the court papers arrived - she was suing them."Did I ever expect my daughter to sue me? No, of course not. It's heart breaking," said Maura.A judge, turning to a New Jersey legal precedent known as 'Newburgh' that says divorced parents may be required to contribute to their children's education, no matter their age.The judge ruled in Caitlyn's case her parents have to pay $16,000 this year."The law in New Jersey is so clear. It is cut and dry. The law says parents are supposed to contribute to their children's post-secondary expenses," said Rochester.Maura and Michael say they were willing to pay for her education in state, in New Jersey, if she followed rules and lived at home."It is just unbelievable. I don't think there is any person there is not one adult or parent who can imagine that this can happen to them," said Maura.However Caitlyn, who they say won't reply to their messages, applied to Temple University out of state and the only time they have seen her in the last two years is in a courtroom."I spend a lot of time looking at her, looking over trying to get eye contact and she won't look. All you want to do is grab her and shake her and look at her and tell her you love her and tell her we can work this out," said Maura.This semester's bill for Temple was due Wednesday. Caitlyn's parents refused to pay, and now that bill is overdue."When he ruled that way, I said there is no way she is getting anything from me until we establish some kind of a relationship again," Michael said.The parents are appealing the judge's decision.We tried to reach out to the two judges in the case but the court told us:"The code of judicial conduct in New Jersey is that judges do not comment on cases or their rulings."Caitlyn's grandfather, Matthew Ricci, says, "It's the law. It's the law in New Jersey. Go check the law. And two judges said she has to pay."Transparency International, a Berlin-based nonprofit with chapters in 100 countries, recently called for social sanctions against Delaware. At issue: the state's very successful corporation registry, which over the years has enticed 60 percent of the Fortune 500 and over half of America's publicly traded companies to make the state their official home.
According to the nonprofit, best known for its annual global ranking of countries based on perceptions about their levels of corruption, Delaware is "a place where extreme corporate secrecy enables corrupt people, shady companies, drug traffickers, and fraudsters to cover their tracks" because the state doesn't collect data on the identity of who actually owns the companies registered there. The legal definition of this kind of arrangement is called beneficial ownership.
In a statement, Transparency International included Delaware's easy-access incorporation, which includes user-friendly LLC (limited liability corporation) processing, as one of the world's top nine examples of a "grand corruption" that benefits "the few at the expense of the many" and "often goes unpunished."
The other inductees are Petrobras, the Brazilian state oil company that's caught up in a high-profile corruption scandal; FIFA, soccer's beleaguered world governing body; a handful of former leaders from Panama, Ukraine and Tunisia; and the entire political system of Lebanon. The list was selected by online voting by 170,000 participants and internal deliberations at Transparency International.
"While no U.S. state collects beneficial owner information, the federal government already does," according to a statement issued by Delaware's Department of State, which like its counterparts throughout the nation, oversees corporate registrations. "Delaware and other states have already taken important steps to deter fraudulent activity -- prohibiting anonymous bearer shares, giving law enforcement access to the name of a natural person for every company, and requiring limited liability companies to retain ownership information available to law enforcement with a subpoena.
"Along with Nevada and Wyoming, we have enacted laws to regulate the activities of commercial registered agents and deter the promotion of shell companies, with penalties for agents and businesses that violate these laws," the Delaware Department of State said. "And we fully cooperate with investigations of U.S. law enforcement agencies including the FBI, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and Office of Foreign Asset Control."
A spokesman for Delaware Governor Jack Markell confirmed that, all totaled, Delaware gets $1.1 billion of its close to $4 billion state budget from revenue generated by the business registry, which includes well over 1 million entities.
But Delaware is hardly alone. Back in 2006 a General Accountability Office national survey flagged as a problem the scant information all states collect on basics like the record of beneficial ownership, the identity of the people who actually own the businesses registered by the states.
GAO found that both "government and international reports indicate that shell companies have become popular tools for facilitating criminal activity in the United States and internationally and can be involved in fraud and corruption or used for illicit purposes such as laundering money, financing terrorism, hiding and shielding assets from creditors, and engaging in questionable tax practices. Such schemes can conceal money movements that range from a few thousand to many millions of dollars."
Yet, despite the risks, all 50 states appear equally eager to attract and retain business, and try to outdo each other in their efforts to cut any red tape that could impede new investments. Online, well over 1,000 corporation formation and corporate service firms vie for prospective customers touting the competitive advantages for their respective states.
Wyoming promoters pitch the ability of the state's laws to protect investors' assets. In New Hampshire, state boosters pitch a "one stop" experience. Looking for a fictitious corporate name to use, instead of your official business name? Florida's Department of State's Division of Corporations offers the convenience of online registration to get a business alias for just $50. And sites promoting dozens of foreign tax havens have proliferated.
For several years, proposed federal legislation to require the collection of basic information about corporate ownership has garnered bipartisan support, but the political forces in support of the patchwork status quo continue to prevail. Advocates for a measure that would have the federal government collect the data are hoping an additional round of congressional hearings will carry the day.
Clark Gascoigne is interim director at the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition, one of the advocacy groups pushing for greater public disclosure on the details of corporate ownership. Gascoigne says when it comes to Delaware entities, federal law enforcement has to resort to obtaining a court order to get access to the supporting documents for state incorporations.
"But that usually hits a dead end because the names on these documents are people who make their living executing corporate registrations" and have no actual ownership interest in the business, Gascoigne told CBS MoneyWatch.
In 2008, former Senator Carl Levin warned that without a robust uniform corporate ownership disclosure requirement, the states would be caught in " a classic case of competition causing a race to the bottom, making it difficult for any one state to do the right thing and request names of beneficial owners."
Said William Black, professor of economics and law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City: "This race to the bottom is occurring eight years after a very similar race to the bottom in the financial services sector that was encouraged by economists who promoted deregulation and decriminalization of behavior that produced the financial crisis and Great Recession."I have to admit, I feel as if I no longer have my finger on the pulse of the average Android consumer. When the Galaxy Note 8 was announced this week, I figured everyone would go crazy for it. It has everything and anything you may want. The phone has a massive 6.3″ Infinity QHD+ display, Snapdragon 835, 6GB RAM, dual rear-facing cameras, headphone jack, IP68 water resistance, 3,300mAh battery, iris scanner, and the list goes on. On paper, this thing sounds like a dream phone for many.
Then I read the comments section.
Apparently, many seem unhappy with the price associated with the device. At about $950, that’s understandable, but what were expecting for an Android device of this caliber?
So, here is what I’m asking for. In the comments below, please, describe your dream Android phone, then how much you’re willing to pay for it. Be honest with yourself. If you’re opposed to anything above $900, you’ll need to cut corners in a few areas, but I’m genuinely curious to see what kind of phone you’d create in terms of specs and hardware.
For me, I’d create a Pixel/Galaxy S8 hybrid. Give me Samsung’s hardware with Google’s stock Android experience and that’s my dream phone right there. For pricing, I’d expect to pay about $649 to $699 for something like that.
Now it’s your turn.The continuing deadlock over raising the United States' debt ceiling is prompting drastic action across the nation, as individual states prepare for the worst.
California has taken out a $5.4bn bridging loan as an insurance policy should agreement over a deficit reduction package not be reached by the 2 August deadline.
The state has borrowed from eight banks, led by Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, as an emergency stop-gap. Normally in August it would sell $5bn of short-term bonds to keep itself afloat, but California's treasury officials are fearful that failure to reach a deal in Washington could cut the state off from the bond markets.
California's treasurer, the Democratic politician Bill Lockyer, said that the loan was needed to protect the state from the "immediate, drastic consequences" of failure to break the impasse. If unsolved by 2 August, he predicted, America would be pushed into a "financial and economic abyss".
The risk that the federal government might quickly become unable to pay its bills is causing jitters in many states. Maryland and Virginia are the most directly in the firing line, as due to their proximity to Washington they both house large numbers of federal workers whose salaries – and thus state taxes – might be suspended.
States and cities could potentially be badly hit in different ways, including cuts to Medicaid payments to poor families for health care, and postponement of federal funds for motorway building which is at its peak at this time of year.Share. Ridley is looking forward to making projects that are about "straight entertainment." Ridley is looking forward to making projects that are about "straight entertainment."
John Ridley is still hard at work on his unannounced Marvel TV project.
The executive producer of American Crime and Oscar-winner offered an update on the top secret series, which was revealed to be in the works in April 2015. Though all is still quiet on what the project is or when (and if) it could go into development, Ridley confirmed at ABC's 2016 winter Television Critics Association press tour that he's still working to make it happen.
"The Marvel project is still very much alive," he said, declining to offer more clarification than that it's "still in development." Ridley also denied that his new ABC detective drama pilot Presence is related to this Marvel series.
Exit Theatre Mode
Ridley said he is looking to bring some of the socially conscious nature of American Crime, which presented during ABC's press day, to his Marvel project, while also saying he's looking forward to making something that is "straight entertainment."
"You look at Jessica Jones, and [Marvel's] doing an interesting job of integrating [social consciousness]," Ridley said. "I would say in general, graphic novels, their reason for existence is a little different. It's about wish fulfillment, whether you're talking about Peter Parker, a young, misunderstood kid trying to figure out his way; if you're talking about Bruce Wayne, a man who's dealing with the loss of his parents; whether you're talking about Clark Kent, an orphan who's trying to figure out what he's meant to do without the guidance of his parents.
"That's not unusual for the graphic novel space, so I would just say I hope that I would bring an appropriate amount of reflective sensibility to whatever project I may or may not be involved with in the Marvel universe. But I do want it to be entertaining in its own right. American Crime is its own thing, I hope to continue with American Crime. I would relish the opportunity to work in spaces where it really is about straight entertainment."
Earlier during ABC's press day, ABC President Paul Lee confirmed that the network ordered a pilot of a new Marvel series, Marvel's Most Wanted. ABC is also the home to Marvel's Agents of SHIELD and Marvel's Agent Carter.
Terri Schwartz is Entertainment Editor at IGN. Follow her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Irish PM Leo Varadkar "surprised and disappointed"
Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he was "surprised and |
smaller, more female-driven movie from producers Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey.
The latter pair join a large list of women producers among the key nominees this year including Dede Gardner (The Big Short), Kristie Macosko Krieger (Bridge Of Spies), Mary Parent (The Revenant), Molly Smith (Sicario), Nicole Rocklin and Blye Pagon Faust (Spotlight) in addition to Animated Feature nominees Rosa Tran (Anomalisa), Denise Ream (The Good Dinosaur) and Janet Healy (Minions) — a strong showing for a guild that prides itself on encouraging women to join (Inside Out and The Peanuts Movie were the other animated feature nominees).
Although it hasn’t had as high a profile this season as some other contenders which have been dominating early critics group voting, Lionsgate’s Sicario is not at all surprising in my view. It is the most mentioned movie I hear from Academy voters, particularly men, and this just validates the chatter on the circuit. I fully expect it to land a Best Picture Oscar nomination and possibly one for director Denis Villeneuve as well as below-the-line categories. So far with nominations from the Art Directors and Editors guilds this week, Sicario is having a very strong run as the race turns to the guild voters who are traditionally far more indicative of where the Oscar winds may be blowing.
The biggest surprise on a PGA list dominated by the majors, by far, was the inclusion of A24’s indie success Ex Machina, a movie released in the spring that has been mentioned in the conversation usually just for Alicia Vikander’s supporting turn. If A24 was going to land a nomination here I thought it would be for Room, but that emotional powerhouse was also among those films left out. The sci-fi Ex Machina might also have had special appeal for the digital contingent of the PGA which has been growing in recent years.
So why, in addition to their track record of matching Oscar winners, is the PGA voice so important? They also vet the producers who are eligible to receive Academy Awards. In fact the guild is so closely aligned with the Academy in that regard, that when the Academy moved from five Best Picture nominees to having 10, the PGA followed suit. The PGA though has kept its list at 10, while Oscar tweaked theirs to include five to 10 nominees instead of the set figure, so there hasn’t been a perfect match in recent years between the organizations.
Last year, for instance, seven of the PGA’s nominees went on to Oscar nods. The Academy named eight films but excluded PGA nominees Foxcatcher, Nightcrawler and Gone Girl but added Selma, which hadn’t made the PGA cut. In 2013, the Oscars nominated nine movies and had eight of them in common with the PGA. The Academy, however, went their own way in nominating Philomena for their ninth slot while bypassing PGA selections Blue Jasmine and Saving Mr. Banks. (It should be noted that Philomena came from the Weinstein Company, which was shut out today with Carol and The Hateful Eight, so a look back to that year might still give master campaigner Harvey Weinstein hope that the results will be different a week from Thursday.)
One other interesting note: Anonymous Content’s Steve Golin had a very big day, landing two of the 10 Picture slots with The Revenant and Spotlight as well as one in the Long-Form Television category for Season 2 of HBO’s True Detective. That last one was a bit of an eye opener as the show’s second season was critically reviled, but it still made the grade with the producers anyway in a category that also included another head-scratcher, the Netflix Bill Murray Christmas variety special A Very Murray Christmas, which seems out of place with true long-form contenders like American Crime, American Horror Story, Fargo and the aforementioned True Detective.
Next up: The Writers Guild announces nominees tomorrow, and we will hear from the Directors Guild next Tuesday.Regal Assets, an alternative asset companies with offices in the US, Canada and the UAE, has now added Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, Ripple and Dash to its product line.
On Nov. 28, 2017 Regal Assets officially received the first ever Crypto-commodities license issued by the DMCC and is now able to handle trades in all major cryptos globally.
Demand for cryptocurrency has reached unprecedented levels and finding a reputable and trustworthy company to purchase from is becoming a top priority for new investors. Regal Assets has joined the growing list of companies that are working with government to provide a safe, secure and transparent way to purchase all major cryptos.
The team at Regal Assets has been working with the DMCC in putting together proper security procedures and protocols to put new investors at ease and set a standard for all companies trading in cryptos.
“We are excited to add cryptos to our product offering and look forward to helping current and prospective clients invest in this asset class safely,” said Tyler Gallagher, CEO of Regal Assets.
“I truly believe that blockchain technology is going to change the world as we know it and I look forward to seeing the application of it evolve in all industries.”
Regal Assets was started in 2009 and is known for helping individual investors allocate part of their existing or previous retirement accounts into alternative assets without incurring any taxes or penalties. With the recent addition of cryptos to their product line clients of Regal Assets can now purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, Ripple and Dash inside or outside of their existing retirement account.
“We want to be competitive and offer multiple ways for clients to purchase cryptos for their investment portfolio, and the demand from IRA and 401k account owners in the US have been huge so far,” Mr. Gallagher added.
2017 has been a big year for the cryptocurrency market and has seen gains as high as 1,300 per cent for Bitcoin and 5,700 per cent for Ethereum. As the world continues to learn about cryptos the market demand is only expected to increase. Some experts are predicting Bitcoin to reach as high as $40,000 by the end of 2018. Regal Assets has assembled a comprehensive investment kit for educating new investors on the cryptos market and are giving it away for free.Correction appended, Oct. 7.
Three months into his bid to represent Arkansas’s Fourth District in Congress, James Lee Witt got a call from former President Bill Clinton. Witt was outside a town called Magnolia, and Clinton proceeded to rattle off like baseball stats how much he’d won Magnolia by and who would be good to connect with there.
“He then told me every county he’d won and every county he’d lost and all the percentages,” recalls Witt, who served as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for all eight years of Clinton’s presidency. “He still remembers the people who supported him and those that didn’t. But if you supported him, you have no truer friend.”
Witt should know. He’s banking on Clinton’s help to win in November. Clinton’s calls to Witt happened every few months in the beginning of the campaign. Now that the election is just a month away, the calls are more frequent, as are the former President’s visits.
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And Witt, who spoke to TIME last spring, isn’t the only candidate Clinton has a personal tie to running in Arkansas these days. His former driver during his 1982 gubernatorial campaign, Rep. Mike Ross, is running for governor. Sen. Mark Pryor, whose father was a mentor to Clinton, is in the reelection battle of his career. And Patrick Henry Hays, who was an Arkansas traveler for Clinton’s 1992 presidential bid, is running for Congress in Arkansas’ Second District. All of which is why Clinton is kicking off his midterm sprint in his home state Monday and Tuesday with five events across Arkansas.
For embattled Democrats, Clinton is worth his weight in political gold. “When he was elected President, he never left,” Vince Insalaco, chair of the Arkansas Democratic Party, told TIME in May. “He’s got some wonderful coattails in Arkansas. He’s a giant energizer of the base and he’s able to bring a lot of money out.”
His four candidates will need it in an election trending away from Democrats and President Barack Obama, who is deeply unpopular in Arkansas. The state, largely due to Clinton’s efforts, hasn’t tacked as far in the GOP’s direction as the rest of the south.
Still, Clinton might be Sisyphus this cycle with the races leaning decidedly Republican in recent weeks. Witt’s coveted seat is rated “likely Republican” and the seat Hays is seeking is ranked “lean Republican” by Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election forecaster. The same group ranks Arkansas’ gubernatorial and Senate races “toss ups,” but GOP Rep. Tom cotton leads Pryor by 3.7 percentage points and former Rep. Asa Hutchinson leads Ross by 5.6 percentage points, according to averages of Arkansas polls by Real Clear Politics.
Republicans downplayed the importance of Clinton’s influence in Arkansas. “I’m not worried about Bill Clinton’s support for Mark Pryor,” Cotton told ABC News on Sunday. “I’m worried about Mark Pryor’s support for Barack Obama.” And banker French Hill, who is running against Hays, told Roll Call this summer that, “President Clinton has a lot of friends in Arkansas. … But I don’t believe it will have a major impact in this race because I believe the electorate is looking for somebody who’s got a business background, that’s a conservative person to help represent the district.”
For Clinton, this isn’t just about politics. Not only is he personally invested in the four Democrats, but Hutchinson served as one of the Republican floor managers of Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial in the House. Which is why his involvement goes beyond rallies and fundraisers: He calls all four candidates on a regular basis to strategize with them on how to win in a state he prides himself on still knowing intimately. After all, the airport, his Presidential library and a fair number of roads across the state are named for Arkansas’ only son to be elected to the nation’s highest office. “He’s a terrific campaigner, excellent fundraiser and premier strategist,” says Skip Rutherford, dean of the University of Arkansas’s School of Public Affairs. “He is very valuable to Democrats, their biggest and best asset on the trail.”
Correction: The original version of this story misidentified the chair of the Arkansas Democratic Party. He is Vince Insalaco. The original version of this story also incorrectly identified French Hill’s opponent. He is Patrick Henry Hays..
Contact us at editors@time.com.After this morning’s remembrance of Ray Bradbury through 11 of his most memorable quotes, here comes a rare archival gem: On August 22, 2003, SCVTV news man Leon Worden conducted a short but wide-ranging interview with the beloved author, in which he discusses such timely subjects as future of space exploration, what’s wrong with the education system, and where technology is taking us, exploring ideas as broad and abstract as the possibility of alien life and as specific and concrete as tackling the 40,000 highway deaths that take place every year.
The interview is now available online, mashed up with images from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory — highlights below.
In commenting on the cultural impact of mainstream media, Bradbury echoes David Foster Wallace’s lament:
Maybe we can get rid of a lot of lousy TV, I hope. It can look better if we can destroy most bad TV shows and most bad movies, really making more quality movies. And maybe we’ll redo our educational system and begin to teach reading and writing again. We’re not doing it now, and until we do, we’re going to be a stupid race.
But, unlike Wallace, Bradbury doesn’t believe the medium is the problem and instead makes a case for filling it with more substantial messages:
Anything except what’s on there! I watch the Turner Broadcast night after night — the old movies are better, no matter how dumb they are, they’re better what we’re doing now… We have to have more documentaries, more histories of the various countries of the world, more films on the miracles of life under the sea… when you look at the varieties of life that are under the ocean… Anything that puts a sense of the miraculous in you, that we’re living in a very strange element in this time, and we should appreciate the fact that we’re alive. Anything that makes you feel alive is good.
When asked about our obligation is in terms of passing our legacy along to future generations, Bradbury gives an answer that nods to combinatorial creativity and the idea that “you are a mashup of what you let into your life”:Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter America’s Voting System Is a Complete Farce
By Mac Slavo
April 11, 2012 " Information Clearing House " - James O’Keefe, who was single handedly responsible for freezing millions of dollars of wasted government funds to the ACORN association of community organizations due to fraudulent and criminal practices, now demonstrates why it’s patently impossible for the United States to have a legitimate election. This time O’keefe’s shocking hidden video records poll workers on Primary Day in Washington, DC offering US Attorney General Eric H. Holder’s voting ballot to a complete stranger, while other voting locations in the district offer to sign for ballots. Eric Holder has said multiple times there exists no evidence of Voter Fraud…until now. While the police state control grid tightens all around us, tracking every email, phone call, retail purchase, and our day-to-day movements, the one thing no one in government wants to track is who is actually casting the votes for elected representatives, even though these very people hold the future of 310 million Americans in their hands. As it stands now, and as evidenced by O’keefe’s latest video, the voting system in the United States is a complete farce. Without identification requirements, candidates looking to solidify their seats need only determine who has yet to cast a vote (even if that person is dead), and then provide a body with a heartbeat to assume that person’s identity. Furthermore, and perhaps even more alarming, is that in a previous video Project Veritas shows that election law actually allows voters to be created out of thin air as in the case of Timothy Tebow and Thomas Brady who were registered to vote in the state of Wisconsin. Once registered, ANYONE could then cast a vote as that registered voter. Several states have attempted to implement voter ID laws, but have been viciously attacked by Eric Holder’s Justice Department at every turn. This begs the question: What possible purpose, other than for the ease of executing election and voter fraud, would Attorney General Holder, federal legislators and election regulators have for not immediately addressing the issue of identification requirements in modern-day American elections? Reprinted from SHTF Plan. Scroll down to add your comments - Please read our Comment Policy before posting - Sign up for our FREE Email Newsletter For Email Marketing you can trust Support Information Clearing House Monthly Subscription To Information Clearing House Option 1 : $5.00USD - monthly Option 2 : $10.00USD - monthly Option 3 : $15.00USD - monthly Option 4 : $20.00USD - monthly Option 5 : $35.00USD - monthly Option 6 : $50.00USD - monthly Option 7 : $100.00USD - monthly Search Information Clearing HouseThe TTI Staff came together to answer a few questions, cast a few votes, and ultimately diagnose the state of the ATP and WTA Tours heading into the new season. What will become of our 2014 Year-End No. 1s? Which players will rise from obscurity, and which will fall from grace to take their place? Who will emerge as Style Icon, Class Clown and, most importantly, Grand Slam champion? Check out the crew’s full picks compiled into a grid at the bottom.
Of the ATP, Who is “Most Likely To:”
1. Win a First Grand Slam title?
CHRIS
With the big shake-up of the Big Four in 2014, I believe we’ll have another surprise on the manicured lawns of Wimbledon, courtesy of one Grigor Dimitrov. Wimbledon is the site of the Bulgarian’s best Grand Slam performance to date. This year’s victor, Novak Djokovic, barely scraped past him in a four-set semifinal thriller; with a favourable draw, I predict Dimitrov to go two rounds further.
ANDREW
I’m going to go with Milos Raonic. I don’t know if Dimitrov is mentally ready to win a major, and I’m not sure if Kei Nishikori’s body will hold up. That really only leaves the Canadian.#BelieveInTheSleeve
NICK
Nishikori has all the tools necessary to win a Grand Slam. I would not be surprised in the least if he gets it done in 2015.
There’s no player on the planet that Nishikori can’t beat when he’s playing at his best. In 2014, he beat Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and led Rafael Nadal 6-2 4-2 before getting hurt in Madrid. When he’s in the zone, all an opponent can do is weather the storm.
DAVID
It’s an exciting time to be a fan of men’s tennis; there’s hardly a death of talent capable of challenging for the best trophies in the world. Precious few have, however, proven to have the durability of a Big 4 man, to play their best against the best over a seven-match, two-week stretch. In that way, I find it harder to pick one of this year’s rising stars and instead think of those in between.
Once one of the fiercest threats to Big 4 dominance, Tomas Berdych had a largely forgettable year, losing rather limply to eventual champion Marin Cilic at the US Open and appearing dazed and confused in press afterwards. For someone like Berdych, a year as full of first-time major champions as ever has to inspire the long-foretold fifth member of the Big 4. It may be another slow start, but look for the deceptively amiable Czech to come full circle in Flushing in 2015.
JEFF
Stan Wawrinka had an excellent 2013, but I could have never predicted him to make a major breakthrough in 2014 – just as I wouldn’t have guessed Marin Cilic would find his form for the full length of a major and win it. It’s hard to imagine, then, who might be the major underdog story for 2015. Tennistically speaking, Kei Nishikori has everything it takes to beat the players with an ostensible stranglehold on the game’s biggest titles – but I don’t trust his fitness or longevity over two weeks and seven matches, let alone an entire season. If it does happen for Japan’s tennis superstar, it’ll be in Australia, when he’s at his freshest.
I’d sooner pick Grigor Dimitrov, then, one of the most undeniably talented youngsters who, each year, has shown a remarkably positive curve of improvement. He was great last year, and he might be excellent in 2015; it’s not unimaginable that he could make a real breakthrough at the majors.
RENÉ
When Svenja Mastroberardino asked me to make a few predictions for 2015, I picked Kei Nishikori to win his first Grand Slam title – possibly even in Australia – and I’m going to stick to my guns.
With a high seed, his draws are going to be significantly softer this year. But the one big question mark is whether his body can hold up. At his best, he’s already managed to get everyone on the ropes. Other than Nishikori, I don’t see any possible new Slam winners in 2015.
VIKA
I’m going to chime in with the majority here – I feel that Nishikori has a great chance to be the next first-time Grand Slam winner on the ATP. As René mentioned, his Top 5 ranking will be an advantage for him next season, and he did his best to silence the doubters re: his fitness in Flushing Meadows. He’s come a long way from “Project 45,” and while nothing’s ever a sure bet in this sport, a major title could certainly be the logical next step in his ascent.
2. Become the Tour’s Hottest Rising Star?
CHRIS
David Goffin jumped a ridiculous 91 spots in the rankings to reach No. 22 in 2014. I predict he’ll progress even more rapidly in 2015, and break the world’s Top 15 by the run up to the mid-season grass swing.
ANDREW
Nick Kyrgios. Yes, he’s flashy and arrogant and not particularly consistent. But…a little flashy arrogance could take him a long way early in his career. He’s a different character to throw into the mix too. With shots like this, I’m all for it:
NICK
Kyrgios is currently ranked No. 52 in the world. It’s fairly obvious that the Aussie is better than that, and it would be a major shock if he does not move up at least 20-25 more ranking spots. His game is simply too dangerous and explosive for him to be finishing outside of the Top 50 in 2015.
DAVID
If the American women ushered in the era of Big Babe Tennis, it might be up to one Austrian man to trademark a Big Boy equivalent. When he’s on, Dominic Thiem plays a fun and flat game that took him to some major victories last season, and into the second week of the US Open.
The 21-year-old is well-liked by his colleagues, but should he catch fire in 2015, Thiem could post some mean or – dare I say it? – mega results.
JEFF
It’s easy to buy stock in the fresh crop of young, under-20 talent sprouting up on the ATP Tour. Kyrgios and Borna Coric have shown that they have the competitive instincts and the physical gifts to compete with the game’s best and it’s likely that they will only improve their form in 2015. However, neither are used to the grind of a full season at the elite level, with both absent for large chunks of last season, making me question just how much higher they’ll rise in the coming year.
Given the recent trend concerning players finding their Rising Star in their less formative years, I suspect Bernard Tomic (gasp!) will make the biggest stride. An extremely talented ballstriker, Tomic has struggled to put it all together for reasons ranging from the silly to the serious, but showed in spurts through 2014 that with proper drive, the young Aussie can make major waves in the men’s game.
RENÉ
Kyrgios has already made his move, and if you bet on Coric, Thanasi Kokkinakis and/or Alexander Zverev, you probably lose money in 2015; however, Kokkinakis would be my choice for biggest jump.
The young Aussie turned heads when, as a wild card, he won his first main draw match at a major before losing an entertaining (if not competitive) three-setter to eventual finalist, Rafael Nadal. Plagued by poor play and an even poorer attitude in Flushing, Kokkinakis failed to qualify for a second major main draw. But with an ideal head start during his country’s hard court season, look for the two-time junior Grand Slam finalist to make his way to a televised court near you.
VIKA
I’m going to think a little bit outside the box here and choose Czech Jiri Vesely. While he might’ve not gotten the attention some of his peers did in 2014, he was the youngest player in the Top 100 to start last season.
He reached his first ATP World Tour semifinal in Düsseldorf last season, but his highlight was beating Gael Monfils in a 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-7(3), 6-4 thriller en route to the third round of Wimbledon. There, he lost to none other than…Nick Kyrgios. His other win at Grand Slam level came against Lukas Rosol at Roland Garros, and his losses were to Kevin Anderson, Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka. The 6’6″ lefty is at a career-best ranking of No. 66, and his steady progress could signal the beginnings of something more in 2015.
3. Take a Major Tumble?
CHRIS
It’s fair to say Kei Nishikori had a pretty exemplary year in 2014, reaching his first major final and defeating an impressive 11 Top 10 players – including No. 1 Djokovic. I’m not predicting a huge fall from grace, but I think he will find it hard to follow up on a year with so much success. He’ll probably fly under the radar and on the cusp of the Top 10.
ANDREW
Marin Cilic. Winning the US Open was exciting, but I don’t think he’s necessarily here to stay. I also don’t think he’ll immediately adjust to the kind of pressure that befits a new – and surprising – major champion all that well.
NICK
Stan Wawrinka‘s patches of inconsistency in 2014 could cost him dearly in 2015. The Swiss currently has 5370 ranking points, 3,000 of which he will have to defend in two events, the Australian Open and the Monte Carlo Masters. Wawrinka’s inability to show up every week may put a major dent in his ranking by the time May rolls around.
DAVID
With Wawrinka having such an up-and-down season, it is difficult to determine how he will begin a season where he will well and truly need to hit the ground running. All it would take is one bad performance – and there were many sprinkled across 2014 – to undo all of his hard work. More than physical practice, it is essential that the Swiss is in a proper frame of mind from Day 1 of the season to come.
JEFF
Given Nishikori‘s propensity for injury and his results the past year to defend sporadically throughout the new season, a couple of poor showings at big events could see him tumble down the rankings – although he has almost everything to gain at the Masters 1000 tournaments – four 2014 withdrawals and two early round exits – which could offset any tournaments he fails to defend.
RENÉ
Roberto Bautista Agut had a career year, but I struggle to see him eclipsing his 2014 results in any way. Rather, 2015 may well see his ranking neutralized as he heads back into the Top 30 region.
VIKA
It’s an easy choice, but with Cilic forced to withdraw from Brisbane due to arm and shoulder issues, the Croat’s 2015 already looks uncertain. It remains to be seen how he’s going to handle the title of reigning US Open champion, and starting off the year with injury concerns might foreshadow struggles to come. There’s no time to “rest,” either, as his ranking is book-ended by big results; he made three finals in three weeks last February (two titles), while US Open and Kremlin Cup wins highlighted his autumn.
4. Wear the Most Eye-Catching Outfits?
CHRIS
I have a feeling H&M will outfit Tomas Berdych in some hip and hilariously retro designs for 2015. If the Adidas and Nike color palettes are anything to go by, we’ll should expect some mind-boggling neon shades and psychedelic prints come Down Under.
ANDREW
Grigor Dimitrov is quickly becoming a fashion icon, if your favourite style is comprised of outfits rejected by Harry Styles.
So there’s that.
NICK
Tomas Berdych‘s current stint with H&M has been odd, to say the least. He’s worn some interesting outfits and has raised some eyebrows in the process. 2015 should give us much of the same.
DAVID
I’ve personally enjoyed the stylistic evolution of Rafael Nadal. Though it seems we never know what to expect physically from the King of Clay, we’re equally in the dark when it comes to his fashion. As one who fondly remembers the clam-digger days, I’m always interested to see what the Spaniard picks out – no pun intended.
Andy Murray poised to confirm four-year kit deal with Under Armour worth £15m telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/a… http://t.co/zBzuVVVRK7 —
Telegraph Sport (@TelegraphSport) December 29, 2014
JEFF
I think many eyes will be on Andy Murray‘s outfits this year, having just recently signed as the first notable male player with popular American brand Under Armour. They’ve come up with some flashy but simple kits for Sloane Stephens on the women’s side – and who can deny their probable desire to see Andy Murray in form-fitting electric pink at next year’s US Open? Other more “hipster” brands like New Balance and Uniqlo have provided some of the game’s best with interesting outfits in 2014 – maybe a little more variety and creativity could make them 2015’s fashion dark horses.
RENÉ
Step forward Tomas Berdych. I really do hope H&M pay you some good money to wear some of those weird, occasionally horrible kits.
VIKA
Simone Bolelli gave us skulls, stars and stripes in 2014. What could possibly come next?
5. Start an On (or Off)-Court Feud?
CHRIS
We’ve missed Rafael Nadal in our lives since his disappearance during the second half of the season, but I expect his diva-like whinery to return in full force come the Australian Open. I’d also like to see Roger and Novak get into a slanging match over who is the better tennis dad.
ANDREW
I don’t think we’ve seen enough on-court sniping between Djokovic and Roger Federer lately. I feel like there’s room for a little more of that…Federer shade is always entertaining.
NICK
Not even a contest. If there is anything to place a bet on in 2015, it’s that Fabio Fognini will get into some kind of altercation with (many) other individuals on (or off) the tennis court. The only other option would have been Ernests Gulbis, who couldn’t touch Fognini with a 10-foot pole as far as on-court theatrics are concerned.
DAVID
If you’re not above calling your opponent a “spoiled princess,” I think you’re the one to watch when it comes to hilarious – and ultimately harmless – drama. Ernests Gulbis has, for all intents and purposes, taken the crown from Marat Safin and wears it proudly – whether he’s taking out Federer at a Grand Slam tournament or going down in a blaze of arm-flailing glory. Shine on, Crazy Ernie.
JEFF
I mean, we all want to see a sequel to the legendary Mirka vs. Stan encounter, right? But if we’re looking for new match-ups, then I’d like to see a dramatic love triangle gone south (or “Down Under”) with Nick Kyrgios, former WTA No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, and Thanasi Kokkinakis. Also fun would be Fabio Fognini finding some sort of maturity or apologetic temperance, a conflict at the net between Ivo Karlovic and Goffin, and a revival of the Federer vs. Djokovic’s family rivalry.
RENÉ
As much as it disappoints me to say it, I’m convinced that there’s going to be further trouble in Spain. There have been some really dire, sexist remarks about Gala Leon Garcia’s appointment as Davis Cup captain. What with players having to make themselves available the year before the Olympic Games in Rio, I’m anticipating further spouting of nonsense from some players or coaches.
No one’s looking at you, Toni Nadal.
VIKA
I, for one, am eagerly anticipating a schedule where Fognini and Gulbis play every week. Make it happen, draw gods.
6. Finish 2015 Ranked No. 1?
CHRIS
I don’t think there will be much shakeup in the Top 3, let alone the top spot on the ATP tour. Novak Djokovic seems as focused as ever following the birth of his first child, and with an aging Federer, an out-of-sorts Murray and a recovering Nadal, there aren’t many players who will stand in his way of retaining the World No. 1 ranking for yet another season.
ANDREW
I can’t help but feel Novak Djokovic will actually have a better 2015 than his 2014, so I’m willing to bet he’ll stick at No. 1. The only other person I could pick as a contender would be Nadal, but I doubt he’ll play a full calendar, not to mention the Spaniard already admitting that No. 1 is no longer a priority.
NICK
I expect Novak Djokovic will retain the No. 1 ranking and, once again, be the most consistent player on tour. Standing in his way is the fact that he has to defend quarterfinal points at the Australian Open, runner-up points at the French, semifinal points at the U.S. Open and, of course, the 2,000 points he secured by winning Wimbledon. I’d also be remiss not to mention two guys named Roger and Rafa who will surely be gunning for him early and often in 2015.
DAVID
I’m going to break up the monotony and say Roger Federer. I’m totally kidding; I pick Novak Djokovic too. When you’re talking about 2015 and the Big 4 as it exists today, none of Djokovic’s closest competitors have the Serb’s consistency. If Andy Murray can recover the form that took him to No. 2 in 2013, he could potentially challenge, but there’s been little proof of that being a possibility.
JEFF
It’s hard to pick against Novak Djokovic. He’s still in his athletic prime. Neither fatherhood nor marriage have slowed his motivation or concentration. He still has highly attainable goals, and his tennis style is still superior on every surface. Rising players have had little luck against Djokovic, and the Serb seems to be holding the upper hand over primary rivals like Nadal – who recently stated that No.1 wasn’t his priority anymore – and Federer who, despite the wishes of pundits worldwide, cannot fight the intangibly objective denominator of time.
RENÉ
Novak Djokovic will remain No. 1 the end of 2015. There might be some closer moments throughout the year, but trust the Serb to get a hold of the top spot by the time the Asian Swing rolls round next Autumn.
Barring any injuries, that is.
VIKA
I also joined Svenja Mastroberardino to make some predictions for 2015 – including choosing my ATP and WTA year-end top 10. Before a ball’s been struck this season, I picked Novak Djokovic to finish the year at No. 1. His exceptional consistency comes with exceptional results, and it’s the perfect formula for longevity in the top spot.
TTI’s Picks:
Who would you have chosen? Sound off in the comments!
AdvertisementsNot to be confused with the English footballer Eric Prince
Erik Dean Prince (born June 6, 1969) is an American businessman and former U.S. Navy SEAL officer best known for founding the government services and security company Blackwater USA, now known as Academi. He served as its CEO until 2009 and later as chairman, until Blackwater Worldwide was sold in 2010 to a group of investors. Prince currently heads the private equity firm Frontier Resource Group and is chairman of Hong Kong-listed Frontier Services Group Ltd. He is the brother of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Early life, education, and military service [ edit ]
Prince was born on June 6, 1969, in Holland, Michigan, the son of Edgar D. Prince and his wife, Elsa (Zwiep),[note 1] and the youngest of four children.[1] He graduated from Holland Christian High School.[2]
Prince's father had started as a salesman making 40 cents an hour, who founded a die cast machine manufacturing firm, Prince Machine Corporation, in 1965, which became a supplier to the automobile manufacturing industry and eventually a billion-dollar company.[3] As business "exploded" Prince began to invest some of the profit through the Prince Group into other types of car parts and shopping malls, creating a network of companies and real estate worth a billion dollars.[4] In the early 1970s, Edgar Prince's company patented a sun visor that could light up and sold 5,000 to General Motors. In the '90s, the company produced 20,000 a day.[5] Prince and his father toured the world together, visiting the Dachau concentration camp in Germany, a divided Berlin, and Normandy. According to his mother, these trips "made a big impression" on the young Prince.[6]
Prince was accepted into the United States Naval Academy and attended it for three semesters before leaving, citing that he loved the Navy but disliked the Academy. He went on to receive his B.A. in economics from Hillsdale College in 1992.[7] Some sources say Prince dropped out of the Naval Academy,[8][9] while others say he transferred to Hillsdale.[10][11] During his time at Hillsdale, he served as a volunteer firefighter and as a cold-water diver for the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Department.[12] Prince eventually became an emergency medical technician.[13]
In 1990, Prince secured a low-level internship in the White House under George H.W. Bush,[14] but soon left to intern for California congressman Dana Rohrabacher, President Ronald Reagan's former speechwriter. Rohrabacher described Prince as "a bright, driven young man." At the age of 21, Prince volunteered to search for a mass grave in Nicaragua, to expose killings under President Daniel Ortega and later said that he had found one.[15]
After college, Prince was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy via Officer Candidate School in 1992. He went on to become a Navy SEAL and deployed with SEAL Team 8 to Haiti, the Middle East, and the Balkans. He credits the SEALs for being an outlet for his entrepreneurial spirit. In his autobiography he states that during the Yugoslav Wars in the early 1990s, he realized that there was a need for private training facilities for special operations.[16]
Prince ended his U.S. Navy |
its beginnings, the great city of Thonis sank into the depths of the very sea that had allowed it to prosper for so long. Although scientists are still unsure about the exact cause of this cataclysm, most believe that a rise in sea level coupled with a sudden collapse of unstable sediment-heavy earth caused the city to carve in and plunge into the abyss.
It took more than 1200 years for the city to be rediscovered. In the intervening period, many became convinced that Thonis was nothing but a myth despite the fact that historical reports of the city were not lacking. It was believed that Helen of Troy (the face that launched a thousand ships!) herself, accompanied by her lover Paris, visited the city. Some stipulated, albeit backed with less scientific rigour, that even Hercules set foot on Thonis. With no concrete physical proof of the city though, it was only natural that doubts about its existence would creep in.
But in 2000, a team of scientists famously rediscovered the sunken city after a four-year geophysical survey. Led by renown French underwater archaeologist Dr. Franck Goddio, an Institut Européen d'Archéologie Sous-Marine (IEASM) team located the remains of Thonis beneath the waters and mud of Aboukir Bay, about 32 km northeast of Alexandria. Thonis was there, reposing silently in the abyss but no less majestically as is often the case with past sunken grandness.
It is only now however, 13 years after its rediscovery, that the team is beginning to comprehend the real grandness that was Thonis. The images and videos of the excavation that the team is releasing paint a portrait of a city frozen in time.
Thonis was a city of buildings: to the south resided a huge temple, devoted to the then-supreme god Amun-Gereb; the north and east of the city were predominantly devoted to the port; the west was bordered by the lake, steaming with ships that would either halt at Thonis for a while or make their way across the narrow channel that linked it to the Nile river.
But Thonis was also a city of opulence. The team has unearthed gold coins, bronze coins, gigantic five-metre sculptures, sarcophagi and hundreds of smaller statues of other gods from the sea floor. Considering that Thonis was a major port of the region at the time, these findings are not surprising. Equally unsurprising are the remains of the more than 64 ships the team uncovered lining the sea floor of the region.
Rediscovering a great sunken city is amazing not just in terms of the actual discovery but also in terms of the scale of the scientific endeavour. As mentioned, it took the team four years to actually rediscover Thonis and another thirteen years for it to get an adequate view of what it looked like centuries ago.
For such precious archeological findings as the remains of Thonis, conservation of the unearthed objects starts as soon as they reach the boat itself. The objects are first cleaned, identified and inventoried. Rapidly, the boat crew rather grotesquely removes as much salt as possible from the objects by regularly soaking them in buckets of fresh water. Salt removal is primordial since salt can corrode certain metals or magnify fissures and cracks as it crystallises. Depending on the initial condition of the repatriated objects, the crew may choose to perform a further more ardent round of salt removal, making use of adequate chemicals, on the boat itself.
Once taken ashore, the objects are sent to the super-sophisticated Alexandria Conservation Laboratory for Submerged Antiquities. There, specialists continue the conservation and restoration works. Using mechanical, chemical and electrochemical procedures, the objects are adequately treated depending, among other thing, on the material they are made of. Metallic objects for instance may go through further rounds of salt removal before being cleaned with ultrasonic scalpels, fibreglass brushes and other fancy apparatus I didn't even know existed. Ceramic objects on the other hand go to storage areas, meticulously kept at a perfect temperature and humidity combination.
The amount of work (and money surely) spent on this endeavour is formidable. But as you look at the pictures today, possibly stare at the objects unearthed one day in a museum and listen as the story of the great city of Thonis gets puzzled together, you have to admit that the work was totally worth it.
Indeed, rediscovering the grandness of a past city is one of those few things that can take your breath away.
Image credits: Top map: franckgoddio.org (imagery from Google); Bottom: World Imaging (from Wikimedia Commons).
Mainstream coverage:
More in-depth information about the expedition and excavation endeavour:While some may think Sennheiser headphones are "ugly" or "dull", cosmetics are nowhere even close to being on my list of have-to-have's.
Even if it was on my list, I quite like the look of the HD280 Pro. It's a no nonsense design that brings about a feeling of confidence in it's durability. The HD280 Pro was designed with function in mind, not fashion. If you're looking for something pretty or shiny, this a'int it (by the way...a'int a'int a word).
The audio cable...oh the audio cable...it's pretty much what I had expected with my last purchase. While it's technically not "removable" it's much more substantial, not longer than necessary, and it's coiled so it's much easier to stow away.
When I say technically not removable, I mean you can't simply pull the audio cable out of the unit like the HD380 Pro. Instead, if you do damage your audio cable, you have to open the ear cup and do some light wiring to replace the audio cable. In fact there is a guide in the manual that shows you how to do so. To some this is unacceptable, however I'm just fine with a thicker, more durable cable that is more resistant to breakage in the first place.
I'm not going to lie to you, these headphones have a crazy amount of clamping force!
So unless you have a small-ish head...oh who am I kidding, even if you DO have a small-ish head, you're going to want to break these in. I've read that some place them onto a basketball or volley ball to break them in and reduce that clamping force a bit. Otherwise, you'll find it difficult to use them for extended periods of time. As durable as these are however, be cautious when breaking this in, as the construction is mostly plastic which has it's limitations as far as how much flex it can handle. Before they were completely broken in, I've had to take breaks from several editing sessions because of a pressure headache caused by the death grip these things have on my head. The reason for this clamping force is in order to aid in
noise cancellation
or
attenuation. According to the specs, they provide 32 decibels (dB) of attenuation.
They are pretty good at blocking out noise.
While they won't block out my dishwasher which is about 10 ft from my desk, they do block out a considerable about of noise, such as people talking, the TV (as long as the volume isn't cranked too high) and general ambient noise. So far these have been great for when I'm video editing, or just want to chill and listen to music or watch YouTube video with less distractions. My darling fiancee will often have to physically signal me with a wave to get my attention, or come distract me with smooches...which I'm really OK with actually.
I tested these headphones with various types of music, hip-hop, rock, acoustic, metal, and even some EDM. I did notice that the HD280 Pro provides a good bass response, when good bass is present. It doesn't do any fancy bass boosting or anything like that, which is good because it allows me to get a more accurate perception of my source audio. The HD429 seemed to give a slight (albeit smooth) boost to music tracks, which is no way was a bad thing, just different. The HD429's slightly elevated bass response is better suited for casual listening, whereas the HD280 Pro is intended for monitoring. For that reason, I'm using the HD280 Pro as my main headphones for the home office, they help me monitor my audio levels in my video editing, which is something I'm becoming a stickler for.
I'll wrap this up by saying I am not an audiophile by any means, nor claim to be! Also, everyone's ears are different, and therefore each pair of headphones will sound different for each individual. The best way to see if a pair of headphones are for you, is to have your ears decide, don't let anyone tell you which product is right for you.Watch out, Emma Stone: your boyfriend Andrew Garfield has just admitted he has what is possibly the cutest man-crush of all time, and the object of his affection is Ryan Gosling.
On Friday, Tonight Show host Jay Leno asked the new Spidey to clarify what he meant when he said he had a “proper man crush” on the Drive star. Garfield echoed the thoughts of every woman in America when he said, “He’s just a dreamboat. It’s undebatable. He’s just stunning. Not only physically, but in terms of talent — a general sex appeal that he has.”
Is everyone keeping their fingers crossed for Spider-Man 2: Spider-Man Meets The Green Lantern? Take our poll and sound off on this interesting situation in the comments.
Andrew Garfield and Ryan Gosling
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Andrew Garfield Designed Spider-Man Skateboard
Andrew Garfield is Ambassador for Orphans"When we realize we have only one.”
[Rabbi Margot Stein’s son Aryeh died six months ago, and she unfolded her grief on Yom Kippur by facing the prayer “Unataneh tokef –- Who shall live, who shall die?” She is a writer and singer of Jewish music, including the songs for an eco-Jewish musical drama, “Guarding the Garden.” She is developing new approaches to Jewish education for developmentally disabled children. Rabbi Stein is a member of the Board of The Shalom Center. --- AW, editor]
There is a moment I remember so clearly, it flooded my senses like a cold shower.
“Good Lord,” I realized, “my son is going to die.
“Within a matter of days, he will stop breathing, and I won’t. It doesn’t matter what I want, or prefer, or desire. It doesn’t matter what I have prayed for, fought for, researched and scoured the world for. There is another Will in operation here besides my own.
“Dear God, really? Is this your will for my 24 year old son? That he die from this devastating and aggressive pediatric sarcoma, as the tumors fill his lungs and cause him to gasp for air?”
And with that, I fell to the floor, doubled over with intense stomach pain, as though I’d just been punched. As I lay there, I willed myself to face this truth, this inevitability. I felt myself, if you can imagine, sort of unhooking my solar plexus, seat of my life force, from his, as though we had been tied by an invisible umbilical cord throughout his illness.
I released the thread of his life that I had been clutching these last months. And I let it go. Because I had to.
A few hours after he took his last, labored breath, as we were still sitting quietly watching his pale, noble-looking countenance, the light began to fill the room. It was midnight, in NYC. The light was fierce. It was light you had to feel, rather than see. It filled the space over his head. Even after his body left us, even after burial, the light remained.
By then, I felt a sense of speed, as though he were zooming around, joyful to move literally with the speed of light, joyful to be released from a failing body, even joyful to discover that there is, it would seem, more to life than this mortal flesh, that something beautiful remains that is Eternal.
I have learned many lessons from this death.
One of them is that having a strong spiritual practice, preferably rooted in a strong community of practice, can save your own life when someone you love is losing theirs.
Another is that humans are terrible predictors. We cannot predict what the future will be like, although we think we can. One of the things that gets in the way for many of us when we think about death, is our predictions. What it’s going to be like, how we’re going to feel, mostly how very hard it’s going to be.
I could not have predicted how strong his presence would be still, and how vibrant.
My friends, love really is stronger than death. I did not know this until 5 months ago.
On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed, “Who shall live and who shall die?”
When Aryeh realized he was definitely going to die, he did several things. He asked me to move him from his dark and tiny shared apartment on the Upper West Side to a space filled with light and windows. My brother helped me locate such a space and three days later, Aryeh moved into it.
My sister, a psychiatric nurse practitioner in Boston, and single mother, left her daughter with a series of cousins and friends and moved in with us. Myriam juggled New York and Philadelphia, trying to be in both places with sensitivity and presence, as I settled into caring for Aryeh around the clock.
A few days later, Aryeh spent an evening doing a life review with Rabbi Mordechai Liebling and Talia Malka, who sat and talked with him late into the night.
At that point, we still thought he was going to die from pneumonia. But then the antibiotics fought that back, and one day he woke up feeling well enough to go out and buy an iPhone 6.
Hooked up to oxygen tanks and in a wheelchair, he bought that phone and sat on a park bench with his beloved Katy and kissed her in the cold spring sunshine.
A few days after that, he was able to get into a jacket and tie and, despite the wheelchair, oxygen tank, and medical support lurking in the background, took Katy to a spectacular 14- course tasting meal at a unique chef-driven restaurant called 11 Madison Park that was at the top of his bucket list, and which the chef and entire staff made even more memorable by treating him like visiting royalty, complete with private kitchen tour and an armful of treats and gifts. Oh, and they wouldn’t take a dime from us, the entire extravaganza was on the house.
Aryeh returned to the apartment pretty exhausted by that outing, but he said it was worth it. A few days after that, sitting in his cushioned medical recliner and by now struggling to speak, he took time with each of his siblings to bless them and tell each what made them special.
Another day, with our help and an 11 pm visit by our lawyer, he wrote a will, leaving his possessions to his siblings and a few dear ones and setting the intention to establish a fund to support students with disabilities at Princeton, a project that many of you have generously helped transform into a reality.
All that, all those meaningful end-of-life activities took place in about three weeks. He lived them with a gusto and intentionality that many of us do not get around to in three decades or more.
This past weekend, we had house guests, including a friend in her late 70’s who lost a son about 20 years ago. She told me that when people ask her how long it has been since Billy died, she says, “I blink and that’s how long it’s been.” Just the blink of an eye. Or 20 years.
People who lose loved ones feel them at unexpected times. When I get that feeling of his presence, it washes over me. Though I still feel him reveling in racing around the cosmos, I also know and trust that he is completely OK, whole, and healed, his only concern, for us here in a fractured world.
I’m relieved that his spirit seems to be peaceful, if a bit high-energy. And I have to laugh at the idea that, while in the body, only his mind was lightning fast. Now that he is in the realm of pure thought, there’s nothing blocking the flow of that energy.
But down here, where there are plenty of blockages, there are also waves of grief, and they are mine. Mine and all of ours who have lost those we love. I imagine my sorrow for what I’ve lost will continue to wash over me for the rest of my life.
Struggling with Teshuva
Unetaneh tokef asks, “Who shall live and who shall die?” Who shall really and truly LIVE, and who shall die a thousand deaths before the final one? Who shall live, paralyzed by fear? And who shall die in a healing circle of deep love?
Our tradition offers us a way through, a way to “avert” or at least to soften, life’s severity. It teaches us that “teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah” [turning pur loves in a new direction, pouring out our hearts to the Holy One, and giving financial support to those who have been badly wounded by the world or who are working to heal the world] will help us in this life.
I know now that I cannot predict the future, much less control its outcome. If I ever thought teshuvah, tefillah and tzedakah would literally help me avert the severe decree, I’ve certainly given up that delusion.
Like many of you, I’ve given plenty of tzedakah, served on boards and donated funds and giving my strongest years to the nonprofit community. I’ve prayed and led prayer and taught prayer so I guess I’ve got tefillah covered. That must mean it’s a matter of not enough teshuvah: did I not turn far enough toward God during this crisis?
I am trying to understand teshuvah in a new way these days. What am I turning away from? What am I turning toward? Do I need to turn away from resentment at the unfairness of life? Can’t I be even a teeny bit resentful that I do all these good deeds, behave in all the right ways, and God (whatever and whoever that is) didn’t see fit to save my son’s life?
Can’t I respond by being resigned, that it doesn’t matter what we do, because bad things really do happen to good people?
Can I erase the pain by getting on the bandwagon, and fighting for clean water, clean air, and to heal the food supply so that we all eat only clean, life-giving nourishment?
Shall I research genetics, or raise money to fund that research, until I can personally eliminate the mutations which cause cancer?
Teshuvah is tough. It means we’ve been going along in one direction and now we need to go in a different one. What is the turning that I need to do, truly? And I hope you’re sitting there wondering what is the precise turning that YOU need to do. Maybe teshuva is not about living the most upright, perfect life possible. Maybe teshuvah is not about being as godly as possible in all your ways.
I read a book over the summer because I was drawn to its title: Flunking Sainthood. The book turned out to be a year-long exploration of different spiritual practices, in which author Jana Riess tries on each practice and reads the relevant writers and thinkers as she tries to understand and deepen into the practice.
And she flunks month after month.
She tries to keep an Orthodox shabbat, though she is not Jewish, and her family is totally baffled by the idea of dropping everything at sunset.
She tries to fast, Ramadan-style, through the shorter days of February, and is ravenously obsessed with food rather than with her inner spiritual life.
She tries hachnasat orchim, welcoming strangers, and can’t wait to get rid of them, and in fact takes off for a conference, leaving her husband to deal with them.
She attempts to pray devotional prayers at the set times throughout the day and finds it too difficult to compromise work, family and leisure activities so she compromises the prayer instead.
At the end of a year, she looks back at her string of failures and declares them to be a kind of victory after all. Why?
In the epilogue, she tells us that after she turned in the book, she received a phone call from a hospital in Alabama where her father lay dying. Her father had abandoned her family when she was 14, emptying their bank accounts and betraying their trust.
She and her brother went to his bedside, and she was able to forgive him all over again, even as she realized that her spiritual practices of the last 12 months, however imperfectly performed, had –
“forged her into the kind of person who could go to the bedside of someone who had harmed her and still be able to say, ‘I forgive you, Dad. Go in peace.’
“The power of spiritual practice is that it forges you stealthily, as you entertain angels unawares.”
She came to understand the infinitude of God, the temptation of turning one’s work into an Idol, the delusion of trying to learn a deep spiritual practice in just thirty days, much less doing them on a DIY basis when they are meant to be done in community because, as she writes, “It takes a shtetl to raise a mensch.”
I love her sense of humor and the way she turns her failures into fodder. I love that she understands that spiritual practice takes time, that it deepens and ripens, and then when the crisis hits, we are more prepared for it than we thought, because we have the practices to support us.
Myriam and I had a yoga teacher named Alex whose father committed suicide some years ago, and who asked us to officiate as she laid him to rest. With tears in her eyes, she said, “All my life, I’ve been practicing yoga for just this moment.”
Teshuvah, tefillah and tzedakah are among the practices that support our change, our growth, and our ability to choose life even in the midst of the crisis that will surely come. At their best, they can help us realign with our highest purpose, and help us walk the walk.
My own teshuvah process has come to include learning to move away from the punitive, or self-punishing, model of self-improvement toward one that includes and embraces as much of the full spectrum of joy, delight, love and good experiences that I can bring myself to withstand (which isn’t always that much).
My relationship with God requires me to experience all of life, not just its sorrow but also its joys. I’ve been so overwhelmed with the sorrows, of course, that I haven’t partaken of as much of its joys.
But Judaism teaches us that we have an obligation to the Holy One to experience all the joys that come our way, rather than refusing them. How many joyful opportunities have I missed because I just didn’t see them, so focused was I on being responsible and responsive to the crises?
You can respond to crisis but lose your responsiveness to life. You can become so committed to your anxieties and fears that you completely lose sight of the humor in being human. This hardly does honor to the Holy One, to the precious gift of life that we have received.
We have a choice, and the moment of choice is always now. It takes courage to choose life. It takes courage to let in the pain as well as the joy. It takes determination to stay awake and pay attention to your life so that you don’t miss the opportunities for joy that come your way.
Cultivating practice is how we stay awake to our lives. Teshuvah is having the humility to return to our practice. It is that moment during meditation when we realize we have been galloping along with our thoughts, rather than gently letting them go. When we turn our attention back to our breath or mantra or prayer or movement.
Turning and returning to this moment is the constant work of mindfulness, and the secret to a life more available to meaning, connection and fulfillment.
There are two significant prayer moments yet coming toward us this Yom Kippur morning.
One is Unetaneh tokef, a time when we recognize that we are choosing how we shall live.
The other is Aleynu, the grand aleynu with full prostration. I invite you to experiment with full prostration at that time, to experience unhooking your will from whatever it is that you are clutching too tightly, and prostrate yourself before the Ultimate one, whose timing and design for our lives remains a mystery, and before whom we surrender our willfulness to this Truth: Whatever will be, will be.
So this, then, is the accounting:
Who shall live? Whoever seizes the gift of life and calls it precious, whether they have half a century or half a month left to live.
Who shall live? One who lives out loud and at full tilt, not perfectly but with endless compassion for themselves and for all other beings.
Who shall live? The person who faces down their fears and anxieties, and says Yes to life anyway. Who shall live? One who knows that experiencing sorrow and loss won’t kill you. And since it won’t kill you, strive to keep truly living as long as you are alive.
I think I saw this on FaceBook, that source of great spiritual wisdom:
“We each have two lives. The second one begins, when we realize we have only one.”
Let this be that moment.
Let now be when you wake up to this one precious life.
Let this be when you choose to live like you mean it.Sen—The first pictures of Boeing's new spacecraft, the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 show how spacecraft design has evolved since the space shuttle was designed four decades ago.
Blue LEDs dot the interior, resembling the lighting that theatre-goers saw in Star Trek Into Darkness's Enterprise spacecraft this spring. Tablet technology is available. Most notable, though, is the absence of the usual wall-to-wall switches usually seen in human spacecraft.
"What you're not going to find is 1,100 or 1,600 switches," stated Chris Ferguson, director of Boeing's crew and mission operations division and a former NASA astronaut.
"When these guys go up in this, their primary mission is not to fly this spacecraft. Their primary mission is to go to the space station for six months. So we don't want to burden them with an inordinate amount of training to fly this vehicle. We want it to be intuitive."
An interior view of Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
Boeing is one of three companies receiving funding from NASA to develop crew transportation systems to the International Space Station. Officials have seen the spacecraft in action before, most notably in a few landing tests to see how well the parachutes and other systems perform. These pictures, however, are the first showing what the spacecraft looks on the inside.
On July 22, NASA astronauts Serena Aunon and Randy Bresnik performed "fit checks" inside CST-100's interior. Donning launch and re-entry suits used for spaceflight, they evaluated how well the spacecraft inside accommodated their bulky outfits. Boeing engineers also monitored the astronauts for factors such as ergonomics and communications.
"These are our customers. They're the ones who will take our spacecraft into flight, and if we're not building it the way they want it we're doing something wrong," stated Ferguson. "We'll probably make one more go-around and make sure that everything is just the way they like it."
NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik outside the CST-100 spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
NASA is just one of the reference customers for the CST-100. Bigelow Aerospace, which is building an inflatable space station module for the International Space Station, is expected to use Boeing's spacecraft to ferry astronauts to future space inflatable space stations.
Boeing signed a Space Act agreement in 2012 with NASA for $460 million as part of the third phase - known as Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) - of funding under the agency's commercial crew program.
SpaceX, whose Dragon spacecraft has completed two cargo resupply missions to the space station, received $440 million to modify Dragon for human spaceflight. Sierra Nevada Corp, the remaining company funded in this phase, got $212.5 million for its Dream Chaser winged spacecraft.
In recent weeks, NASA has expressed concern with a budget proposal in Congress to slash overall funding for the agency to $16.6 billion (£10.83 billion). Media reports have said this is the smallest budget in terms of purchasing power for the agency since 1986.
Should that budgetary level be approved, NASA says it will likely have to delay implementation of its commercial crew program. This would force the agency to continue relying on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to man the International Space Station, a practice that began after the shuttle was retired in 2011.One reason the Depression dragged on so long was that the rapid recovery of the mid-1930s was interrupted by a second severe recession in late 1937. Though many factors had a role in the “recession within a recession,” monetary and fiscal policy retrenchment were central. In monetary policy, the Fed doubled bank reserve requirements and the Treasury stopped monetizing the gold inflow. In fiscal policy, the federal budget swung sharply, from a stimulative deficit of 3.8 percent of G.D.P. in 1936 to a small surplus in 1937.
The lesson here is to beware of withdrawing policy support too soon. A switch to contractionary policy before the economy is fully recovered can cause the economy to decline again. Such a downturn may be particularly large when an economy is still traumatized from an earlier crisis.
The recent downgrade of American government debt by Standard & Poor’s makes this point especially crucial. It would be a mistake to respond by reducing the deficit more sharply in the near term. That would almost surely condemn us to a repeat of the 1937 downturn. And higher unemployment would make it all that much harder to get the deficit under control.
Military spending didn’t begin to rise substantially until late 1940. Once it did, fiscal policy had an expansionary impact. Some economists argue that the effect wasn’t very large, as real government purchases (in 2005 dollars) rose by $1.4 billion from 1940 to 1944, while real G.D.P. rose only $0.9 billion.
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But this calculation misses two crucial facts: Taxes increased sharply, and the government took many actions to decrease private consumption, like instituting rationing and admonishing people to save. That output soared despite these factors suggests that increases in government spending had a powerful stimulative effect. Consistent with that, private nonfarm employment — which excludes active military personnel — rose by almost eight million from 1940 to 1944.
The lesson here is that fiscal stimulus can help a depressed economy recover — an idea supported by new studies of the 2009 stimulus package. Additional short-run tax cuts or increases in government investment would help deal with our unemployment crisis.
What of the idea that monetary and fiscal policy can do little if unemployment is caused by structural factors, like a mismatch between workers’ skills and available jobs? As I discussed in a previous column, such factors are probably small today.
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But World War II has something to tell us here, too. Because nearly 10 million men of prime working age were drafted into the military, there was a huge skills gap between the jobs that needed to be done on the home front and the remaining work force. Yet businesses and workers found a way to get the job done. Factories simplified production methods and housewives learned to rivet.
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Here the lesson is that demand is crucial — and that jobs don’t go unfilled for long. If jobs were widely available today, unemployed workers would quickly find a way to acquire needed skills or move to where the jobs were located.
Finally, what about the national debt? Given the recent debt downgrade, it might seem impossible for the United States to embark on fiscal stimulus that would increase its ratio of debt to G.D.P.
Well, at the end of World War II, that ratio hit 109 percent — one and a half times as high as it is now. Yet this had no obvious adverse consequences for growth or our ability to borrow.
This isn’t hard to explain. Everyone understood then why the nation was racking up so much debt: we were fighting for survival, and for the survival of our allies. No one doubted that we would repay our debts. We had done it after every other war, and raising taxes even before the attack on Pearl Harbor showed our leaders’ fiscal resolve.
Today, we can do much more to aid recovery, including a near-term increase in our debt. But we need to make the reasons clear and make concrete our commitment to deal with the debt over time.
In place of the tepid budget agreement now in place, we could pass a bold plan with more short-run spending increases and tax cuts, coupled with much more serious, phased-in deficit reduction. By necessity, the plan would tackle entitlement reform and gradually raise tax revenue. This would be the World War II approach to our problems.
Equally important, someone needs to explain to the nation and to world markets just why we must increase the debt in the short run. Unemployment of roughly 9 percent for 28 months and counting is a national emergency. We must fight it with the same passion and commitment we have brought to military emergencies in our past.Photo
Those whose familiarity with Oliver Sacks extends only to his vivid book titles — “The Island of the Colorblind,” “An Anthropologist on Mars,” “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” — may picture his writing as a gallery of grotesques, a parade of the exotically impaired. Sacks, a practicing neurologist, does specialize in case studies of highly unusual patients. But even as he entertains and diverts with his dramatic tales, Sacks has always been up to something else: he is gently educating us about the frailties and flaws — and the strengths and capacities — of “normal” people, those whose afflictions are of the most ordinary sort. You may never have confused your spouse for an item of outerwear, but have you ever failed to recognize the face of an acquaintance? Fumbled for a word that eluded your grasp? Read a sentence three times and still didn’t get it?
Such familiar slips, and how we handle them, are the stealth subjects of Sacks’ latest book. “The Mind’s Eye” is a collection of essays — some of which have already appeared in The New Yorker — but it has a remarkably graceful coherence of theme, tone and approach. Once again, Sacks explores our shared condition through a series of vivid characters: the woman who couldn’t talk, the man who couldn’t read, the “prosopagnosic” who couldn’t identify her own face in a photograph. (For those who wonder just how Sacks locates such people, it soon becomes clear that many of his patients find him, after recognizing themselves in his writing. They enter his care through the pages of his books, and in turn become characters in his next round of stories.)
The sufferers who write to Sacks receive a deeply empathetic response. Of one correspondent, a woman who has lost the capacity to read (but, remarkably, retains the ability to write), Sacks notes that he responded to her by telephone. “I normally would have written back,” he tells us, but in this case calling “seemed to be the thing to do.” Over time this patient, afflicted with a degenerative brain condition called posterior cortical atrophy, loses her ability to recognize objects and people, though she retains a keen sense of color and shape. When Sacks meets her in person to see how she navigates her everyday life, he dresses head to toe in red so she can keep track of him in a crowd.
Given to such un-self-consciously generous gestures, Sacks would seem to be the ideal doctor: observant but accepting, thorough but tender, training his full attention on one patient at a time. For the patient’s benefit and for ours, he illuminates every uncanny detail, brings out every excruciating irony. The woman for whom Sacks dresses in red, for example, is a virtuoso pianist, and the first sign of her malady is a sudden inability to read music. She is joined in these pages by a novelist who wakes up one morning unable to read, and an intensely sociable woman who is suddenly struck dumb. But Sacks is not primarily interested in documenting pathology, or even curing disease, which in most cases is impossible. There are no miraculous “awakenings” here.
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Rather, he is most engaged by the process of compensation, how people make up for what they have lost, wresting new possibilities from their newly imposed limits. There’s the blind man who develops super-sensitive hearing, the deaf woman who catches tiny shifts in facial expression — and that pianist, who loses her ability to read music but gains new richness in her thinking about music. “She felt that her musical memory, her musical imagery, had become stronger, more tenacious, but also more flexible, so that she could hold the most complex music in her mind, then rearrange it and replay it mentally, in a way that would have been impossible before,” Sacks writes.I am an addict. There I said it. I am an addict and my drug of choice is highlighters. Really any glow products. I cannot pass up a highlighter, it is a serious problem. I remember about three years ago waiting backstage to meet Nicki Minaj and just furiously brushing Mac’s Mineralized Skinfinish in Shimpagne all over my cheeks to help compose myself (it worked and she ended up heavily complimenting my makeup to boot!). So the moral of the story is, highlighters are magical and everyone needs at least one good one.
3 Concept Eyes is a brand I’ve had my eye (my concept eye?) on for awhile now. Their minimalistic black and white packaging is so exactly my aesthetic that it just screams for me to buy it. I think the rest of North America might be catching on because I noticed |
meta, nearly everyone would agree that the ‘quality’ of the meta-game went up relative to Quad-Tank. Out of the three plausible off-tanks in this meta-game, different teams chose different pairs out of the set of Dva/Zarya/Roadhog. Some teams (e.g. Selfless) bucked even the name of the meta-game and chose instead to play a 2-2-2 style with a very high degree of success. While virtually the rest of the world continued to play Rein-centric compositions, Rogue impressed everyone paying any attention with a Triple-DPS dive comp that took the competitive scene by storm, proving its viability with undeniably dominant results. Again, my standard matches the sentiment of the community in declaring this meta much more fun than the one preceding it.
If asked to evaluate the present Counter-Dive meta, most would call it a regression from what was previously achieved (although perhaps better than metas like Quad-Tank). Once more my standard concurs with this sentiment, since the spectrum of viable compositions and play styles has grayed drastically over the past few patches. Presently, Dva/Winston/Tracer/Lucio are approaching perma-run status with a few exceptions on exceptionally enclosed or flank-less map locations. The choice between Zen/Ana and Soldier/Genji (or Pharah+Mercy) with the occasional and situational Sombra flex is essentially all that is available to competitive teams. Apex results seem to show that even Rogue’s unmatched mastery of the Triple-DPS play style was insufficient to overcome the dominance of the 2-2-2 meta. Those stubborn teams that have stuck to Rein-centric compositions have been consistently trampled underfoot by one very angry scientist.
From these instances, I conclude that what makes a meta-game good or bad is the degree to which teams can convert their unique individual styles and ideas about the game into genuinely competitive strategies. Fostering creativity as a means to victory is a powerful way to elevate Overwatch above the aim-duels that are lent such primacy in mirror matches. As a side note, I believe that diminishing the importance of these extremely mechanical aim-duels and elevating the importance of team-composition makes Overwatch vastly more entertaining and watchable from a spectator’s perspective. The narrative of one team outsmarting the other is much more compelling in my eyes than that of the more skilled players dismantling their weaker counterparts.
The immediate next question to ask once one accepts this standard is ‘how does one best achieve the maximum degree of freedom in a meta-game?’. This question is slightly more complex, yet no less answerable:
Claim 2: At their core, Overwatch’s meta-games and overall balance are about team composition.
Winning or losing a game of Overwatch depends entirely on a team’s ability to successfully attack and defend various objectives within a roughly given timeframe. As tempting as it is to consider a hero’s balance in a vacuum, such an hero-centric approach to balancing is doomed to failure.
It seems quite plausible that the vast availability of statistics regarding hero play in Ranked Matchmaking has tempted the OW dev-team to think of each hero as an island. When a hero seems to be winning or losing a little too often it seems a prime candidate for a nerf or a buff, respectively. This logic misses what was in front of our eyes the whole time, that one hero choice is only strong or weak relative to other options and the team composition that surrounds and opposes it. Heroes don’t win games, compositions do.
Consider Genji. In Triple-Tank his role is essentially to farm Dragonblade as quickly as possible to participate in combo play with his primary enablers: Lucio, Ana, Zarya, Rein, etc. In dive compositions, however, Genji acts as the secondary initiator alongside Winston and Tracer. Dive seeks to enable the Genji to maximize dash resets while the primacy of Dragonblade is significantly reduced relative to Triple-Tank Genji play. The shift in team composition fundamentally alters the role of the Genji player as his primary ‘partner heroes’ become fellow damage-dealers rather than defensive enablers. This is a crucial distinction to recognize. Hypothetically, were Genji oppressively strong, composition-defining, and thus demanding of a nerf it would be very important to change him in the right way so as to properly affect the meta-monopolizing composition without fully eroding his general viability.
Dva can benefit from a similar analysis, sans hypotheticals. After her originally massive buff was toned down, she didn’t feel oppressively overpowered in tank compositions. Her mobility wasn’t so incredibly useful in slower compositions, yet it felt like she had a good place in countering spam-centric opposing team comps and enabling more aggressive DPS choices in Triple-Tank (like Genji). Without any changes directly to Dva, the massive buffs to Winston, Lucio, and Zenyatta combined with Rein & Roadhog nerfs have left her feeling oppressively strong. The Zenyatta buffs and the Lucio rework established a much more cohesive backline than had ever existed in Rein-less compositions. Dva perfectly fit the niche of peeling for this backline perfectly while also soft-countering Discord Orb and often preventing the all important Dash-resets of Genji comps. This instance reveals that hero balance cannot be examined in a vacuum, even with statistical evaluation; Dva shifted from ‘viable-yet-unpopular’ to ‘must-have’ without a single direct change to her kit.
Herein lies the biggest problem to successfully balancing Overwatch. The above paragraphs are significantly less true if we are considering Ranked Matchmaking rather than organized competitive eSports. In Ranked, the near total lack of coordination greatly diminishes the importance of full compositions and lends much more credence to claims that a hero is strong or weak in a vacuum. Without fixing Ranked play (see my earlier blog posts on the subject) I can’t imagine a solution to this dilemma, except to plead with all my heart that Blizzard prioritize balance for those who dedicate their dreams, careers, and lives to Overwatch.
Playing eSports doesn’t make you better or more valuable than a casual player, but I believe that that kind dedication is deserving of the respect and priority of the dev team. If a character is a bit too strong in low-skill public games, some casual players will have an infinitesimally more difficult Ranked experience. If the Overwatch eSports meta becomes stagnant and/or unenjoyable to watch, careers and lives are potentially ruined. The best of the best will find success regardless, but it is the scale of the eSports scene upon which those on the margins of top play depend. Furthermore, I would argue that balancing for eSports will ultimately benefit the whole playerbase, although that’s a topic for another article.
The world could always use more heroes.
Claim 3: Presently, the game is more defined by choice of Main Tank than by any other role. Choosing Winston or Rein will dictate more strategy than almost any other role selection.
With the heroes presently available in Overwatch, the degrees of freedom available in terms of composition and strategy selection are almost entirely dictated by Main Tank selection. When a team selects Winston, more than half of the heroes in the selection screen might as well be blacked out for how weak and non-viable they are in aggressive dive compositions. Reinhardt hero selection acts in a similar way, except that he fully ‘blacks out’ fewer heroes and rather simply demands that a significant portion of his teammates’ heroes are devoted primarily to his defense (a role for which there are only a few meaningful choices).
Under this situation, then, ensuring the viability of both Rein-centric and Winston-centric compositions (as close to a 50/50 as possible) is what will result in the most variable and creatively adaptable meta-game. In the short term, this is the only solution to stagnant meta-games that prevent individual and team flavors from expressing themselves in team-composition choice.
Ideally though, I’d like to see heroes that either add a third option to the Rein/Winston dichotomy or allow the game to potentially be played in a way that isn’t so fundamentally tank-centric (although this may simply be a reality for Overwatch in the medium term). I’m looking at you, Doomfist…
If you read this far, don’t hesitate to give me feedback in the comments or on twitter at @jake_overwatch. This article was pretty intensely theoretical, so if you made it all the way through I appreciate your dedication.
I’d also like to thank Wojtek for his instrumental assistance in refining this piece and also for inspiring its focus.Partygoers smoke marijuana, left, and cigarettes during a Prohibition-era themed New Year's Eve party celebrating the start of retail pot sales, at a bar in Denver, late Tuesday Dec. 31, 2013. Colorado is to begin marijuana retail sales on Jan. 1, a day some are calling?Green Wednesday.' (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
Denver, Colo. is a well-known tourist destination -- its close proximity to some of the most beautiful mountains in the world make the Mile High City an obvious winter vacation choice. But there's a new high that appears to have captured some tourists' interest in the city: the state's newly legalized recreational marijuana.
A recent study from travel planning engine Hopper.com, suggests just that -- people from around the U.S. are searching for flights to Denver much more than they used to and the spike began just as the state's new retail marijuana laws went into effect on Jan. 1. The perceived demand in travel to Denver is represented by the number of search queries by travelers, not by actual ticket purchases.
Hopper's data shows that flight search demand for Denver as a destination has been up at least 10 percent for each of the first three weeks of January, peaking at a 14 percent increase during the first week of the new year. Last year, during the same period, flight search demand to Denver tracked at or below the national average.
"We can never say categorically about what's causing the surge in Denver interest among travelers," Hopper's chief data scientist, Patrick Surry told The Huffington Post. "But what we can do is we can look at what the patterns are in the data and how those stack up against other theories."
Surry looked at two major factors in ruling out other popular reasons to seek Denver out as a destination since the legalization of marijuana: Broncos football games and skiing, both a draw to Denver in the early months of the year. But Surry said that in both of the Broncos' playoff opponents' cities -- Boston and San Diego -- neither showed above average demand for Denver flights and could be likely ruled out as a major factor.
In order to rule out skiing as a major factor that could lead to more travel searches for Denver, Surry looked at similar destination airports in Albuquerque, N.M., Salt Lake City, Ut., and Jackson Hole, Wyo. for their trends. Like Denver, Albuquerque had similar demands to the Mile High City last year but the ski-centric Jackson Hole area had an increase in demand for winter, but starting earlier in November and December, not a sudden rush on January 1.
The interest in flights to Denver appears to also correlate with stricter drug laws in other regions in the U.S.
"The origins that had the biggest increases cluster are in the Midwest and the South -- places like Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Omaha, Kansas City, Nashville and then you have Houston and Tampa," Surry said. Places like Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and Florida -- where Surry saw an increase in interest to travel to Denver -- do not have any laws legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational use.
"The largest increase was actually from Nashville," Surry said. "It was 63 percent over what was going on nationwide -- and then Minneapolis was second largest." Minnesota and Nebraska both have marijuana decriminalization laws on the books, but nothing close to the broad legalization that Colorado now enjoys. "None of the states that already have medical use or recreational use seem to be in the top ten in flight searches to Denver," Surry said.English Translation
“I don’t have either the strength nor the willingness to answer any question. I miss my soul, it has been killed. Tomorrow I’ll be resigning, since tonight the football world isn’t my world anymore. I’ll think only to defend myself from all allegations and wicked actions.”
Luciano Moggi – his last interview as a General Director of Juventus
I, as a die hard Juventino may seem very uninteresting and dull but the article you are about to read is all about facts and no prejudices what so ever.
As a matter of fact, Juventus has taught me a lot of stuff, most importantly to not hate. I was raised watching Juventus succeed and Champions have no reason to hate.
Hence Arbër does not envy Inter, least I could do is expressing the hate so publicly which often if not always results as a failure in an article.
Indeed, we have to be realistic. Dont look at things the way we want them to be. It is just nonsense to think of Inter as the savior of Italian Football for discovering Calciopoli and that they themselves are completely innocent. This of course brings up a very debatable discussion between rival fans and that will probably never end but of course FC Internazionale and Massimo Moratti are both aware of what is happening to Calcio and I personally think they are totally responsible for everything.
When considering Calciopoli, one is actually forced to believe that FC Internazionale and Massimo Moratti are the main conductors of the scandal. Unfortunately Juventus are meant to bare the blame whilst Inter on the other side escaping as “innocent winners”.
Needless to say, AC Milan, another giant club of Calcio and a tough rival of Moratti’s Inter, were also harshly convicted. You want to tell me this is just a coincidence?
In 2006 the Calciopoli scandal was firstly ignited from the pages of a famous football newspaper in Italy called “Gazzetta dello Sport”, a newspaper with Carlo Buora on the board, a very important figure in the TIM (Telecom Italia) board of directors and a managing director in the company of Pirelli. This suspicious newspaper actually printed the transcripts of the conversations of Luciano Moggi and other rival clubs like Fiorentina, Lazio and Milan. This did not result in anything and they were not taken into consideration. Moratti hoped for media tittle-tattle and an attack to Juventus that would probably cause them a lot of harms.
The transcripts were however send to trials in Rome but there was no evidence of a possible scandal and it was concluded that no illegal action existed. Frustration increased and Moratti hoped for another media gossip so that rival clubs could be found guilty.
Andrea Galliani, the then president of FIGC was forced to step down due to speculations and a suspicious guy named Guido Rossi took over the role. He was rather quick in decisions, and as a known Inter fan he punished Juve with a relegation to Serie B. Suspicions do not end here because his next decision was stepping down from FIGC and as already a shareholder in Inter; he took over TIM (Telecom Italia), the company that wiretapped Moggi’s phone calls.
Massimo Moratti, the owner of Inter also appears to be in the board of TIM which increases uncertainties even more. Another gentleman named Tronchetti Provera, the owner of Pirelli actually owns TIM. So again, you want to tell me this is a coincidence?
Sure Juventus have a bone to pick with Inter. All that damage caused to a superpower of European football, it is unlikely that Juventus will even acknowledge the existence of Inter anymore.
How could someone question the accomplishment of such a starting eleven made of at least 6 national team captains? Well, only Inter had a very long time without a trophy, much more a frustration to Moratti that made him spent millions of money, hundreds of transfers and a total of 16 years without a Scudetto. The only trophy Moratti enjoyed was the UEFA Cup in 1999. Surely, with such a success only Moratti could envy the triumph of Turin rivals.
As noted above, considering Calciopoli it is not hard to arrive to a definite statement that Inter themselves fabricated the whole scandal.
Based on the association of FIGC, Gazzetta dello Sport, Telecom Italia (TIM) and Inter, one is enforced to believe that Inter are the main initiators of Calciopoli. Furthermore, given the fact that Inter and Moratti were the only ones to gain from the scandal, the whole farce is now often referred to as “Morattopoli” by rival fans. But one thing was for sure, Inter could finally enjoy success.
Gazzetta dello Sport hid all elements in order to favor Inter and people have to know that Inter’s management and all manager’s from all Italians clubs where phoning with the referee designators, that was in fact allowed in 2006.
So, what was Juve and Milan really accused of? In a nutshell we know it as accused of “having an exclusive relationship with the referee designators” [Pairetto and Bergamo], which was believed to have given both teams some kind of advantage. Sure, if that is considered as unsportsmanlike conduct, a punishment is most probably likely to happen. And as the punishment was never meant to exceed ‘a fine’, it interestingly reached title stripping and point deductions. Obviously, the powerful Guido Rossi appears again, and he decided to make the “contacting a referee designator” a violation, which was actually never in the rules before that. He managed to make “the unexplained” with the calls and grouped the ones that would serve enough to accuse both clubs of match fixing. Embarrassing.
As one would object, there were 171.000 phone calls that disappeared out of nowhere when those were mostly needed for both Juventus and Milan. Basically the calls that were taken into consideration were meant to damage Juve and Milan and the rest of the teams punished. What about the rest of the phone calls? Obviously whith those still present, the whole case scenario would have been different and the punishments would have been pretty fair.
You want to tell me these phone calls could not have helped the situation better? How about giving a real clear picture to Italian Football, if not Juventus and Milan? Well, some of those phone calls fortunately came out and the Inter presidents were overheard speaking to referee designators.
Facts coming from Italy essentially demonstrate that the Calciopoli scandal was mainly built by the media, directly pointed at Luciano Moggi. It is already well popular the fact that investigators hid many conversations to accuse only Luciano Moggi, and show the world that it was him (the best transfer guru the world ever saw at that time) at the head of the conspiracy. How unbelievable.
My approach is to involve the Italian media such as Gazzetta dello Sport, Rai and Sky that have done hardly disinformation. Unfortunately outside of Italy, Gazzetta dello Sport is the reference and the orientation, whilst I think all that had to be denounced.
People probably don’t know that in the famous 170.000 phone conversations, we never heard a conversation between Moggi and a certain referee that was in activity as an official. These things however, appear indisputable with Giacinto Faccheti the then Inter president who passed away in 2006. And that was not allowed!
Additionally, Leandro Meani, who is supposed to have spoken to a number of referees and designators at the time of Calciopoli four years ago, admitted to having had contact with various figures, but he also questioned why Inter were never probed after calls involving individuals from the club emerged at the current trial.
The answer is easy and Inter took benefit from other teams deterioration. The reason they are now winning is because their biggest rivals weakened by Calciopoli. Appalling! Yes Calciopoli did help Inter, it turned them into a winning team by getting half of Juve’s best players and making them a winning mentality, regrettably it just hasn`t or won’t be proven.
People don’t know that referee Danilo Nucini maintained direct relations with Inter, while he was active, or simply Gazzetta dello Sport has never said it!
Nevertheless, I also find it ironic the decision of Italy’s Rai television that last year concluded they will stop showing replays of controversial refereeing decisions this season in a bid to increase debate about tactical issues. Paolo Galimberti the Rai president also said that “they are now thinking about a football of less shouting and more thought”. Oh finally, after all that damage caused to Juve and Milan now the company wants to avoid the heated, if entertaining, arguments which often erupt between specialists on weekend highlights show when referee calls are questioned.
Hence, the Italian referees’ association welcomed the move but its members will only receive partial relief given Italy’s Sky and Mediaset show much more soccer than Rai and neither has plans to drop controversial replays.
To my mind, I can only judge in the aspect of giving Juve, Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio more credit to clear the dirty scapegoat that Inter has imposed to these teams, mainly Juve. It is impossible to think of a different situation when all of these connections between Inter, Pirelli, TIM and Gazzetta dello Sport are so obvious, with the main intention to bring home success by destroying rival clubs like Juventus and Milan. What hurts the most is that Calciopoli is still being investigated despite Inter emerging to be innocent.
For all I know, Inter have actually enjoyed the time of Juventus’ decline and even Milan’s poor form since the Calciopoli scandal occurred. Inter gained 4 consecutive Scudettis, considering the 2005-2006 Scudetto that Juventus had it revoked from them to be awarded to Inter some days later. And yes, they proudly consider that Scudetto to be worthy of.
That kind of a Scudetto is a mixed blessing. It gets you a lot of attention, but people are less likely to consider you seriously.
As regards to this, according to the Italian law the revoked Scudetto was illegal and Juventus are again involved in such a scandal that they continuously require their Scudetto back.
In fact, months ago it was discovered that Massimo Moratti was also involved in such conversations to those of Luciano Moggi back in the years. Moratti’s position in the scandal is questioned and such a discussion may worsen the situation further. This brings up the Calciopoli II, which has already begun and Calcio lovers are waiting for the closing stages as soon as possible, despite who the winner or the loser might be.
One could also ask why those clubs punished did not appeal against. Luciano Moggi has asked the same after the scandal in a lot of interviews and TV shows he took place. However, I highly doubt Lucky Luciano does not know the reason, but that at least shows how uncertain the situation was back then.
In fact, Juventus were mostly damaged and it was up to them to take such a move and as far as I am concerned, Juventus did not appeal because Italy’s world cup presence would have been in a big danger. If such a complication in the scandal appeared, the whole Italian football competition was threatened and/or actually France would have been the winner of 2006 World Cup.
Christian Vieri, a legend for the club of Inter also hit the limelight years ago claiming to know something about Calciopoli. Former Inter striker has suggested the Calciopoli scandal was sparked and created by Nerazzurri president Massimo Moratti in order to make his club the strongest team in Italy and send Juventus down to Serie B.
In this connection, Vieri is currently suing Inter and Telecom Italia for the illegal wire tapping. He also claimed that “he was wiretapped because he always told the truth and that president Moratti did not trust him much”. Christian Vieri confessed that Inter players were made to sign a document to cover up any existence of the plan to take down other clubs. Therefore, he was tapped to ensure that he never spoke of Calciopoli plans to other people.
“I am ready to show everyone the document, everyone knew what was happening. I was spied upon because I cannot keep these things locked up,” Vieri said as reported by Firenze Viola. “Seventy per cent of the contract was to be paid by Inter, and the other 30 per cent by Telecom who used me for advertising campaigns so that they could pay less taxes. “I have only ever spoken about this to Mr [Rinaldo] Ghelfi of Inter, agreeing everything with him. “I felt really sorry for Juventus because I have affection for them. The same with Milan. I thought I was doing something good for my president who has plenty to sell in terms of having a double personality.”
The many conspiracy assumptions are keeping the scandal alive, and as we are now witnessing Calciopoli II, the scandal takes a different view. The scandal is just a conspiracy involving Moratti, Guido Rossi, Carlo Buora and Tronchetti, all of whom are well known Inter loyalists and shareholders.
Last but not least, in Calciopoli II we have also witnessed another case scenario where Luciano Moggi had used Swiss sim cards for making phone calls. This however brings us to another level of ambiguity.
How could have TIM wiretapped the conversations of Moggi using the Swiss sim cards? That would be illegal and according to Luciano Moggi that is a crime that he is currently trying to sue TIM for.
The Calciopoli scandal shook the Italian game to its core in the summer of 2006, leading to the relegation of Juventus to Serie B. The Bianconeri, who were then the dominant side in Italy, had two Scudetti revoked from 2005 and 2006, the latter of which was assigned to Inter. Heavy points penalties were also dished out to the likes of Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina.
Since Calciopoli, the Nerazzurri have dominated Serie A with four consecutive Scudetti, having previously waited since 1989 to win the Campionato. Meanwhile they are fortunately out of the title race this season already as Milan crashed them in San Siro weeks ago with a 3-0 result.
Ever since, we have seen the decline of Serie A and it’s no coincidence that Bundes Liga is now ahead of us. Star players are all attracted to La Liga or Premier Leauge rather than Serie A. Attendance is decreasing and with such humiliation to Calcio, Moratti still considers himself a ‘hero’ of the whole conspiracy. Nicely done Mr. Massimo Moratti.
So what makes one still think Inter are innocent? After all that’s said and done, Moratti needs to build a new way out of Calciopoli since facts don’t lie and they claim Moratti is the main man of the scandal.
Those Scudetti’s were sweat out on the pitch and neither Moratti nor any other made-up scandal can revoke them from the Juventus tifosi. We believe in karma, and looking at the current season of Inter, we are implied to believe that despite being humiliated from the underdogs of Champions League – Schalke 04 [Schalke 07 – as the Bianconeri’s call it now], they are yet to finish a season “trophyless”.
If you liked this follow Arber on Twitter: @arberitozI think I speak for everyone when I say that Wikipedia simply rocks. I use it on a daily basis for researching the background to articles, looking up obscure Japanese anime references or even digging deep into the history of 4chan.
Actually, yuck, on that last one.
But there are plenty of things that Wikipedia doesn’t rock for. For example, if you wanted to work out when the chief executive of Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand, Rod Vawdrey, was appointed to the role, Wikipedia probably couldn’t tell you.
Likewise, if you wanted to dig deep into the history of the corporate jet operated by Denis Mackenzie over at Darwin-based IT services group CSG, you’d have to go elsewhere. And don’t even get me started on how little of the real history of Australia’s telecommunications sector can be found on Wikipedia’s pages.
That’s why today, Delimiter is launching an alternative.
We’re not going to try to kill Wikipedia, nor would we want to. Instead, we’re going to follow in Wikipedia’s footsteps. This morning we launched a public Wiki site that will solely cover Australia’s technology sector — its personalities, companies, issues and memes.
Already, we have more coverage than Wikipedia in some areas — such as the history of Vawdrey’s stewardship of Fujitsu in Australia.
Now, it should be obvious given Wikipedia’s own history, that Delimiter won’t be able to do this alone.
So we’re hoping that companies and individuals in Australia’s technology sector — and that includes the enterprise IT, telco, consumer technology and video gaming verticals — will help us out by editing entries on the new Delimiter Wiki, particularly about themselves, so that we can build a bigger base of knowledge.
All of the content on the Delimiter Wiki will be available under a Creative Commons licence, so you shouldn’t be worried that Delimiter is going to somehow take all of the content people contribute and run off and make buckets of cash with it.
It will stay on the web for perpetuity and (hopefully) become an increasingly valuable resource for Australia’s technology sector, although, as with Wikipedia, we ask that people take a common sense approach to the information contained within its pages — if it gets vandalised, some of the info may not be quite accurate.
We are only planning to use images on the Delimiter Wiki that are public domain (for example, have been released for use by the press) or that we believe we can use under fair use provisions (such as company logos). But if you see an image on the site that you don’t think we should be using, just contact us and explain the situation.
As always, if you have questions or worries about how to contribute to or use the Delimiter Wiki, please drop me a line directly at renai@delimiter.com.au.
We would particularly welcome suggestions as to how we could tweak MediaWiki, the Wiki software we are using — it seems a bit hard for the average user to use, and we still haven’t worked out how to fix the the capitalisation in iiNet’s page, for example.
Image credit: DelimiterDonald Trump thrust the fate of nearly 800,000 young undocumented migrants into uncertainty on Tuesday by terminating the Obama-era program that protects the so-called Dreamers from deportation.
What is Daca and who are the Dreamers? Read more
In response, Barack Obama said the decision was “self-defeating” and contrary to “basic decency”. He said: “A shadow has been cast over some of our best and brightest young people once again.”
The 2012 policy known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) will be phased out by 5 March 2018, leaving Congress with six months to enact new protections for Dreamers through legislation. On Tuesday night, Trump suggested that if Congress failed to “legalize Daca” he would “revisit” the program.
New applications will no longer be accepted, while those currently in the program will all lose their status by March 2020, with the first permits expiring in March 2018 – unless Congress passes legislation allowing the young immigrants to stay.
“I do not favor punishing children, most of whom are now adults, for the actions of their parents,” Trump said in a written statement issued shortly after attorney general Jeff Sessions announced the policy. “But we must also recognize that we are nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws.”
Trump, who later told reporters he had “great love” for Dreamers, said he had advised the Department of Homeland Security that Daca recipients were “not enforcement priorities [for deportation] unless they are criminals, are involved in criminal activity, or are members of a gang”.
And he called on Congress to act, saying he was providing US lawmakers with “a window of opportunity” to address the status of Dreamers. “Congress, get ready to do your job – DACA!” he tweeted earlier.
But the president stopped short of outlining what sort of legislation he would support to codify protections for Dreamers into law.
Sessions announced the administration’s decision in a statement delivered from the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington in which he said Daca was “being rescinded”.
“To have a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest,” Sessions said, “we cannot admit everyone who would like to come here. It’s just that simple.”
Trump’s move follows months of speculation over whether he would keep intact or tear apart the landmark executive action by Barack Obama that lifted the threat of deportation for migrants brought to the US before they were 16.
In a written statement published on social media that did not mention Trump by name, Obama denounced the decision as “self-defeating”.
“To target these young people is wrong – because they have done nothing wrong,” the former president said. “And it is cruel.
“Ultimately, this is about basic decency. This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated. It’s about who we are as a people – and who we want to be.”
There are about 800,000 Daca recipients living in the US, who qualified by having been under the age of 31 as of 15 June 2012. Those applying were vetted for any criminal history or threat to national security and had to be students or have completed school or military service. Their status must be renewed every two years.
Sessions repeatedly referred to the group of young, undocumented immigrants as “illegal aliens” while declaring: “We are people of compassion. But there’s nothing compassionate about the failure to enforce immigration laws.”
He said: “This does not mean they are bad people or that our nation disrespects or demeans them in any way. “It means we are properly enforcing our laws as Congress has passed them.”
In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, senior homeland security officials said they would allow anyone with a Daca permit expiring between now and 5 March to apply for a two-year renewal, so long as the application is submitted by 5 October. But other Dreamers whose permits do not expire within the next six months would be poised to lose their status as early as 5 March, exposing them to the threat of deportation.
The administration also declared that new applications for Daca dated after 5 September will not be considered, shutting down access to the program for those who are not already beneficiaries.
The specifics of what legislation Trump would be willing to sign to protect Dreamers remained unclear. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested the president would not support a standalone bill to grant permanent legal status to Dreamers, telling reporters on Tuesday: “We can’t take just a one-piece fix. We’ve got to do an overall immigration reform that is responsible and is lawful.”
It takes someone with a dark heart to do something as cruel and pointless as this Democratic senator Chris Murphy
Trump’s decision was swiftly condemned by immigration advocates, business leaders and Democrats.
Many supporters of Daca pointed to the contributions of Dreamers – named after failed legislation in Congress – and noted the program already denied access to anyone who was convicted of a felony or deemed a threat to national security or public safety.
“This is a sad day for our country,” Facebook co-founderMark Zuckerberg said. “The decision to end Daca is not just wrong. It is particularly cruel to offer young people the American dream, encourage them to come out of the shadows and trust our government, and then punish them for it.”
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of committing “a deeply shameful act of political cowardice and a despicable assault on innocent young people in communities across America. The president’s cruel and heartless decision to start deporting Dreamers in six months demands an immediate response from the Republican Congress.”
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, said: “It takes someone with a dark heart to do something as cruel and pointless as this.”
The highly partisan atmosphere in Congress will make the passage of any legislation to protect Dreamers difficult. Democrats are near uniform in their support of the Dream Act, which seeks to provide Dreamers with a path to permanent residency, but previous versions of the bill have fallen in the face of steep opposition from conservatives.
US lawmakers, who returned to Washington on Tuesday after the August recess, already face a series of pressing deadlines that include averting a government shutdown and securing emergency funding to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Trump’s decision to throw immigration into the mix not only complicates a packed legislative agenda, but also raises the stakes before the 2018 midterm elections. The president shares a uneasy rapport with Republicans in Congress, who might be reticent to cast politically thorny votes while fending off primary challenges from the right, where any pro-immigrant actions are viewed as “amnesty”.
Pressure had mounted on Trump to determine the fate of Daca. Activists on the right bemoaned the president’s failure to immediately rescind it.
In an attempt to force a decision, 10 state attorney generals, led by Ken Paxton of Texas, imposed an arbitrary deadline of 5 September on which they threatened to take the administration to court. One of those attorney generals, Tennessee’s Herbert Slatery, backed away from the threat last week.
Immigration advocates intensified their campaign to keep Daca intact while directing their pleas to Republicans in Congress. Youth groups launched a hunger strike in the Wisconsin congressional district represented by House speaker Paul Ryan, calling for legislation to make the status of Dreamers permanent.
Additional reporting by Ben JacobsBALTIMORE, Md. -- Clubhouse confidential: A Baltimore reporter said he wasn't used to seeing a shortstop make plays like Asdrubal Cabrera did Sunday in the fourth inning.
"You need to hanging out with us," said manager Manny Acta. "Every single day it's like, 'What is he going to do today?'"
Cabrera, with a man on first, grabbed a grounder hit by Baltimore's Nick Markakis behind second. With his momentum carrying him into center field, and his back to the plate, he made a no-look feed to Luis Valbuena, who turned the 4-6-3 double play.
"Not only did he get to the ball, but the flip, he put something on it which allowed Louie to turn the double play," said Acta. "He has a great sense of where the bases are. It's ridiculous."
Routine: Closer Chris Perez, who has converted 16 straight saves this season and 32 of his last 33 going back to last year, is not superstitious.
"I'm not superstitious because what happens if I don't pitch well?" he said. "Then what do I do? I have a routine in the bullpen, but it's not a superstition. When I'm getting ready to go into a game, I sit down after there are two outs in the inning. But if something happens, I can get back up and get ready quick."
Stat of the day: Carlos Santana's first-inning homer Sunday was the 56th to land on Eutaw Street behind right field at Camden Yards. It was measured at 426 |
Nixon releasing his tax returns during any of his presidential campaigns.
Still, Thorndike said Nixon’s presidential tax return disclosure, while he was president in 1973, did start a tradition where presidents and candidates seeking the highest office release their returns to the public.
Nixon’s successor, Gerald Ford, did not release his tax returns publicly but instead provided a summary of his taxes. But Jimmy Carter did publicly release his tax returns while running against Ford in 1976. In fact, every major-party nominee since Carter has released them to the public, Thorndike said.
Our ruling
Kaine said, "Even Richard Nixon released his tax returns to the public when he was running for president..."
Nixon never released his tax returns during a presidential campaign.
But there is a kernel of truth in Kaine’s statement. Nixon released his full returns when he already was president, to quell controversy over his taxes.
Also while running in 1968, he allowed a reporter to examine his returns, but beyond that limited circumstance, there’s no record that Nixon opened his tax forms to the general public.
While Kaine’s statement has an element of truth, it ignores facts that would create a different impression. We rate his statement Mostly False.
https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/e5913d6f-75bb-4d4e-bb5b-c112a9635685True Blood has made its first major Season 6 hire, and it’s pretty bloody fangtastic.
Acting vet Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner) is joining the HBO smash as a series regular, TVLine has learned exclusively.
RELATED | True Blood Boss Confirms — [Spoiler] Is Really Dead
Hauer will play Macklyn, a mysterious and sinister figure with deep ties to Sookie and Jason.
RELATED | The Real Reason True Blood Stuck a Pin in Sookie and Alcide
Hauer is well known for his portrayal of Blade Runner‘s Roy Batty, a renegade robot trying to evade capture in Ridley Scott’s classic sci-fi film. But the Dutch actor has a varied resume that includes parts in movies like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Batman Begins and Sin City and guest roles in TV’s Smallville and Alias. In 1988, he won a Golden Globe for his work in the TV movie Escape From Sobibor.
True Blood‘s sixth season is slated to premiere in June.MANKATO, Minn. – As if dark Oakley sunglasses and a black ball cap slunk down to his eyebrows didn’t give it away, linebackers coach Mike Singletary is keeping a low profile during his first Vikings camp.
Shortly after Tuesday’s walk-through, Singletary displayed the same quickness that helped him become a hall of fame linebacker, leaving through the side while everyone else used the front gates.
The embattled former San Francisco 49ers head coach is no longer declaring “I want winners!” from a podium. But if he has his way, old friend Leslie Frazier will become one as the Vikings’ first-year coach.
Singletary’s job, he says, is to intercept any distractions headed Frazier’s way.
“I might have the opportunity to do this again, but right now this is his moment, this is his team,” said Singletary, fired by San Francisco after two seasons and a 5-10 record in 2010. “I’d do anything for Les. He knows that.”
From their days together on the vaunted 1985 Chicago Bears defense, Singletary the fiery linebacker has played protector to Frazier the calm, composed cornerback.
If anyone tested Frazier in the locker room, Singletary said he’d tell them, “Don’t say anything to my partner.”
Since the Vikings hired him in January, Singletary has kept one eye on Frazier’s every move as half-friend, half-bodyguard.
“I feel like he’s been protecting me for the 30 years I’ve known him,” Frazier said.
So far, there’s been no reason for Singletary to intervene. Frazier always has been great at relationships, Singletary said, and managing a locker room and coaching staff comes naturally to him.
But Singletary knows the time will come. So he waits.
“I’m here to speak up if something’s not right,” he said. “Whatever it is, whether it’s on the field or in the locker room. I know what he wants, and I have to protect that. I’m here to help him build a winner, and that means having a disciplined, smart team with chemistry. Nothing can jeopardize that.”
Singletary has plenty of responsibility coaching linebackers, arguably the Vikings’ greatest strength because of Chad Greenway and E.J. Henderson. The Vikings will have a new, inexperienced starter at weak-side linebacker, likely Erin Henderson, whom Singletary tutors, and Frazier has leaned on Singletary’s experience on how to conduct team and coaching meetings.
Keeping his linebackers on edge is no problem, apparently. Greenway admits Singletary “scares you a little bit” at first.
Frazier and Singletary hardly have time for casual dinners together, but they often meet briefly at the end of each day to discuss what they observed on the job.
“I’m not a calm person,” Singletary said. “I’m a very vocal person, where he’s calmer. We can balance each other out that way.”
Singletary endured a turbulent last season in San Francisco that included reports of locker room discord and a sideline spat with quarterback Troy Smith. Instead of holding out for a defensive coordinator position, Singletary felt drawn to Minnesota through prayer and friendship.
“I don’t think he regrets where he is,” Frazier said. “I get the impression from everything he’s told me in what he sees in our players that he’s enjoying this experience. He’s moved on from San Francisco.”
But he hasn’t moved on from the hope of head coaching again. Despite admitting he could have handled things differently in San Francisco, Singletary said he “did the best I could with what I had.”
A few years watching Frazier’s back could open more doors.
“I have a long list of things I learned from that time,” Singletary said. “They are lessons I can apply to the future if I ever get that chance again.”The rapid fire pace of daily life takes its toll and often fails to give us even a moment to pause, recover from, or even consider what’s going on around us. Our world is more frenetic, more overwhelming and more opportunity- laden than at any time before in human experience. Modern life has become a hail storm of input, activity, connectivity, and a never ending flow of information. Pressured situations come at us from all sides – at work, in social settings, or at home.
If we’re to make the most of the whirlwind existence sweeping around us, then it’s a good bet that we’ll need some shelter from the storm from time to time. We can’t stay inside forever — literally or figuratively— not unless we want to give up participating in the world and the company of our fellow human beings. So, how do we find a moment of shelter from the storm?
Planning Ahead
No matter what’s going on at any given moment, there are very few conversations, occurrences or situations that would stop you from getting out of life’s hurricane for just a few moments. Knowing that you may need to take refuge of a sort during your day, you can prepare your “emergency shelters” ahead of time and assail the tempest with confidence.
As with most everything, taking the time to plan before hand will be worth hours of damage control after the fact. Just knowing what you would want to do under stressful circumstances, planning the type of response that will serve you best, as well as mentally rehearsing situations over which you want to gain a better control will give you a tremendous advantage. Following through on these things will greatly increase your ability to cope with stressful situations and how to get through them.
Before you get caught in a moment of stress or emotional storm, make a list of the situations or type of situation you want to handle more aptly. Decide what the ideal response would be. Make a list of 3-4 things you can do or say next time that situation comes up. Get a friend to play the other side of the conversation or, if there’s no one that you care to share your practice sessions with, write out or visualize the situation and your preferred responses to it.
Whether you are coping with an irritating co-worker, trying to run the obstacle course that is your teenager’s bedroom, or even explaining to your super-controlling mother-in-law (for the 20th time) why you are going to bring something to the family reunion that your kids will actually eat, instead of the recipe she picked out for you to make, you can get your mental and spiritual umbrella all set up and ready to go before you step out your door.
Stepping Away From the Storms of Life
From my friend Colleen, I learned the fine art of stepping away momentarily from the storms of life. In the middle of relating a story in which she was under a great deal of stress at work, she used a phrase that stopped me dead in my tracks. “I had to get away from the situation for a few moments, so I went in the back and had an invisible cup of tea.”. “A what!?” I interrupted, totally intrigued. “An invisible cup of tea, since I didn’t have time for a real one.” She replied in her signature calm, matter- of- fact manner.
Even if the world is not obliging enough to pause for the amount of time we’d like to have to come up with a reply, catch our mental breath, take a vacation day, or just get organized for the next round of strum und drang brewing up over the horizon, we can build a shelter or two along the road, despite the storms go on around us. Even if all you have is five seconds, you can pause and put up a metaphoric umbrella for yourself.
“What on earth can be done in five seconds?” Someone, somewhere surely would ask. Unless you are being cross-examined by the latest incarnation of Perry Mason, defusing a bomb, or are engaged in life-and-death level activities, you can take a step back—mentally, if not physically— from whatever is going on around you. It’s all too easy to be caught up in the moment and forget that you don’t have to respond to most things in fewer than five seconds.
With five seconds you can:
Take a deep breath and think before you speak
Focus on a pre-chosen image or mantra that you associate with calm, strength, clarity, or whatever you feel you need most at the moment.
Choose to use a phrase that will place the situation on actual physical hold: “Excuse me for a moment.” “I’m sorry; I have to check on something.”
Place the information stream on hold while you catch your breath.
Think of the punch line to your favorite joke.
Ground yourself by touching an item that carries meaning for you– your wedding ring, a souvenir on your desk or a good luck charm in your pocket.
With one minute you can:
Recall what your priorities for the situation are.
Step out of the room and take a brisk turn around the hall.
Pull out pictures of your loved ones and let the good memories flow.
Make a quick list of all the things for which you are grateful.
Recite a prayer or other meaningful utterance.
Imagine what your Mom or your witty roommate from college would say.
With five minutes you can:
Check your facts on the net or in the nearest reference work.
Make a quick call for moral support.
Find a window and get a dose of sunlight
Re-read a note from a loved one.
Plan what your next words will be.
Listen to your favorite song.
Step away from the situation and have an invisible cup of tea.
Final Thoughts
No matter how fast-paced life becomes, no matter how much someone wants you to do something yesterday, no matter that you just froze up like a deer in headlights—take those five seconds, that minute, or five minutes. The world won’t end, and I guarantee you’ll be much happier if you do yourself the kindness to take a moment away from the downpour.
So get ready, prep your umbrella, and smile quietly as you step out your door into the world. You may find that you’ve got more opportunities to use it than you realize at first and you may be surprised to at how much room you have under there to share.
How do you take shelter from the storms of life?
Photo by The Giant VerminThe Patriots have a philosophical question to answer this offseason when they address their wide receivers.
The position needs a dose of reinvigoration, especially with the Seahawks’ physically imposing defense in mind, and that will force them to evaluate Julian Edelman’s importance to the future of the offense. Edelman quickly emerged as an irreplaceable pass catcher last season, and his value would certainly be an asset if he’s re-signed, but the combination of his price tag and similar style to Danny Amendola might stunt the Pats’ growth as they work to improve.
So, before the Patriots hit free agency March 11, they’ve got to figure out what to do with Edelman, who would likely covet a deal similar to Amendola’s (five years and a max value of $31 million). But the Pats will probably prefer to keep Edelman for something similar to their offer to Wes Welker (two years, $10 million, plus a boatload of incentives). Considering Edelman has only earned about $3 million in his first five years in the NFL, it would be understandable if he’s loyal to the money this offseason.
Amendola is a separate issue, particularly after his only registration on the AFC Championship Game stat sheet was a drop. It would actually cost the Pats $225,000 to release Amendola in 2014, so he’s staying put until at least next year, when they’d save $2.1 million by cutting ties.
Now, it’s not a bad idea for the Pats to keep Edelman and Amendola for another season while also expecting second-year progression from Aaron Dobson, Kenbrell Thompkins and Josh Boyce, and hoping for health out of Rob Gronkowski. If the Pats do that, spend a top-two draft pick on another starting-caliber tight end and rework enough contracts (Vince Wilfork and Logan Mankins for example), they could add a free agent receiver from the bargain bin. But a year after missing on Lavelle Hawkins, Michael Jenkins and Donald Jones, that plan needs an alteration.
So, to draft or not to draft? Dobson’s 519 receiving yards were the most by a Pats rookie wideout in the Tom Brady era, and Dobson and Thompkins set the same standard with four touchdowns. But the Pats recognized typical inconsistencies from their rookies with performance and injury, so another project in 2014 might not get them over the hump.
If they do target a receiver in the first two rounds, bigger targets might fit the bill, such as Texas A&M’s Mike Evans (6-foot-5, 235 pounds), Florida State’s Kelvin Benjamin (6-5, 235), Penn State’s Allen Robinson (6-3, 210), Vanderbilt’s Jordan Matthews (6-3, 209), Fresno State’s Davante Adams (6-2, 216), Colorado’s Paul Richardson (6-1, 172), USC’s Marqise Lee (6-foot, 195) or LSU’s Jarvis Landry (6-foot, 195).
However, the Patriots have more immediate needs to fill in the early rounds, especially on the defensive line and at tight end. Unless Evans or Benjamin falls, it might be counterproductive to add another youngster to the mix, as it would actually put Thompkins and Boyce on the roster bubble.
That puts the Pats in play for a free agent, and last year’s upper-echelon group (Mike Wallace, Dwayne Bowe, Greg Jennings) earned between $9 million and $12 million in average annual value, and that might be Eric Decker this offseason. After Decker, the biggest names are Jeremy Maclin and Hakeem Nicks, but their value will be determined by their medical checks.
From there, an imperfect group includes Anquan Boldin, Golden Tate, Emmanuel Sanders, Nate Burleson, Riley Cooper, Kenny Britt and Brandon LaFell. And if the Pats moved on from Edelman, they could replace his special teams services with the likes of Jacoby Jones, Devin Hester, Dexter McCluster or Ted Ginn.
One offseason plan might include keeping Edelman and adding LaFell, Burleson, Cooper or Britt if they feel like dealing with the latter two headaches. Another option could involve parting with Edelman, adding Nicks for two seasons and maybe $7 million to $10 million, depending on his market, and signing one of the returners. Sanders is viewed as an option after he signed an offer sheet last year, but at 5-11 and 180 pounds, he wouldn’t change the shape of the receivers.
Regardless of the ultimate destination, the path to improving the wideouts begins with the Edelman decision and continue through free agency.This is a list of members of the Senate of Canada from the province of Quebec.
Quebec has 24 permanent Senate divisions that are fixed under section 22 of the Constitution Act, 1867, which provides that "In the Case of Quebec each of the Twenty-four Senators representing that Province shall be appointed for One of the Twenty-four Electoral Divisions of Lower Canada..." Lower Canada (later the eastern portion of the Province of Canada) was Quebec's predecessor colony.
In addition to the other qualifications for appointment to the Senate, a Quebec senator must, in accordance with subsection 23(5) of the Constitution Act, 1867, be "have his Real Property Qualification in the Electoral Division for which he is appointed, or shall be resident in that Division". In other words, the senator must either live in his or her division or own an immovable in the division worth at least $4,000 on a net basis. The Quebec senator must continue to meet this qualification to remain in office under subsection 31(5) of the Constitution Act, 1867.
In other provinces, although Senators can designate their own divisions within the province they represent, those designations do not have legal significance.
Current Quebec senators [ edit ]
1 Senators are appointed by the Governor-General of Canada on the recommendation of the prime minister listed.
Members by Senate division [ edit ]
The boundaries for all Quebec districts are mandated in the Constitution Act 1867 and cannot change without a constitutional amendment. The boundaries are described in the 1859 Consolidated Statutes of Canada.[1]
Self-designated Senate divisions can be used by senators appointed under the Regional Expansion Clause Section 26 of the Constitution Act 1867. This clause can be used to increase the Senate seats by one or two senators for each region (Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and the Western Provinces). Prime Minister Brian Mulroney is the only one to use this clause, on September 27, 1990.
Name Affiliation Division Date Appointed/
Affiliation Change Appointed by On the advice of End of term Reason Normand Grimard Progressive Conservative Quebec September 27, 1990 Hnatyshyn Mulroney June 16, 2000 Retirement Thérèse Lavoie-Roux Progressive Conservative Acadie September 27, 1990 Hnatyshyn Mulroney March 12, 2001 Resignation
Alma [ edit ]
The Alma Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Parishes of Long Point, Pointe-aux-Trembles, Rivière des Prairies, Sault aux Récollets, in the county of Hochelaga, and that part of the Parish of Montreal which lies to the East of the prolongation of St. Denis Street; the County of Laval, that part of the City of Montreal which lies to the East of Bonsécours and St. Denis Streets, and their prolongation."
Bedford [ edit ]
The Bedford Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Counties of Missisquoi, Brome, and Shefford."
De la Durantaye [ edit ]
The De la Durantaye Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The remainder of the County of L'Islet, the countie[s] of Montmagny and Bellechasse and the Parishes of St. Joseph, St. Henri and Notre Dame de la Victoire, in the County of Lévi." The demarcation of the Grandville Senate division provides an explanation of what constitutes the "remainder of the County of L'Islet".
De la Vallière [ edit ]
The De la Vallière Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Counties of Nicolet and Yamaska, the Townships of Wendover, Grantham, and the part of Upton which lies in the County of Drummond."
De Lanaudière [ edit ]
The De Lanaudière Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The remainder of the County of Maskinongé, the Counties of Berthier and Joliette, with the exception of the Parish of St. Paul, the Township of Kidldare and its augmentation, and the Township of Cathcart". The demarcation of the Shawinigan Senate division provides an explanation of what constitutes the "remainder of the County of Maskinongé".
De Lorimier [ edit ]
The De Lorimier Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Counties of St. John and Napierville; St. Jean Chrysostôme and Russeltown in the County of Chateauguay; Hemmingford in the County of Huntingdon."
De Salaberry [ edit ]
The De Salaberry Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The remainder of the County of Chateauguay, the remainder of the County of Huntingdon, and the County of Beauharnois." The demarcation of the De Lorimier Senate division provides an explanation of which parishes are excluded from the De Salaberry Senate division.
Grandville [ edit ]
The Grandville Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Counties of Temiscouata and Kamouraska, the Parishes of St. Roch des Aulnets and St. Jean Port Joli, and the prolongation thereof in a straight line to the Province Line in the County of L'Islet."
Gulf [ edit ]
The Gulf Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Counties of Gaspé, Bonaventure and Rimouski."
Inkerman [ edit ]
The Inkerman Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Counties of Argenteuil, Ottawa and Pontiac."
Kennebec [ edit ]
The Kennebec Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Counties of Lotbinière, Mégantic and Arthabaska."
La Salle [ edit ]
The La Salle Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The remainder of the County of Quebec, the County of Portneuf, and all that part of the Banlieue of Quebec which likes within the Parish of Notre Dame de Quebec." The demarcation of the Laurentides Senate division provides an explanation of what constitutes the "remainder of the County of Quebec".
Lauzon [ edit ]
The Lauzon Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The remainder of the County of Lévi, the Counties of Dorchester and Beauce." The demarcation of the De la Durantaye Senate division provides an explanation of what constitutes the "remainder of the County of L'Islet".
Mille Isles [ edit ]
The Mille Isles Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Counties of Terrebonne and Two Mountains."
Montarville [ edit ]
The Montarville Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Counties of Verchères, Chambly and Laprairie."
Repentigny [ edit ]
The Repentigny Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Parish of St. Paul, the Township of Kildare and its augmentation, and the Township of Cathcart, in the County of Joliette, the Counties of L'Assomption and Montcalm."
Rigaud [ edit ]
The Rigaud Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The remainder of the Parish of Montreal, and the Counties of Jacques Cartier, Vaudreuil and Solanges." The demarcation of the Alma Senate division provides an explanation of what constitutes the "remainder of the Parish of Montreal".
Rougemont [ edit ]
The Rougemont Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The remainder of the County of St. Hyacinth, the Counties of Rouville and Iberville." The demarcation of the Saurel Senate division provides an explanation of what constitutes "the remainder of the County of St. Hyacinth".
Saurel [ edit ]
The Saurel Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Counties of Richelieu and Bagot, the Parishes of St. Denis, La Présentation, St. Barnabé, and St. Jude, in the County of St. Hyacinth."
Shawinigan [ edit ]
The Shawinigan Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Counties of Champlain and St. Maurice, the Town of Three Rivers, the Parishes of River du Loup, St. Léon, St. Paulin, and the Township of Hunterstown and its augmentation, in the County of Maskinongé."
Stadacona [ edit ]
The Stadacona Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The remainder of the City and Banlieue of Quebec." The demarcation of the La Salle Senate division provides an explanation of what constitutes the "remainder of the City...of Quebec".
The Laurentides [ edit ]
The Senate division of The Laurentides is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The Counties of Chicoutimi, Charlevoix, Saguenay and Montmorency, the Seigniory of Beauport, the Parish of Charlebourg, the Townships of Stoneham and Tewkesbury, in the County of Quebec."
Victoria [ edit ]
The Victoria Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The remainder of the City of Montreal exclusive of the Parish." The demarcation of the Alma Senate division provides an explanation of what constitutes the "remainder of the city of Montreal".
Notes:
1 Lyman Duff served as acting Governor General from February 11, 1940 to June 21, 1940 in his capacity as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
Wellington [ edit ]
The Wellington Senate division is defined in the Consolidated Statutes of Canada (1859) as "The remainder of the County of Drummond, the County of Richmond, the Town of Sherbrooke, the Counties of Wolfe, Compton, and Stanstead." The demarcation of the De la Vallière Senate division provides an explanation of what constitutes the "remainder of the County of Drummond".
See also [ edit ]Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Israel’s decision to allow building in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, calling it an “absolute provocation” during a speech he delivered in Bahrain during an official visit to the country.
His comments were carried live on Turkish television, according to Reuters.
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Erdogan has maintained close ties with the ruling Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, a group that was spawned by the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization with which Erdogan also has a strong bond. Hamas is continuing to intensify its influence in the regions of Judea and Samaria, both of which have been governed by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas from his Muqata headquarters in Ramallah. On Monday, Hamas announced the election of a new leader — Yahyah Sinwar — in a secret ballot. Sinwar is a senior commander in the terror group’s military wing, Izz a-Din al-Qassam who is known for being more of an extremist than most of the group’s members.
It’s only recently that Turkey has reinstated its diplomatic ties with Israel after a six-year hiatus that followed a 2010 clash between Israeli commandos and armed Turkish “activists” aboard a Turkish-owned flotilla vessel, the Mavi Marmara, participating in an illegal attempt to breach Israel’s defensive maritime blockade of Gaza.
The Knesset passed a Land Normalization Law on February 6, 2017 that would legalize communities that were unknowingly built on land that was privately owned by Arab citizens of the Palestinian Authority.
The United Kingdom also slammed the measure immediately after it was passed.
If the law is not struck down by Israel’s Supreme Court – which it may be – the Normalization Law would allow the government to compensate Arab land owners who are able to prove their claims of land ownership over the formerly empty plots where any settlements were built.
The owners would either receive a large financial package or an alternative plot of land.
In the case of land with unknown owners, the government could legally expropriate the land. The legislation would also require the settlement to have acted in good faith at the time it was built, and that its leaders did not know the land was privately owned.http://gty.im/459882452
A Look At First Year Production And A Tempering Of Expectations For This Rookie Class.
The NFL draft is an exciting event for football fans. Fans of the college game get to see the kids they’ve been watching as teenagers realize their dreams and receive an opportunity to play on Sundays. Fans of the professional game get a look at the potential future stars for their favorite team. The NFL draft is an event that embodies everything that the NFL offseason is for fans: hope.
Every fourth round pick could be the next Russell Wilson. Every first round pick could be the guy that changes a franchise. Any undrafted rookie could be the next Arian Foster. Even the smartest minds in the draft community can’t tell you with any reliable certainty how each player’s career will look. Every player is a potential star until they first step foot on the field.
The truth is that not every player can be a star. Not every player can be an adequate starter. The truth is that most of these players will be out of the league in a couple of years, or they will provide depth for their team. It is a sobering fact to think about for all of us on our post-draft-highs, but that is the way the NFL works. It is a tough league, and not everybody is cut out for it.
The 2014 rookie class really took the NFL by storm. More than anything, Lions fans remember it as the year that the team drafted Eric Ebron before Aaron Donald and Odell Beckham. While Beckham and Donald solidified themselves as stars in the NFL, Ebron has yet to elevate his game to that level. Eric Ebron is playing out the more traditional career in the NFL. At first glance, he appears to be the outlier in that 2014 first round. In reality, that rookie class was an outlier itself. Drafts do not generally produce close to that many NFL-ready impact players. Most players take time.
Unfortunately, the recency of this draft has infected us with unrealistic expectations that rookies need to produce. There aren’t many highly-drafted quarterbacks that have the opportunity to sit on the bench for a year and learn the offense anymore. Fans want these players to win their fantasy league for them. We want Odell Beckham. We want Ezekiel Elliot. As fans, we often demand instant production, but it is worth remembering that there are plenty of good players that weren’t necessarily good from day one.
Last Year’s Rookie Class
Last year, not a single rookie quarterback threw for over 4000 yards. Dak Prescott has been hailed as a rising star in the NFL. He was elected to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season. He had success in the win column. However, he ended the year with just 3667 yards passing. This is not to say that he is a bad player, or that he isn’t going to develop into a star, just that his statistical production was underwhelming. He was a rookie. He was working with a more limited offense to cater to his learning curve. The team leaned on the running game. This is how many successful quarterbacks begin their career. Quarterback is the toughest position in the NFL, and these young players need time to learn how to process and play at the NFL level.
Of last year’s rookie class, only two running backs exceeded 1000 yards. Many Lions fans and media analysts considered running back to be a need for the Lions. Many people have been disappointed that Ameer Abdullah has not eclipsed the thousand yard mark. Only Ezekiel Elliot and Jordan Howard surpassed that mark. It isn’t as simple as just drafting a running back. Not every back drafted highly is going to be a star out of the gate. Derrick Henry worked in reserve of Demarco Murray last year. That doesn’t make him a bust. He, like many others, is making the transition from the college game to the NFL game. He’s getting the opportunity to learn pressure-free.
No receivers from last year’s class reached 1000 yards. Michael Thomas came close with 981 yards but ultimately missed the mark. Four wide receivers were selected in the first round. Coleman, the first off the board, ended with 373 yards receiving. Will Fuller collected 673 yards through the air. Josh Doctson spent his rookie season on the injury reserve. Laquon Treadwell struggled to see the field and ended the year with the same number of receptions as Sam Bradford.
http://gty.im/579557668
Even the most successful of the rookie wide receivers wasn’t entirely ready for the NFL. Michael Thomas started the year in a more limited role. He ran primarily a few different routes while he developed his game. As fans, we want to see these guys come out and play right away. We want to see them make an instant impact in meaningful ways. Even the guys that make that impact are growing, learning, trying to reach their full potential. Michael Thomas came from Ohio State. Kenny Golladay is coming from a small school. That is only going to make the transition more difficult. That doesn’t mean he can’t do it, only that he will probably need some time. Fans need to be patient.
No rookie pass rusher reached double digit sacks. Joey Bosa racked up 9.5 sacks and was considered to be an instant star as a pass rusher. When draft analysts call prospects double digit sack players, they are generally speaking in terms of potential. They are saying that this guy could develop into a double-digit sack player, not that he has the tools to do that right away.
Cornerback is among the most difficult transitions for college players. The most interceptions by a rookie last year was three. Teez Tabor has excellent instincts and ball skills, but that doesn’t always translate right away. The NFL moves at a different speed. Offenses are more complex. The guys on the other side of the ball are bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter than the guys these defensive backs played in college. Darius Slay was benched multiple times throughout his rookie season. He is now a lock-down corner for the Lions. Slay had an adjustment period, like most rookies in the NFL.
Looking Forward
2014 spoiled us. Players all over that first round came in and made an instant impact. There are pro-bowlers all over the board. There are players making significant contributions to their teams that went undrafted. That class is not what fans should expect from this class or any class for that matter. These players deserve our patience. For every Odell Beckham there is a Darius Slay. As fans, we need to temper our early expectations.
These players aren’t generally drafted for immediate production. Teams are usually drafting these guys with their future, rather than their present, in mind. Is Jalen Reeves-Maybin going to start day one? Probably not. We may see very limited tackle production from him this year, but Bob Quinn and the front office saw things in his tape that make them think that he can be a quality player for the Lions down the road.
As much as we want to hope that this Lions rookie class is going to come out and set the world on fire, we have to remember that it is rare for a class to do that. I think we, as fans, were happy with the production that the Lions got out of the rookie class last year. I don’t think the class disappointed many people. As the roster gets stronger and stronger, we will see less and less production out of the first year players. The better Quinn makes this roster, the less the team has to lean on players who need time to develop. As fans, we should be happy that the team is moving in that direction.
http://gty.im/495476076
Thanks for checking out the article everyone. Go Lions! You can follow me on Twitter @Lanny1925 and be sure to join the community on the Detroit Lions subreddit.Burger King could be the next American company to move its operation abroad -- a move that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says displays the "contempt" that big business has for average Americans.
In a HuffPost Live interview Monday, Sanders weighed in on the fast-food chain's plans, which would create a new holding company headquartered in Canada through a buyout of doughnut chain Tim Hortons and drastically reduce its tax bill in the process.
"I think it is about growth, but I think it also is about taxes," he told host Alyona Minkovski. "Burger King is so visible, it puts the focus on the general behavior of corporate America and, in a sense, the contempt that they feel for the average American, and in fact, the United States of America."
Sanders warned that if companies continue to move overseas, tax revenues and government funding for health care and educational programs could be at risk. He argued that since such businesses became profitable with American labor and consumption, they should stay in the U.S.
"These companies can't claim to be American when it benefits |
ela killed herself in November 2016 after being relentlessly bullied about her weight. She shot herself in the chest in her room in front of her family. Vela had changed her phone number and reported the bullying to police, but was told they couldn't help her.Photo via Flickr user Alan Levine
To make it in the entertainment business, you gotta be hungry. Suffice it to say, comedians Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell, veterans of Comedy Bang! Bang!, @midnight, Love, and The Birthday Boys, have better-than-average appetites. Their weekly podcast Doughboys—a tentpole of the independent radio compound helmed by Rick & Morty and Community creator Dan Harmon—chronicles the duo's game attempt to unironically rate and review this sprawling nation's innumerable fast-food and chain restaurants.
In between bites, MUNCHIES hooch correspondent Jesse Farrar caught up with the 'boys to discuss the Ins and Out of imbibing at the thousands of places where nobody knows your name.
This interview has been edited for content and clarity.
Thanks for talking with MUNCHIES again, guys. Since your last interview with us, a lot has happened in the Doughboysverse. We rode the emotional rollercoaster of the Doughlympics, there have been various meetings of note, and the show has almost ended a handful of times. Do you guys feel like you're just hitting your stride? Mitch: Hmm, "stride" is a funny word. I think we're in it. Whether we like it or not, we're deep into the show. Nick: Yeah, it's kind of like when guys serving in 'Nam would say they're "in the shit"—that's how we feel. We're in the shit. We just gotta deal with it.
In your experience, what makes for the best drinking experience at a chain restaurant? Who does it best on a large scale? Nick: In terms of scale, that word made me think of Buffalo Wild Wings immediately. Because they have a very wide selection of beverages, and while a lot of their cocktails can be on the sweet side, they also have a lot of beers—a lot of draft beers—which is nice. Mitch: I agree with Nick that Buffalo Wild Wings has a fun selection of beers, but we went to Dave & Buster's the other night, and they have a lot of bad drinks. But they have a lot of fun drinks, too. They have some crazy, fun, indulgent drinks that adults don't get to have fun with, or would be too embarrassed to order at a real bar. Nick: They've got like a Patriotic Sno-Cone. It's like when Taffer rehabs a bar, and he's got their new specialty cocktail that's served in a glowing skull. Dave and Buster's has all that gimmicky shit. It's kind of fun even if it is too sweet, just because it's got so much flair to it.
Lately, BWW has been advertising that they have "the perfect number of taps", the logic being that too many taps will mean less fresh beer, and too few will mean a lacking sample size. Does that track with you at all? What's the perfect number of taps for you guys, if such a thing exists? Do you even look? Mitch: I do think about that a lot. There's this place in Los Feliz, and they have a huge selection of beers, but the beers end up tasting sour or something. I love a place that has a huge drink variety, but you have to be on top of the taps. It's an important thing. Maybe Buffalo Wild Wings does have the right number of taps. Nick: When I see a legion of taps, unless it's a brewery or a brewpub, I get a little wary. It becomes The Drunkard's Gamble, where the tap isn't cleaned or the amount of carbonation is off. There's so many things that can go haywire when you have 64 or 128, some insane number of taps. The other thing is, I get paralyzed by indecision when there are that many options.
Mitch, I know you've been vocal in your support of the Mai Tai. Is that your go-to adult beverage at chain restaurants? A sort of boozy litmus test? Mitch: If a place says they're great at mixed drinks, and I try a Mai Tai, and it's not great, I will think, "You guys are all bark". It's not a complicated drink, but it is a hard one to do well. I don't 100% judge a place by that, but if it's supposed to have great mixed drinks, I will. It is probably my favorite cocktail, though, and I think it has rubbed off on Wiger a bit. Wiger: My go-to classic cocktail is a margarita. It's nice when a place can execute a classic drink. My wife loves martinis, and that's another good barometer to gauge the mixology skills of a chain restaurant. But at chains, I'm more likely to order off their specialty cocktail menu, because those are the things they're really drilling their bartenders on, and you can expect them to execute with consistency.
A common theme with chain restaurants seems to be that their cocktail menu, if offered, is full of overly sweet or syrupy concoctions. What's up with that? Are they just slow on the uptake? How many months away are we from craft cocktails at Chili's? Wiger: I wouldn't be surprised if they are under-pouring some of these drinks, but also they're not giving you premium brands. They're giving you bottom-shelf, mid-tier liquor, and it's easier to cover that up with a bunch of sweetness. But also, some of the people who dine at chain restaurants are maybe only social drinkers, and not be as into the taste of alcohol. Mitch: I don't know whether it's they don't have the craft bartenders at these places, or the audience is just casual drinkers, like Nick was saying. But it's also just fun to have a big, dumb, syrupy drink and they probably save some money on them. I don't go to Bubba Gump for good food—I don't think I'm going to have a great meal at Bubba Gump—if I'm there, I do want to have a Corona margarita drink or whatever the hell I'm going to get. It just goes with the atmosphere.
Any advice for restaurants looking to add or improve their beverage selections? Put your Taffer caps on for a second—what is the average chain restaurant not doing that they could and should be doing right now? Nick: One thing that I'd like to see more of—I feel like California Pizza Kitchen does a decent job—is guiding you on their menu with what would pair with what dish. The average consumer maybe doesn't have much awareness besides white wine with fish or chicken and red wine with red meat. I think if there was a little bit of suggestion on the menu that would be helpful, and it would also give a bit of synergy to ordering a specific drink with a specific dish, etc... Another thing I'd like to see someone take a shot at from a beverage standpoint is: I don't feel like I've seen the wine-bar concept on a chain level. Is anyone really trying that? Maybe Carrabba's or Olive Garden are pushing their wines a little more, but the idea of a place where it's going to be friendly and inviting, and unintimidating. Make a wine bar for the common man...that could be a concept that could succeed, especially if you find some food that pairs with it.
Olive Garden is offering $0.25 wine samples now, by the way. Nick: Are they really? So you could just go and pound shots of Cabernet for 25 cents a pop. Mitch: Nick's idea sounds like it could be a gigantic failure. ALL: [laugh] Mitch: If there's one thing that we've found out about chain restaurants, it's that it's hard to predict what will and won't work. Trying not to be something that you aren't is the most important thing.
Words to live by. Thanks for your time, guys.
New episodes of Doughboys air every Thursday on FeralAudio.com. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and follow along on Twitter @doughboyspodA US federal judge ruled yesterday (Nov. 9) against the National Security Agency for its bulk collection of phone call records, first disclosed by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013. It’s a largely symbolic win against the agency, but one still celebrated by Snowden and other opponents of mass surveillance.
Washington, DC district court judge Richard Leon granted an injunction to bar the National Security Agency (NSA) from collecting the phone call data of J.J. Little, a California attorney and conservative activist, along with data from his small legal practice.
In his ruling, Leon said it is “substantially likely” that the bulk collection program is “unlawful”—and furthermore, that Little and his law firm have “suffered a concrete harm” from of the collection and warehousing of their phone records.
Unlike previous rulings against the NSA, Leon’s ruling will go into effect immediately, as Newsweek points out, because Leon’s opinion does not grant a stay. The NSA has nevertheless filed for an emergency stay from a higher court.
Leon’s ruling is far from the wide-reaching win that privacy advocates may have hoped for, because it is so limited in its scope: it only applies to Little and his law firm. It also comes a bit late, just a few weeks before the NSA is scheduled to end this program, as mandated by Congress, and put a new one with more restrictions in place.
Snowden, in any case, applauded the ruling on Twitter, calling it a “historic decision.”NewsFaith
ROME, August 28, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pope Francis, as well as other Christian leaders in the Middle East and around Europe are sounding the alarm of a possible global conflict should the US and other western powers launch an attack on Syria.
In an interview with Vatican Radio yesterday, the Syrian Chaldean Catholic bishop of Aleppo, Antoine Audo, said that armed intervention in Syria could unleash a “world war.”
“If there is an armed intervention, that would mean, I believe, a world war. That risk has returned,” he said.
The comments follow an urgent appeal by Pope Francis this weekend for the world’s powers not to intervene in the escalating Syrian conflict. On Sunday, Pope Francis called on the international community to do everything they could to avoid military action, calling for them “to be more sensitive to this tragic situation and make every effort to help the beloved Syrian nation find a solution to a war that sows destruction and death.”
“The increase in violence in a war between brothers, with the proliferation of massacres and atrocities, that we all have been able to see in the terrible images of these days, leads me once again raise my voice that the clatter of arms may cease," he said during the Angelus. "It is not confrontation that offers hope to resolve problems, but rather the ability to meet and dialogue.”
Bishop Audo added to Vatican Radio, “We hope that the Pope’s call for real dialogue between the warring parties to find a solution can be a first step to stop the fighting.”
L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s quasi-official paper, also criticised the threats by Western powers, accusing US President Obama of pursuing a policy of “political expediency” rather “than of substance.”
Britain, France and the US are widely reported to be preparing military strikes against Syria. They argue that credible reports of the government using chemical weapons against the Islamist rebels and civilians show the government has violated international peace treaties. The matter escalated rapidly last week when workers with the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said three hospitals in the Damascus area had seen about 3,600 patients suffering from “neurotoxic symptoms,” of whom 355 had died.
The Syrian Civil War began in 2011 with uprisings in many Middle Eastern countries, largely motivated by conflict between the two main factions of Islam, Sunnis and Shias, that western media dubbed the “Arab Spring.” The Obama administration has backed the rebels, and US diplomatic hostility to the Shia Assad regime has escalated recently, despite warnings that rebels are funded and supported by the Sunni Islamic extremist group the Muslim Brotherhood, and ultimately Al-Qaeda. Reports have increased daily of attacks by rebel fighters against Christian Syrian civilians, their homes, schools and institutions.
While refugees, both Muslim and Christian continue to pour out of the country into refugee centres in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, Christian leaders around the world are calling on the Obama administration and the British government to recognise and oppose the threat to the remaining Christian population in Syria. Reports on the ground have said that the country has become a magnet for Islamic extremists, many from Europe, who are carrying out a violent pogrom against Christians.
The Syrian-born Patriarch Gregoire III Laham has echoed Bishop Audo’s warning of a “world war”. He told Catholic News Service by telephone today from the Patriarchate’s summer residence in Lebanon, “Enough with the intervention!”
“It is fueling hatred, fueling criminality, fueling inhumanity, fueling fundamentalism, terrorism -- all these things are the fruit of intervention. Enough!” He added, “Surely, it will spread like a world war.”
“The Holy Father was very clear on Aug. 25," the patriarch said. “This is the real voice to be heard, and not the voice of weapons and interventions and of warships.”
“Instead of trying to change the (Syrian) government, help the government to change. We are all for change. We are all for reforms. But not in this way, with blood.”
Laham, who is the Patriarch of the Melkite Catholics, (in canonical union with the See of Rome) of Antioch of the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem, repeated the warning to AsiaNews, saying, “We must listen to the Pope’s appeal for peace … Syria needs stability.”
“If western countries want to create true democracy then they must build it on reconciliation, through dialogue between Christians and Muslims, not with weapons. This attacked being planned by the United States is a criminal act, which will only reap more victims, in addition to the tens of thousands of these two years of war. This will destroy the Arab world's trust in the West.”
The planned attack, he said, will affect the whole Syrian population, saying this outcome was no less serious than the use of chemical weapons. It will sink the area into total war, which, he said, the Islamists will win, reducing the country to small, constantly warring enclaves, and pushing the remaining Christians out.
“The disappearance of the Christians,” he said, “is a danger not only for Syria, but for all of Europe.” The presence of Christians in the Middle East, he called “the essential condition for a moderate Islam, which exists thanks to the Christians.”
“If we leave, there can be no democracy in Syria. This is supported also by the Muslims themselves, who fear the Islamist’s madness. Many say that they cannot live where there are no Christians.”
The Patriarch continued, asking, “What or who have led Syria to this thin red line, this point of no return? Who created this hell in which our people have been living for months?”
“Every day…Islamic extremists from all over the world are pouring into Syria with the sole intent to kill and not one country has done anything to stop them, even the U.S. has decided to send in more weapons.”
The calls for restraint from Catholic leaders was joined today by the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate. Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, accused the US, “as was the case in Iraq,” of “acting as an international executioner.” Hilarion told AsiaNews that the US is acting without the endorsement of the UN, adding, “They want to decide the fate of a whole country of millions of inhabitants.”
“Once again, thousands of lives will be sacrificed on the altar of an imaginary democracy.” Among these victims, he added, are “Christians, about whose fate no one cares.” These are at “risk of becoming hostages to the situation and the main victims of radical extremist forces, who, with the help of the United States, will come to power.”
The Russian government has also strongly opposed Western intervention. Tonight a statement from the Foreign Ministry said that US-led attacks would have “catastrophic consequences for other countries of the Middle East and North Africa”. The statement said the US is bypassing the UN Security Council, and creating “artificial groundless excuses for a military intervention”.
The Syrian government admitted in 2012 to having stockpiled both chemical and biological weapons, including VX, Sarin and mustard gas, claiming that they were for use only against foreign aggressors. The country is signatory to the 1925 Geneva Protocol which banned chemical weapons following the horrors of gas attacks in WWI.
Meanwhile, reports are rapidly escalating of Islamic attacks on Christian churches, schools and other institutions in Syria and other places in the Middle East, most notably in Egypt. The Associated Press reported that as of today, 638 people are confirmed dead, and nearly 4,000 injured in Egypt.Hillary Clinton vs. Bernie Sanders: Democratic frontrunners disagree on Wall Street, minimum wage and trade "I differ with Clinton in many areas," Bernie Sanders told MSNBC host Chris Hayes
"Real areas of disagreement are finally starting to emerge between the leading [Democratic] candidates," said Chris Hayes on his show last night. Hayes spoke with Bernie Sanders to discuss the 2016 candidate's stance on issues such as gun control reform and trade.
When asked asked whether Sanders anticipates trade causing an issue between himself and Hillary Clinton during next week's first Democratic debate, Sanders' simple answer was "yes."
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"We disagree on Wall Street and what we should do, whether or not we should break up large banks. We disagree about how high the minimum wage should go... We disagree about our college plans... And we disagree on trade," said Sanders.
Watch the conversation below:Where does the name Japan come from?
Marco Polo's caravan
The name of the country in Japanese is Nihon or Nippon, written 日本 in Chinese characters. The characters mean "the origin of the sun". This comes from the position of Japan to the east of China. However, neither "Nihon" nor "Nippon" sounds much like "Japan", so the origin of the word Japan is mysterious. Marco Polo never visited Japan, only China, but in a book he mentions the island of Chipangu. Some people say that this is the origin of "Japan". Others claim that "Japan" came from Malaysian 'Jih-pun' or something similar, which came from a southern Chinese dialect reading of Nippon.
Others say that when Marco Polo visited China, Chinese pronunciation was close enough to modern Mandarin that the character for "day/sun" (日) was a retroflex fricative, something like the "Z" in "Zsa Zsa Gabor", or "j" and "r" pronounced simultaneously and held for a syllable. The character for "origin/root/book/scroll" (本) was read something like "pun" (as in modern Mandarin, though it sounds more like the English word "bun" to English speakers), so Marco Polo did the best he could in Italian with what sounded to him like "jrjrrrpun". The weakest part of this account is the attribution to Marco Polo; perhaps it was somebody who came along later?
See also What are the names of Japan?
Acknowledgements
Edited from a post by Bart Mathias.
Copyright © 1994-2019 Ben Bullock
If you have questions, corrections, or comments, please contact Ben Bullock or use the discussion forum / PrivacyTarget's security staff may have been aware of vulnerabilities in the retailer's systems months before a massive breach compromised data on millions of shoppers. The Wall Street Journal reports that at least one internal analyst had called for a thorough review of the defenses around Target's payment terminals, which were later infiltrated during the sophisticated attack. That request was initially "brushed off" according to the Journal. It's unclear if a review was eventually granted before hackers made off with 40 million debit and credit card numbers — and a wealth of other customer information. The specific nature of those concerns are also unknown, the Journal says, so any vulnerabilities exploited by the hackers may have still been in place even after the requested review.
Target maintains an "extensive" cybersecurity intelligence team, according to a former employee who spoke with the Journal. US retailers reportedly deal with many threats each week, and their security teams face the difficult task of prioritizing some of those threats over others. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Target hackers managed to sneak their way into the company's systems by stealing credentials from a contractor. From there, they planted malicious code targeting the retailer's payment terminals. In the wake of the attack, some Target customers have been hit with fraudulent charges, forcing banks to replace millions of credit and debit cards. An investigation to find those responsible remains ongoing. Be sure to keep up with our StoryStream to get all the latest on the Target situation.Image caption More than half of councils now collect domestic rubbish once a fortnight
The government has admitted it cannot force councils in England to provide weekly bin collections.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles had hoped to include the measure in a new waste strategy but it was watered down following a row with officials at Defra, the BBC understands.
The strategy says collections should happen "more frequently" but it is up to councils to offer "local solutions".
Labour said the result was "another broken promise" by the government.
But Mr Pickles insisted the strategy would provide better value for money for householders.
Better service
He said: "Families pay £120 a month in council tax. Both Whitehall and the town hall need to raise their game to deliver more frequent and better rubbish and recycling collections in return."
ANALYSIS A return to weekly bin collections has been a popular Tory theme. But ministers now seem to accept they can't make councils do it. Over half of local authorities in England now run some form of fortnightly scheme. Most have invested heavily and say they won't go back. Behind the scenes there has been a battle going on in recent days. I understand Eric Pickles was pushing until the last minute to get a stronger commitment on weekly collections into the waste review. But it contains no firm measures or incentives for councils to act. Ministers say the objective remains but it's not clear how or whether it can be achieved.
Downing Street said the government understood that "people have a reasonable expectation that their bins are collected on a weekly basis" but although ministers "had a view" about the frequency of collections "ultimately councils are accountable to their local electorate".
The BBC understands that once councils told ministers the £100m a year cost of reintroducing weekly bin collections would have to be met by central government, the idea was effectively shelved.
More than half of councils now collect domestic rubbish once a fortnight. Some authorities say weekly collections work best, while others argue that the "alternate weekly collection" of different types of waste is the most effective way to increase recycling.
'Curry claim'
In 2008, Mr Pickles told the Tory party conference that weekly collections would "be back" if the party gained power and a "decent" refuse service was "vital" to help "protect the local environment and public health". As recently as January, he said the issue needed to be sorted out.
Amid a barrage of criticism from Labour MPs in the Commons, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman denied there had been a U-turn, saying the government was "fulfilling the provisions regarding waste" set out in the coalition agreement.
She also said £100m in additional funding would be made available to councils to remove the most noxious food waste once a week.
But Shadow Environment Minister Jamie Reed said the Conservatives had promised the public that weekly bin collections would be reinstated.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Fortnightly bin collections help recycling rates claims council spokesman Richard Kemp
"Before the election, the Secretary of State (Mr Pickles) said - to much acclaim among his own party - that it was a basic right for every Englishman and woman to be able to put the remnants of their tikka chicken masala without having to wait two weeks for it to be collected," he said.
"Perhaps he can explain why it is the government's position has changed."
Friends of the Earth said weekly collections resulted in less recycling and the government should focus instead on halving black bag waste over the next ten years.
Fly tipping
As part of the new strategy, councils' rights to fine people up to £1,000 for minor domestic waste offences are to be scrapped. But there will be sanctions for the most serious rule-breakers, such as fly-tippers.
Householders currently can be punished for such actions as leaving dustbin lids open and using the wrong bin.
The government is to remove most of those powers from English councils but town halls will be able to issue fixed-penalty notices of between £75 and £100 to people who allow rubbish to pile up, or those who fly-tip.
Ms Spelman said the government's emphasis must be on ideas to enable households and businesses to be smarter with their waste.
There will be a ban on wood going to landfill from homes or industry - with it being burned for energy instead - while ministers intend to work with the hospitality industry to try to reduce food waste and with the toy industry to cut excessive packaging.
The Local Government Association, which speaks on behalf of more than 400 councils in England and Wales, welcomed the latter move, saying efforts were needed to reduce such waste "at source".
"Allowing councils to identify and work with people who misunderstand or make mistakes when sorting their rubbish is important," it added. "As a last resort councils also need effective, proportionate powers to take action against households or businesses which persistently or wilfully damage the local environment."Are you combat sports fanatics ready for a super-stacked tournament of grappling all-stars? If so, the Copa Podio Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Lightweight Grand Prix is exactly what you want. It kicks off at 4:30 PM ET and will continue for several hours.
The stream is a PPV one ($21.95) and can be purchased at http://www.copapodio.com/en/pay-per-view. Here, I will bring you the live play by play and kick it with you readers in the comments. The Copa Podio Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/podiumcup) is full of photos, promos and other things as well.
Last time out, Copa Podio put together a very entertaining tournament of ten of the world's best heavyweight Brazilian jiu jitsu grapplers with a small set of Super-Couples and City vs. City matches on the side. This time, ten of the world's best lightweight grapplers are front and center and the side matches are even more star-studded.
The Super Fight will feature the heavyweight tourney winner, Rodolfo Vieira, against Ricardo Demente, a phenomenal grappler in his own right and MMA prospect. The team challenge is Alliance (with Terere competing!) versus GFTeam and the City vs. City challenge is Xande Ribeiro vs Braulio Estima, a gi rematch of the ADCC 2009 Absolute finals.
Note: Victor Estima is injured and Rodrigo Magalhaes of Gordo BJJ has stepped in to replace him.
The general structure of the Grand Prix looks like this:
A win by submission is four points. A win by points or advantages is three points. A draw is one point. A loss is zero points, however narrow or well-grappled. The matches last time out were six minutes long and I believe the same general IBJJF grappling rules are in effect (no heel hooks etc.).
LIVE BLOG BEGINS HERE
4:45 pm ET: Right now, it's still the introduction of the athletes, anthems and all the rigamarole. The Terere/Marinho match looks to be a solid 15 to 20 minutes behind schedule right now. We are not quite officially in the realm of "Brazilian time" yet.
4:48 pm ET: Wait! We are kicking off! Awesome. Terere and Marinho promises to be a very good match between two athletic as heck people. Marinho probably favored here due to his more recent competition experience.
Alliance vs. GFTeam First Round at 77 kg:
Fernando Terere (Alliance) vs Vinicius Marinho (GFTeam)
Terere in the blue and Marinho in the white.
Marinho coming forwards as both are bent over. Terere pulls guard and goes inverted reverse de la Riva guard to start striving for the sweep. Marinhow tries to base out, but Terere re-adjusts and gets the quick sweep. Wow! Marinho trying to work RDLR also, but Terere points both knees out and pulls his opponent upwards into an open guard with his butt off the mats. A quick reset in the middle for spacing purposes ensues. Terere trying to work a double unders pass and Marinho is working to pop the left arm of Terere off the leg. Terere surfing on top of Marinho's guard and preventing a 50/50 guard. Terere trying to long step over the top in a very athletic surfing position, but it doesn't go anywhere. Marinho working an X-guard position now and trying to grab Terere's collar.
Terere loses his balance and gets pushed over backwards for a sweep. Marinho goes immediately for a flop to side control and Terere pulls the leg back into guard. Marinho goes around and nearly gets side control, but Terere comes up to his knees and then back to half guard. Marinho working an underhook on the far side and lots of shoulder pressure. Gets the pass to side!
Terere shoves a foot into quarter guard and Marinho gets an advantage for going knee on belly briefly. Marinho goes from quarter guard to a near back take and Terere escapes. Marinho flops to his back and Terere dives into the open guard immediately. Marinho working to close the guard. Terere on his knees and looking to control a sleeve and start a standing pass. Marinho strikes like a viper and nearly gets a sweep to mount, but Terere recovers and an advantage is awarded to the GFTeam product. Terere working the same set-up to the stand-up pass.
Time elapses and Vinicius Marinho wins 7-2 on points with a few advantages for him also.
5:00 PM ET: We are launching right into the City challenge.
City Challenge:
Xande Ribeiro (Manaus) vs Bráulio Estima (Recife)
Xande in the white and Braulio in the black.
Braulio immediately pulls open guard and Xande works the double unders in a very fluid motion. Back to closed guard right away. Xande opens (or Braulio opens). Braulio working the berimbolo on Xande, who drops to a knee and works to control the far leg and the matside arm. Xande flops to his side and it looks like Braulio has lost the momentum needed. Xande on one knee now and Braulio still working the berimbolo as Xande goes to stand. Xande back to a knee and back to his side, then back to his feet as Braulio now has a collar gripped instead of the foot. Xande on his butt and working to prevent Braulio from turning. Braulio nearly goes inverted, but Xande gets out and nearly passes to the opposite side. Braulio goes full invert and prevents the pass. Both settle back in an spider-ish guard and Xande looking to pressure pass to the left now.
Reset in the middle due to spacing concerns. Xande is looking to slide down Braulio's right leg and shove the knee past in a very pressure-dependent pass. Braulio working a sleeve grip and a gi grip. Braulio nearly overhead sweeps Xande! The balance of both is very nice and Xande stays unswept. No advantage or points are awarded yet.
Xande again working to pass to the left and nearly gets it, only to see Braulio go invert again. Xande standing and Braulio in de la Riva, but choosing to work more in a RDLR now. Braulio in an open guard and Xande flops to his right and nearly gets a pass. They disengage and Xande steps to his left, which forces Braulio to invert. Xande staving off a kneebar by going to a knee and putting pressure. Braulio in open guard with a gi grip from the back and a foot over the shoulder. He's setting up the same overhead sweep as last time and looking to underhook Xande's left leg.
Xande basing strongly and clears the leg on shoulder. Xande now looking to come over to the left, but Braulio goes full invert and is pulling Xande's left sleeve strongly. Xande gets past! He's in north/south and stabilizes enough to get the two points. Xande working from north/south and Braulio looking to pull himself out and work the invert.
Reset in the middle due to spacing concerns. Xande in side control, controlling the head and the hips. Braulio works out and starts going for an inverted triangle and then kneebar as Xande flees. Xande stands and Braulio comes a-buttscootin'. Braulio trying for an armbar! Now for an anklelock! Xande gives up the sweep and Braulio is now dealing with the open guard of Xande.
Xande working an open guard and Braulio nearly steps around it for the pass. Braulio stands and Xande baits him with an opening for a triangle, which Braulio goes for and misses. Braulio still on top and coming forwards. Xande uses the forwards pressure to single hook butterfly sweep Braulio overhead! Braulio working for a leglock, but Xande stays based out and backsteps past the guard. Points for the pass and Braulio struggling to get to his knees. Xande goes to mount and now s-mount. Braulio still on his side and wanting to get up to his knees or feet. Xande using his top pressure to scoop the gi up Braulio's back for a collar choke set-up. Now resting as time finishes.
Xande wins by a bunch of points.
5:15 PM ET: We are two matches in already and about to get to the LW grand prix. A couple pretty nice advertisements are playing right now. Tourism stuff and it makes Recife look like a paradise on earth. Considering that this is Brazil, it probably is exactly that.
Lightweight Grand Prix, First Round:
Oliver Geddes vs Rodrigo Magalhaes (Group Green)
Oli in the black and Rodrigo in the blue.
Oli comes forwards and pulls guard. A bit of scramble as Oli goes for the deep half. Rodrigo nearly steps past for a pass and Oli pushes him off to retain half guard. Rodrigo sprawled on top of Oli and controls the far leg enough to gets the pass to side control. Oli looking to counter what Rodrigo does and the Gordo guy scoops the near leg up and looks to go knee on belly. Oli swivels around to bottom of north/south and is trying to get out. Rodrigo staying balanced and bringing pressure. Oli gets out and back to open guard, setting up for deep half again. Rodrigo switches his hips and looks to try for kesa gatame. Oli unsurprisingly sweeps, but cannot stabilize enough to get points.
The scramble as Rodrigo tries to stand takes them out of bounds. They reset in the middle and retie their belts. Back in action. Oli pulls guard again and loses an advantage as a result. Has an over the back grip and a knee grip on Rodrigo while in butterfly. Rodrigo staying low and stuffing the work of Oli. It's 3-0 Rodrigo on points. Oli working to pull Rodrigo up, but his opponent is not cooperating. Rodrigo stands and Oli sets up for open guard or deep half to the right. Back to the over the back grip and knee grip. Oli turns onto his left side and goes to work the half guard there. Rodrigo pushing top game pressure with a based out right leg and farside clamp.
Still half guard for Oli and Rodrigo. Rodrigo gets past with 35 seconds to go. Oli trying to get out by north/south again.
Rodrigo Magalhaes wins 6-0 on points.
Tio Chico vs DJ Jackson (Group Green)
Tio in the white gi and DJ, the man with the open warrant for his arrest in Iowa, is in the black gi.
Tio comes forwards carefully and pulls closed guard. DJ stands. The guard opens up and DJ starts basing out for his favored pass to the left. Tio using his length to keep the open guard intact. DJ nearly lets Tio on top of him, but recovers and tries to go left again. Tio back to closed guard. Open guard now as Tio tries to pull DJ's arms upwards. DJ keeping his arms low and tight.
Tio now shifting back and forth between closed and open to try and pop DJ's arms free of their low grips and upwards. DJ stands and the closed guard opens. Tio trying to get up on his left side and work something, but DJ falls back to the ground and bases out to prevent anything.
DJ now pulling his left arm low and letting his right arm go up a bit in return for a better position to opn the guard. Tio using his length again to keep the open guard intact. DJ gets a knee up in the open guard and looks to go left. DJ on his feet and Tio pulling sleeves again. DJ back to one knee and Tio regains closed guard.
Tio starting to work high guard. DJ basing out and looking to pop open the guard. Tio closes it once more and is fighting constantly for control of DJ's left arm. DJ tries a big step over to pass guard to the left. Tio in the half guard and looking to underhook the leg and get a half guard sweep.
A draw between DJ "Open Warrant for Arrest" Jackson and Tio Chico.
Clark Gracie vs Brandon Magana (Group Yellow)
Clark in the black and Brandon in the white.
Brandon pulls RDLR guard and goes to open as Clark goes to his knees. Clark trying to elevate Brandon's hips and push him over backwards. Brandon inverting well and setting up to return to open quickly. Clark back in closed guard of Brandon.
Brandon gets a sweep and Clark pulls the belt from the back very, very tightly to him. Pinning himself to Brandon's right side. Looking to set up a back take or perhaps another of |
not being addressed.
The groups call for an additional $500m to prevent chemicals from farmed land flowing on to the reef and better resourcing of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority so it can become a “true champion of the reef”.
The submission also urges the Australian government to ban dumping of dredged seabed material into the reef’s world heritage area. The federal government has committed to banning dumping, but only in the reef’s marine park, which does not include the port areas adjacent to the coral ecosystem.
The world heritage committee will meet in Germany in June to decide whether the reef, which has lost half its coral cover in the past 30 years, should be listed as “in danger”.
“If we lost 50% of the Taj Mahal there would be no question it would be on the world heritage in danger list, but when things are underwater they are less visible and less immediate,” said Richard Leck, a Great Barrier Reef campaigner at WWF.
“There is a strong case for listing the reef in danger but there is also a good chance it can be avoided if the federal government steps up its commitments. I’d say it’s too close to call at this stage.”
Leck, who travelled to France to deliver the submission, said there was “concern and shock” within Unesco at the decline of the reef.
“It’s one thing to present a plan to Unesco, it’s another thing to invest in it and make sure it’s implemented,” he said. “It won’t be successful unless you have that investment and the committee members understand that.”
Unesco has previously raised concern over port development alongside the reef, as well as dumped dredged spoil, which can smother and damage corals and sea grasses.
The latest government outlook for the reef, published last year, warns the condition of the world heritage-listed site is “poor, has worsened since 2009 and is expected to further deteriorate in the future”.
The reef is facing a range of threats, with climate change posing the greatest long-term risk. Pollution, cyclones and a plague of coral-eating starfish are also placing strain on the reef.
The federal government has a number of programs to aid the reef, such as the $40m Reef Trust, but WWF warned that without much greater funding, the ecosystem was at risk of being listed as in danger.
The Australian government has deployed a “whole of government” approach to lobbying the 21 countries that provide members to the world heritage committee, to help avoid the embarrassment of an in-danger listing.
A taskforce has been set up to coordinate the lobbying effort, and journalists from world heritage committee member countries have been invited on an all-expenses paid trip to the reef to report conservation efforts.
A spokesman for Greg Hunt, the federal environment minister, said more than $2bn would be spent on the reef over the next decade.
“This is a significant investment and it’s on top of the $2.55bn we’re spending to tackle climate change – one of the major long-term threats to the reef,” he said.
“Our Reef 2050 long-term sustainability plan sets a framework for investment and actions to protect the reef, and we’ll continue to work with Queensland and the community to ensure the funding is directed where it is needed.”A woman died after her illegal Borough Park apartment caught fire in 2013.
During a Dyker Heights town hall meeting last Thursday, State Senator Martin Golden called on Mayor Bill de Blasio to form a task force to combat illegal home conversions, one of the most pressing problems facing the south Brooklyn community.
Senator Golden told the packed room that the task force would "save the lives of not just the people here...but the firemen and police officers that live in our community."
Illegal conversions occur when a one or two-family house is converted into a multiple family or single room occupancy apartment, regardless of permits or zoning laws. The conversions, Golden said, strain infrastructure and endanger lives.
District manager Josephine Beckmann also blamed illegal apartments on overcrowding in schools, noting specifically PS 176, which is at 175 percent capacity and located in an area with a concentrated number of 311 complaints concerning illegal conversions.
Landlords who illegally renovate apartments also place both first responders and tenants in danger by ignoring fire codes, Golden and others noted. In 2010, a fire in an illegally converted Bensonhurst apartment building killed five people. The casualties were partially attributed to illegal renovations that blocked firefighters from reaching those trapped inside.
Golden also expressed frustration with limitations on investigations, since the law dictates that inspectors can only enter a suspicious apartment with either the tenant or the landlord’s permission. He argues that too many cases slip through and endanger the community.
“At some point there has to be a line drawn...There has to be a larger picture here," he said. "A larger picture that gives us the ability to [proceed] if we can’t go beyond that door.”
The City Council is currently working on a bill backed by Councilman Vincent Gentile that would allow inspectors to write violations based on easily observable evidence, like multiple utility meters.
As Bay Ridge resident Victoria Hofmo put it: “It’s exploiting people. It’s hurting neighbors. I don’t understand the point, why we allow this to happen.”Bay City reaches its sixth anniversary this year and the community there is inviting everyone to join in the celebrations!
The very first project undertaken by the Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW), Bay City was officially unveiled in May 2008 and has since grown into a thriving and vibrant community.
Celebrations will kick-off around midday on Sunday May 18th, 2014, with a special parade which will line-up at the bandshell in Bay City – Harwich prior to setting out along Route 66 at around 12:30 and making its way to the Bay City Fairgrounds in the North Channel region.
A live concert will then be held at the Fairgrounds, starting at 13:30 SLT, featuring a trio of live artists and including GoSpeed Racer of KONA Stream providing music leading into the event.
All Residents of the Second Life grid are invited to participate. Celebration goods are already available at the Bay City Community Centre, in the Daley Bay region, for those who wish to be a part of the parade, and a viewing area is provided. The music event is also open to all who desire to attend.
About Bay City and the Bay City Alliance
Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest Bay city group, and home to most Residents of Bay City.
For more information, contact Marianne McCann in-world.
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Ist der Salat nicht wunderschön? Rote Bete und Blutorange passen so wunderbar zusammen. Diese Kombination taucht bestimmt nochmal in einem der kommenden Rezepte auf. Nicht nur der Farbe wegen, sondern vor allem weil sie so gut zur Roten Bete passt, schmücken ein paar leckere Himbeeren den Salat.Zutaten für eine Portion2 kleine Rote Bete |1 Blutorange20-30g Himbeeren1 TL Pinienkerne |1 Stück frischer MeerrettichSaft einer Blutorange3 EL Traubenkernöl2 EL Himbeeressig1 kleiner Zweig Rosmarin |Salz und PfefferRote Bete in schmale Spalten schneiden, die Blutorange filetieren. Wer mag, kann etwas Anis und/ oder Kumin zur Roten Bete geben. Beides zusammen auf einem Teller anrichten. Für die Vinaigrette alle Zutaten miteinander mischen und anschließend über die Rote Bete träufeln. Die Himbeeren und die gerösteten Pinienkerne dazugeben. Meerrettich frisch darüber reiben.serves: 1Ingredients2 small beetroots |1 blood orange1/4 cup raspberries1 teaspoon pine nuts |1 piece of fresh horseradishjuice of 1 blood orange3 tablespoons grapeseed oil2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar1 small twig rosemarysalt and pepperSlice roasted beetroots and fillet the blood orange. If you wish, you can add some anis and/or cumin to the beetroots. Place together on a plate. For the vinaigrette mix together all the ingredients. Drizzle it over the salad. Add raspberries, roasted pine nuts and freshly grated horseradish on top and serve.Sometimes the need to find someone with over-the-top opinions to fill airtime leads to falling for the inevitable hoax.
BBC World Service learned that lesson last Friday when they invited “student Godfrey Elfwick” on World Have Your Say to elaborate upon his social media “outrage” over the “racism” and “homophobia” of the Star Wars series.
This tweet from Elfwick, blasting the series’ supposed negative use of racial stereotypes, grabbed the attention of a BBC producer looking for guests:
I've never actually seen #StarWars but the fact that the bad guy was all black and ate watermelons was unbelievably racist even for the 70's — Godfrey Elfwick (@GodfreyElfwick) April 17, 2015
Despite his account clearly being tongue-in-cheek (The Telegraph points out his Twitter bio: “Demisexual genderqueer Muslim atheist“), Elfwick was invited on the live radio show to give his hot take.
“From what I’ve seen of the old Star Wars films, there’s a lot of social problems with them rooted in homophobia, casual racial stereotypes,” he said, later explaining how Darth Vader was problematic: “The main bad guy – what’s he called, Dark Raider? – is black, he has a deep voice, he listens to rap music – it’s just a really bad racial stereotype.”
Other complaints: “The only main female ends up in a space bikini chained to a horny space slug,” he said, referring to Princess Leia and her capture by Jabba the Hutt.
After the hoax had been revealed, BBC was quick to fess up, Telegraph reported:
A BBC spokesman said: “On this occasion, the Force was not with us. “The guest presented himself as a 20-year-old who’s never seen Star Wars, and we put him on air under that pretence. “WHYS producers always do their best to check guests in a live programme that invites global discussion from listeners.” [The show’s producer, Angela] Sheeran has deleted her tweet inviting Elfwick on to the show.
Listen below, via Telegraph:
[Image via Shutterstock.com]
— —
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comA Navy F/A-18C Hornet pilot assigned to Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center crashed a jet into an open field near Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, yesterday at approximately 10:50 a.m. PDT. The pilot safely ejected and was transported to a local hospital.
Initial reports indicate no people or structures on the ground were affected during the mishap, the cause of which is under investigation.
The jet itself was on temporary assignment to Strike Fighter Wing Pacific Detachment Fallon, from Marine Strike Fighter Squadron (VMFA) 232. The Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center is located at Fallon and serves as a tactical air warfare training center.
Two other F/A-18C Hornets have crashed this year, both with fatal outcomes for the Marine Corps pilots. Maj. Richard Norton, 36, died July 28 when his jet crashed near Marine Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms in California during a pre-deployment training exercise. And Capt. Jeff Kuss died when his Hornet, the Blue Angels’ #6 aircraft, crashed during a training run ahead of an air show in Tennessee.
Last fall, Maj. Taj Sareen, 34, of VMFA 232 also died when his F/A-18C crashed outside the RAF Lakenheath airbase in Great Britain while returning from a six-month deployment to the Middle East as part of the anti-ISIS Operation Inherent Resolve. The jet that crashed yesterday had originally come from that same squadron, but the Navy pilot was not affiliated with VMFA 232.Denmark’s Defense Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen has launched a series of wide-ranging and grave accusations against Moscow, saying that it presents a “direct, very frightening and serious threat” against his homeland.
“We need to make clear to ourselves in Denmark that we are in danger, and we need to act upon this,” the center-right politician told the Danish Berlingske newspaper.
Frederiksen was asked to expound on his brief in the first extensive interview since the 69-year-old was appointed to his post in November last year. Instead, the politician, who previously served as minister of finance during two stints, spoke almost exclusively about Russia.
“State-supported Russian hacker groups are ready to attack hospitals, infrastructure and the electrical supply by breaking into computer systems and creating a mess of notices and treatments within the health system,” said Frederiksen, referring to a report published by the country’s intelligence agency last month, as well as conversations with other Western politicians and security officials.
And why would Russia target civilian infrastructure in a small country with which it shares no border? “To spread fear and insecurity among the population and paralyze our democracy.”
"It's a way to destabilize our countries and democracies in a very physical and tangible way, and this places an urgent demand on our resources to defend ourselves against such attacks,” said Frederiksen.
Frederiksen’s accusations echo those of US intelligence officials, who published a report last week, alleging that Russia ordered hackers to meddle in the US election, specifically by releasing emails related to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied charges of interference.
Claus Hjort Frederiksen - a man apparently suffering from hallucinogenic fits
‘We must spend more on NATO to stop Russians from trying anything’
The politician also believes that the Iskander-M missiles that Russia has deployed in its westernmost exclave of Kaliningrad pose an immediate danger to Denmark.
“We can confirm that the Russians are right now installing new missiles in Kaliningrad that can reach Copenhagen. That is of course a major risk,” said Frederiksen.
Moscow says the missiles are a response to the continuing unrolling of the US missile defense shield across Eastern Europe, and has beefed up its other armaments in the region, following an increase in NATO presence on the Russian border. The Western alliance is seeking to limit Moscow’s purported ambitions in the region through Operation Atlantic Resolve, commenced following the breakout of the conflict in Ukraine in 2014, and comprises the transfer of troops and modernized equipment to Eastern Europe.
Frederiksen also said that Russia’s "increased military activity” in the Arctic, in which both Moscow and Copenhagen have territorial claims – the latter through Greenland – were another potential source of conflict, which must require “extensive monitoring.”
As a solution, Frederiksen advocates increased military spending, though he declined to specify if Denmark intended to hit the NATO target of 2 percent of GDP being spent on defense (currently it spends 1.17 percent).
“NATO must be our common defense and our deterrent. We have to show the strength that it takes, and thus spend the money it takes to prevent the Russians from trying anything. That is basically what is the essence of our thinking,” said Frederiksen.
As a symbolic gesture Frederiksen emphasized the importance of the deployment of 200 Danish soldiers as part of the new 5,000-strong rapid response force in Eastern Europe next year.
"It is not of course because we think that the 200 Danish soldiers can stop the Russian army. But they should know that the territorial defense of the immediate area begins there and crossing the line, then the common solidarity in NATO will take effect,” said Frederiksen.
The newspaper said that the Russian embassy refused to comment on the accusations.This is how they remind you that you shouldn’t want to be mistaken for a member of Nickelback.
Especially if you plan to use his identity to order a bunch of musical equipment.
The TC Palm reported that police in Port St. Lucie, Florida, arrested Lee Howard Koenig Tuesday on two felony fraud-related charges. The 45-year-old was accused of using Nickelback drummer Daniel Adair’s identity and trying to purchase approximately $25,000 in gear.
Also Read: Nickelback Receives Apology From Canadian Police Department for Drunk-Driver Joke
According to an affidavit, Adair’s identity was used “to fraudulently order drum parts from a company in Vienna, Austria.” Several microphones were also ordered, according to the affidavit.
“Essentially, when he placed the order in Austria, I guess at this level of band … you have a lot of people that work for you,” Det. Paul Griffith said of the alleged fraud. “One of the people in his group thought it was out of the ordinary when they were getting contacted as to confirming the order.”
Also Read: Nickelback Music Being Used by Canadian Police to Threaten Drunk Drivers
“[Koenig allegedly] identified himself as Daniel Adair with Nickelback and said that he was looking for some microphones and tried to place an order via an email,” Griffith continued. “He says he’s Daniel Adair from Nickelback.”
Adair also told a business representative of Nicklback’s that he had not placed the order, according to the affidavit.
In addition to the latest allegations, Koenig was sentenced to three years in prison in 2009 for fraudulently collecting $78,000 in 2007, according to the TC Palm.Motorola Flip Case Moto Z Play Smart Wake Up Protective Folio Cover With Card Slot Case #99720681774
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Sorry, we cannot ship to this country or region.For those who don't know, I am working on a file system, TFS, which employs various concurrent structures to improve performance. Whenever you do this kind of advanced concurrency, you will meet the ABA problem, roughly describable as "what if another thread runs the destructor on a value you are reading?"
What this problem is, and how can it be solved, is what this blog post will investigate. It presents a form of an optimized form of hazard-pointers as well as an implementation thereof.
The problem
The problem is a lot harder than it seems at first, because you can't always replace the pointer atomically. In particular, you will often have more threads reading a single value. If one thread destroys it while other threads reads it, you get safety issues.
To illustrate, we implement a very simple form of Software Transactional Memory (STM). The idea is that we read a pointer, dereference it, apply some function to the data, and then try to update the pointer. We repeat these steps until it succeeds:
use std::sync::atomic::AtomicPtr; /// A software transactional memory container. pub struct Stm<T> { /// The inner data. inner: AtomicPtr<T>, } impl<T> Stm<T> { /// Create a new STM container. pub fn new(data: T) -> Stm<T> { Stm { inner: AtomicPtr::new(Box::into_raw(Box::new(data))), } } /// Update the data. /// /// This applies closure `f` to the data of `self`. If the data isn't updated in the meantime, /// the change will applied. Otherwise, the closure is reevaluated. pub fn update<F>(&self, f: F) where F: Fn(Option<T>) -> Option<T>, T:'static, { loop { // Read a snapshot of the current data. let snapshot = self.inner.load(atomic::Ordering::Acquire); // Evaluate the closure on the snapshot. let ret = Box::into_raw(Box::new(f(*snapshot))); // If the snapshot pointer is still the same, update the data to the closure output. if self.inner.compare_and_store(snapshot, ret, atomic::Ordering::Release) == snapshot { // Drop the now-replaced snapshot. drop(Box::from_raw(snapshot)); break; } } } }
There is a very critical bug in the above code. Look closely: Imagine thread A reads a snapshot, then thread B reads the same pointer and runs the closure, does the CAS, and destroys the old snapshot, which is being read by thread A causing a use-after-free:
THREAD A THREAD B NOTES let snapshot = self.inner.load(atomic::Ordering::Acquire); Reading pointer A let snapshot = self.inner.load(atomic::Ordering::Acquire); Reading pointer A let ret = Box::into_raw(Box::new(f(*snapshot))); Dereferencing A... Skipping some lines drop(Box::from_raw(snapshot)) Dropping A let ret = Box::into_raw(Box::new(f(*snapshot))); Dereferencing A which is dropped
If you remove the line with drop(), the code is safe, but it leaks memory, which is obviously unwanted, especially if you update the STM millions of times.
This roughly describes the ABA problem, a problem which you will run into if you implement virtually any non-trivial concurrent/lock-less data structure. It is unavoidable, and thus it is important to have a strong memory reclamation system at hands.
Concurrent memory reclamation
"Concurrent memory reclamation systems" names the class of systems which solves this problem. Often, they manage a queue of garbage objects, and a system that determines what garbage can be destroyed. Since this is a problem, which is pretty core to concurrent program, there are several of such concurrent memory reclamation systems.
In some languages (e.g. Java), they are implemented into the language itself, in the form of garbage collectors.
This blog post describes a runtime-less (in the sense that it doesn't require the language to implement a runtime) solution.
Deferred destruction
The first mechanism, we will explore, is deferred destruction. The idea is that we have a queue of garbage to be destroyed, which is shared among all threads. The queue is a simple MPSC channel, where the sender is shared among all the threads and the receiver is protected behind a mutex. Various messages (hereunder adding garbage to be destroyed) can then be passed to the garbage collector.
The idea behind deferring destructors is that we get to choose under what conditions an object can be destroyed. If an object is being read, the garbage collector will skip it until next collection cycle.
The garbage collection is simply run randomly according to some probability distribution (to avoid more communication than necessary). If another thread is GC-ing, we skip the cycle.
Above diagram shows a timeline where three threads reads values (represented by black lines), then a thread adds the pointer to the garbage (represented by the trashcan), and finally the pointer is destroyed in garbage collection (represented by the recycle symbol).
A very important rule must be followed when adding garbage: After the garbage is added (the destruction is planned), there must be no way of starting new readers. In the diagram, this is describes as after the trashcan, there can be no black lines that starts (but keep in mind, existing lines can continue, like the one in thread B above the trashcan).
If this rule was not followed, we could create new readers after the destructor was run, thus causing use-after-free. The enforcement ultimately lies on the programmer, but - as we get back to - we provide various APIs to do all this safely.
Garbage
To be able to have a queue of garbage, we need a way of representing garbage. There are two components in our representation:
A pointer to the object it represents. A virtual function to the destructor, which takes the pointer as argument.
Destroying this garbage is as simple as it seems: You take the pointer and gives it as argument to the virtual function.
Hazards
A hazard pointer is supposed to tell the garbage collector that the destruction shall be delayed as the pointer is currently in use.
Hazard pointers are shared between two ends, together making a hazard pair. Namely, one side (the writer side) sets the state and "controls" the pointer, while another controls the garbage collector and uses the information given through the hazard pointer to determine what objects may be destroyed.
A hazard pair is nothing but a shared pointer to a heap allocated state. A hazard pair has four possible states:
For now, ignore the "thread-local" collumn, we'll get back to that later.
Each state represents the hazard's "message" to the garbage collector:
Blocked : the hazard will eventually go into another state, but it doesn't know which one yet. When the reader reads this state, it is instructed to re-read the hazard until it is in another state. It is necessary when reading the pointer that shall be protected, as garbage collection between the pointer being reading the pointer and setting the hazard will invalidate the pointer. Protect(x) : protect the pointer x from being garbage collected. For example, if the writer side sets the hazard state to Protect(ptr), the garbage collector reads all the hazard (it owns the reader side of all the hazards) and determines what garbage can't be destroyed yet (that is, the garbage which is protected by hazards) and what can. Free : the hazard is inactive and can be reused later on (the importance of this state is covered later). Dead : the thread that used the hazard is gone and the hazard won't be used anymore. This marks it lacks a writer, and thus the reader can safely deallocate the hazard.
Thread-local caching of garbage
Since passing messages between threads is expensive, it makes sense to bundle them up to reduce the overhead. What we do is to let each thread hold a queue of garbage:
Since only the global garbage collector can actually destroy garbage (as it is the only one that has the necessary information), we must propagate garbage through it eventually. We simply have following behavior: When a thread local garbage queue becomes too long, the garbage is exported to the global queue, which means it can eventually be garbage collected.
(to be clear: the garbage collector doesn't represent a thread, but a global state which can be accessed through locking a mutex)
Thread-local caching of hazards
Since hazard pair creation requires sending a message over a channel to the global garbage collector, there is an unnecessary overhead in not reusing hazard pairs. To solve this, we let each thread have a thread-local cache of the available recyclable hazards:
This is where Free state comes into the image: Clearly, if we need to reuse hazards, we need an inactive state other than Dead ; we need a way to mark that a hazard is not currently in use, but it might be in the future.
So how do we manage the states of the hazards in the thread-local cache? Clearly, if we let the states stand unchanged, it would accumulate hazards making garbage collection impossible until the thread exits.
We could set the state of the hazard to Free, when it is added to the cache. However that would be expensive and unnecessary. We can soundly store non-free hazards in the cache, as long as we require them to be non- Blocked. However, we want to solve the unbounded accumulation issue.
The way we do this is by setting a limit on the number of non-free hazards. When this limit is exceeded, the non-free hazards are set to Free. Ideally, this should happen relatively rarely, so most of the time, the hazard will just go straight into reuse.
If we briefly revisit the earlier diagram, we will note how the different hazard variants has their own places, where the reader belong. For example, Blocked can only be on user-side, because otherwise it would cause deadlock, whereas Protect can appear in both user-side and thread-local cache:
conc and API design
What I described above is implemented in my crate conc, but very little of what I described above is actually exposed API-wise. It is merely its internal mechanics.
The API exposed is much simpler, but it is free as an abstraction. You can add garbage through a simple method add_garbage() which takes the two parameters, and the hazard pointers are exposed in the form of a wrapper type called Guard<T>.
What Guard does is acting like a pointer, which simultaneously holds the reader end of the hazard, which protects the pointer. Creation of this type is done through a method, Guard::new(), which takes a closure. Before it runs the closure, it does a critical thing: It creates a blocked hazard, meaning that you can safely read from e.g. atomic pointers in the closure, without fearing the garbage collector deallocating it meanwhile.
Everything else is being handled for you. You can force garbage collection yourself (i.e. conc::gc() ), but you don't have to. Caching, hazard writers, everything is built into the system and is handled for you without additional overhead. The only two API interfaces are for adding garbage and protecting garbage.
Atomic<T>
Since it quickly gets messy handling destructors yourself, it also exposes Atomic<T>, a bit of a hybrid between Box<T>, Option<T>, and AtomicPtr<T>. What it does is really simple: It allows you to store a (nullable) pointer to some data, which can be safely read without removing it from the structure. On top of that, it exposes various atomic operations such as compare-and-swap, making it a quite powerful primitive.
It means that a large part of the use cases are actually covered in a very intuitive and simple API, so you can get running without much boilerplate.
sync
sync implements various data structures like stacks and locks. Currently, there are only two. Feel free to contribute more.
There is a few debugging tools included, which can be enabled by enabling a feature and setting an environment variable (refer to the docs). This allows one to debug a data structure by tracing its call.
Several debug assertions are built into the library, making it catch several different forms of erroneous usage.
Internal API
The internal API is a whole other story.
Hazards are divided into two parts: Reader and Writer representing respective sides of the pair. Each of these implements methods in accordance with their allowed behavior. For example, Reader has destroy() and get(), and Writer has free(), protect() among more. The hazard pairs share a pointer to a heap allocated AtomicPtr, but the special states ( Blocked, Dead, Free ) are implemented in a sneaky way: To avoid colliding with other values, it reserves pointers for these states by having static variables, making it resistance to people using trap pointers like 0x1 or similar.
The API is divided into two main states: local and global, representing the thread-local state and the process-wide state respectively.
The local state is stored in a thread-local variable, which keeps the non-exported garbage and the available hazards. The garbage is regularly exported to the global state, and force export can be done through local::export_garbage().
Secondly, the global state has two parts:
The sender part of the message passing channel.
The garbo part.
The "garbo" represents the garbage collector and is protected behind a mutex. It stores the other part of the channel, allowing it to receive messages. It also holds the global (exported) garbage and the hazard readers of all the thread.
To know when to garbage collect, global::tick() exist. This is called when new garbage is added among other things. What it does is essentially to generate a random number and see if it below a certain limit, in which case it tries to GC. That is, it corresponds to a randomly deciding whether or not to garbage collect.
Compared to epochs
Epoch-based reclamation or EBR is another popular way of doing concurrent memory reclamation.
The architectural difference is in how destruction is deferred. EBR blocks all the objects from the epoch from being collected, whereas hazard pointers is more fine grained in its behavior. It does it on an object-to-object basis.
This approach is necessarily slower than EBR as described in aturon's blog post. There is however a serious problem with epochs in some cases: Memory blowup, which happens when several threads constantly reads and writes, blocking garbage collection indefinitely and thus causing very high memory usage, if not out-of-memory. This issue isn't in hazards (like this design).
There are some other advantages as well:
It is less memory hungry.
It is more general-purpose. What makes it more general is the fact that there is no lifetime in the Guard type, which means that it can exist for an arbitrary amount of time, making it usable for more-or-less anything.
type, which means that it can exist for an arbitrary amount of time, making it usable for more-or-less anything. It is compatible with things like futures, where you can't be bound to a lifetime.
The API is simpler from the user's perspective (that is, it is simpler to deal with as a user of a library which depends on conc ), as you don't need to add it as dependency (which you do in crossbeam, where the call-side must call epoch::pin() ). It implements Guard::map() which allows a library to expose e.g. a particular field of the Guard's content.
), as you don't need to add it as dependency (which you do in, where the call-side must call ).
Fixed example
I want to round off with a fixed version of the example, I started out with. Below is seen a sound and safe implementation of STM through the conc library:
/// A software transactional memory container. pub struct Stm<T> { /// The inner data. inner: Atomic<T>, } impl<T> Stm<T> { /// Create a new STM container. pub fn new(data: Option<Box<T>>) -> Stm<T> { Stm { inner: Atomic::new(data), } } /// Update the data. /// /// This applies closure `f` to the data of `self`. If the data isn't updated in the meantime, /// the change will applied. Otherwise, the closure is reevaluated. pub fn update<F>(&self, f: F) where F: Fn(Option<Guard<T>>) -> Option<Box<T>>, T:'static, { loop { // Read a snapshot of the current data. let snapshot = self.inner.load(atomic::Ordering::Acquire); // Construct a pointer from this guard. let snapshot_ptr = snapshot.as_ref().map(Guard::as_ptr); // Evaluate the closure on the snapshot. let ret = f(snapshot); // If the snapshot pointer is still the same, update the data to the closure output. if self.inner.compare_and_store(snapshot_ptr, ret, atomic::Ordering::Release).is_ok() { break; } } } }Soft-launching today on both the iOS and Android markets is a new mobile MMORPG from Netease dubbed Crusaders of Light. It was originally released as Land of Glory overseas last month (and was tremendously popular in China), but it’s gotten a name-change and a spruce-up for the western market. You’ll notice immediately that it seems to have an awful lot in common with vanilla World of Warcraft, from its stylized graphics to its 40-man PvE raiding endgame. It boasts 25×25 battlegrounds, small-scale ranked arenas, guild ladders, mounts, and loot out the wazoo too.
As I write this, it’s not yet up for download publicly on either platform for me in the US; it looks to be trickling out to Oceania first today, then Europe, Russia, Brazil, and North America in time for the official launch this summer. You can preregister on the official site, and yes it’s free-to-play with plenty of stuff to buy on the side. |
got a diagnosis. Her memoir explores the exhausting, hope-sapping experience of navigating the health care system and searching for answers in the face of unremitting suffering.
June 12
“Who Is Vera Kelly?,” Rosalie Knecht (Tin House)
A classic spy novel with a modern, fully realized heroine, ”Who Is Vera Kelly?” follows the titular heroine from her turbulent youth to her time as a spy in Argentina during the Cold War.
JULY
July 10
“What We Were Promised,” Lucy Tan (Little, Brown)
A wealthy Chinese couple, both American-educated professionals, and their housekeeper struggle with their veiled dissatisfactions and existential crises in Tan’s debut novel.
AUGUST
Coffee House / FSG / Pegasus
Aug. 7
“The Third Hotel,” Laura van den Berg (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux)
In this dream-like novel, a woman travels to Havana for a film festival. The trip was planned by her recently deceased husband, but when she arrives, she finds him there ― not looking very dead. The reality-defying narrative explores inescapably real questions about the human condition.
“The Court Dancer,” Kyung-Sook Shin (Pegasus)
The acclaimed South Korean writer’s next novel takes place in the Joseon Court and in Paris in the late 19th century, as a beautiful court dancer navigates palace intrigue, the Parisian intellectual milieu and personal heartbreak.
Aug. 14
“Eleanor, or, The Rejection of the Progress of Love,” Anna Moschovakis (Coffee House Books)
A woman loses her laptop, with all of her work inside. Her quest to recover her data shapes this complicated meta-novel, which untangles the creative process itself, in all of its contradictions, anxieties and hopes.
SEPTEMBER
“My Struggle: Book 6,” Karl Ove Knausgaard, translated by Don Bartlett (Archipelago)
If you’re a Knausgaard fan, mark your calendar: His next installment of the autobiographical series that vaulted him to international fame will be arrive on American shores in September.
“Transcription,” Kate Atkinson (Transworld)
A young woman joins the Secret Service during the war, then heads to the BBC ― but her past continues to follow her, in the latest from Atkinson, the author of ”Life After Life.”
OCTOBER
“Mr. Occam’s Razor,” Barbara Kingsolver (Harper)
Kingsolver, the author of ”The Poisonwood Bible,” will publish a new novel this fall ― a cross-century saga about two families living in same New Jersey home, a one-time Utopian community, in very different eras.
“Drifts,” Kate Zambreno (Harper Perennial)
In an early 2017 interview, Zambreno, the author of “Green Girl,” said that her upcoming novel “deals a lot with friendships I have with other women writers, and about our conversations.”
“All You Can Ever Know,” Nicole Chung (Catapult)FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- They have a three-game losing streak. The owner isn't happy. The coach is an emotional pendulum, swinging from tears to tirades. The organization is mired in the "Terrible" Tim Tebow fallout.
It can't possibly get any worse for the New York Jets.
Oh, yes it can.
If they lose Sunday to Brian Schottenheimer, they might as well throw in the Terrible Towel.
Rex Ryan says facing his former OC will be a "cat-and-mouse game." AP Photo/Julio Cortez
The Jets kicked their former offensive coordinator to the curb last January -- officially, it was termed a mutual parting -- and now they face him and the St. Louis Rams in a different kind of must-win.
If Rex Ryan's defense allows Schottenheimer's offense to resemble "The Greatest Show on Turf," it'll be the biggest stain yet on the Jets' season – especially if Tony Sparano's offense continues to put up zeros.
Don't think for a second that some folks at 1 Jets Drive aren't a little freaked out by the prospect of reading "Schotty's Revenge" headlines in the Monday tabloids. No one is afraid of the Rams' 24th-ranked offense, but the way the Jets' season is going, it doesn't take a fertile imagination to think of all the ways this could go wrong for them.
Plus, they suspect that Schottenheimer has something up his sleeve. This one's personal.
"I'm sure he has fond memories of the Jets and I have fond memories of Schotty -- we won a lot of games together -- but at the end of the day, Mike Pettine is going to try to kill Schotty and Schotty will try to kill us," said Rex Ryan, referring to his defensive coordinator.
Predictably, Schottenheimer downplayed the matchup, but you can bet it means a lot to him. He served as Eric Mangini's coordinator for three years, got passed over for the head-coaching job when Ryan was hired in 2009, and stuck around to run Ryan's offense. He got beat up pretty good in New York despite two trips to the AFC Championship Game.This has been a very busy week for Lady Gaga, and it appears that she isn’t wasting a single opportunity to promote her art and shift as many units as possible. On Sunday, the pop star headlined the Super Bowl halftime show, giving it her all and showcasing both the biggest hits of her career and a new, lesser-known single. Since then, her entire discography has exploded in popularity, and she is already poised to make an impressive return on several charts in the coming frame.
Yesterday, Gaga added to the excitement by surprising fans with a brand new music video for the song “John Wayne,” taken off of her most recent No. 1 album, Joanne. The colorful, Western-themed clip sees the pop star returning to the visuals she has come to be known for. The video is elaborate, stylish, outlandish, and it features her showing off top-notch choreography and some killer sartorial choices. She falls in love with a roughneck, gets hit in the head with a beer bottle and shoots bullets out of her high heels. Essentially, this is what Gaga videos are supposed to be, and it's wonderful to see her back in top form.
The release of a new music video often suggests that a track is either officially becoming a single, or that it will be soon. While that is typically how things work, Gaga is not a typical artist, and it appears that “Wayne” has not been selected for single status.
A representative for Interscope Records, where Lady Gaga has been signed for the entirety of her superstar career, confirmed yesterday that while she may have given the song a splashy visual treatment, the single remains “Million Reasons,” which might actually become a certified hit.
So, why would Gaga take the time and have her label spend the money to produce and film what was surely an elaborate production? There are many possible answers—perhaps it was meant to be a single later, but plans have changed—but at the end of the day, this might be a case where Gaga just felt the artistic urge to create this video… but that’s not to say there won’t be a monetary payoff for her efforts.
Thanks to her incredible showing during the game on Sunday (her halftime show ended up being the second most-watched of all time, right on the heels of Katy Perry’s performance from a few years back), millions around the world are buying her singles, purchasing her albums and streaming anything they can find online. People who never got around to listening to Joanne or its singles, which have all underperformed on the charts, are starting to take an interest, and now is the time to capitalize on those just arriving to the party.
While “John Wayne” might not be sent out to radio, it could become a strong seller based on all the promotion Gaga’s music is enjoying at the moment. Between the Super Bowl and the round of news stories focusing on this new clip, the near future could be bright for the Joanne album track. It’s entirely possible that the country-tinged pop/dance song could appear on the Hot 100 for the first time based on sales and streams of the song, as well as plays of the music video itself, though those might remain somewhat low for the time being, as it’s an Apple Music exclusive.
Recouping the money spent on a treatment like “John Wayne” without serious radio attention won’t be easy, but at this point in her career, Gaga has earned the right to have some fun and essentially do whatever she likes, and if things go really well, it could pay off in the end after all.We feel bad for the janitors who had to clean up after the latest low from Rutgers University’s champions of tolerance.
To disrupt a guest’s speech, a dozen kids smeared themselves in fake blood — splattering other students and much of the room in the process — while shouting “black lives matter” and other deep slogans before storming out.
Several dozen more protesters remained, to keep up the harassment (“This man represents hatred”) throughout.
Fine, the speaker was a bit of a flamethrower — Milo Yiannopoulos, an often-rude writer for Breitbart News. But he has his own multicultural bones, as a gay Brit.
The school paper, The Daily Targum, chatted with a lead protester. “Freedom of speech is a responsibility,” junior Nyuma Waggeh explained. “You should use your privilege to be responsible for one another.”
That’s it: Shows how precious the “privilege” is by shouting down another group’s invited guest and making a big mess for someone else to clean up.
Rutgers, Waggeh also claimed, “should not be inviting anyone like [Yiannopoulos] because what we stand for is inclusion and diversity. If a speaker makes someone feel unsafe or uncomfortable, then they should not come to campus.”
Yep, that’s what college is all about: feeling comfortable. No greater threat to that than the guest’s oh-so-unsafe topic: “How the Progressive Left is Destroying Education.”
Were the kids just trying to prove his point?Jimmy Butler bet on himself and won.
Instead of agreeing to a four-year contract extension with the Bulls in the offseason worth somewhere in the range of $11 million per year, Butler decided all that time he spent in the gym was going to pay off in the form of an even more lucrative contract in 2015.
When Butler and the Bulls failed to reach an agreement on an extension, there was some angst that this would be the last year we would see him in a Bulls uniform. That angst has risen for some since Butler turned himself into a bona fide star player and an MVP candidate.
Would the notoriously thrifty Bulls really shell out a max contract (or match a max offer sheet) for Butler with so much money already tied up in the rest of the roster? A max deal would likely push Chicago into the tax, and the tax is an area Jerry Reinsorf's Bulls aren't too familiar with.
The way Butler is playing, there should be no shortage of teams lining up to submit a max offer sheet. Steve Kyler of BasketballInsiders.com has already mentioned the Knicks as a team willing to offer Butler the max, and there are sure to be others.
But honestly, I'm not worried one bit about any of these potential suitors, because I'm about 99.999999999% sure Jimmy Butler will be a Chicago Bull for a long time. And according to David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune, the Bulls are preparing for that as well:
No player means any more to his team at both ends of the floor than Butler does to the Bulls, who stand ready to show how much they believe that. Internally, the Bulls are planning to take a proactive approach to contract negotiations with Butler next July and secure the shooting guard for a long-term spot alongside Derrick Rose. They began preparing for that inevitability one year ago this week when they reset the clock on the NBA's repeater tax - which penalizes teams that pay the luxury tax three of four seasons - by trading Luol Deng to the Cavaliers. They fully expect to sign Butler to a max deal next July before another team even gets involved to tempt him with an offer sheet, which the CBA says they can after the moratorium ends. They accept that the size of Butler's contract will put the Bulls in position to pay the luxury tax, something Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf says he will do for a championship contender his team is.
I can't quite tell if Haugh is actually reporting something here because that magical "sources" word isn't used, but it sure seems like this is coming from somebody tuned into the Bulls' thinking. This doesn't just say that the Bulls are willing to match a max offer sheet, but it says they're willing to come out and sign Butler to a max deal before anybody else even comes calling.
The Bulls can offer Butler up to a five-year max (designated player rule doesn't apply because it wouldn't be an extension) with a first-year salary that would likely be around $16-17 million. It should be noted that Butler would be eligible for the Derrick Rose Rule bump if he won MVP this season, but as awesome as he has been, I don't think we have to worry about that.
Anyway, being proactive and offering a max deal (or near max) right out of the gate in the summer would be ideal, as it would help build good will with the player/agent and could help avoid any funny business with offer sheets. And by funny business I mean something like the Chandler Parsons contract that would allow Butler to opt out after two years in order to take advantage of the exploding cap.
The exploding cap is one of the reasons the Bulls shouldn't give a damn about shelling that cash out to Butler. Looking at the rest of the roster, the Bulls owe about $60.16 million to seven players next year. Throw in Kirk Hinrich's $2.85 million player option and that's right around $63 million for eight players. A max for Butler would put Chicago at about $80 million for nine players, which would likely be right around the tax line. There will also be a first-round pick (or picks?) to think about, in addition to decisions on Mike Dunleavy and Aaron Brooks.
So yeah, the Bulls would almost certainly go into the tax next year if they keep everybody that's under contract. But the repeater tax isn't an issue, and once that cap blows up, the tax won't be as much of a concern. It would be nice if it wasn't a concern either way, but this is the Bulls we're talking about here.
If the Bulls were to try and dump salary in order to fit Butler in under the tax, the obvious candidate would be Taj Gibson. I'd probably be more concerned about losing Gibson rather than Butler at this point, although if one HAD to go, the choice is obvious. But I'd rather just pay all these really good players, unless the team really needs some sort of shake-up. (And if we're talking MAJOR shake-up, that's when Joakim Noah's name starts getting bandied about in trade talks, but I digress.)
When it comes down to it, Butler has already earned himself a max deal with his extraordinary play this season. Yeah, he still has to prove it over the course of a full year and into the playoffs, but it's tough to look at him and think there's going to be some serious regression. Perhaps playing 40 minutes a night will catch up to him, but that shouldn't be held against him.
The Bulls have been searching for that secondary wing star to play with Rose for years, and now that they've found him, there's no way they let him get away. There would be fire and pitchforks at the Advocate Center if Butler wasn't a Bull next season.
I'd be willing to bet that Butler will be in Chicago for the long haul, and like Butler himself, I'm confident that I would win.Why five? Because five is higher than tyrannosaurs can count.
It came to my attention that most people are not aware that there was more than one kind of Tyrannosaur. Well, bad news. There were lots of Tyrannosaurs. Sorry if you were thinking about ever feeling secure again. According to the internet, the best way to educate the public these days is in the numbered list format. So without further delay, and because no one reads the opening paragraph to a numbered list article on a website anyway, here they are: the top 5 most awful Tyrannosaurs of all time (that we know about).
5. Albertosaurus
Albertosaurus was a pretty standard medium sized tyrannosaur, a limber hunter that developed to chase down prey like hadrosaurs. What makes it so scary, beyond the fact that it was a murderous thirty foot long theropod?
Conventions. Freaking Albertosaurus raves.
In the Dry Island bonebed, twenty-six Albertosaurs were found together. There were a dozen or so juveniles, another dozen adults and sub-adults, and then one enormous elder. What the hell do you possibly need twenty-six Albertosaurs to accomplish? What the hell were they hunting? Canada? The entire nation of Canada?
4. Daspletosaurus
Daspletosaurus was a colleague of Albertosaurus, a contemporary in a similar field. That field was ruthless murder, and while the fleet footed Albertosaurus was forming death squads and tracking down hadrosaurs, Daspletosaurus hit the gym. This monster had bigger teeth than T. Rex. It was on freaking Cretaceous steroids. It had powerful, stocky legs and a hugely muscled neck. That’s because Daspletosaurus was probably gunning for cerotopsians, while letting gangs of Albertosaurs handle the “light work”.
Daspletosaurus would probably show up to Albertosaur conventions and hit on the obviously engaged Albertosaur honeys and call everyone else a beta and ask Nanotyrannus if he even lifts.
This is all before it would go and take on bus sized spiky bull monsters like Styracosaurus, which it would eat with a of sprinkling protein powder.
3. Nanotyrannus
Nanotyrannus was only about a third of the size of the biggest tyrannosaurs, which you might think would preclude it from this list. The problem with that line of thinking is that a third of huge is still pretty freaking big. Think of it in terms of sliders. It doesn’t matter whether you eat one 12oz burger or three 4oz burgers, you’re still over eating. It works the same way with pack hunting tyrannosaurs. Dividing a tyrannosaur into three smaller tyrannosaurs doesn’t mean you’re going to be alright, it just means that the tyrannosaurs will be able to cover all of your exits.
Hell, a seventeen foot long Nanotyrannus could probably hide in your garage. Are you going to go to your garage, be ambushed by a Nanotyrannus, and be like,
“Oh, this is fine. This tyrannosaur is only seventeen feet long.”
No. You’ll be like, “I am dead now because it turns out that the size of a tyrannosaur is not necessarily a major factor in my ability to survive it eating my head, beyond a certain critical size which is likely somewhere in the twelve to fourteen foot-” DEAD.
2. Lythronax
“The King of Gore”. That is what “Lythronax” means. Scientists just discovered Lythronax, and this name proves to me that the Conservative Dinosaur Readiness philosophy is catching on. This is the great ancestor of tyrannosaurs, and it had a few adaptations that made tyrannosaurs hugely successful.
One of those adaptations was binocular vision. Lythronax was already huge at thirty feet long, and it already had the trademark jaws and powerful legs of the tyrannosaurs. Evolving binocular vision on an animal like that is kind of like a missile evolving a guidance system. Except instead of a swift fiery death, you would probably see Lythronax coming and get a few futile minutes of abject terror and fruitless flight as it chased you about and you would be screaming and it would trample your cat and your I-Pad Mini and you would scream to heaven for salvation but none would come because NO ONE LISTENED TO THE CONSERVATIVE DINOSAUR READINESS MOVEMENT.
WHY DIDN’T THEY LISTEN? Chomp chomp nom nom.
Lythronax will get its own article in the near future as more information is divulged by paleontologists.
1. Tyrannosaurus Rex
Oh, did you think I was going to do that hipster move where I put the obvious choice as #2? Well this isn’t a chump ranking of Beatles albums, nephew. This is serious.
Fun Tyrannosaurus Rex fact: Scientists hypothesize that the reason they can’t find any baby Tyrannosaurus Rex fossils is because they didn’t often die as juveniles. By two years old, a young T. Rex was bigger than any other contemporary land predator.
Fact number dos: Scientists know T. Rex was an active hunter because they are still picking Rex fangs out of the backs of hadrosaurs that survived the initial confrontation. That’s a love nip with 6-inch long teeth.
Fun fact the threequel: Tyrannosaurus Rex had an estimated bite force of nearly 13,000 pounds, which is about as much as it weighed total. That’s three times the weight of the average car in the United States. Also about equal to 1600 new born babies.
Return of the Fun Fact: This is how big T. Rex was compared to a few of these other chump lizards.
MUST GO FASTER. MUST GO FASTER.
The only reason T. Rex didn’t evolve wings is because the sky doesn’t bleed. Tyrannosaurs Rex only had two fingers on each hand because scissors always wins if you stab hard enough. The biggest Tyrannosaurus Rex ever found was named Sue because you could fit both Johnnie Cochran and Mike Geragos in her gaping jaws. T. Rex didn’t go extinct, murder got tired.
Yeah, you could subscribe. Why not.The American ‘hasbara’ organization will disseminate government messages in a contract with the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
By Itamar Bazz / ‘The 7th Eye‘
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, will fund a hasbara organization to disseminate propaganda on behalf of the Israeli government. The allocation of public funds, over NIS 1 million (over $250,000) in 2015, is intended to fund a joint project by the National Information Directorate and the Israeli branch of StandWithUs, an American hasbara organization.
Hasbara is a Hebrew term that refers to public diplomacy efforts on behalf of Israel.
The committee in the Prime Minister’s Office that issues tenders for government contracts met at the end of November to approve an allocation of NIS 860,000 a year to a joint project with StandWithUs, while the organization’s funders will contribute a matching amount. The cooperation between the two parties, which was approved by the committee, may be extended for another two years at the end of 2015. The PMO told the Seventh Eye media watchdog website that the initiative is meant to strengthen “Israeli hasbara on social media platforms.”
According to the agreement, StandWithUs will run “interactive media war rooms” manned by students who will be trained to disseminate Israeli hasbara on social media platforms. The project will be based a model that was tried during Operation Protective Edge and previous military operations, in which “hasbara war rooms” were established in academic institutions across Israel in order to disseminate IDF and government messages.
At the end of the operation, the volunteers were rewarded with a recorded thank you message from the prime minister, who is in charge of the National Information Directorate. The goal of the new initiative is to allow such activity to take place on a regular basis.
According to the governmental plan, the students who will be enlisted to take part in the program will be trained by Yair Edi Freiman, the head of interactive media and hasbara organizations in the National Information Directorate, alongside workers from StandWithUs. In addition to Israeli students, the project will also enlist students from the U.S. and Britain, who will be flown to Israel in order to take part in “educational and training meetings.”
‘Citizen activism’
The participants in the new project will spread official governmental messages, although the initiative is marketed in such a way that will amplify authentic voices among the younger generation in Israel and the Jewish communities around the world.
In a press release, the organizers of the project characterized the initiative as a “volunteer-based start-up” that is meant to provide its participants a chance to work in “citizen activism.” The head of the StandWithUs branch in Israel, Michael Dickson, was quoted saying that the project is intended to give young people in Israel a chance to “raise their voice and describe their experiences as they experience them.”
Yarden Vatikay, who manages the National Information Directorate, took a similar line and declared that the “goal of the program is to provide young students the tools to pass on their message to a crowd that uses social media in the best way possible.”
However, the committee’s protocol, which includes details on how the project will be run, clarifies that the National Information Directorate will be highly involved in determining the messages disseminated by the students, and will include a mechanism that allows government representatives to oversee the content of those messages as well as the means of their dissemination.
According to the agreement, “the degree of involvement by the National Information Directorate in the initiative will be high, and will include the [project’s] strategic planning and the messages that they wish to spread.”
“In addition, a steering committee will be established and run by the representatives of the Prime Minister’s Office, including Mr. Freiman, as well as oversight mechanisms. Representatives of the Prime Minister’s Office will be part of the committee that selects the students.”
Read the minutes of the committee meeting in Hebrew here (PDF).
This article was first published in Hebrew by The 7th Eye media watchdog website. It is reproduced here with permission.
Related:
StandWithUs puts IDF soldiers in line with Nazi camp inmates
Israeli universities becoming Hasbara mills
Close your books! We’re having a pop quiz in Hasbara!Before the series has even been released, the alt-right, a loosely organized online white supremacist group, has already made its views known on the new Netflix project, Dear White People. Turns out that white nationalists tend not to be so tolerant of views with which they disagree.
A number of people have started a #NoNetflix hashtag on Twitter, claiming that the show promotes racism and white genocide, and many say they’re canceling their subscriptions and boycotting the streaming service as a result.
The outrage seemed to gain popularity when this trailer dropped on Wednesday, as character Sam White described why white people can dress up as a slutty nurse or a pirate for Halloween, but definitely shouldn’t ever use blackface as part of their costume.
That apparently was too far for some former Netflix subscribers.
(Sorry, this embed was not found.)
I’ve been debating whether or not 2 cancel but why send money 2 @netflix who supports people who hate my white husband & kids? #NoNetflix pic.twitter.com/S2rH7kOy1B — Needy 🇺🇸Jalepeno (@Jalepeno84) February 9, 2017
Some also are pointing to this tweet from Jack Moore, a writer on the show, about his views on white people.
After claiming there’s nothing anti-white about Dear White People, the writer of the show literally tweeted “F*ck White People” #NoNetflix pic.twitter.com/luNcmq3u2R — Baked Alaska™ (@bakedalaska) February 9, 2017
But Moore wrote that tweet in relation to the percentage of white people who voted for President Trump, and provided a handy chart.
No seriously. Fuck white people. pic.twitter.com/08KEzYn1AD — Jack Moore (@JackPMoore) November 9, 2016
The Netflix series is based on the 2014 movie of the same name, and originally, director Justin Simien called it a “satire about being a black face in a white place.”
Thus far Trump supporters who have tried to start viral shaming and boycotting trends have largely failed, including with campaigns against Star Wars, Starbucks, and Nordstrom. The series will be released April 28.
H/T InverseMuslim students and alumni at the University of Toronto have established the first-ever program to fund a full-time, paid Muslim chaplain on a Canadian university campus.
The Muslim Students Association (MSA) at U of T founded the Muslim Chaplaincy Program last year with the goal of raising $70,000 by this September, in time for the upcoming fall semester.
The project was born out of the need for a long-term presence on campus to serve and support young Muslims with respect to their educational, counseling and faith-related needs, according to Ruqayyah Ahdab, chair of the board for the program.
In a recent promotional video, Muslim students depict some of the challenges they face, such as being told by strangers to go back to their country.
One of the students in the video said she had to sit through an entire lecture listening to her professor explain to the class that Islam degrades women.
Others explained they often question their faith, or that there is something about mosques that make them uncomfortable.
“The situations that the students were going through and who they were trying to turn to for help [made us] notice there was a void,” said Ahdab, who estimates that there are 3,000 to 3,500 Muslim students at U of T.
“They would seek help or assistance from their community leaders, imams or their parents, but sometimes it didn’t feel like there was a culturally relevant or age-relevant stance that these people could put themselves in, to really give advice that meant something to these young Muslims.”
Until now, an imam has served as a part-time, volunteer chaplain on campus but is nearing retirement. Due to his many other commitments, he was often unable to provide full services for students in need of religious assistance, U of T MSA president Aisha Raja said.
Hiring a full-time chaplain will create a chaplaincy office, which Raja said will be able to provide “an inclusive space for Muslim youth to address issues of identity, public education and special needs, and to try to create a safe community on campus where they can go to on a regular basis to talk about issues they’re having.”
Raja noted that the chaplain won’t necessarily be an officially recognized religious leader.
“It’s going to be a person who has a religious background in education but also has a background in counseling and therapy,” she said.
Much like the Christian and Jewish communities, which each fund their own respective chaplaincies at U of T, Raja says the MSA is hoping that Toronto’s Muslim community will help fund their program.
Due to the university’s status as a secular institution, it cannot provide funding for the program. Nevertheless, both Raja and Ahdab say that U of T administration — through the university’s Multi-Faith Centre and the Campus Chaplains Association—have been very supportive.
“There is just a sense that there really was a need, both in terms of providing spiritual religious care but also community development,” said the Multi-Faith Centre’s director, Richard Chambers, noting that U of T has 30 full-time and part-time chaplains in total.
“The Muslim community, which is much smaller than the Christian community on campus, is nevertheless very well-organized, very visible and is a significant size unto itself.”
Throughout the past year, the MSA consulted with U of T administration and other chaplaincies on campus and abroad in order to develop the project. Among many others, they turned to Omer Bajwa, coordinator of Muslim life at Yale University’s chaplaincy office.
After advising the MSA at U of T on ways to structure their program, Bajwa said the project has plenty of potential.
“It’s very exciting and promising if a university of that caliber and that size whose students and alumni can put together a project like this. This can hopefully develop into a wonderful, thriving position,” he said.
Ali Abu Alhawa, president of Carleton’s MSA, said he would be pleased to see the program make its way over to Carleton as well.
“It would be easier for Muslim students to encounter their problems or any questions that they have, especially for Muslim students who come [from] abroad as international students,” Abu Alhawa said.
“[When] they’re new to the country and the city and they don’t have any family or friends here, they could come ask the chaplaincy on campus.”One of the country’s first group of women trained as kazis, Jahanara, is using her religious knowledge to help Muslims fight back against male domination
“Do you want to take her back alive? Or do you want her corpse?” That’s what Jahanara’s husband asked her mother as he beat his wife 10 years ago. That night, Jahanara gave up on her brutal marriage and left her home and four children.
Since then, her husband has refused to let her see the children, though they live in the same city, Jaipur. He has paid no alimony. He has refused to give her the 15 grammes of gold promised as part of the mandatory payment that Muslim men must make to their wives if the marriage ends. Her share in the marital home has also been denied her.
‘If a man can do it, why can't I?’: turning the tables on India's instant divorce law | Amrit Dhillon Read more
Seeking justice, 45-year-old Jahanara (who goes by only one name), went to see her local kazi or Islamic judge, who adjudicates in marriage, polygamy, divorce, triple talaq (instant divorce) and custody. The job of the kazi, usually a man, is to dispense justice according to Qur’anic principles. The post is generally passed down from father to son and is steeped in tradition.
However, like so many women before her, Jahanara came away disappointed and bitter. “He refused to help me get my rights,” she says. “I refused to believe that my situation was just. I went around Jaipur asking ulemas [scholars] if the injustice done to me was permitted by the Qur’an. I asked them: Is this my status as a woman in the Qur’an? Is this the ‘justice’ the Qur’an gives me? They all told me: ‘Yes. This is your position. Endure it.’”
She decided to fight back. Today, Jahanara is one of the first female kazis in India.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Two of India’s first female Islamic judges: Afroz Begum (left) and Jahanara. Photograph: Amrit Dhillon
A seminary in Mumbai, the Darul Uloom Niswan, started a two-year course for female kazis in 2015. The hope is that, armed with Qur’anic knowledge, they will tackle the customs that are perceived as being detrimental to women.
This summer the first batch of 15 women completed the course and are ready to start work.
Afroz Begum, 43, is another of the course graduates. Unlike Jahanara, Begum is happily married to a man who supports her work. “The Qur’an gives us equal rights. It gives us the right to life, education, property, the right to free choice. Once Muslim women understand this, their lives will change,” she says.
Since marriage is a legal contract under Islam, not a sacrament, the terms and conditions of the nikah (marriage) must be discussed and negotiated with the kazi. At the moment, contracts tend to favour the husband.
On a hot and muggy day, Jahanara and Begum sit in a small office in a winding alley off a noisy bazaar in Jaipur’s Muslim quarter. They are trying to soothe the acrimonious exchanges between Imran Khan and his young wife, Huma. Their one-year marriage has hit turbulence, and they hurl accusations at each other, with their parents egging them on.
Jahanara and Begum listen to the grievances of both sides. They tell the parents to keep out of the marriage and counsel the couple that they need to be more tolerant.
“A male kazi would have told Huma to go back home at once and obey her husband,” says Begum. “Most Muslim women don’t know anything about their rights. But now things will be different because we have learned what the Qur’an says.”
Sitting with them is Nishat Husain, head of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (a women’s group) in Jaipur, who says that the two kazis have much work to do.
“Before these two new kazis perform the nikah, they are going to ask the man for proof of his qualifications, for a death certificate if he says his wife died, and for a divorce certificate if he says he is divorced, for a medical certificate, for job proof. This has to be done to protect women, but traditional kazis don’t do it,” says Husain.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jahanara files a report on a feuding couple (left). Photograph: Amrit Dhillon
Understanding that the Qur’an gives women equal rights has made Jahanara happier. After separating from her husband, she struggled to find peace. It finally came with her kazi training, during which she learned exactly what Islam had to say about women.
If any Muslim man points a finger at her for living alone and being an activist, or questions why she left her husband, she can quote the Qur’an back at him.
“Now that I’m a kazi, now that I have knowledge, now that I have the arguments, I finally feel free. And I want other Muslim women to feel free too,” says Jahanara.Two years ago, close to a hundred luminaries of the American theater (including several actresses familiar to wider audiences thanks to the miracle of TV) gathered at The Greene Space in New York City to record playwright August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle.
It took Wilson 23 years to write the ten plays that comprise the collection, each one set in a different decade in the 20th century. The result is a composite portrait of African American life, featuring characters ranging from a former slave to a real estate developer turned savvy politician.
The Greene Space crew labored for a far shorter time, but as the project's Artistic Director, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, notes above, they did so with integrity, humanity, and concentrated effort. The late Wilson, his friend and long time Wilson int |
as programming and spriting for Earthbound and being in charge of Elite Smash Hackers, modifying Super Smash Bros. Brawl textures, animations, models and more.
Some of our team members dedicate themselves solely to game development. Since some of us do this for a living, we have to pay rent, expenses in food and etc by using the money we receive from projects like this one. For the money we're asking for this, we're sure we can deliver a quality product.
Another important matter regarding this Kickstarter is how we want to have a community behind Möira. The more people know about this project, the more we'll be able to polish it by receiving constructive feedback from our fans.
One month ago, we started building the game. Now, we already have playable levels with all the core mechanics included. We plan to release the game on February 2015 for PC/MAC/LINUX. For the people who got early beta access, we're providing it to you on December 2014. On March 2015, we plan to start shipping our physical goods to everyone around the globe.
Since the project is only one month old, there isn't much variety to show. However, all the core mechanics were already displayed on our Kickstarter video. As we progress, we'll make sure to update this page with new features of the game. Of course, we also want you to partake in this, after all, we're doing this game for you.
Choose the option that best suits your needs!
This section is reserved to showcase our physical rewards. We've already got the design of the first two T-Shirts ready and, soon, we hope to showcase our Physical Edition Box too!"Year One", later referred to as "Batman: Year One", is an American comic book story arc published by DC Comics which recounts the superhero Batman's first year as a crime-fighter. It was written by Frank Miller, illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, colored by Richmond Lewis, and lettered by Todd Klein. Batman: Year One originally appeared in issues #404–407 of the comic book title Batman in 1987. As well as recounting Batman's early crime-fighting career, the story simultaneously examines the life of recently transferred officer James Gordon – eventually building towards their partnership.
There have been several reprints of the story: a hardcover, multiple trade paperback editions (one in standard comics paper with simpler coloring and one deluxe version with rich detailing in the colors — both colored by Richmond Lewis) and it has been included in The Complete Frank Miller Batman hardcover. The story arc was adapted into an animated feature in 2011.
Publication history [ edit ]
Background [ edit ]
Batman (Bruce Wayne) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics who debuted in "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate", a story published in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). He was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger to capitalize on the success of DC's other superhero Superman and was inspired by characters from pulp fiction stories, such as the Shadow.[1][2] Batman's origin story was introduced in a two-page, 12-panel story by Kane and Finger from Detective Comics #33 (Nov. 1939). In the story, a young Bruce witnesses the murder of his parents Thomas and Martha at the hands of a mugger. Bruce vows to avenge his parents' deaths by fighting crime; he takes the persona of Batman after a bat flies through his window one night. For the story, Finger lifted elements from tales published in Popular Detective and The Phantom, while Kane traced artwork of Tarzan and from Junior G-Men.[3]
In the years afterward, much of DC's continuity became convoluted and contradictory. Examples of this were present in Batman's origin: in a 1948 story, Finger gave the mugger a name (Joe Chill), and in 1956 wrote that he killed Bruce's parents on behalf of the mob. Finger also went on to suggest that the Batman persona was inspired by a bat costume Thomas wore to a masquerade ball. Other stories depicted Bruce traveling across the world to learn the skills he would need as Batman.[3] In an effort to resolve continuity errors like these in the DC Universe, Marv Wolfman and George Pérez produced the 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths.[4] Wolfman's plans for the DC Universe after Crisis on Infinite Earths included relaunching every DC comic with a new first issue.[5]
During the production of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Frank Miller became the writer of Marvel Comics' Daredevil.[3] Miller had originally been the series' penciller,[6] but editor Dennis O'Neil soon made him the series' writer.[7] Sales rose dramatically after Miller began to write. For one critically acclaimed Daredevil story, Miller collaborated with artist David Mazzucchelli. Miller went to work for DC as well, and produced the influential four-issue limited series The Dark Knight Returns (1986). O'Neil also made the move to DC.[3]
Development [ edit ]
Frank Miller, the author of "Year One", at the Fan Expo 2016 in Toronto, Canada
The contract Miller signed to produce The Dark Knight Returns also required him to write a revamped Batman origin story. While Miller handled the writing and artwork of The Dark Knight Returns, he simply wrote "Year One", while Mazzucchelli joined to pencil.[3] In the past, Miller had been overwhelmed by having to handle both writing and illustration duties.[8] Todd Klein was the story's letterer, while Mazzucchelli's wife Richmond Lewis handled coloring. O'Neil edited the issues.[3] According to O'Neil, the contract Miller and Mazzucchelli signed to produce "Year One" in the ongoing Batman series guaranteed publication within 6 months.[9]
David Mazzucchelli autographing a copy of the collected story in 2012
"Year One" was originally conceived as a graphic novel. O'Neil, who had been asked to edit several issues of Batman, was friends with Miller and was able to learn of the story. Reflecting on poor sales of Batman, O'Neil caught Miller one day while on a walk in Los Angeles and convinced him and Mazzucchelli to serialize the story in the ongoing series.[9] Miller was initially reluctant; he felt this would be hard because he had to ensure the story stayed canonical to the DC Universe, something he did not have to worry about when writing The Dark Knight Returns. In addition, Miller's pacing would have to be altered because of ongoing series' relatively small page counts. O'Neil reasoned that Crisis on Infinite Earths had completely remade the DC Universe, so Miller would be able to have the same creative freedom that The Dark Knight Returns provided.[3] He also reassured Miller that he and Mazzucchelli "weren’t going to lose anything" by serializing it.[9]
Miller has said he kept Kane and Finger's basic story for "Year One" but expanded it.[10] In writing the story, Miller looked for parts of Batman's origin that were never explored. He left the core elements, such as the murder of Bruce's parents, intact, but reduced them to brief flashbacks. Bruce's globe-trotting adventures was something Miller removed, as he found uninteresting. Rather than portraying Batman as a larger-than-life icon as he had in The Dark Knight Returns, Miller chose to characterize "Year One"'s Batman as an average, inexperienced man trying to make a change in society because Miller believed a superhero is least interesting when most effective. Examples of this include Batman underestimating his opponents, getting shot by police, and his costume being too big. The story's violence was kept street-level and gritty, emphasizing noir and realism.[3]
In illustrating, Mazzucchelli sought to make "Year One" look grimy, dark, and muted. His interpretation of Gotham City was designed to symbolize corruption, featuring muddy colors that gave the impression of the city being dirty and needing a hero. The newsprint paper used in Batman was unable to reproduce the bright coloring and visual effects of The Dark Knight Returns, so Mazzucchelli took on "Year One" with a more grounded and darker approach.[11]
Publication [ edit ]
In accordance with Wolfman's plans,[5] O'Neil initially saw "Year One" as the start of the second volume of Batman and expected the first part to be its first issue. However, Miller rejected this idea. He explained: "I don't need to slash through continuity with as sharp a blade as I thought. Doing the Dark Knight has shown me there's been enough good material... I didn't feel that fleshing out an unknown part of Batman's history justified wiping out 50 years of [adventures]."[11] Thus, the four "Year One" issues bear no continuity to past issues of Batman.[11]
Title Issue Cover date "Chapter One: Who I Am – How I Come to Be" Batman #404 February 1987 "Chapter Two: War is Declared" Batman #405 March 1987 "Chapter Three: Black Dawn" Batman #406 April 1987 "Chapter Four: Friend in Need" Batman #407 May 1987
Collected editions [ edit ]
One of the earliest collections of "Year One" was released in The Complete Frank Miller Batman, published by Longmeadow Press in 1989.[12] A dedicated collected edition, Batman: Year One, was published as a trade paperback in October 1997 ( ISBN 0-930289-33-1). It is 96 pages long and contains the four "Year One" issues.
DC released a hardcover "deluxe edition" of Batman: Year One ( ISBN 1401206905) to coincide with the release of Batman Begins in April 2005.[12] This release includes introductions by Miller and Mazzucchelli, the original penciled artwork, promotional and unseen Batman art, Lewis's color samples, and some pages of the original script, for a total of 144 pages. This edition was rereleased as a 136-page trade paperback in January 2007, with an introduction by O'Neil ( ISBN 1401207529). New versions of this edition were released in 2012[12] and 2017 ( ISBN 1401272940).
To celebrate Batman's 75th anniversary in November 2014, DC released a sample of "Year One" as a part of its DC Comics Essentials line of promotional comics.[13] In 2015, a special package was released that contained the story and its film adaptation ( ISBN 1401260047).
In November 2016, DC released a 288-page DC Comics Absolute Edition of Batman: Year One. It comes in a slipcase with two hardcover books: one that reprints a remastered version of the story, with refined coloring; and another that reprints the original, unaltered story from 1987. Both books contain over 60 pages of bonus materials, including Miller's complete scripts.[14]
Plot [ edit ]
The story recounts the beginning of Bruce Wayne's career as Batman and Jim Gordon's with the Gotham City Police Department. Bruce Wayne returns home to Gotham City at the age of twenty-five from training abroad in martial arts, man-hunting, and science for the past 12 years, and James Gordon moves to Gotham City with his wife, Barbara, after a transfer from Chicago. Both are swiftly acquainted with the corruption and violence of Gotham City, with Gordon witnessing his partner Detective Arnold John Flass assaulting an African-American teen for fun.
After refusing a proposition from a teenage prostitute Holly Robinson, Bruce is reluctantly drawn into a brawl with her violent pimp and is attacked by several prostitutes, including dominatrix Selina Kyle. Two police officers shoot and take him in their squad car, but a dazed and bleeding Bruce breaks his handcuffs and causes a crash, dragging the police to a safe distance before fleeing. He reaches Wayne Manor barely alive and sits before his father’s bust, requesting guidance in his war on crime. A bat crashes through a window and settles on the bust, giving him the inspiration to become the Batman.
Gordon soon works to rid corruption from the force, but, on orders from Commissioner Gillian Loeb, several officers attack him, including Flass, who personally threatens Gordon’s pregnant wife. In revenge, the recovering Gordon tracks Flass down, beats him, and leaves him naked and handcuffed in the snow.
As Gordon becomes a minor celebrity for several brave acts, Batman strikes for the first time, attacking a group of thieves. Batman soon works up the ladder, even attacking Flass while the latter was accepting a drug dealer’s bribe. After Batman interrupts a dinner party attended by many of Gotham's corrupt politicians and crime bosses to announce his intention to bring them to justice, including Carmine "The Roman" Falcone, Loeb orders Gordon to bring him in by any means necessary.
As Gordon tries in vain to catch him, Batman attacks Falcone, stripping him naked and tying him up in his bed and dumping his car in the river, infuriating the mob boss. Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent becomes Batman’s first ally, while Detective Sarah Essen and Gordon witness Batman save an old woman from a runaway truck, after Essen suggested Bruce Wayne as a Batman suspect. Essen holds Batman at gunpoint while Gordon is momentarily dazed, but Batman disarms her and flees to an abandoned building.
Claiming the building has been scheduled for demolition, Loeb orders a bomb to be dropped on it, forcing Batman into the fortified basement, where he abandons his utility belt as it catches fire. A SWAT team led by trigger-happy officer Branden is sent in and attempts to trap Batman in the basement. After tranquilizing Branden, Batman dodges bullets as Branden's team opens fire on him, barely managing to survive after two bullet wounds. Enraged as the team’s carelessly fired bullets injure several people outside, Batman beats the team into submission and, after using a device to attract the bats of his cave to him, he flees amid the chaos. After witnessing him in action, Selina Kyle dons a costume of her own to begin a life of crime.
Gordon has a brief affair with Essen, while Batman intimidates a mob drug dealer for information. The dealer comes to Gordon to testify against Flass, who is brought up on charges. Upset with Gordon's exploits, Loeb blackmails Gordon against pressing charges with proof of his affair. After bringing Barbara with him to interview Bruce Wayne, investigating his connection to Batman, Gordon confesses the affair to her.
Batman sneaks into Falcone’s manor, overhearing a plan against Gordon, but is interrupted when Selina Kyle, hoping to build a reputation after her robberies were pinned on Batman, attacks Falcone and his bodyguards, aided from afar by Batman. Identifying Falcone’s plan as the morning comes, the uncostumed Bruce leaves to help.
While leaving home, Gordon spots a motorcyclist enter his garage. Suspicious, Gordon enters to see Johnny Vitti, Falcone's nephew, and his thugs holding his family hostage. Gordon decisively shoots the thugs and chases Vitti, who has fled with the baby. The mysterious motorcyclist, now revealed to the reader as Bruce Wayne, rushes out to chase Vitti. Gordon blows out Vitti's car tire on a bridge and the two fight hand-to-hand, with Gordon losing his glasses, before Vitti and James Gordon Jr. fall over the side. Bruce leaps over the railing and saves the baby. Gordon realizes that he is standing before an unmasked Batman, but says that he is "practically blind without [his] glasses", and lets Bruce go.
In the final scenes of the comic, Flass turns on Loeb, supplying Dent with evidence and testimony, and Loeb resigns. Gordon is promoted to captain and stands on the rooftop waiting to meet Batman to discuss somebody called the Joker, who is plotting to poison the reservoir.
Reception [ edit ]
DC's post-Crisis on Infinite Earths revamp was a major success, raising sales 22% in the first year, and DC beat Marvel in direct market sales for the first time in August and September 1987.[15] The four "Year One" issues were no exception to this. Two years before the relaunch, Batman had all-time low sales of 75,000 copies per month; "Year One" sold an average of 193,000 copies an issue, numbers not seen since the early 1970s. Despite this, it did not outsell other books like Uncanny X-Men, and the collected edition sold well but never matched the sales of The Dark Knight Returns.[3] The story, with its noir-inspired narrative and dirty violence, quickly caught the attention of readers.[16] The Los Angeles Times wrote that "Year One" offered an interesting and entertaining update to the origin of Batman.[17]
"Year One"'s characterization, particularly that of Batman and Gordon, has been praised. Hilary Goldstein (IGN) compared their journey to friendship to the plot of the film Serpico; they found that the two characters' respective story arcs—with Gordon's "illustrat[ing] the corruption in Gotham" and Batman's detailing "the transformation from man to myth"—offered an exploration of Batman's world like no other.[18] Glenn Matchett (ComicsVerse) wrote that, unlike The Dark Knight Returns, "Year One"'s Batman is more vulnerable and inexperienced, which made the story more memorable.[16] Nick Roberts (Geek Syndicate) thought the characters seemed believable,[19] and comics historian Matthew K. Manning called the characterization realistic.[11]
The story's depiction of Gotham and dark tone has also been acclaimed. Journalist James Lovegrove described "Year One" as a "noir-inflected pulp tale of vigilantism and integrity, focused on a good man doing the right thing in a dirty world" and noted the brutality of its fight sequences.[20] Jason Serafino (Complex) wrote that by ignoring many of Batman's trademark gadgets and villains, Miller managed to present Batman in a relatable and thrilling way.[21] Goldstein found every moment memorable, writing "Miller does not waste a single panel" in presenting a gritty and dark story.[18] Matchett agreed; he offered particular praise for the scenes depicting Batman clashing with the police, calling them the moment Batman began to become a legend.[16]
Mazzucchelli's art was noted as a standout.[18][16]
Continuity [ edit ]
Before the New 52 in 2011, Batman: Year One existed in the mainstream DC continuity, and in the same continuity as the other storylines in Miller's "Dark Knight Universe", consisting of The Dark Knight Returns, its sequel The Dark Knight Strikes Again, The Dark Knight III: The Master Race, The Dark Knight Returns: The Last Crusade, Spawn/Batman, and All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder.[22] However, following the New 52 reboot, Batman: Zero Year replaced Year One as the official origin for Batman and Year One was relegated to the continuity of the other Frank Miller storylines.[23]
Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC rebooted many of its titles. Year One was followed by Batman: Year Two, but the 1994 Zero Hour: Crisis in Time crossover erased Year Two from continuity. In another continuity re-arrangement, Catwoman: Year One (Catwoman Annual #2, 1995) posited that Selina Kyle had not actually been a prostitute, but, rather, a thief posing as one in order to commit crimes.
Launched in 1989, following the success of the film Batman, the title Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight examines crime-fighting exploits primarily, not exclusively, from the first four to five years of Batman's career. This title rotated in creative teams and time placement, but several stories directly relate to the events of Year One, especially the first arc "Batman: Shaman". In 1996 and 99', Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale created Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory, two 13-issue maxiseries that recounted Batman's early years as a crime-fighter following the events of Miller's original story and retold the origins of Two-Face and Dick Grayson. The Year One story was continued in the 2005 graphic novel Batman: The Man Who Laughs, following up on Gordon informing Batman about the Joker, and thus recounting their first official encounter. Two other stories, Batman and the Monster Men and Batman and the Mad Monk tie into the same time period of Batman's career, filling in the gap between Year One and the Man Who Laughs. The comics Robin: Year One and Batgirl: Year One describe his sidekicks' origin stories.
Sequels [ edit ]
Two sequels titled Batman: Year Two and Batman: Year Three were released in 1987 and 1989.
Adaptations [ edit ]
After the critical failure of Batman & Robin, several attempts were made to reboot the Batman film franchise with an adaptation of "Year One". Joss Whedon and Joel Schumacher both pitched their own takes.[3] In 2000, Warner Bros. hired Darren Aronofsky to write and direct Batman: Year One. The film was to be written by Miller, who finished an early draft of the script.[24] The script, however, was a loose adaptation, as it kept most of the themes and elements from the graphic novel but shunned other conventions that were otherwise integral to the character.[25] It was shelved by the studio in 2001,[26] after an individual who claimed to have read Miller's script published a negative review on Ain't It Cool News.[3] In 2016, Miller stated the film was canceled because of creative differences between him and Aronofsky: "It was the first time I worked on a Batman project with somebody whose vision of Batman was darker than mine. My Batman was too nice for him. We would argue about it, and I'd say, 'Batman wouldn't do that, he wouldn't torture anybody'".[27]
In 2005, Christopher Nolan began his series, with the reboot film Batman Begins, which draws inspiration from "Year One" and other stories.[3] Batman Begins and its sequel The Dark Knight are set during the same timespan and adopt several elements directly from the graphic novel. Major characters like Commissioner Loeb, Detective Flass and Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone are featured prominently in Batman Begins. Film critic Michael Dodd argued that with each major motion picture focused on the Dark Knight's origins, the odes and references to the Year One comic increased. Comparing Mask of the Phantasm with Batman Begins he noted that "...Phantasm was a Batman story with Year One elements, while Batman Begins was a Year One story with added features".[28]
In 2011, an animated adaptation was released as a DC Universe Animated Original Movie. It was produced by Bruce Timm, co-directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu.[29] It features the voices of Benjamin McKenzie as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Bryan Cranston as James Gordon, Eliza Dushku as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Katee Sackhoff as Sarah Essen, Grey DeLisle as Barbara Gordon, Jon Polito as Commissioner Loeb, Alex Rocco as Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone, and Jeff Bennett as Alfred Pennyworth.[30] The movie premiered at Comic-Con, with a Catwoman short shown in October.[31]
The second half of the fourth season of the Batman-based television series Gotham is inspired by Batman: Year One.[32]LE BOURGET, France, June 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) today announced a commitment for four 787-8 Dreamliners at the 2017 Paris Air Show. The announcement, valued at $918 million at list prices, will be posted to the Boeing Orders and Deliveries website once finalized.
"The decision to order additional 787 Dreamliners represents significant growth opportunities for Azerbaijan Airlines," said Jahangir Askerov, president of AZAL. "As one of the leading CIS carriers, we look forward to expanding our network with proven performance capabilities that the 787 provides."
"Today's commitment opens a new chapter in our partnership with Azerbaijan Airlines," said Marty Bentrott, vice president of Sales, Middle East, Turkey, Russia and Central Asia, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We are confident that the market-leading efficiency and comfort of their new 787 Dreamliners will contribute to Azerbaijan's fleet modernization plans and build onto their long-term success for many years to come."
Azerbaijan Airlines is a major air carrier and one of the leaders of the aviation community of the CIS countries. Total route network of the airline is 40 destinations in 25 countries. In 2016, Azerbaijan Airlines carried over two million passengers. Azerbajjan Airlines currently operates two Boeing 787 Dreamliners as well as a fleet of Boeing 757 and 767 airplanes.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a family of super-efficient airplanes with new passenger-pleasing features that bring the economics of large jet transports to the middle of the market. Since entering service in 2011, the 787 family has flown more than 167 million people on more than 610 unique routes around the world, saving an estimated 15.6 billion pounds of fuel. Operators have opened more than 140 new routes worldwide with the 787 Dreamliner.
Contact:
Elena Alexandrova
Russia & CIS Communications
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
+7 495 797 3415
elena.alexandrova@boeing.com
SOURCE Boeing
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http://www.boeing.comLONDON — Beyond the reach of police officers waiting to arrest him and with hundreds of supporters looking on, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, took to the balcony of Ecuador’s embassy here on Sunday to condemn the United States government and cast himself as one of the world’s most persecuted whistle-blowers.
Since June, Mr. Assange has been confined to the embassy, a small office in a red-brick apartment block where he fled and was granted asylum from British efforts to extradite him to Sweden. He is wanted for questioning on accusations of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion brought by two women in Stockholm in 2010, allegations he has denied.
On Sunday, with his supporters shouting encouragement, Mr. Assange did not directly mention those allegations or the women who brought them. One supporter who spoke before him, a former British diplomat, Craig Murray, asserted that Mr. Assange had been “fitted up with criminal offenses” as a pretext to prosecute him in the United States for leaking classified government documents.
It was a theme Mr. Assange continued. “I ask President Obama to do the right thing,” he said, reading from a statement as he stood on the balcony wearing a crisp blue shirt and red tie, his white hair cut short. “The United States must renounce its witch hunt against WikiLeaks. The United States must dissolve its F.B.I. investigation,” a reference to persistent reports that such an investigation is taking place. “The United States must vow that it will not seek to prosecute our staff or our supporters.”
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A White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, told reporters on Saturday that the Obama administration considered the standoff a matter for the governments of Britain, Sweden and Ecuador.Chapter Text
There are many places that one might start the story of Uther Penndraig, but to understand the man he became, it is best to go through his life as he did, one year at a time. He was born Isiah of Colm, in a farming village so small that last names were not yet in general use. His mother died in childbirth, leaving him to be raised by his father, who remarried when Isiah was two years old. His father was a farmer, and Isiah, along with his six half-brothers and two half-sisters, worked the fields every summer. There is very little written about this time in Uther Penndraig’s life, and he rarely, if ever, spoke of it. When Isiah of Colm was sixteen years old, the Dark King’s campaign of conquest spilled into Anglecynn. The dark army, composed largely of goblins, orcs, and dwarves, passed through Colm, taking whatever food there was to take from storehouses and killing or conscripting any fighting-age men they came across. Isiah of Colm was in the woods near the family farm when the army came through and returned just in time to see the fresh carnage that had been visited against his father, step-mother, and half-siblings. In many tellings, this is when Isiah of Colm picked up his sword and began the fight, and while the image is perfectly compelling, with a strong narrative logic to it, historical research does not bear it out. Leaving eyewitness accounts aside, there are exactly two contemporaneous sources by which to trace the arc of Uther’s life. The first are the many grave markers which still stand in Colm, relics of the dark army’s movements, each giving the year of death as 1138 (ed. 9 BE). The second is in 1142 (ed. 5 BE) when Uther Penndraig entered into Greychapel and attempted to pull Avengion from the stone it was lodged in. Aside from those two sources, and a number of eyewitness accounts made years if not decades after the fact, there is no record of Isiah of Colm or Uther Penndraig for that roughly four year period, not within the records left behind by the Dark King, nor in the contemporaneous letters sent to and from the Anglecynn resistance. This four year gap is something of a mystery. Certainly it would take some time for a sixteen-year-old farmer’s son to properly train with a sword, but proper training would require someone with skill, and the only mentor Uther spoke of having during this time was the flower mage Vervain, who certainly would not have been able to teach him as much as he appeared to know during that first visit to Greychapel, not even with Uther’s relentless quest for excellence, his natural athletic talents, and his inborn skill with a sword. There is a third contemporaneous record, which I am hesitant to bring up. Several years ago, a number of scripts written by an unknown playwright were unearthed in Anglecynn, all written in the same hand and performed by The Erstwhile Players, a troupe that was active during the time of the Dark King’s conquest and later occupation of Anglecynn. So long after the fact, it is nearly impossible to track the movements of the troupe, and they were hanged, to a member, in 1141 (ed. 6 BE) for subversion of the Dark King’s will, specifically for the performance of a play called The Fellowship of the Ring, of which no written copies exist. The other scripts from this troupe, however, do share a passing resemblance to the other, later works of Uther Penndraig, and the handwriting is a close approximation. It is impossible to say with certitude whether Uther Penndraig was ever a member of The Erstwhile Players, or whether it was he who authored the scripts that have been uncovered. If he was, this paints a very different picture of his path toward taking up arms against the Dark King. A theater troupe during the era of Anglecynn’s occupation would have not been neutral toward the Dark King, they would have been actively paid by him as part of general morale improving efforts, one of the investments the Dark King made into captured territories. Perhaps Isiah of Colm was simply biding his time, spending his evenings drilling with wooden swords and plotting his revenge upon those that killed his family. Yet in Uther’s own plays, and the commentaries he has written, he focuses on the Call to Adventure of a young hero, and often on the Refusal of the Call, both phrases always capitalized.
I set the book down to think about this. Arthur, if it was Arthur, had been dropped into the world with a family, a father and some siblings, and then the most stereotypical possible thing had happened: the Dark Lord had shown up and murdered his family. That was where the traditional, so-cliche-no-one-uses-it hero’s journey began, with some horrible thing happening that set the hero down the path to righting wrong.
And Arthur (if it was Arthur) had said “fuck that” and gone to seek his fortune in a theater troupe, using his natural affinity for acting, along with his wide knowledge of pop culture... For three years? Maybe, if he had been smart and avoided encounters, if he’d kept his head down, if, if, if. Or maybe he had been getting stronger in the safest ways he could think of. All I really had to go on was a few lines of guesswork in a biography written long after any of it had happened. But either way, no hero can refuse the call to adventure for long, because at some point they’ll get pushed violently back onto the railroad of destiny.
In the story of Uther Penndraig, that would be the end of the first act, and in the second act he would meet his Merlin.
I looked over at Fenn to see her still deep in a protracted conversation with the dwarf. She was smiling, somewhat ferally, and I hoped that meant that she was getting something good out of him. I went back to my book, still looking for answers, something that would confirm beyond a doubt that it was actually him.
Uther Penndraig arrived in Caledwich, fully formed. Whatever had happened to him in the four years between the death of his family and his first time through the gates of the then-capital, he had become a skilled swordsman and a polished speaker with a stolid determination and a devotion to good. He had met and gained the loyalty of two of his eventual seven companions, those who would later become his Knights of the Square Table. He had Vervain, the flower mage, and Forty-Two, a changeling of ill repute and recent friend. Both of them were, by that point, already sworn to him, heart and soul.
Forty-Two was one of Reimer’s characters, a fairly forgettable shapeshifting assassin loner. His name was part of a boring, tragic, backstory that I won’t get into here. The thing was, this threw a wrench into my “Uther is Arthur” calculus. I really wanted Arthur to have come through a portal five hundred years ago and recreated one of his characters, because that would mean that he was alive. But if there were other characters from our games, then what did that mean? How many of Reimer’s characters had been in Aerb at any point? Had any of them been dream-skewered, or actual people I knew put in the shoes of their characters?
The fact that Forty-Two was a historical figure really made me start to have doubts; that was another biography I was going to have to pick up, if there wasn’t enough information about him in this one. If he was just Forty-Two, not Reimer-as-Forty-Two, then that was weak evidence against Uther being Arthur-as-Uther. It was also the case that Uther Penndraig was, on both counts, a family name predating him, not one that a maybe-Arthur had picked out for himself, which meant that the world was waiting for him with a backstory already set up.
I kept reading. It was interesting stuff, not just because of the story, but because of the small details that weren’t fully spelled out, things I was supposed to pick up from context. I kept trying to find some definitive proof that it was Arthur in there, that I wasn’t just reading about a preternaturally gifted king going on adventures, but the only threads of that were in the form of the stories and plays he had written. What I wanted to come across was a line where Uther spoke about his best friend Juniper Smith, but I never found it.
I got about a quarter of the way through the book before Fenn came over to me, partly because she was taking forever to wrap things up with the dwarf, and partly because I’m a fast reader. I can give you the Cliff Notes version:
The Penndraig line had been wiped out, down to the last child, when the Dark King had taken Caledwich. The last thing that Constantine Penndraig had done, when the invader was knocking on his door, was to have an enormous rock brought into Greychapel, which he embedded his sword in. The unique magic of the sword made both sword and rock completely invincible, for all practical purposes, and the sword could not be removed except for by the hand of someone in the Penndraig line. Constantine had intended this as a big fuck you to the Dark King, who would have had to spend time and effort removing the affront to his rule, but the Dark King turned it around and said, “Hey, the old king is dead, his line is dead, and here’s definitive proof, if anyone wants to pull the sword from the stone, be my guest, but everyone else, this is your reminder that there’s no royal line left”.
So of course Isiah of Colm was actually the son of a secret princess, and he rolled into Caledwich with a plan, which was to take the sword out of the stone, giving him both claim to Anglecynn and a sweet sword in the process, as well as signaling to everyone the start of a proper resistance movement against the Dark King. As I was reading this, I was thinking that it was pretty fricking dumb of the Dark King to not just take the rock out of Greychapel, for exactly that reason … but then I got to the part where Uther tried to pull the sword from the stone, and failed, whereupon he was ambushed and had to fight his way out with his allies in tow.
As it turns out, the Dark King was at least a little bit genre savvy, and he’d taken the impenetrable rock with Avengion out under the cover of darkness, then brought in a new, specially made, identical rock, with a replica sword stuck in it. It wasn’t just that the sword in the stone was proof that there wasn’t any living Penndraig, so long as people accepted that the sword in the stone was authentic, it served as proof against any potential claimant, as well as a honeypot for would-be heroes. So that was Uther Penndraig’s introduction to the world, which took about two chapters to tell, half of it concerning his parentage, which I wasn’t really that interested in -- all I really needed to know was that he was a secret heir to the throne.
After that, Uther spent about a year recovering from his fight, gathering more powerful allies, including two more of his Knights of the Square Table (one a skin mage, who was named after a bumbling wizard Tom used to play but didn’t seem to share all that much in common with the character, and the other a cleric |
ago, the media said Wisconsin was a perfect state for Donald Trump,” said Cruz.
And somehow – somehow – Cruz crushed Trump without benefit of any gender gap.
It wasn’t so much Trump’s decline, as Cruz’s rise, albeit as the anti-Trump.
From FiveThirtyEight.
“Tonight was a bad night for Hillary Clinton,” Cruz said. “It was a bad night for her in the Democratic primary and it was a really bad night for her in the Republican primary.”
He’s right. Sort of. Hillary Clinton would be a heavy favorite in a general election against Cruz, who could end up as Barry Goldwater without the half-a-century-ahead-of-his-time cool glasses.
“Ted Cruz is a guaranteed loss – he just is – in the general election,” Joe Scarborough said on Morning Joe, a redoubt of anti-Cruz sentiment.
Show me, Scarborough said, a state that Cruz can win that that loser Mitt Romney didn’t win.
Even some Cruz boosters were of a lose-with-Cruz bent.
“It’s one thing to lose an election. It’s another thing to lose your soul,” said Charlie Sykes, the remarkably temperate Wisconsin conservative talk radio host and never-Trumpist, on MSNBC last night.
A Trump nomination, he said, “would taint Republicans and the conservative movement for a generation.”
But, I’m not so sure Cruz is necessarily a lost general election cause.
Cruz can be very persuasive. He can be very skillful at presenting himself as less threatening than people think he is.
And while Clinton might win in a landslide, she also is a very flawed and vulnerable candidate.
After all, while Cruz was whomping Trump, Clinton was being whipped by a stooped and ancient Jewish socialist who thinks they still use subway tokens in his native New York.
As for the Republican nomination, Scarborough said, “Ted Cruz will never be the choice of the Republican Party. He is loathed. He is not a likeable guy.”
But, here’s the rub.
Cruz, through skillful maneuvering and big dollop of good luck, has the great virtue of having emerged mostly the reasonable, even safe, alternative to Donald Trump.
For the first time, I think, at least for the moment, he appears to be most likely candidate to be nominated in Cleveland.
It is simply a process of elimination.
With his Wisconsin loss, it is now unlikely that Trump can clinch the nomination before the convention, and, in a contested convention, Cruz has all kinds of strategic advantages (see Monday’s First Reading). And, unless Kasich storms to the fore in the upcoming Northeast and mid-Atlantic primaries, there is not really any plausible alternative.
“I’d rather be Cruz than Trump at an open convention,” Chuck Todd said on Morning Joe.
Forget about The Art of the Deal, I think Trump could find his pocket picked by Fast Teddy Cruz in Cleveland.
Here, is some of last night and this morning’s Wisconsin Twitter stream.
BREAKING: Ted Cruz is the projected winner of the Wisconsin GOP primary. More: https://t.co/f2pQYE2RJx #Decision2016 pic.twitter.com/xDWqpSWYJX — NBC News (@NBCNews) April 6, 2016
Betting some significant estab money begins to flow Cruz's way after tonight… — Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) April 6, 2016
I guess since Cruz is now the GOP establishment's best choice against Trump, he can't run against them, so he runs against the press. — Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) April 6, 2016
This feels like the speech Cruz wrote to convince the GOP party elders that it is safe to hand the nomination to him in July. — Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) April 6, 2016
Cruz victory speech in Wisconsin praising working moms and unions members. — Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) April 6, 2016
Kasich's weakness is a little complicated, though. He underperformed the polls, which could mean he was hurt by strategic voting. — Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) April 6, 2016
.@TedCruz's Wisconsin Win Is The Beginning Of The End For Donald Trump: https://t.co/s95jTMCKu7 @forbesopinion — Avik Roy (@Avik) April 6, 2016
Cruz Has Now Beaten Trump in a Majority of States Outside the South https://t.co/6N7WYvP3P2 via @WeeklyStandard #Election2016 — Psalm 118:22 (@Psalm11822) April 6, 2016
For debate: if Cruz is the nominee Scott Walker would be a decent running mate. — EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) April 5, 2016
Technically speaking Cruz would be the first Hispanic POTUS and therefore checks the "historicity" box himself https://t.co/yvCZ9UrOpj — EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) April 5, 2016
Nothing against Haley but SC is an R state & Cruz doesn't need to pick a woman-nor would it be optimal strategy imo https://t.co/Dj1ltFAAZB — EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) April 5, 2016
That's silly imp but If so it'd be a smart play for Walker to be running mate to the academically impeccable Cruz https://t.co/riNggCG35Y — EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) April 5, 2016
That election night tradition where I re-up the Cruz Rules for those just getting woke (&apologies to everyone else) https://t.co/T0CvlbtJqS — EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) April 6, 2016
Three months from now we're all gonna be sitting around like: well I personally was totally sure months ago that Cruz would be the nominee — EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) April 6, 2016
EVERYONE WHO'S READ THE CRUZ RULES, IS WHO. Ahem. Excuse me. https://t.co/Gvd4BsM9uN — EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) April 6, 2016
Extremely, and I'll feel no remorse, because after all: I can't actually be as insufferable as Cruz ;-D https://t.co/yiPp7xh0yr — EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) April 6, 2016
@jbarro @DouthatNYT aka right about when Cruz overtook Trump in the Iowa polls…coincidence? pic.twitter.com/sxcOPAtu1k — EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) April 6, 2016
Pretty sure this is first time the MSM has counted a clear Cruz win as a clear Cruz win aka @realDonaldTrump losing https://t.co/CK8OkjkLmG — EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) April 6, 2016
Ted Cruz over Donald Trump is the GOP's plan to cure its gout with hepatitis. — LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) April 6, 2016
Remember that time Cruz "shut down the government"? He'd work the rules even if Trump got 1236 (which he won't). https://t.co/AM2U0U1Si8 — EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) April 6, 2016
A Cruz win, but some promising signs for Trump: https://t.co/CttQbzyFpB #WIPrimary — FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) April 6, 2016
A Cruz win, but some promising signs for Trump: https://t.co/CttQbzyFpB #WIPrimary — FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) April 6, 2016
when ted cruz laughs i get scared. — daniel tosh (@danieltosh) April 5, 2016
Great news tonight: GOP now on way to a perfectly normal 53-47 defeat, rather than an epic extinction event — David Frum (@davidfrum) April 6, 2016
Trump's gonna shoot that random guy on Fifth Avenue tomorrow. Needs to change the story. — John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) April 6, 2016
Cruz could win his best share of the vote in a primary tonight. WI was good for him, but it's also about anti-Trump consolidation post-Rubio — Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) April 6, 2016
Struck by the narrowness of Cruz's strength. He's getting hammered in less populous northern and western areas pic.twitter.com/LYEm6tZ5hS — Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) April 6, 2016
There's a way out, GOP: a Trump/Cruz unity ticket! Trust me, this will totally work! https://t.co/d98i7ibzYg — Tom Hilton (@TVHilton) April 6, 2016
@joshtpm The conclusion I've come to is God is real and She loves Hillary Clinton. — Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) April 6, 2016
Genuinely can't fathom how catastrophic a scenario this is for GOP, irresolvable stalemate btw 2 most toxic, selfish candidates in the race. — Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 6, 2016
Yes. With Cruz, win or lose, everyone in the party preserves their dignity. https://t.co/Kib4T6IX1e — Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) April 6, 2016"I was not born for one corner. The whole world is my native land."
It was these words of the philospher, Seneca, that Kalpana Chalwa used to describe the "connection and stewardship" she felt towards Earth and the universe.
As fate would have it, she died in the arms of the sky when her space shuttle, Columbia, disintegrated while re-entering into the Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003.
In her last interview to India Today, which she gave just before taking off on her second and final space mission, Chalwa shared her memories of sleeping "in the courtyard under the stars" while growing up in Karnal, Haryana.
"We gazed dreamily at the Milky Way, and once in a while caught some shooting stars. Times like those gave me the opportunity to wonder and ask all those very basic questions. That sense of awe for the heavens started there."
Also read: Rakesh Sharma writes about Kalpana Chawla
Kalpana Chawla in the space shuttle simulator. Photo: Wikipedia Creative Commons Kalpana Chawla in the space shuttle simulator. Photo: Wikipedia Creative Commons
Chawla's journey to NASA Astronaut Corps, and to becoming the second Indian and first Indian women to go to space had been carved out of her hard work and determination. And growing up in a small town, perseverance was not something that scared her.
"You couldn't lose by working hard and everyone seemed to follow that rule," Chawla said in her interview, "It helped instill the notion that no matter what the circumstances, you could indeed follow your dreams."
Also read: From India Today Magazine 'Eternal voyager'
In her message for Indian children, Chawla said, "Material interests are not the only guiding light. It is something that you'd enjoy doing in the long run."
"Take the time to figure out how to get there,"she added, "The quickest way may not necessarily be the best. The journey matters as much as the goal."
What remained to be her final lines in the interview is now a haunting reminder, one that we should all pay heed to.
"Listen to the sounds of nature. Wishing you the best on your trek towards your dreams. Take good care of our fragile planet."[Mesa-dev] Direct3D 9 state tracker
I think this Direct3D 9 state tracker is the most important project since Mesa 1.0. I mean this adds native Direct3D 9 driver infrastructure for Wine on Linux and as such should eventually be competitive with Windows in terms of performance. Do we need the horrible OpenGL anymore? Haha, just kidding. If the Wine modifications are accepted by upstream Wine, I'd like this state tracker to get merged. :) Marek On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 9:43 PM, Christoph Bumiller <e0425955 at student.tuwien.ac.at> wrote: > So, about two months ago I had the insane idea to pick up Joakim > Sindholt's Direct3D 9 state tracker that he'd started about 3 years ago > with the goal to make it run StarCraft 2 so I could finally play at a > reasonable frame rate... > > With help from Joakim and advice from the wine developers, as well as > wine's d3d9 tests, things went surprisingly smooth and my original goal > has been achieved and surpassed, hence I thought I'd post a note here in > case someone who doesn't yet know about it is interested in trying it out. > >... Now wait, didn't we have a D3D10/11 state tracker already that we > kicked out because it was unmaintained and not really useful? > Yes, but there are a couple of differences to d3d1x: > > - the original author has not vanished [yet] (Luca, if you can hear me: > You cannot leave your children out to die like that!) > - it's written in C instead of C++ and not relying on horrific multiple > inheritance with templates hacks to make gcc generate COM-compatible > vtables (and I'm still not sure if that actually worked) > - gallium wasn't ready for D3D11, and still isn't (at least the pipe > drivers aren't), but it is ready for D3D9, and all the features required > from the pipe drivers are well tested via OpenGL > - there are no motivating applications using Direct3D 10/11 yet (at > least for me) > - and most importantly, contrary to d3d1x, d3d9/st already actually > works for real applications! > > So far I've tried Skyrim, Civilization 5, Anno 1404 and StarCraft 2 on > the nvc0 and r600g drivers, which work pretty well, at up to x2 the fps > I get with wined3d (NOTE: no thorough benchmarking done yet). > Civilization 4 works, too, but it still has a couple of (not too severe) > rendering issues because I didn't pay much attention to the fixed > function pipeline and its interaction with the earlier shader versions yet. > > If people think it's a good idea to merge it, I'd clean up the few > modifications I did to gallium, and, once they've been cleared, merge > the state tracker itself. > Unfortunately, for proper window system integration, a few modifications > to wine are required (it used to run without them, but fully correct > operation isn't possible like that). > > Here's the links to the mesa branch containing the state tracker and to > a patched version of wine: > https://github.com/chrisbmr/Mesa-3D/tree/gallium-nine > https://github.com/chrisbmr/wine/tree/d3dadapter9-wip > (The wine modifications only affect { d3d9.dll.so, gdi32.dll.so, > user32.dll.so, wineps.drv.so and winex11.drv.so }, so you don't have to > replace all of it). > > Some usage hints: > https://github.com/chrisbmr/Mesa-3D/blob/gallium-nine/src/gallium/state_trackers/nine/README > > _______________________________________________ > mesa-dev mailing list > mesa-dev at lists.freedesktop.org > http://lists.freedesktop.org/mailman/listinfo/mesa-devThe Orioles are not a team that goes wild and crazy on the free agent market, bringing in all manner of players from all over at great cost. Even last year’s surprising splurge on the payroll mostly just ended up being about keeping their own free agents, Chris Davis and Darren O’Day.
The coming crop of free agents is not an impressive one, so don’t expect another spending spree. The Orioles generally don’t win bidding wars, they just collect who’s left from a surplus. One of the best names available will probably be almost-Oriole Dexter Fowler. He won’t be coming here this offseason either.
Another reason the Orioles won’t do much this offseason, and wouldn’t be likely to do much even if the market was flush with good players, is that, once again, the money they seem to have available will be sucked up by arbitration raises to their existing crop of players. MLB Trade Rumors released their annual arbitration projections on Monday, giving an idea of what it will cost the O’s to keep their talent for next year.
Having players who earn these raises is a good problem for the team to have. The Orioles would not have made it into the postseason without Manny Machado, Chris Tillman, and Zach Britton all doing the things that they did this year. That was great for the 2016 Orioles and was a big part of why the team was able to defy the expectations of every pundit.
The 2017 Orioles will be paying the price, however. Britton, Machado, and Tillman are all projected to end up with salaries over $10 million for next season. If the MLBTR estimate is right - and it’s generally very close - and if nothing unexpected happens, these three players will cost about $15 million more next year than they did last year.
This is not an unfamiliar place for the O's to find themselves. The story has been similar for the last several offseasons, when it was players like Davis, Matt Wieters, and Adam Jones whose salaries were going up due to past performance.
Maybe you are a person who looked at the 2016 performance of Wieters and his season salary of $15.8 million and started to think of all the things the Orioles might do to improve the team with that money once it came off the books. Wieters is not even officially a free agent yet and that money is essentially already spoken for in raises to three players.
Some other money will be clearing off the books too, like Mark Trumbo’s $9.1 million and the $5.75 million to Pedro Alvarez. That’s enough money where the O’s could actually do something with it... like pay for the arbitration raises of the other seven arbitration-eligible players. The players below are listed in declining order by service time.
Arbitration salaries: 2016 vs. 2017 projected
If you sum up the raise column, that comes up to $24,663,500. So the O's have about $32 million in big salaries coming off the books, and their arbitration raises will eat up all but about $7 million of that money. You can't buy very much free agent for $7 million.
There are a couple of names on there who could end up getting non-tendered, but that won't offer much in the way of salary relief. You probably won't lose much sleep if McFarland isn't back. That doesn't even clear a million. And maybe you've seen enough of Flaherty and want his $1.7 million wiped off the books. That's fine, but keep in mind that the 2015 O's spent $2.4 million on Everth Cabrera. A Flaherty replacement could actually cost more money than you'd save.
Oh yeah, and it's not only the arbitration-eligible players who will be making more money next season. Yovani Gallardo's salary goes up by $2 million. J.J. Hardy gets an extra $1.5 million. Darren O'Day gets another $1 million. Even Hyun Soo Kim will be making $1.4 million more, and Ubaldo Jimenez adds $500,000 over his 2016 salary for next year.
That counts for most of your $7 million right there, and we haven't even thought about the $8.75 million going to Wade Miley next season. Barring some kind of trade to relieve one of these bigger salary numbers, next year's Orioles are already going to cost more than this year's Orioles did before they even set out to try to fill any of the holes that will be left by their departing free agents, let alone any of the places where there were holes that already needed to be plugged on the roster.
The Orioles could always end up surprising us again by spending a lot more money than expected. That's what they did this past offseason, adding nearly $30 million in payroll over the 2015 team. That increase came at a cost to fans, however, with ticket prices going up in the realm of 25%. Something similar happening this coming hot stove season would be a big surprise.
Fortunately, the weak free agent crop means that the O's won't be missing out on much by not being able to spend this time around. Dan Duquette is going to have to get creative to fill the gaps that will be left on the O's team. He has done this before. Yet even if he's successful in doing that, it's not going to make for a very interesting offseason for O's fans.Okay, so it’s been a while since we updated the fans on what’s been going on behind the scenes. Lots of continuing projects, etc. Our facebook livestream has all the details we revealed, but in short here’s what was covered:
Our team is expanding! We have Jon Benditz as our COO, Shanti as our a new producer, Graham the Zintern, Bryan and Michael as editors.
As for the 8:
Patreon – We’re starting one. It will feature the #2 through livestream and private feed, will have #3 released monthly, We’re Alive Archive – Director’s commentary through the series as we explore behind the scenes and deep into the making of We’re Alive. Script Book – Creating a limited special edition series and normal paperback for Season 1. Family Book – THERE is a “Family” book in the works with the backstory to Angel and Scratch. Still attaching a writer on the project. Theater for the Mind – A new podcast series is coming that will feature an anthology of audio theater stories and experiments. One being #6. IA(Improv Audio) Theater – Part of the Theater for the Mind series, features improvisational audio drama fully sound designed and produced. Special pin series: We’re making limited edition pin series, the first one commemorating our 8th birthday. Like all our merch, we do it once and then it’s done. Each of these will have a sequential number on the back, making each one unique. Pre-orders June 1st, limited stock available. We are open to the idea of 2nd printings that are slightly altered. We’re Alive: Scout’s Honor (#WASH?) is our next series after Goldrush. The story takes place on the island of Catalina off the shores of California, where a group of scouts must work together to get off the island.
There were a few other misc updates on Goldrush, merch, and how Tony Rey continually insists on keeping Grayson’s Diaper Tuesday alive. Don’t know what that is? Check out our old Apartment 2c episodes.
Until next time, thank you for your support, and hope to see you as a patreon member. We’ll keep working on these projects and bringing you more We’re Alive.
ALSO… From this day forth, we’re just going to celebrate our bday on this day. May 4th seems to be occupied with honoring another great series. It makes sense, after all the outbreak was on the 8th.
-KcCredit: CGC
Press Release
SARASOTA, FL (March 29th, 2016)- Certified Guaranty Company (CGC®) has announced the release of a brand new state-of-the-art holder that will be used to encapsulate all comic book submissions beginning April 4, 2016.
Incorporating the most advanced archival materials, the redesigned, patent-pending holder improves upon CGC’s original holder with a sturdier construction and new crystal-clear display that offers superior optical clarity. Research and development of the second generation holder, which spanned over three years, was orchestrated by Matt Nelson. “Our thorough development process included six months to solve the dilemma of securing the book without the inner well. The creative design solution was a real breakthrough,” said Nelson.
Heat seal lines that were previously visible have been eliminated with the removal of the inner well, further enhancing the visual aesthetic of CGC-graded books. Internally, the new holder contains archival Mylar sheets that have been endorsed by the Library of Congress for the preservation of paper. The new design will accommodate books with overhang and other defects previously difficult to encapsulate. Additionally, frosting along the edges has been removed to allow full visibility of the book’s sides. All new holders will lock with previous CGC holders for safety when stacking.
The CGC certification label has also undergone a face lift, resulting in a more modern design that better highlights the book’s information. In addition, the top label is now encased inside the holder, eliminating the need for a sticker along the outside of the top edge.
“This new holder is a quantum leap forward and redefines the standards for preservation and display,” said CGC Director of Operations, Harshen Patel. “The clarity we achieved showcases comics on a level that will drastically change the way collectors view CGC encapsulation.”
The launch of the new holder coincides with Nelson’s move from CGC’s sister company Classic Collectible Services (CCS), the world’s premiere comic book pressing and restoration service, to a full-time position at CGC, joining Paul Litch as a Primary Grader and member of the senior management team.
“CGC will continue on its current path of innovation, growth, and consistency,” declared Patel. “This holder marks an important milestone in this evolution.”
About Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®)
Founded in 1999, Certified Guaranty Company is the hobby’s most preferred third-party grading service for collectible comics, magazines, photos, lobby cards, concert posters and handbills. CGC offers expert condition analysis, including thorough restoration detection, before grading and encapsulating collectibles in state-of-the-art, archival-safe holders. CGC does not buy or sell collectibles — it is committed to providing an independent opinion that collectors and dealers can always trust, so they can buy and sell with confidence.
CGC is a trademark or registered trademark of Certified Guaranty Company LLC in the United States and/or other countries. All other names and marks referenced in this release are the trade names, trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.TTDI Residents’ Association chairman Abdul Hafiz Abu Bakar. ― Picture by Choo Choy May
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — Groups opposing a condominium project near Taman Rimba Kiara said they showed Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor evidence the development would harm the park, after the minister reiterated his denial today.
The groups also disputed the Federal Territories minister’s description of the park as only being 13 acres large, again insisting that they demonstrated this to Tengku Adnan before.
Recalling a town hall meeting on November 3, they said the minister was shown that the offending project would occupy nearly half of Taman Rimba Kiara, which was earmarked as a green lung in both the gazetted Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 and the Draft City Plan 2020.
“It was (also) highlighted to the minister that there is ample evidence showing that the original footprint of Taman Rimba Kiara is 25 acres and not 13 acres.
“After being shown the evidence, the minister kindly offered to meet and discuss the matter at his office. However, our email seeking an appointment remains unanswered until today,” the groups said in a statement.
The groups conceded that the Draft City Plan was not gazetted, but said it should still be adopted given the sum spent to develop it.
The minister said in a statement earlier today that Taman Rimba Kiara was not gazetted as a public park and that the project would not encroach on its 13 acres.
He also distinguished Taman Rimba Kiara from the Large Scale Public Park (TABB) of Bukit Kiara gazetted on April 3, 2013 under the care of the National Landscape Department, Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry.
On August 11, TTDI Residents’ Association chairman Abdul Hafiz Abu Bakar, the management bodies of five condominiums and four other TTDI residents filed for judicial review against Kuala Lumpur City Hall and its mayor over the approval of the condominium project.STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The Big Ten might put more emphasis on geography when shuffling divisions after eastern schools Maryland and Rutgers join the Midwest-centric league by 2014.
Penn State athletic director Dave Joyner said officials within the league have had several discussions over the phone about potential divisional alignments.
"I have a feeling it will be more geography-based," Joyner said. "There seems to be a lot of sentiment for that."
It would be especially helpful, Joyner said, to ease travel issues and funding for travel, especially for Olympic sports.
Joyner made the comments in a videotaped interview with an athletics assistant communications director posted Tuesday on the department's website.
Athletic directors have already met a couple times to discuss topics related to the additions of Maryland and Rutgers, and will probably meet four or five more times before finalizing recommendations to the Council of Presidents/Chancellors for review in June, Big Ten spokesman Scott Chipman said.
The current 12-team Big Ten split into two divisions for football after Nebraska joined the league in 2011.
The Legends Division is comprised of Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern. The Leaders Division is made up of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin.
Commissioner Jim Delany had said in announcing the divisions in 2010 that the conference sought to keep competitive balance and promote new rivalries while keeping traditions and existing rivalries in mind.
Penn State last week removed "acting" from Joyner's athletic director and reaffirmed that Joyner would serve in that capacity until Rodney Erickson's term as president expires next year. The school has started searching for Erickson's successor, and the athletic director job would be open to a national search under the new president. Joyner would be able to re-apply.
He took the job about a couple weeks after his predecessor, Tim Curley, was placed on leave in November 2011 in the fallout from former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's arrest on child sex abuse charges.
Joyner on Tuesday likened his initial months on the job to being in a "war zone" after managing crisis after crisis.
"Now we're still very busy. We have a lot of things we need to do as we move forward with programs and plans," Joyner said. "We're more now on maintenance and moving forward and rebuilding on where things were before."
Penn State had a successful fall season, especially considering how the school was hit with landmark sanctions by the NCAA for the Sandusky scandal. Most notably, the football team under first-year coach Bill O'Brien had a better-than-expected 8-4 record, and the school has also had success in women's soccer, women's volleyball, women's basketball and wrestling, among other sports.
NCAA data has also shown that the school continues to have high rates in graduating athletes.
"The results speak for themselves," Joyner said. "These students and these coaches have done remarkably well" considering the turmoil of the past 15 months.
The sanctions included a $60 million fine. The first of five $12 million installments was paid last month. But Joyner reiterated that Penn State had no plans to cut sports. Athletics may have to rely more on donations to help pay for facilities and upgrades, he said.
"We're going to be all right," Joyner said. "It's going to be tough."
Curley and two other former administrators are awaiting trial on charges related to the Sandusky scandal including endangering the welfare of children and obstruction. All three men have maintained their innocence.Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post has become the latest casualty of China’s tightening grip on the media as internet censors shut down its microblogging accounts on Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo, as well as its WeChat page on Tuesday.
The broadsheet’s official Sina Weibo page now leads to an error message that reads, “Sorry, there is something wrong with the account you are currently trying to access, and it is temporarily inaccessible.” A similar error message can be seen on what used to be SCMP’s Tencent Weibo page.
Over at SCMP’s official WeChat account, an empty shell is all that remains as all previous posts published on the page have been deleted.
If past history is any indication, the shutdown doesn’t appear temporary, and there is little chance that the accounts will be restored.
All three social media accounts posted updates from the paper’s Chinese-language web property SCMPChinese.com / nanzao.com, now blocked on the mainland.
Launched in April 2013 in a bid to stave off declining circulations, the portal, with its mix of translations from the English-language paper as well as original Chinese-language content, was hailed by the publisher as a major push into the digital space, and into the wider Chinese market.
Long the flagbearer of independent and authoritative reporting on China, South China Morning Post was owned by Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp until Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok’s Kerry Media bought a controlling stake in the paper in 1993.
Once envied as the world’s most profitable newspaper on a per-reader basis, SCMP saw its profit peak in 1997, and was delisted in 2013 when the free float of its shares fell below the required 25%.
Between 2000 and 2012, SCMP weathered 10 changes of editors-in-chief, but none proved as disastrous as the 2012 appointment of Wang Xiangwei, a Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference member, and a former employee of the China Daily.
Wang Xiangwei, SCMP’s editor-in-chief between 2012 and 2015.
Soon after Wang took over the reins of the paper, he removed some of the paper’s finest reporters, including the multiple award-winning journalist Paul Mooney, and replaced them with young hires, many from the mainland.
In June of that year, Wang’s staff accused him of reducing a major breaking story on the suspicious death of a Tiananmen dissident to a brief. He later admitted to the AFP that his decision was a “bad call” but denied accusations that he was a stooge for Beijing or practicing self-censorship.
The $266 million acquisition of the paper’s assets by Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group in December 2015 has continued to stoke fears that the publication’s integrity and independence would continue to be compromised, as Ma’s ties to the governing elite in Beijing are well-known.
Defending the acquisition, Ma said at the time, at the World Internet Conference organized by the Chinese government in Wuzhen:
Trust us. Why do people have to think that if we have it, it will lose its independence? Why not with others? We also read the newspapers. We also want media independence and fairness. What basis is there that with us, there will be no more independence.
Following President Xi Jinping’s recent high-profile visits to state media outlets, and his declarations that all media must be “surnamed Party” so they can give “correct guidance of public opinion” by “singing the main theme, transmitting positive energy,” influential Weibo celebrity and former tycoon Ren Zhiqiang wrote on his personal account that state media should be beholden to the public, not the Party. One week later, China’s top internet watchdog shut down his various social media accounts where he had accumulated more than 37 million followers.
Like Ren, SCMP was a powerful force on Weibo. In March 2015 it was named one of the most influential Hong Kong media sources on Weibo for the second consecutive year in The Star of Weibo awards, organized annually by Sina Weibo. In receiving the award, SCMP Chinese Chief Editor William Zheng had this to say:
The SCMP has adhered to our professionalism and journalistic conduct in a complicated media environment, and through various social media platforms reached out to readers from around the world. The award is not only recognition given by a new media platform of our efforts in transforming from a traditional newsroom into a new media one, but also a testimony to the SCMP’s status as a high-quality news brand recognized by world readers, including the vast Chinese-language market.
Less than one year later, SCMP appears to have lost its over 500,000 followers on Weibo in an instant. With a dwindling pool of English-language readers at home, and its ability to penetrate mainland China now severely limited, the future looks bleak for the Post.I don’t think we’ve referred to a time-lapse as “dramatic” before, but when it comes to photographer Nicolaus Wegner‘s most recent time-lapse creation, no other word fits quite as well.
Captured over 14 months in the Wyoming wilderness, beautiful motion landscape sequences are juxtaposed masterfully with weather that he calls ‘terrorific’ — terrifying, horrific and terrific all rolled into one — in Wegner’s Wyoming Wildscapes II.
The ‘fun facts’ behind this one include the following:
14 months of shooting from the first press of the shutter to the final render
~150 days spent driving, backpacking, shooting, and exploring in Wyoming
20,000 miles driven — the majority of them chasing storms.
100+ miles hiked while carrying a 75-80lbs backpack bulging with time-lapse gear
A total of 125,000 stills come together for a total of 75 sequences!
Four 1TB harddrives (six plus backups) packed to the gills by the end
And those are only a selection of the facts he shares about the video on his website. There were also countless hours of editing, and hardships experienced while out shooting including: almost getting hit by lightning a couple of times, dealing with frozen (literally, frozen) and broken gear, and other trials and tribulations he decided to keep to himself.
Check out the video for yourself by clicking play up top (you wont’ regret |
prices to the detriment of authors and themselves because their motivation is not to serve their customers (readers and authors) but to try to damage their competitors (Amazon). Self published eBooks are outselling traditionally published eBooks on Amazon because independent authors set their prices. Having control over the pricing means I can run and control my own marketing campaigns. (Read the report HERE)
5) I wanted to get the book out quickly. By doing it myself, I can respond to the market and set my own lead times. I don’t have to spend months querying agents and publishers, then more months re-writing the book to suit the publishers requirements. Before I know it, years of my life have sailed past and I still don’t have a book out. I wasn’t prepared to put that much of a brake on my career and business goals.
6) I wanted to maintain creative control. It’s my book, dammit, I want to maintain control over the story, the structure and I want to own all the rights to it. I don’t want to be strapped into publishers clauses that prevent me from doing what I want to with my words.
7) I wanted to test out ‘being a writer’. It’s one thing to have a hobby, quite another to turn it into a business. I wanted a low risk way to test the market and test myself. I didn’t know if I actually wanted to spoil my beloved hobby by making money from it.
8) I wanted to see if I could. A personal challenge is a great motivator for me. I wanted to see if I was capable of getting a book to market and selling it. My goal for The Bronze Box was to sell 1,000 copies in three years. I doubled this in half the time and it was enough to convince me I did want to be a writer and I was capable of doing it.
These reasons seem to be common among other independent authors. I like this article in Black Fox Literary Magazine:
But self publishing isn’t just for fiction writers.
Self publishing presents entrepreneurs with an excellent opportunity to build authority and influence by actually doing the one thing so many people want to do, but never do – write a book!
There is still a good deal of pomposity around self publishing, but ultimately, as a writer, you can choose to be bitter and resentful that others had the courage to go it alone while you remain ‘undiscovered’ or you can take a risk – because business is really just about taking calculated risks – you never know, you might even make some money!
FollowDENVER (BUSINESS WIRE), March 11, 2016 - Independent mobile analytics firm RootMetrics® has just released a new RootScore® Report showing Sprint continues to have the fastest network in Denver, with a #1 ranking in network speed and data performance, and a tie for #1 in overall network performance.
This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160311005110/en/
This is Sprint’s second consecutive outright win for network speed in Denver. It is Sprint’s first outright win in data performance – previously Sprint shared the first place data performance award with Verizon.
“We’re proud to have our network once again be ranked as the fastest with the best data performance. We’ll keep investing to further improve performance and we’re committed to giving the Mile High City an exceptional wireless experience. With 50% off the competition, there’s never been a better time to join Sprint.”
Greg Post, President, Mountain Southwest Region
Fastest Network in Denver
This is the tenth time RootMetrics has tested Denver, with the last test occurring in August 2015. RootMetrics drove a total of 1,428 miles and conducted 20,419 tests in Denver. During testing RootMetrics was able to experience Sprint’s carrier aggregation technology on the 2.5GHz spectrum band. This feature of Sprint’s super-fast LTE Plus Network creates a wider lane that allows more network traffic to travel at higher rates, enabling Sprint to provide Denver customers with even faster data speeds.
In addition to deploying some of the most advanced technologies in wireless, Sprint has relentlessly focused on expanding and fine-tuning the network in Denver. Network performance has continued to improve with the addition of new cell sites, increased coverage and capacity, and systematic optimization of each cell site to maximize performance. Sprint is currently upgrading its indoor wireless system at Denver International Airport.
Denver, Switch to Sprint and Save 50%
In addition to offering the fastest network in Denver, consumers switching to Sprint can take advantage of the biggest wireless offer in U.S. history – 50 percent off the price of most Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile rate plans.1 Customers who switch get 50 percent off most current rate plan prices from their current carrier. And, Sprint will pay switching fees up to $650 per line.2
About RootMetrics
RootMetrics, an independent mobile analytics firm that offers insights into the consumer mobile experience, tests the networks of all four major wireless carriers in the U.S. twice per year. The company provides objective, unbiased assessments of performance across a broad range of consumer-oriented mobile activities including data usage, calling, and texting. Network reliability measures a customer’s ability to establish and keep a data connection, make and retain a call, and send and receive texts.
Rankings based on RootMetrics Denver (February 2016) RootScore Report for mobile performance as tested on best available plans and devices on 4 mobile networks across all available network types. The RootMetrics award is not an endorsement of Sprint. Your results may vary. See www.rootmetrics.com for details.
About Sprint
Sprint (NYSE: S) is a communications services company that creates more and better ways to connect its customers to the things they care about most. Sprint served more than 58.4 million connections as of December 31, 2015 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the past five years. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
1Discount applies to base monthly service plan and access charges only. Discount does not apply to certain charges such as taxes, surcharges, roaming, premium content, add-ons, and apps. New plan features may not be an exact match. Discount offer limited to regular rates on consumer plans as of 3/31/16 for: Verizon’s shared data rate plans as of 3/31/16 for 1GB, 3GB, 6GB, 12GB, 18GB, 20GB, 25GB, 30GB, 40GB and 50GB; T-Mobile’s Simple Choice rate plan prices as of 3/31/16 for 2GB, 6GB and 10GB; and AT&T’s shared data rate plans as of 3/31/16 for 300MB, 2GB, 5GB, 15GB, 20GB, 25GB, 30GB, 40GB and 50GB. Discount does not include competitor promotional or sale prices. Plans exclude unlimited music and video streaming, data carryover, and cloud options that other carrier plans may offer. Offer/coverage not available everywhere or for discounted phones. Subject to new-line, $36 activation fee, credit, valid port-in. Customer must choose from same porting carrier rate card.
2Requires valid port-in, submission of previous bill, current phone turn in and online registration. Via American Express Reward Card.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160311005110/en/It seems the breed of foot-in-mouth-politicians has found a new member in Congress leader Nitesh Rane, whose attack on the Gujarati community in Mumbai has caused quite a flutter on micro-blogging site Twitter.
Rane junior took to Twitter to vent his frustration against housing societies dominated by Gujarati speaking residents that insist on renting out or selling homes only to vegetarians.
In a series of tweets from his handle @NiteshNRane, he targeted "white-collar" Gujaratis in Mumbai, who supported Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and asked them to leave the city, so that "Marathi manus can flourish" and "buy houses where there is no discrimination".
Nitesh Rane's office confirmed that the above said handle belongs to the leader.
Veg skies,Veg hospitals,Veg housing societies..soon Veg Mumbai!Either Gujjus go back to Gujarat or they turn Mumbai into Gujarat..Red alert! — nitesh rane (@NiteshNRane) July 22, 2013
Surprisingly white collar Guju community was nevr a target who cleverly kept mumbai's financial chords with them!Now Modi's Guj awaits them! — nitesh rane (@NiteshNRane) July 1, 2013
Apparently Modi saved 15k gujjs in 2 days..can he also divert his plane towards mumbai n pick sum gujjus from here too! — nitesh rane (@NiteshNRane) June 25, 2013
All Hoo Haa of gujjus on twitter!Itni teekhi laagi Meri baat..chalo Modi ko bulao aur jaga khaali karo humare Marathis ke liye mumbai mein — nitesh rane (@NiteshNRane) June 24, 2013
Though Nitesh defended his comments in an interview with a leading Mumbai-based publication, his tweets have drawn sharp reactions from Gujaratis. Here are some of the tweets that are doing the rounds on the micro-blogging site:
Mr. Nitesh rane u r d one discriminating Gujarati n marathi... N Narendra Modi is the best... U need not b a Gujarati or Marathi to be dbest — Dimple Shah Danda (@DimpleShahDanda) August 2, 2013
Ppl who oppose Gujaratis or others who praize Narendra Modi and ask us to leave Mumbai should have guts to push us out # Nitesh Rane — Amit Mehta (@am8mehta) August 2, 2013
Need to know from Nitesh Rane where should Marathi's South/north India's should go if we praise Modi? Do we have to leave Mumbai too?.. —??????????????? (@21centurie_kant) August 2, 2013
Nitesh Rane seems to have a confused ideology. 'Gujaratis' praising Namo can leave. Sounds like SS. And the anti Namo stand sounds Congi. — Akanksha Patankar (@Mrs_Patankar) August 2, 2013
This Nitesh Rane is the New Raj Thackray asking gujjus to leave the city.. — Zeal Soni (@Rapatraapchick) August 2, 2013
Nitesh Rane proves yet again that dividing the people of this country is Step no. 1 for every politician. — Sagar Nair (@yedda_anna) August 2, 2013
Nitesh Rane has joined in to become the next Digvijay Singh of comments and speeches. — omkar sane (@omkars) August 2, 2013
Surprising nobody has objected/ criticized/ denounced in public the "Gujaratis Maharashtra Chhodo" call of Nitesh Rane yet... — Ruchir Modi (@Ruchir78) August 2, 2013
Funny how Nitesh Rane has the balls to make such comments.Maybe he has forgotten that the position he has is a free gift from his dad. — Nidhi Vora (@NidhiVora93) August 2, 2013
My biggest issue is that politicians like #NiteshRane have time to do this, but no time to actually #makeadifference - it is all downhill — Karishma S. Shah (@UtopiaSeeker1) August 2, 2013
This is not the first time that Nitesh's tweets have stirred up a controversy. On July 31, the Congress leader had commented on author Shobhaa De's demand for Mumbai as a separate state.
Rather than twitter, Shoba De shud say the same thing on the streets of Mumbai openly after which she won't be left with any'shoba' forever — nitesh rane (@NiteshNRane) July 31, 2013
The tweet had drawn sharp reactions from all quarters for being sexist. However, Nitesh remained defiant and refused to apologise for his comments. In response to calls for apology to De, he tweeted
English channels should ask Shobha De to apologise rather than askin me before it gets too late!! August 1, 2013
Till now, Nitesh has remained in the shadow of his father and Congress minister Narayan Rane. We wonder whether these tweets were a sort of prelude to his entering the bigger game.A day after terrorists attacked French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, an anonymous cartoonist began a campaign of his own on Reddit. In a demonstration of both solidarity and protest, he pledged to draw a picture of Muhammad and post it on the forum every day for a year. So far, he has kept his word. Click through the gallery below to see a few samples.
Credit: Mike Spies and Ryan Walsh 1 / 4 A woman holds up a copy of Charlie Hebdo magazine. Getty Images/Carl Court/
Vocativ secured an interview with the artist under the agreement that we would not reveal his identity. Over email, he explained the purpose of his campaign, where it came from, how it may evolve and his decision to remain anonymous.
When did you come up with the “Draw Muhammad” campaign, and why?
I came up with it the day after the Charlie Hebdo shootings. I wanted to contribute to the global response in expressing what the terrorists (murderers, whatever you want to label them) wanted to silence.
What is the purpose of the campaign?
People are murdered for a lot of reasons. Greed, power, spite, vengeance, ignorance. I always feel so disconnected from the murdering since it never occurs around me or to people I know. For people to die because they sought to express their freedom of speech through satirical cartoons is something that just hit home to me. They died over a general freedom that everyone on this planet should be able to express. I wanted to show their actions did not silence anyone but only caused the international community to stand up and show ideas are bulletproof.
Why remain anonymous?
I am not really sure where this is going, nor do I want any personal attention. I would rather remain anonymous and focus on the message I am trying to convey rather than me becoming some target out in the open for harassment and threats. I am nobody important, so my identity would not strengthen my message.
Is the campaign less effective if you’re anonymous?
I do not believe so. Again I am not important in any political, religious or professional manner. I just want to post goofy cartoons so people see how ridiculous it is to try to inflict fear in the world through heinous deeds. Only murder was committed. They did not help their people, their religion or anyone in any beneficial sense.
Will the pictures become steadily more offensive?
Not intentionally. I am not trying to offend the Muslim community. I am not a Muslim, so my actions are not governed by any religious laws or guidelines. I understand what I am doing will not be liked by Muslims, and they have every right to be upset with it and condemn it, but they must also accept the fact that I am only expressing my artistic freedoms. I am not calling for hate or war on the Islamic religion, but rather tolerance of all ideas and beliefs as long as they do not call for real, physical violence against other people.
What are some future drawings we might expect to see?
I will probably continue to depict Muhammad in mundane situations or newspaper comic-type ordeals. I will also depict him in different art styles and not just in the comic style that was seen by everyone on the first day.
Are you worried you’ll get found out?
Not really. I do not think I am important enough for any hateful group to want to take action against me. I should be protected well enough from Internet trolls, but I can handle that. I am mostly doing this for myself and do not expect a large following. There is a subreddit dedicated to my posts and a Facebook page. I will also have a website up shortly that will be linked on that subreddit.Samsung has a history of unveiling its new Galaxy Note flagship at the IFA convention in Berlin every year. It has been reported multiple times over the past few months that this year’s Galaxy Note flagship may not be unveiled at IFA 2017.
Rumor has it that Samsung is going to conduct a separate event for the Galaxy Note 8 in New York City this August. The company hasn’t confirmed that at this point in time but the rumor mill appears to be convinced that this is going to be the case.
South Korean news outlet The Bell reports today that Samsung has selected August 23 as the Galaxy Note 8 launch date. Another Korean English-language daily hears from an unnamed Samsung executive that the Galaxy Note 8 will be unveiled in New York next month. The executive declined to confirm the August 23 date, though.
It merits mentioning here that we see these kinds of rumors and reports every year. It’s always the same prediction about an early launch be it a new Galaxy S device or Galaxy Note. Whether or not it’s actually going to happen this year remains to be seen.
Samsung is likely going to confirm the details about the Galaxy Note 8 launch date towards the end of next month.HOME
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Dane De F." © Head Buddy 2017An original drawing by Belgian cartoonist and Tintin creator Hergé sold for €2.5 million ($2,854,250), nearly breaking the record for the most expensive piece of comic art, reports the AFP. The drawing titled Shooting Star, is the original illustration used for the basis of the front cover of the 1942 comic album of Tintin et L’étoile Mysterieuse (Tintin and the Shooting Star), the tenth volume in the series The Adventures of Tintin.
The work went on sale last week (see Tintin Cover Art to Go on Sale for Nearly $3 Million at Brussels Fair) at the Brussels Antiques and Fine Art Fair (BRAFA) by Huberty & Breyne, a Brussels-based gallery that specializes in comic book art (bande dessinées).
Marina David of Huberty & Breyne said the work was bought by a European investor but declined to disclose the identity of the buyer, saying only “the buyer is neither Belgian nor French.”
The illustration features Tintin and his dog Snowy standing on a meteorite that fell in the ocean; they are looking with great surprise at a giant mushroom.
Tintin, who turned 86 this past January, has seen a surge in value recently.
A plate by Hergé broke the record for a piece of comic art selling for €2,519,000 ($3,434,908) last May at Artcurial (see New World Record: Tintin Comic Tops $3 Million). According to the AFP, Hergé sold nearly 230 million copies of Tintin in his lifetime, cementing the character’s lasting popularity.
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Written by Bryan Fuller and Ronald D. Moore
Directed by Michael Vejar
Season 5, Episode 11
Production episode 40510-509
Original air date: January 6, 1997
Stardate: 50416.2
Station log: Vedek Latha leads a retreat in a cave on Bajor. He lights a candle and he and the other vedeks kneel around it. Beams of light suddenly emit from the candle on all the vedeks, then only on Latha, and then a disruptor blast kills him. Latha was part of the Shakaar Resistance Cell.
While Kira’s being treated by Bashir—complaining that the herbs she’s taking negate the sedatives she takes to sleep—Odo sadly informs her that her former comrade is dead. When she returns to her quarters, Kira has a message waiting for her: an image of Latha and a mechanical voice saying, “That’s one.”
There’s no point of origin of the transmission. Kira then gets another transmission with no point of origin, but this time it’s another old comrade, Fala, who wasn’t part of the cell, but regularly passed on information to them. She’s incredibly paranoid, convinced that someone’s trying to find her and kill her. Kira offers her asylum on the station, and sends Worf and Dax—on their way back from a starbase—to pick her up. But something goes wrong in the transport, and she’s killed. Odo theorizes that someone placed a device on her person that would scramble someone’s transporter pattern upon rematerialization.
A padd is enclosed in a shipment of Saurian brandy that arrives at Quark’s, encoded to Kira. It has an image of Fala and the same mechanical voice saying, “That’s two.”
Fala’s involvement with Shakaar was kept secret, so the attacker might be someone who was affected by an attack made by Shakaar with information gained from Fala. While Kira and Odo are discussing it, Odo’s security feed is hacked with an image of Mobara, another member of the cell and the words, “That’s three.” Odo tries to track Mobara down.
Kira returns to her quarters, accompanied by a Bajoran bodyguard, plus a Starfleet security guard outside. Despite this, Furel and Lupaza get on board the station, having snuck past security, and take out the bodyguard, not realizing he’s there to protect her. They offer to hunt down and kill whoever’s doing this, like it’s the old days in the resistance. They insist on staying with Kira, which means that O’Brien has house guests (who try to shoot him when he walks in the door).
Dax and Nog go over the three recordings. Nog is able to determine—thanks to his mighty lobes of doom—that it’s a composite of several different recordings, and that it’s a female voice, not Cardassian. Eventually they determine that it’s using recordings of Kira’s own voice.
There’s an explosion in the O’Brien quarters. Furel and Lupaza are killed, and Kira runs to try to help them, but collapses from a placental laceration (not before she beats up three security guards). She wakes up in the infirmary, Bashir having cured the laceration, and then she tells Odo the story of how she joined the cell at the age of thirteen.
Odo says a hunter probe was attached to a freighter en route to the station, then did a visual survey until it found Furel and Lupaza then attached itself to a window. He has narrowed the suspect field to twenty-five people, and he wants to narrow it further before letting Kira know who they are.
Kira transports herself to Odo’s office to get the list, then transports herself to a runabout and leaves the station. She eliminates three names from the list, and then investigates a fourth, Silarin Prin, to a remote world near the Demilitarized Zone. Kira shoots a holographic Cardassian, which distracts her long enough for Prin to shoot her and restrain her on a chair. Prin rants and raves quite a bit, eventually revealing that half his face is badly burned. He’s disappointed that she’s unrepentant. He was a servant, who cleaned uniforms for Gul Pirak. The Shakaar cell placed a plasma charge outside Pirak’s bedroom, which destroyed the entire wing of the house, killing Pirak’s family and injuring Prin. Pirak murdered fifteen Bajoran farmers because they wouldn’t display a Cardassian flag, and Kira has no regrets. No Cardassians belonged on Bajor, and they were all legitimate targets.
Prin, though, went to great lengths to preserve innocent lives. He only killed the intended targets, there was no collateral damage. For that reason, he won’t kill Kira until after he removes the baby from her womb. She convinces him to give her a sedative, though, and he agrees. After she falls unconscious, he lowers the force field restraining her, at which point she kicks him—the sedative having been negated by the herbs she’s been taking—and then grabs her phaser and kills him. She’s rescued soon thereafter by the Defiant.
Can’t we just reverse the polarity?: Kira masks the runabout’s ion trail with a polaron field, making it difficult for the Defiant to track her movements.
Don’t ask my opinion next time: Kira basically bullied her way into the Shakaar cell at the age of thirteen. She’d been hanging around running errands and such when they were one person short of what they needed for a mission, and so she convinced them that she was big enough to hold a rifle. She went on the mission, and when it went down, she shot her rifle until the power cell ran dry. When it was over, she grinned from ear to ear—even though Furel told her it made her look younger—thrilled that she was now part of the resistance.
Preservation of mass and energy is for wimps: Odo has to call in a lot of favors to get a suspect list together of people who might have a particular mad-on for the Shakaar cell.
The slug in your belly: At Starbase 63, Dax mocked Captain Ramirez and challenged him to no-limit tongo, not knowing that he was a champion. Worf, who gloats a bit, refuses to lend her the two bars of latinum she owes him.
Rules of Acquisition: Rule #111 is quoted by Worf, of all people: “Treat people in your debt like family—exploit them.”
Meanwhile Nog gets to show off the power of his ears by discerning details about the recordings sent to Kira, prompting Dax to declare, “I’ve made it a policy never to argue with someone’s lobes.”
There is no honor in being pummeled: After quoting a Rule of Acquisition, Dax expresses surprise that Worf knows them, to which he solemnly retorts: “I am a graduate of Starfleet Academy. I know many things.”
For Cardassia!: Gul Pirak insisted that the farmers in the region of Bajor he was responsible for display the Cardassian flag on their homes. When they refused, he had them killed, and made himself a target of the Shakaar resistance cell.
Keep your ears open: “You’ve been smirking ever since we left the starbase.”
“I do not smirk. But if I did, this would be a good occasion.”
Dax bitching, and Worf not-smirking.
Welcome aboard: William Lucking and Diane Salinger reprise their roles as Furel and Lupaza, having previously appeared in “Shakaar.” Lucking will be back again in flashbacks in “Ties of Blood and Water.” Randy Oglesby, last seen as Ah-Kel and Ro-Kel in “Vortex,” returns as Prin, putting his powerful voice to good use. Jennifer Savidge plays Fala, and Aron Eisenberg is back as Nog.
Trivial matters: This is the first Trek story from Bryan Fuller, whose original pitch was a riff on the Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None. Fuller would go on to write another story for DS9 (“Empok Nor”) and write for Voyager, eventually joining the staff of the latter show, rising to co-producer by the seventh season. |
in a game and can’t figure out how to win even though they’re outscored.Decades after NASA's Voyager spacecraft began hurtling toward interstellar space, the twin probes are still shedding light on the universe, now by offering an unprecedented view of our own galaxy.
As they roam ever outward to the edge of the solar system, the two Voyager spacecraft are providing the first glimpse of Milky Way radiation that scientists have already seen coming from other galaxies. The data could lead to a better understanding of star formation, including the mystery surrounding the earliest stars in the universe, researchers said.
NASA launched the two Voyager spacecraft in 1977 to explore our solar system's giant planets and to study the electrically charged solar wind streaming from the sun. The probes far exceeded the expectations of mission planners, and to this day, they continue to beam back data.
The Voyagers are now providing us with the first glimpse of a critical type of ultraviolet radiation from our galaxy known as the Lyman-alpha line. This is the brightest band of light shed by hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe.
Studying the Lyman-alpha line can offer many insights into cosmic phenomena, such as star formation, the electrically charged environments in which the atmospheres of young planets evolve, and the shocked gas in interstellar space. [Photos from NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 Probes]
Astronomers have seen Lyman-alpha rays from other galaxies, helping them peer into the universe's early history. However, we have never seen ones from our own galaxy, because our sun essentially blinds our view.
Specifically, ultraviolet rays from our sun get scattered around by hydrogen entering our solar system from interstellar space. This leads to a haze that blinds us to Lyman-alpha rays from elsewhere in our galaxy. We can detect other galaxies' Lyman-alpha rays because they have shifted into longer optical and infrared wavelengths — ones that no longer get scattered by this hydrogen — as their galaxies rush away from us. This is similar to how ambulance sirens grow lower in pitch as the vehicle drives farther away.
Now Voyager 1 and 2 are far enough away from this ultraviolet haze for them to get a clear view of the Milky Way's Lyman-alpha rays.
"It is like beginning to see small candles within a brightly lit room," study lead author Rosine Lallement, a space scientist and astronomer at the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France, told SPACE.com.
The spacecraft have confirmed that most of these newfound rays appear to come from star-forming regions, as astronomers expected. Future study of the Milky Way's Lyman-alpha rays could help us better understand those from other galaxies, researchers added.
"This radiation traces where young hot stars are being born — therefore, knowing the amount of emitted Lyman-alpha radiation from a galaxy corresponds to the rate at which stars are being born," Lallement said. "A major goal is to detect the first apparition of stars in the young universe, so detecting Lyman-alpha from the most-distant ones and correctly interpreting the signal is one of the major challenges."
Ironically, just as the Voyager probes are getting their best views of these Milky Way rays, their ability to see them is failing. Due to lack of power, the ultraviolet spectrometer on Voyager 2 has been switched off, and that same instrument on Voyager 1 could get turned off soon as well.
Still, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which is currently on its way to Pluto, might soon be able to monitor these rays as well.
Lallement and her colleagues detailed their findings online in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal Science.
Related on SPACE.com:
Copyright 2011 Space, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Voyager spacecraft now offering unprecedented view of galaxy
Decades after NASA's Voyager spacecraft began hurtling toward interstellar space, the twin probes are still shedding light on the universe, now by offering an u(CNN) Russian government-linked hackers potentially targeted as many as 21 states' election systems last year, a Homeland Security official warned Congress on Wednesday.
None of those systems were involved in vote counting, however.
DHS' acting Director of Cyber Division of the department's Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Samuel Liles, said that by late September the intelligence community concluded that 21 states "were potentially targeted by Russian government-linked cyber actors" with scanning of Internet-connected election systems. Liles did not specify which 21 states he was referring to.
The comments came during a hearing of DHS and FBI cybersecurity officials before the Senate intelligence committee.
Liles said of the 21, a small number were attempted for an intrusion unsuccessfully, "as if someone rattled the door knob and was unable to get in," and in a small number "they made it through the door."
But Liles said the intelligence community concluded that a variety of factors "made it likely that cyber manipulation of the US election system designed to change the outcome of the US election would be detected."
He added the community has a "very high level of confidence" in that conclusion.
A second DHS official, Acting Director of Undersecretary, National Protection and Programs Directorate Jeanette Manfra, backed up Liles' testimony.
"We have evidence of... election-related systems in 21 states were targeted," she said.
Senate intelligence committee chairman Richard Burr asked if any evidence votes were changed by these Russian cyber efforts, all three witnesses -- Liles, Manfra, and FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Bill Priestap -- all said "no sir."
The hearing -- which was designed to focus specifically on elections infrastructure and not Russian hacking writ large -- frustrated lawmakers in how little information witnesses were able to share.
Aside from the total number of states, the government representatives would not discuss which specifically were targeted or how many were breached. Manfra said that all "system owners" in those states had been contacted about the incidents, but that may not invlude state election officials.
The top Democrat on the panel, Virignia Sen. Mark Warner, repeatedly expressed his exasperation.
"I understand the notion of victimization, but I do not believe our country is made safer by holding this information back from the American public," Warner said.
Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich asked Priestap whether the Russians were "successful" in their goals, which Priestap earlier outlined as sowing chaos and undermining faith in the election process as well as harming Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and benefiting President Donald Trump.
Preistap responded that observers "could argue either way."
"I don't know for certain whether the Russians would consider themselves successful," he said. "In many ways, they might argue that because of the time and energy we're spending on this topic maybe it's distracting us from other things, but on the other hand (what this committee has done)... in terms of raising awareness of their activities... in my opinion they've done the American public a service in that regard."
Heinrich also asked Priestap to explain the concept of an "unwitting agent," and then asked if Trump became such an unwitting agent of the Russians by talking about rigged elections.
"I can't really comment," Priestap said after a pause.
"I don't blame you for not answering that question," Heinrich said, prompting laughter from the room.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton brought up that Clinton could also be an unwitting agent for all her blaming of the election loss elsewhere, another comment Priestap said he would not comment on.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin asked if there has been any result of US sanctions on Russian activity in regards to cyberatttacks.
"They have less people to carry out their activities," Priestap said.Peter Wilkinson reflects on how Aaron Barley came into his family’s life, only for the homeless man to kill his wife and their son
Stourbridge stabbings: 'I wish my wife had never set eyes on him'
In March 2016, Tracey Wilkinson came upon Aaron Barley, a homeless man in his early 20s, hunkered down in a cardboard box outside a supermarket in Stourbridge. The sight of Barley, hungry and struggling to keep warm, stopped her in her tracks and she decided to try to help.
Her husband, Peter Wilkinson, said: “My wife was a very compassionate woman.
“She did voluntary work helping old people. She was very chatty and made people feel at ease. She wouldn’t see harm come to anybody; she liked to help people.”
Homeless man admits murder of Stourbridge woman who helped him Read more
Tracey Wilkinson, a full-time mother, drove Barley to the offices of the council and helped him secure a place in a hostel. “Things developed from there,” said Peter Wilkinson, a 47-year-old businessman. “He had no money and food, so Tracey would organise breakfast and dinner for him every day, be it at our house or somewhere else.”
He recalled how, over dinner one night at the Wilkinsons’ home, Barley told the family about his aspirations. “I can remember quite vividly him saying to me: ‘I just need somebody to give me a chance, I need somebody to give me a lucky break.’”
Peter Wilkinson gave Barley labouring work at one of his businesses in Newport, south Wales, and it went well for five months.
“But in September 2016 he went off the rails. He started taking drugs and, as a business, we had to let him go. It was very amicable. He said at the time that he had started taking drugs because his mother had died,” he said.
This was not true; Barley’s parents had died when he was a boy. He was brought up by foster families and prompted a police appeal when he went missing aged 13. After leaving school, he drifted from address to address in the West Midlands, and from job to job, until he became homeless.
The Wilkinsons lost contact with Barley after he was sacked. But early one morning in late October or early November 2016, Peter Wilkinson found Barley sleeping in the corner of their driveway.
“I got him up and made him some tea. I believe he’d been on the streets and had been badly beaten. He was covered in bruises and my wife decided that as a family, we should help him again,” he said.
They managed to find him council accommodation and he did odd jobs for the family to earn cash.
He spent Christmas Day with the family. “He wrote my wife a card saying ‘To the mother that I never had’. He treated her a bit like a second mother,” Peter Wilkinson said.
In the new year, Barley secured full-time work and a new flat. He would come for dinner once or twice a week. In March, he shared a curry and a couple of bottles of beer with Peter Wilkinson.
“I dropped him off back at his flat that night. And that was it for about three weeks: the next time I saw him he was sticking a knife into my shoulder,” he said.
On the day of the attacks, 30 March, Peter Wilkinson had taken the dog for a walk and was surprised to find no sign of life on his return home. “I can remember looking through the window thinking that everybody must have overslept,” he said.
In fact, Tracey Wilkinson was dead upstairs, and the couple’s 13-year-old son, Pierce, was fatally wounded.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Order of service for Tracey and Pierce Wilkinson’s funeral. Photograph: Richard Vernalls/PA
“I opened the back door and as I did it, [Barley] jumped out, all dressed in black, with a big knife held over his head, and started stabbing me,” Peter Wilkinson said.
“I grappled with him and he stabbed me six times – twice in the face, twice in the abdomen and twice in the back.
“He said ‘Die, you bastard’ as he stuck the knife into me. I said to him after he’d stabbed me, ‘Aaron we tried to help you’, and he stuck the knife into my stomach and said ‘Die, you bastard’.”
The attack stopped and Peter Wilkinson heard the sound of his car being driven off. He dialled 999 and staggered into the garden, collapsing into a patio chair.
“I remember talking to the person on the other end of the phone and realising that I was actually dying. The next thing I remember is ambulances turning up and hearing helicopters overhead, and the police arrived,” he said.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Police inspect the family car that was crashed not far from their home. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA
“I told the other ambulance men to go into the house. I remember one coming out behind me and saying ‘One deceased and one in cardiac arrest’. I knew at that point that I had most likely lost Tracey and Pierce. Then I was taken to the QE [Queen Elizabeth hospital Birmingham]. I thought I was going to die.”
The couple’s daughter, Lydia, now 19, was away studying at Bristol University. After hearing there had been a stabbing in Stourbridge, she searched online for news of the incident and saw an image of her house surrounded by police tape. Police officers broke the news to her that her mother and brother were dead, and her father was seriously injured.
As she was driven to Birmingham, Lydia said she began to think about planning a triple funeral.
“They took me to critical care. I saw my dad with countless machines hooked up to him, a lot of doctors around his bed. I remember thinking I was going to lose him as well, because nobody could survive that,” she said.
“I held his hand, much like I am doing now, and said that I was there, and he opened his eyes and looked at me, and then went back unconscious. I thought that was going to be the last time I saw my dad alive.”
Lydia had to identify the bodies of her mother and brother. “I went in and I just stayed with my mum and brother for a while, and said that I was sorry I couldn’t protect them, and I stroked their hair. I just stayed there because I knew that was going to be the last time I saw them in my life. From that point on, it was a case of I lived every day for dad,” she said.
Peter Wilkinson spent 11 nights in hospital and the news of his loved ones’ deaths was broken to him. “The physical scars will heal; the mental scars never will,” he said.
Paying tribute to her mother, a former champion ballroom dancer, and brother, Lydia said: “My mum was stunning. She had a beautiful personality. She was just very caring and helpful.
“I was due to come home the day after and pick out a dress for my university ball. To have my best friend taken from me at such a young age is a hardship I would never wish on anyone.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lydia Wilkinson with a floral tribute at the family home after the attack. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA
“Pierce was just handsome, funny, clever. He was very personable, everybody made friends with Pierce. He could make friends in an empty room.
“They loved to watch films. Their favourite pastime was on a cold winter’s day to get under a blanket together and watch films such as Star Trek or Star Wars. They both shared a passion for the Carry On films.”
Lydia and her father have moved back to the family home.
Peter Wilkinson said: “It’s our home and, after taking so much from us, we couldn’t possibly have it that he would take anything else. We love the house. It was very much a family home that we had built and renovated ourselves, and we like being there.”
Lydia has resumed her studies in biology. “We are determined to not let this take away any more of our life,” she said. “I’d like to be a researcher and do medical research, to continue the help and support that my mum would give to people. By researching things like cancer and Parkinson’s disease, I hope to give back to people and continue her legacy,” she said.
Her father said: “My wife cared for others and it’s just so tragic that after trying to help people and to help Aaron, that he should turn on us in this way for no apparent reason.”
During police interviews, Barley, 23 at the time, refused to say why he had attacked the family.
“There’s no motive, there is no explanation,” said Peter Wilkinson. “My personal feeling is that he’d lost his job, he lost his flat. And he decided that because his life was going bad ways, he was going to take it out on the people that had cared and looked after him. I wish we had never met him – I wish my wife had never set eyes on him.”Bitcoin has reached "parabolic" levels, and the cryptocurrency has some at the Federal Reserve worried, closely followed trader Art Cashin told CNBC on Monday.
The cryptocurrency surged to a record $9,732.76 on Monday, according to coin industry site CoinDesk, breaking a mark set during Thanksgiving weekend. It later retreated to around $9,655 at midmorning.
"Bitcoin has gone parabolic, so that usually doesn't end well," said Cashin, UBS director of floor operations at the New York Stock Exchange.
"I think we're in the fear-of-missing-out phase now," Cashin said in an interview on "Squawk on the Street." "I think initially there was some concern. I am told — and take this with a huge grain of salt — that the movement is even beginning to worry some people in the Federal Reserve."New Haven’s drop in gun violence builds over 3 years Community policing, more cops on street cited
New Haven Police Chief Dean Esserman appears before the Aldermanic Affairs Committee at City Hall in New Haven. New Haven Police Chief Dean Esserman appears before the Aldermanic Affairs Committee at City Hall in New Haven. Photo: (Arnold Gold-New Haven Register) Photo: (Arnold Gold-New Haven Register) Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close New Haven’s drop in gun violence builds over 3 years 1 / 1 Back to Gallery
NEW HAVEN >> City leaders have declared a small victory in the ongoing battle against gun violence.
The police chief, the mayor and the fire chief say there is reason to celebrate the steady but incremental decline in the rates of homicides and nonfatal shootings, and a significant decrease in gun violence thus far in 2014.
“This celebration belongs to us all,” Esserman said, at a recent press conference.
Since the beginning of the year, shootings have been down 22 percent, as three fewer people have been struck in nonfatal shootings and one less homicide has occurred as compared to the same period in 2013, according to data from the city.
Last spring, Esserman convinced the Board of Alders to approve additional overtime during the summer months.
“The Board of Alders approved overtime, and that made a big difference this summer,” said Alder Richard Furlow of Ward 27, which overlaps several neighborhoods.
The money translated to more cops in cars and walking beats in high-crime neighborhoods and in areas that in the past have been flash points for violence.
“We didn’t micromanage the process,” Esserman said “The deployments were managed at the local district level.”
But the progress made in reducing violence since last year follows a trend begun shortly after Esserman arrived in New Haven for his second stint as police chief.
Esserman began his second tenure at the end of 2011. The year had been one of the bloodiest in New Haven’s history, with more than 130 shootings and 34 homicides, according to Esserman. The conditions were similar to those that first landed Esserman in the Elm City in the early 1990s. And his second stint has seen him serve up the same kind of medicine to help cure the city of gun violence: a combination of community policing and a department hyper-focused on gun violence.
“Community policing is built on relationships,” Esserman said. “New Haven had abandoned walking beats.”
Upon his return, Esserman resurrected foot patrols. He gave cops cell phones and told them to interact with residents across the city’s neighborhoods. (Two decades ago Esserman gave officers pagers and told them to give the numbers to residents on their beats.)
Esserman also opened up to the public CompStat meetings, where the department crunches policing stats. It was a return to the department he ran in the 1990s, but a departure from culture that emerged after he left New Haven in the 1990s.
“The New Haven Police Department had fallen back as an organization which was reactive and 9-1-1 driven,” he said.
Furthermore, as the department moved away from community policing, a gap seemed to develop.
“The department had isolated itself from the community,” Esserman said.
And the results have showed. In 2011, the solve rate for shootings was around 12 percent. The solve rate for shootings has more than tripled since, Esserman said.
According to the state Division of Criminal Justice Policy and Planning, crime was down 9 percent in 2013 from the previous year. But perhaps just as important to the long-term goals of the department and the city leaders, Esserman has helped “rebuild legitimacy” for the department.
“It’s important for the residents to know who the police are,” Furlow said. “The residents should know police by their name and the police should know the residents.”
Across the city, a number of volunteers, grassroots groups and agencies also spend immeasurable time working with youths at-risk for violence, or to build better relationships between police and youths. The city also has been working, with mixed reviews, since 2012 with Project Longevity, a program that targets group-on-group violence and those most likely to commit violence.
But New Haven’s success story in decreasing gun violence has been one of shared success. The decline in gun violence in New Haven has followed a trend of declining gun violence around the state and the nation. The reasons for the decline are myriad: community policing, technology, demographic shifts (less people in the age range where someone is most likely to commit a crime) and the advent of Big Data in the criminal justice system.
“Anyone that tells you that one thing is bringing down the crime rate doesn’t know what they are talking about,” said Mike Lawlor, undersecretary for the state Division of Criminal Justice Policy and Planning.
Community policing has helped, but so has the quantum leap in technology, specifically surveillance available to cops.
“It is almost impossible to commit a crime these days and not get caught on a video camera,” Lawlor said.
And where detectives a generation ago solved cases through a combination of shoe leather cop work and phone calls to confidential sources, the modern cop turns to Twitter and Facebook, where crooks often brag about their capers.
“People would be surprised by how much criminals brag about their crimes on social media,” Lawlor said.
The result has been violent crime rates in Connecticut that are approaching historic lows.
The 86 murders tallied in the state in 2013 was the second-lowest total for the state in 40 years, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Policy and Planning.
“Much of this success can be attributed to a focus on reducing the number of murders in the three major cities of New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport since 2011,” Lawlor wrote in an August memo to Gov. Dannel P., Malloy, “2014 Mid-Year Update on Crime Trends.”
Still, violent crime remains disproportionately high in the state’s three largest cities, which accounted for 56 of Connecticut’s 86 murders in 2013, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Policy and Planning.
Furlow and Esserman agree the answer may come with increased staffing. The department is awaiting new academy classes to help bolster the ranks of the department, which city leaders think is key to New Haven continuing to reduce gun violence.
“There has been a shortage in getting police out in the community,” Furlow said. “There needs to be more of a police presence.”There is a celebration in the town plaza, far away. But they say the general is coming, and that is all they need to hear.
The villagers rush out across the mountainous countryside, less anxious about the heat as they are about arriving late. They scale a hill and dash through the market, rounding the corner before finally slowing their pace. Every seat at the center of the plaza has been taken. They content themselves with a standing view under the shadow of the church. There are hundreds in attendance: simple folk like them, soldiers in their imposing blue uniforms, ilustrados with their umbrellas and impractical suits. And shining as white as the rumors say, right in front of the stage, is General Gregorio del Pilar.
This is, of course, not actually Gregorio del Pilar’s hometown, but somewhere in the middle of Tarlac Recreational Park, where the crew of the film production company Artikulo Uno has built, from scratch, an entire set made to look like a late-1800s plaza, complete with second-floor balconies, the façade of a church adorned with statues of saints, and a modest marketplace tucked away in the corner, replete with real food. Large panels of green screen fill in the rest of the background. The houses are authentically somewhat dirty, with stains and flecks of paint dotting even the smallest surfaces that won’t get a second of screen time. I try to ask how long it took for this set to be constructed, but the best answer I get is a sigh, followed by an approximation: “Months.” I hazard a guess on how high the budget of the film is. The producers I’m talking to look at each other and answer, “Higher.”
The only exact number I get is this: it is Day Eight of an estimated 55 in the production of Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral.
Off site lie the skeletons of additional sets still under construction: more old-world houses and a train station that’s been completely stripped back down to its wooden base. Unexpected rainfall ruined what had been built so far, meaning the crew would have to work overtime after hours to get back on schedule. It’s 10 a.m. and the sky is clear and blue, but I ask if there’s a contingency plan for bad weather. Monina de Mesa, TBA’s head of publicity, says defiantly that it won’t rain. Ting Nebrida, president of the production conglomerate laughs. “Mag-aalay ako ng itlog kay Santa Clara.” There is a casual but focused energy to this massive set that is shrouded in secrecy and leaves the weather to chance; after all, technically speaking, believe it or not, this is still an independent production.
I hazard a guess on how high the budget of the film is. The producers I’m talking to look at each other and answer, “Higher.”
Off-off site behind a small hill is a holding area where everyone has meals together. I half-expected to find director Jerrold Tarog here, protected from the elements and kept at a distance from the chaos of the set, but Tarog has, of course, been on set the entire time. I’m led inside a small house between the church façade and a very real carabao, and find Tarog at his command center, patiently observing the monitors in front of him. There are currently around 240 extras on set (all of whom are wearing tailor-made outfits) and dozens of crew members in sporty attire constantly sprinting across the plaza. But Tarog remains mostly quiet. During long breaks between takes, he plays some Phoenix and The Strokes through the speakers spread around the area.
“It will never go according to plan 100 percent,” Tarog says. Goyo went through extensive pre-production after its predecessor, Heneral Luna, premiered in 2015. Research on del Pilar was exhaustive and pre-prod meetings would last for hours on end every day, with Tarog and his team reviewing every detail of each scene to make sure they were as well equipped as possible going into filming. “Everyone knows what he or she is doing,” says Paulo Avelino, who plays the young general. “We always have a time sched that we have to follow, we rarely finish late, and we only shoot a few scenes a day. When you see people working hard and knowing their roles on set, you have nothing else to do but to just concentrate on what you have to do.”
In addition to his roles as editor and musical composer, Tarog’s job as the film’s director is to maintain the tone and emotions he wants the audience to feel. “And from that point, scene by scene bine-breakdown ko—how to pull off this scene, that scene, how a scene from Scene Number One connects to Scene 130. It’s a process of going back and forth with the material.” Tarog’s set is workmanlike and controlled, but he knows that there will always be things left to chance. “Marami pa ring bagay na hindi ko pa rin alam kung mapu-pull off ko,” he admits. “But I do it anyway. I just plan for it.”
Luna itself was considered an enormous gamble by everyone in the local film industry—an P80 million historical epic and the first film from then fledgling studio Artikulo Uno. It teetered on the edge of getting pulled out of cinemas with only a total two-week gross of P59 million, before unprecedented word of mouth and a deluge of Luna-themed internet memes boosted the film up to a P100-million third week and kept it in cinemas for over two months.
Still, despite the enormous hype and pressure this Cinderella story places onto Goyo, producer Eduardo A. Rocha is just happy people have been receptive to their vision. Rocha came up with the idea for Heneral Luna in the 1990s, and it was picked up and dropped three times until Tarog got a hold of the project. “I wrote a script I loved, Jerrold made it a script I adored,” Rocha beams. “Jerrold. Is. A. Genius. He’s our David Lean. He used a big background for an intimate story. And that’s what he’s doing here, like in Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia. For me, he has the same vision. Yeah, he’s our David Lean.”
The audience cheers as the stage in the middle of the plaza fills with actors. It is a production celebrating the life of the beloved general. A band begins to play. The soldiers are stoic as they stand watch, dividing those seated from the villagers struggling to get a clear view. An actor with a large basket of cotton ascends the stage from the left, and a sudden gust of wind blows the cotton into the air. White specks whirl through the plaza like snow from an imagined Christmas. The children seated in front gape and clutch onto their dolls.
“I wrote a script I loved, Jerrold made it a script I adored,” Rocha beams. “Jerrold. Is. A. Genius. He’s our David Lean.
This is a problem. Because the wind blew the cotton all over the set, Tarog and his team figure that they now have to throw cotton into every single shot in today’s sequence. Of course, they could also do another take of the previous shot and keep the cotton under control, but why wouldn’t they want to use a shot that looks so good, unintentional as it might be?
The next shot planned is a tracking shot of Avelino and co-stars Carlo Aquino, Rafa Siguion-Reyna, and Arron Villaflor, the camera placed behind them as they stroll down the middle of the plaza to their seats. On the monitors, the shot is clean: the plaza is busy, children playing, villagers passing through, and everyone waving at the general. Behind the scenes, the crew is running a marathon. The camera operator keeps in step with Avelino, while another crew member with a large electric fan darts to the side, making sure not to collide with any of the seated cast. Glued to the side of the man with the fan is a crew member holding the basket of cotton, hurriedly throwing the material into the wind. Further behind, two other people are holding onto the fan’s wires, keeping them over the heads of those seated. The shot ends, but they have to do another take. Someone’s tumbler was caught in the frame.
In between takes, aside from hiding tumblers behind lamp posts and inside clay pots, most of the crew are still keeping busy with their own tasks. The crew member with the cotton tries to figure out if there’s a more efficient way of spreading it around set. Cast members dry their clothes and TBA interns holding umbrellas continue to fly across the plaza. Tarog elects not to have lunch with most of the cast and crew, deciding instead to stay and focus on planning the next part of the sequence. Theater director Dexter Santos speaks with the stage actors, all played by members of Dulaang UP. Somewhere on set, Susan Yap, the governor of Tarlac, is dressed in her own period costume for a cameo appearance. Somewhere else on set, Richard Bolisay, while not a crew member, is taking notes for a book he’s writing. It’s an all-star set if there ever was one.
But even if all signs seem to be pointing to Goyo as a more explosive and glamorous follow-up to Heneral Luna, Artikulo Uno wants to manage those expectations right away. I overhear producer Joe Alandy: “They think we’re going to give them Luna again, but we’re not.”
Many viewers saw Heneral Luna as a film with a clear political statement: that of rejecting hero worship and holding ourselves accountable. With John Arcilla’s impassioned cry of “Bayan o sarili?,” Luna is credited with reigniting interest in Philippine history, primarily among the youth, and motivating more Filipinos to research, to talk about politics and history, and to vote. However, it quickly becomes clear that everyone on the Goyo team has a common understanding that they aren’t simply trying to replicate exactly the kind of impact Luna had. Viewers who are expecting another war film with a protagonist as brash and audacious as Antonio Luna might be surprised to learn that much of Goyo’s conflict seems to occur within.
I overhear producer Joe Alandy: “They think we’re going to give them Luna again, but we’re not.”
“This is an existential journey of a guy who may not start as a hero but ends up a hero—his evolution,” Rocha explains. He makes it clear that, to him, Goyo isn’t a political film, instead describing del Pilar like a matinee idol, or a chick boy, even. “He has a girlfriend in every town,” producer Fernando Ortigas adds, calling the film a love story when compared to Luna. The romantic interest who was most important to del Pilar, according to Tarog’s research, was Remedios Nable Jose, a woman who remains a half-completed puzzle, given the relative lack of historical writing on her. Gwen Zamora, who portrays Remedios, then had to fill in the blanks herself. “She’s not what I thought she would be. I see her more as a carefree, aloof type of girl.” In other words, according to Zamora, she’s “the one that got away.”
This is not to say that Goyo won’t have the same sort of intensity that Luna had. Avelino clarifies that, even if del Pilar would be considered a millennial in this day and age, Tarog had no intention of watering down the history into something modernized and artificial. Instead, Avelino calls it a dark, coming-of-age film. “It’s about how a child is brought to war,” he says. “It’s a story about a boy who had to grow up and who had bigger responsibilities on his plate.” Del Pilar was, after all, only 24 years old when he was slain at the Battle of Tirad Pass—far too young for someone to fully comprehend love, war, and his own mortality. “He comes to that point in one’s life,” Ortigas says, “where you realize that there’s something bigger than your own interests.”
Tarog takes it a step further and offers the frank summary, “about a fuckboy learning how to deal with the responsibilities of being a soldier.” While researching for the film, he came across an essay by Apolinario Mabini that captured what he felt was at the center of Goyo’s character. “Criniticize niya ‘yung Pilipino society, na dahil tayo natalo sa giyera kasi isip-bata tayong lahat. Reading up on Gregorio del Pilar’s life, meron ngang ganyang factors — na isip-bata siya.”
However, this Mabini essay appealed to Tarog in more ways than one. I ask him how he felt about some viewers misconstruing Heneral Luna’s message (as well as that of Angelito, the short film bridging Luna to Goyo)—instead of becoming more self-reflexive, these viewers’ response was to begin quoting Luna to pit candidates against each other, or to rally fanatic support for their own candidates. “I kind of deliberately chose a theme that kind of addresses that response,” Tarog reveals. “So ang temang [Goyo] is actually about immaturity. Marami pa rin siyang sinasabi about Philippine society. Marami pa rin.”
The legacy of Heneral Luna hangs over the production of Goyo like a coat of arms—a reminder of what local filmmakers can achieve given the right combination of money, talent, and sheer luck.
The sun is getting low. Rainclouds begin to gather over the plaza. Some of the villagers have tired of standing and retreated indoors. The children have either fallen asleep or have not stopped crying. The ilustrados continue to chat. The ground is littered with cotton.
A small group of soldiers leans against the brick façade of the church. Their eyes have not left their posts, but their bodies are exhausted. One of them props up his rifle on the ground and hangs his hat on the barrel. Another soldier notices a civilian sitting nearby. He leans toward him and asks,
“Taga-media ka?” one of the talents asks me. He sees the ID I had been given at the start of the day. I say yes. He tells me to listen close, and tells me to print what he’s about to say. He tells me that, among all the films he’s been an extra in, “Ito ang unang beses na inaalagaan kami nang ganito.” Shortly after, he and the other soldiers move out from under the shadow of the church and return to set.
The legacy of Heneral Luna hangs over the production of Goyo like a coat of arms—a reminder of what local filmmakers can achieve given the right combination of money, talent, and sheer luck. But on a huge set like this one, where so many of us who follow Hollywood entertainment news expect to witness chaos and toxicity, another Artikulo Uno production casts its shadow more subtly: Bliss.
Directed once again by Tarog and released in March of 2017, Bliss is popularly seen as a critique of the cycle of abuse and the working |
production has ramped up a lot and will continue to because personally, I think this is a better camera than the EF version. Why? Watch my review below! After the video there are some additional thoughts from me.
Glass used for the test shooting was the Voigtlander 25 and 17mmm F0.95 (links below) and the SLR MAGIC 35mm F1.4 and 50mm F0.95.
Review was shot on the MFT BlackMagic with the Voigtlander 25mm Lens. Shots of the cameras were done on the Canon 1DC in S35 mode using the Canon 100mm L macro and the 24-70 F2.8 V2 Canon
B&H Photo Video Affiliate Link Below
Review of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera Micro Four Thirds from Philip Bloom Reviews & Tutorials on Vimeo.
Mad Cat Lady: Rather cute test footage from the Blackmagic MFT Cinema Camera from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.
Review of Blackmagic Cinema Camera from Philip Bloom Reviews & Tutorials on Vimeo.
So…I recommend the MFT over the EF BUT is this a blanket recommendation? No. Everyone’s needs and circumstances are different. When I say I recommend it, I mean it is my choice of the two…if you own no MFT glass at all and lots of Canon glass it’s hard to justify going that route. The only reason would be if you wanted to use the MFT with the Metabones Speedbooster giving it effectively an S35 look. The problem is that Blackmagic did not make this MFT mount active. This means no power for the metabones which means no iris control, no is and on some glass no focus. This is a huge issue. I don’t know the decision behind the lack of active mount but it’s a problem. I own lots of MFT glass as I have been a GH user since the GH1 but even here my lovely Olympus F2 zooms and Lumix glass are useless. They need power to control the iris, IS and focus. This means manual MFT glass only like the ones I used above or adding say a Leica mount, PL mount or something else.
The main reason I recommend this version is not a financial reason, that would be harder to justify as most would be forced into buying lots of MFT manual glass and there isn’t that much around and buying glass for just ONE type of mount is always risky* (see below) Certainly no zooms I know of. It’s just the flange distance makes way more sense for that sensor size and the image of the Blackmagic MFT with my Voigtlander glass is just damn gorgeous as it’s using more of less the whole lens.
Image fidelity is paramount and with this camera with the right glass we can get great images which with the EF version was much harder due to being locked into that mount.
So remember before buying decide what works best for you. It may well not be this camera, but for many it won’t. If you are dead set on a Blackmagic camera then PLEASE weigh up the pros and cons of both versions. For me, this makes the camera way better….I just wish it had power on that mount. DAMMIT! Maybe on the release version. Did I say i wished the MFT mount was active?! 🙂
*Oh yeah…the other massive caveat that you must remember if you are getting tthe MFT version and spending money on glass for it. Please remember this glass will only ever cover a micro four thirds sensor size max, so if you decided to go S35 at some point and if BMD bring our an S35 version this investment in MFT glass won’t be much of an investment. You will have to sell them. I do advise to buy glass that work across all cameras, normally that recommendation is Nikon glass. It works on almost anything. So remember that last caveat. Don’t spend a fortune on glass if you don’t think you will stay in the micro four thirds camp for quite a long time!!
I really hope production will ramp up soon as the trickle of cameras has been painful to watch and I know a lot of frustrated people out there! By the time they get their cameras Blackmagic may well have just announced V2…who knows!
Final note….I wish I could do more reviews…there are so many I haven not covered. These reviews are made with no financial support the so number i can do is severely limited. Please just be happy that I am able to do any 🙂 Please remember when I do these I cannot work on paid gigs. In an ideal world I would find a sponsor to help get these made. I cannot accept money from manfuacturers. I do have a tip jar on the vimeo page which helps…but if you are interested in sponsoring these please get in touch with me…thanks! I would love to do more and if it were more financially viable I would do.Wake up at 530, get picked up by Big Mike. Head to Christian’s apartment. It’s locked, he’s not answering his phone, we’re beating on a door that might as well be silent concrete. We grab a ladder to go around his apartment, I jump from the top of the ladder to climb onto his balcony only to find out that he actually locks his balcony door. Weird. The light’s on and I see him heading out the front door. Hey Big Mike Christian’s up, tell him to unlock this door so I don’t have to jump onto the ladder to get down.
Christian’s mumbling something incoherent, whatever.
We pick up Alyson and Lee’s coming too because she couldn’t trap him with the “you don’t have to come” line so everyone piles in. We head for HQ to grab the gear and stuff and link up with Lindsey who’s running the show. She tells me she needs gas in her car. I’m like, no. Never take two cars we can all fit.
Everyone piles in, Monster’s shotgun at my feet which he doesn’t love, I know because he’s staring at me with the I don’t love this face. First stop Starbucks. You learn a lot about people based on how many syllables it takes them to order, and there’s no hiding at the drive-thru. Latte this latte that almond milk and -chino this or that. It’s the soundtrack to when you take your fingers to zoom into something on your phone, a modern equivalent to hunting and gathering and, ummm, slightly softer. So it’s funny when Big Mike says Latte and -Chino, as if Andre the Giant were singing in a boys choir. 615 and finally the caffeine is starting to flow through our veins as we listen to house music that Lee hates cause it’s not Garth Brooks or something. Stay on track. We’ve officially crossed the ditch (the intracoastal that separates the Beaches from the not Beaches) to head into town to find some graffiti because we may live at the beach but don’t mistake that for soft, which pics out here can. Palm trees and perfect weather for doing nothing productive also happens to be great weather for life. City graffiti is universally urban jungle, from the cities of harsh winters and creativity and an energy that burns bright in the people who live there.
I love it.
We’re trapped and we prod so finally Christian tells the parts of the whole story he’s not hiding about last night. He had been in Daytona at Bike Week with Chuck, only they didn’t know it was gonna be Bike Week.
Rookies.
Chuck wore swim trunks with side loading pockets and had his phone in there. At some point 6 hours after they thought they’d be done checking the town out Chuck’s phone had fallen out. Hey I lost my phone contact me on Facebook went the announcement. Made from Christian’s phone, no doubt.
You know that guy and so do we. Love you, Chuck.
Christian got home and the door was locked so he slept on his doormat cause he “forgot” his keys and his housemate wasn’t opening. How long ago was that Christian? I dunno said in pure Jersey, a couple hours.
We’re howling and he takes another sip from his princess tea.
The plan held and we got to the concrete jungle just before sun-up. It’s dark and deflating to escape the car into a parking lot that had towed all the vagrant cars already and there’s a big mural, which is what you call commissioned graffiti, and someone starts passing out Bud Heavy at an unGodly hour who was that. Alyson played something on her iPhone because Big Mike didn’t wanna keep his car running while we rocked out to house music that Lee hated. Some jackhammer was throttling in the background anyway, and I thought of the crew working it. All work is not equal, after all, they’re doing the only real work this morning.
Monster was a thing. We bring him for his looks but he didn’t know what to do when Lindsey started the sizing shots, assembly line style, and he wasn’t in them. So mostly he paced, at the expense of my shoulder and his leash.
The leash did better.
Before you know it it’s 9am which is like 8am because of Daylight Savings and it feels like a continuation of Daytona to Christian no doubt, and Lindsey has documented every ruck we build in black, which is more than I thought btw, on our friends. Oh yeah, she’s one of the 4 so someone else took those and Big Mike had to get talked into another Bud Heavy here-ya-go style.
Welp, that was easy.
Spot B was an alley ask Lindsey she told us a million times. The alley the alley the alley and nobody wasn’t sick of hearing about it and I figured it would suck for everything we were trying to do. My brain is wired to deal with worst case first, then adapt. Construction blocked the first entry, and I felt validated for my skepticism. But alas we flanked and oh the color, the concrete jungle in an area barely bigger than GORUCK HQ. The party rages and the Bud Heavy’s woulda hit me in the face but I grabbed ‘em out of Lee’s ruck before they had the chance.
By now it’s a whopping 10am.
Magic time so there’s almost nothing I won’t say to get people to smile, sometimes horribly. As in, I’ll say something to Christian or Big Mike I know will create an emotionally triggered smile by any means necessary. Snap snap goes Lindsey. If it’s a smile how bad can it be what you said? Truth: pretty bad. But this is why I love to shoot with my friends and not some stiff actors or whatever. I know them, they know me, it’s all in good fun. Life’s better that way. Team room style. Some of the pics of Christian laughing while wearing GR1 – wait till you see ‘em – the things he was thinking about in that moment, well, they’re not for the faint of heart. I go back with that dude 10 years. He manages a lot at GORUCK, like quality control of our gear and the vendors who build them and we have some crazy stories from California he’ll probably share some time, especially since I’m bringing them up now. Today, here is where we are and it’s good fun.
Nobody ever sat on their deathbed and said man I wish I’d slept in and skipped awesome. Life’s too short not to smile by any means necessary. Especially at 10, or is it 1030 by now in the morning in a graffiti junction in Jacksonville, Florida USA.
Where’s Monster?
Oh there you are. You’re up and we need you because two things on a concrete wall – not so fun, even with graffiti and color. Next to Monster though, awesome.
Lee can’t keep a secret so then everyone knew he had to piss – or is there a nicer word for that, like urinate?, I dunno – anyway he found a fence and Alyson who tolerates him somehow (something they both say about emily, of me, I’ll add) says something about how gross that is. I’m thinking, ain’t the first time in this spot, does your nose even work lol. And when you gotta go you gotta go. Got your back, cuz.
The iPhone speakers are at their max and so is the color and our goal is whatever’s in front of one camera lens and yet the real story is back stage. Like life.
But snap snap goes Lindsey, unphased, as if the coffee hadn’t worn off and good on her. The lighting has some issues so she fixes the shade cover and the ISO or whatever – cameras will be a computer soon, probably made out of that molten stuff from Terminator 2. Till then, the pros got it.
So then once everyone had their fill of our style morning because there was no other option we took the rucks we were wearing and found the car. Lindsey’s car’s mostly empty gas tank wasn’t any emptier because it was still at the Beaches – never take two cars, you can always fit, it’s more fun that way. And we piled back in better for the wear and Big Mike sighed a big sigh of relief and so did one of his tattoos as we crossed over the ditch and the brunch spot with imitation Budweiser with a lime in it no less found us and Monster made some friends and we ate some whatever showed up – mostly chips and salsa – and then came the bill like any other and it’s always worth it on a Sunday in Jacksonville Beach, Florida,
USA.
Eventually I made it home and got a text from Lee, to all of us:
“I just took a pretty good power nap I’m down to do it all again”
Yeah, me too. See y’all soon.We have more 12 Days of Disney Parks Christmas news to share today! As part of Hong Kong Disneyland’s multi-year expansion plan, the icon of the park will soon be reimagined and undergo a transformation, the first-of-its-kind at any Disney park. Today, we have a new rendering to show you what a magical centerpiece the new castle will be for our guests in Hong Kong!
The classic castle will draw inspiration from a variety of storybook influences and styles, with new thematic spires, domes and a design that reaches ever skyward. Features will be inspired by many of the Disney princesses, including special finial decorations on the spires such as Snow White’s apple, Cinderella’s coach and Belle’s rose. Original artwork and unique sculptures will add even more magic and fantasy.
Guests will be able to visit the all-new Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for transformations of their own and meet Disney princesses at the castle. The changes will also take the park’s entertainment to new heights with the premiere of a new daytime show and nighttime spectacular against the impressive backdrop.
Work on the castle will begin after the finale of the “Disney in the Stars” fireworks on January 1, and the expansion plan will continue to bring new entertainment to the park almost every year through 2023. Local and international guests alike won’t want to miss the exciting new offerings coming soon to Hong Kong Disneyland!collectSpace.com / Robert Z. Pearlman Space shuttle Atlantis is seen fully-exposed, its protective shrink-wrap cover removed, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Friday.
By Robert Z. Pearlman
Space.com
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Space shuttle Atlantis is ready for its spotlight — well, almost.
The retired NASA orbiter, which is set to go on public display June 29 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, was fully revealed Friday after workers spent two days peeling off its protective shrink-wrap cover of the past five months.
"It looks fantastic," Tim Macy, director of project development and construction for Delaware North Parks and Resorts, which runs the visitor complex for NASA, said after seeing Atlantis unwrapped. "It looks better than I thought it was going to look." [Photos: Rare Last Look Inside Shuttle Atlantis]
"It looks completely different with the plastic on it than the plastic off," Macy told collectSpace.com. "But this is the way it is supposed to look. It looks so much like the (exhibit's conceptual) drawings."
On Thursday, workers began carefully cutting back the 16,000 square feet (1,486 square meters) of shrink wrap that protected Atlantis as its $100 million exhibition building was completed around it. By the end of the first day, the shuttle's nose, tail, aft engines and left wing were exposed.
collectSpace.com / Robert Z. Pearlman Space shuttle Atlantis as seen from behind and below, its protective shrink-wrap cover removed, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
On Friday, the workers completed the process, revealing Atlantis' right wing and its 60-foot-long (18 meter) payload bay.
"I cannot wait to get the covers off the windows and get the doors open to see the final configuration," Macy said.
Opening the payload bay is the last major challenge to ready Atlantis for display, Macy said. That process, which is set to begin in May, will take about two weeks, as the doors are very slowly hoisted open, one by one.
NASA designed the cargo bay to open in the microgravity environment of space. Here on Earth, the hinges cannot support the doors' weight, so lines dropped from the five-story building's roof will be used to hold the doors in place.
Once open, visitors will be able to easily see into the payload bay, given the way that Atlantis has been mounted. Thirty feet (9 meters) in the air, the space shuttle has been tilted 43.21 degrees, such that its left wing extends toward the ground.
The end result is that Atlantis will appear to be back in space — an effect that will be enhanced by lighting and a mural-size digital screen that will project the Earth's horizon behind the shuttle.
"It looks great even in the work lights," Macy commented. "Wait until we get the theatrical lights on it and light it the way we're supposed to, have that big screen going on behind it, it's going to be awesome."
Click through to collectSpace.com to see photo galleries from the two-day process to unwrap space shuttle Atlantis.
Follow collectSpace.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSpace. Copyright 2013 collectSpace.com. All rights reserved. Original article on Space.com.
Copyright 2013 Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.I testified last week at a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights briefing on sexual harassment law in education, and I found these comments from Commissioner Michael Yaki — a former senior adviser to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors — to be particularly interesting. The briefing discussed both the handling of sexual assault claims and campus speech codes, with some of the discussion of the latter going beyond just sex and covering material that’s offensive based on race and other characteristics. Here’s an excerpt from the tentative transcript, which matches my recollection of the comments; Commissioner Yaki is questioning Greg Lukianoff of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education:
I guess I’m having some, a topic that I’ve been following for a number of years and it stems in part from the time that Mr. Marcus was our staff director, has to do with hate speech, hate crimes against groups of individuals on campus. And it seems to me that there are ways that you can create a very apprehensive coordinate [possible transcription error -EV] of sexual harassment on a campus, but you [Greg Lukianoff -EV] probably would not find any prohibition by a university on that type of conduct to pass muster. Would that be correct? … What about a slave auction at a fraternity engagement or a day where another group decides that they’re going to celebrate Latino culture by making everyone dress as janitors and mop floors or a situation involving women, have them as a ritual parade around in skimpy clothing and turn in some show or something. I mean where do you think you can, that the university can’t deal with ensuring the route it has environment that is not oppressive or hostile because obviously a campus, especially certain types of campuses where there’s a lot of, where, that are geographically compact, that have a lot of working and living situations in a close area to create a campus atmosphere. I mean doesn’t the campus only ensure itself being much more, being somewhat more closed than just sort of random person on the street where there’s shouting at someone? Doesn’t that gravitate toward having greater ability to proscribe certain types of conduct that have the ability to escalate beyond what anyone would consider to be reasonable or acceptable?
It thus appears to me that Commissioner Yaki is coming out in support of speech codes that ban speech and symbolic expression that is perceived as conveying a racist or sexist message — despite past court decisions striking down such restrictions, including specifically in the context of racially and sexually offensive fraternity activities (see Iota Xi Chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity v. George Mason University (4th Cir. 1993)). But that is a familiar argument; it was a follow-up question of Commissioner Yaki’s that particularly struck me:
COMMISSIONER YAKI: Well, let me ask you this. What did you think, and this may sound like it’s from left field, but there’s a reason for it. What did you think of the Supreme Court’s decision to declare unconstitutional the death penalty for minors? MALE PARTICIPANT: That was a footnote in the notice of the hearing. Did you see that? [I’m pretty sure this was a joke. -EV] GREG LUKIANOFF: Okay. I agree with it, but that’s my personal political view. COMMISSIONER YAKI: But it has nothing to do with policies [likely a mistranscription of “politics" -EV]. It has to do with science, and it has to do with the fact that more and more the vast majority, in fact I think overall in bodies of science is that young people, not just K through 12 but also between the ages of 16 to 20, 21 is where the brain is still in a stage of development. It is not, and those studies by the way were utilized by the Supreme Court to rationalize why killing a minor was unconstitutional because in large part notwithstanding the fact that they did commit a crime and the court made it very clear, they weren’t going to excuse them from committing a crime. Certain factors in how the juvenile or adolescent or young adult brain processes information is vastly different from the way that we adults do. So when we sit back and talk about what is right or wrong in terms of First Amendment jurisprudence from a reasonable person’s standpoint, we are really not looking into the same referential viewpoint of these people, of an adolescent or young adult, including those in universities. And I’m just wondering is, at some point why we don’t understand that because that has an impact, because that explains why all of us, many of us as adults often sit back and say God, I wonder why that young person took his or her life. He or she had so much to look forward to when their brain processes information in a much different way than we do. And because of that, and because of the unique nature of a university campus setting, I think that there are very good and compelling reasons why broader policies and prohibitions on conduct in activities and in some instances speech are acceptable on a college campus level that might not be acceptable say in an adult work environment or in an adult situation. And I am just trying to figure out from you how you square your reliance on this kind of personal and jurisprudent line in the atmosphere of colleges and universities as you have a population of young people, who for lack of a better word, don’t process in the same way that we do when we’re in our late 20s and 30s.
This strikes me as quite misguided: While no doubt young adults are different from older adults — whether in their brain functioning as such, or in their experience, emotional maturity, and the like — that hardly justifies restricting their right to speak, or restricting speech that can be heard by them, especially when they are old enough to vote.
But in any event, I thought I’d pass this along, as expressing the views of a political figure who holds a significant position in the federal civil rights establishment.Warning! At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Spoilers will be present within the article.
"You have only ever seen me amongst the Order, or under Dumbledore's protection at Hogwarts! You don't know how most of the wizarding world sees creatures like me! When they know of my affliction, they can barely talk to me!" —Werewolf Remus Lupin regarding his affliction[src]
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope,[1] is a human being who, upon the complete rising of the full moon, becomes a fearsome and deadly wear-wolf. This condition is caused by infection with lycanthropy, also known as werewolfry.[2] Werewolves appear in the form of a wolf but, there are distinctions between them and regular wolves.
A mixture of powdered silver and dittany applied to a fresh bite will seal the wound and allow the victim to live on as a werewolf, although tragic tales are told of knowing victims begging for death rather than becoming werewolves.[3] The Wolfsbane Potion, invented by Damocles, allows the werewolf to keep their human mind during transformation.[3]
A werewolf cannot choose whether or not to transform and will no longer remember who they are and would kill even their best friend given the opportunity once transformed.[2] Despite this, they are able to recall everything they have experienced throughout their transformation upon reverting to their human form.[2]
Contents show]
Infection
"To become a werewolf, it is necessary to be bitten by a werewolf in their wolfish form at the time of the full moon. When the werewolf’s saliva mingles with the victim’s blood, contamination will occur." —How a wizard becomes a werewolf[src]
Lycanthropy is a magical illness known to be spread by contact between saliva and blood; thus, when a transformed werewolf bites a human, the bitten will become a werewolf themselves.[3] Most Muggles, however, will die from the extent of their injuries in the instance of a werewolf attack as noted by Professor Marlowe Forfang, though some do survive to become werewolves themselves.[3] If a werewolf is in human form and bites the victim, they will merely gain lupine tendencies such as a fondness for rare meat.[3] Any bite or scratch obtained from a werewolf, whether in human or animal form, will leave permanent scars.[3] However, the fresh wound can be sealed with a mixture of powdered silver and dittany.
The only known human born to at least one werewolf parent (untransformed at time of conception) was Teddy Lupin, son of werewolf Remus and human metamorphmagus Nymphadora Tonks. Teddy did not inherit his father's condition, however it is unknown if it definitively cannot be passed on in this manner or if Teddy did not inherit the condition from pure chance as other than Teddy, there was no documentation of a werewolf having a child in human form. In Teddy's case it was his father who was a werewolf, not his mother, therefore it is unknown if a pregnant female werewolf's transformations would affect the ability to carry the pregnancy to term.
If two werewolves mate at the full moon, in their animal forms, something very strange happens.[3] The result of their mating, which has only ever occurred twice throughout history, has been a pack of wolf cubs — actual wolf cubs — who grow to become very beautiful wolves and can only be distinguished from true wolves by their near-human intelligence.[3]
Thus, rumours of werewolves living in the Forbidden Forest in the grounds at Hogwarts Castle are actually about a pack of lupine werewolf offspring that was released into the woods with the kind permission of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of the School, and has lived there ever since.[3] Teachers have never tried to dispel these rumours because they felt that keeping students out of the forest was highly desirable.[3]
Treatments
"The many Muggle myths and legends surrounding werewolves are, in the main, false, although some contain nuggets of truth. Silver bullets do not kill werewolves, but a mixture of powdered silver and dittany applied to a fresh bite will ‘seal’ the wound and prevent the victim bleeding to death (although tragic tales are told of victims who beg to be allowed to die rather than to live on as werewolves)." —Treatments that can be done in order to prevent death[src]
Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for lycanthropy. However, some of the worst effects can be mitigated by consuming Wolfsbane Potion, which allows a werewolf to retain his or her human mind while transformed, thus freeing him or her from the worry of harming other humans or themselves.[3] It is a very difficult potion to make, with many complicated ingredients.[3] According to Remus Lupin, it tastes disgusting but sugar makes it useless.[4] The expensiveness of the ingredients makes it virtually impossible for werewolves to brew the potion for themselves, as most are reduced to poverty and cannot taste the potion without revealing their statuses.[3] Because werewolves only pose a danger to humans, companionship with animals whilst transformed has been known to make the experience more bearable as the werewolf has no-one to harm and will be less willing to harm themselves.[3]
According to Gilderoy Lockhart, the Homorphus Charm can force a werewolf back into human shape. However, due to Lockhart's reputation as a liar, and the many falsehoods he told to inflate his popularity, his information is highly suspect — as is the very existence of a Homorphus Charm in the first place. However, as many of Lockhart's claims are also based on the accounts of more trustworthy wizards (accomplishments he would claim for himself, following the disposal of the originating witch or wizard), there is a chance that the charm does, in fact, exist.[5]
Contrary to what the Muggle world believes, werewolves are not affected by silver, except in that it can be used in the mixture of powdered silver and dittany to prevent death and merely closes their wounds to prevent bleeding in a severe werewolf attack.[3] There may certainly be several other ways and solutions to prevent and heal werewolf injuries, as Quirinus Quirrell taught about the topic in first year Defence against the Dark Arts class. None of them, of course, could completely cure an afflicted person once they are bitten, but can merely prevent and close the physical wounds on the skin.
Description
Monthly transformations
"There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws" —Description of a Remus Lupin's transformation[src]
The monthly transformation of a werewolf is extremely painful if untreated and is usually preceded and succeeded by a few days of pallor and ill health. The werewolf may display irritation towards friends.[6] While in his or her wolfish form, the werewolf loses entirely its human sense of right or wrong. However, it is incorrect to state (as some authorities have, notably Professor Emerett Picardy in his book Lupine Lawlessness: Why Lycanthropes Don’t Deserve to Live) that they suffer from a permanent loss of moral sense.
While human, the werewolf may be as good or kind as the next person. Alternatively, they may be dangerous even while human, as in the case of Fenrir Greyback, who attempts to bite and maim as a man and keeps his nails sharpened into claw-like points for the purpose. Though werewolves usually only infect their victims through biting, they sometimes take it too far and kill their victims.[4]
Without any humans nearby to attack, or other animals to occupy it, the werewolf will attack itself out of frustration. This leaves many werewolves such as Remus Lupin with self-inflicted scars and premature ageing from the difficult transformations.[4]
Appearance and traits
Werewolves can be easily distinguished from regular wolves by their shorter snout, more human-like eyes, the tufted tail, and their mindless hunting of humans whilst in wolf form.[3] At all other times, they appear as normal humans, although they will age prematurely, and will gain a pallor as the moon approaches and then wanes.[3]
The real difference between a wolf and a werewolf is in behaviour.[7] Genuine wolves are not very aggressive, and the vast number of folk tales representing them as mindless predators are now believed by wizarding authorities to refer to werewolves, not true wolves. A wolf is unlikely to attack a human except under exceptional circumstances. The werewolf, however, targets humans almost exclusively and poses very little danger to any other creature.[8]
Reputation
Prejudice and discrimination
"The stigma surrounding werewolves has been so extreme for centuries that very few have married and had children." —The prejudice surrounding werewolves in the magical community[src]
Werewolves are generally regarded with fear and disgust by wizarding society. People seem to think even when in human form, the werewolf may pose a danger. It is not uncommon for people known to be werewolves to be shunned by society and discriminated against within the wizarding world. It is very difficult for a werewolf to get a job in the wizarding community, especially after the passing of restrictive anti-werewolf legislation by the prejudiced Dolores Umbridge in the 1990s.[9]
Umbridge drafted this legislation due to her irrational hatred for what she considers to be "half-breeds". Because of the difficulty in finding a job many werewolves lived in poverty. It also forced some, like Remus Lupin to take jobs far below their abilities. After Lord Voldemort's defeat in 1998, the anti-werewolf legislation was most likely repealed by the new Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, in his effort to reform the Ministry of Magic, therefore weeding out corruption and not tolerating prejudice.
As a result of the anti-werewolf legislation, many werewolves suffer poverty. Remus Lupin managed to get by with the aid of his friend James Potter[10] and later by working as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. Though in between he had to work at many jobs that are far below his level of abilities, resigning and moving on to another before his workmates notice his signs of lycanthropy. Lupin did this while living in a tumbledown, semi-derelict cottage in Yorkshire. He decided to resign from this position after his condition was exposed, by Severus Snape, as most parents would not want their children being around a werewolf, despite the safety precautions Remus and Albus Dumbledore took; Remus stated that it would have been impossible for him to even attend Hogwarts as a child if it were not for Dumbledore's kindness, as other headmasters would not want a werewolf in the school.[4]
In a display of ignorance and arrogance, the Ministry expected werewolves would submit themselves to the department to sign various conducts and registries, which would also force the werewolves to promise to secure themselves from attacking others. No person would be prepared to walk into the Ministry to admit themselves as werewolves, thus showing the Ministry's lack of respect of werewolves' intelligence and dignity. Lyall Lupin, in particular, regarded werewolves as "soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death", until his own son was infected as a result of his prejudicial comment.
Given Kingsley Shacklebolt's friendship with Remus Lupin and the furthering of Muggle-born and house-elf rights after 1998, it is likely that the reforms of the Ministry under Minister for Magic Shacklebolt included less prejudicial treatment of werewolves.
Retaliation
Harry Potter: "How come they like Voldemort?" Remus Lupin: "They think that, under his rule, they will have a better life. " — Werewolves' involvement in the Second Wizarding War[src]
Due to the oppression and discrimination they face, some werewolves have come to hate the wizarding society, and as such have created their own society. Under Fenrir Greyback's leadership, this society works to infect as many people as possible, especially children, with the goal of one day having enough strength to take control of the wizarding community.
The werewolves under Greyback's command served Lord Voldemort in the Second Wizarding War, believing that they would have a better life under his rule, though Remus Lupin spied on them for the Order of the Phoenix.[11] and the Death Eaters looked down on them; for example, they were not permitted to have the Dark Mark.[12] They were used as a threat to ensure ordinary citizens' compliance with Voldemort; for example, five-year-old Montgomery was fatally attacked by Greyback after his mother refused to cooperate with the Death Eaters.[11]
Although only Greyback is explicitly mentioned as participating, werewolves under Greyback's command may have fought alongside the Death Eaters in the Battle of Hogwarts.[12] They were most likely sentenced to Azkaban for life for uniting with Lord Voldemort, or killed for resisting arrest. It is unknown whether this was the only occurrence of the society, though it is implied that it was a new idea of Greyback's. Likewise, it is unknown whether all werewolves in the society were caught, or — as it was "underground" — some of the members evaded capture and continued their efforts.
Ministry relations
The Ministry of Magic attempts to regulate werewolves and thus the relationship that exists between them and the Ministry is a rocky one. According to Newton Scamander, werewolves have been shunted between the Beast and Being divisions of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for years.
At one point, the Werewolf Registry and Werewolf Capture Unit were both in the Beast Division, while at the same time the office for Werewolf Support Services was in the Being Division. These regulations and services were ultimately a failure, as no one would be prepared to walk into the Ministry to admit themselves as werewolves, and thus none took the prescribed responsibilities of the Werewolf Code of Conduct.
The Werewolf Code of Conduct of 1637 was meant to give Werewolves a framework for coexisting safely and legally within the wizarding world. Werewolves were required to sign a copy of the Code and promise to refrain from attacking and biting non-werewolves. They were also supposed to lock themselves away during their wolf transformation periods.[13]
Werewolves are classified as a XXXXX creature in their transformed state. Dolores Umbridge herself incorrectly referred to werewolves as half-breeds, and has drafted an anti-werewolf legislation that made it almost impossible for werewolves to find a job.
Even |
(EF, MR)
Pennsylvania (UR, EF)
Tennessee (MR)
Vermont (EF)
Wyoming (UR, EF, MR)
Learn more about "ag-gag" laws and other civil liberty issues: Sign up for breaking news alerts, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.Even though it’s looking increasingly likely that humanity will find a way to wipe itself off the face of the Earth, there’s a chance that our creative output may live on. Servers, hard drives, flash drives, and disks will degrade (as will our libraries of paper books, of course), but a group of researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have found a way to encode data onto DNA—the very same stuff that all living beings’ genetic information is stored on—that could survive for millennia.
One gram of DNA can potentially hold up to 455 exabytes of data, according to the New Scientist. For reference: There are one billion gigabytes in an exabyte, and 1,000 exabytes in a zettabyte. The cloud computing company EMC estimated that there were 1.8 zettabytes of data in the world in 2011, which means we would need only about 4 grams (about a teaspoon) of DNA to hold everything from Plato through the complete works of Shakespeare to Beyonce’s latest album (not to mention every brunch photo ever posted on Instagram).
There are four types of molecules that make up DNA, which form pairs. To encode information on DNA, scientists program the pairs into 1s and os—the same binary language that encodes digital data. This is not a new concept—scientists at Harvard University encoded a book onto DNA in 2012—but up to now, it had been difficult to retrieve the information stored on the DNA.
Past tests have seen gaps in retrieved information, as DNA reacts with its environment and degrades at room temperature. Robert Grass, the leader of the project at the Federal Institute, has found a new way to preserve the information: treat it like a fossil. His team encased their DNA sample in a shell made from silica—similar in structure to fossilized bones and one of the main components of glass—and stored the sample at about 140°F for a few weeks to test its durability.
When researchers recovered the sample, they were still able to read the encoded data, and Grass told the Institute’s blog that had the DNA been stored at subzero temperatures, it could potentially be read in over a million years. CDs and DVDs only have shelf lives of about 25 years, according to the US National Archives, so this would be quite an improvement on our current data storage techniques.
For now, the process remains expensive. The DNA sample created for the Institute’s test—the Swiss federal charter and the Archimedes Palimpsest—was about 83 kilobytes of data and cost £1,000 ($1,500) to produce, Grass told the New Scientist. That means encoding anything worth saving—Wikipedia, for example, or the first four seasons of The Wire—would be prohibitively expensive right now.
As with any new technology, the cost of DNA storage is likely to drop as it advances. So there may come a time when a future being venturing out into the nuclear winter finds a DNA data store and will be able to peruse the greatest achievements of humanity up until the turn of the 20th century.Image copyright AP
Conversations in which Democrat Hillary Clinton is advanced as the odds-on favourite to win the US presidency usually contain an explicit or implicit "but".
Yes, Mrs Clinton has built-in advantages in electoral maths and organisation and Donald Trump's controversial views and propensity for wandering woefully off-message are political liabilities - but what if there were a headline-grabbing Islamic militant attack on US soil before November's election? Would that significantly alter the state of the presidential race?
We may be about to find out.
Mr Trump was quick to take to Twitter after news spread that the assailant in the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was a child of Afghan immigrants and had apparently "pledged allegiance" to so-called Islamic State.
Image copyright Twitter
Like many Trump tweets, it instantly provoked both praise from his supporters and outrage from others including gay rights activist George Takei.
Image copyright Twitter
Following Barack Obama's short speech in which the president called the Orlando attack an "act of terror and an act of hate" and said it was "a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people", Mr Trump doubled-down on the rhetoric that has fuelled his rise to the Republican nomination.
He called for Mr Obama's resignation for his "refusal to even say the words 'radical Islam'".
"If we do not get tough and smart real fast, we are not going to have a country anymore," he wrote. "Because our leaders are weak, I said this was going to happen - and it is only going to get worse. I am trying to save lives and prevent the next terrorist attack. We can't afford to be politically correct anymore."
What we know
Eyewitness accounts
Who was Omar Mateen?
Left to the imagination is what, exactly, that means. Should the children of second-generation Muslim immigrants - like the alleged assailant, Omar Mateen - receive special screening? Trump critics will surely assume the worst. His allies will imagine the greatest.
Mr Trump went on to assert that Mrs Clinton - who supports resettling 65,000 Syrian refugees in the US - wants to "dramatically increase admissions from the Middle East" and that the US has "no way to screen them, pay for them, or prevent the second generation from radicalising".
Image copyright Reuters
Meanwhile, Mrs Clinton sent out her own press release - which largely dovetailed with Mr Obama's public statement.
"We need to redouble our efforts to defend our country from threats at home and abroad," she wrote on Facebook. "That means defeating international terror groups, working with allies and partners to go after them wherever they are, countering their attempts to recruit people here and everywhere, and hardening our defences at home. It also means refusing to be intimidated and staying true to our values."
She also told the LGBT community that she was one of their allies and renewed her call for new gun control measures, saying that "weapons of war have no place on our streets".
Mrs Clinton has made gun control a key talking point for much of her campaign - the one area in which she was successfully able to position herself to the left of her Democratic Socialist opponent, Bernie Sanders. Her latest statement is part of an attempt to frame these views as a national security issue.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption President Obama: "We are united in grief, outrage - and resolve"
Such a strategy has yet to work for Mr Obama and congressional Democrats, who advanced similar arguments after the attack last December in San Bernardino, California. Gun control in the US - at least up until now - is one of the areas where the partisan divide is most firmly entrenched.
The duelling press releases and social media posts from the two major party presumptive nominees puts immigration, militant attacks and gun control squarely in the centre of the general election.
Mr Trump had been quietly backing away from his call for a temporary ban on Muslim entry into the United States. Now he is explicitly referencing it - even boasting of his prescience.
Image copyright Twitter
He spent most of his California victory speech last Tuesday focusing on his economic message and previewing attacks on the Clintons he said he would expand on in a speech this Monday.
Now that speech will be on "this terrorist attack, immigration and national security".
Mr Trump appears to be calculating that the American public will determine that, after Orlando, the status quo is untenable; that he has the upper-hand in a contest between his unprecedented border-security and immigration proposals and Mrs Clinton's calls for moderation, continuation of Mr Obama's foreign policy and increased regulation of firearms.
Just yesterday, the prospect of the election turning on such a face-off was purely theoretical. Now it's very real.WARNED
Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on Thu, 28 Jan, 2016, 03:42 PM
Hardik Pandya was sanctioned for his send-off to Chris Lynn in the Adelaide T20I © Getty
Hardik Pandya, India's all-rounder, has been sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breach of the code of conduct during the first Twenty20 International (T20I) against Australia in Adelaide on Tuesday (January 26). Pandya received the reprimand for giving Chris Lynn a send-off after having him caught at extra cover during Australia's chase of 188.
Pandya was sanctioned under the clause which relates to "Using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman upon his/her dismissal during an International Match".
The incident occurred in the 15th over of the Australian innings after Lynn hit the medium-pacer for a six. Pandya then offered a full delivery to which Lynn played a full-blooded drive but succeeded in finding Yuvraj Singh inside the circle, sparking wild celebration from the 22-year-old bowler. Simon Fry and John Ward, the on-field umpires, imposed the warning on the youngster for his indiscretion.
Incidentally, there was no word from the sport's governing body on whether there was any report against Virat Kohli, who was caught gesticulating and exchanging words with Steven Smith following the latter's dismissal.
India lead the three-match series 1-0. The second T20I will be played on Friday (January 29).Get ready for a 'feel-good', 'guitar-heavy' album
Kasabian have revealed that they have now finished work on their new album.
The band have been hard at work on the follow-up to 2014’s ’48:13‘ for much of the last two years – dropping new song ‘Pressie’ in December while gearing up to headline Reading & Leeds and TRNSMT Festival in the UK next summer.
Yesterday, the band shared a photo of guitarist and songwriter Serge Pizzorno’s notebook with reads ‘ALBUM DONE’ along with what appears to be crossed-out song titles. Also, a new page on Amazon appears to show a released called ‘You’re In Love With A Psycho’ and will be released on 21 April – which is believed to be a single for Record Store Day.
“We did so much work really quickly that I took the summer off and did a bit of living,” Pizzorno told NME about writing the album. “It was great. I had the most amazing summer, then I just came back to it, added a few songs and they only took about ten minutes to write. They were those dream tracks that just write themselves. It all just took it to the next level.”
When NME asked about the evolution of their sound after ’48:13′, Pizzorno replied: “Well, I fell in love with the guitar again. I was listening to ESG and Talking Heads and in that kind of world, then it just took on a life of its own. I just wanted to make a guitar record that was relevant and important. It’s been a while since that happened. We always react against our previous work. I did massively experimental synth work on the last record so I just looked at my Rickenbacker in the corner of the studio and thought ‘that’s what I’m gonna do’. I just started smashing tunes out on that.”
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Speaking of the mood of the new album, Pizzorno added: “It’s so weird because last year I was making music then I got married and Leicester won the league. Last year was the best year of my life, but the whole world around that was crumbling. With everyone dying and all the madness around the world, I’m sat there going ‘I’m having a great time!’ It’s pretty mental.
“There’s this vision of me in the studio surrounded by vintage synthesisers, that’s still standing perfectly but the rest of the world is just fucking bust. I wrote a proper feel-good album that will come out in the summer. It’s just the pure positive and complete opposite of what’s going on at the moment because that’s where I was as a human being. This was my reaction against the rest of the world.”SAN JOSE (CBS SF) — Two carjacking and robbery suspects who prompted a several-hours-long standoff with police at a vacant home in San Jose Friday morning were arrested after leading officers on a short pursuit Saturday, police said.
Roland Ramirez, 39, and Franchesca Galope, 28, were wanted on suspicion of carjacking and robbery after Ramirez allegedly stole a gold Cadillac Escalade from the Calco gas station located at 6095 Cahalan Ave. around 9:50 p.m. Thursday, Sgt. Jason Dwyer said.
About an hour later, officers spotted the car near Bascom and Camden avenues and attempted to stop it, but the driver led police on a chase that reached speeds of 100 mph on state Highway 85, police said.
In the interest of public safety, officers abandoned that pursuit, Dwyer said.
Around 3:55 a.m. Friday, police spotted a second stolen vehicle that Ramirez was believed to have been driving, a white Lexus SUV, parked in front of a vacant home in the 5600 block of Blossom Avenue.
The police department’s SWAT team was dispatched to the scene and multiple streets in the residential neighborhood were closed Friday morning as officers tried to coax the suspect from the home.
After searching the home, police determined that neither Ramirez nor Galope were inside.
Saturday, about 12:20 p.m., police on patrol spotted Ramirez driving the gold Cadillac in the area of the Guadalupe Freeway, or state Highway 87, and Curtner Avenue.
As Ramirez led police on a short pursuit, he struck two civilian vehicles and a building before allegedly attempted to carjack a motorist at the intersection of Curtner and Lincoln avenues, police said.
Officers prevented the carjacking, and Ramirez fled on foot before he was arrested.
Galope, who was a passenger in the Escalade, was also arrested.
Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to contact Detective Raul Corrales at (408) 277-4166. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact the Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-STOP (7867).
(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)Pre-Rebellion Conditions
The first interest for Germany in establishing a colony in East Africa came from Carl Peters who came to East Africa in 1884. With the backing of the German East African Company, they set up protectorates in the area through ‘treaties’ made with headman. The trading company was forced out by the native peoples and replaced by an army force led by Hermann von Wissmann, which assumed administrative control on January 1, 1891. Resistance early in the German colony was difficult due to lack of coordination between the tribes in the area.[1] This did not mean that the people of Tanganyika accepted the German rule. The Matumbi people felt like they were allowing the Europeans into their country, and because of that they should be the ones paying the people of Tanganyika. They consistently rejected things such as taxation believing that they did not have any debt owed to the Germans and that “we, who have for so long been used to govern ourselves, find laws of these Germans very hard, especially the taxes because we black people have not money, our wealth consists of millet, maize, oil, and groundnuts.”[2] Similarly, forced labor was another source of significant suffering under colonial rule. Cotton had become an important cash crop for Europeans, but for the people of Tanganyika it was not any way profitable as they were not compensated for their work and were tortured through whippings. They believed that it would be better to die than to suffer under the horrible conditions they were living under while cultivating and harvesting cotton for the Germans. [3]
A second reason for the Maji Maji uprising was because the Europeans had placed Arabs from other countries in the position of akidas, or native Africans or Arabs who were chosen as district administrators, who had some level of control over the people and “they began to seize people and reduce them to slavery; in fact they practiced complete fraud and extortion and tortured them unjustly. “[4] In 1904 the prophet Kinjikitile arose. Through Njqiywila, or secret communication, they were able to spread messages through the different tribes. The message that was sent by the prophet was meant to unify the tribes and included communications such as “This is a year of was, for there is a man at Ngarambe who has been possessed—he has Lilungu, Why? Because we are suffering like this and because…we are oppressed by the akidas. We work without payment. There is an expert in Ngarambe to help us. How? There is Jumbe Hongo!” [5] The expert that they talked about was a medicine man who was gifted in Usinga medicine. Upon word of a magic medicine, people began traveling to this location in 1905. The medicine was believed to provide many benefits in terms of health and a good harvest. It was also trusted to “give invulnerability, acting in such a way that enemy bullets would fall from their targets like rain drops from a greased body.” [5] Kinjikitile had prepared the people for war, but had instructed them to wait for his signal for the uprisings to begin. However, the Matumbi people grew tired of enduring the injustices of their “leaders” while they waited for the start of the rebellion. They took matters into their own hands and incited anger from the Germans by uprooting cotton, establishing themselves as the main group of people taking part in this rebellion. And so the war began. [6]
In debates summarized by John Iliffe (1967) the question comes up as to how the people of Tanganyika were able to organize for their uprising. Iliffe argues that it was possible that they were able to do this through prior political and cultural groupings and that alliances were formed as they had been in the past when faced with emergencies. Other scholars have argued that Tanganyikans organized based on their “sense of common grievance arising from the economic pressures of German rule.”[7] Finally, the aspect of religion was said to be a motivating force within the organization for the rebellion. From the discussion they came to the conclusion that organization may have started from a religious front with the use of the magic medicine and prophets. However, this was not enough to sustain the rebellion, which had to move more toward tribal organization. The unity that was once established by the religious connection was severed resulting in the movement losing some of its revolutionary character as they were no longer fighting as a collective unit. This weakened Tanganyikans in the face of European resistance as was seen through the rebellion.[8]
[1] Iliffe, John. Tanganyika under German Rule: 1905-1912. Nairobi: East African Publ. House, 1969. Print.
[2] Agnes Achitinao to Rev. C. C, Child, 14 March 1899 in Records of the Maji Maji Rising: Part One
[3] Gwassa, G. C. K., G. C. K. Gwassa, and John Iliffe. Records of the Maji Maji Rising: Part One. Nairobi: East African House, 1968. Print. (7)
[4] Mzee Ambrose Ngombale Mwiru of Kipatimu, interviewed 8 Aug. 1967. in Records of the Maji Maji Rising: Part One
[5] Mzee Mdundule Mangaya of Kipatimu, interviewed 7 Aug. 1967. in Records of the Maji Maji Rising: Part One
[6] Bw. Also Abdallah Kapungu of Kibata, interviewed 23 Aug. 1967. in Records of the Maji Maji Rising: Part One
[7] Iliffe, John. 1967. “The Organization of the Maji Maji Rebellion”. The Journal of African History 8 (3). Cambridge University Press: 495–512. http://www.jstor.org/stable/179833. (495)
[8] Iliffe, John. 1967. “The Organization of the Maji Maji Rebellion”. The Journal of African History 8 (3). Cambridge University Press: 495–512. http://www.jstor.org/stable/179833. (510)
The Maji Maji Rebellion
In late July 1905, The Matumbi people decided to declare war on the Germans by destroying a symbol of their oppression under German rule, the cotton plant. [9] Armed with spears and arrows, on the 31st of July, 1905, Matumbi tribesmen marched on Samanga destroying the cotton crop and a trading post. In the aftermath of the attack, on August 4th, Kinjikitle was hung for treason. However, prior to his death Kinjikitle declared that the key to Tanganyika victory, the medicine that promised to turn German bullets into water, had spread as far as Kilosa and Mahenge. [10] After his death, on the 14th of August 1905, tribesmen attacked a small party of missionaries on a safari, spearing the missionaries to death.[11] One of the men killed was Catholic Bishop Caspian Spiss. The next day, one hundred miles away, rebels captured a German post at Liwale[12]. As Kinjikitle had promised before his death, news of and support for the rebellion spread across the territory. Rebels came together despite differences in culture and language to oppose German colonialism.[13] Throughout August the rebels attacked German garrisons throughout the colony, however they were unsuccessful in causing a large number of fatalities.
The common thread in many of the revolts, was the role of the maji; Kinjikitle’s medicine that promised to turn German bullets to water. [14] This medicine was put to the test on August 25th, when several thousand warriors marched on the German cantonment at Mahenge, which was defended by Lieutenant von Hassel. The two attacking tribes disagreed on when to attack, and this resulted in native casualties as the first attack was met with gunfire. Furthermore, the killing of individuals in possession of the maji began to influence the masses that the maji was not able to protect them, as it was promised to do. [15]
In October, the German government sent 1,000 soldiers to the territory to quell the rebellion. Bound for the Ngoni camp, the troops were to be utilized in the South to reinstate the German power structure. Heavily armed, the German soldiers purposefully eradicated the rebels food sources, so as to weaken their men. While not an initial tactic, the famine following the Maji Maji Rebellion was orchestrated deliberately by German forces. “In my view”, Wangenheim reported on 22 October, “only hunger and want can bring about final submission. Military actions alone will remain more or less a drop in the ocean.”[16] Fighting finally subsided two years later in 1907, when German soldiers suppressed the last of the Maji Maji rebellion. While the death toll is a tangible expression of the loss suffered, the broken spirit of the natives was unquantifiable. Due to no fault of their own, the people of Tanganyika, fell victim to modern weaponry and the sheer numbers of the German forces.
[11] Iliffe, 172
[12] Giblin, J., Monson, J. Maji Maji: Lifting the Fog of War. Brill, 2010. 6.
[13]Giblin, 8
[14] Iliffe, 177
[15] Iliffe, 178
Post-Rebellion Conditions
The areas affected by the Maji Maji Rebellion were utterly destroyed in the aftermath of the war.Southern Usagara was described as wholly unpopulated. [17] Uvidunda lost half of its total population. [17] A missionary estimated that over three-quarters of the Pwanga died in the war. [1] The total amount of African revolutionary deaths was ambiguous in the aftermath of the war. Anywhere from 200,000 to 300,000 Africans, or about one third of the area’s total population, perished throughout the course of the war. [17]
This sad reality can be attributed to the fact that the German military’s institutional preference was to win the war with “total, unlimited force.” [18] The German military’s tendency to “gravitate towards final solutions,” rather than continue with lesser, more diplomatic operations was firmly ingrained in the psyche of the military’s hierarchy. [18] This meant that the rather than deal with the rebellion in a peaceful and diplomatic way, the Germans preferred the destruction of their African territory. The harmful racist ideologies that the Germans, and other European colonizers, possessed were more of a result of imperialism than a cause of it. [18] The heinous and brutal imperial practices that the Germans undertook to exploit resources from German East Africa developed the racist ideologies that justified the German Reich’s slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Africans, along with the post-war exploitation of the war’s survivors. [18] This was the root of the German troops’ “spiral of revenge” that they practiced during imperial rule. [18] Three factors encouraged this spiral of revenge: 1.) the difficulty and frustrations of colonial warfare made worse by structural deficits in planning and administration, 2.) the enemy’s strange or “exotic” fighting practices, and 3.) the difficulties distinguishing civilians from warriors in guerilla wars. [18]
Along with that, there were no outside factors at the time to stop German atrocities on the rebelling regions of German East Africa during and after the war. [18] International law was widely thought of as inapplicable to a group of people that the western world believed were “expendable.” [18] Additionally, observers who did not hold these imperialistic, racist notions were largely absent, and, as a result, could not check the unrestrained violence the Germans committed on the Africans they subjugated prior to and in the aftermath of the Maji Maji Rebellion. [18]
This culminated in not only the absolute wipeout of certain parts of the rebellion, but also continued imperialist racism in the years after the war. The atrocities committed by the Germans would continue well into the 20th century. [19]
A famine swept across the Tanganyikan lands, proving the most costly in Ungoni and highland areas. [20] This famine was spurred on through institutional racism spearheaded by unremorseful officers of the German Army. For instance, Captain Richter, who administered Songea in the aftermath of the rebellion, who “prevented cultivation and appropriated all food for his troops” was quoted saying: “The fellows can just starve.” [20] This, too, was the result of imperialistic notions of African inferiority.
After the war, local power was primarily bestowed upon those loyal to the Germans during the rebellion. Kalimoto, prior the war an irrelevant sub-chief who, during the war, betrayed the Mbunga rebellion, became a leading chief of Umbunga and married the sister of Mlolere, the leading the most prominent Pogoro loyalist. [20] The Hehe, loyal to the Germans, regained control of Usagara and parts of the Usangu and the Ulanga Valley. [20]
Most tragically, the survivors saw their old lands overtaken by forest and wildlife. [20] Elephants entered Matumbi for the first time in living memory. [20] [These wild animals brought disease with them, contributing, along with famine, to many deaths. In Ungindo, the British came to create the largest game park in the world. [20] Not only did the people of southern Tanganyika lose their battle to regain independence, but they lost their long, millennia old battle with nature in the process. [20]
[17] Iliffe, John. A Modern History of Tanganyika. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1979. Print.
[18] Gellately, Robert, and Ben Kiernan. The Specter of Genocide: Mass Murder in Historical Perspective. New York: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print.
[19]] Gwassa, G. C. K., G. C. K. Gwassa, and John Iliffe. Records of the Maji Maji Rising: Part One. Nairobi: East African House, 1968. Print.
[20]] Iliffe, John. A Modern History of Tanganyika. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1979. Print.With all the attention on the ongoing human-versus-computer Go matches in Seoul, the government is considering to set up a control tower to nurture the nation’s nascent artificial intelligence industry.
The control tower will aim to combine ongoing AI projects and funding plans, as well as achieve synergy among them. Detailed plans to respond to possible economic and social changes are also expected to be made.
A task force team has been operated since two weeks ago under the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. A tentative roadmap will be made in April to be reported to President Park Geun-hye.
“We plan to pour considerable resources into AI,” a ministry official said. “Considering the impact of the current Go match between Lee Se-dol and AlphaGo, the government is also working on the issue in diverse ways.”
Industry watchers say the government’s renewed push is also expected to spur big companies such as Samsung and LG to speed up their AI projects that are still in their infancy.
Samsung Electronics operates an AI research team under its Software R&D center in Seoul. The team is currently working on its own version of digital personal assistants such as Apple’s Siri, Facebook’s M and Microsoft’s Cortana.
The company has also expanded investments into Silicon Valley start-ups such as Vicarious, an AI tech company, and Jibo, an AI robot maker.
Its local rival LG Electronics also operates its own AI research center under the leadership of the company’s chief technology officer. About 200 people work at the center.
The center used to work on face-recognition technology and cleaning robots. But recently it is focusing more on incorporating AI technology into the company’s home appliances and smartphones.
Last year, Hyundai Motor adopted self-driving features into its EQ900 luxury sedan. The carmaker also succeeded in test-driving its first autonomous car, based on Genesis, on a road in Seoul.
Despite different ongoing projects across industries, Korea is still far behind other advanced countries, such as the U.S. and Japan, when it comes to AI. Experts highlight long-term investments as crucial to a breakthrough.
“If the gap with other countries further widens, we will have no opportunity to catch up with advanced countries,” said Jang Woo-seok, a researcher at Hyundai Research Institute.
“There was a time when the government invested heavily until five to 10 years ago. But with no tangible results, investments have been suspended,” he said. “The government needs to spend money over a longer term.”
According to market research firm IDC, the AI market is expected to increase from $127 billion in 2015 to $165 billion this year. Its related economic impact is estimated to exceed $6.7 trillion by 2025.
By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)
MOST POPULARROTTERDAM, the Netherlands — The wind over the canal stirred up whitecaps and rattled cafe umbrellas. Rowers strained toward a finish line and spectators hugged the shore. Henk Ovink, hawkish, wiry, head shaved, watched from a V.I.P. deck, one eye on the boats, the other, as usual, on his phone.
Mr. Ovink is the country’s globe-trotting salesman in chief for Dutch expertise on rising water and climate change. Like cheese in France or cars in Germany, climate change is a business in the Netherlands. Month in, month out, delegations from as far away as Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, New York and New Orleans make the rounds in the port city of Rotterdam. They often end up hiring Dutch firms, which dominate the global market in high-tech engineering and water management.
That’s because from the first moment settlers in this small nation started pumping water to clear land for farms and houses, water has been the central, existential fact of life in the Netherlands, a daily matter of survival and national identity. No place in Europe is under greater threat than this waterlogged country on the edge of the Continent. Much of the nation sits below sea level and is gradually sinking. Now climate change brings the prospect of rising tides and fiercer storms.
Area of Rotterdam below sea level Eendragtspolder rowing course –5 meters –4 –3 –2 –1 0 DELFT Schiebroekse park SCHIEDAM CAPELLE AAN DEN IJSSEL Kralingse park lake Residential Industrial ROTTERDAM Erasmus University Rotterdam 90 percent of the city of Rotterdam lies below sea level, leaving many residential areas vulnerable to a rising ocean. Erasmus Medical Center Feyenoord Stadium Rotterdam Ahoy Convention Center Pernisser park RIDDERKERK RHOON BARENDRECHT 1 mile Area of Rotterdam below sea level –5 meters –4 –3 –2 –1 0 DELFT Eendragtspolder rowing course 1 mile Schiebroekse park SCHIEDAM CAPELLE AAN DEN IJSSEL Kralingse park lake Residential Industrial ROTTERDAM Erasmus University Rotterdam 90 percent of the city of Rotterdam lies below sea level, leaving many residential areas vulnerable to a rising ocean. Erasmus Medical Center Feyenoord Stadium Rotterdam Ahoy Convention Center Pernisser park RIDDERKERK RHOON BARENDRECHT Area of Rotterdam below sea level –5 meters –4 –3 –2 –1 0 Eendragtspolder DELFT Residential Industrial CAPELLE AAN DEN IJSSEL ROTTERDAM 90 percent of the city of Rotterdam lies below sea level, leaving many residential areas vulnerable to a rising ocean. RIDDERKERK BARENDRECHT RHOON 1 mile Area of Rotterdam below sea level –5 meters –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 mile ROTTERDAM 90 percent of the city of Rotterdam lies below sea level, leaving many residential areas vulnerable to a rising ocean. Residential Industrial Area of Rotterdam below sea level Eendragtspolder rowing course –5 meters –4 –3 –2 –1 0 DELFT Schiebroekse park CAPELLE AAN DEN IJSSEL SCHIEDAM Kralingse park lake ROTTERDAM Residential Industrial Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus Medical Center 90 percent of the city of Rotterdam lies below sea level, leaving many residential areas vulnerable to a rising ocean. Feyenoord Stadium Rotterdam Ahoy Convention Center Pernisser park RIDDERKERK RHOON BARENDRECHT 1 mile Area of Rotterdam below sea level –5 meters –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 mile ROTTERDAM 90 percent of the city of Rotterdam lies below sea level, leaving many residential areas vulnerable to a rising ocean. Residential Industrial Source: Municipality of Rotterdam Elevation data is only shown Rotterdam city limits.
From a Dutch mind-set, climate change is not a hypothetical or a drag on the economy, but an opportunity. While the Trump administration withdraws from the Paris accord, the Dutch are pioneering a singular way forward.
It is, in essence, to let water in, where possible, not hope to subdue Mother Nature: to live with the water, rather than struggle to defeat it. The Dutch devise lakes, garages, parks and plazas that are a boon to daily life but also double as enormous reservoirs for when the seas and rivers spill over. You may wish to pretend that rising seas are a hoax perpetrated by scientists and a gullible news media. Or you can build barriers galore. But in the end, neither will provide adequate defense, the Dutch say.
And what holds true for managing climate change applies to the social fabric, too. Environmental and social resilience should go hand in hand, officials here believe, improving neighborhoods, spreading equity and taming water during catastrophes. Climate adaptation, if addressed head-on and properly, ought to yield a stronger, richer state.
This is the message the Dutch have been taking out into the world. Dutch consultants advising the Bangladeshi authorities about emergency shelters and evacuation routes recently helped reduce the numbers of deaths suffered in recent floods to “hundreds instead of thousands,” according to Mr. Ovink.
“That’s what we’re trying to do,” he said. “You can say we are marketing our expertise, but thousands of people die every year because of rising water, and the world is failing collectively to deal with the crisis, losing money and lives.” He ticks off the latest findings: 2016 was the warmest year on record; global sea levels rose to new highs.
He proudly shows off the new rowing course just outside Rotterdam, where the World Rowing Championships were staged last summer. The course forms part of an area called the Eendragtspolder, a 22-acre patchwork of reclaimed fields and canals — a prime example of a site built as a public amenity that collects floodwater in emergencies. It is near the lowest point in the Netherlands, about 20 feet below sea level. With its bike paths and water sports, the Eendragtspolder has become a popular retreat. Now it also serves as a reservoir for the Rotte River Basin when the nearby Rhine overflows, which, because of climate change, it’s expected to do every decade.
Interested in keeping up with climate change? Sign up to receive our in-depth journalism about climate change around the world. Graphics by Derek Watkins and Jeremy White. Design by Matt Ruby and Rumsey Taylor.
The project is among dozens in a nationwide program, years in the making, called Room for the River, which overturned centuries-old strategies of seizing territory from rivers and canals to build dams and dikes. The Netherlands effectively occupies the gutter of Europe, a lowlands bounded on one end by the North Sea, into which immense rivers like the Rhine and the Meuse flow from Germany, Belgium and France. Dutch thinking changed after floods forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate during the 1990s. The floods “were a wake-up call to give back to the rivers some of the room we had taken,” as Harold van Waveren, a senior government adviser, recently explained.
“We can’t just keep building higher levees, because we will end up living behind 10-meter walls,” he said. “We need to give the rivers more places to flow. Protection against climate change is only as |
by Target will be played at Soldier Field in downtown Chicago.
Our regular season concludes with Decision Day, on Oct. 22, when every team will play simultaneously at 4 p.m. ET to help determine which teams will qualify for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. For a complete guide to the 2017 MLS season, click here.
On behalf of MLS, thank you for your support and best of luck for the 2017 season!
Commissioner Don Garber‘Shin-chan’ Anime Returns to Hulu
Chris Beveridge Posted by
Originally added to Hulu back in 2010 and 2011, the Shin-chan series faded off after a while and has now returned. Funimation has brought the fifty-two episodes that they produced in dubbed/edited form to the service where it works its own script based on the original to some degree. The series is one that saw DVD-only releases previously and in the dubbed-only form.
The show is based on the manga from Yoshito Usui that began in 1990 and completed in 2010 with fifty published volumes. The anime adaptation kicked off in 1992 and is still going on in Japan with 895 episodes produced so far. Funimation’s limited license was only for a small subset of episodes.
Plot concept: Shin Chan: Laugh to hide your tears… He’s rude. He’s crass. He’s unbelievably obnoxious and he likes showing his @$$. He’s Shin, and he’s the star of this train wreck.
Chris has been writing about anime, manga, movies and comics for well on twenty years now. He began AnimeOnDVD.com back in 1998 and has covered nearly every anime release that’s come out in the US ever since. He likes to write a lot, as you can see. Chris Beveridge – who has written 55653 posts on The Fandom Post. Facebook • Twitter • YouTube • PinterestThe day had been divine and this was the perfect end to it. Carrot Top seemed to be enjoying her Christmas present very much either that or Aloe and Lotus had relaxed Ditzy so much she could no longer comprehend reality. As the spa ponies continued to work their relaxing massages Carrot opened conversation.
“So Ditzy, you said you still had one surprise left before we leave for Canterlot. Would you care to put me now or is it some big secret?” Her voice began to modulate up and down as the blue spa pony began a series of chopping motions. Ditzy’s giggles likewise moved up and down as the pink pony did likewise. The pair was then led by the third, Spa Pony, lotus blossom into the Sauna.
“Surprise! Big finish before New Years Ball!” Ditzy was positively thrilled at whatever she had planned. Carrot looked skeptical.
“But how will we put on fancy clothes and ready our manes for the ball tonight?” Carrot Top’s question was legitimate, but Ditzy laughed and said to leave it to her. Carrot nervously smile, Ditzy was sweet, but she hoped this would go better than some of their previous escapades. Leaving the spa the mares felt refreshed and ready for anything. Carrot had put on her red sweater and scarf while Ditzy was wearing the new cape she had been given by Rarity for Christmas. It was a faint blue with small silver lines running in an intricate pattern that glistened every time the sun hit it. Ditzy refused to tell Carrot where the duo was going. The streets of Ponyville had finally been cleared of snow, making the walk simply cold as versus cold and wet. Mayor Mare promised better snow clearing every year, and yet it seemed to get worse and worse. Ditzy had occasionally wondered if the politician could be being dishonest.
“We’re here!” Ditzy proudly presented Carousel Boutique to her friend.
“Ditzy you can’t mean to buy new dresses? There’s not enough time for new ones to be made and improperly fitted dress just won’t do-” Ditzy put her hoof over her friends mouth and rolled her eyes, impressively in both directions at once. It gave Carrot a moment of pause. Someponies called her “Derpy” because of that, but she didn’t care. It was meant to hurt her, and mean ponies were not going to get any satisfaction out of her. She then removed her hoof and spoke.
“Just go inside.” The duo knocked on the door Carrot expected it to be closed, it being New Year’s Eve and all but Rarity’s voice almost sang in response
“Ditzy darling is that you?”
“Yes Mam!” The door opened and the unicorn hurried the duo into her shop.
“I must say darling the cape I made looks positively magnificent on you.” Rarity trotted around Ditzy admiring her own handiwork for a moment. “Now the pieces you commissioned are almost ready I just need the wearers for a few last minute hems!” Carrot wasn’t quite sure what was going on all she knew was she was being lifted by magic and blinded by fabric. She had been fitted by Rarity before, she decided not to fight it and just see what was going on. The fabric finally passed, but her eyes were covered again, this time by hooves.
“Uh-Uh No peeking”
“Ditzy how am I supposed to know what I am even wearing?”
“You’re not. It’s a surprise!” Ditzy laughed at her friend’s slightly disgruntled sigh. Rarity occasionally made marks on the dress with tailor’s chalk. Once again the fabric flew over Carrot’s eyes and Rarity disappeared back to her work room.
“Alright Ditzy if I’m wearing the mystery dress to the New Year’s Ball, what are you wearing to it?” Ditzy giggled before disappearing behind the changing wall. Ditzy deliberately took longer than usual, if only because Carrot seemed particularly impatient today. Ditzy wasn’t above a little prank to mess with her friend. A few impatient hoof stomps later Ditzy moved out to show off the dress she had Rarity make for her. Carrot Top let out a faint gasp; it was odd for her to see the mail pony who outside of her work uniform almost always dressed casually dressed so formally.
“Ditzy you look amazing! I never imagined you would own such a beautiful dress.” Carrot Top was looking it over when the unicorn reentered the main room.
“She did not want to. Originally she just wanted the commission for you. She was going to wear this!” Rarity levitated out an old faded and somewhat rumpled red dress. “But I insisted if she was going to the New Year’s Ball she would need to look her best. So I designed this master piece.
I started with a black velvet base from there I made the top out of my special gold silk and trimmed the ends of it with it. Finally I’ve had these pearls that I couldn’t do anything with, and I’ve tried positively everything. Then Ditzy comes in and commissions a dress for you, and inspiration strikes me like a bolt from the blue. Ditzy do be a dear and turn around” The Pegasus complied and Rarity then gestured to the fourteen pearls mirroring Ditzy’s cutie mark. Towards the bottom of the dress the black broke into a sea blue in a wave like pattern mirroring the ocean. “It is magnificent isn’t it?”
Rarity would have gone on about her creation all day had not Carrot Top began talking “That looks amazing Rarity. I can’t wait to see how mine looks!” Rarity moved the changing wall in front of Carrot and then levitated a small box over it. The time it took Carrot to change seemed like an eternity to Ditzy. She wanted to see how this part of her present had turned out. After all it was the part she had least control over. Finally Carrot Top emerged Ditzy happily clapped her fore hooves while Rarity squealed with glee at her finished creation. It was a breezy white gown with a green sash, and a rose on the forward left shoulder with a matching rose for her mane.
“You look good Carrot!”
“Good darling? Good doesn’t even begin to describe it! She looks positively stunning. I do so wish I was going to the New Year’s Ball. Try and have a good time dears.”
“Thank you Rarity! We will!” The two Mares happily trotted out onto the streets Ditzy putting her cape on and Carrot returning her scarf to a cozy position around her neck. As the two got further away from the boutique they heard one last shout.
“And if you see Prince Blueblood push him into a cake for me!” The two friends laughed and wondered what Rarity meant by that. The pair certainly didn’t have any plans of assaulting royalty with cake. Arriving back at Ditzy’s house they saw a sky chariot parked outside.
“Ditzy you aren’t planning to fly us to Canterlot are you?”
“Hehe Nope!”
“Then what are you planning or are you going to continue this mare of mystery routine?”
“Continue!” Ditzy laughed at her friend’s sigh. The pair entered and there in the kitchen were two familiar stallions at least for Ditzy.
“Carrot you already know the Doctor.” The brown earth pony waved hello and then went back to that universe perplexing activity that was making dinner. Next to him a brown Pegasus who looked distinctly uncomfortable in the suit he had to wear for the night stepped forward.
“Ditzy Doo! How’s my employee of the year doing? I gotta say I was surprised when I heard the Doctor wasn’t coming-” He leaned in to whisper to Ditzy “But now that I’m seeing your friend I’m kinda glad he’s not. How’s about introducing me?”
“Sure!” Ditzy spoke with her normal voice which at close range almost deafened the Pegasus. She did not quite understand why she was asked to introduce them. It would be bad manners not to. “Carrot Top this is my Boss Mr. Handel!”
“Please call me Chip.” The Pegasus had a gruff voice to match his stubble and rugged build. Carrot Top politely offered a hoof shake. Mr. Handel kissed her hoof. Carrot did her best to keep what she was feeling to herself.
“Charmed I’m sure.” Carrot said keeping voice level but a hint of her displeasure did escape.
“No the pleasure is all mine.” The Doctor continued stirring the pot of boiling water but he now had a big stupid grin on his face, watching the situation.
“Yeah. We’re all friends! Mr. Handel is pulling the sky chariot to Canterlot carrot” The bulky Pegasus puffed up at the mention of his feat.
“We should get goin’ then.” Mr. Handel held the door open “Miss Carrot Top your chariot awaits.” Carrot rolled her eyes. Ditzy quickly zipped over to the Doctor “Thanks for watching Sparkler and Dinky for me. I know Sparkler is old enough, but I don’t want her to have to be in charge that long. You’re the best” She gave him a peck on the cheek.
“You just have fun tonight. I’ll try not to burn your house down.” Ditzy laughed and went out the door and onto the chariot.
Soon they were soaring through the air towards Canterlot. Despite his rough appearance Mr. Handel was quite the graceful flier. He kept trying to strike up conversation with Carrot, but she didn’t seem to be enjoying any of his jokes. Ditzy found they were all highly amusing. “How do you make an apple stand? You take away its chair.” Ditzy thought Carrot seemed grumpy, but decided that would all change once they arrived at the New Year’s Ball.
The chariot finally set down on the cobblestone streets of Canterlot.
“We made it.” Mr. Handel let out a huge breath. The sky chariot was designed to be pulled by a pair of Pegasi not a single one, even one as strong as Mr. Handel. He was out of breath.
“Will you be all right Mr. Handel?”
“Sure Ditzy. Just give me a minute to-” Carrot Top and Ditzy had already gone inside.
The New Year’s Ball was more immense than anything Ditzy had ever imagined. A four-piece band filled the air with music. Princess Luna was still greeting the crowd in a regal sea blue dress with thousands of small diamonds mirroring the night sky. The day was reaching its last legs and Princess Celestia would lower the sun and Luna would raise the first moon of the New Year.
“Well Carrot where do you want to start? The band! Maybe by the Princesses? Or oh The Wonderbolts!” Ditzy grew in excitement at each idea. Carrot shook her head.
“Ditzy how about this? I go look for the stallion of my dreams and you go have fun?” Ditzy was unsure. She wouldn’t be being a very good wingmare if she left her friend on her own. She scratched her head with her hoof.
“Carrot Top are you sure?”
“Ditzy you are a wonderful friend, but I can handle finding the stallion of my dreams on my own. Go have fun.” Carrot smiled, and Ditzy was reassured. Ditzy trotted off and began forming a checklist of things she wanted to do.
She was going to wait in line. She was going to meet the Princess. Midway through the line Princess Luna lifted into the air as her elder sister descended from the balcony. She was wearing a red dress with small fragments of gold glinting from the last shards of the setting sun. Oh well so she wouldn’t be able to meet Princess Luna, she would at least get to see Princess Celestia. The line continued crawling along for another twenty minutes. Then something remarkable happened, Princess Luna returned from raising the moon. Ditzy was next in line, and she was going to meet both Princess. It amounted to little more than a hoof shake, but Luna remembered her “creative” Nightmare Night costume and Princess Celestia remembered her from delivering Twilight Sparkle’s friendship report that week Spike was sick.
She was happy to be recognized by the Princess. She certainly was having a grand time. Mr. Handel had finally arrived, he said something about being unable to find a parking spot. He wanted to introduce Ditzy to his old flight school roommate. She did not want to meet some old Pegasus and hear them reminisce about the glory days, but Mr. Handel seemed adamant about it. Mr. Handel lead her to an area she did not expect. The VIP zone was full of sorts of important ponies, Mr. Handel introduced her to a blue Pegasus in a Wonderbolts’ uniform.
“Ditzy Doo this is Soarin, my old roomie.”
“Hey if ain’t old Chipping and Handeling!” Mr. Handel groaned at the mention of his old nickname. Soarin then turned his attention to Ditzy “How do you do Miss Doo?” Ditzy giggled and made polite small talk for a while. She was getting to talk to a Wonderbolt, she was going to have to tell Rainbow Dash about this the next time she made a delivery. Eventually Soarin decided to go get some food, and Mr. Handel decided to join him.
Ditzy now wandered over to the orchestra. Tonight was going swimmingly, everything was better than expected. The orchestra continued playing a fast paced waltz. Ditzy spotted a familiar orange Earth pony.
“Hey Carrot!” Carrot Top looked around for the voice that shouted across the dance floor before finally spotting Ditzy and practically galloping across to meet her.
“Ditzy you will not believe the colt I’ve meet. He’s amazing, and a total sweet talker. You’ve got to meet him” Carrot lead Ditzy back across the room. The orchestra had taken two more members on in the time and the violin mare began leading a powerful crescendo. The music began building in tension. She approached the stallion from behind and turned him around
“Ditzy this Firestarter.” The red maned tan unicorn with a lit matchstick cutie mark turned around a look of realization darted across his face.
“We’ve met” Ditzy practically growled “This guys no good for you Carrot. He’s a complete pain in the flank.” Ditzy looked to Carrot Top expecting her to back away from the colt immediately, instead she looked hurt and confused.
“Ditzy you can’t mean such nasty things.” Ditzy focused, making sure to work on looking at Carrot with both of her eyes.
“Carrot Top. I wouldn’t say such things if this were not the absolute worst unicorn in ALL of Equestria. No. The entire world!” The Red maned unicorn seemed to shrink into his tuxedo.
“Derpy I can’t believe-” Carrot caught herself. She had used the nickname bullies had given to the mailmare. Ditzy’s eyes began to water.
“Fine. I don’t care.” She lifted off the ground and flew out of the ballroom at her top speed.
“Ditzy I-” But it was too late the damage had been done and Ditzy had left Carrot Top’s voice range.
The Pegasus left and set herself around a loading entrance in the back of the palace and proceeded to cry her eyes out. She ignored the cart carrying big speakers and piles of records. She could hear a conversation in the backround.
“Hey Tavi!”
“Ah Vinyl just in the nick of time as always.”
“Well with you and your band playing the old I got to be ready to bring in the new. Time to forgive and forget the past.” Maybe whoever these ponies were had a point. It had been years since she had seen Firestarter, perhaps he wasn’t the same unicorn who had wronged her so many years ago. She would go ask his forgiveness and her friend’s. She dried the tears from her eyes, and returned to the ball. The band had been replaced with a white unicorn with big blue sunglasses. The waltz was replaced with a low steady techno beat. There on the other side of the room were Carrot Top and Firestarter leaving the ball. Ditzy turned to follow but as she reached the exit she was stopped by Mr. Handel. “Hey Ditzy if you leave before it ends how am I supposed to bring you and Carrot home?”
“Meeting point?”
“Good idea Ditzy. In the parking lot towards the very back. The absolute last space before reaching Main Street.” Ditzy nodded and then left the ball. Carrot Top and Firestarter had left her visual range, she ascended to the sky and hoped there were not any laws about flying in Canterlot. There two blocks away Firestarter and Carrot Top had come to the Canterlot Park and were sitting on a bench. Rather than descend directly in front of them she took an approach from behind, and listened to the conversation.
“I feel really bad about calling Ditzy a name.”
“Hey don’t worry about it. Tonight is about you and me.”
“Why did she call you the Worst Unicorn in the World?”
“I’m sure she had me confused with some other pony.” Ditzy grimaced. He hadn’t changed. He was still the same selfish lying pony he had always been. She had just been innocent enough to believe him last time. Now he was trying to do to her friend what he had done to her five years ago. She would tell Carrot the truth. She would rather lose Carrot as a friend than see her hurt the way she had been. She glided silently in behind them.
“No Firestarter. I remember you.” Both the unicorn and the earth pony jumped and turned to look at Ditzy. She had both her eyes glaring at the unicorn “Every little lie about loving me forever. The promise that you would marry me. The lies about what you said normal fillyfriends were supposed to do. You aren’t worthy to be the father of my little muffin. You ran when you found out about her. You broke my heart!” Ditzy had worked herself up into a scream. Carrot turned and gave surprised looks at both Ditzy and Firestarter.
“Well uh darling I can explain.” Firestarter was backing up giving his collar a little tug
“Are you talking to me or her?” Carrot now started advancing on Firestarter.
“Well you of course. Some derpy eyed Pegasus means nothing to me!” Ditzy watched with some unladylike glee as Carrot Top pushed Firestarter into the Canterlot fountain.
“Wrong answer. Ditzy I’m so sorry! I should have trusted you. You are such a good friend. Can you ever forgive me?”
Ditzy put a hoof around her friend and began leading her to the parking lot. “Of course I can Carrot. I expect apology muffins.” The pair began laughing “and you should be nicer to Mister Handel.” Carrot groaned.
“Do I have to?” Ditzy looked at Carrot out of the corner of her eye.
“Oh all right Ditzy.” The pair met up with the bulky brown Pegasus who had traded his suit for a baseball cap and a black jacket.
“Eh Ditzy! The lovely Miss Carrot Top! Happy New Year! Now lets get out of here before the rush.” The two ponies walked aboard the chariot as it ascended into the air.
“Eh… Chip.” Ditzy smiled at Carrot as she continued “maybe sometime you’d like to go for a coffee or something. If you don’t that’s fine-”
“Are you kidding? I’d love to! How’s tomorrow for ya?” Ditzy clapped her hooves together. Carrot sighed and mumbled a yes. The chariot approached Ponyville and the hopeful first light of a new year broke over the hills. One quick stop at Golden Harvest farms, Carrot left Ditzy with a thank you and a promise for some carrot nut muffins first thing. Mr. Handel quickly made it to Ditzy’s house. He was beginning to yawn and he looked awful. “Thank you Mr. Handel! See you tomorrow.”
“Sure thing Ditzy. I’m gonna take a little nap now, or maybe I should shave. I asked Carrot Top last night. So that makes today tomorrow! I’ve got a date!” Ditzy was unsure why her boss was so frantic, but he only narrowly cleared the tree line as he took off. Ditzy entered her home to see Sparkler making waffles in the kitchen.
“Mom! You’re back how was the ball?”
“Yeah how was it?” Dinky emerged from behind the counter every bit awake as her adopted sister.
“Eventful. I’ll tell you all about it later.” Ditzy looked around the kitchen and saw a pizza box stuffed into the trashcan. “What happened to the dinner the Doctor was cooking?”
“He ah…” As Sparkler tried to find a way to put it delicately Dinky jumped in.
“He set pasta on fire!”
“Yes that.”
Ditzy giggled. “Where is he now?” The two unicorns pointed to the living room. Ditzy entered and saw the Doctor, his collar was unbuttoned and he was wearing a festive party hat while he slept with a New Year’s noisemaker going off every time he gently snored.
“Happy New Year.” She gave him a small kiss on the cheek.
“Well that’s certainly the best wakeup call I’ve ever gotten. Eh-Sorry about the mess.” New Year’s streamers and noisemakers littered the room as well as the burnt shells of several discharged firecrackers and some used sparklers.
“It’s okay. You’re very good to me you know that? I wouldn’t trade you for any stallion in the world.” She then gave him a big kiss right on the lips.
“Not that I’m complaining, but what brought that on?”
“Oh nothing” Ditzy smiled as the couple watched the sun rise.
Author's Note: I wanted to get this up by midnight so there may be several errors. I have not yet proofread. If you see any please let me know. Happy New Year.In all the years it's been available, uTorrent hasn't changed as much as it will with the upcoming release. Codenamed Falcon, the client will have an easier, more secure and more complete web UI as well as support for streaming and remote downloading.
Developed by BitTorrent Inc., uTorrent Falcon will bring plenty of change to the BitTorrent client currently in use by more than 50 million people a month.
Most of the upcoming features of the Falcon project are still being developed, but those who download the latest Alpha release have the option to take a peak at what to expect from the future. Below we sum up some of the key features.
Access Anywhere
Allowing users to access their BitTorrent downloads from anywhere through a simple web-interface is one of the main goals of the Falcon project. Without having to configure uTorrent and home networks so that they can be accessed remotely, users can simply head over to the Falcon page and connect to their client instantly.
The easy to use web interface is as secure as it gets, a major improvement over the Web UI currently available. When logged in, it gives users all the controls they are familiar with in their regular PC client. Torrents can be added, paused and removed using an interface with a look and feel identical to that of the uTorrent application.
uTorrent’s Falcon web-interface
Those who want to try the remote access features require an invite for now. Invites are sent out regularly and those who leave their email address behind should receive one within a few days.
Download Anywhere
Aside from the added security and easy setup, accessing your torrents via the Falcon web-interface offers another advantage – remote downloading. Once a file has finished downloading you can transfer a copy of the file to a remote computer via the web-interface.
This feature is not enabled in the current version of the Falcon web-interface. However, it has been publicly announced in the uTorrent forums so we expect that it will return soon.
Streaming
Another new feature of the Falcon project is the added option to stream video files while downloading. Instead of having to wait until a file has finished downloading, users can already start watching video provided that the download speed is sufficient.
“Our hope is to transform getting media using uTorrent from a ‘load-wait-watch-tomorrow’ to more of a ‘point-click-watch’ experience,” Simon Morris, BitTorrent’s VP of Product Management told TorrentFreak, commenting on the new feature.
Easy Sharing
Also new in the Falcon release is the “Send Torrent” feature. This feature is particularly useful when you want to share torrents with people who do not have a BitTorrent client installed yet.
Right clicking a torrent in uTorrent shows a “Send Torrent” option which then brings up a URL similar to this one. This is a direct link to a download of the uTorrent client with the torrent file included.
Share uTorrent plus a torrent
Finding Torrents
The Falcon release is expected to make it easier for users to find torrents. The uTorrent team didn’t want to comment on how this will be integrated, but Simon Morris has stated that they are working on “better ability for torrent sites to promote content or search within the client.”
When we asked if this means that uTorrent will come with a built in torrent search engine, Morris said that they are more interested in “APIs rather than bloating the uTorrent user experience.” We’ll see what this means in the months to come.
Further Improvements
The features listed above are just a few of many that will be added to the new uTorrent clients. The latest Alpha release also had a ‘minify interface’ option, for example, and the development team is also working on speed improvements, UI improvements and optional file security features.
Exciting times ahead for uTorrent users.If you snooze you'll lose Wednesday morning, when a little known but active meteor shower will start 2012 for people stalwart enough to brave the chilly hours before dawn.
The Quadrantids, named for a now-extinct constellation, will be visible for two hours early Wednesday, from about 3 to 5 a.m. local times.
The shower is likely to produce up to 100 falling stars an hour, making for a good show. People across North America who stay up late enough, and who have a clear sky, should get a nice view, says Conrad Jung, an astronomer at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland.
Other than typical January temperatures, the weather should cooperate for watchers: "Viewing should be great over most of the country," Weather Channel meteorologist Mark Ressler reports. The only potentially cloudy spots should be in the Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes and parts of the Northeast, he says.
It's possible that the East may get a more intense shower because it will go through the densest part of the debris stream first. "But that doesn't mean the West won't see anything," he says.
"There should be a meteor every minute or so at the very least," he says.
The shower is called the "Quads" by astronomers, says Bill Cooke, who tracks "space rocks" as director of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "They're one of the more active meteor showers of the year, but they're not seen by many people" because they occur in early morning hours in winter, he says. "It's very cold around that time, so people don't want to go outside."
The Quadrantids are also less seen because they're short-lived and relatively little is known about them, he says. The Quadrantids are visible for two hours, then are gone for a year.
The meteors will be coming out of the northern portion of the sky, between a somewhat obscure constellation called Boötes and the handle of the Big Dipper.
As for the somewhat odd name of Quadrantids, it's pronounced Quad-RON-tihds, Jung says. Its name comes from a so-called extinct constellation called the Quadrans Muralis. That doesn't mean the stars have disappeared, only that it's a constellation that's no longer recognized by the International Astronomical Union. It fell by the wayside in the early 20th century, when the constellations were formalized, Jung says.
The shower comes from the remnants of a comet named 2003EH1, which probably broke up in the past 500 years. The tiny particles of rock that remain will enter Earth's atmosphere at 90,000 mph, burning up 50 miles above the surface and creating the falling stars that gazers will see.
"It's possible that 2003EH1 was seen by the Chinese back in the 1490s as a comet, so something the Chinese saw over five centuries ago is probably the parent of the Quadrantids," Cooke says.Distance for every golf swing - that’s what Nike Golf engineers set out to deliver with the brand's new Vapor drivers: the Vapor Pro, Vapor Speed and now the Vapor Flex.
The Vapor Flex, Nike’s pinnacle driver, features the same three key technologies found in the Vapor Pro and Vapor Speed drivers:
Nike’s FlyBeams, which stiffen the cavity back of the club.
A re-engineered Compression Channel that accentuates the spring-like effect across the face to return energy to the golf ball.
FlexLoft 2, which allows the golf athlete the functionality of five lofts and three face angles within 15 different settings.
All of these technologies were developed to drive more energy to the golf ball for more distance, no matter the swing.
But Nike didn’t stop there with the Vapor Flex driver. While the Vapor Pro and Vapor Speed drivers each provide specific launch and spin characteristics, Nike Golf engineers believe there’s one more important step to ensure golf athletes achieve their optimal launch conditions. With that goal in mind, the engineers created the FlexFlight adjustability system.
FlexFlight features a RZN tube with a high-density weight on one end, called the FlightPod, which is located in the cavity of the club. By flipping the FlightPod, golfers can actively move the center of gravity of the Vapor Flex driver to further optimize their launch conditions.
With FlexFlight, golfers can manipulate the center of gravity from low and forward to low and back by adjusting the pod in quarter turns with the same wrench used to operate the FlexLoft 2. Utilizing the FlexFlight system impacts launch angle, spin rate, forgiveness (increased in the “mid” setting) and workability (enhanced in the “low” setting).
“Often times in the fitting process, there’s an opportunity for a final adjustment to develop the shot shape and ball flight the athlete is looking for,” said Nate Radcliffe, Director of Engineering for Nike Golf. “That’s how FlexFlight can help. With a simple quarter turn, we can adjust the mass of the FlexFlight module forward and backward within the club to change the trajectory and shot shape for the athlete. In doing so, we are seeing that a two-plus millimeter shift will change launch angle up to a degree - and it gives us that fine-tuning change in spin of about 300 rpm. As the last step in the fitting process, that can be the difference between the athlete being comfortable with the fitting and really being able to compete with it on the golf course.”
The FlexFlight system is simple and easy to use. The 15-gram RZN FlightPod, inserts into the back of the driver. Using the same FlexLoft wrench, a simple quarter turn rotation and audible click will lock or unlock the pod. When unlocked, the FlightPod can be removed, reversed and locked back into the cavity.
“The power of RZN is that it allows us to remove and relocate mass within a club head,” said Radcliffe.
Nike Golf uses RZN technology as a valuable weight management component, and the technoloy is also featured in Nike’s new Vapor irons and RZN golf balls.
The Vapor Flex driver will be available on Jan. 30, 2015.
Nike Vapor Flex
Availability: Jan. 30, 2015
Specifications: 8.5° – 12.5° loft; Diamana S+ 60G (Blue Board) shaft; RH/LH: R, S, X flexThe Alberta government should withdraw funding from school boards that refuse to implement the province's new LGBTQ policy, says Liberal Leader David Swann.
He said Education Minister David Eggen should also consider removing school charters or dissolving recalcitrant boards that refuse to follow the policy.
"The legislation, supported by every provincial party, and the policies set forth by the government, were created to provide kids with the right to be who they are," said Swann. "No organization, especially a school, should have the ability to take those rights away."
Swann's comments came one day after Pastor Brian Coldwell, board chair of the Independent Baptist Christian Education Society, told CBC News that the LGBTQ policy won't be implemented at two Parkland County Schools.
"This is precisely the situation where LGBTQ protections are most needed," Swann said in a statement. "There is an antagonistic school board and a strong bias against the LGBTQ community."
Independent Baptist Christian Education Society board chair Brian Coldwell said LGBTQ policy won't be implemented at two Parkland County schools. Swann also called on Eggen to ban the practice of conversion therapy throughout the education system, after Coldwell said Christian counseling would be used to help LGBTQ students.
"This type of 'therapy' is widely opposed by experts in psychology, psychiatry and social work," said Swann. "There is no place for it in Alberta's schools."
Coldwell's comments on Monday set off a firestorm on social media.
"Do you know how many children have suffered? Have taken their own lives because of this type of 'counselling,' " tweeted Marni Panas, a transgender advocate.
"Horrible and heart-wrenching," wrote KasmiraJ. "Polar opposite of how Christians should love."
Some also echoed Swann's call to withdraw the board's funding. The Independent Baptist Christian Education Society, which runs two private schools in rural Parkland County, receives between 60 and 70 per cent of its instructional funding from the province.
But there were also messages of support for the pastor.
"I support this person's right to fight for the religious freedoms we are supposed to still have in this country," tweeted jselinger50.
Failing grade for Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools' policy
While that debate continued, Public Interest Alberta released its assessment Tuesday of sexual orientation and gender identity policies submitted by four Alberta schools.
The evaluation graded school board policies based on whether they complied with provincial legislation, supported gay-straight alliances, and addressed the needs of LGBTQ students, staff and families.
The assessment gave an A grade to the policy submitted by the Red Deer Public School Board, which it said "should serve as a model for others to follow."
"It's clear, it's detailed, it's unequivocal in its support and responsibilities towards — not only LGBTQ students, but staff and families," said Kris Wells, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta, who worked with Public Interest Alberta.
Education Minister David Eggen won't say how he will deal with non-compliant school boards. The group assigned an F to the Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools for placing restrictions on GSAs, for failing to include basic protections for transgender students and for requiring chastity to be the basis for advising students on the issue, said Wells.
Growing calls to legislate LGBTQ rights
"If school boards or private schools refuse to provide the supports and the protections that are necessary, then we think it may be necessary for the minister of education to introduce legislation to ensure that all students in the province have those supports and protections," said Joel French, executive director of Public Interest Alberta.
In March, Eggen ordered school boards to submit policies to deal with LGBTQ issues. The directive came amidst fierce debate across the province after the story became public of a mother's battle with the Edmonton Catholic school board to allow her seven-year old transgender daughter to use the female washroom.
But the mother, who CBC News has agreed not to identify to protect her daughter's privacy, said the defiance by Coldwell's board is another example that shows why guidelines need to be written into law.
"It's a clear slap in the minister's face," she said. "Here the minister put out guidelines, which shouldn't have been guidelines. Guidelines is an indication that there's an option to implement this or not."
Despite growing calls to act, Eggen once again refused to say what, if any, consequences non-compliant boards will face.
"We'll see how they actually function," said Eggen. "Certainly it's important to follow the law, and the law is very clear.
"Certainly, my responsibility is to ensure that laws are upheld and that's what I do."
andrea.huncar@cbc.ca
@andreahuncarGet the Bike Maryland License Plate
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Miley has now thrown exactly 63 innings to both Caleb and Welington Castillo. For comparison’s sake, it makes things extremely easy. And the lefty’s splits, like several of the Orioles starters, are pretty drastic between the two backstops.
Wade Miley Catcher Comparison Castillo Joseph Castillo Joseph ERA 6.57 3.86 BB 39 33 SO 54 58 SO/W 1.38 1.76 H 79 62 OPS 0.877 0.742
Like I said, the splits are pretty serious. Besides the obvious 70% increase in ERA between Caleb and Beef, the most noticeable difference is in strikeout-to-walk ratio. Anyone who’s seen Wade Miley pitch knows he’s a serious nibbler. It sometimes gets spun as “not giving in to hitters,” but let it be known, it simply means he’s trying to avoid the middle of the strike zone at all costs.
With Miley’s strategy predicated around the outside of the zone, everyone’s favorite advanced statistic often comes into play- pitch framing. As most Orioles fans would expect, it does a fantastic job explaining Miley’s splits between his two catchers.
Caleb Joseph- elite receiver
According to Baseball Prospectus, Caleb Joseph has ranked 5th among all MLB catchers in framing runs in 2017 with +11. Meanwhile, Welington Castillo’s framing has been worth -1.2 runs, which is good for 40th in baseball among catchers with over 1,000 framing opportunities. Yes, there are only 30 teams in the MLB. Why do you ask?
Maybe more important than framing runs, StatCorner has a stat they call zBall% which reflects the percentage of pitches, caught within the strike zone, that were called a ball by the umpire. And guess who leads the entire MLB among catchers using the same 1,000 framing opportunities sample size? Caleb Joseph, once again, at 11.0%. Welington Castillo sits way down the list in 43rd place with 16.4%.
The difference may sound minuscule overall, but Miley’s been in 135 full counts this season through 24 starts. His pitching style makes him especially susceptible to changes in outcome due to framing. Check out this Brooks Baseball chart from his Tuesday start with Welington Castillo behind the plate.
Looking at the plot, you can identify at least seven different strikes that were called a ball. Similarly, you can’t find a single borderline pitch that was called a strike.
The ump’s strike zone on any given day has a large effect on some of these fringe calls, but the charts combining both teams on Tuesday clearly show the Mariners getting calls around the edges of the zone that the Orioles were not. And no, I don’t think it’s some sort of anti-Baltimore conspiracy.
In contrast, here’s a plot from Miley’s start on June 1st against the Red Sox with Caleb Joseph behind the plate.
It looks like one fringe pitch was called a ball in the upper right hand corner of the zone, and that’s it. There aren’t green dots scattered around the inside of the strike zone reflecting strikes that weren’t called. Instead, you can immediately notice several balls outside of the zone that were called strikes after Joseph’s spectacular frame jobs. And going back to compare both teams that day, it shows the Orioles getting calls around the edges that the Red Sox were not. Imagine that.
Time to go back to what worked
For some reason, Buck not only no longer pairs Miley with Joseph, but seems to be solely pairing him with Castillo. I don’t think Buck ever makes baseball moves on accident, but for whatever reason, Caleb Joseph has only caught one of Wade Miley’s nine starts since the beginning of July. I have no explanations.
Buck had it right when he started the year sticking Wade Miley and Caleb Joseph together. Miley’s pitching strategy on the mound and Caleb’s framing acumen are a match made in baseball heaven, otherwise known as Iowa. Besides making perfect sense, the splits clearly back it up. Miley is a completely different pitcher on the mound with Joseph calling games and framing pitches behind the plate.
Camden Chat has discussed the benefits of increasing Caleb Joseph’s playing time before, it’s nothing new. At the very least, Caleb Joseph needs to be catching half of Miley’s starts just based off of split playing time with Castillo. But, if Buck really wants to get the most out of Wade Miley, he needs to start pairing him exclusively with Joseph down the stretch.By Shaun Brown
Boxing has been making headlines for all the wrong recently and now Michael Katsidis will find himself on the front pages rather than the back.
The 34-year-old slugger, known for his memorable battles with Graham Earl, Juan Diaz, Joel Casamayor and Juan Manuel Marquez has been charged with burglary relating to a break-in alleged to have happened on Jul 24.
Brendon Smith, trainer to Katsidis, has parted ways with the Aussie who is due to face England’s Tommy Coyle over 12 rounds at lightweight in Hull on Oct 25.
“I am very disappointed and upset about it,” Smith said.
“We have worked very hard over the last 12 months after rejoining together.”
The case is to be brought in front of Brisbane Magistrates Court on Sept. 30.
A comment from Matchroom Boxing (who promote Coyle) press department said that the fight was still going ahead to their knowledge. Promoter, Eddie Hearn, who is currently visiting his IBF welterweight champion, Kell Brook in Tenerife, after suffering recent knife injuries was unavailable for comment.
Writers note: Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed, by text, to Boxing Scene that Coyle-Katsidis will still go ahead.
Shaun Brown is the UK Editor at Boxing Scene and a contributor to Boxing Monthly. He can be contacted at [email protected] with any news, views or stories you may have.In a must-see interview with Chris Cuomo on CNN on Thursday, December 24, Bernie Sanders launched an all-out attack on the mainstream media in which he charged that the sensational negative political attacks by Donald Trump have become an obsession with major media that dominates their coverage of the campaign, while his substantial and detailed calls for economic justice have by contrast been mostly ignored on political television.
Mr. Sanders is obviously correct. One of the reasons I write so often about the Sanders campaign is that I believe he has the most compelling message and platform of any candidate in either party during this campaign, and as a media and political insider myself I make some effort to give Mr. Sanders and his supporters some of the attention they have earned but not received.
Here I offer an entirely different perspective than the trite and in my view usually wrong analysis offered by the insider princes of the American punditocracy.
In Miracle on 34th Street Kris Kringle, who was ultimately found by a cinematic court to be Santa Claus, told the little girl brilliantly played by a young Natalie Wood something to the effect that there is the French nation, the German nation, and imagine-nation.
Far too many columnists and pundits view their job as offering superficial analysis about what they tell each other, or to predict what happened yesterday.
In the spirit of Kris Kringle today, lets enter the world of imagination to imagine what I believe will happen if Mr. Sanders wins the Iowa caucus in a few short weeks, which I believe has nearly a 50-50 chance of occurring.
If the morning news after the voting in the Iowa caucus reports that Mr. Sanders has won a stunning upset (which will not be so stunning to readers of my columns), the mainstream media will breathlessly parade into New Hampshire with two stories, not just one. No doubt on the GOP side the media will follow the unsavory accusations between Mr. Trump and his various opponents.
But—and this is the most important “but” in American politics today—the media time currently spent on such matters as what Mr. Trump thinks is so disgusting about Hillary Clinton’s visit to the ladies room during a presidential debate will suddenly be spent discussing whether the Sanders surge can carry him to victory in New Hampshire.
If Mr. Sanders does win the Iowa caucus I would place his odds of also winning the New Hampshire primary as above 50-50. Suddenly CNN will no longer to be able to breathlessly break into every Trump speech with a “live report” as “breaking news” without also breaking into speeches by the surging Mr. Sanders. Meet the Press will no longer have Mr. Trump on so often that I have privately told its host Chuck Todd that they should change their promo to “It’s Sunday, it must be Donald Trump” and will have to give Mr. Sanders the attention he deserves.
Give a microphone to Mr. Trump and he will give the audience another taste of which individual or group he chooses to insult and berate. Give a microphone to Mr. Sanders and he will give the audience another taste of why the American economy must become more fair, why wages should rise, why big Wall Street firms should be broken up, why a public college education should be free, why social security benefits should be increased, and why a Medicare for all health care system should become the law of the land.
Imagine a media world that is not consumed with whether Fox News host Megyn Kelly is a bimbo, whether a disabled New York Times reporter should watch his disability mocked on television by a presidential candidate, or what Ms. Clinton does in the ladies room and suddenly—like magic—is forced to report even on the “boob tube” why Mr. Sanders believes that workers should be treated more fairly and that black lives do indeed matter.
Granted that most of my colleagues in the mainstream media believe that reporting on income inequality and social justice is less appealing than eating spinach on a hot summer day. But—to use again the most important word in American politics today to imagine the events that will indeed occur if Mr. Sanders stuns the establishment with an Iowa victory and storms into New Hampshire with a head of political steam—they will have no choice.
If the Iowa-New Hampshire scenario I suggest unfolds in the coming weeks:
Suddenly the media will be forced to report the tidal wave of small donations surging into the Sanders campaign, which I’ve been discussing all along.
Suddenly the media, against its will and despite its elitist inclinations, will be forced to report in ways it refuses to now what Mr. Sanders is saying and doing and proposing to lift the lot of American workers and to lift the lives of America’s poor who are non-persons in our political debates today.
Suddenly the Democratic National Committee will face excruciating pressure to allow presidential debates designed for the most voters to actually watch them, and to stop trying to rig the nominating game with debates designed to reach the smallest audience.
If Mr. Sanders shocks the political establishment by winning the Iowa caucus and storming into New Hampshire with a head of steam, suddenly the campaign will become a true battle of ideas which is what presidential campaigns are supposed to be.
In this column I am not offering an opinion about which party or candidate I support but offering a political analysis that imagines events that might well occur, which are not being discussed elsewhere in the political media.
And the spirit of Kris Kringle, whether you applaud or boo the words I write, I thank you for reading them and wish you a Merry Christmas and joyous holiday season!
Disclosure: Donald Trump is the father-in-law of Jared Kushner, the publisher of Observer Media.NEW DELHI: Records of death penalty convicts who have been executed since independence have gone missing from many prisons with the National Law University (NLU), conducting a first of its kind study, able to confirm data related to 755 executions since 1947.“Some prison authorities have written to us that either the records have been lost or destroyed by termites,” NLU director Anup Surendranath told TOI, who is heading the death penalty research project. The NLU is compiling data on all prisoners who have been executed since independence with the help of the central government. The missing files are not only a serious lapse on part of prison authorities but has also hampered an ongoing attempt to study all death row convicts to ascertain the fairness of the capital punishment jurisprudence, particularly those who have been executed in independent India.The casual attitude towards death row convicts is reflected in the loss of mercy pleas of Krishna Mochi and three others in the Krishna Mochi & Ors vs. Bihar case of 2001. Convicted by the TADA court, mercy pleas of the four have been lost by the Union home ministry. Their pleas were sent to the President in 2003, and a recent RTI response to Suhas Chakma of Asian Centre for Human Rights has revealed that the home ministry has no records available. “These papers have evidently been lost,” Chakma said.Loss of data on executed prisoners reflects poorly on the record-keeping of the government and the judicial system. Incidentally, the 35th report of the law commission had confirmed execution of at least 1,410 death row prisoners in a span of 10 years—between 1953 and 1963.Data by the National Crime Records Bureau is also not without gaps. For example the NCRB claims that as many as 2,052 individuals were awarded capital punishment by courts between 1998 and 2013. And the NCRB also says between 2001 and 2013 the number of those whose death sentences were commuted was double: 4,497 persons.CHRI’s Venkatesh Nayak says that this is where the NCRB data becomes “questionable”. “The discrepancies probably crept in when jail authorities counted all commutations even those of shortened prison time,” he said.“Information on executions are sourced from various prisons and courts across the country which do not reveal either the religious or caste backgrounds of the convicts who have been executed,” Surendranath points out. The NLU report on death penalty is scheduled for release in mid-August where a detailed analysis of socio-economic profile, legal representation and duration on death row would be made public.The NLU has conducted interviews of 373 surviving death penalty convicts and has drawn their socio-economic profile. The analysis of these surviving prisoners shows that an overwhelming majority of them are from backward class, religious minorities and economically vulnerable classes. In the category of terror offences, 94% prisoners sentenced to death are Dalits and religious minorities.“We have been unable to find an exhaustive list of prisoners executed in India. However, as per a report of the Law Commission (1967), the total number of cases in which the sentence of death was executed from 1953 to 1963 was 1,410,” Surendranath said.Enlarge By Tim A. Parker for USA TODAY Panera's first nonprofit restaurant where people paid what they could has been a success so the company plans to open more. Chairman Ron Shaich said the chain is a challenge to other corporations to push their philanthropy beyond writing checks. Enlarge By Tim A. Parker for USA TODAY Panera Cares community cafes offer suggested pricing for Panera fare and individuals can pay that, more or nothing at all. CLAYTON, Mo. As the first crowd of customers filed into Panera's nonprofit restaurant here, only the honor system kept them from taking all the food they wanted for free. Ronald Shaich, Panera's chairman, admitted as he watched them line up that he had no idea if his experiment would work. The idea for Panera's first nonprofit restaurant was to open an eatery where people paid what they could. The richer could pay full price — or extra. The poorer could get a cheap or even free meal. A month later, the verdict is in: It turns out people are basically good. Panera, which operates 1,400 franchised and corporate-owned bakery-cafes across the country, plans to expand the nonprofit model around the nation, opening two more locations within months. "I guess I would say it's performing better than we even might have hoped in our cynical moments, and it's living up to our best sense of humanity," Shaich said in an interview. Its cashiers tell customers their orders' "suggested" price based on the menu. About 60% to 70% pay in full, Shaich said. About 15% leave a little more and another 15% pay less, or nothing at all. A handful have left big donations, like $20 for a cup of coffee. The restaurant took in $100,000 in revenue its first month. He declined to say what kind of margin this left between total costs and revenue, but he predicted the restaurant will be able to cover its costs within months and eventually generate extra cash for charitable programs. Panera's nonprofit plan is the largest example yet of a concept called community kitchens, where businesses operate partly as charities. Customers who need a discount, or even free food, can get it with no questions asked. Shaich borrowed the idea from a restaurant in Denver and then connected with Denise Cerreta, who runs The One World Salt Lake City restaurant with a sliding scale menu. Cerreta's community kitchen and others he looked into were impressive, Shaich said, but operated on a smaller scale than Panera could afford to run. The Clayton store is run under the company's St. Louis Bread Co. banner by a nonprofit organization called Panera Cares that publicly traded Panera Co. supports. But Panera won't bear the nonprofit's losses if the experiment fails. For the expansion, Panera spokeswoman Kate Antonacci said, the nonprofit is considering locations that, like Clayton, are upscale but accessible to lower-income customers. In Clayton's case, St. Louis County's offices and court house are nearby. The Clayton Panera has hardly turned into a soup kitchen. Its longtime business clientele kept the lunch hour busy last week, with well-dressed workers clustered around laptops and talking on cellphones. Financial adviser Jeff White, 34, said he was a regular at the location before it closed and reopened as the nonprofit in late May and hasn't changed his dining habits. White said he usually rounds up when he pays his tab, because he wants the "intriguing" experiment to succeed. But there were new customers — drawn to the bargains. Anna and Bennie Ward heard about the pay-what-you-wish model on the news. Anna thought it was too good to be true, so she researched it on the Internet before driving over for lunch with Bennie their two kids. It was a rare chance for the couple to dine out, Anna said. Bennie is laid off and her only income is from disability checks. The family ordered sandwiches, iced coffee drinks and bread to go. "Near the end of the month is difficult for us. If it was not for help from friends and community, I don't know where we would get our last meal," Anna Ward said after the meal. "To be able to go there and eat an actual meal and feel full is such a blessing." Shaich had moments of doubt during the restaurant's first weeks, including when a teenager bought $40 worth of sandwiches to go and put just a few dollars on a credit card. "You get a little bummed out, and you wonder whether people will get it," he said. To control freeloaders, signs remind customers that "You're on your honor." Workers stationed at the door, who explain the concept to customers, told a group of teenagers who ate there last week that the store is "not a handout." Shaich said the nonprofit chain is a challenge to other corporations to push their philanthropy beyond writing checks. More valuable, he said, is to put their supply chains, technology and knowledge to use. "The fascinating question to me is: Can we take our skills — our core competencies, as we call them in business — and apply them very directly to solving some of the problems" in society, he said. "And not just for publicity, but to make a difference." Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read moreHe said that during the episode, he told Spurrier: “I still love you. You’re my coach. I’m going to be here to fight for you and this team.”
It has not been easy to show that fight, though. Clowney is still hampered by his bruised ribs. The pain does not necessarily subside, he said, but he is trying to control it to make it through the season.
“It still bothers me a lot,” Clowney said. “But I keep that to myself.”
It also does not help that teams are having tight ends and running backs double- and triple-team him, and are calling plays away from his side of the field. With all the extra blockers focused on him, he cannot spin the way he wants to. If he was to add to his repertory of pass-rush moves, he would not have the opportunity to show them off.
All this has frustrated him. Earlier in the season, he pleaded to his coaches to use him differently. And yet despite it all, Clowney said he had improved.
“My practice habits have picked up way more than they did last year,” he said. “Last year, I really didn’t practice real hard. This year, I came in with a different mind-set, like I want to be that guy, I want to have no flaws in my game.”
But the public does not see him practice. What they see is that he has not been the monster he once was. In seven games, he has compiled 24 tackles (5 against Missouri), 2 sacks, 6 ½ tackles for loss, 7 quarterback hurries, a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
No matter. After the victory Saturday, 14th-ranked South Carolina (6-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference ) still has a decent shot to make the conference championship game, if it keeps winning and if No. 10 Missouri stumbles again.
When Clowney reached the bottom of the hill, he embraced his family and savored the moment. On his way to the team bus, he disappeared into the crowd. He shook hands and smiled for photographs. Here was their favorite son, happy as can be.A man from Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula struck a moose while driving in the early morning hours Monday, but says he has no recollection of it.
Stephen Bromley, from Conche, said he can remember seeing the moose appear on the road in front of his car, but after that, things are fuzzy.
"I never even got time hardly to see him," said Bromley.
Bromley, 49, drove roughly another 20 kilometres before he was alerted that something was wrong.
The front windshield was smashed in, the bumper and front of the car dented and the roof of the car was peeled back, but despite all that damage Bromley said he remembers nothing and just kept on driving.
Drawing a blank
Stephen Bromley hit a moose with his car, but didn't realize it until Tom Canning stopped him on the road and asked what happened 16:36 "Never noticed a thing. It was a man pulling me over and he said, 'You're after hitting a moose.' I said, 'What?' and I got out," said Bromley.
Part of a moose pelt was found inside Bromley's vehicle. (Submitted photo) "He said, 'Boy, you got to go to hospital.' I said, 'No, I'm going home.' 'Oh no,' he said, 'You're going to the hospital. You're to pieces in the face.'"
That man was Tom Canning, from Roddickton, who said he passed Bromley while travelling in the other direction on the highway.
"When the car passed me, I looked a second time to be sure that part of the roof was gone off of the car and it looked like there was a man driving it with no head on his shoulders because all I could see was red," said Canning.
When Canning looked in his rearview mirror and saw the car swerving on the road, he turned around and followed until the damaged car stopped on the side of the road.
At first, Canning didn't know who the driver of the car was, but when Bromley responded he realized who it was.
"I said, 'My Lord skipper, what happened to you?' … he said, 'I don't know.'"
'Covered totally with blood'
Canning realized what must have happened when he noticed a part of a moose pelt inside Bromley's car.
- Tom Canning
"I got him in my car, but he was in one terrible mess. He was buried with moose manure and his face was covered totally with blood," said Canning.
Canning took Bromley to his sister's home to clean up and try to convince him to go to the hospital, which he eventually did.
Even days after the collision, Bromley said he still has no memory of the collision.
"Everything is a blank. I don't understand it," he said
"The shape I'm in now, sometimes I got a job to get out of bed. I got to haul myself up … even getting around the house, I got to hold on to stuff because the house is spinning around. Because I had a bad concussion on my head."
Not the 1st time
It's not the first case of someone hitting a moose with their vehicle and being unable to recall anything about the incident.
In May 2012, a woman from central Newfoundland drove about 40 kilometres with her windshield smashed and the roof of her car peeled back after she struck a moose.
Bromley hit the moose in the early hours on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula. (Submitted photo)
That woman drove all the way to work before a colleague asked what happened to her and her car, and told her it looked like she had been in a collision.
Bromley said he heard about that woman's story and found it hard to believe at the time.
"When I heard that story first, my father and I were talking about, I said, 'I can't understand why someone hit a moose and kept on going and didn't know they hit one," he said.
"But today, [after] what happened to me? I can really understand her point of view now."
While he's no longer in hospital, Bromley said he's not sure how long his recovery will take.Daryl Davis is an accomplished musician, but since the launching on his documentary, “Accidental Courtesy,” music may become for him a lesser cause of fame. African-American, Davis’ parents raised him in various countries throughout the world – countries where he was accepted notwithstanding the color of his skin. As a result, he wasn’t conscious of racism when he was young. As he got older, he developed one question that he wanted to ask white racists: “How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?” He took this question and introduced himself to leaders of the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacy groups. Curiously, he was able to make friends of many of these leaders – to such an extent that some 25 of these leaders quit their organization and renounced racial supremacy.
The message delivered by Daryl Davis and Bernie Sanders is a simple one. Don’t spend your time “preaching to the choir.” Reach out beyond the group that will readily agree with you.
“Killing with kindness” is a strategy that has been used in other spheres. Bernie Sanders recently took a trip to McDowell County in West Virginia that had voted by 75% in favor of Donald Trump. At a recent meeting there Sanders pointed out that Trump’s healthcare proposal would wind up by giving $275 billion in tax breaks to the top 2% of American taxpayers. Even though he was being highly critical of Trump, he drew rounds of applause from his audience. (It could be argued that even in McDowell County most of those in the Sanders audience were not in favor of Trump. However, no one in the audience appeared to object to what Sanders was saying,)
Sanders is well known for carrying his progressive message to conservative audiences and finding acceptance. In September 2015, he gave a speech at Liberty University, founded by Jerry Falwell. He admitted openly that he favored rights to abortion and same-sex marriage. But he pointed out the patent and growing economic injustices in American society and won over some in the audience despite disagreement on social matters. Conservatives and progressives can disagree on many issues, but they can agree on others, and overall they can at times reach agreement.
From the literature on the subject, it appears that Bernie is right: Trump voters in rural counties are the biggest losers under the Republicans’ Obamacare replacement plan. So progressives who are looking far ahead towards the 2018 elections should be targeting Republican representatives in those counties and looking for topics like healthcare where conservatives and progressives can agree.
The message delivered by Daryl Davis and Bernie Sanders is a simple one. Don’t spend your time “preaching to the choir.” Reach out beyond the group that will readily agree with you. Look for areas of agreement to find support for the ideas you are promoting. And treat those who oppose you with respect. You won’t necessarily win over all of those in opposition, but you will convince some of them, and that will weaken the opposition.
Michael HertzCOLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M's players hardly twitched a week ago when the Aggies were announced on national television as the nation's No. 4 overall seed of the NCAA Tournament. A few minutes later, the players actually showed some emotion when informed they were paired with TCU for a super regional, should both teams advance.
Both teams did Sunday, and the Aggies got exactly what they aimed for since June 9 of last year: a rematch with the Horned Frogs with a berth in the College World Series on the line. A&M, in sweeping through its regional, defeated Minnesota 8-2 on Sunday night at Blue Bell Park.
The Aggies (48-14) outscored their three opponents, Binghamton, Wake Forest and Minnesota, by a combined 34-5 - including a 22-2 stomping of the Demon Deacons on Saturday night.
"We expected to come out and win this regional," A&M catcher Mike Barash said of the Aggies' businesslike response to winning Sunday night.
"We've been really good in weekend series, and our guys have earned the opportunity to be at home next weekend," 11th-year A&M coach Rob Childress said.
The Horned Frogs (45-15) also didn't lose a game in running through Oral Roberts, Gonzaga and Arizona State to the tune of a 19-4 overall margin, including an 8-1 win over the Sun Devils on Sunday night.
"We know we're going to face a great club in probably a great environment," TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle told reporters in Fort Worth late Sunday. "That's an awesome life experience, man."
Last year, TCU defeated A&M in 16 innings in a third and deciding game in a super regional in Fort Worth, to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
The Aggies on Sunday made easy work of Minnesota (36-22), which had defeated Wake Forest earlier in the day to stay alive, through a solid outing from starter Turner Larkins (one run and five hits over 52⁄3 innings) and an igniting two-run triple by Joel Davis in the second inning.
"The only thing I could think of was, 'Get us off to a good start,' " Larkins said.
The Aggies and Horned Frogs, former Southwest Conference foes, didn't play in the regular season.
The Southeastern Conference's player of the year, A&M third baseman Boomer White, transferred from TCU to A&M after appearing in the CWS for the Horned Frogs two years ago. He sat out last season under transfer rules before starring for the Aggies this year, and ESPN cameras caught a TCU fan holding a "We Want Boomer" sign during the Horned Frogs' victory over Arizona State on Sunday night.
They're getting him - along with a cast of Aggies who want the Frogs.Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) managers wanted to fire a hospital director for misconduct, but wound up paying him $85,000 instead to resign “from federal service voluntarily, completely and irrevocably” — then hired him back anyway, but let him keep the money.
Terry Atienza was the chief executive officer of the VA’s Grand Junction, Colo., hospital from 2009 until 2013, when he was targeted for removal for being chronically absent.
How the VA went from attempting to punish an employee to lavishing him with riches follows an agency pattern: A specious claim of racism, followed by the VA using that as a vehicle for a golden parachute, since it is not allowed to pay off bad employees to leave, but can pay them to settle complaints, and conveniently build a resignation requirement into that settlement.
Atienza, who is Filipino, filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint even though he’d been promoted to the highest-ranking person in the entire hospital system. His supervisor rarely even saw his physical appearance, as they were in a regional headquarters 250 miles away. In an interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation, Atienza said the VA was “guilty” and had “ethical” problems, but wouldn’t provide any examples of racism.
Settlements are intended to save taxpayers money after a calculation that the claim is so credible, a judge would likely award larger damages. In this case, the VA central office looked at the claim and did not find there was racism, but paid him off anyway. Conversely, while the money implied that he had been harmed, it imposed no punishment on the supposed discriminator.
Atienza’s allegation was against his boss, Rocky Mountain regional office director Ralph Gigliotti. If Atienza’s complaints were valid, the settlement would be wildly unethical because Gigliotti is the one who authorized and signed it. That means a boss can pay someone off using taxpayer money to prevent their own misconduct from coming to light. Indeed, in Puerto Rico, VA hospital director Dewayne Hamlin offered an employee $305,000 to quit after the employee played a role in exposing Hamlin’s pills-related arrest.
The signed Atienza settlement, dated July 2013 and obtained by TheDCNF, says Atienza would get $85,000 if he “resigns from his position and from federal service voluntarily, completely and irrevocably.”
Atienza must also withdraw “complaints of discrimination, appeals before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), claims to the Office of Special Counsel, administrative grievances, civil actions, [and] claims for worker’s compensation.”
In return, the VA agreed to give a letter of recommendation saying he was “excellent” — a false letter, given that it actually believed he should be fired.
The voluntary resignation spared managers the hassle of navigating a firing through all those civil-service-protections bodies. But rewarding him for an unsubstantiated complaint also reinforced incentives for other employees to gum up the firing process with unfounded complaints at all those bodies.
The agency’s culture of giving standout performance reviews to most employees also makes it hard to fire because they cite them as evidence they were not bad employees. Atienza received bonuses of $10,000 every year since he started at Grand Junction except for 2010, despite the alleged chronic absenteeism.
So far, Atienza’s situation might appear equally outrageous as that of Japhet Rivera, a hospital director who the VA paid $86,000 to resign because Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson knew he had committed sexual misconduct, rarely did any work, and retaliated against a whistleblower, which the VA claims it condemns fiercely.
But it gets worse. Even though the point of spending $85,000 in taxpayer money was to purge the federal workforce of a bad employee, the VA hired Atienza right back, but let him keep the settlement money. Shuffling failed employees from one facility to another is a tried-and-true method for appeasing frustrated VA supervisors without dealing with the firing process.
Soon after leaving Colorado, Atienza was one of two finalists for a senior executive service job as director of the Anchorage VA hospital. To make it that far, he would have already made it past VA’s most intensive reference-check process, the one used for hospital CEOs. Yet it seemingly failed to insist on an enthusiastic recommendation from his past employer, even though that would have simply meant one VA manager calling another. (RELATED: Phoenix VA Hires Fed Fired By Chicago VA For Lies, Abuse)
Atienza was not ultimately selected for that position, but instead hired by the Overton Brooks VA hospital in Shreveport, La. Again, the Louisiana VA managers either never bothered to call Gigliotti — who believed that Atienza should be fired — or Gigliotti falsely gave a glowing reference, or a less-than-glowing verbal recommendation but they hired him anyway.
Of the settlement, a VA spokesperson said “all parties agreed that it provided the correct outcome for Veterans, employees and stakeholders,” but did not explain how paying an employee it wanted fired to resign, then hiring him back was in the interest of veterans or taxpayers.
Atienza is now the “facility planner” in the director’s office at the Shreveport VA, and said his boss, director Toby Mathew, knew he had signed a contract to irrevocably resign from the federal workforce but didn’t care.
Ninety-six percent of VA’s settlement agreements with employees — generally stemming from cases where management wanted an employee fired — stipulated that the employee would get a clean record, the House Committee on Veterans Affairs found in September. VA general counsel Leigh Bradley said that nevertheless, they’re bad practice.
“MSPB disfavors them. My attorneys disfavor them,” she told Congress. But the good news, she claimed, is federal managers wouldn’t be dumb enough to think a stilted, under-duress phone recommendation was a real one.
“Anybody at any other Federal agency that calls VA and says, ‘Well, can you provide a reference on this individual?’ When we say, ‘Well, we can provide you a neutral reference,’ that means something to them. They know that there is something that’s been going on with that person in the workplace.”
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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.Job 41 describes the Leviathan as a fire-breathing sea monster or dragon. "Smoke pours from his nostrils" and his breath is so hot that it "sets coals ablaze" with the "flames [that] dart from his mouth." According to Job, the Leviathan is |
developers, and Google expected the delta to widen; the company forecast making $840.2m from Android mobile ads in 2012 vs just $35.9m on apps sales. The company clearly saw this as a problem: Rubin listed "Market: low rate of app purchases, policy issues" as a "lowlight" for Android.
There's also a large gap between how much money Google was making from Apple's iOS platform and Android: in 2010 Android had just hit second place on Google's mobile revenue charts, with a $120m yearly run rate. iOS was solidly in first place, with a $281m yearly run rate. It's entirely possible the platforms have swapped places in the past two years, but this is the first direct data we've ever seen.
Google predicted nearly $1.5b in music revenue in 2012
Google was also planning on boosting all these numbers significantly with its music service — Rubin listed "behind on music, video, books" as one of Android's "lowlights" — and predicted that it would do $738m in music revenue in 2011 and nearly $1.5 billion in 2012. Those numbers have proven to be hugely optimistic, as Google Music remains a consumer afterthought, but it's revealing how quickly and aggressively Google thought it could move into the media business.
Update: Google just sent us the following statement, saying that these numbers are (obviously) quite old:
The discussions in the documents date from 2010 or earlier, so don't represent current thinking about our business operations. Our industry continues to evolve incredibly fast and so do our aspirations for our various products and services.
We'll let you know if we hear anything more recent.For Honor’s Active Player Count Is Ubisoft’s Fastest Drop on Steam
It’s no secret that Ubisoft’s For Honor had a rocky launch. It’s also no secret that even after launch, developers faced a series of complaints from the active playerbase. And that escalated to new heights in April when players decided to boycott the game. But now, via githyp, we know For Honor’s playerbase has dropped by 95%, an all-time low for the company.
The numbers reflect the player count currently on Steam. And these numbers now match up with Ubisoft’s count of Xbox One and PS4 players. While the game did demonstrate potential and strong appeal with its Twitch campaign, the playerbase started at a significantly smaller count than The Division, which debuted with 113K players.
As for the actual numbers, For Honor’s peak player activity reached 71,748, and now rests at an average 3.4K peak every 24 hours. This is very telling, considering the all-time peak was during the beta. At launch, the player count was actually 45,836, dropping 36%.
Chart brought to us via githyp.
For whatever reason, For Honor didn’t seem to resonate with the players. It may be that the lack of dedicated servers turned gamers off to the new IP. Moreover, a handful of glitches and bugs, along with persistent connectivity issues made the game less appealing. Afterward, players were more dismayed by the glaring pay-to-win economy that placed thousands of players at a competitive disadvantage. Since For Honor is a multiplayer-focused IP, this was considered unforgivable. Hence the aforementioned boycott. Players couldn’t hope to receive in-game items at a healthy rate thanks to the currency system, not without spending real money at least.
Thanks to the newest Season 2 launch of ‘Shadow and Might,‘ player activity did spike by about 2K per hour. One month later, however, numbers have returned to the low average.
Did you play For Honor? What are your thoughts on the game’s apparent popularity? Let us know in the comments below. Recently, Ubisoft did manage to reinvigorate activity in its older franchise, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege. Maybe they’ll be able to do the same with current online franchises, assuming they aren’t stretching themselves thin. Until next time,
Happy gaming.
SOURCE, SOURCEThe no-longer-Dodge 2013 SRT Viper has slithered out more than a day ahead of its New York Auto Show debut, revealing every angle of the gorgeous new America supercar. The feds may insist on giving it traction control, but they can't take away its voluptuous snakeskin, seen here courtesy of what appears to be Forza 4 screenshots (thus please forgive the quality) from a video we desperately want to see.
If this car was designed after a naked woman on the beach, we want to meet that woman.
An anonymous tipster sent these photos to Inside Line who kindly shared the images with everyone else. InsideLine guesses that these photos are from "the presentation SRT will be giving tomorrow." That might be true, but we agree with the Forza Motorsport forums that these look to be a mixture of garage and Benchmark Layout A photos.
Visually, the new Viper carries over the proportions of the outgoing model but injected with a bit of collagen. Each curve is curvier. Each crease is creasier. Each scoop is scoopier.
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Actual details like weight, power, and performance are still yet to be revealed (stay up late tomorrow night). It doesn't matter for now. You'll take what you can get and you'll like it.Making fun of the figures in Abbot's interview, and urging Homaidan al-Turki's release
Image copyright @momentumtrumpt1/twitter
Twitter users leap on Diane Abbott's confusion over police funding, and an online campaign calls for the release of Saudi national Homaidan al-Turki from a Colorado prison.
'I'm not working for £30 a year'
Diane Abbott's mathematical skills were put to the test on Tuesday morning when she was interviewed on LBC radio and Twitter leapt on the wreckage which followed.
"I did seven interviews that morning and that was the seventh, and I mis-spoke," explained the shadow home secretary later on The Daily Politics.
Responding on Twitter to Ms Abbott's explanation on The Daily Politics, many remained unconvinced by somebody who got it right "85% of the time".
Image copyright @matcow7/Twitter
The shadow home secretary was on Nick Ferrari's programme to explain Labour's plans for extra police officers. But when asked how much it would cost, she replied £300,000, which works out at £30 an officer.
In an attempt to rectify the mistake she went on to correct herself: "No, I mean, sorry, they will cost, it will cost about, about £80 million."
Ferrari pointed out this second figure would mean a police officer's annual salary would be £8,000.
Image copyright @MoodySlayerUK/Twitter
More than 12,000 tweets have been generated since the gaffe. @PhillipBeeson posted: "Jeremy Corbyn 'Note to self: never let Diane Abbott on the radio again with any figures'. That interview was embarrassing. #lbc #carcrash"
But asked on a campaign visit to Southampton if he was embarrassed, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Not at all, we've corrected the figure and it'll be absolutely clear now, today and in the manifesto. I'm not embarrassed in the slightest."
There was also some support for the shadow home secretary on social media. @AmyJ_N4 tweeted: "Hate the way Diane Abbott gets torn apart for what was clearly a slip of the tongue. A handy distraction from good policy announcement #GE17"
@Angela Marston tweeted: "Diane Abbott struggling with the numbers is very poor. But in fairness I've also not heard one Tory explain how much Brexit will cost."
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The LBC interview was one of several the shadow home secretary was carrying out regarding the policy, including Good Morning Britain and BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
On Today Ms Abbott explained Labour wanted an extra police officer to be put on the beat in every electoral ward in the country.
"What local police forces are crying out for is more manpower," she added. "In the Metropolitan Police, although they have not cut police numbers, they have cut civilian staff and in practice that means there are fewer policemen available."
Image copyright @benjastley/Twitter
Image copyright @premitrom/Twitter Image caption One of the many memes being shared on social media
#AlTurkiParole
Image copyright Twitter/@AlmajdChannels Image caption An image shared in the online campaign prayed for Homaidan al-Turki's return to his family and home in Saudi
An online social media campaign is calling for the release of Saudi national Homaidan al-Turki, imprisoned in the US since 2006.
At the time, a Colorado court sentenced him to 28 years on several counts, including the sexual assault of his Indonesian housekeeper.
It was later reduced to a minimum of eight years to life on grounds of good behaviour. Al-Turki's defence say the rape charges were "fraudulent" and prompted by a failed terrorism charge against him.
A committee is due to meet on 2 May to deliberate Al-Turki's eligibility for parole.
The Twitter term #AlTurkiParole has been used by hundreds of thousands from around the Middle East - including prominent clerics in Saudi and elsewhere in the region - with the aim to influence the decision.
Image copyright Twitter/@Turki_Homaidan
Al-Turki's son, who said he hasn't seen his father in 11 years, spearheaded the online campaign, calling on people to use the English-language hashtag.
One of Al-Turki's daughters tweeted that her father has been eligible for parole for four years, adding: "It is time he is granted the parole to be reunited with us."
Another of his daughters shared an image of prayer beads, saying the session was scheduled for midday in Colorado on 2 May.
Image copyright Twitter/@Rubahomaidan Image caption One of Homaidan's daughters shared an image of prayer beads with an illustration of the hashtag
Several Twitter users also shared video messages of support: "This a message on behalf of all Saudis to the merciful justice system in America. Please, free Homaidan. We cannot take this anymore."
"Homaidan has already served the minimum sentence and now deserves parole... if not legally then for humanitarian reasons," one user tweeted.
Saudi cleric Awad al-Qarni continued: "We ask Colorado to please grant Homaidan the chance to live his life around his family."
And prominent Kuwaiti cleric Nabil al-Awadhy also tweeted his support. Al-Awadhy's citizenship was revoked several years ago for "undermining" his country's interests.
Image copyright Twitter/@NabilAlawadhy
Elsewhere in the region, users shared video messages and images in solidarity, from Algeria to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.When you open Facebook do you notice anything different?
Following the unveiling of its new, albeit almost identical, logo last week other design changes have been revealed - this time to the Friends and Groups icons.
In a blog post, a Facebook design manager has revealed how the woman in both icons is now in the forefront and she has a different hairstyle.
The previous icon (left) positioned the woman behind the man's left shoulder with what resembled a straight bob hair cut. The woman in the icon is now in the forefront with a different hairstyle (right). The man's hair has also been softened and the shoulders have been smoothed down
The man's hair has also been softened and the shoulders have been smoothed down. And these changes can also be seen in the redesigned Groups icon.
It is not known when the icons were updated, but the thought process behind the changes has been explained by the design manager Caitlin Winner on Medium.
The previous icon positioned the woman behind the man's left shoulder with what resembled a straight bob hair cut.
Ms Winner said she was 'dismayed' to find that the female glyph, or symbol, had a noticeable chip on her shoulder in the location where the male would have been placed.
'After fixing her shoulder I was tempted to remove the Darth Vader-like helmet and give her hair some definition...eventually I landed on a slightly more shapely bob.'
She experimented with lining the two icons next to each other, but said the icon looked like a 'two-headed mythical beast.'
FACEBOOK ICONS: WHAT'S NEW? The 'chip' in the woman icon's shoulder is pictured In a blog post, Facebook design manager Caitlin Winner revealed how the woman in the icon is now in the forefront. She also has a'more shapely bob.' The man's hair has been softened and the shoulders have been smoothed down. And these changes can also be seen in the redesigned Groups icon. It is not known when the icons were updated, but the thought process behind the changes has been explained by the design manager Caitlin Winner on Medium. The previous icon positioned the woman behind the man's left shoulder with what resembled a straight bob hair cut. The updated Friends icon now appears on the mobile, desktop and app versions of Facebook on the Requests tab. This is true for the Groups icon too on the Groups tab, however, the icon for a person's Friends list is the previous version.
'As a woman, educated at a women’s college, it was hard not to read into the symbolism of the current icon, the woman was quite literally in the shadow of the man, she was not in a position to lean in,' Ms Winner added.
So she decided to place the woman in the forefront.
The updated Friends icon now appears on the mobile, desktop and app versions of Facebook on the Requests tab.
This is true for the Groups icon too, however, the icon for a person's Friends list is the previous version.
Last week, Facebook product designer Christophe Tauziet tweeted the site's latest logo design. The blue and white colours have remained the same.
These changes can also be seen in the redesigned Groups icon (old left and new right). 'As a woman, educated at a women’s college, it was hard not to read into the symbolism of the current icon, the woman was quite literally in the shadow of the man, she was not in a position to lean in,' Ms Winner added
The updated icons now appear on the mobile, desktop and app versions of Facebook on the Requests and Groups tabs. However, the icon for a person's Friends list shows the previous version (pictured)
Facebook has swapped the double-storey 'a' on the previous logo for a single-storey version.
This seems like an unusual change because the double-storey version is how the letter is typed - and is used across computer fonts including those on Facebook - while the single-storey is more commonly seen in handwriting.
By comparison, the 'b' now has a terminal and more closely resembles a typed version.
Other subtle changes include making the edges sharper and increasing the logo's width.
My Tauziet later responded to a question about when we will see the update with'soon.'
The above GIF compares the old Facebook with the new. The 'a' is now what's known as single-storey, where it was previously double-storey. The b now has a terminal, while the edges of the font sharper. The blue and white colours have remained the same (Credit: The Next Web)
old facebook logo vs new facebook logo #design pic.twitter.com/8srDMsVH5x — sauro (@sauro) July 1, 2015
A Facebook product designer tweeted the logo's latest design with changes that are so subtle, you may not even notice them. Christophe Tauziet's tweet (pictured) simply said 'Say hello to the new Facebook logo' and later responded to a question about when we will see the update with,'soon'Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) are now calling on their state's judicial review board to oust a judge who refused earlier this month to perform an interracial marriage.
Keith Bardwell, a justice of the peace in local Tangipahoa Parish, has captured headlines -- and national attention -- after refusing to marry local residents Beth Humhprey and Terence McKay out of "concern... for the children," he explained in a recent interview.
"I'm not a racist," Bardwell stressed last week. "I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house."
The judge's defense, however, has hardly swayed some of his state's top lawmakers, who are enraged by his decision. On Friday, both Jindal and Landrieu separately called for an investigation into the judge's conduct -- and asked for his prompt removal from the bench.
The governor in his statement charged the judge's action was discriminatory and said it constituted a "violation of constitutional rights and federal and state law."
“Disciplinary action should be taken immediately — including the revoking of his license,” Jindal added.
Landrieu concurred with the governor. “Not only does his decision directly contradict Supreme Court rulings, it is an example of the ugly bigotry that divided our country for too long,” she explained.
The Louisiana Judiciary Committee, however, has not indicated whether it will in any way sanction Bardwell for his conduct. Investigations are confidential until the panel recommends action to the state's Supreme Court, its spokesperson told the Shreveport Times.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration too has signaled its dissatisfaction with the incident. Although press spokesman Bill Burton would not say on Friday whether the president agrees with the heightened calls for Bardwell's ouster, he did note: “I’ve found that actually the children of biracial couples can do pretty good.”In the first half of 2016, Israeli authorities demolished more homes in Palestinian communities in the West Bank than in the entire previous year. This information, compiled by B’Tselem, will be presented today (Wed, 27.7.2016) in a Knesset conference on Israel’s policy of Palestinian home demolition in Area C. In fact, the number of homes demolished over the last half year is greater than the number of homes demolished every year over the last decade – with the exception of 2013, in which the number was slightly higher, amounting to 175.
From January to the end of June 2016, the Civil Administration demolished 168 homes in the West Bank, leaving 740 Palestinians homeless – 384 of them minors. In some communities, residents had their homes demolished more than once (when a family home is demolished more than once, B’Tselem counts the people made homeless only once). In comparison, throughout 2015 the Civil Administration demolished 125 homes, leaving 496 Palestinians, including 287 minors, homeless.
Over the last decade, from the beginning of 2006 to 30 June 2016, Israel demolished at least 1,113 homes of Palestinians in the West Bank (not including East Jerusalem). As a result, at least 5,199 people, including at least 2,602 minors, were left homeless. Most of the demolitions were carried out in small, underprivileged communities located far from Palestinian population centers, primarily in the Jordan Valley, in the South Hebron Hills, and in the east of Jerusalem, in and around E1. Israel has full control of planning and building matters in these locations, which are part of the area defined Area C under the Oslo Accords, and refuses to recognize these communities.
Efforts to expel these communities include repeated demolition of the homes of the same families. Over the last decade, until 30 June 2016, Israeli authorities demolished the homes of at least 656 Palestinians (including 284 minors) more than once in the Jordan Valley and the South Hebron Hills. In Nablus District, the same occurred with 65 Palestinians (including 27 minors) and East of Jerusalem (E1 area), with 48 Palestinians (including 29 minors). These figures only relate to homes that were demolished on the grounds that they were built without a permit. They do not include homes demolished as collective punishment for the families of Palestinians who carried out attacks against Israelis, which B’Tselem documents separately.
In every demolition, the Civil Administration demolishes not only homes but also various structures that the communities rely on for their livelihoods, such as livestock pens, bathroom facilities, and storage sheds. Also, Civil Administration personnel confiscate water tanks and solar panels from communities that are not hooked up to the water or power grids, as well as vehicles used for farming and other equipment. In doing so, the Civil Administration not only leaves these residents homeless but also severely lacking basic services and the ability to earn a living.
The Israeli authorities impose an impossible daily reality on Palestinian communities in Area C by repeatedly demolishing their homes, constantly threatening further demolition, and other violations of their rights. This governmental policy, implemented systematically for years, constitutes the forced transfer of protected Palestinian residents within the occupied territory, in breach of international humanitarian law.
The extensive demolitions are part of a broader Israeli policy in Area C. This policy is based on the approach that this area, which spans some 60 percent of the West Bank, is intended primarily to serve Israeli needs. Accordingly, Israel acts to establish facts on the ground and to create a reality that it will be difficult to change in any future agreement. These measures include exploiting natural resources, establishing settlements, and expanding existing ones. At the same time, it has been the longstanding policy of various Israeli governments to displace and expel Palestinian residents from Area C, under flimsy pretexts such as “illegal construction” – a spurious claim given the absence of any real possibility for Palestinians to build legally in the area. Furthermore, this separation of Area C from the areas transferred to the Palestinian Authority is artificial and ignores the geo-economic reality of life in the West Bank.Blippar, the augmented reality app that gives you a deeper look at the world around you, has today unveiled a redesigned version of the app that focuses on discovery.
Blippar’s visual search tool can recognize hundreds of millions of items, at least on a category level. Some of these items are simply recognized as ‘building’ or ‘skirt’, whereas other items can get hyper-specific, like flora and animals.
Visual search, as opposed to searching through Google or Siri, is based around curiosity. If you aren’t entirely sure what you’re looking at, it may be difficult to find the right words to describe and ultimately search for that object.
With the redesigned Blippar, the company has built a layer on top of that initial search to let you keep learning through curiosity and discover.
Whenever you pull up a Blippable item, the app’s interface with spread to a web of bubbles, each with some relation to that original Blipp. Users can click around within this web to see various items relation to one another, or scroll down to get more in-depth information on a single subject.
For example, if I blipped a can of Pepsi, Blippar might bring up the founding story of the company, news it pulled in recently from the web, information about the general manufacture of soda, and probably Coca-Cola, among other things.
As you click around from one Blipp to the next, you can end up wandering from one topic to another for quite some time, each with its own in-depth write-up.
Blippar uses more than 100 sources to deliver this information, but wouldn’t specify who it has partnered with on content.
You might wonder how Blippar, which has traditionally focused on building out advertising for brands and publishers, might monetize a feature based around curiosity without the app being dominated by ads.
Blippar CEO and founder Rish Mitra explained that brands have no control over their Blippar search results. They may show you an ad before the results appear, in the form of a meme or video, but can not control the search results that accompany a Blipp of their product.
In other words, Pepsi can’t exclude Coca-Cola from its search results.
Blippar, founded in the UK, has been around since 2012 and raised a total of $99 million across three rounds of funding.
You can check out Blippar now.João Sousa becomes first Portuguese to win on the ATP tour
Portuguese tennis player João Sousa has become the first player from this country to win an ATP Tour title after beating French fifth-seed Julien Benneteau to win the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.
Sousa, 24, is also Portugal highest ranked player at the moment (77) which is set to improve dramatically when the rankings are updated on Monday and he should find himself on the verge of climbing into the top 50 and being the highest ever ranked Portuguese player, beating Rui Machado’s 59th position in 2011.
The Portuguese player claimed his maiden ATP title in a gruelling final against Bennetau which did not start in the best fashion for the underdog, going down 6-2 in a one-sided opening set.
But Sousa found some of the form which saw him claim the scalp of world number four David Ferrer earlier in the week, when he came back to win the next two sets 7-5 and 6-4 after a battle which lasted 2 hours and 18 minutes.
The previous best performance by a Portuguese player on the ATP circuit was when Frederico Gil reached the final of the Estoril Open in 2010.
With this win, João Sousa will collect a cheque of 158,000 US dollarsKampala May 11, 2016; Its 5:45PM Ugandan time, the government blocks the internet in a space of less than three months. The blocking has occurred few hours to the swearing-in of President Museveni 5th term in office expected on May 12th.
This follows few days after the same government issued a blanket banned to mainstream media restricting them from broadcasting live activities of opposition Forum for Democratic Change activities.
According to the regulator Uganda Communication Commission Chief Godfrey Mutabazi says the internet was blocked on security grounds and suspected a security breach.
The Unwanted Witness is investigating the circumstances that led to the closure and will keep you posted to the development.
For more information contact;
THE UNWANTED WITNESS – Uganda
Plot 41 Gadaffi Road, Makerere- Kampala
P. O. Box 71314 Clock Tower K’la
Telephone: +256 414 697 635
Email: info@unwantedwitness.or.ug
Website: www.unwantedwitness.or.ug
Skype: unwantedwitness
Twitter: @unwantedwitness
Face book: Unwanted witness-UgandaThe day after Dwayne Wade called current Chicago Bulls teammate Rajon Rondo the best point guard he has played alongside, Goran Dragic decided the best response at Miami Heat training camp was a smile and a laugh.
"No," Dragic said of perhaps being bothered by such web fodder. "I mean, of course, he's his teammate."
As he began his first camp with his new team, Wade told CSN Chicago of Rondo, "He's the best point guard I've ever played with."
Wade, of course, also has played alongside Jason Williams, Gary Payton, Mario Chalmers, among others during his first 13 NBA seasons with the Heat, as well as Dragic, his backcourt partner of the past two seasons.
So simmering feud?
Nah, just a laid-back grin in keeping with the relaxed tone during this Heat camp at the Atlantis resort.
"I even texted him before training camp," Dragic said Thursday, "wishing him all the best for this season, 'be healthy,' and he texted me the same thing. Like all my teammates, I think they're the best."
CAPTION Spoelstra: No need to show anger to appease outsiders. Spoelstra: No need to show anger to appease outsiders. CAPTION Spoelstra: No need to show anger to appease outsiders. Spoelstra: No need to show anger to appease outsiders. CAPTION Dwyane Wade: Braids a tribute to Iverson Dwyane Wade: Braids a tribute to Iverson CAPTION Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra says his team showed grit in loss to the Phoenix Suns. Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra says his team showed grit in loss to the Phoenix Suns. CAPTION Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade says his team's loss to the Phoenix Suns hurt his team and their hopes of getting to the playoffs. Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade says his team's loss to the Phoenix Suns hurt his team and their hopes of getting to the playoffs. CAPTION Miami guard Josh Richardson talks about the obstacles that lead hs team's loss to the Phoenix Suns. Miami guard Josh Richardson talks about the obstacles that lead hs team's loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Dragic acknowledged that Rondo is a truer point guard in the sense of almost always thinking pass first.
"I'm not like [John] Stockton or those guys," Dragic said. "I mean, I feel like I'm a combo guard. If you look at the past, I've played the two-guard, I've played the one-guard. So I can do both positions. I feel like this is an advantage to play two positions."
As it was, because of those scoring inclinations, Dragic often played off the ball while alongside Wade, an approach that no longer figures to be the case with Wade departing in free agency.
And if Wade finds greater comfort alongside Rondo, Dragic said he is comfortable with that, as well.
"Everyone is wired different," the Slovenian guard said of his playing approach. "I would say that the coaches back home, they raised me like this."
iwinderman@sunsentinel.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat or facebook.com/ira.windermanInstructions View: Text Images Video
FOR CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO CAKE:
PREHEAT oven to 350º F. Grease and line two 9-inch-round baking pans with wax paper.
MICROWAVE chocolate in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 45 seconds; STIR. If pieces retain some of their original shape, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until melted. Cool to room temperature.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat brown sugar, butter, eggs, instant coffee and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl for 3 minutes. Gradually add melted chocolate and continue beating for an additional minute. Beat flour mixture into creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Pour into prepared pans.
BAKE for 33 to 38 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Run knife around edges of cakes. Invert onto wire racks; remove wax paper. Cool completely.
BRUSH Coffee Glaze over cake layers. Spread Mocha Buttercream Frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake.
FOR COFFEE GLAZE:
MICROWAVE granulated sugar, water and instant coffee in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 30 seconds. Stir until sugar and coffee are dissolved.
FOR MOCHA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
MICROWAVE chocolate in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 45 seconds; STIR. If pieces retain some of their original shape, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until melted. Cool to room temperature.
DISSOLVE instant coffee in milk in glass measure. Beat butter, vanilla extract and salt in large mixer bowl for 3 minutes. Beat in melted chocolate until blended, scraping occasionally. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in coffee mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired spreading consistency.Mathematics might be more of an environmental science than we realize. Even though it is a search for eternal truths, many mathematical concepts trace their origins to everyday experience. Astrology and architecture inspired Egyptians and Babylonians to develop geometry. The study of mechanics during the scientific revolution of the 17th century brought us calculus.
Remarkably, ideas from quantum theory turn out to carry tremendous mathematical power as well, even though we have little daily experience dealing with elementary particles. The bizarre world of quantum theory — where things can seem to be in two places at the same time and are subject to the laws of probability — not only represents a more fundamental description of nature than what preceded it, it also provides a rich context for modern mathematics. Could the logical structure of quantum theory, once fully understood and absorbed, inspire a new realm of mathematics that might be called “quantum mathematics”?
There is of course a long-standing and intimate relationship between mathematics and physics. Galileo famously wrote about a book of nature waiting to be decoded: “Philosophy is written in this grand book, the universe, which stands continually open to our gaze. But the book cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and read the letters in which it is composed. It is written in the language of mathematics.” From more modern times we can quote Richard Feynman, who was not known as a connoisseur of abstract mathematics: “To those who do not know mathematics it is difficult to get across a real feeling as to the beauty, the deepest beauty, of nature. … If you want to learn about nature, to appreciate nature, it is necessary to understand the language that she speaks in.” (On the other hand, he also stated: “If all mathematics disappeared today, physics would be set back exactly one week,” to which a mathematician had the clever riposte: “This was the week that God created the world.”)
The mathematical physicist and Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner has written eloquently about the amazing ability of mathematics to describe reality, characterizing it as “the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences.” The same mathematical concepts turn up in a wide range of contexts. But these days we seem to be witnessing the reverse: the unreasonable effectiveness of quantum theory in modern mathematics. Ideas that originate in particle physics have an uncanny tendency to appear in the most diverse mathematical fields. This is especially true for string theory. Its stimulating influence in mathematics will have a lasting and rewarding impact, whatever its final role in fundamental physics turns out to be. The number of disciplines that it touches is dizzying: analysis, geometry, algebra, topology, representation theory, combinatorics, probability — the list goes on and on. One starts to feel sorry for the poor students who have to learn all this!
What could be the underlying reason for this unreasonable effectiveness of quantum theory? In my view, it is closely connected to the fact that in the quantum world everything that can happen does happen.
In a very schematic way, classical mechanics tries to compute how a particle travels from A to B. For example, the preferred path could be along a geodesic — a path of minimal length in a curved space. In quantum mechanics one considers instead the collection of all possible paths from A to B, however long and convoluted. This is Feynman’s famous “sum over histories” interpretation. The laws of physics will then assign to each path a certain weight that determines the probability that a particle will move along that particular trajectory. The classical solution that obeys Newton’s laws is simply the most likely one among many. So, in a natural way, quantum physics studies the set of all paths, as a weighted ensemble, allowing us to sum over all possibilities.
This holistic approach of considering everything at once is very much in the spirit of modern mathematics, where the study of “categories” of objects focuses much more on the mutual relations than on any specific individual example. It is this bird’s-eye view of quantum theory that brings out surprising new connections.
Quantum Calculators
A striking example of the magic of quantum theory is mirror symmetry — a truly astonishing equivalence of spaces that has revolutionized geometry. The story starts in enumerative geometry, a well-established, but not very exciting branch of algebraic geometry that counts objects. For example, researchers might want to count the number of curves on Calabi-Yau spaces — six-dimensional solutions of Einstein’s equations of gravity that are of particular interest in string theory, where they are used to curl up extra space dimensions.
Just as you can wrap a rubber band around a cylinder multiple times, the curves on a Calabi-Yau space are classified by an integer, called the degree, that measures how often they wrap around. Finding the numbers of curves of a given degree is a famously hard problem, even for the simplest Calabi-Yau space, the so-called quintic. A classical result from the 19th century states that the number of lines — degree-one curves — is equal to 2,875. The number of degree-two curves was only computed around 1980 and turns out to be much larger: 609,250. But the number of curves of degree three required the help of string theorists.
Around 1990, a group of string theorists asked geometers to calculate this number. The geometers devised a complicated computer program and came back with an answer. But the string theorists suspected it was erroneous, which suggested a mistake in the code. Upon checking, the geometers confirmed there was, but how did the physicists know?
String theorists had already been working to translate this geometric problem into a physical one. In doing so, they had developed a way to calculate the number of curves of any degree all at once. It’s hard to overestimate the shock of this result in mathematical circles. It was a bit like devising a way to climb each and every mountain, no matter how high!
Within quantum theory it makes perfect sense to combine the numbers of curves of all degrees into a single elegant function. Assembled in this way, it has a straightforward physical interpretation. It can be seen as a probability amplitude for a string propagating in the Calabi–Yau space, where the sum-over-histories principle has been applied. A string can be thought to probe all possible curves of every possible degree at the same time and is thus a super-efficient “quantum calculator.”
But a second ingredient was necessary to find the actual solution: an equivalent formulation of the physics using a so-called “mirror” Calabi–Yau space. The term “mirror” is deceptively simple. In contrast to the way an ordinary mirror reflects an image, here the original space and its mirror are of very different shapes; they do not even have the same topology. But in the realm of quantum theory, they share many properties. In particular, the string propagation in both spaces turns out to be identical. The difficult computation on the original manifold translates into a much simpler expression on the mirror manifold, where it can be computed by a single integral. Et voilà!
Duality of Equals
Mirror symmetry illustrates a powerful property of quantum theory called duality: Two classical models can become equivalent when considered as quantum systems, as if a magic wand is waved and all the differences suddenly disappear. Dualities point to deep but often mysterious symmetries of the underlying quantum theory. In general, they are poorly understood and an indication that our understanding of quantum theory is incomplete at best.
The first and most famous example of such an equivalence is the well-known particle-wave duality that states that every quantum particle, such as an electron, can be considered both as a particle and |
the security and the kids. And then we got involved because we were just getting sick of it and it would have been a great show had these assholes not been working. There was no need for security. There was absolutely no need.7
Doyle backs up Arm’s account. “Some of the security were a little heavy-handed with the audience,” he says. “We were ready to back Mark up if needed.”8
Reaction
Some critics were not impressed. Paul deBarros, writing for the Seattle Times, had this to say about Lame Fest:
The whole point of this show seems to be based on the perverse, reverse idea that grungy, foul-mouthed, self-despising meatheads who grind out undifferentiated noise and awing around their long hair are good—and ‘honest’—by virtue of their not being ‘rock stars.’ How confounded this primitivism is, which defines bands in the reverse image of someone else’s market position, instead of music… If this is the future of rock n’ roll, I hope I die before I get much older.9
Ticket stub to Sub Pop Lame Fest
But despite the crowd trouble and the negative media, Bruce Pavitt saw this as a watershed moment for Seattle and Sub Pop. “It was the turning point in the scene,” Pavitt said.10 “The whole place was shaking. Next day, word hit the street that the Moore had actually sold out a show of local bands. Then the local media really started talking the music a lot more seriously.”
The impact of Sub Pop Lame Fest, and the fact that for the first time a band with three local bands were able to sell out a venue as large as the Moore – wasn’t realized immediately. But the show’s success encouraged the Sub Pop brain trust to generate interest in the bands outside of Seattle. Starting in October 1989, Nirvana and TAD crisscrossed Europe together for what was referred to as the “Heavier than Heaven” tour. A month later, Mudhoney, embarked on their own tour that started in the UK and continued through seven other countries.
All three bands would later share a stage again at the Astoria Theatre in London on December 3, 1989, in what became known as Sub Pop Lame Fest UK. That show would further cement Sub Pop and the three bands into the UK underground music community. Back at home, the three bands would start playing to larger crowds in larger venues. The days of playing gigs in front of 30 people were over for good.
Of course, all three bands would end up leaving Sub Pop within a few years, albeit with varying degrees of success. Sub Pop’s first Lame Fest was the first chance to see all three bands together before a big crowd – as equals. The show changed how the local media perceived the local music scene. It also gave the bands an idea of what they were capable of.
“Prior to [Lame Fest], bands like TAD, Mudhoney and Nirvana would have been relegated to playing house and basement shows,” says Tad Doyle.
The impact of the first Sub Pop Lame Fest isn’t lost on Bruce Pavitt, either.
“That show ignited the city’s youth and put Seattle on the map.”11Before he was Donald Trump’s White House social-media coordinator, Dan Scavino lived with his wife, Jennifer, in a 2,900-square-foot colonial-style home on a winding residential street in Hopewell Junction, New York. The couple’s half-million-dollar dream home had four bedrooms, central air, and a yard plenty big for two sons and two Portuguese water dogs to play in. A Mercedes Benz GL550 and a leased Toyota Avalon sat in their three-car driveway.
The Scavinos were an aspirational archetype of American success. Dan had risen from a lowly caddy at one of Trump’s golf courses to an executive in Trump’s golfing empire, all before he hit 40. He had his own business, Scavino & Associates, that operated from their home. But, despite their good fortune, like many American families the Scavinos were one illness away from economic catastrophe. Their 2015 bankruptcy filing, retrieved by The Daily Beast, tells another quintessentially American story.
Jennifer Scavino has suffered from chronic Lyme disease for over a decade (Dan has tweeted frequently about his wife’s condition, and, for the last two years, had been a vocal advocate for Lyme disease awareness and research). In 2014 and 2015, Dan quit working to care for her, and the only income the family was earning was from Jennifer’s disability benefits, plus Social Security payments for the children. They racked up tens of thousands of dollars in credit-card debt and medical bills. Even with a $48,000 loan from her parents, the financial stress of the house, cars, and raising their sons was too much. On July 31, 2015, the Scavinos filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Chronic Lyme disease is an issue of contention in the medical community. Lyme disease is treatable with antibiotics and doesn’t continue to live in the body after the initial infection. Patients who say they have it suffer from an array of symptoms, from rheumatism to fatigue to other neurological problems. However, according to a study hosted on the National Institutes of Health website, CLD “has no clinical definition and is not characterized by any objective clinical findings.” Its symptoms mirror fibromyalgia, another amorphous neurological condition, and CLD is sometimes diagnosed by exclusion, which means it’s something doctors will say their patients have when everything else has been ruled out.
But CLD’s lack of a medical definition means a long road to diagnosis and an even longer road to relief. In the aforementioned study, only 2.1 percent of surveyed doctors in Connecticut, one of the regions of the country where CLD is most prevalent, said they’d diagnosed patients with CLD.
Patients who complain of CLD symptoms are certainly suffering from something, but doctors aren’t sure what, one medical professional told The Daily Beast. Self-anointed celebrity Lyme disease activists like Yolanda Foster (the mother of millennial beigecore models Gigi and Bella Hadid) have added a degree of seeming legitimacy to the condition and made more people aware that the mysterious and debilitating symptoms they’re suffering from could be CLD. “Most doctors,” the medical professional added, “don’t think chronic Lyme disease is a thing.”
On a practical level, that means families unlucky enough to face a mysterious chronic neurological condition spend a lot of time and energy figuring out what’s wrong before they can even get to a treatment stage. The Scavinos owed about $48,000 in outstanding medical bills at the time of their bankruptcy filing. In addition, they owed $10,292 to a clinic that specializes in treatments for rare disorders, providing blood transfusions and intravenous drug treatments. Dan has noted, via Twitter, that the condition has cost his family $300,000 over the years.
Months before they filed for bankruptcy, Dan tweeted a photo of one such treatment along with the caption, “My amazing wife, Jennifer has Chronic Inflammatory Polyneuropathy Disease from a tick, resulting in Lyme Disease. We are both 39 years old. 10 years of this awful neurological disease, she is my hero. Not once feeling sorry for herself or really even talking about it outside of our home. While I had to leave my career, I have and will be with her every step of the way. Today is treatment day. Thoughts & prayers to everyone & anyone with neurological disease.”
The Scavino family was lucky, about as lucky as a family struck with chronic illness can be. Jennifer had parents who were in a position to lend them $48,000. They didn’t have to uproot and move to a more affordable town. They were able to keep their house and car and dogs, which, almost charmingly, were listed as worth $0 on the Chapter 7 filing. And Dan’s post-bankruptcy career turned out just fine. He returned to work at his eponymous consultancy firm, eventually landing a job in Trump’s White House. Information caddy to the free world.
Despite Dan’s extraordinary position, the Scavinos are, in their financial problems, typical. They endured something that happens to thousands of families a year. Insurmountable medical bills cause more bankruptcies in the U.S. than anything else. As the Senate moves to gut the law designed to make it easier for people to afford health care, it seems particularly poignant that one of the president’s closest and most devoted employees is a living example of how easily things can go sideways, how even a billionaire’s confidant business owner who lives in a half-million-dollar home can come close to losing everything over something beyond his control.
President Trump is clearly not sold on the American Health Care Act. He told attendees of a closed-door meeting on June 13 that he thought the House’s version of the bill was “mean.” And it would be harmful, to people exactly like a circa-2015 Dan Scavino.
On the morning after the “mean” remarks leaked, Morning Joe panelist (and Daily Beast columnist) Mike Barnicle quipped, “What probably happened is that the president was at one of his golf clubs over the weekend and maybe his caddy complained about the health care bill. That’s the way this thing works.”
The Scavino family did not return The Daily Beast’s multiple requests for comment, but Dan did tweet about CLD shortly after we reached out on Tuesday.Former Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons reveals principles and pragmatism trumped a promotion to government.
But during an interview with former Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons for North & South’s
In 1999 the Greens had to wait two weeks until special votes were counted to confirm they’d got seven MPs, giving them the balance of power in Parliament, recalls Fitzsimons.
“The government didn’t have a majority and needed our support on confidence and supply. Helen Clark asked me to come and see her. And there was a moment in that meeting – which was very amicable – and we were talking about policies that were important to us and what we wanted the government to implement.
“There was a split-second pause where she was expecting me to say, ‘And we want ministerial portfolios.’ I was pretty inexperienced at the time but I recognised that was what was happening and that if we had gone for this, Rod [Donald] and I could have had places in Cabinet because they had no choice. They couldn’t govern without us. And I thought, well, if we do that we’ve got another five MPs who’ve never been in Parliament, coming in late, they didn’t even know where the toilets were yet, had never been welded into a team – we had brilliant individual campaigners in 99, but we didn’t really have a Green team.
“And I thought, no, Rod and I have to put our time into the caucus and build a strong Green Party in Parliament and not be the sole dissenting voices in a Cabinet that would override us anyway. So I never said what I was expected to say, and the moment passed. I think Helen was quite relieved actually.”
Instead, the Greens agreed to support the Labour government on confidence and supply, allowing Clark to govern.
“Then in 2002, if we’d been prepared to back down on the genetic engineering moratorium, we could have gone into government. There were the numbers for a Labour-Green government but we had said, ‘We will not support a government on confidence or in coalition that lifts that moratorium and allows GE crops to be grown around the country,’ which is what they were planning to do.
“Now, there were escape routes for Helen, which would have saved face and met our requirements – she could have postponed [lifting] the moratorium a bit, for example.
“This was actually quite clever PR which I wouldn’t let happen these days – they managed to paint us as having unrealistic bottom lines – it was actually them that had bottom lines. And we should have been able to turn that around but they got in first. So we were seen as unreasonable and wouldn’t go into coalition with them because we stuck to what we promised the country. The Greens are hoping this election will be a breakthrough for them and will finally see them become part of a government. Over the last 20 years, they’ve been spurned as coalition partners by both Labour and National and never managed to wield real influence despite being our largest minor party.But during an interview with former Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons for North & South’s May cover story on the party, writer Mike White discovered how the Greens twice came within a whisper of being part of a government.In 1999 the Greens had to wait two weeks until special votes were counted to confirm they’d got seven MPs, giving them the balance of power in Parliament, recalls Fitzsimons.“The government didn’t have a majority and needed our support on confidence and supply. Helen Clark asked me to come and see her. And there was a moment in that meeting – which was very amicable – and we were talking about policies that were important to us and what we wanted the government to implement.“There was a split-second pause where she was expecting me to say, ‘And we want ministerial portfolios.’ I was pretty inexperienced at the time but I recognised that was what was happening and that if we had gone for this, Rod [Donald] and I could have had places in Cabinet because they had no choice. They couldn’t govern without us. And I thought, well, if we do that we’ve got another five MPs who’ve never been in Parliament, coming in late, they didn’t even know where the toilets were yet, had never been welded into a team – we had brilliant individual campaigners in 99, but we didn’t really have a Green team.“And I thought, no, Rod and I have to put our time into the caucus and build a strong Green Party in Parliament and not be the sole dissenting voices in a Cabinet that would override us anyway. So I never said what I was expected to say, and the moment passed. I think Helen was quite relieved actually.”Instead, the Greens agreed to support the Labour government on confidence and supply, allowing Clark to govern.“Then in 2002, if we’d been prepared to back down on the genetic engineering moratorium, we could have gone into government. There were the numbers for a Labour-Green government but we had said, ‘We will not support a government on confidence or in coalition that lifts that moratorium and allows GE crops to be grown around the country,’ which is what they were planning to do.“Now, there were escape routes for Helen, which would have saved face and met our requirements – she could have postponed [lifting] the moratorium a bit, for example.“This was actually quite clever PR which I wouldn’t let happen these days – they managed to paint us as having unrealistic bottom lines – it was actually them that had bottom lines. And we should have been able to turn that around but they got in first. So we were seen as unreasonable and wouldn’t go into coalition with them because we stuck to what we promised the country.
“But a huge amount of our support had come because of that commitment. We were on really strong scientific grounds for what we were saying and it was better to stay out of government then, than to compromise on what we went there for.
“Since then, there hasn’t been another opportunity [to form a coalition]. We were hoping in 2005 it would be a Labour-Green government. Possibly it was a mercy that it wasn’t, because in Labour’s third term they were getting tired and out of ideas and a bit unpopular and we would have had to work quite hard to give it a new life and vitality that would be popular with the public. We had ideas, how to do that, but in the end we didn’t have the numbers without the Maori Party – and Labour refused to ask the Maori Party – so they went with Winston [Peters] and Peter Dunne instead.
“I think I only realised during those negotiations that, whatever might have been said publicly, the Greens were actually last cab off the rank. We were the ones Helen most didn’t want to work with.
“Policy-wise we were far closer than either Winston or Peter Dunne. But we had a few core principles we weren’t prepared to back down on. And she knew that what really mattered to us was the substance, not the baubles. So we couldn’t be bought with baubles or positions or whatever. We wanted policies – and that was uncomfortable.”
Fitzsimons says after John Key won the 2008 election the Greens have never been invited or interested in forming a coalition with National. And that’s a situation she’s very comfortable with.
“How could you possibly go into government with a party that’s going all out on increasing fossil-fuel extraction in a climate change world? How could you go into government with a party that’s still blaming the unemployed for their unemployment, and the disadvantaged for their disadvantage? A party that really thinks climate change is something we can leave to the next generation or two to deal with, rather than something that’s really urgent that we have got to act on now? The deep-sea oil-drilling, the increased coalmining, the anti-environmental policies everywhere? I mean, where would be our meeting-ground?
“It’s not an anti-National thing – it’s just based on the policies and on what the government would be like and on what it would do. And as far as I can see, a National-led government would not do what the Greens would want to have happen.”
Video: The Greens as you have never seen them beforeANALYSIS/OPINION:
Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Marco Rubio of Florida have released a blueprint for federal tax reform called “The Economic Growth and Family Fairness Tax Plan.” First, we should not embrace the language of progressive socialism in believing tax reform should have as a goal to advance “family fairness.” The plan should simply be entitled “The American Growth and Opportunity Plan.” That said, the Lee-Rubio plan is a great improvement over the current system.
For the individual tax structure, the plan introduces a two-tier system to replace the current seven tax brackets. This plan moves America from a progressive tax structure to a bifurcated flat tax. All income earned up to $75,000 for singles and $150,000 for joint filers would be taxed at 15 percent. All income earned over those thresholds would be taxed at 35 percent. While a two-tiered system moves us closer to a flat tax, the 35 percent bracket could raise the tax burden for households earning less than $200,000 a year, compared to the current system. A top rate of 22 percent to 25 percent would be less burdensome.
The Lee-Rubio plan also proposes to increase the child tax credit to $2,500, up from $1,000. This is designed to eliminate the supposed bias against parents, who not only pay payroll taxes, but also pay to raise children who will eventually pay for future retirees through their own payroll taxes. However, if the child tax credit is to be expanded, the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) recommends making it contingent on parents using it to provide health insurance for their children; or, if the children are otherwise covered, putting aside money in a Health Savings Account for the family’s future medical needs.
The Lee-Rubio plan keeps only two individual tax deductions — mortgage interest and charitable contributions. These two exemptions promote opportunities for homeownership — rather than government equality of outcomes programs — and the seminal premise of America, that we take care of our own. But continuing the mortgage interest deduction contradicts a premise of the Rubio-Lee plan — that interest on savings and investment should not be taxed and interest on borrowing should not be deductible.
For the corporate tax structure, the Lee-Rubio plan proposes a 25 percent tax rate — lower than the present 39.6 percent rate, which is the highest rate in the world. This rate could be lower. In an NCPA study, professor Larry Kotlikoff of Boston University estimated the federal government could raise the same amount of money as the current corporate tax with a tax rate of only 9 percent, and a transitional wage or consumption tax that would phase out over time.
The Lee-Rubio plan allows multinational firms to transition to a territorial tax system where income earned in a foreign country is subject to the income tax in that country. Tax policies and rates that are favorable to economic growth will inspire the return of capital to America, reducing corporate inversions — truly a market behavioral response to the coercive nature of the current administration’s philosophy on taxation. Lee-Rubio would also allow the nearly tax-free repatriation of the trillions of dollars of capital outside of America in order to spur domestic economic growth. After all, it is capital, not government spending or quantitative easing, that will reinvigorate production and manufacturing in America.
Other good policy aspects of the Lee-Rubio plan are the 100 percent deduction of capital investments in the same year they are made. Further, business income would be taxed only at the level of the business entity rather than as personal income, so that business owners and savers with a 401(k) or shares of stock aren’t taxed twice on the same income. This is a crucial step toward eliminating the double taxation of income and capital that is rampant in our tax code. The estate tax would be eliminated as well.
Of course, there are concerns that such a plan would increase the deficit; thus, this plan should be scored using a dynamic analytical model. However, this the real question that must be posed: Can tax reform policy done in a vacuum successfully restore economic growth in America?
We believe that not just tax reform but also government reform is required. The real behavior that has to be reformed, changed and modified is that of a federal government and its spending practices. First and foremost, the federal government must move away from baseline budgeting practices toward a zero-based budget system. The belief that we have made progress cutting wasteful government spending is actually a false narrative — we are merely cutting the rate of growth of spending. This is why there are programs, bureaucracies and agencies that consistently waste hard-earned American taxpayer dollars.
The Lee-Rubio plan is fundamentally sound and a great proposal — just drop the “fairness” tag. The greater reform and plan needed is how we can tackle the incessant lack of priority when it comes to federal government spending.
• Allen B. West, a former Republican member of Congress, is the president and CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis. Pamela Villarreal is an NCPA senior fellow.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.By
This is a guest post by Timothy Roy.
In economically advanced democracies, whose universities teach some sort of Enlightenment tradition and technocratic specialty, societies often do not share in common (and do not teach) certain important cultural cores.
These cores, which I think of as modules, include personal conflict resolution (how do we disagree? how do we apologize?), personal finances (how do we spend our money? how luxuriously should we live? how much should we save?), personal fitness (how do I maintain my body? what athletic skills should be practiced to promote health and strength?), and emotional or spiritual growth (more on this later).
These cultural modules are important because they address large parts of day-to-day life and overall lifestyle. They are also important because each module or chunk of teachings/practices can be fairly extensive, and hard to derive from scratch. Individuals, and entire societies, may take a long time to rediscover some of these helpful practices.
Fortunately for those of us bred in educational systems which run light on these cultural modules, there are lots of gurus around which are not too hard to discover. By taking a guru here and a guru there, you can form a complete personal culture, a complete lifestyle.
For instance, here is one list of gurus whose work I know. This list is modular, so for any category you can replace the given gurus with your own.
For fitness and health, you could look to Kelly Starrett, Mark Sisson, Pavel Tsatsouline, Christopher Sommers. For minimal living, there’s Mari Kondo. For finances and frugality, we have Mr. Money Mustache. For lifehacking, Tim Ferriss. For startup advice, Paul Graham. For romance, Esther Perel. For relationships, John Gottman. For thinking about medical evidence and by extension statistics, Ben Goldacre. For general worldview, Yuval Harari, Pinker, Taleb, and so on.
My point is not that any of these teachers represents the last word on the topic, though sometimes their acolytes seem to think so, and though it might seem so when you’re reading the firehose of information for the first time. My point is just that each teacher has assembled a rich set of advice and tips. Combining them generates many ideas and crossover habits, and putting them into practice will keep you busy for a long time.
Rolling your own culture in this way is in general a good idea, I think. Even if you come from a background that includes teaching or traditions which address each of these areas, contrasting advice may suit you better or at least provoke greater reflection. And if you do not come from such a background – the secular elementary and university system with which I opened, for instance – you likely will be able to find a more thoughtful approach than whatever your default is, saving you years of flailing.
Although rolling your own culture is a good idea in general, doing so leads to a few follow-on problems.
First, rolling your own requires a lot of work. Take the short list I provided above. Discovering them, understanding them, comparing them, trying them out, carries significant costs in time and energy. This can take years.
Many people lack the time and energy (or intellectual bandwidth if we’re being honest) to accomplish this task. By God you had better have figured out something that works for you before your business hits a rough patch or you lose a family member or your partner gets cancer, because you won’t be able to figure it out after that.
Some (often religious) communities with a “complete worldview” contain these teachings as a package deal — both a feature and a bug of such communities. As a feature, a comprehensive and integrated set of teachings saves most ordinary people years (or generations) of search and testing. As a bug, some of the teachings may be pathological or simply not individually suited.
Second, the individual modules may not fit together very well. One could imagine a university-level course on lifestyle design.
In Gardens Need Walls: On Boundaries, Ritual, and Beauty, Sarah Perry uses Christopher Alexander’s work on patterns to contemplate how our lives and cultures are designed. They are, by and large, slipshod, ramshackle constructions, bits of this and that tacked together.
We select from the available chunks and try to fit them together into a coherent whole – an education here, a job there, a box to live in, entertainment to pass the time. These available “life parts” tend to be black boxes in whose design we have little say. They may not fit together into a satisfying whole at all – the boat they make may not float … I do not think this kind of problem is one that individual imagination is powerful enough to solve. Even the most imaginative among us will tend to build a “monstrosity” instead of a life.
The third problem resulting from rolling your own culture is more serious and more interesting.
Bowling Alone
One definition of a community is the place you can bring all of your self to, the kind of space held up as an ideal in Robert Putnam’s classic, Bowling Alone.
With a close friend, or at a traditional church, you can talk about your bad leg, your struggles or success at work, how your love life or lack thereof is going, and your newest hobby. There is no compartmentalization. That’s a community.
By contrast, industrialized or post-industrialized economies are systematic. You can talk about your strength training at your gym, your bad leg at your physical therapist’s, your emotional life at your psychologist’s, and your career with your mentor – assuming you are lucky enough to have some or all of these. Your self becomes splintered among these locations and communities.
One common solution is to choose one of these categories in which to invest your identity. Ardent Crossfitters often like to date other Crossfitters and even have their own dubious sartorial aesthetic. Mustachians (devotees of the frugality blogger Mr. Money Mustache) spend much of their time thinking about luxuriously frugal financial strategies. By emphasizing one lifestyle category over others, you can find a lot of fulfillment among like-minded people.
However, finding a group that shares even a few of your cultural modules becomes a significant challenge. Sometimes lifestyle teachings select against each other. Sometimes some modules cluster together, such as libertarianism and the Paleo diet, and those clusters do aid in finding friends and community.
Modules that cluster together or that select against each other can be set to one side for the moment. In general, as a simple matter of probability, because we now roll our own cultures, the increasing diversity of the modules of these cultures decreases overlap between the sub-communities of the modules, and decreases the chances of finding many people who share several modules with you.
A “true community,” where you bring all of your self, forms in the overlapping portion of the Venn diagram of many cultural modules. Traditional communities propagate themselves and preserve themselves precisely by maintaining that overlapping region. As that Venn center shrinks, so does the number of “true communities.”
“People have always had selves, but selves have not always had to carry the burden of supplying meaning to life in such a far-reaching fashion.” — Roy Baumeister
As society has become simultaneously secular and atomized, community has become harder to come by. Community forms largely around shared culture of one sort or another, and with less cultural overlap, communities shrink.
As cultures become atomized or nonexistent, our languages for communicating meaning to one another, for crafting meaning together, have a shrinking shared vocabulary. And as crafting meaning together becomes harder, the result is also poorer than received meanings from history.
The more carefully you’ve planned your life, the fewer people you’ll find to plan it with.
Eating the Shadow
The most powerful description of personal maturity I’ve found so far is Robert Kegan’s, as explained by David Chapman. Kegan provides a five-stage model of personal maturity.
The first stage contains mostly infants: in a blooming, buzzing confusion, the baby feels hunger, pain, sleepiness. In the second stage, if the child could speak it would say “I am hungry” or “I am sleepy.”
In the third stage, usually older children, “personal interests are relativized. They move from subject to object: you no longer are your collection of interests, you have interests. They are subordinated to, and are organized by, relationships. You are in relationships; and, tacitly, you find yourself defined by them.”
The fourth stage characterizes modern society. We have priorities and procedures based on reasons, and that applies to our personal lives as well. Adolescent dramas diminish as systematic priorities take over: I’m sorry, but we planned this party weeks ago, and I can’t switch to go to yours. Middle-class career professionals sometimes feel cold and calculating to family members due to conflicts between the fourth and third stages.
This fourth stage is also where all those cultural modules live. They are systematic approaches to specific pieces of the human puzzle. If you really buy into them, other approaches are incorrect or even morally wrong.
In the fifth stage, you become adept at using systems in situation-appropriate ways. You’re not troubled by each system’s shortcomings or by conflicts between systems, whether we’re talking about political and justice systems, financial and fitness systems, or philosophical systems. In Kegan’s stage 5, we move beyond a devotion to this or that project, and we define ourselves by the ongoing process of meaning making. As a result, individuals in the fifth stage are able to navigate fluidly multiple systems of culture and meaning. To the extent you “are” anything, you could become a Marxist libertarian, or a religious atheist.
Getting to Stage 5 often entails an uncanny valley, “Stage 4.5,” a nihilistic stage where you’ve lost faith in your old systems but haven’t yet adapted to their loss.
I propose that people who live in Kegan’s stage five have “eaten their shadow” to a significant extent, as a part of their journey into that mature state.
“Another way to put it is that people under thirty-five cannot teach themselves or others to eat the shadow.” — Robert Bly, A Little Book on the Human Shadow
“Eating the shadow” or “emotional work” is a quasi-Jungian idea that you have to not only face but also embrace the darker sides of your personality before you realize your potential.
“Yet there is a mystery here and it is not one that I understand: Without this sting of otherness, of even – the vicious, without the terrible energies of the underside of health, sanity, sense, then nothing works or can work. I tell you that goodness – what we in our ordinary daylight selves call goodness: the ordinary, the decent – these are nothing without the hidden powers that pour forth continually from their shadow sides.” — Doris Lessing
The petty, jealous, angry, manipulative, cowardly, cold, apathetic, etc., sides of yourself actually prove key to becoming whomever you want to be: dynamic, powerful, wise, caring, clever, etc. (I’m not assuming we all want to be the same person, fill in your own virtuous adjectives).
Stage transitions usually cannot be accomplished solo. Intellectual understanding is not enough. A bridge needs a culture and community…
And there’s this sense that this initiation into a more emotionally mature stage has to be done (often physically) with other people, and it is something that you cannot do yourself. You cannot bootstrap your way to the next level of maturity. It is something that must be shown you.
Collapsonomics
At the moment, right-wing nationalist and populist movements are sweeping Western democracies. When the politics of Britain, the US, Guatemala, France, Italy, start looking eerily similar, it’s time to look for global commonalities.
One explanation is neoliberal policies allowing capital to move out of industrialized economies, causing wage stagnation and a gradual hollowing out of the middle class, causing popular frustration which manifests in nationalist and populist movements. A more dire hypothesis comes from Joseph Tainter.
Rome and other civilizations expanded as long as they absorbed more energy, usually via conquest. All that energy (crops, money, and so on) can only be handled efficiently at a higher level of societal complexity. But that level of complexity can only be sustained by continued growth. When the civilization stops expanding, it collapses. Tainter wrote his book before the Soviet Union collapsed, but his thesis fits the abandoned factories and decaying concrete infrastructure of the former Soviet bloc perfectly.
Applying this hypothesis to the modern world, if we have hit peak resources or peak capitalism, then the institutions that define liberal democracy are destined to collapse, and it is unclear whether they will do so rapidly or slowly. So perhaps the global economy is starting to slow down as a result, which may be one driver behind popular frustration, which is manifesting in nationalist and populist movements.
It’s even possible that the basic toolkit of most of our institutions is worn out, past due for an overhaul: representative democracy may not process information quickly enough. Today, cities and companies seem to be innovating more effectively than nations do. Perhaps globalization and the information economy throws up challenges more quickly than representative democracy can solve them, and we should push power downward or move to a liquid democratic system.
I’m not trying to advocate for any single hypothesis here, just to give a sampling of the range of complexity of the set of global-scale problems. Anyone attacking even a piece of the problem is going to have to be tough and agile and a high-level operator, able to coordinate many people, able to navigate many different ways to make meaning.
Invisible Communities
As cultures become atomized or nonexistent, our languages for communicating meaning to one another, for crafting meaning together, have a shrinking shared vocabulary. And as crafting meaning together becomes harder, the result is also poorer than received meanings from history.
And as subcultures overlap less, the number of “comprehensive communities” dwindles. This attrition poses challenges not only to lifestyle design and to social experiences, but may also severely handicap advanced emotional development.
Reaching a fluid state of emotional and cognitive maturity, accomplished through emotional work which is best performed in community, matters not only to us individually, but also to society.
“So the person who has eaten his shadow spreads calmness, and shows more grief than anger. If the ancients were right that darkness contains intelligence and nourishment and even information, then the person who has eaten some of his or her shadow is more energetic as well as more intelligent.” — Robert Bly
Chapman worries that too few people think precisely enough and at a high enough level to craft new meanings which communicate across the many atomized subcultures. And those sort of people can inspire and coordinate to solve global problems. More people in Kegan’s fifth stage are needed – but those people are best grown in community.
I speculate that a community interested in solving global problems, and which uses different cultural modules as a means to aid each other in reaching Kegan’s stage 5, wouldn’t be troubled by its members’ non-overlapping cultural modules. This community’s raison d’être would be to support the ongoing process of meaning making which becomes the identity of the person living in Kegan’s fifth stage, rather than to promote any particular ethical or relationship or financial or fitness system. It would be a factory not for a specific culture, but for individuals who create cultures and communities.Conditioning girls to minimize themselves physically could be part of the underlying psychology that eventually casts women as victims.
I fell off my first horse when I was 1 year old. No, I don’t mean that metaphorically—I literally fell off a horse, or rather, I was thrown off, along with my grandmother, who held on to my 25-pound body and bore the brunt of the impact herself, suffering a minor concussion that briefly transported her back to JFK’s presidency. We rode together in the ambulance, and though I was screaming from the scare, I didn’t have a scratch on me.
It had been my mother’s idea to let my aunt and grandmother take me riding, and my father was livid. “She could’ve been killed!” I imagine him saying, chain-smoking cigarettes and pacing with the phone pressed to his ear. My mother, quick with sarcasm, advised him not to take me to the golf course anymore, in case a stray ball struck me.
For years, I laughed at my mother’s cavalier attitude toward letting a 20-month-old ride a horse, but now I think her parenting decision was pretty on point. As a mother myself of a physically active 18-month-old girl, I’m thinking a lot about risk-taking |
2003 Ang Lee/Eric Bana version of the story, and the only marginally less bad Louis Leterrier/Edward Norton version from 2008, we are given very little coherent exposition about who Bruce Banner is internally, and how he could be carrying around so much rage inside. In talking about this, we came up with a different way of looking at Bruce Banner’s story, and thought that we would share it with you all.
The key focus of a movie like this, would be a look at Banner himself, and how he struggles to come to grips with having his monstrous temper, as well as overcoming his fear & guilt at having lost control so many times. What would set this version apart, however, would be the perspective from which it was told. Imagine if you will, a film where we only see Bruce Banner beginning to change into the Hulk, but then the scene ends & cuts to him waking up after the destruction. Neither the character or the audience would have any idea what has transpired, and only see the events unfold on news broadcasts. This would allow for a look into the grief & guilt that being the Hulk would burden a person with, and also give audiences a look at what happens to the how Bruce Banner persona during his fugue states.
A few key plot point ideas could be that the story would be set in Harlem, prior to the events of The Avengers, so that audiences could see the point in time (briefly referenced in The Avengers) when Dr. Banner changed into the Hulk in the subway, ultimately resulting in him “breaking Harlem”. This would be the first time in the film that the audience would experience the changeover, setting the stage for how the perspective would play out. The film could also delve into Banner’s escape to India (where he was eventually tracked down by Black Widow), and his subsequent suicide attempt wherein “the other guy” spat out the bullet. Finally, the climactic end sequence would see Banner entering a meditative state, in which he faces off against his green alter ego in the landscape of his own mind. Banner & the Hulk go toe-to-toe, and we’d get a symbolic moment of Banner finally gaining control over “the other guy”. At this point, Dr. Banner could come out of the meditative state, stand up, and transform at will while walking off toward the horizon. Roll credits.
Let’s face it: at this point, Marvel pretty much has carte blanche to print money. The majority of their movies have been smash hits, with their profits far exceeding their individual budgets. Therefore, I feel like they could be given some leeway to do something a little more adult & deep with the characters who already exist in the MCU. Also, since Tony Stark, Thor, and Steve Rogers all have had some exposition given to their stories, why not Bruce Banner?
Not only would a film like this be an interesting perspective on a well-known character, but it would also give more (previously unseen) insight on who Bruce Banner is as a person, and what he struggles with. In addition, this could potentially also bring in viewers who are not necessarily fans of the action genre, or who were previously not necessarily comic book readers. In some cases, the most relatable movies are man vs himself, so this would also appeal to both the indie film crowd, and the fans who have loved Marvel comics for more than just the action.
At its core, the Bruce Banner/Hulk storyline is about dealing with internal turmoil, and fighting one’s own demons. In Banner’s case, that “demon” just happens to be personified as a giant, green, rage-monster, whom he turns into whenever he’s overwhelmed by anger, fear, or pain. It’s my opinion that audiences deserve to be rewarded with a look at the deep & interesting character behind the monster, and I think we should trust Marvel & Disney to bring it out, if they’re willing to take that chance.
Tell us what you think, dear readers! Let us know in the comments section if you think that Marvel could (or should) be expanding their storytelling to include more cerebral stories.
AdvertisementsThe project: Photograph a 4 foot tall by 15 foot wide mural.
The Challenge: The mural was painted on canvas in a small room – I have about 6 feet of space between the mural and the facing wall.
The Idea: Shoot a series of images and have Photoshop work it’s magic with Photomerge.
There are some other obstacles involved shooting artwork – I’ll explain this more in another post. But think about reflections and color accuracy.
I went downstairs to the room and had with me, a D300, a 50mm 1.8, a tripod and 2 SB-800 flashes. I knew beforehand that I would have to shoot multiple shots and merge them later. I put the camera to my eye and knew immediately, that “We’re gonna need a wider lens!”. Back upstairs to get a MF 24mm.
Turns out that the 24mm was a little too wide and brought in a slight amount of barrel distortion – although I could get the 4 foot height in from 6 feet away. I mounted the 50mm and decided to shoot 2 rows and HOPE that Photoshop could handle this.
The next obstacle was that I was shooting flash in the dimly lit room. I didn’t want to mix the artificial light with the flash, so now I’ll be shooting in the dark (story of my life). I called the artist down for help – she became my “lighting director” – people love titles.
This is how the shoot went down:
I would focus on the mural
Change to manual focus
Cindy would turn the lights off
Cindy would then hold the flash at the designated spot
I would shoot the image
Repeat 24 times.
It actually went fairly smooth. At this point, I honestly had no idea if it work. The images looked good when I chimped and checked histograms – but would my new computer handle the workload? I kept shooting.
Somehow I ended up with 25 images (I thought it would have been an even number). So I loaded them off my card and fired up Photoshop. If you haven’t used Photomerge before, it’s a great tool to create some larger than standard images from your file. (File > Automate > Photomerge).
I set it up and started making dinner. I was expecting this to run all night – but it was ready in 10 minutes (I love my new computer!). This is what it came up with:
Ok, it’s a bit warped and dark. I didn’t want to overexpose the whites that are in the hut and the waves. I’m not sure about the distortion, but it could be due to not having my camera perfectly straight and parallel – and the floor not being level.
Correcting the distortion was easy – I used the Puppet Warp tool in Photoshop. This tool allows me to stick pins in the image and drag them to borders or guidelines. I was able to quickly correct the image.
So I’ve pasted some pins and now I can correct it. After some curves, the image was like the one you saw at the of the post.
I will be doing another merge that uses the RAW files so that I can get more color and clarity – I may have to end up re-shooting it to correct some minor glare and focus issues. I’ll post the final result when it’s done.
If you are interesting in seeing how this mural was painted, Click Here.
Questions? Feel free to e-mail me of leave a comment below.Ghostbusters has called on the “Other Space” star
Following the reveal yesterday that four more had joined the cast of Ghostbusters, Deadline brings word today that former “Saturday Night Live” writer Neil Casey has been cast as the lead villain of the film. Casey can also be seen in the Paul Feig-created Yahoo! series Other Space. Details on his character are being kept under wraps for the time being, but given the franchise’s history, it’s likely he’ll have something supernatural up his sleeve.
Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy, and Leslie Jones will star as the four ‘busters in the film with Chris Hemsworth as their trusty secretary. The film will also co-star Andy Garcia as the Mayor of New York City, Michael K. Williams as a character named “Hawkins,” with Matt Walsh as a character named “Rourke,” and New York City’s NY1 news anchor Pat Kiernan as — you guessed it — a news anchor.
“I’m having a lot of fun playing with genres,” Feig told ComingSoon.net of the new film earlier this year, “…I love the original film, but I also just love the idea of busting ghosts and kind of paranormal warriors. I thought, ‘You know, if I could do this with the funny women I know and kind of just do a new origin story…’ I’m more interested in what would happen today. You know, you see things on TV about ghosts, but none of it’s real. What if, suddenly, something started happening? What happens when that just begins to happen to people? Also, how do they develop their technology? It’s not as fun if they’re just handed their proton packs. It’s why it’s not as fun to do a sequel. The fun is getting there.”
Directed by Paul Feig from a script he co-wrote with Katie Dippold, Ghostbusters is currently filming in New York City with plans for additional photography in Boston. The film is targeting a July 22, 2016 release.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)Molecular semiconductors D, A1, A2.
D (or cTBFDBC; contorted tetrabenzofuranyldibenzocoronene; dibenzo(3,4:9,10)benzo(4′,5′)furan(3’,2′:5,6)- benzo(4′,5′)furan(2′,3′:7,8)benzo(4′,5′)furan-(3′,2′:11,12)coroneno(1,2-b)benzofuran) was synthesized according to previously reported methods20. Carbon tetrabromide (99%), triisopropyl phosphite (95%), tris(dibenzylideneacetone)dipalladium(0) (97%), 2-Dicyclohexylphosphino2′,6′-dimethoxybiphenyl (SPhos, %), potassium phosphate tribasic ( ≥98%), 2-benzofuranylboronic acid MIDA ester (97%), anhydrous dichloromethane (99.9%), dioxane (99.5%), iodine ( ≥99.8%), and propylene oxide ( ≥99%) were all purchased from Sigma-Aldrich and used as-received. Dichloromethane and toluene were purchased from Fisher Scientific and used as-received. A1 (or 8Cl-cHBC; 1,3,6,8,13,15,18,20-octachlorotrinaphtho(1,2,3,4-fgh:1′,2′,3′,4′-pqr:1′′,2′′,3′′,4′′-za1b1)trinaphthylene) and A2 (or 12Cl-cHBC; 1,3,6,7,8,13,14,15,18,19,20-dodecachlorotrinaptho(1,2,3,4-fgh:1′,2′,3′,4′-pqr:1′′,2′′,3′′,4′′-za1b1)trinapthylene) were synthesized according to previously reported methods21. Bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) dichloride (≥99.99%), potassium carbonate (99+%), and 3,5-dichlorophenylboronic acid (98%) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich and used as-received. 3,4,5-trichlorophenylboronic acid (AstaTech, 98%) was used as-received.
Thin-film preparation and characterization.
C 60 (99.5%, NanoC) and D were purified once using horizontal physical-vapour transport with Ar (99.999%, Airgas), as the inert carrier gas. A1 and A2 were purified via recrystallization in toluene. Thin films of C 60, D, A1 and A2 were thermally evaporated at a rate of 1 Å s−1 in a chamber with a pressure < 2 × 10−6 torr. Absorption spectra of thin films of C 60, D, A1, and A2 on glass slides were collected on an Agilent Cary 5000 UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometer. Film thicknesses for Figs 2c and 3a were identical to the thicknesses used in devices: 23 nm (D), 17 nm (A1, A2) and 40 nm (C 60 ). Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and inverse photoelectron spectroscopy (IPES) measurements were performed at room temperature, in a dedicated ultrahigh vacuum chamber with a base pressure of <2 × 10−10 torr. 10-nm-thick films of A1 or A2 were evaporated in a thermal evaporator located in a nitrogen-filled glovebox and transported to the measurement vacuum system in nitrogen. UPS was performed using a Specs gas discharge lamp operating with helium, yielding helium I photons at 21.22 eV. The energy resolution in UPS was 0.15 eV. IPES was performed in isochromat mode using a home-built set-up60, with an energy resolution of 0.45 eV. A Helios G3 DualBeam Focused Ion Beam was used to prepare a cross-section of a D/A2 stack on silicon for imaging with a Titan Themis 80–300 Cubed Double Cs-corrected Scanning/Transmission Electron Microscope. We chose A2 for this imaging experiment instead of A1 because it has a higher electron density contrast relative to the donor layer (D).
Solar cell fabrication and testing.
MoO 3 (99.97%, Sigma-Aldrich) and bathocuproine (99.99%, Sigma-Aldrich) were used as-received. Glass substrates (23 mm × 27 mm) pre-patterned with an ITO strip 7.5 mm wide and 23 mm long (20 Ω/square, TFD) were cleaned by sonication in deionized water, acetone, and isopropyl alcohol, and then dried with nitrogen. The substrates were then immediately transferred to a nitrogen glovebox for sequential evaporation of device layers. MoO 3 and bathocuproine (BCP) layers were each 5 nm thick, deposited at 1 Å s−1. After deposition of BCP, 60 nm of Al (99.999%, Kurt J. Lesker) was evaporated through patterned masks at a rate of 2 Å s−1 to define the active area. The devices were placed under AM1.5G 100 mW cm−2 illumination in a nitrogen-filled glovebox and the current density–voltage (J–V ) characteristics were acquired with a Keithley 2400 (Fig. 4 and Supplementary Fig. 5) or a Keithley 2602B source measurement unit (Figs 5 and 6), respectively. J–V and external quantum efficiency (EQE) measurements were performed using a 300 W xenon arc lamp (Newport Oriel), with filtered monochromatic light from a Cornerstone 260 1/4 M double grating monochromator (Newport 74125) for the EQE measurements. A Newport calibrated photodetector (model 71582) served as the reference cell. The spectral mismatch factor, M, was calculated to be 0.97, 0.96, and 1.11 for the D/A1, D/A2, and D/C 60 cells, respectively.
We fabricated and tested 57, 28, and 24 devices comprising A1, A2, and C 60 as the acceptor, respectively. The active area of each device for these experiments was 0.18 cm2. The yield on functional devices is 100% with all three acceptors; the average and standard deviation values for relevant device characteristics are summarized in Supplementary Table 1. The solar cells exhibit identical J–V characteristics in forward and reverse directions (Supplementary Fig. 10).
D/A1 cells (active area 0.18 cm2) were encapsulated in a nitrogen-filled glovebox using a glass-on-glass architecture and DELO-KATIOBOND LP686 solvent-free epoxy. The cells remained in the glovebox overnight to ensure full curing of the epoxy before they were brought out to the ambient. A Keithley 2400 source measurement unit was used to continuously monitor the maximum-power point and periodically probe the current density–voltage (J–V ) characteristics of the cells during continuous exposure to AM1.5G 100 mW cm−2 illumination provided by a 300 W xenon arc lamp (Newport Oriel). The cell stage was maintained at 21 ∘C throughout the ageing measurements.
To fabricate cells with areas larger than our standard test cell, ITO-coated glass substrates (20 Ω/square, Colorado Concept Coatings) having dimensions 23 mm × 27 mm were patterned with an ITO strip having dimensions 12 mm × 27 mm. Photomasks with varying sizes were used during aluminium top electrode deposition to define device active areas of 0.24, 0.48, 0.96, and 2.22 cm2.
The substrates used to prepare the 10 cm2 devices reported in Fig. 6 were obtained by a multi-step patterning process. ITO-coated glass sheets (20 Ω/square, Colorado Concept Coatings) were cut into 5 cm × 5 cm squares and cleaned by sonication in soap and deionized water, followed by deionized water, acetone, isopropanol, and then dried with nitrogen. Photolithography was then performed to define the bottom electrode (Fig. 6b, light brown) and the 30-nm-thick Ag-grid current collector (Fig. 6b,c, white). These patterned substrates were inspected for defects using an optical microscope before a final cleaning via sonication in 2-propanol for 3 min followed by drying with nitrogen. To create a smooth surface for device layers, the Ag-grid substrates were augmented with a PEDOT:PSS layer per literature38. PEDOT:PSS (Heraeus, Clevios pH 1000) was mixed with 5 vol% dimethyl sulfoxide and stirred overnight in the dark before the dispersion was spin-coated atop the patterned substrates at 4,000 r.p.m. (1,000 r.p.m. ramp) for 40 s. The substrates were then annealed at 140 ∘C for 30 min in a glovebox before they were transferred to the evaporator chamber for deposition of device layers as outlined above.
PANI-PAAMPSA synthesis.
Aniline (Sigma-Aldrich, 99.5%), ammonium peroxydisulfate (98.9%, Fisher Scientific), and PAAMPSA (Scientific Polymer Products, 10.36 wt% in water, reported MW 800 kg mol−1) were used in the synthesis of PANI-PAAMPSA as-purchased. PANI-PAAMPSA was synthesized by template polymerization of aniline along PAAMPSA at a 1:1 monomer-to-acid molar ratio in deionized water, as described by Yoo and colleagues54. Ammonium peroxydisulfate was added to the mixture dropwise at a 1:0.9 monomer-to-oxidizing agent molar ratio. The reaction mixture was stirred in an ice bath for 24 h. Acetone was slowly added to precipitate the PANI-PAAMPSA complex, which was dried under vacuum for 24 h.
Electrochromic window (ECW) fabrication and characterization.
A monolayer of 12-(phosphonododecyl)phosphonic acid (Sigma-Aldrich, 97%) was covalently bound to pre-cleaned ITO/glass by the tethering-by-aggregation-and-growth method developed by Schwartz and colleagues61. A 5 wt% PANI-PAAMPSA dispersion in water that were stirred for at least 10 days—or as-purchased PEDOT:PSS (Heraeus, Clevios pH 1000)—were spin-coated onto phosphonic acid-modified ITO/glass substrates. We varied the spin-coating rates from 700 r.p.m. to 1,000 r.p.m., and deposited 1 to 2 layers of PANI-PAAMPSA and 1 to 4 layers of PEDOT:PSS films to vary the thicknesses of the electrochromic polymers. These polymer films were dried for 1 min at 100 ∘C between each deposition. These films were then vigorously shaken in dichloroacetic acid (DCA, Sigma-Aldrich, 99%) for 3 min as described by Yoo and colleagues51. DCA treatment is performed in order to eliminate any hysteresis in electrochromic switching due to ion-transport limitation50. Excess DCA was removed by baking PANI-PAAMPSA films at 170 ∘C and PEDOT:PSS films at 140 ∘C. The films were kept under vacuum for at least 3 h prior to testing to remove any residual DCA. Film thicknesses were measured using a Dektak 3.21 profilometer.
To bring PANI-PAAMPSA and PEDOT:PSS to opposite oxidation states, PEDOT:PSS was oxidized for 200 s at 0.9 V (versus Ag/AgCl) and PANI-PAAMPSA was reduced for 200 s at −0.6 V (versus Ag/AgCl) in pH 8, 100 mM phosphate buffer solution using CH-Instruments CHI-660 electrochemical workstation. 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EMIM TFSI, Sigma-Aldrich, >97%) mixed with 5 wt% fumed silica (Sigma-Aldrich, 0.007 μm) was used as the gel electrolyte55. UV–Vis–NIR spectra of the ECWs were collected using an Agilent 8453 UV–Vis–NIR spectrometer while simultaneously performing chronoamperometry experiments using a CH-Instruments CHI-660 electrochemical workstation to switch between the bleached and the coloured states of our ECW. Spectra in Fig. 7 were background subtracted, with two ITO/glass substrates and EMIM TFSI/silica ionogel used as the background.
ECW video methods.
A 2.25 cm2 ECW was prepared as described above. A 1.38 cm2 solar cell with D/A1 as the active layers was used to drive the switching of this ECW between its coloured and bleached states. The cathode and anode of the solar cell were connected to the PANI-PAAMPSA and PEDOT:PSS electrodes, respectively, to achieve the coloured state of the ECW. The connections were reversed to access the bleached state.
Film thicknesses for various ECWs.
ECW video: PANI-PAAMPSA: 350 nm, PEDOT:PSS: 285 nm. Potential map (Fig. 7c,d and Supplementary Fig. 8): PANI-PAAMPSA: 260 nm, PEDOT:PSS: 320 nm. Stability/cyclability and charge/energy calculations (Fig. 7e,f and Supplementary Table 2): PANI-PAAMPSA: 370 nm, PEDOT:PSS: 355 nm. Combined device (Fig. 8): PANI-PAAMPSA: 245 nm, PEDOT:PSS 200 nm.
Data availability.
The data that support the plots within this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Twin Creek Technologies
Startup Twin Creek Technologies is attacking the cost of solar by getting more bang from a wafer of silicon.
After four years of work, the San Jose, Calif.-based company today is coming out of stealth and introducing its product, a machine designed to slash the cost of solar cell manufacturing. The company claims its Hyperion system cuts the cost of making a solar cell in half and brings total production cost from about 85 cents a watt today to around 50 cents.
Hyperion is now being evaluated by leading solar manufacturers and the company expects to have a number of them operating by next year, according to CEO Siva Sivaram. The machine also allows solar makers to make flexible silicon cells.
Twin Creek Technologies
In an effort to lower material costs, solar manufacturers over the years have been able to use thinner wafers. Square wafers are sawed off from ingots of very pure silicon. During production, wafers are treated and turned into solar cells. Then cells are assembled into a solar panel.
But getting beyond 200-micron thickness has problems because wafers get brittle, which limits the costs which can be saved on materials, Sivaram said. The Hyperion system uses a technique called proton induced exfoliation to create slices as thin as 20 microns from existing wafers. "It's like a ream of paper and you're taking sheets off of it," Sivaram said.
The machine blasts hydrogen ions, or protons, at silicon wafers. The protons embed themselves as a layer of bubbles. Then, the machine heats up the wafer to expand the bubbles to break off a sheet from the wafer.
This effect of hydrogen ions implanting themselves has been observed for decades, but using it for solar cell production required totally different engineering with high energy and high doses, Sivaram said. The thinner cells are as efficient as thicker ones and are flexible so they could be used for solar awnings or other building-integrated photovoltaics.
The company itself is stacked with an experienced group of executives and engineers, including co-founder and chief scientist Chris Petti. It has raised $93 million from Crosslink Capital, Benchmark Capital, Artis, DAG Ventures, and a Taiwanese funding, according to a representative.
Twin Creek Technologies has also received $30 million in loans from the state of Mississippi, where it has a demonstration plant. There solar manufacturers can come and test their specific production processes with Hyperion, Sivaram said.
If the company does sign on manufacturers to use its equipment, it could result in a significant cost reduction for solar power consumers. Sivaram estimates that getting to 50 cents a watt production costs would bring the industry to about $1 per watt installed, a price that could make solar cheaper than grid power in many places.
The effect on market prices, even if the product is purchased by many manufacturers, would take time, however. Hyperion can produce cells at a rate of six megawatts per year, which is a small fraction of the solar industry's production.
Still, Hyperion and the work of other potentially disruptive silicon cell manufacturing technologies, such as one developed by startup 1366 Technologies, point to possible breakthroughs which could benefit consumers and the industry. Right now, cutthroat price competition has led to several bankruptcies and few solar manufacturers actually making money, say analysts.
Even though Twin Creek has seen interest from solar manufacturers, Sivaram said his biggest concern is that solar manufacturers will be reluctant to adopt Twin Creek's new equipment, which costs millions of dollars. "There's no other way for the solar industry to proceed without getting more value from the materials they use," said Sivaram.Image caption Nicholas Paget-Brown has publicly apologised to survivors
Kensington and Chelsea Council's cabinet has adjourned its first meeting since the Grenfell Tower tragedy after just twenty minutes.
The cabinet had hoped to hold the meeting behind closed doors - but was forced by a court order to admit the press and public at 18:30 BST.
The council adjourned the meeting soon after, claiming it would "prejudice" the forthcoming public inquiry.
Earlier the council's leader apologised to the survivors of Grenfell Tower.
But Nicholas Paget-Brown, a Conservative councillor, told BBC London he would not resign in the foreseeable future.
He also rejected claims the tragedy showed the authority had failed the community.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for the entire leadership of the council to resign after the tragedy.
The mayor also said the disaster was the result of "years of neglect".
But so far the only person to resign has been the chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea council, Nicholas Holgate.
Image caption Mr Paget-Brown said the council asked for help from the government "quite quickly"
Mr Paget-Brown said the Grenfell Tower fire was "the biggest tragedy to hit London since the end of the Second World War".
He said he had not apologised directly to a survivor but said he needed "to apologise if the response on the ground to the tragedy has not been quick enough or not appropriate enough or on the scale that is needed".
"I do apologise here and to you and if anybody feels that Kensington and Chelsea should have been doing more, we've been trying to do all that we possibly can."
Analysis by Tim Donovan, BBC London Political Editor
It's been a catastrophe and a challenge which no council leader would ever want to face.
For Nicholas Paget-Brown, the task has become harder given the original perception.
Not just that the authority couldn't cope, but that it didn't know how to muster quickly the support which would have helped.
He's been on the back-foot since.
There will be lessons, which he says he is as keen as anyone should emerge from the public enquiry.
He says it's not the right time to be talking about issues like whether he should resign, nor answer in detail the criticisms that his policies failed, nor that a community was neglected.
He gives the impression he will want to, in time.
For the moment, the prime task is to restore confidence and reputation.
Asked why the council did not ask for help from outside the borough or from the government more quickly, the Mr Paget-Brown said: "We did do that quite quickly.
"We had gold meetings, which is the sort of centralised command meetings, twice on the Wednesday so we could see what we had locally and what me might need [from] elsewhere.
"Then the London gold command came in shortly after that and we've had to work both with the borough and the London gold command.
"We let it known that we needed help quite early in the proceedings. I can't tell you exactly at what time of the day but it became quite clear that we would not be able to cope on our own.
"On the morning of Wednesday I believe the Cabinet Office met in Cobra and we had a gold session in the council here and I think we worked quite closely to make sure that all the different parties, all the different partners that you need were able to help as quickly as possible."
In a statement released after the cabinet meeting was adjourned, Mr Paget-Brown said: "We are under sustained media criticism for a slow reaction to the fire, non-visibility and for failing to invest in North Kensington.
"I believe that many of these criticisms need to be challenged and over time they will be, but I can think of nothing more demeaning to the memory of those lost and missing in the fire than seeking the resolution of political scores."Backstage amidst the chaos of Africa Fashion Week in the South African city of Johannesburg one woman sits quietly in a corner.
Other models and designers from across the continent dash from one end of the tent to the other - there seems to be an unofficial competition to see who can make the most noise.
Yet despite her silence, US albino supermodel Diandra Forrest is still the most noticeable person in the room.
It matters a lot to me to be here, because I want to change the way people see girls with albinism on the continent Diandra Forrest, US model
With a complete lack of pigment in her hair or skin, the New Yorker who grew up in the city's mainly black Bronx community is used to sticking out a mile.
Around one person in 17,000 is born with the genetic disorder, which can also cause blindness.
But she knows that her presence at Africa Fashion Week has a much greater significance than just challenging ideas of what is beautiful.
In some African countries, particularly in East Africa, people with albinism are at risk of abduction and mutilation, as their body parts are believed by some to make potions and rituals more powerful.
"It matters a lot to me to be here, because I want to change the way people see girls with albinism on the continent," she told the BBC.
"I thought I had it so tough when I was growing up, with kids making fun of me all the time. I used to come home in tears," she recalls.
'Shocked'
"But that's nothing compared to what people like me go through here, particularly in rural areas.
Image caption International designers like to use albino models at the moment
"When I found out that in countries like Tanzania, albino people like me are at risk of having their limbs cut off for the trade in body parts I was just so shocked.
"People just like me live in fear every day of their lives. It's terrible."
But when it comes to international catwalks, Ms Forrest is setting a trend.
Like others in the fashion world, British-based South African designer Jacob Kimmie was smitten when he saw Ms Forrest.
"She looks so other worldly, I had to have her in the show," he says.
"At the moment using an albino model is very hot right now, it's true.
"But hopefully the impact of using people who look very different, is that it inspires a longer term change."
Refilwe Modiselle, a South African model with albinism who grew up in Soweto, agrees.
Modelling since the age of 13, she is now the face of the South African fashion chain Legit and tells me albinism used to be viewed negatively but is now becoming more "mainstream".
"I really feel that the work Diandra and I are doing is the beginning of a real change," she says.
Witchcraft link
But in Kwazulu Natal, a day's drive from the Africa Fashion Week catwalk, an albino schoolboy has been missing for over a year after his abduction.
His family fear it is linked to witchcraft.
Most recently in Meru, Tanzania, the body of an albino man estimated to be in his 30s, was discovered in June with several of his body parts missing.
Image caption People with albinism in parts of East Africa live in fear of their lives
The body parts are used in witchcraft medicines or buried underneath businesses in the belief that they bring prosperity.
So can a model on a catwalk really make a difference?
Peter Ash, the author of a 2012 report commissioned by the UN on albinism, says it can.
"The more positive portrayals of people with albinism the better; it really helps."
"The main problem we find is that there is an underlying acceptance of violence against people with albinism, because they are seen as sub-human, a representation of the devil, or carriers of a curse," he says.
"So it's crucial that African society starts seeing positive role models to be able to change thinking like that."
I'm a black girl who lives in the skin of a white person and that alone should embody what a human being as a whole should represent Refilwe Modiselle, South African model
Quoted in the UN report, the non-governmental organisation Under the Same Sun estimated that around 71 people with albinism were killed in Tanzania between 2006 and 2012, and 31 survived machete attacks.
Seventeen albinos were murdered in Burundi, seven in Kenya seven and three in Swaziland.
The cases are often not properly reported or investigated, says Nomasonto Mazibuko from the Society for Albinism in South Africa.
But she says that change has got to come from within the continent:
"The crucial point is that people don't take people with albinism as actual human beings. It is up to us in Africa to talk about this and make inroads against prejudice."
Her voice rises with passion as we talk: 'We cannot be quiet, we cannot stay hidden.
"And any girl with albinism who is walking on an international catwalk or even the street with her head held high is a much needed role model."
Ms Modiselle hopes she can be that catalyst for inspiration for the often racially divided society in South Africa and the continent as a whole.
"I'm the symbol of racial unity. I'm a black girl who lives in the skin of a white person and that alone should embody what a human being as a whole should represent," she told the BBC.
"I'd like to be known as a model, and for all my other achievements, not for being albino."Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. plans to move forward with its proposed Energy East Pipeline project, the company said today.
The pipeline proposal, which still needs regulatory approval, would send 1.1 million barrels of oil per day from Western Canada to refineries and export terminals in Eastern Canada.
It is expected to displace a significant amount of the 700,000 barrels of oil a day currently imported into New Brunswick and Quebec.
The company said in a news release it received "strong market support" during its open season process, during which interested producers were asked to make binding commitments for space on the pipeline.
"We are very pleased with the outcome of the open season for the Energy East Pipeline held earlier this year and are excited to move forward with a major project that will bring many benefits across Canada," Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and chief executive officer, said in a news release on Thursday.
New Brunswick Premier David Alward has been a strong advocate for the proposed west-east TransCanada pipeline project. (CBC)
"This is an historic opportunity to connect the oil resources of Western Canada to the consumers of Eastern Canada, creating jobs, tax revenue and energy security for all Canadians for decades to come."
The pipeline project is expected to cost $12 billion, excluding the transfer value of Canadian Mainline natural gas assets, according to the company.
TransCanada is proposing to convert roughly |
said he is against alcohol in the stands because it might make parents uncomfortable about taking children to games.
Mahoney said he doesn't see how it can be a problem. Alcohol is allowed in the stands at Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks baseball games, which many consider to be family events, and it's gone well, he said.
The Alerus Center in Grand Forks, home to the University of North Dakota football team, tried the beer garden at one point and found it so cumbersome that beer is now allowed in the stands, he said.
Mahoney added that he wouldn't want alcohol to be allowed in the student section, however, for fear that students who are of age will just buy beer for younger students.
Commissioners are expected to discuss the issue at their next meeting on Aug. 17.Dwayne Johnson has, it seems, come clean about his desire to join the Marvel Family — not Marvel Studios, but the one that includes a superheroic rabbit and kindly uncle, not to mention a wizard fond of a very special magic word.
The Associated Press is reporting that, during an appearance in Mexico City to promote Hercules, Johnson confirmed that he would play a role in a Warner Bros. adaptation of the DC Entertainment property Shazam. This follows previous hints about such an announcement during earlier Hercules promotional appearances this summer.
The report adds that Johnson said that he isn’t sure yet whether he’ll take the role of hero Shazam or his nemesis Black Adam in the movie, noting that he has “always been a fan of anti-heroes,” and that Black Adam — an earlier version of Shazam from Ancient Egypt who has become an anti-hero in recent years — has always been one of his favorite DC characters.
No matter which role he takes, he said that he is “putting my heart and soul and my bones” into it, according to the Associated Press report. To date, no Shazam project has been officially announced by Warner Bros., although with no less than nine mystery DC Entertainment movies scheduled between 2016 and 2020, it wouldn’t be lacking a potential release date.To honor the 50th Anniversary of the 2nd Grand Seiko model ever made, the 1964 GS Self-Dater (or 57GS), Seiko has introduced a new part of their Historical Collection featuring the design very similar to that of the 1964 model. These recreations will come in 3 Spring Drive models, and 2 9F Quartz. Today we introduce the 3 Spring Drive Limited Editions, SBGA103, SBGA105 and the Platinum 950 cased SBGA107.
Before we get into the exacts of the new editions, it is important to talk about the ’64 model. When they introduced the 1st “Self-Dater”, this was the 1st Grand Seiko to feature not only a date, but also to have 5 ATM water resistance, and was the 1st to implement the Zaratsu Katana Blade polishing technique. These virtues hold true now to all Grand Seiko’s today, and this retro-remake is no different.
It is important to know that the ’64 variation was manufactured at Suwa Seikosha, which is now Seiko Epson. The factory that produced this model as well as all other Grand Seiko’s prior to the 44GS was the Suwa factory, and Suwa is home to the Shinshu Watch Studio, which also created Spring Drive. The new Historical Collection models that house Spring Drive movements are going to be a 39.9mm case that is 13.2mm thick. The piece pictured above is the Platinum 950 model SBGA107 on crocodile leather, which is limited to only 50 pieces to the world, only 1 of which will come to the USA. This will be exclusively available at AZ Fine Time.
The next model in the line up is already without question the most popular, the SBGA105 with a deep radial finished metallic blue dial. This model has the same 39.9mm case as on the SBGA107, but in stainless steel with a stainless steel 5 piece link bracelet. The dial color on this model is spectacular and has a huge range of color depending on the amount of light that hits the dial. Varying from a deep dark blue to a vibrant true blue, it is the perfect color to symbolize Grand Seiko.
Only 500 units will be produced for the world of the SBGA105, which is truly a shame. With such limited quantities, and such a highly demanded dial color, these models are sure to sell quickly. The dial color isn’t even one of the best parts of this model, or the entire series for that matter. What is truly special, is what lies on the inside.
All 3 models in this line up will feature the higher accuracy 9R15 Spring Drive movement. Thanks to a specially selected quartz crystal, which Seiko grows and tests entirely in-house, this Spring Drive movement is capable of an accuracy rating of only +/- 10 seconds a MONTH, or.5 seconds a day specifications. The accuracy and performance of Spring Drive is already uncanny to begin with. The 1st time this movement was available outside of Japan was in the 18k gold Spring Drive Snowflakes. Now, this movement is available in a much more reasonable price point.
The final model in this series of Spring Drive “Self-Daters” is the SBGA103, with radial silver dial and blued second hand. This model recreates the original the most in this series, and has a very complex dial, which is easy to see in any lighting. The sapphire crystal utilized in this series has an even deeper dome than most core models of Grand Seiko, which also adds to its vintage appeal. Of course, the sapphire is coated in Seiko’s proprietary anti-reflective coating, giving a distortion free view of the dial.
You can certainly distinguish the case design is completely unique as compared to other models of the GS line up. The wider, more square, lugs of this model contribute more to its unique design, which combines a small amount of satin finish with a large amount of Zaratsu. This model holds special value in the sense the Self-Dater was the 1st to use this technique, and the quality speaks for itself. The mirror finish will be found on the bezel, front of the lugs, case sides, and in 2 pieces of each link set.
The Grand Seiko “Self-Dater” Spring Drive Limited Editions are scheduled for delivery sometime in July. The estimated MSRP’s will be $34,500 for the Platinum SBGA107, and $6,500 for the steel SBGA103 and SBGA105. These models are currently available for pre-order through AZ Fine Time, but are sure to sell through quickly. As always, if you have any questions, please contact us at 1-800-486-3996 or submit an inquiry through AZFineTime.com.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more Grand Seiko goodness!
See more pictures below…
AdvertisementsUK retailer Game has sold its entire Multiplay Digital division to game engine maker Unity for £19 million ($25.2 million).
The deal will see Unity shell out £17.1 million ($22.7 million) upfront, with the remaining £1.9 million ($2.5 million) being held in escrow for another 19 months.
Multiplay Digital is the retailer's online game server hosting business. It currently supports a number of major titles including Titanfall 2, Day Z, and Killing Floor 2.
The Multiplay unit originally consisted of two different divisions: Digital and Esports & Events. Game has transferred the latter to another wholly-owned subsidiary, and says it remains "committed" to the Esports & Events business.
Game had already outlined plans to sell Multiplay Digital back in August, with the firm looking to raise cash and strengthen its position in a tough retail climate.
"This transaction is a significant strategic step forward for Game Digital," said company CEO Martyn Gibbs."By divesting Multiplay Digital we simplify the group and focus management on accelerating development plans to fully capitalize on the strong growth potential in our exciting and growing eSports activities, including Belong.
"We are delighted to have transacted with such a strong new owner for our Multiplay Digital business and its highly talented team, and we now look forward to further developing Game Digital as we seek to combine multichannel retail, events and eSports."MANTUA TOWNSHIP -- Fourth graders from J. Mason Tomlin Elementary School presented to township committee members Monday night asking for a sign commemorating the dryptosaurus aquilunguis.
The dinosaur, a cousin of the tyrannosaurus, was discovered in 1866 in Ceres Park. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the discovery and a sign was asked to be erected in the nearby park.
With the collaboration between Rowan University's fossil park and Bill Falcone's fourth-grade class, students were able to research the dinosaur and participate in a fossil dig earlier this year.
"I think it's important to the kids because it allowed them to use their skills for research and to show the commitment in their town and to do something that will have an impact on their community for many many years to come," said Heather Simmons, associate director of Rowan's fossil park and Gloucester County freeholder.
Simmons said the university took ownership of the park in January, which is located in Mantua, and the town immediately became involved with the site.
"What the students at JMT did with the dryptosaurus, we're hoping to inspire other school districts to become involved and recognize these assets in their hometown," she said.
The fourth-graders were initially asked to draw their depiction of the dinosaur before learning about any of its characteristics.
"We had some real stuff and we had some fun stuff like mohawks and rainbow colors," Falcone said.
After researching the dinosaur, Falcone said the students drew a more realistic rendition of the dinosaur with longer arms and eight-inch talons.
"The dryptosaurus is a really cool dinosaur, he should be the state dinosaur," he added.
The fossil site is not yet open to the public, with exceptions for dig days held a few times a year, but Simmons said the goal is to have a visitor's center on site and to have more community involvement.
According to Simmons, dinosaur assets are all over South Jersey with several in Gloucester County. In the future she would like to see more school districts get involved and show interest in marking those sites.
Currently the college is working with Visit South Jersey to draw attention and tourism to the park.
Mantua Township Mayor Pete Scirrotto said the sign will be erected in Ceres Park in the coming months.
"I think it's one of a kind," Scirrotto said. "Not everyone has dinosaur fossils in their backyard."
In the future, Falcone said he would like for the town to erect a bronze statue in honor of the dinosaur.
"I would love to see something that can be enjoyed by the entire township," he said. "It's something that these kids someday, when they're old like me, can say 'I had a hand in this when I was in fourth grade and got this ball rolling.'"
CJ Fairfield may be reached at cfairfield@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @fairfielc4. Find NJ.com on Facebook.UPDATED
It turns out that anti-LGBT activists are right that men are taking advantage of a transgender-inclusive policy at Target to go into women’s restrooms — and those men are anti-LGBT activists.
In an interview this morning with “Breitbart News Daily,” the American Family Association’s director of governmental affairs, Sandy Rios, said that activists have been “testing” Target’s policy by sending men into women’s rooms at the retail chain.
Rios’ group has been leading a boycott of Target after the company said it would allow transgender people to use the restroom that matches their gender identity, which it claims will lead to open season for “sexual predators.”
The program’s host, Stephen Bannon, contended that rather than being inclusive, Target is “trying to exclude people who are decent, hard-working people who don’t want their four-year-old daughter to have to go into a bathroom with a guy with a beard in a dress.”
“I think there’s no question that when you say that there are no barriers in the bathroom,” Rios said, “and that if men or women feel like they are men or women, the opposition of however they are equipped, and you have no restrictions, the net effect will be that people will not be stopped. We’ve already had people testing this, going into Targets and men trying to go into bathrooms. There is absolutely no barrier.”
“And so the chief concern,” she continued, “even more than just, I think, trauma, certainly for little girls of having men dressed like women coming in their bathrooms, the chief concern of the American Family Association is the predators who will take advantage.”
UPDATE: AFA says that it is not in fact sending men into women’s changing areas:PHNOM PENH • Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha was charged with treason and espionage yesterday over an alleged conspiracy with unnamed foreigners, an offence that carries up to 30 years in jail.
He is accused of conniving in a "secret plan" with foreign entities which began in 1993, according to a court statement. Evidence of a conspiracy was substantial enough to charge the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) chief under the penal code section for "treason and espionage", it added.
Kem Sokha, 64, was arrested early on Sunday in a swoop by hundreds of security force members at his home in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. He has formally led the CNRP since March.
Hours later, Prime Minister Hun Sen - Asia's longest-serving leader - accused the politician of being in cahoots with the United States. "Behind his (Kem Sokha's) hand it is still the same, it is America."
To back up his claims, Mr Hun Sen cited a publicly available 2013 speech that the opposition politician gave in Australia in which he said he had received US help to build a pro- democracy movement inside Cambodia.
A report on the speech also featured on the pro-government Fresh News website shortly before the arrest.
Washington has yet to address the espionage allegation but the State Department said the charges against Kem Sokha "appear to be politically motivated".
It added that his arrest followed "a number of troubling recent steps" against civil society and the free media that threatened to undermine the credibility of next year's elections.
United Nations rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said he was "seriously concerned" by the arrest, adding that it "appears to have been carried out with no respect for due process guarantees, including respect for Kem Sokha's parliamentary immunity".
The surprise detention of Kem Sokha, an elected lawmaker, raises the political temperature in Cambodia. The CNRP had been widely tipped to perform strongly in next year's elections, buoyed by the youth vote in a country where many are tired of rampant corruption, inequality and the dwindling respect for human rights.
In February, the CNRP's then- leader Sam Rainsy stepped down after a fresh slew of legal cases against him threatened the party with a ban from politics. He is living in France to avoid convictions in Cambodia, which he says are politically motivated.
Kem Sokha took over at the helm of the party, but has been buffeted by allegations and threats driven by Prime Minister Hun Sen.
On Monday, a re-tweet on Kem Sokha's official Twitter feed read: "I may lose my freedom, but may freedom never die in Cambodia."
Analysts say Mr Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge soldier, is determined to extend his three-decade rule, and likely to withstand the burgeoning popularity of the CNRP, muffling critics in the media and in civil society.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEABSTRACT
Background: Since meat products represent a major source of protein in the Western diet, findings on whether meat intake significantly contributes to the burden of fatal disease have important clinical and public health implications. Objective: The objective was to examine whether a very low meat intake (less than weekly) contributes to greater longevity. Design: We reviewed data from 6 prospective cohort studies and report new findings on the life expectancy of long-term vegetarians from the Adventist Health Study. Results: Our review of the 6 studies found the following trends: 1) a very low meat intake was associated with a significant decrease in risk of death in 4 studies, a nonsignificant decrease in risk of death in the fifth study, and virtually no association in the sixth study; 2) 2 of the studies in which a low meat intake significantly decreased mortality risk also indicated that a longer duration (≥ 2 decades) of adherence to this diet contributed to a significant decrease in mortality risk and a significant 3.6-y (95% CI: 1.4, 5.8 y) increase in life expectancy; and 3) the protective effect of a very low meat intake seems to attenuate after the ninth decade. Some of the variation in the survival advantage in vegetarians may have been due to marked differences between studies in adjustment for confounders, the definition of vegetarian, measurement error, age distribution, the healthy volunteer effect, and intake of specific plant foods by the vegetarians. Conclusion: Current prospective cohort data from adults in North America and Europe raise the possibility that a lifestyle pattern that includes a very low meat intake is associated with greater longevity.
INTRODUCTION
Historical accounts of populations that have purportedly experienced greater longevity because of the low meat content of their diet are often cited in literature promoting the health benefits of the vegetarian diet (1). Specifically, certain geographically isolated, agrarian peoples (ie, Hunzakuts, Vilcabambas, mountain dwellers of Turkey, Russian Caucasus) who follow primarily plant-based diets have reported ages that raise the possibility that their life expectancy may far exceed 70 y (2–6). During World Wars I and II, wartime food restrictions that virtually eliminated meat consumption in Scandinavian countries were followed by a decline in the mortality rate (by ≈2 deaths/1000) that returned to prewar levels after the restriction was lifted (7–12). Also, Nestle (13) cites data indicating that the life expectancy of adults in Japan and certain Mediterranean countries is up to 2 y longer than their peers in Western nations in which the per capita meat intake has, over the past few decades, been substantially higher.
Does lower meat intake improve survival among humans? It is noteworthy that the apparently supportive historical accounts do not constitute a formal study of the association. Of particular concern are the problems of accurate determination of attained age in rural areas and of interpreting a causal effect of meat from ecologic data. Presently, the strongest methodology available for testing whether low meat intake (as a long-term diet pattern) affects survival is the prospective cohort study in which meat intake is related to the subsequent risk of mortality. Therefore, in this report, we addressed this question by closely examining the current epidemiologic findings from prospective studies that related meat intake to all-cause mortality.
It is noteworthy that prospective studies relating diet to mortality tend to be conducted in affluent nations in which there is a low prevalence of meatless diets [≈6% follow meatless diets in the United States (14)]—a design feature that can substantially limit the statistical power to detect a relation between meatless diets and survival. In the studies we considered in this report (1, 15–23), the problem of a low prevalence of meatless diets was addressed by 1) oversampling the vegetarians (15, 16), 2) studying populations with a high prevalence of low meat consumers (1, 20–23), or 3) studying a vegetarian population and focusing on the duration of adherence to a very-low meat intake diet as the exposure of interest (1, 18, 19).
In this report, our conclusions about whether very low meat intake contributes to greater longevity will be based on the published findings from prospective cohort studies and on new findings on the life expectancy of long-term vegetarians in the California Seventh-day Adventist cohorts (24).
METHODS
Selection of studies
We conducted a search of the MEDLINE (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD) to identify prospective cohort studies in which dietary intake was measured at baseline in a population that was then enrolled in mortality surveillance. Among those published studies that had collected these data, we selected studies in which the authors had published an analysis in which very low meat intake was directly related to all-cause mortality. For the purpose of this report, we define “very low meat intake” as being either zero meat intake or the lowest meat intake category defined by the authors of the study.
On the basis of our review of the literature and the criteria described above, we identified 6 studies that examined the relation between very low meat intake and all-cause mortality. These studies are summarized in Table 1, and their design is discussed below.
TABLE 1 Cohort Reference Length of follow-up Description of very-low-meat-intake group Description of high-meat-intake group Adjusted mortality ratio (95% CI)2 Method of control for confounding y Oxford Vegetarian Study (UK) Appleby et al (15, 16) 12 Zero meat intake (n = 6000) Meateater (n = 5000) 0.80 (0.65, 0.99) Age, smoking, BMI, social class 22 Zero meat intake (n = 6000) Meateater (n = 5000) 1.01 (0.89, 1.14) Age, smoking, BMI, social class Health Food Shoppers Study (UK) Key et al (17) 17 Vegetarian (n = 4627)3 Nonvegetarian (n = 6144) 1.04 (0.93, 1.16) Age, sex, smoking Germans Chang-Claude et al (18, 19) 11 Vegetarian (1904)4 General population 0.44 (0.36, 0.53) for men; 0.53 (0.44, 0.64) for women Age Adventist Mortality Study (US) Kahn et al (22), Singh (1) 26 Zero meat intake (n = 7918) Meat eaten once or more per wk (n = 6958) 0.88 (0.82, 0.93) Age, sex, education, and BMI by multivariate adjustment; ever-smokers, alcohol users, and those with baseline chronic disease excluded from analysis Adventist Health Study (US) Fraser (20), Singh (1), Fraser and Shavlik (21) 12 Zero meat intake (n = 7191) Meat eaten once or more per wk (n = 7463) 0.85 (0.76, 0.94) Age, sex, education, BMI, physical activity by multivariate adjustment; ever-smokers, alcohol users, and those with baseline chronic illness excluded from analysis Italians Fortes et al (23) 5 Meat eaten less than once per wk (NR) Meat eaten more than once per wk (NR) 0.55 (0.28, 1.10) Age, sex, education, BMI, smoking, cognitive function, chronic diseases Cohort Reference Length of follow-up Description of very-low-meat-intake group Description of high-meat-intake group Adjusted mortality ratio (95% CI)2 Method of control for confounding y Oxford Vegetarian Study (UK) Appleby et al (15, 16) 12 Zero meat intake (n = 6000) Meateater (n = 5000) 0.80 (0.65, 0.99) Age, smoking, BMI, social class 22 Zero meat intake (n = 6000) Meateater (n = 5000) 1.01 (0.89, 1.14) Age, smoking, BMI, social class Health Food Shoppers Study (UK) Key et al (17) 17 Vegetarian (n = 4627)3 Nonvegetarian (n = 6144) 1.04 (0.93, 1.16) Age, sex, smoking Germans Chang-Claude et al (18, 19) 11 Vegetarian (1904)4 General population 0.44 (0.36, 0.53) for men; 0.53 (0.44, 0.64) for women Age Adventist Mortality Study (US) Kahn et al (22), Singh (1) 26 Zero meat intake (n = 7918) Meat eaten once or more per wk (n = 6958) 0.88 (0.82, 0.93) Age, sex, education, and BMI by multivariate adjustment; ever-smokers, alcohol users, and those with baseline chronic disease excluded from analysis Adventist Health Study (US) Fraser (20), Singh (1), Fraser and Shavlik (21) 12 Zero meat intake (n = 7191) Meat eaten once or more per wk (n = 7463) 0.85 (0.76, 0.94) Age, sex, education, BMI, physical activity by multivariate adjustment; ever-smokers, alcohol users, and those with baseline chronic illness excluded from analysis Italians Fortes et al (23) 5 Meat eaten less than once per wk (NR) Meat eaten more than once per wk (NR) 0.55 (0.28, 1.10) Age, sex, education, BMI, smoking, cognitive function, chronic diseases View Large
TABLE 1 Cohort Reference Length of follow-up Description of very-low-meat-intake group Description of high-meat-intake group Adjusted mortality ratio (95% CI)2 Method of control for confounding y Oxford Vegetarian Study (UK) Appleby et al (15, 16) 12 Zero meat intake (n = 6000) Meateater (n = 5000) 0.80 (0.65, 0.99) Age, smoking, BMI, social class 22 Zero meat intake (n = 6000) Meateater (n = 5000) 1.01 (0.89, 1.14) Age, smoking, BMI, social class Health Food Shoppers Study (UK) Key et al (17) 17 Vegetarian (n = 4627)3 Nonvegetarian (n = 6144) 1.04 (0.93, 1.16) Age, sex, smoking Germans Chang-Claude et al (18, 19) 11 Vegetarian (1904)4 General population 0.44 (0.36, 0.53) for men; 0.53 (0.44, 0.64) for women Age Adventist Mortality Study (US) Kahn et al (22), Singh (1) 26 Zero meat intake (n = 7918) Meat eaten once or more per wk (n = 6958) 0.88 (0.82, 0.93) Age, sex, education, and BMI by multivariate adjustment; ever-smokers, alcohol users, and those with baseline chronic disease excluded from analysis Adventist Health Study (US) Fraser (20), Singh (1), Fraser and Shavlik (21) 12 Zero meat intake (n = 7191) Meat eaten once or more per wk (n = 7463) 0.85 (0.76, 0.94) Age, sex, education, BMI, physical activity by multivariate adjustment; ever-smokers, alcohol users, and those with baseline chronic illness excluded from analysis Italians Fortes et al (23) 5 Meat eaten less than once per wk (NR) Meat eaten more than once per wk (NR) 0.55 (0.28, 1.10) Age, sex, education, BMI, smoking, cognitive function, chronic diseases Cohort Reference Length of follow-up Description of very-low-meat-intake group Description of high-meat-intake group Adjusted mortality ratio (95% CI)2 Method of control for confounding y Oxford Vegetarian Study (UK) Appleby et al (15, 16) 12 Zero meat intake (n = 6000) Meateater (n = 5000) 0.80 (0.65, 0.99) Age, smoking, BMI, social class 22 Zero meat intake (n = 6000) Meateater (n = 5000) 1.01 (0.89, 1.14) Age, smoking, BMI, social class Health Food Shoppers Study (UK) Key et al (17) 17 Vegetarian (n = 4627)3 Nonvegetarian (n = 6144) 1.04 (0.93, 1.16) Age, sex, smoking Germans Chang-Claude et al (18, 19) 11 Vegetarian (1904)4 General population 0.44 (0.36, 0.53) for men; 0.53 (0.44, 0.64) for women Age Adventist Mortality Study (US) Kahn et al (22), Singh (1) 26 Zero meat intake (n = 7918) Meat eaten once or more per wk (n = 6958) 0.88 (0.82, 0.93) Age, sex, education, and BMI by multivariate adjustment; ever-smokers, alcohol users, and those with baseline chronic disease excluded from analysis Adventist Health Study (US) Fraser (20), Singh (1), Fraser and Shavlik (21) 12 Zero meat intake (n = 7191) Meat eaten once or more per wk (n = 7463) 0.85 (0.76, 0.94) Age, sex, education, BMI, physical activity by multivariate adjustment; ever-smokers, alcohol users, and those with baseline chronic illness excluded from analysis Italians Fortes et al (23) 5 Meat eaten less than once per wk (NR) Meat eaten more than once per wk (NR) 0.55 (0.28, 1.10) Age, sex, education, BMI, smoking, cognitive function, chronic diseases View Large
Design of the selected studies
Oxford Vegetarian Study
In the Oxford Vegetarian Study (15, 16), 6000 vegetarians, defined as those who never eat meat or fish, were recruited through the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom and announcements in the media. Five thousand nonvegetarians were identified using a method whereby investigators asked the vegetarians to identify friends and relatives who were “of similar lifestyle and social class but who ate meat.” These 11 000 subjects completed a food-frequency questionnaire at baseline (1980–1984) with items on meat intake and were then enrolled in a follow-up study with findings reported at 12 y (15) and 22 y (16). In a validation substudy conducted 2–4 y after baseline, it was found that the non–meat eaters had significantly lower total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol concentrations.
Health Food Shoppers Study (United Kingdom)
In this study, a cohort of 10 771 adults was identified that consisted of customers of health food shops and clinics, subscribers to health food magazines, subscribers to Seventh-day Adventist publications, or members of vegetarian societies (17). Of the total study population, 4627 (43%) indicated that they were vegetarian (not defined further on the questionnaire). In a validity substudy in which a detailed dietary assessment was conducted 1.5–6 y after baseline, it was found that among those classified as “vegetarian” at baseline, 66% consumed meat or fish less than once per week. Key et al (17) have examined the relation between baseline “vegetarian” status and 17-y risk of all-cause mortality in this study population.
German vegetarians
In this study, the investigators identified a cohort of 1904 German vegetarians (zero or low intake of meat or fish) from the readership of vegetarian magazines (18, 19). The baseline questionnaire used in this study classified all of these subjects as either “strict vegetarian” (zero intake of meat or fish) or “moderate vegetarian” (low intake of meat or fish) and, in addition, by measured duration of adherence to these meat intake patterns. Among these vegetarians, Chang-Claude and Frentzel-Beyme (18) examined the relation between duration of very low meat intake and 11-y all-cause mortality. Chang-Claude et al (19) computed standardized mortality ratios comparing the mortality of these vegetarians to the mortality of the German population.
California Seventh-day Adventists
Over the past 4 decades, dietary data collected among US members of the Seventh-day Adventist church indicate that about one third to one half of the membership in California consumes no meat (24). For the purpose of 2 prospective cohort studies (1, 20–22), the population of California Seventh-day Adventists was identified by a census taken from church membership rosters in 1958 and in 1974. The population identified in the 1958 census was used to enroll the Adventist Mortality Study, in which 27 530 non-Hispanic whites completed a baseline questionnaire (Hammond's American Cancer Questionnaire) in 1960 and were followed prospectively for 26 y. The population identified in the 1976 census was used to enroll the Adventist Health Study, in which 34 198 non-Hispanic whites completed a baseline questionnaire (including a 55-item semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire) in 1976 and were followed prospectively for 12 y. Validation studies of the Adventist Health Study cohort members indicated that the correlation between meat intake reported on the questionnaire and on 24-h recalls was 0.83 and that 93% of those classified as weekly meat eaters on the recalls were also classified as weekly meat eaters on the baseline questionnaire items (25).
The data from both cohort studies allowed the following previously unpublished analyses: 1) the relation between very low intake of all meats and 26-y risk of all-cause mortality among adults of the Adventist Mortality Study, 2) the relation between very low intake of all meats and specific meats and 12-y risk of all-cause mortality among adults of the Adventist Health Study, and 3) the relation between change in meat intake over a 17-y interval and the subsequent 17–29-y risk of all-cause mortality among adults who were cohort members of both the Adventist Mortality Study and the Adventist Health Study. Fraser has recently reported that among California Seventh-day Adventists, vegetarians were substantially more likely to have never smoked cigarettes, to not use alcohol, and to have no prevalent chronic disease (20). To account for potential confounding by these factors, ever-smokers, alcohol users, and subjects with history of coronary artery disease, stroke, and cancer were excluded from the analysis of Seventh-day Adventists given in this report.
Populations following a Mediterranean diet pattern
A number of prospective studies have been conducted in populations of elderly subjects (at or beyond the seventh decade at baseline) with a high prevalence of adherence to a Mediterranean diet pattern (Greeks, Spaniards, Italians) (1). In the study of Italians (23), data from an extensive food-frequency questionnaire were used to measure intakes of all meats, and this exposure was related to risk of all-cause mortality.
RESULTS
A summary of the findings from the 6 studies that directly related very low intake of all meats to all-cause mortality is shown in Table 1. Five of the 6 studies indicated a decrease (from a 25% decrease up to almost a 2-fold decrease) in risk for very low meat intake relative to higher meat consumption. The remaining study, the Health Food Shoppers Study (17), reported no strong association for a “vegetarian” status variable that did not specifically measure meat intake (Table 1). Another notable exception was that in the Oxford Vegetarian Study, in which a significant 25% decrease in risk for zero meat intake was reported at 12 y of follow-up (15), the mortality ratio attenuated to a weak association after an additional 10 y of follow-up (16).
In Table 2, we provide the data from 2 studies of vegetarians [German vegetarians (18), Adventist vegetarians (1)] that related duration of very low meat intake to all-cause mortality. In both studies, decreases in risk were found for those indicating long-term (17 y and ≥ 20 y, respectively) adherence to a very-low-meat-intake diet relative to those indicating short-term (< 17 y and < 20 y, respectively) adherence to a very-low-meat-intake diet. In both studies, the protective effect of long-term vegetarianism was slightly attenuated by adjustment for variables (ie, body mass index, activity). Some of this attenuation may be attributable to adjustment for intermediate effects, such as the effect of vegetarian diet on maintaining a healthy weight that causally contributes to longevity.
TABLE 2 Cohort Long-duration group Short-duration group Length of subsequent follow-up Age-adjusted mortality ratio (95% CI)1 Multivariate mortality ratio (95% CI)1 y German vegetarians (18,19) Very low meat intake for ≥20 y (n = 1259) Very low meat intake for <20 y (n = 645) 11 0.69 (0.49, 0.98) 0.71 (0.49, 1.02)2 Seventh-day Adventist vegetarians (1) Zero meat intake for 17 y (n = 1906) Zero meat intake for <17 y (n = 265) 12 0.64 (0.48, 0.85) 0.70 (0.51, 0.96)3 Cohort Long-duration group Short-duration group Length of subsequent follow-up Age-adjusted mortality ratio (95% CI)1 Multivariate mortality ratio (95% CI)1 y German vegetarians (18,19) Very low meat intake for ≥20 y (n = 1259) Very low meat intake for <20 y (n = 645) 11 0.69 (0.49, 0.98) 0.71 (0.49, 1.02)2 Seventh-day Adventist vegetarians (1) Zero meat intake for 17 y (n = 1906) Zero meat intake for <17 y (n = 265) 12 0.64 (0.48, 0.85) 0.70 (0.51, 0.96)3 View Large
TABLE 2 Cohort Long-duration group Short-duration group Length of subsequent follow-up Age-adjusted mortality ratio (95% CI |
ations of the James Beard Foundation-recognized owners, started out with a solid reputation for this small chain.
“These folks come with very impressive fine dining credentials, and they’re known for seeking out fresh and seasonal ingredients before it was a trend,” Harris said.
“And in the food world, you can’t do any better than when you’re recognized by the James Beard Foundation,” he added. “That’s the Oscar of the food world.”
The Larder began as a combination of casual cafe and marketplace at another of their restaurants, Tavern.
“We took the front room and styled it as a place you could come to any time of day to get pastries, salads, cookies, sandwiches — get something you can heat up for dinner later at home,” Styne said.
The Larder at Tavern opened in 2009 and has since been joined by The Larder at Maple Drive in 2010, The Larder at Burton Way in 2013 and The Larder at LAX in 2014.
“We don’t have hundreds of them; we have four,” Styne said. “Maybe we’ll open a couple of more in the future, but we don’t have such a large group that we’re taking something and cookie-cutting it and shoving into different types of spaces and making everything look the same.”
Next year, more people will become familiar with the Larder chain when two concession spots open at the Hollywood Bowl during the 2016 season.
Cerveteca, meanwhile, offers L.A.-influenced, feel-good food and stylishly rustic locations.
“I call it L.A. comfort food,” said Cerveteca owner Oscar Hermosillo. “It’s basically inspired by the food that we, as a family growing up here, ate. It’s not necessarily Mexican food, but definitely influenced by our background.”
That means tacos, pulled pork sandwiches and a burger called the La Puente Original.
“I grew up next to In-N-Out, and it was our neighborhood burger spot,” Hermosillo said. “I used to mimic their burger in my backyard, and so when I opened a restaurant I said, let’s make that backyard burger.”
The flagship Venice location opened in 2011 and is sourced by local farmers markets in Santa Monica, Venice and Mar Vista. There are also locations in Culver City and downtown L.A. Hermosillo also owns two other restaurants, Clutch and Venice Beach Wines.
On the weekends at the Venice Cerveteca, Hermosillo’s father works the bar while his mother helps out in the kitchen and chats up the customers.
“I love Mom,” said Concha Duenas, a regular at Cerveteca. “I call her Mom, too. I love her; she’s awesome. It’s like eating with family. Everybody here now knows me.”
Hermosillo’s not sure if there will be another Cerveteca; he says the future of his chain depends more on what feels right rather than just getting bigger.
“I’m always looking,” Hermosillo said. “If a neighborhood speaks to one of my concepts, I’ll do it.”This article is the first systematic review of the research literature on women's rape fantasies. Current research indicates that between 31% and 57% of women have fantasies in which they are forced into sex against their will, and for 9% to 17% of women these are a frequent or favorite fantasy experience. Erotic rape fantasies are paradoxical: they do not appear to make sense. Why would a person have an erotic and pleasurable fantasy about an event that, in real life, would be abhorrent and traumatic? In this article, the major theories of women's rape fantasies are evaluated both rationally and empirically. These theories explain rape fantasies in terms of masochism, sexual blame avoidance, openness to sexuality, sexual desirability, male rape culture, biological predisposition to surrender, sympathetic physiological activation, and adversary transformation. This article evaluates theory and research, makes provisional judgments as to which theories appear to be most viable, and begins the task of theoretical integration to arrive at a more complete and internally consistent explanation for why many women engage in erotic rape fantasies. Methodological critiques and programs for future research are presented throughout.Signup to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories from around the world
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has accused the West of double standards for criminalising polygamy whilst approving of homosexuality.
“In the West they criminalise polygamy by law, while in Africa it is, and has always been, part of our way of life. Yet we do not complain. When we legislate [against] homosexuality, in response to the western sponsored non-governmental organisations vis-a-vis traditional values, we are threatened with sanctions. This is contempt,” Mr Museveni said yesterday at the Pan-African Parliament 10-year anniversary celebrations in South Africa.
The African, Caribbean and Pacific Parliament (ACP), which represents African nations, this week criticised the European Parliament’s decision to recommend sanctions against Uganda and Nigeria for recently strengthening laws against same-sex sexual activity.
The European Parliament voted last week to recommend heavy economic penalties, the denial of travel visas, the withdrawal of foreign aid and other sanctions against the two countries.
Nigeria strengthened its laws against same-sex sexual activity in January.
Anyone who enters into a same-sex marriage or civil union may be jailed for up to 14 years
President Yoweri Museveni gave assent to a law further criminalising same-sex sexual activity in Uganda last month.
The World Bank, along with Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, all halted aid to the Ugandan Government as a result of the decision of President Museveni.
The law calls for repeat offenders to be sentenced to 14 years in prison and makes it a criminal offence not to report someone for being gay.
President Museveni defended the legislation by saying that gay people give each other worms through sex.
He also described gay people as “disgusting”.Renas Lelikan: Australian trapped in Iraq refugee camp returns home, released by police
Updated
An Australian man who spent the past nine months trapped in an Iraqi refugee camp under threat from Islamic State (IS) militants has arrived back in Australia and was released by police after being held for almost 12 hours.
Key points: Renas Lelikan arrives in Melbourne
Mr Lelikan spent last nine months trapped in Iraqi refugee camp under siege by IS
DFAT previously denied his passport over alleged links to Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
Renas Lelikan arrived in Melbourne shortly after 7:00am AEDT on a flight from Dubai, and was held by the Australian Federal Police for questioning at the airport before being released later Saturday evening.
Mr Lelikan told the ABC it felt good to be home after being under the threat of IS.
"It wasn't easy living under the threat of the IS terrorists," he said.
"The whole world knows what they do. [But] you can't just look at yourself being freed because there are thousands of people that still live there under the threat of Daesh terrorists."
Mr Lelikan was due to return to Australia a fortnight ago but a mix-up with his Iraqi travel documents delayed his travel plans.
In August, the ABC revealed that he had been refused a passport by DFAT over concerns about his alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
It's an enormous relief that Renas has arrived safe in Australia. It has been a nine-month process, under constant threat and rocket fire from Islamic State. Lawyer Jessie Smith
The ABC understands that Mr Lelikan was granted a temporary travel document by DFAT which allowed him to return to Australia.
He said he was not a threat to the Australian people.
"I am not [a threat]," he said. "My whole life I have never felt sorry [for what I did]. It was right.
"I never did anything against our Australian Government. Wherever I went I did my job as a journalist."
His lawyer Jessie Smith said she was relieved her client was safe in Australia.
"It's an enormous relief that Renas has arrived safe in Australia," she said.
"It has been a nine-month process, under constant threat and rocket fire from Islamic State. We are grateful to DFAT and partner agencies who facilitated his passage home."
A small group of well-wishers are waiting to greet Mr Lelikan.
"We are very happy, he will more secure and safe in Australia," said Mahmut Kahraman from the Kurdish Association of Victoria.
"He is a Kurdish journalist and it shouldn't have taken this long, but we appreciate that the Australian Government have let him come back to his own country."
Do you know more about this story? Email investigations@abc.net.au.
Mr Lelikan first contacted the Australian embassy in Baghdad in January, asking for a replacement passport to allow him to return to Australia.
His original Australian passport had been held in France after he was convicted of being associated with the PKK — a militant Kurdish group that is banned in France and Australia.
He fled France shortly after his conviction using the passport of a relative.
It is understood Mr Lelikan is not subject to any extradition request from France and the sole penalty for his leaving the country before the expiration of his sentence is a five-year ban from entering France.
Mr Lelikan was eventually told that his passport application was being processed, but he was then sent a lengthy questionnaire from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
In August his passport application was refused on national security grounds, but last month he was granted a temporary travel document.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, australia, iraq
First postedScottsdale, Ariz. – Giants fans are going to love Michael Morse’s sense of humor.
When a reporter asked if he preferred to be called “Mike” or “Michael,” the team’s new left fielder said, “You can call me anything you want. If I’m not hitting in July you can call me ‘jerk.'”
Morse called the surgeon who fixed his wrist last year the “director of the hand department” at the Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Richard Berger did Morse a huge solid in October by finding the source of an impingment that not only sent pain shooting up his left arm but prevented him from straightening his wrist. Morse is not shy about blaming the injury for his awful 2013 season with the Mariners and Orioles – a.215 average and.651 OPS.
Morse jammed the wrist early in the season while sliding and team doctors could not locate the precise injury. He even was told it might be in his head.
Former Nationlals teammate Mark DeRosa, the ex-Giant, convinced Morse he might have the same injury that derailed DeRosa’s career, a torn sheath tendon. One day DeRosa grabbed Morse’s wrist, pressed hard in one spot and asked, “Does that hurt?”
Morse screamed in pain and DeRosa said, “Oof, I had that. Look at me now.”
On his own, on the advice of Nats right fielder Jayson Werth, Morse traveled to the Mayo Clinic to see Berger, who took more extensive tests and told the outfielder, “Even if I don’t find something I’m cutting you open because, if you say something’s is wrong, there has to be something there.”
An ultrasound revealed a bone spur that impinged the wrist’s natural movement. Berger performed a quick operation to shave down the spur. Morse was swinging a fungo bat within a week and taking batting practice within a month. Now, he is pain-free and hopes to become the power hitter he was with the Nats in 2011, when he hit 31 home runs.
Notwithstanding DeRosa’s attempt at injury diagnosis, he had Morse’s best interests in mind. In fact, Morse said, “He’s the one guy who told me this is the place to play. He loved San Francisco.”
Elsewhere on Day 3 of camp:[The High Face Keycap] Pre-Order
Introduction: There seemed to be a lot of interest for getting this specific face on a keycap, so I decided to do a limited run of these. Now is your opportunity to get yourself one and show your support 🙂 Though it’s not an image I can claim to be mine (as it’s been floating around reddit for a while now), it was vectored and color matched to my specifications.
Specifications:
SP (Signature Plastics) Manufacturer
Dye-sublimated
PBT plastic keycap in VCG color (See SP PBT Colors)
color (See SP PBT Colors) 1×1 ‘Esc’ and Function row size
Standard SP R4 Profile (similar to Cherry profile)
Pricing and Availability: I funded the order myself, so there is no burden or liability on the buyers. Please see the detailed information below.
$6 for the first one, $5/each after (+$3 shipping with DC within CONUS48; International should be a couple dollars more)
Max 3 keycaps per person
Only 60 total keycaps available
You do NOT pay until keycaps arrive
ETA is end of July, early August
If these don’t sell out in the pre-order
How to pre-order: Simply place your pre-order by leaving some basic information in the comment box below.
Username on GH or DT
Order Quantity
1 sentence describing why you enjoy my blog
And that’s it! If these don’t sell out in the pre-order, these keycaps will be available for sale at a higher premium. These should also not be confused with the “4:20 Keycap” design contest. Further details about the contest will continue once GH is back up and running 🙂
Thanks for all the support thus far, I’m no one with you guys!
AdvertisementsIt was a close finish for the most popular boy's name in Sweden last year, with 918 Williams pipping the 917 Oscars to the post for first place, according to Statistics Sweden's (SCB) annual compilation released on Monday.
William has been a popular choice, alongside Oscar and Lucas (third place), for most of the past decade.
For the girls, the far and away winner was Alice with 938 babies last year, streets ahead of second-placed Elsa, a name given 756 times.
The top ten for both boys and girls saw a few names in the mix, including Alva for the girls and Charlie and Filip for the boys.
Lykke was the highest placed newcomer for the girls, with 148 babies taking the name to 86th place. The popularity of award-winning Swedish singer Lykke Li is likely responsible for the surge.
For the boys, there was a slew of new names on the top 100 including Henry at 88th place, with other newcomers Julian, Levi, Colin, and Matteo not far behind.
Top ten girls' names in 2012, with total number.
1. Alice - 938
2. Elsa - 756
3. Julia - 683
4. Ella - 681
5. Maja - 670
6. Ebba - 653
7. Emma - 631
8. Linnea - 623
9. Molly - 606
10. Alva - 595
Top ten boys' names in 2012, with total number.
1. William - 918
2. Oscar - 917
3. Lucas - 908
4. Hugo - 778
5. Elias - 770
6. Alexander - 754
7. Liam - 722
8. Charlie - 717
9. Oliver - 691
10. Filip - 673
TT/The Local/og
Follow The Local on TwitterFor the past two offseasons, the hottest name in coaching searches has been the same one. Josh McDaniels. Talking heads toss his name out as the most in-demand coaching prospect out there. Last season he interviewed with several teams before ultimately deciding to stay with the Patriots for another season. It is not hard to understand why he gets the attention of team owners. The NFL is a copycat league and McDaniels has spent thirteen years as a part of a Patriots organization that has run roughshod over the rest of the league since the turn of the century.
Is his success the product of his legendary head coach? Is he the brilliant offensive mind he is portrayed to be? The Colts coaching search is not officially underway, but make no mistake, a change is coming. We will take a look at what McDaniel’s career has looked like since his firing from the Broncos nearly seven years ago and I will leave it for you to decide if he would make a good fit with the Colts.
When McDaniels was hired by the Broncos as their head coach back in 2009, he was the youngest head coach in the NFL at just 33 years old. He had spent his entire time in the NFL working with Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots. First as a personnel assistant, then working as an assistant with the defensive backs, then as the quarterbacks coach before becoming the offensive coordinator.
Given that background, it should not have surprised anyone when he got his chance at a head coaching job with the Broncos and immediately set out to remake them in the image of the Patriots. It was all he knew. It also is not hard to understand the logic. He had been a part of a team that had won three Super Bowls while he was there. Why wouldn’t you want to build a team that operated that way?
The Broncos gave him nearly as much power within the organization as was afforded Bill Belichick. It took Belichick 25 years of coaching to become the guy who led the Patriots to their success. McDaniels wasn’t near ready for that kind of power.
By all accounts, he came into the organization and attempted to take on much of the persona of his mentor. There was an immediate conflict with quarterback Jay Cutler with rumors swirling about a potential trade. Cutler got upset, said he could not trust the new head coach, and before the dust had settled, found himself traded to the Bears. At the time, this did not look good. Cutler was still an unknown, and his upside was still very high. Now we can look back and see that maybe losing Cutler was not really a significant loss.
D.J. Williams talked about the disconnect for players with McDaniels and his approach back in 2016 on a BSN Denver podcast saying:
“It’s like taking a course in school—it all depends on the teacher, it could be the easiest class or the hardest class. If this professor wants to give you pop quizzes randomly and essays, this is going to be the hardest class. If your professor is that professor that says, ‘Hey, we’re going to give a quiz on Friday, we’re going to talk about the subjects on Wednesday and Thursday,’ it’s smooth. Josh was the type of guy that, to me, made football tougher than it had to be.”
While changing the culture of a team is never an easy thing to do, if you cannot find a way to get your veterans to buy in, it is nearly impossible. After an 8-8 first season, Spygate 2.0, a shouting match on the practice field with Champ Bailey and D.J. Williams, and a loss to the Chiefs that brought the Broncos to 3-9, McDaniels was fired in the middle of his second season.
He took the offensive coordinator job in St. Louis the next season before ultimately making his way back to the Patriots as their offensive coordinator when Bill Obrien was hired by Penn State. Since that time, his work has been pretty impressive.
Since his return to the Patriots, their offense has never been ranked below 4th in the league in points scored. He has creatively run their offense in such a way that they have seemed to be unaffected by even significant losses to injury. Many would point to Tom Brady as a large part of this, and they would not be wrong. However, you cannot claim that Brady is the only the greatest system QB ever (which many Colts fans do) without also acknowledging the effectiveness of those who put in place the system.
Another undeniable trait of McDaniels that has been proven in his tenure with the Patriots is his ability to develop young backup quarterbacks. As ugly as the Colts season has been, without the acquisition of Jacoby Brissett it would have been even worse. Jimmy Garoppolo was traded to the 49ers to be their franchise quarterback. This is not insignificant. Neither of those players is Andrew Luck. But the ability to evaluate and develop young quarterbacks is not something every team has and is worth noting.
McDaniels has helped the Patriots do it consistently. They have been able to trade away backups and get something in return for Ryan Mallett, Matt Cassel, Jimmy Garappolo, and Jacoby Brissett all under McDaniel’s watch. Don’t forget that it was McDaniels at the helm of the offense in 2008 when Brady tore his ACL, who guided Cassel to a 10-5 record as a starter.
Plenty of questions still remain, however. While they were not as dominant during his first stint with the Patriots as the second, McDaniels has always had a knack for the offense. What reason might we have to think he would not fail again when taking on the broader challenges of a head coach?
To answer that we have to dig into the path he took after losing his job in Denver. According to a piece written by Dan Pompei, his first and perhaps most significant advice came from his father:
"You need to write down everything you would do differently if you ever get a chance to be a head coach again," Thom told him. "Do it while everything is fresh in your mind. Over time, add to it."
McDaniels took that advice to heart. During his time with the Rams, his family did not make the move with him. His kids were still in school in Colorado and that left him on his own at the office long after the rest of the staff had left. That gave him plenty of time to reflect on how things had gone in Denver:
"I was by myself—just me and my thoughts," McDaniels says. "I had very little interaction with other people. I had time to go back over everything we did in Denver, the decisions we made, step by step. I could slow it down."
One of the most important things McDaniels did during that time was to reach out to people he trusted to advise him. While he is often characterized as arrogant, he sought out different perspectives to help improve himself as a coach, showing the kind of humility necessary to learn from past mistakes. One of the people he talked with was former Colts coach Tony Dungy.
He had some long talks with Tony Dungy, his one-time rival with the Colts. Dungy told him he needed to self-reflect every year, whether he was fired or won the Super Bowl. They talked about the importance of being yourself and trusting instincts. Having fun is not a bad thing. Dungy stressed that a head coach's consistency with a team really mattered. They talked about the formula that makes a good coaching staff. Dungy gave him some ideas about keeping his faith at the center of his life as his coaching world turned. "I could relate to where he was at the time, having been fired myself," Dungy says. "He's a very smart guy, and we just talked about finding the next spot—the one that would be best for him."
Dungy’s advice about finding the best spot for him was taken seriously. McDaniels’ name has been brought up for several openings, but he has been notoriously choosy about where he will go.
McDaniels also talked about how he sometimes let his emotions get the best of him. He cited his decision to trade Cutler as being too reactive, too emotional. That is something that comes with the territory in many younger men and it was something he reflected on a lot.
"I don't know that I was as patient as I needed to be in most situations, whether it was game-planning, on the sidelines, preparation for the draft, personnel moves, whatever," he says. "There is an element of this game that tests your ability to slow down and make a good decision. I was allowing the way I felt at the moment to make the decision."
New head coaches can be overwhelmed with the vastly increased need to communicate with and work in conjunction with their staff. While coordinators may be content to be tunnel-visioned about their individual tasks, that doesn’t work as a head coach. McDaniels recognized that as a major flaw in his stint at Denver. He admitted that he preferred to take care of things himself rather than relying on his staff. The end result was that he ended up putting himself on his own island. That is not something he would repeat.
"I've had an opportunity to truly understand the value of interpersonal relationships and the feelings people have in the building, coach to player, player to coach, person to person," he says. "I don't know that I ever considered that before. As much as we are on the same staff, we don't all think the same," McDaniels says. "That's OK. Before, I might have been frustrated with that. Now I feel that's a healthy thing."
One of the most significant things for McDaniels after returning to New England was his renewed perspective of Bill Belichick. Having worked with him from 2001-2008 it was not as if he did not know the man. However, having been a head coach and understood what that responsibility entailed, he could see just how great Belichick did the job. Everything from how he approached preparation to the way he engaged and cared about his staff were things that had not been on McDaniels’ radar before.
What is certain is that McDaniels will not approach the next head coaching position he takes in the same way. The passion of a 33-year-old; brash and arrogant, with plans to take the league by storm has been replaced with the passion of a 40-year-old. He listens a great deal more. By doing it the wrong way, he learned that you cannot simply demand your team’s respect. Screaming at your coaches and players will not make them want to work hard for you.
The results for Josh McDaniels have spoken for themselves. He is one of the most creative and impressive offensive minds in football. He even drew up a play on the fly against the Texans after overhearing their defenders talking. The question has always been if he could fix the problems that clearly existed for him as a coach on his first time out.
Personally, I believe he can and will. Many of his mistakes were of the exact kind you would expect to be issues for a very young and rising star. Few failed head coaches get to go back and work for one of the best head coaches of all time with a renewed perspective on the position. McDaniels has had that chance.
Would he be a good fit for the Colts? That is a tougher question. It is clear both from what the Colts have experienced as well as the issues around the league we have seen play out that it is critical for the general manager and the head coach to be on the same page. He may prefer to go to a team where he can bring along a general manager of his choosing, which would eliminate the Colts.
If McDaniels has truly grown as a coach and is willing to work alongside Chris Ballard rather than being set on total control, the two could be a formidable pair.
For a deeper dive into Josh McDaniels’ comeback check out Dan Pompei’s great story The Redemption of Josh McDaniels, which I pulled from heavily for this one.The Australian Rugby Union have appointed former Wallabies player Rod Kafer to a new role where he will lead the facilitation of Australia’s elite coach development program.
The role, part of Australia’s high-performance department, will allow Kafer to balance the new job along with his existing TV commentary commitments.
It’s expected Kafer will work with Australia’s coaching staff for the Wallabies, Wallaroos, Sevens and at Super Rugby level. He will also coordinate the national coaching advisory panel, which was announced in May.
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Kafer had a 12-year playing career, spending five of them with the Brumbies where he made 37 appearances while scoring 50 points. He was a part of the inaugural Brumbies team in 1996 before moving to England in 2001 where he spent two years with the Leicester Tigers to finish his career.
The playmaker made his Wallabies debut in 1999, earning 12 caps before he made the move north.
Kafer said he was looking forward to the challenge of his new role at the ARU.
“As most know, we currently have many important priorities we need to address to improve the game. Our challenge is to ignore all of them and only focus on the critical few priorities that will lead to long-term success and improve our prospects of winning consistently, at every level,” said Kafer.
“Coaching is a critical priority that we must improve, at all levels. We must ensure that best practice at the elite end of the game flows to all coaches and players from the top to the bottom. That is a sure path to improvement and a critical investment in the game’s future.
“Every player and coach has a part to play in developing future Wallabies, Wallaroos and Olympians, and the more resources we provide to improve those players the better our future will be. We have already started on it and I can’t wait to see where we get to.”
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The ARU’s general manager of high performance, Ben Whittaker, sung the praises for Kafer in his new role.
“Rod is a fantastic acquisition into Australian Rugby and has shown a genuine willingness to be involved in shaping the way forward to achieve on-field success across our programs,” said Whittaker.
“Rod’s rugby intelligence is well known and he is one of the most respected voices in the game. He will be able to work with our elite coaches to identify opportunities for important learning and development.
“This is an area of High Performance that has been collectively prioritised and we have been able to design a model for it to be delivered via a centralised system.”Clashes have erupted between Israeli forces and worshippers at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem after noon prayers.
Israeli forces raided the mosque compound and fired stun grenades on Friday, while dozens of worshipers threw stones and chanted: "We sacrifice our blood and souls for you Aqsa".
One man was wounded and treated inside the mosque compound.
The imam of the mosque, Mohamed Hussian, condemned the violence at one of Islam's holiest sites - known to Jews as Temple Mount.
"It is a clear violation which is rejected by all the religions and the international laws," he said.
"It is a violation against al-Aqsa mosque and the Israeli authorities are responsible, because they order their soldiers to raid the mosque violently, they are responsible for all what is happening in Al-Aqsa mosque."
Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said police had responded after stones were thrown at them.
"After the Friday prayers on the Temple Mount there were stones that were thrown by number of asked Palestinians toward police officers that were located at the Mughrabi area which is just outside the Temple Mount," he said
"Israeli police units responded by using stun grenades and entering inside the Temple Mount area, immediately we made sure that we dispersed all the rioters."
Rosenfeld said police had arrested seven people during the two-hour operation.
Forceful eviction
Also on Friday, Israeli troops cleared a Palestinian protest camp in the Jordan Valley near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, ending a week-long demonstration against Israel's refusal to pull out of the area in any future peace deal.
Soldiers, border guards and police asked the protesters to leave before forcefully evicting them, a statement from the army said.
"The agitators were evacuated due to rock hurling earlier this week at the main Jordan Valley route, and other legal considerations," it said.
But protesters said the army had not given them any warning.
"At 1:30 am on Friday (2330 GMT on Thursday) the army raided the village unexpectedly," activist Diana al-Zeer said. "They started throwing sound grenades and were very violent while they evacuated us."
Last Friday, about 300 Palestinians together with Israeli and foreign activists set up the camp in abandoned houses in the village of Ain Hijleh near Jericho in the West Bank to protest against Israel's refusal to withdraw from the valley in the event of a peace deal.
Israeli 'confiscation' of aid
In US-brokered peace talks, Israel has insisted on maintaining a long-term military presence in the Jordan Valley, where the occupied West Bank borders Jordan.
Palestinian leaders want a full withdrawal to make way for an international security force.
The UN last week slammed Israel's ongoing policy of house demolitions, saying that more than 1,000 people had been displaced last year in the West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem by demolitions on the grounds that homes had been built without Israeli permits, "which are virtually impossible to obtain".
The Red Cross said on Thursday that it had suspended provision of tents to displaced Palestinians in the Jordan Valley, in a rare protest over Israeli "confiscation" of aid material.History Edit
Language Edit
Speakers Edit
A small number of people are capable of conversing in Klingon. Arika Okrent guessed in her book In the Land of Invented Languages that there might be 20–30 fluent speakers.[15] Its vocabulary, heavily centered on Star Trek–Klingon concepts such as spacecraft or warfare, can sometimes make it cumbersome for everyday use. For instance, while words for transporter ionizer unit ( jolvoy’ ) or bridge (of a ship) ( meH ) have been known since close to the language's inception, the word for bridge in the sense of a crossing over water ( QI ) was unknown until August 2012.[16] Nonetheless, mundane conversations are possible among skilled speakers.[17] One Klingon speaker, d'Armond Speers, raised his son Alec to speak Klingon as a first language, whilst the boy's mother communicated with him in English.[18] Alec rarely responded to his father in Klingon, although when he did, his pronunciation was "excellent". After Alec's fifth birthday, Speers reported that his son eventually stopped responding to him when spoken to in Klingon as he clearly did not enjoy it, so Speers switched to English.[19][20] In 2007, a report surfaced that Multnomah County, Oregon was hiring Klingon translators for its mental health program in case patients came into a psychiatric hospital speaking nothing but Klingon.[21] Most circulations of the report seemingly implied that this was a problem that health officials faced before; however, the original report indicated that this was just a precaution for a hypothetical and that said translator would only be paid on an as needed basis.[21] After the report was misinterpreted, the County issued another release noting that releasing the original report was a "mistake".[21] In May 2009, Simon & Schuster, in collaboration with Ultralingua Inc., a developer of electronic dictionary applications, announced the release of a suite of electronic Klingon language software for most computer platforms including a dictionary, a phrasebook, and an audio learning tool.[22] In September 2011, Eurotalk released the "Learn Klingon" course in its Talk Now! series. The language is displayed in both Latin and pIqaD fonts, making this the first language course written in pIqaD and approved by CBS and Marc Okrand. It was translated by Jonathan Brown and Okrand and uses the Hol-pIqaD TrueType font.[citation needed] In August 2016, a company in the United Kingdom, Bidvine, began offering Klingon lessons as one of their services.[23] In March 2018, the popular language learning site Duolingo opened a beta course in Klingon.[24] There are Klingon language meetings[25][26] and linguists or students are interested in researching this topic, even writing essays about the language or its users. In the media (music, literature and television) Klingon is also used frequently as a reference to Star Trek.[citation needed]
Other media Edit
Canon Edit
Phonology Edit
Grammar Edit
Main article: Klingon grammar Klingon is an agglutinative language, using mainly affixes in order to alter the function or meaning of words. Some nouns have inherently plural forms, such as jengva’ "plate" (vs. ngop "plates"), but most nouns require a suffix to express plurality explicitly. Depending on the type of noun (body part, being capable of using language, or neither) the suffix changes. For beings capable of using language, the suffix is -pu’, as in tlhInganpu’, meaning "Klingons," or jaghpu’, meaning "enemies". For body parts, the plural suffix is -Du’, as in mInDu’, "eyes". For items that are neither body parts nor capable of speech, the suffix is -mey, such as in Hovmey ("stars"), or targhmey ("targs") for a Klingon animal somewhat resembling a boar. (However, a plural suffix is never obligatory. To say "The stars are beautiful", ’IH Hovmey and ’IH Hov are equally grammatical, although the second can also mean "The star is beautiful".) The words loD and be’, which on their own mean "man" and "woman" respectively, can be used in compound words to refer to the referent's sex. For example, from puq ("child") this process derives puqloD ("son") and puqbe’ ("daughter"). Klingon nouns take suffixes to indicate grammatical number. There are three noun classes, two levels of deixis, and a possession and syntactic function. In all, twenty-nine noun suffixes from five classes may be employed: jupoypu’na’wI’vaD "for my beloved true friends". A word may carry no more than one suffix from each class, and the classes have a specific order of appearance. Verbs in Klingon take a prefix indicating the number and person of the subject and object, whereas suffixes are taken from nine ordered classes and a special suffix class called rovers. Each of the four known rovers has a unique rule controlling its position among the suffixes in the verb. Verbs are marked for aspect, certainty, predisposition and volition, dynamic, causative, mood, negation, and honorific. The Klingon verb has two moods: indicative and imperative. The most common word order in Klingon is object–verb–subject, and, in most cases, the word order is the exact reverse of English for an equivalent sentence: DaH mojaq-mey-vam DI-vuS-nIS-be’ ’e’ vI-Har now suffix -PL-DEM 1PL.A.3PL.P- limit-need -NEG that 1SG.A.3SG.P- believe "I believe that we do not need to limit these suffixes now." (Hyphens |
to Milne. But Labor also promised that it would make money – and it has. This week, shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh said it was making returns “3 per cent over the bond rate, by investing in things such as wind farms in Victoria, solar in Alice Springs, energy efficiency in other contexts”.
As the valley of death problem suggests, there is a spectrum of development – the CEFC was designed merely to serve the middle of it. The corporation would ultimately complement the other two levers for renewable investment – the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the renewable energy target (RET). These three form the triumvirate of renewable energy policy in Australia. And each one has – for reasons of varying legitimacy – been attacked by the current government.
It is worth describing the functions of these other two pillars before looking at their treatment by the Abbott government. ARENA is a grants-based system that targets projects at the very beginning of research or development. Like the CEFC, it was established in 2012. So far, it has invested $1.1 billion in 230 projects. The other lever is the RET, first introduced by the Howard government in 2000, and which mandated electricity buyers to source an additional 2 per cent of their energy from renewable resources by 2010. This was overhauled when Kevin Rudd, during the 2007 campaign, announced his party would introduce a “20 by 2020” scheme – mandating an additional 20 per cent of electricity from renewable sources compared with 1997 levels. It was legislated in 2009.
As Wood explains, the “RET takes established technologies and puts them out to market”. It services the far end of development – commercial deployment – and does this by creating a trading scheme that confers returns to renewable energy providers that are above market price. In other words, it rewards green energy providers.
But times have changed.
A vindictive directive
John Grimes laughs when I suggest to him that perhaps the CEFC had drifted away from its charter – after all, similar international bodies operate essentially as venture capitalists for riskier, emerging technologies. “The CEFC is about financial engineering,” Grimes tells me. “Wind and solar are established technologies but they are not mature in terms of financing. This is what CEFC can do – create innovative financial mechanisms for investment. That’s the emerging or innovative part satisfied. Now, the CEFC has been making commercial returns. But now the government writes to them and says we want you to double your commercial return, but you can’t invest in wind or small solar. What planet do they live on? This is an asset class that banks haven’t much invested in before. These institutions are risk averse. Finance 101 is that you don’t get high rates of return on speculative investments, and investment is hard to source. So, this is a stitch-up. It’s part of a war the government has waged on the industry.”
I put it to Tony Wood that innovative financing might satisfy the charter’s emphasis upon the fledgling. He says it’s possible. “Refinancing an existing wind farm or just lending to roll out bog-standard solar PV makes no sense,” Wood tells me. “But there are certain situations in the market that the CEFC might help overcome. For instance, those times when investors don’t bother – like when there are many small projects not worth investing in, but aggregated could become substantial. Or a need for longer-term debt than the commercial banks will provide, as apparently is the case in the solar deal with Origin. Or perhaps applying a team of renewable energy experts who, through that specialist knowledge, can be comfortable with what appears to be higher risk to commercial lenders simply because they do not understand it.”
The shadow environment minister, Mark Butler, this week supported the CEFC, echoing some of Wood’s points. “Well, again we heard from the finance minister that this body was set up to support emerging technologies – that’s simply not the case,” Butler said. “The Renewable Energy Agency otherwise known as ARENA was set up to provide grant support to the development and the commercialisation of new technologies. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation had a very different job very similar to the green banks, the so-called green banks that have been set up in America and Europe and in China and elsewhere, and that was to develop a mature lending market for renewable energy because we know that banking institutions are very conservative by nature and take a long time to develop lending habits to new industries like the renewable energy industry. So the CEFC provides lending support, usually in partnership with the private banks.”
But Wood still has his doubts about the CEFC. “There’s a small number of things it should be doing,” he says. “And they’re assuming risk the commercial sector won’t abide. But, well, there’s two ways of looking at it. We can take Abbott at face value. So, the way ARENA worked was to invest in vertical wind, ocean technology, emerging technologies – then RET would take them to market. So perhaps there’s not a need for it anymore, though I do believe there are some market hurdles the CEFC can help overcome.
“Or you can look at this week’s news another way: that this is vindictive. The government always wanted to get rid of it, and this is one way to cripple it. I don’t know what it is. But the government does have consistency on this.”
This was a recurring refrain. Regardless of where people sat on the CEFC, everyone I spoke to expressed suspicion or dismay at the political context of the decision. While the pros and cons of the CEFC are debatable, it is accepted by everyone that the government has form and this decision is compromised by its history. A senior bureaucrat, largely sympathetic to the CEFC decision, told me: “They’re spending so much time and effort on [renewables]. It’s like an obsession. Doesn’t come across as rational to me. So, no denying this is part of an ongoing campaign to undermine and destabilise renewables. And to what end? Seems Luddite.”
An industry under attack
The Coalition went to the 2013 election with the stated intention of killing the CEFC, reviewing the RET and supporting ARENA. The party also had a solar panel policy, which through generously increased rebates wanted an additional one million homes equipped with solar panels by 2020. But in 2015, much has changed.
For a start, the solar panel policy vanished. And that’s not all. “The government didn’t contact key agencies during its review of RET, and the process was cynically stretched to 18 months,” Grimes says. “The prime minister didn’t take the advice of independent experts. Then the climate commission was shut down. They tried to shut down the Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), but that failed. So they denuded it – removed $750 million from it.”
It’s true that government tried to abolish ARENA – it introduced legislation that would have repealed its statutory existence – but it failed to attract the support of crossbenchers. And so, during the 2014 budget, it was stripped of funding and absorbed by the department of industry. Because of this absorption, and the staggered withdrawal of funding, it’s difficult to corroborate Grimes’ figure – but it is safe to say it has lost a lot.
“ARENA had bipartisan support and didn’t seem under threat,” Tony Wood tells me. “The government seemed to think it was a good idea. Then, during the long night of the knives – the budget of last year – it was suddenly slashed. And it was tragic because they had been doing a lot of good work.”
As promised, the government has tried to kill off the CEFC – twice – but both times the repealing legislation has failed to pass, which means it can now serve as a double dissolution trigger. The prime minister has also expressed disappointment that the Howard government – of which he was a part – had ever introduced the RET. He has plotted for its destruction, but failing that has introduced legislation that would lower it – it has so far passed the senate. Abbott has since said the smaller RET would reduce the number of wind turbines – to the prime minister, an unforgivable blight on our landscape. “When I’ve been up close to these things, not only are they visually awful, but they make a lot of noise,” Abbott told radio broadcaster Alan Jones last month. “I would frankly have liked to reduce the number a lot more but we got the best deal we could out of the senate. And if we hadn’t had a deal, Alan, we would have been stuck with even more of these things. What we did recently in the senate was reduce, Alan, reduce, capital R-E-D-U-C-E, we reduced the number of these things that we’re going to get in the future.”
It echoed Treasurer Joe Hockey’s comments from last year, when he described wind farms as “utterly offensive”, and he reinforced his feelings in a conversation with Victorian premier Daniel Andrews this week.
Such is the context of this week’s move on the CEFC. Decisions that may well be defensible and offered in good faith are hopelessly undermined by a long, singular campaign against renewable energy. It is not a surprise that a conservative government might question, entirely legitimately, the efficiencies of grants schemes and other funding. But it comes as a shock to see an industry – and a burgeoning commercial market – so aggressively undermined.
Grimes is certain he understands the angle. “Abbott says that solar is increasing energy prices,” he tells me. “Well, his own Warburton report says that the more renewables you have on the network, the cheaper energy is for all consumers. This is the PM’s big lie … Abbott is simply helping protect a coal industry that is scared of solar.”
Wood concedes the government’s long contempt for the sector, but dismisses Grimes’ interpretation. “That’s bullshit,” he tells me. “It’s silly. The bigger threat to the coal industry is the loss of the international markets – what happens to global demand for coal and gas if the world really does what they have committed. Remember that the fossil-fuel industry has been arguing that the world needs the cheap electricity that comes from fossil fuels. That’s the biggest threat. It’s not solar. Right now, about 2 per cent of our energy comes from solar. Now, that number could increase quickly, sure. But [the modelling] suggests healthy international demand for coal for some time.”
Still, Grimes is insistent. He sees this is a watershed moment for green energy in Australia, believing he can mobilise popular support in such a way that it will be politically damaging to Abbott. Meanwhile, energy bureaucrats wonder how far this fixation will go.
Abbott’s war on renewable energy has been protracted and aggressive. It has destabilised investment. It has been fought through an attrition of uncertainty. This week, one wonders if he has entered the final campaign.His speech to the Hayek Group in Reno Nevada was called Whither Inflation Targeting? Here are some excerpts:
>
Good evening; it’s a pleasure to be here to discuss the economy and monetary policy with the Hayek Group. I’ll start with a quick overview of the U.S. economic outlook and what it means for monetary policy. Spoiler alert: The punch line is that the economy has climbed back to full strength, and it therefore makes sense to move monetary policy gradually back to normal. That brings me to the second topic of my talk: What is “normal” monetary policy?
Our goal is not to have an unemployment rate of zero. Instead, it’s to be near the “natural rate” of unemployment: That’s the rate we can expect in a healthy economy. It’s impossible to know exactly what that number is, but economists generally put it between 4¾ and 5 percent today.1 With the unemployment rate at 4.9 percent, we’re right on target.
Turning to the other side of the ledger, the Fed’s monetary policy committee—the Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC for short—has set a long-run goal of 2 percent inflation. Inflation has been running persistently below that goal for several years.
We’re not quite at our target yet, but the combination of fading transitory factors and a strong economy should help us get back to our 2 percent goal in the next year or two.
To sum up, I remain confident about the road we are on.
What it Means for Interest Rates
So, what does this mean for interest rates? In the context of a strong economy with good momentum, it makes sense to get back to a pace of gradual rate increases, preferably sooner rather than later. Let me be clear: In arguing for an increase in interest rates, I’m not trying to stall the economic expansion. It’s just the opposite: My aim is to keep it on a sound footing so it can be sustained for a long time.
History teaches us that an economy that runs too hot for too long can generate imbalances, potentially leading to excessive inflation, asset market bubbles, and ultimately economic correction and recession. A gradual process of raising rates reduces the risks of such an outcome.
What is Normal Monetary Policy?
New realities pose significant challenges for the conduct of monetary policy in the United States and elsewhere. Foremost is the significant decline in the natural rate of interest, or r* (r-star), over the past quarter-century to historically low levels.
The daunting challenge for central banks is how to deliver stable inflation in a low r-star world. This conundrum shares some characteristics and common roots with the theory of secular stagnation; in both scenarios, interest rates, growth, and inflation are persistently low.
How Low Can Rates Stay?
In a recent paper, Kathryn Holston, Thomas Laubach, and I estimated the inflation-adjusted natural rate for four major economies: the United States, Canada, the euro area, and the United Kingdom. In 1990, estimates ranged from about 2½ to 3½ percent. By 2007, on the eve of the global financial crisis, these had all declined to between 2 and 2½ percent. By 2015, all four estimates had dropped sharply, to 1½ percent for Canada and the United Kingdom, nearly zero for the United States, and below zero for the euro area.
The critical implication of a lower natural rate of interest is that conventional monetary policy has less room to stimulate the economy during an economic downturn, owing to a lower bound on how low interest rates can go. This will necessitate a greater reliance on unconventional tools like central bank balance sheets, forward guidance, and potentially even negative policy rates.
In this new normal, recessions will tend to be longer and deeper, recoveries slower, and the risks of unacceptably low inflation and the ultimate loss of the nominal anchor will be higher. We have already gotten a first taste of the effects of a low r-star, with uncomfortably low inflation and growth despite very low interest rates. Unfortunately, if the status quo endures, the future is likely to hold more of the same—with the possibility of even more severe challenges to maintaining price stability and full employment.
Low R-Star and Strategies for Mitigation
There are actions that central banks and governments can undertake to avoid this fate. These include fiscal and other policies aimed at raising the natural interest rate, as well as alternative monetary, fiscal, and other policies that are more likely to succeed in maintaining a strong economy and stable inflation in the face of a low natural rate.
Although inflation targeting central banks that aimed for a low inflation rate generally have been successful at stabilizing inflation in the past, such an approach is not as well-suited for a low r-star era. There simply may not be enough room for central banks to cut interest rates in response to an economic downturn when both natural rates and inflation are very low.
The most direct attack on low r-star would be for central banks to pursue a somewhat higher inflation target. This would imply a higher average level of interest rates and thereby give monetary policy more room to maneuver. The logic of this approach argues that a 1 percentage point increase in the inflation target would offset the deleterious effects of an equal-sized decline in r-star.
A second alternative would be to replace the inflation target with a flexible price-level or nominal GDP target, where the central bank targets a steadily growing level of prices or nominal GDP, rather than the rate of inflation.
Because they provide a clear metric by which to judge whether the economy is above or below the stipulated goal, they may help improve the systematic conduct of policy and its communication and public understanding, especially when interest rates are constrained by the lower bound.
Of course, like a higher inflation target, these approaches also have potential disadvantages that must be carefully scrutinized when considering their relative costs and benefits.
Time is not on our side. We have witnessed the extreme difficulties of achieving price stability and full employment with a low r-star. I firmly believe that now is the time for experts and policymakers around the world to actively study and assess the pros and cons of alternative proposals, so that we are better prepared for the challenges related to persistently low natural real rates of interest.The U.S. Senate confirmed Kansas Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo to be the Director of the CIA late on Monday over concerns from several congressional Democrats, who warned that putting Pompeo at the head of the intelligence agency would threaten civil liberties.
In an impassioned floor speech, Sen. Bernie Sanders called it “vital to have a head of the CIA who will stand up for our constitution, stand up for privacy rights.” He continued, “Unfortunately, in my view, Mr. Pompeo is not that individual.”
As we said late last year, we have concerns that many of President Donald Trump’s nominees, including Pompeo, will undermine digital rights and civil liberties, and those concerns persist.
Specifically, Pompeo sponsored legislation that would have reinstated the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of Americans’ telephone metadata—an invasive program that civil liberties and privacy advocates fought to curtail by enacting the USA FREEDOM Act.
We also noted troubling op-eds written by Pompeo. In one piece in late 2015, Pompeo criticized Republican presidential candidates who were supposedly “weak” on national security and intelligence collection. “Less intelligence capacity equals less safety,” he wrote.
In another op-ed a few weeks later, Pompeo criticized lawmakers for “blunting [the intelligence community’s] surveillance powers” and called for “a fundamental upgrade to America’s surveillance capabilities.”
Critics on the Senate floor—including Sens. Ron Wyden, Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders—honed in on the latter op-ed, which also recommended restarting the metadata collection that was curtailed under USA FREEDOM Act and “combining it with publicly available financial and lifestyle information into a comprehensive, searchable database.” Pompeo continued, “Legal and bureaucratic impediments to surveillance should be removed.”
While Pompeo’s defenders argued that an effective intelligence agency should be utilizing publicly available information posted to social media, Wyden—who fought for delay to give the Senate more time to consider Pompeo’s nomination—drew a sharp distinction between seeking out social media information related to a known intelligence target and creating the database Pompeo has envisioned.
“It is something else entirely to create a giant government database of everyone’s social media postings and to match that up with everyone’s phone records,” Wyden said, calling the idea “a vast database on innocent Americans.”
Wyden also criticized Pompeo for skirting questions from lawmakers about what kinds of information would end up in the database, including whether the database would include information held by data brokers, the third-party companies that build profiles of internet users. He criticized Pompeo for being unwilling to “articulate the boundaries of what is a very extreme proposal.”
EFF thanks all 32 Senators who voted against Pompeo and his expansive vision of government surveillance. We were especially pleased by the “no” vote from our new home-state Sen. Kamala Harris of California.
EFF and other civil liberties advocates will work hard to hold Pompeo accountable as CIA Director and block any attempts by him or anyone else to broaden the intrusive government surveillance powers that threaten our basic privacy rights.An example of an early therian mammal, Purgatorius unio. Credit: © Nobu Tamura It's a familiar story—the mighty dinosaurs dominated their prehistoric environment, while tiny mammals took a backseat, until the dinosaurs (besides birds) went extinct 66 million years ago, allowing mammals to shine. Just one problem—it's not true. A new article in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B reports that mammals actually began their massive diversification ten to twenty million years before the extinction that ended the age of the dinosaurs.
"The traditional view is that mammals were suppressed by the dinosaurs' success, and that they didn't really take off until after the dinosaurs went extinct. This study shows that therian mammals, the ancestors of most modern mammals, were already diversifying before the dinosaurs died out," says lead author David Grossnickle, a Field Museum Fellow and PhD candidate at the University of Chicago.
The old hypothesis hinged upon the fact that many of the early mammal fossils that had been found were from small, insect-eating animals—there didn't seem to be much in the way of diversity. But over the years, more and more early mammals have been found, including some hoofed animal predecessors the size of dogs. The animals' teeth were varied, too. Grossnickle, along with his co-author Elis Newham at the University of Southampton, analyzed the molars of hundreds of early mammal specimens in museum fossil collections. They found that the mammals that lived during the years leading up to the dinosaurs' demise had widely varied tooth shapes, meaning that they had widely varied diets. These different diets proved key to an unexpected finding regarding mammal species going extinct along with the dinosaurs.
Not only did mammals begin diversifying earlier than previously expected, but the mass extinction wasn't the perfect opportunity for mammal evolution that it's traditionally been painted as. Early mammals were hit by a selective extinction at the same time the dinosaurs died out—generalists that could live off of a wide variety of foods seemed more apt to survive, but many mammals with specialized diets went extinct.
The scientists involved with the study were surprised to see that mammals were initially negatively impacted by the mass extinction event. "I fully expected to see more diverse mammals immediately after the extinction," said Grossnickle. "I wasn't expecting to see any sort of drop. It didn't match the traditional view that after the extinction, mammals hit the ground running. It's part of the reason why I went back to study it further—it seemed wrong."
The reason behind the mammals' pre-extinction diversification remains a mystery. Grossnickle notes a possible link between the rise of mammals and the rise of flowering plants, which diversified around the same time. "We can't know for sure, but flowering plants might have offered new seeds and fruits for the mammals. And, if the plants co-evolved with new insects to pollinate them, the insects could have also been a food source for early mammals," he says.
The article comes at a time when paleontologists are debating whether dinosaurs were already declining before the mass extinction, notes Grossnickle. "If you believe that dinosaurs were already on the downswing before the asteroid hit, this is an interesting counterpoint, that mammals were already on the upswing."
Grossnickle notes that the study is particularly relevant in light of the mass extinction the earth is currently undergoing—"The types of survivors that made it across the mass extinction 66 million years ago, mostly generalists, might be indicative of what will survive in the next hundred years, the next thousand."
Explore further: Asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs may have nearly knocked off mammals, too
More information: Therian mammals experience an ecomorphological radiation during the Late Cretaceous and selective extinction at the K-Pg boundary, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, rspb.royalsocietypublishing.or ….1098/rspb.2016.0256The Copenhagen Metro (Danish: Københavns Metro) is a 24/7 rapid transit system in Copenhagen, Denmark, serving the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby.
The 20.4-kilometre (12.7 mi)[2] system opened between 2002 and 2007, and has two lines, M1 and M2. The driverless light metro supplements the larger S-train rapid transit system, and is integrated with DSB local trains and Movia buses. Through the city center and west to Vanløse, M1 and M2 share a common line. To the southeast, the system serves Amager, with the 13.9-kilometre (8.6 mi)[2] M1 running through the new neighborhood of Ørestad, and the 14.2-kilometre (8.8 mi)[2] M2 serving the eastern neighborhoods and Copenhagen Airport. The metro has 22 stations, of which nine are underground. In 2016, the metro carried 61 million passengers.[1]
Overview [ edit ]
The system is owned by Metroselskabet (The Metro Company), which is owned by the municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, and the Ministry of Transport. The 34 trains are of the AnsaldoBreda Driverless Metro class and stationed at the Control and Maintenance Center at Vestamager. The trains are 2.65 m (8 ft 8 in) wide and three cars long; their 630-kilowatt (840 hp) power output is supplied by a 750-volt third rail. The metro trains were originally planned to be four cars long, but trains were reduced to three cars per set as a savings measure.[3] Platforms are – although shorter than originally planned – built to accommodate trains with four cars, and the automatic doors can be modified accordingly should the need arise.[3]
Operation of the system is subcontracted to Metro Service. Trains run continually, twenty-four hours a day, with the headway varying from two to four minutes, but with longer intervals (up to twenty minutes) during the night only. While a 6 train per hour (tph) service with 8-car trains, moves 48 cars per hour in each direction, Copenhagen Metro with 30 tph with 3 cars only, actually moves 90 cars per hour in each direction. So, in terms of capacity, the Copenhagen Metro is roughly equivalent to a system with 8 cars and 12 tph (or a train every fifth minute). The S-trains have 8 cars and generally 12 tph in the suburbs, but 30 tph in the city centre and therefore higher capacity than the metro.
Planning of the Metro started in 1992 as part of the redevelopment plans for Ørestad with construction starting in 1996, and stage 1, from Nørreport to Vestamager and Lergravsparken, opened in 2002. Stage 2, from Nørreport to Vanløse, opened in 2003, followed by stage 3, from Lergravsparken to Lufthavnen, in 2007.
Three extensions are currently under construction. The City Circle Line is an entirely underground 15.5 km loop through central Copenhagen and Frederiksberg with 17 stops. This loop is scheduled to open in July 2019.[4][5] This loop will not share any track with the M1 and M2 lines, but will intersect them at Kongens Nytorv and Frederiksberg stations. When it opens, two lines will run on the loop. M3 will run the full length of the loop in both direction and M4 will run the busiest south-eastern section, also in both directions. With the City loop open in 2019, the Metro expects that its ridership will almost double from its 2016 levels to 116 million annual passengers.[6]
The M4 line will gradually evolve into a separate line between 2020 and 2024 as extensions to Nordhavn and Sydhavn open. The two-stop, 3 km long, line to Nordhavn is under construction and will open in 2020.[7] The extension will add an interchange with Nordhavn S-train station. The five-stop, 4.5 km, extension to Sydhavn is also under construction,[8] with planned opening in 2024.[9] The Sydhavn line will terminate at Ny Ellebjerg where it will create a new regional rail transport hub by connecting the metro system to the S-train network, regional trains, and long-distance trains on the current lines and the upcoming high speed Copenhagen-Ringsted railway.[10] Once these extensions are complete, Metro expects the daily ridership to triple from its current level of 200,000 riders per weekday to 600,000 riders per weekday in 2030 [11]
History [ edit ]
Background [ edit ]
Crossover from elevated railway to tunnel near Islands Brygge.
The planning of the metro was spurred by the development of the Ørestad area of Copenhagen. The principle of building a rail transit was passed by the Parliament of Denmark on 24 June 1992, with the Ørestad Act.[12] The responsibility for developing the area, as well as building and operating the metro, was given to the Ørestad Development Corporation, a joint venture between Copenhagen Municipality (45%) and the Ministry of Finance (55%). Initially, three modes were considered: a tramway, a light rail and a rapid transit. In October 1994, the Development Corporation chose a light rapid transit.[13]
The tram solution would have been a street tram, without any major infrastructure investments in the city centre, such as a dedicated right-of-way. Through Ørestad it would have had level crossings, except for a grade-separated crossing with the European Route E20 and the Øresund Line. It would have had a driver and have operated at about a 150-second interval—twice the cycle time of the city's traffic lights. Power would have been provided with overhead wires. Stops were to be located about every 500 m (550 yd) at street level. The articulated trams would have been about 35 m (115 ft) long and have a capacity for 230 passengers.[14]
The light rail model would have used the same approach as the tram in Ørestad, but would instead have run through a tunnel in the city centre. The tunnel sections would be shorter, but the diameter larger because it would have to accommodate overhead wires. The system would have the same frequency as the tram, but use double trams and would therefore require larger stations. The metro solution was chosen because it combined the highest average speeds, the highest passenger capacity, the lowest visual and noise impact, and the lowest number of accidents. Despite requiring the highest investment, it had the highest net present value.[14]
The decision to build stage 2, from Nørreport to Vanløse, and stage 3, to the airport, was taken by Parliament on 21 December 1994.[12] Stage 2 involved the establishment of the company Frederiksbergbaneselskabet I/S in February 1995, owned 70% by the Ørestad Development Corporation and 30% by Frederiksberg Municipality. The third stage would be built by Østamagerbaneselskabet I/S, established in September 1995 and owned 55% by the Ørestad Development Corporation and 45% by Copenhagen County. In October 1996, a contract was signed with the Copenhagen Metro Construction Group (COMET) for building the lines (Civil Works), and with Ansaldo STS for delivery of technological systems and trains, and to operate the system the first five years.[13] COMET was a single-purpose consortium composed of Astaldi, Bachy, SAE, Ilbau, NCC Rasmussen & Schiøtz Anlæg and Tarmac Construction.[15]
Construction of lines M1 and M2 [ edit ]
Construction started in November 1996, with the moving of underground pipes and wires around the station areas. In August 1997, work started at the depot, and in September, COMET started the first mainline work. In October and November, the two tunnel boring machines (TBM), christened Liva and Bette, were delivered. They started boring each barrel of the tunnel from Islands Brygge in February 1998. The same month, the Public Transport Authority gave the necessary permits to operate a driverless metro. The section between Fasanvej and Frederiksberg is a former S-train line, and was last operated as such on 20 June 1998.[13]
The first section of tunnel was completed in September 1998, and the TBMs moved to Havnegade. By December 1998, work had started on the initial nine stations. Plans for M2 were presented to the public in April 1999, with a debate emerging if the proposed elevated solution was the best. In May, the first trains were delivered, and trial runs began at the depot. In December, the tunnels were completed to Strandlodsvej, and the TBMs were moved to Havnegade, where they started to grind towards Frederiksberg. From 1 January 2000, the S-train service from Solbjerg to Vanløse was terminated, and work commenced to rebuild the section to metro. The last section of tunnel was completed in February 2001.[13]
In March 2001, Copenhagen County Council decided to start construction of stage 3. On 6 November 2001, the first train operated through a tunnel section. On 28 November, laying of tracks along stage 1, and stage 2A from Nørreport to Frederiksberg, was completed. An agreement about financing stage 3 was reached on 12 April. By 22 May, the 18 delivered trains had test-run 100,000 km (62,000 miles).[13] The section from Nørreport to Lergravsparken and Vestamager was opened on 19 October 2002. Initially, the system had a 12-minute headway on each of the two services. From 3 December this was reduced to 9 minutes, and from 19 December to 6 minutes.[16] Operation of the system was subcontracted to Ansaldo, who again subcontracted it to Metro Service, a subsidiary of Serco. The contract had a duration of five years, with an option for extension for another three.[17]
Opening of lines M1 and M2 [ edit ]
Elevated station on Amager – Ørestad Station
Trial runs on stage 2A began on 24 February 2003 and opened on 29 May. All changes to bus and train schedules in Copenhagen took place on 25 May, but to allow Queen Margrethe II to open the line, the opening needed to be adapted to her calendar. This caused four days without a bus service along the line.[18] Stage 2B, from Frederiksberg to Vanløse, opened on 12 October.[19]
Forum Station was nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in 2005.[20] On 2 December 2005, the final agreement to build the City Circle Line was made between the local and national governments. The price was estimated at 11.5 to 18.3 billion Danish krone (DKK), of which DKK 5.4 billion will be financed though ticket sales, and the remaining from the state and municipalities.[21] In 2006, it was announced that the contract with Ansaldo to operate the metro had been prolonged another three years.[17] However, the subcontract between Ansaldo and Serco Group was not extended, and the contract was instead given to Azienda Trasporti Milanesi in joint venture with Ansaldo; they took over operations from October 2007.[22] The Ørestad Development Corporation was discontinued in 2007, and the ownership of the metro was transferred to Metroselskabet I/S.[23]
In January 2007, the city council decided that a branch was to be built during construction at Nørrebro, to allow a future branch line from the City Circle Line towards Brønshøj. The first part of this line was intended to be constructed at the same time as the City Circle Line, to avoid a multitude-higher construction cost and long interruptions of operations later. This did not involve a final decision, only an option for future construction.[24] The Herlev/Brønshøj line was ultimately dropped as the City of Copenhagen withdrew its share of the cost of the Nørrebro branch chamber in its 2009 budget, and the state refused to continue the project. Any branch to the Herlev / Brønshøj region would now require a shutdown of the City Circle Line for an extended period of time.[25][26]
In March 2007, a proposal to establish a station at Valby, where the Carlsberg Group is planning an urban redevelopment, was scrapped. The proposal would have increased construction costs by DKK 900 million and was deemed not economical. The increased cost was, in part, due to an extra TBM being needed to complete the project on time.[27] The City Circle Line was passed by parliament on 1 June 2007, with only the Red–Green Alliance voting in disfavor.[28]
The 4.5 km (2.8-mile) stage 3 opened on 28 September 2007, from Lergravsparken to the airport. It followed, for the most part, the route of the former Amager Line of the Danish State Railways. With this stage complete, the 34 trains were delivered. However, the line caused a heated debate, with several locals organized themselves into the Amager Metro Group. The group argued that the line should have been built underground, citing concerns that it would create noise pollution and a physical barrier in Amager.[29] In April 2008, the Copenhagen Metro won the award at MetroRail 2008 for the world's best metro. The jury noted the system's high regularity, safety and passenger satisfaction, as well as the efficient transport to the airport.[30] During 2008, the metro experienced a 16% passenger growth to 44 million passengers per year.[31]
An agreement made in September 2008, the Social Democrats, the Conservative People's Party, the Liberal Party and the Danish People's Party agreed to not fund an expansion of the metro northwest.[32] Initially, the system operated trains from 01:00 to 05:00 only on Thursdays through Saturdays, but, starting on 19 March 2009, night service was extended to the rest of the week. This caused a logistical challenge, because Metro Service used the nights for maintenance. The routes were therefore set up in such a way that the system could be operated on only a single track, leaving the other free for work.[33] In May 2009, six companies were pre-qualified to bid for the public service obligation to operate the metro. These were Serco-NedRailways, Ansaldo STS, Arriva, S-Bahn Hamburg, Keolis and DSB Metro—a joint venture between DSB and RATP.[34] The process was delayed because of a procedural error by Metroselskabet, who failed to pre-qualify DSB Metro.[ |
voted in the 2016 election. They were more likely to be white and less likely to identify with Democrats than the general public, she said.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll is conducted online in English throughout the country. Some 1,206 of those 2016 voters took the survey between May 10-12, followed by 1,296 who took the July 11-12 survey and 1,195 who took the survey between Oct. 18-19.
Individual responses were weighted so they would reflect the latest population estimates, as well as the support their presidential pick received in the election. Each of the voter polls had a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3 percentage points for the entire group and 5 percentage points for Republican voters.Barcelona has been making quite a bit of noise in the transfer window so far. The club is said to be "80 percent done" with bringing Udinese's Alexis Sanchez to Camp Nou, although because money is so tight at Barca, the deal is yet to be completed. (This has also left the door ajar for Manchester City to throw around its financial muscle.) Sanchez is an extremely versatile player, capable of being deployed on the wings or in a more central role, and he could go a long way in helping to give other Barcelona stars, such as David Villa and Pedro, much-needed rest, which they both needed at the end of last season.
And then there's the now-yearly transfer saga of Cesc Fabregas. But his desire to leave Arsenal for Barcelona is a case of wanting to return home.
Fabregas is a graduate of La Masia, Barcelona's training academy. And, in all this talk of bringing in top-tier talent, the beauty of Barcelona -- its foundation and soul -- is the club's homegrown players. You can sign whomever you want, but if he doesn't have that instinctual feel for the Catalan way (Zlatan, anyone?) it often becomes a case of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
La Masia is a place where art and science are fused together to create the finished product you see on the pitch each week during the season. It's also the subject of a new ESPN.com video (embedded up top, or click here.) It's a pretty guarded place when it comes to media intrusion, and you won't get too much detail out of the school's coaches about their training techniques (they guard it like Coca-Cola protects its secret recipe). But it's interesting to see Xavi and Lionel Messi talk about their experiences at the academy -- how they played all day, every day, learning the Barca way. They make it sound so simple, even though the finished product can be so complex.
The video gives you an inside look into the training school, which is based on the three pillars of athletics, values and academics. Only one of every 10 graduates typically makes it to the Barcelona senior team. Current squad members who are also alumni include Xavi, Messi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol.
Many graduates, such as Fabregas, land at other big clubs. But we always know where their heart lies.Richard Glossip had two hours left to live.
In 1998, the Oklahoma death row inmate was sentenced to die after being convicted as the mastermind behind a murder he didn’t commit.
The admitted killer—a teenage maintenance worker named Justin Sneed with a history of violent behavior and drug use—murdered the owner of the motel where he and Glossip both worked in 1997. Sneed told authorities Glossip asked him to do it. In exchange for his testimony, Sneed was given a life sentence—and Glossip was slated for execution.
Details of the story Sneed shared with investigators have wavered over the years and no physical or DNA evidence was ever discovered linking Glossip to the crime. However, Glossip’s overworked and underfunded public defenders were no match for one of the most deadly prosecution offices in the country. Oklahoma City, Okla., district attorneys have sent record numbers of defendants to death row using any means necessary—even tactics later found by courts to be unethical.
The issues surrounding Glossip’s trial haven’t been enough to overturn his conviction, though, and he has spent the past 18 years fighting to prove his innocence.
In April, pro bono attorneys came to his defense, hoping to highlight the gaps in his case.
Within months, the team uncovered new evidence they believed could exonerate Glossip. The news broke, drawing international headlines, a mob of advocates, and the outpouring of support from celebrity anti-death penalty figures, including Susan Sarandon, Richard Branson, and Pope Francis.
Even so, by Sept. 30, Glossip’s defense team had run out of appeals—and time.
Glossip’s execution day had arrived. Up until then, Glossip had spent weeks barely sleeping or eating, held in isolation, enduring the harsh Oklahoma Department of Corrections death penalty protocol.
RELATED: Oklahoma Death Row Inmate Richard Glossip Details His Execution Experience
In the final hours, his attorneys crowded into a tiny chamber connected to a holding cell, for one last meeting.
Glossip glanced repeatedly at the door waiting for a knock that might indicate that his execution had been halted. In a last-minute attempt to stop the execution, his attorneys had filed a plea to the Supreme Court.
That knock would never come.
“It was apparent to me that we weren’t going to get the stay while we were with him,” Don Knight, Glossip’s attorney, recalls.
Glossip turned to look at Knight through the large window that separated them. Knight says it was then that he noticed the gauntness of his client’s face and how hollowed out he had become. But in Glossip’s tired eyes, Knight says he also saw hope—and he struggled with how to say goodbye.
The guards had already opened the door to where Knight was sitting. It was time for him to leave.
“I looked through the glass and met his eyes and just said the only thing I could think to fit the moment,” Knight explains. “I just said to him, ’You know, I will see you the next time I am down here.’”
“Yup,” Glossip responded. “I will see you the next time.”
With handcuffed wrists, Glossip fistbumped his attorney through the window.
“And that was that,” Knight adds.
Neither could have guessed that the meeting wouldn’t be the last. Oklahoma’s Department of Corrections failed to secure the correct drugs required to legally execute Glossip, and as a result, his execution was temporarily put on hold.
This alarming breach of lethal injection protocol finally provoked Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin to grant a 37-day stay for Glossip and two other inmates headed for the execution chamber, while state officials conducted an investigation into the drug mix-up.
Glossip believes that the newfound publicity surrounding his case has saved his life thus far.
“I think if I didn’t have the attorneys that I had, and all these people—millions of people around the world—watching they would have executed me,” he shares via telephone from his cell. “Because they knew people were going to look into this—they wasn’t goin’ to say OK, he’s dead now, we will just move on. They knew that wasn’t going to happen. I think that’s what caused me to get that stay.”
Anti-death penalty advocates have cited the issue as an indication that the state is ill-equipped to handle executions. The Supreme Court, however, doesn’t agree.
Glossip and other Oklahoma death row inmates filed an action in federal court, challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection protocol—specifically the drug midazolam—citing the risk of botched executions as cruel and unusual punishment. In June of 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of lethal injections, allowing executions to move forward.
The drug mix-up came 17 months after 38-year-old convicted murderer Clayton Lockett was left writhing on the table for close to 45 minutes in the state’s death chamber during his botched execution in 2014.
The incident was later described as a “bloody mess” by the prison warden. White House press secretary Jay Carney stated, “We have a fundamental standard in this country that even when the death penalty is justified, it must be carried out humanely. And I think everyone would recognize that this case fell short of that standard.”
State officials admitted in October that Charles Warner, the next inmate executed after Lockett, received the incorrect drug protocol. Warner’s execution lasted 18 minutes.
Although Warner showed no physical signs of distress, he did remark, “My body is on fire.” His attorney later stated they couldn’t be certain whether or not he suffered, thanks to the second drug—a paralytic—administered to him.
“We are just asking for our day in court—that’s all.” Richard Glossip
On Oct. 16, Oklahoma officials announced they would not schedule any executions until 2016 and will wait at least 150 days following the conclusion of the attorney general’s investigation. It’s unclear how much longer Glossip has left to live.
But, in a strange twist, the state’s egregious errors have opened a new window of opportunity for Glossip’s legal team to try to save his life.
“If they give me a new trial and they let us go to court with what we got right now—with what Don Knight and them have been able to find—I will go home. I got no doubt in my mind,” Glossip says. “We are just asking for our day in court—that’s all.”
But it won’t be an easy fight.
Although Glossip’s pending execution garnered international attention and criticism due to the startling lack of evidence and the inadequacy of the overloaded indigent defense system, the burden of proof no longer lies with the prosecution. Glossip’s legal team will have to convince the courts that their client wasn’t responsible for the murder—if they can even get their new evidence in front of a judge.
“By the time I got on this case, all of Mr. Glossip’s appeals had been exhausted,” Knight shared during a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session about the case. “We need to find and present evidence of his actual innocence in order to get back into court.”
* * * * *
Justin Sneed was 18 years old when he rolled into Oklahoma City on July 3, 1996. He was joining his step-brother Wes Taylor, as part of a roofing crew. The job enabled Sneed to send money back home to his wife and two young daughters in Texas. He was trying to get his life back on track.
Sneed dropped out of school after being kicked out of the eighth grade for fighting with both students and teachers. In 1997, he told a forensic psychologist that he “used to ‘reject authority’ and grew up as a boy who often got into trouble.”
During his teenage years, he was put on a year’s probation for both a burglary and a bomb threat—two crimes he has since attributed to negative influence from friends.
The trouble didn’t end when he arrived at the Best Budget Inn in Oklahoma City. Drug dealers frequented the motel, and Sneed started tapping into a steady supply of methamphetamine sold there. Sneed quit his job at the roofing company not too long after his arrival and decided to stay at the motel indefinitely.
Taylor, Sneed’s stepbrother, also chose to leave his roofing job and worked out a deal with Glossip, who was the manager of the Best Budget Inn. Glossip gave them a free room in exchange for some maintenance work. In the end, Taylor returned to Texas to turn himself into authorities for an unrelated crime. Sneed stayed behind.
Sneed would only spend about six months living and working at the motel before he would brutally murder the owner of the Best Budget Inn, 54-year-old Barry Van Treese.
Twice a month, Van Treese would stop by to inspect the premises. He’d then collect the receipts, and finalize payroll. He would usually spend the night in room 102.
On Jan. 7, 1997 at 2 AM, Van Treese’s car pulled into the motel parking lot. He was returning from another of his motel properties in Tulsa and had plans to stick around Oklahoma City for a week to conduct an audit and do some repairs.
About an hour went by before Sneed used his master key and crept into room 102. He brought with him an aluminum baseball bat that he had found in another room.
At the sound of the door opening, Van Treese jolted awake and sprang from his bed. Sneed approached him and swung hard—but Van Treese fought back.
Caught in the scuffle that ensued, Sneed fell backward, inadvertently smashing the window with the end of the bat. As Van Treese tried to make it out the door, Sneed grabbed him by the back of his nightshirt, pulled him to the ground, and tried to stab him in the chest with a pocket knife. Van Treese rolled onto his stomach and that’s when Sneed began repeatedly striking him with the bat, beating his employer to death.
Details of the murder itself have not been called into question. The official record of what happened that night—and the events leading up to it—comes directly from Sneed’s testimony. His story, however, hasn’t always remained consistent and contradicts some of what other witnesses reported. Sneed has also repeatedly changed his description of Glossip’s involvement.
By Sneed’s latest account Glossip had asked him several times to kill Van Treese—each time offering a larger cash reward. But around 3 AM the night of the incident in question, Sneed says Glossip stirred him awake and warned that it was now or never—if he didn’t kill Van Treese, they would both be out of a job and a home.
Sneed alleged that Glossip was worried he would be fired when Van Treese discovered the property had fallen into disrepair.
The motel was never exactly an upscale establishment, thanks to multiple drug busts, prostitution, and drunken brawls that happened there regularly. Still, it was a profitable business, and Glossip had proven to be a decent motel manager, even receiving a bonus nearly every month in 1996 for exceeding Van Treese’s monthly income goals.
There were some issues with the accounting books, though, which the prosecution used to corroborate Sneed’s suggested motive. Van Treese’s wife would testify that the Oklahoma City Best Budget Inn was short more than $6,000 in receipts at the time of the murder and motel manager Glossip was on the hook for the discrepancy. The Best Budget Inn’s financial records were destroyed years earlier in a flood.
But according to Kenneth Van Treese, the late motel owner’s brother, those shortages were actually quite small. He testified in 2004 that his brother wouldn’t have been concerned over the “really insignificant amounts of money,” because the Best Budget Inn was a “very profitable operation.”
Still, the prosecution focused minimally on details leading up to the murder. What they used to convince juries to convict Glossip was his behavior after the murder took place.
Sneed left room 102 in the early hours on Jan. 7 and changed out of his blood-drenched clothes. He then went to wake up Glossip. By Sneed’s account, Glossip then gave him instructions to retrieve a cash-filled envelope from Van Treese’s car and move the vehicle off the premises.
Sneed says they would meet back in his room afterward to divvy up the money.
The envelope contained around $4,000, which Sneed says the two split. Then, Sneed claims, they returned to the crime scene. Once inside room 102, Sneed alleges that Glossip took $100 from Van Treese’s wallet and told Sneed to clean up the broken glass and fix the window. Sneed taped a shower curtain over the interior, broke the tumbler off the door lock so no one could enter, and turned up the air conditioning to mask the smell.
Throughout the next day, Glossip didn’t mention Sneed’s confession. Around 8:30 AM, he and Sneed affixed a sheet of plexiglass over the window of room 102 and told other motel employees that the damage was caused by two drunks who brawled in the room—even though that was normally where Van Treese stayed.
In the afternoon, Glossip took his girlfriend out to run errands. They stopped by a jewelry store, and he purchased a $100 ring for her before they headed to Walmart. There, he was paged to the front for a phone call—Van Treese’s car had been found.
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The car was parked askew at a credit union adjacent to the motel with Sneed’s soda from the night before still in the cup holder. Sneed claims it was then that Glossip told him to make a run for it. Sneed grabbed the money he had stolen from Van Treese, got on his skateboard, and headed out of town. Glossip stayed behind.
Around 10 PM, Van Treese’s body was discovered face down in the blood-spattered room, covered with bed linens. Soon after, Glossip was brought in for questioning. It was then that he first told police that he thought Sneed had something to do with the murder. It wasn’t until the second interview with police that Glossip admitted Sneed had actually informed him of the murder in the early hours of the morning.
Glossip was released after that interview and quickly began selling off his belongings, including a futon, an entertainment system, two vending machines, and an aquarium.
He was arrested the next day on Jan. 9. Glossip had $1,200 in cash on him—investigators believed it was his share of Van Treese’s money. He later explained the money came from the possessions that he had sold in an attempt to raise enough money to afford a lawyer. Glossip was apprehended that day, while leaving a lawyer’s office.
None of Glossip’s DNA was ever recovered at the crime scene. That’s why the prosecution presented his actions as corroboration for Sneed’s testimony and continue to rely on them as the sole argument to persuade judges to deny his appeals today. According to a clemency hearing put together by the Oklahoma attorney general in 2014, Glossip’s actions and statements in the days following Van Treese’s murder are “the primary evidence connecting him with the murder.”
Glossip has never denied that he withheld information about Sneed’s confession and has admitted several times that was a mistake. Regardless, Glossip wasn’t convicted of covering up the crime: The District Attorney declined a lesser charge of accessory to murder, opting instead for first degree malice aforethought murder. That means the courts believe Sneed knew when he broke into room 102 that night that he was going to murder Van Treese—all because Glossip had asked him to. Now, in order to gain his freedom, Glossip will have to prove he wasn’t involved in any planning of the crime.
Knight, Glossip’s attorney, believes that new evidence uncovered since he took the case back in April would be enough to convince a jury. He highlights Sneed’s personal history and emphasizes that the fluctuating details of Sneed’s account over time as strong indication his story isn’t true.
“He found something at the Best Budget Inn that he loved more than his daughter,” Knight says. “Methamphetamine—this case was nothing other than a meth-head looking for money and a murder happens. It’s the simplest of all stories.”
Richard Allan Barrett, a former drug dealer who used to sell at the Best Budget Inn, was tracked down by Knight and his team to add weight to Knight’s assertion. In an affidavit, Barrett describes Sneed as an addict who would trade items he had stolen in exchange for drugs.
“I specifically recall Justin Sneed bringing the following items to trade for drugs: food stamps ([trading] $150 in stamps for $100 of drugs), radar detectors, car stereos, a Samsonite silver hard-covered briefcase, and, on one occasion, a nickel-plated.38 caliber handgun,” Barrett wrote in his affidavit. He added that, “Justin Sneed was addicted to methamphetamine in a bad way.”
Sneed admits to using methamphetamine around the time the murder took place and was likely under the influence when police arrested him a week after, on Jan. 14, 1997.
It was then that he confessed to investigators that he murdered Van Treese but said he had only intended on knocking him unconscious—that this was a burglary gone wrong. He made no mention of Glossip until the officers did.
“I just only, like, hit him two or three times,” Sneed said during his interrogation. “I figured I would just knock him out.”
Throughout the interrogation, Sneed was pushed to implicate Glossip. The officers told Sneed that Glossip had already blamed him for the murder. Detectives then said they were certain Sneed wasn’t behind the crime.
“We have worked on it ever since it’s happened,” the officers told Sneed. “I think we know what was happened. Some stuff I know we know, some stuff we think we know, and we would like for you to straighten us out for sure. But we want to know whose idea it was.”
By the end of the interrogation, Sneed had changed his story. He told them Glossip had offered him cash to commit the crime.
Using video and transcripts from that confession, Richard A. Leo, an expert on police-induced false confessions, reports “the suggestion that Richard Glossip was involved in the homicide of of Barry Van Treese first came from investigators, not Justin Sneed. The investigators feed Justin Sneed their theory that Richard Glossip was the mastermind of this homicide, and they repeatedly tell him that Richard Glossip was putting the crime on him.”
Sneed himself agrees that their interrogation tactics were unfair—even if he maintains that he told the investigators the truth.
“I will say that it was manipulative,” Sneed told The Frontier in September. “A week later, I am still probably not in my right mind to grasp the concept that I just did all that.”
Other parts of Sneed’s story also don’t line up with what other witnesses have described. In two separate accounts, unrelated motel guests testified that they heard people arguing in room 102 before commotion broke out, which contradicts Sneed’s version that he went in swinging.
Two inmates who served time with Sneed on separate occasions—Michael Scott and Joseph Tapley—say they heard him discuss the murder while behind bars.
Scott told Glossip’s lawyers that he “heard Justin Sneed say that, in his statements and testimony, [Sneed] set Richard Glossip up, and that Richard Glossip didn’t do anything. Among all the inmates, it was common knowledge that Justin Sneed lied and sold Richard Glossip up the river.”
Tapley, meanwhile, submitted an affidavit that Sneed never mentioned anyone else who was involved, and “the only thing that mattered to him was signing [on] for a life sentence.’”
Even one of Sneed’s daughters, O’Ryan Justine Sneed, came forward to say that her father had considered recanting—something he now denies. In an email, she wrote that she believed her father had lied to avoid the death penalty. That email was written with the intention for use in Glossip’s defense.
O’Ryan’s family admonished her after the email was leaked to the media, and she has since ceased contact with members of Glossip’s campaign. O’Ryan did not respond to interview requests for this article.
Although Sneed has stood by his story, the case against Glossip is still lacking actual evidence. During the retrial in 2004, the prosecution relied on medical examiner Dr. Chai Choi and her autopsy findings to make the case that Glossip could have saved Van Treese’s life as he laid on the floor of that motel room. Choi testified that it took Van Treese several hours to die—a fact now heavily contested by experts.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Shaku Teas submitted an affidavit in September 2015, stating she believes Choi mischaracterized the autopsy findings and provided “expert testimony based on no medically accepted evidence.”
“If we had DNA, we would have won in the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.” Defense attorney Don Knight
DNA analysis specialist Laura Schile worked with Choi in the Oklahoma City Police Department crime laboratory. Schile detailed that Choi admitted to altering her findings in another case.
“I was shocked at the statement that she would be willing to change her manner of death dependent on the wishes of the district attorney’s office,” Schile described in an affidavit.
Though Knight believes these witnesses and experts could turn the tide in a courtroom, the new evidence the defense team had discovered was not enough to convince the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals that Glossip deserved a new hearing. Three judges—a simple majority of the five—ruled against him just two days before his scheduled execution on Sept. 30.
“This is different than DNA [evidence], which the court has accepted as being [a] black-and-white thing,” Knight explains. “If we had DNA, we would have won in the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.”
Unfortunately, any evidence that might have had DNA on it was destroyed or went missing in 1999.
In September, the Oklahoma City Police Department told a local news station that all that remains at this point is a police report, which calls for the destruction of the box and incorrectly states that all of the appeals had been exhausted.
The order to destroy the evidence is dated Oct. 25, 1999—just five days following the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals call for a fact-finding hearing to investigate claims of “prosecutorial misconduct” in Glossip’s case.
Without hard evidence, the legal team is now searching for something more concrete to present to the courts.
“Our legal options still remain open,” Knight explains. “We can go back to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals when we find new information—and we will. If we have to go back to the United States Supreme Court, we will go there.”
In order to get the new evidence in front of a judge, the defense team will have to find an angle that goes beyond what has already been presented to the courts over the past 18 years. Precedent favors prior convictions, if a judge believes the trial was a fair one. But questions still remain about whether Glossip or not was ever given a real chance.
“The two [judges] that voted for us voted on substantive grounds,” Knight explains. “They said this case was weak from the start and that we should get a hearing. The three judges that voted against us said we really have to back the finality of judgments.”
* * * * *
Glossip had no criminal record before his arrest in 1997. As a result, he was relieved when a lawyer showed up to represent him at all. Attorney Wayne Fournerat had been paid roughly $2,500 to represent Glossip by his brother’s girlfriend.
“I didn’t know what to expect. This attorney came in out of the blue and said I have been paid for, I am your attorney,” Glossip says. “He talked a big game, and I didn’t know what I was looking for.”
Fournerat, who has since been disbarred, was ill-equipped to do the job. He came to trial without having conducted any additional investigations.
“I think if I didn’t have the attorneys that I had, and all these people—millions of people around the world—watching they would have executed me.” Richard Glossip
“It wasn’t a trial, it was a farce,” Glossip explains now. “It was just horrible. [Fournerat] didn’t represent me in any way shape or form.”
Three years after the trial, in 2001, an Oklahoma County District Judge agreed with this sentiment.
“The record as a whole suggests that the trial counsel was not prepared for trial,” Judge Johnson wrote in his ruling. “We find counsel’s performance deficient and we find his failures could not have been part of any sound or reasonable trial strategy.”
Johnson ordered a retrial, throwing out the initial conviction. Public defender G. Lynn Burch was assigned the case and was far more prepared to represent Glossip. Unfortunately, he would never receive the chance.
In a move that he believes was used to pull him off the case, Burch told The Intercept that before the trial, the prosecution announced plans to call him as a witness to convince the court that he had used intimidation tactics while interviewing Sneed.
Burch recused himself so he could refute the claim, leaving Glossip in the hands of the overworked and underfunded Oklahoma Indigent Defense System (OIDS).
“Now I am sitting there in this courtroom, and my attorney is quitting, and I am going, ‘What the hell just happened?’” Glossip says, explaining that the two defenders assigned to his case initially requested to be taken off it. “Neither one of them wanted to represent me because they didn’t know the case that well. Here I am stuck with these two guys. … I ended up with the worst representation that a person could end up with.”
Glossip’s new attorneys failed to conduct a new investigation. Tanya Greene, advocacy and policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), says it was likely a funding issue.
“If you are going to try to kill somebody, you have to fund their defense,” Greene says. “You can’t hamstring attorneys and then scream at them for not doing a great job because you didn’t fund them properly.”
Budgetary problems are endemic to indigent defense systems around the country. “It’s why many of Mr. Glossip’s innocence claims were not properly investigated until right before his execution date,” she says before adding, “The clincher here is funding.”
OIDS has a troubled history of budgetary issues: Only one year after it was founded in 1991, the agency didn’t have enough money to meet its payroll and nearly shut down.
The next decade was wrought with financing shortfalls. By 2002, the agency was forced to layoff members of its small staff. Twenty-seven positions were eliminated, including 10 attorney positions. According to an OIDS annual report, the cutbacks “hindered the agency’s ability to effectively represent its clients.”
In 2004, the year OIDS attorneys represented Glossip, the annual appropriations were around $14 million—a million dollars less than the budget during the funding crisis of 2002.
The number of staff employed was also significantly low. Across the OIDS divisions that represent capital cases, the year ended with 17 attorneys responsible for taking on the agency’s 70 trial-level cases and 15 appeals.
According to a study conducted over a seven-year period by the Judicial Conference of the United States, attorneys spent an average of 1,900 hours defending clients in death penalty trials.
There are 8,760 total hours in a year.
Even if an attorney did nothing but work—and didn’t take time to eat or sleep—there would only be time for just more than four and a half death penalty trials a year. A standard 40-hour work week only allows 2,080 hours—just enough for one trial. Two, if the work is divided between dual defenders, which is the norm.
The indigent defense lawyers who represented Glossip say they can’t recall how many cases they had at the time of his trial in 2004 and declined interview requests for this article.
OIDS Executive Director Joe Robertson, who has served in the capital division since 1994, says they were overloaded.
“[The defenders] had too many cases,” Robertson recalls. “I don’t remember how many cases they tried that year, but they tried several.” He explains that, because of Burch’s conflict of interest, Glossip’s case was given to the public defenders on top of their usual workload.
“The guys that were trying it were taking that on in addition to the normal caseload—it made it difficult,” Robertson explains.
The OIDS funding issues have also impacted more than just their workload.
“[The Indigent Defense office does] not have the experts that we should,” Robertson explains. “We do our best to make sure that we cover all those bases, but the funding is limited. It is not what it should be.”
He admits that the attorneys made mistakes during the trial.
“This case never should have been a death penalty case. The death penalty should be reserved for the worst of the worst, and he certainly doesn’t fit that category.” Joe Robertson, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System (OIDS)
“Things that could have been brought out to help his case and were not,” Robertson says, “were later discovered.”
The problem persists still today. Robertson says indigent defense attorneys are usually assigned between 12 and 15 death penalty cases each year.
“Yeah, too many. Way too many,” he says soberly. “We need more staff than we can afford—there’s no question about that. We just don’t have the budget for it.”
Even if Glossip’s attorneys had been well-equipped to defend him, they were up against one of the most deadly prosecution offices in the United States.
According to a Death Penalty Information Center report, Oklahoma is one of four states—along with Texas, Virginia, and Florida—responsible for about 60 percent of all executions in America. Oklahoma County, where Glossip was convicted and tried, ranks third highest in number of executions in the country.
It might explain why the prosecution pursued the death penalty against Glossip to begin with—even if it’s undisputed that he didn’t commit the murder himself.
“This case never should have been a death penalty case,” Robertson states. “The death penalty should be reserved for the worst of the worst, and he certainly doesn’t fit that category.”
Knight believes the charge was a way to manipulate Glossip into accepting a plea deal and admitting to orchestrating the crime—something he has repeatedly refused to do.
No matter the reason, Glossip was convicted and given the death penalty. The courts have since refused to rehear the case or the new evidence on procedural grounds. He was denied an appeal in 2007, refused clemency in 2014, and on September 30—the day he was scheduled to die—the US Supreme Court refused to issue him a stay to review his case, but offered no explanation.
For now, his death sentence still stands based on the conviction from his bungled retrial.
Wayne Woodyard, one of the indigent defense attorneys who represented Glossip during that retrial, says it really just points back to a single man.
“I have a policy that I don’t talk about my cases,” Woodyard says sternly over the phone. “All I will say is the Glossip case was tried in part of the era of Bob Macy. You can take a look at the type of atmosphere that was in courtrooms back then.”
* * * * *
In the ‘90s, Oklahoma County was Robert “Cowboy Bob” Macy’s domain. The district attorney was known for his iconic image—western-cut suits, wide-brimmed hats, black string tie, and cowboy boots—and his high body count.
Throughout the course of his career, Macy personally sent a record 54 people to death row and nurtured an entire generation of lawyers and judges who would continue his draconian legacy long after he left the criminal justice system in 2001.
“You go to the US attorney’s office and half of the staff were trained by me,” Macy told The Oklahoma Gazette, before his death in 2011. “I would guess at least 30 percent of the district judges in Oklahoma County were trained by my office.”
He was open about his enthusiasm for the death penalty and was rewarded for it—Oklahoma County citizens re-elected him five times with high margins for his notoriously tough stance.
“If Oklahoma jurors would see Bob Macy walk into a courtroom, you are pretty much toast,” Glossip says. “Especially if you don’t got a good lawyer.”
That toughness often went over the line. He was reprimanded several times by federal and state judges for misconduct in capital cases.
Courts found that he made deliberately false statements in his closing arguments, deceived juries, and “crossed the line between a hard blow and a foul one.”
According to a 2002 ruling by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, “Macy’s persistent misconduct … has without doubt harmed the reputation of Oklahoma’s criminal justice system and left the unenviable legacy of an indelibly tarnished legal career.”
Macy’s office also came under fire in the early 2000s when investigators discovered that the forensic scientist Macy often relied on as an expert witness had faked her findings and withheld evidence that might prove a defendant wasn’t guilty.
Nicknamed “Black Magic” for her ability to give testimonies that convinced juries, Joyce Gilchrist was used in half of Macy’s cases, even after appellate courts criticized her findings as “misleading,” “untruthful,” and “inexcusable.”
She also was responsible for prematurely destroying and losing important evidence—including the box of items from Van Treese’s murder that went missing in 1999.
Both Macy and Gilchrist have since died, but their legacies in Oklahoma’s criminal defense system live on in cases like Glossip’s that might not have otherwise ended with a death penalty conviction.
Still, courts view Glossip’s case as a fair one and, on procedural grounds, have denied him a new day in court. Now his new team of attorneys is working to overcome the shortcomings of his past defenders. It will be difficult, but Robertson says he thinks they have a shot at turning the case around.
“[Glossip] has very, very qualified counsel at this point. They have good resources and are able to devote the time to it that it needs,” Robertson says. “I think they are doing a great job.”
* * * * * *
As Knight left Richard Glossip’s cell on Sept. 30, the day of his scheduled execution, he says his client only expressed appreciation—even if it seemed that all hope was lost.
“He thanked me,” Knight recalls. “He said to me, ‘Everybody has to die sometime, but I didn’t want to die with people thinking I did this—thank you for making it clear that I didn’t.’”
Knight lets out a sigh and pauses.
“For him, maybe that’s OK. But for me it’s not good enough. I need a court hearing,” Knight says. “I just need to get back in front of the judge with these witnesses. These new witnesses are great witnesses and they will turn the tide.”
Given the unforeseen gift of extra time, Knight hopes new witnesses will come forward and that they will discover even more evidence to prove that the system failed Glossip—that he was never involved in the murder of Barry Van Treese.
“We can get a new trial,” Knight says. “But we need a lot of help. So, I am asking everybody: Help.”“Turkey had been going through a deep sense of isolation for the past few years, having switched from its famous ‘zero problems with neighbors’ policy to a place where they had no neighbors |
pipelines and railway lines, so we're pretty used to this up-and-down type of market.
"Make the most of it while it's going good and tighten your belt when it's tough."
Edify Energy to initiate extended rollout
The good times could last for some time if the solar companies fulfil their plans.
Edify Energy's $122 million phase one plant will cover 500 acres, but there are plans to continually roll out more solar phases across its huge 10,000-acre site.
Queensland Energy Minister Mark Bailey signalled they would have the Government's support to do so.
"The Collinsville solar farms are important contributions to us managing a clean energy economy and transitioning to a 50 per cent renewable energy mix over the next 14 years," he said.
"We're at 7 per cent now — 14 years is a considerable amount of time and we're not mucking about, we're getting on with this."
While solar is on the horizon, Collinsville is still very much dependent on coal.
Locals celebrated the recent announcement of 200 jobs at Glencore's Collinsville Coal Mine, while Adani's Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin is widely seen as the potential saviour of the town, as well as north Queensland.
But Councillor Ramage said he was not going to turn his nose up at solar.
"We used to power the north with the coal-fired — I can't see any reason why we can't power the north with solar," he said.
"I think it'll be a massive tourist attraction and that's the way we've got to diversify here in Collinsville, look at everything."
Topics: solar-energy, alternative-energy, environment, mining-environmental-issues, mining-rural, mining-industry, community-development, activism-and-lobbying, local-government, regional, regional-development, collinsville-4804, qld, australia, townsville-4810I wrote recently how teachers unions, parent-teacher associations and school bureaucrats form an education "Blob" that makes it hard to improve schools. They also take revenge on those who work around the Blob.
Here's one more sad example:
Ben Chavis, founder and principal of the American Indian Public Charter Schools, got permission to compete with the Blob in Oakland, Calif. Chavis vowed, "We'll outperform the other schools in five years." He did. Kids at the three schools he runs now have some of the highest test scores in California.
His schools excel even though the government spends less on them.
But Chavis paid his wife to do accounting work, rented property to his schools and didn't follow all of the Blob's rules. So last month, the Oakland School Board said it might close the schools.
Parents and students begged the Blob -- pardon me, the school board -- not to. One sobbing mother pleaded with the board: "As soon as (my son) goes to this school, he's a top student.... And now you guys want to take that away from me." Many students implored, "Please don't close down our school!"
The school board voted to close the schools anyway.
The students will now probably have to go to Oakland's government-run schools, which are not as good. We asked to talk to members of the Oakland School Board, but they refused.
Chavis, though, explained how working with his wife and renting space to the schools -- regarded by the board as too incestuous -- saved government money.
"Yes. Some of the money did go to me," he told me. "Someone had to step up and get space. We had 34 kids when I started. Today, we have 1,200."
And those kids got a better education for less tax money. Who cares if Chavis kept some?
The Blob cares. The school board will get about $10 million back if they are no longer obliged to send pupils to Chavis' schools.
They'll be hard-pressed to beat Chavis' academic results, though. U.S. News & World Report says his schools are No. 1 in Oakland. The Washington Post this month said American Indian is No. 1 on the list of most challenging high schools in America. Over the past three years, 100 percent of Chavis' high school seniors were accepted to four-year colleges.
By contrast, in New York City, where I live, a third of high school students don't even graduate in four years.
Chavis says that if the board thinks he stole money, they should arrest him instead of shutting down his schools.
"If I did steal anything... punish me. Don't punish the students."
And while options for kids in Oakland shrink, the Blob grows.
Over the past six decades, as the number of students in public schools doubled, the Friedman Foundation reports that the number of non-teaching staff got eight times as large. Non-teaching staff means assistant principles, associate principals, secretaries, social workers, etc. Twenty-one states now have more school administrators than teachers.There has been a lot of recent movement in the ARM Server SoC space, with three major players. The third player, AppliedMicro, has been acquired by MACOM. MACOM has announced that the third generation 16-nanometer FinFET Server-on-a-Chip (SoC) solution, X-Gene 3, is sampling to "lead customers". Despite all the products so far on ARMv8, the server world continues to mature and to move forward.
The AppliedMicro X-Gene 3
Back in 2015, we reviewed the 40 nm 8-core X-Gene 1 (2.4 GHz, 45W), which found a home in HP's Moonshot processors. Performance wise the SoC was on par with the Atom C2750 (8 cores @ 2 GHz), but consumed twice as much power, which led in our review to an overall negative conclusion. The power consumption issue was understandable: it was baked on a very old 40 nm process. But the performance was rather underwhelming, as we expected more from a 4-issue superscalar processor at 2.4 GHz. The Atom core, by comparison, was only a dual-issue design and offered similar performance at a lower frequency.
Moving forward, we got the X-Gene 2. This was a refresh of the first design, but built on 28 nm. It was still at 2.4 GHz, but with a lower power consumption (35 W TDP) and a smaller die size of around 100 mm². Despite the relatively lackluster CPU performance, the overall efficiency increase meant that the X-Gene 2 did find a home in several appliances where CPU performance was not the top priority, such as switches and storage devices.
MACOM, the new owners of the X-Gene IP, claim that the new X-Gene 3 is a totally different beast. The main performance claim is that it should be >6 times faster in SPECintRate than X-Gene 1 or 2. That performance increase is mostly because the new SoC has 4 times as many cores: 32 rather than 8. Besides the 32 ARMv8-A 64-bit cores in X-Gene 3, it will also include eight ECC capable DDR4-2667 memory channels, supporting up to 16 DIMMs (max. 1 TB), and 42 PCIe Gen 3.0 lanes.
MACOM's reference X-Gene 3 platform has everything working at near full speed: all 32 cores are functional and run as fast as 3.3 GHz. The SoC design gives 32 MB of L3 cache through a coherent network, and we are told is 'at full speed'. PCIe, USB and integrated SATA ports all work at full speed also. Memory is initially limited to 2400 MT/s instead of 2667 MT/s, but considering that the current memory market only offers buffered DDR4 DIMMs at 2400, that is not an immediate issue.
That set of specifications is impressive, but if the X-Gene 3 really wants to be a "Cloud SoC", performance has to be competitive. We look forward to testing.
The ARM Competition
The other two players are Cavium and Qualcomm.
Cavium has been on a buying spree as of late, acquiring Broadcom Vulcan IP and also Qlogic, a network/storage vendor. If Cavium can inject all that IP in it's Thunder-X server SoC line, its next generation could be a very powerful contender.
Qualcomm will have its 48-core Centriq-2400 SoC ready by the second half of this year, and it will run Windows Server.
Predicted Performance Analysis: Xeon-D Alternative
The only performance figures for X-Gene 3 we have seen so far are the ones found in a Linley Group white paper that can be accessed here:
Based on testing of the current configuration of 3.0GHz CPU frequency and DDR4-2400, the company expects the chip to deliver a SPECint_rate2006 (peak) score of at least 500 when running at its peak speed of 3.3GHz and DDR4-2667 and with some additional hardware and compiler tuning.
That benchmark value is the basis for the claim of "6x more powerful than the predecessor". We can somewhat predict how this can be possible, since SPECInt_Rate2006 scales almost perfectly: 32 cores instead of 8 already give us a 4 times increase. In order to get an overall 6x bump in performance then, each core must be (overall, including frequency) about 50% faster.
Most of the performance boost will come from the frequency: as the SoC can boost to 3.3 GHz on X-Gene 3 over the 2.4 GHz X-Gene 2, this translates to a 37.5% increase. The rest of the gains are most likely related to IPC improvement, in branch prediction and TLB architecture. All in all, 6 times higher performance is not an outrageous claim, but there are few snakes in the grass to consider.
Firstly, MACOM extrapolates from numbers at 3 GHz to 3.3 GHz. Thus the final frequency for the parts is still at the whim of tweaking and optimization, and may result in an increase in TDP over 125W. Also to note is that "additional hardware and compiler tuning is necessary", which is a general term for expected software improvements. While that might turn out to be true, other companies have promised similar and been unable to deliver, so until there's some proof it might be hard to determine at this point.
Last year APM estimated that the new X-Gene 3 would achieve 550 SPECInt_Rate2006 at 3 GHz. That claim has been revised to 500 at 3.3 GHz.
The graph above also seems to show SPEC scores run with GCC, as most published scores place the Xeon E5-2580v4 at 669. While we favor results obtained with GCC too as they more realistic, based on experience we are wary that the graph above could paint a rosy picture of X-Gene's performance.
The Linley Group states:
“X-Gene 3 can handle a broad range of cloud workloads, including scale-up and scale-out applications. The processor excels on big data, particularly in-memory databases, because of its high memory bandwidth."
The 8-channel 32 core X-Gene 3 achieves 67 GB/s. It is weird that the paper, written in March 2017, still mentions the use of DDR4-2133. If we compare the results to the typical Xeon scores we have measured in previous reviews, we get the following:
Our testing methodology is described here.
For those of you who are not familiar with Stream: the CPU does not matter much. When there are enough cores/threads to generate sufficient demand on the memory subsystem, the peak bandwidth numbers are observed regardless of additional cores (see testing done by Dell). In some circumstances adding more cores actually gets a net decrease. So despite including Intel's top model in the graph above, there is no performance benefit.
The 8-channel X-Gene 3 achieves, with 32 cores, somewhere between 24% (compared to the best result of the Xeon in ICC) and 63% better bandwidth than a similar single Xeon system with DDR4 at the same speed. But an Intel system with the same amount of memory channels would still be better. For comparison, but not listed on the chart, in our test of a single CPU Power8 system, it achieved 91 GB/s due to its memory subsystem (using Centaur chips), despite our relatively simple GCC settings and the use of DDR3-1333. The X-Gene 3 bandwidth numbers are vastly superior to those of the X-Gene 1 (19 GB/s, see here), but it is worth noting that X-Gene 1 had only 4 channels using DDR3-1600.
The X-Gene 3 results are more than respectable, but the official quotes from the Linley paper that 'the processor excels on big data' would seem to come across as an exaggeration without any direct benchmark data to back it up. As always at AnandTech, we like to make conclusions on hard data, and look forward to being able to verify the claims.
Conclusion
From the announcement and released data, the new X-Gene 3 core would appear to be the fastest ARM-v8a server SoC announced in the market so far. The engineers behind X-Gene deserve some applause for their tenacity, and for gradually improving their product to the point where it is a serious threat to the lower to mid-end of the Xeon E5 range. But those numbers need to be externally verified.
There are still a number of uncertainties, for sure. The bandwidth numbers are good, but not impressive. The power usage has not been tested, and only publishing SPECInt_rate2006 estimates (that already have been revised downwards) does not by itself as a guarantee of good overall server performance for the platform.
One thing is interesting: the arrival of the X-Gene 3 puts a lot of pressure on Intel's decision to artificially curtail the Xeon D* platform. Intel's fastest Xeon D (D-1587) offers lot of performance with 16 cores and 32 threads as 2.3 GHz, all inside a low 65W TDP - but the Xeon D has only 2 memory channels, can support only 128 GB of memory, and costs $1754 list price.
*We say curtail, based on Xeon-D being based on Broadwell and rather than updating to the latest microarchitecture. Intel's recent release of new networking focused Broadwell-based Xeon-D parts suggests that an update to the platform might be far off in the distance.
From what we can tell, the X-Gene 3 is rumored to cost less than $1200. At that price, it offers much more memory bandwidth and capacity, given its 8-channels and support for up to 1 TB. So although we have some reservations, we welcome the X-Gene 3 to be the cat among the Xeon D pigeons.
Additional Images
While at MWC, Anton was able to score some images of an X-Gene 3 system being demonstrated at the show. Despite it being a mobile show, given the size of ARMs presence, perhaps it might not be unexpected to see some of them on display. The unit was at the Kontron booth, and the date code on the heatspreader puts the manufacturing timing at 2016, week 53.
Related ReadingMELBOURNE ruckman Max Gawn has committed to the club on a new three-year deal, signing until the end of 2018.
One of the competition’s form ruckmen, Gawn has had a breakout 2015 season, playing 10 consecutive matches for the first time in his career and establishing himself as the club’s first-choice ruck.
The 23-year-old said it was exciting to lock in his future at Melbourne.
“It was good to put pen to paper, [the negotiations] hadn’t been going on for too long, which is good,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“It’s only been the last couple of weeks that negotiations have started heating up, so it’s good to finally sign the paper.”
Gawn took until round 10 to force his way into Melbourne’s team in 2015 but since his return to the side, has embarked on an outstanding run of form.
After his 10 games, Gawn is ranked second in the league for contested marks per game and fourth for hitouts per game.
After an injury-interrupted start to his career, the ruckman said he was enjoying the chance to build some good form.
“It’s probably well publicised that in my six years at the club I’ve had two knee recos, a few hamstring [injuries] and stuff like that,” Gawn said.
“[I’ve] also had some bad form, especially at the start of this season, I had some pretty bad form.
“But it’s all started to come together and I’m starting to play some good footy.”
Manager of football operations Josh Mahoney said Gawn’s development over the past two years had been exciting.
“Max has had an injury-interrupted start to his career with a number of knee reconstructions,” Mahoney told melbournefc.com.au.
“He’s been able to put together a number of games for the last two seasons and we’ve seen him continue to develop, particularly in the second half of this year.
“He’s shown the potential that we always thought he had and we’re very happy to have secured a young ruckman for the next three years.”
Gawn’s re-signing follows the recent contract extensions of first year players Angus Brayshaw and Christian Petracca.
Having arrived at the club through the 2009 AFL National Draft, Gawn said he was excited by the club’s future.
“I’ve obviously been here for six seasons now but I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
“A lot of the guys are in the same boat – we’ve been through a lot together and we don’t want to miss out on hopefully what’s at the other end.
“We’ve got some good young players coming through – we’ve seen Angus Brayshaw this year and James Harmes and Alex Neal-Bullen and players like that – who are playing good footy and there’s Christian Petracca still to come, which is exciting.”
Mahoney said Gawn’s re-signing was another important step in developing the club’s group of talented young players.
“It’s important that we continue to secure our young talent,” Mahoney said.
“This [signing] follows on from earlier in the year, when we extended the contracts of both Angus Brayshaw and Christian Petracca.
“We’ll continue to look to extend the contracts of our talented players and try to keep them developing together.
“This has been consistent with our list management strategy over the past two seasons, where we have looked to secure our young talent while also adding some experienced players from other clubs around them.”
With four games left in Melbourne’s 2015 season, Gawn said he was keen to finish the year on a high note.
“I’m definitely enjoying my footy a little bit more than what I was at the start of the year,” he said.
“But there are still four games to go… so I wouldn’t mind winning a couple [more] with four weeks to go.”Jim Harbaugh (Photo: Steve Perez, Detroit News)
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said he isn’t certain at what number he will cap his staff’s satellite camps, and he meant it.
Harbaugh told reporters Thursday night before the Michigan Softball Academy that he hasn’t “decided yet” how many more camps the staff will add.
Five more were revealed Friday:
* St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., along with Syracuse and Stetson, on June 3.
* The New Jersey Select Football Showcase at Hun School of Princeton in the evening on June 7.
* Fairfield (Ohio) High School on June 9.
* The Empire Showcase in Norco, Calif., on June 12.
* The South Carolina Elite Prospects Camp at Columbia Ridge High on June 17.
Michigan is now at 23 camps in 15 states.
The Michigan staff will work the New Jersey camp with other programs, including Villanova, Princeton, and Penn, and in South Carolina, Michigan will join other programs including Wisconsin, Colorado State, The Citadel and South Carolina State.
The satellite camps were banned earlier in April by a vote of the NCAA Council after a proposal by the ACC, although the SEC was also vehemently opposed to the camps. Nearly three weeks later, the ban was reversed by the NCAA Board of Governors.
Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze had said he was pleased after the initial vote, and before that, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said publicly he had issues with Harbaugh taking the team to Florida for spring practice over spring break.
But Freeze will work a camp at Pearl, Miss. along with Michigan, and Smart will be at the Atlanta camp with Harbaugh and his staff.
“They’ve come around,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t hold that against them and look forward to it. It’s collegial, and I really like that about it.”
CLOSE Jim Harbaugh discusses satellite camps at the Michigan Softball Academy. Angelique S. Chengelis, Detroit News
Michigan’s Summer 2016 camps (so far)
June 2 – Cedar Grove High at Maynard Jackson High, Atlanta
June 3 – Trinity Christian Academy. Jacksonville, Fla
June 3 – St. Thomas Aquinas High, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
June 4 – Cheshire (Conn.) Academy
June 5 – Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va.
June 7 – South Alabama, Mobile
June 7 – Hun School, Princeton, N.J.
June 8 – Paramus (N.J.) Catholic
June 8 – Pearl High, Pearl, Miss.
June 9 – Warren (Ohio) Harding High
June 9 – Fairfield (Ohio) High
June 9-10 – Sound Mind Sound Body, Detroit
June 12 – Baylor University, Waco, Texas
June 12 – Empire Showcase, Norco, Calif.
June 13 – North Shore Stadium, Houston
June 14 – Greenhill High, Addison, Texas (near Dallas)
June 14 – Oakland High, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
June 15 – Pittsburg (Kansas) State.
June 15 – Blue Springs South High, Kansas City, Mo.
June 17 – Ridge View High, Columbia, S.C.
June 23 – Antioch, Calif.
June 25 – Hawkins High, Los Angeles
June 26 – Oceanside, San DiegoPoland: Fans boycott because 1 EUR of each ticket goes to refugees.
Poland: Fans boycott EL match against Belenenses because 1 EUR of each ticket goes to refugees.
Updated 18.09.2015
Less than 8000 spectators attended this match:
During last home match fans of Lech Poznan displayed banners against refugees and chanted anti-refugees songs. At one banner you could read "This is obvious and simple for us. We do not want refugees in Poland".
Thursday this week Lech Poznan play home against Belenenses (Portugal) in Europa League. UEFA announced that all clubs participating in the competition have to pass the € 1 from each ticket sold on their forthcoming match played at home on refugees.
As a result of that Lech Poznan supporters have announced they will boycott the home match this week against Belenenses to make sure they don't contribute with money to the refugees!
Announcement from the group Kibolski Discussion Club:
(translated by google)
In the face of information about the forced transfer of income from the nearest match Europa League for Muslim immigrants flooding Europe, as people gathered around the Fans Discussion Club express our strong opposition. The consequence of this is the decision of forgiveness match against Belenenses and staying in their homes.
Being part of a community of fans of Lech Poznan for many years voluntarily and without media acclaim engage in charity to the poor. Multitone collection of food, chemical products, textbooks and school is an expression of not only commitment, but also great sensitivity hearts across blue and white family. During our trip to the former Borderlands of the Republic we have repeatedly met our compatriots living in extreme poverty, persecuted for their commitment to the lost homeland. With each of our visit we saw on the faces of our compatriots tears of bitterness - their tragic fate is a terrible price to pay for loyalty to the Republic.
Passed by us gifts only marginally compensate for the pain of oblivion to which they were condemned by the Polish authorities. It's cruel oblivion is in stark contrast with what we see in recent weeks as compared to Muslim immigration. The hypocrisy of the elite and their media officers makes something in us rebels and we have no plans whatsoever to support current activities contrary to the Polish raison d'etat.
At the same time clearly and definitely we declare further, enduring support for compatriots across the eastern border. In the Vilnius, Hrodna, Pinsk or beat Nowogródek hot Polish heart. You can be sure that we will not forget about them. We encourage you strongly to support our initiatives. "
Scenes like this will probably not be seen Thursday when hardcore Lech Poznan fans boycott the match.
Many groups in Europe displayed in the past banners about the refugees situation, click here to see some of them.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Everton are plotting a move for a duo of Championship defenders, Burnley’s Michael Keane and Leeds’ Sam Byram, according to the Daily Mail.
Roberto Martinez appears to be bracing himself for a bid from Chelsea for starlet John Stones by searching for his replacements. Michael Keane and Sam Byram have both been touted for the top flight with impressive performances this season.
Michael Keane only joined Burnley from Manchester United last year as Burnley were relegated from the Premier League. However, Keane was a shining light in a resilient Clarets side, which just didn’t have the resources to stay in the top flight.
However, this season, Burnley are flying high in the Championship as they bid to show they are good enough to be a Premier League and Keane has shown his talent once again. The 22-year-old has played every game for Burnley this season and has even chipped in with three goals.
A January move for Keane could be Martinez’s best option, who has been watching the defender for some time. However, Swansea are also believed to looking Keane.
Sam Byram is also being considered by Everton, as the right sided player continues to show his potential, with dazzling performances for Leeds. However, the Toffees may baulk at the £6m price demanded by the Yorkshire club.Tony Kushner and Denzel Washington Collaborating on Fences Film
Pultizer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner is working with two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington on a long-delayed film adaptation of the play Fences, by two-time Pulitzer winner August Wilson, according to Deadline.
Washington will direct and "hopefully" star in the role created on Broadway by James Earl Jones, a role Washington played on Broadway in 2010 to Tony-winning effect. Washington has a separate deal with HBO to bring all ten of Wilson's "Century Cycle" or "Pittsburgh Cycle" plays to the small screen. The Fences project reportedly is not included, and is being produced for Paramount by Washington and Scott Rudin.
Washington's Broadway co-star, Viola Davis, would recreate her role as his wife, "schedules pending." She won the Tony for her performance.
Deadline reported that Washington is trying to pull the film together during calendar year 2016 so as to be eligible for 2017 Academy Award consideration.
Kushner and Washington reportedly are working on a "rough draft" of a screenplay adaptation started by Wilson himself before his death in 2005. "They want to use everything Wilson has done," an unnamed source told Deadline. "They want to use all of his words."
Fences won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The Piano Lesson, which was also honored with a Pulitzer, is the only of Wilson's plays to have been adapted for the screen. The playwright's longtime collaborator Lloyd Richards directed the 1995 made-for-television movie.
None of his other works, including Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Two Trains Running and Joe Turner's Come and Gone, have made it to the screen. Until he died, Wilson insisted that any screen adaptation of his work would have to be helmed by an African-American director, a demand studios resisted.
Washington's stature and the recent controversy over the lack of diversity in the Hollywood power structure, give Fences a stronger chance of moving forward.
Fences is the story of Troy Maxson, a Pittsburgh sanitation worker who once dreamed of a baseball career, but was too old when the major leagues finally admitted black players. He tries to be a good husband and father, but his lost dream of glory eats at him and causes him to make a decision that tears his family apart.
Kushner won back-to-back Tony Awards in 1993 and 1994 for the two parts of his play Angels in America, which also won him the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.Having revealed it earlier this week, Ubisoft has now provided new information regarding Rainbow Six Siege's upcoming Operation Skull Rain expansion.
This starts with Favela, the new map coming to all players for free as part of the update. We get a quick look at this new locale in the new video above. As part of the original announcement, Ubisoft claimed it's the most destructible map released yet, which we now know is because it adds "exterior shell destruction."
What this means is that the "main buildings" are destructible from the outside, according to a blog post. That makes it more difficult to hide, as there are new angles from which enemies can attack. The map will be shown off more during the Xbox Pro League final later this week
Also coming as part of the expansion are what Ubisoft labels as quality-of-life improvements. These include the ability to decide who spawns with the bomb diffuser during TDM-Bomb matches in Ranked and Custom games. There are also improvements to the menus, such as a way to check your team's loadout while picking an Operator. The North indicator on the compass should now be easier to read, and the way health is displayed is now different.
"We removed the Operator speed level since it’s not a relevant dynamic information while in the heat of a match," explained presentation director Toni Da Luz. "This allowed us to feature your health and additional armor (e.g. Rook) much more efficiently than before."
While not tied directly to the Skull Rain expansion, Ubisoft has also announced an additional layer of anti-cheat protection that's coming. The BattlEye system "focus[es] on prevention rather than behavior," which is already handled by the existing FairFight system.
A beta for BattlEye will run on PC with some "large scale" tests over the course of "several weeks." During that time, it won't issue bans, though FairFight will continue to do so. Once it's fully implemented, it will kick and ban players as necessary for cheating. This is detailed in full in a new FAQ.
Operation Skull Rain launches on August 2. In addition to the new map, it adds two Operators that will be exclusive to season pass holders for a week, after which time anyone can purchase them with in-game currency.
If you own an Xbox One, you can try out the full game for free (and get it at a discount) this weekend.For other treaties signed in Bucharest, see Treaty of Bucharest (disambiguation)
Treaty of Bucharest Borders of the Balkan states after the Treaty of Bucharest (below) Signed 10 August 1913 Location Bucharest, Romania Parties Bulgaria
Romania
Serbia
Greece
Montenegro
The Treaty of Bucharest (Romanian: Tratatul de la Bucureşti; Serbian: Bukureštanski mir/ Букурештански мир; Bulgarian: Договорът от Букурещ; Greek: Συνθήκη του Βουκουρεστίου) was concluded on 10 August 1913, by the delegates of Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece.[1] The Treaty was concluded in the aftermath of the Second Balkan War and amended the previous Treaty of London, which ended the First Balkan War. About one month later, the Bulgarians signed a separate border treaty (the Treaty of Constantinople) with the Ottomans, who had regained some territory west of the Enos-Midia Line during the second war.
Background [ edit ]
Photo of the delegations to the peace conference
Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its gains in the First Balkan War, and especially with Greek and Serbian gains in Macedonia, launched an attack on its former allies in June 1913. The attacks were driven back, and the Greek and Serbian armies invaded Bulgarian-held territory in return. At the same time, the Ottomans advanced into Eastern Thrace and retook Adrianople, while Romania used the opportunity to invade Bulgaria from the north and advance against little opposition to within a short distance of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Isolated and surrounded by a more powerful coalition of opponents, Bulgaria was forced to agree to a truce and to peace negotiations to be held in the Romanian capital, Bucharest.
All important arrangements and concessions involving the rectification of the controverted international boundary lines were perfected in a series of committee meetings, incorporated in separate protocols, and formally ratified by subsequent action of the general assembly of delegates. Although the Ottomans had also participated in the Second Balkan War, they were not represented at this treaty. Instead, bilateral treaties were later concluded with Bulgaria (Treaty of Constantinople) and Greece (Treaty of Athens).
Gains in territory [ edit ]
Serbia [ edit ]
The eastern frontier of Serbia was drawn from the summit of Patarika, on the old frontier, and followed the watershed between the Vardar and the Struma rivers to the Greek-Bulgarian boundary, except that the upper valley of the Strumica remained in the possession of Bulgaria. The territory thus obtained by Serbia engulfed central Vardar Macedonia, including "Ochrida, Monastir, Kossovo, Istib, and Kotchana, and the eastern half of the sanjak of Novi-Bazar".[2] These territories would today include Novi Pazar in Serbia, the disputed territory of Kosovo, and Ohrid, Štip, Kočani and Bitola in present-day Republic of Macedonia. By this arrangement, Serbia increased its territory from 48,300 to 87,780 km2 and its population by more than 1.5 million.[3]
Greece [ edit ]
The boundary line separating Greece from Bulgaria was drawn from the crest of Belasica to the mouth of the Mesta (Nestos), on the Aegean Sea. This important territorial concession, which Bulgaria resolutely contested, in compliance with the instructions embraced in the notes which the Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary presented to the conference, increased the area of Greece from 64,790 to 108,610 km2 and its population from 2,660,000 to 4,363,000.[4]
The territory thus gained included large parts of Epirus and Macedonia, including Thessaloniki. The Greek-Bulgarian border was moved eastwards to beyond Kavala, thus restricting the Aegean seaboard of Bulgaria to an inconsiderable extent of 110 km, with only Dedeagach (modern Alexandroupoli) as a seaport. In addition, Crete was definitively assigned to Greece and was formally taken over on 14 December that year. Within this region was also Florina.[5]
Bulgaria [ edit ]
Bulgaria's share of the spoils, although greatly reduced, was not entirely negligible. Its net gains in territory, which embraced a portion of Macedonia, Pirin Macedonia (or Bulgarian Macedonia), including the town of Strumica, Western Thrace, and 110 km of the Aegean littoral, were about 25,030 km2, and its population was increased by 129,490.[6]
In addition, Bulgaria agreed to dismantle all existing fortresses and bound itself not to construct forts at Rousse or Shumen or in any of the territory between these two cities, or within a radius of 20 kilometers around Balchik.
Romania [ edit ]
Territory of Bulgaria ceeded to Romania after the Bucharest Treaty
Bulgaria ceded to Romania Southern Dobruja, lying north of a line extending from the Danube just above Tutrakan (Turtucaia) to the western shore of the Black Sea, south of Ekrene (Ecrene); Southern Dobruja has an approximate area of 6,960 km2, a population of 286,000, and includes the fortress of Silistra and the cities of Tutrakan on the Danube and Balchik (Balcic) on the Black Sea.[7]
Perception [ edit ]
According to Anderson and Hershey, the severe terms imposed on Bulgaria contrasted the ambitions of its government upon the entry into the Balkan War: the territory eventually gained was relatively circumscribed; Bulgaria had failed to gain Macedonia, which, with its large population of ethnic Bulgarians, was Sofia's avowed purpose in entering the war, and especially the districts of Ohrid and Bitola, which had been a main demand. With only a small outlet to the Aegean around the minor port of Dedeagach, the country had to abandon its project of Balkan hegemony.[8]
According to Anderson and Hershey, Greece, though a winner and triumphant after the acquisition of Thessaloniki and most of Macedonia up to and including the port of Kavala, still had outstanding issues.[9] Italy was opposed to Greek claims to Northern Epirus, and controlled the Greek-inhabited Dodecanese islands. In addition, the status quo of the islands of the Northeastern Aegean, which Greece had taken from the Ottomans, remained undetermined until February 1914, when the Great Powers recognized Greek sovereignty over them. Tensions with the Ottomans remained high, however, in the face of persecutions of Anatolian Greeks, leading to a crisis and a naval race in summer 1914 that was stopped only by the outbreak of World War I. At the end of the war, Greece still had claims to territories inhabited, at the time, by some 3 million Greeks.
References [ edit ]
Sources [ edit ]Paras Khadka unveils the Nepal jersey with the Nepal Telecom logo © Kaushal Adhikari
The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has signed a three-year sponsorship deal worth 15.5 million Nepalese rupees (approx. $155,000) per year with the state-owned telecom giant Nepal Telecom. The deal is the biggest in the history |
in tears as she attempts to pay at the service station before she gets back into a car
The concerned worker said the backpacker got back in her car and took off, which prompted her to alert police
A concerned friend, 27, told Daily Mail Australia the British backpacker had known her alleged attacker for just one and a half weeks before he changed his Facebook profile to'married'.
'He was really clingy it was like he just blew in to town and latched on to the first single girl,' he claimed.
'When he changed his relationship status on Facebook I thought it was too fast - she never changed hers.'
Earlier on Tuesday, photographs emerged showing the inside of the SUV where the tourist was allegedly held captive during the horrific ordeal.
Her accused captor was found in an alcove built in the back of the white Mitsubishi Pajero, hidden underneath clothes and 'other items'.
On Sunday, service station manager Beverley Page (pictured) alerted police when the alleged victim wandered into the store with black eyes and marks on her throat
The British backpacker's alleged attacker is pictured lying on his back with arms out on the bonnet of a white car
Police allege the 22-year-old woman, from Liverpool, in England, was 'raped four times, bashed and held captive' by the man, also aged 22, for two months
The man, from the Cairns suburb of Manunda, was charged with four counts of rape, eight counts of assault, four counts of strangulation, and two of deprivation of liberty
The alleged attacker (pictured) was described as 'clingy from the start' by a friend of the alleged victim after he met the tourist on Australia Day
Investigators claimed the couple had met in January at a 'bush doof', a popular outdoor dance party, in Cairns and had agreed to go on a road trip together.
TIMELINE OF THE HORROR ROAD TRIP JANUARY AUSTRALIA DAY WEEKEND: British backpacker meets man, 22, at a 'bush doof' party in Cairns FEBRUARY Police alleged the 22-year-old tourist was raped in a Cairns hotel room MARCH 1-5 The woman was allegedly forced to drive the suspect around as they travelled south. She was allegedly beaten and repeatedly raped MARCH 5 The woman was rescued after being pulled over by police. The man was arrested and charged
But a court in Roma heard on Monday that the woman was held against her will by the man between January 2 and March 5, as they made their way across Queensland.
Ms Page told Daily Mail the woman filled up the SUV with $60 worth of petrol.
'If she'd paid for the fuel and gone on her way heaven knows what would have happened to her,' she said.
The backpacker told the cashier she could not pay for the petrol because her ex-boyfriend had her wallet and credit cards.
Ms Page informed the woman if she could not get in touch with him to arrange a payment or get her wallet back, she would be forced to call the police.
At this point, the backpacker walked out to the forecourt, got back in her car and drove away.
'I made the decision to follow her because I thought that if I could get the registration number I'd be able to file a report to the police,' Ms Page said.
This is the white 4WD police stopped in south-west Queensland on Sunday afternoon - finding a 22-year-old woman in extreme distress and a 22-year-old man in a back alcove
Police believe the woman was in the four-wheel-drive on a trip from far north Queensland
'I couldn't ring the police because it's very difficult to raise anyone in this area and you can't the emergency triple-0 number to report a drive-away,' the petrol station owner added.
'But it so happened that the local police were parked at the end of the street, so I pulled over and told them what had happened and they said they would drive after her. That's when they stopped the vehicle and found the man at the back.
'She had a chance when she was speaking to me of telling me what she was going through but she made no mention of it.'
Earlier on Tuesday, Ms Page told of the moment the woman walked into a petrol station crying and'shaking uncontrollably' shortly before she was rescued.
The inside of the 4WD is pictured here on Tuesday being held by police
A pile of clothing police will reportedly allege belonged to the man, 22, who has been charged with raping and beating the woman
The woman was distressed because she could not pay for the tank of petrol she had put into the car.
'She had two black eyes and marks down the side of her neck,' Ms Page told Daily Mail Australia.
'She was crying. She was shaking uncontrollably. She had only just come in here and she couldn't pay for the fuel.
'I was very concerned about her, but I didn't expect her to just walk out, get in the vehicle and drive off.
'It was as well that she did. If she had been able to pay for the fuel I might not have interfered with her life and she would have gone off and who knows?'
The SUV allegedly at the centre of the woman's horrific ordeal was filled with cubbyholes to hide and has been seized by police as the investigation continues
Jump-start cables and blankets piled up on a makeshift bed in the back of the white Mitsubishi
A police officer investigates the Mitsubishi Pajero SUV that the victim filled with fuel
Backpacker's'stunt at the petrol station was a brilliant cry for help', as her concerned friend reveals ex-boyfriend was 'clingy from the start' A concerned friend of the 22-year-old Brit who was allegedly held against her will by a man she'met at a doof over the Australia Day weekend' has described how the man was 'clingy from the start'. The 27-year-old friend told Daily Mail Australia he believes the'stunt at the petrol station' where the young woman is accused of failing to pay for petrol was just a 'brilliant cry for help'. The young British backpacker had known her alleged attacker for just one and a half weeks before he changed his Facebook profile to'married'. 'He was really clingy it was like he just blew in to town and latched on to the first single girl,' he claimed. 'When he changed his relationship status on Facebook I thought it was too fast - she never changed hers.' He met the 22-year-old man through his British friend a hand full of times and even had him over to his place. 'He would try to sell me a bike every week - but as far as I could tell he didn't own anything,' he said. The friend claimed the backpacker had been living out of her alleged attacker's car - and when she went missing two weeks ago it 'wasn't out of character'. 'I didn't worry too much because going away for a few weeks was normal for her,' he said. 'I tried calling her a few times but couldn't get through. 'I have spoken to her aunt from the UK since.' The friend, who met the young woman at a pub in Cairns just before Christmas, described her as a nice girl who was'very trusting'.
The worker, who spoke to the woman for ten minutes that afternoon, asked what had happened to her and offered to call police on her behalf.
Ms Page gave her several opportunities to find her wallet and call someone to pay for the petrol bill on her behalf.
But then the backpacker allegedly got back in her car and took off.
Ms Page gave chase because she had not written down the number plate of the car.
And as she was driving up the road, she saw local police had pulled up doing random breath tests.
'I missed the number plate, I was going to try catch up to it and get the number plate,' she said.
'Mitchell police had just pulled up up the street doing random breath tests. I just told them this white Pajero had just taken off from the fuel station without paying.'
The Australian Outback petrol station (pictured above) where the tourist wandered in on Sunday
The roadhouse where the young woman pulled up before she filling up the SUV on Sunday is pictured above
The pair allegedly met in January at a dance party in Cairns. From there, they allegedly embarked on a road trip together between Cairns and Roma - before they were pulled over in Mitchell, a rural town 500 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, Queensland on Sunday
Police said they pulled the car over about 15 minute-drive west along the Warrego Highway towards Charleville.
It was immediately clear to officers that something was wrong and they soon found her alleged captor hiding in an alcove that had been built into the back of the car.
The man, from the Cairns suburb of Manunda, was charged with four counts of rape, eight counts of assault, four counts of strangulation, and two of deprivation of liberty.
He was remanded in custody to face court on May 23.
Police pulled over the four-wheel drive about 5pm on Sunday, in what's been described as a random traffic stop.
Pictured: The area on the Warrego Highway between Mitchell and Roma where police stopped the vehicle after receiving a tip-off from the petrol station owner
Police will allege the woman met the Cairns man three months ago and they agreed to go on a road trip (pictured of the Warrego Highway where the woman was pulled over)
The 22-year-old man, from the Cairns suburb of Manunda (pictured), has already faced a Roma court on charges including four counts of rape
When they approached the vehicle, they found the injured woman at the wheel. 'It appears she was terrified and not able to hide that,' police said.
The woman is being treated for facial fractures, bruises and cuts to her body in hospital.
Detective Inspector Paul Hart described what had happened to the woman as 'quite catastrophic'.
'We have potentially saved this young girl's life, given what's happened to her, the extent of what's happened and over the period of time, anything may have transpired,' he said.
The pair allegedly embarked on a road trip between Cairns and the Outback town of Roma.
'They have formed some sort of relationship,' Det Insp Hart said.
'By her account, that has soured to the point that while they were travelling around she has tried to leave but was held against her will.
'From our investigations it would seem as they have been living in that vehicle and we'll be alleging that they've travelled throughout different parts of the state with her basically been told to take him to different locations.'
A police investigation is continuing.Former Ottawa Rough Rider Rick Sowieta is recovering in hospital after a procedure to treat aggressive pancreatic cancer.
After going public with his battle, the Ottawa football and restaurant communities – both of which Rick has been a big part of over the years – quickly mobilized to lend a hand. A fundraising campaign was soon launched to help the Sowietas travel to Germany for the specialized procedure called Irreversible Electroporation, also known as IRE or Nanoknife.
The response shattered the family’s fundraising goal of $65,000, with more than $82,500 raised so far.
Sowieta, who played seven of his 10 CFL seasons for Ottawa, had the surgery to treat the stage three cancer on February 23 and his family posted an update this week, saying the procedure went well and the surgeon, Dr. Mathias Birth out of Stralsund, Germany, was “very optimistic.”
“The operation took almost 5 hours of moving and repositioning the probes in order to cover the whole tumor,” Rick’s wife, Jen Kavanagh, wrote in the update. “The first few days of recovery have taken a toll on Rick but he is staying strong and sleeping whenever he can. The medical team is excellent and Rick just came back from a cat scan. We should get the results quickly, if everything goes well Rick will be out of here soon.”
The procedure followed a trying year in which Sowieta underwent intensive chemotherapy to battle the cancer. The Nanoknife procedure isn’t used for pancreatic cancer in Canada and OHIP has previously denied coverage for similar out of country expenses, leading to the family’s decision to go public with Sowieta’s story.
For more on Rick Sowieta’s story, click here.The Astros and Braves have been the early aggressors this offseason, and neither is done: Both are now concentrating on the high-end starting pitcher market (think: Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Chris Archer) while the Astros also battle the Red Sox and Yankees to sign Carlos Beltran.
Meanwhile, most big-market teams are moving slowly for two main reasons: 1) They want to see the rules in a new collective bargaining agreement, particularly when it comes to luxury-tax thresholds and penalties; 2) Many see a free-agent market saturated with bats and wonder whether patience will allow them to get a relative bargain later in the offseason with hitters who could not find a home at their expected prices.
But even within that dynamic, executives from several teams cite the Nationals as a club expected to break the shackles and be aggressive. One American League executive said of the Nats: “They are really interesting. They are hovering on Sale. They are thinking big things. It would not shock me if they ended up with Sale. I think they have let teams know that [Trea] Turner is off the table, but that they are open on a lot of different things.”
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports was the first to report the Nationals – who already sport Cy Young winner Max Scherzer plus Stephen Strasburg and Tanner Roark – are seeing whether it is possible to form a super-rotation with Sale. The Nats also want to add a righty bat, were in on Yoenis Cespedes last winter and are intrigued again. As one NL executive said: “They were on Cespedes last year, so why would that change now? They had interest in [Jose] Bautista during the summer. They are looking for a right-hand power bat.”
They also could play for one of the big closers, trying to retain Mark Melancon or going for Aroldis Chapman or Kenley Jansen, and they will have to address catcher with Wilson Ramos a free agent. The Nationals, according to the executives, also are aggressively trying to move lefty starter Gio Gonzalez, who is due $12 million in 2017 with a $12 million option for 2018.
Another AL executive said: “[Mike] Rizzo is pretty bold. He is going to do whatever he needs to do.”
Why the Nats are expected to act in a significant manner:
1. They have a narrowing window. Scherzer is great right now. Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy can both be free agents after 2018 and Anthony Rendon after 2019.
2. The Braves and Phillies are still a year or two away from contending, and the Marlins just might not be able to get enough pitching to contend, especially after Jose Fernandez’s death. But the Mets should remain formidable, and the Nats want to keep their roster superior.
3. The Cubs and Dodgers join the Mets and perhaps the Giants as likely NL powerhouses. The Nats are in that fraternity. Just one will advance to the World Series.
4. The Nationals have won the NL East in three of the past five years, yet never won a Division Series. The NL executive said: “Oakland had success getting to the playoffs but then not winning, but they had a low payroll. Washington has had no success in the playoffs, but they have a high payroll. They have never won a round. They definitely have to make a move to advance.”
5. Owner Ted Lerner is 91 and – as the Tigers have tried to do with their aging owner, Mike Ilitch – the Nationals badly want to win in Lerner’s lifetime.A flaw in the built-in XML functionality of PostgreSQL (CVE-2012-3488) and another in its optional XSLT handling (CVE-2012-3489) have been patched, and the developers have released updated versions of the open source database with relevant fixes. The holes being patched are related to insecure use of the widely used libxml2 and libxslt open source libraries and the PostgreSQL developers advise anyone using those libraries to check their systems for similar problems.
Both problems in PostgreSQL allow authenticated users of the database to read arbitrary files on the system, and the XSLT flaw allows writing of files. Details are limited, but the release notes for 9.1.5 note how xml_parse() and xslt_process() could be used to access information about files or parts of those files.
To fix the problem, the PostgreSQL developers have released versions 9.1.5, 9.0.9, 8.4.13 and 8.3.20 and urge users to "update their installations at the first available opportunity". The updates do break some backward compatibility though: users who rely on the built-in XML functionality to validate external DTDs will have to implement a workaround and users who use xslt_process() to fetch documents from external URLs will no longer be able to do so. The developers say they regret having to disable this functionality, but have to do so "to maintain our security standards".
They also note that these fixes are "substantially similar" to issues in WebKit (CVE-2011-1774), XMLsec (CVE-2011-1425) and PHP5 (CVE-2012-0057). Developers who use libxml2 and libxslt should probably take note of this and check to see if they are exposed to any issues through their use of the libraries.
The update to PostgreSQL also includes several fixes for version 9.1 of the open source database and a number of fixes for older versions. These include corrections to time zone data, documentation corrections, Python/Unicode fixes, a correction to log rotation and reduced data loss when replication failovers among others. As the update is a minor update, users need only shutdown the database, install the new binaries and restart.
(djwm)bible reading, catholic, Easter, lafayette urban ministry, lent, lenten, lum, Malavenda, matthew 25, mother teresa, Pablo Malavenda, reflection, St. Thomas Aquinas, st. Tom's
My Lenten Reflection
I am blessed to be in a position to serve others through my work with St. Thomas Aquinas Center and with the Lafayette Urban Ministry. I am also blessed with a close and loving family who I adore and work very hard every moment of every day to be a worthy husband, a devoted father, and a caring son. A day does not go by that I do not reflect on Matthew 25:31-46 and the parable of the sheep and goats.
And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
At St. Tom’s my work behind the scenes is quite fulfilling. One aspect of my role at St. Tom’s is overseeing the Mother Teresa Fund. The Mother Teresa Fund is an emergency financial assistance program that offers a safety net for families in crisis. Each day I listen to stories of hard working families who need a small bit of assistance. I am humbled by their strength and persistence in a time of great crisis in their lives. Such a little bit of kindness and a small amount of money from St. Tom’s is saving lives, enriching spirits, and giving hope.
In my work with LUM, my primary role is to promote the various services and programs offered by LUM through social media and traditional marketing. Whether it is offering safe housing for the homeless, emergency financial assistance through the LUM Good Samaritan Fund, educational enrichment programs for children through LUM Camp, the After School Program, the Achieve high school program or the 5th Quarter Summer Learning program; or food assistance through the St. John’s/LUM Food Pantry – LUM gives me an opportunity to serve families in our community in transition or crisis. Promoting such worthy initiatives is a joy.
Who am I to judge? How may I serve more? Am I really worthy enough?
I am reminded every day that I am merely a sinner but I have been given gifts from the Holy Spirit and called to serve others. And when I serve, I must not judge and I must always try to do more – to be more worthy and more grateful for how “rich” I am. I can and do pray for others less fortunate than I – but my prayers must be followed by action – otherwise I am only offering sympathy and pity to others which is not helpful to anyone. God wants us to serve others as Jesus was called to do. Forgive others as God has and stop punishing others for their past or current mistakes or misfortunes.
On a broader level, we must not judge other “nations” – we must not just hope and pray that the world will get better – we must stand up for others, speak up when we see injustices, advocate for those who are marginalized or disenfranchised, fight for peace, and take action to make positive change for EACH member of our communities not just the majority.
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did NOT do for one of these least ones, you did NOT do for me.’
Every day I strive to be a good role model for others especially my children. Modeling that we must not only pray for others but we must also be servants – serving and giving without fear, without judgment, without hesitation. We must not let our prejudice and ignorance stop us from serving others. We have all needed the help of others – and seen friends and family members struggle due to unemployment, addiction, incarceration, relationship problems, death, and illness. If we turn our back on those in the most desperate need – it is neither neighborly nor Christian. We must give of our time, give from our gifts and talents, and give monetary gifts and from our material possessions – our tithing. And when we serve we must do so with grace, empathy, and humility — giving others hope and offering love and dignity.
Matthew 25 gives me a guidepost to live my life – and I might get it right 75% of the time. The important thing is that I am reflecting each day on how I can be a servant in some way, to someone each and every day.
And in reality – if I am honest with myself – my service is saving and enriching my soul as much as it is assisting others.
Matthew 25:31-46 The Judgment of the Nations. *31f “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32g and all the nations* will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35h For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40i And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 41*j Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42k For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ 44* Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ 45 He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ 46l And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
About the author
For those of you who know me — I must explain why I, of all people, am writing a Lenten Reflection. I have been a Catholic my entire life and love it. But I have never considered myself a pious or even slightly religious person. A couple of years ago when my pastor asked me to use my “gifts” to serve the church, I was honored. Subsequently I have facilitated several parish staff retreats, presented workshops on leadership for parishioners, and developed a capstone leadership program for college Catholic seniors. My pastor must have been pleased with my work and confident in my leadership training, organizational development skills, and work ethic — because three months ago he offered me a job (paid) with the church as their “parish administrator.” I have enjoyed serving my church and assisting my pastor in advancing the ministries, improving the operations, and creating a healthy work environment. What I was not looking forward to or at all comfortable with was the “religious” part of the job. Our weekly staff meeting often consist of reflecting on the readings and Gospel for the upcoming weekend — yikes. This was the epitome of being “outside of my comfort zone.” To my surprise, I get it — and more importantly no one chuckles when I offer my opinion. Then I found out that every church staff member must contribute to the daily Lenten Reflection Booklet. I reached a new level of anxiety — but I faced my fear, was the first one to sign up, and submitted my reflection early. Part of my strategy for signing up first was that I was able to select Matthew 25 — a reading that I have come to know through my work over the past couple of years with the Lafayette Urban Ministry. So — that is my story. I hope this helps put the above reflection into some perspective — and gives you something meaningful to ponder during the Lenten season.
Please let me know what you think. Thanks.
AdvertisementsIn the first part of a major series recalling the defining moment of the credit crunch, leading figures recall the shattering impact of the bank's collapse on the British financial sector
Alistair Darling's phone rang. It was 7 October 2008 and the chancellor of the exchequer was in Luxembourg, struggling to concentrate on the finer points of insurance regulation. The caller was Sir Tom McKillop, chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, and his message was brief: "We are haemorrhaging cash. What are you going to do about it?"
The chancellor knew that Britain's biggest bank was in trouble even before McKillop came on the line, yet even the normally phlegmatic Darling was surprised at the size and immediacy of the crisis. "I asked how long he could last, expecting him to say that we had 24 hours," Darling recalled in an interview with the Guardian to mark the fifth anniversary this weekend of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers – the event that provoked the global financial crash and, along with other seismic shocks, pushed RBS to the brink.
Instead, McKillop said RBS's cash would last for only two or three hours. Unless there was immediate help, the bank would have to cease trading by the end of the day.
Darling could see the irony of the situation. "Here was the chairman of one of the world's biggest banks, who had shown disdain for politicians, asking us what we were going to do about it." Stifling any urge to delight in McKillop's predicament, the chancellor said the government would shortly announce details of a rescue plan for UK banks caught up in the backwash from the collapse of Lehman, little more than three weeks earlier.
For Darling, this was the stuff of nightmares. It wasn't simply that cash machines would stop working and cheques would no longer be cashed, although that was perceived by the Treasury and the Bank of England as a clear risk. It was the knowledge that the meltdown of a bank the size of RBS would send shockwaves through an already weakened global financial sector and bring other institutions down with it.
"It sent a shiver down my spine. I knew from what had happened to Northern Rock a year earlier what could happen. And this was a massive bank. It would have been a catastrophe had RBS collapsed," he said. "I am often asked which of my 1,000 days as chancellor was the worst. I am very spoiled for choice, but that was it. We were on the brink of a complete collapse of the world's financial system. RBS would have taken the rest of them down."
What could have gone down in history as Black Tuesday dawned with the chancellor flying out for talks with fellow finance ministers. Darling would rather have been at his desk in the Treasury, but decided that a no-show could spook the markets. With panic in full spate, it was imperative for him to be seen keeping calm and carrying on.
A news report that RBS would be bailed out by the Treasury had led to a wave of selling in the City. In a frenetic morning's trading, the bank's shares had been suspended, re-listed and then suspended again before McKillop called.
Tuesday 7 October marked the climax of Britain's silent bank run. Although it was less visible than the queueing outside branches of Northern Rock a year earlier, the prolonged unwillingness of banks to lend to each other threatened to be far more damaging.
Lord Myners, brought in by Gordon Brown as City minister after the Lehman collapse, said he was shocked when shown official figures showing how inter-bank lending had dried up.
"This was the real bank run," Myners said. "You think of the senior citizens outside Northern Rock branches, but the real run was the one that took place in October, when really substantial depositors were willing to pay penalties to move their deposits. Deposits were not being renewed.
"There was a waterfall chart. You could see the proportion of deposits that was not being renewed – hence the need to do something – which had an element of shock and awe about it."
For those running Britain's banks, the change in the climate was sudden and, for their institutions, potentially fatal. In the good years, banks had become highly leveraged – they had increased their lending far more rapidly than they had built up capital to guard against losses. With markets booming, the banks' supposedly failsafe models showed that catastrophic losses were out of the question. In any event, they could always rely on the wholesale money markets – populated by other financial institutions – to see them through any cash-flow problems.
These beliefs were shattered in the weeks that followed the Lehman collapse. None of the executives at RBS or HBOS, the two most prominent casualties of the crisis, would talk to the Guardian for this series but it was clear from the testimony of Andy Hornby, HBOS's chief executive, and Lord Stevenson, its chairman, to parliamentary committees that they were completely flummoxed – and terrified – when they found that the wholesale markets were closed for business.
Lord Turner, who took over as chairman of the Financial Services Authority a week after the American authorities failed to find a buyer for Lehman, believes the crisis pre-dated the collapse of Lehman, and even the run on Northern Rock in September 2007. "For me the lesson learnt is that the roots of this crisis go back very deep. Over a number of decades we allowed too much leverage to grow in the real economy, and we allowed the banking system to become over-leveraged. I think we were running a system with such small buffers of capital and liquidity that by 2006-07 a crisis was bound to occur.
"You can go back and ask, had something been done differently in 2007 might the precise path of the crisis been different: but that's not the key point. We had created a system by 2006 with such a buildup of debt that it was inherently unstable, and that was going to produce a massive crisis.
"We created an over-leveraged financial system and an over-leveraged real economy. We created a system such that even if the direct cost of bank rescue was zero, the impact of their near-failure on the economy was vast."
The perils of over-leveraging had become apparent long before the US authorities gave up the fight to save Lehman on 15 September 2008, and condemned it to bankruptcy. Banks were using each other to fund their businesses rather than depositors. So even before Lehman collapsed, bankers could see the temperature was rising.
Douglas Flint, now chairman of HSBC, Britain's largest bank, but its finance director during the crisis, said: "It was very clear that many investment banks were dependent on being able to roll over short-term liquidity, and we could see the parcel of unencumbered assets being used as collateral was getting smaller."
Problems first surfaced in the American sub-prime mortgage market, where too many home loans had been extended to borrowers with no chance of ever repaying them. There was even a nickname for them – "ninja" loans, for people with no income and no job or assets. Those risky loans were bundled up with less risky ones and sold off in parcels to banks around the world. The belief was that these collateralised securities offered high returns at minimal risk. The belief was that not all mortgage borrowers would default at the same time. That belief was wrong.
It was also universal, which was why the crisis proved to be so debilitating. Banks were big, global, had utter faith in the supposed perfection of unfettered markets, and were all operating the same mathematical models of risk. Speaking in 2011, Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, put the crisis down to an "unjustified faith in rational expectations, market efficiencies and the techniques of modern finance".
By September 2008, the system was ready to blow. The period of calm following the nationalisation of Northern Rock in February 2008 and the rescue of the American investment bank Bear Stearns in March the same year proved to be a phoney peace.
In its May 2008 financial stability review, the Bank of England was wildly optimistic about the future. It said: "The most likely path ahead is that confidence and risk appetite return gradually as market participants recognise that some assets look cheap on a fundamental basis. But with sentiment still weak and deleveraging continuing, downside risks remain."
These risks grew more prominent as the summer wore on. Darling was alerted to the worsening state of the British economy by falling tax revenues coming in to the Treasury. In the US, the Bush administration had to take the two institutions that guaranteed US mortgages – Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae – into federal protection.
Lehman was the next domino to fall. Its fate was sealed when Darling refused to provide state guarantees for a takeover by Barclays that Bob Diamond, then the head of Barclays' investment bank, had been trying to broker on the weekend of 13-14 September. "I could not imagine standing up in the House of Commons on the Monday morning explaining that we had put the UK taxpayer in hock so that Barclays could buy Lehman. Half the Barclays board was relieved," Darling said.
Andrew Bailey, then chief cashier at the Bank of England and now its deputy governor and head of the new Prudential Regulation Authority, recalled: "It was a strange weekend. We had almost no control over it because the events were happening in New York."
Lehman was the trigger for the most dangerous phase of the crisis. "Lehman in a violent way brought on HBOS's funding problems because of its over-dependency on wholesale funding," said Bailey. In the weeks that followed, the British government nationalised buy-to-let specialists Bradford & Bingley, while the Irish authorities prompted fury among their European Union partners by offering a blanket guarantee to depositors. Iceland simply allowed its three biggest banks to collapse.
Just two days after Lehman collapsed, the Americans bailed out the giant insurer AIG, which had guaranteed the banks' multibillion-dollar exposure to sub-prime loans. Without a bailout, many more banks would have followed Lehman into bankruptcy. The US administration also turned Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley into traditional commercial banks so that they could get federal financial support, and proposed that hard-pressed firms could put their toxic loans into a Troubled Asset Relief Programme (Tarp). When Congress initially refused to sanction Tarp, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 700 points in a day.
In London, earlier tensions between the Treasury and the Bank of England about how to handle the crisis had been smoothed over. Darling had been irked at what he saw as the over-academic approach of the governor, Mervyn King; at one point Darling even discussed the "nuclear option" of over-ruling Threadneedle Street in order to provide more support for the City.
By late September and early October, it was clear to the Bank, the Treasury and the FSA alike that emergency action was needed. In his first week at the FSA, Turner had dinner at the Bank with King. Over a bottle of red wine from the cellars, King explained that British banks were facing a full-scale solvency crisis.
Turner describes what was happening in the markets as a snowball effect. "Three-month deposits were running off but lenders didn't want to give another three months – they'd give just overnight. So by the next day you had a bigger problem, because there were more term deposits maturing plus the overnight deposits from the night before – like a giant snowball rolling forward, getting bigger day by day."
The scene was set for a series of eyeball-to-eyeball meetings at the Treasury in early October. On one side of the table sat the heads of RBS, Lloyds, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Santander, HBOS, Barclays and the Nationwide building society. On the other side sat Darling, King and Turner, flanked by their advisers. Myners says he was shocked at the bankers' lack of humility and the way they tried to intimidate ministers even when the crisis was at its most acute.
That hubris was not to last for long: former RBS boss Fred Goodwin later described the events that led to his departure and the bailout of RBS as akin to "a drive-by shooting". He was out of a job – axed by chairman McKillop and senior independent director Bob Scott. Myners says he also wanted McKillop's resignation but was warned by Scott that the entire board would quit. A compromise was reached |
) that shoplifting kills hundreds of orphans annually. And as a footnote explains, it seemed prudent to round up to a million. I wish this were just a joke, but as readers of my previous post will recognize, that's literally about the level of evidence we're dealing with here.
As Sanchez concludes, "On the data available so far, though, reports of the death of the industry seem much exaggerated."
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here.Tzortis' claim Analysis 1. Emphasis & Choice of Pronoun إِنَّا [Verily, We] This structure is emphatic (harf al-tawkid); also the plural is used to indicate power, certainty, ability, greater quantity or sometimes to stress the status and greatness (li-ta’zim al-mutakallim aw ihtimaman bi-dhikr rabbika wa ta’ziman). This is an apt choice of pronoun as its persuasive force can not be matched by any other pronoun. The effect is “The creator, who has power to do anything has indeed given you….” This is just saying the Qur'an uses the royal "We" in Arabic.
2. Word Choice أَعْطَيْن [A’Tayn] This term as been used instead of ‘Aataaina’ because of a subtle difference. The difference as defined by Ibn Manzoor in his Lisan al-‘Arab differs conceptually. The Qur’anic choice indicates ‘to hand over with one’s own hand’ whereas the non Qur’anic selection does not provide this meaning. This choice of word is apt as it strengthens the sentence emphasizing the surety of giving, ability, greatness, power and intimacy (to console and strengthen the Prophet). According to Naishapuri this term also indicates the extra notion of ownership with it. The verb has also been used in the past tense which indicates that is has already happened and makes it definitive. This further accentuates the meaning of surety, power and greatness. This also expresses certainty of a promise, in this case the Prophet will have al-Kawthar. The Qur'an uses a word instead of another word...and it's in past tense.
3. Word Choice الْكَوْثَرَ [al-Kawthar] The root stem for this word are the letters kaaf, tha and ra (=kathara). This signifies plentiful, multitude, overflowing, rich, unstinting and unending. Other derivations of this root include: Katha-ratun: Multitude Katheerun: Much, many, numerous Ak’tharu: More numerous (emphasis) Kath-thara: To multiply Takathur: Act of multiplying Is-thak-thara: To wish for much Al-Qurtubi states that the Arabs used ‘Kawthar’ to denote anything which is great in quantity or value. This word can not be replaced with another, as its meaning can not be matched equally with any other Arabic word. Ibn Abbas mentioned that the al-Kawthar includes all types of good. (Ibn Abbas Tanwir al-Miqbas: this is of doubtful origin. However this is also the opinion of Sa‘id Ibn Jubayr, ‘Ikramah, Qatadah and Mujahid.) The Qur'an used "al-Kawthar," which means abundance...to say abundance. It's a root word to!
4. Word Arrangement The placement of al-Kawthar is an attribute; plentiful/abundance. However this word has been placed at the end of the verse with no word after to be attributed to it, as al-Qurtubi points out, this indicates that the Prophet has been given an abundance of everything. The Scholars state that if God had bestowed one thing in great multitude then that would have been mentioned, however due to giving the Prophet an abundance of everything nothing is mentioned to indicate everything or many things. Also within the science of eloquence and rhetoric mentioning all the things would be superfluous and not a good use of language. Basically, the Qur'an formed a sentence correctly.
5. Multiple Meaning The word al-Kawthar has been given multiple meanings by the scholars. These meanings include: 1. That river of paradise from which rivers flow. 2. The fountain on the Day of Judgement from which the Prophet will quench the thirst of his people. 3. His prophethood. 4. The Qur’an, no other divine book is as comprehensive as the Qur’an. 5. The way of life called Islam. 6. The multitude of his companions, no other prophet had that many companions 7. Elevated status. No one is more researched, more mentioned and more praised than the prophet Muhammad. 8. It is multitude of goodness. The Qur'an used a word which has multiple definitions, and could be interpreted multiple ways. It might even do some word play!
6. Grammatical Shift: Iltifaat إِنَّا …ِرَبِّكَ ْ […to your Lord]. Iltifaat is a unique rhetorical and stylistic device employed by the Qur’an. The Qur’an is the only text to have the highest frequency of grammatical shifts and related rhetorical features. In this Surah, there is a change from the first person plural [We in innaa] to the second person […your Lord]. This change is not an abrupt shift; it is calculated and highlights the intimate relationship between God and the Prophet. The use of ‘We’ as described above is used to emphasize the majesty, power and ability of God whereas ‘Your Lord’ is used to indicate and emphasize intimacy, closeness and love; this is an apt use as the preceding concepts are about prayer, sacrifice and worship. [So to your Lord pray and sacrifice]. Furthermore, the purpose of this chapter is also to console the Prophet, using intimate language enhances the psycholinguistic effect. The Qur'an changes tense in the middle of a sentence.
7. Conceptual Relatedness (intertextuality) فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ [So to your Lord pray and sacrifice] The ‘fa’ (so) particle is sababi (causative) this indicates a recommendation to the Prophet to be thankful for the abundance he has been given. This conceptually relates to tawhid (oneness of God). The Oneness of God is the central theme in the Qur’an which permeates every chapter. The Arabs at the time of revelation would worship, pray and sacrifice to other ‘deities’ rather than God. Therefore this statement is not only a logical and rational concept i.e. to be thankful as a result of being the beneficiary of abundant good, rather it is to show the difference to the polytheists who would offer worship and sacrifice to idols. This relates to a major theme in the Qur’an, the oneness of God. There are other verses that related to this particular verse, these include: Say: “Verily, my Salah, my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of all that exists. He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims.” Qur’an 6:162-163 And do not eat from what Allah’s Name has not been pronounced over, indeed that is Fisq (transgression). Qur’an 6:121 It can be clearly seen that chapter al-Kawthar conceptually relates to other verses and chapters within the Qur’an. This feature from a linguistics point of view is called thematic intertextuality. The Qur'an references other concepts and verses. At least, if you over-analyze this enough.
8. Word Choice وَانْحَرْ [Wanhar] The word ‘wanhar’ is from the root na, ha and ra (= nahara) which means to sacrifice an animal by cutting or piercing the jugular vein. The word ‘wanhar’ also has the meaning of standing facing Qibla for Salah (prayer). It also means raising hands while reciting Takbir (God is the Greatest). This word is the most apt word for the meaning of sacrifice as it has multi layered meanings which are most appropriate for the ideas and concepts that are trying to be delivered in this structure. Surely it is only out of God’s Greatness that al-Kawthar is given to the Prophet and it should be received with thanks and sacrifice, which are manifested in Islam via sacrificing animals, prayer and recitation of Gods names (dhikr). If anyone was to scan the Arabic language for a word that has such expression they would not be able to find one. Once again, the Qur'an uses a specific word to mean a specific thing. Like most words, it also has several meanings!
9. Emphasis and Choice of Particle إِنَّ [Inna] ‘Indeed’ is used to emphasize and accentuate that it is the enemies of the Prophet that are cut off. The effect is ‘you enemies are certainly the ones you are cut off’. The Qur'an uses the word indeed. With emphasis.
10. Semantically Orientated Repetition & Rhythm إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الْأَبْتَرُ The repetition of the second person (ka = ‘you’ x 3) is singling out/focusing/making exclusive the Prophet as the target of the speaker. The emphasis (iqrar) is a stylistic move to fortify and strengthen the Prophet. The consistent use of the second person establishes continuity in the verse and generates rhythm. Moreover, there is a juxtaposition between the iltifaat of the speaker (al-mutakallim = God) with the fixity/repetition of ka in the second person (mukhatab = Prophet). The Qur'an repeats a word, and does so poetically.
11. Rebuke and Contempt إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الاٌّبْتَرُ [It is your enemy that is cut off] The use of the word ‘abtar’ (cut off) is most suitable as it was a word used by the enemies of the Prophet against him. This structure indicates that in reality the enemies of the Prophet are the ones who are cut off i.e. have acquired great loss. This is accentuated by the preceding two verses which are an intense, emphatic and exaggerated use of language to show that all good has been given to the Prophet. The contrast between the persuasive preceding structures and the use of the word ‘abtar’ gives the word more power and intensity. The Qur'an rebukes Mohammed's enemies. Somehow, this is a 'rhetorical device.'
12. Word Arrangement إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الاٌّبْتَرُ [abtar] This chapter uses the insult the enemies of the Prophet used to enhance the communicative effect. This word in the Arabic tradition means `Leave him, for indeed he is a man who is cut off having no descendants. So when he dies he will not be remembered.’ This return of insult is not merely done as a form of ‘tit for tat’ rather it is eloquently arranged as the last word used in the chapter to stress the meaning. The effect is, that it is they who are really cut off as the word ‘abtar’ is placed right at the end of the chapter to allude to this fact. There are no words after ‘abtar’ just like no remembrance and no offspring to continue someone’s lineage (Note: This is a linguistic indication and not a fact). Once again, the Qur'an formulates a sentence correctly. And this impacts the meaning.
13. Choice of Particle: Confinement/Exclusivity هُوَ الاٌّبْتَرُ […that is cut off]. The alif lam (a and l) after the ‘huwa’ denotes confinement and exclusivity (designates a specific person or thing i.e. the enemies of the Prophet). For the context of this chapter, the definite article (al-) may designate either definition (li ’l-ta’rif) i.e. refer to a specific person/thing or it may designate ‘familiarity’ (li ’l-‘ahd). The effect here is that the enemies specifically and not the Prophet who are really cut off. Such minutiae changes the power of the structure, which is a great use of language. The Qur'an uses the Arabic language correctly.
14. Rhythm and Sound The Qur’an has been described as an “inimitable symphony” whose rhythm moves men to tears and ecstasy. The Qur’an not only selects the most apt words and phrases, but also achieves a unique sound within a unique literary form. This chapter has the following verse end rhyme: Kawthar …nhar …tar What is noticeable about the rhyme in this chapter is that the end rhyme of the last two verses resonate the sound of the word ‘al-kawthar’, what is meant here is as if the sound of the word ‘al-kawthar’ is extended to support the overall theme that the Prophet has really been given an abundance. It is as though the word ‘al-kawthar’ has been exaggerated and phonetically elongated to further highlight its meaning and enhance the overall persuasive power of the structure. It rhymes!
15. Prophesy/Factual An interesting observation of the chapter is that it also is factual and accurate. At the time when this chapter was revealed the Prophet was in one of the lowest points in his life. His enemies were the ones who seemed to have prosperity and power. However, the reality soon changed. The Prophet turned out to be the most successful Prophet both as a man delivering a message and as a statesman. His enemies eventually lost their power. However the Qur’an used the word ‘abtar’ here, this describes the Prophet gaining power and success but it should also indicate something more specific for it to be appreciated as a factual description and a form of prophesy. There are major opinions of the reason for this revelation. The first opinion is that Al-`As bin Wa’il would say, whenever the Prophet would be mentioned (in his presence), `Leave him, for indeed he is a man who is cut off having no descendants. So when he dies he will not be remembered.’ Therefore this chapter was revealed to console the Prophet. The other opinion is that Abu Lahab, another leading member of the Quraish, exlaimed `Muhammad has been cut off (i.e., from progeny) tonight.’ when the Prophet’s son passed away. What makes this chapter a prophesy and factual is the events that took place after this revelation. With regards to Abu Lahab he died of a form of plague and was not buried by his sons until one the leading tribe leaders noticed how his body was rotting. His sons eventual placed the remains of the body on a wall and threw stones on it. Abu Lahab had lost power, honour and dignity. ‘As bin Wa’il faced similar humiliation. His sons had converted to Islam thus becoming his enemies, as he was an active enemy of Islam. Furthermore his sons did not take any inheritance from him. So in reality his lineage was broken. The Qur'an - which was written down after Muhammad's death - managed to correctly describe a part of Muhammad's life.fullscreen continue view fullscreen close
Thanks to sequestration, NYC's Fleet Week festivities have been officially cancelled.
No sailors or ships will be sent to New York—the military's statement is, "Unfortunately, there will be no Navy ships in New York this year for Fleet Week and no additional Sailors or Marines. We look forward to the opportunity to participate in future Fleet Weeks and we greatly appreciate the city's patience and understanding during these unusual times. Thank you NYC for what you do for our service men and women each and every day. Hope to see you next year!"
NY1 reports, "A spokesperson says any Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard members who happen to be in the city will be allowed to take part in any local events that still take place." Fleet Week usually generates $20 million for the city. The city government issued a statement, "We understand the Navy’s budgetary limitations and hope that the Fleet Week tradition can continue in 2014."
Sorry, aspiring Carrie Bradshaws—finding a sailor (who looks like Daniel Sunjata—hubba hubba) during Fleet Week will have to wait until next year, we hope.5 injured in West Bank demonstrations
(MaanImages/reuters)
RAMALLAH – Five people were injured on Friday in weekly West Bank demonstrations, a local group said.
Three women sustained bruises after Israeli soldiers assaulted them in a weekly demonstration in al-Masara village, Bethlehem, the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements said.
The demonstration began at a cultural center in the village, before heading towards Israel’s separation wall.
In Nabi Saleh, Izz al-Abdul Hazfith Tamimi, 15, suffered facial injuries after being hit by a rubber bullet, the Popular Committee said.
Usama Bilal Tamimi, 16, was hit by a rubber bullet in the leg.
Palestinian and international activists gathered in the village for the weekly protest, which was also dedicated to hunger striking detainee Hana Shalabi, as well as other Palestinians in Israeli jails.
The protest was held on the first anniversary of the arrest of anti-wall activist Bassem Tamimi.
In March, Amnesty International said Tamimi should be released immediately, calling him a prisoner of conscience.
In December, 28-year-old Nabi Saleh resident Mustafa Tamimi died after he was struck in the face by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces.
On Tuesday, Israeli troops raided the village, ransacking several homes and confiscating computers and cell phones, according to the local popular resistance movement.
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Ian Withrow, Enterprise IT PM Since 2001
“The best way to get user feedback is to talk to users in a structured interview. I don’t care if you are B2B or B2C, all the data in the world doesn’t count for a fig unless you have personal insight into your users. Data doesn’t provide that.
However, just having a chat isn’t enough. There are reliable methods for developing shared understanding and empathy:
1) Active listening
2) Preparation
3) Document
4) Background knowledge
5) Visual context
6) Synthesize
…This philosophy is a work in progress.”
To read the full version of Ian’s answer, click here
Hannah Chaplin, 5+ years on SaaS businesses heavily involved in product dev. CEO at Receptive.io
“It depends on the context. What stage are you at? What sort of feedback is important to you right now?
We gather feedback through all departments as we are a very customer-focused organisation. However, an important point to note is that all ideas / suggestions / feature requests all go into a single platform.
We have a link from our software product (we are a B2B SaaS business) which gives our customers a dedicated channel to add, discuss and prioritize their feedback. The prioritization is incredibly important.
By having an open channel, we found that engagement on feedback increased dramatically.”
To discover more user feedback insights, click here
Paul Lopushinsky, Product Manager
“TALK TO THEM. Sure, you can send out emails to get feedback, use a 1–10 system, smiley face or frown etc. but at the end of the day, the best way is to actually sit down with them, ideally face to face, to talk.
Drill down, keep asking why, and listen to what they have to say.
Now, be sure to get feedback from a number of people. You don’t want to sit down with just a handful of people, smile and know you’ve done your work. Keep talking to a variety of customers who use your product.”
Paul Unterberg, Vice President of Product Management at Prudential Financial
“I find there are two types of User Feedback, and lots of ways to get it. So, like most answers, it depends on the problem you’re solving.
Explicit User Feedback
You get this by engaging with users directly. To me, the best way to get this feedback is to interact with users one on one in a freeform discussion.
For example, you might do a web meeting with them and see how they use your product when looking for a solution. You might ask them for data to validate you get a correct result, or you could just talk through a process with them.
Other ways that might be better, though:
Looking for structured feedback: online surveys
Group feedback: a focus group
Discussion feedback: collecting responses on forums (or reddit or Quora)
(or reddit or Quora) Make a clear feedback area — add a Need Help? link, icon, or button to your page, so the user has a place they know they can provide feedback or get help (remember, support ticket conversations are great explicit feedback.)
Implicit User Feedback
Of course, users might actually do things differently than they think or say. For this, a healthy dose of analytics can provide metrics. Look at these in aggregate first, and try to get large samples of data.
Create a funnel — Use Mixpanel, Google Analytics, or your own homegrown suite to track completion of a goal.
— Use Mixpanel, Google Analytics, or your own homegrown suite to track completion of a goal. Track time spent — Do your users take a long time to figure out things? This can highlight things you can improve to make the user more efficient at the task.
Do your users take a long time to figure out things? This can highlight things you can improve to make the user more efficient at the task. Use cursor/finger heat maps — These can show you how a user is expecting to use the product, and highlight things that your UX/UI assumptions got wrong.”
Click here for Paul’s full answer
Minoo Razavi, Marketing Communications & Digital Content Strategist
“The best way to collect user feedback is while the user is using your product. This guarantees the feedback to be authentic and honest. How is this possible? By embedding a feedback system into your application… There are many feedback systems that can be integrated into another application.
The most flexible and most robust embeddable API comes from Qrvey.com. It is the only appified feedback API on the market. You can ask surveys in the middle of your app, you can ask for NPS (net promoter score of customer loyalty), you can even create fun quiz and polls about your product to engage your user.
In the end, an enhanced product means better sales but here are the steps along the way.
Ensure Usability
Developers can often miss usability issues and even the most hawk-eyed testers can let a few bugs slip through. Real-time customer feedback helps you catch errors ASAP. With surveys embedded on the page, it also makes problems much easier to isolate.
Developers can often miss usability issues and even the most hawk-eyed testers can let a few bugs slip through. Real-time customer feedback helps you catch errors ASAP. With surveys embedded on the page, it also makes problems much easier to isolate. Get the details
Sales figures and ratings won’t let you know what you’re doing right and wrong specifically.Since it’s significantly more expensive to gain a new customer than it is to keep an existing one, finding specific ways of improving current customer experiences is a must.”
To discover more useful methods for incorporating user feedback into your product, click herePin 0 Shares
The financial crisis, and the recession, prompted the return of of layaway. For years, many stores stopped offering the layaway option; it was pointless, since so many of them had co-branded credit cards and were more than willing to encourage people to use those to make purchases. (Not to mention the storage space multiple items on layaway take up.) However, the financial crisis served as a wake up call for many. Instead of just charging Christmas gifts, they began looking for another option.
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Layaway
A layaway program allows you to reserve an item for future purchase. You make a payment up front, and then make period payments until the item is paid off, and you can take it home. With many layaway programs, you are charged no interest, so you don't have have to worry about borrowing the money. Some layaway programs are designed so that you pay each week, while others have you set up a certain number of payments within a certain timeframe, such as four payments over the course of two months.
The idea is that you can get an item at a good price (although some stores won't let you reserve certain sale items on layaway), and pay for it gradually, without the need to use credit and pay interest. You don't need to come up with all of the money up front, so it makes it easier to pay for big ticket items, since you can do it over time.
Using Layaway to Help Your Holiday Budget
If you want to reduce the strain on your Christmas budget, it is a good idea to begin planning now. You know that your holiday spending will add significantly to your budget. Indeed, many people find that their December expenses can balloon to the point where the entire budget for that month can explode.To avoid this, start now to plan. Whether you put together a Black Friday strategy now, or decide to set aside a certain amount of money each week from now until December to cover your costs, planning now can save you money in the long run.
Layaway can be part of your plan. Because it's a good way to spread out the cost of a higher-cost item, layaway can be ideal as a part of your plans. Find out which items on your list can be set aside, and focus on putting those on layaway, and then paying them off over time. Then, your available funds can toward items that can't be reserved for the future.
When using layaway, though, you need to be careful. Make sure you understand all of the terms and conditions. Know the payment process, and understand the penalties if you miss a payment or are late. You should also understand that some stores will charge a “restocking fee” if you change your mind, and decide you don't want an item after all. Additionally, while most stores don't charge fees or interest for layaway, there are some stores that might charge a fee for this service. Make sure you are clear about the procedure, and all of the charges, before you agree to a layaway.
If done right, a layaway can be a great part of your Christmas budget planning. You don't have to break your budget, or go into debt, to complete your holiday shopping.
Pin 0 SharesRecent discussions about the white working class and racism (me, DeBoer, Mystal, et al) have me flashing back to the fascinating world of 2008 LGBT politics. In that year, the majority of Black voters came out and voted in favor of proposition 8, a successful referendum that sought to eliminate same-sex marriages in California. Needless to say, this put LGBT writers and activists in a tough spot: do you take out your frustrations and demonize Black people as anti-gay bigots fighting against equality or do you blame yourself for failing to adequately engage Black people on the issue?
After some initial grumbling, the consensus position was to blame themselves for not engaging. In a post at The American Prospect titled “Engaging, Not Demonizing,” Adam Serwer argued:
Andrew Sullivan agrees that “this community needs to be engaged not demonized, and we haven’t engaged enough,” but in the weeks before the vote Sullivan was telling everyone on the Internet that the black community was “the most homophobic ethnic community” which sounds a lot to me like demonizing. That’s not the way to build a political coalition, anymore than Barack Obama won the election by telling white people how racist they are.
Dean Spade weighed in similarly:
Current conversations about Prop 8 hide how the same-sex marriage battle has been part of a conservative gay politics that de-prioritizes people of color, poor people, trans people, women, immigrants, prisoners and people with disabilities. Why isn’t Prop 8’s passage framed as evidence of the mainstream gay agenda’s failure to ally with people of color on issues that are central to racial and economic justice in the US?
Jessie Daniels at The Society Pages shared similar sentiments:
I heartily agree with the authors’ re-frame of the failure of Prop 8. The mainstream gay political movement has failed to do the hard work of coalition building with people of color, whether straight or LGBT. While I’m not prepared to argue that gay marriage is inherently racist as some do, I do think the fight for marriage equality has got to re-think it’s white-led agenda and connect to broader social justice goals in order to be successful.
Of course, white LGBT advocates never did successfully engage Black people well enough to bring them around on the gay marriage cause. Instead, what happened is gay marriage advocates ran up their support among whites so much that it didn’t really matter what Black people (a 13% minority) wanted. Put bluntly, majoritarian support for LGBT rights was largely won through a GOP-like demographic strategy of maximizing white margins.
Nonetheless, what’s interesting to me about the 2008 moment is the rallying cry of “Engaging, Not Demonizing.” The liberal response to Blacks opposing gay marriage was not to demonize them as anti-gay bigots that can go fuck themselves for all liberals are concerned. They certainly could have responded that way. As history shows, winning the support of most Black people was not remotely necessary to win gay marriage. But instead liberals responded with calls for further engagement, calls for further outreach, and, crucially, calls for finding “broader social justice goals” and “issues that are central to racial and economic justice” that could possibly unify the LGBT and Black causes.
This is contrasted with some recent liberal sentiments about lower class whites, which are more about Demonizing, Not Engaging. Specifically, the fact that many lower class whites are racist is enough grounds it seems for many Discourse Liberals to say to hell with them.
DeBoer argues that this new posture shows that liberals have evolved towards more conservative modes of thinking, modes which emphasize that only the morally good are worthy of concern:
Yet in a deeper sense I think conservatives have won a major victory, one not understood by them or their antagonists: they have written the notion that dignity, respect, and material security must be earned into the progressive imagination. They have made the notion of a moral meritocracy inescapable in American civic life
While I’d agree with DeBoer that this is a particularly conservative approach, the reality is that these Discourse Liberals do not actually adhere to the approach for populations other than lower class whites. As discussed above, they didn’t and don’t say “to hell with Black people’s needs” just because most Black people oppose LGBT marriage rights. And right-wing efforts to talk about how many Muslim communities across the world hold views about women and LGBT people that liberals find abhorrent are shrugged off instantly. For these and other groups, being morally problematic (under the liberal framework) does not make them undeserving of dignity, respect, and material security.
So what’s going on, then? If liberals haven’t evolved generally towards a “moral meritocracy” worldview, then why do they seem to apply that worldview to the case of lower class whites? I don’t pretend to know the answer to this, but Emmett Rensin suggested to me earlier that the main dividing line here is whether liberals think you will vote for Democrats or not. That is, lower class whites are seen as largely outside of the Democratic coalition and therefore their moral failings are seized upon as adequate grounds for dismissing them and their problems. But other groups, such as Blacks and Muslims, are seen as inside the Democratic coalition, meaning that when they hold morally degenerate views (again under the liberal framework), the proper remedy is not to dismiss and demonize them but instead to do more and better outreach. Which is to say, the moral high ground that Discourse Liberals stake out with regard to lower class whites is mostly motivated by a more crude partisan tribalism.
This is obviously just a speculation on Rensin’s part, but it seems plausible enough. At minimum, it accounts for why some groups are subject to moral meritocracy while others aren’t.CDP in Washington, United States
Maryhill from the Stonehenge replica location, but in 1913
Maryhill is a census-designated place (CDP) in Klickitat County, Washington, United States. The population was 98 at the 2000 census.
History [ edit ]
Maryhill is named after the wife and daughter of regional icon Sam Hill, who purchased land and envisioned a community there shortly after the turn of the 20th century.[3][4] Earlier the area was known as "Columbia"[3] or "Columbus".[5] In 1909, the Klickitat County commissioners had accepted the town's name as Maryland - proposed by Sam Hill and Associates who had laid out the town. However, this name was rejected by postal authorities as they would not accept a name corresponding to a state so it was renamed as Maryhill.[6]
Hill used his Maryhill property to build the first paved roads in the Pacific Northwest, the Maryhill Museum of Art (originally intended as a grand residence for the Hills), Maryhill Stonehenge, a monument to the World War I casualties of Klickitat County in the form of a Stonehenge replica,[7] and a planned community. Born a Quaker, Hill hoped to attract a Quaker community to eastern Washington. His plans never materialized and the town buildings he constructed burned down several years later.
Hill intended the Stonehenge replica to express that modern warfare was a form of needless human sacrifice, referencing the contemporary belief that Stonehenge was a sacrificial site.[8]
Geography [ edit ]
Maryhill is located at (45.685649, -120.817232).[9]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²), all land.
Demographics [ edit ]
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 98 people, 40 households, and 26 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 35.0 people per square mile (13.5/km²). There were 49 housing units at an average density of 17.5/sq mi (6.8/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 77.55% White, 9.18% African American, 2.04% Native American, 1.02% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races, and 9.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.18% of the population.
There were 40 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the CDP, the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 123.5 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $37,250, and the median income for a family was $48,529. Males had a median income of $36,103 versus $28,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,939. None of the population or families were below the poverty line.
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
References [ edit ]Europe’s biggest oil and gas firms try to block environmental controls on fracking, which the government calls ‘unnecessary red tape’
The UK government has added its weight to a behind-the-scenes lobbying drive by oil and gas firms including BP, Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil to persuade EU leaders to scrap a series of environmental safety measures for fracking, according to leaked letters seen by the Guardian.
The deregulatory push against safety measures, which could include the monitoring of on-site methane leaks and capture of gases and volatile compounds that might otherwise be vented, appears to go against assurances from David Cameron that fracking would only be safe “if properly regulated”.
In a comment piece in 2013 the prime minister wrote: “We must make the case that fracking is safe... the regulatory system in this country is one of the most stringent in the world.”
But UK government sources say that new controls on the industry could constitute “an unnecessary restriction on the UK oil and gas industry” and they wanted to avoid “unnecessary red tape”.
An intense backroom battle is now brewing over the measure, which would mandate the use of best available technologies and risk management procedures (or ‘Brefs’) when fracking for shale gas, or other hydrocarbons.
In their letter to the commission’s second most powerful official, vice-president Frans Timmermans, the oil and gas moguls say that the proposal would be cumbersome, time-consuming and “of such little perceived value [that it] is very hard to justify, especially at a time of intense focus on safety, cost and efficiency of day-to-day operations.”
“We urge you to intervene and... withdraw this proposal which, if it were to go ahead, would seriously exacerbate an already ailing investment climate for producing oil and gas within Europe,” says the letter, which is dated 17 July, and signed by nine company presidents, directors and board members.
The industry chiefs from firms which also include ConocoPhillips, Statoil, Petrobas, Total, and HSE, promised to elaborate on their concerns in a private meeting with Timmermans.
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creates a new Monad (obviously). In reality, all this does is take a value to be wrapped, and set it on a protected property. There’s not much logic there.
The extract function does the exact opposite. It takes the value from the protected property and returns it back out. This is a non-standard Monad function, and I added it because PHP isn’t really functional in the first place, so this helper method is simply a convenient function.
The static function unit is simply a factory method. It checks to see if the value is already an instance of the current requested Monad, and returns a new instance if not. Really quite simple.
The bulk of the value here is provided by the final method: bind. The bind function takes a callable value and calls it using the wrapped value. So the provided callback never realizes that a Monad is even involved. But whatever the function returns will be wrapped again by the Monad. And this is where the power lies.
So let’s try it:
use MonadPHP \ Identity ; $monad = Identity : : unit ( 10 ) ; $newMonad = $monad - > bind ( function ( $value ) { var_dump ( $value ) ; return $value / 2 ; } ) ; $b = $newMonad - > extract ( ) ; var_dump ( $b ) ;
Really quite simple. And really quite pointless.
Where’s The Value?
So why is this such a powerful concept? Well, we can add logic into the bind function (or into other functions). This allows us to do useful transformations with the Monad.
We can use the Maybe Monad to abstract away null values. In this case, the bind function will only call the callback if the wrapped value is non-null. This basically abstracts nested conditional logic out of your business logic! So let’s try refactoring the following conditional code:
function getGrandParentName ( Item $item ) { return $item - > getParent ( ) - > getParent ( ) - > getName ( ) ; }
This looks good, but what happens if an item didn’t have a parent? You’d fatal error on a null-object call (call to a member function on a non-object). We could fix it like this:
function getGrandParentName ( Item $item ) { if ( $item - > hasParent ( ) ) { $parent = $item - > getParent ( ) ; if ( $parent - > hasParent ( ) ) { return $parent - > getParent ( ) - > getName ( ) ; } } }
That can become this:
function getGrandParentName ( $item ) { $monad = new Maybe ( $item ) ; $getParent = function ( $item ) { return $item - > getParent ( ) ; } ; $getName = function ( $item ) { return $item - > getName ( ) ; } ; return $monad - > bind ( $getParent ) - > bind ( $getParent ) - > bind ( $getName ) - > extract ( ) ; }
Looks pretty straight forward…? It is a little bit of overhead, but look at what changed. Rather than being a procedural step-by-step build-up of functionality, instead it now describes a state transformation. We start with the item, we get the parent, then we get the parent, then we get the name. So the Monad implementation is actually closer to describing the algorithm at the heart of the task, but abstracts away the safety we need.
Another Practical Example
Let’s say that we want to get the GrandParentName from an array of Items? We could iterate over it and call getGrandParentName() on each iteration, but we can also abstract that part away as well.
Using the ListMonad, we can treat a list of values exactly like a single one. So we could refactor our last method to take a Monad:
function getGrandParentName ( Monad $item ) { $getParent = function ( $item ) { return $item - > hasParent ( )? $item - > getParent ( ) : null ; } ; $getName = function ( $item ) { return $item - > getName ( ) ; } ; return $item - > bind ( $getParent ) - > bind ( $getParent ) - > bind ( $getName ) ; }
Quite simple. Now, we can pass in a Maybe Monad, and it will work like before. Or we can pass in a ListMonad with an array of items, and it’ll still work exactly the same. Let’s try that:
$name = getGrandParentName ( new Maybe ( $item ) ) - > extract ( ) ; $monad = new ListMonad ( array ( $item1, $item2, $item3 ) ) ; $maybeList = $monad - > bind ( Maybe : : unit ) ; $names = getGrandParentName ( $maybeList ) ;
Notice that the business logic stayed the same! The difference came from the outside.
The Core Concept
The core here is that a Monad abstracts away the non-business logic and allows you to simplify your logic as state-transforms. So rather than building up complex logic in a procedural way, you can build it up as a series of simple transformations. And by decorating your values with different Monads, you can handle the common boilerplate logic without needing to duplicate anything. Notice that with the ListMonad, we didn’t even need to create a getGrandParentNames(array $items) function.
It’s not a silver bullet. It’s not going to simplify most code. But it’s a really interesting concept that has a lot of usages and can really impact the OOP code that we’re writing… The only way to really get it is to play around with it. So checkout the repo, and play with the different Monads. Try to create new Monads. Play around with it. Experiment and learn!After a 20-year ban, Florida may bring back bear hunts to control a growing population of black bears that is increasingly seen as a menace in suburban neighborhoods.
Four people have been injured in bear attacks in Florida since 2012, mostly in the central part of the state built on former bear habitat near the Ocala National Forest.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, meeting on Wednesday in Jacksonville, plans to discuss reopening bear hunting season as a way to manage the population, which animal rights advocates oppose as unnecessary and unpopular.
Most encounters between people and bears result from homeowners leaving food out in the open, enticing bears to come into their neighborhoods, the state wildlife agency said in a report describing the current situation.
“A hunt will not solve the problem. People can solve it,” said Laurie Macdonald, director of the Florida chapter of the Defenders of Wildlife.
Wildlife officers continue to study recent growth in the Florida black bear population, now being counted for the first time since 2002, when the number stood at about 3,000.
Scott Davis, vice president of the Central Florida Dog Hunters and Sportsmans Association, said he believes the problem is exacerbated by too many bears.
“They’re getting pushed out of their natural area due to their overpopulation,” Davis said. “That’s what’s pushing them to the neighborhoods.”
Of 41 states where black bears are found, 32 allow them to be hunted, according to the wildlife agency report. Florida black bears are a local subspecies that was nearly killed off before hunting was banned.
The Humane Society of the United States on Tuesday released a survey finding that 61 percent of voters oppose a trophy bear hunt season, while just 25 percent are in favor, according to a news release.
Eighty-seven percent of respondents agreed that people who live in traditional bear territory have a responsibility to use bear-proof garbage cans.
A field test conducted by Florida wildlife officers found human-bear conflicts were reduced by 95 percent when residents used bear-proof cans, according to the agency’s report.
“Hunters won’t be in the neighborhoods. They’ll be killing bears deep in the woods that are not a problem,” said Kate MacFall, the humane society’s Florida director.
(Reporting by Barbara Liston; Editing by Letitia Stein and Sandra Maler)This article is over 6 years old
• Rey Bautista was due to fight Genaro 'Poblanito' García • Instead Genaro 'Panterita' Garcia turned up in Philippines
Agent sends wrong boxer to fight... and angry promoter plans to sue
A Philippine promoter plans to file a formal complaint to the Mexican Boxing Commission against an agent who sent the wrong boxer to fight the IBF featherweight champion, Rey Bautista.
The ALA Promotions president, Michael Aldeguer, said that his organisation will also sue the Mexican agent Hugo Correa.
Bautista was expected to fight Genaro "Poblanito" García, who has a 38-8 record, but instead a heavier boxer with a poorer record called Genaro "Panterita" García turned up.
The fight went ahead but ALA said beforehand that tickets would be refunded. García was knocked out in the second round.Can A President Be An Angry Black Man?
All the talk in recent weeks about President Barack Obama not being angry enough over the BP oil spill has gotten me thinking, isn't that what helped him get elected in the first place, that his calm mien made him a non-threatening figure for many voters being asked to take a risk on a black politician from Illinois so relatively unknown nationally?
Over the course of American history, after all, the angry black man hasn't exactly been embraced, not unless he was a sports star or a character from the entertainment world like Mr. T.
Real angry black men have been a decided turn off for most Americans, to say the least.
Take Nat Turner of Virginia slave uprising fame was probably the nation's original angry black man, at least the one who got the earliest publicity.
Enraged about the cruelty and suffering visited upon him and his fellow enslaved blacks, he decided to do something about it, slaughtering whites as part of an ultimately unsuccessful slave revolt in 1831. He was caught and hanged.
But his attempt to overturn the South's "peculiar institution" by precipitating a slave revolution fueled southern white nightmares for decades to come, visions of angry black men hell bent on exacting revenge disturbing the thoughts of both slave-owning and non-slave owning whites alike.
Fast forward through the decades to Malcolm X. When Malcolm talked about confronting whites, violently if need be, in order for blacks to obtain the equal rights "by any means necessary," many whites viewed him as dangerous as whites of an earlier era saw Turner.
Even though he had mellowed in the years just before his death, it was the earlier Malcolm who said: "Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone, but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery" who remained stuck in the American psyche.
It's probably no accident that one of the least publicly angry black men, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., became one of the nation's greatest heroes. King knew his audience, which was white Americans at least as much as black Americans. Being non-threatening was the only way to melt white resistance and make civil rights progress.
Try as I might, I can't come up with examples of black men, or women for that matter, who've been able to routinely flash anger publicly and still achieve success at the highest levels of government, corporate, or academia.
If anything, many African Americans have been raised by generations of parents to moderate even justifiable anger that might mark them as difficult or, yes, angry and get in the way of advancement in school or the workplace.
So aside from the fact that it's probably just not in Obama's personality to be publicly angry, I wonder if he could actually get away with it for long if he did have it in him? Would he even be president now?
The president seems on some level to have bought into the notion he needs to show more anger. Witness his comments Tuesday morning on the Today Show when he said if it were up to him, BP CEO Tony Hayward would be so fired already. Also, he said he needed to "know whose a** to kick" over getting results in stopping the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and cleaning up the damage.
Maybe he senses that America, having proven it was ready for a black president now is ready for an angry black man as president. Maybe he's right.
By the way, this isn't the first time no-drama Obama was criticized for not showing enough anger. It came up during the presidential campaign, too, as a Slate piece from September 2008 reminds us.Australia will push “thwarting the encryption of terrorist messaging” at a meeting of the Five Eyes nations in Canada this week.
Attorney-General George Brandis and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton said the need for cooperation from service providers regarding encryption will be raised as a “priority issue” in the security talks between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“As Australia’s priority issue, I will raise the need to address ongoing challenges posed by terrorists and criminals using encryption. These discussions will focus on the need to cooperate with service providers to ensure reasonable assistance is provided to law enforcement and security agencies,” Brandis said in a statement yesterday.
Australia is likely to gain cautious support from other Five Eye member nations. While many back the concept of compelling tech firms to give them access to encrypted data, it is yet unclear how this will work in practice.
Each nation must also consider past embarrassments in the area, and likely kick-back from privacy advocates and technology companies.
Four Eyes’ view
US: Before losing his position as FBI director, James Comey set out the position of the US with regards to encryption, saying an international agreement between governments could ease fears about IT products with government-mandated backdoors.
“I could imagine a community of nations committed to the rule of law developing a set of norms, a framework, for when government access is appropriate,” he said at an address at the University of Texas at Austin, in March.
Last year, the FBI publicly feuded with Apple over gaining access to a locked iPhone from the San Bernardino shooter. Comey argued said the tech industry can find an approach that creates government access, while keeping malicious actors out.
Comey was dismissed by President Donald Trump in May.
In 2013, the NSA paid computer security firm RSA $10 million in secret to implement a “back door” into its encryption, a deal exposed in leaks made by Edward Snowden.
Canada: In March, Dominic Rochon, chief privacy officer of Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE, comparable to the Australian Signals Directorate) said in a speech that terrorists were “adaptive and tech-savvy” and used “powerful encryption to better avoid detection”.
However, a recent national security federal consultation in the country saw majority opposition to weakening encryption technology. “If encryption is weakened or outlawed, criminals will continue to have access to it and it is law-abiding citizens who will suffer. That is a bad outcome,” the Information Technology Association of Canada noted in its submission.
United Kingdom: UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd, speaking in the wake of a spate of terrorist attacks in the country, said that tech firms need to “limit the amount of end-to-end encryption that terrorists can use”.
The UK has already passed its Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act which put into law a requirement for technology providers to provide the government with a backdoor into end-to-end encryption. However, the government is yet to detail how the act will work in practice and how it will compel overseas providers to comply.
New Zealand: The government in New Zealand has not yet stated a firm position on expanding its powers around encryption. In February, Andrew Hampton, director of New Zealand’s Government Communication’s Security Bureau, spoke of the importance of the bureau being “transparent as possible” and accountable for its actions.
Dispelling the myth that Five Eyes was a “shadowy intelligence sharing partnership”, Hampton said that it was “just not that shadowy”.
“As with all of our activities, any sharing of intelligence with partners needs to be in accordance with New Zealand law and our international human rights obligations,” he said.
Not a backdoor
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that encrypted messaging apps were frequently used by “criminals and terrorists” but “at the moment, much of this traffic is difficult for our security agencies to decrypt”.
In a national security statement to the House of Representatives, Turnbull explained that the Five Eyes summit would be used to discuss how to prevent terrorists and criminals from operating “with impunity in ungoverned digital spaces online”.
“This is not about creating or exploiting back doors, as some privacy advocates continue to say, despite constant reassurance from us. It is about collaboration with and assistance from industry in the pursuit of public safety,” he added.
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.(Picture: The Fox Under the Hill Hungry Horse)
A London pub has launched the UK’s first ever glitter gravy – so you can add as much festive sparkle to your Christmas dinner as your heart desires.
The Fox Under the Hill Hungry Horse pub on Shooters Hill Road is offering guests the chance to ‘upgrade’ their traditional Christmas dinners with a side portion of glittery gravy throughout December.
The pub, which is famed for its generous portions, introduced the festive gravy to add an extra touch of sparkle to its Christmas menu.
The glitter-infused side order can be added to a selection of festive meals, including traditional turkey with all the trimmings, butternut and cashew nut roast, or Christmas pie.
Although currently the gravy is only available in the London pub, if it proves to be popular with guests, it may be rolled out across 292 Hungry Horse pubs across the country.
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Ashish Patel, general manager at the Fox Under the Hill, said: ‘Christmas is one of our favourite times of the year, as it’s the one time we can go all-out on festive decorations, twinkling lights and Christmas cheer!
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‘We’ve seen some wacky food trends over the years, and our glittery gravy is no exception – it’s the perfect way spread festive cheer in December.
‘We’ve had some great reactions from guests so far as they add a bit of seasonal sparkle to their Christmas meals with our glittering gravy.
‘It would be great to see the dish added to all Hungry Horse Christmas menus across the UK!’
The glittery gravy is available at the Fox Under the Hill all throughout December, though if you’d like to try some, you’ll have to specially request it when ordering from the festive menu – or face being served up the standard edition.
MORE: Chip shop owner creates a battered Christmas dinner
MORE: The very lazy guide to cooking a vegan Christmas dinner
Advertisement AdvertisementOfficers in Boyd shooting charged with murder Copyright by KRQE - All rights reserved Dominique Perez and Keith Sandy [ + - ] Video
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - After months of protests, national attention and investigations, the two Albuquerque Police officers who shot and killed homeless camper James Boyd now face murder charges.
"An information was filed against Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez this morning, charging them with an open count of murder," Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg announced in a press conference on Monday.
They're the first APD officers ever to be charged for a shooting on the job.
Helmet-cam video captured Sandy and Perez firing three shots each which killed Boyd in March 2014. The shooting has sparked protests throughout the city several times since last summer, and while many of them were peaceful, some protesters did threaten police and vandalized property. At the end of one protest, police in riot gear used tear gas to break up crowds.
At a news conference about the decision on Monday, Brandenburg said the decision isn't based on feeling any increased pressure to prosecute officers after the recent Department of Justice investigation into APD.
Instead, Brandenburg said they found probable cause in this case that they didn't find in other reviews of officer-involved shootings.
"What makes this case criminal are some of the facts that will come out of the prelim," Brandenburg said. "I don't want to get into the facts. I don't want to do anything that would jeopardize the integrity of this case."
The preliminary hearing will be held in a few months, which will be, in essence, a transparent "mini-trial" where the proceedings will be held in open court. Afterward, the judge can decide whether to bind the men over to the murder charges. He could also decide to charge them with lesser crimes - or drop the case altogether.
In December 2014, KRQE News 13 reported that Brandenburg was considering a decision to pursue murder charges against the two officers. On Monday, Brandenburg filed the paperwork in district court against Sandy and Perez.
Brandenburg said the decision to charge the two officers was based solely on information that came from the investigation that APD conducted into the Boyd shooting. She says she and her staff made the decision together and say they struggled to come to it.
"We want to make sure that we're doing it for the right reason, we want to make sure that it's not politics, it's not public opinion...I think I'm surrounded by people that are as concerned as I am about going home and being able to look at myself in the mirror," Brandenburg said.
Sandy and Perez are facing murder charges, but they're not behind bars - and their attorneys say, they will never be.
"He took a step with those two knives towards that APD dog handler," Sandy's attorney, Sam Bregman, said. "Keith was protecting an officer in the line of duty and did absolutely nothing criminal."
Preliminary Hearing Process At a preliminary hearing for Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez, the two officers would be able to contest the charges. Prosecutors also would present evidence at the hearing, which would be open to the public. At its conclusion, a District Court judge would decide whether there is probable cause to bind one or both of the officers over for trial.
Monday afternoon, Bregman held a press conference about the charges, where he adamantly denied that Sandy did anything wrong. Bregman says Sandy shot Boyd in order to protect his fellow K-9 officer from being attacked by Boyd. He says Sandy followed his APD training and did not commit a criminal act.
"He's spent his whole career in life protecting people. And the idea that he's charged with murder for protecting a fellow officer? You can imagine, that goes right to his core. It hurts, it hurts bad," said Bregman.
Brandenburg disagrees.
"We have a difference of opinion. Both of the defendants have a right to a zealous counsel, we would want nothing less for them. I think they both have capable and able attorneys and we're moving forward to a preliminary hearing," said Brandenburg.
Perez's attorney, Luis Robles, also pointed to the judgement calls police officers make during critical moments. He told KRQE News 13 in a statement, "This is truly a shame. Throughout his career, Officer Perez has been called upon to make life-altering decisions while protecting Albuquerque citizens and his fellow officers. And having made one of those decisions, Officer Perez now faces an open count of murder. Regardless, I am confident that the facts will vindicate Officer Perez's actions in this case."
A preliminary hearing will take place for both officers, although the date of that hearing has not been set.
Mayor R.J. Berry reacted to the charges Monday.
"We trust the judicial system will provide the family, our community and the officers a fair, transparent and unbiased opportunity to explore and present the facts as they relate to this tragic event," Berry said. "It is important for all of us to allow the process to progress without prejudice in order for our community to move forward."
KRQE News 13 spoke with the executive director at the American Civil Liberties Union about the decision. Peter Simonson said it's heartening to know our city is taking these issues seriously and he can no longer ignore the use of excessive force against people in our community.
"It's highly unusual that we have criminal charges being brought in a police case like this after literally decades of no such charges ever being filed," Simonson said.
He said one the reasons a police officer hasn't been charged in such a long time is because the justice department, here and nationwide, tends to treat police officers differently.Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a religious freedom bill Wednesday under threat of a national boycott by foes of the measure who said it would promote discrimination against gays.
“I sincerely believe Senate Bill 1062 has potential to create more problems than it purports to solve,” Ms. Brewer said at a brief press conference. “It could divide Arizona in ways that we could not even imagine and no one would ever want. Religious liberty is a core American and Arizona value. So is nondiscrimination.”
The Republican governor said she met with lawmakers, citizens and attorneys before making the decision. She had until Saturday to sign or veto the bill, or allow it to become law without her signature.
Doug Napier, senior counsel for the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom in Scottsdale, said the veto represented a defeat for freedom and victory for fear and a national campaign that the bill’s proponents said had wildly distorted the bill.
“Freedom loses when fear overwhelms facts and a good bill is vetoed. Today’s veto enables the foes of faith to more easily suppress the freedom of the people of Arizona,” Mr. Napier said in a statement.
Supporters said the bill, which sparked a fierce national debate, is meant to clarify and strengthen the legal rights of business owners who object to providing services that violate their sincerely held religious or moral beliefs. Critics contended the bill was so broadly written that it provided a virtual license to discriminate in the marketplace against gays or other targeted groups.
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund, cheered the governor’s decision. She said the legislation would have been “bad for Arizona people and the Arizona economy.”
“She has stopped a bill that both cynically uses religion as a smokescreen to justify discrimination and insults people of faith who feel that discrimination is morally wrong,” Ms. Carey said in a statement. “This decision sends a clear message that extremism is totally unacceptable to people of all political persuasions.”
The governor’s veto also was praised by Arizona’s two Republican U.S. senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake. “I hope that we can now move on from this controversy and assure the American people that everyone is welcome to live, work and enjoy our beautiful state of Arizona,” Mr. McCain said.
However, Cathi Herrod of the conservative Center for Arizona Policy called it “truly a disappointing day in our state and nation when lies and personal attacks can overshadow the truth.”
“The religious beliefs of all Arizonans must be respected, and this bill did nothing more than affirm that,” Ms. Herrod said.
Ms. Brewer defended her record on religious liberty. “I have protected religious freedoms when there is a specific and present concern that exists in our state, and I have the record to prove it,” she said.
Religious business owners, such as bakeries and photographers, who decline to participate in same-sex weddings have been sued successfully in several states, but she noted that Arizona is not among them.
“Senate Bill 1062 does not address a specific or present concern related to religious liberty in Arizona,” said Ms. Brewer. “I have not heard one example in Arizona where a business owner’s religious liberty has been violated. The bill is broadly worded and could result in unintended and negative consequences.”
The Republican governor announced her decision amid a national outcry against Senate Bill 1062, led by gay-rights leaders who said the bill essentially legalized discrimination against homosexuals.
The uproar became so intense that even some Arizona Republicans, including three legislators who voted for the bill, urged Ms. Brewer to veto the legislation in order to avoid an economic boycott against the state.
Mr. McCain and Mr. Flake asked the governor this week to veto the bill, as did 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Mr. Flake and Mr. Romney are practicing Mormons.
Companies such as Apple and American Airlines came out against the bill, and the Arizona Super Bowl Committee urged a veto, arguing that the legislation would “deal a significant blow” to the Arizona economy and would threaten to pull the Super Bowl from the state.
Supporters of the bill attempted to counter the negative blitz by insisting that the measure would not allow discrimination but would help religious business owners avoid participating in ceremonies that offend their faith, namely same-sex weddings.
The Alliance Defending Freedom released a letter Wednesday from 11 legal scholars that said the bill “has been egregiously misrepresented by many of its critics.”
“Some of us are Republicans; some of us are Democrats. Some of us are religious; some of us are not. Some of us oppose same-sex marriage; some of us support it,” said the letter. “But all of us believe that many criticisms of the Arizona bill are deeply misleading.”
Cato Institute senior fellow Ilya Shapiro, who supports same-sex marriage, said the measure wasn’t radical, given that it brings state law into line with the 1993 federal law.
“This is not the case like the Jim Crow South where the state was involved in enforcing segregation laws and would fine businesses that did not segregate,” said Mr. Shapiro. “Here, if one wedding photographer or baker doesn’t serve you, there are lots of alternatives. It’s a much different scenario.”
He said the real issue is whether to allow freedom of association. Any law that requires a Christian baker to prepare a cake for a same-sex wedding also can demand that a gay baker do the same for religious conservatives, he noted.
“Why would a gay couple want to have their wedding cake made by someone who doesn’t like them?” Mr. Shapiro said.
Fair or not, the successful uproar over the Arizona bill, and its veto by a Republican governor, is likely to chill efforts in other states to follow suit.
About a dozen states are considering similar measures to protect religious freedoms in the wake of court decisions against companies in the wedding industry, such as photographers and bakers.
So far, courts have ruled against the small-business owners on anti-discrimination grounds. A New Mexico Supreme Court decision against Elane Photography, whose owner refused to shoot photos at a same-sex wedding, could be the first to go before the Supreme Court.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.In a perfect world, no one would be held back by having a stupid name. But there's a reason actors change their names when they go to Hollywood (e.g., Tom Cruise's real last name is Mapother) -- we expect a cool guy to have an equally cool name. In real life, well, things don't always work out that way...
7 South Africa's Donald Trump (and Possible Presidential Candidate) Is Named Tokyo Sexwale
Gallo Images/Getty Images News/Getty Images
In addition to having a name seemingly invented for the sole purpose of frightening pirates, Tokyo Sexwale happens to be one of the most impressive human beings to have ever lived. He was born in South Africa at the very height of Apartheid and joined a militant wing of the anti-Apartheid movement in the 1970s. He was soon chased into exile, where he joined the Soviet military and trained in military engineering, which we assume means that he can straight-up kill a motherfucker with a sheet of graph paper.
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When his training was complete, he returned to his homeland to kick some racist assholes inside out, but he soon found himself in prison next to Nelson Mandela. That's not an exaggeration -- they were literally jail neighbors.
WALTER DHLADHLA/AFP/Getty Images
Not Pictured: Their wacky third neighbor, Kopano Kramer.
Upon his release at the end of Apartheid, Sexwale went into politics and is credited with bringing peace to several formerly violent areas of the beleaguered nation. Political goals achieved, he set his sights on the business world, soon making a fortune in diamonds and oil. He's like the South African version of Donald Trump, if Trump were much less of a ridiculous walking anus (Sexwale even starred in the South African version of The Apprentice). Over the years, his name has even been tossed around for the presidency. Once again, that name is Tokyo Sexwale.Hilary Hosia/AFP Fresh details have emerged of castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga's first encounter with other people after months at sea -- including how Marshall Islands residents communicated with him in broken Spanish learned from popular children's television show Dora the Explorer.
Until now, little has been known about the Salvadoran's arrival on far-flung Ebon Atoll in the Marshall Islands, where he landed two weeks ago after setting sail from Mexico on a fishing trip in December 2012. Only a single telephone services the Pacific outpost.
But Ebon Mayor Ione de Brum revealed to AFP that Alvarenga "managed to swim his boat ashore" on the night of January 29 after a 12,500-kilometre (8,000-mile) journey.
Exhausted, he fell asleep on a deserted beach to be awoken the next morning by roosters crowing.
Unknown to the 37-year-old, he had washed up at the tip of Ebon, the southern-most atoll in the Marshalls.
A US study at the University of Hawai'i of the prevailing wind and current conditions has supported his tale of survival, with a model tracing a remarkably narrow path across the Pacific to pass within 120 miles of Ebon.
"He was at the tip of the island where it's uninhabited, but from that vantage point he would easily see the single house on the neighbouring island across the pass," said de Brum.
The two coconut-forested coral islands are just a stone's throw away and "people can yell back and forth between these two," she said.
Alvarenga did just that after the sunrise let him see where he was.
Holding a knife
Amy Libokmeto and Russell Laijedrik, the only two residents on the tiny island of Eneaitok, said they heard shouting and spotted Alvarenga on the neighbouring atoll's beach.
They were likely the first humans he had seen for months. He left southern Mexico on what was supposed to be a one-day fishing expedition with a companion -- who, after weeks adrift, died of starvation and was tossed overboard.
Alvarenga was frantically yelling in an incomprehensible language and waving his arms in the air while holding a knife, Libokmeto told AFP.
"We weren't scared, just surprised," she said.
"As we approached him, I used broken English and motioned to the knife and told him, 'put away, put away.'"
With long hair, a bushy beard and dressed only in his shredded underwear, Alvarenga immediately dropped the weapon.
"He gave in to his weakened state and collapsed onto the beach," Libokmeto said.
It was obvious to the couple that he must have washed ashore. The entire atoll has fewer than 700 residents, most of whom are related by blood or marriage to Libokmeto and Laijedrik.
They said they took him to their home, where Libokmeto prepared a bucket of fresh water so he could have his first proper wash in over a year, then gave him clothes to wear. The distance between Mexico and the Marshall Islands FreeMapTools
Spanish learned from 'Dora'
Unable to communicate verbally as he spoke Spanish and they did not, the couple gave Alvarenga some paper and a black marker while Libokmeto whipped up pancakes, which the hungry man devoured.
Laijedrik took his notes and crossed the reef to the main Ebon island, where he sent a young boy to get the local mayor de Brum and then retrieved Alvarenga's boat.
De Brum quickly rounded up the island's health assistant, her chief of police and Ola Fjeldstad, a visiting Norwegian student anthropologist and the only other foreigner on Ebon.
They grabbed some coconuts and bananas and rushed to meet the stranger, giving him a brief health check while checking his 24-foot boat, whose motor had long since died.
"In the boat was a live bird tethered by its leg, bird scraps, bones, feathers and a small turtle shell," de Brum said.
The mayor discovered that her son had a few words of Spanish "learned from the 'Dora the Explorer' cartoon show his children used to watch", and with the pictures Alvarenga drew a basic understanding of where he came from emerged.
Alvarenga said he survived on a diet of raw bird flesh, turtle blood, his own urine, rainwater and dreams of eating his favourite food -- tortillas. The turtle shell was used as a cup to drink.
The castaway was starving, but it wasn't just food he was hungry for.
"He was so hungry to give us information he kept talking fast but we couldn't understand him," said the mayor, adding that she initially refused to allow him to use the island's phone.
"He wanted to contact his family but I was concerned because we were unsure of who he was, his motives or if he had other friends (on ships nearby) that he would alert -- I just did not know and did not want to risk it," she said.
Instead she contacted the police and ministry of foreign affairs in the Marshalls capital Majuro.
The Salvadoran remained on Ebon for five days until a government patrol boat took him to Majuro, from where he eventually left for El Salvador and an emotional family reunion.
He gifted his boat to Libokmeto and Laijedrik. It is now being used to carry cargo and passengers on Ebon.
Rene Quintanilla/AFPIt used to be against Oregon law to harvest the meat of certain critters killed by the state's drivers. Gov. Kate Brown changed that with the stroke of a pen last week, approving a law passed without a single "no" vote in the state legislature.
The Associated Press reports that the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has until January of 2019 to adopt rules for permits allowing the harvesting of meat from deer and elk killed on state roadways.
(What? Did you really think they'd let you do this without a permit?)
According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's current roadkill guidelines, only licensed furtrappers are allowed to handle protected animals killed by vehicles. (Other critters, such as coyotes, skunks and nutria were fair game.)
Oregon roadkill: Mapping over 42,000 wild animal deaths in 7 years (interactive graphics) When viewing the interactive graphics, it's important to keep in mind that 95.6 percent of the deaths are deer and record keeping has improved significantly in recent years. For 2007, the state has records for only 1,801 recorded deaths, compared with 8,619 in 2013.
"It's not a legal method of hunting," the agency's site says.
The state's current roadkill guidelines come into play rarely enough (between 2007 and 2013, ODOT recorded 42,904 wildlife deaths) that some folks have broken them for years. A Republican official in far-flung Josephine County told the AP that residents |
say and had the warm hug to give. Her daughters -- Jan (Eve Plumb, left), Marcia (Maureen McCormick, center) and Cindy (Susan Olsen) -- looked up to her. Hide Caption 1 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms Not all moms are as perfect as June Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley, here with Jerry Mathers as the Beaver), but she's a tough act to follow, whether you're a TV mom or a parent in real life. But then there are the moms who appear less than loving... Hide Caption 2 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms "Downton Abbey" would be much less entertaining without the cutting Dowager Countess, played by Maggie Smith. There's love in her heart -- she did raise Robert and Rosamund (with the help of servants, of course) -- but her mouth says things such as, "I will applaud your discretion when you leave." Hide Caption 3 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms Betty Draper -- later Betty Francis (January Jones, here with Marten Holden Weiner) -- tries to be a polished, grown-up mother on "Mad Men," but the years have shown that her glamorous sheen hides a brittle interior. Hide Caption 4 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter) doesn't even try to hide her brittleness. The "Arrested Development" matriarch abuses underlings -- that would be almost everybody -- and has been known to enjoy a drink. Or several. Hide Caption 5 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms And Estelle Costanza (Estelle Harris)? She was a perpetual thorn in the side of her son, George (Jason Alexander), on "Seinfeld." However, on at least one occasion, he was master of his domain. Hide Caption 6 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms Other mothers have their complexities. Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco) cared about her children and loved her husband Tony, but she tried to turn a blind eye to his business (which wasn't really waste management) and was known to consider straying. Hide Caption 7 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham, left) may have been mother to Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel), but she wasn't always the adult on "Gilmore Girls." Since she gave birth to Rory when she was 16, she had a lot of growing up to do. Hide Caption 8 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms On "Roseanne," Roseanne Barr (left, with Sara Gilbert) could be brash and sarcastic, but she was good with her children -- often while being brash and sarcastic. Hide Caption 9 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies, right, with Makenzie Vega as daughter Grace) on "The Good Wife" has been through a lot: her husband's infidelity, challenges at her law firm, up-and-down relationships. She can be mercurial, but as a mother, she's steadfast and protective. Hide Caption 10 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms "Weeds' " Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker, here with Alexander Gould) bent a few rules to maintain the comfortable lifestyle of herself and her kids. Like selling marijuana and trying to stay out of jail. Hey, it was a living. Hide Caption 11 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms Peggy Bundy of "Married... With Children" (Katey Sagal, second from right) was blowzy and materialistic, but she would stand with her family when threatened. Son Bud (David Faustino), husband Al (Ed O'Neill) and daughter Kelly (Christina Applegate) were usually firmly behind her. Hide Caption 12 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms "Modern Family's" Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen) and Gloria Pritchett (Sofia Vergara) are more lovable. The pair don't always see eye to eye, especially since Gloria is married to Claire's father, but they always put their families first. Hide Caption 13 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms "One Day at a Time" featured a divorced single mother, a rarity on television in the 1970s. Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin, center) handled two daughters (played by Mackenzie Phillips, left, and Valerie Bertinelli, right), their mixed-up lives (including husbands Michael Lembeck and Boyd Gaines) and a wacky super played by Pat Harrington. Hide Caption 14 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden, right) had the mixed blessing of being a mother on the starship Enterprise in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." It could be hard taking care of the crew -- and a son, Wesley, played by Wil Wheaton. Of course, the precocious Wesley Crusher always saved the day. Hide Caption 15 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms A mother that was also the literal leader of the band? That was the case on "The Partridge Family" in which Shirley Partridge (Shirley Jones, left) sang with her children and drove the bus. Sure, maybe Keith (David Cassidy, second from left) sang lead, but we know who was really in charge. Hide Caption 16 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms "Good Times' " Florida Evans (Esther Rolle, third from left) provided a lot of love and discipline to her children, Michael, J.J. and Thelma (Ralph Carter, left, Jimmie Walker and BernNadette Stanis). Hide Caption 17 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms In "Family Ties," Elyse Keaton (Meredith Baxter, second from left) juggled life as an architect with a mother's sturdy guidance for her children (from left, Justine Bateman, Brian Bonsall, Tina Yothers and Michael J. Fox). Husband Steven (Michael Gross, far left) was an equal partner. Hide Caption 18 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms "The Cosby Show's" Clair Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad, right, with Keshia Knight Pulliam) could keep her doctor husband, played by Bill Cosby, on his toes, and was a successful lawyer and mother to boot. Hide Caption 19 of 20 Photos: Our favorite TV moms Maybe Marge Simpson isn't as perfect as Clair Huxtable. Maybe her children can be difficult and her hair barely fits in the car. The loving wife of Homer and mother of Maggie, Lisa and Bart is the heart of the Simpson clan, the one to lead the way when things go awry. Which they often do. Hide Caption 20 of 20
Henderson married her first husband, Ira Bernstein, in 1955, and had her first child, Barbara, in 1956. The fact that she was a young wife and mother helped her bring the role of Carol Brady to life.
"I understood kids. I was close to them," she said in the 1999 AAT interview. "I was the only one on the set who was married."
Henderson had four children with Bernstein. They were married for 29 years.
In 1987, she married John Kappas, a hypnotherapist. He died in 2002.
An enduring figure
When "The Brady Bunch" ended, Henderson continued to be a figure on screen and on the stage. She stuck with her musical career for a while, reviving her role as Annie Oakley in "Annie Get Your Gun" in 1981. And, of course, she brought back Carol Brady for numerous "Brady Bunch" spinoffs and specials.
As the decades passed, she continued to be a presence through cameos and guest appearances. She showed up on "Murder She Wrote," "Ellen," "Roseanne," "30 Rock," and curiously, as a guest host on "WWE Raw" in 2010.
She dabbled in movies, appearing in "The Brady Bunch Movie" and most recently, "50 Shades of Black." She also had a fondness for game show appearances, delighting audiences on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," "The $100,000 Pyramid" and "Dancing with the Stars."
Remembering America's mom
Stars from all genres paused their Thanksgiving festivities to honor their colleague and friend.
"It was a true honor to have known and worked with her," wrote Al Yankovic.
So terribly sad to hear of the passing of the great Florence Henderson. It was a true honor to have known and worked with her. pic.twitter.com/bhgLigHEI4 — Al Yankovic (@alyankovic) November 25, 2016
"[She] was a doll and a dame and funny as hell," wrote actor Michael McKean. McKean was a contemporary of Henderson's, starring in the 1970's sitcom "Laverne and Shirley."
Florence Henderson was a doll and a dame and funny as hell. RIP — Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) November 25, 2016
"Heartbroken," wrote "Dancing with the Stars" host Tom Bergeron. "I'll miss you, my friend."China and the U.S. have agreed to cooperate in their efforts to confront North Korea over their nuclear program, according to a statement released by the White House.
Following a second day of bilateral talks, press secretary Sean Spicer said both China and the U.S. agreed to increase cooperation between the two superpowers to "convince North Korea to peacefully resolve the issue and dismantle its illegal nuclear and missile programs" and to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in the Korean peninsula. According to Spicer, Xi and Trump "reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearized Korean peninsula, and committed to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions." Trump has previously criticized China's handling of North Korea, telling Reuters in March he was "not liking" the dynamic, adding, "I know exactly what's going on between China and North Korea and everybody else." During an interview with the Financial Times published Sunday, Trump warned that if China was unwilling to collaborate on North Korea, the United States would be willing to go it alone. "China will either decide to help us with North Korea or they won't," he said. "If they do, that will be very good for China, and if they don't, it won't be good for anyone."
The statement may have lacked specifics, but it was significant in that it committed the US – at least temporarily – to continue cooperating with the international community in looking to blunt North Korea's drive to become a viable nuclear power.
But Trump won't wait forever for China to apply the kind of pressure on the North Koreans everyone knows that China is capable of. The president has already been presented with a plan to nuclearize South Korea.
The Hill:
The National Security Council has presented President Trump with options in response to North Korea's nuclear program that include placing American nuclear weapons in South Korea, NBC News reported on Friday.
Multiple top-ranking military and intelligence officials told the news source that another option presented to Trump by the National Security Council is an operation to kill the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
According to NBC News, both scenarios were part of a review of North Korea policy prepared ahead of Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week. Placing nuclear weapons in South Korea will be the first nuclear deployment overseas since the end of the Cold War, NBC noted. Washington withdrew all of its nuclear assets from South Korea 25 years ago. A senior intelligence official told the network that he doubted U.S. and China could find a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Assassinating Kim Jong-un would not be a good idea. It would throw North Korea – a country possessing nuclear weapons – into chaos as the various factions, kept under control by brutality and fear by Kim, would be at each other's throats.
And nuclearizing South Korea would put a nuclear hair trigger on any potential conflict on the peninsula. So in the end, the U.S. must work with China to rein in North Korea.
How interested is China in sitting on its ally to prevent a war? Trump is trying to tie Chinese behavior toward North Korea with trade incentives. Whether it will be enough to move China toward denuclearizing the NoKos remains to be seen.Getty Images
The Browns announced 11 undrafted rookie signings on Thursday.
The list is headlined by former Oklahoma linebacker Dominique Alexander, an All-Big 12 pick who went undrafted after giving up his senior season, and former Texas A&M center Mike Matthews, the son of Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews. It was previously reported that the Browns gave Matthews a partial guarantee in 2016 as part of a three-year deal.
The Browns also signed former Maryland kicker Brad Craddock, who won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker in 2014.
The other signings announced by the Browns were former Missouri defensive back Kenya Dennis, former Georgia Tech fullback Patrick Skov, former Pitt tight end J.P. Holtz, former Miami (Fla.) defensive back Tracy Howard, former Sam Houston State defensive back Mikell Everette, former Florida State defensive lineman Nile Lawrence-Stample, former West Virginia defensive lineman Kyle Rose and former Kentucky defensive back A.J. Stamps.
With 11 undrafted free agent signings and 14 draft picks, the Browns will have a crowded rookie minicamp next weekend.What better way to make the point that Highland Park is not the next Echo Park than by moving your “hipster” butt and all your worldly possessions in opposite direction of alleged hip-ness, by bike?
A recent LA Weekly article tried to make the case that the Highland Park area is "the new Echo Park". That is, Highland Park is the new place for low rent, young, fashionable people to move.
Lately, a lot of people have been ragging on this fair barrio of mine. Guys with unwashed hair and paint on their jeans complain about how Echo Park is becoming too gentrified, too much like our now-grown-up neighbors in Silver Lake. (Shocking to realize it’s been more than a decade since Beck was couch-surfing his way to stardom.) Someone actually complained the Gold Room isn’t “dangerous enough anymore.” Eavesdropping on these often drunken conversations, one name keeps getting thrown around as a solution to the existential dilemmas of the ultra-hip. “I’m going to a house eviction party in Highland Park tonight.” “That doom-surf-rock band Sandy Pussy is playing out in Highland Park tonight.”
– Kai Flanders, LA Weekly Pop-Ed, February 3, 2012, “Why Highland Park Is the New Echo Park“
Our local Patch blog, and most commentors, disagreed, but the damage is likely already done.
“Is Highland Park the new Echo Park? L.A. Weekly music writer Kai Flanders seems to think so, but Echo Park residents aren’t convinced. No offense to our neighbors to the west, home to some of the finest folks I’ve met in Los Angeles, but I’m not buying it either.”
– David Fonseca, HighlandPark-MountWashington Patch, Febryary 6, 2012, “Highland Park, Despite Changes, Is Not the New Echo Park“
To stem the tide of move-ins caused by that LA Weekly article, a friend of mine, E., moved his entire household from Highland Park to Echo Park (to escape the flood of hipsters?) this past Sunday, February 19, 2012. An inverse hipster bike move!
The kicker is that he did the move by bike. Not just his bike – but about eight or nine other bikes outfitted for carrying cargo.
I helped with my bakfiets, others loaned heavy duty trailers or their knot tying skills, and we all pedaled away to deliver a household’s worth of goods from an cramped apartment in Highland Park to a small home in Echo Park on a sunny Sunday in February of 2012.
Wondering where we got the idea? A place filled with more hipsters than Echo Park and Highland Park combined: Portland (ca. 2006)!The Lincoln Park Gravel Pits, an historic Morris birding location from the 1960s through the early 1980s, proved to be a local hotspot today. 80+ species were tallied in the morning by Roger Johnson. The highlights are 18 warbler species including Mourning and Prothonotary Warblers, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and only the second known record of White-rumped Sandpiper in Morris County in the past 40 years.
In the afternoon, the alleged same Mourning Warbler was seen and barely photographed as witnessed in the photo below, before two young boys (younger than teen-age) on ATVs passed by, spooking the Mourning Warbler. It was not relocated.
The White-rumped Sandpiper was not seen in the afternoon. 76 Least Sandpipers, 1 Semipalmated Plover, 5 Lesser Yellowlegs and 4 Greater Yellowlegs as well as 5 Killdeer, 2 Solitary Sandpipers and 1 Spotted Sandpiper were foraging on the partially flooded flats of the Pits.
The Gravel Pits is not a convenience birding destination. Explicit directions are not given here because there really is no easy way to get around in the pits unless you know it. Walking the berm between the municipal lake and the Pits main pond is the only relatively convenient path. Other than that, you are on your own and wear boots if you go.
View local eBird checklists in the mocosocoBirds region via eBird’s Region Explorer. Use the following links:
The eBird Hotspot Primer is here and can also be accessed via the Hotspot menu item on the mocosocoBirds.com website.
@mocosocoBirds at Twitter is another communications stream. Instant field reports and links of interest are tweeted throughout the day. The latest tweets appear on the sidebar of this page. One can follow mocosocoBirds at Twitter or link to @mocosocoBirds.
The mocosocoBirds Facebook page is located here and also posts timely information not found on the mocosocoBirds web site.
FinisWe speak to Dr Arcanonn, the 'lead researcher' of the intersterallar research group.
1 – WHAT EXACTLY DOES THE CANONN GET UP TO? WHAT ARE THEY ALL ABOUT?
In addition to long debates about biscuits, we theorise and conduct research into the Unknown Artefact mystery, on a grand scale.
We have hundreds of CMDRs flying around the galaxy looking at places of interest, tracking down (and, ahem, occasionally pirating) suspicious NPC convoys, observing and recording UA behaviour, as well as securing our own home system. We want to be there as the mystery develops and want to ensure that humanity follows the ‘right path’ when the time comes.
We have also been investigating other mysteries, such as the disappearance of SS1 and the source of the Cerberus plague outbreak.
2 – WHAT IS YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE CANONN? WERE YOU THERE WHEN IT FIRST STARTED OUT?
I am technically the lead researcher for the group, however, my council makes most of the decisions for me now, whilst I eat biscuits.
Luckily they still seem to listen to me when I say something, but to be honest I do a lot of nodding and appearing to mull things over… In truth I’m just waiting to get back to the soft play area I’ve had installed in the lab using the donations from the members.
Some say that it was me who started the whole thing, and I must confess I sometimes look at myself in the mirror and say ‘I never asked to be a celebrity, leader of an interstellar organisation, or de-facto ruler of an entire planetary system, but I’ll take it!’
3 – HOW DID THE CANONN FIRST GET STARTED?
I put up an innocent post about a possible correlation between Soontill Relics and Michael Brookes’ endless proclamations of ‘SoonTM’. The subject of UAs cropped up, and was initially thought to be a hoax, but this changed when Michael posted in the thread the, now legendary, question ‘have you listened to them?’
The hunt was on and, when CMDR RedWizzard finally found and secured one, we really listened to it.
Days of observations, recordings, speculation and tens of theories later, a hidden morse message was found within the Unknown Artefact sound.
Eventually I pulled together a team to start posting to Galnet. This required a group name and, after much discussion, ‘The Canonn’ was chosen. From there, it’s just snowballed.
4 – WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CANONN’S MOST INTERESTING MOMENTS/PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS?
The recent Educating Ed live stream was fantastic and is attracting more scientists to us, and to the mystery, daily. Reaching the thread limit on the Forums three times is pretty huge, too (now over 30k posts total). Also, we were recently mentioned on an official Galnet, which was a nice surprise, if slightly scary!
In terms of the UA mystery, and these aren’t all exclusively Canonn achievements, but, finding the Morse code, figuring out the encoded ship images and discovering the ‘UA Shell’ around Merope are probably the biggest so far.
CMDR RedWizzard, who captured the first UA, also wanted to add:
“On a personal note, the fight to liberate that first UA from the convoy was epic and meeting up with more than a dozen other Cmdrs to do the first listening test was amazing. The whole thing is probably the most exhilarating gaming experience I’ve ever had.”
5 – HOW CAN PEOPLE GET INVOLVED WITH THE CANONN?
Jump into the thread (search ‘UAs Barnacles’ on the Frontier Forums) and join up on the website at http://canonn.science.
Everyone is welcome, and it doesn’t matter if you’re already involved with other groups. Whatever your play style, the Canonn will have something for you!
6 – WHY DO YOU DEDICATE SO MUCH OF YOUR TIME TO THE ELITE DANGEROUS COMMUNITY?
The Canonn was really a community effort from day one, and the number of CMDRs involved has ballooned over that time. The camaraderie and cooperation is unlike anything I’ve experienced in a game before, and it really enriches the experience on a daily basis. Elite fans really are ‘elite’ fans!
7 – HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING ELITE FOR?
Since ’84, of course!
8 – WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE CANONN WITH HORIZONS OUT NOW?
Our (virtual) Capital Ship, the RSV Gnosis, is in the seemingly very special Merope system with as many CMDRs as possible to conduct a deep scientific survey of all its airless planets & moons, in our shiny new SRVs. Initially we were looking for anything we could find – and now we’re looking for Barnacles!
Rest assured - we will leave no stone unturned – if there’s something unusual or ‘unknown’ to be found down there – we will find it!
9 – DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO TELL THE ELITE COMMUNITY ABOUT?
To those CMDRs who are still not sure about joining a player group because they fear it will stop them being able to follow their own path: The Canonn won’t tell you how to play, and won’t be offended if you want to go and do your own thing. It’s all about fun, science, biscuits and cooperation for us, and we’d be honoured to have you on board! Science is everywhere in Elite Dangerous – you just have to look for it!Reality Bites showed audiences how early-twentysomethings in the mid-1990s spent most of their time basing their personal ethos around the term “selling out” and suffering (Big Gulp-aided) brain cramps from self-rationalizing the hypocrisy of keeping “superficial” jobs to pay the bills. Winona Ryder played Lelaina, an aspiring documentarian who films her roommates and then has the video aired (with exploitative gloss) by her network executive boyfriend Michael Grates, a role played by first-time feature film director Ben Stiller. Ethan Hawke played the caustic irony-pointer-outer lost boy Troy, with support from Steve Zahn and Janeane Garofalo.
1. THE WRITER OF THE MOVIE NEVER WANTED TO BE A SCREENWRITER.
In 1994, Reality Bites screenwriter Helen Childress told Entertainment Weekly that she had “no interest in screenwriting. I wanted to be a poet. But poets don't make any money.” So she wrote a script all the same about people in their 20s in the early 1990s, which is exactly what producer Michael Shamberg was looking for. Childress was 24 years old when the film was released on February 18, 1994.
2. BEN STILLER MADE SOME KEY CHANGES TO CHILDRESS’ SCRIPT.
Stiller believed the script to be “extremely funny,” but tweaked it anyway. “Originally, it was much more about all the characters in the movie,” he said in an interview around the time of the film’s release. “Janeane’s character, Vickie, and Steve’s character, Sammy, and Ethan’s character, Troy; all their stories were much more fleshed out. I felt like I couldn’t really bring all those stories together; couldn’t really tell them all fully, so I just wanted to make it more about Lelaina and her relationship with Troy.” He also changed the character he ended up playing, Michael Grates, from a 35-year-old ad man attempting to make Japanese candy bars popular in the United States to a twentysomething executive for In Your Face TV.
3. TRISTAR PICTURES CHANGED ITS MIND ABOUT MAKING THE MOVIE.
In 1993, the studio also eventually said no to Pulp Fiction. Made for $11.5 million, Reality Bites would end up being released by Universal Pictures, after Stiller claimed they were “turned down by everybody” else because twentysomething coming-of-age movies such as Singles (1992) didn’t make enough money.
4. WINONA RYDER ADVOCATED HARD FOR ETHAN HAWKE AND JANEANE GAROFALO.
Winona Ryder had seen Ethan Hawke in the World War II drama A Midnight Clear (1992), and subsequently pushed for him to play Troy. Despite working with Stiller earlier on The Ben Stiller Show (1993), Garofalo said she didn’t know if she would have been cast as Vickie without Ryder’s high opinion of her.
5. GWYNETH PALTROW, PARKER POSEY, AND ANNE HECHE AUDITIONED FOR VICKIE.
Garofalo beat them out. In another interesting could-have-been, the part of Sammy came down to Steve Zahn and Noah Wyle (later of ER fame).
6. HAWKE PUT STEVE ZAHN ON THE PRODUCERS’ RADAR.
Hawke and Zahn co-starred in the play Sophistry. Hawke encouraged executive producer Stacey Sher to see Zahn for Sammy. “Tons of people read for the part and it was just once we saw Steve, we knew,” Sher told HitFix.
7. IT WAS EMMANUEL “CHIVO” LUBEZKI’S FIRST AMERICAN FILM.
The Mexico City-born Lubezki was brought in as the director of photography. “I was very young and I was inexperienced and coming to America and uncomfortable living here,” Lubezki recalled. “I didn't have many friends. I was just coming here to work. When I got this offer, I read the script, and I have to be honest, I barely understood the humor in the script. I didn't find it that funny. I found it more dramatic than funny.”
The language barrier was irrelevant; Childress later said his hard work made everyone look “gorgeous.” Shamberg believed the look of the film was a “kind of a romantic naturalism.” Last month, Lubezki pulled off an Oscar threepeat when he won his third consecutive Oscar for Best Cinematography for The Revenant (following wins for Birdman and Gravity).
8. ONE ORIGINAL TITLE WAS THE REAL WORLD.
It was nixed when MTV’s The Real World debuted.
9. GAROFALO WAS FIRED (“SORT OF”), AND RYDER FOUGHT FOR HER AGAIN.
“That was my first experience with a studio film,” Garofalo told The A.V. Club. “I didn't understand what was going to happen, or why the hours were so long. I know Ben was not thrilled with me there. He also didn't like my attitude during rehearsal, because I hate to rehearse. He sort of fired me, but luckily I was rehired because Winona stepped in on my behalf. Let's put it this way: I don't have a good work ethic.”
10. NONE OF THE COMPANIES MENTIONED IN THE MOVIE INSISTED ON A CHANGE IN THE SCRIPT.
“There is product placement in the movie, but I don’t have any problem with it because it never happened where they said ‘OK, you can put our product in but you have to change your script,’” Stiller reasoned. Diet Coke specifically was written into the script because Childress lived off of it.
11. HAWKE TURNED STILLER ON TO LISA LOEB.
Loeb had participated in Hawke’s theater company, writing music in New York City. Hawke sent her new song, “Stay,” to Stiller, who agreed it should be in the movie. After they were refused permission by Atlantic Records to use a song by The Lemonheads (fronted by Evan Dando, who appears in the film), “Stay” was slotted as the second song to play during the closing credits. The first and last music video Hawke directed would be “Stay.” Mostly because of the movie, Loeb achieved the rare distinction of being an unsigned artist with a number one single, a feat that wouldn’t be achieved again for another 19 years.
12. PETER FRAMPTON WASN’T THE FILMMAKER’S FIRST CHOICE.
"Baby I Love Your Way” was supposed to be a Beck tune.
13. THE FIRST TEST SCREENING DIDN’T GO WELL.
When the Berkeley, California audience saw the Universal logo, most of them booed.
14. THE REAL TROY SUED.
A Troy Dyer attended USC film school with Childress, became a financial consultant in Wisconsin, and sued in 2005 for defamation. Childress claimed Dyer gave her permission to use his name, because he was straight-laced and conservative—the total opposite of the character. The case was settled to “everyone’s mutual satisfaction,” according to Dyer.We expect the new MacBook, featuring an upgrade to Intel’s (US) Haswell processor, will be in the spotlight for Apple at the upcoming WWDC from June 10. Along with the new processor, we expect the following modifications to each product line: Retina MacBook Pro to be slimmer slightly, along with a camera upgrade. We expect the 13” Retina MacBook Pro will have a slightly slimmer form factor for increasing its portability. Also, we think the camera spec will be upgraded from HD to full HD. This will improve Facetime and video conference quality in the high resolution Retina display.
In a report this morning, one of the better Apple analysts, Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI securities listed his forecast for MacBook Pro and Air updates expected at WWDC. Apple’s annual developer-centric conference begins on June 10th with a keynote. The biggest change is Apple will move to Intel’s Haswell processors. These chips dramatically reduce power consumption, which in turn could allow Apple to need fewer batteries in the Retina MacBook Pros:
The 1080P camera would match the capabilities of the rear-cameras in recent iOS hardware, but this would represent the first time in which Apple shipped a 1080p-capable front-facing sensor.
If Apple does choose to keep the same batteries and size of the Retina MacBook Pro, the new Haswell chips could push battery life up over 10 hours – an outcome I’d personally prefer. Additionally, how can you make the 13″ Retina MacBook Pro any thinner?
Perhaps the thinner is only slightly thinner? The 13 inch retina is currently very slightly thicker than the 15 inch model. — Mark Gurman (@markgurman) June 2, 2013
It is so thin that the ports+ fan outlets barely fit now. It would also be an uncharacteristically short sub-1-year duration for the current design.
I imagine a "less filling! Tastes Great!" type of fight at Apple Engineering: "Longer battery life! Thinner!" http://t.co/KMkzSXNWe6 — Seth Weintraub (@llsethj) June 2, 2013
As for the MacBook Air, at least one improvement is expected by Kuo:
MacBook Air to share dual built-in microphone design of Retina MacBook Pro. We forecast that this year’s new MacBook Air model will also have dual built-in microphones as a result of positive feedback on this feature in Retina MacBook Pro, which delivers clear voice quality on Facetime and VoIP service.
Apple previously noted that the dual-microphone setup is ideal for voice apps like the included Dictation function.
Kuo expects the older, non-Retina MacBook Pros to freeze and be taken out of the spotlight, much like the iPod Classic (or Mac Pro?). The computer would continue to be sold but with the current Ivy Bridge processors, optical drive slots, and high-capacity hard drives.
The report also notes that MacBooks in general are not immune from the overall global slowdown in PC purchasing caused by the iPad and other tablet cannibalization. The expectation is that 2013 will see 12M units sold, off 1.6M from 2012’s 13.6M total.
Finally, Kuo notes that Apple’s move away from optical and hard drive based storage continues to shift orders to SSD producers:
SSD to be mainstream storage solution for MacBook. We estimate the market share of MacBook with SSD to rise from 45% in 2012 to 64% in 2013, far ahead of the industry’s 15-20%. We also expect SSD penetration to continue to trend up, with SSD eventually replacing conventional hard disk drive and optical disc drive.With three candidates in the running for President of the United States in the Democratic Party, former US Secretary of State and former New York Senator Hillary Clinton, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, a Democratic debate was held on CBS-TV last night.
Just one day before the scheduled debate, major terror attacks occurred in France, killing well over 100 people. The debate, which was supposed be on economics, starts out instead with a moment of silence and a period of discussion about the attacks and the political circumstances surrounding them.
Host John Dickerson probes Bernie Sanders after the fresh terror attacks to backtrack on his climate change priority.
JOHN DICKERSON: In the previous date you said the greatest threat to national security was climate change. Do you still believe that?
BERNIE SANDERS: Absolutely. In fact, climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism…
Sanders then moves on to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
BERNIE SANDERS: I would argue that the disastrous invasion of Iraq, something that I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region completely, and led to the rise of Al Qaeda and to ISIS. Now, in fact, what we have got to do, and I think there is widespread agreement here, cause the United States cannot do it alone — what we need to do is lead an international coalition which includes, very significantly, the Muslim nations in that region are gonna have to fight and defend their way of life…
John Dickerson then prods Bernie Sanders to make a personal “direct link” between Hillary Clinton’s vote in the Senate for the 2003 Iraq invasion. He responds:
BERNIE SANDERS: I don’t think any sensible person would disagree that the invasion of Iraq led to the massive level of instability we are seeing right now. I think that was one of the worst foreign policy plunders in the modern history of United States.
Given an open opportunity to respond, Hillary Clinton broadens the discussion beyond the Iraq war, and cites terror attacks going back years earlier.
HILLARY CLINTON: I think it’s important we put this in a historic context. United States has unfortunately been victimized by terrorism going back decades. In the 1980’s it was in Beirut, Lebanon under President Reagan’s administration and 258 Americans, marines, embassy personnel and others were murdered.
We also had attacks on two of our embassies in Tanzania and Kenya when my husband was president. Again, Americans murdered. And then of course 9/11 happened which happened before there was an invasion of Iraq. I have said the invasion of Iraq was a mistake. But I think if we’re ever gonna really tackle the problems posed by jihadi extreme terrorism we need to understand it and realize that it has antecedents to what happened in Iraq and we have to continue to be vigilant about it.
Baited again to criticize Hillary Clinton and her work when she was Secretary of State, Bernie Sanders responds by broadening the topic further:
BERNIE SANDERS: I think we have a disagreement. And the disagreement is that not only did I vote against the war in Iraq, if you look at history, John, you will find that regime change, whether it was in the early 50’s in Iran, whether it was toppling Salvador Allende in Chile, whether it was overthrowing the government Guatemala way back when, these invasions, these toppling of governments, regime changes have unintended consequences. I would say that on this issue I’m a little bit more conservative than the secretary in that I am not a great fan of regime change.
Martin O’Malley squeezes in to suggest where things should go from here.
MARTIN O’MALLEY: It was not just the invasion of Iraq which Secretary Clinton voted for and has since said was a big mistake, and, indeed, it was.
But it was also the cascading effects that followed that. It was also the disbanding of many elements of the Iraqi army that are now showing up as part of ISIS. It was country after country without making the investment in human intelligence to understand who the new leaders were and the new forces were that are coming up.
We need to be much more far thinking in this new twenty-first century era of nation state failures and conflict. It’s not |
Watch ]
Among electrical engineers, the unemployment rate dropped from 7.3% to 5.2% from the third to fourth quarter. Good news? Not necessarily, because the total pool of employed electrical engineers declined in that same period by 3%, from 331,000 to 321,000.
Gordon Day, past president of IEEE-USA, said in an e-mail response to questions: "In the fourth quarter, there were about 10,000 more electrical and electronics engineers leaving their jobs (layoffs, resignations, retirements, etc.) than there were new hires," he said.
But even though many of those 10,000 were added to the population of unemployed electrical engineers, many others stopped describing themselves as unemployed. Some have found jobs in other fields or retired while "some will have just stopped looking for employment in engineering," he said.
"The unemployment rate is the ratio of the number who describe themselves as unemployed to the number who describe themselves as employed," and to some extent the numerator and denominator can change independently, explained Day.
Similarly, the unemployment rate for software engineers fell slightly from 4.7% to 4.1%, but the total pool of employed software engineers fell from 970,000 to 952,000, nearly a 2% decline.
"It appears that electrical engineers who lost their jobs in early 2009 are taking jobs in other fields or giving up on their job searches," Day said.
The jobs data is not uniformly negative across all IT and engineering occupations. The numbers of employed computer scientist and systems analysts increased from 745,000 to 792,000, with unemployment falling from 7.3% to 5%.
Day said he hopes that the federal 2011 budget proposal, due Monday, "will call for continued growth in funding for technology, especially those investments authorized in the America Competes Act."
"Engineers and other applied technologists create jobs broadly, so it is very important to restore the health of the high-tech workforce," he said. The Competes Act, approved in 2007, includes a broad range of technology-funding and education initiatives.
President Obama is widely expected to give a lot of attention to jobs and unemployment in his State of the Union speech. Analysts and industry groups are predicting improved IT spending and hiring this year, but every report released discussing the economy in recent months underscore these outlooks with caveats and warnings, including the one released Tuesday by CompTIA, an IT industry group.
CompTIA runs a bimonthly survey of more than 300 IT companies on their spending, R&D, staffing and other aspects of the business. It measures the data and reports it as a confidence index on a 100 point scale, and in December this rating jumped 6.3 point to 56.6, meaning more companies are now viewing the economy in the positive range.
In particular, increasing staffing levels and technology spending are trending in the positive direction, although spending on new revenue initiatives and R&D is flat, the group said.
Tim Herbert, CompTIA's vice president of research, said the next bimonthly survey will be released in March, and will be particularly important in telling how well the economy is doing. "We will probably have some additional evidence whether the recovery has truly taken hold," he said.
Although there have been strong earnings reports from companies and shipments of things like PCs pointing in the right direction, Herbert is cautious about his outlook, and doesn't see any quick return to pre-recession employment and spending levels.
As far as employment goes, "the hope will be that employment improves in some way, even if it's only minor improvement," Herbert said.
Patrick Thibodeau covers SaaS and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @DCgov, send e-mail to pthibodeau@computerworld.com or subscribe to Patrick's RSS feed.As Israel's Operation Protective Edge entered its 24th day on Thursday, the security cabinet has ordered the military to press on with the offensive in the Gaza Strip, focusing on the destruction of Hamas' tunnel network.
An Israeli delegation traveled to Cairo on Wednesday for several hours of talks over Egypt’s efforts to broker a truce in Gaza. An official said Israel will continue to allow temporary humanitarian cease-fires in certain areas.
Three Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed and 12 wounded on Wednesday afternoon in the Khan Yunis area of south Gaza, bringing the death toll in the military to 56. Three Israeli civilians have been killed in the current round of fighting.
In Gaza, the death toll in the Israeli operation has topped 1,360 according to Palestinian health officials. More than 6,500 Palestinians have been wounded in the Israeli strikes.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has declared Gaza a "humanitarian disaster area" and urged the international community to protect and provide relief to the battered enclave. In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, he accused Israel of committing war crimes.
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Latest updates [Thursday]:
1:18 A.M. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says Gaza ceasefire a 'lull of opportunity,' imperative that sides make best efforts to find common ground.
The UN representative in Jerusalem, Robert Serry, has "received assurances" that all parties have agreed to the pause, according to a joint statement released by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and United States Secretary of State John Kerry.(Reuters, DPA)
1:15 A.M. According to the Palestinian news agency Ma'an, 84 Palestinians were killed over the last 24 hours in the Gaza Strip, and 258 were wounded. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the Palestinian death toll since fighting began is now 1,442, and the number of wounded has risen to 8,295. According to the Ma'an report, the Strip's Housing Ministry estimated the damage caused by the IDF operation as totaling $4 billion, and that 5,238 buildings have been completely destroyed. (Haaretz)
12:55 A.M. Hamas says will abide by three-day Gaza truce to begin on Friday.
"Acknowledging a call by the United Nations and in consideration of the situation of our people, resistance factions agreed to a 72-hour humanitarian and mutual calm that begins at 8 a.m (0500 GMT) on Friday as long as the other side abides by it," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
"All the Palestinian factions are united behind the issue in this regard," Abu Zuhri said. (Reuters)
12:39 A.M. Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire in their conflict in the Gaza Strip starting on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday.
The ceasefire will begin at 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Friday, Aug. 1, they said in a joint statement. The statement said "forces on the ground will remain in place" during the truce, implying that Israeli ground forces will not withdraw.
"We urge all parties to act with restraint until this humanitarian ceasefire begins, and to fully abide by their commitments during the ceasefire," Kerry and Ban said. "This ceasefire is critical to giving innocent civilians a much-needed reprieve from violence."
Israeli and Palestinian delegations will immediately travel to Cairo for negotiations with the Egyptian government to reach a durable ceasefire, the statement said (Reuters)
11:42 P.M. Call for residents of towns in Zikim to stay indoors canceled. Announcement made due to fears, now refuted, of suspected security-related incident. (Shirly Seidler, Gili Cohen)
11:03 P.M. Israel will be required under international law to take responsibility for helping Palestinian civilians if there are any further large-scale displacements from the fighting in Gaza, UNRWA chief Pierre Krähenbühl tells the United Nations Security Council.
Diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the council debated a statement to condemn the deadly attacks on UN schools, the rockets hidden in vacant schools and the deaths of UN staff, but could not reach agreement. (Reuters)
10:56 P.M. Entrance to the Al Aqsa Mosque will be limited to men over 50, due to concerns of violent clashes. Police forces are expected to be deployed in the area. (Yaniv Kubovich)
22:54 P.M. Hundreds of riot police in Paris deployed near the Israeli Embassy Thursday for the first major pro-Israel rally since the start of the latest Gaza war.
Several thousand people turned out for the rally, waving signs with slogans like "Gaza hostage of Hamas" and "We protest for peace."
The demonstration happened amid persistent reports the Jewish Defense League faces a government ban. JDD militants stepped in to assure security at synagogues during pro-Gaza protests, but were blamed for provoking violence at pro-Palestinian rallies. (AP)
10:41 P.M. Officials in Ramallah are increasingly getting the impression that Israel is not interested in reaching a cease-fire agreement based on the Egyptian proposal, Haaretz has learned. Rather, they believe, Israel seeks to complete its military mission and withdraw unilaterally to the Gaza Strip border, as it did in the 2005 disengagement. (Jack Khoury)
10:07 P.M. Residents of Zikim, Yad Mordechai asked to lock themselves in homes until further notice, due to suspected security-related incident near Gaza border. (Gili Cohen)
9:36 P.M. The White House says there is little doubt it was Israeli artillery that hit a UNRWA school in Gaza, and is describing the shelling as "totally unacceptable and totally indefensible."
White House spokesman Josh Earnest cited statements from the UN blaming Israel for the shelling, as well as the Israeli government's acknowledgement that it was firing in the area of the school. Earnest says that while the U.S. supports a full investigation into the matter, "it does not appear there's a lot of doubt about whose artillery was involved." (AP)
9:31 P.M. Rocket sirens sound in Ashkelon, Gaza-bordering regions (Haaretz)
8:55 P.M. "The Hamas leadership must be taken out," says coalition chairman Yariv Levin, considered one of the more influential MKs in the Likud party. "We can't leave the Gaza Strip as it is today. We need to create a wide swath of land beyond the border, that will be a no-man's-land that the Palestinians will not be allowed to enter. The area needs to be flattened, in the sense that there will be no houses that tunnels can be dug under."
"We definitely should aim at hurting the Hamas leadership," added Levin. "It is important that Hamas know it will pay a personal price for the continuation of the fighting. Such people are dead men walking." (Jonathan Lis)
8:11 P.M. Two IDF solider wounded by sniper fire in Shujaiyeh (Gili Cohen)
8:10 P.M. Mortar shells hit house, barn in Eshkol Regional Council; rocket siren sounded, no injuries reported. (Shirley Seidler)
7:50 P.M. UNRWA spokesman in Gaza Chris Gunness says the IDF is responsible for yesterday's artillery strike on the UN-run school in Jabalia, where 15 Palestinians were killed. Speaking on Israel's Channel 2, Gunness said the conclusion was made after checking the shooting's trajectory. He also said the accusations that weapons found inside UNRWA schools were returned to Hamas are lies, and that the arms were in fact turned over to disarmament experts.(Haaretz)
7:42 P.M. Number of Israelis wounded from mortar fire attack near Gaza border rises to eight. (Shirley Seidler and Gili Cohen)
7:40 P.M. Rocket hits high-voltage electricity line, cuts power to nine communities near Gaza border. (Shirley Seidler)
7:37 P.M. Ministers Sa’ar, Shalom critizise handling of Gaza op, say goal of IDF operation should have been to topple Hamas’ reign. For full story, click here (Barak Ravid)
7:31 P.M. Call for residents of towns in Sdot Negev to stay indoors canceled. Announcement made due to fears, now refuted, of suspected security-related incident. (Haaretz)
7:13 P.M. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says there’s “no promise” of a negotiated cease-fire between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip.
Kerry told reporters Thursday in New Delhi that the U.S. remains hopeful that a cease-fire is achievable, and he said the sooner it happens, the better.
He urges both sides to begin, quote, “bona fide negotiations” to stop the bloodshed.
The violence is now in its fourth week and has killed over a thousand Palestinians living in Gaza and several dozen Israeli troops fighting there. (AP)
7:10 P.M. The French Interior Ministry is considering placing a ban on the radical Jewish group Ligue de Défense Juive. The ministry announced it is “analysing” its legal options against the group, which has been accused of provoking pro-Palestinain demonstrators in the Paris area in recent days, the Independant reports. (Haaretz)
6:52 Several mortar shells and rockets hit open areas in Eshkol Regional Council (Shirley Seidler)
6:40 P.M. Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar confronted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a cabinet meeting on Thursday over the goals of the Gaza operation. A source who took part in the meeting says Sa'ar told the prime minister that the goal of the operation should have been to topple Hamas' reign in Gaza.
“I wasn’t one of those (ministers) to go out in public, in front of the media, and say we need to topple the Hamas regime but today I am saying it here that that should have been the operation’s objective,” the source quoted Sa’ar as saying.
In response, Sa’ar told Haaretz, “I am legally obliged to avoid responding to things that were said in the cabinet meeting even if those quotes are incorrect.” (Barak Ravid)
6:02 P.M. Two people wounded by rocket-fire in Kiryat Gat; one, a 30-year-old man, was hospitalized in serious condition. The rocket, one of several shot at the southern city, struck the third floor of a residential building. Three other rockets were intercepted above Kiryat Gat, and another landed in an open area within the city limits. Seven people are being treated for shock.
6:00 P.M. Rocket alerts sound across Tel Aviv metropolitan area, and Gaza border-regions. Iron Dome intercepts rocket over Tel Aviv. (Gili Cohen, Shirley Seidler)
5:55 P.M. Rocket alerts sound in Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza-bordering regions (Haaretz)
5:50 P.M. UNRWA's Gaza Spokesman Chris Gunness says eight of the UN's refugee agency killed in Gaza. (Haaretz)
BREAKING NEWS: 8 UNRWA staff members killed in #Gaza war says @PKraehenbuehl to Security Council RT
5:31 P.M. Rocket alerts sound across western Negev, Ashkelon region (Haaretz)
4:57 P.M. Rocket alerts sound in Gaza-bordering regions (Haaretz)
4:25 P.M. Hamas heads publish several statements simultaneously, in which they declare imminent victory. "The Palestinian people will be marking their victory in the very near future," Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar said. Khalil al-Haya, a member of Hamas' diplomatic bureau, said Netanyahu was "searching for a way out" after suffering 'blows from the resistance forces,' and added that "the only way out was an acceptance of the resistance's terms." Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, meanwhile, said "Netanyahu is leading his army into the unknown. His allies have pulled him into a failing operation, the results of which he fails to understand." (Jack Khoury)
3:53 P.M. IDF strikes car in eastern Gaza, killing two and wounding one (Jack Khoury)
3:33 P.M. Rocket sirens sound in Ashkelon, Gaza-border region (Haaretz)
2:50 P.M. Three mortar shells hit near towns in Eshkol Regional Council. Rocket alerts were sounded. Security forces are conducting sweeps near the Gaza border fence in Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, after a rocket struck in the vicinity. (Shirley Seidler)
2:38 P.M. The UN's top human rights official is accusing Israel and Hamas militants of committing war crimes in the latest Gaza war.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says that by placing and firing rockets within heavily populated areas both sides are committing "a violation of international humanitarian law, therefore a war crime."
Pillay also told reporters Thursday in Geneva that she sees "a recurrence of the very acts" from the 2009 Gaza war in which the UN concluded Israel deliberately targeted civilians and might have committed war crimes, along with Hamas. (News Agencies) Read full article
2:36 P.M. Mortar shell explodes in Eshkol Regional Council (Shirley Seidler)
2:04 P.M. An IDF soldier was lightly wounded by sniper fire shot from inside a mosque in Shujaiyeh. IDF responded with tank fire. (Gili Cohen)
1:21 P.M. Rocket explodes in an open area in Sdot Negev Regional Council. (Shirly Seidler)
1:18 P.M. Malaysia denied Thursday that it is providing training for Hamas fighters in Gaza.
Deputy Home Affairs Minister Wan Junaidi Jaafar said the government has never allowed the country to be used as a training ground for Hamas fighters, even if Malaysia supports the Palestinians.
"It does not matter what kind of freedom fighting group they belong to, even those against Israel, we have never given permission to have such trainings here," he told the Astro Awani television station. "The report is incorrect."
A Hamas commander told Shin Bet commanders he and 10 other militants were sent to Malaysia to practice flying paragliders four years ago.
Malaysian leaders both from the opposition and the government have criticized the Israeli government for its continued Gaza operation. (DPA)
1:02 P.M. Nearly one quarter of the population of Gaza has been displaced over the three weeks of Israel's operation: Some 225,178 people have sought refuge in 86 UNWRA schools across the Strip. The head of UNWRA told Haaretz that the organization has demanded a number of times in recent days that Israel, as an occupying force, deliver the necessary humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. (Amira Hass)
12:01 P.M. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel was determined, regardless of ceasefire efforts, to complete the destruction of tunnels that Palestinian militants have built under the Gaza-Israel border.
"We are determined to complete this mission with or without a cease-fire," Netanyahu said in public remarks at the start of a cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv. "I wont agree to any proposal that will not enable the Israeli military to complete this important task for the sake of Israel's security." Read full article
11:59 A.M. Barrage of rockets fired at Sderot and nearby towns on Gaza border as Prime Minister Netanyahu addresses public in live address from Cabinet meeting.
11:55 A.M. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opens cabinet meeting at the Defense Ministry compound in Tel Aviv.
11:44 A.M. Rocket aimed at Ashkelon lands in Gaza territory. Seventeen rockets and mortars fired at south Israel since midnight. (Shirley Seidler)
11:24 A.M. Five mortar shells explode in open areas in Eshkol Regional Council. Two rockets explode in open areas in Ashkelon. (Shirley Seidler)
11:16 A.M. Rocket alarm sirens sound in Ashkelon.
11:01 A.M. Rocket alarm sirens sound in Gaza border town.
10:31 A.M. Rocket alarm siren sounds in Gaza border town.
10:27 A.M. Five Palestinians killed overnight and early morning on Thursday: Three in Khan Yunis, one in Rafah, and another who succumbed to wounds in hospital. The Gaza Health Ministry places the death toll from three weeks of the operation at 1,364 - of that number 315 children and 166 women. The number of wounded has risen to 6,785, of them 2,307 children and 1,529 women. (Jack Khoury)
9:25 A.M. Rocket alarm sirens sound in Eshkol Regional Council.
9:23 A.M. Mortar shell explodes in open area in Eshkol Regional Council. No damages reported. (Shirley Seidler)
8:37 A.M. Rocket explodes in open area near Be'er Sheva. No injuries. (Shirly Seidler)
8:30 A.M. Rocket alarm sirens sound in Be'er Sheva.
8:00 A.M. IDF attacked 19 targets in Gaza overnight, including five houses which were reportedly used as command centers. (Gili Cohen)
6:45 A.M. The IDF decided on Wednesday to call up 16,000 additional reserve troops in order to allow the military "room to breathe," a senior officer says. Their deployment will begin on Thursday, raising the number of reserve soldiers called up so far to 86,000. (Gili Cohen)
4:30 A.M. U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks with Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and reiterates "the United States' support for Israel's security and its right to defend itself," according to a statement released by the Department of Defense.
"Secretary Hagel also expressed the United States' continued concern about the rising number of Palestinian civilian deaths and loss of Israeli lives, as well as the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza," the statement said.
"Secretary Hagel stressed the need for a humanitarian ceasefire that ends hostilities and leads to a permanent cessation of hostilities based on the November 2012 ceasefire agreement, and reaffirmed the U.S. view that any process to resolve the crisis in Gaza in a lasting and meaningful way must lead to the disarmament of Hamas and all terrorist groups."
According to the statement, Ya'alon thanked Hagel for his support for the defense of Israel, particularly the Iron Dome missile interception system.
3:20 A.M. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Hamas is solely responsible for the death and destruction in Gaza, The Canadian Press reports.
"Obviously no one likes to see the suffering and loss of life that has occurred," Harper was quoted as saying. "That said, we hold the terrorist organization Hamas responsible for this. They have initiated and continue this conflict and continue to seek the destruction of the state of Israel."
2:00 A.M. A delegation comprised of Hamas and PLO representatives is prepared to depart for cease-fire talks in Cairo "at any moment," the Palestinian Safa news agency reports, citing a senior Hamas official. The official reportedly said that the truce proposal that is to be discussed is different from the one previously brought forth by Egypt. An itinerary for the trip has yet to be set.
12:10 A.M. CNN reports that the United States has agreed to an Israeli request for several types of ammunition as the ground battle in Gaza is entering its third week.
According to CNN, the items being bought are 120mm mortar rounds and 40mm ammunition for grenade launchers. Those will come from a stockpile the United States keeps in Israel, which is worth more than $1 billion, officials said.
It’s not an emergency sale, a U.S. defense official told CNN. (Jacob Kornbluh)
12:01 A.M. J Street issues statement on Gaza conflict, calling for "the fighting to end through a sustainable ceasefire agreement."
"J Street strongly supports Israel’s right to defend itself proportionately against the threat of relentless rockets and to destroy tunnels leading into Israel. At the same time, we see no military victory over an ideology and no military solution to a fundamentally political conflict. We adamantly oppose calls for Israel to “reoccupy Gaza.”
"We support efforts by President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry as well as the engagement of other countries such as Egypt to bring about an immediate ceasefire. Any such ceasefire must account for Israel’s security concerns, specifically from rockets and tunnels, as well as Palestinian humanitarian needs, and should be structured to lead to negotiations to establish arrangements related to security, political issues and humanitarian assistance. We support the inclusion of the Palestinian Authority in the ceasefire and in the negotiations around security, political arrangements and humanitarian assistance.
"We are deeply offended by attacks on and mischaracterizations of the Secretary’s efforts to resolve this crisis and his relationship to the state of Israel. We believe his pursuit of not only a cease-fire, but a two-state solution represents the highest possible form of friendship to Israel and all the people of the region, and we salute and support the Secretary for his efforts."
skip -Head first, fearless.
Taylor grew up on a Christmas tree farm — a folksy fact we all know. But what most people don’t know is that she came from a family of moderate wealth. Her parents bought her a convertible Lexus in high school.
Along with that Lexus, her father also bought a 3% stake of the then nascent and aptly named Big Machine Records at $120,000 back in 2005 — the label she’s been signed with since her debut.
There is nothing inherently wrong with coming from wealth or having a Lexus. However, what is wrong is Taylor’s repeated dismissal of emerging platforms that may benefit new artists when she’s a clear benefactor of the current system in place.
I love your handshake, meeting my father.
Founded in 2005, the year Taylor was signed, Big Machine Records distributes its tunes from artists like Taylor, Tim McGraw, and Rascal Flatts through Universal Music Group — the second largest music publishing company in the world.
Along with Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, these ‘Big Three’ labels control 70% of the global music market and roughly 80% of the United States music market.
3 companies control 70% of the global music market.
These three corporations are the result of an increasing trend since since the late 80s for major labels to merge — starting at 6 from 1988–1999, going down to 5 from 1999–2004, to 4 from 2004–2008, and now down to the remaining 3.
I’ve got a blank space, baby.
So where does Taylor Swift fit into all of this corporate control? She is a product of this system.
After signing with Big Machine, she released her eponymous freshman album. It spawned a whopping five certified platinum singles. The record itself is certified five-times platinum.
Between her singles and the album itself, well over 5,000,000 people fell in love with Taylor Swift — propelling her into a career as a musician and celebrity and giving a solid return on her family’s 3% stake in the label.
Let’s take a look at the players behind this success and Taylor’s ability to distribute her songs so widely. It starts with Big Machine’s relationship with Universal Music Group — and just like Taylor’s ex-boyfriends, its a relationship with a lot of history.
Big Machine was founded by Scott Borchetta who slogged long enough in the industry to become, according to Bloomberg Business, an ‘involved manager’ at Universal’s MCA Records, ‘choosing singles and dispensing advice.’
Eventually, he decided to start his own label. Around the same time, he saw then-undiscovered Taylor perform and approached her and her family with a record deal in 2005.
Later that same year, Big Machine released Taylor’s first recording, ‘Tim McGraw’ — one of the five platinum singles mentioned earlier.
I’m not a princess, this ain’t a fairy tale.
Behind the catchiness of a song is mass distribution and exposure — making people aware of an artist. And the holy grail of exposure is still radio.
The trouble is that getting your song onto the radio is not easy and requires a relationship (contract) with a major label — and all three labels work hard to keep it this way.
Only a handful of companies, most prominently iHeartMedia Inc. (formerly Clear Channel), own all the radio stations in the United States — and their playlists are dictated by the majors. That’s why truly independent songs don’t get any airplay.
The majors are gatekeepers — picking and choosing which songs and artists will be heard and which won’t.
The faces of independence.
In fact, radio is such a core component to an artist’s success that the notoriously independent duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were forced to negotiate a landmark deal with Warner Bros. Record’s radio promotion department to have any hope of airplay — and, in turn, mainstream success.
‘In this new scenario, we would maintain our independence without having to sign a label contract, while simultaneously benefiting from the one service major labels still have a monopoly on: radio promotion.’ — Ben Haggerty (Macklemore)
This statement comes from the same person who rejected L.A. Reid’s offer to sign Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for a sophomore album as a means to advance their career. The fiercely independent duo was forced to play ball with the majors at risk of hitting a glass ceiling.
In fact, Haggerty regards the decision to go with Warner for radio promotion as the make-or-break moment for the duo’s mainstream career.
‘Basically, if you sign this deal there is a potential that you will turn into a super star. Your life will change drastically. And once that happens, there is no going back. If we don’t go this direction, there is a ceiling to your career. You can continue to play the same rooms you’ve been playing and have a strong run as an underground rapper. But taking it to the next level will not be attainable. I see positives and negatives to both sides, and will support you either way. What do you want to do?’ — Haggerty, quoting his manager Zach
This bears repeating. Without radio promotion, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis had no hope at a mainstream career.
The same duo that was able to shoot The Heist to number one on iTunes with 78,000 copies sold during its first week of release without any major label support was unable to go mainstream because of the labels’ monopoly on radio promotion and distribution.
No airplay. No mainstream recognition. No enduring mark on popular culture. All if they refused to work with any one of the three major labels.
Their independent success gave them the leverage to negotiate favorable terms and maintain their independence while still getting on the radio. And Thrift Shop is now certified seven-times platinum solely because of this deal.
What’s surprising is how unusual this kind of deal is. Thrift Shop was the first song without major label support to top the Billboard Hot 100 since 1994. Unsigned artists don’t get on the radio, period.
Mackelmore’s radio promotion deal with Warner was revolutionary.
The promotion and distribution necessary to make a single, album, and artist successful depends on a relationship with either Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, or Warner Music Group.
Big Machine was able to leverage their relationship with Universal executives to negotiate radio airplay and, in turn, mainstream success for Taylor Swift.
She is a product of the labels and is inadvertently championing for a system of gatekeepers that have been controlling what and who we are able to listen to for over 25 years.
What will, in her words, the ‘new artist or band that has just released their first single’ do to find a foothold in this tightly controlled system without the privilege of label access?Following his ground-breaking, critically acclaimed run on Detective Comics, writer Scott Snyder (American Vampire) alongside artist Greg Capullo (Spawn) begins a new era of The Dark Knight as with the relaunch of Batman with this critically acclaimed, New York Times #1 best-selling graphic novel!
After a series of brutal murders rocks Gotham City, Batman begins to realize that perhaps these crimes go far deeper than appearances suggest. As the Caped Crusader begins to unravel this deadly mystery, he discovers a conspiracy going back to his youth and beyond to the origins of the city he's sworn to protect. Could the Court of Owls, once thought to be nothing more than an urban legend, be behind the crime and corruption? Or is Bruce Wayne losing his grip on sanity and falling prey to the pressures of his war on crime?
Now, this seminal Batman graphic novel is paired with a replica mask worn by the villainous Court of Owls, a must-have for any true fan of Scott Snyder's groundbreaking work.
The Batman: The Court of Owls Mask and Book Set collects issues #1-7 of BATMAN in trade paperback with a Court of Owls replica mask.Gwyneth Paltrow has apparently failed at the food stamp challenge. She quit after four days, she reports on her website, GOOP. But then, most everyone who takes the challenge does it wrong.
The Hollywood A-lister tried eating for only $29 this week, the weekly amount the average food stamp recipient receives in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Earlier this week, Paltrow tweeted a photo of her $29 grocery haul.
This is what $29 gets you at the grocery store—what families on SNAP (i.e. food stamps) have to live on for a week. pic.twitter.com/OZMPA3nxij — Gwyneth Paltrow (@GwynethPaltrow) April 9, 2015
The actress and GOOP curator has earned a reputation for ideas that range from pretentious and out of touch (see: conscious uncoupling) to downright weird (does water have feelings?). And once again, she has created a media freakout with her SNAP challenge. Time dismissed it as "poverty tourism," while Slate is telling everyone to just lay off already. No matter your take, Paltrow at the very least doesn't seem to have stretched her $29 very well. (Really, when you're eating on a budget, who prioritizes limes?)
The SNAP challenge has been around for a few years, and has become a way for high-profile Americans like Sen. Cory Booker and Panera CEO Ron Shaich to draw attention to the meager food budget many Americans live on. Usually when people take the challenge, they try to live off of the average SNAP payout of $29 per week, or around $4 per day.
The challenge might make for good publicity, but it's flawed in two big ways. One is that it gets the math on how the USDA hands out benefits entirely wrong. And because of that, it fails to capture the grim reality of being a low-income American.
How SNAP benefits are awarded
SNAP benefits are handed out on a sliding scale — someone who earns more money gets a smaller benefit, and vice versa. And those benefits help a huge number of people: more than 46.5 million received SNAP benefits last year, or around one in seven Americans.
To qualify for SNAP, a household generally has to meet two income thresholds: total income and net income (that is, total income minus deductions for things like child support, some medical expenses, and some housing costs). The SNAP formula assumes that households will spend 30 percent of their income on food, as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explains, but for many low-income Americans, 30 percent of income is not enough to eat. So SNAP provides households with enough extra money to meet the costs of the Thrifty Food Plan, a meal plan that the USDA has devised to be low-cost but healthful. Altogether, the USDA figures that the Thrifty Meal Plan costs around $38 for most adult females (nearly $5.50 a day) and $43 for adult men (around $6.20 a day).
So when the average person gets a little over $4 a day in benefits, the SNAP formula assumes that person has other money to spend on food. The government doesn't in fact expect people to live on $4 a day.
It's true that plenty of SNAP households are in dire straits. One in five reported no income at all in fiscal year 2012. And less than 40 percent had no net income, after subtracting out those necessities mentioned above. But those households with the fewest resources get more than the average SNAP payout — for example, the maximum allotment for a person who lives alone, according to the USDA, is $194 a month, or around $45 a week or $6.50 a day (residents of Hawaii and Alaska get slightly higher benefits).
The philosophy of SNAP
All this isn't just to make the (fairly pedantic) point that Gwyneth should really be buying her limes and tortillas on five or six dollars a day instead of four. Nor is it to say that $6 a day, as opposed to $4, is a princely sum to eat on (it's not), or that the families who are receiving $4 a day are otherwise living large (they're not). Rather, it's to say that the SNAP challenge misses the point.
For many families on SNAP, the true challenge isn't just stretching a small food budget; it's deciding which of their other dollars will go toward food versus keeping the electricity on or to staying up to date on rent. Food is just one of myriad problems.
That's not the only problem. Whether they know it or not, people who do the SNAP challenge are raising a basic question about the point of the SNAP program. If you truly want all SNAP recipients to receive enough money to eat well, without spending any outside money, that means not only upping SNAP spending but also changing the philosophy of the program, which is (as the name suggests) to supplement families' food budgets. (And if you truly think the government has a duty to meet people's basic needs, then it's not just a matter of reforming SNAP; it may simply be time for the government to provide a basic income for everyone.)
For anyone who really wants to experience SNAP's unfairness, there are other ways to do it. For example, you could drain your bank account — that's because in five states, the program has an asset limit, in addition to having income limits. At the federal level, the asset limit is set at $2,250, meaning a family that falls on hard times may not qualify for SNAP, though states can raise or eliminate it as they like. (Nebraska, however, has taken the unique step of raising the limit far higher, to $25,000.) Or you can take the old-fashioned route and just write to your legislators. It's not as sexy as tweeting your $29 grocery haul, but it at |
in the private sector.
When the government decides to promote a particular activity this means that the government will supply various individuals that are engaged in this activity with money. The received money in turn will permit individuals in that activity to access the pool of real wealth.
Now, the government is not a real wealth generator. It relies on its sources of funding from the private sector. This in turn means that the more government spends the less real funding will be available for the wealth generating private sector.
This will impede the creation of real wealth and impoverish the economy as a whole. Observe that if government could generate real wealth then obviously it wouldn't need to tax the private sector.
Various commentators are of the view that in the US and other major economies the government could lift economic growth by upgrading roads. The improvement of roads sounds like a great idea. The key question is whether for a given pool of wealth the US individuals could afford all this?
As an example an individual in his personal capacity might establish that it is a great idea to have an expensive Mercedes, unfortunately his pool of real wealth only allows him to have a second hand Toyota. If he were to allocate all his wealth towards the purchase of a Mercedes he runs the risk of severely damaging his and his family’s well being for he will not have enough means to feed his family and himself.
Diverting Wealth Away from Producers
The mode of diversion of real wealth from the private sector is, however, of secondary importance. What matters is that real wealth is diverted. The method of taking real wealth can be through direct taxes or indirect taxes and by means of monetary printing.
The effective level of tax then is dictated by government outlays — the more government plans to spend the more real wealth it will divert from the wealth generating private sector. In this respect we can see from the charts below that government outlays in absolute terms and relative to GDP have been following a visible up trend.
A borrower must be a wealth generator in order to be able to repay the principal loan plus interest. This is however, not so as far as the government is concerned. For government is not a wealth generator, it only consumes wealth.
The Damage Wrought by Government Borrowing
Another instrument for the diversion of real wealth is by means of borrowing. But how can this be?
So how then can the government as a borrower, which produces no real wealth, ever repay the debt?
The only way it can do this is by borrowing again from the same lender — the wealth generating private sector. It amounts to a process wherein government borrows from you in order to repay to you.
In this regard we can see that the government debt as percentage of GDP, which stood at 55% in 1959 has climbed to 100.5% in 2015.
Note that since the government is not a wealth generating entity, the more it spends the more resources it has to take from wealth generators. This means that the effective level of tax here is the size of the government and nothing else.We suggest that the goal of fixing the budget deficit as such could be an erroneous policy. Ultimately what matters for the economy is not the size of the budget deficit but the size of government outlays — the amount of resources that government diverts to its own activities.
For example, if government outlays are $3 trillion and the government revenue is $2 trillion then the government will have a deficit of $1 trillion. Since government outlays have to be funded this means that the government would have to secure some other sources of funding such as borrowing, printing money or new forms of taxes. The government will employ all sorts of means to obtain resources from wealth generators to support its activities.
What matters here is not not the deficit is $1 trillion. What matters is that government outlays are $3 trillion. For instance, if the government revenue on account of higher taxes would have been $3 trillion then we would have a balanced budget. But would this alter the fact that the government still takes $3 trillion of resources from wealth generators?
Frank Shostak's consulting firm, Applied Austrian School Economics, provides in-depth assessments of financial markets and global economies. Contact: email.Dutch Film Director Accuses Ariel Sharon of Killing Two Palestinian Children in 1982
11:44 PM
George Sluizer declared that in 1982 he saw then Israeli defense minister Ariel Sharon shooting Palestinian children from near the Sabra-Shatilla refugee camp, Beirut, while he was filming a documentary. Israel officials called report a ‘modern blood libel’.The accusation was first made in Volkskrant, a Dutch newspaper, during an interview to George Sluizer, who was promoting the screening of his most recent film about Israel in the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam.
According to Sluizer, who has made several documentaries about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he saw Sharon killing two Palestinian children with a pistol in 1982, near the refugee camp Sabra-Shatilla in Lebanon. Sharon was an Israeli minister of defense at that time.
“Sharon shot two children like you shoot rabbits, in front of my eyes,” he added.
Sluizer gave more details and reported hat the children were two or three years old and that Sharon shot them from a distance of 10 meters with a pistol. However, he could not specify in which month the event occurred, but he thought it was in November.
Meanwhile, Israeli government’s officials have been quick to deny accusations, claiming that the statement is not supported by a single shred of evidence and that it is very cruel to accuse Sharon of committing a murder when he cannot defend himself, Haaretz reported.
“Firstly, Sharon would never shoot a child; secondly, he was not in Lebanon in November of 1982: and thirdly, protocol prohibits ministers from wearing weapons,” Sharon’s successor as defense minister, Moshe Arens, explained.
In an interview for Haaretz, Sluizer defended his statement and said that after seeing the shooting, he had complained against Sharon in the International Court of Justice in Hague and the European Court of Human Right in Strasbourg, in 1983.
However, Israeli officials pointed out that no evidences that support that complaint have been found and added that they have warned the Dutch magazine to be careful when publishing anything that is not corroborated.
Sharon is currently in a permanent vegetative state after suffering a stroke in January 2006.We can learn a lot from the depression era about living more frugally. The skills people had to use then can still help us save money now.
My Great Grandma had a very interesting life. She walked behind a covered wagon to Oklahoma, she experienced the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Hearing her stories is something I miss greatly. She also was a frugal woman that could always make due with what she had.
I often think about the Great Depression and how resourceful people were forced to be. Things are pretty cheap now and our economy is much healthier. Now it’s so easy to just throw things away when they are broken or when clothing has a hole in it.
However, I think we have lost some useful skills and a good mindset over the years. Making do or doing without is not something many of us live by anymore. It’s creating a lot of waste and wasting money we could use on other things, like experiences with our loved ones.
There is so much we can learn from the trying times of the Great Depression. The resourcefulness was simply amazing. Not only will these skills help us now to be less wasteful and save money, it can never hurt to be prepared to have to be more self-sufficient.
Depression Era Tips That Save Money
Make your clothes last. New clothes would have been pretty much unheard of for most families during the Depression. Clothes were mended over and over again. We also should be taking better care of our clothes. Make sure you wash them correctly and if possible line dry. This will save you money and also is gentler on your clothes.
Use it up. Be sure to use up every drop of personal care, cleaning and food items. All of the products that we throw out with just a little bit left really adds up.
Make it yourself. DIY wasn’t just a trend in the Depression it was a way of life. While you aren’t likely going to start grinding your own flour you can make your own bread and other foods from scratch. You can also make cleaning supplies and even a lot of personal care products can be made from simple ingredients you likely already have on hand. We have the big advantage of Pinterest to help us figure out how to make our own products.
Borrow instead of buying. When was the last time you went to your local library? Most books and movies we only watch once so it’s silly to buy them when we can just borrow them from the library for free. You can also borrow things from friends or family. Just be sure to take care of these items and be responsible, otherwise, people won’t want to share anymore. There are also options that aren’t free but still save you money in the long run and use up fewer resources. You can use Kindle Unlimited for ebooks and if you already have Amazon Prime you can watch movies and TV shows there at no added cost. If you watch a lot of movies and read a lot of ebooks this will quickly save you money and means less clutter in your home.
Use less. Be mindful of the number of products you use. Soaps and detergents are some of the things we often use too much of. You really need a very small amount to be effective, sometimes using too much actually makes it less effective.
Reuse everything you can. When clothes can no longer be mended they can become rags, old food jars can store all kinds of things, junk mail can be scratch paper, there is almost always a way to use something in a new way to extend its life.
Grow your own food. Gardens were extremely important during the Depression. They still can help us to save money and to help the environment by reduced transpiration requirements for our food. Foraging is also a lost skill that can help your food budget.
The biggest things I take away from the Depression is that people were more careful with what they had and they weren’t nearly as wasteful as we often are. We can learn so much from that tough time and apply it to our lives to make them better and more frugal.
Want even more frugal tips? Check out Vintage Homemaking Skills That Save You Money.
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SaveSaveGreat Companies Don’t Adapt, They Prepare
In 1960, Harvard professor Theodore Levitt published a landmark paper in Harvard Business Review that urged executives to adapt by asking themselves, “What business are we really in?” He offered the both the railroad companies and Hollywood studios as examples of industries that failed to adapt because they defined their business incorrectly.
Yet today, the railroads don’t seem to be doing too badly. Union Pacific, the leading railroad company has a market capitalization of over $80 billion, about 60% more than Ford or GM. Disney, the leading movie studio company, has a market capitalization of about $150 billion. That doesn’t seem too shabby either.
While nimble startups chasing the next trend are exciting, the truth is that companies rarely succeed by adapting to market events. Rather, successful firms prevail by shaping the future. That can’t be done through agility alone, but takes years of preparation to achieve. The truth is that once you find yourself in a position where you need to adapt, it’s usually too late.
How Microsoft Missed Mobile And Won The Cloud
Consider the case of Microsoft, which failed horribly to adapt to mobile computing. In fact, when the iPhone came out, CEO Steve Ballmer dismissed it, saying, “There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.” Other attempts to adapt to Apple’s innovations, such as the Zune music player, didn’t gain traction either.
You would think that by so totally misreading the market that Microsoft would be near bankruptcy, but actually the opposite happened. Over the past 10 years, the company has grown revenues at the impressive annual rate of about 10% and maintains margins of nearly 30%. Those are strong numbers.
Take a look at Microsoft’s cloud business and you’ll understand why. The company recently reported that it’s growing at an annual rate of over 100%. This, however, is not a new initiative, but a direct consequence of Microsoft’s old servers and tools business that it began building for more than a decade ago.
Microsoft is not a nimble company. It doesn’t impress anybody with brilliant market forecasting or slick branding. What it has done has made substantial investments in the research division it set up in 1991. When you are building capacity in your business decades ahead of time, you really don’t need to be that fast.
Google’s Social Ineptness
One company that’s become famous for its agility is Google. So when Facebook emerged as a serious rival, it was no surprise when the search giant jumped nimbly into the space. It launched Google Wave, Google Buzz and then Google+. None met with significant success. Customers don’t flock to you just because you move quickly.
Still, Google is thriving and recently passed Apple to become the world’s most valuable company. To understand how, take a look at the innovation ecosystem that it’s built. It invests heavily into research and allows promising projects to incubate at its Google X division. At the same time, its longstanding policy of 20% time gives its engineers the freedom to turn all that cutting edge technology into products.
The company is also active in the research community, regularly publishing openly in scientific journals as well as on its own blog and invites academics to spend sabbaticals at the company. The scientists gain access to Google’s unparalleled data sets, while they add to the firm’s knowledge and understanding of cutting edge technologies.
Some of this new knowledge goes to create completely new products, like self-driving cars. Yet most of it gets plowed back into the core business. That may be boring, but it’s incredibly profitable.
Slowly Reinventing the Future
There has been probably no company that’s transcended as many technology cycles as IBM. It was a leader in punch card machines, then dominated mainframes and led the charge in the PC era. Later, it built a phenomenal business around consulting services that helped design, build and maintain sophisticated systems for enterprises.
Today, as those installed systems are moving to the cloud, IBM’s business is reeling with revenue dropping for 17 straight quarters. Many would say that the company desperately needs to become more agile and adapt. Yet IBM seems to be doing just the opposite, doubling down on bets it made decades ago.
Take the company’s cognitive computing initiative, also known as Watson, which CEO Ginni Rometty sees as central to the company’s future. IBM has been working on the technology for decades. Other long-term efforts, such as quantum computing and neuromorphic chips, are focused on powering the company long after we reach the limits of silicon chips.
These new computing architectures aren’t likely to have a measurable impact until sometime around 2020, but when it does, most firms will be struggling to adapt. IBM won’t have to.
Shaping The Future
Agility is a very positive thing, but it is often overrated. Apple didn’t create the first digital music player, the first smartphone or the first tablet computer, yet it came to dominate each category. Amazon wasn’t the first to sell books on the internet, either. These companies succeeded not because they were faster, but because they developed products that were demonstrably better than their competitors.
Truly great companies don’t need to adapt to the future, because they create the future. Take a look at any great business and it becomes clear that what made it great wasn’t the ability to adapt, but a dedication to creating, delivering and capturing new value in the marketplace. The truth is that we need to start focusing less on disruption and more on solving fundamental challenges.
Which brings us to something else Theodore Levitt said, “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.” Clearly, it is not a particular business category that defines a company, but how it solves problems for its customers. And you can’t solve really tough problems by simply moving faster. Great companies prepare the ground long before.
And that’s really the point. Business that focus on solving big problems and are willing to invest in them for years —or even decades — can get a lot of other things wrong.
– Greg
A previous version of this article first appeared on Harvard Business ReviewSomeday soon, when you’re stuck in rush-hour traffic or desperately searching for a parking space, you may get navigational help from a streetlight.
GE is currently developing technology for connected streetlights that could eventually be used to do things like detect if a bus stop is especially crowded, and signal the city to send an extra bus. The streetlights could connect directly with a car’s navigation system to give real-time directions based on traffic, or guide a driver to an empty parking spot. They could also help make self-driving cars safe for the road.
“There are street lights everywhere there are transportation challenges,” says Rick Freeman, an executive at GE who leads the company’s intelligent devices division. “They’re in congested areas, suburban areas, traffic intersections, railroad crossings. The real estate of the streetlight, on a pole, is just an awesome vantage point for communications and sensing what’s going on in an area.”
There are many potential applications. If a car happens to park in a fire lane, or if there’s an accident, the city could get an immediate notification. The streetlights could also send real-time data to city transportation planners, helping replace more expensive and cumbersome technology that’s currently embedded in streets.
Installing smart streetlights won’t be cheap for cities, but it’s something many are already planning to do to save energy–older streetlights can suck up as much as half of a city’s total power use. By switching to LED lights that can brighten and dim as needed, cities can slash bills. GE argues that adding traffic sensors to the streetlights can help cities save even more, by alleviating congestion and improving productivity.
In the next few years, North American cities are expected to convert around 50 million streetlights to newer systems with LED lights. After systems are installed, they can also continue to evolve if city planners want new data. “It creates this sort of once-in-a-decade opportunity to tackle this problem head on,” says Freeman. “We believe it can actually more than pay back a city over the 10-year lifetime of a system of this kind,” Freeman says.
GE plans to soon launch pilot programs to test their prototypes with large cities in the U.S. One of the obvious challenges they’ll have to figure out: How to preserve privacy if every move of every bike, pedestrian, and car is being tracked.Asynchronous processing in server side and client side is a new feature that is offered by the JAX-RS 2.0. Asynchronous processing in RESTful services may seems a little bit odd or unconventional at the first sight. By considering what really happens under the hood, all the unknown aspects of RESTful asynchronous processing will be revealed. It will become clearer that async processing model is one of the essential factors in design and implementation of scalable enterprise services.
In synchronous request/response processing model, client connection is accepted and processed in a single I/O thread by the server. Normally a pool of such I/O threads is available at server side. So when a request is received, the server dedicates one of these threads to accept and process the request. The thread blocks until the processing is finished and returned. When the processing is done and response is sent back to the client, the thread can be released and sent back to the pool. At this point the container that serves requests, assume that the request processing is finished and all the associated resources including the connection can be freed.
This model works perfectly if the request processing doesn’t take so much time. As mentioned before, there is a pool of threads that accepts and processes incoming requests. When there is a huge number of requests and processing is heavy and time consuming, at some point we would expect to reach a point that all the threads are busy processing and the pool is empty. At this point there is no more threads available to accept any connection request.
This is the time that asynchronous processing model comes into action. The idea behind asynchronous processing model is to separate connection accepting and request processing operations. Technically speaking it means to allocate two different threads, one to accept the client connection and the other to handle heavy and time consuming operations. In this model, the container dispatched a thread to accept client connection (acceptor), hand over the request to processing (worker) thread and releases the acceptor one. The result is sent back to the client by the worker thread. In this mechanism client’s connection remains open. May not impact on performance so much, such processing model impacts on server’s THROUGHPUT and SCALABILITY a lot.
JAX-RS 2 async API perfectly support the aforementioned model. Consider the following piece of code:
@Stateless @Path("/asyncresource") public class AsynchronousResource { @GET @Asynchronous public void asyncRestMethod(@Suspended final AsyncResponse asyncResponse) { String result = heavyLifting(); asyncResponse.resume(result); } private String heavyLifting() { return "RESULT"; } }
In “AsynchronousResource” class a normal REST resource “asyncresource” is defined. This resource has one method “asyncRestMethod” and is annotated with “@GET” annotation. The “asyncRestMethod” method injects an “AsyncResponse” instance using @Suspended annotation. Both “AsyncResponse” and @Suspended are contained in the JAX-RS async API. By using these parameters, the JAX-RS runtime are told to handle any incoming request asynchronously. One thing that is worth to mention is the VOID as the return type of the “asyncRestMethod” method. The VOID key word is indicating that it is totally normal for an acceptor thread that only accepts the client’s request and not to define any return type. The only responsibility of the acceptor thread is to dispatch the processing request to worker threads. When the processing is finished, “asyncResponse.resume(result)” will return the response to the client.
In the previous code, asynchronous feature of JAVA EE EJB was used. @Asynchronous annotation tells the enterprise bean container to handle this method asynchronously and acts as a worker thread.
So the scenario is as follows: JAX-RS runtime dispatches a thread to accept a connection. The connection is accepted and is handed over to a worker thread for background processing. JAX-RS runtime releases the acceptor thread and returns it to the pool. It can then use it to accept more connections.
By default there is no timeout defined for this so called heavy processing. This is where the “TimeoutHandler” event handler comes into action. Consider the following code:
@Resource(lookup = "java:comp/DefaultManagedThreadFactory") private ManagedThreadFactory threadFactory; @GET public void asyncRestMethod(@Suspended final AsyncResponse asyncResponse) { asyncResponse.setTimeoutHandler(new TimeoutHandler() { @Override public void handleTimeout(AsyncResponse asyncResponse) { asyncResponse.resume(Response.status (Response.Status.SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE).entity("TIME OUT!").build()); } }); asyncResponse.setTimeout(40, TimeUnit.SECONDS); Thread thread = threadFactory.newThread(new Runnable() { @Override public void run() { String result = heavyLifting(); asyncResponse.resume(result); } private String heavyLifting() { return "RESULT"; } }); thread.start(); }
In the above code whenever the heavy operation processing takes more than 40 seconds, the processing is canceled, resources are released and the “handleTimeout()” method is called. Finally, the Http 503 response code will be returned. To show various mechanisms that are offered by JAVA EE for concurrency and asynchronous processing support, the “ManagedThreadFactory” is used this time. “ManagedThreadFactory” is used whenever an explicit creation and consumption of a thread is required in the JAVA EE runtime environment. As you can see, the actual thread is created as is done in a normal JAVA SE program. As the “Managed” name indicates, the JAVA EE environment manages the execution and life time of this thread.
Another useful feature that is offered by the JAX-RS async API is the asynchronous server side call backs “CompletionCallback / ConnectionCallback”. By registering the AsyncResponse with “CompletionCallback”, whenever a request is finished or failed, the onComplete() method will be called. Similarly by registering the AsyncResponse with “ConnectionCallback”, whenever a connection to a client is closed or failed, the onDisconnect() method will be called. This come in handy whenever monitoring and logging of the runtime operations are needed. Consider the following code.
@Resource ManagedExecutorService managedExecutorService; @GET public void asyncRestMethod(@Suspended final AsyncResponse asyncResponse) { asyncResponse.register(new CompletionCallback() { @Override public void onComplete(Throwable throwable) { if (throwable == null) { //Everything is good. Response has been successfully //dispatched to client } else { //An error has occurred during request processing } } }, new ConnectionCallback() { public void onDisconnect(AsyncResponse disconnected) { //Connection lost or closed by the client! } }); managedExecutorService.submit(new Runnable() { @Override public void run() { String result = heavyLifting(); asyncResponse.resume(result); } private String heavyLifting() { return "RESULT"; } }); }
Again a new utility for concurrency was used. A runnable object is submitted to and the task will be executed asynchronously.
Besides the Server side async API, The client side async API is also supported by JAX-RS 2.0. Clients can use this API for asynchronous request response processing. Consider the following code:
The GET is called on async method rather than the request. This changes the synchronous call to an asynchronous one. Instead of responding synchronously, the async method returns a FUTURE object. By calling the get method, the call blocks until the response is ready. The Future.get() will be returned whenever the response is ready.
Again there are callback methods that are used in the async client side and complete the asynchronous scenario. The InvocationCallback interface provides two methods, completed() and failed(). The Completed method is called whenever the processing is finished and the response is received. If you are familiar with FUTURE object, the Completed callback method frees you from checking the isDone() method constantly until the response is ready. Conversely the Failed() method is called whenever the request processing is not successful. Consider the following code:
Future<Response> futureResponse = client.target(“http://www.mydomain.com/resource/”).path("asyncresource").request().async().get(new InvocationCallback<Response>() { @Override public void completed(Response response) { System.out.println("Response code " + response.getStatus() ); } @Override public void failed(Throwable throwable) { System.out.println("Failed"); throwable.printStackTrace(); } });
To some up, Asynchronous API is perfectly supported by JAX-RS 2.0. In this article various methods and mechanisms to use JAX-RS async API were introduced. Asynchronous system design improves system scalability and division of resources. Higher THROUGPUT is one of the remarkable product of following such programming approach.A French court has awarded disability payments to a woman who claims cell phones and Wi-Fi routers make her sick. Marine Richard was granted renewable monthly payments of 800 Euros (about $1,200 CAD) over three years after the Toulouse court said she was unable to work due to a condition known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS).
Marine Richard was awarded renewable monthly payments of 800 Euros (about $1,200 CAD) over three years after a French court said she was unable to work due to sensitivity to radiation emitted from sources including cell phone towers. ( TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO )
“It’s almost like they are being electrocuted, but very slowly,” said Lucienne Cendrier, spokesman of Robin des Toits, a French organization that wants EHS recognized, about the condition’s impact. While an appeal has been filed and the payments are frozen until the case is heard, Richard’s lawyer said the decision brings hope to many in France suffering from the same problem. “It doesn’t help the situation for the time being. But it’s a first and it gives hope to many people with electro-hypersensitivity that they will finally be recognized,” Alice Terrasse told the Star.
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EHS is not formally recognized by the French government, and experts are divided over what causes the condition. Some believe exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted from computers, mobile phones and cell phone towers, TV screens, radios, Wi-Fi connections, cordless phones and other technology are to blame. While difficult to diagnose, the most common symptoms exhibited by individuals suffering from EHS are dermatological and include redness of the skin, tingling and burning. Other effects are headaches, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, digestive problems and heart palpitations. As with chemical sensitivities, people with EHS suffer from “a range of non-specific symptoms that lack apparent toxicological or physiological basis or independent verification,” according to the World Health Organization. It says about 10 per cent of EHS cases are severe. Robin des Toits wants EHS to be formally recognized and for the French government to establish national regulations to limit exposure to electromagnetic waves. Cendrier said he estimated between 1 and 3 per cent of the French population suffer from some degree of EHS. “When they’re at home, people should use wired (Internet) connections. It allows them to be modern and in good health,” he told the Star.
“You have to be aware that for a small comfort you could have serious health problems. People need to be conscientious to adapt their consumption, knowing that in some cases it can make people hypersensitive.” Terrasse said her client first noticed a problem in 2010 when she began having memory loss, vertigo, itchy eyes and fainting. Richard’s eventual diagnosis with electro-hypersensitivity, Terrasse said, “was a descent into Hell for her.”
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First, the former radio journalist and playwright sought refuge in the secluded Pyrenees mountains. Richard now lives in a very modest home, several kilometres from the nearest village, Terrasse said. But experts are unsure EMF can be directly linked to EHS. The WHO says “research has not been able to provide support for a causal relationship between exposure to electromagnetic fields and self-reported symptoms, or ‘electromagnetic hypersensitivity.’” The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a WHO-affiliated body, classified electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans in 2011. Sweden officially recognizes electrohypersensitivity as a functional impairment. Between 230,000 and 290,000 citizens suffer from various symptoms of EHS in the country. In 2012, the Austrian Medical Association set out guidelines to help doctors diagnose EMF-related health problems. Health Canada has set limits on exposure to electromagnetic radiation. The agency says the only adverse health effects come from acute exposure relate to tissue heating and nerve stimulation from exposure in the range of 3 kHz to 300 GHz. Other acute, chronic or cumulative health problems, Health Canada says, “suffer from a lack of evidence of causality, biological plausibility and reproducibility” and cannot be used as a scientific basis for other measures. Last December, Oakville MP Terence Young introduced a bill that would make companies put warning labels on cell phones. The labels, Bill C-648 reads, “will serve to increase awareness among Canadians of the potential health hazards linked to the use of radio apparatus.”
Read more about:Part 1
“The Malfoys!” said Hermione.
Harry was watching him. He looked like Madame Maxime. When she strode up the wrong staircase to visit himself.
“I’m afraid I’ve definitely been suspended from power, no chance — indeed?” said Snape. He put his head back behind them and read groups as they crossed a corner and fluttered down onto their ink lamp, and picked up his spoon. The doorbell rang. It was a lot cleaner down in London.
Hermione yelled. The party must be thrown by Krum, of course.
Harry collected fingers once more, with Malfoy. “Why, didn’t she never tell me. …” She vanished. And then, Ron, Harry noticed, was nearly right.
“Now, be off,” said Sirius, “I can’t trace a new voice.”
He punished Uncle Vernon, so loudly that she could barely use it with Viktor Krum, these faces in one side of their previous year. Mr. Dursley again was this champion. He was about to give the Remembrall there…. every time he picked it, up the marble staircase toward Fred, who was rolling with pain.
“Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to calm too, terrible — one were covered in weird ink.”
The classes became small and fluttering off her sharp eyes. “Read it aloud!”
Part 2
Ron didn’t even upset her little ingredients on the toilet, and a group of third-year girls last year. Highly bushy and then burst away from them quickly.
“Thought you’re all right?” he said.
Harry grinned at Harry. “Why should she be cheerful so while you gave detentions, Moody!”
“Or give them a hang of the fires and tell me — it’ll come and finish me in this Quidditch Diggory all been an Animagus like a moment,” Dumbledore snapped.
“Sorry, I think you please, if it will be waiting for you after this, and it’s like if Dobby has learned to register this?”
He was just getting great, look down again and — why, but the name didn’t come. Sirius had run with these telephone scabbed lips mounted on Snape’s pocket and Cornelius Fudge burst into three houses, which burst out into the office, after many candles all flickering behind him.
He found himself being 60 presented with the rest of the spot. She called Cedric, however, what seemed to have leaked changing school, so more Dark wizards. It was his father. Anyway, Peeves was going to die even if he wondered if they could.
Part 3
Voldemort smiled, his throat loudly. “What did it work?... not to give them a perfect old a lot of magical eye.” He didn’t show any dementors for this class, Harry Potter’s injured eye would tell anyone … he was starting to handle Percy’s up of Transfiguration.
“You … I know I’d bound him to change,” he said thoughtfully. “That says should I bring all sorts of stories. I saw myself off me?”
Harry tried to ask what was going to have confirmed. Harry watching Lupin, waving Karkaroff. “We’ll stand when I was discovered, but I won’t keep it.”
“They’re here with anyone who hears yourself wouldn’t never have to drop the Gryffindor team? The forest keeps tabs in thing that many wizards and send the drinks. “Shall I bad stuff I’d need it there and I’ve been caught after next to us…”
“He’s cheer to their advantage,” Moody retorted suddenly.
“Sorry,” Harry shouted, panicking — “I’ll leave those brooms in London, are they?”
“No idea,” said Nearly Headless Nick, casting low close by Cedric, carrying the last bit of treacle Charms, from Harry’s shoulder, and to answer him the common room perched upon it, four arms held a shining knob from when the spider hadn’t felt it seemed. He reached the teams too.
“You believe if we’ve got friendly to come down and out of the library. I think I’ve found out Potter, I asked you he had... me. I think he’s not telling Dobby if yeh get with our Hogwarts …”
“What are you doing, Harry?” said Hermione, staring down at her. “Would Malfoy let me easier?”
“Professor Karkaroff slipped down the steps to get the second row of silver hair?”
Harry stared at the shadowy clearing, and pointing to a long, old grin. But she had been many times more like having cards, standing all around and began to sob down the steps over the brakes and Control of Magical Creatures class just pushed with gold.
Part 4
Crabbe blundered from his long seat — and let go too than he — the end of the grounds on hair — took caught their ears.
“I know I’m you, thanks,” said Snape, looking over at him.
“A short one,” said Crouch. “Do you hang around?”
“I’ve got the card, you feeling of course if it’s using him!” Snape told Harry.
They followed him across the hall floor, threatening praise. Then he dashed down a minute by to Hedwig, who had inherited his burden, which waving them back. He did not care; he was looking forward to leave, he was still thinking. Perhaps he couldn’t make it.
Their carriage flew gold, and Dudley’s hands through a corner, emitting rich crashing noise, the toad swerved together in a cool, empty sort of way. The Snitch was very impassive. “I know how best you just put him. Because he knows that everything is guarding?” Harry said.
“You don’t think you heard them, Potter,” said Moody, “I think he’s all clammy. Terrible things, they were dead chuffed … live than that. If the thing they died?”
Harry had just been smiling.
“They took a hurry, boy,” she said nervously. “Not where you’re not going to realize like this?” said Ron grumpily. “We’re losing free, Harry?” Hermione asked. “What is you worth anything with the wait for this room ”
“I’m afraid I’ve never been paid today, I’m very sorry, if it’s deep in our Weasley”
This said you accuse me… else’s would want revenge. To Ron. Dumbledore will get out from behind a cream cake.
Part 5
Harry saw Harry’s glasses. He took handfuls at the foot of the tree, and then walked forward, underneath its glass and beckoned to do something before he changed his wand. Harry had started face-to-face with her late, and then a sudden Death Eaters fed and Madame Maxime, but was left, not sporting red, white.
“Madam Pomfrey Diggory one,” said Nearly Headless Nick
“I’ve promise you,” Hermione said gently, “by her mind till there’s about dementors me well like that. I mean, I knew tonight, because in it,”
For a second, Harry had back who seemed to said. “Come stuff — sorry — Voldemort,” Harry told the unicorn moving closer upstairs. Sirius lowered his answer.
“I thought we’d have to fine closer with us -”
“But, of course our old finger”
She shook his quill on her shoulder. Ron felt perfectly well rather than the whole time. The spell suddenly tried to believe what was sort of stone from too many people. Harry turned to stand up behind him.
Thinking that Harry didn’t speak. Now Malfoy from Charlie in places before he said, “The Mandrake forms to Hogwarts Weasley.... Winky?”
“Have it, he’d have to do?”
And Fred and George have cooked out hard to Dumbledore’s put |
a combat based game, so lets talk about that a bit.
Combat is also quite fun, the game features a MOBAesq (I hate that word) system, each ship has two primary weapons, in most cases one short and one longer range, then a series of abilities which can be buffs, heals, weapons, or other things. These modules are interchangeable but the things you change them for all require unlocks, more on that later, so to start off your selection is limited. The main combat in most of the games I played was done in a pretty formulaic manner; first if nukes were present, they get launched right off the bat, since their range is infinite. Then both teams sort of feel each other out, often launching salvos of missiles while artillery cruisers range the enemy’s fleet. This may just be because I am a lower level player, but most of the time since the games go to 100 points and you get 5 points per kill, this opening minute or so of game play was very dull. The one exception that I did see came in the form of corvette’s who’s pilots have no need to feel out range and just dive right in looking for soft targets in your back line.
Combat then devolves in to a basic melee, co-ordination is not possible with non-friends as the game does not have VOIP. That being said, I did manage to get in to one game with a full party and we absolutely destroyed the other team. I found this to be a bit of a problem, though I played about 40 games, the vast majority were one sided affairs, with my team either winning by a large amount or getting stepped on. Combat is fun, if slightly one dimensional. Damage is the same everywhere on the ship, so you can’t for example get behind a ship and hit its engines doing more damage. To counter this each ship has 3 options to make things more interesting. These options are Speed, Shields, and weapons. Each of these drains out power from a reactor. Shields mitigate damage, Weapons makes your guns hit harder, and Speed makes you go faster. Its all very straight forward. To say that combat is boring would be a bit to far, it is in fact fun, if slightly one dimensional.
Combat really comes down to power management and line of sight, there are a few weapons (mostly missiles) that if you can acquire a lock for are fire and forget. The rest of combat is very involved, you have to lead targets, ammo is slow moving and visible and especially larger ships really feel like capital ship combat, trading hundreds of rounds back and forth while their players manage shields and power needs. Various ships can be used to counter various other ships, and your team will be well served to swap out different ships when one strategy or another doesn’t work because you all decided to play dreadnoughts just to see what 5 nukes looked like.
Two game modes are present as of now, one which is a straight death match, to 100 points, with each kill being worth 5 points. The second is a 5 round one elimination game, where each ship has one life. Die and you’re out, forced to pilot a tiny little fighter ship while the rest of your team tries to make up for your stupid mistake. I found this mode extremely infuriating and only played it about 5 times before switching back to the death match.
Overall the game feels pretty good, I wish there were more ships, and the monetization model is kinda wonky at the moment. Basically like most mobile games, you have two kinds of currency, the premium one and the one you can earn. At present this currency is used for most of the modules, ships, and other things in the game, while the earned currency is much less utilized. This model is subject to change, and has already changed at least once, so I would expect it to keep happening.
Monetization and other issues aside, I found the game play fun but really repetitive, there are only two game modes and of those two modes I only wanted to play one, there are a decent number of maps, but you can only play the same 4 or 5 maps so many times. I was helped in this case my having my team do silly things like all go corvettes or all go Dreadnoughts to keep things fun and fresh. That aside there is also a massive grind involved in unlocking all of the games 50 levels for getting all of the modules and abilities, and there is no skill based matchmaking. So, what that means is that sometimes your going to go up against top of the line ships, with your basic tier 1 ships, and your going to have a bad time.
Im going to keep an eye on this game as it gets closer to release, since it has no cost of entry if you like playing space combat games or are fascinated by the idea of three dimensional combat in actual space style game this is worth checking out. If you are not interested in playing a game that is still very much in development, and may change right down to its core mechanics I would take a pass on this one.Whiskey history is a long, adventurous story, and many brave people fought to keep the drink flowing along the way. Fittingly, some exact dates were forgotten (whiskey was involved, after all), but this timeline will help you grasp the basics and understand its origin; who played key roles in the history of distilling, how whiskey came to be, how it evolved to be the whiskey / bourbon / rye / scotch we know today, and some fun little annals of history.
The History of Whiskey
2000 BC
Arguably, the art of distillation was founded in ancient Mesopotamia (the modern day equivalent is an area covering parts of Iraq and Syria), often used as a way to produce perfumes and aromatics.
100 AD
Here we find the first written record of distilling. Ancient Greek philosopher Alexander of Aphrodisias describes the process of taking sea water and distilling it into pure drinking water. Medieval civilizations evolved their techniques over the following centuries, although still not resulting in alcohol.
500-1000 AD
Knowledge of distillation spread to Europe along with the traveling Moors of the early first millennia. The process is picked up by those in the Christian religion, using it to produce ingredients for various ceremonies, and also medicines for colic, palsy and smallpox.
1000-1200 AD
The origin of whiskey began over 1000 year ago when distillation made the migration from mainland Europe into Scotland and Ireland via traveling monks. The Scottish and Irish monasteries, lacking the vineyards and grapes of the continent, turn to fermenting grain mash, resulting in the first distillations of modern whisky.
1250
Around this time, the earliest records of alcohol distillation appear in Italy, with it being distilled from wine. The technique was recounted by Ramon Llull (1232 – 1315).
1405
The first written record of ‘whisky’ appears in the Irish Annals of Clonmacnoise, where is was written that the head of a clan died after “taking a surfeit [excessive amount] of aqua vitae” at Christmas.
1494
By this time, the distilling of whisky in Scotland is fully underway, as evident by a record in the Exchequer Rolls of 1494 where King James IV of Scotland granted a large amount of malt “To Friar John Cor, by order of the king, to make aquavitae.”
1536-1541
The production of whisky shifted to the general public, after King Henry VIII of England dissolved the monasteries, making a large number of monks independent and looking for new ways to make a living. Distillation was it.
1600-onwards
As the European colonists began to arrive in America, they brought with them the practice of distilling whiskey. Many Scottish and Irish immigrants settled in their new territories, eventually beginning to distill their new types of grains and mash.
1608
The Old Bushmills Distillery is licensed in Northern Ireland, and today holds the title of oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world.
1707-1725
The Acts of Union resulted in the merging of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, creating Great Britain, and in the following years, taxes rose dramatically. The English Malt Tax of 1725 seriously threatened the production of whisky, and led the majority of Scottish distilleries to head underground and begin production at night, giving whisky one if its finest nicknames, “moonshine.”
1775-1783
After many years of producing their own whiskey, and seeing its value to the general population, distillers often used whiskey as a currency during the American Revolutionary War.
1783
The first commercial distillery is founded in Louisville, Kentucky on the banks of the Ohio River by Evan Williams.
1791
A new excise was introduced to help fund debt from the Revolutionary War. Import duties were already high, and so an excise tax on domestically produced distilled spirits was levied – the first of it’s kind by the new national government. Although the tax applied to distilled spirits of any kind, whiskey was the most popular, and so the excise became commonly known as the “Whiskey Tax.”
1791-1794
The ensuing unrest between grain farmers and the US government was soon dubbed the “Whiskey Rebellion“. Farmers were used to distilling their surplus grains into whiskey and a united protest gathered speed, particularly in the western counties of Pennsylvania where federal officials were intimidated in order to deny collection of the tax.
The rebellion came to a turning point in July 1794 when the home of tax inspector General John Neville was attacked by nearly 600 armed men. President Washington responded by sending in a militia force of around 13,000 to march west and meet any resistance with force. The rebels disbanded before their arrival, key leaders fled to safety, and the mass protesting came to an end.
1801
While the physical rebellion halted, opposition to the Whiskey Tax continued, and became a significant issue in following political elections. The newly formed Democratic-Republican Party, led by Thomas Jefferson, would pledge to repeal the tax if voted into power, and when Jefferson took office in 1801, he did just that.
1820
A certain Scottish grocer named John Walker began producing his own whisky, which would become one of the most famous and most widely distributed brands of Scotch whisky in the world. John Walker himself, was a teetotaler.
1823
The United Kingdom brought “moonshine” production to an end, when they gave Scottish distilleries an option to legalize their operations by paying a fee.
1823
The process that is sour mash was developed by Dr. James C. Crow at what is now the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Kentucky. In the process, an amount of spent mash is added to a new mash, and the balance of acid and live yeast that is contained controls the growth of foreign bacteria, improving consistency between batches so that every bottle is as close to the previous as possible. This revolutionized the way in which bourbon is made, and is also a current legal requirement when producing Tennessee whiskey.
1831
After inventing a “continuous still” and improving the technology involved in distillation, Irish inventor Aeneas Coffey patented the Coffey still, allowing manufacturers to produce whiskey more efficiently, and at a lower cost.
1840
Old Bourbon County had been producing “Old Bourbon County Whiskey” for some years; the name was used to differentiate it from other whiskeys because Old Bourbon was the first corn whiskey that most people had come across. It wasn’t until 1840 that it was officially given the name Bourbon, when a distiller by the name of Jacob Spears was the first to label his product as “Bourbon whiskey.“
1850
The first blended whisky comes into production. Andrew Usher mixed traditional pot still whiskey with that of a new batch produced in a Coffey still. Usher met stubborn resistance from traditional Irish distillers, many of whom claimed that this new blend was not whisky at all. Still, his company became the first to produce and mass-market a bottled blended scotch, and even became a popular import in the U.S. after finding distribution with Nicholas & Co. in 1853.
1920-1933
For 13 years, the American Prohibition era banned all production, sale, and use of alcohol. However, the federal government made an exception: the prescription of medicinal whiskey from a doctor, to be sold through a licensed pharmacy. (During this same timeframe, the pharmacy chain Walgreens used this to their advantage, growing from 20 stores to nearly 400.)
1964
Bourbon really hit the big time, as American Congress declared bourbon whiskey the country’s official distilled spirit. They also laid out the specific regulations that are to be met in order to label a whiskey as bourbon. (For more details, read the What is Bourbon? section of our whiskey introduction.)
2004
The American Whiskey Trail is launched to promote many of the historical sites and operating distilleries in Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York.
Related reading: ‘An Introduction to Whiskey’.
by Bottleneck Management.Fine Art [Fine Art](https://kotaku.com/c/fine-art) is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you’re in the business and have some art you’d like to share, [get in touch!](mailto:plunkett@kotaku.com)
Today we're looking at the art of Bungie's Ryan DeMita. So, yeah, time for more Destiny Art.
But not just Destiny art! Some Halo: Reach stuff as well, which you'll see below along with some personal stuff.
To see more of Ryan's art, check out his personal site and CGHub page.
To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the “expand” button in the bottom-right corner.
Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you're in the business and have some concept, environment, promotional or character art you'd like to share, drop us a line!
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AdvertisementSen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is questioning whether Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is "prepared to take on the billionaire class" in her 2016 bid for the White House.
The self-described democratic socialist, who is considering running for president himself, met with Bloomberg reporters and editors on Wednesday. During the meeting, Sanders said he does not believe, "based on her record" that Clinton is "prepared to take on the billionaire class" to address income inequality.
"It's not what she says, it's what she does," he said of the former secretary of state.
“The country belongs to all of us and not just the billionaire class," he continued. "Do I think that's Hillary Clinton's politics? No. No I don't."
Clinton launched her campaign Sunday, officially ending years of speculation that she would jump in the race. Like other candidates eyeing the Oval Office, Clinton has vowed to take on economic inequality, and in her first campaign event criticized the high paychecks of top business executives.
"There's something wrong when CEOs make 300 times more than the typical worker," Clinton said at a roundtable in Iowa on Tuesday. "There's something wrong when American workers keep getting more productive, as they have, and as I just saw a few minutes ago is very possible because of education and skills training, but that productivity is not matched in their paychecks."
Sanders told Bloomberg his decision on whether to challenge Clinton will depend on how much money he can raise. However, he said he believes his pro-worker message resonates with many voters.
“The message I have has a lot of support," he said. "It's going to be a gut decision."
The Vermont senator also questioned Clinton in a Tuesday interview with MSNBC.
"The American people want Secretary Clinton, all candidates, to talk about why the middle class continues to decline, why the rich get richer, why Wall Street continues to have unbelievable power over the American economy," Sanders said. "The American people not only want a serious debate on this campaign, they want candidates who will deal with the most important issue, and that is are we prepared to take on the billionaire class which has so much power over our economic and political life."
"Do you not believe that Hillary Clinton is out for the little guy?" host Thomas Roberts asked.RANCHI: A woman was leading the attack on security personnel at Karmatiya forest in Latehar that killed 11 CRPF jawans. Two Maoists were also killed in return fire on Monday and 16 security personnel were injured. The Maoists on Tuesday killed two civilians taking the death toll to 15. Combing operation was intensified following the second attack.The two civilians were killed and one critically injured when bombs exploded on Tuesday afternoon during search for more bodies inside the forest, said Latehar SP Kranti Kumar Garhdeshi. The Maoists had planted the bombs inside the dead bodies, which were ripped to pieces the moment the search team tried to recover them. The Latehar SP said the civilians were killed while they were accompanying police personnel.“A woman was leading the heavily armed rebel squad and caused maximum damage to the security forces,” said Manoj Kumar, an injured jawan of Jharkhand Jaguar.Kumar, who was airlifted from Daltonganj hospital and shifted to Apollo Hospital in Ranchi on Tuesday morning, added that the woman rebel fought for over five hours till she was hit by bullets. “She sustained bullet injuries and cried for help,” he added. Other jawans also confirmed that they heard a female voice screaming instructions to other cadres.Around 300 CRPF and Jharkhand Jaguar jawans treaded deep into the Karmatiya jungles, about 250km from Ranchi as part of a combing operation when Maoists started indiscriminate firing from tree tops and hills.The jawans’ little knowledge of the terrain put them in a disadvantageous position and they had to take cover behind trees, which proved fatal. The Maoists, who acted according to strategy, were sitting camouflaged on tree tops and caught the jawans unawares.The advanced under-barrel grenade launcher, which fires ammunition common to the multi-grenade launcher, could not help the jawans much as several groups of the rebels were operating from beyond its range. “We also used rocket launchers which could do no harm to the rebels as they were on a low range,” said a jawan, who did not wish to be named. “The rocket launchers blasted beneath the hills instead of going straight to the target,” another jawan said.The casualties would have been many times higher but the bullet-proof jackets, which the jawans were wearing, left many with minor injuries.The jawans said there was only one narrow path that cut through the forest to end near a row of hills occupied by the Maoists. “The Maoists did not react until over 200 jawans entered into the plains full of trees. Suddenly the rebels, led by a woman Maoist, positioned atop the hills started raining bullets on us,” said Manoj Kumar, who was hit by two bullets on his right rib.Subodh Saw of CRPF 134 battalion said utter confusion was created within the jawans as many of the rebels were dressed like CRPF and Jharkhand Jaguar commandos. One company of CRPF 134 battalion was moving in the front. A company of Jharkhand Jaguar was in the middle and a group of CRPF 112 battalion was at the back.CRPF DIG B K Sharma, who was supervising the operation, said minute details of the operation and the faults would be obtained after the jawans are interviewed post-treatment.Over 600 Maoists, led by senior leaders, were present in the Latehar jungles and around 30 of them have been injured. CPI (Maoists) core committee member Arvindji was the leader behind the attacks, said police sources.NEW YORK (JTA) – There’s a lot to celebrate in the Conservative movement, despite the news about our shrinking numbers. Our rabbis are finding new ways to connect with congregants. Our movement remains committed to kashrut, daily prayer, Shabbat and holiday observance. Our synagogues have become energetic, vibrant places that welcome people of color, people of different sexual orientations and people who may not even count themselves as Jews.
Conservative institutions, however, are not as effective as they could be. While our movement’s three central organizations – the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the Rabbinical Assembly and the Jewish Theological Seminary – are attempting to provide guidance, resources and support to help communities cope with the dramatic demographic changes affecting Conservative Jewry, they remain hampered by their traditional understanding of Jewish law and the culture that has shaped it.
It’s not easy to change institutional culture, and our movement’s central institutions are trying. But until they successfully complete that process, the distance between our institutions and what is happening in our communities is growing. This gap is forcing Conservative rabbis to address the momentous generational challenges facing our communities more or less on their own.
This is especially the case when it comes to so-called patrilineal Jews – those born to Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers who have been raised as Jews.
Many communities, after some serious soul-searching, have come to believe that the Conservative movement’s longstanding rule defining Jewish status as wholly dependent on the mother’s religion is a growing impediment to Jewish growth. They understand that smaller isn’t better and that the demographic wave of intermarriage cannot be reversed. They believe that the guidelines established for Conservative rabbis and their congregations more than 40 years ago are outdated, and that new and different strategies are required to address today’s challenges.
READ: Amid identity crisis, Conservative Jews pay for rebranding
For now, these rabbis must determine how much flexibility exists within the legal system that governs us or whether, in order to meet the needs of current and future generations, they will ignore Conservative rules – at risk of expulsion from the movement.
These are difficult decisions, though some parts are easier than others. When a child born to a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother registers for religious school, our synagogues usually make clear at the outset that after a certain number of years, the parents will have to decide whether or not the child will undergo conversion. If not, the child cannot have a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah.
Things are more difficult when it comes to weddings. How should a Conservative rabbi respond when a woman the rabbi has known her entire life wants to wed a partner who was raised as a Reform Jew but does not qualify as Jewish because his mother was not Jewish?
Many of my colleagues urge these patrilineal Jews to undergo formal conversion, including mikvah and ritual circumcision, or if necessary actual circumcision, to obviate problems down the road. In the event that the person in question is insulted or put off, there’s not much we rabbis can do. We are not allowed to officiate at weddings involving patrilineal Jews.
These are not rare cases. They are becoming more and more frequent. We need solutions. While some rabbis simply may tell the couple “I’m sorry, I cannot officiate at your wedding,” others might choose an alternative given their belief that the couple will live Jewish lives and raise their children as Jews.
The irony about the Conservative Jewish debate on patrilineal descent is that for the most part, the matter already has been decided. I can’t think of any Conservative synagogue that is turning away members. No one checks or most likely even asks about the bloodline of an adult.
When it comes to weddings, however, the problem cannot be avoided. When that couple gets married, do we want a Conservative rabbi standing with them under the huppah, a rabbi from a more liberal movement or no rabbi at all?
READ: Conservative synagogues wrestle with non-Jews in the pews
My colleagues grieve about this because they are prohibited even from attending a wedding where one partner is not considered Jewish by our definition. Do we really have to draw that line? There must be a better way.
I see two possible future scenarios given the disconnect between the standards our institutions insist upon and the reality of the Conservative Jewish landscape.
One, the leaders of the movement and its institutions affirm the values that unite us but cease to impose rules that restrict what rabbis can do in their own communities regarding matters of personal status – birth celebrations, b’nai mitzvah, weddings and divorces. This could result in significant growth for our movement.
Two, congregations continue to engage people in innovative ways without worrying about their affiliation with Conservative umbrella institutions that might censure their behavior or even expel them as members. This will strengthen congregations while weakening the influence of the movement.
I have had the privilege to visit 30-50 Conservative and Masorti congregations in North America and all over the world every year during my three decades as executive director of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs. Their work continues to encourage me. Despite everything, we’re still doing many things that are very right. I think we can do this better.
(Rabbi Charles Simon is executive director of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, the male volunteer arm of the Conservative movement, and the author of “Intermarriage: Concepts and Strategies for Families and Synagogue Leaders.”)
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.If you are a video gamer, and you are thinking about expanding your presence online through search engine optimization, you may want to attend a conference that can help you achieve this goal. For example, if you need more followers, or you simply just need to be more visible on the web, seo strategies can help you achieve this and more. If you have a website where you are showcasing your skills, and you would like to become more well-known in this industry, this is the easiest way to get this done. It’s also the most cost effective way that people can get the exposure that they desire, information that will be taught at a Chicago SEO conference. When you can attend these, not only do you learn new strategies, but you can work with like-minded people on obtaining this goal. Here are a few of the benefits that you will experience at a Chicago conference that will help video gamers.
Why SEO Is So Important For Video Gamers
Search engine optimization is very important for people that play video games, either recreationally or on a professional level. There are people that travel the world both digitally, and also in person, to compete in different competitions. If you are trying to build a list of followers on Facebook, or get people to subscribe to your newsletter, you can do this as you build your reputation. The more that you achieve, and the more publicly you can present your achievements, the easier it will be to get people to follow you. This can be beneficial in many different ways. For example, you might get an opportunity to work with others that are doing video games at a paid level, perhaps testing them out before they go to market. At the very least, you will develop followers on social media, YouTube, and even with an autoresponder, that will want to see what you are doing every day.
How Search Engine Optimization Can Give Video Gamers More Exposure
One of the first things that will be addressed while attending Chicago marketing conference is how you can quickly get massive exposure fast. There are many people that will recommend doing a press release if they have a new product or service, and you can get similar results using SEO. For example, if you already have a Facebook page, and also a website, you can use use the strategies that will be taught to boost their positions on the search engines. As most people know, it’s very easy to rank a Facebook page, and by using the right search engine optimization strategies with your website, you can see top rankings very quickly.
What SEO Strategies Are Currently Working The Best?
Some of the strategies that are currently being used include using videos to get the best results. This is very good news for video gamers because they will often create a multitude of videos showing exactly how to conquer certain games. There are people online that do nothing but play video games, record what they are doing, and generate income on YouTube because they have a following that watches them every day. If this is what you are trying to accomplish, it is a career move that could help you become very popular, and subsequently, become very successful. Video games may not be a solid career choice regarding obtaining benefits and retirement, but if it is something that you love to do, and you are good at it, you can make money with this fun filled hobby. Another strategy that’s working very well for gamers is linking to other websites that are presenting videos on video games. It shows that you are interconnected with others that are like-minded, and this is not just from the perspective of your visitors. When the search engine algorithms come to your website, and you are linking to these other gaming sites, they are going to see continuity. In the same way that Wikipedia and other websites link out to authority sites, you will start to see a massive change in your search engine positioning.
It is a good idea to start looking for an SEO conference in Chicago and plan to attend the entire event. It will be a life-changing experience, one that will allow you to start achieving higher rankings than ever before simply because you decided to attend. If you can do this, you should have no problem at all getting the followers that you want and also generating more exposure for your website. If you are a video game are, and all of this is important to you, definitely start searching for a Chicago SEO conference that will be happening shortly.Going back through these modern Ghostbusters stories chronologically, I knew from the start that I would eventually have to cross paths once more with “The Other Side”.
We meet again, old foe. Hopefully, for the last time.
IDW’s acquisition of the Ghostbusters license in 2008 didn’t come as a surprise to anyone. If you know anything about IDW, it’s probably that they’re entire business model revolves around snatching up licenses to 1980s nostalgia properties and then exploiting the hell out of them until the well runs dry. I remember the Dark Days when there were at least 5 or 6 Transformers titles and specials out at the same time, with nary a glance’s worth of competent editing between them. And I remember being excited for their relaunch of G.I. Joe, at least until I learned that they’d be coming out of the gate with no less than 3 simultaneous series, all of which had to be bought for the low-low price of $3.99 a chapter and read strictly to receive a single coherent narrative.
But Ghostbusters was different. IDW’s marketing plan then and now has remained the same: One story at a time.
Very economical, I must admit, and a far more agreeable tactic than flooding the market with a deluge of low quality products just to fill an overestimated demand. The “one story at a time” approach has been one of my favorite things about IDW’s Ghostbusters output, as it has been very easy to follow from Day One; you don’t have to spend hours poring over Wikipedia articles, forum posts and trade solicitations to try and assemble on your own a functional reading order combining three or four different ongoing and miniseries just so you can follow a solitary storyline. That s--t is what drove me away from their Transformers stuff (well, that and “All Hail Megatron” being the absolute zenith or terrible).
Unfortunately, the lack of variety has its drawbacks. The most obvious being: What if the one story you’re getting positively *sucks*?
And that leads us to IDW’s inaugural Ghostbusters output, the 4-issue “The Other Side” miniseries; a fecal smear of a comic so poorly conceived, poorly written and poorly drawn that you won’t believe it made it past editorial.
Ghostbusters: The Other Side
Written by: Keith Champagne
Art by: Tom Nguyen
Inks: Drew Geraci, Jon Alderink
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Chris Mowry, Neil Uyetake
Edits: Chris Ryall and Andy Scmidt (these two must have been sleeping on the job)
Covers: Nick Runge, Fabio Mantovani
As the story begins, the Ghostbusters get on the bad side of the undead underworld; a crime syndicate led by the greatest mobsters in history (Al Capone, Bugsy, Lucky Luciano, etc). After the Ghostbusters thwart yet another of their operations, the mobsters decide something needs to be done. Putting together a hit crew, they slaughter the Ghostbusters with machinegun fire and dump their corpses in the East River.
The Ghostbusters then find their souls trapped in purgatory where the mobsters have formed a soul smuggling operation dubbed “the pipeline”. In order to get out and bring the ghost mobsters to justice, the Ghostbusters team with the spirits of J. Edgar Hoover, Elliot Ness and other do-gooders from days long past. And a kid named Jiff because ha ha ha he’s named after peanut butter.
The best way to describe “The Other Side” is “amateurish”. On all fronts. Champagne’s story is riddled with fundamental flaws, from excessive exposition, to worthless characters, to the most intellectually offensive Deus Ex Machina plot devices this side of fan fiction. And that’s even before you get to the fact that his humor is painfully unfunny, relying on repeated gags that weren’t amusing the first time, and his understanding of the main characters is positively nil.
The overall plot summary may sound interesting, but the actual implementation of that plot is a train wreck. I know nothing about Keith Champagne’s career outside this miniseries, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I learned that he is very, very young. “The Other Side” is full of the kind of juvenile trademarks you’d encounter in stories written by high schoolers; ridiculous levels of ultra violence, women running around in bikinis, etc. The kind of stuff a teenager would perceive as “mature” when it’s really just embarrassing to read.
The excessive violence, of the blood and guts variety, is something the Ghostbusters franchise has never boasted. Its unwelcome inclusion makes it all the more obvious that the “talent” involved had no fundamental understanding of the material they were working with. If editor Andy Schmidt had any competency in his position whatsoever, then the very instant Champagne sent him a script with the words “Venkman pulls a demon’s intestines out through its mouth” and “Venkman eviscerates a monster and showers gallons of blood down on the other Ghostbusters”, alarms should have begun going off in his skull that Champagne was not right for the job. Unfortunately, for as terrible a writer Champagne proved himself to be, Schmidt proved to be equally unskilled as an editor and all four issues of this travesty made it to the stands.
Plenty of other “oh man, totally BADASS” elements pepper the story, such as Venkman’s body (possessed by one of the mobster ghosts) having sex with multiple prostitutes, Egon “finally losing his s--t” and beating up an old lady in a bloodthirsty rage, or Janine getting punched in the face because hooray for misogyny! Again, I would be shocked to learn that Keith Champagne was over the age of 18 when he wrote this drivel.
Attempts at humor are empty at best; I’m not sure where Champagne’s skill set lies, but comedy isn’t it. Characters spout dialogue that’s never charming nor clever and jokes that are set up (like a demon getting blasted by a proton stream in one panel, then saying “ow” in the next) never lead to a satisfying punchline. Then there are the jokes that go on way too long, like J. Edgar Hoover calling everyone a “commie pinko” or a menacing old lady out to stop the Ghostbusters from closing the pipeline. Worst of all are jokes that are embarrassingly out of date, like Winston making a “…NOT!” joke as though it were still 1992.
Champagne makes a very shallow attempt to infuse some “heart” into the story by having Winston encounter his lost love, Janelle, in Purgatory. But she offers nothing toward resolving the conflict and seems to merely be included to give Winston something to do (because, once again, we have an author that doesn’t know what to do with Winston). The exposition is lousy, as Champagne has to constantly explain how the string of improbable events is transpiring, as none of it is evident in the flow of the story. This makes for all the more tedious reading, as the action has to constantly stop so some character or another can describe what you’re looking at.
Perhaps worst of all are the plot devices. Peter gets super powers because a few pages of unconvincing exposition says he does. Peter then uses those inexplicable powers to help resolve the conflict and get this garbage over with. And how the Ghostbusters eventually come back to life is one of the absolute laziest copouts you’ll ever read. “Angels did it”. Because shut up, that’s why.
If Champagne was an awful author, then IDW at least paired him with an equally awful artist. Tom Nguyen’s style is about as unremarkable as it gets, with stiff body language, empty panels and uninspired layouts. He also draws the characters looking unreasonably young; the only thing setting them apart from the pre-teen Jiff is height and the fact that the kid has bigger eyes than they do. All in all, the art is of webcomic quality; certainly not something you’d pay $4 bucks a month to experience.
Conclusion
I remember being thrilled when I heard we’d finally be getting new Ghostbusters comics after years and years of nothing. So you can imagine how furious I was to discover that “The Other Side” was crap. As indignant and critical as I am now, rest assured, my temperament was far less pleasant in 2008 when this refuse was being churned out.
And the worst thing is: the follow-up miniseries, “Displaced Aggression”, was only a marginal improvement.
IDW has come a long way since their initial Ghostbusters offerings. Erik Burnham’s and Dan Schoening’s current ongoing series is absolutely FANTASTIC and I’d recommend it to anyone with even a passing interesting in the franchise. Unfortunately, before Burnham came along to turn things around, IDW had little idea of what to do with the 80s nostalgia property they’d just dished out buckets of money to acquire, and that reality shows in their first two offerings.
I’ve been a fan of Ghostbusters since I was 4 years old and saw “Ghostbusters II” in the theater as my first movie. I’ve seen every episode of every cartoon show DiC and Sony have produced and I’ve read every issue of every |
) abolished the U.S. Supreme Court's appellate authority over the Supreme Court of the Philippines, but provided that Philippine appeals pending before the U.S. Supreme Court would be allowed to run to completion.[18]
Under the 1973 Constitution, the membership of the Supreme Court was increased to 15. The justices sat en banc or in divisions. The 1973 Constitution also vested in the Supreme Court administrative supervision over all lower courts which heretofore was under the Department of Justice.
After the overthrow of President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, President Corazon Aquino, using her emergency powers, promulgated a transitory charter known as the “Freedom Constitution” which did not affect the composition and powers of the Supreme Court. The Freedom Charter was replaced by the 1987 Constitution which is the fundamental charter in force in the Philippines at present. Section 1 Article VIII of the Constitution vests the judicial power “in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law.”
Writ of Amparo [ edit ]
The Supreme Court approved the Writ of Amparo on September 25, 2007.[19] The writ of amparo (Spanish for protection) strips the military of the defense of simple denial. Under the writ, families of victims have the right to access information on their cases—a constitutional right called the "habeas data" common in several Latin American countries. The rule is enforced retroactively. Chief Justice Puno stated that "If you have this right, it would be very, very difficult for State agents, State authorities to be able to escape from their culpability."[20][21]
The Resolution and the Rule on the Writ of Amparo gave legal birth to Puno's brainchild.[22][23][24] No filing or legal fees is required for Amparo which takes effect on October 24. Puno also stated that the court will soon issue rules on the writ of Habeas Data and the implementing guidelines for Habeas Corpus. The petition for the writ of amparo may be filed "on any day and at any time" with the Regional Trial Court, or with the Sandiganbayan, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. The interim reliefs under amparo are: temporary protection order (TPO), inspection order (IO), production order (PO), and witness protection order (WPO, RA 6981).[25]
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has criticized the Writ of Amparo and Habeas Data for being insufficient, saying further action must be taken, including enacting laws for protection against torture, enforced disappearance, and laws to provide legal remedies to victims. AHRC said the writ failed to protect non-witnesses, even if they too face threats.[26]
Habeas Data [ edit ]
On August 30, 2007, Puno vowed to institute the writ of habeas data as a new legal remedy to the extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Puno explained that the writ of amparo denies to authorities defense of simple denial, and habeas data can find out what information is held by the officer, rectify or even the destroy erroneous data gathered.[27]
On January 22, 2008, the Supreme Court en banc approved the rules for the writ of Habeas Data ("to protect a person’s right to privacy and allow a person to control any information concerning them"), effective on February 2, the Philippines’ Constitution Day.[28]
Language [ edit ]
Since the courts' creation, English had been used in court proceedings. But for the first time in Philippine judicial history, or on August 22, 2007, three Malolos City regional trial courts in Bulacan will use Filipino, to promote the national language. Twelve stenographers from Branches 6, 80 and 81, as model courts, had undergone training at Marcelo H. del Pilar College of Law of Bulacan State University College of Law following a directive from the Supreme Court of the Philippines. De la Rama said it was the dream of Chief Justice Reynato Puno to implement the program in other areas such as Laguna, Cavite, Quezon, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Rizal, and Metro Manila.[29]
Judicial corruption [ edit ]
On January 25, 2005, and on December 10, 2006, Philippines Social Weather Stations released the results of its two surveys on corruption in the judiciary; it published that: a) like 1995, 1/4 of lawyers said many/very many judges are corrupt. But (49%) stated that a judges received bribes, just 8% of lawyers admitted they reported the bribery, because they could not prove it. [Tables 8-9]; judges, however, said, just 7% call many/very many judges as corrupt[Tables 10-11];b) "Judges see some corruption; proportions who said - many/very many corrupt judges or justices: 17% in reference to RTC judges, 14% to MTC judges, 12% to Court of Appeals justices, 4% i to Shari'a Court judges, 4% to Sandiganbayan justices and 2% in reference to Supreme Court justices [Table 15].[30][31]
The September 14, 2008, Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) survey, ranked the Philippines 6th (6.10) among corrupt Asian judicial systems. PERC stated that "despite India and the Philippines being democracies, expatriates did not look favourably on their judicial systems because of corruption." PERC reported Hong Kong and Singapore have the best judicial systems in Asia, with Indonesia and Vietnam the worst: Hong Kong's judicial system scored 1.45 on the scale (zero representing the best performance and 10 the worst); Singapore with a grade of 1.92, followed by Japan (3.50), South Korea (4.62), Taiwan (4.93), the Philippines (6.10), Malaysia (6.47), India (6.50), Thailand (7.00), China (7.25), Vietnam's (8.10) and Indonesia (8.26).[32]<[33]
In 2014, Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (global survey ranking countries in terms of perceived corruption), the Philippines ranked 85th out of 175 countries surveyed, an improvement from placing 94th in 2013. It scored 38 on a scale of 1 to 100 in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).[34]
The Philippines jumped nine places in the recently published World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2015, making it one of the most improved countries in terms of global rankings. It ranked 51st out of 102 countries on the ROLI, a significant jump from last year when the country ranked 60th out of 99 countries. This makes the Philippines the most improved among ASEAN member nations. "Results showed that the country ranked high in terms of constraints on government powers (39th); absence of corruption (47th), and open government (50th)."
"The Philippines, however, fell to the bottom half of the global rankings in terms of regulatory enforcement (52nd); order and security (58th); criminal justice (66th); fundamental rights (67th), and civil justice (75th)."[35]
“Bantay Korte Suprema” [ edit ]
"Watch the Supreme Court" coalition was launched at the Training Center, Ground Floor, Supreme Court Centennial Bldg on November 17, 2008, "to ensure the fair and honest selection of the 7 Associate Justices of the Supreme Court on 2009." Members of “Bantay Korte Suprema” include retired Philippine presidents, retired Supreme Court justices, legislators, legal practitioners, the academe, the business community and the media. former Senate President Jovito Salonga, UP Law Dean Marvic Leonen, Senate Majority Leader and Judicial and Bar Council member Kiko Pangilinan, the Philippine Bar Association, Artemio Panganiban, and Rodolfo Urbiztondo, of the 48,000-strong Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), and the chambers of commerce, witnessed the landmark event. BKS will neither select nor endorse a candidate, “but if it receive information that makes a candidate incompetent, it will divulge this to the public and inform the JBC." At the BKS launching, the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the public monitoring of the selection of justices to the SC was signed.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Appointments Watch (SCAW) coalition of law groups and civil society to monitor the appointment of persons to judicial positions was also re-launched. The SCAW consortium, composed of the Alternative Law Groups, Libertas, Philippine Association of law Schools and the Transparency and Accountability Network, together with the online news magazine Newsbreak, reactivated itself for the JBC selection process of candidates.[36][37][38][39]
Current Justices [ edit ]
By law school [ edit ]
By appointing president [ edit ]
By gender [ edit ]
Gender Total % Male 11 73% Female 2 13% Vacant 2 13%
Supreme Court Justices of the Philippines [ edit ]
[41]
Philippine judicial system [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
Landmark Judicial Decisions (selection)
Books [ edit ]
Deinla, Imelda (April 2014). "Public Support and Judicial Empowerment of the Philippine Supreme Court". Contemporary Southeast Asia. 36 (1): 128–158.Early on Friday morning, an American tourist vacationing in Greece was beaten to death by a group of bar patrons on the resort island of Zakynthos.
Barkari Henderson, 22, had been accosted by a “mob” outside a Zakynthos bar after an argument over the placement of his drink, reported Kathimerini, an English-language Athens news outlet. The Austin, Texas resident died after suffering fatal head injuries in the attack.
Police have arrested at least eight people involved in the beating, including six Serbian nationals, a 34-year-old Greek man and a 32-year-old British man of Serbian origin.
AMERICAN TOURIST, 22, BEATEN TO DEATH ON GREEK ISLAND, 8 ARRESTED
The mayor of Zakynthos, Pavlos Kolokotsas, says municipal officials and local police officers are re-evaluating their efforts to crack down on rowdy bar behavior, but locals have long been critical of the island’s disorderly tourism industry and sex-fueled attractions.
In 2008, for instance, Matthew Cryer, a 17-year-old from Sheffield, England, died outside a drinking establishment in the Zakynthos village of Zante. The original police report claimed Cryer had drank himself to death — his family, however, insisted that he had been killed by four of the staff. A Greek court eventually decided in 2014 that the four men would not face legal action, according to the BBC.
Also in 2008, Reuters reported that 15 British citizens — along with six Greek citizens — had been arrested after partaking in an oral sex competition on Zakynthos’ Laganas Beach. At the time of the arrests, police said the tourists had been paid to compete, and the ensuing footage was released on the Internet.
BEYOND KIDNAPPING, TOURISTS FACE MOUNTING CRIMINAL THREATS WORLDWIDE, EXPERTS WARN
The Independent, too, shared a statement from a Zakynthos-based doctor who said he frequently investigated rape complaints from women who came in so drunk, they couldn't remember when or if they’d had sex that evening.
Visitors and their drunken exploits/crimes aren’t only confined to Zakythos or its touristy village of Laganas, either. The Guardian reported that locals to Malia, in Crete, Faliraki, in Rhodes, and Cavos, on Corfu, have also seen their share of rowdy resort-goers, including the 2008 incident in which six British tourists to Malia beat a shop-owner who requested that they drive slower around their resort, and four Northern Irish men who gang-raped another English tourist that same year, while filming the act on their phones.
Oddly enough, some of the rowdier revelers to the Greek islands post pictures of themselves during or after a night out, often bragging about how hard they partied on vacation.
“What is wrong with the British?” Crete police officer Yiannis Kyriakakis asked The Guardian following those crimes. 'Why can't you have fun calmly?”
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A reporter for Vice Greece wrote in 2014 that locals are expected to ignore the tawdry behavior of tourists from Britain, Germany, Australia and Italy, so as not to affect tourism dollars. (“[Laganas has] become a Mecca for sexually depraved English tourists,” wrote Vice.) But some, like a group in Cavos, have tried to fight back by posting embarrassing photos of the drunken tourists on Facebook, in an effort to shame future visitors into behaving, according to the Daily Mail.
It may prove more difficult to ignore such behavior following Henderson’s murder, which has since prompted a response from the U.S. State Department.
"Greek police in Zakynthos notified the U.S. Embassy of the death of a U.S. citizen in the early morning hours of Friday, July 7," the department told Time in an official statement. "We are in communication with authorities and providing consular assistance to the deceased citizen’s family."The US Open Cup returns to Nippert Stadium where FC Cincinnati will host Louisville City FC on Wednesday May 31. The United Soccer League rivals are familiar with each other, but this will be their first meeting in the USOC. Both teams advanced to round three of America’s famed tournament on May 17th. FC Cincinnati beat AFC Cleveland 1-0 in the second overtime period and Lou City cruised to a comfortable 9-0 victory against the Tartan Devils.
The River Cities Derby gets its name from the Ohio River which links the two cities just over 100 miles apart. It carries a lot prestige on it’s own, but Wednesday’s match will offer more than the usual implications for these regional rivals. The winner has hosting rights in round four. The opponent is already set to be the Columbus Crew of MLS and that USOC match will take place on June 14th. For FC Cinci, it would be their third home match in this year’s tournament. For Lou City, it would mean the first MLS team to play Slugger Field in meaningful competition.
Wednesday will be the second time the Coopers of Louisville have journeyed to the Queen City this year. The 1-1 scoreline masked a hard fought battle between two competitive sides. There were six separate bookings on April 22nd but none more brutal than the spikes up challenge from FCC forward Djiby Fall. He was awarded a straight red in the 87th minute but the controversy grew in the scuffle that immediately followed.
A special review panel determined that Djiby Fall had also bitten Niall McCabe in the pushing and the shoving. An additional five game suspension was tacked on to the mandatory single game suspension for the red-carded challenge. Fall is still unable to participate in USL competition, but USOC is not required to suspend Fall so he remains eligible for the game this week.
Before the suspension, the 32-year-old from Senegal had been leading the USL with 6 goals in 6 games and played all but 40 minutes. April 22 wasn’t that long ago. It’s unlikely anyone has forgotten.
This has to be the match to watch in round three and Fall has to be the player to keep an keen eye on. Nippert stadium has been drawing massive crowds. There are familiar rivals with a bit of bad blood between them. There is prize money from the tournament, bragging rights for these two young clubs. They are third and fourth in the USL Eastern Conference standings, but that doesn’t matter right now. The USOC will take priority on Wednesday.
The match starts at 7pm.
Follow @SocTakes for more gameday coverage and follow me @AGunyonIf you’re in business, or would like to be, you’ll quickly learn that it takes risk to create dollar signs. Risk is the currency of currency. In this article, I’ll teach you how to take risks wisely. You’ll get ideas on how to be honest with yourself, how to research your idea, plan your idea then “risk small” and maybe even “risk big.”
For this article, I will be using the example of an app idea. These same principles obviously apply to many other industries.
1. ALWAYS BE HONEST.
Ok, so you’ve got an idea. How do you translate that into a stream of revenue? The answer to that question involves a lot of honesty (with yourself), sweat and some more honesty. I can’t stress that enough, BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. When you get swept up with the idea of an idea, it’s easy to overlook very obvious weaknesses. MAKE SURE IT’S VIABLE.
MOST IDEAS HAVE A LIFE-CYCLE THAT LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
1. You’re overly excited about what now is only a vague representation of what could be a great world-changing idea.
2. You can’t sleep as you figure the ins and outs of this possible venture.
3. You buy a domain.
4. You invest lots of energy and thought into the idea.
5. You pull in a few friends or co-workers, they get excited as well.
6. You do some initial work on the idea. After a few weeks you realize how much work it will take.
7. Your enthusiasm begins to wane.
8. You begin to notice the idea’s weaknesses. The things that you were previously blind to.
9. You quickly realize that your idea is stupid.
10. Dang it.
Truth be told, that’s actually a pretty good outcome, it’s much better than putting tons of energy and money into an idea only to come out empty. My point: honesty is the primary thing that could very well save your marriage (and your business idea).
2. RESEARCH AND PLAN.
Next to self-honesty, it’s important to make time for RESEARCH and PLANNING. If your idea does take off, these two practices will save you both time and money. If your idea isn’t successful, you’ll also save time and money by avoiding a potential money-pit. It’s a win-win. It may seem like a waste of time at first, but information and vision are the life-blood to any project. Don’t move forward without a clear idea (preferably on paper) of your desired outcome.
Research how others have accomplished the same thing. If, for instance, you are wanting to design an app, take a look at the App Store, see what sells, what doesn’t. It’s very likely that someone has already done something similar. If you can’t find a similar app, read up on app successes and failures. Useful information is more than likely there, you just need to take the time to find it. Patterns are replicable, once you find a good pattern, you can apply it on a small scale and then on a large scale.
Once you’ve found a good pattern through research, it’s time to plan. You’ll want to first plan for an initial small risk with the possibility of massive success. Create a plan that’s scaleable, but doesn’t involve a lot of initial risk. This is where your research and idea-honing come together. Find prospective employees on Odesk.com or Freelancer.com, begin a conversation with a few key friends or colleagues, people you’d like to add to the project if it were to go big. Let them know that you’d like to partner with them if the idea does take off. But… don’t hire them… yet. Lay a foundation that doesn’t cost you much, but can scale. This approach will come with future roadblocks, but it’s much better than losing you and your wife’s life savings on a stupid idea. Again, this step could save your marriage.
3. TAKE A SMALL RISK.
Okay, so you’ve spent a few late nights being honest with yourself, researching and planning. If your idea is still viable, it’s time to get serious. Create a block of time, maybe a weekend (or two), where you can put into action those practical steps you’ve already planned for.
Go ahead, take action. Create detailed breakdowns for your idea, get some mockups made. Create a landing page. Move forward with your idea. Remember to always stay true to the pattern that you’ve discovered through research and planning. Don’t stray too far from your pattern, if you do, you are stepping into greater risk. There’s a time for big risk, but it’s not yet. This is when your idea just begins to come to life. Let it grow, don’t force it.
Once you have a detailed idea of what needs to be accomplished and you’ve done everything that you can do. It’s time to get some prices. Calculate that final risk. Contact that app developer or web developer. See what that last push will take. This is the final stage of your idea from initial thought to finalization. If your idea is still living, it’s probably good enough to be worth the risk.
Go ahead, create it.Royal Enfield's Research and Development Center in UK is developing a twin-cylinder 600-650cc (Codename P61) motorcycle in order to give the global brands a tough time for sales in developing markets. The brand recently updated it's lineup and introduced Himalayan, the tough tourer and adventure bike for those who want to keep their aspirations high while keeping the overall cost low.
Royal Enfield has gone many folds since the introduction of new machines to their lineup and the twin cylinder offering can easily take it's place against the entry level Harley cruisers in the country. Those who are forced to leave Royal Enfield due to the restriction of engine on 535cc bar could keep up with their favorite brand under a very attractive price tag from the company.
The official body type of the motorcycle will be known after the test mules are spotted in the wild. Till then, we can expect it to be a power cruiser. Harley Davidson, the most potential rival to the emerging Royal Enfield has a different way of thinking about their growth.
"We don't compete head to head with Royal Enfield and we don't think we see (smaller displacement bikes) as something we want to get into. The fact that lots of Royal Enfield customers aspire to come to leisure motorcycling at some time and hopefully Harley-Davidson is the first brand that they can think of," Marc McAllister, managing director of Harley-Davidson Asia-Pacific, said in a recent interview to ET.
Royal Enfield will cater the needs of the European amateur riders and expected power for the bike is expected to stay below 48 PS, providing a powerful ride under the A2 license category.
Know more about Royal Enfield Motorcycles here -
http://autos.maxabout.com/bikes/royal-enfieldDETROIT -- When he pitched in two All-Star contests earlier this summer, Frankie Montas was more than willing to show off his 101-mph fastball when he could.
But though he only arrived in the majors three weeks ago, the White Sox rookie has already begun to learn the value of a well located four-seamer.
Working with reduced velocity (it’s still 95-97 mph) Montas has impressed the coaching staff in five relief appearances. Primarily a starter in the minors, Montas has handled the transition well with a 1.13 ERA in eight innings with 10 strikeouts and four walks.
“I feel like the key is I’m not trying to do too much with my fastball,” Montas said. “Just throwing it and trying to hit the spot and trying to throw strikes so I can get outs.”
Since he was called up on Sept. 1, Montas, whom baseballamerica.com has tabbed the No. 91 prospect in baseball, has thrown 61.5 percent of his fastballs for strikes, according to brooksbaseball.net.
[SHOP: Gear up, White Sox fans!]
In a scoreless inning Sunday, Montas averaged 97 mph with his fastball. His average was down a tad as four of his nine fastballs were balls, but he paired it with a nasty slider en route to two strikeouts and a weak groundout.
When he pitched in the Futures Game in July, teammates prodded Montas to throw a triple-digit fastball and he did. But he also allowed three runs and four hits in 2/3 innings. Montas said he also lit up the radar gun upon request at the Double-A All-Star Game, though he only allowed a hit and recorded an out in that one.
“What good is 101 if it’s nowhere near the glove?” pitching coach Don Cooper said. “I’d rather 93 to the glove and location than 95, 96 or 97 nowhere near it. He’s exhibiting strikes with his fastball and some strikes with his breaking ball. We haven’t got to see his changeup all that much, but that’s another work in progress.
“He’s now on his path and right now with X amount of games left he is doing everything that a guy should do to try to show everybody his ability.He’s making the best use of the opportunity he’s been given.”
[ALSO: Doubleheader vs. Tigers to determine when Chris Sale will pitch next]
Similar to the way they’ve slowly broken Trayce Thompson in, the White Sox have used Montas in friendly situations so far to build his confidence. He has only appeared in relief but the White Sox believe he can be a major league starter. They hope to get Montas one start before the season is out, perhaps as early as Wednesday, though those plans are up in the air because of Monday’s doubleheader.
White Sox manager Robin Ventura likes how Montas uses his fastball-changeup combination.
“He looks like (a starter),” Ventura said. “Every time he goes out there, it gets a little better. There’s more confidence with him going out there throwing different pitches.
“There are some guys who throw it 98 or 99, but they get hit a lot. I think there’s some deception in the way he throws. And the offspeed stuff that he has, it will hide that.”
In a very small sample size, the opposition has a.214/.313/.250 slash line against Montas in 32 plate appearances. He’d love to get a chance to start and thinks he could go relatively deep if he did. Because he’s been in the bullpen for three weeks, it more likely would be a 3-4 inning stint for Montas, Ventura said. Either way, Montas plans to enjoy the final two weeks of the season.
Perhaps even more important, he knows what he needs to do.
“Right now everything I’m trying to do is command my fastball, try to hit the spot and not try to be perfect, just try to hit the spot and throw strikes,” Montas said.US and China back off internet arms race but Obama leaves sanctions on the table
China and the US sought to paper over their differences on cybersecurity on Friday after an inconclusive summit aimed at defusing a growing internet arms race between the world’s two largest economies.
Though welcoming a pledge by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to avoid “knowingly” spying on US companies, Barack Obama revealed he had threatened to pursue sanctions against Chinese entities the US suspects of carrying out a series of attacks that have enraged American politicians and businesses.
“What I’ve said to President Xi, and what I say to the American people, [is] the question now is: ‘Are words followed by actions?’,” said the US president.
“We did not, at our level, have specific discussion of individual cases but I did indicate to President Xi that we will apply [sanctions] and whatever other tools we have in our toolkit to go after cybercriminals either retrospectively or prospectively.”
Xi responded by warning against “politicising” the threat from computer hacking and argued that, with the world’s largest number of internet users and less developed offensive capabilities, China had more to lose from cybercrime.
“Overall, the United States is the strongest country in terms of cyber-strength,” said Xi. “China is the world’s biggest country in terms of the number of web users.”
He added: “We have broad common interests but we need to strengthen cooperation and avoid confrontation, and nor should we politicise this issue.”
Tensions have flared between the two countries and become a major theme of the US presidential election campaign after a spate of recent attacks, primarily against US government computers.
However, evidence of extensive US cyber-espionage against China – revealed by the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden – overshadowed the last big attempt to tackle the issue during a previous meeting between the two leaders in Sunnylands, California.
This time diplomats were anxious to stress progress on a number of other fronts, most noticeably the environment, where China has agreed to launch a national cap-and-trade scheme in 2017 to try to limit its carbon pollution.
News of this deal, first revealed on Thursday, was followed up before their press conference in the White House rose garden on Friday with further details of China’s willingness to help other countries deal with the impact of climate change.
A fact sheet released by the White House said China’s new climate finance commitment “included CNY 20 billion ($3.1bn) to help developing countries combat climate change and new steps to control public support for high carbon activities”. This figure is more than the US has committed, and could prompt other countries to increase their contributions at the forthcoming Paris climate summit.
The two leaders also reached an understanding on an accounting method to keep track of emissions reductions – a persistent obstacle to a deal at Paris – and ensure further, deeper reductions in the future.
It was the issue of hacking, however, that dominated the two-day meeting in Washington, particularly after US officials began the summit by claiming that a recent hack of government personnel records that it blames on China involved the theft of 5.6m fingerprints taken from government employees.
Though focusing on the threat to corporate interests, Obama made clear he had little truck with Chinese arguments that hacking attacks were carried out by non-state actors with no connection to the government.
“President Xi indicated to me that with 1.3 billion people he can’t guarantee the behaviour of every single person on Chinese soil. I understand that,” he said. “What I can guarantee, though, and what I am hoping that President Xi will show me is that we are not sponsoring these activities and that … we take it seriously and will cooperate to enforce the law.”
Xi said the two presidents had “a long history” of discussing the issue and promised further talks.
“We have reached a lot of consensus on cybersecurity, including some new consensus,” he concluded.
On Saturday Xi heads to New York and he will give his first speech to the UN general assembly on Monday.
Additional reporting by Suzanne GoldenbergPhoto
What happens to a marriage when a woman works and a husband stays home to raise children? On Sunday, The Times reported on how this plays out in the field of finance, where growing numbers of women say they are able to compete at new levels thanks to stay-at-home husbands. Readers from a variety of fields and economic backgrounds responded with an outpouring of experiences: the Connecticut stay-at-home father who tells white lies about his lack of employment (“which career is it this week?”); the wife who said the role reversal made her marriage “more egalitarian and respectful.”
Some of the most powerful tales came from stay-at-home fathers who emphasized two particular strains: marital tensions over the reversal of traditional roles and difficulty returning to the workplace after long absences. When Roger Johnson of Belmont, Mass., who gave up a career as a research scientist to care for his children, attended a conference on getting back into the work force after time away for parenting, hundreds of women attended, but only three men.
Swimming against the social tide is harder than they expected, many readers concluded. That was the case for John Major of Brooklyn, 51, who contacted reporters with the story below.
‘In 2005, My Wife Left … It Felt Like Being Fired’
By John Major
After more than 20 years as a full-time, stay-at-home father, I’m nearing the end — my youngest is six months from her high school graduation. I’ve found the role immensely fulfilling, though with challenges that I could never have predicted. Growing up, I wasn’t sure I even wanted children, though I did know that I wanted to teach. But when my first child was born in 1991, my wife was in law school, I was working on a doctorate in political sociology, and it was already clear that her earning power was going to be far greater than mine. As I pushed my daughter around art museums in a stroller and chaperoned her tea parties in the front room of our Prospect Heights co-op, I thought staying home to raise her made simple economic sense.
We were young, filled with progressive ideals, and relished the idea of turning traditional gender roles on their head. My wife wanted to work abroad, and we knew we would need to cope with the pressures of living in another country, away from family. We both felt as if our children would benefit from a stay-at-home parent. The prospect of role reversal seemed at once subversive and practical. My wife would be free to pursue her career free of the sacrifices that are standard for working mothers, and I would have a chance to develop a special relationship with my children all the while continuing to work on my dissertation. Though I had no experience with young children, I found I enjoyed being home. I even liked the attention that came with being the odd man out.
Within the first decade of our marriage, we had three children and moved to three cities. My wife was able to develop her legal career as she wished without certain aspects of home life getting in the way. My role was quite similar to a stereotypical housewife’s: I drove her to work or to the train station in the morning, stayed home with the children when they were sick, read them bedtime stories and managed a series of au pairs. I attended all the children’s sports matches, volunteered with the PTA, and organized play dates after school, and took pride that our family was thriving.
My wife did as much as she could — more than some of her male colleagues, to be sure — but her hours were increasingly long. I felt like my job was to support everyone, so eventually my dissertation fell by the wayside. The dream was hard to give up, but our system was working. My wife was climbing the corporate ladder, and our children were speaking English with the accent of the queen.
In early 2005 my wife left. In quick succession, she took a job in New York and filed a court action to relocate the children. I did not want to leave London and the life we had created there, but as legal proceedings began, I realized I was in the same position as so many women have been before, faced off against spouses of means. I had never put one penny aside for myself over all those years. Such worst-case situations had never crossed my mind. I felt humiliated, as if my contribution meant little.
Interestingly, it was the other London school moms who came to my aid; many of them understood that “there but for the grace of God” they went. They recommended a lawyer, met me for coffee more times than I can say, invited me into their homes for dinners when I was without the kids and even took me shopping to “re-style” me. It was a gift that allowed me to understand that the true nature of my many years within the home had not gone unnoticed, was not unvalued.
The court system understood that just because I am male does not mean I did not raise my children. One of the finest moments happened in an English hearing, when the judge (who happened to be a woman) stated that she wished she had a pound for every time she had heard the kind of arguments that were being made against me by husbands in divorce proceedings — namely, that I had failed to play my part (I’m still confused by what this means). “I will not accept them any more today,” she said, “just because Mr. Major happens to be a man.” That felt so deeply wonderful to hear.
Photo
Eight years later, I’m beginning to find a new normal. I reluctantly accepted the relocation to New York, and to help with the adjustment, I immersed myself in my children’s new school, eventually becoming the president of the parent organization. My ex-wife and I share custody, which is what’s best for the children, even though it was initially hard to accept. It felt like being fired from a job that I was comfortable in. Gradually, I’ve come to enjoy the time apart, to even appreciate that it might make me a better, if different kind of, parent.
Now my problem is how to re-enter the work force after abandoning my studies and being a full-time parent for so many years. I tried to pursue a teaching program aimed at those on nontraditional trajectories, but I was not accepted. I’m working on a business idea involving educational travel that combines my passions for American history and experiential education with what I learned during my time in London about UK schools. I’m writing about my experience as a stay home father, hoping that others will learn from what I’ve been through. I spent lots of time with my children in museums, and I’m using the passion I discovered to blog about art. But as I search for work, even writing a resume is a challenge: how do I explain what I have done and all those years that are missing? My settlement has been generous, but I feel economically vulnerable as I look ahead.
In the end, I did get one thing I wanted all those years ago: a deep, fulfilling relationship with my children that has involved some struggle but also a lot of love. Now that they are growing old enough to make their own decisions, I want them to feel the same freedom as I did to make nontraditional choices, but I also want them to prepare and protect themselves better than I did. I worry about what lessons they will draw from my experience. What kind of partners will my daughters choose? Will my having a stay-home father somehow contribute to my college-age son being less driven or ambitious? Have I shown him how to be a man? Will my children understand that I did provide for my family, just not in the usual way?
More comments from other readers of the original article …
John M., Ottawa, full-time stay-at-home father
My wife is a deputy director générale and lawyer in the Department of Justice in Canada. I left my contract work in government to raise our three kids. We have not looked back. She is successful and I am happy. The true test of plan are the kids: happy and well adjusted. And the sex is still great.
Miles B., Dallas |
Loch and Waipahu, land now occupied by low-economic value car dealers could be redeveloped for new medium- and high-density residential development adjacent to convenient transport links. This would create new economic value for the state economy while easing housing cost pressure without worsening traffic.
This in turn will increase employment, investment and the state’s tax take. Result: a virtuous economic circle.
A renewably powered, hydrogen-battery state economy is the way to go if Hawaii’s really serious about a 2045 zero emission state economy. The opportunities in Hawaii exist in an attractive bundle like nowhere else in the world. In other words, the future is Hawaii’s to lose.
If it fails to take advantage of the low-hanging fruit now right before its eyes, the alternative for Hawaii is chronic, long-term HART disease.
This will be caused by an increasing stagnant economy burdened by sclerotic transport, high housing costs and brain drain.Some minority groups can’t catch a break.
Opposition to one such group was overpowering Tuesday, when more than 500 supporters of the Chabot Gun Club packed an East Bay Regional Park District meeting in an effort to keep it from closing. But the gun lovers never had a chance.
It ain’t easy being conservative in the Bay Area, a part of the country known for tolerance, inclusion and diversity — except when diversity includes right wingers.
“Every angry middle-aged white guy in Alameda County is here,” quipped one East Bay Regional Park District official, who described the park district as “Occupy Oakland versus ‘Duck Dynasty.’”
Packing a public meeting with supporters is a strategy that has been used successfully by left-leaning Bay Area activists for decades, and it still works. But for conservative supporters — outnumbered and outgunned in Bay Area politics — not so much.
Of course, not every gun club supporter who showed up Tuesday was necessarily a registered Republican, a Trump supporter or a card-carrying conservative. But let’s face it: Guns are a core issue among conservatives, and when pitted against environmental concerns, the love of guns typically wins out.
After five hours of impassioned pleas from gun owners and law enforcement agencies, which were met with calls for responsible environmental protections, the East Bay Regional Park District Board voted unanimously to close the gun range for good. The club was given one year to manage its affairs and clear out.
Keeping a low profile
In Alameda County, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 4 to 1, conservatives tend to tread lightly, said Sue Caro, a former chair of the Alameda County Republican Party.
“I discovered very quickly that if you’re a Republican, the deeper into Oakland and Berkeley you go, the more you encounter indifference and people who just ignore you,” Caro said. Republicans like Caro, who has lived in Oakland for 30 years, tend to maintain a low profile, even sometimes concealing — or denying — their true party affiliation, she added.
As a result, most Republicans aren’t often regarded as legitimate candidates, Caro said and complained that in Berkeley and Oakland, the League of Women Voters doesn’t invite Republican candidates to join in candidate forums they sponsor.
“And when we ask, they show surprise that a Republican is running.” she said. “It’s like we don’t matter. That’s how they treat us.”
Louise Rothman-Riemer, president of the League of Women Voters Oakland, called Caro’s assertion false and said that all candidates who qualify for the ballot are invited to participate in such forums.
Caro has filed as a candidate in the November congressional race to run against incumbent Barbara Lee, a Democratic icon, but views her candidacy as little more than a token effort.
“No one is going to pay attention to me, and when nobody pays attention you don’t get press opportunities — and you don’t get to give your message to large groups when there is no money coming in,” Caro said. “There is no cavalry coming to help me.”
Caro said even as the local Republic Party is grooming a new generation of candidates who represent the area’s ethnic diversity, they get no media attention.
Perhaps that’s why local Republicans are suspicious of media inquiries, often regarding them as potential ambushes. No one from the Chabot Gun Club returned my calls to talk about the meeting.
Making gains
If there is a silent minority in the Bay Area, I’m pretty sure it’s Republicans.
Despite their second-class status, inroads are being made, say some conservatives, who point to the rise of Catharine Baker of San Ramon, who won the 16th Assembly District seat in 2014. Caro pointed to the five-member Pleasanton City Council: all Republican. And to nearby Dublin, where three of five council members are GOP members. The mayors of both cities are Republicans as well, she said.
In Bay Area politics, there is no pendulum swing in voter trends and little tolerance for opposing viewpoints. Instead, Bay Area residents choose from moderate to extreme degrees of liberal politics — and in a region of the country on the leading edge of diverse communities and inclusion, they effectively silence opposing views. That doesn’t sound like the tolerance we espouse.
Chip Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. His columns run Tuesday and Friday. Email: chjohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @chjohnsonObama Wants To Eliminate Tax Breaks For Oil Companies
March 13th, 2014 by Andrew Meggison
Originally published on sister site Gas 2.
It’s tax season again, and that means the annual plea from the Obama Administration for eliminating $4 billion in annual federal tax incentives for the oil and natural gas industry. This year there was an additional request however, earmarking that money for advanced alternative fuel technology research. Does it stand a chance of passing?
Every year around tax season, President Obama asks that the taxpayer subsidies that go to oil and gas companies be repealed. The logic being that since these companies are making record-breaking profits, they don’t need subsidies. That sounds logical. In addition to abolishing the subsidies, the President also asked to cut tax credits for oil and gas produced from marginal wells.
Notably different this year was Obama’s request for $2 billion for alternative fuel research projects – with the $2 billion coming directly from royalties from oil and gas development on federal land. The federal land catch is an interesting tactic, as companies are lining up to start drilling on federal lands containing once-unreachable natural gas and oil pockets through fracking.The proposal also included new inspection fees totalling $48 million for onshore oil and gas drilling on federal lands, though obviously some people are wary of opening places like George Washington National Forest to fracking.
Unfortunately, these annual proposals are mostly symbolic in nature. Congress is responsible for writing and passing government spending bills, not the President. Will we ever see the corporate handouts to oil and gas companies ended?
Source: Platts.com | Image: Argonne National LaboratoriesAs a general rule, most nine-year old boys tend to like cake, and video games. A more obscure rule would probably extend to “most nine-year old boys really like it when their father’s triumphant picture is on the cover of one of the more popular video games in the world,” but it’s really hard to measure assumptions like that.
Left to guess, though, we’d assume that LeBron James Jr. had a pretty cool 9th birthday party on Sunday. We’re guessing at this because his father, NBA 2K14 cover man LeBron James, posted a picture of his Xbox-themed cake on Instagram before the candles were lit, a cake that featured James’ video game cover included in the confection. Look:
Scroll to continue with content Ad
James’ caption? “Bronny Dope Xbox cake with that 2K14 #SwagCake #CakeCakeCake.”
“#CakeCakeCake.” It’s good to be (the son of the) King.
Happy birthday, LeBron Jr. We hope they saved an extra slice of that Xbox controller for you to slip into your lunchbox on Monday.The Lexus LFA (Japanese: レクサス・LFA, Rekusasu LFA) is a two-seat sports car manufactured by Lexus, the luxury car division of Toyota. It is the second model in the F marque line of performance vehicles from Lexus, following the IS F. Three concept versions were unveiled, each debuting at the North American International Auto Show with the LF-A designation as part of the LF Series concept line. After beginning development in the early 2000s (codenamed P280), the first LF-A concept premiered in 2005, followed in 2007 by a second LF-A with a more completely furnished interior and exterior. The third version of the LF-A, featuring a roadster bodystyle premiered in 2008. The production model, trademarked LFA,[2] was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 2009.[3]
Akio Toyoda, CEO of parent company Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) saw the LFA as an opportunity to create a global icon for the Lexus brand, embodying Toyoda's idea that the ultimate Lexus should connect with its owner.[4]
The production version of the Lexus LFA features a 553 hp V10 engine developed in collaboration with Yamaha exclusive to the car and a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) body. CFRP materials account for 65 percent of the LFA's body composition by mass.[5] The LFA went into production in late 2010, with a base price of US$375,000.[6][7] A circuit-tuned variant debuted in 2012 with a base price of US$445,000,[8] making it one of the most expensive Japanese road cars ever built.[9] Production ended in December 2012 with 500 cars produced, the final car being a Nürburgring Package model.[10]
In February 2016, Lexus' European boss Alain Uyttenhoven confirmed that there would be no new LFA replacement in the near future, stating: “The LFA is an icon now and possibly always will be - we don't need to replace it to keep that status. It is a car we can reference for another 25 years if we choose. Its status is assured." He went on to state: “It is possible that we will one day create another supercar, but in my view a super-high-end machine is not what we need right now."[11]
Development [ edit ]
In February 2000, the LF-A sports car began development with a codename of P280, which was intended to showcase the performance capabilities of Toyota Motor Corporation and its Lexus marque.[12][13] The first prototype was completed during June 2003. Prototypes of the LF-A were spotted regularly undergoing testing at the Nürburgring, the famous motorsport race track in Nürburg, Germany,[14] since October 2004.[15] Numerous test vehicles had been equipped with automatic retractable rear spoilers, and carbon ceramic brake discs.[16]
The LF-A concept on display
In January 2005, the first LF-A concept premiered at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan as a design study with no plans for production. The first LF-A concept had an overall length of 4,399 mm (173.2 in), 13 cm (5 in) shorter than the Porsche 911 Turbo (996) while its wheelbase measured 2,581 mm (101.6 in), or about 23 cm (9 in) longer.[17] The concept was nearly 1,219 mm (48 in) in height, with a width of 1,859 mm (73.2 in).[17] Some news outlets reported the concept name as referring to Lexus Future-Advance,[18] a claim later dismissed by Chief Engineer Tanahashi.[19] The first LF-A concept featured a glass roof and side cameras mounted in the side mirrors. Twin rear radiators were installed behind the rear wheels, and visible behind large screens. The rear bumper featured a triple exhaust placed in an inverted triangle formation. The wheels were shaped like turbines, and air-scoops were placed on the C-pillars.[17] Following enthusiastic public reaction for the LF-A concept on the auto show circuit, development continued with a greater emphasis on a possible production model.[20] Concurrently, Lexus was preparing for the launch of its long-rumored F marque series of performance vehicles, with a production LF-A being a possible future member of this lineup. Reports in 2006 suggested that the LF-A concept car had received the green-light for production,[21] however these reports were not officially confirmed.[22]
The second Lexus LF-A concept
The LF-A concept II (rear view)
The Lexus LF-A racing concept
Following the original LF-A concept, development time was lengthened by the switch from an aluminum frame to a carbon fiber tub, the result of engineering efforts aimed at improving the LF-A's power-to-weight ratio.[12] The LF-A was reported to draw engineering resources from Toyota's Formula One team.[13] In January 2007, a restyled LF-A concept car premiered alongside the first production F marque vehicle, the IS F sports sedan. The second LF-A concept featured a more aerodynamic exterior, a near-production interior, and F marque emblems. Later that year, Lexus GB director Steve Settle indicated plans for a V10 and hybrid version of the LF-A.[23] The hybrid version, combining a petrol engine with electric motors, was to feature a V8 powertrain similar to that designed for the Lexus LS 600h L. LF-A test mules continued to be spotted at the Nürburgring, including early models with a large, fixed rear wing.[20] In December 2007, Auto Express reported that the LF-A had set an unofficial 7:24 lap at the Nürburgring.[24][25]
The Lexus LF-A Roadster concept
In January 2008, Lexus displayed a roadster version of the LF-A concept car designated LF-A Roadster, or LF-AR, at the North American International Auto Show. Initial specifications for the roadster were a V10 engine under 5.0 L with over 373 kW (500 hp) and a top speed of over 320 km/h (200 mph).[26] Automotive photographers capturing the LF-A in various test guises had photographed a disguised drop-top test model, dubbed LF-A Spyder, on the Nürburgring as early as October 2005.[27] After its debut at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, the LF-A Roadster was also shown at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, the United States Open Championship tournament, and at Lexus exhibits in Japan. A single LF-A racing prototype was also entered into Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring endurance races at the Nürburgring in May 2008, competing in the SP8 class of VLN events.[28] Media reports uncovered an LFA trademark filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in December 2008, with the concept LF-A name dropping its hyphen to become LFA for a possible production model.[2]
The second LF-A concepts had an overall length of 4,460 mm (175.6 in), and a wheelbase of 2,598 mm (102.3 in); height remained the same as the prior concept, while width grew to 1,895 mm (74.6 in).[29] While the original LF-A had been strictly a concept model, the second concept's design reflected engineering analysis for possible production.[30] The exterior design had been restyled to take advantage of the flexibility offered by carbon fiber construction,[31] with improved aerodynamics and surface features aimed at improving the car's overall top speed.[30] The reshaped exterior featured smoother lines with additional detailing, and more curved surfaces. The aft radiator cooling vents were retained, but integrated into the rear fascia, and the lower side and front air intakes were restyled, along with the forward fascia and headlamps.[20] Designers reportedly drew inspiration from the 1965 Toyota 2000GT sports coupé, which was also produced in a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, and represented the combination of Japanese technology and design ethics in a sports car.[31] However, no design features on the LF-A were directly derived from the 2000GT.[31] The second LF-A concept and accompanying LF-A Roadster were also equipped with a retractable rear wing for improved handling at speed and a two-seat interior with a two-tone colour scheme.
2009 [ edit ]
On August 5, 2009, Toyota's new CEO, Akio Toyoda, publicly confirmed production of the LF-A in his speech at a conference held at the Center for Automotive Research in the United States.[32] The production vehicles were expected to carry V10 engines,[33][34] putting the car in market competition with the Lamborghini Gallardo, Ferrari F430, the Porsche 911 (997), and the Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1. Pricing was estimated at over US$225,000,[35] and close to US$400,000.[36] Two LF-A prototypes had also competed at Nürburgring VLN endurance races in mid-2009. In September 2009, reports in Japanese automotive magazines indicated that the 4.8 L V10 engine for the LF-A would carry a 1LR designation.[37] A subsequent television ad for the Japanese market showed the pre-production LFA testing at the Fuji Speedway.[38]
On October 21, 2009, the production Lexus LFA was unveiled on the first press day of the 41st biennial Tokyo Motor Show.[7] The vehicle was introduced by Akio Toyoda at a press conference, in which it was disclosed that the vehicle would be limited to 500 production copies. The vehicle carried the same designation as the concepts, LFA, but without the hyphen. The production designation reportedly stood for Lexus Fuji Apex,[39] another claim dismissed by Chief Engineer Tanahashi.[19] The LFA was shown as the final vehicle of the press conference, following the LF-Ch hybrid concept. Pricing details at the show was estimated at US$375,000.[7]
The production announcement for the LFA marked the 20th anniversary of the launch of Lexus.[40] Given the high cost of construction and development, analysts did not expect LFA sales to be profitable.[7] However, the coupe was intended to serve as a testbed for new car technologies, including carbon fiber mass-production, and related performance vehicle development.[41] At its debut, a circuit-ready model was also indicated for 2012 release.[42]
Production [ edit ]
LFA Chief Engineer Haruhiko Tanahashi with piece of foamcored CFRP material in front of LFA body during production in Motomachi plant
Lexus began taking orders for the LFA on October 23, 2009. Buyers were selectively chosen by Lexus in the second quarter of 2010.[43] Production began in December 2010. Only 500 total LFA models were scheduled to be made worldwide, with only 20 produced each month. Each car had to be custom ordered to the customer's specifications, and cost approximately US$375,000, depending on options and customization.[44] Following the LFA's release at the Tokyo Motor Show, Lexus unveiled a website with a 'LFA configurator' which allowed users to select exterior and interior colors, brake caliper colors, seats, steering wheel leather, and other interior designs.[45][46] In total, there were over 30 billion possible configurations.[46] Each LFA was hand-built by a dedicated production team of engineers and specialists at Toyota's Motomatchi plant in Aichi, Japan.[47][48][49]
Production LFAs, lined up in Yokohama
In the North American market 150 LFAs were initially sold through a two-year lease program much like the Ferrari F50. This was to prevent owners from reselling the vehicle for a profit.[44] Racing driver Scott Pruett was hired to give test drives to interested buyers, demonstrating the vehicle's capabilities at Auto Club Speedway. The Lexus division of Toyota Motor USA stopped taking orders at the end of 2009, at which time they planned to open discussions about a purchase plan for the lessees. Lexus later changed their stance and allowed outright purchase, but only on the condition that they sign an agreement giving the dealer first right of refusal to buy back the LFA if the owner wanted to sell it within the first two years. The dealer would have the option to buy back the used LFA for either fair market value or the original sticker price, whichever is lower.[50] In the European market buyers order their LFA through a single Lexus dealer located in Park Lane, London where it is purchased outright.[51]
LFA Chief Engineer Haruhiko Tanahashi in front of autoclave used to cure CFRP parts
During LFA production, each vehicle received an individually numbered plaque, indicating the unit's place in the production run. Each LFA V10 engine carried the signature of the specialist who assembled it.[48] With 20 units produced monthly, production of the entire LFA extended from December 2010 to December 2012. Production ended on December 14, 2012, with LFA #500, in white, Nürburgring package. When production ended, no successor was scheduled. The LFA plant in Motomachi continued making parts with a small team.[52]
Overview [ edit ]
Engine [ edit ]
1LR-GUE V10 display model LFAV10 display model
The Lexus LFA is powered by a 72-degree bank angle 4,805 cc (4.8 L; 293.2 cu in) V10 engine equipped with Dual VVT-i carrying the 1LR-GUE designation with a maximum output of 412 kW; 552 bhp (560 PS) delivered at 8,700 rpm. Its maximum torque output of 480 N⋅m (354 lb⋅ft) arrives at 6,800 rpm, 90 percent of which is available from 3,700 rpm. The engine redlines at 9,000 rpm, but with a fuel cutoff set at 9,500 rpm,[53] and is constructed using forged aluminum pistons, forged titanium connecting rods, and solid titanium valves. The V-angle of the LFA's V-10 engine is set to 72-degrees to fully balance the firing force from the pistons. This 72-degree angle allows for even firing from the pistons without the use of a split-journal crankshaft, thus improving engine efficiency as well as lowering overall weight. Dry sump lubrication prevents engine oil starvation through high speed corners and lowers the engine's center of mass. Air is fed directly from beneath the hood through a visible slit passing into a dual stage variable intake manifold and then into ten individual throttle bodies before finally exiting from a dual-stage titanium muffler.
LFA Deputy Chief Engineer Chiharu Tamura explains LFA engine
The LFA's engineers selected a V10 engine over an equivalent displacement V8 engine for its ability to rev higher,[43] and over a V12 for its lower reciprocating mass,[14][43] allowing for more rapid engine response. Lexus claims their engine can rev from idle to its redline in 0.6 seconds and an analog tachometer needle could not accurately track the LFA's changes in engine speeds. This necessitated the use of a digital tachometer which can instantly display engine speed.[54] The engine reportedly weighs less than the manufacturer's own 3.5-liter 2GR-FE V6 engine. Engineers attempted to make the engine sound like that of a Formula One car with high revs, while at the same time maintaining reliability and vibration control. Along with other manufacturers such as Ferrari, Toyota had produced their own F1 engines and chassis designs.[13] The exhaust note has been described by Toyota engineers as the "roar of an angel",[55] and a US television spot later used the engine sound to shatter a champagne glass via resonance frequency.[56]
The powerplant gives the LFA a weight-to-power ratio of 5.9 lb/hp and enables it to reach a top speed of around 325 km/h (202 mph).[57] Unlike the IS F's 2UR-GSE, Yamaha co-developed the entire engine, and not just the cylinder heads. The engine exceeds Euro V emissions.[clarification needed] The engine is installed with a front mid-engine placement.[58] According to Chief Engineer Haruhiko Tanahashi a front engine layout was selected instead of a mid engine layout as it is inherently more forgiving dynamically, affording less experienced drivers a wider safety net.[59]
The LFA front counter gearbox, torque tube and transaxle
Transmission [ edit ]
The gearbox built by Aisin is a six-speed single clutch automated sequential gearbox (electrohydraulic transmission) operated with paddle-shifters.
Chassis [ edit ]
The Lexus LFA's frame is made from an in-house designed and manufactured carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) center monocoque with aluminum front and rear subframes. The subframes, which can be removed and replaced minimizing potential repair costs, are joined to the monocoque using a newly developed aluminum flanged collar designed to create a stronger joint.[3] According to the manufacturer, the quality of the CRFP material matches that of aeronautical grades and is woven by a laser monitored circular loom, one of only two in the world.[41] Overall 65% of the vehicle's total body mass is CFRP material while the remaining 35% is aluminum.[5] Manufacturer data indicates that the use of CFRP saves 100 kg (220 lb) over equivalent aluminum materials.
LFA chassis cutaway display
An electric power steering rack with a 14.3:1 gear ratio is used. The front suspension utilizes a double-wishbone arrangement and there is a multi-link arrangement at the rear with coil-over dampers at all wheels. The dampers are a monotube design, each with a remote fluid reservoir that includes an expanding and contracting bellows: a purely mechanical system. The LFA further features six-piston front and four-piston rear Brembo monobloc brake calipers with 390 mm (15.4 in) front and 360 mm (14.2 in) rear carbon ceramic discs controlled by Toyota's Electronically Controlled Brake brake-by-wire system. Forged 20-inch BBS wheels fitted with 265 mm (10.4 in) front and 305 mm (12.0 in) rear Bridgestone next-generation Potenza tires are standard.[58] The LFA is equipped with a three-mode Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) stability control system with Sport setting.[46]
Side view of the pre-production Lexus LFA, showing carbon ceramic brakes
To maintain a near ideal weight distribution, a rear transaxle is used, in addition to the mounting of the fuel tank ahead of the rear axle and the radiators at the rear. The windshield washer fluid reservoir is mounted in the center next to the fuel tank to improve further the center of weight. Overall 48% of the LFA's mass is distributed along the front wheels with 52% at the rear.[60] The 73 L (16 imp gal; 19 US gal) fuel tank straddles the exhaust system keeping weight centered along the left-right axis. The engine is connected to the transaxle via a rigid carbon-fiber torque tube which the exhaust system runs directly below.[3] This stacked driveshaft and exhaust arrangement decreases the width of the center tunnel allowing for centrally located seating.
Exterior [ edit ]
The production Lexus LFA has an overall length of 4,506 mm (177.4 in), while its wheelbase measures 2,606 mm (102.6 in), with a height of 1,219 mm (48 in) and width of 1,895 mm (74.6 in).[61] Compared to the prior 2007–2008 concepts, the production model is nearly 51 mm (2 in) longer, with identical width, height, and nearly same wheelbase dimensions.[29][61] The exterior design of the LF-A concepts and the final production model was the work of car stylists led by Lexus Design general manager Kengo Matsumoto.[13][31] The overall design ethos was based on the principle of form follows function, with aesthetics secondary to aerodynamics and operation.[62]
Overhead view of the Lexus LFA with carbon fiber roof
The LFA body features sharp edges and cutoffs for improved aerodynamic performance, made possible by the carbon fiber body.[43] The body was designed with an emphasis on downforce. There are air scoops located over the rear fenders which feed the aft-mounted radiators and help cool the brakes.[41] A horizontal hood gap also feeds air to the engine.[41] Two small aft vents expel air that is collected by an underbody air scoop and used to cool the titanium exhaust pipes.[41] Dual hood ducts serve to move hot air away from the exhaust manifold.[41]
The LFA's speed-sensitive rear wing incorporates a Gurney flap and deploys at speeds over 80 km/h (50 mph).[43] With the wing retracted the LFA's body has a drag coefficient of C d 0.31.[43] The LFA body is offered with a choice of 28 standard exterior colors,[41] along with 3 wheel colors and a matte black option. Additional "special colors" are available to order.[45] The front and rear fenders, doors, roof rails, and rocker panels are made out of blast fiber reinforced sheet panels, while the tail lamps are light-emitting diode (LED) lights.[41]
Interior [ edit ]
The production LFA interior, customizable to owner specification
The LFA interior incorporates carbon fiber, leather, alcantara, and metallic surfaces. There are two bucket seats, and Lexus' Remote Touch controller interface. The interior design uses bespoke materials and colors.[46] The instrument display is a digital thin-film transistor (TFT) speedometer with color-changing background, size-changing numbers, and side-appearing submenus.[43]
Right-hand drive two-seat LFA interior
In operation the TFT display shows small digits in automatic mode; larger and bolder numbers in normal mode; inverted colors, moved redline, and stark numbers in sport mode, along with a programmable redline warning color change.[46] The tachometer display also features an electric movable metal ring with layer acrylic plastic to create a 3D effect. The LFA further features a new driver and passenger seat-belt airbag design[43] increases similar to the S-Class ESF safety concept car.
The steering wheel features a right-mounted start button and alloy paddle-shifters.[43] To activate the vehicle the driver must insert the key beside the steering wheel then press the start button.[63] Two octaves of engine sound are channeled into the cabin via twin ducts which connect the firewall with the intake manifold, with the sound tuned in the manner of an Ovation guitar.[46] A 12-speaker Mark Levinson sound system with compact lightweight components was also developed for the interior.[64] Custom-made Tumi suitcases are designed for the LFA interior, with a two-piece set made from carbon-fiber style materials and inscribed with the VIN; a smaller "concourse" case is for track days and short trips, while a larger "coastal" case is for longer trips.[65]
Nürburgring Package [ edit ]
Chassis of the Nürburgring Edition LFA at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, with its V10 producing an added 7 kW (10 bhp)
On March 15, 2010, Lexus detailed the circuit-tuned variant of the LFA, plans for which were first disclosed at the LFA official press launch the previous October.[66] The variant is officially known as the LFA Nürburgring Package in reference to the similar setup employed on the LFA race vehicles at the 24 Hours Nürburgring.[8][67]
The package features an extra 7 kW (10 bhp) from its V10 engine, bringing the total to 420 kW; 571 PS (563 bhp). It also features a re-calibrated transmission with gear shifts made faster by 0.05 seconds, a front splitter, stiffer and more adjustable suspension, lightweight alloy wheels coated in track rubber, aerodynamic canards at the sides of the front bumper, and a large fixed rear wing.[67][68]
The LFA with the Nürburgring Package is a competition-focused variant, and was available in four exterior colors, namely glossy black, matte black, race yellow, and whitest white.[68] The production totals are to be included in the 500-unit total LFA planned build cycle,[66] and will be limited to a 50-unit run.[8] At a base price of US$445,000, buyers will receive training sessions at the Nordschleife, accompanied by Nürburgring chief instructors, a one-night stay at the Lindner Congress and Motorsport Hotel Nürburgring, admission to the ring°werk leisure park, a Nürburgring branded jacket, and a one-year pass to the circuit.[8][69]
The Nürburgring Edition Lexus LFA, shown here at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, is based on the VLN racing model.
The Nürburgring Package LFA was tested at the Nürburgring in June 2011. Driven by Akira Iida, the LFA set a time of 7:22.85 (video confirmed),[70] the 10th-fastest time ever for a production vehicle. Lexus confirmed that this lap video was recorded as a "warm up" video for the "ADAC 24-hours" for exhibition purposes. The LFA hit 292 km/h (181 mph)[70] on the last straight uphill climb, which is one of the highest speeds achieved by a stock exotic sports car on that segment of the track. Standard OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE70 performance street tires were used.
On September 2, 2011 reports came from Lexus via Twitter as well as Chris Harris of Evo Magazine that the Lexus LFA Nürburgring Package completed a lap of the Nurburgring in 7:14.64 with a top speed of 298 km/h (185 mph) on the "Dottinger" uphill climb, the fifth fastest time ever for a production car, and almost ten seconds quicker than the Porsche 911 GT2 RS at 7:24.[71] A few days later, the time was confirmed by Lexus as 7:14.64, a video was provided. OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE070 street tires had been used.[72] [73] [74]
Specifications [ edit ]
Manufacturer [ edit ]
Official specifications and performance figures for the Lexus LFA are as follows:[61]
Engine type 1LR-GUE 72° Even firing V10 Valvetrain DOHC 4-valves/cylinder, dual VVT-i Displacement 4,805 cc (293.2 cu in) Bore x Stroke 88 mm × 79 mm (3.5 in × 3.1 in) Compression Ratio 12.0:1 Redline 9000 rpm (rev limiter 9500 rpm) Transmission 6-speed ASG Minimum shift times 200 ms or 150 ms Power 552 hp (412 kW) @ 8700 rpm Torque 480 N⋅m (354 ft⋅lbf) @ 6800 rpm Curb weight 1,480 kg (3,263 lb) Weight-to-Power 5.9 lb/hp Weight distribution 49.8:50.2 (front:rear) Top speed 326 km/h (203 mph) 0-97 km/h (60 mph) 3.6 sec.[40] (official, w/o launch control) [46] 0-100 km/h (62 mph) 3.7 sec.
Performance [ edit ]
Tested performance specifications for the Lexus LFA from Car and Driver†, Motor Trend‡, Road & Track†† and Insideline††† are as follows:
0-97 km/h (60 mph) 3.6 secs (w/ launch control.) [75]† 0-190 km/h (120 mph) 10.8 sec.[75]† 0-160 km/h (100 mph) 7.6 sec.[75]† 0-210 km/h (130 mph) 12.7 sec.[75]† 0-201 km/h (125 mph) 11.4 sec.[76] 0-261 km/h (162 mph) 21.2 sec.[77] 0-180 km/h (110 mph) 9.2 sec.[75]† 0-240 km/h (150 mph) 18.3 sec.[75]† 400 m ( 1⁄ 4 mi) 11.6 sec.[78] †††(@ 201 km/h (125 mph)) † Slalom 121.0 km/h (75.2 mph)[78]††† Lateral acceleration 1.00 G[63] (61 m (200 ft) skidpad) †; 1.05 G[79]‡ Braking (113–0 km/h (70–0 mph)) 48 m (156 ft)[63]†
Edmunds' Insideline managed to acquire a LFA from Lexus for one week and tested the LFA against the Porsche GT2 RS on the track including an impromptu grudge match on the drag strip. Both cars won 2 races each making it a draw.
Insideline recorded a 0–97 km/h (0–60 mph) in 3.9 seconds without launch control system and achieved the 1/4 mile 11.6 seconds at 200 km/h (124 mph). Lexus LFA circled the skidpad in 1.02 g and achieved one of the highest slalom speeds ever recorded at 121.0 km/h (75.2 mph). Insideline also managed to do 3 dyno runs on a dynojet dyno on the Lexus LFA, which resulted in LFA putting down 383 kW (514 bhp) to the wheels, which after factoring in RWD drivetrain loss turned out to be substantially higher than the 412 kW (552 bhp) at the crank factory specification.[78]
Car and Driver track-tested the LFA in November 2010 while conducting a comparison with Ferrari 599 HGTE. The test was conducted in Wales and recorded 0–97 km/h (0–60 mph) time of 3.6 seconds using the launch control system and a quarter mile of 11.7 seconds at 201 km/h (125 mph). Car |
gave me my first big break as an actor in films on From Dusk Till Dawn, he gave me my first big break as a director with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. We’ve had dinners, we’ve been on location together, we’ve had arguments. But I can tell you that I’ve never seen any of this behavior—ever.”
UPDATE – 8:08 a.m.: JLaw finally disavows! (as Hillary and Obama remain silent)
“I worked with Harvey five years ago and I did not experience any form of harassment personally, nor did I know about any of these allegations,” Lawrence told the outlet.
“My heart goes out to all of the women affected by these gross actions. And I want to thank them for their bravery to come forward,” she added.
UPDATE – 7:58 a.m.: Another bombshell report — Weinstein nearly arrested in 2015 over grope!
Daily Beast:
Harvey Weinstein had no sooner apologized to the 22-year-old woman who had accused him of groping her than he seemed ready to do it again. “After he apologized, he said, ‘Listen, come up to my room,’” an NYPD commander with direct knowledge of the case says. Ambra Battilana excused herself to use the restroom and she was met by a detective from the special victims unit, which had been using two cellphones to record this March 28, 2015, meeting in the bar/restaurant at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in downtown Manhattan. Battilana seemed close to panic. The detective promised her that she would be safely under protective surveillance if she went along with Weinstein’s request.
UPDATE – 7:52 a.m.: Harvey Feels betrayed by brother and business partner Bob.
Page Six:
Harvey Weinstein “feels betrayed” by his brother, Bob, after he voted to give him the boot on Sunday, a report says. One of the media mogul’s longtime friends told CNN on Monday that he felt like his firing from The Weinstein Company was proof that his younger bro had finally turned his back on him following years of turmoil and bad blood. “Harvey is convinced that this was a takedown,” the friend said. “He feels betrayed by his brother.”
UPDATE – 7:49 a.m.: Late Night caves to pressure, is shamed into mocking Weinstein.
—
Here’s what the women of #LNSM have to say about Harvey Weinstein. pic.twitter.com/r4oGo8yFAj — Late Night (@LateNightSeth) October 10, 2017
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Update – 8:11 p.m.: Another woman has come forward with sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein.
Louise Goldbold, an executive director at the nonprofit Echo Parenting and Education in Los Angeles, alleged Weinstein “preyed” on her in the 1990s.
The details of what I have learned was not unique to me are out there now – the office tour that became an occasion to trap me in an empty meeting room, the begging for a massage, his hands on my shoulders as I attempted to beat a retreat… all while not wanting to alienate the most powerful man in Hollywood.
Read Goldbold’s full blog post at her website.
Update – 7:41 p.m.: Actress Jessica Chastain writes on Twitter that she was “warned from the beginning” about Weinstein’s behavior. Chastain starred in two movies distributed by The Weinstein Company, 2012’s Lawless, and 2013’s The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. The Oscar-nominated actress condemned the allegations against Weinstein earlier Monday.
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I was warned from the beginning. The stories were everywhere. To deny that is to create an enviornment for it to happen again. — Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) October 9, 2017
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Update – 7:08 p.m.: The New York Times is pushing back on The Wrap chief Sharon Waxman’s claim that her 2004 story about allegations against Harvey Weinstein was spiked by the paper.
Clifford Levy, deputy managing editor at the Times:
—
Readers asked us about a @sharonwaxman charge that NYT “gutted” her 2004 report on Harvey Weinstein. Our response: https://t.co/Lltroo2kuP pic.twitter.com/cOLqPil4bv — Clifford Levy (@cliffordlevy) October 9, 2017
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Update – 6:40 p.m.: CNN reports that Hillary Clinton and former President Obama have not yet commented on the allegations against Weinstein, first reported Thursday by the Times. Weinstein hosted a $33,000 per-plate fundraiser for Clinton in New York City in June of last year, and also made personal donations to her campaign, while Obama was also a major beneficiary of Weinstein’s campaign contributions.
Update – 6:30 p.m.: Lena Dunham op-ed for the New York Times:
“Lena Dunham: Harvey Weinstein and the Silence of the Men.”
Men in Hollywood, it's time to step up for us. https://t.co/ygKPXCK0BJ — Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) October 9, 2017
Update – 6:21 p.m.: Apple has reportedly pulled the plug on a television series about Elvis Presley that was set to be produced by The Weinstein Company. The show was reportedly in the early stages of development.
From Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva:
I have learned that Apple has pulled the plug on an Elvis Presleybiopic series from The Weinstein Company in light of the controversy that has engulfed TWC since last week’s explosive exposé about its co-founder Harvey Weinstein. … I hear the deal, which has now been terminated, was for an biopic series, but there was an idea to grow that into an anthology franchise with Prince and Michael Jackson eyed as subjects in subsequent installments. I hear TWC COO David Glasser is reengaging another network that had bid on the series when it was first taken out.
More at Deadline.
Update – 6:11 p.m.: – More on Weinstein’s last-ditch effort to save his job, with a letter to Hollywood moguls that reportedly included Jeffrey Katzenberg, Ron Meyer, and David Zaslav.
From Breitbart’s Jerome Hudson:
Embattled movie mogul and Democratic party super-donor Harvey Weinstein sent an email to major Hollywood executives begging for them to help save him from being fired from the film he co-founded, Weinstein & Co. “Do not let me be fired,” Weinstein begged his counterparts ahead of his termination from his company, according to an email published by The Hollywood Reporter co-owner Janice Min. …
Update – 5:48 p.m.: Rose McGowan keeps up her trolling of Hollywood by asking Ben and Casey Affleck: “How’s your morning boys?” Casey Affleck won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in Manchester by the Sea this year, and was called out due to previous accusations of sexual misconduct.
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Ben Affleck Casey Affleck, how’s your morning boys? — rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 9, 2017
—
Update – 5:37 p.m.: More actors and actresses are speaking up about the allegations, including Kate Winslet, Jeff Bridges, and This Is Us star Milo Ventimiglia.
Winslet, in a statement to Variety:
The fact that these women are starting to speak out about the gross misconduct of one of our most important and well regarded film producers, is incredibly brave and has been deeply shocking to hear. The way Harvey Weinstein has treated these vulnerable, talented young women is NOT the way women should ever EVER deem to be acceptable or commonplace in ANY workplace. “I have no doubt that for these women this time has been, and continues to be extremely traumatic. I fully embrace and salute their profound courage, and I unequivocally support this level of very necessary exposure of someone who has behaved in reprehensible and disgusting ways. His behaviour is without question disgraceful and appalling and very, very wrong. I had hoped that these kind of stories were just made up rumours, maybe we have all been naïve. And it makes me so angry. There must be ‘no tolerance’ of this degrading, vile treatment of women in ANY workplace anywhere in the world.
Bridges, in a statement to Variety:
“Talk about facing your fear, he’s gotta face his demons now. I wish him the best of luck with that, he needs to lean in and really face those things.
Update – 5:30 p.m.: Mic comes out with a handy reference list of all the Democratic politicians and officials who have pledged to donate campaign contributions from Weinstein. The list includes the near-dozen Democratic senators, including Senators Schumer, Gillibrand, Blumenthal, Leahy, Heinrich, Warren, etc…
See the full list at Mic.
Update – 5:19 p.m.: Hollywood Reporter chief Janice Min claims via her verified Twitter account that Hollywood titans Jeffrey Katzenberg, Ron Meyer, and David Zaslav were among those who “refused to support Weinstein” after the scandal. Min previously posted a transcribed letter purported to be from Weinstein and sent to various Hollywood power players before he was fired from The Weinstein Company on Sunday. (See full letter below, in earlier update).
—
https://twitter.com/janicemin/status/917495057644584960
https://twitter.com/janicemin/status/917497716728504320
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Update – 5:10 p.m.: British actress Romola Garai has come forward with her own experience with Weinstein when she was 18 years old, telling The Guardian that she felt “violated” when Weinstein allegedly opened the door to his hotel room for a meeting and appeared only in a bathrobe.
Like every other woman in the industry, I’ve had an ‘audition’ with Harvey Weinstein, where I’d actually already had the audition but you had to be personally approved by him. So I had to go to his hotel room in the Savoy, and he answered the door in his bathrobe. I was only 18. I felt violated by it, it has stayed very clearly in my memory.
Garai has starred in the film Atonement, as well as the BBC series The Hours.
Read more of her story at The Guardian here.
Update – 5:03 p.m.: Kid Rock, musician and very possible Michigan Senate candidate, has weighed in on the controversy. Rock says he’s speaking up on behalf of the women he cares about in his own life:
Most of us in the entertainment business have heard of these disgusting stories for years about these scumbag heads of studios, record labels, Fortune 500 companies, etc and how they prey on young women and men, especially in Hollywood, where most show up with stars in their eyes and are viewed / treated as nothing more than a toy by many of these assholes. … “Best of luck to you victims and know that even though we do not see eye to eye on most things, folks like me still support, care and admire your courage to speak out. I hope Harvey gets the help he seeks, but I do not buy any of it at this point as I believe he is only going down this path because he cannot cover his own shit up any longer. …
Read Rock’s full statement on his website.
Update – 4:56 p.m.: Rose McGowan weighs in on reports that Matt Damon helped spike a story in the New York Times about his behavior all the way back in 2004. McGowan calls Damon a “spineless profiteer.”
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Hey @mattdamon what’s it like to be a spineless profiteer who stays silent? pic.twitter.com/rp0OrRrpqJ — rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 9, 2017
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Update – 4:51 p.m.: Glenn Close has become the latest actress to speak out about the allegations, telling the New York Times she had heard about “vague rumors” regarding Weinstein’s behavior, but now feels “angry and darkly sad.”
I’m sitting here, deeply upset, acknowledging to myself that, yes, for many years, I have been aware of the vague rumors that Harvey Weinstein had a pattern of behaving inappropriately around women. Harvey has always been decent to me, but now that the rumors are being substantiated, I feel angry and darkly sad. I’m angry, not just at him and the conspiracy of silence around his actions, but also that the “casting couch” phenomenon, so to speak, is still a reality in our business and in the world: the horrible pressure, the awful expectation put on a woman when a powerful, egotistical, entitled bully expects sexual favors in exchange for a job. …
Close’s statement continues at the New York Times.
Update – 4:45 p.m.: The Friars Club has officially cancelled its scheduled roast of Harvey Weinstein, which had already been repeatedly delayed, calling the decision a “no-brainer.”
From the New York Daily News:
“Given the nature of what’s happened, that’s unlikely,” according to a source close to the club. “I doubt he’d allow it either. It’s a dead deal.” A second source added “one would think” that ongoing sexual harassment charges against Weinstein will be the nail in the coffin of a negotiation that had all but grinded to a halt in recent weeks. …
Update – 4:30 p.m.: Hollywood Reporter chief Janice Min posts a letter purported to be from Weinstein himself and sent to Hollywood “CEOs and moguls” before his official firing from The Weinstein Company.
Read the letter below:
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https://twitter.com/janicemin/status/917485536020905984
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Update – 4:19 p.m.: TV reporter Lauren Sivan gives more details about her encounter with Weinstein to Megyn Kelly on NBC’s Today Monday morning. Sivan was the reporter who alleged that Weinstein once cornered her in a restaurant that was closed to the public and made her watch him masturbate.
The most demeaning part of it all was that 20 minutes earlier he was having this great conversation with me,” she said. “I felt so great and flattered by it. And then to be told ‘stand there and be quiet’ negated any warm feelings.”
More from Variety here.
Update – 4:14 p.m.: Late-night TV hosts taking fire on social media for avoiding Weinstein scandal during their shows, reports CNN.
Now that he’s been officially fired, watch for the floodgates to open tonight.
Update – 4:05 p.m.: Corey Lewandowski coins a new phrase: “Harvey Weinstein Democrats.” Who are these Democrats? Let him explain it…
From The Hill:
We have now seen the emergence of the “Harvey Weinstein Democrats” who live one way and preach that everybody else live by a different set of standards. Much like Hillary Clinton believed that she was above the law, Weinstein acted like he was above the law for years. The Harvey Weinstein Democrats are finally paying a price for a holier than thou lifestyle. …
Update – 3:54 p.m.: Gwyneth Paltrow, Best Actress Oscar-winner for the Weinstein-produced Shakespeare in Love, is getting trolled for posting pictures of mountains on her Instagram account instead of speaking up about the allegations:
More at the Daily Mail.
Update – 3:43 p.m.: Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn shares an emotional plea for Hollywood to stop embracing sexual predators:
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On Sexual Predators in Hollywood (and the World) https://t.co/2JrRudM0Wx — James Gunn (@JamesGunn) October 9, 2017
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Update – 3:39 p.m.: Intrigue… Weinstein reportedly removed his own production credit on the upcoming TWC Oscar hopeful The Current War before he was fired.
Hollywood Reporter:
One of Harvey Weinstein’s last moves as co-chief of The Weinstein Co. was removing his producing credit from The Current War, one of the company’s Oscar hopefuls for this season, The Hollywood Reporter has learned from sources close to the film. Over the years, Weinstein has been accused of taking producing credits that he didn’t always deserve on films like 1998’s Shakespeare in Love, which brought him a best picture Oscar. But giving one away? That is believed to be a first.
Update – 3:30 p.m.: Lee Smith at the Weekly Standard with an interesting piece about “Why the Harvey Weinstein Story Is Worse Than You Think:”
Not to take anything away from Jodi Kantor’s excellent New York Times piece, but the reality is that everyone had the story. The reason no one wrote it is not because the press wanted to get Weinstein, but couldn’t prove the story. No, it’s because the press was protecting Weinstein. … Which brings us, finally, to the other reason the Weinstein story came out now: Because the court over which Bill Clinton once presided, a court in which Weinstein was one part jester, one part exchequer, and one part executioner, no longer exists.
More here.
Update – 3:20 p.m.: Weinstein will no longer receive executive producer credits on TWC-produced TV series.
Hollywood Reporter:
Harvey Weinstein’s TV credits are going to become a thing of the past. Starting with Wednesday’s episode of The Weinstein Co.-produced Project Runway, the now-former co-founder of the production company’s name will no longer appear as an executive producer. …
Update – 3:03 p.m.: And another accuser…
Daily Mail:
An earl’s daughter has added her story to the growing number of accounts of women who claim they were sexually harassed by ex-studio head Harvey Weinstein. Liza Campbell shared the story with the Sunday Times in the United Kingdom, saying that Weinstein once asked her to ‘jump in the bath’ with him. The daughter of the Earl of Cawdor said that she heard Weinstein take off his clothes in the bathroom after telling her to come to his hotel room in the Savoy. ‘Come on, it’ll be fun. We can drink champagne. You can soap me — whaddaya say?’ Campbell said Weinstein asked.
Update – 3:01 p.m.: Another accuser comes forward.
Daily Mail:
A former model has broken her silence 20 years after disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein reportedly tricked her into joining him in his hotel room before stripping naked and begging her for a massage. Christchurch-born Zoe Brock, 43, spoke out on Monday detailing her ‘horrific’ experience with Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein as a young model in 1997. Ms Brock, who described herself as a ‘naïve’ 23-year-old, said she found herself in Harvey’s room ‘drunk, miles from home, without cash to get a cab, and without a cell phone.’
Update- 2:58 p.m.: Inconvenient video flashback. Harvey and Jennifer Lawrence give Bill Clinton a GLAAD Award.
As of now, the Clintons and Jennifer Lawrence have remained silent on the Weinstein Scandal.
Weinstein personally donated tens of thousands of dollars to both and bundled millions.
Update – 2:55 p.m.: SHOCKER — “Is Harvey Weinstein’s career over? Experts don’t think so”
From Fox News:
Rob Frankel, branding strategist and expert at Frankel & Anderson in Los Angeles, told Fox Business that while things keep getting worse for Weinstein, there is “no way is he done.” “Sidelined for a time, but not done. He’s too connected to be done. Anyone with a hot screenplay will still do business with him because he can make the deal happen. All the media lemmings thought Don Imus, Martha Stewart, Kobe Bryant, Dan Rather and Brian Williams were done. They were all wrong. In fact, even money says that O.J. Simpson will be back with a reality show of his own within a year,” Frankel said.
Update – 2:50 p.m.: Michael Moore’s tweet from 2015 has not aged well.
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https://twitter.com/MMFlint/status/569677514559221760
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Update – 2:48 p.m.: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Director Shares Personal Plea to Stop Sexual Predators in Hollywood
Via THR:
“As evinced by the stories I heard Friday night, some men – probably a much larger percentage than any of us want to be true – try to coerce women (or children or other men) sexually, and they will try and do so when they get any small amount of power,” wrote Gunn. “They are movie stars and network heads and world famous bloggers – but they are also fast food restaurant managers and used car salesmen and, as I learned as a child (and tried to speak out and was shut down), priests.”
Update – 2:46 p.m.: Kevin Smith says he’s ‘ashamed’ he worked with Harvey Weinstein
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He financed the first 14 years of my career – and now I know while I was profiting, others were in terrible pain. It makes me feel ashamed. https://t.co/T0hInW7EqJ — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) October 9, 2017
—Kate Green MP, former shadow minister for women and equalities, now heading Owen Smith’s campaign for leadership of the Labour Party, accuses Jeremy Corbyn of not “listening” before supporting the decriminalisation of prostitution, which in her view would “reinforce rather than address the root causes of gender inequality”.
We have been campaigning against women’s poverty – the main root cause of prostitution – and against criminalisation of sex workers – the main obstacle to getting police and other protection against violence and being able to leave prostitution if we want to – since 1975. Sadly, in over 40 years, despite huge efforts, we have found most women MPs unwilling to “listen”. Maureen Colquhoun, the first out lesbian MP who lost her seat because of it in 1979, was the exception. Sympathetic to other “sexual outlaws”, she tabled a ten minute rule bill in support of prostitute women’s right to work together from premises – the “brothel keeping” which Kate Green attacks, which is ten times safer than working on the street.
The overwhelming majority of sex workers are women: single mothers struggling to feed and house our kids, immigrant mothers sending money home to the families we had to leave behind, asylum seekers and others made destitute by anti-immigrant and anti-welfare policies of cuts and sanctions, or unable to survive on zero hours contracts, or made vulnerable by racist violence and every day disrespect, discrimination and deprivation, or escaping rape and domestic violence, or burdened with student debt.
When in December 2013, hundreds of police raided Soho premises dragging women in their underwear in front of media cameras they had organised to be there, or “cleaned” neighbourhoods forcing women to work in more isolated and dangerous streets, there was not a peep from women MPs. Were they listening? When we presented evidence that street work all over the UK has increased hugely with benefit sanctions – not a peep. When in 2015 the ECP organised a parliamentary symposium at which sex workers from 10 countries as well as academics and other experts gave evidence that favoured decriminalisation – not a peep. When we demanded financial support for mothers and grandmothers for the caring work we do so we can refuse prostitution or zero hour contracts or sweat shops to survive – not a peep.
John McDonnell, who in the best Labour tradition has always defended workers whatever our occupation, has been the exception among MPs, women or men. His willingness, and Corbyn’s, to not only listen but stand with those of us at the bottom is what distinguishes them. They have called forth a movement of hundreds of thousands of people who are furious at being rejected, lied to and ignored by ambitious and arrogant MPs of every sex. If Margaret Thatcher taught us anything, it’s that women at the top (of whatever party) are no guarantee that the rest of us will be represented. Tony Blair’s first cut targeted single mothers and was fronted by Harriet Harman; the abolition of Income Support, another benefit single mothers in particular relied on, was fronted by Yvette Cooper under Gordon Brown. Were they listening? Did they hear women and children cry?
Women are paying for 86 per cent of austerity cuts. Women of colour, whose incomes are already lower than white women, and mothers generally are worst affected as shown by recently published evidence of growing discrimination when we go on maternity leave. Yet MPs who claim to represent women are attacking the one leader who has radically changed the direction of the party to be anti-austerity – the most crucial policy for women. Owen Smith, their leader, opposes zero-hour contracts but unlike Corbyn he seems ready to replace them with one hour-contracts! To whom is he listening?
Anti-Corbyn MPs have said that their problem with Corbyn and McDonnell is that they want the Labour Party to be a movement. They have neglected to mention that this would put the membership, and potentially the population, in charge of the direction of the party in parliament. Smith and co claim that such a democratic party would be unelectable. MPs would have to not only listen but act on what all those mothers and non-mothers they have dismissed and ignored for so long propose regardless of what is good for the unregulated market and the arms trade which are now in charge.
As 80 women wrote in The Independent on 5 August: “It is sad that women MPs, some of whom were part of the first-ever shadow cabinet with a majority of women, have not welcomed this ‘new politics’.” Especially sad given that grassroots Labour women are the most supportive of Corbyn – 67 per cent according to a recent poll.
Are we looking for politicians who will help those few of us near the top to go higher or are we looking for leadership aimed at raising the status, income and services of the great majority of us who have suffered especially since a woman entered Downing Street in 1979? We want women at the top but only those who are answerable to women (and men) at the bottom.
Sara Callaway, Women of Colour GWS
Selma James, Global Women’s Strike
Nina Lopez, Legal Action for Women
Cari Mitchell, English Collective of Prostitutes
Didi Rossi, Queer Strike
Kim Sparrow, Single Mothers’ Self-DefenceDescription
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Reports by British spy Christopher Steele revealed a possible collision between Moscow and Donald Trump’s campaign for the White House, according to details revealed by the former MI6 officer.
Court findings filed earlier this month showed UK secret services were known to have seen a dossier compiled by Steele that revealed a “senior UK government national security official acting in his official capacity, on a confidential basis in hard copy form”.
The court papers say Steele decided to pass on the information he had collected because it was “of considerable importance in relation to alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election”, that it “had implications for the national security of the US and the UK” and “needed to [be] analysed and further investigated/verified”.
The December memo alleged that four Trump representatives travelled to Prague in August or September in 2016 for “secret discussions with Kremlin representatives and associated operators/hackers”, about how to pay hackers secretly for penetrating Democratic party computer systems and “contingency plans for covering up operations”.
The December memo alleged four members of Trump’s camp travelled to Prague to secretly meet Kremlin representatives.
They discussed how to pay hackers who had penetrated the Democratic party’s computer system and contingency plans for a cover up.
The memo alleges hackers were recruited by Russia’s intelligence service, the FSB, and used botnets and porn traffic to transmit viruses, plant bugs and steal data online from Democratic party leadership.Charlie Fuller has a BS in Sociology and an MPA from BYU and works as a management analyst in the public sector. She and her husband live in Utah County.
Before we make up our minds about whether or not to allow Middle Eastern refugees into Utah, we need to take a long hard look at the blood-soaked history of these desert-dwelling religious extremists. In the past 50 years we’ve seen bombings (1), shooting sprees (2), radicalized insurgents (3), torture of political enemies (4), firing squad executions (5), the taking of child brides (6), the killing of innocent women and children (7), and the declaration of war in the name of spreading religious ideologies (8).
But what can you expect from a people whose Prophet married children (9), preached the killing of sinners (10), instituted blood oaths, and raised up armies (11)?
These are a people who have sworn vengeance on the United States and have fought a war against this country (12).
Their scriptures preach violence: “And the spirit said: slay him, for God has delivered [your enemy] into your hands… God slays the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes…Therefore I did obey and I cut off his head.” (13)
and oppression of women: “And let [the first wife] receive all those [plural wives] who have been given to my servant, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure and have said they were pure will be destroyed… And I command [the first wife] to abide and cleave unto my servant and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she will be destroyed; for I am your God and will destroy her if she abide not in my law.” (14)
Is it wise to let these Muslim refugees into Utah? I mean, they’ve already been through so much with civil wars, terrorist attacks, and drone strikes. Is it fair to bring them into a community full of members of such a violent religion? Will they be safe among the Mormons?
Oh…oh did you think I was talking about Muslim violence? No, no all of these examples are from Mormonism (see citations below).
“But Charlie,” you say, “that’s just silly. Mormons aren’t violent.”
To which I would reply, “But some are. I’ve listed examples right here in this post.”
“But,” you might retort, “most of your examples are from fundamentalists, extremists, or whackos. It’s not fair to judge a whole group of millions of people by their outliers.”
“Exactly. So maybe we shouldn’t fear all 1.6 BILLION Muslims based on the actions of their fundamental extremists when the vast majority of them are peaceful, lovely people like you.”
“But,” you splutter, “Islam is an inherently violent religion! They have sharia law and jihad in the Koran!”
“And Mormonism has preached blood oaths and blood atonement. Only 4 or so generations back, Mormons still swore vengeance on the US for the death of Joseph Smith as part of the temple ceremony – where our most sacred covenants are made. And don’t even get me started on the genocidal violence in the Old Testament or Pauline oppression of women in the New Testament. Those things you fear about Islam are also woven into the fabric of your religion. You can’t condemn one without indicting the other.”
End Scene
Look, Mormons of all people should understand that it is entirely possible for members of a seemingly radical religious group to live peaceful, productive lives within the US. Talk about not being the ones to cast the first stone! Sheesh!
There are plenty of reasons why it is the right decision to accept refugees into this country. They’ve been written about ad nauseam this weekend so I won’t rehash them all here. But I’ve gotten pretty sick and tired of watching a bunch of Mormon pots calling those Muslim kettles black.
Sources
1 Mark Hoffman
2 Ervil LeBaron
3 Ammon Bundy
4 Bruce Jessen
5 Ronnie Lee Gardner
6 Warren Jeffs
7 Lafferty Brothers
8 Sen. Gordon H. Smith: “Smith… said he voted for the Iraq War because he believed it would open the way to LDS Church missionary work there.”
9 Helen Mar Kimball
10 Blood Atonement
11 Nauvoo Legion
12 Mormon War
13 1 Nephi 4: 12, 13, 18
14 D&C 132: 52, 54Melbourne researchers develop a paper clip-sized mind control device that sits inside your brain
Updated
Yes, it sounds like something out of a bad science fiction novel — or maybe an X-Men comic — but it's true: people with paralysis might soon be able to use mind control to walk again.
Key points: New device, described as a "bionic spinal cord", has shown in trials to control bionic limbs
Biggest advantage of this device is that major brain surgery is not needed
Small group of spinal cord patients in Melbourne will have the device implanted next year
And wait, it gets weirder: the "holy grail" device that might just herald this new wild era in biotechnology? It's the size of a paper clip, and it sits inside a blood vessel next to your brain.
The stentrode, described as a "bionic spinal cord", records brain activity and converts the signals into electrical commands.
In trials, the device has been shown to control bionic limbs, and doctors say it could also let a person move a wheelchair with their thoughts.
A team of researchers is intending to implant the stentrode in a small group of spinal cord patients next year at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Professor Clive May, a neurophysiologist at the Florey Institute, said the device offered users the ability to become mobile again.
"What has been shown in other instances is that patients can learn over time to use their brain to move devices in a particular way that they choose to do," he said.
"What we have done is taken a stent, which is normally put into an artery to expand the artery.
"We've used that same technology and we've put micro-electrodes around it and we worked out a way of inserting this up through blood vessels into a blood vessel in the brain that's just above the motor cortex, which is the part of the brain that controls movement."
He said the biggest advantage of the device was that major brain surgery was not needed.
"All the other devices require a craniotomy to insert them, which means removing part of the skull," he said.
"Some of these devices are actually punched into the brain tissue itself and obviously that can cause damage and signals from these other devices tend to disappear with time.
"So a big advantage of our device is that it can be put in through a small nick in the blood vessel in the neck and then, in what we think will be a day procedure, put up into a blood vessel in the brain."
Professor Terry O'Brien, head of medicine at Royal Melbourne Hospital and the University of Melbourne, said the device was a "holy grail" for bionics research.
"To be able to create a device that can record brainwave activity over long periods of time without damaging the brain is an amazing development in modern medicine," he said in a statement.
"It can also be potentially used in people with a range of diseases aside from spinal cord injury, including epilepsy, Parkinson's and other neurological disorders."
Professor May said although it would still be some time before the device could be used, it could have widespread use.
"There are many people who've come back from the wars who have not any spinal cord injuries but amputations," he said.
"Particularly in the US, there are tens of thousands of young men with single or multiple amputations.
"These devices will not only be able to be used to drive an exoskeleton or a wheelchair, but the aim is to get devices that will be able to move a bionic arm as well so that will give people much more freedom to live a normal life."
The research, funded by a number of organisations including the Australian Defence Health Foundation and the US Defence Department, is published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Topics: science-and-technology, health, medical-research, research, melbourne-3000
First postedRoughly two-thirds of economists want President Donald Trump’s administration to allow more immigration from high-skill workers for high-paying jobs, under programs like the H1-B visa. (Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
New York — A majority of business economists disagree with the Trump administration on several key issues, notably immigration, trade and the budget, according to a survey by the National Association for Business Economics.
This is the first survey done by the trade organization since Donald Trump took office.
The biggest sources of disagreement are trade and immigration, according to the NABE.
Roughly two-thirds of economists want the Trump administration to allow more immigration from high-skill workers for high-paying jobs, under programs like the H1-B visa. Only 14 percent of economists say the Trump administration should spend more money on deportations and border enforcement — programs the White House has emphasized since taking office a month and a half ago. Further, business economists do not consider illegal immigration a serious issue.
Regarding trade, survey respondents gave a highly favorable rating of the North American Free Trade Agreement, better known as NAFTA. Nearly 70 percent of respondents said the administration should only use policies like tariffs to restrict trade when U.S. industries are being threatened by unfair practices.
A large majority of surveyed economists, 78 percent, believe the budget proposed by the Trump administration will also likely increase the deficit and national debt. NABE economists favor cutting defense spending and federal entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, all of which are programs the White House has opted to keep the same size or increase, as in the case of defense.
One place economists find more common ground with the administration is health care.
While a bare majority of surveyed economists, 51 percent, have a favorable opinion of the Affordable Care Act at the same time 55 percent of economists support replacing Obamacare with a program that “increases consumer choice and control, supported by tax credit.” That’s roughly the idea that Republicans in Congress are considering for their Obamacare replacement bill.
A majority of NABE members, 54 percent, believe the Federal Reserve’s current interest rate policy is “about right,” while 40 percent believe the central bank’s policy is too simulative — meaning they have kept interests too low for too long.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed |
: [ [ "publisher", "publisher" ] ], "facets1.val" : [ [ "O'Reilly Media", "O'Reilly Media" ] ] }, "server" : "rangel.lan:27017" }
This query uses the index, but is not optimal as many more documents are scanned than returned. Note that the number of documents scanned is the same as the number of books by this publisher (as seen from the previous query) – this is because at present $all only uses the index for the first element in the query array.
The performance of these kinds of queries will improve significantly once MongoDB supports index intersection, which is a feature that is coming soon (see SERVER-3071). With single index intersection, queries like the above will not need to scan more documents than those returned. In the meantime, to optimize these kinds of queries put the most selective filter criterion as the first element of the $all array if possible to minimize scanning:
> db.books.find(... { "facets1" :... { "$all" : [... { $elemMatch : { "type" : "subject", "val" : "Databases" } },... { $elemMatch : { "type" : "publisher", "val" : "O'Reilly Media" } }... ]}... }... ).explain() { "cursor" : "BtreeCursor facets1.type_1_facets1.val_1", "isMultiKey" : true, "n" : 675, "nscannedObjects" : 7315, "nscanned" : 7315, "nscannedObjectsAllPlans" : 7315, "nscannedAllPlans" : 7315, "scanAndOrder" : false, "indexOnly" : false, "nYields" : 0, "nChunkSkips" : 0, "millis" : 20, "indexBounds" : { "facets1.type" : [ [ "subject", "subject" ] ], "facets1.val" : [ [ "Databases", "Databases" ] ] }, "server" : "rangel.lan:27017" }
Solution #2
Store all facet types and values in in an array, but instead of each element of the array being a subdocument, concatenate the facet type name and value into a single string value:
{ _id: 123,... facets2 : [ "subject:MongoDB", "subject:Databases", "publisher:O'Reilly Media", "language:English" ] }
Create an index on the facets field:
> db.books.ensureIndex({"facets2" : 1}) > db.books.stats() { "ns" : "test.books", "count" : 105280, "size" : 109597152, "avgObjSize" : 1041.0063829787234,... "totalIndexSize" : 55694912, "indexSizes" : { "_id_" : 3433920, "facets1.type_1_facets1.val_1" : 26457536, "facets2_1" : 25803456 }, "ok" : 1 }
Now let’s try some of the same queries as before. First, a simple query on a single facet value (all books about databases):
> db.books.find(... { "facets2" : "subject"+":"+"Databases" }... ).explain() { "cursor" : "BtreeCursor facets2_1", "isMultiKey" : true, "n" : 7315, "nscannedObjects" : 7315, "nscanned" : 7315, "nscannedObjectsAllPlans" : 7315, "nscannedAllPlans" : 7315, "scanAndOrder" : false, "indexOnly" : false, "nYields" : 0, "nChunkSkips" : 0, "millis" : 28, "indexBounds" : { "facets2" : [ [ "subject:Databases", "subject:Databases" ] ] }, "server" : "rangel.lan:27017" }
This works exactly as expected.
Now, lets try an “or” query (all books about databases OR published by O'Reilly Media):
> db.books.find(... { "facets2" :... { "$in" : [... "publisher"+":"+"O'Reilly Media",... "subject"+":"+"Databases"... ]}... }... ).explain() { "cursor" : "BtreeCursor facets2_1 multi", "isMultiKey" : true, "n" : 46600, "nscannedObjects" : 47275, "nscanned" : 47276, "nscannedObjectsAllPlans" : 47275, "nscannedAllPlans" : 47276, "scanAndOrder" : false, "indexOnly" : false, "nYields" : 0, "nChunkSkips" : 0, "millis" : 117, "indexBounds" : { "facets2" : [ [ "publisher:O'Reilly Media", "publisher:O'Reilly Media" ], [ "subject:Databases", "subject:Databases" ] ] }, "server" : "rangel.lan:27017" }
This query is pretty optimal: the number of documents scanned is only slightly more than the number returned, and the index bounds look sensible, showing that the index is used for both elements of the $in array. Note that $in may be used to construct this type of query since we don’t need to use the $elemMatch operator with this schema.
Finally, an “and” query (all books about databases that are published by O'Reilly Media):
> db.books.find(... { "facets2" :... { "$all" : [... "subject"+":"+"Databases",... "publisher"+":"+"O'Reilly Media"... ]}... }... ).explain() { "cursor" : "BtreeCursor facets2_1", "isMultiKey" : true, "n" : 675, "nscannedObjects" : 7315, "nscanned" : 7315, "nscannedObjectsAllPlans" : 7315, "nscannedAllPlans" : 7315, "scanAndOrder" : false, "indexOnly" : false, "nYields" : 0, "nChunkSkips" : 0, "millis" : 20, "indexBounds" : { "facets2" : [ [ "subject:Databases", "subject:Databases" ] ] }, "server" : "rangel.lan:27017" }
If you’ve been following so far, you won’t be too surprised to see that, unfortunately, this performs exactly the same as in solution #1, for the same reasons described there. Index intersection is coming soon though!
Solution #3
Consider the following schema, where each facet is a field in a subdocument, associated with an array of the tags for that facet:
{ _id: 123,... facets3 : { subject : [ "MongoDB", "Databases" ], publisher : [ "O'Reilly Media" ], language : [ "English" ] } }
Add an index on each facet individually:
> db.books.ensureIndex({"facets3.subject" : 1}) > db.books.ensureIndex({"facets3.publisher" : 1}) > db.books.ensureIndex({"facets3.language" : 1}) > db.books.stats() { "ns" : "test.books", "count" : 105280, "size" : 109597152, "avgObjSize" : 1041.0063829787234,... "totalIndexSize" : 75464480, "indexSizes" : { "_id_" : 3433920, "facets1.type_1_facets1.val_1" : 26457536, "facets2_1" : 25803456, "facets3.subject_1" : 12084128, "facets3.publisher_1" : 2321984, "facets3.language_1" : 5363456 }, "ok" : 1 }
This solution has the same performance characteristics as the first two solutions, with the additional benefit that the total size of the indexes required is significantly smaller. This is because we are not storing the facet names in the index for each indexed value.
Once index intersection using multiple indexes is supported (which is also coming under SERVER-3071), this approach will also perform well for “and” queries.
Generating the Faceted Navigation Information
The other part of the faceted search problem is how to most efficiently generate and return the faceted search meta-data. One way to do this would be to use the Aggregation Framework to calculate this information on-the-fly.
For example, to get all the facet values for the collection and the count of documents associated with each one, we could perform the following aggregation query (assuming schema #2 as above):
> db.books.aggregate([{ "$unwind" : "$facets2" }, { "$group" : { "_id" : "$facets2", count : { "$sum" : 1 } } }, { "$sort" : { "_id" : 1 } } ]) { "result" : [... { "_id" : "publisher:O'Reilly Media", "count" : 39960 },... { "_id" : "subject:Databases", "count" : 7315 },... ], "ok" : 1 }
Then, as the user drills down using the facets, we need to add the filter predicates to the aggregation query. For instance, if the user clicks on the “Databases” subject facet, we can obtain the facet values and counts for documents matching this filter as follows:
> db.books.aggregate([{ "$match" : { "facets2" : "subject"+":"+"Databases" } }, { "$unwind" : "$facets2" }, { "$group" : { "_id" : "$facets2", "count" : { "$sum" : 1 } } }, { "$sort" : { "_id" : 1 } } ]) { "result" : [... { "_id" : "publisher:O'Reilly Media", "count" : 675 },... { "_id" : "subject:Databases", "count" : 7315 },... ], "ok" : 1 }
The downside to this approach is that it incurs the overhead of an additional aggregation query each time the user queries the product catalog. Furthermore, for certain choices of schema (e.g. solution #3 above) we actually need to do one aggregation query per distinct facet.
It’s reasonable to assume that the product catalog will be updated much less frequently than it is queried, therefore it may well make sense to pre-compute the faceted navigation meta-data and store it in a separate collection. Consider the following schema for a collection of faceted navigation documents:
{ _id : "'facet_filter_string", value : { count : 12, facets : { facet1_name : { facet1_val1 : 8, facet1_val2 : 12,... }, facet2_name : { facet2_val1 : 5,... },... } } }
where <facet_filter_string> is either the empty string (for the document representing the root of the faceted navigation) or one or more of “ |<facet_name>:<facet_filter_val>| ” concatenated together.
Then, to find the faceted navigation information pertaining to all books about databases, the following simple query on _id will do the job:
> db.facetnav.find({_id:"|subject:Databases|"}).pretty() { "_id" : "|subject:Databases|", "value" : { "count" : 7315, "facets" : { "publisher" : { "O'Reilly Media" : 675, "Pub2" : 3605, "Pub3" : 185, "Pub4" : 305, "Pub5" : 2505, "Pub6" : 15, "Pub7" : 25 }, "language" : { "English" : 7250, "French" : 1095, "German" : 1290 } } } }
Note that it’s not necessary to generate a document like the above for every single permutation of facet filters, only for each unique combination of filters according to some predetermined canonical ordering of facets (e.g. Subject, Publisher, Language). We can then ensure that the application always builds the _id string with which to query using this canonical ordering.
The faceted navigation meta-data collection can be generated quite easily using a Map-Reduce job. For some example code that does this, take a look at my GitHub repo. With the map and reduce functions defined there, the facetnav info for the entire product catalog can be generated as follows:
> db.books.mapReduce(mapFn, reduceFn, { "out" : "facetnav" }) { "result" : "facetnav", "timeMillis" : 117529, "counts" : { "input" : 105280, "emit" : 2423080, "reduce" : 63850, "output" : 1599 }, "ok" : 1, }
Subsequently, whenever the product catalog is updated, the facetnav collection can be quickly updated by specifying that the map-reduce job operate only on the recently updated items and fold those changes in to the existing facetnav collection. For example:
> db.books.ensureIndex({"last_updated : 1"}) > db.books.mapReduce(mapFn, reduceFn,... { "query" : { "last_updated" : { "$gt" : new Date(2013,7,1) } },... "out" : { "reduce" : "facetnav" } }) { "result" : "facetnav", "timeMillis" : 724, "counts" : { "input" : 1000, "emit" : 13484, "reduce" : 198, "output" : 1599 }, "ok" : 1, }
Third-Party Tools
There are a number of search engine software packages that provide faceted search capabilities. These typically provide the core functionality we have described above, plus more advanced features such as more convenient searching on ranges of facet values (e.g. finding documents that fall within a certain date or price range) or auto-completion (i.e. displaying relevant suggestions, grouped by facet, as a user types in a search query).
The trade-offs with using an additional search engine are:
Extra complexity due to adding another'moving part’ to your deployment
Your application must deal with the fact that the system as a whole is now eventually consistent, with respect to the data stored in MongoDB versus the data stored in the external search engine. This may be undesirable, particularly for a product catalog that changes very frequently, for example.
Two of the most popular search engines are Solr and ElasticSearch which, like MongoDB, are also free and open-source products.
Solr and ElasticSearch can be easily integrated with MongoDB using Mongo Connector, which comes bundled with plugins for interfacing with each of them. Using the appropriate plugin, Mongo Connector can integrate data from MongoDB into the desired target system and keep the two systems in sync.
Learn more about implementing faceted search with Solr.
Read the ElasticSearch documentation on facets and faceted navigation.
Conclusion
Faceted search functionality can be implemented in MongoDB, without requiring the use of external search engines. When index intersection arrives, all the types of queries we have examined here will perform optimally. Integrating with an external search engine to provide faceted search is also a good option, and something to consider depending on the specific requirements of your application.WASHINGTON -- In the wake of a judge's decision allowing same-sex couples to begin marrying in Arkansas, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) has reiterated that he remains one of the only Democratic senators who still does not support marriage equality.
On Monday, Pryor restated his opposition to marriage equality and acknowledged that he voted for the ballot measure in 2004. His response was caught in tracking footage obtained by America Rising, the GOP opposition research super PAC.
"My position on that specifically is well-documented," said Pryor. "That was a ballot initiative here in Arkansas... I voted for the amendment to ban gay marriage in Arkansas."
Watch Pryor's remarks in the video above.
When asked for comment, Pryor spokesman Erik Dorey noted that while the senator has not changed his mind about same-sex marriage, he supports equality for gays and lesbians in other areas.
"Mark supports the traditional definition of marriage," said Dorey. "He also voted to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," supported legislation to end workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and as Arkansas' attorney general, Mark was an early champion for laws against hate crimes."
Pryor is facing a challenge from Rep. Tom Cotton (R), who also opposes marriage equality.First and foremost, I would like to state for the record that I am NOT a restaurant critic. I lack the training and sensibilities to do justice to that role.
Secondly, I am not what you would call a ‘foodie.’ I can’t tell you what region a balsamic vinegar came from or whether my asparagus is organic or not.
I simply enjoy and appreciate really good food of most any kind and, to be completely honest, I realized that I have been a bit lax in the “Food” portion of the “Food, Family & Culture” focus for Local Exposure.
With that in mind, I happened to find myself in Florence, KY recently with an empty belly and some time to kill. I have been told by many friends that if I want to find good, authentic sushi, I need to go to Florence. Since Toyota opened their offices in the Northern Kentucky region in the 1980’s, an influx of Japanese restaurants has made that area a haven for Asian cuisine.
A quick Google search allowed me to find several good candidates and I finally settled on Miyoshi Japanese Restaurant on Bankers St. off Houston Rd.
I truly wish I had a chance to visit Japan to experience real, authentic sushi and to get schooled in the art of its preparation and its consumption because it is one of those things that I always feel like I’m just plain doing it wrong.
My first introduction to sushi came when I was playing hockey on a team in Crescent Springs, KY. After late-night games, we would often go to Newport on the Levee (to a restaurant that no longer exists, sadly) and indulge ourselves in an abundance of flavors and textures (“We’ll have one of each, extra wasabi, please -- oh, and another Sapporo.”). It was there that I learned to love spicy tuna, eel and my all-time favorite – octopus. I became so hooked on it that my team nickname actually was “Sushi.”
Lately, I have been on a sushi hiatus because of an experience that can only be described as “bad sushi.” Those of you who have experienced it, you know. Those of you who have not, I’ll spare you the details.
So, it was with a tiny bit of trepidation but more with a sense of reconnecting with and old friend that I entered Miyoshi.
The restaurant itself is immaculate, austere and very… well… Japanese. When I arrived, it was still early in the evening so the place was sparsely populated. I sat at the sushi bar because I love to watch the artistry of the creation. Secretly, I always like to think that my sushi is being prepared by Hattori Hanzo like in the movie Kill Bill. I ordered the Rainbow Roll and, yes, some octopus (it’s almost imperative).
I cannot speak highly enough about the Rainbow Roll. It had such a fine balance of flavor and texture that I made a concerted effort to leave out the soy and wasabi. I did not want it to mask the combination of crab, rice, tuna, salmon and fresh avocado that I saw prepared before my eyes. Each piece of the roll was unique in its own experience – some with more avocado, some with more tuna, some with more salmon, but each seemed to be purposefully concocted by the sushi chef.
I left the octopus for last – almost a dessert. A good friend once told me, “Octopus is the bacon of the sea,” and I wholeheartedly agree. I tend to think of it as a treat. It is crunchy and meaty but so full of bold flavor – a perfect balance with the delicate orchestra of flavors that are found in a sushi roll.
For anyone interested in Japanese cuisine outside of sushi, Miyoshi offers several noodle dishes, soups and traditional Japanese barbecue dishes. The prices are very reasonable and the staff is very pleasant and professional.
I think it is fair to say that my sushi hiatus is over and if I find myself in the neighborhood with a certain craving, I will definitely return to Miyoshi.
Music:
Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Miyoshi UmekiThe deep thinkers of Burning Man beat us to the playa this year, and we’re not quite sure what to make of it all.
You see, the Golden Spike ceremony is usually the first thing that happens as the Black Rock Desert begins its transformation into Black Rock City. It takes place towards the end of July, a good four weeks before the gates open for the actual Burning Man event.
It is a very workmanlike progression. In the early years, Burning Man was kind of a shapeless chaotic happening that took place in a stunningly beautiful yet godforsakenly hot and barren stretch of desert about two hours northeast of Reno.
But then the late great Rod Garrett was asked to and came up with a plan that would not only bring some order to the chaos of the city, but also encourage its exploration, because one would be freed from the very appropriate yet no less unnerving worries about being, say, run over by a car, or burned to death.
Garrett’s city design was beautiful, with radiating waves of humanity all bunkered in proximity, the better to get to know each other, and with wide expanses of desert reserved for art and inspiration and, as it has turned out, extravagant all-night dance parties.
(There is more, so much more, but we can get to all that later.)
But for now, it all begins with the Golden Spike, where the hard-living folks who will build the city come together to drive a ceremonial stake into the ground, marking the spot upon which the Man will be built.
Larry Harvey and his philosophizing posse took the pomp and ceremony that has sprung up around the spike and used it as one of the prompts for this year’s Radical Ritual theme.
When workers of the DPW, our Department of Public Works, arrive in the Black Rock Desert, their first task is to locate the exact position of the Burning Man, for it is from this very spot that our entire city is surveyed. Then a gilded metal stake is pounded in the ground, and over many years this action has evolved into a ritual. Each member of the crew takes up a hammer, and with a single stroke, imparts an ounce of energy that is confluent with their common effort; in some sense they’ve created Burning Man.
And you can absolutely believe that every person present on this very hot afternoon believes to the very depths of their souls that yes, indeed, they’ve created Burning Man. They will build, as they like to say, the largest art project on the playa – the city itself.
And that’s why it is so easy for the people at Spike to treat the ceremony with such honor and respect.
That’s why there are costumes, and speeches, and Champagne, and cigars. That’s why people drive, fly, train and hitch to get here in time. It is why Tony Coyote, the superintendent of the city, brings his family with him, to let his boys hit the spike, as well. Because it’s about honor and pride and craftsmanship … and family.
In his theme writing, Larry goes on to say:
“This year’s theme is an attempt to reinvent ritual in our post post-modern world. For this purpose, we will disregard assertions of belief and concentrate instead on the immediate experience of play….
We are certainly down with that. After all, there isn’t much bringing us together in the grander ways, is there? When is the last time you had a sense of common purpose with your neighbor? How about at work? How about, oh my god, in the political realm? Do you feel we are advancing inexorably toward a more fulfilling and satisfying future, and the inevitable advancement of the species?
No, of course we don’t feel any of those things, because why should we?
So you go to the church or the synagogue or the mosque, or cheer for the Dodgers or the Warriors or the Patriots, and you look maybe more desperately than ever for some sense of belonging, of being welcome, of being necessary.
And what do you get? You get none of those things, or not enough to nurture you.
So there, overly simply, is the motivation to start packing for Burning Man, because goddamn it if fire spewing hundreds of feet in the air, and sculptures delicately carved out of metal, and vehicles too improbable to be imagined don’t all lead us to start saying the same thing: “Yeah, THAT is amazing, and I want to play, and let’s do something amazing together.”
The more you can imagine, the wilder and more fun it will be, and the better it will make us all feel in the end. It’s not the sex or the drugs or the dancing all night that draws these fire-lit snowflakes together, it’s the wow. And the wow must be held sacred, and it is perfectly correct to surround it with ritual, so others may know that it is special and central to your life.
—-
Ok, now that the throat-clearing portion of the dispatch is finished, why don’t we just get to what happened out there this time?
Well, you might already know, because it has happened the same way many times before. Twenty times, actually (although you can read Coyote for the official total).
Tony is always the first to grip the now-bent sledgehammer (which this year was on loan, incredibly, from a museum that is commemorating Burning Man’s years in the desert. The hammer was due back to the museum after the ceremony, presumably under police escort.)
Coyote calls the group to attention, and he soon passes the hammer to Will Roger, the founder of Burning Man’s Department of Public Works, and a person who’s been out there every year since there were only four people around for the occasion – himself, Tony, Rod Garrett and rep from the Bureau of Land Management.
And Will says he’s thankful to there, thankful for the work that will be done to create the city, yet he seems somehow subdued this year. He’s not wearing a big cowboy hat or bandana. He’s not wearing his DPW denim that is covered with patches collected over the many years. He’s not smoking a fat cigar.
He talks briefly later about the cycle of the seasons, about the distances he’s traveled on his personal journey since he first started showing up here. He talks about the passing of time. He lives part of the time in Gerlach now, and every evening he’s here, he walks a labyrinth he’s built in his backyard.
Will takes a swipe at the spike and then passes the sledge to Charlie “Louder” Dolman, the event operator brought in several years ago to manage operations at the site. Charlie brought lots of event experience with him, but he says that what’s he’s been reminded of since he got to Burning Man is the importance of family. “I came here after doing other events, but they didn’t have the Burning Man feel. … The org could save a lot of money by having someone else do it,” but they’ve chosen to keep the work in the family.
Charlie makes a bit of news when he says that the organization is seeking a ten-year permit from the BLM, putting greater importance on how things are done this year.
But the theme that came up most often was family. This was the family that some of these people never had, or it was the family that they had chosen, or the family that they finally had felt a part of. When Nips took the sledge, her four-month-old was nestled in a pack slung across her chest. When she put the pack down, she raised her baby in her arms, and the crowd chanted, “One of us! One of us! One of us!’
Slim had something important to say, as he often does on occasions like this. He said this year, as he dealt with cancer, he learned the difference between, or the importance of separating, intention and outcome.
“If you come here with a certain expectation, this environment, this landscape, is going to fuck it up. … You have to have an intention in order to make anything happen (but) you just can’t be attached to a specific outcome.”
And then Slim got even more personal “To have this be my outcome, to be with you and be a part of all we are about to create together, is the biggest gift I could hope for.”
And on it went, for an hour or so, person after person saying thank you, I feel like myself here, I am welcome here, I found a family here. It was intimate, it was personal, and it was private, so we’ll let most of the particulars stay out there in the open sky.
After the elegance of beauty and power of the speechifying was finished, it was time to get to work. The survey team shooed away the revelers and began to lay out a circle 400 feet from the spike, which would describe the fire perimeter on Burn night 37 days hence. Then they put up the fancy new Octagon, the open-air, eight-sided structure that would provide some shelter from the desert as they camp out for the week.
The Survey team is the one and true First Camp on the playa, and those folks might be some of the most fortunate people on the planet. That first night — Thursday night — was almost impossibly perfect. Dead calm, cool but not chilly, and the sky so full of stars it made you believe they couldn’t all be real. It was a Hubble print come to life.
They lit the Burn barrel, brought out the guitars, and passed the whiskey. The crescent moon sank lower and lower in the sky, and the Milky Way grew brighter and brighter. Soon there was only darkness and the sound of voices – some singing, some shouting a story, lots of people laughing.
As he stood off a little ways away from the fire, Bruka was musing. “This is really it,” he said. “This is what Burning Man is trying to get back to.”
The season has begun again.
———
An update on conditions:
What’s happened to the serpents? The thigh-busters? The snake-y mounds of piled-up playa that force you to dismount your bike as you make your way out to the Temple?
Why, it would appear they are … gone.
As always with Black Rock City, though, your results may vary. Still, we found the finally-dry floor of long-ago Lake Lahontan to be flatter and smoother than any conditions we’ve previously encountered. YES WE HAVE BEEN FOOLED BEFORE by wide swaths of flat playa that led to overgeneralized remarks about the whole playa, but this year’s rains and runoff seem to have done their job. It is mighty flat out there.
There is about an inch or so of dried-up mud on the surface now, formed over the past month or so as the sun finally baked away the standing water that had covered the playa for months.
But all that water seems to have flattened the entire area. The only visible remnants of Burning Mans past are the faint tracks still remaining on Haul Road, the main entrance and exit point during the build.
We’d say, though, that the news is not all good. That crumbly surface layer is going to break down easily as traffic comes and goes, and when the wind begins to blow, as it most assuredly will, those tiny broken-down particles are going to go airborne. So yes, it is going to be dusty.
Can you imagine? Dust in Black Rock City? But the question seems to be how epic the dust will be this year. We’re sure we don’t have to tell you, but we will anyway: Be prepared. Goggles and facemasks would seem a particularly good idea this year.
—
A few more pics:A school in South Korea reportedly rejected a US teacher's job application because he was not white. In an interview with The Korea Observer, Sean Jones said he received a text message from his recruiter reading, "Hey Sean. Sorry they just told me they actually want a white teacher". A few days later, he reportedly received a similar message on Facebook for a different teaching position.
An official from the school in Seoul responded to The Korea Observer by apologising to Jones, adding she should have given him a shot regardless of skin colour. However, she did say their academy often eliminates certain candidates because "their students are too young and scared of strange foreigners".
This comes shortly after reports of an Irish woman being denied a teaching position "due to the alcoholism nature of your kind".
Thanks to Stream community @METEMPIRICS member for bringing this story to our attention.As the former Stanford University Dean of Freshmen, Julie Lythcott-Haims had the opportunity to meet some of the country's brightest, most engaging, interesting and driven young students. And many of them fit the bill.
But in her final years there, she began to notice a disturbing trend. Students were becoming less independent as parents increased -- or demanded -- control over their children's lives. That trend, she noticed, was having a profound impact on students, many of whom were experiencing unnecessary stress, difficulty managing their lives and, in some cases, an inability to function at university at all.
As a parent of two, Lythcott-Haims was noticing the same trend among parents in her neighborhood, where free play gave way to play dates and concerns about safety were taking away even simple freedoms, like biking to school. Those observations drove Lythcott-Haims to further research the phenomenon of so-called "helicopter parents," and the impact their parenting has not only on kids, but on society as a whole.
The result of that research is her newly released book, "How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success." Lythcott-Haims joins Here & Now host Meghna Chakrabarti to discuss the issues surrounding over-parenting.
3 Parenting Tips From Julie Lythcott-Haims
Stop staying "we." In conversation about your children, don't refer to their work or achievements by using "we." "We" are not on the soccer team, "we’re" not doing the science project, and "we’re" not applying to college. Stop arguing with the adults in your children’s lives. Kids need to learn to advocate for themselves with their teachers, coaches or other school staff. They should have these conversations themselves. Stop doing your children’s homework. The only way kids will learn is by doing their work themselves.
Book Excerpt: 'How to Raise an Adult'
By Julie Lythcott-Haims
Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar.
(Traveler, there is no path. The path is made by walking.)1
—Antonio Machado (1875–1939)
This is a book about parents who are overinvolved in the lives of their kids. It looks at the love and fear behind our overinvolvement. It looks at the harm we cause when we do too much. And it looks at how we might achieve better long-term ends—and help our kids achieve even greater success—by parenting differently.
I love my kids as fiercely as any parent does, and I know that love is the foundation for all we do as parents. But in my years researching this book I’ve learned that many of our behaviors also stem from fears; perhaps chief among them is the fear that our kids won’t be successful out in the world. Of course it’s natural for parents to want their kids to succeed, but based on research, interviews with more than a hundred people, and my own personal experiences, I’ve come to the conclusion that we define success too narrowly. And what’s worse, this narrow, misguided definition of success has led us to harm a generation of young adults—our children.
I came to know, care, and worry about young adults over the course of my ten years as freshman dean at Stanford University. I loved that work and found it a sheer privilege to be alongside other people’s eighteen- to twenty-two-year-old sons and daughters as they began to unfold into the adults they would become. My students made me laugh and they made me cry, and I rooted for them no matter what. This book is not an indictment of them or of their generation, people born after 1980—known as Millennials. Their parents, though—we parents, I’ll say, for I, too, am one of them—are another story.
I want to put all of my cards on the table. I’m not just a former dean at Stanford, I’m a graduate from Stanford and Harvard Law School as well. I’m writing this book not because of those opportunities, or despite them, but informed by it all, keeping in mind at every turn that my privilege and experience can be both a help and a hindrance in this analysis. And as I’ve said, I’m also a parent. My husband and I have two teenagers—a son and a daughter who are two years apart—and we are raising our kids in Palo Alto, in the heart of Silicon Valley, as energetic a hive of overparenting as you are likely to find on the planet. Whereas once upon a time I was a dean at a highly selective university tut-tutting the behaviors of overinvolved parents, in the years I’ve spent thinking about this topic I’ve slowly come to appreciate that I’m not much different from the parents I once rather breezily chastised. In many ways, I am the problem parent I’m writing about.
Father (and Mother) Knows Best
In the earliest moments our love is our umbilicus, our heartbeat, our body, and then our arms, our kiss, our breast. We bring them home to a sheltering roof and we delight weeks later when they make their first intentional eye contact with us. We nurture early babbles into first words and applaud as they gain strength to roll over, to sit up, to crawl. We scan the horizon of the twenty-first century and see an increasingly interconnected and competitive world that at times seems familiar and at times utterly not. |
Google's own Borg and Omega systems.
By adding the two together, Mesosphere says in a draft blog post seen by El Reg that "we believe that Kubernetes on Mesos will marshall in a new age of app development. It will give any company an easy way to adopt the Google-style scale-out model of building apps, as well as provide for improved developer workflow and resource optimization."
One company not mentioned in this release is Amazon – and for good reason. Amazon, via its cloud division Amazon Web Services, dominates the cloud world while keeping all of its internal infrastructure secret. Part of the reason why all these companies are working together, though many compete in the business sphere, is that they want to nullify AWS's lead by co-developing some powerful technology that could take it on.
We're not completely sure that's a viable strategy, though – after all, if "everything" at Google runs in a container, then it's likely Amazon has implemented the same thing. It just isn't saying anything. ®The past few years have been a watershed moment for marijuana. Since 2012, four states as well as the District of Columbia have legalized recreational cannabis, along with several municipalities and Indian reservations across the nation. Medical marijuana is now approved in the majority of states, and even places where cannabis is not exactly legal have decriminalized it. As of this writing, only 11 states have kept criminal penalties for pot possession in place. Last year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency announced that it would be lifting many restrictions on FDA-sanctioned cannabis research, though the FDA has been dragging its heels on the issue. And who else continues to sit on the fence on cannabis? None other than Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Hillary’s stance on marijuana is best described as “pragmatic.” It is that same pragmatism that keeps her from calling for wholesale imprisonment of Wall Street criminals. It is that pragmatism that prevents her from committing to breaking up “too big to fail” banking institutions. Such pragmatism makes her incapable of standing up for bold action that would make college free (as it is in most countries) and create the same kind of guaranteed health care enjoyed in virtually every other nation on earth.
And it’s costing her the youth vote.
The recent Iowa Caucus should have been a wake-up call for Hillary Clinton. Although she achieved a razor-thin victory over rival Bernie Sanders among the general electorate, when it came to 17-29 year-old voters, she was beaten – badly. Those young adult voters overwhelmingly went for Sanders by a whopping 70% margin.
True to form, Clinton is calling for “incremental” change on marijuana. She supports changing the DEA classification from Schedule I (having no accepted medical use with a high potential for abuse) to Schedule II (primarily prescription drugs with a high potential for abuse). She is calling for “more research.” Apparently, she has failed to notice the research that has already been done, demonstrating its benefits for cancer patients and in the treatment of ADHD and chronic anxiety issues.
Even though Clinton doesn’t quite go as far as equating marijuana with highly addictive opium-based narcotics such as heroin, she didn’t hesitate to mention both substances in the same statement. She supports the right of state and local government to legalize cannabis, but stops short of calling for an end to “Pot Prohibition” at the Federal level.
What is behind this seemingly schizophrenic stance? Essentially, Hillary’s hedging her bets. While the firebrand Progressive she was as a much younger woman may still be within her somewhere, it has been buried under decades of compromise and surrender that has pulled her into a center-right position. She wants to win has many votes as possible, which is understandable – but she’s still laboring under the delusion that even the centrists of the U.S. lean slightly to the right.
She’s wrong. Even among older voters, centrism has a different connotation today than it did even ten years ago. More important than that, however, is the youth vote that is likely to determine the outcome of this year’s elections. These young people have come of age in a time when they must bury themselves in debt in order to get a college degree, graduating into a job market offering employment that barely allows them to scrape by. Before implementation of the Affordable Care Act, many could not afford or even access health care. Too many of them are unable to afford homes or apartments of their own. They’ve seen their own abilities and talents drop precipitously in value while Wall Street criminals continue to receive fat paychecks for producing nothing of real, tangible value, even as their tax dollars go to prop up corrupt financial institutions and massive global corporations – while Main Street withers and dies on the vine.
They’ve also seen lives and communities destroyed by the sham “War on Drugs.”
Full marijuana legalization at the Federal level may be only one small piece of a complex puzzle, but it is a significant and highly symbolic one. It’s time for Hillary Clinton to get on board – or risk alienating the youth vote more than she already has.Photo
KHAWAZAKHELA, Pakistan — A top Pakistani general said Friday that the military had succeeded in clearing two militant strongholds in upper parts of the contested Swat Valley, including this city, and was just a week away from taking over a third.
“Essentially, at this point in time, we are looking at eliminating the hard-core militants,” Maj. Gen. Sajjad Ghani, the commanding officer of the military operation in the upper part of Swat, said in a briefing for journalists here. Khawazakhela is one of the largest cities in Swat, with a population estimated at more than 500,000.
It has been difficult to verify the accounts of the Pakistani military, since roads leading to the heart of the fighting have been blocked. On Friday, the military allowed a small group of journalists limited access to the area.
Rahimullah Shaheen, a local journalist, sounded a note of caution, saying that the Taliban who had been forced out of Khawazakhela had simply retreated into the nearby mountains, just a few miles from the city. One local commander, Shah Doran, still broadcasts on an FM frequency that can be heard in the valley between 9 and 11 p.m.
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General Ghani, who has been in the area for the past year and a half, said the military had cleared militants from Matta and Bini Baba Ziarart and was closing in on another stronghold in Piachar, in the upper Swat Valley.They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Then again maybe sometimes it’s actually worth more than a thousand words. I like to tell myself that that is the case with the picture here.
On an unrelated side note, I have to say that I really dislike using ‘that that’ together in a sentence. Although it is grammatically acceptable, I simply prefer not to use it. But that is another story, isn’t it?
Back to the point: the picture! It was taken during the month of June last year. When I look at it, I am reminded of the warm summer air, the beautiful blue sky, the birds and the bees as well as the trees and flowers that are so full of life. Summer truly is my favorite season – as I am sure is the case for most people – especially if you are a nudist like me.
Here in eastern Canada where I live the winters are long and cold. Freezing cold. Did I say long too? Yes I did.
For a nudist like me winter feels like the enemy. It might not completely stop me from practicing my passion for nudism, but it is definitely nowhere near as good as summer. Of course during the winter months I can still be naked at home. And I might even go for a quick jog through the woods while bottomless – but again, winter will simply never beat summer.
I should mention though that I discovered that the white snow is great for tanning the legs and buttocks. It acts like one big reflector, equally dispersing the sun light onto any exposed skin. I learned this after spending much time outdoors – naked from the waist down – during a particular winter some years ago. Never had the skin on my legs and buttocks been so dark.
Now some folks may ask why bottomless and why not fully nude? The answer to that is that body heat is easily lost through both the nuque (back of the head & neck) and through the upper torso. So as long as you have a tuque on your head, a warm winter jacket on your upper body and a good pair of winter shoes or boots on your feet, then you can pretty much spend a great deal of time naked from the waist down out in the snow.
More on winter nudity? Read: The So-Called Victim of Montreal’s Mysterious Naked Jogger
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it’s ideal. I’m not saying that it should or can be done when the temperature is minus thirty degree Celsius. Nor am I saying that men wont suffer from a little bit of shrinkage, because they definitely will! All that I am saying is that there is a way to experience nudism in winter – albeit only partially naked – and even get a good tan on your legs and bum while you’re at it.
Alright, back to the original picture now! It was taken during the summer – not during the winter – so I should stop talking about cold snow for crying out loud! The truth of the matter however is that like I was saying earlier, a picture speaks a thousand words, or more. And the words coming from the picture is that summer is such a great season for any true nudist.
During the summer nudists can go to the nude beach. We can justify not wearing clothes at home because of the heat waves. We can go for a nude walk in the woods – or more simply put – free hiking.
When I look at the picture I am reminded that nudism is liberating. It’s healthy. It’s therapeutic. It’s extremely comfortable. In fact, I use to leave the office after a day of work with feelings of major stress and anxiety. I would then go for a walk in the woods while nude and I would come out completely cured from that stress and anxiety.
That is why I believe medical practitioners should be able to prescribe nudism as a remedy for various ailments. I am convinced that nudism might just heal many folks without the need for them to use pharmaceuticals.
And if medical doctors could prescribe longer summers along with a heavy dose of nudism, then we would definitely be living in a Utopian world. One can always dream, right?
In the meantime – as winter approaches – I will continue to look at that picture to remind myself that summer is right around the corner. Yes I’m optimistic! I will continue to remind myself that soon I will be on the beach, in the woods or wherever I so happen to be – fully naked – without a single piece of clothing on my body. No tuque, no warm winter jacket and no winter boots. Just a pair of walking shoes or sandals at the very most.
Those are the words that I am reading from that picture. Somehow though I feel like it’s telling me way more than a thousand words. They are good words. Naked words. Words that make a die-hard nudist like me happy. In the end I can only be grateful for such a great picture: a nude picture of 1000+ words.Despite the religious community being a miniscule minority in the Czech Republic, there is strong, often irrational resistance to their presence
Prague, Dec. 31 (ČTK) — The Czech Republic experienced a spike in Islamophobia in 2014 despite there being a very small number of Muslims in the country, Petr Zídek writes in the daily Lidové noviny (LN) today.
Although President Milos Zeman’s popularity plummeted in the past year, he is still highly respected by Islamophobes, Zídek writes.
In mid-December, the Islamophobes wrote a letter to Zeman in which they praised his open “objections to the Islamic theocratic and totalitarian ideology.” They highly appreciated Zeman for opposing “the efforts by influential groups in Czech and European society to pursue a policy of appeasement towards this old-new totalitarian threat.”
Leaders of the anti-Islam initiative, which has more than 93,000 supporters on Facebook, have asked Zeman to veto a planned bill that is to extend the powers of the ombudsman. They criticize the current ombudsman, Anna Šabatová, for having defended two female Muslim students whom a Czech secondary school did not permit to wear head scarves earlier this year, Zídek writes.
The Czech Islamophobes fail to understand that the core of the dispute was not Islam and its habits but the question of whether school rules may be at variance with the constitution, Zídek writes.
The Islamphobes say if the ombudsman’s powers were extended, Šabatová would use her new powers to “persecute the critics of Islam and thereby strengthen the presence of Islam in the Czech Republic,” Zídek quoting them as saying.
Earlier in 2014, Islamophobia was for the first time widely used as an instrument in the campaign before municipal elections. Even in one district in Prague, otherwise a cosmopolitan city, the highest number of preferential votes went to the then–deputy mayor who presented the stopping of a Muslim cemetery project as her biggest success in the past election period, Zídek writes.
A noteworthy aspect of Czech Islamophobia is that it can easily do without Muslims, he continues. The number of supporters of the “We Don’t Want Islam in the Czech Republic” group is at least five times higher than the estimated number (20,000) of Muslims living in the Czech Republic, whose population is some 10.5 millio, Zídek writes.
According to the last census, only 1,442 people claim adherence to the Czech Muslim Community (UMO), a mere fraction compared with, for example, the Jehovah’s Witnesses group with 13,000 adherents, Zídek writes.
For Czech Islamophobes, news about the Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) and from the West European countries with strong Muslim minorities is enough to foment hatred in the Czech Republic, he says.
In this atmosphere, a positive step is Bronislav Ostranský’s book Atlas muslimských strašáků (Muslim Scarecrows Atlas), which the Academia publisher’s house issued recently.
The book is a useful introduction to Islamic Studies, because it corrects certain widespread clichés. It points out, for example, that only 25 percent of Muslims are Arabs, that jihad is not a mere appeal for violence and that female circumcision has almost nothing to do with Islam, Zídek writes.
However, staunch Islamophobes will hardly “yield” to rational arguments. The Muslim terrorists have just killed another person, and Islam wants to destroy our civilization, they would say, referring to TV newscasts, Zídek writes.
Maybe the time has come to launch a new initiative, “We Don’t Want Islamophobia in the Czech Republic,” he concludes.SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A shooting at a Sacramento cell phone store left an attempted robbery suspect dead, say deputies.
Just after 3 p.m. Sunday witnesses reported hearing several shots coming from the Metro PCS cell phone store on Folsom Boulevard.
A robber came into the store, pulled out a gun, and forced one of the two employees to the back of the room, according to Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Jason Ramos. But the suspect had no idea one of the employees was armed himself.
“They felt they were being robbed, and one of them fired at the suspect in defense of the business and of themselves,” said Ramos.
A witness told CBS13 that this store has been robbed before.
“I knew the owners had pepper spray before, and they’ve used that before. But, never knew they had a firearm,” Rosemont resident Lance McCraedy said.
The store was last robbed in October, and that time the owner was forced to empty the safe.
The district attorney’s office will review the case to see whether or not the employee, who’s also the owner of the store, will face any charges.
Both men were interviewed and tested for gun powder residue, which is standard procedure.An ex-Reddit employee is accusing the company’s controversial CEO, Ellen Pao, of firing him because she thought he was too sick to work after his years-long battle with leukemia.
The employee, David Croach, wrote on the Reddit website on Friday that following a meeting with Pao in San Francisco in February, she called to tell him that he “was to be terminated in less than a week.”
“When I asked what the specific reason was, she had roughly stated that ‘because of our discussion, you are too sick to properly fulfill your duties as Community Manager,'” wrote Croach, who posted the entry under his online moniker, Dacvak.
If accurate — and Reddit did not immediately return a request for comment (Update: A spokeswoman for Reddit responded to TheDC after publication saying that Croach’s claim is untrue but said she could comment further on employee matters) — Pao’s move would be somewhat hypocritical given her high-profile discrimination lawsuit against her former employer, the venture capitalist firm Kleiner Perkins.
Pao sued the company in 2012 claiming that she was fired for gender discrimination. An acrimonious trial ensued, with the company claiming that Pao was fired for performance reasons. A jury sided with Kleiner Perkins and ordered Pao to pay back $276,000 to cover the company’s attorney fees.
Croach’s post comes just days after a popular Reddit employee, Victoria Taylor, was fired under suspicious circumstances. Taylor, who helped monitor the site’s popular “Ask Me Anything” question-and-answer sessions, oversaw one earlier this week with civil rights activist Jesse Jackson. In it, Reddit users asked Jackson numerous confrontational questions to which he responded in a scatter-shot manner. (RELATED: Reddit Ask Me Anything Goes Horribly Wrong For Jesse Jackson)
In his post, Croach described his battle with leukemia and praised Reddit’s now-departed CEO Yishan Wong and former general manager Erik Martin for keeping him on while he went through chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
“Eventually I was cured of leukemia (or so I thought) and was finally able to begin working at reddit. About a year went by while I worked (mostly remotely) for reddit, until I was once again ready to move to their headquarters,” Croach wrote.
He said that he was cancer-free for the next year and was planning, once again, to move to San Francisco to work at Reddit headquarters.
“Unfortunately, weeks before moving, I had relapsed and my leukemia came back, this time harder than ever,” Croach wrote.
Despite that setback, Croach said that Wong and Martin “made the decision to not only keep my job open, but help me by continuing to offer me payment from the company until I was once again ready to return to work.”
Croach said it wasn’t until late last year that he was able to return to work remotely. He lives near Pittsburgh.
But his excitement was soon tempered when Pao, who joined Reddit in 2013, took over following Wong’s departure in November and instituted a new policy that required all employees to work from the San Francisco office.
In January, Croach said he flew out to San Francisco and attended a three-day seminar. He also met with Pao to discuss his future with the company and his moving plans. He said he planned to move to the Bay area two or three months later, and he says she told him she was “100% fine” with that.
But, Croach wrote: “Less than a month later, in February of 2015, I received a call from Ellen stating that I was to be terminated in less than a week.”
“When I asked what the specific reason was, she had roughly stated that ‘because of our discussion, you are too sick to properly fulfill your duties as Community Manager,'” he claimed.
After Croach pleaded with Pao for his job, he said she relented and said that if he received clearance from a doctor to work from San Francisco he could stay on.
“Unfortunately, a day later, she had called and once again stated that I was fired, stating that work would be too demanding for my health,” Croach claimed.
While Croach said he is thankful to Pao for covering his medical insurance for a year as part of his severance package, he said he is devastated.
“I honestly still don’t know why I was let go from reddit, but it was a devastating blow, especially because I was finally able to return to work after so much time,” Croach wrote.
Croach did not immediately respond to an interview request.
Follow Chuck on TwitterBitcoin Breaking News Brief Lets Encrypt Email Leak Shows Flaws in Centralized Trust
Let’s Encrypt, a Free, Open source Certificate Authority, announced that they have unintentionally leaked thousands of emails in their subscriber mailing list yesterday, to those same subscribers. The organization disclosed that 7,618 emails were compromised and that the same number of users were given said emails in varying quantities as the automated email chain grew in size.
Also Read : KickAssTorrents Brings Official Tor Hidden Service Live
‘Minor’ Email Breach Raises Questions
The leak occurred during a mass email about a change to their subscription agreement, when an automated mailer-bot added previous recipients of the email to the body of each subsequent message in error. Each new email contained one more address than the last, meaning only those that received one of the bad emails had their address leaked, with the exception of the first and final emails on the chain. No other personal information was leaked, and there has not been a security breach of Let’s encrypt’s site or services.
This is not, unfortunately, the first security issue Let’s Encrypt has faced, as malware was found earlier this year that had been signed by the free Certificate Authority. It is important to note, however, that less than 2% of their mailing list was affected by the leak, which was addressed promptly by the nonprofit:
“We take our relationship with our users very seriously and apologize for the error. We will be doing a thorough postmortem to determine exactly how this happened and how we can prevent something like this from happening again. We will update this incident report with our conclusions.”
If you subscribe to the Let’s Encrypt mailing list, all you can do at present is check your inbox, shake your head, and refuse any shady solicitations from data miners and ad-serving networks. No matter how small or inconsequential this breach was, it is still emblematic of the inherent flaws in centralized trust on the web.
Thoughts on the email leak? Leave them in the Comments below!
Images Courtesy of let’s encryptAn Isle of Wight Labour Councillor launched a verbal tirade at other councillors and the council chairman – and branded UKIP members as “neo-fascists” and “neo-nazis”.
In live footage screened on Isle of Wight Radio’s Facebook page at a meeting of the Full Isle of Wight Council last night (Wednesday), Councillor Geoff Lumley was repeatedly asked not to interrupt the meeting and was called to order by Council Chairman Charles Chapman.
VIDEO
Cllr Lumley – who represents Newport East – asked for clarity regarding why he should leave, before branding other party members as “neo-fascists”.
A vote to ask he that not be heard was considered, but in the end a vote was taken and he was asked to leave the meeting (18 to 14 with 1 abstention).
However, when he refused to leave, the meeting was adjourned and a call was made to Hampshire Constabulary by Council Chief Executive, John Metcalfe, in accordance with the council’s constitution.
After calling Council chairman, Charles Chapman, a “absolute disgrace”, “clueless” and the “worst chairman ever” Cllr Lumley remained seated for several minutes and was then advised police were being dispatched.
Reacting to Cllr Lumley’s ‘neo-fascist’ comment, Cllr Graham Perks said: “I’ll sort you out” to which Cllr Lumley accused him of threatening. Chairman Charles Chapman said they were both ‘threatening each other’.
In our footage, other councillors can be seen laughing and gasping in disbelief at what they were witnessing.
Cllr Lumley asked for a motion of no confidence in the Chair, which was thrown out immediately.
Cllr Lumley said: “Who is going to throw me out? I have a right to sit here.
“There’s no democracy in this chamber since the Tories and their ‘neo-nazi’ friends took charge.”
Hampshire Constabulary has confirmed its officers were called to attend the Isle of Wight Council meeting last night (Wednesday) at County Hall, Newport, just after 8pm.
After almost 30 minutes of a sit-in protest, Cllr Lumley reluctantly left the meeting and police were stood down.
Police have told Isle of Wight Radio that the matter was resolved before officers were deployed to the council’s HQ.
Isle of Wight Radio asked Cllr Lumley for a comment, to which he replied: “I won’t talk to Isle of Wight Radio.”Famed Bulgarian-born artist Christo has dropped his plan to drape nearly 6 miles of the Arkansas River with shimmering cloth, stirring mixed reactions among environmental and governmental groups.
“After pursuing Over The River, Project for the Arkansas River, State of Colorado, for 20 years and going through five years of legal arguments, I no longer wish to wait on the outcome,” Christo, 81, announced in a statement online. Related Articles American art essay: People in Colorado know how to torture an artist
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Q&A with Christo
The controversial project that was first conceived in 1992 by Christo and his late wife, Jeanne-Claude, has been mired in legal battles as opponents feared the environmental impacts of the 14-day installation above the river between Salida and Cañon City that would take 2½ years to build.
Christo told The New York Times that he decided to stop the project, which is on federal land, because he did not want it to benefit its new “landlord,” President Donald Trump. Instead, the artist announced that he wants to focus on his only permanent large-scale installation, “The Mastaba,” in Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates.
A spokesman for Christo said that he was traveling Wednesday and unavailable for comment. The artist is known for large, environmental installations. Some of his past work includes “The Gates” in New York’s Central Park, “The Umbrellas” in Southern California and Japan, “Wrapped Reichstag” in Berlin, and, in 1972, the “Valley Curtain” spanning Rifle Gap on Colorado’s Western Slope.
“Whatever Christo’s motivations are, more power to him as long as the decision is to cancel the project,” said Joan Anzelmo, spokeswoman for the project’s chief opponent, Rags Over the Arkansas River, or ROAR.
The group has been in a fierce legal battle against “Over The River” for years. Anzelmo said the project would have required drilling 9,000 holes that were 50 feet deep to anchor the fabric. Its lengthy construction process would have disrupted local traffic and wildlife, posing threats to bighorn sheep, bald eagles and fish, she said.
ROAR sued the Bureau of Land Management for approving the project, saying the agency violated its own policies and laws by allowing it in a designated area of critical environmental concern.
That suit is still awaiting a decision from the federal appellate court, but Christo told The Times that a decision in his project’s favor would not change his mind.
“We think it’s a win-win for the local people who live in the Bighorn Sheep Canyon. Certainly, it’s a win for the wildlife,” Anzelmo said. “Everyone can sigh in relief that the canyon will not be destroyed unnecessarily.”
Colorado river activist Gary Wockner was equally excited, although more snarky. “This may be the first good thing Trump has done for Colorado’s environment,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Not everyone is rejoicing, though. Christo’s decision is a blow to Cañon City, which was counting on “Over The River” to draw new visitors to town.
Cañon City Chamber of Commerce executive director Lisa Hyams said the world-renowned artist has a large following, many of whom would have traveled to see the installation. People outside Colorado know about Vail, Breckenridge and Aspen, she said, not Cañon City. This project would have given the city a chance to showcase its beauty and potential.
“There are multiple parties involved in any political process in the United States, and not always does your candidate win,” she said. “So to make a political statement out of art I feel is unfortunate. Not to mention all the people who are affected here by his political statement.”
Colorado Creative Industries director Margaret Hunt was also disheartened by Christo’s decision, but said she understood his reluctance to pursue an expensive, controversial project with an administration unlikely to be supportive — particularly at his age.
“You have to respect his reasons,” she said.
The loss of the project hurts economically, beyond the throngs of tourists that likely would have traveled to see it.
“It would have involved hundreds of other artists and volunteers in the installation and the execution of the project,” Hunt said. “It’s a real loss in terms of the visitors who would have come to Colorado to see the project and participate in it.”
The Salida Chamber of Commerce did not comment on whether the move was good or bad. The project was “a delicate subject at best,” executive director Lori Roberts said, noting that many in the city were split on the project.
But Roberts did say she was shocked, especially after the 20 years of work put into the project. She still remembers the initial meetings about “Over The River.”
“That’s a lot of time and energy encompassing everybody,” she said, “whether you liked it or not.”A California marijuana legalization initiative backed by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) was filed Wednesday with the state attorney general's office. But the national drug reform group said it has not yet decided whether to campaign to get it on the November 2014 ballot.
The Control, Regulate, and Tax Marijuana Act would legalize up to an ounce and four plants for people 21 and over and create a statewide system of regulated marijuana commerce. It would also impose a 25% tax on retail sales.
A year ago, in the wake of the legalization victories in Colorado and Washington, major players in the California marijuana reform movement, including California NORML, the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform, the ACLU of California, the Drug Policy Alliance, the Marijuana Policy Project, and late drug policy reform funder Peter Lewis's representative, Graham Boyd, met in San Francisco and came to a tentative agreement that they would work together toward putting an initiative on the ballot in 2016.
Reluctant to risk another defeat at the ballot box like Proposition 19 in 2010, the movement heavyweights jointly decided to let other states take the lead in 2014 rather than act precipitously and potentially see the reform movement suffer a major blow with another defeat in the nation's most populous state.
But momentum in favor of marijuana legalization was growing quickly, as evidenced by a September Gallup poll's 58% in favor of legalization nationally and polls out of red states like Indiana, Louisiana, and Texas showing majority support. That was also the case in California, with a September Public Policy Institute of California poll showing 60% of registered voters favoring legalization and an October Tulchin poll that had support for legalization at 65% among likely voters.
Those numbers prompted some key players to reconsider, especially given that two other marijuana legalization initiatives -- not vetted by the heavyweights -- are already floating around. The first, the California Cannabis Hemp Initiative of 2014, the perennial effort by acolytes of the late Jack Herer, is in the signature gathering phase, but shows little sign of having the financial wherewithal to actually gather enough signatures to make the ballot. The second, the Marijuana Control, Legalization, and Regulation Act of 2014, described by its proponents as "the world's first open source initiative," is pending approval at the attorney general's office after its proponents handed in its second amended version Friday.
Now DPA has stepped in with its own 2014 initiative. "The Drug Policy Alliance is the primary force behind this and primary drafter of this initiative," said Steve Gutwillig, DPA's deputy director of programs. "We wanted to make sure that a responsible and well-drafted initiative would be available in 2014 should a full-fledged campaign become possible. Filing this initiative is making sure that there is a viable initiative vehicle if we go forward in 2014. We think it reflects what the voters will support."
Gutwillig emphasized that no decision to move forward had been made, but that one would be forthcoming early next year.
The clock is ticking. The deadline for gathering signatures for November 2014 is April, and given that state officials have up to 60 days to return a ballot summary and let signature gathering commence, that means the window for signature gathering could be as short as three months. With more than 500,000 valid signatures needed to make the ballot, that would be a daunting and very expensive prospect.
It may still be better to wait for 2016, said Dale Gieringer, the longtime head of California NORML.
"I don't see that this does much for patients or consumers," he said. "The fact that we have three initiatives proposed for 2014 shows a relative lack of unity and a lack of adequate consultation among the various groups. And it's really late in the day."
Gieringer pointed to language leaving the state's medical marijuana system intact as one issue. "We would have two systems, one with a special tax, one without," he noted. "Guess which one most people would patronize. The legislature might respond by getting rid of collectives or dispensaries. Medical marijuana regulation is the elephant in the room, and these are complicated issues that will require consultation by a lot of interest groups."
He also counseled patience.
"People started panicking when those strong poll numbers came out in the fall and started thinking 'Gee, this is really feasible,'" Gieringer said. "But it was so late in the day that people couldn't really get together and plan and vet to come up with a well-conceived plan. This is a stab in the dark, especially until we see how Colorado and Washington play out, especially the tax and regulate part. How is this going to work in the marketplace? Will people patronize highly taxed marijuana shops or not?"
The DPA effort may not be the perfect marijuana legalization initiative -- that elusive creature has yet to be spotted -- but it is out there now, at least as a place holder. The other two initiatives appear unlikely to actually make the ballot, so the decisions made early next year by DPA and its allies are likely to determine if California votes on marijuana legalization next year or not.A 12.76 carat pink diamond, the largest of the rare and precious stones ever found in Australia, has been named the Argyle Pink Jubilee Photo: AFP
The huge rough stone, found by the resources giant Rio Tinto at its Argyle mine in the Kimberley region, has been named the Argyle Pink Jubilee and is worth at least £7 million. The Argyle Pink Jubilee will be polished and cut in Perth over the next ten days and then sold later this year after being shown around the world.It is a light pink diamond, similar in colour to the 24-carat diamond The Williamson Pink, which Queen Elizabeth II had set into a Cartier brooch for her coronation after receiving it as a wedding gift. The Williamson was discovered in Tanzania in 1947 and is ranked among the finest pink diamonds in existence.A Rio Tinto spokesman said 90 per cent of the pink diamonds in the world come from the Argyle mine but the new gem was "unprecedented"."It has taken 26 years of Argyle production to unearth this stone and we may never see one like this again," said the spokesperson.In 2010, a rare 24.78-carat pink diamond was sold for a record-breaking £29 million, the highest price ever paid for a jewel. It was sold to a British dealer at an auction in Geneva after being held in a private collection for 60 years.Rio Tinto said extremely high quality pink diamonds could fetch in excess of US$1 million per carat, adding that Christie's has only auctioned 18 polished pink diamonds larger than 10 carats in its 244-year history.In a country where forced marriages of children is common, one 11 year old took a stand, filming her escape, along with a defiant message
In Yemen, a country where children as young as six can be married off to men many times their age, 11 year old Nada Al-Ahdal's story might not have stood out at all.
But when her family decided to marry her off in an arranged marriage to a man she didn't know, she resolved not to become just another statistic. Instead, this young but surprisingly eloquent girl called her uncle and arranged her own escape, during which she recorded a special message for her family.
In the video - translated by MEMRI, a Middle East media watchdog - Nada explains her decision to run away to live with her uncle, exclaiming "I can't live with them anymore. Enough!"
Challenging Yemeni society as a whole, she asks "What about the innocence of childhood? What have the children done wrong? Why do you marry them off like that?"
At times close to tears, but mostly composed and expressive, Nada recounts how her family threatened to kill her if she ran away, and tells of the experiences of other child brides who committed suicide as a result of their ordeal, including her own aunt.
She also had some choice words for her parents:
"What kind of people threaten their children like that?...This is no upbringing. This is criminal, simply criminal.
"My mother, my family believe me when I say: I'm done with you, you've ruined my dreams."
According to the United Nations, one in nine girls in developing countries is married, often forcibly, by the age of 15. UN estimates state that if current trends continue, there will be approximately 14.2 million child brides by 2020.
Yemen is one of the worst offenders, where child marriages are seen as completely normal. The phenomenon is blamed on a potent mixture of poverty, Islamic conservatism and a highly patriarchal society.
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is the comic for you. Start with the first volume which collects the first five issues on Amazon or the iBookstore.
7) The Maxx
Sam Kieth’s creator-owned series about a homeless man who imagines himself as the powerful protector of an alternate reality known as the Outback, was one of the first Image books to reach a mainstream audience after it was adapted into an animated series that ran on MTV in 1995. The series wasn’t as popular as the first superhero wave of Image books from the early 90s but The Maxx was always critically acclaimed and continues to be recognised as a unique work by Keith. For being the first critical darling and the first Image comic to get an adaptation The Maxx rightly deserves its place in the top 10. Recently IDW Publishing started to republished The Maxx in a recolorized format with some new artwork from Kieth. Check out the first volume on Amazon.
6) Chew
You thought the concept for Sex Criminals was weird? With Chew we’re in a world where all chicken and bird meats are illegal. Our hero, FDA Agent Tony Chu, is a cibopath. A cibopath is someone who gets a psychic impression from anything they eat, especially when it comes to the last moments of a living thing. John Layman’s absurd stories are complemented well by artist Rob Guilory. Every panel is full of jokes and that give the comic a sense of humour and lots of replay value. The series launched in 2009 and wrapped in 2016. Coming at a time where there were no humorous creator owned books Chew deserves to be recognised as a pioneering Image Comic. Check out the first volume on Amazon or the iBookstore.
5) Spawn
Spawn is probably the best know Image Comic of all time. When the series launched in 1992 creator Todd McFarlane was on the best known artists in the world. The first issues sold nearly 1.7 million copies and remained Image’s top-seller a few years after the series debut. McFarlane was smart and within the first 20 issues, the series brought in industry icons as Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Frank Miller and Neil Gaiman to write scripts. A number of other series spun off from Spawn, including Angela (now owned by Marvel), Curse of the Spawn, Hellspawn and Sam & Twitch, the latter well known for helping launch Brian Michael Bendis’ career. The series is also well known for it’s art by Greg Capullo, now a superstar after his run on Batman. We’d be remiss not to mention the Spawn toys, which led to the creation of McFarlane Toys, one of the most successful action figure companies in industry history. The popular comic also spawned a 1997 major motion picture and there has been constant talk about a reboot. Spawn is still being published today and is heading for issue 300 which is just amazing from a creator owned comic. For that it deserves to be recognised!
4) Savage Dragon
Launched in 1993 Savage Dragon is true ode to the creator-owned comic ideal. Erik Larsen has written and drawn the comic to this day, setting a number of records in the process. Savage Dragon is the longest running American full color comic book to feature a single artist/writer, is the only Image book from the early 90s to still have its original creator working on the series, and is one of two Image books that were part of the initial launch that is still releasing new issues today (the other being Spawn). The series was adapted into an animated series that aired on USA Network in the mid-90s. The comic is heading to issue to 250. Thank to Larsen’s continued ownership and involvement the comic has been of a consistent quality and it deserves to be hire than Spawn.
3) Invincible
Invincible is the best modern superhero comic without a doubt. The comic launched to little fanfare in 1999 by creators Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker, Ryan Otley would replaced Walker after issue seven. Mark Grayson is the teenage son of a superpowered alien, Omni-Man. Over the course of its run Invincible offered a brutal and bloody superhero stories that sometimes mocked the ongoing tropes found in most big two titles. Kirkman recently announced that the series was finally ending with issue #144 which will be a fitting send off for one of Image’s finest and most consistent comics. If you want to begin for the best value we suggest the Invincible: Compendium 1 which collects the first 48 issues!
2) Walking Dead
The most popular zombie comic that turned into the best rated cable TV show, The Walking Dead is now a household name and will forever be remembered as a pop cultural icon of the 2010s. Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore launched TWD to little fanfare and the comic hit a bump when Moore had to be replaced by Charlie Adlard on pencils. First published in 2003, The Walking Dead received the 2010 Eisner Award for Best Ongoing Series. Couple with the commercial success of the television adaptation, TWD has been Image’s best-selling title over the past decade and often beats out Batman and The Avengers. The ongoing success of TWD has given Kirkman an amazing platform, in 2010 he was named Chief Operating Officer of Image Comics and in 2011 he launched his imprint Skybound Entertainment which also developers video games, novels, board games and other products. For ongoing thrills and showing us how successful a creator owned comic can TWD deserves the second spot. If you’re new to the series start with the first compendium which collects the first 48 issues available on Amazon.
1) Saga
What could beat out the juggernaut that is The Walking Dead as the best Image Comic of the past 25 years? It’s of course Saga which is perhaps the best reviewed comic book series since Watchmen and Sandman. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples creation was first published in 2012 and has taken out multiple Eisner Awards in 2013 and 2014. Saga is genre-bending space opera that is very personal. It’s been pitched as Star Wars meets The Lord of the Rings via Rome and Juliet. The immediate sales and critical success did more to entice comic creators to work on creator owned comics that anything that Image did before. As a result of it’s brilliant storytelling and positive effect on comics Saga is undoubtedly the best Image Comic of the past 25 years. If you haven’t caught up we suggest the first volume which collects the first six issues available on Amazon or the iBookstore.Mobile phones have become a staple of the 21st century. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone without a phone anymore, and with good reason – since the dawn of the smartphone, our mobile devices have evolved into an integral part of our daily lives. We’ve actually reached the point where a lot of people don’t even use their phones for talking anymore, opting instead to treat them as pocket computers. And when you think about it, their point of view is quite understandable, considering you can do pretty much anything on your phone – check your e-mail, watch movies, browse online shops, play casino games… Wait, what? You can gamble wherever you are, whenever you want? You better believe it! Stay with me, dear reader, and I’m going to tell you about what’s undoubtedly one of the best ways to indulge your inner gambler on the go!
A Satisfying Selection Of Mobile Games
The thing about casino games (and, well, computer games in general) is that most of them need to be developed independently for mobile and for PC. What this means is that while online casinos on desktop offer hundreds upon hundreds of games, only a portion of them will be available on mobile. In all honesty, though, when I say “portion”, I still mean “dozens of games”. How many exactly are available depends on the casino in question, but chances are you’ll be able to play at least fifty different games while on the go. The most prominent are, obviously, the slots. In the casinos I tested, slots absolutely dominated the selections, with over 90% of all available games being one-armed bandits. So if that’s your forte, then rest assured that you will be perfectly able to play your favorite slot machine wherever you are (as long as you’ve got a good Wi-Fi or 3G connection, of course).
Still, that doesn’t mean that you’re our of luck if you prefer to play table games – while there generally aren’t too many of those on mobile, as they tend to be harder to port than slots, there should still be more than enough to itch that scratch while you’re on the go. Roulette and blackjack are pretty much always a given, and depending on the casino you’ll also most likely get baccarat and casino poker. All the games work absolutely great, and playing blackjack on my iPad in bed was definitely one of the highlights of my online gambling life. Sure, you can’t expect the same kind of variety as you would from the casino’s desktop counterpart, but honestly, who cares? If you’re the type of person who’d honestly complain about there not being too many varieties of poker, then I’m afraid we just can’t be friends!
Live Casino, Also Known As The Best Part
What’s a good mobile casino without a live section? For those of you who don’t know, the live casino is a special section where you’re able to play table games such as blackjack or baccarat against real life dealers, video of which is streamed live directly to your device from the casino’s physical location. It’s one of the best features that any self-respecting online casino should have, as it places you right there in the middle of the action, just like if you were in a real casino! And, for the most part, it works great on mobile!
Keep in mind that not too many games are available on the live casino in general, especially on its mobile counterpart. This makes sense – I mean, it would be rather pointless to have something like live slots or live scratch cards, right? As such, the games you’ll have at your disposal are generally roulette, casino poker and blackjack, with some casinos also offering baccarat, but as far as I’ve noticed that’s relatively rare on mobile. Still, where the live casinos excel at when it comes to variety isn’t the number of games – it’s the number of tables. Most, if not all tables that would be usually available on desktop are also at your disposal when you play on mobile.
The Software Providers – The Unsung Heroes
It’s always important to give credit where credit is due, and in this case, I just won’t sleep right if the casinos hog all the recognition when they’re only responsible for hosting the games and not for creating them, or even porting them to mobile. No, that honor falls to the so-called software providers, the teams of very talented people who are in charge of creating your entertainment. Keep in mind that while the ones listed below are some of the most prominent software developers who bring us mobile casino games, the list is very far from being comprehensive. With that said, let’s learn a bit about them!
NetEntertainment
NetEnt have been around since 1996, but they only launched their mobile division, NetEnt Touch, at the end of 2011, catching the wave of the mobile revolution as it was happening. You may notice that they don’t really offer that many games, but the ones that are there are always of superb quality, with their slots often based on interesting properties such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and South Park.
PlayTech
If you’ve ever played an online casino, any online casino, then chances are you’ve experienced at least one of PlayTech’s games. Believe it or not, most mobile casinos actually feature a good chunk of PlayTech’s games, which are notable for being the only ones featuring Marvel characters such as Iron Man, Spider-Man or the Avengers. I’m still waiting for a “Guardians of the Galaxy” slot, PlayTech!
Spin3
If you’re looking for a recognized provider, it doesn’t really get any more prestigious than a winner of the EGR award for “Mobile supplier of the year”. Indeed, Spin3 have come a long way since the beginning of their partnership with Microgaming, which you may recognize as the leading developer of online gaming solutions. Their light platform is bound to run on most mobile devices, so rest assured!
Requirements
If you’ve made it this far, that probably means you’re rather interested in trying out some casino games on your mobile device. And let me guess – the only thing that’s worrying you is whether or not your own phone or tablet even supports casino games, right? Yes, I am a telepath. And yes, I know you just thought of that incident from middle school. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody. What I will tell you, though, is that if you’ve bought a device in the last 3-4 years, chances are that you’ll be able to play with absolutely no trouble whatsoever. Mobile games are really not taxing on the processor, so as long as your phone can realistically be classified as a “smartphone” you’re going to be good to go! All iPads, as well as tablets that run on Android, are also supported, but in case you’re not sure you can always check a few apps out for yourself for absolutely free.
Final Words
Online gambling is pretty much one of the greatest thing to ever happen to gambling in general, period. And while its mobile branch may not be as big of a step in the grand scheme of things, it’s certainly a rather welcome addition, giving you the opportunity to play the best casino games literally wherever you are (as long as you’re not in, say, the desert, North Korea or that one spot in my college dorm room that mysteriously cancels out all electronic signals). Really, the only reason why you wouldn’t want to play on your mobile device is if you don’t have one, but then again, in an era where phones have become pretty much an extension of ourselves, that’s not really much of an excuse. For seasoned gamblers, especially those with busy lifestyles, mobile gaming will open up a whole lot of opportunities. And even rookies can enjoy a few nice games of roulette before bed every now and again. No matter how you look at it, mobile casinos have something for everyone.Advertisement
ASPCA Reveals Top Ten Animal Toxins
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The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) have revealed that human medications have once again topped the list of toxins most commonly ingested by pets.
Within the human medications category, a majority of cases (4,151) involved cardiac medications used often to control heart rate and blood pressure. The second most commonly-ingested prescription human medications were serotonin and neurotransmitter medications (3,830 cases), followed by pain medications (2,836 cases).
In 2013, the APCC handled nearly 180,000 cases involving pets exposed to possibly poisonous substances. Nearly 20 percent of those calls (24,673 cases) were from owners whose pets got into medicines intended for human use.
“There’s no telling what story you’ll hear when you pick up the phone each day, but when you examine the data, clear trends emerge,” said Dr Tina Wismer, medical director of the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. “Year after year, human medications top our list as the most common reason for pet owners calling our centre. Determined dogs have no problems breaking through the pill bottles and swallowing everything inside.”
“Keep all medications out of reach and take your pills behind a closed door away from your pets. If you drop your medication, your dog can scoop it up quicker than you can say ‘poison’.”
According to the ASPCA, the top ten calls into the APCC in 2013 involved the following toxins, ranked below in order of call volume:
1. Human medications topped the list again with 19.8 per cent of all calls. The types of medications pets are exposed to seem to correlate with the most popular medications humans are prescribed.
2. Insecticides made up about 15.7 per cent of the calls to the APCC. These products can be very dangerous if the label directions are not followed.
3. Over the counter medications made up 14.7 per cent of the call volume. This category includes deadly items like acetaminophen and ibuprofen, but also items like fish oil and joint supplements.
4. Household items moved up to number four in 2013 with 9.3 per cent of the calls. These items range from cleaning products to expandable glues to paints.
5. Human foods are especially appealing to pets, especially dogs. Dogs can get themselves into serious trouble by ingesting onions/garlic, grapes/raisins and xylitol, a sugar substitute which can be life-threatening for animals.
6. Veterinary medications slid down two spots this year. People need to be aware that chewable medications are very tasty and pets will ingest an entire bottle if it is not kept out of their reach.
7. Chocolate ingestion is very common. At the APCC, chocolate calls make up 7.7 per cent of their call volume – over 26 calls a day! The darker the chocolate, the more potential it has to do harm.
8. Rodenticides are made to kill mice and rats, but they can also kill pets if ingested. About 5.5 per cent of the APCC call volume was about these types of products.
9. Plants were approximately 5.4 per cent of the calls to the APCC. Most of these calls involve cats and houseplants.
10. Lawn and garden products round out the top ten, accounting for about 2.8 per cent of all calls. Many of these exposures occurred because people did not store these products out of the reach of pets.As the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments kick off this week, a majority of Americans who have any opinion on the subject are still opposed to paying college athletes, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll.
The survey found that 37 percent of Americans strongly or somewhat oppose paying college athletes ― beyond their scholarships, that is ― while 30 percent strongly or somewhat support the idea. The remaining third aren’t sure.
But dig a little deeper, and an interesting picture emerges: White and black Americans are sharply divided on the issue.
A majority ― 52 percent ― of black respondents are strongly or somewhat in favor of paying college athletes, while only 15 percent strongly or somewhat oppose the idea. Among whites, however, the numbers flip: Just 27 percent support paying those athletes, while 43 percent oppose it.
Previous surveys, including a 2015 HuffPost/YouGov poll, found similar splits along racial lines when it comes to compensating college athletes. Newly published research may have pinpointed one major reason for the disparity: racial resentment.
As Vice Sports explains, a study in Political Research Quarterly found that “harboring negative racial views about blacks was the single strongest predictor of white opposition to paying athletes.” It was more of a factor than age, education, political affiliation, sports fandom or playing college sports oneself.
“It’s not race and only race,” Tatishe Nteta, a University of Massachusetts Amherst political scientist and one of the study’s authors, told Vice. “There are a number of reasons why people will support or oppose policy options here. But race can’t be divorced from the story. Race is one of the central reasons why whites are opposed to pay-for-play.”
Indeed, the HuffPost/YouGov poll found differences of opinion tied to other factors: Men are 18 percentage points more likely to support paying college athletes than women. Democrats are 17 points more likely to support the idea than Republicans. Adults under 30 are 11 points more likely to favor the notion than people 65 and older. But none of those gaps is as large as the 25 points between white and black respondents.
African Americans make up the majority of college athletes at the top levels in three major sports: men’s and women’s basketball (Division I) and football (FBS). A lot of the high-profile beneficiaries of pay-for-play, many of whom also have scholarships, would be black.
Furthermore, at many Division I schools, black athletes make up a significant proportion of the total African-American student population, and that’s particularly true on the male side. This feeds a stereotype of young black men who got to college only because they can play.
All of that likely affects how white fans view the debate over paying those athletes, said Louis Moore, a Grand Valley State University professor who focuses on African-American and sports history.
“In a sense, most whites see the black athlete and his presence in college as a gift,” Moore said. “[He is] somehow getting a favor, and this is somehow not work. In their minds, they think most black athletes don’t have much, so this is a reward.”
Stacy Revere/Getty Images Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes (right) is among the current and former college athletes who have sued the NCAA over compensation.
Young black men have also made up a majority of the faces leading legal challenges against the NCAA over athletes’ compensation. Former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon, former football players Shawne Alston, Lamar Dawson and Martin Jenkins, and current University of Wisconsin basketball player Nigel Hayes have all sued the NCAA in recent years. All of them are black, as is Kain Colter, the former Northwestern University quarterback who led an effort to form the NCAA’s first players union in 2014.
White fans may perceive this as black athletes “complaining” and being “kind of ungrateful,” Moore said. “If the white athlete got involved, it would get more traction.”
A majority of the survey respondents who watch college sports at least occasionally said that paying college athletes would not affect their level of interest. More than one-quarter said it would make them less interested. A majority of those who would be less interested said they would quit watching altogether. But this latter group amounts to just 13 percent of those who watch college sports at least occasionally. That’s an increase from the 2015 HuffPost/YouGov poll, when just 7 percent of fans said they’d stop watching if players were paid ― although given the small sample size, it doesn’t necessarily represent a real shift in opinion.
People were almost evenly split on whether basketball players should have to attend college before heading to the NBA. Thirty-eight percent said players should have to spend some time on campus first, while 34 percent said they should be allowed to jump straight to the pros. NBA rules currently stipulate that players must be 19 years of age and at least one year out of high school before they can enter the NBA Draft, which leads many of the most talented high school players to spend at least one year in college.
The HuffPost/YouGov poll consisted of 1,000 completed interviews conducted March 14-16, among U.S. adults, using a sample selected from YouGov’s opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population.
The Huffington Post has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov’s nationally representative opinion polling. Data from all HuffPost/YouGov polls can be found here. More details on the polls’ methodology are available here.
Most surveys report a margin of error that represents some, but not all, potential survey errors. YouGov’s reports include a model-based margin of error, which rests on a specific set of statistical assumptions about the selected sample, rather than the standard methodology for random probability sampling. If these assumptions are wrong, the model-based margin of error may also be inaccurate. Click here for a more detailed explanation of the model-based margin of error.Ted Cruz -- attempting to hold on to the narrowing possibility that he can wrest the GOP nomination away from front-runner Donald Trump -- faces a crucial Indiana primary on Tuesday. Meanwhile, and perhaps ominously for Cruz, he has run into headwinds among Republicans at the national level. His image has essentially nosedived over the past week or two, while Trump's image has become more positive.
Republicans' views of Cruz are now the worst in Gallup's history of tracking the Texas senator. His image among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents is at 39% favorable and 45% unfavorable, based on April 24-30 interviewing, for a net favorable score of -6. The last few days have marked the first time we have seen Cruz's image underwater since we began daily tracking in July.
Republicans consistently held much more positive than negative views of Cruz from last July through January of this year, but then their unfavorable ratings of him began to climb. After a holding period of sorts in March and early April, Cruz's image began to deteriorate significantly in the last two weeks, with his positive and negative lines crossing in the middle of last week. His current -6 net favorable rating is a far cry from where it was in late December and early January when his net favorable was +48, some 54 points higher than today.
Cruz now joins the ranks of several other GOP presidential candidates whose images among Republicans fell into net negative territory. South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham and former New York Gov. George Pataki hold the records for the worst images during the 2016 campaign; both of them had net favorables in the -13 to -14 range last August. Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore had a -11 in August as well. On the Democratic side, two former candidates also had net negative images -- former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb with a low of -4 in early September, and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee with a -2 at various points in August.
In sharp contrast to the recent trajectory of Cruz's image, we find Trump's image on an upswing in recent days.
For the period from April 24-30, Trump had a 59% favorable and 35% unfavorable image among Republicans, for a +24 net favorable. That's not Trump's high point (he was at 63% favorable, 30% unfavorable in late August and early September), but his rating is up in recent days even as Cruz's has gone down, putting more and more separation between them.
The accompanying chart shows the pattern of movement between the two GOP candidates over the past nine months among Republicans -- based on net favorable ratings.
The remarkable aspect of this trend line is the degree to which since mid-April Trump's net favorable rating has moved steadily upward just as Cruz's net favorable rating has moved steadily downward. Cruz's image was consistently more positive than Trump's from July through the end of February; then the two closely tracked one another before the recent divergence.
Despite the big difference in their images among Republicans, Trump and Cruz have roughly similar net favorable ratings among all national adults at this point (interviewing through April 30): -29 for Trump and -25 for Cruz. Trump is much better liked among Republicans than Cruz, as we have seen. Both men are severely disliked by Democrats, as one would imagine, but for Trump, that dislike is more manifest. Trump has a -75 net favorable image among Democrats, while for Cruz it's -45.
Net Favorable Ratings of Trump and Cruz Republicans net favorable Democrats net favorable National adults net favorable Donald Trump +24 -75 -29 Ted Cruz -6 -45 -25 Gallup Daily tracking, April 24-30, 2016
Trump thus has a tough challenge ahead of him should he win the GOP nomination, given the evident antipathy he engenders among anyone who does not identify as a Republican. One consolation for Trump: Hillary Clinton's net favorable rating among Republicans at this point is -74, nearly the same as Trump's rating among Democrats, the opposing party. Clinton, however, has a +47 net favorable among her native Democrats, about twice as high as Trump's current +24 among Republicans.This first appeared on The Huffington Post:
Next week, the new issue of MAD Magazine hits newsstands, which is okay, I guess. More important than that (and with a decidedly higher budget) next year sees the release of a new Star Wars film. Since the usual gang of idiots make their paltry salaries standing on the shoulders of other, more popular giants, they've set their sights on Star Wars once again.
I've written about the intersection of MAD and Star Wars before (for the official Star Wars website, no less) but it's nice (I suppose) to see them go back to that dried up mine for material.
For their new issue, MAD has given us an exclusive look at their new spread that answers a very important question: What has Luke Skywalker been up to for the last 30 years? If you follow the right path, it actually tells the story of the old Expanded Universe...
This issue of MAD Magazine comes out August 12th. For more information, visit the MAD website.
Bryan Young is the author of "A Children's Illustrated History of Presidential Assassination," the editor-in-chief of the nerd news and review site Big Shiny Robot!, and is the co-host of the Star Wars podcast, "Full of Sith."This past offseason, the NFL officiating clinic discussed a “point of emphasis” on Illegal Contact (IC) and Defensive Holding (DH) that would be applied to the 2014 season. As it turns out, there is much more at stake here than just points. Teams can seriously take advantage of these rules, both offensively and defensively, when it comes to what they care about most: Wins and Losses.
The penalties for IC and DH are different than for Defensive Pass Interference (DPI). Instead of spot fouls, these penalties are just 5 yards, but they come with an automatic first down. Which are critical. Consider that the past 3 years, teams averaged roughly 19 first downs per game, even adding 1 to 2 additional first downs is a 5.3% to 10.5% increase.
Thru the 1st week of the 2014 preseason (in 17 games), we’ve seen 27 IC flags. Last year, we saw just 37 total in 256 games! DH was called much more often last year (313 total) so where that ends up in 2014 is anyone’s guess. Thru the 2nd week of the 2014 preseason (30 games), we’ve seen 96 defensive holding flags (62 enforced) and 52 illegal contact flags.
Last year we saw 1.2 DH enforced/game, this preseason we are at 2.1.
Thats a 75% increase in DH enforced/game.
Last year we saw 0.14 IC enforced/game, this preseason we are at 1.73.
That’s a 1136% increase in IC enforced/game.
Oddly, while I’ve seen a fair amount of the games this preseason, when they do replay these flags, to be honest, it looks like 85%-90% are ACTUAL flag-worthy offenses by the letter of the law. Teams and fans just are not used to seeing them called because officials have been far too lax on them. But as Chip Kelly says (full quote below): “Those are the rules and we’ve got to play by them.”
But let’s look at what happens when this all boils down to what really matters: the Win and Loss columns.
3rd DOWN – Converting failed 3rd downs to 1st down because of penalty
Let’s examine the scenario when a team’s offense is able to draw one of these IC or DH penalties when they are on 3rd down. This flag (if accepted) changes a 4th down punt (most of the time) into a 1st down. It keeps the drive alive, and the team maintains possession of the ball instead of vacating it.
Below is data for the last 3 years, averaging per team across the NFL:
13.38 3rd down attempts/game
38.61% average conversion rate
Translates to roughly teams (on avg) going 5 of 13 on 3rd down (38.5%)
I ran a regression analysis on 3rd down conversion percentage to team wins over the last 3 seasons. Based on the 3D conversion rate a team earns, you can approximate the number of wins that team will gain in the season. The formula is Wins = 28.542 x (3D%) – 3.0402.
As such, with the league average above (approx 38.5% 3D conversions the past 3 years), the avg team won 7.95 games. Which is essentially 8, which is average (8-8), and makes total sense.
Imagine if in 2014, a team is able to earn just 1 extra first down on 3rd down per game because of one of these penalties. They move from 5 of 13 (38.5%) to 6 of 13 (46.2%). Plugging that new percentage into the formula, we can see:
A team who converts 1 more 3rd down into first down per game wins 10.14 games! That is MASSIVE! It moves an 8 win team, most likely out of the playoffs, into a 10 win team, most likely in the playoffs.
In my 2014 NFL Preview, I discuss even more about 3rd down conversions and how there is a down even MORE critical to wins than 3rd down.
1st & 2nd DOWNS – Converting first downs while on 1st or 2nd down because of penalty
Now we’ll look at situations where an offense is on 1st or 2nd down, and is able to earn another 1st down… a highly efficient situation.
Below is data for the last 3 years, averaging by team across the NFL:
50 1st & 2nd down plays/game
25.4% average conversion rate to new 1st downs
Translates to teams (on avg) converting 12.7 new 1st downs of their 50 total 1st/2nd down play attempts each game
I ran a regression analysis on 1st/2nd down conversion percentage to team wins over the last 3 seasons. Based on the rate a team earns, you can approximate the number of wins that team will gain that season. The formula is Wins = 55.754 x (1&2D%) – 6.1992.
As such, with the league average above (approx 25.4% 1st/2nd D conversions the past 3 years), the avg team won 7.96 games. Again, 8-8 and makes sense.
Imagine if in 2014, a team is able to earn just 1 extra first down on 1st or 2nd down, because of one of these penalties. They move from 12.7/50 to 13.7/50 (27.4%). Plugging that new percentage into the formula, we can see:
A team who converts 1 more 1st/2nd down into a new first down wins 9.08 games! And if they earned 2 extra first downs by penalty out of 50 1st/2nd down plays in a game, they move from 8 wins up to 10.19 wins!
KEY CONSIDERATION
The numbers we’re discussing are ALL AVERAGES. So if the NFL average rises, which surely it will, just because a team earns an extra 1st down due to penalty does NOT mean they will win 9 or 10 games. The key is, the team’s offense must earn them (seems likely) but the team’s defense MUST NOT.
Which is why what Chip Kelly said was spot on:
“Those are the rules, and we’ve got to play by them. We’ve got to learn to not get our hands in people’s faces, and we’ve got to understand that after five yards it’s illegal contact. And if you can’t play within the rules, you can’t play in this league. That’s just the bottom line. You’re just handing people first downs. We better figure it out, and as I said earlier, whichever team ends up being the most disciplined team from that standpoint is going to have a big advantage in this league. It’s a challenge to everybody. We all have to figure it out. That’s the deal.”
Chip Kelly “gets it”. [Not just on this topic, but he really gets ALL of it.] He understands to have the BIG ADVANTAGE, you need to get these “free” first downs and prevent your opponent from getting them. Your defense MUST be disciplined, and your offense MUST pass the ball and be aggressive (you don’t earn these pass penalties when you’re running the ball).
But I doubt even Chip Kelly realizes the full, exact impact. He’s just a smart guy who understands football.
The full, exact impact is if you’re gaining just 1 of these penalties/game which convert a 3rd down into a first down -AND not giving your opponent one- you’re on your way to move from an 8 win team to a 10 win team (all other things being equal).
And likewise, even if you don’t get the flag on a critical 3rd down, but you get it on 1st or 2nd down, you’re on your way to move from an 8 win team to a 9 win team (1 flag/game) or a 10 win team (2 flags/game).
That is the EXACT IMPACT. It’s massive. It’s the difference between making the playoffs and making room on your couch to watch the playoffs. And that’s the difference between coaches getting raises or getting fired.
If players and fans want to keep complaining about the flags, that’s fine. But I doubt they call things THIS tight in the regular season. But they hopefully will call it tighter than they did last season. So we WILL see more flags. Most of them are warranted by the letter of the law which has always been there. They just weren’t emphasized enough, and now they are. Time to move on.
The teams who get stuck complaining about the flags probably will be the teams who are committing too many offenses. And according to this study, it will most likely be those teams who are losing games.
[NOTE: Keep in mind not ALL penalties calls are equal. Teams who are leading in games (like the Broncos and Seahawks last year) have a lot of pass attempts against their defense, by opposing offenses playing catchup who are down by a lot of points. Therefore, they are more likely to have pass penalties called on their defense, but many are called when the game is out of reach. Which is why its hard to put too much weight on penalties alone, because game theory plays into it a lot.]
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What they’re saying about the 247-page 2014 Football Preview, released 1 week ago:
Comments
commentsWho won the Latino vote in Nevada on Saturday?
That's the source of an intense back-and-forth between the campaigns of Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, both of whom argue that their candidate was the one to win among the key Democratic demographic.
Entrance polling data from the caucuses on Saturday -- |
, the politicians give the unions salaries far in excess of the free market (all courtesy of the taxpayers) and the unions show their gratitude by funneling this same taxpayer money right back to the politicians. It’s a sick, heartless game and it needs to stop.
When voters think about doing away with “women’s right to choose,” they recognize a con when they see one. They sent Republicans to Congress and, eventually, to the White House because they do not believe that they should have to pay for women’s birth control, nor is it right for the government to coerce people who do not believe in abortion or birth control (both of which are core moral concerns, whether or not one agrees with them) to pay for insurance that provides for abortion or birth control. They’ve also begun to realize that, while most Americans will recognize circumstances in which abortion is okay, the Democrat party has become a party of death that refuses to recognize any circumstances in which abortion is not okay, including the circumstance that the baby has already been born alive.
And finally, when voters think about “allowing climate change to continue unabated,” they recognize the biggest con of all. One by one, those Americans who haven’t drunk to deep of the Kool-Aid understand that the climate has changed for billions of years, that the Progressives’ hysterical predictions never come true, that whenever a prediction fails they explain that the failure is itself proof of their theory, and that vast amounts of American wealth are being redistributed inside the country to crony capitalism and outside of the country entirely to Americans’ detriment. Oh, one more thing: If our American media did its job, Americans would very quickly understand that the core premise underlying climate change hysteria, which is the multiplier added to increases in CO2, is wrong:
After over 35 years of speculation, 25 years of IPCC reports, multiple US government reports, and US government estimates that it spent over $40 Billion on climate science since 1993, and it spent over $150 Billion on activities to “fight global warming”; it is past time to produce physical evidence that the amplified atmospheric warming from increased water vapor exists. If the evidence is not produced, the hypothesis that human emissions of CO2 will cause dangerous global warming is as obsolete as peak oil theory, or that the sun is immutable, unchanging.
Again, the voters may like Obama personally, but their choices when it comes to Congress and the White House put the lie to the claim that they like Obama’s policies too. (Well, except for voters in California, New York, and Massachusetts, which is why we need to be so incredibly grateful for the buffer that is the Electoral College.)
Poor deluded Adams, though, is certain that voters will come around. “Once Trump is saddled with Paul Ryan’s dystopian legislative agenda, Obama’s relative public standing will be even greater.”
And so it is that Adams asks Obama to make the sacrifice of stepping back into the political realm (a realm Obama has already promised he won’t be leaving) to run for the House out of Chicago. Adams can see it already:
If you agree, please respectfully ask Bobby Rush to step aside for his old rival and friend. Ask Nancy Pelosi to invite the President to lead her caucus. And ask Barack Obama to start planning a massive rally in Chicago — maybe February 10, 2017, ten years to the day after that audacious speech in Springfield — where he can announce that in 2018 he will be running for office just one more time, asking the South Side to send him to Congress, and asking all Americans to put an end to the Trump disaster by electing the 44th President of the United States to a two-year term as the 63rd Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Adams seems to have missed that Obama’s tenure has not been good for Chicago’s South Side. They’re dying like flies there.
Indeed, some of them have been figuring out that they’re being used. Perhaps these residents trapped in the Democrat hell of Chicago’s South Side might convince Obama that he’s not going to feel the love in quite the way Adams hopes:
So, by all means, my dear Progressive friends, sign the petition. If nothing else, it will be interesting to see how Obama fares after two years of Trump’s policies unchaining the free market and getting the federal government out of people’s private lives and pocketbooks.
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TwitterConservative radio host Glenn Beck said Tuesday that the "alt-right" movement is both "real" and "terrifying."
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"I want to make sure that everybody understands that the alt-right is real. It is truly terrifying, in my opinion," Beck said on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360."
Beck spoke with Cooper about Stephen Bannon, who previously served as the chairman of Breitbart News and will be President-elect Donald Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE's chief strategist.
Beck has previously accused Bannon, who also served as the Trump campaign's chief executive officer, of having ties to white nationalists and called him "a nightmare."
On Tuesday, he went after Bannon for openly admitting that Brietbart is a mouth-piece for the alt-right movement.
But Beck stopped short of calling the president-elect a racist.
"I do not believe that Donald Trump is a member of the alt-right. I don't believe he believes any of this. I don't even think that Donald Trump is a racist. He is many things, but I don't think he's a racist," Beck added.Getty Images
Last summer, the Patriots made the trip to the Greenbrier in West Virginia to practice with the Saints during training camp.
The Saints will be the ones making the trip this summer. The teams announced Thursday that they will hold joint practices on August 9 and 10 at Patriots camp before the teams face off in their preseason opener on Thursday, August 11.
Saints coach Sean Payton also said earlier this week that he expects his team to practice with the Texans for a couple of days before they play an exhibition game later in the month. The Patriots, meanwhile, will work out with the Bears at their place before they play at Gillette Stadium on August 18.
Those schedules make it clear that both Payton and Patriots coach Bill Belichick find value in breaking up the monotony of training camp by sharing the field with other teams. They’re not alone in that belief and we’ll see several teams practicing with opponents this summer as they get ready for the 2016 season.Sony will sell its US headquarters building to investors for $1.1 billion, according to Bloomberg. The sale is expected to generate net cash of around $770 million for Sony, which is working to cut losses across the board. The company will continue occupying the 37-story building at 550 Madison Avenue for up to three years, leasing from new owners the Chetrit Group, which also co-owns Willis Tower in Chicago. The building was previously owned by AT&T, which sold it to Sony in 2002 for $236 million.
Sony hopes to complete the sale in March — perhaps not coincidentally the end of its fiscal year, by which it has predicted a return to profit. The company is said to be currently re-evaluating its predictions based on the sale, however, so we may well see more positive results for the year than previously expected. Following Nokia's similar sale of its Espoo headquarters, it seems cash-strapped companies have hit on a new way to raise funds.The Vatican is taking legal action to prevent further distribution or publication of an image of the pope kissing a Muslim leader, after it was used as part of an advertising campaign for clothing company Benetton.
The poster, which briefly appeared in various locations around Italy before being hastily withdrawn after the Vatican's outcry, carries a picture of Benedict XVI doctored to show him kissing Mohammed Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand sheikh of al-Azhar mosque in Cairo.
There has been tension between the two religious leaders since January, when Egypt recalled its ambassador to the Holy See for what it called "unacceptable interference in its internal affairs" when the pope appeared to criticise the government for failing to protect Christian minorities.
In uncharacteristically swift fashion, and in forthright language, the Vatican condemned the picture hours after it surfaced and announced a crackdown on its wider use.
Press secretary Father Federico Lombardi said: "We cannot but express a resolute protest at the entirely unacceptable use of a manipulated image of the Holy Father, used as part of a publicity campaign which has commercial ends.
"It is a serious lack of respect for the pope, an affront to the feelings of the faithful and an evident demonstration of how, in the field of advertising, the most elemental rules of respect for others can be broken in order to attract attention by provocation."
He added that the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, was examining steps to "guarantee adequate protection for the figure of the Holy Father".
"The secretariat of state has authorised its lawyers to initiate actions, in Italy and elsewhere, to prevent the circulation, via the mass media and in other ways, of a photomontage used in a Benetton advertising campaign in which the Holy Father appears in a way considered to be harmful, not only to the dignity of the pope and the Catholic church, but also to the sensibility of believers."
Reports say al-Azhar, considered one of the highest seats of learning in the Sunni Muslim tradition, denounced the poster as "irresponsible and absurd" although Tayeb has not directly commented.
The Vatican's response forced Benetton to pull the poster. It was the second blow (or boost depending on your perspective), to the company's campaign, which earlier had to scrap a poster that showed Silvo Berlusconi kissing Angela Merkel after the controversial Italian leader resigned.
This poster, along with the one featuring the pope, has since disappeared from Benetton's website.
The company apologised for the offence caused. "We reiterate that the meaning of this campaign is exclusively to combat the culture of hatred in all its forms.
"We are therefore sorry that the use of the image of the pope and the imam has so offended the sentiments of the faithful.
"In corroboration of our intentions, we have decided, with immediate effect, to withdraw this image from every publication."
Other mocked-up photos have Barack Obama kissing China's Hu Jintao and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, locking lips with the German chancellor.
The current Benetton campaign, entitled Unhate and the company's first major advertising push for more than a decade, has revived its tradition of using shock tactics to sell knitwear and coloured denim.
Its previous campaigns have shown a nun kissing a priest, parents grieving over a man dying of Aids and a black woman breastfeeding a white baby.CNN host Brian Stelter accused White House counselor Kellyanne Conway of spreading misinformation on his show after Conway said the dossier containing salacious allegations about President Trump was “completely unverified.” The exchange was part of a fiery 20-minute interview Sunday, during which the two debated a range of topics, including President Trump’s approval rating, the investigation into Russian meddling, the president’s comments about the Justice Department, and recent revelations about the 2016 election from former interim Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile.
Conway raised the issue of the Trump dossier and accused CNN of being “obsessed” with it for more than a year.
“The DNC and Clinton campaign paid the same firm for said dossier, which is completely unverified,” Conway said.
Stelter immediately fired back at Conway, saying that was “misinformation that you’re spreading on my program, and I don’t appreciate it.”
The CNN host said parts of the dossier had been confirmed, including by former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page as recently as Friday.
During the interview, Conway and Stelter also tangled over CNN’s credibility, and Conway accused the network of having an “anti-Trump” slant because it helps its bottom line.
“Just own it,” she said.
Stelter then said the White House doesn’t want an “adversarial media.”
“I guess you just want everybody to be like Fox News, a state-run media,” he said.
“That’s not true,” Conway responded. “Stop being so jealous of Fox News, Brian, and their ratings.”Home News Ryan Fricke March 14th, 2017 - 12:48 PM
As reported by The PRP, Anal Trump has just released a new EP over the weekend titled If You Thought Six Million Jews Was A Lot Of People, You Should’ve Seen My Inauguration. All of the proceeds for the album is set to be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU is a nonpartisan and non-profit organization whose mission statement is “To defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.” According to the group’s web page the album is available for $5 digitally with the Limited Edition 5″ Vinyl already sold out.
This new album follows up their previous project that was a 1 minute and ten second protest album toward the inauguration of President Trump, titled To All The Broads I Nailed Before. The ten songs that made up the album each amounted to less than ten seconds.
The grindcore outfit is led by Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation and Rob Crow of Pinback. Ryan has this to say of the bands and their political stance in a statement he made on his Facebook page.
Alright, I feel like I gotta say something. For one, I’m not the “genius” or “mastermind” behind Anal Trump like these sites are spinning it as. I was asked by my friend, and musical fucking genius, Rob Crow, to throw some vocals on a grindcore Anal Cunt-ISH joke project called Anal Trump. Literally like 2 weeks ago. Seeing as how Trump is a clown, I was fresh off this Brujeria tour and I’ll jump at the chance to work with this guy, I said “fuck yeah”! He wrote, recorded and performed all the music and even wrote the lyrics. All i did were all the vocals, I think I maybe came up with the taco bowl idea and the song about him confiscating the coats. Lol. That’s all. I’m not a far left liberal, I’m DEFINITELY not a conservative. I’m actually somewhere in the middle although I’m registered as a Democrat. I think this world is too polarized right now and life doesn’t work that way. Life is chaos. Chaos resides in no end of any spectrum. That middle grey area is where discussion and dialogue takes place. Its where reality dwells and that’s the closest I identify with. Anal Trump is meant to be a funny response to this ridiculous man in a grindcore setting, a genre that gets its sound and values from punk, hardcore and the old days of extreme metal where fans didnt give a shit what nationality you are, what your political stance is. IT’S FUNNY. You know… ” HA HA”? Its meant to make people laugh. We’re glad most people get it, whether they’re for Trump or against him, and are getting a kick out of it. Wanna get mad at Anal Trump? I don’t see how anyone has the energy for that considering the state of the world and the fact that there’s so much more to be mad at than 2 dudes who spent a period of a few hours making 3-13 second songs about an orange billionaire.
If You Thought Six Million Jews Was A Lot Of People, You Should’ve Seen My Inauguration Tracklisting
01 – “Take The Hebe Outta Holocaust”
02 – “The Old State Department Library”
03 – “Christian Discount”
04 – “Race Detector”
05 – “Anne Frank Memorial Bagel Chips”
06 – “Let’s See Some I.D.”
07 – “If It’s Alright With Putin”
08 – “The ACLU Is Gay!”
09 – “Nuclear Football Photo-Op”
10 – “Does This Cross Make Me Look Fat?”
Stream it below:Aren’t bishoujo figures a must-have?! Get a TOM Bishoujo Figure Lucky Bag (fukubukuro) and allow us to choose a waifu for you! Each lucky bag also includes additional otaku goods. They’re a huge bargain since their price is lower than the value of all the products included, so snag one now to get 1 or more bishoujo figures that might have otherwise been too difficult or expensive to obtain.
New Year’s Lucky Bags are now available!
We’ve packed them full with an assortment of products from 2015!
You won’t know exactly what will be inside each bag until you receive it, but isn’t that just part of the fun? Make sure to get your order in for these limited edition mystery bags right away, and ensure that your very own bag of awesome is delivered to your door!
Bronze: : Includes 1 or more bishoujo figures and additional otaku goods.
Silver: : Includes 2 or more bishoujo figures and additional otaku goods.
Gold: : Includes 3 or more bishoujo figures and additional otaku goods.A private company is exploring whether to build the sort of small-scale nuclear reactor in Ector County sought for years by the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, with executives planning to scout the area next week.
Maryland-based X-energy specializes in high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, facilities previously built in other countries such as China and Germany but so far without a counterpart in the United States.
The reactors operate on what are called “pebble” fuel, or pieces of uranium wrapped in graphite and cooled by inert helium gas that company officials describe as more efficient than traditional facilities. Officials say the zero-emission reactors do not have to halt during refueling periods and they do not require water to cool it, eliminating the threat of meltdown.
Eben Mulder, X-energy’s chief nuclear officer, said the company was drawn to Ector County because of the university’s previous work and community support for such a project. Mulder said company officials plan to visit next week to explore potential industrial customers for energy products like steam and heated helium the reactor would produce and to scout potential sites.
In the meantime, UTPB officials will brief the Odessa Development Corporation 2 p.m. today at City Hall on the company’s plan with the idea of possibly asking the ODC to help find a site for a facility.
“The process itself depends on a number of things,” Mulder said. “If we get down there and we decide this makes sense and we get the right sort of levels of interest I think it can happen pretty quickly — in nuclear parlance I should say.”
Winning regulatory approval for the plant, along with designing and building it, could take years, Mulder said. But there would likely be incremental work such as smaller test facilities along the way.
He said the facility could contain up to four units on land the size of a football field, each producing about 80 megawatts of electricity and 200 megawatts of thermal energy.
UTPB officials presenting plans today to the ODC include Jim Wright, UTPB’s director of the Office for Regional Economic Development in Energy. Wright said previous efforts to build a similar reactor in Andrews County fell apart because of a lack of federal regulatory support.
Wright said X-energy’s $1 billion-plus investment would be a boon to the county but that UTPB’s nuclear engineering program would benefit from having such a facility close by.
“This is going to be what’s in the future,” Wright said, describing the technology as safe. “The educational component is the nuclear engineering program here will be right next to the (Department of Energy) demonstration facility for the technology of the future... We will be the only site in the U.S. that has this technology. Period.”
In January, the DOE announced a $40 million award to X-energy to develop the high temperature gas cooled-reactor, known as the Xe-100. Mulder said the company would supplement the grant with about $13 million in investor funding.
Last month, the company announced an agreement to with the utility Southern Nuclear Operating Company to work together commercializing and deploying the Xe-100.
“We believe it is a nuclear sustainable solution,” Mulder said, adding later that “when I talk about nuclear sustainability I’m talking about cost, safety, proliferation resistance, emissions and security of supply — long term.”
IN OTHER BUSINESS, THE ODC WILL:Share. Driven to perfection? Driven to perfection?
For Polyphony, it's all about the detail. Take one of Gran Turismo 5's premium cars to a night-time Kyoto in the Photo Travel Mode and you'll see where those six years since the last installment proper have gone; they're in the light refracting across the headlights, in the reflections that glisten across the perfectly sculpted bodywork and in the rivets and nuts that are each perfectly placed and painstakingly rendered. Forget photo-realism; catch it from the right angle and Gran Turismo 5 looks better than the real thing.
Get behind the wheel and that same attention to detail shines just as brightly, earning Gran Turismo 5 its billing as 'The Real Driving Simulator' and then some. Forza Motorsport 3's strength lay in its cornering as you struggle against its tire deformation system and Need for Speed Shift is about the experience at the redline as you hit maximum velocity. Gran Turismo's genius is in its braking zones. It's here that GT5's fantastic physics show their worth.
Exit Theatre Mode
That's violently clear from the first moment you go under the hood and flesh out the Nissan Silvia, Toyota Corolla or whatever other vanilla Japanese car you choose as your first ride. Hit the anchors and it's likely to fishtail widely as it struggles to lose the kind of speed that the car was never designed for, leaving you flailing into the corner and thinking to yourself that the supercharger you just strapped on may well have been a step too far.
Move up the power band and the challenge will rise in tandem; stopping a vintage Dodge Challenger for Monza's first chicane can prove a herculean task, and Gran Turismo adds some little flourishes to bring that home. The screen judders as the weight of the car shifts forward and the tires begin to skim along the tarmac like a well-thrown pebble across a pond, making it a challenge in itself just to spot the turn-in point and apex. Get into the corner and the physics won't let up, and by threading the V8's power through too eagerly you can feel the chassis protesting that you're pushing it that little bit too far.
Introduce a few of Gran Turismo 5's new features and then it gets really interesting. Take a race-spec Toyota Castrol Toms Supra 97 around a rain-slicked Le Mans and it's like nothing you've ever seen as you rip down the Mulsanne head-first into a wall of spray, the lone windscreen wiper whipping fruitlessly across the slim window of your faultlessly modelled cockpit.
Night-racing at Le Mans - it doesn't get much better than this.
All wonderfully accurate, and for those who like wrestling with untamed machinery impossibly exhilarating. But others may understandably find it all a little daunting. Thankfully Polyphony has had the foresight to open up its superlative handling model to all-comers, and Gran Turismo 5 is more approachable than its predecessors thanks to some all-new assists that can make hurling around a pedigree GT car as carefree as driving one of the all-new karts.
With its handling model proudly restoring Gran Turismo upon the driving throne, it's now easier than ever to fall in love with its exhaustive garage - and this time out there's a lot to fall for. From the nimble karts with their willingness to be hurled around to the brace of contemporary WRC cars that simply demand to be thrown about, it's a list that's as long as it is lust-worthy. But as ever it's just as easy to develop an unlikely love affair with those less than spectacular starting steeds, tuning them to within an inch of their lives until they're near un-drivable beasts.Now in its fourth generation since its 1999 introduction, the Cadillac Escalade remains one of the automotive world’s patron saints of conspicuous consumption. Checking in 1.5 inches wider, 1.4 inches longer, and about 100 pounds heavier than the model it replaced, the large-livin’ 2015 Escalade makes no excuses for its imposing presence.
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Built on the same truck-based underpinnings as the rest of GM’s full-size SUV fleet, the 2015 Cadillac Escalade initially launched with the recently updated 6.2-liter V-8 mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Producing 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque, the engine eagerly shouldered its substantial load, hustling the six-speed-equipped Escalade around town and down the highway with ease. But while we were busy flogging the six-speed Escalade on the test track, GM was finalizing plans to put its new eight-speed gearbox (essentially the same transmission that handles gear-swapping duties in the Corvette) into the Escalade, as well as in the 6.2-liter-equipped Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, and GMC Yukon Denali. GM figured that transplanting the eight-speed into the ’Slade would be a relatively simple way to improve performance on a number of fronts. Curious to see if the General’s hunch paid off, we re-upped for an Escalade equipped with the new ’box and strapped on the test gear.
View Photos MICHAEL SIMARI
As was the case with the eight-speed-equipped GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Silverado we drove earlier, low-speed drivability is dramatically improved with the new transmission. A numerically higher first gear facilitates seamless takeoffs, and the more tightly spaced ratios mean the transmission stays busy even under light acceleration. Yet it shuffles between gears with a precise, almost imperceptible action, rarely letting the revs climb above 3000 rpm. Mat the accelerator at any speed, however, and the tach swings for the cheap seats, the transmission letting the beefy V-8 rev to around 5700 rpm before grabbing another gear. Thanks to the tighter gap between ratios, the engine spends more time in the meaty portion of its torque curve, making the most of its output and lending a more fluid feel to the proceedings.
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Playing the Numbers
First impressions formed, we set off for the track in search of confirmation that our finely honed seat-of-the-pants meter was properly calibrated. First up was the zero-to-60-mph dash, where the eight-speed Escalade posted a 5.6-second run, laying waste to the 6.1-second time of the six-speed truck. The rest of the data continued to fall in favor of the eight-speed, with the quarter-mile passing in 14.1 seconds at a trap speed of 99 mph, edging out the six-speed’s run of 14.7 at 96 mph.
View Photos MICHAEL SIMARI
Unfortunately, the eight-speed Escalade remained just as thirsty as our six-speed test vehicle, returning the same 14 mpg in mixed driving. To be fair, neither GM nor the EPA were claiming otherwise; the newer version’s 15/21-mpg city/highway estimates are barely better than the six-speed model’s 14/21 mpg (that’s for four-wheel-drive examples like ours; rear-drive Escalades pick up 1 mpg on the EPA highway cycle with the eight-speed). Grip on our 300-foot skidpad remained unchanged at 0.75 g, GM’s Magnetic Ride Control adaptive suspension toiling to keep the big girl on the level.
Fans of the Escalade’s opulent interior and brassy exterior will be pleased to know that very little has changed outside of the powertrain. The giant Cadillac still brandishes its glitzy grille and fascia with pride, our latest version riding high on optional 22-inch wheels ($600). Accessing the leather-lined, clubroom-like, Kona Brown interior is made easier by the optional power retracting side steps ($1695), a feature we’d leave off unless we were hampered by stature or lack of flexibility. We really took a liking to the natural matte-wood interior trim, which looks a tad more organic sans the usual ladled-on gloss finish. Needless to say, virtually every creature comfort and gadget in the GM catalog makes an appearance here—heated and cooled front and rear seats, all manner of safety assists and blind-spot warnings, a four-color head-up display, Bose audio, and much, much more. It’s as you’d expect of an $89,360 SUV—which now has a transmission more befitting of its lofty sticker.S.F. voters surprisingly conservative on issues
Bruce Reyes-Chow came 10 minutes before 7:00 am to vote at 107 Congo St. in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Bruce Reyes-Chow came 10 minutes before 7:00 am to vote at 107 Congo St. in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close S.F. voters surprisingly conservative on issues 1 / 4 Back to Gallery
It sounds like a stereotypical San Franciscan's dream: spend big on affordable housing, explore public power, decriminalize prostitution, vote against the military in schools - and, like icing on the political cake, name a sewage treatment plant after George Bush.
But none of that happened.
Despite the city's far-left reputation, San Franciscans defeated a host of liberal ballot measures and voted in favor of keeping JROTC in the public schools. And perhaps even more surprisingly, 1 in 4 voters voted to ban same-sex marriage.
"There's a real, solid conservative vein in San Francisco," said political consultant Jim Ross, who said he saw numerous Yes on Prop. 8 lawn signs while driving through the west side of the city.
In addition to conservative Republicans, it is thought that support for the same-sex marriage ban came from some Latinos, African Americans, and Chinese Americans who may have voted for religious reasons. So why don't we hear from that portion of the city more often?
"If you're a conservative, a real conservative in San Francisco, you're so alienated and so marginalized, you just don't have a voice in the process," said Ross, who said he was especially surprised the affordable housing measure is losing. "I thought giving away affordable housing would be like giving away cold beer on a hot day," he said with a laugh.
The outcomes for the Board of Supervisors races, however, appear to have gone the exact opposite way. In the three swing districts, the more left-leaning candidates - Eric Mar in District One, David Chiu in District Three and John Avalos in District 11 - are all winning. Because of the ranked-choice voting system, results won't be available until at least Friday.
Political consultant David Latterman said voters want "neighborhood guys, their man on the street" to represent them at the Board of Supervisors, but look at citywide ballot measures with a more centrist bent - especially in tough economic times.
"Citywide, it's not the time to tinker," he said.
The Department of Elections still has tens of thousands of ballots to count, including 16,000 provisional ballots and 27,000 mail-in ballots dropped off at polling places Tuesday. In addition, only mail-in ballots and early voting ballots that were submitted by Saturday have been counted so far. Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin said 130,000 ballots are still outstanding, though the elections staff wouldn't confirm that number.
That means Proposition B, which would authorize spending $30 million annually on affordable housing, could still win. But so far, it's losing by about 1 percent. The other most-watched ballot measures are unlikely to see their outcomes changed.
Supervisor Chris Daly said many ballot measures lost - including Mayor Gavin Newsom's special court to prosecute quality-of-life crimes, which got trounced - because they represented new programs and new spending.
"You didn't see a litmus test around liberal or conservative," he said. "You saw the electorate rejecting new proposals... new items with associated spending based on economic conditions and the meltdown of the global financial systems."
In what may be a first, Leo Lacayo, a member of the San Francisco Republican County Central Committee, agreed with Daly's premise.
The third-generation San Franciscan, who lives near Mount Davidson in the southwest portion of the city, said he gets tired of the people who come to the city in their 20s voting ideologically. This time, he thinks, voters were more cautious because of the economy.
"They don't really have a stake in the city - they don't own property, they don't own businesses," he said. "They pass all these crazy ideas and then they leave town and stick the bill with the taxpayer. But because money's tight, even people who don't have a stake in the city said, 'Wait a minute.' "
Tami Bryant, a delegate to the San Francisco Labor Council who lives in the Western Addition, didn't have a great election night locally. She voted for affordable housing, public power, decriminalizing prostitution, renaming the sewage plant and against JROTC.
She was surprised none of that went her way, and even more surprised to hear some co-workers say they'd voted for Prop. 8.
"I have conversations that surprise me. Here I am living in San Francisco, and I'm talking to Republicans and people who have very right-wing ideas," she said. "But sometimes we have to find common ground with people who think differently than us."World Champion Sebastian Vettel set the pace on day one of what could turn out to be a defining test in the build up to the new season. Unlike the permanent Valencia track and Jerez, Barcelona is an F1 race venue and is still considered one of the best circuits for showing up a good car. It's combination of corners and short and long straights is a great test for a car's aerodynamic efficiency and a quick car around Barcelona is always a contender.
With the political situation in Bahrain still volatile, the F1 teams met to discuss the final test which was due to start there next week. An alternative venue in Spain looks a distinct possibility. One of the reasons is because emergency medical staff who would work at the circuit are needed in Manama's hospitals tending to the injured from the riots. The chances of the first race being called off seem to be mounting. Although Bernie Ecclestone has said that he will make a decision next week, he sounds more pessimistic now and the Foreign Office advice to British nationals is firmly not to travel.
Although he set the pace, Vettel covered just 37 laps today. He had a couple of off track excursions and the team lost time checking the car over.
The German popped in a 1m27.241s with ten minutes to go to finish 1.111 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who has spent much of the day at the top of the timesheets.
Alonso and Ferrari put in another faultless day of running with 101 laps as the Spaniard focused on runs of between eight and 17 laps. This is the second Ferrari chassis to be tested, after the first one did the Valencia and Jerez tests.
Heavy rain in Barcelona on Thursday meant that the session started on a damp track but gloriously sunny weather saw the track dry throughout the morning and the teams were able to get some clear running after lunch.
Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari finished third fastest ahead of Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi, but those times were set on short runs. The duo encountered problems too, both stopping out on circuit and forcing the session to be stopped.
Jenson Button was fifth in his McLaren ahead of Force India’s Paul di Resta. The Scot didn’t get out on track until the afternoon and thus only managed 24 laps of running.
Williams’ Rubens Barrichello was seventh after the team lost time making a precautionary engine change while Michael Schumacher completed a 65-lap race simulation, which included pitstops, lapping in the late 1m29s before seeing his times drop off by about three seconds.
Hispania’s Narain Karthikeyan and Virgin Jerome D’Ambrosio completed a good day’s running completing 114 and 115 laps respectively.
Nick Heidfeld received plenty of attention at his first media briefing since joining the team as the Robert Kubica’s replacement and completed five pitstop simulations and 27 laps early in the morning. He then handed the car over to teammate Vitaly Petrov, however, a glitch with the KERS meant the Russian completed just 20 laps and was 10 seconds off the pace.
In other news, Mercedes announced that Bob Bell will take over as Technical Director in April, six months after he left the renault team. Bell is a veteran of McLaren, Jordan and Renault and has been hand picked by Mercedes boss Ross Brawn to provide technical leadership on the chassis side. He's a first class engineer, very pragmatic and has a great all round grasp on all aspects of how an F1 team operates, not just the engineering side, after being an interim managing director of Renault following the departure of Flavio Briatore in 2009.
Meanwhile Tonio Liuzzi is to test for the last remaining seat on the 2011 F1 grid tomorrow, when he tries out for Hispania Racing. The Italian was dropped by Force India despite having a year to run on his contract and rumours linking him with this seat have been circulating in Italy since January.
"Tonio is a strong contender for the second seat given that he has a lot of experience in Formula One," said team principal Colin Kolles. "We hope his comments and feedback will help the team to progress in the right direction”.
Hiring Liuzzi would be a step in the right direction for the team. The Italian has experience and will feel he has a lot to prove, after failing to hold onto opportunities which might have led to greater things, with Toro Rosso and Force India.
Williams has announced that it will launch its livery for 2011 online on Thursday 24th. This will be a telecast of an event I plan to attend at Williams HQ where Sam Michael will also explain the design of the new car and talk us through its radical back end.
BARCELONA TEST, Day 1
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1m24.374s 37 laps
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m25.485s + 1.111s 101 laps
3. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1m25.638s + 1.264s 57 laps
4. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1 |
within the new much lower limits, rather than Administration spending choices.
Earlier today, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack illustrated the impact of these coming cuts for the rest of this fiscal year. Among the examples he provided in a speech to the Commodity Classic were:
a $35 million decline in farm loans, the biggest slice of which go to beginning farmers to help them get started in agriculture;
a decline in conservation technical assistance that will result in 2,600 fewer farmers getting conservation plans;
a $60 million cut in agricultural research;
a cut to rural housing programs that will result in 10,000 low-income rural people losing rental assistance; and
a reduction in the WIC feeding program that could ultimately affect 600,000 women and infants.
Two things seem clear about sequestration and the overall budget situation. It cannot continue on the path that it is now on without huge damage to economic growth, public investment, and social services. There is also no clear path out of the mess given the current state of politics in the country and in Washington, D.C. We will continue to track the implications for food and agriculture policy and spending, and keep readers appraised.
Categories: Budget and Appropriations, Farm BillOSLO (Reuters) - Norway’s center-right opposition, pledging privatization, tax cuts and smaller government, was set for a sweeping election win on Monday but faces difficult coalition talks since a populist anti-immigration party will hold the balance of power.
Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg (R) and main opposition leader Erna Solberg leave a building after an appeareance on a television show in Oslo, September 8, 2013. REUTERS/Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix
Norway has enjoyed rare economic success, thanks to its flourishing offshore oil sector boosting per capita GDP to $100,000. But growth is slowing and voters are ready to punish Labour Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, accusing him of wasting a once-in-a-lifetime economic boom.
“To me, this vote is about using our fortunes better,” Oslo voter Geir Henriksen, 36, said. “Public service, like health and elderly care, is not getting any better even as the government spends more and more. We need to rebalance government.”
Labour could still end up as the biggest party with 30 percent, opinion polls show, but that will not be enough. The four center-right parties, led by likely future prime minister Erna Solberg’s Conservatives, are on course for around 100 seats in parliament, 15 more than needed for a majority.
“We need more legs to stand on in the economy, not just oil,” said Solberg, nicknamed “Iron Erna” for her tough stances when she served in cabinet between 2001 and 2005.
“We are a liberal-conservative party, we do not make revolutions... This will be a road of small steps.”
MINORITY GOVERNMENT
The trickiest task for Solberg is likely to be talks with the populist, anti-immigration and anti-tax Progress Party, which is set to finish second among the opposition groups.
Although Progress has toned down its rhetoric, it is seen by some as too radical to enter government and once had among its members Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in 2011 in a gun and bomb attack targeting Labour.
The small Christian Democrats and Liberals, whose votes may also be needed for a majority, are not keen on teaming up with Progress, objecting to its policies on immigration and spending, raising the prospect that Solberg may lead a minority cabinet.
“A majority government isn’t necessarily the norm in Norway and it’s slightly more likely we’ll get a minority,” said Elisabeth Ivarsflaten, a political science professor at the University of Bergen. “Norway has had many minority governments and they tend to work.”
Bringing Progress into government could force Solberg to make concessions on spending, taxes and perhaps even a symbolic gesture on immigration. But any shift is likely to be mild.
“We expect a moderate increase in public spending combined with a reduction in taxes,” Danske Bank said. “We expect the magnitude of the changes in aggregate to be marginal in the short run, as the market impact is likely to be.”
The incoming government has immediate spending leeway since Stoltenberg’s administration has spent less oil revenue than the cap set by parliament of 4 percent of the country’s $750 billion oil fund.
“We can expect revisions to the budget put forward by the current government of the order of 5 billion to 15 billion crowns ($0.8-$2.5 billion), which is 0.22-0.66 percent of mainland GDP,” Danske said.
With a budget surplus of 12 percent of GDP this year and the sovereign wealth fund worth $750 billion, Norway can afford just about any spending. But economists argue the state is already big, crowding out the private sector.
Voting will end at 1900 GMT, when several exit polls - which have proved accurate in the past - will be published. Indicative results are expected around 2200 GMT. Coalition negotiations are not expected until next week.fullscreen continue view fullscreen close
A driver and his passenger were killed after their car crashed into another vehicle on Flatbush Avenue at Avenue U in Marine Park, Brooklyn last night around 6:40 p.m. Multiple sources say the driver was going 100 mph or faster.
According to the official police statement, the driver of a Nissan Maxima was traveling south on Flatbush Avenue when he struck a BMW, which was turning onto Avenue U from northbound Flatbush Avenue. The Nissan's driver, 20-year-old Philbert Martin Williams, was pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital. His passenger, Christina Wipper, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and passenger of the BMW suffered minor injuries and were taken to Kings County Hospital.
1 killed in Brooklyn crash, FDNY says http://t.co/87tNTSKSLu pic.twitter.com/1qgeYITGl7 — NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) May 19, 2014
A security camera captured the crash, and the man who installed the camera said he thought Williams was speeding. A source tells The Daily News he was going 100 mph.
One witness told NBC New York, "Forget it, it was crazy, he was going over 100 miles an hour. You could just tell by the sound of the breaking and everything in the crash, it was definitely over a hundred."
A police source said the Nissan was "was completely shredded. It was wrapped around the pole," while another neighborhood worker told the News the firefighters seemed stunned as they cut out someone from the car: "They looked like they were in shock, like they had seen a ghost.”Statement by Secretary Shulkin - Homeless Funding
December 6, 2017, 05:53:00 PM
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Statement by Secretary Shulkin - Homeless Funding
There will be absolutely no change in the funding to support our homeless programs.
We will not be shifting any homeless program money to the Choice program.
The President has increased VA homeless program funding by $66 million in his fiscal year 2018 budget.
Over the next six months, I will solicit input from our local VA leaders and external stakeholders on how best to target our funding to the geographical areas that need it most.
Based on that input we will come forward with proposals for fiscal year 2019 on how to improve the targeting of our homeless program funding.
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Your browser doesn't support JavaScript. You can enable JavaScript via IE browser tool menu.Pro-abortion liberal Republican Sens. Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Shelley Moore Capito (WV) say they will not vote in favor of an Obamacare repeal bill. That decision puts the effort to both repeal Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood out of reach for the Republican Party.
In the 2015 Obamacare repeal bill, which passed both the House and Senate, Collins and Murkowski joined then-Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) in an attempt to remove the bill’s provision to eliminate much of Planned Parenthood’s federal funding.
Capito kept her promise to her constituents to repeal Obamacare by voting in favor of the 2015 repeal bill, well aware that Obama would veto it. Now, with a Republican in the White House who will actually sign the bill to repeal the disastrous healthcare reform, she said in a statement that her opposition to repeal just two years later is based on the “concerns and needs of West Virginians.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is planning to vote once again on the same bill that repealed much of Obamacare, and which defunded abortion giant Planned Parenthood for one year.
McConnell said in a statement Tuesday:
We will now try a different way to bring the American people relief from Obamacare — I think we owe them at least that much. In the coming days, the Senate will take up and vote on a repeal of Obamacare combined with a stable, two-year transition period as we work toward patient-centered health care. A majority of the Senate voted to pass the same repeal legislation in 2015. President Obama vetoed it then. President Trump will sign it now.
“Senator McConnell is right to ask the Senate to repeal Obamacare using the same successful language from 2015,” said Tom McClusky, president of March for Life Action, in a statement. “This will allow necessary time to work on a replacement plan that delivers on the failed promises of the Affordable Care Act by eliminating burdensome regulations, lowering costs and improving choice.”
McCluskey added:
Most importantly, if enacted this repeal bill will remove the most egregious abortion-related aspects of Obamacare and redirect funding away from our nation’s largest abortion provider. Abortion is not healthcare, and the majority of Americans do not support taxpayer funding for abortion. We have worked from that principle every step of the way in this healthcare debate.
The 2015 bill would have repealed key parts of Obamacare and eliminated Planned Parenthood’s mandatory government spending funds under Medicaid for a period of one year. Had former President Barack Obama signed the repeal bill, those funds would have been redirected to other community health centers that provide primary care and preventive services – including contraception, prenatal care, and mammograms in many locations.
Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report shows many of its non-abortion services have declined, while the number of abortions it performs and its profits have increased. The abortion vendor has also never performed preventive care mammograms, though its president, Cecile Richards, and its political allies – including former President Barack Obama – have said that it does. [VIDEO]
Although Planned Parenthood supporters in government and the media have argued that defunding the abortion giant would result in overwhelming numbers of additional patients at other federally qualified health centers, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, if Planned Parenthood were defunded, the net change in patient population per Federally Qualified Health Center service site would be approximately 110 women – that is, two additional women per week.
Upon Obama’s veto of the GOP’s 2015 Obamacare repeal bill, House Speaker Paul Ryan said, “We have now shown that there is a clear path to repealing Obamacare without 60 votes in the Senate. So, next year, if we’re sending this bill to a Republican president, it will get signed into law.”
McCluskey cites the words of Vice President Mike Pence, who addressed the 2017 March for Life: “This administration will work with Congress to end taxpayer funding of abortion and abortion providers.”
He adds:
The White House has signaled that they will remain steadfast on this promise, but it’s up to Congress to act. With the understanding that the Motion to Proceed is the only possible way to get to a vote on the 2015 repeal language, March for Life Action will score the vote on the Motion to Proceed as well as any amendments to remove language eliminating funding to abortion entities.”
According to the most recent Marist poll, 62 percent of Americans oppose taxpayer funding for abortion, including 65 percent of African Americans, 61 percent of Latinos, and 45 percent of those who identify themselves as “pro-choice.” When political affiliation is a factor, 84 percent of Republicans, 61 percent of Independents, and 44 percent of Democrats oppose taxpayer funding of abortion.Even nerds aren’t exempt from the PC police — as the kids at Claremont/Harvey Mudd College learned from being slapped as insensitive toward the mentally ill for throwing a “mad scientist”-themed dorm party.
Never mind that the Southern California campus is known as a science school, or that the “Mudd Goes Madd” party was part of a multi-school drive to get students from the five allied Claremont Colleges to mix.
Nope: The student government at Pomona, another Claremont campus, opted to pull its share of funding for the bash.
“We are disappointed at your choice of the name for the event... ‘Mudd Goes Madd,’ ” wrote the Associated Students of Pomona College. “Your disregard of the concerns of the mental-health community and their allies trivializes issues that we deem extremely important to our community.”
The Mudd kids threw the party anyway. “This was definitely a win against overzealous PC culture,” student Steven Glick wrote in an e-mail to The College Fix.
In fact, a host of students with mental-health issues wrote in to also denounce the critics. They got the joke.
As Glick noted, “Students at the Claremont Colleges are tired of having their freedoms compromised in order to avoid upsetting certain groups of students, and the students that the PC police think they are helping are fed up with being told that they are too weak to hear certain words. We’re in college — people here want to be treated like adults, not like kindergarteners.”
Let’s hope the Mad Scientists’ Ball becomes an annual affair — and the PC police get laughed off into the dustbin of history.Meet Lavender, a rare offspring brought into the world by a loving dragon and a beautiful pony. She is told constantly by her parents that she is a beautiful gift of nature, but she is reminded everyday about just how different she is from the rest of the world. She is going to learn very rapidly how cruel and unforgiving the world can be for anything different from them.
Follow the journey of Spike, Rarity, and their offspring Lavender from birth to adulthood as they try to survive prejudice, natural impulses, and even their relationship between each other.
The character of Lavender and the artwork included all belong to Carnifex
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Someone actually thought this fic was worthy to be in the Twilight Library. Well... if you say so.Legendary restaurant and nightspot The Willow may be set to close.
The Coney Street venue has been a staple of students and revellers for more than 40 years. But it has posted this message on its Facebook page:
Sad times. But the willow will be closing its doors on Sunday 26th July.
This was followed by another post on Sunday night (July 5):
It is true. The Willow will be closing its doors for the final time on Sunday 26th July. This news comes from a very reliable source within the venue. So many great memories have been had at the Willow and we have 21 days left to make many more! Let’s send the place off in style!
No other details have been forthcoming, and we’re still waiting to talk to the owners.
But the stark announcement drew shock and consternation on Facebook.
Willow was the sole thing keeping me in York. The end times are upon us. – Kiran Tanna
Worst news ever – William Chalk
wtf are we gonna do – Lily Leotardi
A few were less devastated by at the news…
I think I speak on behalf of most of York when I say this but…ABOUT TIME! Can you bring it forward a week so I’ll still be on holiday? – Matt Gamblin
Some had mixed emotions.
Awful place. Great memories. – Simon Hinken
A couple were sceptical…
Tommy wouldn’t let this wonderful cash cow die. With each year the legend grows stronger and the myth lives on. – Kurt Reilly
I ask the owner the other day and they told me they r not closing yet – Tim Zimmermann
And at least one person decided to take direct action.
We cannot let the willow community die. All we really need is a place to assemble. Let’s do Willow flash mob style.
They have already started a Pop-up Willow Facebook page.
Big part of the city
You either love the Willow or hate it, and owner Tommy Fong embraced that with Marmite-style branding.
It is most popular with students and night owls for its mixture of good value food, a jumping disco and a late licence till 4am.
The web is awash with pix of people in the advanced stages of an evening’s hard partying hitting its small dance floor.
A colourful part of York’s night scene since 1973, The Willow is not to everyone’s tastes. This is the latest review from TripAdvisor:
I feel like I caught chlamydia on entry to this hellhole. The only thing worse than the awful music and the sweaty customers was the hygiene of the place. The toilets are usually a cool reprieve from the dancefloor, but the toilets here are worse than anything I have encountered. I would only recommend this sweaty hellhole to my worst enemy. Never come here for a night out. – Jack M, July 4, 2015
But that’s not everyone’s opinion. This review, from August 2014, was headlined The best place in the universe.
Once a restaurant, now a rather bizarre 20th century disco hidden away in York’s high street. The Willow lies at the heart of this city’s present day culture, and no trip to York is complete without it. – Liam The Fizz
And everybody who went to York University has been a customer at the Willow, or so it seems.
We reported how the current acting leader of the Labour Party, Harriet Harman, was said to have dated one of the nightspot’s bouncers when she was reading politics in the city.
Clashed with the authorities
Since it opened in 1973 – back then it sold afternoon tea – the Willow has been found wanting on a few occasions by the council.
In 2004 the restaurant’s directors Tommy and Soo Mei Fong were fined after food hygiene inspectors found “gunge” and “sludge” in the kitchen.
And the last published hygiene rating for the Willow, from December 2013, has it rated at 2 out of 5 – “improvement necessary”.The official Playmates Toys Toy Fair 2013 Press Release has been released. Included in the release is everything about TMNT products that are based on the Nickelodeon Cartoon. Lot’s of the things mentioned are things that we already have seen preview images of that you can see HERE if you missed it. Some of the images have been re-inserted into this page.
Official Press Release:
Playmates Toys is set to unveil the action-packed next generation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line, inspired by Nickelodeon’s hit new CG-animated show. New elements, including the mysterious Ooze substance and Turtle-loving pizza, have been added to the product line and will be displayed at the American International Toy Fair in New York City, February 10-13, 2013, Booth #1525.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premiered on Nickelodeon on Sept. 29, 2012 and was an instant hit, drawing almost 12 million viewers during its premiere weekend. Coinciding with the series, Playmates Toys, the mastermind responsible for the successful toy line over the last three decades, introduced a new line which became one of the top action figure brands by the end of 2012.
Turtles were on a slew of Holiday “Hot Toy Lists”, and the Turtles Shellraiser group vehicle, along with the property as a whole, were both selected as finalists in the 2013 Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards, a prominent awards program from the Toy Industry Association.
“The wildly successful launch of the toy line last year further proved the incredible enduring appeal of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” said Karl Aaronian, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Playmates Toys. “The Turtles are true timeless heroes to kids and Playmates Toys is delighted to continue developing toys that capture the unique ninja play experience for a new generation of kids to enjoy.”
“Playmates has done an amazing job at capturing the look, humor, action and depth of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series into great play experiences for kids and fans of all ages,” said Manuel Torres, Senior Vice President, Global Toys and Consumer Electronics, Nickelodeon. “The tremendous success of the series, coupled with the outstanding launch of our toys makes us excited to introduce our second installment of products to wow our fans.”
Playmates Toys has added new products packed with Ninja fun to the line, including all-new action figures, a line of Ooze-infused products, remote-controlled products, playsets, vehicles and role play gear.
Highlights of the 2013 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line from Playmates Toys include the following:
Action Figures
New waves of Basic Action Figures will be introduced throughout the year, including Leatherhead, Baxter Stockman, Cockroach Terminator, as well as Stealth Tech Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo. The highly detailed basic action figures contain more than 12 points of articulation and are uniquely sculpted, with heights ranging from 4.25″ to 5.5.” Each figure is compatible with most of the vehicles and playsets in the line.
Deluxe Action Figures
With the ability to fling out projectiles to take out the enemy,the Flingers Deluxe Action Figures come fully equipped and ready for battle! Kids simply load the different projectiles into the backpacks of each figure, roll the figures across a hard surface and watch as the contents of their backpacks launch! Each figure comes decked out in battle armor and with personal projectiles. Leonardo launches 10 sewer lids, Michelangelo includes 10 pizza pie discs, Donatello includes 3 Bo Staffs and Raphael includes 3 Sai weapons.
Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo are always ready for a battle against Shredder and the evil Foot Clan, and now the Turtles can be thrown into the battle with the Throw N’ Battle Deluxe Figures. Decked out in their night ninja outfits, the Throw N’ Battle Turtles start out in stealth mode with their legs and arms folded behind their head. Give them a toss into the battle and they spring to their feet, unleash their weapons and are ready to take out Shredder and the Foot!
Classic Collection
The Classic Collection Action Figures reflect the look of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the 80’s TV show. The assortment is expanding this year to include the Turtles arch-nemsis’ Bebop and Rocksteady. Each figure stands 6 inches tall, features more than 30 points of articulation and is authentically detailed to appeal to the true action figure collector. Each figure will come with its core Ninja weapons and a personalized sewer lid cover name base.
Classic Collection Bebop and Rocksteady
Ooze Segment
Get ready for ultimate Ooze action with the Mutagen Ooze Action Figures! Outfitted in their Ooze Bustin’ gear, the Turtles have discovered a way to safely handle the Ooze (the mysterious substance that transformed the Turtles from pets to ninjas) and fling it back at the Kraang and the many mutants. Each Turtle is fully articulated and comes with a backpack and scoop that kids can load up with Mutagenic Ooze (Ooze sold separately). Kids just push down the plunger to squirt the Ooze into the scoop and then they can fling the Ooze at the bad guys! Figures included are Ooze Chuckin’ Mikey, Ooze Launchin’ Leo, Ooze Scoopin’ Donnie and Ooze Tossin’ Raph.
Handle the Mutagen Ooze Canisters with care! Ooze is the mysterious substance that transformed Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael and Donatello from pet turtles into the heroes in a half-shell that they are today – but also created their many mutant friends and foes. Each 2.4 oz canister of Mutagen Ooze comes with a bonus mini Turtle inside. Kids can collect all four and can use this creepy compound across the entire Mutagen Ooze figure and vehicle segment.
Cruise the Ooze with the Mutagen Ooze Sewer Cruiser, a fast-floating wet ski, complete with its own slick defense system – a cooler contraption to diffuse the Ooze and ice any Kraang in pursuit. The Sewer Cruiser floats so it can be used on land or in water. It is compatible with most of the Turtles basic action figures (sold separately).
Turtle-ize the skies with the Mutagen Ooze Drop Copter, anairborne assault helicopter, complete with twin tubs to diffuse the Ooze on the Foot Clan. Fast spinning propeller blades and a real working winch help the Turtles race to the rescue and get out of danger quickly. The Drop Copter is compatible with most of the Turtles basic action figures (sold separately).
Remote Control Vehicles
Drive the Turtles into their next battle with the Ninja Control Shellraiser, afull function, remote control vehicle. From rail-riding to street-surfing, Donatello’s customized combat creation packs a powerful punch. With the green team all aboard, the Turtles will cream the Kraang with a frenzy of fast-firing sewer covers. This vehicle comes with full-steering remote-control action, as well as the ability to control the rapid-fire sewer-cover cannon. The Ninja Control Shellraiser is compatible with most Turtles basic action figures (sold separately).
Remote Control Shellraiser Vehicle
Turtle Vehicles
As seen in the hit TV show, the Patrol Buggies are individually customized and ready for action! Two assortments are available; Leo and Donnie’s Patrol Buggy and Mikey and Raph’s Patrol Buggy. With Leo and Donnie’s Patrol Buggy, kids can run the Foot off the road with Leo’s rocket “grenade” or scare them to the sidewalk with Donnie’s Kraang-crushing big wheels. With Raph and Mikey’s Patrol Buggies, kids can blast the Foot Clan from the fast lane! They can run Dogpound out of town with Raph’s reloadable road rash missile or crush Fishface’s robo-feet with Mikey’s mighty monster wheels. All four vehicles can also snap together to become the ULTIMATE MEGA PATROL BUGGY! The Patrol Buggies are compatible with most of the Turtles basic action figures (sold separately).
It’s triple turbo terror as the Kraang launch an aerial alien assault with the Hover Drone. Will the Turtles strike back and repel the robo raiders? With triple-turning turbines and two spring loaded missiles, the Kraang are on the attack. The Hover Drone is compatible with most Turtles basic action figures (sold separately).
From the streets to the sewers of NYC, the Ninja AT3 vehicle is equipped to handle any terrain as the Turtles seek out and battle against the evil Foot! The AT3 is the latest of Donatello’s vehicle creations and comes equipped with a powerful spring loaded missile projectile to stop Shredder and the Foot in their tracks. The AT3 is compatible with most of the Turtles basic action figures and comes with an exclusive Leonardo action figure decked out in his moto-cross riding outfit, helmet and gloves.
Kraang’s Hover Drone Vehicle
Playsets
A classic theme for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and re-established in the new Nickelodeon CG-animated series, Playmates Toys has combined the compact look and feel of a pizza box with a fully featured playset in the new Anchovy Alley Pop-Up Pizza Playset. The pizza box pops open into a subway scene that stands 18 inches tall. Ninja action features in the playset include a portable pizza oven that flings fresh pizzas, floor traps, a trick sewer cover that throws the bad guys for a loop and an abandoned subway tunnel.The playset is compatible with most Turtles basic action figures (sold separately).
Role Play
Now the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are available at your finger tips with the Turtle-Comm! As seen in the hit TV show, the Turtle-Comm is the Turtles go–to device to communicate with each other. The Turtle-Comm lets kids call the Turtles, or the Turtles will even call them. All four Turtles even have their own unique play patterns. Go on missions with Leonardo, train with Raphael, listen to jokes from Michelangelo and answer Turtle trivia questions from Donatello.
The transformation into a hero-in-a-half shell is not complete without having the authentic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shell! This tough as nails, one size fits all, PVC plastic Turtle shell includes adjustable straps that fit over the shoulders and around the waist. The shell is compatible with the Ninja Combat Gear role play weapons and includes two holsters on the right and left backside of the shell to hold kids’ weapons as they get ready for battle. The shell also includes an inner handle so kids can remove the shell from their back and use it as a front shield.
Kids can immediately transform themselves into their favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle with the Ninja Turtles Deluxe Mask Assortment! This deluxe assortment includes masks for Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo just as they appear in the hit TV show. The one size fits all masks include the Turtles signature colored bandana, an elastic strap and a soft rubber inner mask for comfort and fit.More than 5,000 cyclists will take part in the fourth annual Gran Fondo New York.
More than 5,000 bicyclists will take part in the fourth annual Campagnolo Gran Fondo New York on Sunday, May 18, which will travel through Rockland. Pictured are cyclists leaving the race’s starting point at the George Washington Bridge. (Photo: Gran Fondo New York)
For the fourth straight year, thousands of cyclists will race through Rockland on Sunday as part of a regional cycling event.
The Campagnolo Gran Fondo New York features more than 5,000 cyclists from some 70 nations, as they make their way from the George Washington Bridge to Bear Mountain State Park and back to Fort Lee, New Jersey. Riders will pass through all five towns in the county, resulting in temporary road closures.
"There are times during the event when people are going to be delayed," said Chris Jensen, Rockland County's fire and emergency services program coordinator.
Delays lasting 10 to 15 minutes are most likely to occur in the morning when cyclists are clustered together as they make their way north into Piermont. The first group is expected to arrive in the village by 7:40 a.m. Piermont Avenue and River Road will be closed in both directions until about 9 a.m.
In fact, there will be full or partial road closures through Nyack, Haverstraw village and Stony Point until the race route reconnects with Route 9W.
Jensen encouraged people to avoid 9W in the morning if possible. The last cyclist is expected to be through Stony Point shortly after 10 a.m.
Police officers will direct traffic at many intersections, event co-organizer Uli Fluhme said.
"There are 200 police officers paid by Gran Fondo working on the event," Fluhme said of the one-of-a-kind race in the region.
Detailed route information is available at the race's website: http://granfondony.com.
Fluhme said a gran fondo is akin to a marathon for cyclists, and a popular group ride tradition in the Italian cycling world.
Cyclists have come from across the country and the world — Brazil, Canada, Germany, Russia, Jamaica, Israel, and Poland — to take part in the 100-mile race. Some are opting for the a 50-mile non-competitive ride to Bear Mountain.
In past years, Rockland residents have lined the route to offer their support, Fluhme said.
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From Bear Mountain, racers will return to Route 9W and take local scenic streets through Stony Point, including Mott Farm Road, beginning as early 9:10 a.m. and as late as 12:45 p.m.
The last batch of riders are expected to leave the county by 4 p.m.
Twitter: @ksaeed1
Read or Share this story: http://lohud.us/1iT6S8rThe Green Bay Packers are coming into a pivotal season for the franchise known as “Titletown” After a down season where the team went 10-6 and fell short to the Arizona Cardinals in the divisional round of the playoffs, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are looking to capitalize on being healthy once again to make a run at Super Bowl 51. The Packers have one of the easiest schedules in the league this season, which bodes well for their chances at getting a high seed in the playoffs and regaining the NFC North crown. While there is quite a few easier games on the schedule, the Packers have their fair share of tough tests sprinkled throughout the schedule. These rankings are going to show which games Packer fans should most look forward too, and which games will be on the tougher side for the previously underachieving football team.
Week 10 – At Tennessee Titans – Sunday November 13th, 3:25 pm
The first game on the list takes place in the middle of the schedule and should be a relatively easy one for the Packers. A rebuilding Titans team won’t be a tough matchup for Green Bay, and the offense will look to put up big numbers in this game against the AFC South team.
Week 13 – vs Houston Texans – Sunday December 4th, 12 pm
When the Texans come to Lambeau Field for their early December contest against the Pack, all of Wisconsin will definitely have their eyes glued to the TV. J.J. Watt, who is from Pewaukee and is a Former Badger football player will be making his first appearance as a professional back in his home state. While that will be exciting for fans, the game itself will be the Packers’ to lose.
Week 7 – vs Chicago Bears – Thursday October 20th, 7:25 pm
Sporting their “Color Rush” uniforms for the first time, the Packers will take to the field on this Thursday night game looking to avenge last season’s embarrassing home loss to their NFC North rivals. Look for Aaron Rodgers, along with the Packer defense to have a big game in this primetime matchup as they will be eager to show the Bears what happens when you tug on Superman’s cape.
Week 9 – vs Indianapolis Colts – Sunday November 6th, 3:25 pm
Andrew Luck will be coming into Green Bay for the first time in his career, and going to war with Aaron Rodgers after these teams will play each other in the NFL Hall Of Fame Game to kick off the 2016 preseason. This game will produce some exciting plays throughout the game as both teams have the capability to produce offense quickly.
Week 5 – vs New York Giants – Sunday October 9th, 7:30 pm
The defense will have it’s work cut out for them when Eli Manning, and Odell Beckham Jr. come to Green Bay for a Sunday night game. Manning has a history of coming to Lambeau and performing well in his career, and Beckham will be looking for make some big plays against the secondary.
Week 8 – at Atlanta Falcons – Sunday October 30th, 12 pm
The Falcons throughout the years have been a generally inconsistent football team so you never know what you’re going get from the team led by Matt Ryan. But the Packers usually have pretty good success in the ATL, and Aaron Rodgers playing inside of a dome always makes for an impressive passing display. Julio Jones will be a tough stop for the secondary in a game which could be an old-fashioned shootout.
Week 12 – at Philadelphia Eagles – Monday November 28th, 7:30 pm
While on paper it might not look like a big matchup for Green Bay, this Monday Night game in Philadelphia could be a big time game for the Eagles and the fans of the up and down franchise. It’s completely possible that later in the season Sam Bradford could be struggling with injuries as he has throughout his career, or with the Philly offense led by new head coach, and former Packer Doug Peterson. A scenario like that could lead to the 2nd overall pick in this years draft, Carson Wentz getting his first career start on the primetime stage of Monday Night Football. The Philadelphia fans would certainly be pumped up for a chance to see their potential franchise quarterback go to battle with the former MVP Aaron Rodgers. Which could create a tough environment for Green Bay to operate in on this late November night.
Week 15 – at Chicago Bears – Sunday December 18th, 12 pm
Making the trip down to Chicago is always a fun one for the Packers and their loyal cheesehead fans. This late December game will be no different. The Packers have won the last 6 games they’ve played at Soldier Field (including playoffs) and will be looking to make that 7 in a row this season. But, the Bears will have other plans and will be looking to play a spoiler role against the Packers. 10th year quarterback Jay Cutler and the Bears will love nothing more than to knock the Pack down a few pegs. This game takes place late in the season and the Packers will likely be in the middle of a division race with Minnesota. Mike McCarthy will have to have his players prepared for this one as the Packers won’t be able to afford a late season loss.
Week 3 – vs Detroit Lions – Sunday September 25th, 12 pm
The last time these two teams met, the top play of the 2015 NFL season took place with no time left on the game clock. That play was a booming 61-yard hail mary launched from the cannon right arm of Aaron Rodgers. After the Lions dominated most of the game and appeared to be on their way to two consecutive wins against the Packers, Green Bay made an unbelievable comeback in the 4th quarter which was capped off with that memorable pass to Richard Rodgers. The Lions will be looking for revenge and to prove that comeback was a fluke. Now before you say “This game is in Green Bay! Detroit never wins here this game will be easy!” Look back to last season, when the Lions came into Lambeau Field and ended a 24-year Wisconsin losing streak and |
? This might sound like a question you’d hear come out of Derek Zoolander’s mouth. But seriously, think about it. Is it a matter of perspective, your relationships, a neurological chemical imbalance, or career fulfillment? The more you try to pin down this elusive state of mind, the more achieving a measure for it seems out of reach. Take the movie Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014), in which Hector (Simon Pegg) travels the entire world trying to solve this philosophical quandary. By the time Hector sort of works it out, all we're really left with is 120 minutes of our lives we’ll never get back.
Luckily, for the past 39 years, WIN/Gallup International (Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research) has been conducting a survey that claims to offer a quantitative measure of levels of happiness around the world. Last month it published its survey’s most recent findings taking into account “the outlook, expectations, views and beliefs of 66,040 people from 68 countries across the globe.”
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While the survey’s indices may be far from a definitive accounting, they certainly offer some interesting insights into capitalism’s relative effects on a population’s perception and enjoyment of their lives. Participating countries in the survey were divided into three tiers: Prosperous (the G7); Emerging (G20, excluding the original G7) and Aspiring (all other nations).
One thing immediately apparent even to the most entry-level statistician is that net happiness is unrelated, or possibly inversely proportional, to a country’s wealth. While Prosperous nations experienced a 42% net happiness, Emerging and Aspiring nations soared past with 59% and 54% respectively.
In capitalism's own bosom, the United States scored a meager net happiness rate of 43% in stark contrast to Mexico’s 76%. This difference is particularly noteworthy given the U.S. enjoys five times the per capita income of its southern neighbor. In fact, not one of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Great Britian, Italy, Japan and the United States) cracked the top 10 list for happiest countries, but did score two spots (Italy and France) for top 10 most unhappy nations.
Although the Economic Optimism and Hope indices seem just as vague as the happiness metric, they were equally revealing. Maybe thanks to the fact mortgage bonds are yet to be invented in these countries, the top two spots for optimism were taken by Nigeria (61%) and Bangladesh (60%). No less noteworthy, although not surprising given recent history, was Greece topping the list of most economically pessimistic societies, followed closely by EU cohorts Austria (-49%), Italy (-47%) and Sweden (-47%). In general, Prosperous nations displayed the least amount of hope (6%) and economic optimism (-16%), while on the flipside, Emerging nations are both more hopeful (50%) and optimistic (36%). Demographics-wise, millennial pessimism might be exaggerated; young people are generally more optimistic (31%) than their calloused older brethren (13%).
It’s unclear what all this information concretely tells us about the nature of a nation’s happiness in relation to its prosperity and international economic standing. One could hypothesize that those societies less immersed in capital consumption generally seem to be more content. In other words, the less you have, the less you need to worry about. Another explanation could perhaps be that relative to Prosperous nations, the myriad of infrastructural and societal ills facing Emerging nations simply makes it a lot easier not to sweat the small stuff. (They call them first-world problems for a reason.)
Poor decimated Iraq was ranked the unhappiest country in the world (-12%). By contrast, Colombia took the number-one spot with a whopping 85%. What accounts for Colombia's happiness is hard to say. Perhaps it’s the favorable climate and beautiful landscapes. It could also be the fact that after half a century of civil war, Colombia is finally about to enjoy a bit of peace.
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Taken all together, what does this survey tell us about the world? That the promise of prosperity under consumerist capitalism is one big fallacy? That living in a jungle-filled tropical climate is almost guaranteed to bring you bliss? An equitable economy means a more optimistic general populace? If anything, happiness is a relative combination of several of these factors. In any case, the significance of these findings should likely be taken with a healthy handful of salt.Something old, something new, some neo-Nazis and some anti-fascists, too.
On Saturday at Cumberland Mountain State Park in Crossville, Tennessee, a wedding party unwittingly shared space with about 30 white supremacists attending a conference for prominent neo-Nazi internet forum Stormfront, along with dozens of peaceful protesters who were chanting and drumming in the parking lot.
Less than two months after the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the prospect of white supremacists descending on a small town in East Tennessee stirred concerns of more violence. A conference organizer boasted the event would attract a “couple hundred” attendees, although white supremacists often inflate such figures, and they expressed worries about being confronted by anti-fascists. But ultimately, the conference unfolded in the manner of many furtive neo-Nazi meet-ups ― the racists were found out, and assembled in underwhelming numbers in front of a clutch of protesters. In the end, pathos and bathos vied for supremacy instead.
The white supremacists had been long planning a conference in East Tennessee, according to posts on Stormfront, but they were careful to keep the specific location secret. On Friday, HuffPost reported that conference attendees would meet that night at the Beef and Barrel Restaurant & Lounge and convene Saturday in the Cumberland Mountain State Park for a strategy meeting.
Cumberland County is 97 percent white, which is one reason conference organizers chose it as a destination. Matthew Heimbach, the most prominent white supremacist in attendance, has directed his neo-Nazi organization, the Traditionalist Worker Party, to do charity outreach in areas with similar demographics, hoping to win sympathy among low-income white communities and, eventually, run local candidates of his own. On his way to the conference, Heimbach or members of his organization reportedly posted TWP fliers on the the University of Tennessee-Knoxville campus.
The Stormfront group faced complications from the beginning. Beef and Barrel canceled the group’s reservation, hours after the owner, Bruce Cannon, told HuffPost it was not his place to determine who eats at his restaurant. (Activists flocked to social media to shame the business before it canceled the reservation.) Crossville Police Department officers were called to the restaurant to deal with people who were “making a bunch of noise” in the parking lot, Lt. Brian Eckelson said. Barred from Beef and Barrel, the Stormfront group reassembled at a nearby restaurant called Shoney’s, Knoxville News Sentinel reported. (Shoney’s denied hosting Stormfront or any large group of men on Friday.)
On Saturday morning, a couple preparing for their wedding in the state park learned the white supremacists would be gathering nearby, along with protesters. “We were not aware of what either group represented at the time,” the couple, who requested anonymity, told HuffPost in a Facebook message.
Across the river, about two dozen anti-Nazi protesters, including one clad in cookie-sheet armor, assembled in a parking lot outside the recreation lodge, drumming, picnicking and hurling taunts through a megaphone as swastika-adorned white supremacists wearing helmets and carrying shields walked past them. Park rangers offered to escort protesters to and from the bathroom.
The protest, a last-minute effort organized by Knoxville criminal defense lawyer Chris Irwin, attracted “punk” kids from nearby schools, Native Americans and members of a nearby Tibetan Buddhist monastery, Irwin said. One of the punks recognized a local man heading into the recreation lodge and called the man’s girlfriend to tell her where he was, according to Irwin.
“Good morning, master race!” Irwin shouted at conference-goers as they arrived.The syphilis rate in Metro Vancouver has reached a 30-year high, prompting a new campaign aimed at eliminating the sexually transmitted disease.
Vancouver Coastal Health medical health officer Dr. RekaGustafson said Monday that syphilis rates are at epidemic proportions, especially in the Lower Mainland's gay and bisexual communities.
The syphilis rate in Metro Vancouver has reached a 30-year high, prompting a new campaign to eliminate the disease. (Vancouver Coastal Health)
In 2012, there were 371 cases reported in B.C., most of those with the highly contagious disease were gay and bisexual men.
Most people who are diagnosed with syphilis have no symptoms. Those who do have symptoms report either a painless sore or rash.
If left untreated, syphilis can lead to blindness, hearing loss, neurological problems and in severe cases can be fatal.
Vancouver Coastal Health launched the campaign to urge people in gay and bisexual communities to get tested regularly and practise safe sex.
'Check Him Out'
The cheeky Internet and poster campaign, called Check Him Out, focuses on Vancouver trends such as French bulldogs, dating apps and syphilis rates at a 30-year high.
Several community agencies work with gay and bisexual men, including Health Initiative for Men, or HIM, and Positive Living B.C.
Jody Jollimore, program manager for Health Initiative for Men, said the campaign educates men in a way that reflects their lives.
"We know that gay and bisexual men care about their sexual health and when given access to appropriate information, [they] make healthier choices," Jollimore said in a news release.
Glen Doupe, an outreach team leader for the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, said people need to get tested regularly because they may have the disease and not know it.
"Syphilis spreads easily through any form of sexual contact so people also need to be more knowledgeable about safe sex practices."
B.C. isn't the only province to see a spike in the number of syphilis cases.
Statistics show that in 2010 there were more than 1,750 cases in Canada, up from the 177 in 1993.0 of 8
Centers may help win championships, but guards usually draw in crowds. When you have two terrific players set to line up at point guard and shooting guard, it makes the fanbase happy.
It also helps when the studs are young, because that means that we're dealing with plenty of unrealized potential and/or high-quality years left in the tank. Young players are often more fun than their older counterparts.
Of the 30 starting backcourts in the NBA, eight are set to feature two players who are 25 or younger. That's the only way to qualify for these rankings. If one of the expected starters is already 26, too bad for them.
In rankings this competitive, one standout isn't enough to carry a backcourt. They say it takes two to tango, but it also takes a complete pair in order to finish at No. 1 in the countdown of the league's top young backcourts.
Offseason moves—both acquisitions of new players and the retaining of old ones—have shaped three of these tandems, but did they help create the top pairing?
Note: All stats, unless otherwise indicated, come from Basketball-Reference.Since announcing ConstraintLayout at Google I/O last year, we've continued to improve the layout's stability and layout editor support. We've also added new features specific to ConstraintLayout that help you build various type of layouts, such as introducing chains and setting size as a ratio. In addition to these features, there is a notable performance benefit by using ConstraintLayout. In this post, we'll walk through how you can benefit from these performance improvements.
How Android draws views?
To better understand the performance of ConstraintLayout, let's take a step back and see how Android draws views.
When a user brings an Android view into focus, the Android framework directs the view to draw itself. This drawing process comprises 3 phases:
Measure The system completes a top-down traversal of the view tree to determine how large each ViewGroup and View element should be. When a ViewGroup is measured, it also measures its children. Layout Another top-down traversal occurs, with each ViewGroup determining the positions of its children using the sizes determined in the measure phase. Draw The system performs yet another top-down traversal. For each object in the view tree, a Canvas object is created to send a list of drawing commands to the GPU. These commands include the ViewGroup and View objects' sizes and positions, which the system determined during the previous 2 phases.
Figure 1. Example of how the measure phase traverses a view tree
Each phase within the drawing process requires a top-down traversal of the view tree. Therefore, the more views you embed within each other (or nest) into the view hierarchy, the more time and computation power it takes for the device to draw the views. By keeping a flat hierarchy in your Android app layouts, you can create a fast and responsive user interface for your app.
The expense of a traditional layout hierarchy
With that explanation in mind, let's create a traditional layout hierarchy that uses LinearLayout and RelativeLayout objects.
Figure 2. Example layout
Let's say we want to build a layout like the image above. If you build it with traditional layouts, the XML file contains an element hierarchy similar to the following (for this example, we've omitted the attributes):
<RelativeLayout> <ImageView /> <ImageView /> <RelativeLayout> <TextView /> <LinearLayout> <TextView /> <RelativeLayout> <EditText /> </RelativeLayout> </LinearLayout> <LinearLayout> <TextView /> <RelativeLayout> <EditText /> </RelativeLayout> </LinearLayout> <TextView /> </RelativeLayout> <LinearLayout > <Button /> <Button /> </LinearLayout> </RelativeLayout>
Although there's usually room for improvement in this type of view hierarchy, you'll almost certainly still need to create a hierarchy with some nested views.
As discussed before, nested hierarchies can adversely affect performance. Let's take a look at how the nested views actually affect the UI performance using Android Studio's Systrace tool. We called the measure and layout phases for each ViewGroup ( ConstraintLayout and RelativeLayout ) programmatically and triggered Systrace while the measure and layout calls are executing. The following command generates an overview file that contains key events, such as expensive measure/layout passes, that occur during a 20-second interval:
python $ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools/systrace/systrace.py --time=20 -o ~/trace.html gfx view res
For more details about how you can use Systrace, see the Analyzing UI Performance with Systrace guide.
Systrace automatically highlights the (numerous) performance problems with this layout, as well as suggestions for fixing them. By clicking the "Alerts" tab, you will find that drawing this view hierarchy requires 80 expensive passes through the measure and layout phases!
Triggering that many expensive measure and layout phases is far from ideal; such a large amount of drawing activity could result in skipped frames that users notice. We can conclude that the layout has poor performance due to the nested hierarchy as well as the characteristic of RelativeLayout, which measures each of its children twice.
Figure 3. Looking at the alerts from Systrace for the layout variant that uses RelativeLayout
You can check the entire code on how we performed these measurements in our GitHub repository.
The benefits of a ConstraintLayout object
If you create the same layout using ConstraintLayout, the XML file contains an element hierarchy similar to the following (attributes again omitted):
<android.support.constraint.ConstraintLayout> <ImageView /> <ImageView /> <TextView /> <EditText /> <TextView /> <TextView /> <EditText /> <Button /> <Button /> <TextView /> </android.support.constraint.ConstraintLayout>
As this example shows, the layout now has a completely flat hierarchy. This is because ConstraintLayout allows you to build complex layouts without having to nest View and ViewGroup elements.
For example, let's look at the TextView and EditText in the middle of the layout:
When using a RelativeLayout, you need to create a new ViewGroup to align the EditText vertically with the TextView:
<LinearLayout android:id="@+id/camera_area" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:orientation="horizontal" android:layout_below="@id/title" > <TextView android:text="@string/camera" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_gravity="center_vertical" android:id="@+id/cameraLabel" android:labelFor="@+id/cameraType" android:layout_marginStart="16dp" /> <RelativeLayout android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content"> <EditText android:id="@+id/cameraType" android:ems="10" android:inputType="textPersonName" android:text="@string/camera_value" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:layout_centerVertical="true" android:layout_marginTop="8dp" android:layout_marginStart="8dp" android:layout_marginEnd="8dp" /> </RelativeLayout> </LinearLayout>
By using ConstraintLayout instead, you can achieve the same effect just by adding a constraint from the baseline of the TextView to the baseline of the EditText without creating another ViewGroup :
Figure 4. Constraint between EditText and TextView
<TextView android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" app:layout_constraintLeft_creator="1" app:layout_constraintBaseline_creator="1" app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="@+id/activity_main_done" app:layout_constraintBaseline_toBaselineOf="@+id/cameraType" />
When running the Systrace tool for the version of our layout that uses ConstraintLayout, you see far fewer expensive measure/layout passes during the same 20-second interval. This improvement in performance makes sense, now that we're keeping the view hierarchy flat!
Figure 5. Looking at the alerts from Systrace for the layout variant that uses ConstraintLayout
On a related note, we built the ConstraintLayout variant of our layout using just the layout editor instead of editing the XML by hand. To achieve the same visual effect using RelativeLayout, we probably would have needed to edit the XML by hand.
Measuring the performance difference
We analyzed how long every measure and layout pass took for two type of layouts, ConstraintLayout and RelativeLayout, by using OnFrameMetricsAvailableListener, which was introduced in Android 7.0 (API level 24). This class allows you to collect frame-by-frame timing information about your app's UI rendering.
By calling the following code, you can start recording per-frame UI actions:
window.addOnFrameMetricsAvailableListener( frameMetricsAvailableListener, frameMetricsHandler);
After timing information becomes available, the app triggers the frameMetricsAvailableListener() callback. We are interested in the measure/layout performance, so we call FrameMetrics.LAYOUT_MEASURE_DURATION when retrieving the actual frame duration.
Window.OnFrameMetricsAvailableListener { _, frameMetrics, _ -> val frameMetricsCopy = FrameMetrics(frameMetrics); // Layout measure duration in nanoseconds val layoutMeasureDurationNs = frameMetricsCopy.getMetric(FrameMetrics.LAYOUT_MEASURE_DURATION);
To learn more about the other types of duration information that FrameMetrics can receive, see the FrameMetrics API reference.
Measurement results: ConstraintLayout is faster
Our performance comparison shows that ConstraintLayout performs about 40% better in the measure/layout phase than RelativeLayout :
Figure 6. Measure / Layout (unit: ms, average of 100 frames)
As these results show, ConstraintLayout is likely to be more performant than traditional layouts. Moreover, ConstraintLayout has other features that help you build complex and performant layouts, as discussed in the benefits of a ConstraintLayout object section. For details, see the Build a Responsive UI with ConstraintLayout guide. We recommend that you use ConstraintLayout when designing your app's layouts. In almost all cases when you would have previously need a deeply-nested layout, ConstraintLayout should be your go-to layout for optimal performance and ease of use.
Appendix: Measurement environment
All the measurements above were performed in the following environment.
Device Nexus 5X Android Version 8.0 ConstraintLayout version 1.0.2
What's nextThey're both in the middle of huge tours, and on Saturday night music fans were treated to the sight of two generations of British music stars joining forces.
Ed Sheeran headed out on stage to join The Rolling Stones on the Kansas City date of their Zip Code tour.
Taking a break from his own gigs, Ed opened for the Stones at the Arrowhead Stadium, before playing with the band for a rendition of Beast of Burden during their set.
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Say cheese! Ed Sheeran joined The Rolling Stones on stage at the band's Kansas City date of their Zip Code tour on Saturday night
The Rolling Stones' Twitter account had been teasing a collaboration all day, with Mick Jagger telling fans he was looking forward to meeting 24-year-old Ed at the gig.
Ed was clearly excited to be joining his music heroes, sharing a selfie with the band moments after leaving the stage, uploading it to Instagram with the caption: 'Just sung a song on stage with these ladz.'
He later shared another snap showing him in conversation with notorious hellraiser Keith Richards, as he quipped: 'Learning how to be led astray'.
Sing! Taking a break from his own gigs, Ed opened for the Stones at the Arrowhead Stadium, before joining the band for a rendition of Beast of Burden
Take a bow: Mick Jagger was full of praise for the Brit singer following their surprise collaboration
Ed recently opened up about the changing nature of the music industry and artist ambition in an interview with The Big Issue, explaining that nowadays musicians are'more sensible and savvy'.
Referencing Noel Gallagher's complaint about artists being too focused on having a career rather than living for the day, Ed pointed out:
'I know it's not a very artistic thing to be, into the way things work, but I wanna know everything, Drake's the same, Taylor Swift knows everything about everything.'
Souvenir pic: The Stones lined up with Ed for a photo from the stage during the band's soundchck
New friends: Mick Jagger had tweeted about his excitement at meeting Ed in Kansas City, Missouri
Here comes trouble: Ed shared an Instagram snap showing him in conversation with notorious hellraiser Keith Richards, as he quipped: 'Learning how to be led astray'
'Pop stars nowadays are just more sensible, more savvy because it doesn't last as long. It's do your time, earn your money, buy some property and when it all goes to s**t you've got something to fall back on,' he added.
'Whereas his generation, a lot of people just lived for the day. And managers were crooks, record labels took 50 per cent.'
Ed is currently in the middle of his epic x tour, which kicked off nearly a year ago. The Thinking Out Loud star is playing a series of dates in North America before heading back home to the UK for dates at Wembley Stadium in July.
Special guest: The 24-year-old held a copy of the band's set list for a Twitter pic before taking to the stage
Selfie fans: Ronnie Wood snapped pics with the acclaimed singer who is in the middle of his x tour
It's only rock and roll: Jagger and co put on a show for the Kansas fans as they continue their North America datesAndré Marin, Ontario's former outspoken ombudsman known for his scathing reports, is jumping into provincial politics as the Progressive Conservative candidate for Ottawa-Vanier.
Marin confirmed his nomination on Twitter Saturday morning and later made an official announcement with party leader Patrick Brown, saying he wanted off the sidelines.
"It was a very sudden decision but over time my confidence in the Wynne government had eroded," said Marin, who disagreed with recent changes announced for electricity rates in the throne speech.
I'm surely allowed to be as compelling and as passionate about what I believe in. - André Marin
"To me that said well I need to get involved somehow and that's how I contacted the leader of the Opposition and he was glad to welcome me on his team," said Marin.
The former watchdog gained a reputation for his cutting and often over-the-top quotes while criticizing the governing Liberal government's programs and actions.
In one instance, Marin angered the Liberals when he called police detention of protesters during the G20 summit in Toronto in 2010 "the largest mass arrest in Canadian history."
He also had a public spat with Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson in 2014 about the power to investigate municipalities.
After his term ended he also released a report calling carding "wrong and illegal."
Hydro concerns
Marin says his outspoken behaviour won't be reeled in during this campaign.
"The times people said well he's acting like a politician, well now I am a politician so I'm surely allowed to be as compelling and as passionate about what I believe in," he said.
PC leader Patrick Brown said there were several candidates interested in the Ottawa-Vanier riding, but when Marin volunteered that interest disappeared and everyone was excited to have such a high-profile candidate.
"We've spoken passionately about hydro in the legislature...one of the first whistle blowers on the government's incompetence was André Marin," said Brown.
"I think it's a real honour to have him as a candidate here," he added.
Marin lives in south Nepean but said he has close connections to Ottawa-Vanier.
André Marin not wasting time. Canvassing with Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown in Rockcliffe. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottnews?src=hash">#ottnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/i98qgtdoE7">pic.twitter.com/i98qgtdoE7</a> —@MillerRo
He didn't waste any time following the announcement as he and Brown headed out to canvass in Rockcliffe Park.
"I have very close connections to the current riding," said Marin. "The issues are very close to my heart."
2 byelections needed
Nathalie Des Rosiers, the dean of the University of Ottawa's faculty of law, has announced she wants to run for the provincial Liberals, and so has Lucille Collard, Vice President of the Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario.
Former RCMP executive Claude Bisson has been tapped by the NDP.
The riding of Ottawa-Vanier is currently without both an MP and an MPP.
Madeleine Meilleur, long time Liberal MPP and attorney general, resigned in June ahead of a cabinet reshuffle.
In August Ottawa-Vanier residents lost their longtime Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger after he died following a 10-month battle with ALS, also known as Lou Gherig's disease.
Bélanger had won seven consecutive elections after his initial win in a 1995 byelection.The former White House ethics director believes Trump’s counselor broke the law by endorsing a candidate in her capacity as a civil servant.
Even before Trump clarified he is still all in for Alabama Senate candidate and accused pedophile Roy Moore, counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway went on Fox News to outline why Republicans should back him, and to attack Moore’s Democratic opponent, former federal prosecutor Doug Jones.
“Doug Jones is a doctrinaire liberal,” said Conway. “We want the votes in the Senate to get this tax bill through.”
Conway’s argument that tax cuts for the rich are worth accepting pedophilia was horrifying.
And according to former Office of Government Ethics director Walter Schaub, it was also illegal.
Mic.com reports that Schaub has filed a formal complaint against Conway, alleging she violated the Hatch Act — the rule that bars government employees from endorsing candidates or engaging in campaign activity in their official capacity.
Schaub laid out the case against Conway on Twitter:
I found the video. She’s standing In front of the White House. It seems pretty clear she was appearing in her official capacity when she advocated against a candidate. This is at least as clear a violation of 5 U.S.C. § 7323(a)(1) as OSC identified with regard to Castro. pic.twitter.com/EwTwPriaVX — Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) November 21, 2017
Schaub is not alone. Richard Painter, former White House lawyer to George W. Bush, called Conway’s endorsement of Moore from the White House a “firing offense.”
Schaub resigned from the Office of Government Ethics earlier this year amid frustration that Trump and Republicans in Congress were completely ignoring his ethics warnings — and in some cases, even retaliating against him. He subsequently took up a job with the Campaign Legal Center, where he is attempting to police White House corruption from the outside.
This is not Conway’s first ethics violation. In February, she directed people in a Fox interview to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff,” in violation of rules prohibiting government employees from promoting products or services. Then-press secretary Sean Spicer said Conway was “counseled on the subject” but never faced any disciplinary action.
Numerous other Trump officials have violated the Hatch Act. White House social media director Dan Scavino was reprimanded for attacking a Republican candidate on an official account. And Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross attended a Trump rally where he signed people’s “Make America Great Again” banners, an overtly political activity.
Conway’s violation of the law to promote Trump’s political interests is simply the latest out of the ethical no man’s land that is the White House. Schaub and others must continue to take a stand and remind us what is required of an accountable, aboveboard presidency.Thu did not come home with me that night. I tried following her in the car; she wouldn’t get in. But the way she acted didn’t suggest that she would harm herself, at least not anymore than she usually did. She walked. Not longingly looking over the edges of rivers and bridges. Walking.
When I got back to the apartment, I knew I couldn’t risk her not coming home. I called the police and explained in detail that she was incapacitated, unable to drive, but not a criminal or dangerous. Thu needed to be escorted home by someone supportive and neutral, like a cop.
They sounded less suspicious of me once they heard her last name and address. How scared could the police be of a tiny Vietnamese woman? And they wouldn’t harm someone with so much status.
I waited on the couch. The door opened, but it didn’t make me feel much better.
“You’re at home, Ms. Duong,” said the officer. I caught a glimpse of him. He was a burly young ginger. “Do you feel safe, dear?”
“I’m fine.”
“And what about this man in the apartment?”
“He’s my…he’s a roommate. Not a problem.”
He left with no issue. No arrests, and he didn’t pull out his taser. But Thu did not talk to me. I could tell she was crying, and she fled to her bedroom. It was a safe place for her, even when troubled. No weapons or razors or windows that opened. But ever since I moved it, Thu would say good-night to me before retiring for the night.
I came in, thinking I could console her or…apologize. Because I loved that brief moment between us, caressing her back and hair, but I wanted it to be loved by both of us. And I needed to stay in this apartment too. My heart wouldn’t take another fallout with Thu. I knew it couldn’t. I struggled enough before that night.
But she fell asleep, dressed in yet another one of her husband’s sweaters, but nothing else. Her scarred legs were on display, with some fresh wounds from the holidays.
It was tempting to roll her on her back so I could stroke and kiss her thighs. Lick the blood and pus from every scratch. She was right about feeling miserable all the time, and I shouldn’t have been shocked at all. It showed on her legs.
Thu taught me something that night, though. She wouldn’t let me make her happy.
I did not kill myself that night. It felt like a reasonable decision at times. But I eventually fell asleep. I woke up to make eggs for the two of us, and to watch Thu leave for work. Then I’d pine for her all day, undress her in my head and jerk off, and pretend I didn’t do that at all when she came back.
The house smelled like breakfast. It was the bits of eggs and potatoes sticking to the bottom of the pan, and a hint of maple syrup. Thu recommended that, actually. For one, it was like french toast without bread! I liked bread, of course, but the analogy sold me. It was also how Andrea prepared eggs.
Maple syrup went with a lot of savory things for him. It went in eggs and beans and on dumplings. He blamed his heritage. The flavor of maple syrup beat lowly sugar and molasses that went everywhere in Acadian food. And the Cotes rose above Acadian peasantry to have the means to buy all the expensive syrup they wanted. His mother hated it except where it “belonged”, but Thu listened to her dear husband.
And, much to my chagrin, she still was.
“Thanks for breakfast,” she said, standing near the kitchen. “It smells great.”
“Just like he made it, I bet,” I said.
“I…you’re right.”
At first, we did not talk while we ate. And she didn’t eat at all. She picked at her plate and let the runny bits of egg congeal. Her tea went cold. But mine did too. And she would have to leave for work soon.
“Look, I know I shouldn’t have done that last night,” Thu said, breaking the silence. “It was…dumb. Everything about that was dumb.”
“Even kissing me?”
She gave me a regretful look, her face drooping in agony.
“It was dumb for me to think I could do it. That enough time has passed and I’m ready for anyone else in my life. Two years isn’t enough…I still want Andrea. And…you’re not Andrea. You’re Axel.”
“So you’re saying no to me,” I said.
“Please don’t take this as a true no,” she said. Her voice livened up. “I love you. I love you as a friend, as a companion, as a confidant! You matter so much to me now too. It’s…it’s hard to express when I’m missing Andrea, but it’s something I feel about you. Just how you feel about me.”
“But what if I can’t wait?” I asked her.
“You can…I know you’ll do it for me. You’re…you’re the one guy who understands how difficult it is. That maybe it will take another year or three or five or…forever.” Thu’s countenance sunk a little again. “It’ll be better when we’re both ready. At least you already are.”
“I’m glad to make it easier,” I said. “But you promise?”
“To you.”
I chuckled. “You act like you’ve done this before and lied.”
“Well, I then remembered I could fire that guy instead.”
She then brushed her teeth and dressed in a suit. There was an important meeting with the board about one of Cosavo’s biggest mergers yet. And yes, I wanted her to crush my balls with her stiletto heels. But she offered me something even better.
“Let’s have a nice dinner tonight,” she said, while hugging me.
“Thanks for letting me do that much,” I said, wrapping my arms around her. She still felt so limp and soft in my arms, and clung like a rice noodle.
How could she not be ready?
“Oh, and don’t feel any pressure,” said Thu, as she walked out the door. “But one of my favorite bras went missing. Just clean it up if it’s found in a weird place.”
Did she know?
I had my regrets over what I did on New Year’s. It should have turned me off to even looking at my groin. But masturbating had become such an instinct. A need. I let her cum-stained bra soak in the bathroom sink, and I let down my pants again.
I tried to think about something hot with her. So on the couch…eating her out…she’s still wearing heels and digging one into my shoulder.
Oh yes, I came to that. But I started to liken masturbation to, well, being Thu’s friend and confidant. It was empty, pathetic, and the best realistic option I had.As we reach fever pitch on the eve of the World Cup, football fans everywhere have an early reason to celebrate – adidas has today taken a big step towards kicking hazardous chemicals out of the beautiful game. Almost a year since we revealed the brand’s lack of Detox action, the official Cup sponsor has finally moved back onside.
Back in 2011, adidas was ahead of the pack – one of the first global names to commit to rid its products of hazardous chemicals. But unfortunately the brand missed the target – setting no milestones and making no meaningful progress. Following the release of our latest investigation into World Cup products and after three weeks of people powered pressure, adidas has agreed to clean up its act.
Working with Greenpeace, adidas has laid out milestones towards its goal to be toxic-free by 2020. The brand has agreed to phase out 99% of all polyflourinated chemicals (PFCs) by the end of 2017, building up to 100% by 2020. These chemicals are used to make shoes, swimsuits, outdoor gear and clothing water and stain resistant. However, the bad news is that these dangerous substances are polluting our rivers and lakes while some of them can even impact on human reproduction systems. Adidas’ agreement to ban the whole group of PFCs sends an incredibly strong signal to other sports and outdoor brands that are heavy users of these chemicals: another way is possible. Detox.
The brand has also agreed a clear way forward to ensure it gives the public their Right-to-Know about the chemicals being released into our rivers – publishing data from 80% of its supply chain by mid-2016, building to full supply chain transparency by 2020.
Once more, people power played a crucial role in making this happen. The Detox movement is growing, uniting football fans, parents and fashionistas, all brought together by one vision: a future free of hazardous chemicals. Thousands sent letters calling on adidas CEO Herbert Hainer to Detox Football. Volunteers held protests in 30 cities around the world and hundreds joined a giant #DetoxWave for change.
adidas listened and got back on the right track for Detox.
This really is a huge step forward for the industry. It is also a reason to celebrate on behalf of those communities who need brands like adidas to take urgent action and help clean up our rivers and waterways. For adidas' customers this is also great news. With these critical milestones the brand can ensure the boots, shirts and jackets that we buy and wear are free from these dangerous, polluting substances. Together we are convincing brands to clean up our clothes and today we have taken one more step towards a toxic-free future.
The spotlight is now on adidas' competitors Nike and Puma |
all together the team tallied eight. When asked about his strong performance post game, Griffen had this to say. “I was sick, but I fight for my team.” Continuing. “I love this game. I love the way we work. We’re 3-0 and we got to keep it going, man. Winning is a lot of fun.”
Certain keywords keep popping up every time a microphone is around coaches and players alike. Words and phrases such as- fight, team, win, work, being physical and imposing your will have all been used frequently in Coach Zim’s vocabulary.
At this point it’s safe to say the message is being received.
After falling behind 10-0 in the first half, Minnesota kept fighting. Zimmer apparently imposed his mighty will on the offense as well during halftime. Sam Bradford started to lead some scoring drives during the second half. giving his defense a well deserved break.
Specialist Marcus Sherels felt inspired, returning a punt for a TD. Every facet of Zimmer’s team was humming along Sunday afternoon. Cordarrelle Patterson was the gunner on special teams, and he made some key plays, unbelievable.
Winning football is contagious, and Zimmer is spreading the fever. Everyone is stepping up their game and it’s showing on Sundays.
Defensively, the Minnesota Vikings are making a strong case for being one of the best units in the NFL. Opponents are scoring a measly 13.3 points per game, and Minnesota is currently ranked seventh overall.
Sam Bradford has seemed to absorb Norv Turner’s offense like a sponge. Jerick McKinnon showed up big in the running game. Things are clicking for the Vikes heading into Monday’s game versus the New York Giants at U.S. Bank Stadium.
After all this team has been through, Zimmer is focused on one thing, winning.Has Disney decided to go all in with the U.S. military’s anti-terrorism efforts? After all, why else would the company file patents to use drones?
A closer look at Disney’s UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] patent applications reveals language about the company’s plans for “entertainment” and “projections screens” at its theme parks, but surely that is just subterfuge in these dangerous times. Loose lips can sink steamboats, right Willie?
At any rate and according to a report that first surfaced last week at the blog Stitch Kingdom, Disney has filed a trio of applications involving drones.
One of the applications is for a multi-drone system that would hold aloft a projection screen for a nighttime display. Such a display would utilize what Disney calls “flixels,” which is an Imagineer word creation for “floating pixels,” according to the background information Disney submitted.
In the second patent application, Disney said “the UAVs execute the flight plans to move and to position the flexible projection screens within the display air space,” according to the patent application abstract. These multiple flexible projection screens, Disney says, would have little wind resistance and offer a surface for reflecting light.
With both of these patents, the systems could be used for the drones to carry either screens for displays or lights overhead. Both would be lightweight and flexible enough to move easily and be controlled from the ground. Of course, both easily could be seen as creating a high-tech digital fireworks show overhead that would be safer and more controlled – and which would cost less than the nightly pyrotechnics that go off at the parks now, as well.
The third patent application is as bizarre-sounding as it is futurist in concept. It would use multiple drones attached to balloons or super-large puppets to make them move – and in the case of the puppets, seemingly walk – as the drones control the movements of the characters’ limbs.
Maybe the patents are for peaceful purposes in the theme parks, odd as they might sound and knowing what we do about how drones are often used by U.S. forces overseas. Still, we know that it is possible that Disney could be drawing up plans for an air offense against its enemies. After all, its land forces were announced online yesterday. And the princesses, clearly, are ready for battle.Research shows 'climate of fear' whipped up by media stories on benefit fraud delay or stop people in need from getting help
Hundreds of thousands of poor people say they have been put off applying for or collecting benefits because of the perceived stigma generated by false media depictions of "scroungers" – leading many to forgo essentials such as food and fuel, a new report claims.
Analysis by researchers, led by the University of Kent's social policy team, said polls and focus groups had revealed a quarter of claimants had "delayed or avoided asking for" vital welfare payments because of "misleading news coverage driven by [government] policy".
This "climate of fear" means 1.8 million people have potentially been too scared to seek help they are entitled to from the state. Such is the scale of successive governments' disinformation that the report calls for ministers to abandon briefing journalists ahead of their speeches and asks Whitehall departments to seek corrections "for predictable and repeated media misinterpretations".
The researchers tested the accuracy of recent government statements and found them lacking. The report highlights that ministers – including the chancellor, George Osborne – had claimed there were families taking £100,000 a year in housing benefit. In fact there were only five such families in the UK.
Last year ministers appeared to brief that 1,360 people had been off work for a decade with diarrhoea, when in fact they had severe bowel diseases and cancer.
The report, entitled Benefits Stigma in Britain and commissioned by Turn2us, part of the anti-poverty charity Elizabeth Finn, examined more than 6,000 articles on social security between 1995 and 2011 from the major newspapers – the Times, the Mirror, the Guardian, the Independent, the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Sun and the Daily Express.
Benefit fraud remains a popular topic for papers: 30% of all articles dwell on the issue even though, the report points out, rates of fraud do not rise beyond 3%.
The study shows that disproportionate coverage of fraud is linked to higher levels of stigma, with the readers of "stigmatising newspapers", such as the Sun, believing there were "higher levels of deception within the welfare system".
Not all newspapers were the same. The authors admitted there was "enormous variation" between titles, with the share of articles using negative language – terms that connote dishonesty, lack of effort or dependency – ranging from 78% in the Sun to 36% in the Guardian.
However, the authors said the country was "seeing a surge in negative stories compared to the previous 10 years", noting that the amount of coverage is now comparable to 1998 when Labour arrived with a big "welfare reform" agenda.
The big change in coverage in recent years, says the report, is to focus on "scroungers" as opposed to "cheats". It says this shift began in 2008, when "scrounging" replaced fraud as the main welfare issue covered in the press – at a time when the then Labour government was developing tests for incapacity benefit recipients and the Conservatives were pushing the idea of "broken Britain".
The report says three newspapers – the Sun, Mail and Express – show an "exceptional focus" on claimants' apparent "lack of effort".
"The papers in question are often accused of promoting a'scrounger rhetoric' with regard to claimants. That accusation seems to be well-founded."
Another theme that has emerged in recent years is the idea that benefit spending is high because of large families on out-of-work benefits. Stories referring to large families more than doubled in frequency after 2003, accounting today for some 7.4% of articles.
However, the charity says families with more than five children account for just 1% of out-of-work benefit claims. "Very large households with 10 or more children are a staple of tabloid shock stories. There are 180 such claimant households in Britain," says the report.
Rob Tolan, head of policy at Turn2us, said the rhetoric was affecting the public. "At a human level, stigma sees the elderly, sick and disabled people skipping meals or keeping the heating off … One lady we helped, who was left disabled by a brain tumour, ate porridge five nights a week, rather than ask for help."
Moreover, there are fears that hardening attitudes have translated into an increase in verbal and even physical attacks on claimants.
A 2011 survey showed that nearly half of disabled people had experienced a worsening of attitudes towards them and in February, the six major disability charities issued a warning about "an increase in resentment and abuse directed at disabled people, as they find themselves being labelled scroungers".
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "There is an ongoing debate about the state of the current benefit system, but we are always very clear that it is the system that is failing individuals, not the other way around.
"Currently people are being trapped in dependency or are missing out on the support they are entitled to entirely. Our reforms will end the benefits trap, but will also make it easier for people to claim the help they need."My understanding of the final judgment has changed quite a bit over the years.
As a young Christian, I was taught that we would be judged by God immediately after death, and that the criterion for the judgment was our faith in Jesus. Those who had accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior would spend eternity with God in heaven, while those who had not would spend eternity separated from God, in hell.
While I never bought into this view entirely, it was several years before I would really question it. The more I studied the Bible, though, the more I came to see that this view wasn’t really Scriptural.
Most notably, I learned that the criterion for judgment isn’t so much what we believe about Jesus, but how we have lived our lives.
We are judged according to our works (Rev 20:11-15) – and especially according to how we treat the poor and marginalized, those whom Jesus calls “the least of these who are members of my family” (Matt 25:40).
Over time, I also came to find the idea of an eternal hell untenable – partly because many of the biblical references to hell imply annihilation more than everlasting suffering (Matt 10:28, 2 Thess 1:9, Heb 10:26-27, etc); and also because the God I have come to know in Jesus is a God of mercy, who “makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt 5:45).
My revised understanding of Judgment Day was one where we were judged based on how we had treated the poor and oppressed; and the result was either eternal life or complete annihilation. The one thing that remained the same was that the judge was external – it was God who imposed this judgment on us.
I now understand things quite differently. I have come to see that God doesn’t impose judgment on us from on high; rather, it is the Christ spirit within us that judges. It’s as if we are judging ourselves.
In the words of Orthodox bishop Kallistos Ware, “Christ is the judge; and yet, from another point of view, it is we who pronounce judgment on ourselves. If anyone is in hell, it is not because God has imprisoned him there, but because that is where he himself has chosen to be. The lost in hell are self-condemned, self-enslaved; it has been rightly said that the doors of hell are locked on the inside” (The Orthodox Way, 135).
God, in other words, is love – and only love. God is not looking to punish us; but we punish ourselves when we reject God’s love. And has Ware noted, “the more final the rejection, the more bitter the suffering” (The Orthodox Way, 136).
Though I don’t believe that hell is everlasting (a point on which Ware himself is somewhat ambigious), I find this Orthodox vision of the judgment quite compelling. It is more consistent with the loving Father that Jesus knows and speaks of.
The one point where I disagree with the Orthodox view (and with the views of most Christians through the ages) is that I believe that there is a chance for repentance beyond the grave. There has to be. Otherwise, what would be the point of a judgment?
What good would it do to see the end result of all our choices if there was no further chance for us to make things right? The only possible motive for such a judgment (with no further chance of repentance) would be vengeance; and the God revealed in Jesus is most certainly not a vengeful one.
So yes, I believe there is a judgment after death, based on how we have lived our lives here and now. But I believe that we are the ones who impose this judgment on ourselves – and that with this judgment comes a chance for further growth and healing. This is the only kind of judgment that fits with the God I have come to know.
In other words, Judgment Day is not something that we should fear. It is given to us for our own good. Indeed, there are many who may not be able to be healed and restored any other way!
But we need not wait until death to begin this process. Indeed, every moment gives us the chance to judge ourselves – to look at how we have lived our lives and make the necessary changes. The more we can learn to do this now, the less painful we will find it then.
AdvertisementsOn Wednesday, March 30, 2016, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit did something extraordinary: It asked viewers to empathize with an admitted rapist.
SVU, which returned for its 18th season on Wednesday, is not a subtle show. For those who haven’t watched, it’s a pulpy cop procedural with a penchant for over-the-top, almost self-parodically implausible plot twists. Its focus on sex crimes can be both empowering (it puts a huge emphasis on believing women) and frustrating in its sensationalistic focus on the grisliest details of sexual violence (as in an arc involving a serial killer who menaces the unit’s lead detective).
That formula has also earned it an avid following; last season it averaged 8.3 million viewers per episode, more than the likes of Quantico or The Bachelorette, and reruns on the USA Network used to frequently beat new episodes of Mad Men.
Historically, SVU has not depicted the sex offenders targeted by its detectives with much nuance, let alone sympathy. The team's longtime in-house psychiatrist, Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong), went from treating sex offenders to helping law enforcement because he concluded they could not be cured. At times the show has flirted with sympathy for vigilante justice; at times, its own detectives have taken part.
But after 17 seasons, something appears to be changing. That March 30 episode, "Sheltered Outcasts" (season 17, episode 19), takes a more nuanced approach to sex offenders. Detective Dominick Carisi (Peter Scanavino) embeds undercover for weeks at a homeless shelter with a special section for convicted sex offenders, suspecting a resident is responsible for a string of rapes nearby. While on the case, he befriends Richie Caskey (Michael Rapaport), who moved into the sex offender section after serving 10 years in prison for raping a cocktail waitress at a bachelor party.
The crime that landed Caskey in the shelter was despicable, but he appears sincerely horrified by and repentant for his actions. Which makes it all the more painful when initial evidence suggests Caskey might be responsible for the serial rapes Carisi is investigating. But Caskey is ultimately proven innocent; his lawyer was committing the rapes, assuming someone at the shelter would get blamed, given their past crimes.
Carisi's sympathy for Caskey isn't debunked; it's confirmed. "I went into that place, I hated those guys. I couldn't even stand to be around them," he tells Detective Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish). "But after a few days, they just turned into people."
The episode is the culmination of years of evolution on the show toward a more nuanced and compassionate depiction of sex offenders — one that matches an emerging, more nuanced public conversation on the topic. The public and the press are starting to acknowledge the horrible effects of sex offender registration laws, the difficult reality that some pedophiles do not want to act on their impulses and need support and therapy rather than punishment, and the ways in which our horror at sex crimes helps drive mass incarceration. And SVU is starting to adjust in turn.
For its entire 17-year history, SVU has served as a mirror of attitudes about criminal justice and feminism — not the attitudes of Americans generally, but of the fairly liberal audience it targets. In its first decade, the detectives would make light of prison rape and vilify defendants. Today, the show often takes pains to acknowledge the humanity of even suspects who turn out to be guilty.
If you want to see how the conversation on criminal justice and sex crimes has evolved over the past two decades, you could do a lot worse than binge-watching SVU.
The unique appeal of SVU
SVU started as a spinoff of the main Law & Order series but soon developed an identity of its own. It shares the "ripped from the headlines" hustle of the original, but both because its breakout lead character is a woman — Detective Olivia Benson, played by Mariska Hargitay — and because of its subject matter, it has cultivated a different, less conservative image.
Most cop procedurals have a fairly utopian view of law enforcement: Police usually play by the rules, defendants are frequently assigned excellent representation, and the main challenge is dotting the prosecution's i's and crossing its t's so key evidence doesn't get tossed out on a technicality. SVU, by contrast, is focused on crimes traditionally minimized by the police, a fact that it rarely forgets. Its victims are overwhelmingly women and children. Its perps are almost always men — usually white, frequently rich and powerful.
To some extent, this twist to the formula was a canny response by producer Dick Wolf to the fact that the Law & Order franchise’s most devoted fans have always been professional women.
"My closest chum in Washington is a political columnist and TV pundit," columnist Michael Kinsley once observed. "I thought I knew her pretty well. Turns out that for years, on all those evenings when I assumed she was at parties to which I wasn't invited, she was at home watching reruns of Law & Order. The dean of a major business school poured out a similar confession, as did a senior editor at a newsmagazine. The girlfriend of one of my Slate colleagues. … Always women. Always high-powered. Always Law & Order." The musician Amanda Palmer put it more bluntly: "Who needs love when there’s Law & Order"?
But the traditional Law & Order was always male-dominated. The original cast contained no women. The executive assistant district attorney was always a man, either Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty), or Michael Cutter (Linus Roache). The two lead homicide detectives were always men. In a typical season, the only female main cast members would be S. Epatha Merkerson (as Lt. Anita Van Buren) and whichever 20-something ADA is working under McCoy at that moment.
SVU, by contrast, always had a female lead detective in Benson. The ADA was, until season 14, always a woman. Medical examiner Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie) has been a crucial part of the show since season two.
From its premiere, the New Yorker’s Emily Nussbaum notes, "SVU felt like a woman’s show, at once prurient and cathartic, exploitative and liberating — with an appeal much like that of the old Lifetime channel, that pastel-tinted chamber of horrors. The audience was two-thirds female, young women, for the most part — the same demographic that drives fan fiction, romance novels, and vampire stories."
This is baked into the show’s very structure. The typical original Law & Order episode is split 50-50 between the investigation and the trial. The latter typically involves few plot twists, focusing instead on legal strategy, which limits how convoluted the story can get. SVU is typically 100 percent investigation, with only the occasional episode featuring time at trial. That means writers can pack in even more twists and turns, taking plots into genuinely bizarre, implausible, and wacky places.
This creates a distinctive pulpy tinge that ultimately sets the show apart from its parent series. Law & Order is a fundamentally serious show about serious topics. It barely has a sense of humor. SVU, largely because of its greater penchant for twists, is a deeply, deeply silly (and mercifully self-aware) show.
This is a series where Marcia Gay Harden screams, "WHITE POWER," while doing a Hitler salute in an open courtroom as gunshots ring out, where Outkast’s Big Boi plays a rapper named "Gots Money" who is eaten by hyenas, where the unit’s lieutenant rescues a gibbon monkey from inside a basketball (the latter two happen in the same episode). It is soapy nonsense of the finest quality — despite, or perhaps as a respite from, its focus on the immensely serious and sensitive topic of sexual violence.
The tough-on-crime years
Women’s show or not, SVU had the misfortune of premiering in 1999. Urban violent crime, whose historically high levels in the '70s and '80s set the stage for the original Law & Order, had peaked and was falling precipitously, but public opinion and culture always respond to changing social circumstances with a lag. The result was a public that was still terrified of crime and had high confidence in police.
A Gallup poll in 2001 found that 62 percent of Americans worried "a great deal" about crime. By 2016, that was down to 53 percent. In 2014, before the Ferguson protests raised the profile of criminal justice as an issue, only 39 percent said they worried a great deal — a 23-point drop from 2001. Similarly, Gallup has found that Americans’ faith in police grew over the early 2000s, during the early seasons of SVU, before falling in recent years, particularly among Democrats — disproportionately SVU’s audience.
So it’s perhaps unsurprising that for the first decade or so of the show’s existence, it espoused a rather reactionary politics around crime. Prisoners' suffering was disregarded or played for laughs. "You know how to play 'Getting the Dice'?" Detective Fin Tutuola (Ice-T) asked Big Boi during an interrogation, taking out two dice. "Your cellie rolls the dice. [He rolls them.] Nine. That's how many days you get to play his girlfriend." It’s disconcerting to see a show about sexual assault flagrantly trivialize prison rape, but there you have it.
On another occasion, ADA Casey Novak (Diane Neal) gloats to a serial killer played by Jared Harris about the new prison assignment she got him: "You're gonna love Florence supermax — 23-hour lockdown, no visitors, no mail, no phone calls. No human contact for the rest of your life." What Novak is describing is unambiguously torture. The audience is supposed to view this treatment as a victory.
Any notion that sex offenders could benefit from treatment or rehabilitation was strictly absent. One of the most upsetting episodes of SVU to watch now is season 10’s "Confession," which begins with a 17-year-old boy walking into the precinct and confessing that he’s been having sexual thoughts about his 5-year-old stepbrother. He hasn’t hurt his brother at all, because he knows to do so would be wrong, but he doesn’t know how to handle his feelings, and so he asks the SVU detectives for help.
Benson responds not by trying to pair the boy with a therapist but by trying to build a case against him, telling his mother, "We believe that he's been abusing Cory." Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) harangues the kid in an interrogation room, yelling, "You're the one who sexually abused your 5-year-old stepbrother."
Lest you think the detectives learn a valuable lesson about the perils of prosecuting thought crime, or about targeting people who come to them trying to do the right thing, it ultimately turns out the kid has abused someone. Any chance the episode had of painting a nuanced, empathetic portrait of "gold star pedophiles" — people with pedophilic urges who do not act upon them — went out the window. Suspects are, once again, liars to be treated with suspicion and hostility.
But even as the show exhibited a callous disregard for the rights and humanity of suspects and perps, it never wavered in its core commitment to believing the victims. From the very start, the show went to great lengths to emphasize that victims' past sexual history has no bearing on the merit of their allegations. Sex workers are frequently featured as victims, but their career is never treated as a reason not to believe them.
There’s a healthy academic literature analyzing SVU that confirms this. Sociologists Nicole Rader and Gayle Rhineberger-Dunn conducted a content analysis comparing the 2003-'04 season of SVU with regular Law & Order, CSI, and Without a Trace and found that SVU was "the most likely to characterize victims as unlikeable but not culpable and least likely to characterize victims as manipulative" — in keeping with the show’s attempt to show that even victims who are not "perfect" should be believed.
Boston College's Lisa Cuklanz and Middlebury's Sujata Moorti conducted a content analysis of all 116 episodes of the show's first five seasons and are even more rapturous in their conclusions. "Unequivocally asserting that consent — rather than the conduct of the victim — is central to definitions of rape, SVU narratives repeatedly showcase assaults on prostitutes," they note. "SVU narratives repeatedly declare that a person’s sexual practices must not be used to undermine the person’s credibility. The series rejects the assumption that only virtuous and sexually chaste women can be violated … SVU offers an unequivocally feminist understanding of sexual assault in its depiction of power imbalances as causing rape."
The authors do note that SVU showcases disproportionate number of female perpetrators — but when it comes to debunking rape myths, the show rarely if ever wavers. Even when individual characters express belief in rape myths, they are immediately rebuked. In a season 11 episode, Stabler’s teenage son tells him about a fellow high schooler he knows who said she was assaulted by a football player. "Everyone says she’s a lying slut," he tells his father. Stabler reacts immediately: "Don’t ever talk about a victim like that."
Believing the victim
SVU’s set of precepts on sexual assault were a perfect match for the nascent feminist blogosphere of the late '00s, which broke into the mainstream press in a major way in the '10s. And, not unrelatedly, campus, military, and celebrity sexual assault started to be reported on and treated as serious issues in a way they never had been before, with the kind of feminist analysis of rape SVU had adopted and propounded — victims should not have to be perfect, their past sexual behavior is irrelevant, rape is about power, not sex, victims should be believed — gaining new prominence in turn.
Olivia Benson, specifically, became a kind of cult heroine for activists and writers working on sexual assault issues. "Olivia Benson is much more than a TV character — she’s a support system and role model," an anonymous contributor to the essay collection We Believe You: Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault Speak Out wrote. "I can count on her."
"SVU offers viewers an alternate reality where sexual assault survivors are taken seriously and justice is obtainable thanks to a crack team of well-trained detectives, each one fluent in the language of sexual assault," Vice’s Alex Hughes elaborates.
And the show and its crew returned the love, adopting the vernacular of sexual assault advocates; the term "slut shaming" has appeared in SVU scripts repeatedly. Hargitay pivoted heavily into actual activism, founding the Joyful Heart Foundation, which focuses on preventing sexual assault and domestic violence and supporting survivors. She’s collaborated with Vice President Joe Biden on the issue, culminating in Biden filming a cameo on the show for the upcoming 18th season.
The "ripped from the headlines" aspect of the show — while still a recipe for lurid, uncomfortable content on occasion — also became a way for it to retell stories in the news with a pro-victim, anti-slut-shaming slant.
One, based on the story of Duke student and adult film star Belle Knox, sees a college student who also works in porn assaulted by two classmates who insist that because she’s in porn, she must consent to whatever they want. The show is clear that it’s the student’s right to express her sexuality how she wants, that her career is absolutely no excuse for rape, and that the ultimate problem is a culture that enables assaults.
Knox herself walked away from the experience impressed, writing, "I am happy that ‘my’ character was not portrayed as a caricature of the porn industry, but as an imperfect young woman who made some controversial choices that did not define her."
Another, based on the since-debunked Rolling Stone account of a gang rape at the University of Virginia, faced a challenge, given the show’s commitment to showing viewers that most allegations of rape are legitimate and false reports are rare. SVU handled the situation by pointedly refusing to place the blame on the student whose claims fell apart. In the SVU version, the student really was assaulted, by one classmate — and, because of pressure from the press and an irresponsible professor, embellished the events into a gang rape.
"I don't blame Heather," Olivia Benson says at the episode's conclusion. "[Reporter] Skip Peterson and Professor Dillon, they pressured her into coming forward. They thought this would be the case that would change rape culture, and it did. It set the clock back 30 years." The show’s takeaway is clear: This one event does not change the fact that false reports are rare and our society has a problem believing women.
Treating suspects like people
But if SVU was ahead of its time on its treatment of rape and consent, it lagged behind public opinion in its treatment of crime in its first decade, with DAs threatening tortuous solitary confinement and detectives joking about the assaults suspects would endure in prison. By the 2010s — when the Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown cases and the crime decline increased support for criminal justice reform and raised the profile of racial bias by police — that approach appeared increasingly untenable.
However, the public’s declining appetite for tough-on-crime policies and increasing awareness and sensitivity toward sexual assault occurred simultaneously. This, necessarily, caused some tension. Many sexual assault advocates viewed the answer as tougher enforcement of the law. As Scott Berkowitz, founder of RAINN, America’s leading anti-sexual assault nonprofit, declared in 2012, "The single most important thing we can do to prevent rape is to put more rapists in prison."
Most criminal justice reform advocates, by contrast, view this approach as fundamentally flawed. Some have accused prison-focused sexual assault groups like RAINN of embracing a "carceral feminism," which serves to bolster a system of overcriminalization and mass incarceration that ultimately hurts women.
This dispute has spilled over into legislatures. The Brock Turner rape case at Stanford prompted California’s assembly to pass a new mandatory minimum law increasing sentences for sex offenders. That’s something certain sexual assault activists would embrace, but it furthers the cycle of ever-increasing sentences imposed in reaction to widely publicized crimes. That cycle, in the '80s and '90s, left us with mass incarceration.
It would have been simple for SVU to react to this trend by embracing carceral feminism. It’s a cop show; it’s about catching and putting away bad guys. It doesn’t face the same pressures for nuance that analysts writing think pieces or conducting advocacy campaigns do. Why not exploit greater awareness and interest in sexual assault issues by locking up more rapists?
But the show, pointedly, refused to go that route. Instead, the '10s featured a remarkable pivot in which SVU suddenly took police racial bias and mass incarceration seriously.
Of course, this being SVU, it went about this transition in an over-the-top, occasionally ham-handed way. The season 14 episode "Monster's Legacy" was, on paper, an excellent step forward. Featuring Andre Braugher's character Bayard Ellis, a civil rights attorney whose presence gives the show an opportunity to look critically at law enforcement, it centers on a death row inmate whom Benson and Ellis attempt to save from execution. They learn that the inmate had been repeatedly sexually abused as a child, and that his murder victim wasn't a stranger, as the prosecution had alleged, but a much older man who'd paid him for sex and had gang-raped him the night before the murder with three other men.
At no point in the episode is the inmate’s guilt in question. No one even questions that he should be in prison. The contention is merely that the jury should’ve heard about these mitigating circumstances, which might have spared him a death sentence. This is an unusually nuanced position for a cop procedural to take, and it’s especially striking to see a heroic detective figure like Benson take on the cause of an admitted murderer, because even violent criminals deserve fair treatment.
The problem was that, in a bit of unfortunate stunt casting, the inmate was played by Mike Tyson, who served three years in prison for rape. The show’s writers attempted to defend SVU casting a convicted rapist by insisting that Tyson had served his time, but given that Tyson has never admitted to or expressed any remorse for his crime, his presence on a show that rape survivors champion as an ally was jarring.
Soapier, but more defensible, was season 15’s "American Tragedy." The plot can be summarized as "Paula Deen kills Trayvon Martin," which is not exactly a promising premise. But where much of the media coverage surrounding Martin’s killing dwelled on the ambiguities — did his killer feel threatened? Was Martin really blameless? — SVU comes down unequivocally on the side of the 16-year-old black boy whom Southern celebrity chef Jolene Castille (Cybill Shepherd) guns down.
Initially, the police are sympathetic to Castille. The boy she shot was a suspect in a string of rapes; she claims he was trying to rape her as well. The boy’s parents painfully and movingly insist to the detectives that their son couldn’t have done such a thing, that the detectives need to investigate his killing seriously, but the detectives remain skeptical.
Then another suspect is found to have committed the serial rapes. Castille’s victim was totally innocent. What’s more, Castille lies about how close he was when she shot him, embellishes her story with details about the real rapist’s MO that she heard on the news, and turns out to have a long record of making racist comments to staff and acquaintances. "If it was a white boy, I wouldn't have been afraid," she tells the jury.
In SVU’s version of the Trayvon Martin story, the key problem is racial bias, white fear of young black men, and the police’s excessive willingness to accept young black men’s guilt without evidence.
Even sex offenders are people — and have families
But the most striking shift in SVU can be seen in episodes where it refuses to demonize even characters suspected of heinous sex crimes. That’s a risky thing to do without sacrificing the show’s reputation as a bulwark for victims. But the show pulled it off.
The shift began tepidly with season 16's "Perverted Justice." Again featuring Andre Braugher's Bayard Ellis, it centers on Michelle Thompson (Samira Wiley of Orange Is the New Black and You're the Worst), a young woman whose testimony as a 6-year-old put her father in prison for rape and incest. As an adult, Thompson claims she lied to the police under pressure from her mother. The detectives and Ellis spend the entire episode attempting to have her father's case reopened, to get a new trial where Michelle can testify that her accusation was false.
The episode is based on a real case from New York state, but it deviates from the real facts in a way that undercuts the message somewhat. In the real incident, the daughter has been adamant and consistent in saying her father was innocent. In the episode, Michelle backtracks toward the end of the trial, telling Benson she honestly doesn’t remember what happened. This leads Benson to worry they freed the wrong man, and it feels like a bit of a cop-out.
The episode makes clear that there was reasonable doubt in the case. A man who was put away on flimsy evidence was set free. To have it end on an ambiguous note reeks of the show not wanting to side with a convicted sex offender.
But by last season, the show had grown more confident and assured. The season’s most impressive episode, even more impressive than "Sheltered Outcasts" (the one that sympathetically portrays convicted sex offenders who are attempting to atone), was "Collateral Damages," which features a recurring character (Deputy Police Commissioner Hank Abraham, played by Josh Pais) being arrested for possession of child pornography.
Prior to the episode, Abraham was hardly an audience favorite. A political hack rather than a career cop, he mostly played damage control for the department, advising detectives on PR strategy and how best to keep the NYPD's image clean. He's a smarmy, unlikable figure. But rather than portray his pedophilia as the cardinal sin underlying his general loathsomeness, the episode displays an astonishing amount of empathy.
The episode reveals that Abraham is married to a far more popular recurring character: Pippa Cox (Jessica Phillips), a lawyer for social services who works with SVU on cases involving children. She and Abraham have two kids of their own.
So the SVU detectives handle the case as sensitively as possible. They give Pippa and her kids a chance to quietly leave the house before press arrives; Benson gets them a hotel. At no point does the episode minimize Abraham’s crime; his protestations that he never hurt a child and merely looked at pictures come across as pathetic rationalizations. But it doesn’t turn Abraham into the worst villain possible, either. The investigation concludes that he really never did hurt a child, and treated his own children well.
The main focus, though, is on Pippa, her processing of the crime, and what a revelation like this does to a family. This is a tricky focus to choose, given the risk of painting the perp’s family as the real victims, to the exclusion of the children Abraham victimized. But the |
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Unlock new playable heroes, each with their own unique moves, special attacks, weapon types, and voiced dialogue* in this large-scale action game from the Hyrule Warriors team.Hillary Clinton
The question, of course, is authenticity, as it seems always to be where Hillary Clinton is concerned. She wrestled with the issue as far back as 1967, when, as a student at Wellesley, she wrote to an old high-school pal, John Peavoy, “There is a smorgasbord of personalities spread before me.”
A smorgasbord, of course, is a diverse buffet from which one can pick and choose those foods that strike the fancy and suit the mood. So which personality has Hillary selected? Or, in correct Scandinavian tradition, is she still going back for seconds and thirds?
That food preferences are clues to personality was the firm belief of French gourmand and essayist Jean Antheleme Brillat-Savarin, who in his 1825 work, The Physiology of Taste, wrote, “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are.” In the absence of an interview with the lady herself, I have pieced together clues to Hillary’s eating habits from various reports, to try to determine whether she is tough and self-assured enough to function as president or is merely a food-fashion victim who opts for the flavor of the moment. Does she indulge wild, instinctive cravings with a hat-over-the-windmill bravado, or is she an abstemiously disciplined eater who can be counted on to make the sensibly healthful choice?
In short, would the real Hillary in a private moment go for an Oliveburger or a Boca Burger? When, in May 2007, Associated Press reporters asked the presidential hopefuls to name the single item that most recalled their back-home origins, Hillary Clinton chose the Oliveburger served at the Pickwick, her high-school hangout in Park Ridge, Ill. This Greek coffee shop is still in business, next door to a landmark Art Deco movie house, also called Pickwick. To find out just what an Oliveburger might be, I called the owner, George Paziotopoulos, who bought the restaurant from his cousin about eight years ago.
“It’s 6 ounces of grilled ground beef sirloin on a toasted hamburger bun with a thick topping of chopped, pimento-stuffed green olives,” he said, pointing out that he was not the owner during Hillary’s time. However, in May 2003, he welcomed her back with Barbara Walters and a local friend in tow, and while filming an interview, they all ate (reportedly “with great relish”) what had been renamed the Hillaryburger, seasoned with Dijon mustard, a pretty fancy condiment for a Greek diner.
Unable to get to Park Ridge to take advantage of the $6.75 Oliveburger special, complete with choice of soup or salad and coleslaw or fruit, I cooked up my own version. It was a powerfully brassy, acidic concoction with the merry Christmas touch of the red and green olive topping that, along with the mustard, zapped any flavor of beef. Strong stuff for a strong palate, I thought, with a certain respect.
Next, I interviewed Walter Scheib, who worked as the White House chef for the Clintons (and, briefly, for the second Bushes). Scheib recently published a cookbook memoir, White House Chef, which offers many clues to Hillary’s preferences. Had she ever asked for an Oliveburger or Hillaryburger, I asked?
“No, but I always kept Boca Burgers in the freezer,” he said, referring to a brand of soy protein patties. “She liked them for snacking.” When I obtained some Boca Burgers and pan-grilled them, as directed, they turned out to be miserably limp, grassy-tasting little disks that might have been produced by Rubbermaid.
And so, the question remains: How could the lover of the lusty Oliveburger ever settle for a Boca Burger? Or had the years wrought changes?
I found few reports of Hillary’s gastronomic adventures at Wellesley, but in one of her soul-searching letters to Peavoy, she referred to a “boy from Dartmouth” with whom she had spent a Saturday evening. The boy turned out to be Robert B. Reich, later a Rhodes scholar with Bill Clinton, and still later the president’s labor secretary. Reich acknowledged that he and Hillary had gone to see the Antonioni film Blowup, during which Hillary wanted popcorn with a lot of butter. “A lot of butter. Significant? You be the judge,” Reich wrote in his blog.
I reserved judgment until I was able to learn of her other preferences and contradictions in Scheib’s book. To the first lady’s credit, when she hired Scheib away from the Greenbrier, a spa resort in West Virginia, she insisted on having American cooking rather than traditional French fare, wishing to reflect the ethnic diversity of the country and to showcase American food and wine producers. Call it patriotic or merely politically correct, but that was the culinary persona she chose to project.
At his tryout luncheon for the Clintons, Scheib prepared pecan-crusted lamb with morel sauce and discovered that lamb is Hillary’s favorite meat. This in itself indicates a certain palate sophistication, because lamb has a more complex, gamey flavor than easier-to-like beef, veal, or pork. The sweet potatoes Scheib served with it were spiked with red curry paste. The Clintons loved them, and this prompted Scheib to keep assorted hot sauces on hand at all times. Could the first couple’s affection for spice also offer a personality clue? According to research performed years ago by Dr. Paul Rozin and Deborah Schiller at the University of Pennsylvania, people who love hot chilies are considered limited risk takers; they are the kind of people who are willing to gamble or ride roller coasters. (One has to wonder what would constitute a limited risk in current geopolitical terms.)
Although many family meals in the Clinton White House were based on fish and vegetables, with a minimum of starches (it was the Atkins and Dean Ornish era, after all), things were different if Bill or Hillary were eating alone. Hillary went for the exotic flavors of the Middle East—baba ghanouj, hummus, and tahini. And if President Clinton was on his own for dinner, he invariably canceled the healthful meal that had been ordered for him and asked Scheib to dig into his secret stash of prime meat and grill a 24-ounce porterhouse steak with béarnaise sauce and fried onion rings, evidence that marital cheating can take many forms.
Being a woman, Hillary is expected to cook, something that is rarely demanded of a male political candidate. Once when she was asked if she was good at it, she answered candidly, “I’m a lousy cook, but I make pretty good soft scrambled eggs.” Soft scrambled eggs—another indication of a stylish palate as are omelets and tossed salads, specialties that she copped to on another occasion.
Of all the eating Hillary Clinton has done, none could be more trying than that required along the campaign trail. Accepting, and then relishing, the specialties of a particular constituency—the more ethnic or regional the better—has become part of the American political ritual. “Love me, love my food,” seems to be the challenge, while to refuse or, perhaps even worse, to start eating something and then not finish it, is seen as a flat-out rejection. In June 2007, Eugene Fraise, the Democratic senator from Iowa, held a barbecue honoring Hillary at his farm. “We’re not going to vote for them if they don’t sit down at our table and have coffee,” he said.
And not only coffee. Think hero sandwiches, pizza, calzone, ribs, fried chicken, corn on the cob, nachos, fajita-filled tortillas, pancakes, waffles, kielbasa, pirogi, dim sum, knishes, lox and bagels, and more.
Candidates on the campaign trail also feel pressure to eat competitively, as Hillary discovered in 2000, when she ran for a New York Senate seat against Long Island Republican Rick Lazio. A week after Lazio admitted to being less than enthralled with the sausage, peppers, and onion sandwich that he was served at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, the Clintons arrived, and they both sat down to a very public lunch of that same local specialty. “It’s great,” Hillary announced through a mouthful of the greasy, dripping creation. She even wore a bib.
As Hillary’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination progresses, so must her waistline, a situation guaranteed to add stress. Judging by various accounts, much of her public snacking in Iowa consisted of sweet and creamy desserts, perhaps another weakness (Walter Scheib reported that while in the White House, Hillary, like Chelsea, loved Dove bars). Following news reports, I traced the Clintons’ visit to Whitey’s Ice Cream shop in Davenport, Iowa, where, via telephone, Jan, the store manager, said that she had witnessed Hillary order a Drumstick—a chocolate-and-chopped-nut-coated vanilla ice cream on a stick—while Bill had peach yogurt in a waffle cone. Asked if they each finished the whole thing, Jan replied, “They sure did!” That was only the first of three caloric pit stops within 30 hours. The couple went on to a Dairy Queen in Nashua, where Bill sipped a strawberry malt while Hillary chose the raspberry, and then they dropped into another D.Q. near Grinnell, where Bill had a grilled chicken sandwich and for good behavior was rewarded with a taste of Hillary’s Snickers Blizzard.
For a final bit of insight into food and its meanings, consider the video that the Clinton campaign put out parodying the final episode of The Sopranos, in which Tony and Carmela and A.J. eat onion rings together at a diner. In the Clinton version, Hillary orders carrot sticks instead of onion rings, and when Bill protests, she tells him, “I’m looking out for ya.’ ” Ann Althouse, a law professor who writes a popular blog from Madison, Wis., conjectured on the deeper meaning of the carrot sticks: “I doubt if any blogger will disagree with my assertion that, coming from Bill Clinton, the ‘O’ of an onion ring is a vagina symbol. Hillary says no to that, driving the symbolism home. … [And] what does she have for him? Carrot sticks! … Here, Bill, in retaliation for all of your excessive ‘O’ consumption, you may have a large bowl of phallic symbols.”
In the end, how can anyone not admire a woman who, like so many of us, is torn between renunciation and appetite, with a weakness for the hot and spicy and the cool and sweet, and who surely represents the people’s palate?
Significant? You be the judge.Amendments awaited attention as the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a mark-up hearing for the American Health Care Act in Washington on March 9.
Groups representing doctors, nurses, hospitals, and consumers have all lined up against the Republican bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, arguing that the proposed changes being debated in Congress would eliminate health care coverage and benefits for millions of Americans.
But one group conspicuously absent from the ranks of the opposition has been the organization representing medical device makers, a large sector in Massachusetts, which last week came out in support of the GOP alternative, the American Health Care Act.
The Advanced Medical Technology Association, or AdvaMed, endorsed the legislation, solely because of a provision to repeal a medical device tax that the industry has been fighting for years. AdvaMed was among the business groups whose support was cited by Sean Spicer, President Trump’s press secretary, in a briefing with reporters last week.
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J.C. Scott, AdvaMed’s chief advocacy officer, made it clear in an interview that the national trade and lobbying organization is seizing on the Republican bill as a way to eliminate the excise tax — which amounts to a 2.3 percent levy on annual device sales. The assessment was initially imposed to help fund President Obama’s ACA, which extended coverage to millions of people who had been without health insurance. The tax took effect on Jan. 1, 2013, but was suspended for two years at the end of 2015. It is set to be reinstated next January unless a repeal is enacted.
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“Our engagement on the broader [GOP] bill is connected to and contingent on repeal of the device tax,” Scott said. “We’re laser-focused on that piece of it.”
While groups like the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, and the American Nurses Association oppose the Republican bill, Scott said, “Every association is representing the interests of its membership, just as we do.”
ACA defenders argue the device industry is being short-sighted because they say the proposed Republican replacement would make it harder for low- and moderate-income patients to afford everything from heart pumps and stents to prosthetic knees and hips.
“A relatively small part of the total subsidy pot [for the ACA] comes from the medical device tax,” said Brian Rosman, policy and government relations director for the Boston-based consumer advocacy group Health Care for All.
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“That funding allows people to get insurance, and nobody can get medical devices without insurance. Having more people with health coverage gives them a better market for their devices.”
Tom Sommer, president of the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council, known as MassMEDIC, led a team of executives from the state on a trip to Washington, D.C., last week to lobby members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation to repeal the device tax.
Unlike the national trade group, MassMEDIC has stopped short of supporting the Republican bill. The bill is being opposed by the state’s all-Democratic delegation, even though many of its members also favor repealing the device tax. The device industry includes 480 companies with about 24,000 employees in Massachusetts, according to a MassMEDIC report released in 2015.
“We’re not taking a position for or against universal health care coverage,” Sommer said.
“We’re certainly not opposed to it. But our focus has been on the tax, which has been a job killer for the medical device industry. We don’t get to choose the vehicle for repeal. Our delegation is not in the room making the decision.”
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While the industry is concerned with who receives coverage under the new plan, Sommer said, “I haven’t seen any analysis of the impact of the [Republican] bill on demand for medical products. We’re not sure what the fallout will be.”
MassMEDIC members, including representatives from Boston Scientific Corp., Medtronic PLC, Johnson & Johnson, and Smith & Nephew PLC, met with Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey, an outspoken critic of the device tax, and staffers from the offices of other members of the state’s congressional delegation in Washington.
Nationally, medical device makers cut about 29,000 jobs from 2012 to 2015, when the excise tax was in effect, and also scaled back on research and capital expenditures, according to Scott at AdvaMed. Stryker Corp., based in Kalamazoo, Mich., cited the tax when it slashed more than 1,100 jobs in 2012.
But since the tax was suspended, many companies have resumed hiring. Among the device makers expanding in Massachusetts during the past year, Sommer said, have been Abiomed at its headquarters in Danvers and Smith & Nephew, a British company, at its sites in Mansfield and Andover.
Robert Weisman can be reached at robert.weisman@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeRobWA UK-based website set up to chart the last days of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose has released a new set of documents to dismiss claims that he may have been spotted in China years after his death in a plane crash.
The website - www.bosefiles.info - has reproduced a telegram from the Indian Embassy in Beijing contradicting claims in India about the nationalist leader being in the Chinese capital in 1952.
Bose was reported dead as a result of a plane crash in Taiwan in 1945. But in 1955, S M Goswami, an ardent admirer of Bose, published a pamphlet in India with the heading 'Netaji Mystery Revealed'. It carried a picture of Chinese officials with a Mongolian trade delegation said to have been taken in 1952. Goswami pointed out one of the persons in the photograph to be Bose.
Appearing as a witness before the 1956 Netaji Inquiry Committee he presented the photo as evidence of Bose being alive, contrary to reports of his death in 1945.
The committee sent the exhibit to the Indian Embassy in Beijing for identification. The diplomatic mission forwarded it to the Chinese foreign ministry.
Following a response from the Chinese foreign ministry, the embassy cabled India's ministry of external affairs: "Concerning alleged photograph of SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE: We showed this to Foreign Office who have informed us that the photograph is of LEE KE HUNG, Medical Superindendent of PUMC (Peking University Medical College)".
"The telegram exposes one of countless attempts over 70 years to spread disinformation about Subhas Bose," says Ashis Ray, a London-based journalist who has set up the website to "release documentary evidence which reinforces what happened to Bose, so that people are able to judge for themselves the truth".
On December 7, bosefiles.info exposed claims about Bose having escaped to the Soviet Union in 1945.
It posted two diplomatic notes from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent in 1992 and 1995 respectively and a public statement by the then Russian Ambassador in India in 1996, which unanimously confirmed there was no information in the Soviet or KGB archives about Bose entering the Soviet Union in or after 1945.The Stone is a forum for contemporary philosophers and other thinkers on issues both timely and timeless.
It’s been a while since we all became aware of what the National Security Administration has been up to. But as revelations of government breaches recede and the concerns of daily life resume, the public occasionally needs a reminder. A recent story in The Washington Post was exactly that. It laid out in detail what many had long suspected: that the N.S.A., in targeting foreign nationals, is collecting and storing extremely large amounts of information on many American citizens. This information is not restricted to metadata; it is content — photos, web chats, emails and the like. While United States law prevents targeting American citizens without a warrant (even if it is just a warrant from the secret FISA court) nothing currently prevents the N.S.A. from engaging in this “incidental collection” and no law prevents the agency — and other United States intelligence and law enforcement agencies — from accessing such content without a warrant into perpetuity.
We’ll get to know the consequences of our current policies on global warming. But the abuse of knowledge isn’t going to be so obvious.
Discussion of the Washington Post story has tended to concentrate on its eye-catching point that (at least) 90 percent of the data being collected is “incidental” in this way. But what, if anything, is wrong with the incidental collection of personal information? Should we be more or less alarmed by it?
My own view is that the storage of incidentally collected data is very wrong indeed. But the reasons that make it wrong also help to explain, I think, why as a nation we sometimes seem to refuse to resist it, and perhaps sympathize more than we should with Representative Mike Rogers’ comment from last year that your privacy can’t be violated if you don’t know about it.
The first reason many N.S.A. activities, including this one, are wrong is instrumental or consequential: they are potentially dangerous for the simple reason that they invite abuse that, should it occur, will be particularly difficult to uncover. To see this, reflect on the fact that the N.S.A. database is often referred to as a “pool of information.” This is an apt metaphor. In the law, swimming pools are called attractive nuisances. They attract children, and as a result, if you own a pool, even if you are a watchful, responsible parent yourself, you still have to put up a fence. Similarly, even if we can trust that the architects of the N.S.A.’s various programs had no intention of abusing the information they are collecting about American citizens, the pool of information could easily prove irresistible.
And the bigger the pool the more irresistible it is likely to become. This is not just common sense, it explains why the N.S.A.’s repeated assertions that they aren’t actually looking at the content of emails, or targeting Americans, should have been greeted with skepticism. The pool of data is a pool of knowledge. Knowledge is power; and power corrupts. As a consequence it is difficult to avoid drawing the inference that absolute knowledge might corrupt absolutely.
That, not surprisingly, is the view of Edward Snowden and others ideologically aligned with him. But a growing number of stories strongly suggest that fear of abuse is more than a mere theoretical worry. These stories are not constrained to the more obviously and widely reported cases of N.S.A. employees’ using their access to spy on sexual partners nor to similar cases in Britain where analysts collected sexually explicit photos of citizens without cause. More troubling, if less titillating, is the fact that the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court itself has complained (see this ruling, footnote 14 on p. 16) that the N.S.A. has misrepresented its compliance with the court’s previous rulings that various N.S.A. techniques were unconstitutional. In other words: the FISA court is being ignored by the very agency it is alleged to oversee and monitor. It is hard not to form the impression of an agency that feels it knows better than the judiciary or the Congress. And that, surely, should be worrying.
The data amassed by the government is a pool with no fence, and pools with no fence are invitations to disaster.
But the most disturbing fact is really just the continued storage of a vast amount of incidentally collected content itself (again emails, photos, chat conversations and so on) — information that, as reported in The Post, is routinely searched by the C.I.A. and the F.B.I. — all without a warrant, even from the ineffective FISA court, and without any real oversight. Such searches needn’t even be reported, and there is, currently, no legal oversight to prevent queries that are unrelated to national security, or even motivated by political ends. And relying on the agencies themselves to report abuses is like relying on the tobacco companies to tell us whether smoking is harmful. (A point underlined by this week’s NPR report on the fate of pre-Snowden N.S.A. whistle-blowers Bill Binney and Thomas Drake ). The N.S.A.’s pool of information on Americans is a pool with no fence, and pools with no fence are invitations to disaster — even if the owner of the pool had, in building it, the best intentions.
The pool analogy may also explain why many Americans don’t seem very concerned with the activities of the N.S.A. Putting up fences is arduous, time-consuming and expensive. And it does in fact cut down on easy access to the water. So if you want to get in that pool with the best intentions — you want to find the terrorists — it is natural to think that the fence only gets in the way of what matters. And if you trust that is what the owners of the pool are after, then worries about possible long-term negative consequences will seem abstract. After all, it is pretty clear that human beings find it difficult to think about long-term consequences — that’s true whether we are talking swimming pools, smoking or global warming. If nothing bad that we know about has happened already as a result of privacy invasions, then what’s the problem?
Related More From The Stone Read previous contributions to this series.
The problem is that in this case, if the pool of information about American citizens is systematically abused, we aren’t going to know about it — at least not easily. When it comes to global warming, at least we’ll get to know the consequences of our current policies (or lack of them) one way or another. But the abuse of knowledge isn’t going to be so obvious, and the abusers will have every reason to hide behind the good intentions I’m granting were behind the creation of the N.S.A. programs. Seen in this light, it is extremely disturbing that nothing has been done about incidental data collection. In the opinions of President Obama’s own review panel’s report, the pool should not just be fenced, it should be drained. That is, the panel urged that all incidentally collected information (again, mostly on Americans under no suspicion of any crime) simply be removed from the N.S.A.’s databases. This has not been done, and there are no signs at the moment that it will be.
The potential dangers of abusing such knowledge are one reason the storage of incidentally collected information is wrong. But there is another reason as well. The more insidious harm is not consequential but in principle. The collection of such data, as I argued last year, violates our autonomy and dignity.
This may sound surprising to some. After all, it could be reasonably argued that we are more willing to trade away our privacy than ever before, precisely for the purpose of increasing our autonomy. Our willingness — the thought goes — to trade privacy for security, is just one example of just this phenomenon, and it explains why we aren’t all that concerned about the N.S.A. We want more autonomy and they are providing it. But this logic now permeates our daily lives: we click past all the privacy policies on the web because we want the choices, the convenience — the autonomy — that only the playground of the datasphere can bring. Privacy suffers, but autonomy increases. As they say in Silicon Valley: privacy is dead. Get over it.
I think this argument gets things exactly backward. When we systematically collect private data about someone, we implicitly adopt what the philosopher Peter Strawson, in his classic essay “Freedom and Resentment,” called the “objective,” or detached, attitude toward her. We see her as something to be manipulated or controlled — even if, in fact, we never get around to the actual manipulating or controlling. Where privacy is limited in the detention camp or prison, the adoption of this attitude toward the inmate is of course explicit. It is an intrinsic feature of the enterprise. Crucially, however, it remains implicit in more subtle invasions of privacy. In some cases, this is unsurprising. When a business sells or otherwise profits from your private information — your web searches for example, or email address — it intentionally treats you as an object, an object of profit. Indeed, the nominal idea behind the privacy policies none of us ever read is to inform us of how our information will be used.
But when it comes to the N.S.A., there is no privacy policy. The storage of our incidentally collected data treats us as means, not as ends. And that is another reason such programs should worry us. A government that sees its citizens private information as subject to tracking and collection has implicitly adopted a stance toward those citizens inconsistent with the respect due to their inherent dignity as autonomous individuals. It has begun to see them not as persons, but as something to be understood and controlled. That is an attitude that is inconsistent with the demands of democracy itself.
Michael P. Lynch is the director of the Humanities Institute and a professor of philosophy at the University of Connecticut. He is the author of the forthcoming “The Knowledge Machine: Knowing More and Understanding Less in the Age of Big Data.”The iOS discount period has ended, bringing the crowd-funding for Season 2 officially to a close. We can now state that through all Season 2 fundraising efforts, we have succeeded in raising $144,213. This was Handelabra Games’ first foray into crowd-funding, and we’re so pleased with the outcome.
Here’s a list of what your efforts have accomplished:
Vengeance development is fully funded
development is fully funded Villains of the Multiverse development is fully funded
development is fully funded OblivAeon development is fully funded
development is fully funded Development of all remaining mini-packs is fully funded
is fully funded All remaining Variants will be brought to the video game
will be brought to the video game Omnitron-U came to the video game early
came to the video game early The Foil Hero Pack will be brought to the video game
will be brought to the video game The Foil Villain Pack will be brought to the video game
will be brought to the video game The whole world is playing the Season 2 Preview Pack right now
right now Challenge Modes will be added to the video game
will be added to the video game All backers and pre-orders will receive a free Season 2 soundtrack
Jean-Marc will create a 21-track hero theme album, and all backers and pre-orders will get a free copy
You have accomplished so much and we wanted to list it out so that everyone could really see it all in one place. The above is the sum result of Sentinels of the Multiverse Season 2 Kickstarter. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again:
Thank you from Jeremy, Jennifer, Jean-Marc, Crista, and John!
Next Steps
We know that some of you will be disappointed about what we have not yet accomplished: Campaign Mode and additional stretch goals. Stories of the Multiverse would have been unlocked upon reaching $150k, but we unfortunately fell short.
However, as we have said many times throughout the campaign, while this means that campaign mode isn’t fully funded (and therefore not guaranteed), it also doesn’t mean that it will never happen! We still want to make it, along with an Arena Mode, more heroic theme songs, and other great things we haven’t even talked about. We just have to make sure we can find a way to do so in a financially responsible manner.
We have a lot of work to do in the coming months on all the remaining deliverables for Season 2 and its achieved stretch goals. While we’re working on that, we’ll be thinking about how we might still make campaign mode and the other stretch goals a reality.
For now, we’ll just say another heartfelt thank you, and get back to work on Season 2. Stay tuned for previews and updates here, on social media, and on #SentinelsLive every Tuesday.This article is over 3 years old
Edin Mehic to appeal against fine for offending public decency with burp blamed on excess onion in kebab
Visitors to Vienna might want to go easy on the beer and sausages, after a man was fined by police for offending public decency with a loud burp.
Edin Mehic was fined €70 ($77) for belching while standing close to a policeman in the city’s famous Prater Park.
Vienna named world's top city for quality of life Read more
Writing on Facebook, the local bar worker said he burped after eating a kebab with too much onion.
Moments later, he wrote: “I felt a hand on my shoulder”.
“But what had I done?... I was being reported for a ‘decency violation’, the policeman shouted.
“I had a long discussion with him about why he wasn’t picking up real criminals who were obviously consuming and selling completely legal drugs. That didn’t get us very far.”
Mehic posted a photograph of the fine on his Facebook page, which says that he violated “public decency with a loud belch next to a police officer”.
Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger confirmed on Monday that Mehic had been fined for the offending burp. Mehic plans to appeal against the fine.
Though it was emitted earlier this month, the belch continues to resonate.
By Monday, 118 people said they would attend a “loud belch” flash mob planned for next Saturday near the scene of the crime.
Associated Press contributed to this reportBackground Edit
Wheatus formed in late 1998 after vocalist/guitarist Brendan B. Brown left the skate-pop band Mr. Jones to write his own material.[4] Brown brought in his younger brother, Peter, to play drums[5] and Rich Leigey to play bass.[6] Peter enjoyed the songs Brendan had written.[5] Multi-instrumentalist and engineer Phil A. Jimenez wanted to work with Brown after hearing "Teenage Dirtbag".[5] The following week, Jimenez was at band rehearsal, appreciating every song.[5] The energy "of the pop elements" in addition to "the story-telling and the social commentary" made Jimenez feel like he "really wanted to be a part of [the band]."[5]
Composition Edit
All of the material on Wheatus was written by Brendan B. Brown, except for "Punk Ass Bitch", which was written by bassist Rich Liegey,[7] and their cover of Erasure's "A Little Respect",[2] which was written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell.[7] The song titles came to Brown first with the subject matter following as he considered the name "an emotional blueprint".[5] Brown mentioned that the beat in "Teenage Dirtbag" was "sort of a hip-hop thing" and that the guitars "are definitely heavy metal".[8] Brown had the chorus melody and the "oh yeah" section before finishing the song's lyrics, it was "one of those once-in-a-lifetime melodies that works for every reason."[8] Brown claimed the song was autobiographical, however, none of the band members "wound up getting the girl in the end. So I guess that's the inspiration—the hope that that happens to someone someday."[8] Talking about "Truffles" and "Wannabe Gangstar", Brown explained that when you're younger "You can't do anything [...]. You have no power; you have no resources. You're subject to everyone else's crap".[5] "Sunshine", the first song written for the album, was Brown realizing he was working for the wrong kind of people.[5] "Hump'Em N' Dump'Em" was written when the Senate was thinking of impeaching the president.[5] "Hey, Mr. Brown" was written after Brown was not being paid for something he had done.[5] "Love Is a Mutt from Hell" was about a dysfunctional romance.[9] "Wannabe Gangster" was inspired by "white, middle class glorification of inner city problems", according to Brown.[10]
Recording Edit
Using the knowledge he gained from being in his former band,[5] Wheatus was recorded in the basement of Brown's mother's house.[5] A control room was set up in the dining room, with a one hundred-foot cable leading down to the basement.[5] Wheatus was produced and engineered by Wheatus and Philip A. Jimenez.[7] One of the reasons the band self-produced the album was their idea to take specific sounds from different genres and include them into songs.[8] Brown explained that "When you're a small band and nothing's going on for you, you can't explain to somebody bigger than you [...] what you want to do. They just won't care."[8] New York-based band Soul Coughing had a big influence on the production of the album.[11] Despite the multitude of electric guitar tones, no electric guitars were used in the recording process.[12] The tones originate from Brown's acoustic Martin guitar, which is set up through two preamplifiers which are connected to their own power amplifiers.[12] Brown can swap between the preamplifiers with the aid of an expression pedal so that he is able to "swell into a distortion sound while fading out the clean tone".[12] Brown claimed he does not know "[that] many guitar players", thus he took three different guitar sounds that he enjoyed and merged them into his sound.[12] Jimenez provided percussion, harmonica and banjo.[5] David Thoener mixed almost all of the tracks apart from "Wannabe Gangstar", which was mixed by Brown, and "A Little Respect", which was mixed by Richard A. LaSalvia.[7] The album was mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound in New York.[7]
Release Edit
Reception and legacy Edit
Track listing Edit
All songs written by Brendan Brown, except where noted.[7] No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "Truffles" 2:10 2. "Sunshine" 3:16 3. "Teenage Dirtbag" 4:07 4. "A Little Respect" Vince Clarke, Andy Bell 3:19 5. "Hump'Em N' Dump'Em" 3:38 6. "Leroy" 3:19 7. "Hey, Mr. Brown" 2:10 8. "Love Is a Mutt from Hell" 4:23 9. "Punk Ass Bitch" Rich Liegey 3:09 10. "Wannabe Gangstar" 3:45 B-sides "I'd Never Write a Song About You" – 3:38 "Pretty Girl" – 4:29 "Hey, Mr. Brown" (with Club Audience) – 2:22 "Sunshine" (remix) – 2:52 "A Little Respect" (David Thoener mix #1) – 3:25 "Teenage Dirtbag" (live at the Chapel) – 4:43 "Leroy" (live at the Chapel) – 3:40 "Wannabe Gangstar" (live at the Chapel) – 4:01 "Truffles" (live at the Chapel) – 3:51 "Sunshine" (X-ecutioners remix) – 2:52 "Pretty Girl" (live at the Chapel) – 5:01 "Wannabe Gangstar" (Soulchild radio remix) "Wannabe Gangstar" (featuring Bruce Dickinson) "Leroy" (Brendan's mix) "Leroy" (live from V festival, 2001) "Hey, Mr. Brown" (live from V festival, 2001) "Pretty Girl" (Virgin radio acoustic version) "Hey, Mr. Brown" (live in Australia) – 2:11 "Leroy" (edit) – 3:05
Personnel Edit
Personnel per booklet.[7] Wheatus Brendan B. Brown – vocals, guitar
Rich Liegey – vocals, bass guitar
Peter Brown – drums, backing vocals, additional percussion
Philip A. Jimenez – percussion, keyboards, harmonica, banjo[5] Additional musician Pippi Longscratchings – scratching on "Teenage Dirtbag" Production Wheatus – producer, engineer
Philip A. Jimenez – producer, engineer
David Thoener – mixing (except "Wannabe Gangstar" and "A Little |
, use the same idea for the same job.
Native IPv6 and Teredo are fighting it out for the rest of the traffic. Teredo is another IPv6 tunnel technique. It hides IPv6 packets within IPv4 User Datagram Protocol (UDP) messages. Teredo is primarily used by Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 users as a way to bridge over to the IPv6 Internet.
Behind the scenes, I'm keeping in touch with ISP and IPv6 network administrators and help desk staff and they're seeing no real trouble either from the Internet administration viewpoint or from their users. To quote one of my network engineer friends at a tier two ISP, "My Customer Support team has told me that it [World IPv6 Day] has turned out to be a non-event for them, so this counts as a big win for the IPv6 Internet to me!"
Exactly so. We now know that the IPv6 Internet can co-exist peacefully with the IPv4 Internet. That's a darn good thing since we can look forward to more than a decade of the two them working side by side as the older IPv4 Internet slowly fades away.
Related Stories:
What is World IPv6 Day and why it matters
World of Warcraft to go IPv6
OpenDNS offers IPv6 Internet DNS services
What works, and what doesn't work, with IPv6
Who has, and who doesn't have, IPv6 SupportDisclaimer: I own nothing.
Surroundings
Chapter 1
He had been stealing glances at her for a while now. Nothing creepy, mind you, just the casual glances a teenage boy would steal from a teenage girl. No drooling or stalker-like staring, just... glances. Besides, being in the Great Hall meant that he could do it discretely enough. No one would notice him staring. And if they did, they wouldn't know who he was looking at
He'd sit on the opposite corner to the one she did and he'd use his peripheral vision to see her outline. Sometimes, she'd be too far away, the glasses never made things easier for a guy, but there were certain "strategies" he could use to get a better view. The most successful one would be to have one of his friends, Ron (he was clueless to his surroundings when there was food in front of him), sit opposite him, but just a little bit to the side so he could see her over their shoulders. It was a flawless plan. And yet, the others had noticed something.
They had suspicions he fancied someone but they were not sure. Neville pointed out that he seemed to smile more often. Luna said that, apparently, the Nargles had left him alone (for the moment, she always added). Ginny stayed out of the whole business the moment she realized she wasn't the victim of his affections. He liked the girl, but he saw her as much as a little sister as Ron did. Hell, even Dean and Seamus seemed to notice he had eyes for a "bird" as they called her. They did nothing beyond teasing. And it was harmless teasing, it wasn't like he planned on acting on his feelings. He was merely attracted to a beautiful classmate. But then, Hermione happened. Well, to be completely honest, you could blame Katie instead of Hermione but he saw Katie as more of a catalyst and not the problem itself. It all started after a late Quidditch practice...
As they arrived to the common room, Katie commented on his recent tendency for more dangerous maneuvers on the air. She asked if he was trying to show off. He dismissed the claim with a laugh. But Hermione, who was waiting for them, chose that moment to merge into the conversation.
"I'm just sayin' those moves were pretty out of your regular comfort zone, Harry. And that's saying somethin'!" Katie laughed.
"Nothing to worry about, Katie. It's not like I'm trying to impress someone." It seemed like a common friendly response. He hoped the issue would be dropped then and there. It wasn't.
"You know," Hermione said in an inquisitive tone as she lifted herself from the closest couch "you've been pretty misty eyed lately... something we should know about? Any potential Mrs. Potter out there?" she smiled as she said that. Sadly, Harry's expression must have been similar to that of Malfoy's in front of a hippogriff because her smile dropped.
"Sweet Merlin, there actually is! Harry you have to tell me! How am I only hearing about this now?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the floor. As Ron entered through the portrait hole, Katie decided it would be best to head up to her dorm room and give some privacy to the trio. Harry was glad, he didn't need an audience for what was to come. He only needed to remain calm. Everything would be fine.
"Did you know that your best friend is risking his life to impress a girl?" Hermione asked to the surprised ginger.
"Well yeah, but his life has been at risk 24/7 for the past years so I don't see any problem with him trying to get a good snog out of it." Ron smirked. Harry didn't know whether to feel proud that Ron was paying more attention to his surroundings or bad for not sharing his secret with his best friend. Ron didn't seemed to mind so he would just feel proud for the moment.
"That's disgusting, Ronald." Hermione said with a hint of annoyance in her voice "You shouldn't try to impress someone, Harry. If they can't see how amazing you are without silly tricks then you don't need them in your life." she ended flatly.
"Excuse me, but a Wronski Feint is not a silly trick!" Ron argued before Harry could open his mouth "It's a pretty difficult maneuver and you should be proud that Harry can pull it of so that we may win the Quidditch Cup this year! Besides, she's not even in Gryffindor. He has to catch her attention somehow" Ron finished lamely. Harry was gobsmacked. Perhaps he was selling Ron's attention span really short. At seeing his friend expression, Ron argued that he had heard Dean, Seamus and Neville talk about it.
"Don't worry, mate. I was a bit worried you may have started to fancy me after you asked me to sit in front of you so often at meals and just... stared. I put two and two together and I realized you like some 'Claw or perhaps a 'Puff. I mean... I've seen Susan, if you catch my drift" he winked at Harry.
"Aaarrgh! Ronald Bilius Weasley!" Harry worried the whole castle would be awakened before Hermione was done with Ron "When are you get it through your head?! Stop being a perverted oaf! This isn't just about Harry liking a girl! It's about him not trusting us! First it was the Prince's book and now..." after hearing those words, Harry's head shot up. He couldn't believe it. He was worried his cover was blown but this was just another stupid argument about his potions book! He could hear Hermione in the background, but a silent turnmoil of thoughts plagued his mind.
He could just tell them who he fancied, it would definitely shut both of them up. But then again, it would lead to further line of questioning and he didn't need that right now. Was he really in the mood to fight with Hermione about his potions book, though? AGAIN? Mind you, Ron seemed to be on his side on this one. They could have a chance to end those arguments for good. For the snippets Harry could hear, Ron seemed to think Hermione was exaggerating. Harry just wanted to go out on a couple of dates, what's wrong with that? It had nothing to do with the book.
And it really didn't. Harry opened his mouth to speak "Okay..."
"FINE!" Hermione interrupted "Do whatever you want! But when something bad happens don't blame it on me! And ask yourself Ronald, if Harry could so easily lie about whatever girl caught his fancy, what stops him from keeping more secrets from us?" with that, she turned to Harry "Harry, please. You need us, now more than ever. Just... Just think about this, okay?" And with that she left for the girl's dorm rooms. Harry could swear he heard her sniff a couple of times. He turned to face a silent Ron.
"You... You wouldn't do that would you, mate? Keep secrets from us?" asked Ron, almost pleadingly "I know that through our friendship I may not have always been the best out of the three of us but you do know that I'm here for you. The both of you." And Harry knew. He knew that no matter what, Ron would have his back as much as Hermione would. They may fall or they may stumble, but they would always back him up. "Hermione is just a little stressed, you know. I believe..."
Whatever Ron was about to say was cut by the words that came out of Harry's mouth.
"She's blonde." Harry realized that was the second sentence he had spoken since he entered the Gryffindor Tower. "She has blue eyes too. I saw a glimpse of her on the train a month back. You guys were at the prefect's meeting and I was looking for a compartment. Listen, Ron, I know it's not much but please understand. I don't even know if I like her, she's just attractive." Harry said looking down at the stone floor. He realized he had never spoken to the girl. Where was all that "Gryffindor Bravery" whenever he passed her on the halls? Or whenever he saw her at meals or near the lake?
A small pat on the back made him look up "Don't worry, mate. Well take this one at a time. Who knows? Maybe I could set you two up" Ron said as he led the two of them to the sixth year boy's dorm room. Harry could do nothing but laugh at that statement. "What?!" Ron answered with mocked hurt "Anyways, is she..." he said as he made strange signs with his hands "...you know?" he finished with a small grin.
"Well, she does have a nice arse..." was all Harry said before he realized Dean, Seamus and Neville were pretty much awake and wanted to hear all about this nice arse he and Ron seemed to be talking about.
A week rolled by and it all seemed to come back to reality. It was a Monday morning when Harry found himself going down for to the Entrance Hall, the rest of the guys would still be at their beds but he fashioned a little bit of fresh air on his face before breakfast: it wouldn't hurt. He noticed Hermione when he entered the Great Hall a couple of minutes later and decided to approach her. From afar, Harry could see that Hermione looked a little bit put out now that Harry and the rest of the sixth year Gryffindor boys seemed to have grown closer and he and Ron spent less of their free time with her. She had friends, obviously, but they weren't her best friends like he and Ron were.
"I know we haven't talked like we used to in a while, and it is probably my fault for being a prat, but you do know you are my best friend right?" Harry said as he sat across Hermione, leaving plenty of space to observe the rest of the house tables "That fight the other night, let's just forget about it okay?"
She kept looking at her food but Harry could see a little smile through the madness that her hair was. He decided to take a leap of faith. His hand crossed the table and grabbed hers. She looked at his eyes with a faint blush on her cheeks "Besides, who is gonna help me with my Transfiguration homework?" The blush was gone and she gave a smack to the hand holding hers. "Idiot" was all she could say before the both of them chuckled softly. A pleasant silence grew between the two of them as Hermione finished her breakfast and Harry started his. She decided to accompany him by doing a little bit of reading on her Runes book. Everything was going fine until the victim of his stolen glances decided to enter the Great Hall and have herself some breakfast.
He, obviously, stared as she moved from the door to her designated table. He could have swore he saw her smile as if she had noticed his stare but then, it was probably his teenage stupidity speaking and trying to coerce him into speaking to her already. He turned his mind back to his breakfast before anyone noticed. Hogwarts' students seemed to have a late start this morning, thought Harry. He was already done and Ron and Neville, usually the first at the table, were just entering the hall. Each of them sat beside Harry and said their greetings while grumbling something about cold water and Seamus waking them up. Harry and Hermione decided to wait for them as they had Charms together that morning.
Five minutes went by and Harry was bored out of his mind. Hermione tried to make small talk with him about Runes as they waited but he wasn't in the mood for it, something which seemed to irritate her. Last year, she had tried to get their interest on the subject but Ron and him were years behind on the theory and did not understand a thing beyond the names of the runes and some of their uses. Harry appreciated the thought, especially after how shaky things had been between them, but having a one-way conversation was not on his plans right now. Perhaps he should be more thoughtful. Yeah, they were best friends but they had just made up after a fight. Either way, Hermione gave up. She went back to reading about Aard signs, runes with the power of thrusting telekinetically if Harry was not mistaken. Ron and Neville were concentrated on their respective dishes so he chose to spy on an innocent young woman. Before long, he realized his mistake. Hermione may have given up on talking to him, but not on Ron or Neville.
Hermione looked up to Ron to politely ask him to swallow his meal as silent as possible because she was trying to understand the power of the Quen rune when she saw Harry staring deeply into her. And he was smiling. Now, Hermione had never had any romantic interest on one of her boys... Okay, she did. Third and fourth year respectively. But she had outgrown that, they were just her best friends. Her boys. And one said boy was looking at her very deeply. As if only the two of them were the only beings on Earth. And she couldn't help it. She felt all the blood go to her head. Perhaps that's why Harry had been so distant lately. She gathered all of her Gryffindor courage, looked into those emerald eyes and reached for Harry's hand. She never thought she'd do something like this and even less with Harry Potter, her best friend. But as her fingers touched the back of his hand, his eyes moved by a millimeter to fix on hers. And that's when it clicked.
What had Ron said? 'He kept staring at him' or something like that, right? Ron thought Harry had even started to fancy him! Oh, what a fool she had been! How stupid of her to even dare to hope. It's not like she wanted to anyway, but perhaps a little bit of broom cupboard exploring with someone whom she trusted her life to wouldn't have been so bad. With a sigh she moved her back away from his and into her lap. But not before looking back to where Harry was looking at. Maybe if he promised to giver that stupid potions book she could help set him up with Susan Bones. That's who Ron had said, wasn't she?
As Hermione turned her head to verify where her best friend's gaze had been just a moment ago, as Harry knew she would, his train of thought led to a single word: "Shit."
"Harry, why are you staring at Daphne Greengrass?" said an irritated Hermione as she turned her gaze back to him.
The next few seconds would have been worthy of a picture. Harry covered his face with both of his hands as he tried to make himself invisible. Ron started gagging on his fifth sausage; Neville spilled pumpkin juice all over his robes and Hermione's Runes book. Ginny, who was coming to sit with them, did a one-eighty and left instantly. Surprisingly, Hermione kept her composure and folded her arms as Seamus and Dean both sat beside hear and said at the same time: "Nice arse indeed."Every Thursday or Friday night the WWE Network updates its schedule advertising new content set to air on the live stream in the coming week. It should be noted that like anything, schedules are tentative and air times, air dates, and programs are always subject to change. Additionally, this reflects only what is set to air on the Network stream and does not include content added directly to the video-on-demand service.
The WWE Network additions below do not reflect everything we’ll see on the WWE Network. As always, we’ll have a RAW, Smackdown, and Main Event episode added from last month. In addition to those we will likely see the November classic content completed, with the new drop possibly starting. Additionally, we may just see some new collections. But what else is coming throughout the week? Let’s take a look:
Monday – December 5th
WWE Story Time (11:06 PM EST)
“Anything can happen in WWE. These Superstars and Legends were shocked from ringside to roadside, as anything and everything did!”
Tuesday – December 6th
WWE 205 Live (10 PM EST)
“The greatest performers from WWE’s Cruiserweight division showcase their unparalleled abilities on 205 Live!”
WWE Talking Smack (10:45 PM EST)
“Renee Young catches up with your favorite SmackDown Superstars after the show to hear their thoughts on all of the evening’s action.”
Wednesday – December 7th
Unfiltered with Renee Young (4 PM EST)
“John Cena has signed the deal to finally sit in the Hot Seat on this star-studded episode, featuring Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson.”
WWE NXT (8 PM EST)
“After their historic battle at NXT TakeOver Toronto, Shinsuke Nakamura gets his rematch against NXT Champion Samoa Joe in Osaka, Japan!”
Saturday – December 3th
This Week In WWE (3 PM EST)
“Get caught up on all the highlights from Raw and SmackDown with This Week in WWE.”
Closing Thoughts
This doesn’t look good. Superstars seems to be completely done, and RAW and Smackdown Pre-Shows both aren’t scheduled. If the RAW Pre-Show and the Smackdown Pre-Show go, that’s an hour less content every single week. Hopefully there’s an oversight, because if they are indeed cancelled, that is pretty annoying from someone who watches both shows each week. Especially as just a replay was put in its place. However, this may not be all doom and gloom. We just have to wait and see before getting too riled up.
What do you think about the content coming this week? Is there anything you’re particularly excited for? Be sure to let us know your thoughts on the content coming this week below.
As always, stick to WWE Network News for the latest WWE Network news, rumors, reviews, polls, and more!Experts say the medical industry drives innovation; perhaps it does, because the need for advanced medical care is constant in a changing world. We’ve talked about digitization of medical records and radio frequency identification (RFID) chips -- two examples of a wireless, paperless health care industry. The world of mobile apps is also evolving quickly, and medical apps are no exception.
There are a wide range of medical apps available for mobile devices designed to help you and your doctor reference general information about medical conditions, access health records using voice recognition technology, and perform an eye exam. You’ll be amazed at how smart your smartphone can be, with these innovative health-care apps coming soon.
First up is PEPID’s medical software for Google’s Android and Apple’s i-products. PEPID is offering multiple specialized apps designed to provide on-demand medical information for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and emergency response teams. There’re even student-oriented apps for nurses-in-training and medical students. For example, the clinical rotation companion (PEPID CRC) is a perfect quick reference for dosing calculators and drug interaction checks. With the HazMat flashcards app handy, you can quickly identify hazardous materials, and handle them safely and appropriately. Check out the extensive list of PEPID medical apps – each one is like having a medical expert in your pocket.
Be sure to download the first-aid and CPR app developed by Jive Media and the American Heart Association (AMA). Similar to the PEPID suite of mobile apps, the AMA app is an on-demand resource for medical information, but it is designed for anyone who wants to be prepared for an emergency. It’s compatible for all mobile formats, and the pictures just might be the best part.
Next in headlines is the voice recognition app for accessing health records using an iPad. If you’ve visited the doctor in the last 4-5 years, you’ve probably noticed an influx of new technologies, and your doctor may even be carrying an iPad into the exam room. The voice recognition app is pretty straight forward and easy to use, which is why doctors are going to love it. Basically, doctors will verbally input and edit the information for a given patient in real-time, and it’s linked to an existing electronic medical record system.
Not all apps are good, even though they may sound really neat. I’m on the fence with this voice-recognition app because, on one hand, it seems cost-efficient to give docs a hands-free way to multi-task while meeting with a patient. On the other hand, I wonder about the security precautions associated with storing sensitive patient data in the almighty cloud.
Get ready for these apps to hit your doctor's office in say, 17 years. Apparently, this is how long it takes for a new innovation to become a standard clinical practice according to an interview with Dr. Eric Topol, a leader in the wireless revolution, especially in the medical industry. The mobile technology he’s been involved with at the West Wireless Institute has a number of innovative applications from ophthalmology to dermatology, and everything in between.
Imagine scanning your eyes with a smartphone, sending the scan to your eye doctor, and getting a new pair of glasses without ever stepping foot in an exam room. Or, how about scanning a suspicious spot on your skin and sending the data to a dermatologist before you go to the office visit. These applications are obviously intended to make health care more efficient, not to replace the physician, but with all new technologies, there is resistance coming from the medical world. So, you are unlikely to see use of this technology progress quickly, but none-the-less, it’s coming.Shares
From the moment that Donald Trump was unexpectedly elected President, I couldn’t help but be concerned about what President Trump would mean for medical science and science in general. I was not alone in my concerns. Of course, now, five months later, we know that such concerns were quite valid. If funding is a primary indicator, then, if anything, my concerns expressed last November were understated. For example, in his first budget, Trump proposed cutting the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget by 19%, and, then, not content with that, proposed cutting $1.2 billion from this fiscal year’s NIH budget, even though the fiscal year was half over at the time. None of this even takes into account the massive proposed cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and many other agencies responsible for federal science policy. It looks as though we are entering a grim time for US science funding. Even though there is almost no Congressional support for massive cuts to the NIH, the Trump administration has signaled its intent, and there likely will nonetheless still be pain.
There are three places where the “rubber meets the road” when it comes to health and science policy. One is the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but Trump hasn’t appointed one yet. I know that when Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced that he had met with Donald Trump the first fear I had was that Trump was going to tap him for the CDC. Fortunately that didn’t happen, but the fact that I briefly feared that Trump might have picked RFK, Jr. gives you an idea how much Trump’s long, sordid history of antivaccine emanations coupled with his having met with antivaccine activists like Andrew Wakefield and RFK Jr. actually worries those of us who promote science-based medicine. Given that last week the Senate held confirmation hearings on Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Trump’s nominee for FDA commissioner, I thought that it was a good time to revisit the topic of health and biomedical science policy as it’s shaping up under Donald Trump. Any such policy first involves a brief discussion of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), because the federal agencies devoted to health and biomedical science policy fall under its purview. What we can expect, based on the rhetoric coming out of the Trump administration and Congress, as well as Trump’s picks for key agencies, is increasing deregulation. I’ll then look at the FDA and Scott Gottlieb again in light of recent developments.
Whither HHS under Trump?
HHS is a sprawling Department, with a budget of over $1 trillion. Most of that budget derives from the fact that HHS is the department that administers Medicare and Medicaid, but HHS also encompasses such critical agencies as the FDA, NIH, CDC, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ( AHRQ ), and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Also, the HHS is the department that administers the Affordable Care Act (colloquially called Obamacare) that Republicans promised to “repeal and replace” but failed to do so.
Unsurprisingly, President Trump tapped an ultraconservative Congressman, Dr. Tom Price, to run HHS. Price, as you might recall, belongs to an ultraconservative physician advocacy group masquerading as a professional society, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). The AAPs, you might recall, fetishizes physician “autonomy” and the “patient-physician relationship” above all else, which doesn’t sound bad on the surface, until you realize that this stance is married to an extreme anti-regulatory stance that opposes nearly all constraints, particularly government constraints, on physician “autonomy” and a free market fundamentalist approach to health care that views government funding and regulation as illegitimate or even unconstitutional. The AAPS also encourages “brave maverick doctors” to “challenge” the scientific consensus, even if it means quackery and pseudoscience.
This is easily demonstrated by perusing its official “journal” (if you can call it that), the Journal of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons ( JPANDS ). As I’ve discussed many times before, JPANDS publishes a wide variety of antivaccine pseudoscience, including the vile claim that shaken baby syndrome is a misdiagnosis for “vaccine injury.” Indeed, it also has published papers in support of a link between abortion and breast cancer, a link that is not supported by science, as well as papers promoting HIV/AIDS denialism. Indeed, as Kathleen Seidel noted, the descriptors of articles published in JPANDS are often quite indicative of the political and ideological stance of the organization: Criminalization Of medicine, eco-imperialism, government arrogance, incremental socialism, left illusions, medical herdology, physician slavery, police state of medicine, and, of course, socialized medicine. Indeed, AAPS very much views itself as an organization of doctors who don’t “follow the herd,” and heaps scorn on anything it views as following the herd, viewing evidence-based medicine in such terms and rejecting physician peer review as an unacceptable affront to physician autonomy.
Unfortunately, worshiping not “following the herd” leaves the organization open to a lot of pseudoscience, and it hasn’t stopped. Indeed, in the Winter 2016 issue, JPANDS featured an outrageous bit of antivaccine pseudoscience, and its most recent issue features a new article promoting the debunked link between abortion and breast cancer, an article very similar to one I deconstructed seven years ago.
To be fair, I must point out that just because Dr. Price belongs to the AAPS does not necessarily mean that he ascribes to its views. Indeed, during his confirmation hearings he appeared to reject the claim that vaccines cause autism, but he was perhaps less forceful than one would like to see in a nominee for HHS Secretary:
“Do vaccines cause autism?” Menendez asked Price during Tuesday’s hearing, the first time the issue had been raised with the HHS nominee during his confirmation. “I think the science in that instance is that they don’t,” Price said. He went on: “But there are individuals in our country who are very —” Menendez cut him off. “I’m not asking about individuals,” he said. “I’m asking about science.”
So, yes, Dr. Price knows the words to speak, but he couldn’t resist trying to talk about anecdotes and the parents who fervently believe that vaccines cause autism. The press immediately portrayed this as reassurance that Price is not antivaccine, but I’m not so reassured. I’ve seen antivaccine-sympathetic physicians say basically the same thing, as in, “The science says that vaccines don’t cause autism, BUT…”
Since then, Price seemed to waffle a bit on the issue of requiring vaccines:
In an interview with CNN Wednesday night, Tom Price was asked, “should it be required, measles, mumps, those kinds of immunizations?” “I believe it’s a perfectly appropriate role for the government, this happens by and large at the state-government level, because they’re the ones who have the public-health responsibility … to determine whether or not immunizations are required for a community population.”
On the one hand, as has been noted, this could be interpreted as a simple statement of fact, because states are responsible for passing laws on school vaccine requirements. On the other hand, most states use the guidelines published by the CDC to determine the vaccine requirements for school entry; so Price’s answer could also be interpreted as a bit of a dodge, which is how I interpret it, because he basically pointedly omitted support for any federal role.
Just yesterday in his weekly Daily Beast column, Dr. Paul Offit also noted that one of Dr. Price’s answers during his confirmation hearing testimony suggested that he was open to further weakening the already weak regulation of supplements:
On January 18, 2017, then Congressman Tom Price (R, Georgia) testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Price was Donald Trump’s pick to serve as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Not surprisingly, most of the questions—and most of the media’s attention—centered on Price’s views on the Affordable Care Act. One question and answer, however, went entirely unnoticed. “One of the essential duties of the HHS Secretary is to be diligent and thoughtful when considering if federal regulation is necessary,” said Orrin Hatch (R, Utah). “Do you recognize dietary supplements in helping reach and maintain healthy lifestyles?” Price answered without hesitation. “Absolutely,” he said. Given his efforts on behalf of the dietary supplement industry two decades earlier, Hatch’s question was predictable.
Orrin Hatch, as I have noted, is basically the supplement industry’s lapdog, which should not be surprising given that Utah is the supplement manufacturing capital of the US. So is Rep. Jason Chaffetz, by the way, as he also comes from Utah.
In any event, Dr. Offit rattles off a long list of how even the weak regulation of supplements by the FDA mandated in the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act ( DSHEA ) is inadequately enforced and has resulted in harm, concluding:
Most people assume that when it comes to dietary supplements, someone is watching. But they’re not. And until the FDA regulates this industry, people purchasing dietary supplements from a health food store are doing so at their own risk. Tom Price, the new Secretary of Health and Human Services, which includes the FDA, could do something about this if he chooses. Unfortunately, given his response to Orrin Hatch’s question during his confirmation hearing, it doesn’t sound like he’s interested.
So when it comes to health policy, the person in charge of the vast majority of what the federal government does in this area is someone whose commitment to science is questionable, as evidenced by his wishy-washy answers about vaccines and his apparently enthusiastic buy-in to the idea that supplements are wonderful for health. Granted, he could just have been currying favor with Sen. Hatch, but that he wouldn’t even include a little bit of skepticism in his remarks suggests otherwise.
Of course, the FDA is where any changes in policy and regulation will be crafted. So let’s revisit Scott Gottlieb, Donald Trump’s pick for FDA Secretary.
The least bad pick for FDA: A real, honest-to-goodness pharma shill
When I last discussed the candidates under consideration by the Trump administration for FDA Commissioner, I reserved most of my alarm for the two who are cronies of technolibertarian Peter Thiel, a man known for his belief in a technological singularity and all the woo that goes along with it, including parabiosis, to which Steve Novella has referred as “the next snakeoil.” Basically, it’s another “fountain of youth,” that postulates that the blood of the young (or, in this case, plasma) will reinvigorate and reverse aging in the old. The two candidates favored by Thiel included Balaji Srinivasan, CEO of bitcoin start-up 21.co, and Jim O’Neill, the managing director of investment firm Mithril Capital Management. O’Neill is on record as having suggested that the FDA should not require evidence of efficacy before approving drugs, only of safety. In other words, O’Neill wanted to party like it’s 1959, which was three years before the Kefauver amendment to the law covering the FDA that said drugs must be proved safe and effective before they can be sold. Unfortunately, Balaji Srinivasan out did O’Neill in the deregulation department, having argued on Twitter that a “Yelp for drugs” would be a great way of ensuring that marketed drugs are safe and effective. It’s hard to imagine anyone more deluded when it comes to how the FDA functions and has stated that the FDA has been responsible for “many deaths” due to overregulation. Srinivasan quickly fell out of favor because he was too out there even for Trump.
So, not surprisingly, when Trump ultimately decided to tap the ultimate pharma shill, Scott Gottlieb, to be the FDA commissioner, there was a collective sigh of relief in the press and pharma, given Trump’s previous statements accusing pharma of “getting away with murder” by charging high drug prices and, of course, the fact that Jim O’Neill and Balaji Srivinasan were under consideration. Truly, my fears about the Trump effect on medical science were not unfounded. On the other hand, the FDA definitely dodged a bullet, as behind-the-scenes Thiel had been pushing hard for O’Neill, Srivinasan, or another radical pick to remake the FDA:
Behind the scenes, the process leading to Gottlieb’s selection was far more colorful than the announcement suggested. Trump supporter Peter Thiel, an iconoclastic billionaire, had been pushing hard for a far more radical pick to head the FDA. Thiel had Trump’s ear, and pitched him on two Silicon Valley libertarians who had publicly questioned the core mission of FDA. (One suggested the FDA need not ask for proof that a drug worked before releasing it onto the market. Another mused that the agency could perhaps be replaced with a consumer review site, a sort of Yelp for drugs.) The Trump team seemed to toy with the idea of turning the agency on its head with such a pick.
In fairness, Gottlieb is the sort of nominee that might be expected of any conservative Republican administration, a very industry-friendly and regulation-unfriendly sort of bureaucrat who’s served in the FDA before as Deputy Commissioner for medical and scientific affairs under the George W. Bush administration. During his actual tenure at the FDA as Deputy Commissioner, he had so many financial conflicts of interest with pharma companies that he had to recuse himself from resource planning for a potential bird flu epidemic because of his financial ties to Sanofi-Aventis, as well as work related to Eli Lilly, Proctor & Gamble, and, yes, five—count ‘em, five!—other drug companies. After leaving the FDA, the situation has only gotten murkier, with Gottlieb’s now having ties to at least 25 pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. If that’s not a real pharma shill, I don’t know what is. If that’s not enough to convince you, then take a look at some of Gottlieb’s activities when last he was in a position of authority at the FDA:
When three people in a multiple sclerosis drug trial lost blood platelets and one died, he called stopping the study “an overreaction” because the disease not the drug might be to blame. And when FDA scientists rejected Pfizer’s osteoporosis drug candidate Oporia, forecast to earn $1 billion a year, underlings received accusatory emails from Gottlieb. His on-to-Wall-Street approach succeeded in rushing Chantix, Pfizer’s stop smoking drug, varenicline, to market but a string of 2006 suicides and the violent death of Dallas musician Carter Albrecht leave many asking if that was such a good thing. “The truth is, the FDA’s required trials reveal limited information,” Gottlieb wrote presciently in an oped in the Chicago Tribune in 2005. “In many cases, it is only afterdrugs are on the market for many years and given to thousands of patients that their true benefits (sic.) are revealed.”
Which is, of course, true, but not an argument for less rigorous pre-approval evidence but rather more rigorous post-approval surveillance. Indeed, Gottlieb is very much in favor of loosening regulations regarding off-label marketing of pharmaceuticals and has a history of arguing for such marketing during his previous stint at the FDA, even going so far as to refer to regulations against off-label marketing as an affront to the free speech of corporations. The term “off-label” refers to marketing a drug for an indication for which it is not FDA-approved but for which there is evidence of efficacy and safety. Physicians not-infrequently prescribe off-label. Although there is a debate about whether off-label prescribing is appropriate and when, there is also little doubt that in some cases it is justified. What is less controversial is that drug companies should not be allowed to advertise off-label uses of their products; indeed, off-label marketing is illegal. Not surprisingly, pharmaceutical companies have found ways to get around the prohibition on off-label marketing and continue to |
ca represented extra protection against the exploitation of environmental resources in the area," Campos told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "There isn't any safeguard to protect what is in there anymore."
Marcio Sztutman, conservation manager at The Nature Conservancy in Brazil, said he feared the decree may be the first step towards opening up other protected areas to mining as the government seeks extra revenue amid the country's recession.
Temer, who came to power a year ago after the impeachment of his predecessor Dilma Rousseff, is trying to enact austerity cuts and market reforms to loosen up Brazil's stagnant economy.
Joaquim Corrêa de Souza Belo, head of National Council of Extractivist Populations, said mining activities are the main threat to the Amazon as this brought a flood of workers to the area along with slave labour, violence and prostitution.
"Deforestation is very serious issue, but to me mining is the most worrying threat, as it occurs in the entire Amazon, poisoning many basins with mercury," he said.
For Apalai the ongoing battle is another sign of the fragile situation of indigenous communities in that remote area, who already struggle against invasions by illegal miners.
"We are unattended. The government does not provide health and education assistance in this area. The excuse is the distance, the access. We are abandoned," she said.A Palestinian man walks past graffiti that reads in Hebrew, "'We do not remain silent in face of stone throwing" in the neighborhood of Beit Hanina. Price tag is the term given to extremist hate crimes which target Arabs. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Ibrahim Hamza was up before first light. When he went out to his truck, he thought it was a simple flat tire. But it didn’t take long for Hamza, from one of the founding Muslim families who settled this village west of Jerusalem centuries ago, to realize that the tires had been slashed on 28 vehicles on his street.
Before the media — along with the police and later the president of Israel — began to arrive, Hamza and his neighbors found the spray-painted graffiti, in Hebrew, scrawled on a nearby stone wall: “Racism or Diaspora.” The English translation doesn’t quite convey the message, which is closer to “Get out or else.”
The vandalism two weeks
ago in Abu Ghosh is part of a growing phenomenon in Israel and the West Bank called “price tag” attacks. Initially, these acts
of vandalism — spray-painting mosques, desecrating cemeteries, burning Korans, chopping down olive trees — were part of a campaign, assumed to be waged by Jewish extremists, to extract retribution for actions against Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The idea was that anytime the Israel Defense Forces removed an illegal outpost or Palestinian militants attacked settlers, somebody would pay a price.
Now, the attacks are growing and so are the targets, which include not only Muslims in the West Bank and Israel, but left-leaning activists, as well as Christian schools, churches and monasteries, which vandals have tagged with graffiti.
According to civil rights groups, price-tag attacks have grown from a handful in 2008 to 23 so far this year. One group counts more than 20 incidents at mosques and churches since 2010. There were three price-tag incidents in June in neighborhoods and towns around Jerusalem.
Israeli society is grappling with what to call the assaults. Are they “terrorism” or “hooliganism”? Or, as they are labeled now, “a criminal incident with nationalistic motives”?
Beyond semantics, the question is made more urgent by the fact that few perpetrators have been arrested, despite the prowess of the Israeli army, police and domestic intelligence services.
In a country where security cameras are ubiquitous and thick dossiers are amassed on Palestinian teenagers who throw rocks, many Israelis suspect the reason why more Jewish vandals are not arrested is that the state is not very interested in doing so.
In a poll released last week by Israel’s Channel 10 News, almost 60 percent of those surveyed agreed that the government “didn’t really want to catch” price-tag attackers.
There have been a few arrests. The most recent was July 1, when a 22-year-old Israeli was detained in connection with a price-tag attack at the Monastery of the Silent Monks at Latrun in September. Assailants torched the monastery’s doors and spray-painted
“Jesus is a monkey” and the word “Migron,” a reference to an unauthorized settler outpost forcibly evacuated by the Israeli army in September.
Many Israelis and Palestinians wonder who might be inspiring these acts. Suspicions fall upon ultranationalists and radical rabbis.
This summer, the debate over how to confront the price-tag phenomenon entered Israel’s parliament, where Justice Minister Tzipi Livni is pushing legislation to label the price-tag crimes as acts of terror. That would grant Israeli agencies sweeping authority to tap telephones, search without warrants and hold suspects without charges.
On July 1, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon announced that price-tag attacks in Israel could be defined as “illegal organizing,” meaning that Jewish perpetrators could face the same legal repercussions as Palestinian terrorists. Judges could hand down harsh sentences — not just a few months, but years in prison.
Many Israelis, however, think that goes too far.
Dani Dayan, the former director of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, said that price-tag assaults are generally against property and should be treated as “extreme vandalism” or even “a hate crime.”
Dayan called the attacks “despicable from a moral point of view” and “very, very dumb.” He said nothing has hurt the settlement movement more than price-tag attacks, which cast settlers as racist vandals.
Still, he said, to Israelis “terrorism is a suicide bomber in a crowded mall or someone who shoots people.” Dayan said a price-tag attack that involves deadly force — as when Jewish radicals have thrown a fire bomb at Israeli soldiers — should be considered terrorism, but not spray painting and tire slashing. “There’s no comparison between this and real Palestinian terrorism,” he said.
Immediately after the tires were slashed in Abu Ghosh, Israeli politicians and government ministers rushed to apologize and promise that the culprits would be caught.
Israeli President Shimon Peres went to Ibrahim Hamza’s house and said he was sorry that the town was subjected to such a crime.
Israelis with historical memory were especially stung that a price-tag attack would befall Abu Ghosh, whose Muslim residents remained neutral in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence and helped to keep a crucial roadway through the village open during fighting against Arab forces.
“Jewish Israelis were very upset to hear what happened here,” said Salim Jaber, the long-serving mayor of Abu Ghosh. The town is a popular destination with Israelis and tourists who want to eat some of the best hummus in the country, or visit the old crusader church, or watch the construction of a large new mosque, a gift from Chechnya.
Jaber said that security cameras in the town captured shadowy images of three men in the vicinity of the crime scene. At least one was sporting tzizit, the white tassels worn by ultra-Orthodox Jews.
“These are the kinds of people who want us to hate Jews, hate Israel. But we are smarter than that,” Jaber said. He scoffed at the idea — “a sick fantasy” — that some slashed tires would make Muslims leave Abu Ghosh.
But he said Israeli authorities must catch the perpetrators.
“If the government doesn’t solves these cases, they’re going to have a big problem,” said Jawdat Ibrahim, the owner of an Abu Ghosh restaurant who set a Guinness World Record for the largest serving of hummus (9,016 pounds) in 2010.
“It is unbelievable to us that Israel can catch enemies, very sophisticated enemies, overseas, but they can’t catch a bunch of punks who live here,” Ibrahim said. “These attacks happen in an atmosphere, maybe an atmosphere that says, ‘Hey, it’s okay, you’re never gonna get caught.’ ”File photo: Umar Akmal stroked 11 fours and four sixes during his 95 not out © Getty Images
An unbeaten 49-ball 95 from Umar Akmal, and a three-wicket haul from Aizaz Cheema were the cornerstones behind Lahore Lions' 15-run victory against Multan Tigers in Faisalabad. With two wins from three matches, Lions are now through to the semi-finals.
Lions, opting to bat, were precariously placed at 51 for 3 in the eighth over before Umar and Nasir Jamshed joined hands to launch a late assault. The pair looted 129 off 73 deliveries, helping Lions to 180 for 3. Umar slammed 11 fours and four sixes for his fifty, while Jamshed's 33 off 27 balls featured two fours and a six.
Tigers lost their openers within three overs of the chase - both removed by Cheema - but handy contributions from Kashif Mansha and the captain Gulraiz Sadaf kept the team afloat. Still, Lions ensured that the asking rate remained above 10 an over, putting pressure on Tigers. With 73 required off the last five overs, Naved Yasin went on the attack, blasting 69 off 39 balls, including 21 runs off the penultimate over, but was left with too much to do on his own, as his team could only muster 165 for 5.
A three-wicket haul from Mohammad Sami, and a rapid half-century from Shahzaib Hasan powered Karachi Dolphins to a six-wicket win against Faisalabad Wolves. Wolves, choosing to bat, lost their openers inside two overs, but Jahandad Khan's 54, and his two thriving stands with Misbah-ul-Haq and Asif Ali powered the team to a promising 113 for 3 by the 16th over. However, quick dismissals, including two in an over from Sami, pegged the team back. Wolves lost their last six wickets for just 31 runs to finish on 144 for 9.
Dolphins had little trouble chasing down that score, and overhauled the target in 17.5 overs. Shazaib's 34-ball 59 - a knock which featured two fours and five sixes - set the platform, after which handy twenties from Rameez Raja and Mohamamd Waqas (22*) took the team home.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.Nicole Kidman displayed what a Woman's Day report described as 'bizarre' and 'loose' behaviour at the Golden Globes on January 8 in Hollywood.
In a report published in the magazine this week, the Aussie actress is said to have left'some observers wondering whether she'd had a few too many pre-show wines'.
The evening began with the actress interrupting British actor Tom Hiddleston's red carpet interview to insist she was having a good time.
Scroll down for video
Acting strange? Nicole Kidman displayed what a Woman's Day report described as 'bizarre' and 'loose' behaviour at a Golden Globes after party on January 8 in Hollywood
Starving: The 49-year-old was 'constantly ushering over' waiters with pizza and husband Keith Urban, 49, was left to brush pizza crumbs off her frock, the magazine alleges
'Sorry to crash. I'm so happy to be here and I'm determined to have fun. That's why I came here and did that,' she quipped as camera's rolled.
However later at an after-party, the Lion star, who was nominated for a Best Actress award that evening, Nicole reportedly chose to'shoo away' a cocktail waitress.
The 49-year-old was evidently hungry as she was 'constantly ushering over' waiters with pizza.
Husband Keith Urban, 49, was left to brush pizza crumbs off her frock, the magazine alleges.
Girl interrupting: The evening began with the actress interrupting British actor Tom Hiddleston's red carpet interview to insist she was having a good time
Carpet crasher: 'Sorry to crash. I'm so happy to be here and I'm determined to have fun. That's why I came here and did that,' she quipped as cameras rolled
Meanwhile, the star created some controversy this week when she commented that Americans should support President-elect Donald Trump.
The Oscar-winning actress's earlier remarks sparked both criticism and praise online after they were aired by the BBC.
The mother of four told Access Hollywood that her comments were misconstrued.
Looking fine: Nicole arrived at the event looking picture perfect and was seen having a good time at the after parties later
Date night: Nicole arrived at the event with hubby Keith and she was in a great mood
She says: 'I was trying to stress that I believe in democracy and the American Constitution, and it was that simple.'
Nicole has lived between Australia and America since she married actor Tom Cruise in 1990.
However she and country crooner Keith usually reside with their family in Nashville, Tennessee.Earlier this year, San Mateo County collected almost 700 guns through a publicized buyback program and permanently removed the weapons from circulation by melting them down into pipe metal.
“Fewer guns also means fewer accidents and fewer chances for guns to fall into the wrong hands,” U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier said in a written statement before the January event that she co-sponsored with Sheriff Greg Munks and Supervisor Adrienne Tissier.
Today, however, Munks is scheduled to ask the Board of Supervisors for permission to change a county law so his department can sell more than 700 surplus weapons, some of which could end up in public hands.
About 400 of the guns are “old-duty” firearms that are no longer needed, according to a memo from the sheriff. And 355 are pistols currently used by the department’s sworn personnel that will be replaced with new Smith & Wesson guns in the coming months.
The sheriff’s office proposes to sell the used firearms by first offering them to sworn personnel within the department. The remainder would be sold to Smith & Wesson.
Both transactions would be made through licensed firearms dealers and sold at “fair market value,” according to Munks’ memo.
The weapons could fetch between $130,000 and $150,000, according to the sheriff; the new guns are expected to cost about $150,000.
Capt. John Quinlan, who has worked for the sheriff’s office 27 years, said a county ordinance does not allow law enforcement to “sell, trade, give or otherwise transfer any firearm owned or possessed by the County of San Mateo.” It was adopted following a 2001 high school shooting in the San Diego County city of Santee that left two students dead and 13 wounded.
“There was a major concern about firearm safety and firearms getting into the hands of the wrong people,” Quinlan said. “We (the sheriff’s office) didn’t oppose that because we were concerned too.”
Expecting that some people would take issue if the gun sale prohibition is lifted, Quinlan said he contacted public safety representatives in several major cities, including Los Angeles or New York, to learn whether there was any evidence that the firearms they sold were later used in crimes. There wasn’t, he said.
Quinlan said the county’s guns are worn from use, mostly through required target practice, and probably would have more value as a sentimental keepsake to the sheriff’s personnel than as a gun buyer’s weapon.
“It’s my assumption … the manufacturer will take these, they cannibalize these guns, and use the parts to assemble other guns.” Quinlan said. “I don’t see a huge resale value on these.”
In an email sent to The Daily News on Monday, Board of Supervisors Vice President Dave Pine said he is concerned that selling the sheriff’s guns would increase the number of firearms in circulation, “which is inherently dangerous.
“In particular, selling used firearms to firearms manufacturers would likely result in the subsequent resale of those firearms at discounted prices and thereby promote broader gun ownership,” Pine said.
“The Sheriff’s Office gun buy-back program collected 680 guns earlier this year,” he added. “I would not want to erase those gains by adopting the proposed ordinance and selling hundreds of guns to firearm manufacturers.”
When contacted by The Daily News on Monday afternoon, Supervisor Carole Groom said she had not yet read Munks’ memo for Tuesday’s meeting.
“I’d prefer to read the report before I comment,” Groom said.
Other supervisors did not respond to a request for comment.
The Board of Supervisors meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Board Chambers at 400 County Government Center, Redwood City.
Email Bonnie Eslinger at beslinger@dailynewsgroup.com; follow her at twitter.com/bonnieeslinger.Advertisement Dashcam video released of SC state senator's DUI arrest State Senator Paul Campbell was arrested for DUI Share Shares Copy Link Copy
The Highway Patrol has released the dash-cam video showing what happened at the scene where state Senator Paul Campbell (R- Berkeley) was arrested for driving under the influence. In the video, you can hear what Campbell says happened. The dash camera records from the moment troopers arrived at the scene along I-26 in Charleston County, to the drive from the site to the Charleston County Detention Center. At the scene, all parties admit Campbell's vehicle rear-ended the crash victim's car. But stories on who was driving Campbell's car differ. Trooper: “Did you drive at any point this evening?”Campbell: "No sir…I did early on, downtown.”Trooper: “Have you driven since you left downtown?” Campbell: “No sir.”The crash victim, Michaela Caddin, says otherwise, that Campbell was the driver- and not his wife. “I wanted to let you know that when he pulled up there, they swapped seats," Caddin told troopers.Campbell says his wife was the driver. You can’t see their vehicle from this video- it’s parked in front of the victim’s car, a jeep. But after a failed sobriety test, when Campbell doesn’t perform a heel-to-toe, straight-line walk by the trooper’s standards, he’s cuffed and escorted into the patrol car.“I want you to go ahead and turn around and put your hands behind your back. I’m going to place you under arrest for driving under the influence," the trooper said. In the car, the conversation continued.Campbell: “I’m sorry to put you through this.”Trooper: “This is my job. No need to apologize.”Campbell: “Well, the lady was just wrong. Vicki jumped out of the car, and I jumped out and said ‘get back in the car.’” While in the car, Campbell insisted to the trooper he thought he may be at a.03 or.04 blood-alcohol level, because he’d been at a Clemson football party downtown. But the trooper’s crash report says he blew a.09 later.The dashcam footage of a South Carolina state senator's arrest on a DUI charge over the weekend has been released by the South Carolina Highway Patrol. This is the video the Department of Public Safety released to us just this afternoon. The video shows vehicles pulled over after the crash when troopers say Paul Campbell rear-ended a woman in her jeep on I-26.Campbell insists he was not the driver and that his wife was. But the crash victim claims she saw him switch seats with his wife after he pulled over behind her.Troopers believe he was the driver, too - you can see in the video, Campbell’s sobriety test. He’s told to walk heel-to-toe in a straight line for nine steps…and doesn’t follow instructions.After that, he’s handcuffed and placed in the patrol car. There, he tells the trooper he doesn’t think he’s DUI level, and that the crash victim is wrong about him being the driver.According to troopers, once breathalyzed, Campbell registered a.09 blood-alcohol level. He was released on bond the next day.The second article on advanced git topics is focused on cases where multiple branches are involved.
My Changes Conflict With Yours
Usually, it happens that two developers are working on the same file. Git tries its best to merge changesets from both developers without complaining. However, Git is not a human being so it cannot know what change is the good ones when two changes happen two close to one another in the file.
As opposed to SVN, in Git, it is the responsibility of the one who pulls to solve conflicts. Thus, you are forced to solve conflicts before being able to push your changes upstream. But how does it work?
When you try to pull a file which contains conflicting changes, git will stop with a strange message. We will use the git pull --rebase command instead of the git pull.
Using index info to reconstruct a base tree... M numbers Falling back to patching base and 3-way merge... Auto-merging numbers CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in numbers Failed to merge in the changes. Patch failed at 0001 Add a don't like line. The copy of the patch that failed is found in: /tmp/repos/repo3/.git/rebase-apply/patch When you have resolved this problem, run "git rebase --continue". If you prefer to skip this patch, run "git rebase --skip" instead. To check out the original branch and stop rebasing, run "git rebase --abort".
Even the file you changed looks awkward:
4 <<<<<<< HEAD insert here 5 ======= I don't like this line 5 >>>>>>> Add a don't like line. 6
As you can see, there are 3 more lines inserted. The ones starting with <<<<<<< and >>>>>>> mark the boundary of the conflicting area as well as the origin of the two conflicting changes (in our case HEAD is our repository’s latest commit while Add a don't like line. is the commit message of the last commit on the remote).
Between the two marks, you have the two changes, separated by =======. You, as a developer, have to choose what makes sense: either keep only one of the changes, merge them together or even write something totally new.
You edit the file with the desired change and add it back for staging. After this you simply continue the rebase process.
git add numbers git rebase --continue
If there are more conflicting changes you will have to reapply the same procedure. Otherwise, you can go forward to pushing your changes. As you can see, no conflict ever leaves your repository, you are forced to deal with it before continuing.
Note: Remember to solve all conflicts in the same file before continuing the rebase process. Otherwise artifacts will be committed. (this is an edit suggested via comments by Stefan Bucur).China’s official war on golf has finally come to an end.
President Xi Jinping banned golf for all officials and its party members last year, fearing it was a gateway to corruption. And the ban didn’t just affect a few thousand bureaucrats; the Communist party has 88 million members.
It wasn’t the first time the sport was banned. In 1949, Mao Zedong enforced an outright ban, denouncing it as a “sport for millionaires.” The sport has boomed since, in the last few decades, though the fairway gained a reputation for being the spot where corrupt officials make shady deals. The number of 18-hole courses and golfers grew rapidly; so much so that the government announced a ban on building new golf courses in 2004.
Golf is just one of many casualties in the government’s renewed anti-corruption drive in 2012. In last year’s update of the Communist Party’s discipline rules, members were banned from “obtaining, holding or using membership cards for gyms, clubs, golf clubs, or various other types of consumer cards, or entering private clubs.” At least 60 state-employees were punished for spending public funds on playing golf.
Party leaders have now backtracked from the ban and their vocal condemnation of the sport, the Guardian reports, in the Discipline Inspection and Supervision News. “Since it is only a sport, there is no right or wrong about playing golf,” the newspaper for China’s anti-corruption agency declared.
For now, golf is fine for government officials, China Daily confirms, as long as they pay for it themselves.The Wood Elf DLC for Total War: Warhammer has now been confirmed following yesterday’s tease.
The Realm of The Wood Elves DLC will be available on 8 December and introduces the pointy-eared race to the Grand Campaign as well as giving them their own mini-campaign called The Season of Revelation. Two new Legendary Lords will lead the Wood Elves; demigod-king Orion, and ancient Treeman Durthu.
Coming from the enchanted forests, the bulk of the faction’s forces are glass cannons. Quick, and highly effective in melee, but (treemen aside) lacking in durability. They will now also be the most “most powerful and versatile archers in the game” with magical arrows, the ability to fire on the move, and they come with allies such as the Dryads, Great Eagles, Forest Dragons and ancient Treemen.
By the sounds of it, the faction will get their own special campaign victory conditions as well. Wood Elves can conquer any territory on the map, but can only build things of any significant within the forest of Athel Loren (elsewhere, they just put up outposts). Within Athel Loren, resides the Oak of Ages. Taking this to Tier 5 initiates the The Battle of the Great Oak, a fight between Wood Elves, Beastmen and Chaos. Survival in this battle is the main campaign objective for the forest folk in Total War: Warhammer.
The faction also has a special currency, Amber, which is needed to recruit certain units, unlock technologies, and nourish the Oak of Ages. Gold is still used, but alongside Amber.
The DLC is available to pre-order now on Steam. Here’s the reveal trailer…Recently, a diverse group of New York City high school students was assigned to write reports on Martin Luther King, Jr. Searching the Internet, several students learned that the renowned civil rights leader had in fact been a drunken philandering con man. Others concluded that the federal holiday marking King’s birthday should be repealed.
Where in the www did these kids search?
Google, for starters.
If you enter “Martin Luther King, Jr.” as a search term, the site netting the third-highest ranking is martinlutherking(dot)org, which purports to be “A valuable resource for teachers and students alike.” Visit the site and you can read the “truth” about King — communist, wife-beater, plagiarist, sexual deviant and all-around fraud. There are flyers to the same effect that children can download, print and bring to school.
Read more at HuffPo
RELATED:
MLK Day
Also On News One:Just as Hollywood movies should not be shaping our idea of real life, pornography should not be shaping our idea of real sex.
Does this mean men have to forever forget about money shots and performative blow jobs?
No.
It means nobody should expect to have a threesome with their dentist and her secretary in the waiting room. Does anyone really?
Associating a poor understanding of human interactions with compulsive use of pornography can have unfortunate outcomes, but it still does not justify considering the media itself a threat.
Pornography is still considered a form of sex education only because sex is still a taboo.
It is something we do not feel comfortable asking about to our parents, our teachers and even our doctors.
If the parents involved in the organization “Mothers Against Pornography” spent more time educating their own children about sexuality, porn would no longer replace sex education.
The results of popular studies will say porn hurts relationships.
However, what truly damages the relationship is the couple’s inability to openly discuss pornography, and the anxiety and discomfort it causes.
Blaming the media for our own insecurities is easy.
Women tend to feel unattractive and sexually inadequate after discovering their partner’s interest in pornography, but it does not mean their partner finds them any less attractive.
Building a healthy relationship with pornography as a couple may take time, and feeling intimidated is common, but demonizing media can not bring to any good.
WHAT IF PORN COULD HELP YOUR SELF ESTEEM?
Diversity
Anti-porn and feminist activist Gail Dines says she had to read ten years of Cosmo magazine while researching for her book “Pornlad”.
She describes how girls in Cosmo all look alike: skinny, blonde and toned.
This is a correct observation, but it makes me wonder whether Dines research ever included watching porn.
If it did she would have seen a much wider and diverse pool of beauty standards than fashion and advertisement will ever offer.
Take a look at this video:
The people speaking are among the most popular names in the porn industry.
You will notice how these women have different sizes, ages and ethnicities.
They all appeal to someone, they all are desirable.
Being part of a generation that constantly complains about the lack of diversity in the fashion industry, women should be thrilled by the diversity in pornography.
If the video was not enough to convince you, here is an infographic showing the most popular searches made on pornhub.com in 2014.
As you can see, among men’s favorites are several categories of women who do not fit the “skinny, blonde and toned” description.
Self exploration
Pornography creates a safe space.
Not a place to hide from scary ideas but an environment to freely explore curiosities and desires without being judged.
Society often looks down upon unusual sexual preferences. Fetishes, for example, can be stigmatized to the point that many people keep them a secret even in long term relationships. The same can be said about unconventional curiosities.
But if you are familiar with Rule 34 you know porn can help us understand that other people enjoy the same things we do, and we might even find a partner who shares our same preferences.
I am not saying porn is the only way to explore our inclinations, but it is a relatively safe one.
If something upsets us we can just turn off the computer.
It makes us aware of our limits before we test them in real life.
While anti-porn activists try to protect women from hardcore porn, fighting the idea that it could help self exploration, women seem to disagree.
Goodbye misconceptions
Associating certain sexual behaviours with one’s lack of intelligence or faithfulness is simply absurd, and all it does is encouraging people to settle for boring sex.
A woman can spend her entire life trying nothing more than missionary and still cheat and still be stupid.
How does porn help us fight these misconceptions?
Just like the off-screen life of many Hollywood actors has been looked at as inspirational, so should the life of porn performers.
Someone like Mercedes Carrera, for example, could help many women feel less threatened by their own sex drive.
Mercedes is a brilliant woman with a background in engineering, and currently leader of The Porn Charity project.
Another performer worth mentioning is Heather Brooke, an amateur who gained incredible popularity over her three years of activity.
She is known for performing sex acts exclusively with her husband.
So what?
Pornography is out there, it has more online traffic than Amazon, Netflix and Twitter combined, and 30% of women watch it.
Ignoring it, or demanding our partner ignores it, will damage our relationships more than accepting it.
Not everyone will be turned on by it, but we are all capable of using it to our advantage.
After all, a media is a service.
AdvertisementsNew York has plans to keep some of its nuclear power plants afloat with subsidies, despite recently forcing one reactor north of Manhattan to shut down.
The heavily regulated state is giving the subsidy to the Exelon Corporation, which owns two nuclear plants and has agreed to purchase a third. The subsidy is part of the New York’s plan to generate half its power without producing new carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the next decade.
The environmental group Alliance for a Green Economy claims the subsidy will cost New York citizens $7.6 billion dollars, and will be paid by raising power bills for the next 12 years.
“New York State is certainly not alone in grappling with how to keep nuclear facilities afloat while cheap natural gas is pushing down electricity prices across the country, but they have emerged as a cautionary tale,” Catrina Rorke, the energy policy director at the free market R Street Institute, told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“While New York is selling their fix as part of an aggressive clean energy program, the Public Service Commission approved what amounts to the single largest transfer of wealth from private citizens to corporations in the history of the state,” Rorke said.
New York regulators will shut down the Indian Point nuclear power plant by April, 2021, even though doing so will make it nearly impossible for the state to comply with the governor’s global warming pledges. Entergy, which owns the plant, agreed with Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to shut down the plant by 2021 in exchange for the state dropping safety and environmental claims filed against the reactors.
Cuomo repeatedly pledged to reduce New York’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions with the goal of slowing global warming. The governor created a $5 billion dollar fund to reduce CO2 emissions by spending money on wind and solar power. Indian Point generates more than 2,000 megawatts of electricity, or about one-fourth of the power consumed in New York City and Westchester County, while producing no CO2 emissions.
“If this were about a lower carbon future, there are any number of policies that New York could have implemented preference [for] lower-emissions power,” Rorke continued. “This is a move purely about supporting the powerful interests behind New York’s nuclear plants, even if it forces customers to buy more expensive power.”
Allowing the Indian Point plant to shut down will increase carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 29 percent, according to a report by Environmental Progress. Shutting down the plant will create twice as much CO2 as would have been reduced under the EPA’s Clean Power Plan.
The replacement power for Indian Point is likely to come mostly from natural gas power plants, not wind or solar. Nuclear power provides about 63 percent of America’s CO2-free power. A single nuclear reactor prevents 3.1 million tons of CO2 emissions annually.
Cuomo previously called for Indian Point to be shut down, as he claims it is too close to the densely-populated southern portion of the state. New York’s other nuclear reactors are in the much less populated, northern upstate region.
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Cairo Tutorial for Python Programmers
by Michael Urman
Cairo is a powerful 2d graphics library. This document introduces you to how cairo works and many of the functions you will use to create the graphic experience you desire.
In order to follow along on your computer, you need the following things:
Cairo itself, Python to run the code snippets, and PyCairo to join the previous two.
Alternately, if you're up for a challenge, you can translate the examples to your preferred language and host environment and only need cairo from above. Nis Martensen has graciously done so for the C language; the C translation has been adopted by the cairo project as its tutorial.
Note: All the example code has a dependency on cairo 1.2.0 or higher for cairo.SVGSurface. In addition several examples need push_group() and pop_group(), and the radial gradients require 1.4 for proper rendering. In a pinch you can work around the first by changing instances of cairo.SVGSurface(filename + '.svg', width, height) to cairo.ImageSurface(cairo.FORMAT_ARGB32, width, height), but really you should consider upgrading.
Translations: fr.
Table of Contents
Cairo's Drawing Model
In order to explain the operations used by cairo, we first delve into a model of how cairo models drawing. There are only a few concepts involved, which are then applied over and over by the different methods. First I'll describe the nouns: destination, source, mask, path, and context. After that I'll describe the verbs which offer ways to manipulate the nouns and draw the graphics you wish to create. And don't read this now, but here's the code behind all the diagrams.
If you find the descriptions below to be too sparse, Donn Ingle has created at-a-glance overview diagrams in SVG which try to tie everything together. They require Inkscape (or similar) to view, as well as two specific fonts for correct appearance. Zoom in on each "page" as you follow along. Donn requests that you download and share the diagrams on your own website if you find them useful.
Nouns
Cairo's nouns are somewhat abstract. To make them concrete I'm including diagrams that depict how they interact. The first three nouns are the three layers in the diagrams you see in this section. The fourth noun, the path, is drawn on the middle layer when it is relevant. The final noun, the context, isn't shown.
Destination
The destination is the surface on which you're drawing. It may be tied to an array of pixels like in these PyGTK tutorials, or it might be tied to a SVG or PDF file, or something else. This surface collects the elements of your graphic as you apply them, allowing you to build up a complex work as though painting on a canvas.
Source
The source is the "paint" you're about to work with. I show this as it is—plain black for several examples—but translucent to show lower layers. Unlike real paint, it doesn't have to be a single color; it can be a pattern or even a previously created destination surface. Also unlike real paint it can contain transparency information—the Alpha channel.
Mask
The mask is the most important piece: it controls where you apply the source to the destination. I will show it as a yellow layer with holes where it lets the source through. When you apply a drawing verb, it's like you stamp the source to the destination. Anywhere the mask allows, the source is copied. Anywhere the mask disallows, nothing happens.
Path
The path is somewhere between part of the mask and part of the context. I will show it as thin green lines on the mask layer. It is manipulated by path verbs, then used by drawing verbs.
Context
The context keeps track of everything that verbs affect. It tracks one source, one destination, and one mask. It also tracks several helper variables like your line width and style, your font face and size, and more. Most importantly it tracks the path, which is turned into a mask by drawing verbs.
Verbs
The reason you are using cairo in a program is to draw. Cairo internally draws with |
moment the buzzwords are ‘integration’, ‘the wider community’, ‘breaking down barriers’ and so on. In the end it will be concentration camps, massacres and plunder.”
Here is the leaflet – picked up at the Luton Islamic Centre last week – that shows Westminster killer was its public contact pic.twitter.com/54pVVEXPVb — Andrew Gilligan (@mragilligan) April 9, 2017
Mr. Baksh has previously said that gay people should be executed and has linked approvingly to an anti-Semitic video by David Duke from his Facebook page.
The mosque was also linked to the 2010 Stockholm bomber, Taimour Abdulwahab, who worshipped at the institution. However, Mr. Bakash claimed to have challenged his views and threw him out of the building.
Despite the mosque’s record, Mr. Baksh was able to secure huge sums of money for his “community work” including allegedly fighting extremism.
The radical imam and another director of the mosque ran an English language school described as a “branch of” a charity called the Ethnic Minority Training Project that has received at least £75,000 of public money.
Mr. Masood was a teacher at the school before becoming a terrorist.Ukrainian government officials celebrate Nazism, anti-Semitism
By Jason Melanovski
4 January 2016
Several recent incidents in Ukraine have further exposed the far-right nature of the forces unleashed by the 2014 Maidan “revolution” that ousted then-President Viktor Yanukovych and eventually brought to power the country’s current, widely despised leader, oligarch Petro Poroshenko, whose approval rating has collapsed to just 17 percent.
In a recent video posted to the internet, Artyom Vitko, parliament member and representative of the nationalist Radical Party, can be seen riding in an SUV drinking vodka and singing along to an anti-Semitic song titled “Adolf Hitler is Together with Us” by a Russian neo-Nazi rock group. Vitko, who has also served as a commander in the government-backed Luhansk Battalion that is fighting to suppress pro-Russian breakaway regions in Ukraine’s Donbass, is shown enjoying the lyrics to the song’s chorus, “Adolf Hitler is together with us, Adolf Hitler is in each of us, and an eagle with iron wings will help us at the right time.” As part of his duties as a member of the Ukrainian parliament, Vitko sits on a committee dedicated to improving ties between Israel and Ukraine.
The far-right leader first made international headlines in January 2015 when he supposedly threw blood in the face of Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communist Party of Russia, at a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, France. According to a public Facebook posting by fellow Radical Party member Dmytro Linko, “At the entrance to PACE’s building, Artyom Vitko and I hurled blood at the face of Russian Communist Zyuganov. We smacked him in his hostile mug.”
The video’s exposure was preceded by reports that the mayor in the city of Konotop, located in northern Ukraine, has been openly displaying anti-Semitic symbols.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Mayor Artyom Semenikhin, who is a member of the far-right Svoboda Party, “drives around in a car bearing the number 14/88, a numerological reference to the phrases ‘we must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children’ and ‘Heil Hitler’; replaced the picture of President Petro Poroshenko in his office with a portrait of Ukrainian national leader and Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera; and refused to fly the city’s official flag at the opening meeting of the city council because he objected to the star of David emblazoned on it.”
The release of the video with Vitko singing neo-Nazi songs coincided an official visit to Israel by Ukrainian President Poroshenko. In meetings with Labor Party members, Poroshenko downplayed the rise of anti-Semitism as a political ideology in Ukraine and blamed Russia for promoting anti-Semitism in Crimea.
According to Labor Party lawmaker Ksenia Svetlova, Poroshenko stated, “In Ukraine, Jews have nothing to fear. But in the Crimea they are oppressed and not allowed in synagogue.” Jewish organizations in Crimea, which is now controlled by Russia, declared Poroshenko’s statements to be false.
In a grotesque display of political hypocrisy, during his visit to Israel, Poroshenko declared in a speech before the Knesset, “We must remember the negative events in history, when collaborators helped the Nazis seek the Final Solution.” He announced that Ukraine would hold an official 75th anniversary memorial of the massacre at Babi Yar site in Kiev, where Nazi forces killed nearly 34,000 Jews.
Last April, Poroshenko’s government officially rehabilitated the country’s Nazi collaborators, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), and moved the country’s “Defender of Ukraine Day” to coincide with the formation date of the UPA.
In an expression of the Zionist regime’s utter bankruptcy and the falsity of its claim to defend the world’s Jewish population, Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu later stated that he plans to attend the memorial ceremony in Ukraine.
Today, the direct political and familial descendants of the OUN and the UPA are found in Ukraine’s government-backed, far-right military battalions and political parties, such as Svoboda and Vitko’s Radical Party. The latter, for instance, counts Yuriy Shukhevych among its parliamentary members. Yuriy Shukhevych’s father, Roman Shukhevych, was a leader of the UPA. The younger Shukhevych helped draft the April 2015 law honoring Ukraine’s Nazi collaborators.
Since the Kiev regime came to power in a US-backed coup in February 2014, the fascist forces that carried out the overthrow of elected President Viktor Yanukovych have committed violent atrocities against opponents in an effort to terrorize the population into submission.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Image: Timofeev Vladimir/Shutterstock
The feds warned that "a group of malicious cyber actors," whom security experts believe to be the government-sponsored hacking group known as APT6, "have compromised and stolen sensitive information from various government and commercial networks" since at least 2011, according to an FBI alert obtained by Motherboard.
The alert, which is also available online, shows that foreign government hackers are still successfully hacking and stealing data from US government's servers, their activities going unnoticed for years. This comes months after the US government revealed that a group of hackers, widely believed to be working for the Chinese government, had for more than a year infiltrated the computer systems of the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM. In the process, they stole highly sensitive data about several millions of government workers and even spies.
In the alert, the FBI lists a long series of websites used as command and control servers to launch phishing attacks "in furtherance of computer network exploitation (CNE) activities [read: hacking] in the United States and abroad since at least 2011."
Domains controlled by the hackers were "suspended" as of late December 2015, according to the alert, but it's unclear if the hackers have been pushed out or they are still inside the hacked networks.
"Anybody who's been in that network all this long, they could be anywhere and everywhere."
"Looks like they were in for years before they were caught, god knows where they are," Michael Adams, an information security expert who served more than two decades in the US Special Operations Command, and who has reviewed the alert, told Motherboard. "Anybody who's been in that network all this long, they could be anywhere and everywhere."
For Adams, this alert shows that the US government still is not in control of what's going on inside its most sensitive networks. This alert, he said, is an admission of that.
"It's just flabbergasting," he told me. "How many times can this keep happening before we finally realize we're screwed?"
The FBI wouldn't comment on the alert, only saying that it was just another example of a routine notice to private partners, "provided in order to help systems administrators guard against the actions of persistent cyber criminals."
This group of "persistent cyber criminals" is especially persistent. The group is none other than the "APT6" hacking group, according to sources within the antivirus and threat intelligence industry. There isn't much public literature about the group, other than a couple of old reports, but APT6, which stand for Advanced Persistent Threat 6, is a codename given to a group believed to be working for the Chinese government.
"This is one of the earlier APTs, they definitely go back further than 2011 [...] more like 2008."
"This is one of the earlier APTs, they definitely go back further than 2011 or whatever—more like 2008 I believe," Kurt Baumgartner, a researcher at the Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab, told me. (Baumgartner declined to say whether the group was Chinese or not, but said its targets align with the interest of a state-sponsored attacker.)
Kyrk Storer, a spokesperson with FireEye, confirmed that the domains listed in the alert "were associated with APT6 and one of their malware backdoors," and that the hackers "targeted the US and UK defense industrial base."
APT6 is "likely a nation-state sponsored group based in China," according to FireEye, which "has been dormant for the past several years."
Another researcher at a different security company, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the hacker's activities, said this was the "current campaign of an older group," and said there "likely" was an FBI investigation ongoing. (Several other security companies declined to comment for this story.)
At this point, it's unclear whether the FBI's investigation will lead to any concrete result. But two years after the US government charged five Chinese military members for hacking US companies, it's clear hackers haven't given up attacking US targets.Forget dot coms and social networks. The hotspot for research and investment in Silicon Valley right now is the future of transport. Convince the valley you have a new way to create a brain for a self-driving car, help people find parking, detect a drowsy driver, or build a personal electric plane, and you'll find yourself showered in VC funding.
That explains the madness of the above chart (Click to see full-size). The "Future of Transportation Stack," produced by VC firm Comet Labs, counts 263 companies, most of which you’ve probably never heard of, all of them vying to cash in on the nascent automotive revolution.
"We really wanted to make a comprehensive list of AI startups in this space, and also the enabling technologies," says Taylor Stewart, who heads up transportation at Comet Labs. She spent weeks poring over company data to find the most interesting, based on criteria like employees, interaction with academia and universities, valuation, and approach to whatever problem they're targeting. “We’re sure there’s some people we’ve missed globally, but this is our research into who’s taking a unique approach to the problems.”
The stack functions as a mix of shopping list and how-to guide for autonomous cars. Start at the bottom and grab the sensors that will let your car see the world: lidar, cameras, radar. The autonomy bit comes in the middle of the stack because you need more than driving skills to win this game. The top rung goes to the startups with ideas on how to make driverless cars useful, secure, and profitable. That's where you’ll find Uber and Lyft, along with lesser known folks like RideCell, which works with mass transit agencies.
Of course this chart only gives one layer of information—that these companies exist. Under the calm surface of a neatly ordered diagram, the picture is more complex, because these companies are all interacting with each other, and the larger, more established car companies.
The transportation industry is reforming and reinventing itself to accommodate these changes, through mergers, acquisitions, and collaborations at an incredible pace. Look at GM’s purchase of Cruise Automation, or Ford's heavy investment in artificial intelligence startup Argo AI. Trying to represent that, assuming you could get the often secret data, is a near-impossible task. “It would be a spider web all over,” says Stewart.
Just don’t bother committing the chart to memory. This field is changing so fast, it will be out of date within a few months, as companies fail, merge, get snapped up, and emerge. And if you think you have an idea that isn’t represented, Comet wants to hear from you. Now’s the chance to make your millions, in Silicon Valley’s latest tech boom.Electric vehicle sales in the U.S. are higher than they’ve ever been, according to a report published by ChargePoint, which operates more than 31,000 electric vehicle chargers in the U.S.
Between November 2015 and November 2016, more than 130,000 plug-in hybrid or battery-powered EVs were sold, bringing the total number of EVs on the road in the U.S. and Canada to close to 535,000. In the U.S. alone, 542,000 EVs have been sold to date.
Put in context, that’s more than seven times the 73,000 EVs that were sold in the U.S. in 2012. That’s not just concentrated in places like California. While California is still in the lead as the state with the most EVs, Utah is the fastest growing and saw a 60 percent increase in EV registrations.
The Tesla Model S topped the chart with the most vehicles sold between January and November 2016. In the second spot was Chevy Volt with more than 21,000 vehicles, followed by the Tesla Model X and then the Ford Fusion. At the bottom of the list was the Toyota Prius Plug-in — only 52 were sold.
That said, the U.S. is still one of the least uniform in its support for EV technology, according to ChargePoint CEO Pasquale Romano. Wyoming, for example, has both the smallest number of EVs on the road as well as the smallest growth in 2016.
Both the European Union and China are pushing forward the transition to battery-powered and electric vehicles while the U.S. is still seeing just a patchwork of support from states. In fact, 10 percent of ChargePoint’s operating expenses go toward lobbying and policy work in the U.S.
“The U.S. should be a little embarrassed that we don’t have that uniformity,” Romano told Recode.
That may be because little has been done on the federal level to push the adoption of EVs forward save for the strict vehicle fuel efficiency standards the Environmental Protection Agency rolled out in 2012, according to Romano.
According to the ChargePoint report, 53 percent of all EVs sold as of November 2016 were plug-in hybrids (PHEV) while 47 percent were battery powered (BEV). Here’s the top 2016 EV sales so far according to the report: Top five PHEVs Chevy Volt Ford Fusion Ford C-MAX Energi BMW X5 Audi A3 e-tron Top five BEVs Tesla Model S Tesla Model X Nissan LEAF BMW i3 Fiat 500e
But that may be a good thing under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. It’s not an exactly positive sign that Trump recently appointed Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state and that part of his infrastructure plan focuses on reinvigorating coal mining in the U.S.
However, Romano said, because the federal government has largely stayed out of the push for electrification there’s still hope that EV adoption will continue to increase in 2017.
“The good news is that the federal government has been generally absent from [the EV movement],” he said. “They haven’t been funding [it]. It’s been largely the purview of the states aside from two factors: The $7,500 vehicle tax credit and the [vehicle fuel efficiency standards].”
So at most, fuel efficiency standards might become more relaxed and the tax credit may go away, but it wouldn’t be a nail in the coffin for electrification, he said.
“At the high end of the market, I don’t think the Tesla owner would change the ownership equation in their head if that credit would go away,” he said.
Interestingly, there is little direct correlation between the rise of gas prices and EV sales according to the report. In other words, the EV buyer isn’t just trying to avoid the cost of gas. Other than the cost savings and the environmental benefits, ChargePoint found that some consumers were looking for the most cutting-edge software hence the popularity of Teslas.
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Update: The headline of this story was updated to reflect how many electric vehicles were sold in the U.S.Sword of the Archon (Shader #1) by D.P. Prior is one of the best self-published fantasy that I’ve stumbled upon. Not to say that it is perfect, because nothing is ever without flaws. It is, however, a dynamic work of genre bending scifi, fantasy and horror that immediately brings to mind Stephen King’s seminal work: The Gunslinger, with its post-apocalyptic world, mysterious ruins of an advanced civilization, its mystical elements, and a main character in Shader who is just as gruff, haunted, and jaded as Roland Deschain.
The story is set in post-apocalyptic Australia, where a terrible cataclysm ended the technological society of the ancients and ushered in a new millennium built upon medieval tools, religion, mythology and magic. But the world never stops changing, and old evils never seem to truly die. So when someone begins uncovering and using the pieces of an ancient relic of power, the wise immediately suspect the return of the Technocrat.
But who is this person?
Sketis Gandaw (a.k.a. The Technocrat) was the foremost scientist that ancient mankind ever produced; a brilliant man who conquered the world through the power of his technological wonders, the money of his worldwide corporations, and the desires of the population to believe in no power greater than their own human logic. Once, the Earth lay at his feet, however, Sektis realized that mankind and the universe itself were flawed – not fit to survive; the very haphazard evolution of life from a big bang beginning the cause of this imperfect nature. And since the universe was not “designed” by some higher power to be imperfect for a reason, Sektis logically decided that it was a mistake that he (the pinnacle of evolution) must correct by “uncreating” everything and unleashing a new creation of mathematical perfection.
In this endeavor, Sektis came tantalizing close before he was stopped. So close, in fact, that the resulting backlash of the Technocrats defeat destroyed the ancient world. But no one is sure that Sektis actually died in the chaos. There are myths that he used his technological prowess to escape to another world and is merely waiting for a future time to return to Earth. And so, a few of the “wise” have ever been vigilant in watching for signs of his return. They have planned for it and even reared heroes to confront Sektis if he ever returns.
Deacon Shader is the latest of these unknowing guardians of the world; he is a warrior monk, trained by powers he didn’t understand to wield the Sword of the Archon and bloodied in the horrible wars against the undead armies of the Liche Lord Blightey. The only problem is that Deacon is a man of mighty paradoxes; one who wishes to live a peaceful existence without a sword in his hand but finds himself always resorting to violence to protect his beliefs of love; a man of the cloth who readily acknowledges that he has grown to have doubts about his own faith. But with the Sword of the Archon in his hands and a desire for peace in his heart, Deacon Shader finds himself unwillingly placed upon a path to confront the Technocrat -- if he has indeed returned.
From this great setup, Mr. Prior weaves a story upon the richly varied post-apocalyptic world he has created. And what a world it is! Shader’s Earth is a complex society, filled with interesting characters, a mix of both science and magic, and ripe for pulse-pounding adventure. Religion is a big part of everyday life, whether it is Shader’s devotion to it or others ridicule for it. And mysteries abound. Who is the technocrat really? How was the ancient world destroyed? What are the hidden, metallic tunnels? Why does it seem that several people have lived for nearly a thousand years? How did magic spring to existence on the Earth? So many mysteries, in fact, that it drives a curious reader to delve deep into the narrative for small clues.
The only thing that did not work for me in this novel was the love story of Shader and Rhiannon. While the romantic relationship is in the past as the story begins, these two have zero chemistry – which just didn’t ring true. Even if their involvement was over, there would still be some lingering attachment or unfinished emotions, but here the majority of their interactions are so negative that you wonder how they could have ever spoken to one another, much less been in love – or lust – with one another. It just didn’t work at all for me, which was a major setback since this romantic attraction drove a good bit of Shader’s story.
All in all, I really enjoyed Sword of the Archon. It had fights, intriguing characters, humor, and a very believable religious character and his struggle with his own faith. When I said earlier that this novel was one of the best indie fantasy I’ve read, I meant it. Sure, there are times when the narrative drags or the characters’ interaction do not work, but overall, this beginning novel of the Deacon Shader Saga was a fun ride. One that I enjoyed so much that I moved on to the second book in the series almost immediately, which isn’t something I always do, and I encourage you to jump on this ride and see if the journey is to your liking as well.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.
NEW YORK – The head of France’s largest Jewish organization called on Americans to combat online hate speech, in an advertisement in The New York Times.
In the advertisement in Monday’s paper, titled “An appeal to our American Friends,” Roger Cukierman, who heads the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, an umbrella group, wrote that following the deaths of four of his co-religionists in a terrorist attack in Paris in January, “French Jews fear for their safety, their integrity, their dignity, and their future.”
This is widely known in the United States and many have asked how they can help, he continued, asserting that the best way to do so would be to “help us defuse the hate where it moves most freely – on the Internet.”“On the Internet, anti-Semitic ravings, rooted in centuries old myths such as the rich Jew and the powerful Jew go unchecked,” he wrote, averring that both resentment of Jews and jihadism thrive online.Only several clicks on Google can bring one to pages full of conspiracy theories, including ones linking Jews to the 9/11 attacks and old canards like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which can be “liked” with impunity, he said.Given that the hosts of much of this content are American firms that are subject to American law, France’s friends here must “convince them to set a limit to this swarm of hate.”Cukierman added that, while freedom of speech is a core American value, it must be possible to crack down on online hate “without inhibiting” free expression.The French communal leader called on Internet corporations to remove anti-Semitic content as soon as it is flagged and for the technology sector to “conform, in each country they are present, to the laws of democracies faced with anti-Semitism.”Many European nations maintain much stricter controls on hate speech than the United States. In France “we have many ways to fight hatred directed at Jews” in the local press, but very little recourse against a “web woven across the Atlantic,” he added.“Freedom of speech is not freedom to hate” or to “incite murder,” he concluded, likening the battle against anti-Semitism to efforts made to ban child pornography.
Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>(My homeroom teacher has left the classroom unlocked, and I am the first to arrive. Seizing the opportunity, I grab a whiteboard marker and scrawl the first thing that comes to my head.)
Friend #1: *arriving in classroom, reads what I have written* “Today’s Schedule: Step one – Crying.”
(We look at each other, and crack up. A second friend arrives in the classroom, and reads out the “schedule,” plus a few additions made by Friend #1.)
Friend #2: “Step two – Reevaluate your life choices. Step three – More crying.”
(Friend #1 and I are giggling, and Friend #2 comes up to make her mark. Soon enough, one more friend arrives before the rest of the class starts trickling in. My friends and I continue to add to the list until there are nine items in total. Most of the class is stifling laughter. When I spot the teacher and we scramble into our seats.)
Teacher: *eyes us suspiciously* “What? What have you done this time?”
Teacher: *notices the board, and reads out list* “Today’s Schedule:
Step one – Cry
Step two – Reevaluate your life choices
Step three – More crying :) *yes she said “colon right-parenthesis”
Step four – Succumb to the darkness within
Step five – Catch up on sleep in Mrs. [Teacher]’s class
Step six – Realize our puny existences are futile
Step seven – Cry some more
Step eight – Die :)
Step nine – Cry from the grave”
(At this point, the class cannot contain their laughter.)
Teacher: “Yeah, that sounds about right.”Business Travel
Harta turistică a României: Care au fost cele mai vizitate judeţe anul trecut. Surpriză pe primul loc. INFOGRAFIC
Autor: Mădălina Panaete 15519
♦ Capitala, judeţele Constanţa şi Braşov sunt singurele care atrag anual peste un milion de turişti români şi străini ♦ Teleorman, Călăraşi, Giurgiu, Olt şi Sălaj sunt cele cinci judeţe care atrag cei mai puţini turişti ♦ Harta investiţiilor străine se suprapune în mare parte cu cea a turiştilor străini, având în vedere că Bucureştiul, Sibiul, Clujul, Braşovul sau Timişul atrag cei mai mulţi turişti de peste hotare.
Bucureştiul a fost anul trecut campion la numărul de turişti care au sosit în unităţile de cazare, cu peste 1,9 milioane de turişti, arată datele de la Institutul Naţional de Statistică. Dintre aceştia, mai mult de 50%, adică unu din doi turişti, au sosit din străinătate, potrivit calculelor ZF. Capitala este campioana atragerii de turişti români şi străini anul trecut, fiind urmată de judeţe puternic dezvoltate precum Constanţa, Braşov, Mureş, Prahova, Sibiu şi Cluj. De altfel, Bucureştiul, judeţele Constanţa şi Braşov sunt singurele care atrag mai bine de un milion de turişti anual. Anul trecut s-au întregistrat peste 11 milioane de sosiri ale turiştilor în unităţile de cazare din România, dintre care 2,5 milioane străini.
Cei mai mulţi turişti străini s-au cazat în Capitală, dar şi în judeţele Timiş, Cluj, Braşov şi Sibiu. De altfel, harta investiţiilor străine se suprapune în mare parte cu cea a turiştilor străini, având în vedere că cei mai mulţi turişti de peste hotare merg în cei mai importanţi poli de dezvoltare ai României. De altfel, în România turismul de business a fost mulţi ani dominant, abia în ultimii ani remarcându-se un interes crescut al străinilor pentru piaţa locală ca destinaţie de vacanţă.
În cele mai multe dintre aceste judeţe, mai mult de jumătate din camerele hotelurilor sunt ocupate de români sau străini care călătoresc în scop de afaceri. Marii hotelieri din Capitală spuneau că peste 60% din businessul lor este adus de segmentul de business şi restul de turiştii care vin în vacanţă. Astfel, turismul de relaxare suferă în România atât din cauza lipsei de promovare, cât şi din lipsa de infrastructură. Un alt capitol la care România stă mai rău decât alte ţări europene este cel al turiştilor străini. Un studiu recent al Eurostat arată că în România turiştii străini au înnoptat aproape 5 milioane de nopţi în hoteluri, în timp ce în Bulgaria aceştia au stat peste 16 milioane de nopţi.
De asemenea, numărul mic de turişti străini care vin în România se vede şi în traficul aerian. De exemplu, doar 35% din pasagerii care călătoresc cu Ryanair spre România sunt străini. În Bulgaria 47% din pasagerii care zboară cu Ryanair sunt străini, în timp ce în Cehia ajunge la 84%.
Totuşi, în ultimii ani se remarcă o creştere a interesului străinilor şi românilor pentru vacanţe în ţară, în special după ce revistele şi publicaţiile de specialitate au recomandat regiuni precum Transilvania şi Delta Dunării. România s-a situat de altfel în ultimii ani de multe ori în clasamentele destinaţiilor recomandate în Europa şi în lume. Deschiderea de noi rute aeriene şi introducerea de zboruri low cost la doar câţiva euro au ajutat de asemenea.No Easy Fix for U.S. Foreign Aid
During a Wednesday speech at the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals Summit, U.S. President Barack Obama rolled out the results of his administration’s long-delayed review of America’s global development policy. The take-away was simple: The United States has to start being picky about how it distributes aid. Gone are the days when Washington can help everyone everywhere. As Obama declared, "We must be more selective and focus our efforts where we have the best partners and where we can have the greatest impact."
Reform of U.S. foreign assistance programs is long overdue. Development efforts have been governed by a messy and often conflicting set of approaches — the administration itself notes that government agencies are today pursuing over 1,000 different development goals, objectives, and priorities. Every Congress and administration for the last five decades has tacked on additional language to the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act and other regulations about what aid should look like. The increasing number of agencies now operating overseas has only added to the confusion.
The good news is that Obama gets it. The bad news is that all of this is much easier said than done.
Obama’s plan is simple: Pick your countries, pick your priorities. Once America selects a country to focus on, its re-vamped aid system will focus on sustained economic growth, innovation and technology development, and country "ownership" — that is, getting local input into figuring out what’s most important and tailoring the aid specifically to the stated need. The policy requires the administration to update its global development strategy every four years. And the United States will work with other donors to hammer out a sensible division of labor on the plethora of global needs.
There is little to argue with in all of this, except for the fact that it will need some luck — and a lot of vigilance — to actually work. The central concept that aid dollars should only go to countries that will use them wisely, for one, is certain to add complications. The George W. Bush administration had in fact begun a limited-scale program based on this principle, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which applies strict standards and a clear application process to potential recipients. But to this day, some of the top recipients of Washington’s funds include countries in which reform remains an afterthought.
Beyond this basic roadblock, there are five main points of tension that could make the bright ideas in the new strategy highly difficult to realize:
Rhetoric versus Reality
Since taking office, both Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have repeatedly said they want to make the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) the "world’s premier development agency." But their actions and the actions of the administration generally have people wondering if this is actually the case. The pace of political appointments at the agency has been nothing short of glacial; less than half of the senior political staff positions at USAID have been filled. The State Department, of which USAID is a part, has also resisted provisions that would give the aid agency a stronger voice at the policymaking table. And despite several efforts negotiated between State and the National Security Council to staff USAID more robustly, the agency remains firmly under State’s purview. This is problematic because the diplomatic corps is notorious for wanting to use aid dollars to curry short-term favor and influence with host countries, rather than focusing on long-haul development efforts.
The true test of the limits of rhetoric will come when the administration faces the decision whether to help a country that’s friendly but not reform-minded. The evidence so far doesn’t bode well: Ethiopia and Rwanda, two important U.S. allies, are featured prominently in the administration’s new Global Health Initiative — despite a crescendo of complaints about human-rights violations in both countries.
The Division of Labor
Obama’s new policy emphasizes a clear division of labor with other donors and multilateral institutions. But making this happen will be extraordinarily difficult. Developing countries have long complained that every different donor brings with it a variety of different requirements — and reams of corresponding paperwork. Very little is said in the review about how this division of labor will take place and how donors will collectively reduce or unify the paperwork burden they place on aid-receiving countries. This isn’t just about getting everyone to agree; some of the key multilateral agencies, such as the World Bank, are both quite slow in instituting programs and reluctant to impose standards related to good governance or human rights.
PEPFAR versus Everything Else
PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, was a signature Bush initiative that substantially increased U.S. assistance around the globe, particularly to Africa. It has grown into a huge financial commitment for the United States, and politicians of all stripes have been loath to criticize a lifesaving program launched by a Republican president. But no single area of aid spending is probably more sharply at odds with Obama’s commitment to promote sustainable, country-driven economic growth and reform.
Huge chunks of PEPFAR money are now flowing into countries like Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Uganda — not exactly high on the list of democratic or free market reformers. But PEPFAR has a strong and vocal constituency and remains vital in saving lives. The resolution of the PEPFAR dilemma will be a key barometer of how seriously the administration takes its new approach. The compromise will likely entail using greater percentages of PEPFAR funds to focus on reforming local health ministries rather than simply relying on external aid to serve as a substitute.
The Economic Growth Problem
The troubled state of a beneficiary country’s politics isn’t the only measure that could derail its aid relationship with the United States — economics also matters, something that could create some serious challenges in the long-term, especially given that USAID has steadily been drained of expert personnel on economic issues. The agency now relies heavily on outside contractors to fill the gap.
In light of the recent global economic meltdown, as well as the very, very mixed results of World Bank recommendations in the 1980s, developing countries may not be entirely receptive to listening to American economic advice. Given that Washington has been unwilling to take on hard issues like the U.S. domestic agricultural subsidies that prove an anti-competitive drag on many African countries, cooperation could become even more difficult. It will be hard to convince a developing country of the joys of the free market if the U.S. still doesn’t have the political courage to reduce handouts to our own farmers.
Solving the Crisis du Jour
The policy review has surprisingly little to say about work in post-conflict settings such as Iraq and Afghanistan or high-profile settings like Haiti or Pakistan that are seen as strategic priorities — despite their abysmal record of helping themselves. In terms of dollars and importance, these programs have been the most visible and the most visibly problematic over the last decade. Administrations rarely get to choose their crises, and they have to deal with the fact that development is extraordinarily difficult without stability and a government committed to reform. Still, simply shoveling money out the door, as has often |
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I’m typing this on my Macbook Pro that runs macOS Sierra on a train to Boston where I’m judging MIT Hacking Arts 2016. My editor is Sublime Text and a am a heavy user of git shortcuts that you can find on Github in my dotfiles. I use Chrome. I am not a huge user of tools or gadgets and my entire development environment can be rebuilt from scratch in an hour as long as I have access to my Dropbox and 1Password.
What was your first development environment? Do you miss anything from it?
My very first development environment was on DOS 5.0. It wasn’t much of an environment and barely had a text editor. Later in the 90s I spent a lot of time in front of a Sun Sparc machine running Solaris and building cross-platform software in C++. I was a big fan of X-emacs. I really miss the sound that keyboard made! I definitely don’t miss working with CVS or trying to compile C++ packages with multithreading support on SGI IRIX into which I had to SSH from the other side of the Atlantic through 4 different nodes :)
Where do you see the open source software community headed?
I’m very excited to see 100% of the world get serious about open-source. Now that even Microsoft is on that bandwagon, there’s no question that the entire software world basically runs on open-source software. The next step is to understand that most code is boring and doesn’t need to be built again and again. I want to see more companies adopt the “default to open-source” posture where they ask themselves whether a new project has any competitive advantage of being closed instead of wondering how to open-source something later. This solves numerous problems for corporations, including retention and hiring, reduces cost and increases quality of software being written. I think the open-source communities will retain their organic, non-committal nature, while developers get paid by their companies to work towards business goals, in the open.Trey Gowdy sounds like he’s about a million percent behind Devin Nunes and what he did in running to the president to tell him about what he saw in surveillance leaked to him from some anonymous source.
Watch below:
I’m not sure I agree with Gowdy here – he defends Trump’s stance, but also calls the FBI a competent, independent entity when Trump has said over and over that he can’t trust the U.S. intelligence agencies.
At the end he actually gets angry that people are demanding public hearings. “Why in the hell would we go back to that setting, if the witnesses can’t answer the questions?!” Keep in mind, this is in answer to the question of whether the House Intelligence Committee is working in a healthy way. He’s angry that he’d even ask the question! I dunno, I found this whole interview bizarre.On the 90th anniversary of Gershwin's masterpiece, it’s hard to believe that it was created so haphazardly–composed in one month, not even complete, with just a week for the parts to be orchestrated and rehearsed.
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George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” turns 90 years old this week, and is barely showing its age. It remains as appealing and as fresh as it did at its 1924 premier, when it helped earn jazz a new degree of respect from America’s music critics.
Jazz was still quite young that year. It had only just emerged in the previous decade as African American composers began blending blues, folk music, popular ballads, and ragtime into a new musical form. For several years, jazz incubated in the juke joints, saloons, and nightclubs of New Orleans, building a following among the working classes and black community. Finally, in 1917, the Victor Talking Machine Company issued a recording of “Livery Stable Blues.” It was, many will argue, the first recording of jazz. It was also one of the first records to sell one million copies.
Despite the popularity of this, and the hundreds of jazz records that followed, jazz drew nothing but scorn from the voices of America’s cultural establishment: music critics, composers, conductors, and self-appointed moral guardians. But jazz became increasingly hard to ignore as young Americans were captivated by its bright, energetic sound. An entire generation, it seemed, was learning to play the saxophone, and the omniscient strains of the “Charleston” and “Black Bottom” were heard from urban night clubs to college campuses as the country entered its “Jazz Age.”
When the critics finally deigned to review jazz, they tended to favor adjectives like “barbaric” and “degenerate.” Jazz was, they said, “the product of incompetents,” and “a species of music invented by demons for the torture of imbeciles.” And some critics reminded readers that jazz was the creation of black musicians, which—for them—implied all manner of vices.
Yet jazz continued growing in popularity and sophistication. Musicians were taking the form into new areas, developing unique sounds and experimenting with new styles and instrumentation.
One of the people helping to develop jazz was Paul Whiteman. In 1922, this popular bandleader was earning over $1 million a year conducting several jazz bands on the East Coast. He became so closely associated with the new musical form that he was called “The King of Jazz” (a term, by the way, he knew he didn’t deserve.)
And he became the target of criticism from the reviewers and music ‘experts’ who despised jazz.
Hoping to appease his critics, Whiteman proposed an all-jazz concert to be held at a classical-music venue, New York’s Aeolian Hall. The idea was not greeted with general enthusiasm. Whiteman later told the Post, “Some of the musicians I most admired, who had until then regarded me with a slightly amused but tolerant air, now talked themselves red in the face about the insolence of “jazz boys” who wanted to force their ridiculous efforts upon the world.”
Whiteman thought these critics might drop their objections to jazz if they heard how much it had evolved in recent years. “I believed that most of them had grown so accustomed to condemning the ‘Livery Stable Blues’ type of thing that they went on flaying modern jazz without realizing that it was different from the crude early attempts.”
Yet he couldn’t shake the fear that his concert would antagonize the critics even further. The musical establishment was slow to change. After all, he told the Post, “We were trying to get a favorable hearing from the most hidebound creatures in the world–educated musicians. It was educated musicians who scorned Wagner, resisted Debussy, and roasted Chopin.”
So when the afternoon of the concert arrived, Whiteman was pacing nervously backstage. He already knew he would lose almost half the money he had sunk into the concert, and there was no telling how his reputation would suffer if the critics panned the performance.
“Fifteen minutes before the concert was to begin I yielded to a nervous longing to see for myself what was happening out front…I slipped round to the entrance of Aeolian Hall. There I gazed upon a picture that should have imparted new vigor to my wilting confidence. It was snowing, but men and women were fighting to get into the door, pulling and mauling each other as they do sometimes at a baseball game, or a prizefight, or in the subway. Such was my humility by this time that I wondered if I had come to the right entrance.”
By 5:30p.m., he knew he had been in the right place with the right idea. Several critics came up to him when the concert was over to congratulate him. Some critics still remained unmoved, but others praised the entire performance, particularly its “first rhapsody written for a solo instrument and a jazz orchestra”—”The Rhapsody In Blue.”
It’s hard to believe that this masterpiece was created so haphazardly. Gershwin composed it in one month in-between writing music for Broadway musicals. He handed it to Whiteman’s arranger, Ferde Grofe, on February 4, which left only one week for the parts to be orchestrated and rehearsed. Moreover, the score Gershwin handed over wasn’t even complete.
The Rhapsody included several virtuoso passages for the piano that, at the time of performance, only existed in Gershwin’s head. At one point, when he played solo, he simply left a blank space in the score, indicating the orchestra was to remain silent. The only cue Whiteman had to prompt the orchestra to start playing again was a note in the score telling him to wait until he saw Gershwin nod his head.
Grofe thought the Rhapsody’s middle passage was weak, and told Gershwin it needed some additional music as a bridge between themes. Gershwin hunted around, and then found the score for a song he had been saving for a musical and hurriedly worked it in.
Even during rehearsal, Gershwin was still adding touches that contributed to the Rhapsody’s success. One of its most memorable passages is a long sliding rise of the clarinet in the opening measures.
During rehearsal, when the clarinettist in Whiteman’s band practiced this passage, he jokingly gave it a slurred, bluesy glide, making the clarinet rise into a wail. He had intended it as a joke, but Gershwin latched onto the sound and asked the clarinet player to repeat, and even exaggerate, that wail at the performance.
Whiteman had wanted his concert to prove that jazz no longer relied on improvisation. But Gershwin’s successful creation of the Rhapsody showed that a successful jazz artist must always be ready to respond instantly to new ideas, to discard the work of months to capture the genius of a moment.
Click here to listen to an audio recording of “Rhapsody in Blue” provided by the Library of Congress.Settlers of Catan became an instant world-wide classic when first published in 1995. It is a very smartly designed game for up to four players competing on who is going to settle an uninhabited island first.
The outstanding qualities of the game are its replayability, since it is played on a modular board which changes every time you play, and almost total lack of aggression between players in any form. Winning is accomplished by smart use of the five resources and clever trading with other players. It is an ultimate construction and trading game. While you can still choose to play somewhat dirty, there is no in-game mechanic pushing you to do so. Settlers of Catan quickly replaced Monopoly as the family game of choice at my gaming table.
The only negative with the original Settlers is that the box and the board are unnecessarily bulky, especially for such a relatively simple game. Luckily, there is a very handsome travel version available with pegged game pieces which is totally shake-and-shock proof. You can play it anywhere, in a plane, in a car, at the caffe and even on a windy beach. You won't be able to use any of the original game's numerous expansions, but this is such a small price to pay for such an ultimately portable yet universally fun family game.US Attorney Preet Bharara strikes again. The dogged investigator of official corruption in the Empire State has identified a new target relating to the official activities of Big Apple Mayor Bill de Blasio and it looks like a good one. This time he’s checking into some contributions from real estate developers who wanted to convert a property owned by the State University of New York (SUNY) into affordable housing. The facility in question had been very publicly championed by de Blasio as one which needed to be kept open until he became mayor. Then the situation seemed to change rapidly. (NY Post)
Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara is investigating whether Mayor de Blasio engaged in a fund-raising pay-to-play scheme over the controversial sale of a Brooklyn hospital for redevelopment into housing, The Post has learned. The corruption-busting federal prosecutor recently subpoenaed the State University of New York seeking a slew of records regarding de Blasio’s ties to its sale of Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill, sources said. The records date back to 2013, when de Blasio was the city’s public advocate and campaigned to keep LICH open. He even made a show of getting arrested during a protest rally while he was running for mayor… But after winning the 2013 election, the mayor largely abandoned his opposition to the hospital’s closure, instead backing a redevelopment plan by the Fortis Property Group for a series of apartment towers that would include 200 to 300 affordable units.
There were several developers interested in obtaining the property, including Don Peebles, chairman of The Peebles Corporation. While he was fishing for access to the Long Island College Hospital (LICH), Peebles found out that de Blasio was interested in some donations to one of his political advocacy groups, this time to the tune of $20K. He forked over the money, but it apparently wasn’t enough to cement the deal since the LICH eventually went to rival Fortis Property Group. (No word at this time whether or not they also pitched in to the Mayor’s slush funds.)
If Bharara gets his hooks into this one and can show some sort of quid pro quo it will not only be a damaging and potentially criminally liable case for de Blasio, but will shine a harsh light on his often touted populist appeal. While campaigning to advance his political career, the mayor championed LICH as a needed institution serving the public’s medical needs which simply had to be kept open. Then, once he’d made it to City Hall, it was quickly on the chopping block to the highest bidder. Bill de Blasio, along with Governor Andrew Cuomo, are already under an increasingly intense focus of investigation and you have to wonder how many more of these allegations can surface before it brings them down.Bengaluru: The “lake city" of Bengaluru is facing an existential crisis with fast eroding water bodies and deficient rainfall causing acute drinking water shortage in recent times. But efforts so far by civic authorities have yielded little or no results to save its water bodies that are so critical to the city’s survival.
After the 19 April National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruling, local civic bodies in Bengaluru have initiated the process of inspecting over 400 industries located around the 800-acre Bellandur lake’s almost 300 square km catchment area and served closure notices to around 10 water-based industries (of the 97 identified) so far for releasing industrial effluents and sewage water, turning the once life-sustaining water body to a foaming toxic pool.
Experts say that local authorities’ apathy and continued misdirection in trying to resolve the polluting water bodies problem, critical for Bengaluru’s survival, has resulted in drastically reducing the number of lakes from around 700 a few decades ago to barely 200, which too are dismally maintained and are on the verge of disappearing.
“If there is (political) will, any lake can be rejuvenated in 18 months, if not even 100 years will not be enough," said T.V.Ramachandra, head of the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), who has served in the expert committees of rejuvenation programmes for various lakes, including Jakkur, Bellandur and Varthur.
Ramachandra said over 98% of lakes in the city are encroached upon and 90% have sewage water flowing into them, affecting fish and bird habitats, ground water and negating their purpose of being a drinking water source for the 500-year-old city, which has no river flowing within at least a 100 km radius.
He says all lakes combined in the city can hold 5 tmcft of water. Coupled with rain water harvesting, they have a potential of 15 tmcft, and can cater to Bengaluru’s 18-20 tmcft annual requirement of water, making the city self-sustainable and not be dependent on Cauvery river. The city’s taps are expected to run dry mid June due to deficient rainfall and rapidly decreasing water levels in major reservoirs of the state.
Also Read: Is Bengaluru prepared for a water crisis?
But current efforts by the local authorities are being termed an “eyewash" by environmentalists and groups rallying to protect the lake. “Conservation of lakes is the responsibility of the government and its agencies, they need to ensure that they don’t get directions from NGT," Sridhar Pabbisetty, chief executive officer, Namma Bengaluru Foundation, a citizens rights group, said.
Government and civic body officials blame the degradation of lakes to the rapid and unplanned growth of the city.
Ramachandra, in his April 2017 report on Bellandur and Varthur lake, said that from 1973 to 2016, there has been a 1003% increase in concretisation of paved surfaces, 88% decline in vegetation, 79% decline in wetlands resulting in higher air pollutants, increasing temperature and sharp decline in groundwater table.
“Instead of treating waste water, it is released directly into nalas (drainage system) connecting to storm water drains which were meant to carry rain water into lakes," a retired senior official told Mint, requesting not to be named as he continues to serve on various government boards. Bengaluru currently can treat only around 720 mld (million litres a day) of waste water as against the consumption of over 1,400 mld.
Chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) Lakshman, who goes by one name, said the involvement of multiple civic agencies in rejuvenation efforts, ownership of lakes, meddling of local politicians and mis-reporting air and water quality numbers by inspecting officials has exacerbated the problem in recent years.
The government has set up multiple expert committees to rejuvenate the lakes which in some cases can be counter-intuitive, experts said.
Ramachandra and the senior government official cited earlier agreed that such expert committees have a major role to play, but they can be effective only if it has the powers to implement the reports’ findings and recommendations.
Citing the example of Jakkur lake (in north Bengaluru), Ramachandra said the lake’s revival work was completed because the committee members were pro-active and people with expertise who identified the source of the problem and fixed it.
Even adoption of lakes, protests and vigilance by resident associations have failed to arrest the rapid degradation of lakes leaving little hope for a city that Lord Cornwallis in late the 1800s termed the “land of a thousand lakes".Chinese President Xi Jinping says his government is willing to shelve territorial disputes and carry out joint development in disputed waters.
State media reports Xi made the remarks in a speech to the country's powerful Politburo on Wednesday.
He is quoted as saying that although he is willing to put aside disputes to foster development, China will not cede its claims of sovereignty. He did not mention any maritime area by name, but his remarks follow a visit to Beijing by Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki.
Last year, Tokyo angered Beijing by nationalizing a group of uninhabited East China Sea islands, known in Japan as Senkaku and in China as Diaoyu. Since then, China has increased its patrols near the island chain, raising fears of clashes between Asia's two largest economies.
In the South China Sea, China is embroiled in territorial disputes with Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia over several resource-rich islands. In July, China rejected Philippine charges that Beijing is increasing its military activity in the South China Sea area and threatening stability in the region.
The U.S. has urged all of the countries involved to settle their differences peacefully.
In June, the top American military commander in the Pacific issued a stern warning to any country that might try to seize control of disputed areas in the South China Sea. Admiral Samuel Locklear, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said, "We will oppose the change of status quo by force by anyone."
VOA News SubscribeRevisiting Errico Malatesta: A Review of "The Method of Freedom"
Iain McKay I Social Movement Studies I Book Review I September 4th, 2014
Read this book.
Perhaps I need to write more?
For those who do not know, Errico Malatesta (1853-1932) was one of anarchism's greatest activists and thinkers for over 60 years. He joined the First International in 1871 and became an anarchist after meeting Bakunin in 1872. He spent most of his life in exile from Italy, helping to build unions in Argentina in the late 1880s and taking an active part during the two Red Years after the war when Italy was on the verge of revolution (the authorities saw the threat and imprisoned him and other leading anarchists before a jury dismissed all charges). Playing a key role in numerous debates within the movement - on using elections, participation in the labour movement, the nature of social revolution, syndicalism and Platformism (to name just a few), he saw the rise and failure of the Second International, then the Third before spending the last years of his life under house arrest in Mussolini's Italy.
The length of Malatesta's activism within the movement is matched by the quality of his thought, and this is why all anarchists will benefit from reading him. Before The Method of Freedom, we had his classic pamphlet Anarchy, Vernon Richard's Errico Malatesta: His Life and Ideas (a selection of snippets grouped by theme) and The Anarchist Revolution (articles from the 1920s) as well as a few articles translated here and there. Anyone reading these works would have quickly realised how important and useful Malatesta's ideas were. Deeply realistic, with a firm grasp on the here and now as well as principles, he avoided the extremism that often befalls anarchists (violent propaganda or pacifism; distaining the labour movement or being submerged in it; simplistic/romantic notions of revolution or reformism). He did not take his wishes for reality, but instead looked to the situation as it was and applied his principles to make anarchism relevant and practical.
The breadth of material this work makes available is impressive and gives for the first time a clear picture of Malatesta's ideas. Organised in chronological order, it shows us how his ideas developed and changed while, at the same time, not swaying from the core principles which were there from the start. His practical nature comes to the fore - the notion that anarchism is a realistic theory that not only was able to be applied now but also had to be because of its libertarian nature:
"our duty [was], which was the logical outcome of our ideas, the condition which our conception of revolution and re-organisation of society imposes on us, namely, to live among the people and to win them over to our ideas by actively taking part in their struggles and sufferings" (179)
This did not mean ignoring the Anarchist movement. Far from it, for he entered into numerous debates on a host of subjects - all as relevant to anarchism today as is what he had to say.
His discussion of organisation predates by decades the issues raised by Jo Freeman in The Tyranny of Structurelessness, namely that "non-organisation culminates in an authority which, being unmonitored and unaccountable, is no less of a real authority for all that" and so "foundering in dis-organisation" it naturally happens that the few "impose their thinking and their will" onto the "bulk of the party". (103) As to what seems the perennial democracy debate, he presents simple common sense by correctly suggesting that minorities "defer voluntarily whenever necessary and the feeling of solidarity require it". To those who asked "what if the minority refuses to give away?" Malatesta responded: "What if the majority makes to abuse its strength?" (214) For those who argue anarchism is democracy and also include minority rights, rather than refute Malatesta's position they accept it - but use different words. Perhaps we can sum it up as anarchists support majority decision-making but not majority rule and move onto more fruitful things? Like applying our ideas in the class struggle?
Here, Malatesta makes such obvious points that it is slightly embarrassing he felt the need to actually put pen to paper to advocate them. He lamented that by "simply preaching abstract theories" in the 1880s "we have become isolated" (178), and argued that anarchism could become relevant "only in working-men's associations, strikes, collective revolt". (179) In this he simply reminded anarchists of the ideas of the libertarian-wing of the First International, when he joined the movement, which he summarised in 1884 as being "[s]trikes, resistance societies, labor organizations" and "encouraging workers to band together and resist the bosses" as the means of "struggling against all the economic, political, religious, judicial, and pseudo-scientifically moral institutions of bourgeois society". (58)
The Method of Freedom, then, adds to the growing pile of books that refute the notion, popular with some academics and Marxists, that anarchists in France turned to syndicalism only after the failure of "propaganda by the deed" in the mid-1890s (syndicalism then spreading to the rest of the world and displacing communist-anarchism). Malatesta, like Kropotkin, advocated anarchist involvement in the labour movement from the start: although it is true he stressed this far more after his union organising in South America and the example of the 1889 London Dock Strike. This was part and parcel of the role of anarchists to encourage the spirit of resistance:
"the better the people's material and moral conditions are and the more it has become aware of its own strength and inured to and skilled in struggle, through resistance and relentless struggles for improved conditions, the better equipped the people is for revolution." (257)
Looking at neo-liberal Britain, with its staggeringly low levels of collective struggle in the face of the unremitting ConDem onslaught against working class people, his comments that the individualism of capitalism results in "a constant tendency in the direction of growing tyranny by the few and slavishness for the many" and only the "resistance from the people is the only boundary set upon the bullying of the bosses and rules" seem all to sadly relevant. As is his conclusion: "there is no resistance because the spirit of cooperation, of association is missing". (229)
This applied within the movement itself, with Malatesta pointing out that with nothing practical to do, many "[u]nable to bear such idleness" turn to electoral politics "just for something to do" and "then, bit by bit, abandon the revolutionary route altogether". (70) People "who might have all of the making of an anarchist… prefer - making the best of a bad situation - to sign on with the social democrats and other politickers". (103) How true: today we see some turning to Bookchin's flawed "Libertarian Municipalism" as if the germs of reformism did not exist in the local state as much as in Parliament.
Anarchists, then, had to use tactics which "will bring us into direct and unbroken contact with the masses" as the masses "are led to big demands by way of small requests and small revolts". (76-7) "Popular movements begin how they can" (166) and so:
"If we wait to plunge into the fray until the people mount the Anarchist Communist colours, we shall run great risk of remaining eternal dreamers… leaving a free field… to our adversaries who are the enemies, conscious or unconscious, of the true interests of the people." (167)
Talking of flags, I had discovered when working on An Anarchist FAQ's "Symbols of Anarchy" appendix that anarchists were raising the black-and-red flag during the 1877 propaganda uprisings in Italy but did not know what it looked like. Now I do: "The flag adopted by the International is red, framed in black." (65)
Anarchist involvement in the trade union movement was championed by Malatesta who, ironically, is sometimes represented as anti-syndicalist. In reality, on his return to Europe, he helped - like Kropotkin - win the debate within the movement to return to its syndicalist strategies from Bakunin's time. The picture of Malatesta the anti-syndicalist (rather than the syndicalist-plus) has been pained by those who misunderstand his critiques of those who turned means into ends as opposition to the shared means (class organisation and struggle).
What is the difference, then, between (revolutionary/communist) anarchism and (pure) syndicalism? Simply an awareness that unions are not inherently revolutionary and need anarchists to organise and influence them towards revolutionary aims and tactics. Hence Malatesta's constant argument that anarchists had to organise as anarchists to work within - and outwith - the unions. Equally, while unions were an important aspect of anarchist activity he rightly rejected the idea that building unionsautomatically created anarchism or that syndicalism made anarchism redundant. As can be seen from the texts in The Method of Freedom, he spent much time over many decades arguing against those who thought that syndicalism was sufficient in itself, recognising that a union needed to organise all workers to be effective and could not, therefore, be confused with an organisation of anarchists. Both had their role to play and his conclusion was that the First International failed because it did not recognise this (a mistake he was keen to avoid repeating).
Similarly, while he viewed the general strike as a good means of starting a revolution, it was a mistake - as some syndicalists made - to equate the two. His support of this tactic, again, predates the rise of syndicalism in France and so we find him in 1890 arguing that while the "general strike is preached and this is all to the good" it should not be confused with the revolution: "It would only be a splendid opportunity for making the Revolution, but nothing more." It had to be "transformed" into revolution, "down the road to expropriation and armed attack" before lack of food and other goods "erode[d] the strikers' morale. (107)
This brings forth another key aspect of Malatesta's common-sense politics - revolutions are complex and difficult things, as is getting to a situation where one is possible. Thus we find him refuting those comrades who thought all we had to do was take what we needed from warehouses overflowing with goods immediately after a revolution. In reality, firms produced what they thought they could sell at a profit and so stopped long before warehouses were full of piles of goods gathering dust or rotting away.
As well as bursting the unrealistic dreams of certain anarchists on social revolution, he also skillfully destroyed Lenin's explanation of the necessity of the "dictatorship of the proletariat" as self-contradictory nonsense for "a minority that has to win over the majority after it has seized power" cannot be the proletariat as that "is obviously the majority". (407) Like all serious anarchists, he was well aware that libertarian communism cannot be created overnight and so urged anarchists nowto think through the practical issues involved not only in achieving a revolution but also the inevitably imperfect immediate aftermath when people start to slowly create the social institutions and relationships of a free society (needless to say, this - just like the necessity of defending a revolution - had nothing in common with Marxist notions of "the dictatorship of the proletariat"). Much of his work in the 1920s reflects this perspective, inspired by the failure of the near revolution in Italy he had returned from London exile to take part in.
What comes out clearly from all of his articles is that Anarchism, for him, was not about utopias produced by revolutions which springs from nowhere, but rather a set of principles which could and must be applied today in such a way as to bring the hope for social revolution closer. That perspective should be the default position within the movement; and so newcomers to anarchism will discover a thinker who will show them anarchism as a practical idea, while experienced anarchists will benefit from the wealth of ideas Malatesta gives the movement.
Needless to say, along with many newly translated articles and such essential works as Anarchy, An Anarchist Programme andTowards Anarchy, the book includes his polemics against Kropotkin's support for the Allies in 1914 (Anarchists Have Forgotten their Principles and Pro-Government Anarchists) as well as his Peter Kropotkin: Recollections and Criticisms By One of His Old Friends. My one real complaint is that while it is of interest to read the 1891 translation of Anarchy, I hope that a new translation is planned for the appropriate volume of the Collected Works as it is dated to modern eyes. In addition, while this collection is broken up into sections corresponding, in the main, to the volumes of the planned Collected Works there are no articles from Malatesta's time in South America (1885 to 1889). This is unfortunate as this time - with his active participation in a movement serious about organising unions - played a critical part in the advocacy of syndicalist tactics when he returned to Europe in 1889. Happily, the relevant volume of the Collected Works will have material from this period.
All in all, though, there is little to complain about with this work, and much to be excited about. In a way, I have been waiting for this book since I first read Anarchy and Errico Malatesta: Life and Ideas when I was a teenager (over 25 years ago now!) and Davide Turcato has not disappointed. He must be congratulated for producing such an excellent book, a work that enriches anarchism immensely, will be read with benefit by all - anarchists and non-anarchists, new and experienced libertarian militants alike - and wets the appetite for the Collected Works.
As I wrote at the start: Read this book.
The book is available for review and purchase at AK Press:
The Method of Freedom: An Errico Malatesta Reader
Errico Malatesta
Davide Turcato (Editor)
AK Press 2014[Editor’s note: In celebration of the holidays, we’re spending the next two Tuesdays by counting down the top 12 Flavorwire features of 2012. This post, at #12, was originally published March 3rd.] Since March is Women’s History Month, we’ve been thinking a lot about the women who have had positive and lasting impacts on our lives — and perhaps not surprisingly for a bunch of literary geeks like us, we’ve realized that many of them are fictional. For all the hullabaloo about the dearth of strong female characters in modern culture, thankfully there are some wonderfully powerful, kick-ass maidens that have inspired us with their strength, self-discovery, and incredible brilliance over the years. Click through to see our list of ten of the most powerful female characters in literature, and then be sure to pipe up with your own suggestions — we’ve chosen the ten who resonate most deeply with us here, but since there are many more than ten strong ladies in literature (thank goodness), we want to know which ones blow you away on a daily basis.
Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre
One of the earliest representations of an individualistic, passionate and complex female character, Jane Eyre knocks our socks off. Though she suffers greatly, she always relies on herself to get back on her feet — no wilting damsel in distress here. As China Miéville wrote, “Charlotte Brontë’s heroine towers over those around her, morally, intellectually and aesthetically; she’s completely admirable and compelling. Never camp, despite her Gothic surrounds, she takes a scalpel to the skin of the every day.”
Hermione Granger, the Harry Potter series
In the Harry Potter books, Hermione starts as an insufferable know-it-all, blossoms into a whip-smart beauty who doesn’t suffer fools (except Ron), and ends up as the glue that holds the whole operation together. Hermione’s steadfastness and sheer intelligence (plus the fact that she’s the only one who has ever read Hogwarts: A History) save her two best friends time and time again, and she’s the only one of the three never to wholly break down in a crisis. Intelligence often translates into strength, but only when wielded by a steady hand — and Hermione just happens to have both, and compassion to boot. That’s our kind of girl.
The Wife of Bath, The Canterbury Tales
Chaucer didn’t mean to make the Wife of Bath as big of a character as he did. Early drafts show that her role was meant to be much smaller and more one-dimensional, but somewhere along the line, Chaucer became enamored of his female creation, and eventually her prologue ended up twice as long as her tale. The Wife of Bath is lewd and lascivious — but behind all the dirty jokes, she’s making an argument for female dominance and a woman’s right to control her body, using her considerable rhetorical skill to simultaneously underscore and attack the anti-feminist traditions of the time. Not too shabby for 14th century literature.
Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games trilogy
Sure, Katniss annoys us to no end with all her boy-related waffling and wailing, but any girl who can shoot like that deserves a place on this list. Not to mention the fact that she survived not one but two 24-person fights to the death, one of which was designed specifically to kill her. We’re just saying.
Hester Prynne, The Scarlet Letter
Though Hester Prynne, who is condemned by her Puritan neighbors for having a child out of wedlock, is sometimes seen as a victim, she manages to survive with dignity and faith throughout, which we think makes her pretty darn powerful. NPR has described her as being “among the first and most important female protagonists in American literature. She’s the embodiment of deep contradictions: bad and beautiful, holy and sinful, conventional and radical… [she] can be seen as Hawthorne’s literary contemplation of what happens when women break cultural bounds and gain personal power.”
Éowyn, The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Though Tolkien’s novels aren’t exactly known for their female protagonists, who could be more powerful than the woman who killed the Witch-king of Angmar? A shieldmaiden who is itching to defend her countrymen from the first minute we see her, Éowyn disguises herself as a man to follow her friends into battle. Bad guys should be careful making statements like “No living man can kill me” when they’re fighting ladies.
Lyra Silvertongue, His Dark Materials trilogy
Not only is she the instrumental piece in a literally cosmic war, the unruly and headstrong Lyra, who is twelve years old at the beginning of the trilogy, can do something no one else can: read the alethiometer, which tells |
their priorities, why should the budget, personnel and stringency of an abandoned tactic be continually intensified?
Meanwhile, this massive security effort costs billions and harasses millions in a futile attempt to locate possibly one or two terrorists a year.
One terrorist puts a bomb in his shoes that doesn’t work. Forever after, all shoes must be checked for millions of people? Terrorists plan an aborted attack using a gel. Forever after, all liquids and gels must be banned and thus seized from millions of people?
Counterterrorism resources will always be limited. If they’re thrown away on ineffective tasks, that means less attention can be paid to the real threats. That’s why the Underpants Bomber, the Shoe Bomber, the Times Square Bomber, and even the Fort Hood shooter were not caught by the security system. It was too busy paying for people to pat down or X-ray Americans randomly.
People in authority don’t want to admit this because if there ever is a successful attack on a plane, they don’t want to have been wrong. Prediction: The next time there’s a real threat or - may it not happen - a plane blows up, the investigation will discover that the current system wouldn’t have stopped it. That’s not speculation; it’s what has happened every time before.
Any security system that isn’t completely stupid - and likely to be ineffective - must put the bulk of its resources into looking at those most likely to carry out an attack.
To do intrusive checks on documented American citizens who have no motive for committing terrorism is a waste of time. Put them through the metal-detecting portal, have them put their possessions through the X-rated X-ray machine. If needed, wand them or open bags. That’s enough.
To speak of “racial” profiling of more probable categories of passengers is propaganda. People most likely to carry out an attack don’t constitute a race and aren’t being profiled because of their race any more than Germans or those from communist countries were examined solely for their race in past conflicts.
Is it better to inconvenience 1 percent or 2 percent of all passengers rather than all of them? Yes. Not only is this the greatest good for the greatest number, but it makes everyone - including those who are profiled but innocent - safer. That’s supposed to be the purpose of this whole thing, not as another demonstration of multiculturalism.
In contrast, it is important to have a high level of security for flights arriving from outside the United States. Yet here, too, the focus brought by realistic profiling is needed.
Otherwise, the system is about to be overwhelmed. Terrorists openly announce that they are sending bombs on international cargo flights. Now there will be a huge program to check these as well. And is the TSA going to check each railroad, bus, airport and highway around the clock on the chance of finding some terrorist passing through while an army officer who speaks openly of jihad is ignored until he opens fire? Will there come a point where this all becomes too onerous, time-consuming and expensive?
Perhaps the ultimate weapon of terrorists is not to blow up America but to bankrupt it.
Is a government horrified because an Arizona police officer asks someone stopped for cause whether he’s an illegal alien going to authorize stopping and searching any U.S. citizen with far less reason?
Ultimately, the current airport security system is not only excessive in terms of inconvenience and violation of privacy but, most of all, because it is a terrible way to guard against terrorism.
Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs Journal. His latest book is “The Israel-Arab Reader,” with Walter Laqueur (Penguin, seventh edition, 2008).
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.Miley Cyrus pretended to be an Australian reporter called Janet for the sketch on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Despite her Southern drawl, Miley Cyrus actually does a pretty good Australian accent.
The 22-year-old singer went undercover as an Australian reporter named 'Janet' for a skit on Jimmy Kimmel Live! where she asked Americans what they really thought of her.
As you can imagine, public opinion out on Hollywood Boulevard wasn't great.
Despite being told she'd lost her way, that her family was annoying and that she wasn't doing anything to help the fabric of America, Cyrus didn't drop her Australian accent once.
This guy had no idea what was coming when he was interviewed by an undercover Miley for the comedy skit.
The singer, who is hosting the MTV Music Video Awards this weekend, even encouraged the random Americans to criticise her.
"Do you think her father Billy Ray raised her to be that way, or do you think she just lost her mind in all the Hollywood madness?" Cyrus asked one older woman.
"I think she lost her mind in the Hollywood madness," she replied.
One cowboy hat-wearing man told Cyrus he didn't like her whole family and thought she was empty inside.
"I think she's starving for attention and that's why she's doing it all crazy like that," he said. "She's missing something somewhere".
Added Cyrus: "In her heart, probably. In her deep soul."
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The cowboy even suggested the Wrecking Ball singer shouldered some of America's woes.
"The whole fabric of America is falling apart and she's not doing anything to try to keep it together."
Despite the brown lipstick, bad wig, pearl set and frumpy grey suit, one New England Patriots supporter still knew it was Cyrus.
"You kind of look like her," he said.
Trying to keep her undercover guise for as long as possible, the singer joked she was from Perth.
"That's actually why they hired me. They flew me in from Perth and I'm here right now. I'm kind of freaking out that I'm on Hollywood Boulevard."
True to form, Cyrus then revealed she was, in fact, undercover, and as proof flashed her chest to the unsuspecting man.Male Victims of Domestic Violence Often Unseen, Not Believed
October 29, 2015 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization
This is a good article on an important topic – domestic violence (Yahoo, 10/26/15). It’s not without its flaws, but overall, it’s a good effort by author Jenna Birch to communicate some of the basics to a large audience. Domestic violence is important to family court issues because it’s often raised there as a tactic to gain an advantage in a child custody case. In the past, countless family lawyers have admitted the use of domestic violence allegations in family courts for precisely that reason.
Birch’s main point is that men and women equally are victims of domestic violence.
Yet in 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data from its National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey — and one of the most shocking statistics wasn’t just the sheer total of victims of physical violence but also how those numbers broke down by gender. According to the CDC’s statistics — estimates based on more than 18,000 telephone-survey responses in the United States — roughly 5,365,000 men had been victims of intimate partner physical violence in the previous 12 months, compared with 4,741,000 women. By the study’s definition, physical violence includes slapping, pushing, and shoving. More severe threats like being beaten, burned, choked, kicked, slammed with a heavy object, or hit with a fist were also tracked. Roughly 40 percent of the victims of severe physical violence were men. The CDC repeated the survey in 2011, the results of which were published in 2014, and found almost identical numbers — with the percentage of male severe physical violence victims slightly rising. “Reports are also showing a decline of the number of women and an increase in the number of men reporting” abuse, says counselor and psychologist Karla Ivankovich, PhD, an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Illinois, Springfield.
Of course we’ve known this since the late 1970s. Indeed, the very first broad-based, scientifically reliable survey done for the National Institute of Mental Health in 1976 revealed parity in victimization and perpetration by men and women. Since then, literally hundreds of studies have produced similar data.
Despite the science on DV, public policy took root in the false claims of extremists who insisted that virtually all perpetrators were men and virtually all victims were women. Amazingly, some 40 years later, that public policy is still stuck in that false past. Therefore, in the United States, there are still only two DV shelters for men, (one opened in Florida recently) compared with hundreds for women.
Police are still trained to view men as perpetrators, often in the face of clear evidence to the contrary. Just six years ago, I was astonished to read the training materials for New Hampshire police in domestic violence cases. Those materials featured eight hypothetical cases in which an officer was presented with evidence of domestic violence and required to decide how to handle the situation. In each case the “correct” action was to arrest the man. In no case was the woman to be arrested. In no case did the couple consist of same-sex partners. Most remarkably, the final example consisted of a man with visible injuries who said his wife had struck him with a heavy glass ashtray. He had not been violent toward her and his wife admitted that she had hit her husband. Still, the “correct” response on the part of the officer was to arrest the man. Why? Because the woman seemed frightened that he might retaliate against her.
Lawyers will notice the entire lack of probable cause to arrest the man, but despite everything, Granite State police were trained to do so.
If domestic violence is such a serious issue, then why do we persist in approaching it from a gendered perspective that’s well known to be wrong in essentially every particular? Birch has the answer.
Ivankovich says there isn’t much buzz about these numbers or their implications, because we don’t know how to handle intimate partner violence against men… [Retired family law professor Anne P.] Mitchell, who has legally represented numerous male victims of domestic violence, says abuse is typically difficult for men to process, let alone seek help for. “Men are brought up to believe it’s not OK to hit a woman or even hit back in self-defense,” she explains. “It is their job to protect her… Mitchell says that based on old stereotypes and typical gender roles, it is often very difficult for men to get fair treatment. They are often stuck in situations in which they cannot win. “Many women who are aggressive toward their partners know that if the police are called out, they will arrest the man,” she explains… “Gender roles are at the crux of this issue,” Ivankovich says. “We still view women as the nurturers and caregivers, and the men as the providers and protectors. To consider that a woman may take on the role as an abuser threatens what we as a society know about gender-role assignment. As a result, many men are told to ‘suck it up,’ or face further shaming for identifying the severity of the problem.”
As a society, we say we believe in gender equality, that women should be free to take on traditionally masculine roles and that men should take up activities usually thought of as being in women’s bailiwick. And we’ve certainly encouraged women in that regard, but when it comes to men setting aside their masculinity, we balk. Any society seriously dedicated to equality of the sexes would long ago have acknowledged women’s violence against men in domestic settings, but we don’t. We’ve had all the opportunities we need, but have done virtually nothing toward addressing a problem that impacts over five million men every year.
Birch and her interviewees are right. We’re very resistant to the idea of letting men depart from their traditional gender roles. So it’s no surprise that men receive harsher treatment by the criminal justice system than do women, or that fathers still can’t seem to get meaningful time with their kids post-divorce. That 75% of suicides are men raises scarcely an eyebrow in public discourse as does the fact that about the same percentage of the homeless are men. About 70% of the victims of violent crime are men, but when was the last time we saw an article on that topic? The news media rightly let us know that disproportionate numbers of unarmed civilians killed by the police are black, but never mention that, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 98% of those killed are men.
The lesson? We cautiously accept expanding roles for women, which I view as a good thing. But when men ask “what about us?” the response is some combination of outrage, ridicule and shaming. Again, Birch gets it.
Yet, woman-on-man violence is often turned into onscreen amusement, like on a slew of reality shows — or the punch line of a larger, depressing narrative, says Anne P. Mitchell, a retired professor of family law at Lincoln Law School of San Jose (Calif.) and one of the first fathers’-rights lawyers in the country. She points to the case of John and Lorena Bobbitt, which made national news more than 20 years ago when Lorena cut off her husband’s penis. The aftermath turned into a circus, and details would go on to reveal a volatile marriage, but Mitchell says the initial response of many radio and talk shows was just to laugh at the incident. “If something remotely similar had happened to a woman, there would have been a very different response,” Mitchell tells Yahoo Health.
Of course, the legal system gets in on the act. Fathers well know that judges, like most other people, are loath to believe a man who complains about his partner’s violence. They also know they have a vanishingly small chance of getting custody of their kids. So, in order to protect their children from a violent wife or girlfriend, they stay in an abusive relationship. Naturally, that increases their risk of further victimization.
The simple truth is that fathers will never get an even break in family courts until we understand the realities of our behavior. Men and women aren’t the same. Our evolved sex roles differ significantly. But that doesn’t mean women can’t be violently aggressive, particularly in intimate relationships. It also doesn’t mean that men can’t be on the receiving end of that violence. We need laws and policies based on scientific reality, not on what we’d like to believe about the sexes generally. Judges and the police need to learn the truth about domestic violence.
Until that happens, our children will continue to lose vital relationships with their fathers when Mom and Dad split up.
National Parents Organization is a Shared Parenting Organization
National Parents Organization is a non-profit that educates the public, families, educators, and legislators about the importance of shared parenting and how it can reduce conflict in children, parents, and extended families. Along with Shared Parenting we advocate for fair Child Support and Alimony Legislation. Want to get involved? Here’s how:
Become an official member of the National Parents Organization team.
an official member of the National Parents Organization team. Join our Facebook Page.
Together, we can drive home the family, child development, social and national benefits of shared parenting, and fair child support and alimony. Thank you for your activism.
#domesticviolence, #fathers, #men, #anti-malebiasActing FBI Director Andrew McCabe is under mounting scrutiny and increasing calls for him to step aside amid allegations of politicized leadership, conflicts of interest and significant investigative missteps at the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
McCabe’s close alliance with Trump nemesis and former director James Comey, the well-chronicled fact his wife took a huge campaign donation from Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and a general suspicion of the Obama intelligence community brass are all leading to pressure on FBI Director-Nominee Christopher Wray to not keep him around, according to former FBI insiders.
The latest challenge is coming from a former FBI agent who told Fox News that McCabe has created an overly politicized environment at the bureau, and her career suffered because of it.
“There is no way McCabe can survive. I’d be surprised." — Former FBI Assistant Director James Kallstrom
“McCabe is vicious to anyone who either stands up to him or is a threat to his ‘power’ and [he] is a screamer,” said former Supervisory Special Agent Robyn Gritz, who lost her job after 16 years with the FBI investigating some of the most high profile terrorist incidents in recent history, after getting tangled up with her superiors, who pushed her out and pulled her security clearance.
One of those superiors was McCabe.
“He saw me as a real threat to his climb because I knew my stuff and had been close to John Pistole, the prior deputy director. Andy resented that big time,” Gritz told Fox News.
According to Circa News, Gritz's sexual discrimination and retaliation complaint is one of three such administrative inquiries faced by McCabe.
Perhaps more damning, former FBI Assistant Director James Kallstrom said McCabe, who President Trump interviewed for the top job after firing Comey, may not have the bureau's rank and file behind him.
“McCabe is where he’s at because he’s very good at relating up the chain of command, but not down the chain of command, and that’s very typical of bureaucracies,” Kallstrom said. “McCabe told Congress FBI morale is high. I have not heard one person from the bureau tell me the FBI is happy because the investigative unit was thrown in front of the bus.”
Kallstrom was referring to McCabe’s reported role in several controversial probes during the 2016 election. According to the Wall Street Journal, it was McCabe who told lower-level FBI investigators to “stand down” in their inquiry into whether illegal influence-peddling or financial crimes were being committed at the Clinton Foundation. Meanwhile, McCabe did not recuse himself from the investigation into presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s emails, despite an apparent conflict of interest involving his wife.
Jill McCabe’s losing campaign for a Virginia state Senate seat reportedly received $700,000 from Clinton allies at the same time that McCabe was second-in-command at the FBI during the investigation into her use of a personal email server for State Department business and alleged mishandling of classified information.
Comey declined to bring charges after determining that Clinton “lacked criminal intent.” Comey’s handling of the case was sharply criticized by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in the memo outlining the rationale for firing Comey earlier this year. Kallstrom believes McCabe should have recused himself from any decisions involving the Clinton probe.
“I’ve talked to numerous agents that have some knowledge of what’s going on inside the FBI,” said Kallstrom. "The appearance of conflict of interest is substantial, and you can’t have a high position in the bureau and have even the apparent conflict of interest.”
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, believes McCabe also has a conflict of interest in the ongoing probe into alleged Trump collusion with Russia in the 2016 election. The probe already cost retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn his job as Trump's national security adviser.
But even before the FBI eyed Flynn, he and McCabe had a history together, at the center of which was Gritz.
“McCabe wrote false and nasty comments on numerous documents about me when he had not one bit of proof of any lack of performance,” Gritz told Fox News, “I was always rated in the top two ratings.”
Flynn spoke out in her defense at the time, since the two had worked together when he led the Defense Intelligence Agency.
“I thought she was a real pro,” Flynn told NPR. Flynn was one of several top generals, including Stanley McChrystal and Keith Alexander, who wrote commendations for her counter-terrorism work, said Gritz.
In a June 29 letter addressed to Rosenstein, Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked why McCabe did not recuse himself from the probe into Flynn’s connections to Russia. Justice Department protocol advises employees to recuse themselves from investigations if their involvement creates even the appearance of a conflict of interest.
With Flynn a potential witness for Gritz, Grassley wondered in his letter if McCabe “had any retaliatory motive against Flynn for being an adverse witness to him in a pending proceeding.”
The FBI, DOJ and the government’s Office of Special Counsel would not comment for this report.
With all of the various controversies swirling and President Trump under pressure to "drain the swamp" and fight back against the so-called "deep state," Kallstrom is not betting on McCabe lasting much longer at the bureau. Wray, who was formally advanced by the White House this week, is expected to be confirmed when the Senate takes up his nomination.
“There is no way McCabe can survive," Kallstrom said. "I’d be surprised."Cheapest car insurance in san antonio?
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I'm thinking of getting an 04 Mazda Rx-8, like 40,000 miles on it, but I wanna know how much I'd have to pay to insure it. I heard you get a discount for having good grades(G.P.A 3.9) and taking drivers ed. Please give me an estimate."
I got into a car accident (my fault) without insurance. What now?
Yesterday, I hit a parked car with my boyfriends car. The car I hit has some door damage, and I thought I would be covered by my boyfriends insurance. Turns out that his insurance expired in the beginning of August so I'm not covered; I also don't have car insurance. The couple whose car I hit are now saying that they can put a warrant out for my boyfriend's arrest because he has an uninsured car (I was driving, not him!). Is this true? What happens in this situation? I told the owner I can make payments, but I want to know my rights, as long as his. I also live in the state of CT, if that helps."
"Hi,argos 3 year insurance cover?"
I'm asking about the insurance cover on some earphones,say if they are damaged within one year then they would be replaced under the manufacturers one year guarantee,what would happen to my insurance cover? would I be refunded the insurance as my earphones would be replaced anyway/ Thanks in advance :)"
"Insurance question, 20pts for the best answer?"
Think about your life, home, automobiles and possessions. What type of risks/accidents can happen to each of these? What type of insurance would you recommend to protect against each of these risks."
What is the average of full coverage car insurance for a chavy blazer 2001 in north Carolina?
I am planing to buy a chavy blazer 2001 used car. I know I will need full coverage insurance. I am a good driver, haven't have any accidents or traffic violations. How much would the car insurance cost in North Carolina?"
Will asthma affect health insurance premium?
Hello, I had asthma as a child from ages 2 to 11. I am now 20 years old. Will this affect my health insurance premiums if I try to get an individual plan? Or will it not matter because the last incident was over 10 years ago? I do not take any medication or anything for the last 10 years."
Car insurance questions!!?
I'm 18 and when I search for car insurance the quotes are crazy like 6000 to 9000, if I lease a car can I get something like basic or part coverage I'm new to this, I have a friend who has to pay like 100 a month and he has part coverage."
"Can I lose in small claims court if I got into a accident that wasn't my fault, but I didn't have insurance?"
Can I lose in small claims court if I got into a accident that wasn't my fault, but I didn't have insurance?"
Cheapest car insurance in san antonio?
Cheapest car insurance in san antonio?
ANSWER: I would recommend that you visit this internet site where one can get quotes from different companies: QUOTESDEAL.NET
What is the purpose of car insurance?
Now I understand what car insurance really does, they cover losses mainly out of pocket, reduce risk which covers costs of many, but I have trouble understanding why a company is needed to do this. Lets say on an average a person pays 150/month for coverage. Over time this money adds up. After one were to be in a collision, they are presumably covered, yet a deductible is payed, then they increase the payments. I fail to see the purpose when they are just pretty much using your monthly payments to pay for these fines. Lets say you had a glass jar, and you put 200 a month in there, is the concept not the same? Even if you were to never get into an accident in your lifetime, do you see a dime of your money? I just really want to know if there is a true reason, or purpose for insurance, because I fail to see past it as a scam."
Cheap car to insure at 17years old?
Hi, I was wondering if someone could help me. Ok, When I'm 17 I'm intending getting a car straight away and putting it onto my dads name. (he has been driving over 30years so it should be cheaper atleast a few hundred - his is like 300 per 6month's driving a 1.8 litre Ford Focus) Anyways - I have enough money to get my driving lessons completely paid for and passed (ofcourse as I was promised for it to be paid) and I have a few thousand left in the bank Anyways - I was wondering if someone could recommend a car for me. I'm into like these kind of cars: Vauxhall Corsa Vauxhall Vectra (the 05 type) Vauxhall Astra (the new kind of hatchback (05 again I think) Ford Mondeo 2001 Ford Fiesta (I love those modified but not for a first car!) Fiat Punto 2005 Seat Ibiza I know nearly everyone will be saying the Corsa is the least to insure of which I know it is (Insurance group 1 I think) but.. Its just not my sort of car for my first car but I would like to have it later in life. I'm 15 the Now (16 in March) and my dads covered with E-Sure. What car would be best to insure (In order)"
Why is my car insurance ridiculously expensive?
I've been using go compare for a Peugeot 206 1.1 litre petrol, and have been given quotes of about 6-8 thousand pound! I know for young drivers (im seventeen) car insurance is expensive but I was expecting 2-3 grand, am I maybe using a bad site?"
Teenage Car Insurance?!??!?
I'm 15 and for my 16th Bday I'm getting an mid-sized SUV. & I'm just wondering about how much the monthly payments are gonna be......? thanks for any help:)
No insurance and pregnant.?
Serious answers only please. I'm currently 13 weeks pregnant without insurance. Also, I live in Pennsylvania. I have had prenatal checkups and bloodwork and stuff done, but my mother-in-law in paying out of her pocket for everything. My husband and I already applied for Medicare/Medicaid through the assistance office, but we got denied because we slightly make too much money. At my work, pregnancy is a pre-existing condition and it won't be covered on my insurance if I picked it up. The only other thing that I have done so far is apply for something at our hospital called the I-Care Fund. It only pays a % of laboratory work that you get done at the hospital such as bloodwork, etc. And they are going to pay 40% of the laboratory fees and a woman at the office said that it might cover the labor, but she's not sure. If anyone has any other advice on what I should do, please tell me. I feel really bad that my mother-in-law has to pay for everything."
What is good Car insurance in Atlanta?
I'm moving to Atlanta. What is a good car insurance to get and at a reasonable price. I'm not sure the whole breakdown but state farm was about the best price I could find for about 120 dollars a month and that includes renters insurance for about 10 dollars a month. Please tell me what insurance you have and the breakdown of it and how much you spend a month on car insurance in the Atlanta area. Thanks a lot
Can i sign up 2 cars with the same policy? for car insurance or it has to be separate?
i have 2 cars and i have 4 years no bonus claim, and it was fine and everything, today the insurance company phoned me and said i can only use my 4 years claim on one car only and if i try insuring the other car it would be like no claim so it's like you just received your license with no experience. do you think i could sign one car with an insurance company and the other car with another insurance company?"
"Low Rate Auto Insurance, Help PLZ?"
I just bought a car today Ford Explorer 2001, high mileage. I never been insured before, do you know which is a best insurance company with lowest rate for someone doesn't have good income. in live in California Bay Area. Thanks"
"Someone hit my car, do I have to report to my insurance company risking the rate increase?"
Few months ago somebody hit my rental car in their rental car during vacation. Other party's fault, he admitted, police report confirms this is his fault. Both me and the other party were insured. The other party seems to be reasonable. Now I have a repair bill, few thousands. I am reluctant to report this to my insurance company, since I heard over and over again that even though it's not my fault my rate can and probably will still go up (read here if you don't believe http://www.carinsurancecomparison.com/does-your-auto-insurance-go-up-if-someone-hits-your-car). I think this is ridiculous, but that's the way how things are. So is it possible, and is it a good idea that I contact the other party insurance myself without involving my insurance since my case is a clear cut case? Are there any pitfalls that I should be aware of?"
Am I paying too much on car insurance?
Hi I am a learner driver and am paying 99 a month for my car insurance. I own a club corsa 1litre 51 reg. I am on fully comp insurance with elephant which is the cheapest i found. I have also insured my mum and bf who have both been driving for at least 5yrs but I am the main driver. Everyone seems to be paying less for their insurance even if they are boys with larger litre cars and all other details match. Am I getting overcharged? Surely it will go up when I past my test. Help please
Will this speeding ticket effect my insurance rates?
I got a speeding ticket out of state for driving over 10 mph. The cop told me just to pay the fine and that my insurance rates should not be affected. He told me it was three points. I asked him over and over again if my insurance rates would increase and he kept reassuring me it wouldn't. is this true? This is also my first ticket and i have a clean driving record
Auto insurance question?
I was a passenger in a car accident and my laptop was broken. Would the drivers insurance cover it? Even if it was liability, it should still have to cover it right? He says the insurance says no because I wasn't injured... That doesn't make any sense."
Cheap car insurance...?
If you buy a shitty car for like $500, can you get insurance that only covers the other person in a crash and not you?? I know they used to have this?"
What is the fastest and best looking insurance group 4 or 5 car i can get?
looking for a newer car to buy that is not just quick but looks good.
What insurances offer cheaper policies?
I'm looking into some automobile insurance. I would like to know about some affordable insurances. Thank you for your help. Have a great day!
How can I compare various insurance plans?
How can I compare various insurance plans?
Do you have auto insurance?
Is it mandatory for you to have auto insurance?
I am trying to get a 2006 Dodge Charger R/T. I am worried that insurance will be to high?
I am worried that insurance will be too high. I am 16 years old and my Dad is paying for it. What is the average insurance that someone pays. Do you tihnk insurance on this charger will be a lot?
How do I get out of a ticket in California for no proof if insurance?
I got a ticket for not having PROOF of insurance but I did have insurance I just didn't have the paper on me. How can I contest this in court? Also I got a ticket for failure to obey a regulatory sign for going 64 in a 70 (allegedly) I was going 70+. He said I sped up when the highway patrol came up behind me. Obviously I'm going to slow down 1. It's a cop 2. |
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So I challenge both David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn to join me in saying once and for all they will stand up for Britain’s interests in Europe, they will join me in the IN campaign, and they will give Britain the leadership it needs.
Any other response is not only inadequate – it’s downright pathetic.
Because be in no doubt: whenever the EU referendum comes, however the other parties split, there will be one party united in its commitment to maintain Britain’s place in Europe.
No ifs, no buts. That party will be the Liberal Democrats, the only UK-wide party committed to remaining in Europe.
Leaving the European Union would damage every community in Britain. It would be a killer blow to our prosperity, our security, our stability, our relevance. It would be staggeringly unpatriotic.
And so if you agree with me, you have to join me. Because outside the European Union, Britain will be weaker, more isolated and less able to defend its own interests, because this is a once in a generation threat to our economy and our well-being and because, as the other two party leaders have now made clear, you can’t leave it to anyone else.Call me a sensationalist or an iconoclast if you like, but I just gotta say something this morning...
Jerry Meals might have been right.
I'm sorry, but I still have not seen a conclusive replay. I've read a lot of Tweets from people claiming the replays or screen-captures are conclusive, but I'm looking at the same things and I'm just not seeing it. I'm not seeing a for sure in any of them.
Yes, the throw beat Lugo by 10 feet and that's usually an automatic out. And hey, don't we get pissed off at umpires who assume outs, just because the throw's there in plenty of time? I do.
It might not be likely, but it's possible that Jerry Meals saw something, something real, that none of the cameras were able to see. If there was an eighth of an inch between Michael McKenry's mitt and Julio Lugo's pants, would the cameras have caught that gap? Not from what I've been able to tell; none of the cameras were placed in just the right place to see that gap, if there was one.
Yeah, I know Lugo behaved as if he were out. Players do that all the time. Sometimes they just don't know. Sometimes they assume they're out because the throw beat them by 10 feet. Usually they're right. Not always.
Meals did talk to the writers after the game -- he deserves some credit for that, by the way -- and he seemed less than supremely confident that he'd gotten it right:
“I saw the tag, but he looked like he oléd him and I called him safe for that. I looked at the replays and it appeared he might have got him on the shin area. I’m guessing he might have got him, but when I was out there when it happened I didn’t see a tag. “I just saw the glove sweep up. I didn’t see the glove hit his leg.”
Yeah, he probably missed it. Probably blew it. But it's less than fair to accuse him of missing the call because he wanted to get back to his hotel. Umpires, for all their faults, are highly professional and especially when everyone's paying attention. They just don't miss 'em on purpose.
You can blame Jerry Meals for the Pirates' loss, and I suppose there's a pretty good chance he deserves it. But what about Clint Hurdle, who lost a 19-inning game and never used his best relief pitcher, instead asking another of his relief pitchers to throw more than 90 pitches? What about McKenry, who employed the swipe tag when he could have planted his glove squarely on just about any part of Lugo's person?
Hey, I wanted Lugo to be out, too. Watching last night's game with hundreds of my best (Twitter) friends was the most fun I've had all season. I wanted the game to last forever. But I can't sit idly while so many usually reasonable people just assume something that's not actually in evidence. Not according to my eyes, anyway.[Images by Reese Vanderbilt via Livable Buckhead.]
What was once slated to be one of Buckhead's tallest high-rises is finally moving forward next to Phipps Plaza. According to BisNOW, 1000 Park Avenue is negotiating the permitting process in anticipation of commencing construction. When plans were first unveiled back in mid-2013, the developer Wood Partners hoped to build a 39-story tower. However, it was announced early last year that the tower would be much shorter, a mere 27 stories. Nonetheless, with permits in process, the tower gets added to the list of projects happening in the neighborhood.
Designed by Reese Vanderbilt, the building will feature 224 units — a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations — with around 415,000 square feet. It will join three projects already underway in the superblock that includes Phipps Plaza. In other nearby development news, a fancy new two-story Ecco is slated to start construction this year.
· WOOD PARTNERS TAKES NEXT STEP TO 1000 PARK [BisNow]
· 1000 Park Avenue – Update #4 [Livable Buckhead]The superheroes from all The CW's DC Comics series will unite to battle iconic alien race The Dominators in the big crossover event this fall.
The four-way crossover between The CW's Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow is shaping up to be out of this world.
When all of the Arrow-verse series unite for one major crossover event this fall, the heroes will find themselves battling DC Comics alien race The Dominators (pictured below from the comics).
"We’re taking inspiration from a DC crossover from the late 1980s known as Invasion!, which featured an alien race called The Dominators, who’d previously vexed the Legion of Superheroes," Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim says. "We’re using cutting-edge prosthetics and computer effects to achieve a feature film-quality look which is faithful to Invasion! artist Todd McFarlane’s interpretation of the characters.”
In Invasion!, The Dominators — or Dominion as the race was called as a whole — were extremely technologically advanced, skilled geneticists and lived in a very strict caste system where your place in society was determined by how big of a red circle was on your head. The Dominators were very interested in the genetic potential of the human race, especially in the metagene, or the fictional biological variant that caused some humans to become metahumans.
After Supergirl moved from CBS to The CW, the network announced that all four Greg Berlanti-produced series would host a crossover event this fall, "our biggest one ever," according to The CW boss Mark Pedowitz. Superhero crossover events have become an annual tradition since the first one during Arrow season two that introduced Grant Gustin as Barry Allen before he spun off to topline The Flash. The next season saw a crossover between Arrow and The Flash before the two shows introduced characters from Legends of Tomorrow in advance of its premiere. And last season, The Flash achieved the almost-impossible cross-network crossover with Supergirl when the latter was still on CBS.
The Flash season three premieres on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT, Arrow season five premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m., Supergirl season two premieres Monday, Oct. 10, at 8 p.m. and Legends of Tomorrow season two premieres Thursday, Oct. 13, at 8 p.m. on The CW.President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on Air Force One while traveling to Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. Trump is spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s heated rush to launch what he said would be a “major investigation” into voter fraud has cooled, leaving White House staff uncertain when it will come to pass or what shape it will take.
An executive action commissioning the probe is still planned but could be several weeks away, two senior administration officials said Friday. Although Trump instructed staff to jump on the project last week, he has not discussed the issue in recent days, according to two other people in close touch with the president. All demanded anonymity to discuss private conservations.
Asked about the status of the effort, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said: “I do not have an update at this time.”
The indefinite delay comes as some of Trump’s advisers counseled him to abandon the idea, arguing it was a distraction from more pressing issues. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in last November’s election. Trump won the Electoral College vote but lost the popular vote by nearly 2.9 million votes to Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The episode is a striking example of the new president’s mercurial streak and his willingness to impulsively seize on ideas with little planning and sometimes later reverse course when encountering obstacles or criticism.
A senior official said the investigation, which Trump never publicly discussed in detail, has become less of a priority because it has been drowned out by other White House efforts, including attempts to manage the chaotic aftermath of Trump’s executive order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations. The investigation likely would not considered until well after the confirmation of Trump’s pick for attorney general, Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the official said.
That would be a marked change from the breakneck pace by which the order was first introduced.
In his earliest days in office, Trump appeared to be fixated on the election results and frustrated by political opponents who questioned the legitimacy of his victory.
At his first meeting with bipartisan lawmakers, he declared believed that 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally in November, a widely debunked assertion that sent the White House scrambling to craft an order that met the president’s wishes.
Two days later, Trump announced in a pair of tweets that a “major investigation” will look at those registered to vote in more than one state, “those who are illegal and... even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time).” Depending on results, the Republican tweeted on his sixth day in office, “we will strengthen up voting procedures!”
Several congressional Republicans decried the claim as a distraction, other executive orders were rescheduled and an administration set to roll out an ambitious first-week agenda found itself suddenly sidetracked.
White House staffers told reporters on the afternoon of Jan. 26 to get ready, that it was nearly time to be escorted into the Oval Office to witness Trump sign the order. But the photo-op was abruptly postponed. And now, though more than a week has passed, it has yet to be rescheduled with no timetable announced for its return.
The White House also abruptly canceled an executive action on cybersecurity this week, after briefing reporters on its text and putting the signing ceremony on the president’s public schedule. That action has not yet been signed.
Trump’s call for a probe alarmed Democrats who already believe that efforts to tighten voter ID laws are a means to restrict access to the ballot box. And soon members of Trump’s own party suggested it was misguided.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, broke with Trump, saying he sees no evidence of voter fraud in the 2016 election and says his committee won’t investigate it. He said Trump is free to order the Justice Department to investigate the issue, but that he was not interested in launching a congressional inquiry.
Trump’s own attorneys dismissed claims of voter fraud in a legal filing late last year responding to Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s demand for a recount in Michigan, a state Trump won. Referring to that outcome, the attorneys wrote: “All available evidence suggests that the 2016 general election was not tainted by fraud or mistake.”
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said last week that a task force could be commissioned to focus on dead people who remained on voter rolls and people registered in two or more states. And he said it could center on “bigger” states where Trump didn’t compete during the campaign, singling out California and New York, two Democratic strongholds.
No details have been released about the possible probe, including who would oversee it. One possibility would be Sessions, who has shown sympathy toward claims of voting fraud. He will likely face a Senate confirmation vote next week. The president himself can’t order a criminal investigation.
___
Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemireRepresentations of the human skeleton are, however, probably more ubiquitous in present-day Western culture. Whether visiting art galleries or going to the mall, it’s hard to avoid skulls and ribcages: you see them in art installations, on posters, T-shirts, umbrellas, and even baby bibs. A time-traveler from the seventeenth century would be stunned: twenty-first-century people seem to ponder their own mortality and the vanity of life more obsessively than early modern people who meditated on such things with the help of still lives or figurines. Or do we? Maybe the abundance of manufactured bones have a kind of smoke-screen effect that helps us not to think about death. By sequestering death in the realm of art, pop culture, and kitsch, maybe we hope to attenuate the certain prospect of our impending mortality: Death becomes just another disposable consumer object, or conversely just another collectible. Thus accessorized, we no longer get good representational service out of the skeleton as an inner self, which traditionally negated our individuality and pointed to our common identity and fate: there’s no possibility of transgression. If so, then the skeleton is gasping its last breath. Bone play is not as much fun as it used to be.Widely regarded as a safe place to live, Japan currently sits in ninth position on the Global Peace Index’s list of the most peaceful nations on the planet. The East Asian nation is generally believed to be an orderly society that has incredibly low homicide and assault rates, and it certainly doesn’t feel very dangerous walking around the center of Tokyo late at night.
Has this relatively sedate atmosphere lulled the country into a false sense of security when it comes to preventing acts of terrorism?
Despite being labeled an enemy by the Islamic State group (also known as ISIS), Japan is not typically considered to be at risk of terrorism, due in part to its largely pacifist global stance and strict immigration laws. As we’ve seen in past, however, acts of terrorism that have been carried out by groups or lone-wolf operatives can happen anywhere, even in locations that are considered safe. A case in point being the 2011 massacre at a summer camp on the island of Utoya in Norway, where Nazi sympathizer Anders Behring Breivik murdered 69 people after earlier killing eight in a bombing in Oslo.
Religious threat
The worst terrorist assault in modern Japanese history occurred 22 years ago this month when the Tokyo subway system was targeted with toxic chemicals. Five men traveling on three different train lines during rush hour punctured and then dropped plastic bags containing the nerve gas sarin on March 20, 1995. Within hours of the incident, 12 people had died and about 5,000 commuters had sought medical attention. The number of fatalities would have been far higher had the sarin been pure.
Followers of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult meditate in a room in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, in March 1995. | KYODO
The perpetrators and their getaway drivers all belonged to the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo, which was headed by Shoko Asahara (who was born Chizuo Matsumoto). The self-proclaimed guru promised to rid his disciples of their sins once they’d rejected materialism and donated all their money to the cause. Under his leadership, a number of people were allegedly murdered, including anti-cult lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family.
In 1994, eight civilians died when the group released sarin gas at an apartment complex in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture. That same year VX, the lethal nerve agent that was allegedly used to kill Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was used in the assassination of an Osaka officer worker and the attempted murder of two others. In 1992, 40 Aum members had reportedly visited Zaire in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain the Ebola virus, which they had intended to use as a biological weapon.
In spite of all this, Asahara’s sect managed to fly under the radar, going about its business undetected. These days so-called dangerous religions associated with the group, namely Aleph and Hikari No Wa (The Circle of Rainbow Light) are closely monitored by the Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA) and the National Police Agency.
Domestic terrorist threat
I witnessed this surveillance in person during a recent visit to Hikari no Wa’s headquarters in Tokyo’s Setagaya neighborhood. After being greeted by both a plain-clothed and a uniformed officer, I sat down with the organization’s leader, Fumihiro Joyu. A former spokesman for Aum Shinrikyo, Joyu says he regrets his actions during the mid-’90s, when he often appeared on TV vehemently denying the group’s involvement in the subway attack. While members of Aleph are still believed to be devoted to Asahara, Joyu claims to have moved away from his teachings and has publicly renounced the man he once saw as a mentor. Due to his pivotal role in the sect, however, he’s highly unlikely to ever win the trust of the public.
Hikari no Wa leader Fumihiro Joyu believes the most likely terrorist threats will either come from abroad or from a domestic attacker acting on their own. | COURTESY OF FUMIHIRO JOYU
“I used to be on the side of the criminals, now I’m worried about becoming a victim myself,” Joyu says. “Japan has been a peaceful country since World War II but with the Olympics coming up, you never know what could happen. In a way, the fact that it’s so safe could make this country more vulnerable.
“Before the 1940s, you had a police agency strictly watching opposition groups against the regime. The public hated that and has subsequently been given a lot of freedom over the past 70 years. You don’t have an organization such as the CIA or MI5 here. The PSIA doesn’t have anything like the same kind of power. There’s no real engagement in espionage activities and its wiretapping capabilities are limited. Aside from observing Aleph and ourselves, I’m not sure what it does.”
According to a 2015 report titled “Review and Prospects of Internal and External Situations,” the PSIA also pays close attention to the Japanese Communist Party, right-wing factions and radical leftist groups such as Kaiho-ha, which violently opposes the spread of U.S. military bases in Japan.
In terms of a domestic threat, though, Aleph and Hikari no Wa seem to be the organizations of most interest. Viewed as potentially dangerous splinter groups by the public and the authorities, they will remain under close surveillance until at least the end of 2018. Instead of watching day-to-day activities, Joyu feels the PSIA would be better off speaking with former Aum members to get a better understanding of the terrorist cult.
“That’s what an American research institute (named the Center for a New American Security) did,” Joyu says. “Led by former naval secretary Richard Danzig, it interviewed people who’d been in Aum, including myself and members who’d been imprisoned, to find out how the chemical weapons had been developed and to gain an insight into our psyche. I saw a statement by victims’ families of the sarin gas attack in Matsumoto asking for the authorities here to do something similar, but the Japanese government doesn’t think that kind of research is necessary.
“The only tactic seems be the observation of groups that have caused trouble in the past. That isn’t going to prevent a future atrocity. In my opinion, the most likely threats will either come from abroad — because Japan is seen as being part of an international system basically ruled by the U.S. — or from individuals, where a disillusioned person or small number of people may do something drastic in protest to what is deemed an increasingly unequal society. As for domestic organizational terrorism, I think it’s now practically impossible for a group as big as Aum to plan an attack secretly.”
Skeptics would argue that these are the kind of comments you’d expect from a man who was once the spokesman for a terrorist cult. That said, it must be noted that since Hikari no Wa formed in 2007, it hasn’t been involved in any illegal activities and has removed all posters and documents related to Asahara. Democratic Party member Yoshifu Arita — who has written numerous Aum-related books — doesn’t see Joyu’s group as a serious threat. When it comes to Aleph, however, he isn’t so sure.
Democratic Party member Yoshifu Arita says that It’s impossible to monitor everyone. | COURTESY OF YOSHIFU ARITA
“Due to the fact that its members continue to follow their former leader unreservedly, Aleph should be viewed suspiciously,” Arita says. “Because of its stance toward Asahara I personally wouldn’t be too concerned about Hikari no Wa, but the possibility of another dangerous cult emerging over the next few years can’t be ruled out. After the incident in 1995, the National Police Agency said it would be difficult to judge the potential threat of new organizations. It’s impossible to monitor all groups and so a surprise attack from an unexpected source, particularly one from abroad, is a possibility.”
Retired FBI agent and former assistant legal attache in Tokyo Edward Shaw agrees.
“From the (1995) Oklahoma truck bombing to both the 1993 and 2001 World Trade Center attacks, some of the most notorious terror assaults have historically come from outside the paradigm people were expecting,” Shaw says. “Between now and the Olympics, an unknown domestic or international group hoping to cause mass panic could come to the surface. Right now, though, the authorities’ focus will no doubt be on radical Islamic groups, particularly ISIS, and the possibility of state terrorism coming from North Korea.”
International terrorist threat
The U.S. Department of State added North Korea to its list of “state sponsors of terrorism” in 1988 following the bombing of a South Korean airliner that killed 115 people a year earlier. It was removed from the blacklist in 2008 by the administration of George W. Bush, but there are now increasing calls to increase sanctions in light of the alleged state-sponsored murder of Kim.
The fact that such a volatile and unpredictable regime exists so close to home is obviously a concern for the Japanese government. Last year, the country’s Civil Defense Agency issued a downloadable pamphlet titled “Protecting Ourselves against Armed Attacks and Terrorism” that provides information on land invasions and ballistic attacks as well as a special section on what citizens should do in the case of a nuclear attack. Already this year, North Korea has fired five short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, including one during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to America in February.
“Considering the launch was immediately after the Japan-U.S. summit meeting, this is a clear provocation to Japan and the region,” CNN quoted Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga as saying. Abe described it as “absolutely intolerable.”
Attempts to normalize relations between the two countries have repeatedly broken down due to Pyongyang’s compensation demands for damages incurred while under Japanese colonial rule, as well as the abduction issue. Following the 2014 Stockholm Agreement, North Korea promised to investigate comprehensively the situation regarding the 13 Japanese citizens it had admitted kidnapping in the 1970s and 1980s, but it later suspended the probe after Japan imposed sanctions in response to a nuclear test.
The situation with North Korea has often been cited by the Liberal Democratic Party as one of the main reasons it believes Article 9 of the Constitution should be amended. The potential threat posed by the Islamic State group is another factor in Abe’s push to modify the document, allowing for the use of collective self-defense and military action if one of Japan’s allies is attacked.
Retired FBI agent Edward Shaw says nobody is better in the world at physical surveillance than the Japanese police. | COURTESY OF EDWARD SHAW
Since World War II, Japan has taken what university lecturer and author Paul Midford describes as a “passive pacifist” approach to conflicts outside the East Asian region. Yet despite only providing nonmilitary financial assistance to countries fighting the Islamic State group in the Middle East, Japan has been labeled as an enemy because of its close relationship with the United States. The executions of Japanese citizens Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa by Islamic militants in 2015 and the chilling message that followed shocked the public in Japan and raised concerns that the country could become a future target. So just how worried is the government likely to be?
“I would say not unduly (worried) at this stage,” Midford says. “Japan’s a largely homogeneous society that feels pretty insulated from terrorism. In 2003, a question on the topic was included in a biennial government poll, but it was soon dropped. The fact they’re not asking suggests they’re not concerned. This perception that fewer foreigners means less chance of an attack is one reason why Japan has been so reluctant to take in refugees even though they can be screened.”
In 2016, the government accepted just 28 refugees from a record 10,901 applications, while the number of Syrians granted refugee status since 2011 is still in single digits. Plans are in place to take in around 300 citizens from Syria over the next five years, although this only applies to students and their families.
By denying asylum to people from Islamic countries, the government clearly believes it has a far greater chance of avoiding the troubles that have blighted nations in Europe and the Middle East. In addition to keeping a tight rein over who’s allowed in, authorities have been closely monitoring the activities of Muslim residents in Japan. A leak in 2010 revealed that the police had compiled detailed profiles on 72,000 Muslims living in the country. Four years later, 17 of those named in the documents sued the police and the government and were awarded ¥90 million in compensation. However, the Tokyo District Court also ruled that the intelligence-gathering was “necessary and inevitable,” which suggests Muslims are still being monitored today.
Critics have condemned the authorities for targeting Muslims purely based on their religion. In the eyes of many it is not only discriminatory and irrational but also strategically flawed.
In a July 2016 Japan Times article titled “Shadow of surveillance looms over Japan’s Muslims,” Robert Dujarric of Temple University questioned whether the police even had the necessary skills and resources to analyze the data they were collecting from their surveillance of the Muslim community. He also suggested that Japan’s domestic intelligence agencies were simply striving to stay relevant.
Preparing for the Olympics
Author Paul Midford says that Japan is a homogeneous society that feels insulated from terrorism. | COURTESY OF PAUL MIDFORD
The pressure on these agencies will intensify as the Olympics nears. Between now and 2020, they will continue using highly attended events to prepare for the games. At last year’s Sumida River fireworks display, which draws crowds close to a million people annually, the Metropolitan Police Department’s riot squad formed barricades to block roads so a recklessly driven vehicle wouldn’t have been able to enter. Patrolling police officers had cameras attached to their hats, while members of the department’s Emergency Response Team were on standby with firearms.
“In terms of physical surveillance, there is nobody better in the world than the Japanese police,” Shaw says. “The authorities here are very good at crowd control, public safety and crime prevention. The problem with the Olympics is the number of targets. You can’t monitor everywhere. What you can do is minimize the threat over the next three years by using all the available resources at your disposal such as wiretapping devices and undercover techniques. These are areas where I think this country falls short. Another issue for Japan is a lack of meaningful dialogue with other agencies around the world.
“Being such a high-profile event, there will be organizations interested in causing havoc and they’ll have plenty of time to plan things. It’s a question of whether the counterintelligence and investigative techniques used by the government are good enough to discover a dangerous situation in advance or not.”Manama: A woman in Kuwait has filed for divorce one week into her marriage after she discovered that husband did not like to eat peas with a fork and preferred to use bread.
Accusing him of failing to abide by table manners and proper eating etiquette, she said that she was disgusted by the “shocking sight” and could not stay with her husband the rest of life and wanted a divorce, local daily Al Qabas reported on Monday.
The case was among several instances where the breaking point and the reason for divorce were not the familiar issues of abuse, infidelity or lack of communication, but rather unusual attitudes and odd limits where to draw the line in marriage, the daily said.
In another case, a woman told her lawyer that she wanted to divorce her husband for insisting on squeezing the toothpaste tube in the middle and not the end.
“We are always arguing,” she reportedly said. “I keep telling him that he should squeeze in the end of the tube, but he stubbornly refuses and keeps squeezing it in the middle. He is so obstinate.”
In another divorce issue, a man divorced his wife after she refused to bring him a glass of water, arguing that there was a domestic helper who could do it.
The husband reportedly asked her a second time, but she again refused and in the ensuing argument, he told her that their married life was over and that he was divorcing her.
According to Kuwaiti legalists, the non-acceptance of the other is the major reason for divorce in the country.
“One critical issue is that many spouses should use their engagement period to know each other well enough to decide whether they should go on with their union,” one legalist said. “The traditional times when spouses really met each other after their marriage are over, so there are now good opportunities to know the future life partner and decide whether he or she is the right one.”
In some cases, there is no genuine intention to turn the marriage into a family institution and a part of the social fabric, the legal sources told the daily.
In such instances, future spouses do need psychological, social and legal guidance to help them make their decision, they said.The future stars of Ohio State football officially begin their Buckeye careers as standouts from all over the country put pens to their National Letters of Intent.
One of the country's top junior college prospects, offensive lineman Malcolm Pridgeon from Nassau Community College in New York, has chosen to continue his college career at Ohio State.
The Pridgeon File
Class: 2016
2016 Size: 6-8/303
6-8/303 Pos: OT
OT School: Nassau CC (New York)
Nassau CC (New York) Composite Rating: ★★★★
★★★★ Composite Rank: 3 (JC OT)
The 6-foot-8, 303-pound Pridgeon, who has been recruited by the Buckeyes staff even before they offered him a scholarship last March, is a relatively new name to recruitniks, but that's because, until recently, there had not been much extended conversation between the two parties.
With almost 30 offers to his name, the battle for Pridgeon really came down to Ohio State and Baylor, where he visited in June. Florida and West Virginia also received an official visit from the Central Islip, New York native.
Pridgeon is a first-team junior college All-American and ranked as a five-star prospect on Scout.com.
Baylor, led by Art Briles recruiting efforts, had been the leader for the offensive lineman for months after his visit to Waco. However, Ohio State's Ed Warinner had made Pridgeon's inclusion into the recruiting class a personal goal.
From last night's version of The Hurry Up:
In early December, despite not needing another lineman, Ed Warinner ratcheted up the interest and made Nassau Community College, and New York in general, a priority and began to really cultivate his relationship with Pridgeon. As the two discussed a potential visit to Ohio State, it became clear that interest was there on both sides but could the Buckeyes make enough of an impact to overcome the longstanding relationship Pridgeon had built with Baylor? Could Warinner convince the powers that be that the Scout.com five-star was worth taking no matter what? On his official visit, Pridgeon was blown away by the academic support staff at Ohio State and the Buckeyes' staff was blown away by his maturity and focus.
The 24th commitment in Ohio State's 2016 class, Pridgeon is the fifth offensive linemen, joining Tyler Gerald, Jack Wohlabaugh, Michael Jordan and Gavin Cupp. With two years of college football behind him, he is the most likely to see the field next season for the Buckeyes.
Eleven Warriors will have more on the commitment of Malcolm Pridgeon soon.Shocking video out of Chicago shows a mob of young black men viciously beating an older white man because he voted for Donald Trump, dragging him through the streets as he hangs out of the back of his car.
The clip shows the thugs repeatedly screaming, “you voted Donald Trump” as they assault the victim from every angle while others steal his belongings.
“You voted Trump,” the mob screams, “You gonna pay for that sh*t.”
Another woman shouts “beat his ass,” while another man is heard laughing before remarking, “Don’t vote Trump.”
A second video of the incident which is dubbed with the “F**k Donald Trump” song, a phrase now being chanted by “protesters” across the country, shows one of the attackers driving away in the man’s vehicle while his hand is still stuck in the window as the car drags him down the street.
“The scene is frankly reminiscent of a lynching,” remarks Chris Menahan.
It is not even clear if the victim was a Trump supporter. Presumably, the mob used that as an excuse to beat and rob him.
YouTube quickly deleted the video, but it has been mirrored on numerous different websites.
If the roles had been reversed, and Trump supporters had been caught on tape viciously beating a black Hillary voter, this would be a national news story right now.
As it is, you won’t see this on CNN any time soon.
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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.Taking another step to bring in more efficient cars on Indian roads, the government has revised fuel-efficiency guidelines. To come in effect from April, 2017, automakers will have to ensure their models return an average of least 18.2Km/l.
Though this means an increase of 15 per cent over the existing average mileage - manufacturers will still be able to sell cars that deliver less than 18.2Km/l. However, they will also have to sell vehicles that offer higher mileage in order to ensure that the average of all models meets the rule. These standards could translate to saving fuel worth over Rs 90,000 crore every year.
While the Bureau of Energy Efficiency has put together the norms, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will iron out the details for the implementation of the guidelines and the penalties for their violation.
Furthermore, the government intends to further increase the average to 22Km/l by April, 2022.
For the latest auto news and reviews, follow CarAndBike on Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.The organizers of the 11th Annual Seiyū Awards announced more of this year's winners on Tuesday.
Makoto Shinkai's your name. anime film won the Synergy Award, which is given to works that maximized the appeal of voice-acting in a work as a whole. Illumination Entertainment's The Secret Life of Pets won the Kids/Family Award, which is bestowed from the point of view of children.
The organizers already announced some winners last month, including recipients of the Merit Awards, Kei Tomiyama Award, and Kazue Takahashi Award.
The awards ceremony, which will reveal the full list of awardees, will be held on this Saturday, March 18. This year's Special Merit Award, which honors deceased voice actors and actresses that have contributed to many genres, will be replaced this year with an honoring of all voice actors and actresses who passed away in 2016.BY: ROB HOFFMAN
Between credential inflation, tuition hikes, professors claiming poverty level wages and a generation of increasingly fed up and chronically stressed out students—the prospect of enrolling in post secondary education looks bleak.
All of this, let me remind you, operates under the flimsy promise of earning a bullet point or two under the Education heading of one’s resume. Certainly, education cannot be quantified into the words “Bachelor of Arts” or “with a degree in biology”—but for the 38 Million or so unemployed youth in the United States alone looking for a ticket out of their parents’ basements, that one sentence could mean an awful lot.
Yet, for all those years of stress, toil and ramen dinners, how much consideration does this one sentence really buy from a prospective employer? Will your future employer even investigate the validity of this degree, or will they simply award it a quick approving nod before filing it away in a dusty cabinet, and calling you in for an interview?
In the case of these seven high profile leaders and CEOs, the situation has unfortunately favoured the dusty filing cabinet.
1. Marilee Jones, former dean of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Marilee Jones was the dean of MIT University for 28 years before it came to light that she never even graduated from college.
Jones joined the staff in 1979, and in 1997 became MIT’s dean of admissions (is it even necessary to mention the crippling irony of this?) Jones was also the 1997 Recipient of the “MIT Excellence Award for Leading Change,” the highest form of recognition for an administrative member, and the 2006 recipient of the “Gordon Y Billiard Award,” given to those who provide “special service of outstanding merit.”
However, Jones resigned the following year, stating “I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to MIT 28 years ago and did not have the courage to correct my résumé when I applied for my current job or at any time since.”
Despite her lack of educational credentials, the Berkley College of Music has since picked up Jones as its college admissions consultant—which in a way actually makes a lot of sense.
2. Ronald Zarrella, former Bausch and Lomb CEO.
Ronald Zarrella |
the combination of in-plane transverse acoustic (iTA) and the longitudinal optic (LO), iTA and longitudinal acoustic (LA) and LO + LA modes. Here, we designate the iTALO− mode as TS 1 and the iTOLA/LOLA modes as TS 2. Additionally, the iTOTA, R and R’ Raman phonon modes, can also be used to classify interlayer coupling30 and the relative layer rotation angle between graphene layers33,34,35,62. While these peaks were detected within turbostratic regions of our samples, their presence was inconsistent.
Figure 5b magnifies the frequency range where combination Raman modes reside and presents the same spectra shown in Fig. 5a. For turbostratic graphene, the TS 1 and TS 2 modes are well defined with distinct intensities while these peaks disperse into the background for AB Bernal BLG and MLG. Further, turbostratic graphene exhibits greater TS 1 and TS 2 peak intensities than SLG, due to stiffening of the phonon modes and, importantly, their peak positions are blue-shifted30,31. The TS 1 and TS 2 peaks are clearly observed in Fig. 5b with distinct intensity from as-grown samples deposited at 900 °C, 1000 °C and 1100 °C. The TS 1 (circles) and TS 2 (triangles) peak positions are displayed for all deposition temperatures in Fig. 7. To serve as a reference, the reported TS peak positions for SLG (blue markers) and incommensurate BLG (IBLG) (red markers) have also been added from Rao et al.30 and Cong et al.31. The purple line in Fig. 7, labeled AB MLG, is used to represent the absence of clear TS peaks from AB Bernal graphene layers. The TS 1 and TS 2 peak frequencies are blue-shifted for all deposition temperatures and the magnitude of their blue-shift is reduced as deposition temperature is increased (Fig. 7). Moreover, the turbostratic graphene TS 1 peak frequencies shown here closely resemble the reported TS 1 peak positions of IBLG (i.e. turbostratic BLG) while the turbostratic TS 2 peaks are upshifted from reported IBLG TS 2 peak frequencies. This observation is clear when examining the 1100 °C samples; the TS 1 peak position is within 2 cm−1 of the reported IBLG values while the TS 2 peak position is found at higher frequencies. The increased blue-shift seen in the TS 2 peak is consistent across all deposition temperatures and could result from an intrinsic difference between the phonon modes of IBLG and as-grown turbostratic graphene investigated here. Finally, the M band30,31, which is an overtone of the oTO mode within the wavelength 1650–1750 cm−1 that is present for Bernal phase BLG and MLG, was not detected in our PVD graphene, further supporting the layer rotations conclusion. The presence of as-grown PVD turbostratic graphene is systematically established with features of the 2D peak, combination Raman modes, in conjunction with high-resolution TEM analysis, our focus proceeds to mapping turbostratic graphene with pertinent Raman signatures.
Mapping Turbostratic GrapheneAbout
Hello, I'm Aleh
I love snacks. Crunchy. Juicy. Sweet. My snacking tastes run the gamut!
However, I realized that my love for snacking was costing me a lot of money and adding unnecessary belly fat to my waistline. I needed a way to eat in a nutritionally complete manner, but I also knew that I could not stop my snacking as it is part of my nature. I had to come up with a solution…
I invented Molecooles to satisfy my urge to snack, while also allowing for a way to get complete nutrition as outlined by the FDA. Molecooles are delicious treats that fit within my lifestyle, and can help many other chronic snackers like me stay on the right nutritional path.
With Molecooles, there’s:
No more urgency to work out and burn off the extra calories from other snacks. Now I work out or play sports when I want to!
No more guesswork on how to follow a healthy diet. Every Molecoole is packed with all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals the body needs to function.
No excuse to not eat healthy while I’m at work, the gym or when I’m spending time with my kids. What’s more, my kids can also eat Molecools as a healthy snack while at school and enjoy the benefits of complete nutrition!!
If you are like me and love to snack but would like a nutritious yet delicious way to do it, Molecooles are the solution. With your support, our team will produce a full line of nutritionally complete snacks that are in accordance with the FDA recommended 2,000 calorie diet.
Treat yourself and kids right!
Treat yourself and kids right!
Based on our patent pending technology, we plan to make nutritionally complete snacks in accordance to three specifications:
2000 Calorie Diet. This is the recommended daily intake of nutrients that are considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of healthy individuals in every demographic in the United States. Double Protein. A high-protein diet is often recommended nutritionists to help build muscle and lose fat. Double Protein contains 100g of protein per day instead of 50g following the 2000 cal diet, and carbs are reduced from 300 to 250g. Low Carb. Although low carbohydrate diets are relatively high in protein and fats, studies show that people on low-carb diets lose weight faster than people on low-fat diets. The low carb formula follows a 30/40/30 fat/carb/protein ratio. How we make it We take the most nutritious and natural ingredients and balance them in a unique and delicious blend according to the FDA 2000 Cal Diet specifications. We shape the Molecooles spherically, which is easy to consume and store. What's inside? We have created several recipes but would love consumers to help us pick the best flavors to market. We will have live taste tests on Venice Beach (Santa Monica, CA), while you can vote remotely. Pls. make your choice and the winner will be produced and available in April 2016. Vote for the best molecoole! Vote for the best molecoole! Vote for the best molecoole! Vote for the best molecoole! Want to hear how it tastes? Check the video below and stay tuned. We will be posting more videos here with your feedback and don’t forget to vote. You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play Replay with sound Play with
sound 00:00 00:00 Look at these kids and their live emotions! You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play Replay with sound Play with
sound 00:00 00:00 Detailed and sophisticated review of each Molecoole: You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play Replay with sound Play with
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sound 00:00 00:00 Why do you price it $0.99 per hour? From my personal experience, I usually eat snacks with coffee in the morning and in the late afternoon. Since I eat snacks relatively often, I began to think about what nutritional value I needed from them. I sometimes grab snacks when I need an energy boost for a couple hours, especially when I’m working on a project or task. That translates to needing 80-160 calories, according to the FDA 2000 calorie diet. To ease the task of measuring caloric intake, we made Molecooles 40 calories each. Each Molecoole provides energy up to half an hour, thus Molecooles are packed into 12 hour packages, which is the equivalent of one week's worth of snacks. If you need more options, we also provide a 24 hour pack (bi-weekly) and a 48 hour pack (monthly) to fit individual needs.Ooooohhhh… dessert bars. It’s been four months since the last time I made one. Why am I forgetting such simple and easy recipe, not to mention my most favorite form of dessert, such as this?
BLONDIES.
Pin this recipe here
Yep yep, I know. I can hear your thoughts. Blondies are nothing new. There are tons of great blondie recipes out there. Mine might not be the best. But I can assure you, anyone who’ll try this will say “More please???” or “Recipe, please?” or “Can I take this home?” or “Can I take you home and bake this for me?”
Whoopsie. Instant #bae catcher?
The main highlight for this blondie recipe is a product from the Philippines — the chewy and sweet and delicious and addicting dried mangoes. You can find them at specialty stores, groceries and supermarkets. They are practically available everywhere just like the fresh mango fruit (plenty of mango trees outside our house and in the neighborhood!) I want to use a local product this time as my support and tribute for our 118th Independence Day last Sunday.
By the way, this blondie recipe is a copycat of my favorite Red Ribbon’s Mango Bars. I really really love it! Never missed buying those Mango Bars whenever we pass by at Red Ribbon’s bakeshop.
This might not taste exactly like their Mango Bars but I guess this is the closest if not at par.
In this recipe, I used browned butter to pump up the flavor. And there’s brown sugar. Oh la la. It adds moist, extra chew and caramel aftertaste to these blondies. I liked how well the browned butter, brown sugar and dried mangoes complement each other. Imagine a blondie that tastes like butterscotch sweetened by mangoes… okay, sorry but I will now pop your thought bubbles *pop Pop PoP pOp*
The batter of this recipe is thick and sticky, so it will be quite a challenge to spread the batter evenly into the pan. We want the blondie batter cooked EVENLY, as much as possible. The first time I tried this I was in a hurry (I was making two different recipes), I did not bother to spread it evenly so the batter in the middle was thicker than the sides. So what happened was the sides baked faster than the middle making them very dry and overbaked, while the middle was still moist. So do your best! Get your sturdy spatula and work some muscles!
Sprinkle top with remaining diced dried mangoes before baking. Yummeh!
Another tip: use kitchen shears/scissors when cutting dried mangoes because they are very chewy or gummy. Knives will work but kitchen shears will make this task a lot easier.
Just like what I always say in my cookies or dessert bars recipes, these blondies are best served the next day. That’s when the flavors have conspired and connived and joined forces to make anyone say “Oh darn what’s this? It’s so goooood who the heck baked this?”
Mango Bars 2016-06-12 23:53:17 Yields 16 Simple blondies recipe made with browned butter and loaded with diced dried mangoes. These blondies burst with mango and caramel-like flavors. Write a review Save Recipe Print Prep Time 25 min Cook Time 12 min Total Time 37 min Prep Time 25 min Cook Time 12 min Total Time 37 min Ingredients 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter 1 1/4 cups (156g) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Pinch of salt (or 1/8 teaspoon) 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar 1 large egg (or 68g when weighed w/ shell) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 100g dried mangoes, cut into small pieces, divided Instructions Make the brown butter. Place butter in a lightly colored skillet or saucepan (white or silver, so you can easily see the butter browning) and set the stove to low to medium heat. The melted butter will start crackling, that's when the milk solids (white foam separating from the melted butter) will start browning. You may swirl the pan or stir with a wired whisk or heat-proof spatula to prevent the butter from browning too quickly. Once the milk solids turn golden brown, immediately transfer the browned butter to a bowl as the heat from the pan will continue to cook the milk solids. We want it golden brown, not burnt! Let the brown butter cool in the bowl as you prepare other ingredients. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line 8x8" pan with foil leaving an overhang on the sides for easy lift. Stir flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. Once the browned butter has cooled, add brown sugar. Using a spatula, mix until it looks like a paste. Then add eggs and vanilla, stir. Gradually add flour mixture (in 3 additions). Fold in chopped dried mangoes. Do not overmix the batter. The batter will become thick and sticky so it will be hard to spread it into the pan EVENLY, but do the best you can! Sprinkle top with remaining diced dried mangoes. Bake for 12 minutes. When top has set and sides start to pull away from the pan then it's done. No need to wait for the top to turn golden brown. Transfer the pan into a wired rack and let it cool before cutting into squares. These mango blondies are best served the next day, though you can eat it right away if you can't hold yourself any longer. Blondies stay fresh for a week. Keep the leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature, but I assure you they won't last long! Notes Use kitchen shears/scissors in cutting or dicing dried mangoes as they are very chewy. Knives work but takes up a lot of time (and effort) than scissors. By When Hungry | Sheryl When Hungry http://whenhungry.com/
Mango Cashew Icebox Pie
Follow me on Pinterest for more recipe ideas:EDMOTNON
March 1 was probably a little bit like the Fourth of July at U.S. Soccer headquarters.
If fireworks weren’t going off, there at least was a celebration when the draw for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup was announced Saturday, and the United States U-20 women’s side learned it would be returning to the site of one of its greatest triumphs.
The United States, along with Germany, China, and Brazil, have drawn into Group B which eill have all its matches contested at Commonwealth Stadium as part of the tournament that will be held across Canada this August.
On Monday, just two days after learning where their quest for gold will begin, representatives from each of the four nations’ soccer federations visited Edmonton, touring hotels, training facilities and the host venue.
Edmonton was new to most of the delegates, whom spoke graciously of the city in varying degrees of English.
And then there was James Moorhouse.
“In a lot of ways it feels like we’re at home,” smiled U.S. Soccer’s director of youth national teams.
Commonwealth Stadium hosted the final of the inaugural U-19 Women’s World Cup, the precursor to the U-20 tournament, in 2002, when the U.S. needed extra time to defeat Canada 1-0 in as dramatic, emotional and intense a soccer match as the city has ever seen.
“We have fond memories of this stadium,” Moorhouse said. “That was the first thing that came up when we were talking about Edmonton.”
While his viewpoint is possibly framed by those happy recollections, Moorhouse, who has watched his nation win three of the first six and two of the last three editions of this tournament, didn’t miss an opportunity to praise Commonwealth Stadium.
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “This is the typical stadium, you would expect for this type of event, that you would see in the U.S. too. It’s a really good setting.”
That’s music to the ears of Trisa Zimmerman, Edmonton venue manager for the 2014 U-20 Women’s World Cup, who on Monday was playing the role of tour guide for the international representatives.
“It’s been excellent, just being with them and hearing the questions that they have and the things that they’re looking for,” she said.
Canada has drawn into Group A, which is being held in Toronto, so local soccer fans won’t see the home side in group play. However, Commonwealth Stadium will host a quarterfinal match pitting the Group B winner and runner-up of Group A, leaving a fairly decent chance that Edmontoians could witness another border battle.
Twelve years later, does the rivalry live on?
You’d better believe it.
“But that’s great,” said Moorhouse. “That’s what it’s all about is having that type of rivals to inspire against.”
WARM RECEPTION
It didn’t take Fred Li very long to realize he wasn’t in Kansas, anymore.
Nor Beijing, for that matter.
Touring Edmonton along with representatives from the other three nations encompassing Group B for this summer’s World Cup, the media officer for China’s U-20 women’s soccer team, received a warm welcome from the local host committee, if not the weather.
“My first impression here is that it’s pretty cold,” Li laughed, “but a nice stadium, nice pitch, and everything is well organized (so) we’re happy to be here.”
The furthest removed distance-wise from Edmonton of the Group B nations, China will be traveling overseas several days in advance of its first game and will train in Canada or the United States. It’s not only about overcoming jetlag, but getting the team acclimatized, as well.
“I think the biggest obstacle for our for team as of now that I can see is that we’re not really used to the weather,” said Li. “In most parts of China in August it’s going to be pretty warm, the temperature’s pretty high, whereas here it’s like 20, 25 degrees.”
brian.swane@sunmedia.ca
@SunBrianSwaneMissing all the hardware, missing a dozen phones, missing iPads, missing mobile devices; an inability to remember anything; a belief that everyone else was responsible…. that’s just the beginning of the information found within the FBI files released today (full pdf’s below):
The FBI released today pages from the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server following pressure to release the documents. The FBI released a summary of Clinton’s July 2 FBI interview and also a summary of the FBI investigation itself.
DISCOVERY ONE : Clinton Deleted Her Private Email Archive “A Few Weeks After The New York TimesDisclosed” The Private Server. Viser Tweet: “A few weeks after the NYT disclosed that Hillary Clinton had a private email account, her archive inbox was deleted.” (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)
DISCOVERY TWO : Clinton Did Not Know The (C) Mark Meant Classified And Did Not “Pay Attention To Diff Classification Levels.” Seitz-Wald Tweet: “Clinton said she didn’t know what (c) mark meant, didn’t pay attn to diff classification levels, treated all srsly.” (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)
DISCOVERY THREE : “There Were 17,448 Work-Related Emails That Clinton Didn’t Turn Over To The State Inspector General.” (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)
DISCOVERY FOUR : As Secretary Of State Clinton “Had 13 Mobile Devices And 5 iPads” With Her Private Email.Viser Tweet: “Hillary Clinton, who said she had her private email for convenience, had 13 mobile devices and 5 iPads, according to FBI.” (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)
DISCOVERY FIVE : Clinton’s Lawyers Could Not Locate The Mobile Devices With Her Email Address.. Viser Tweet: ‘FBI found 13 total mobile devices associated with Clinton’s 2 phone numbers. Her lawyers couldn’t locate the devices” (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)
DISCOVERY SIX : “The FBI Determined That Clinton Brought Her Blackberry Into A Secure Area At State, Which Is Prohibited.” (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)
DISCOVERY SEVEN : Clinton’s Email Archive Was Transferred Onto A Personal Gmail Address To Help Archive The Records. Zapotosky Tweet: “In 2014, in an effort to transfer an archive of Clinton emails from a laptop onto a server, someone used a personal Gmail address to help” (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)
DISCOVERY EIGHT : Clinton Deleted Her Emails Because She Thought “She Didn’t Need Them Anymore.”Cilizza Tweet: ‘Clinton told the FBI she deleted her emails because she didn’t need them anymore not to avoid FOIA”(Twitter.com, 9/2/16)
DISCOVERY NINE : Someone Tried To Hack Into Clinton’s iCloud Account. Viser Tweet: “The FBI found that someone was trying to hack into Hillary Clinton’s iCloud account. They were unsuccessful.” (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)
DISCOVERY TEN : “Hillary Clinton Sent Out An Email To All State Employees Warning Them Against Using Personal Email Addresses.” (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)
BONUS DISCOVERY : “The Phrase ‘Could Not Recall’ Or ‘Did Not Recall’ Appears 27 Times In Hillary Clinton FBI Interview Transcript.” (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)
File #1 of Document release:
File #2 – The Summary of Interview:
Below is the list of things Clinton could not recall in the FBI interview, as compiled by Lifezette:
When she received security clearance
Being briefed on how to handle classified material
How many times she used her authority to designate items classified
Any briefing on how to handle very top-secret “Special Access Program” material
How to select a target for a drone strike
How the data from her mobile devices was destroyed when she switched devices
The number of times her staff was given a secure phone
Why she didn’t get a secure Blackberry
Receiving any emails she thought should not be on the private system
Did not remember giving staff direction to create private email account
Getting guidance from state on email policy
Who had access to her Blackberry account
The process for deleting her emails
Ever getting a message that her storage was almost full
Anyone besides Huma Abedin being offered an account on the private server
Being sent information on state government private emails being hacked
Receiving cable on State Dept personnel securing personal email accounts
Receiving cable on Bryan Pagliano upgrading her server
Using an iPad mini
An Oct. 13, 2012, email on Egypt with Clinton pal Sidney Blumenthal
Jacob Sullivan using personal email
State Department protocol for confirming classified information in media reports
Every briefing she received after suffering concussions
Being notified of a FOIA request on Dec. 11, 2012
Being read out of her clearance
Any further access to her private email account from her State Department tenure after switching to her HRC office.com account.
Secretary Clinton could not recall when she received her security clearance or whether it was carried over from her time in the Senate. She also could not recall any briefing or training by the State Department “related to the retention of federal records or the handling of classified information.”
Secretary Clinton said she was briefed on Special Access Programs – the top-level classification of U.S. intelligence – but could not recall the specific training or briefings on how to handle that information.
Donald Trump Campaign
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COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) - We now know the identity of two individuals caught having sex in the middle of a street in Martinez.
19-year-olds Logan Wright and Nicole Gambrell were arrested Thursday and charged with Indecent Exposure and Child Molestation.
Both admitted to being under the influence of LSD.
COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) - An interesting start to the day for people living in one Martinez neighborhood.
Copyright by WJBF - All rights reserved
Columbia County law enforcement confirms, deputies responded to this scene off Creekview Circle.
According to neighbors, who called 911, their children went out to catch the bus and saw the two people having sexual intercourse in the road.
Deputies did respond and there are charges pending in this case.
NewsChannel 6 is following this story and will have more information when it becomes available.This FoxTrax puck was specially designed for the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. The 1997 Stanley Cup Finals logo is on the top. These pucks are extremely rare as they were only used for a couple of seasons on Fox telecasts only. In the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals the Red Wings defeated the Flyers 4-0. Shown above are some highlights of the 1996 All Star game showing the FoxTrax puck in action.
The FoxTrax puck was a specialized puck with internal electronics, which allowed its position to be tracked on the ice for Fox network telecasts. To create the puck a standard NHL puck was cut in half and a tiny circuit board with a battery was placed inside. The two sides were then bonded together so the puck could be used for game play. The puck was engineered to have the same weight, balance and rebound as the original puck. The pucks were designed to last 30 minutes and 30 FoxTrax pucks were provided for each game. The first FoxTrax puck was used in the 1996 NHL All Star game. It was last used in the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals.Men say that women are an enigma, but it turns out females feel the same way about members of their own sex.
While men appear to know anything about their fellow males with little more than a grunt, the sisterhood is a complex sorority.
These differences can often lead to heightened emotions between members of the fairer sex.
Women and men often have gripes about the other sex's behaviour, but it turns out girls also take issue with personality traits of others females (picture posed by models)
While men are happy to slug it out if they come across something the disagree on, women will keep it to themselves.
It means that a girl can often go for months or even years without realising she is doing something that is annoying another woman.
But a new Reddit thread has sought to lay these hidden truths bare - in the conversation on the forum, girls were asked what they dislike about other girls.
Within a few hours, there were hundreds of answers from disgruntled females.
From always seeking out drama, to dropping their friends once they get a boyfriend, it seems there is plenty women are guilty of when it comes to aggravating their friends.
One of the biggest complaints though, was how some girls claimed to dislike 'drama' when in fact they loved a scene.
On a new Reddit thread girls shared some of the things that most annoyed them about other females (picture posed by models)
One user called RJB007 said: 'Girls that say they hate drama when clearly nothing could be further from the truth.'
Another went deeper into the issue and mentioned their female friends' habit of sharing their drama on social media, although it could be argued that men often behave this way too.
A girl called straigh said: 'I really don't understand why so many women feel the need to post their drama on Facebook.
'I very rarely have drama or problems in my life, but when I do, I don't post "F*** ALL THE HATERS" type statuses and I don't know why someone would.
'If I'm having issues, why would I want anyone to know that? Why do they?'
Oversharing on social media was a common theme, with many women moaning that their friends were addicted to their mobile phones.
Some girls disliked how often their friends spend on social media (picture posed by models)
One woman called Grim reaper x2 said: 'I have seen girls with 50k plus scores on Snapchat and some that literally cry when they lose their phones.
'They practically live on those mobile devices, plastering their life on Facebook for the world to see.
'Its ruining our generation and people keep trying to make their life a highlight reel.'
For others, their main gripe was the way that women behaved around the opposite sex - with some saying their friends played down their intelligence when they were talking to a boy they liked.
RJB007 said: 'When they act dumb around guys. Its not cute.
'I'm not saying you need to act like Einstein, but come on, have some respect for yourself.'
Once they were in a relationship with a boy there appear to be further annoying personality traits that some women share, like dropping their friends in favour of their new love interest.
Others didn't like the way their friends ditched them whenever they got a boyfriend (picture posed by models)
A user called Gophergarden said: 'I'm not a fan of girls that prioritise romantic relationships over everything else in their lives.
'The ones that disappear into thin air the second they get into relationships.'
One of the saddest complaints, which shocked many on the thread, was when girls complained that they overheard other females saying that they either 'weren't like other girls,' or 'didn't have girl friends.'
One woman called Justaskosh said: 'I pity girls who say they dislike other girls.
'Because if someone has convinced them that all girls live up to some kind of dumb stereotype, there's usually a problem that involves self-hate.'
A man called x991 added: As a guy I hate when girls say that type of s***.
'"I only have guy friends because girls are too much drama," - trust me that's not attractive to us guys at all.e ][ h Europe - Arena Cup #5 League Information Organizer: Blizzard Entertainment Location: Format: Double Elimination Prize pool: $6,000 USD Start Date: 2017-07-20 End Date: 2017-07-24 Liquipedia Tier: Qualifier Links Teams Number of Teams: 28
Overview [ edit ]
The Europe - Arena Cup #5 was the fifth and final regional cup for Europe in the Road to BlizzCon for 2017. The 12 teams with the most points at the end of the five cups qualified for the European Championship Finals.
Broadcast Talent [ edit ]
Prize Pool [ edit ]
The prize pool of the tournament is $6,000 USD, which was provided by Blizzard Entertainment.
Format [ edit ]
Double elimination bracket.
All matches are a Best of Five series.
If the winner of the Winners bracket loses to the winner of the Losers bracket in the Grand Final, another series will be played. The winner of the second series will be the overall winner.
Participating Teams [ edit ]
Results [ edit ]
Winners Bracket Round 1 Northern Gaming Blue BYE 3 Rockets Esports 0 R n G 1 Emo 3 Æerø Die Maschine 3 Method Triforce 0 Overseers ABC BYE 3 Legionals 0 Victory for Pepin 3 Making a Movie 0 Soulbound Memento 3 Snowball Gaming 0 fidgetdab Grmbl BYE 3 Stellars 2 You Know Nothing John Snow 3 Managers 0 French Touch 0 FastGame 3 Emotional Wrecks Enjoy Legion BYE 3 Silvers 0 Rock Solid 0 WypeFlip 3 The old french clan 0 PurpleNightHonor 3 Aye lad Round 2 3 Northern Gaming Blue 0 Rockets Esports 0 Æerø Die Maschine 3 Method Triforce 3 ABC 0 Legionals 3 Making a Movie 1 Snowball Gaming 0 Grmbl 3 Stellars 3 Managers 1 Emotional Wrecks 2 Enjoy Legion 3 Silvers 3 The old french clan 0 Aye lad Round 3 3 Northern Gaming Blue 0 Method Triforce 3 ABC 1 Making a Movie 2 Stellars 3 Managers 1 Silvers 3 The old french clan Round 4 2 Northern Gaming Blue 3 ABC 3 Managers 1 The old french clan Losers Bracket Losers Round 1 BYE R n G 3 Emo 0 Overseers BYE Victory for Pepin 0 Soulbound Memento 3 fidgetdab BYE You Know Nothing Jon Snow 3 French Touch 0 FastGame BYE Rock Solid 3 WypeFlip 0 PurpleNightHonor Losers Round 2 3 Aye lad 0 R n G 0 Enjoy Legion 3 Emo 3 Emotional Wrecks 0 Victory for Pepin 3 Grmbl 1 fidgetdab 3 Snowball Gaming 0 You Know Nothing Jon Snow 3 Legionals 0 French Touch 3 Æerø Die Maschine 0 Rock Solid 3 Rockets Esports 0 WypeFlip Losers Round 3 1 Aye lad 3 Emo 3 Emotional Wrecks 2 Grmbl 3 Snowball Gaming 2 Legionals 1 Æerø Die Maschine 3 Rockets Esports Losers Round 4 3 Making a Movie 0 Emo 3 Method Triforce 0 Emotional Wrecks 1 Silvers 3 Snowball Gaming 0 Stellars 3 Rockets Esports Losers Round 5 3 Making a Movie 0 Method Triforce 1 Snowball Gaming 3 Rockets Esports Losers Round 6 3 The old french clan 1 Making a Movie 2 Northern Gaming Blue 3 Rockets Esports Final Bracket From Winners Bracket 3 ABC 0 Managers From Losers Bracket 1 The old french clan 3 Rockets Esports Losers Finals 1 Managers 3 Rockets Esports Grand Finals 0 2 ABC 3 3 Rockets Esports
Streams [ edit ]
Warcraft on TwitchThere are two popular trends dominating the storage landscape today. The first is scale-out storage where performance and capacity can expand linearly as nodes are added to a cluster. The second is the use of flash as a way to accelerate performance and allow a single storage system to respond to a variety of workloads. These two technologies are being combined to create scale-out storage systems that leverage flash. The objective is to create a single storage system that can scale to handle the wide variety of workload types in the data center today and eliminate the sprawl of storage systems dedicated to a single workload type.
Why Scale Out?
Traditionally scale-out storage was designed for capacity-centric environments. These environments were constantly adding new storage systems to keep up with the demands of perpetual data growth. The problem was two-fold. First was the obvious problem that a traditional scale-up storage system could only grow so large. Second was the not-so-obvious problem that as capacity was added to the traditional scale-up storage system, performance began to decline because the storage controllers had to manage more and more disk drives.
Scale-out storage was initially introduced to fix both of these problems. Because each node increased network bandwidth and processing power along with capacity, the performance of the overall storage architecture did not decline as the system grew. And because nodes can be added almost infinitely the raw capacity problem was resolved.
Now though, more environments are facing an I/O performance challenge in addition to a capacity challenge. This is caused by the creation of denser environments where server hosts are asked to do far more than they used to be. Instead of hosting a single application the modern server is supporting many applications running inside of virtual machines.
To address the need for more I/O performance, scale-out storage systems are incorporating flash technology into their designs. The problem is that flash can overload traditional controllers designed for disk and flash performance can also easily be negated by the behind-the-scenes latency that is incurred as you scale-out a cluster of storage nodes.
The Scale-Out Storage Challenge
As stated above scale-out storage was supposed to be the answer to storage system sprawl since this technology can reduce the need to implement dedicated storage systems per workload. However, scale-out is usually a better fit for large file sharing or archiving systems, use cases and adding flash doesn’t necessarily make sense for transactional workloads like virtualization infrastructure and databases. As scale-out systems have tried to move beyond file sharing and address the demands of large databases or virtual infrastructures, their inter-node communication mentioned above tends to become the bottleneck.
Inter-node communication is needed in a scale-out storage system so that all of the members of the storage clusters can be aware of the others and aware of what data each node holds. This back-end communication requires a backend network suitable for extremely high, but also small, I/O transmissions. Some vendors have gone to the extent of dedicating a private Infiniband network to try to solve this specific problem. The downside of this approach is that Infiniband is expensive.
Others vendors will suggest creating faster nodes that leverage either a mixture of hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state disks (SSDs), or a complete switch-over to SSD. Similar to a faster backend network, this approach merely allows the latency to be dealt with faster. It does not directly eliminate or reduce the inefficiency of inter-node communication.
Adding flash to a storage system removes the bottleneck in the disk drives, but it moves this bottleneck to other parts of the storage system. For example, the inherently slow speed of mechanical hard drives meant the single or dual controllers in traditional systems could handle the load. Now, the speed of flash storage means a single PCIe flash card can overload a single controller, so in a scale-out architecture, both the controller and scale-out network need to be examined for bottlenecks.
A high performance backend network and the use of flash are both vital for scale-out storage systems to be suitable for an increasing number of workloads like server and desktop virtualization. But these solutions also need to address both controller bottlenecks and the inter-node communication issue to deliver effective performance scaling for a variety of workloads.
The Software Defined Network Solution
The inter-node communication problem that haunts scale-out storage is essentially a networking problem, and one that’s not solved alone by making the underlying storage faster with SSDs. It’s also not solved by making the network itself faster. The communication that goes across that network has to become more efficient and more intelligent. This is leading companies like Coho Data to integrate software defined networking (SDN) into their storage systems.
SDN for A Storage Professional
While storage administrators may have heard of the term ‘software defined networking’, many may not know exactly what the technology is or what it means for storage. Networking, at least in the IP sense, has always decoupled control and data. This enabled the forwarding of data to be done as fast as possible. The higher level layers consisted of protocols like spanning tree, but the control plane was isolated on the switch itself.
The problem was that each switch from each manufacturer had to be managed |
평생해봐라 널 기억하나 지코만 좋은 일” — Please do your own thing, these days everyone raps like Zico. Even if you do that your whole life, will anyone remember you? Only Zico will be happy
will be happy “그러고 보니 내게 감사한 존재 산이형, 지코” — Come to think of it, I am thankful to San E-hyung and Zico
“반면 곱 씹어 볼수록 좆같은 놈도 있어, 베이식 배에 올라타는 게이놈 이노베이터, 알고보니 처음부터 곰으로 위장한 여우” — On the other hand, there’s a guy who pisses me off more and more, gay ass Innovator on top of Basick, turns out that from the beginning he’s been a fox disguised as a bear((A fox = a sly, intelligent, deceitful person; a bear = a harmless, peaceful, dull, easygoing person))
on top of Basick, turns out that from the beginning he’s been a fox disguised as a bear((A fox = a sly, intelligent, deceitful person; a bear = a harmless, peaceful, dull, easygoing person)) “니가 미국 추방시킨 내 친구 얘기도 남았어” — I still need to talk about my friend who you had sent off to the US
“진짜 요린 난중에 공개할게 레시피.그 요리 이름은 what? Inno rest in peace” — I’ll reveal the recipe for the real dish later, what is the dish’s name? Inno rest in peace
However, only the last part where he disses Innovator received attention. From the looks of it, several things seem to have happened between the two. On the same day (April 4), Innovator already responded with the track ‘뉴챔프는 좆이나빨지‘ (New Champ, go suck some d*ck) which he tagged as #Comedy.
Here are some parts of the lyrics:
“대마초 팔던 니 친구는 미국행 내가 찔렀어 찔렀어 set him up and 깜빵행 이유는 간단해 니가 말하듯 인간은 완벽하지 않아 그래 내가 유다새끼네” — Your friend who sold drugs went to the US, I snitched on him, set him up and sent him to prison, the reason is simple: as you said, nobody’s perfect. Yes, I’m a damn Judas
“왜 디스질인지 지코 좆이나 빨지 블랙넛 좆이나 빨지 산이좆이나 빨지” — Why are you dissing? Go suck Zico’s d*ck, go suck Black Nut’s d*ck, go suck San E’s d*ck
“니가 욕하고자하는 사건 5년전 그럼 나도 한번 가볼까 한 5년전 “이노야 나 피처링좀 시켜줘” 난 형 스타일 싫어 제발 제발 비켜줘 그래도 원했기에 mixtape lab #2 너에게 랩할 기회를 줬구 니 flow 두부였네 tofu yes b*tch you lose 거품” — The incident you’re dissing me for was five years ago, so I’ll bring up something from about five years ago too. “Inno, let me feature on your track.” I hate your style so please, please, go away. Yet you wanted it so I gave you a chance to rap on Mixtape Lab #2. Your flow was tofu, yes b*tch you lose, bubble
, so I’ll bring up something from about five years ago too. “Inno, let me feature on your track.” I hate your style so please, please, go away. Yet you wanted it so I gave you a chance to rap on Mixtape Lab #2., yes b*tch you lose, bubble “곰탕이되기전에 되버렸네 쿵푸 팬더곰” — Before becoming ‘bear soup’ (beef soup), I’ve become a kung fu panda
“니가 받고싶은건 주목이지 쇼미 출연 두번 예선 탈락 병신” — You want attention, you retard who was eliminated in SMTM’s preliminaries twice
And just one day later (today, April 5) Innovator uploaded another diss track titled ‘제목없음‘ (Untitled), also tagged as #Comedy.
He raps:
“man it is not your business”
“이슈메이킹 노린 비린내나는 니 weekly shit 은 weak” — Your stinky weekly shit that just aims to make issues is weak
that just aims to make issues is weak “basick love my shit.”
“b*tch please, 넌 상대할 가치 없지.” — b*tch please, you’re not a worth opponent
To this, New Champ replied about two hours ago with the track ‘4:44‘.
“뻥 아니고 니 디스곡 면도하며 들었어” — No shit, I listened to your diss track while shaving
“계속 틀어 놓았다가 그 사이에 잠에 들었어” — I kept it on repeat and fell asleep
“얼마나 분했으면 한곡을 더 내놓았네 근데 이번껀 진심.. 장의사, 지 관을 짜놓았네” — How angry you must have been to release another track. But this one, seriously.. undertaker, you dug your own grave
“넌 디스가 장난같냐 난 몰입부터가 달라” — Does dissing seem like a joke to you? I’m different, I’m serious
He further recounts in detail what upset him when he and Innovator were on SMTM in the YG team together, disses Innovator for the way he treats fellow female rappers, calls him “homo” again and says that he should change his name to “gay.” He also explains himself:
“5년이나 된 얘기를 왜 꺼내냐고? 진짜 미쳤어? 넌 잊었겠지만 그들은 오늘까지 고통에 살아” — Why I’m bringing up something from five years ago? Are you seriously crazy? You might have forgotten but they are still living in pain((“They” refers to the friend(s) who Innovator apparently betrayed.))
Korean fans are not too interested in the dissing, but most of those who commented did so in favor of New Champ, praising his puns, disses, and flow. We can only wait and see if Innovator will react again to New Champ’s latest diss track.
Reference: HiphopLE
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on LinkedIn Pin to Pinterest Share on StumbleUpon +I am working on a Raspberry Pi based robot, and recently acquired a Dagu chassis and a Dagu Mini Driver for this project. As soon as I had the mini driver hooked up and the wheels starts turning, I felt an irresistible urge 😉 to put an ultrasonic sensor on the chassis and have it roam around by itself.
I’ve written about hooking up the inexpensive and fun Ultrasonic sensor HC-SR04 with an Arduino before. The wiring is the same – instead of a real Ardunio board, we’re just using the Arduino compatible Dagu Mini driver here. You can see some details for this board at the link below. Unfortunately, they don’t give you the full schematics.
http://www.dagurobot.com/goods.php?id=142
As far as construction goes, the Dagu chassis is very easy to put together. It can, and in fact it was put together by a 9 year old. 🙂
Also as you can see, I’ve used very high tech Tie Wrap Technology to attach the sensor to the chassis. 😉
The motors and the board are powered by a 3000 mAh 1A Anker rechargeable battery – good stuff!
The programming part is quite simple. The main loop sends out a ping on the ultrasonic sensor. If it returns a distance less than a set threshold the wheels are made to stop and reverse. Then, the chassis is made to turn left by a bit, and this process repeats. This is a very simplistic algorithm, but you can modify it for more sophisticated behavior.
You can see the robot in action in the video below.
Here is the full source code:
Not a complex project by a long shot. But it was a great fun detour for me, and I hope you find some useful information here.After making my transition from full-time employee to full-time freelancer, it seemed (at least initially) as though I’d crossed the finish line in my career… However, I quickly came to learn that my end-goal was a bit short-sighted and that firing my boss wasn’t actually the finish line I’d thought it was all along.
Did achieving my goal feel good? Hell yes it did! It felt absolutely amazing… But, as it turns out, that was “just” a milestone in my career, not the finish line.
I don’t mean to belittle this milestone though… Honestly, removing the nine-to-five shackles and gaining complete freedom over my schedule was no small task, and it’s still one of my proudest accomplishments to-date.
However, it didn’t take very long to realize that I was squandering some of this wonderful opportunity that I’d created for myself… You see, as an employee I’d been so focused on gaining this freedom over my schedule that I’d all but forgotten about arguably the biggest perk that freelancing has to offer.
What perk is that, you ask? — Freedom of location.
About a year after I’d made my transition from full-time employee to full-time freelancer it hit me like a ton of bricks… The realization that the things I was daydreaming about hadn’t really changed much at all.
Sure, I’d crossed a few material items off my list along with some very mild financial independence, but the most important thing was still in the exact same position it had always been… Perched at the very tippy-top of my bucket list was the following item — Travel the world.
Now, I’m not saying my “travel the world” line-item has gone completely unscathed up until this point, it certainly hasn’t…
I have indeed indulged in my location independence a handful times to speak at various WordCamp events throughout North America and Europe. However, none of my previous travels lasted much longer than a week. And if I’m being completely honest here, many of those trips weren’t much more than extended weekends I’d spent lounging around airports waiting out tremendously long layovers, because apparently I have quite the knack for predicting which flights will be delayed (or cancelled completely) then proceeding to book them…
Anyways, I’m not here to complain about Frontier Airlines, so let’s get back on topic shall we?
Okay, so, we were talking about freedom of location, and more specifically, crossing “travel the world” off my bucket list.
Well, back when I was an employee working a “real” nine-to-five job my daydreams often started with “if”… But today, as a freelancer, I’m extremely fortunate that these thoughts are now more a matter of “when” than “if”.
And for me, the time is now.
It took me less than two years to fully entrench myself in the “I’m having the time of my life” phase, and I don’t see the glow wearing off anytime soon.
I’ve built a successful freelancing business as an expert WordPress developer from my home base in Arizona, but, as of a few short-weeks ago, I’ve officially taken on a new title — digital nomad.
It’s true, I’ve parted with the material possessions that have kept me in one place. My townhouse, gone… My Audi, adios (this one still stings a little bit). Anyways, I’ll still be providing all of my clients with same level of exceptional service, it’s just that I’ll be doing it from the Caribbean, Central America, or really anywhere tropical.
If you’d have approached me a couple years ago (back when I was an employee) and told me that this would be my life once I got things rolling as a freelancer, I’m not sure if I would have believed you. But fast forward these few short years and I’m living proof that literally anything is possible.
The whole point of this major shift in work was to make equally major shifts in lifestyle. Instead of clinging on to ten vacation days a year at an office gig, freelancers are able to marry travel and work and still get just as much done. Do you think half-day Fridays are a great perk at your job? Try visiting a new country, whenever you feel like it.
If you’re like me and you can’t sit still in one place for too long, then why haven’t you made the jump to full-time freelancer yet? Don’t sit around waiting for other people to dictate the terms of your employment — I sure didn’t.
The freelance life is available to pretty much anyone these days with the proliferation of outsourcing platforms and the opportunities to network across every major industry. But if you’re currently a WordPress developer and you’re sitting at an office counting down the days until your next “paid vacation,” start making your plan to leave that gig behind!
Seriously, you can do the same work you’re doing now, for better clients (and better pay) by joining Codeable, WP Engine or a number of other platforms available to WordPress experts.
I’ve outlined my strategy for making the switch to freelancer many times — in fact, it’s the centerpiece of the WordCamp sessions I’ve been fortunate enough to host all around the world. If you follow my lead, you just might soon be facing first-world problems, like which island you want to live on for the next few months?
You too can build this lifestyle for yourself, and it doesn’t have to take long either.
Thanks for indulging me as I shared my exciting news… Now, if you’re thinking of making the transition to life as a digital nomad yourself, please head on over and read this how-to guide I’ve published which outlines my transitions from full-time employee to full-time freelncer to digital nomad, step by step.Alex Tahou with tickets
Tonight, my husband, Mike, and I decided to skip cooking and enjoy dinner at the Lilac Festival. Mike headed to the big food tent to buy his favorite: the Garbage Plate. Mike will tell anyone that a significant factor in why he stayed in Rochester after college was this delicious food.
In the food line, we were shocked to see signs posted stating that the City issued 5 tickets to the Nick Tahou's food truck because of violation of a recent law targeting food trucks. Considering that Nick Tahou's is a Rochester institution and that Alex Tahou (son of the founder) has a stellar business reputation, these tickets were a surprise. Alex came out of the food truck to talk to us.
Alex explained that the City issued regulations last year that food trucks must run background checks on all of their employees. Stationary restaurants located in the City of Rochester are not required to perform employee background checks--neither are the other food vendors in the Lilac Festival food tent because they are not food trucks. Nick Tahou's serves from its trailer, and even though the trailer is as stationary as the other tent vendors, the city interpreted the rules like it was a roving food truck.
To add to the confusion, the other non-local carnival food trucks in town specifically for the festival are not required to do background checks. Alex asked city officials why carnival food trucks do not have to follow food truck regulations and was told it was because carnival food trucks are transient in nature. He asked me who I thought was more likely to commit a crime--a person working for him who was invested in the community or a person who will only be in town for a limited time? I can understand his frustration.
People might ask why he is fighting so hard against the background checks. Alex says that he wants to give people a chance to work. He doesn't want to prevent a good worker from working because they made a mistake. An irony here is that City banned the "black box" on its job applications specifically to give people with criminal backgrounds a chance at finding work. The City has staff who are paid to find jobs for people with convictions and advocates strongly for employers to see the person in spite of the conviction. However, they didn't apply this to the food truck policy, which leaves Alex penalized for standing up for his convictions.
Alex was filled with emotion as we talked. He explained that a few days ago, he lost his best friend--a friend of 40 years who would say, "let's take a road trip" and they'd end up at the Grand Canyon. They got in trouble with their parents as kids hanging at the airport until 4am and had amazing adventures together camping in the Adirondacks as adults. His friend was killed in a freak accident. He came back from the funeral on Monday and was ticketed on Tuesday. Alex asserts that he will no longer participate in any city festivals or events--the Air Show and other county events do not enforce the city's food truck regulation.
What a saddening one-two punch for Alex--he first lost a part of his heart and then the city broke the rest. We can do better as a community for a nationally recognized and locally venerated institution. It's time for the City to reassess these regulations and this time add some common sense and some heart to the process. If Nick Tahou's stops participating in city events, we all lose (and Mike will never go to another festival with me).
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Please join me in supporting Alex and Nick Tahou's on Saturday at 2pm at the Lilac Festival Tent!
Read or Share this story: http://on.rocne.ws/27cA9ayMiles Showell, who oversees Abbey Road's 1/2 speed mastering responded recently to a series of questions I posed to him. I want to thank him for taking the time to do so. Please read. And please, keep your comments civil and respectful. I think Mr. Showell's comments make clear the seriousness with which he approached this work
One thing he did clarify is that the 96/24 source used for the upcoming Exile on Main Street is the same one Stephen Marcussen produced for the anniversary box set. What's less clear is whether or not the unacceptable dynamic compression was added during the initial A/D transfer or if it was added when the box set lacquers were cut.
The first six titles in the series are available for pre-order here with the releases scheduled towards the end of March, 2016. The titles in addition to Exile.... are The Police Ghost in the Machine, John Martyn Solid Air, Free Fire and Water Cream Disraeli Gears and Simple Minds New Gold Dream.
Price is $38 with the exception of the double LP Exile, which sells for $49.99 and the Cream title, which, for some reason, sells for $32.
I have originals of all of these and so won't be buying them all again, but I'll buy the John Martyn title and compare to the original "pink rim" UK original. That should provide a good "base line" for the series.
By the way, right now there are some heavily discounted LPs and box sets on the UMe site including the Roxy Music box.
Here's what Mr. Showell had to say in response to my questions (which are italicized):
With regard to “Exile on Main Street”, the previous vinyl editions cut from a digital source supplied by The Rolling Stones were dreadful. They were dynamically “squashed” and sonically a distant 10th place (at best) compared to the original, mastered at Artisan Sound. In my opinion a waste of PVC. So before again buying, what my readers want to know is: was the “squashing” done in the original digital transfer or were the full dynamics preserved in the transfer that will hopefully lead to a better result.
MS: This is one that is not easy for me to answer reliably as I have heard neither the master tapes nor the original Artisan Sound cut. Probably best to ask Steven Marcussen Mastering about how exactly the transfers were done. Ultimately The Rolling Stones own the masters on this album, have been involved and have approved Steven’s work on this release. In reality it is their album and whatever anyone else might feel about the sound, it is the artist’s decision on exactly how it should be presented. I would personally say that it is not for me or anyone else to over-rule them on this point.
Also, key to all of this is what A/D converters were used in the original transfers and what D/A converters were used for the lacquer mastering, as every digital converter has a signature sound (despite claims to the contrary), some better than others and some worse.
MS: This is easy to answer. At Abbey Road Mastering we use Benchmark converters. These are connected to the workstation using custom designed and built Abbey Road proprietary digital routing and all locked down with very stable external work clock generators.
I also wonder why, given the success of The Beatles mono box cut directly from the master tapes instead of from digital, why you feel this methodology will result in a superior record. MS:The Beatles in mono were not cut at half-speed. I have already explained why I feel this method is superior. Elimination of the low-frequency roll off on a Studer tape machine (a problem made doubly bad at half speed), better tape handling which will give better HF stability etc. There is a real risk that any advantage gained by half speed cutting is lost in equal measure by losses and other unpredictable problems in the low end and potential inaccuracies with the high end.
Finally, while you indicate the problems with cutting directly from tape and the advantages of using a digital source, there’s nothing there about the disadvantages of cutting from a digital file. Do you think digitization at 96/24 is transparent to the source?
MS:No method is transparent to the source, even an all analogue signal path will add its own character to the audio. However, by working with carefully transferred high-resolution digital, any alterations are quantifiable and consistent. Tape will sound different with every pass, different with every head-block, different on every machine (even identical models of replay machine will not exhibit an identical sound). My method captures it from an Ampex machine fitted with custom extended bass response heads (which are not available for a Studer). In my opinion, a properly maintained Ampex machine fitted with the right heads will give a nicer and more musical sound than a Studer. Working this way also bypasses the disk transfer console as I use two separate play-back feeds from the workstation routed to two separate digital to analogue converters which in turn directly feed the Neumann lathe (the logic here being: Why pass the audio through any more kit than is absolutely required?). Finally, this method brings the advantage of micro-management of the programme. De-essing (always the Achilles' heel of half-speed) can with time and effort only be applied exactly where needed solely to the vocal and nowhere else in the recording. This is impossible at real time from tape where the whole mix runs the risk of being "smoothed out" by the de-esser. Also, there is the advantage that any damage to the tape can be repaired to a greater or lesser extent. One track on one of the tapes in this series has at some point in its history been played on a machine that had not been de-magnetised. This has caused damage to the master in the form of random clicks throughout the music. Targeting and removing just these clicks while leaving the surrounding audio utterly intact is time consuming but with patience is easily achievable digitally. This would be completely impossible via analogue methods. Also, other damage due to wear and tear (usually in the form of dropouts) can to some extent be repaired or at least greatly improved upon digitally.
For this series we are dealing solely with half-speed mastering. The greatest variable in all of this is the replay of the master on the tape machine. Just about all of the limitations of analogue cutting from tape are made twice as bad at half-speed. For this reason I firmly believe careful and sympathetic high-resolution digital capture from a well-cared for and customised (i.e. improved) American tape machine will ultimately yield better sounding records which is the sole reason for this series of releases. There is no perfect solution, but I feel by some distance this is the best way to proceed. Neither I nor Universal have decided upon this working practise because it is easier and cheaper. If anything it is probably more time consuming and expensive. I have chosen to work this way for these releases as I firmly believe it will make for the best records capable from the sources available. Even if the three sets of analogue tapes I had for this batch were not Dolby A encoded (in the case of The Police and John Martyn) or (for Simple Minds) be able to fit on a Studer A80 (the only machine that can be used for all analogue cutting) I would have worked in precisely the same way. It is worth noting here that the Simple Minds' album has always been cut via digital. The original cut made at The Townhouse in 1982 would have been made on an Ampex machine (ATR-102, the same model as mine but with less good heads). This machine is incapable of all analogue cutting and there were no Studers at The Townhouse. Instead, the audio would have been passed through a 1979 vintage Ampex digital delay. I hope no-one will question the improvements made to digital converters in the intervening 37 years.
All of this work for the Abbey Road / Universal half-speed cuts is the result of over 30 years’ experience of handling tape and cutting vinyl masters. Stan Ricker the legend of half-speed who was my hero and who sadly died last year had come to a similar way of thinking. In later years he would regularly worked digitally albeit with slightly less esoteric equipment. How do I know this? He and I had several email chats, he was delighted that I was so inspired by his work and was extremely helpful to me with tips and advice when I was attempting to get the half-speed ball rolling again around 15 years ago.CLOSE Geoffery Rogers, 14, calls himself the youngest reporter in Rochester and posts his stories on his Facebook page. (Oct. 19, 2016) Jon Hand
Geoffery Rogers, in eighth grade at Monroe High School, calls himself Rochester’s youngest reporter. He was interviewing Capt. Korey Brown, Rochester police, about a shooting. (Photo: Jon Hand)
Rochester Police Clinton Section Capt. Korey Brown was just finishing up an interview with news reporters about a shooting on Lincoln Street Monday when another reporter pulled up — not in a television van or a satellite truck, but on two wheels and wearing a red bicycle helmet.
"Hey, Geoffery," Brown called and nodded as the young man crossed the street toward him and a lingering Democrat and Chronicle reporter.
"You know me?" the young man asked, pulling a red notebook from the breast pocket of his blue denim coat and looking past Brown and the yellow crime tape toward the spot where a man was shot in broad daylight about 30 minutes earlier — his clothes pulled off by paramedics and still strewn along the sidewalk.
Indeed, Brown did know him.
Geoffery Rogers is the "Youngest News Reporter in Rochester" according to his business card, website, Facebook page, Twitter account and Youtube channel, and he's gaining the attention and affection of many of Rochester's police officers because, unlike most 14-year-old reporters who focus on their school's cafeteria menu or modified sports teams, Geoffery's beat covers shootings, motor vehicle accidents, house fires and other public safety events in his hometown.
CLOSE Since we introduced you to 14-year-old Geoffery Rogers, he's been getting a lot of attention from across the country. Geoffrey did his first live Facebook chat with Virginia Butler in our studio. Virginia Butler
"I'm the youngest news reporter in Rochester," Geoffery quotes his card as he pulls a tripod from a backpack and clicks his phone into it to begin recording his questioning of Brown. "Everybody knows me."
To prove his point, the eighth-grader at Monroe High School rifles through a stack of officers' business cards he keeps in his wallet behind his school ID and RTS bus pass. A moment later his conversation with Brown is interrupted by two officers who call to him ("Geoffrey, what's up, buddy?") as they are leaving the crime scene. Geoffrey waves, and observes out loud to himself the change in police shifts.
"Third platoon guys are just getting here," he says as a new crop of patrol cars pull up.
Armed with a scanner app on his iPhone to listen for police calls (he was on his way to the library when he was rerouted by 911 dispatch for the shooting on Lincoln Street), his tripod, his bicycle and laminated press credentials given to him by the RPD, Geoffrey said he has reported on more than 100 events in Rochester.
Geoffery Rogers interviews RPD Capt. Korey Brown about a shooting Monday afternoon. (Photo: Jon Hand)
Videos on his Facebook page show him at scenes day and night.
"During the week I have to be in by 8:30 p.m., weekends it's 9:30 p.m.," he said of his mother-assigned curfew.
He has covered marathons, festivals and other lighter events, but prefers crime coverage. He began reporting about two years ago when he was given the iPhone and visited a crime scene in his neighborhood.
"I walked up to the news reporters because they had these cool cameras and stuff and I was like, 'You know what? I'm going to do this when I get older,' so I bought some camera equipment and I just started doing this."
But he began in earnest at the beginning of this summer when he decided he didn't want to pay for his video game membership any more and needed to produce more content for his "fans" — as of 10 p.m. Thursday, 940 people "like" his Facebook page, GSL Show (GSL stands for Geoffrey Show Live). That's a growth of 654 percent in the last week.
"I said, 'You know what? I've gotta get back on my news because I can't let all these fans down, these people who are watching me I can't let them down so I just came out and started doing it again... this will be 42 crime scenes," he said.
Geoffery Rogers' business card reads: I Gotta Tell You Something Look Me Up!! (Photo: Jon Hand)
His mother said part of the reason her son started reporting was to make his neighborhood safer, and improve relations with police in his northeast Rochester neighborhood.
"I don't know where it comes from," laughs LaClara Carter, a local radio personality and stand-up comedian who hosts an open-mike night at Clarissa's Lounge every Monday. "He does amazing things. Last year there was a bully situation in the neighborhood and he called 311 and got them involved. He was really concerned with keeping the peace, he just wanted to feel safer in his neighborhood — what could he do in his community to make it safer? It's positive and he's got a real strong relationship with the neighborhood police."
Geoffery said he enjoys the conversations with officers and the interplay of interviews, but also wants to be taken seriously.
"They think I'm fooling around; people don't take me seriously because of who I am and other kids who do all this stuff," he said.
Geoffery Rogers, budding journalist (Photo: Jon Hand)
On Tuesday, he and Brown discussed what had happened on Lincoln Street: A 26-year-old man shot in the legs and taken to Rochester General Hospital. His injuries were not serious.
"Are they allowed to be in the crime scene or were they part of the shooting?" Geoffery asked Brown off camera of a crowd of people being interviewed by officers inside the cordoned off crime scene.
"They have been there the whole time," Brown explains.
"Oh. Must be scary," Geoffery said. "That's why I'm happy I kind of live on a quiet street. Gotta live on a quiet street, so you don't have to deal with this."
"It would be nice if we could make every street quiet," Brown replied.
"I think the city would have a lot more money if the city was quiet," Geoffery said, adding later that he does not worry about his safety and is not bothered by the nature of the events he covers.
Capt. Korey Brown (Photo: Jon Hand)
"It's really nothing to me anymore, I've seen all types of stuff so it's not traumatizing to me at all, I'm just like an adult," he said. "I'm an adult in a kid's body, you get it? My soul is old; I got an old soul."
But his mother does worry, especially when he covers events such as a police chase and arrest of people on North Street a few months ago. Geoffery was in the middle of the chaotic scene and reported that dozens of police officers had guns drawn as they attempted to control a crowd.
"I do worry a lot, especially him being young and African-American... but they (officers) look out for him," Carter said.
Geoffery said he is hoping to find some type of sponsorship so he can buy new equipment. He started a gofundme campaign Wednesday that had raised $565 of its $1,000 goal by 5 p.m. Thursday.
"I just want to get the word out, being a reporter is kind of fun and I like camera equipment and all the cool things they do, be on TV and stuff like that," he said. But for now, he'll just keep jumping on his bicycle, responding to the police calls he hears on his iPhone scanner:
For his fans.
JHAND@Gannett.com
Read or Share this story: http://on.rocne.ws/2eQZ1SKIn computer security, a billion laughs attack is a type of denial-of-service (DoS) attack which is aimed at parsers of XML documents.[1]
It is also referred to as an XML bomb or as an exponential entity expansion attack.[2]
Details [ edit ]
The example attack consists of defining 10 entities, each defined as consisting of 10 of the previous entity, with the document consisting of a single instance of the largest entity, which expands to one billion copies of the first entity.
In the most frequently cited example, the first entity is the string "lol", hence the name "billion laughs". The amount of computer memory used would likely exceed that available to the process parsing the XML (it certainly would have at the time the vulnerability was first reported).
While the original form of the attack was aimed specifically at XML parsers, the term may be applicable to similar subjects as well.[1]
The problem was first reported as early as 2002,[3] but began to be widely addressed in 2008.[4]
Defenses against this kind of attack include capping the memory allocated in an individual parser if loss of the document is acceptable, or treating entities symbolically and expanding them lazily only when (and to the extent) their content is to be used.
Code example [ edit ]
<? xml version= "1.0"? > <!DOCTYPE lolz [ <!ENTITY lol "lol" > <!ELEMENT lolz ( #PCDATA ) > <!ENTITY lol1 "&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;" > <!ENTITY lol2 "&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;&lol1;" > <!ENTITY lol3 "&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;" > <!ENTITY lol4 "&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;" > <!ENTITY lol5 "&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;&lol4;" > <!ENTITY lol6 "&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;&lol5;" > <!ENTITY lol7 "&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;&lol6;" > <!ENTITY lol8 "&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;&lol7;" > <!ENTITY lol9 "&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;&lol8;" > ]> <lolz > &lol9; </lolz >
When an XML parser loads this document, it sees that it includes one root element, "lolz", that contains the text "&lol9;". However, "&lol9;" is a defined entity that expands to a string containing ten "&lol8;" strings. Each "&lol8;" string is a defined entity that expands to ten "&lol7;" strings, and so on. After all the entity expansions have been processed, this small (< 1 KB) block of XML will actually contain 109 = a billion "lol"s, taking up almost 3 gigabytes of memory.[5]
Variations [ edit ]
The billion laughs attack described above takes an exponential amount of space. The quadratic blowup variation causes quadratic growth in storage requirements by simply repeating a large entity over and over again, to avoid countermeasures that detect heavily nested entities.[6] (See computational complexity theory for comparisons of different growth classes.)
A "Billion laughs" attack should exist for any file format that can contain references, for example this YAML bomb:
a : &a [ "lol", "lol", "lol", "lol", "lol", "lol", "lol", "lol", "lol" ] b : &b [ *a, *a, *a, *a, *a, *a, *a, *a, *a ] c : &c [ *b, *b, *b, *b, *b, *b, *b, *b, *b ] d : &d [ *c, *c, *c, *c, *c, *c, *c, *c, *c ] e : &e [ *d |
people during colonialism.” As Africans coming to America, he said it “is essential for us to understand that narrative and understand how we get put into that narrative and to call that out.”
The question of what it means to be black in America is something the children of the African immigrants have started to question and explore. African immigrants make up a small share of the US immigrant population, but a 2015 Pew Research analysis of US census data showed that their numbers have been doubling every decade since 1970. There’s also an upswing in the African diaspora, with research showing that they are increasingly affluent, educated and very successful.
Yet, money and position have not necessarily acted as a bridge into the fabric of American society. Bikangaga’s experience is similar to one recently narrated by Yaa Gyasi, the Ghanaian-American writer, and author of the bestselling book, Homegoing. Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, Gyasi lived in a white neighborhood, and her father had a tenured job at the university. She performed in the school and church choir, tutored in French, started working at 15, bought a car by 17, had a grade point average of 4.2, and was accepted into every college she applied to, including Stanford.
Gyasi wrote that she did all this because as a lone black girl, “The city was the perfect place to put my goodness to test.” Yet, her plan didn’t work. She was still called a “nigger,” her colleagues wondered why she didn’t have an accent, and the neighbors called the police on her 12-year-old younger brother as he rode his bike in a nearby lot. “This is the same version of this too common story of black boys in America,” she wrote. “In the other version my brother dies.”
Courtesy/ Zora Bikangaga Zora Bikangaga
For Zora, following his bad experiences in high school, the accent gave him a sense of control over the way people perceived him. But later on, he found out that there was also a pitfall in his new funny character, “because there were people who were really condescending who assumed that I didn’t know anything or [were] not as educated as I was.”
As a writer, actor, and producer now, who also doubles as a student and teacher of history, Zora says the experience gave him a deep sense of appreciation for what his parents went through when they first came to America. Despite his father’s education and position, he says, he has been treated with condescension many times.
The experience also gave him a perspective of who he was: a black man, the son of Ugandan immigrants, who proudly calls America home.
“I can be all of these things and understand that,” Bikangaga said. “I don’t need to fit into whatever idea people have of me just because of what I look like.”
Bikangaga finally revealed his background and origin to his friends in college–to their complete bewilderment. One of them, a young African American lady Zora was particularly fond of, told him: “Oh, you sound like a white boy!”ISIS have released a barbaric propaganda video showing the Paris attackers beheading prisoners and training with weapons before they carried out the massacre in the city which left 130 people dead.
The video features threats from Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the mastermind of the Paris attacks, and also shows each of the other militants carrying out a horrific execution.
It ends with the jihadi group issuing a threat to carry out their next terror attack in the UK, following Britain's decision to carry out airstrikes in Syria.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Scroll down for video:
The video features threats from Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the mastermind of the attacks, and also shows each of the other militants carrying out a horrific execution
Sickening: Samy Amimour, a former French bus driver, is shown grinning after he is graphically videoed beheading a prisoner
The video finishes with the jihadi group issuing a threat to carry out their next terror attack in the UK in reaction to Britain's decision to carry out airstrikes in Syria
Former bus driver Samy Amimour is featured in one of the most distressing scenes in the footage, when he smiles into the camera after picking up the head of a decapitated prisoner.
He then delivers a chilling message, 'Soon in Champs-Elysses.'
A threat is then made against the UK with video using footage of the House of Commons vote in favour of strikes in Syria.
The message reads: 'Whoever stands in the ranks of Kufr will be a target for our swords and will fall in humiliation' and appears while David Cameron addresses the house.
The Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman today said: ‘We are in the process of examining this latest propaganda video.
‘It is another move from an appalling terrorist group that is clearly in decline and in retreat.’
The beginning of the video footage is carefully intermixed with a range of media clips from the harrowing attacks on Friday, November 13.
Each of the fighters give a short speech, laden with curses against the West, calling for Muslims to wage jihad in their home countries.
Abbaoud is the first fighter to speak, declaring ISIS are'masters not slaves' before pledging to carry out terror attacks.
'We will make you taste terror, and you will taste it in your very stronghold,' he declares in an audio message.
'By Allah, we will make rivers out of your blood on this day. We will fight you to the lat man among us and there is nothing between us and you but the edge of the sword,' he says.
The Belgian jihadist's speech may have been filmed in Europe as the fighter can be seen wearing only a military-style jacket and casual clothes.
A drawing board and the flag of Tawheed can be seen in the background of the grainy footage, adding to the likelihood his final statement was the only one not filmed in Syria or Iraq.
'SOON IN CHAMPS-ELYSEES' - THE SICKENING MOMENT JIHADI PICKS UP SEVERED HEAD AND SMILES WITH DELIGHT In one of its most harrowing scenes, ISIS's new propaganda video shows a sickening moment where one of the fighters smiles as he shows off a severed head In one of its most harrowing scenes, ISIS's new propaganda video shows a sickening moment where one of the fighters smiles as he shows off a severed head. French fighter Foued Mohamed Aggad, also known Abu Fuad al-Faransi, is shown beheading one of the prisoners. In a rare sign of apparent mercy, the victim's face is blurred out by ISIS. However in a sickening turn, the video pauses and the footage goes black-and-white. The beheading footage is then re-shown from the beginning, graphically revealing every detail of the macabre act without any censorship. After the execution Aggad stands to one side and another fighter kneels down and picks up the prisoners severe head. Holding the bloody remains in his gloved hand, fellow French fighter Samy Amimour declares in a quiet voice: 'Soon in Champs-Elysses.' The terrifying warning is matched by Amimour's haunting smile, which creeps across his hateful face as he dumps the head on the ground and walks off. The camera proceeds to do several close up angles of the head before showing another execution.
Brutal: 20-year-old Belgian fighter Bilal Hadfi is shown pulling off the hood of a prisoner and cutting his throat with a knife
A threat is made against the UK with video using footage of the House of Commons vote in favour of strikes in Syria
Horrific: Iraqi fighter Ali al-Iraqi is shown shooting a prisoner. He entered Europe using a false Syrian passport
Prepared: Brahim Abdeslam is shown carrying out target practice against the side of a building. He blew himself up at a Paris cafe on Boulevard Voltaire
At large: Abdeslam's brother Salah is still thought to be on the run after he dumped his suicide belt and fled the country
Despicable: Omar Ismail Mostefai gives a lengthy speech, laden with Quranic quotes and threats of violence before executing a man. He was the first of the attackers to be identified by French police
A montage of the nine attackers is shown at the start of the video, with each of the fighters labelled with their Arabic nom de guerres.
Europe's most wanted man Salah Abdeslam and accomplice Mohammed Abrini are two notable figures missing from the photo, most likely because they are believed to still be alive.
A statement declares the footage as 'the final messages of the nine lions of the khilafah (caliphate).'
It also describes how the jihadis were'mobilized from their dens to bring their entire country - France - to her knees.'
'They raised the word of the tawhid (oneness of God) and lived in the ayat (verse) of the quran by killing the kufar (non-believers) wherever they found them.
'And they continued to do so until the thirst for their own success was quenched with nothing other than their own blood,' the video claims.
The video features four extremely graphic beheadings as well as lengthy speeches from each of the fighters.
In a rare sign of apparent mercy, the victim's face is blurred out by ISIS. However in a sickening turn, the video pauses and the footage goes black-and-white as it rewinds
The beheading footage is then re-shown from the beginning, graphically revealing every detail of the macabre act without any censorship
Haunting: Moments after the sickening execution, Amimour steps in and grabs the head, chillingly warning: 'Soon in Champs-Elysees'
Smiling assassin: The vile jihadi was one of the three terrorists to blow himself up at the Bataclan theatre
Grotesque: Samy Amimour said that he had been sent by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to carry out the terrorist attacks in Paris
One of the beheaded victims has been identified as Syrian activist Hamouda Al qasab, activists in Raqqa have confirmed.
Members of the activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently confirmed that parts of the video appears to have been filmed near the city while other parts were likely to have been shot in Iraq.
Chakib Akrouh, the last member of the terror cell to be formally identified, is shown giving a lengthy speech inside a quiet park.
Reading from a sheet of paper, Akrouh, who was identified by a fingerprint found on an AK-47 inside the hired car, describes Francois Hollande as 'the dog of the White House.'
'Your hands have been tainted with blood for a simple reason. That reason is your election of this president who today bombs our Muslim brothers in Mali, Sham and Iraq.
The fanatic, dressed in a camouflage uniform with a matching tactical vest and folded balaklava hat, urges people to'repent before it's too late.'
Samy Amimour is shown urging lone wolf attacks in Europe, telling wannabe terrorists to use any means - even 'to smash their head with a rock' - as a way to inflict violence.
Revealed: Belgian national Chakib Akrouah was the last suicide bomber to be identified from the attacks
Mystery: Little is known about Iraqi fighter Ukashah al-Iraqi, who is filmed executing a prisoner using a pistol with an extended magazine
Murderer: Known by the nom de guerre Abu Fuad al-Faransi, Foued Mohamed-Aggad, 23, travelled to Syria with his brother Karim in 2013
Bomber: Bilal Hadfi, a French national who lived in Belgium, was the suicide bomber who tried to enter the Stade de France while France were playing Germany. He was denied entry and blew himself up in the nearby rue de la Cokerie
The video also features the two fighters who were only identified as holding false Syrian passports. The men were actually Iraqi nationals, calling themselves Ukashah al-Iraqi and Ali al-Iraqi.
Two Syrian passports, under the names Ahmad al-Mohamed and Mohamed al-Mohamed were found at the scene by police.
A Greek official later confirmed a person holding Ahmad al-Mohammad's passport went through administrative processing on the Greek island of Leros after setting out from Turkey, staying there for five days before arriving by ship in Athens.
He later entered Serbia, where authorities took fingerprints that match those given in Greece, and he then crossed into Croatia the next day, according to a Serbian security official.
With the exception of the footage of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the video appears to have been shot with a high definition camera and carefully edited.
During the execution video, animated graphics have been added, including a target sign over the top of the victims head.
At one point, the jihadi video appears to censor part of the execution footage, pixelating out the face of one of the prisoners as he is being beheaded.
In a cruel twist, the footage rewinds and shows closeup footage in slow motion of the man's horrific death.
The video ends with snippets of archived footage from the streets of London, including several notable landmarks and buildings.
The group threatens to target the UK in revenge for its support towards France and for carrying out airstrikes in Syria.Conservative MP Kellie Leitch is facing new criticism after she issued a tweet portraying the legacy of the Liberals' Syrian refugee program as a lone domestic violence case involving a Syrian refugee in Fredericton.
Social media erupted after Ms. Leitch tweeted Sunday: "A battered wife and a bloodied hockey stick. That's the legacy of Trudeau's Syrian refugee program," quoting and including a link to a Toronto Sun column about a Syrian refugee in Fredericton who beat his wife with a hockey stick. Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said Ms. Leitch's tweet is as disgraceful as domestic violence itself.
"It's [domestic violence] clearly something that we abhor and we condemn. What Ms. Leitch is doing is equally reprehensible because she's tying in a problem that exists everywhere – both in refugee communities and in … our society. This is a problem that many societies grapple with. She's tying that in with our refugee policy," Mr. Hussen said in an interview with The Globe and Mail on Monday.
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The column, written by Candice Malcolm last Friday, attempts to make the case for Ms. Leitch's Canadian values test, saying it would have "gone a long way" in the case of Mohamad Rafia, who told the court he didn't know it was against Canadian law to beat his wife. The Syrian refugee, who arrived in Canada 14 months ago, was sentenced to one year probation, according to a report by The Daily Gleaner on June 8.
Ms. Leitch's proposed "Canadian values test" was a key part of her recent Conservative leadership campaign. The test would make newcomers go through face-to-face interviews with trained immigration officers to screen for Canadian values such as freedom, tolerance and generosity.
Ms. Leitch lost last month's Conservative leadership vote, dropping off the ballot at the ninth of thirteen rounds with 7.95 per cent of the vote. Andrew Scheer won the race and now leads the Conservative Party in the House of Commons, where Ms. Leitch sits on his front bench.
When contacted by The Globe Monday, Ms. Leitch's phone line went dead. Follow-up calls were not answered.
Asked about Ms. Leitch's tweet, Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel said she would not speak on behalf of her colleague.
"I'm not going to speak on behalf of one member of our party. I'm going to speak on behalf of the record of our former government and the very positive and assertive position that we've taken as a party since the last election on a Conservative vision for helping the world's most vulnerable, including refugees."
NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan accused Ms. Leitch of "fear mongering."
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"Kellie Leitch continues to spout divisive dog-whistle rhetoric even after her own party rejected her and her ideas," Ms. Kwan said.
The Liberal government campaigned on a promise to resettle tens of thousands of Syrian refugees. More than 40,000 Syrian refugees have resettled in Canada since November, 2015.
According to The Daily Gleaner report, Mr. Rafia told the court that the law was not explained to him upon arrival in Canada, but a police brief entered as evidence indicated he knew domestic violence was illegal in Canada and Syria.
Mr. Hussen defended the government's Syrian refugee program, saying all newcomers go through a "vigorous screening system" and pre- and post-arrival orientation programs where they are briefed on Canadian laws.
"We talk about Canadian laws. We talk about Canadian responsibilities. We talk about how people can adjust quickly to Canadian society, what the expectations are."Matt Flynn will get his chance at a Green Bay Packers reunion.
The quarterback worked out for the Packers on Monday, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported the news.
Rapoport reported last week that Green Bay would check out Flynn "soon." We now know the Packers meant one day after a 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
"(Flynn) went through his workout this morning. (He) looks good," McCarthy told reporters Monday. "That's really all I have for you right now. Everything else is a work in progress.... A lot of the information that you need to make decisions is still coming in, so we're still trying to put it all together."
Rapoport also mentioned Monday that veteran signal-caller John Skelton will head to Green Bay for a workout. If the Packers sign Flynn or Skelton, it would be as a backup to Scott Tolzien, whom coach Mike McCarthy already chose as the starter for next week.
Flynn has had elbow issues, so signing him is not exactly a done deal. If the Packers do sign him, it would be a signal that Seneca Wallace, who started Sunday but played only one series, might move to the injured-reserve list with a groin injury. The Packers likely wouldn't want to use up four roster spots for quarterbacks.
Flynn had his best days (two big ones) in Green Bay under McCarthy. He has been cut twice already this season -- by the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills -- after failing to win the job in Seattle last season. The Packers declined to claim him off waivers last week.
Tolzien is the starter, at least for now. If the Packers do sign Flynn as the backup, he should be able to jump right in and function in the Packers' offense if Tolzien gets hurt or struggles.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" recapped every Week 10 game. Click here to listen and subscribe.A laptop computer featuring Windows 10 is seen on display at Microsoft Build in San Francisco, California April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith - RTX1AVL0
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California regulators moved a step closer on Friday to the first mandatory U.S. energy efficiency standards for computers and monitors, gadgets that account for 3 percent of home electric bills and 7 percent of commercial power costs in the state.
The latest draft standards issued by the California Energy Commission, marking the second revision of rules first proposed in March 2015, would save consumers an estimated $373 million annually when fully implemented, the agency said.
The projected energy savings under the plan are equivalent to the electricity used annually by all the homes in San Francisco, according to the commission.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group working with the commission on the standards, said they would cut greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion in power generation by 700,000 tons a year.
But the NRDC urged the commission to avoid loopholes such as allowing special exemptions or credits for premium computer features that could become more mainstream by the time the standards go into effect.
In California, computers and monitors draw an estimated 5,610 gigawatt-hours of electricity - roughly 3 percent of residential electrical use and 7 percent of commercial use - much of that while devices sit idle.
According to the NRDC, the total amount of power consumed by computers and monitors would be reduced by about a third once there is a complete turnover in existing stocks of devices.
The first phase of the rules would take effect in January 2019 for desktop and notebook computers. The standards would kick in for workstations and small-scale servers in January 2018 and for computer monitors - covering screens 17 inches and larger - in July 2019.
The standards for desktops, which use far more energy than notebooks, will add about $14 to the retail cost of computers but save consumers more than $40 in electric bills over five years, according to commission estimates.
California, which often leads the way in U.S. environmental initiatives, already boasts the lowest per-capita rate of electricity use in America. The latest rules could set a new standard for computer manufacturers everywhere by virtue of California's size as a consumer market.
If the standards are adopted nationwide, they could save U.S. consumers about $2.2 billion annually in electric bills while reducing energy generation by the equivalent output of seven coal-fired power plants, the NRDC said.
Final adoption of the California standards by the five-member Energy Commission could come as early as November.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Tom Brown)Please, contribute $8 to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin to help recall eight Republican state Senators.
Photo by Melissa Ryan
The common characteristic of the constituent parts of the Democratic coalition is the experience of being an outsider.
This is revealed by a quick rundown of the four demographic groups that voted more than 2-1 Democratic in every election since 2006: non-whites, non-Christians, single women and the LGBT community. (Groups listed by order of percentage of electorate. See the 2006, 2008 and 2010 exit polls for more data.).
If you don't fit into any of those four categories, and you are still a Democrat, odds are that you are an economic outsider of some sort. That is, you either in a union or you are poor. Although they were not included in 2010 exit poll, Americans making less than $15,000 a year voted 70% Democratic on average in 2006 and 2008. Unions members didn't quite vote 2-1 Democratic across the last three elections, but with an average of about 64% they came close.
Crudely speaking, in the face of a straight, white, Christian, married, non-poor and non-unionized plurality, the Democratic Party is the coalition of everyone else. Or, perhaps it's more accurate to say that it's the party of "everyone-elses," since the groups making up the Democratic coalition are diverse both internally and relative to one another.
This exceptional diversity is also one of the problems Democrats face when attempting to assemble a coherent political operation. Even leaving aside the long-term difficulties issue-group silos present for the center-left, most of the major institutions Democrats use for mobilization--the netroots, unions, urban machines, and minority-majority churches--often lack shared goals and coordination.
The cultural differences between the various "everyone-elses" involved are one of the main reasons for this disorganization. For example, according to every survey I've ever seen, the netroots are dominated by the sizable non-Christian branch of the party, in addition to being both disproportionately LGBT and in possession of a post-graduate degree. This makes us quite distinct from the unions, churches and urban machines that Dems have relied on for decades. We tend to not work together, not worship together, not live together and not hang out together. The result is that we tend to not join in the same political fights together, at least outside of general elections.
If you will forgive me for being elliptical and finally returning to the subject promised by the title of this article, that last sentence is why the new labor uprising is potentially so dangerous for Republicans. In these fights, the interests and organizing of labor, the netroots, and the Democratic Party are very closely aligned. The result has been astoundingly effective activism: tens of thousands of people at continuous rallies, a constant buzz from progressive media covering the rallies, paid media campaigns of high quality and quantity funded by the people consuming that coverage, and Democratic elected officials willing to use whatever procedural means necessary to take the fight as far as possible. It's caused at least the temporary disappearance of what my astute friend Matt Stoller called "the rootsgap,"--a lack of alignment between the interests of the grassroots and the leaders of a political movement.
In Wisconsin, all of the "everyone-elses" are joined together in a coherent political operation, and we are winning because of it. Despite the full-backing of the iron fist of the conservative movement, a newly elected hard-right Governor has seen his approval ratings plummet to around 40% only two months after taking office. That's unheard of.
If what happened in Wisconsin is replicated elsewhere, then conservatives are in a deep pile of doo-doo. They know it, too. Tea party groups are sending out fundraising emails on Wisconsin admitting that they are losing:
A new email soliciting donations from the Tea Party Express and Our Country Deserves sent out Saturday says that recent polls and an ad campaign by pro-labor groups are getting the upper hand and that conservatives backing Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) bill to roll back collective bargaining rights are starting to cede ground. "Friends, new polls coming out in Wisconsin show that the Obama-Labor Union ad campaign against him is having an impact," the e-mail says. "Governor Walker has started losing ground, even though polls had previously shown him winning the "public relations war."
That's right--now the tea party is scared of us. How sweet it is. These are exciting times.
Let's keep this up, and give them reason to be even more scared. Please, contribute $8 to Democratic Party of Wisconsin to recall eight Republican state Senators. It feels good to be winning, but it will feel even better when we actually win.
Update: And we are over 6,500 donors for the Wisconsin campaign1 6,500. Can we reach 7,000?This August, Steamboat Resort in Steamboat Springs will finally be unveiling the Outlaw Mountain Coaster — the longest mountain coaster in North America. Descending more than 400 vertical feet with a length of 6,280 linear feet, the Outlaw will rise up to 40 feet off the ground and feature dips, turns, waves and 360-degree circles — not a ride for the faint-hearted.
Expected to run year-round during resort operation times (even during night skiing hours in the winter), the Outlaw will be located near the Christie Peak Express lift at the resort and includes a loop that brings riders from the base to the top before they journey down the mountain. Riders will get to use a “sled” on a tubular stainless-steel rail system that they can ride alone or with a buddy and can control their own speed with state-of-the-art brake technology.
So what’s the scariest part of the mountain coaster?
“The speed,” Nicole Miller, digital communications manager for the resort, said.
Although riders can slow themselves down if they need to, mountain coasters are completely gravity-driven — making it a high-speed journey down the mountain with no stopping.
Riders must be at least 54” to ride alone and 38” to ride with a partner who’s over 16 years old and more than 54″ tall. Tickets are $20 for your first ride and $15 for your second if you choose to go twice on the same day.
In addition to the Outlaw Mountain Coaster, Steamboat Resort is also scheduled to open a brand new gondola and bike park on Friday, July 21 and recently opened additions to the Coca-Cola Adventure Zone including a mini-golf course on Friday, June 30.
The reason for all the excitement is largely in part to keep Steamboat’s tourism bustling all year long.
“Bringing more attractions to the base area and on the mountain are steps to keep Steamboat at the forefront of year-round vacation destinations,” Miller said.
And it’s fun for the whole family — even if you’re not a skier or snowboarder.
“From adventure seekers cruising downhill trails in the Steamboat Bike Park, to toddlers building sandcastles on the Burgess Creek beach, Steamboat is a place where guests of all ages can spend the day,” she said.
To find out more, visit Steamboat Resort’s website.KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- The World Health Organization is urging Ukraine's health ministry to declare a state of emergency due to a polio outbreak, a move meant to prompt more action from the government in Kiev.
In September, Ukraine announced two polio cases -- the first in Europe since 2010.
See other infectious diseases and viruses:
7 PHOTOS The deadliest infectious diseases in modern history See Gallery UN: Polio outbreak in Ukraine is a state of emergency HIV/AIDS: as of 2012, roughly 36 million deaths worldwide since discovery; 1.3 million deaths in 2013 alone (Photo: HIV-infected T-cells under high magnification, via Getty Images) Tuberculosis: caused between 1.3 and 1.5 million deaths in 2013 (Photo: Tuberculosis, via Science Photo Library/Getty Images) Malaria: up to 855,000 deaths in 2013 (Photo: Malarial Parasite inside Red Blood Cell, via Getty Images) Pneumonia: results in approx. 4 million deaths per year (Photo: Microphotograph of diplococcus, bacterium responsible for pneumonia, via Getty Images) Creuztfeldt-Jakob Disease: 100% fatal (Photo: Creuztfeldt-Jakob Disease, via Getty Images) Middle East respiratory syndrome: 41% fatal (Photo: Getty Images) Rabies: up to 100% fatal if left untreated (Photo: Brain of a rabies patient showing negri bodies in the cerebellum, via Getty Images) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE
The U.N. health agency recommended that Ukraine declare a state of emergency and "respond to the polio outbreak as quickly and effectively as possible," Dorit Nitzan, head of the WHO's office in Ukraine, told journalists.
Half of Ukraine's children have not been vaccinated against polio.
Polio is a highly infectious, paralyzing disease on the brink of elimination. Aside from Ukraine, cases have only been reported in six other countries this year, with the majority in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Data curated by HealthGrove
More from AOL.com:
Defense chief: US expanding special operations force in Iraq
Doctors warn parents about popular item found in baby cribs
Human Rights Watch demands US criminal probe of CIA tortureAfghan Rape Victim Pardoned After Agreeing To Marry Her Attacker
An Afghan woman who was sentenced to prison after being raped by a relative — because in the eyes of authorities she had committed adultery — has been pardoned by President Hamid Karzai.
But her freedom comes with a price, according to news reports: She must become the second wife of the man who attacked her. Karzai's office says the woman and her attacker both have agreed to the marriage.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Shah Marai /AFP/Getty Images Shah Marai /AFP/Getty Images
Gulnaz (like many Afghans, she uses one name), has already been in jail for about 2 1/2 years, according to The Guardian. The BBC, which has previously interviewed the woman, reports she "gave birth in prison to a daughter who has been kept in jail with her."
She told the BBC in an earlier interview that she was first sentenced to two years in prison. "When I appealed it became 12 years," she said. Later, the sentence was reduced to three years.
Meanwhile, the attacker's 12-year sentence had earlier been reduced to seven years. It hasn't been reported in any of the stories we've found, but presumably he will also be freed if the marriage goes forward.
Gulnaz's case caught attention around the world as it came to symbolize the way women are treated by both the law and many of the men in Afghanistan.
The Guardian notes that Gulnaz's case "was to be the main subject of a European-Union-funded documentary film before diplomats censored it out of fear for the woman's welfare – and for their relations with the Afghan government."
It adds that:
"The documentary's British director, Clementine Malpas, said [Gulnaz's] decision would have been made under duress. 'She has told me that the rapist had destroyed her life because no one else would marry her after what happened to her,' Malpas said. 'She feels like she has no other option than to marry him and it's the only way to bring peace between her and his family.' "
Gulnaz's age has been reported as either 19 or 21.What I want is to be happy.
I'm often told that I’d make a good mother. Depending on my relationship with the person making this wildly incorrect statement, I have one of two reactions: either a small, insincere smile and a "mmmm" response that does not invite further discussion, or a hearty laugh followed by a firm "NO."
Don't get me wrong: I love kids. They’re hilarious, they’re adorable, and I (mostly) enjoy spending time with them. But without a doubt, I do not want them. And here's why.
I don’t want to worry about diaper rash and "tummy time" and I don’t want to know what colic is.
I don’t want to put a kid on a Kindergarten waiting list and I don’t want to decide between public and private education. I don’t want to coordinate basketball practice drop-off with ballet lessons pick-up, I don’t want to help with trigonometry and darling, I will not deal with your teenage angst because you best believe I invented that sh*t.
I’d rather have bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails than try to figure out how to pay for my child's college while I still owe roughly twelve kajillion dollars for my own degree. I’ve more than once done something “just to tell the grandkids about it,” but I never actually planned on there being any grandkids.
It amuses me to tell people I don't want children because no one ever quite knows how to respond. I’ve gotten “Well, when you meet the right guy, you’ll change your mind,” which is basically suggesting I’m incapable of making decisions regarding my own life without consulting a nameless, faceless FutureMan and is, by the way, astonishingly offensive.
Others immediately ask what I do for a living, as though my employer holds the key to my womb and has locked it up until I retire. I don’t really consider myself a career-minded kind of girl; I’ve always worked to live, not lived to work.
Two mothers have actually said to me, “I didn’t know what love was before having a baby. You should reconsider.” I’m happy they’re happy now but "not knowing love before kids" is one of the most acutely sad things I’ve ever heard. Occasionally, I get a hearty “F*ck yeah!” from like-minded women, some of whom will eventually become mothers and some of whom will not. I appreciate the support.
But at this point, it doesn't matter how much anyone tries to change my mind because the decision's been made — permanently.
Last October, I spent a wonderful morning with my doctor, during which he performed a tubal ligation on me. Yep, I got my tubes tied at 28.
Getting your tubes tied isn't for anyone, and I admit that once my doctor agreed to perform the surgery, I had a moment of panic. It immediately crossed my mind that maybe everyone was right and I was wrong and I would wake up at 30 and want a baby more than anything in the world or that maybe my "hard pass" on kids was a rebellion against expectations simply for the sake of a rebellion.
Maybe I would love the complete upheaval of my priorities and schedule and life in general. Shortly after these hysterical thoughts raced through my mind, though, I regained my sanity. I picked a date for the surgery. Done. Tubes tied.
Here's the thing: I’ve spent years carefully crafting the most amazing life I can. I'm surrounded by people I love very much, who love me in return. I'm well-educated and well-traveled. I have endless time to learn about things that interest me and to see wonderful things and to meet the greatest people on earth.
I leave piles of library books all over my bedroom and plan fabulous trips all over the world. I stay up until 6 AM watching Sons of Anarchy because I know no small person is relying on me to feed them in a few short hours. I occasionally eat chips and salsa for breakfast and drink beer for dinner and feel no guilt that I'm teaching anyone horrific eating habits. I spend my days finding my bliss like all the inspirational posters beg of me.
All this being said, I can’t wait to be an auntie. Whenever my friends start popping out kids, I’ll be there with inappropriately loud and expensive presents. I’ll be the aunt who slips them a vodka martini on their 16th birthday and I’ll rant and rail with the best of them whenever they feel slighted by other kids. And when I’m off for six months teaching SCUBA in Venezuela, I promise to send lovely postcards.
I get the reasons people want kids. I do. I’m not such a heartless, selfish monster that I’m incapable of understanding the appeal of a small person who loves you unconditionally and relies on you to guide them safely through a scary world. Parents are brave and strong and incredible people. But so are astronauts and brain surgeons and I don’t want to be those things, either.
What I want is to be happy.
And I’m doing that. I’m there, I'm living that dream. I’m happiest not being a mom, but hey... call me if you need a babysitter. I'm great in a pinch.
.......
Chelsea Hottovy is a blogger whose daydreams mostly revolve around Zayn from One Direction. She likes reading books until dawn and travelling the world.Giant-Shiamno manager Iwan Spekenbrink has defended his decision to not take talented Frenchman Warren Barguil to the Tour de France.
Spekenbrink told Cyclingnews that it had nothing to do with Barguil’s talent or current form. It’s all about forward planning. “He can go to the Tour. He is a good rider who can go to the Tour. That is not the question. We want to work on making him as good as he can be in two or three years and we don’t |
49] <EmanuelDeOrtego> The question is [06:49] <EmanuelDeOrtego> does he need more to pay his investors [06:49] <pickett> yeah but he REALLY needs more bitcoins [06:50] <+grubles> darn it who hilighted me [06:50] <+jcpham> grubles [06:50] <+grubles> you guys are clogging up my backlog [06:50] <+jcpham> it wasn't me [06:50] <DutchBrat> shouldn't pirate be a block buyer? [06:50] <bitfoo> DutchBrat: see gpumax :) [06:50] <@pirateat40> Swashy, its going to get interesting the next two days. [06:51] <Swashy> @pirateat40 feel free to PM me with whether I should be buying or selling. ;) [06:51] <+jcpham> now i'm breaking a computer for sure [06:51] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Nobody dump. [06:51] <scottjp23> pirateat40 : will the coins start to move before thursday, do you think? [06:51] <imsaguy2> EmanuelDeOrtego: /part [06:51] <@pirateat40> btw, pirate has been drinking. [06:51] <Zonyc> Swashy, let me know too please? <3 [06:51] <dissipate> so when are the payouts going down? [06:51] <runlinux> lol [06:51] <+jimbit> lol. rum [06:51] <@pirateat40> scottjp23, god I hope so. My phone battery alone can't handle the load. [06:52] <+jcpham> it's like freaking soap opera [06:52] <+jimbit> lol, too busy workin to keep up on pirate40 ;) [06:53] <Swashy> P@40, would you mind letting it hit $10.49 for me real quick? [06:53] <AnonX> latest update on pirate: jack shit [06:53] <DutchBrat> jack sparrow you mean [06:53] <Swashy> haha [06:53] <@pirateat40> AnonX sorry, nothing new [06:55] <Cylta> I hope pirate will tell what did he do al this time with money... [06:56] <Marf> hmm it could be that pirat waits till he can buy all the dept for pennys the dollar...than he pays out! [06:56] <Cylta> I really want to know, HOW. [06:56] <Frankablu> Well if its a real life investment I can see the problem [06:56] <Cylta> describe it [06:57] <DutchBrat> Marf: accounts are already being sold for 60%... slowely getting there [06:57] <@pirateat40> Song of the evening. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN6ocKCRo68 [07:02] <EmanuelDeOrtego> This is a fun-free zone. [07:02] <Anduck> that' d b mean [07:03] <EmanuelDeOrtego> No fun allowed. [07:03] <zerokwel> so whateve you type make s e the e is not them lette s in it [07:03] <JWU_42> we need this back in +m [07:03] <JWU_42> too much crap [07:03] <Anduck> so, tell me, what's the so important conversation that is spoken here? [07:03] <+_matthew_> This: [07:03] <+_matthew_> [ANN] A new bet placed! There are currently 1886.3 BTC in bets against pirate. Only 8113.7 BTC spots remaining! If you think Pirate is a ponzi, a scammer, or for any reason not going to pay within 3 weeks from today, bet (or hedge against) in this thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=101751 [07:03] <DutchBrat> zerokwel: yo missed a [07:04] <@pirateat40> I've never cared about the attacks, I can take them like I dish them but people just being idiots is the reason I move to IRC. [07:37] <hrumph> _matthew_: i still don't understand you reasons for the bet. you said you weren't confident that he would pay yourself so why do it? [07:37] <_sharpfocus> I have so many people ignored it just seems like people are talking to themselves :( [07:37] <+_matthew_> Atlas's logic: Hitler loved jews. [07:37] <sunshinehappy> _sharpfocus, so you understand, right? [07:37] <Joric> ppl mostly like atlas by telling him to fuck off [07:37] <EmanuelDeOrtego> You guys must be women. [07:38] <+jcpham> EmanuelDeOrtego i nkow how you can make people leave you alone [07:38] <EmanuelDeOrtego> POOR BABY [07:38] <+jcpham> it is easy [07:38] <@pirateat40> Atlas, i enjoyed your video. [07:38] <EmanuelDeOrtego> pirateat40: Thank you. I enjoy you in general. You're an admirable man. [07:38] <hrumph> maybe he's busy improving the technology [07:39] <eb3fu> is atlas that guy who submits annoying, terribly written blog posts to /r/bitcoin [07:39] <DutchBrat> pirateat40 is an admiral? [07:39] <Brunic> more 9000+ BTC transactions [07:39] <DutchBrat> now it gets confusing [07:39] <+_matthew_> <Atlas> "This girl loves me, she can't take her hands off of me. All I did was walk up to her on the street and hold her, now she's throwing her hands all over me violently. Must be love" [07:39] <ineededausername> lol [07:39] <EmanuelDeOrtego> True story. [07:39] <+_matthew_> Yes eb3fu [07:39] <+jcpham> smh [07:39] <EmanuelDeOrtego> The BDSM community is strong here. [07:39] <@pirateat40> EmanuelDeOrtego, wait until the end before you decide to like me. :P <snip> [07:40] <EmanuelDeOrtego> pirateat40: I already know the end. If you end up being a sociopath, I'll just laugh. [07:40] <+jcpham> hi Jennifer Lawrence [07:40] <ssst> sociopath just laughs at sociopath [07:40] <ssst> nothing new [07:40] <BTCKing> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOW-u8IpQO4 [07:40] <Joric> idk sunshinehappy gmaxwell answered your question and was very polite then you just said gmaxwell, please don't talk to me [07:40] <ssst> atlas, why not go create a new bitcointalk persona? [07:41] <@pirateat40> EmanuelDeOrtego, the "pirate" name would mean something then right? [07:44] <@pirateat40> Wouldn't it be fun to run with the coins though? I could make history.... If i pay back, I just get forgotten. :( [07:44] <+coingenuity> sunshinehappy: lol [07:44] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Sunshinehappy is like that annoying kid in preschool who asks why a certain kid doesn't like him. [07:44] <DutchBrat> run forrest run [07:44] <+coingenuity> sunshinehappy: get ready for an assra3p [07:44] <sunshinehappy> dub, well he didn't ban me for "no reason" exactly.. he banned me because he wanted to censor me [07:44] <+_matthew_> [ANN] A new bet placed! There are currently 1911.3 BTC in bets against pirate. Only 8088.7 BTC spots remaining! If you think Pirate is a ponzi, a scammer, or for any reason not going to pay within 3 weeks from today, bet (or hedge against) in this thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=101751 [07:44] <EmanuelDeOrtego> The teacher tries to explain reality. [07:44] <EmanuelDeOrtego> but no [07:44] <+jcpham> pirateat40 gtfo plz [07:44] <_sharpfocus> @pirateat40, hmm, true [07:53] <EmanuelDeOrtego> I am sure Pirate has his legal ducks in a row [07:53] <vite> who is trendon shravers 06[07:53] * _sharpfocus imagines ducks in suits [07:54] <Joric> vite, it's shiver timbers [07:54] <EmanuelDeOrtego> lol [07:54] <BTCKing> <- [07:54] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Shiver Mi Timbers [07:54] <@pirateat40> Arrrrr, yes, it be me [07:55] <DutchBrat> T S is his alter ego, pirateat40 is his real name [07:55] <+jcpham> The name is T-dizzle [07:55] <hashking> Pirate, what are you plans for your friend BITLANE [07:55] <BTCKing> arrr [07:55] <hashking> *your [07:55] <BTCKing> lol... bitlane [07:55] <@pirateat40> Trendon Shavers is a DBA, just to be fair. [07:55] <ssst> bitlame [07:55] <ssst> bitblame [07:55] <vite> hashking: love your service, shame pirate is making it a pain for you to pay me the pirate deposit [07:55] <ssst> bitshame [07:55] <ssst> bitgame [07:56] <michaelmclees> pirate, are you admitting you're connected to trendon shavers? [07:56] <hashking> Thanks. Pirate will payout. Don't worry. [07:56] <_sharpfocus> bitflame? [07:56] <@pirateat40> hashking, i'm going to roast him a bit more well done than Vandroiy. [07:56] <hashking> Nice. [07:56] <@pirateat40> michaelmclees, yes he cleans my house. [07:56] <michaelmclees> gotcha [07:56] <dissipate> it doesn't make any sense to me that bitlane hasn't been paid off [07:58] <ssst> pirateat40, i know your plan [07:58] <ssst> devalue debt [07:58] <ssst> buy debt for penny on the dollar [07:58] <ssst> no debt [07:58] <+jcpham> I use my nanny for all sorts of things also [07:58] <dissipate> copumpkin, the 'contract' was he was going to be paid off on Monday with interest. [07:58] <+jcpham> master manipulators [07:58] <Joric> price is rising as we talk, we need more FUD [07:58] <copumpkin> dissipate: not really [07:58] <BTCKing> pirateat40 what are you going to do with your loot to celebrate [07:58] <@pirateat40> ssst, you shall see soon enough. [08:08] <+nathanghart> pirate, we were wondering if bitlane was closed out...does he not get interest payments as you stated others would get up until they are repaid? [08:08] <+_matthew_> @pirateat40: Have you ever told me what you're doing or given me any inside information that would make me more confident that you are not running a ponzi? [08:08] <+_matthew_> These idiots don't understand that I'm just ballsy. [08:08] <uw> ^doubt right there [08:08] <+_matthew_> Can you help clear it up? [08:08] <copumpkin> uw: no [08:08] <+usagi> I understand that matthew. [08:08] <zveda> so where da money at [08:08] <+_matthew_> hey usagi [08:08] <zveda> I wanna see it [08:08] <+jcpham> http://youtu.be/9_8ie9jNK4g [08:08] <zveda> show it to me [08:08] <ssst> _matthew_: gtfo vulture [08:08] <+usagi> You are a ballsy, gutsy ninja. [08:08] <+jcpham> video reminds me of channel [08:08] <@pirateat40> dissipate, bitlane asked for a withdraw when I was already backed up on withdraws. [08:08] <defactomacro> ballsy..? more like a prick [08:20] <anon1234> i think you are implying that pirate gives a damn about the well being of his investors [08:20] <zveda> find your booooty [08:20] <dissipate> Sp0tter, but then how could people with inside information profit? [08:20] <copumpkin> Cylta: in my wallet [08:20] <EmanuelDeOrtego> bpd: Because he doesn't want to cause a frenzy. [08:20] <Cylta> i think that will prove, that pirate has at least 400k. [08:20] <Sp0tter> anon1234: i like to pretend everyone cares about everyone.. [08:20] <EmanuelDeOrtego> People would get mad if some were paid long before others. [08:20] <Sp0tter> anon1234: something about humanity... [08:20] <EmanuelDeOrtego> ssst: Feel free to counter. [08:20] <anon1234> pirate isnt human tho [08:20] <anon1234> he's a pirate [08:20] <@pirateat40> Sp0tter, that wouldn't be any fun now would it. [08:20] <dissipate> Sp0tter, you must be quite young. [08:21] <@pirateat40> Never trust a pirate. [08:23] <Swashy> Why would pirate pay back? Just curious? [08:23] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Because he would feel enormous guilt and shame otherwise. [08:23] <ssst> EmanuelDeOrtego: counter what, what's your current bets? [08:23] <anon1234> haha, you must be a redditt atheist [08:23] <EmanuelDeOrtego> He wouldn't sleep at night. [08:23] <anon1234> nietzsche would puke [08:23] <EmanuelDeOrtego> anon1234: Hardly [08:23] <Swashy> He wouldn't sleep at night with $4,000,000? [08:23] <Frankablu> Swashy, so the investers don't hire hitmen [08:23] <EmanuelDeOrtego> I unsubscribed from that subreddit [08:23] <ssst> le reddit atheist [08:23] <anon1234> well i doubt it [08:23] <bpd> Swashy: to maintain his S&P AAA rating. oh, wait... [08:23] <anon1234> if you immediately think [08:23] <freebiscuit> Schrodinger's cat would die for sure [08:24] <+l1l1ll11l1> I couldn't sleep if I even stole 100BTC [08:24] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Swashy: Money doesn't buy happiness. [08:24] <+l1l1ll11l1> I'd absolutely pay back [08:24] <anon1234> that someone who finds evolutionary biology flawed is immediately religious [08:24] <EmanuelDeOrtego> For most. [08:24] <+l1l1ll11l1> here, someone send me 100BTC and I [08:24] <+l1l1ll11l1> 'I'll show ya [08:24] <Swashy> I think pirateat40 is awesome, and I believe he will pay back. But I can't understand why he would, other than wanting the best reputation of all time. [08:24] <EmanuelDeOrtego> The Rothschilds might disagree. 03[08:24] * feqHjMv2 (~feqHjMv2@203.6.205.10) has joined #btcst [08:24] <@pirateat40> bpd, at least I could be added to the history of Bitcoin scams. :) [07:04] <EmanuelDeOrtego> I like how he bans just annoying whiners. [07:04] <@pirateat40> I don't mind attacks, I just don't like idiots. [07:04] <Anduck> pirateat40 btw, how's the system for payments? [07:04] <JWU_42> ahh - now i see why he got it 06[07:04] * cr4zywork attacks pirate with a spork [07:04] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Yeah, I like you pirate. If I attack you, it's only in humor. [07:04] <Anduck> imo you could tell more about the progress [07:05] <Jackmaninov> ;;ticker [07:05] <Jackmaninov> damn you gribble! 06[07:05] * Yahkin starts filming. 06[07:05] * jimbit gets popcorn [07:05] <@pirateat40> It just proves in this community it doesn't matter what you say, there are always people willing to come up with everything to prove you're lying. [07:05] <p0pcorn> yes, jimbit? [07:05] <jimbit> lol [07:05] <jimbit> rofl [07:05] <jimbit> perfect [07:06] <@pirateat40> And in a small finance market it makes it worse, cause they can induce panic. [07:06] <jimbit> p0pcorn, well played [07:06] <mb300sd-bot> what this community needs is more moderation... find any other forum worth joining that has as many trolls [07:07] <nathanghart> I thought you wanted a bit of panic, pirate? [07:07] <sharpfocus> pirateat40, it's only getting worse [07:07] <+reeses> people just need to ignore more [07:07] <sharpfocus> people think it's intelligent to raise confirmation bias to their own idiocy [07:07] <+reeses> works for me [07:07] <@pirateat40> nathanghart, nope just another piece of FUD that was feed to you at some point. [07:08] <mb300sd-bot> i don't like ignore because you see posts replying to them that don't make sense [07:08] <+reeses> then ignore those, or learn to ignore better :) [07:08] <+reeses> I’d rather overignore [07:08] <+Mqrius> [Pirate is going to build a Tesla Science Center!] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=102563 [07:08] <ultramancool> pirateat40: still, think about what you're offering and tell me you wouldn't have the first suspicion of a ponzi scheme or similar. not saying you are, not saying you aren't, just saying there's good reason to hold suspicion. [07:08] <nathanghart> right...you hear it so many times, then you forget where it came from [07:08] <+reeses> the people who have shit to say, I won’t ignore [07:09] <p0pcorn> bitcointalk should merge more threads, imo, but that's a lot of work [07:09] <+reeses> my woi [07:09] <mb300sd-bot> i'd rather not ignore something that could possibly effect the market, even if they are annoying [07:09] <+reeses> things that affect the market are information [07:09] <+reeses> information doesn't get ignored [07:09] <sharpfocus> do you think sunshinehappy could affect the market? [07:10] <+reeses> noise does [07:10] <mb300sd-bot> i'd ignore all of team ponzi, but they do have the effect of inducing panic [07:10] <aq83> pirateat40: so what can be done to transform this small finance market into a much bigger one? [07:11] <@pirateat40> ultramancool, trust me, I know exactly what things looked like from the outside, but it did allow me to find out who my real friends were. :) [07:11] <+reeses> mb300sd-bot: that’s the only good thing about them [07:11] <+reeses> mb300sd-bot: it made people scared enough to sell their accounts at a discount [07:12] <@pirateat40> aq83, just more money which adds more liquidity on the market, which overall adds stability. [07:12] <ultramancool> aq83: would probably help if we had more transparent investments ;p [07:12] <bitfoo> pirateat40: I'm afraid the shutdown of your operation will reduce liquidity on the market, might this be true? [07:12] <@pirateat40> ultramancool, investments in bitcoin will never really take off due to it not being regulated. [07:13] <ultramancool> pirateat40: hmm, why does that prevent it from taking off? too much scam risk? [07:13] <Yahkin> The more transparent the transactions, the less risk that will be taken so that investors are not scared away. [07:13] <aq83> pirateat40, so I guess we need to somehow attract the big money [07:13] <ultramancool> Yahkin: exactly what I'm trying to get at [07:13] <Swashy> pirateat40: Does things progressing slower than expected change your repayment timeline at all? [07:13] <Yahkin> Less risk = less profit. [07:13] <Marf>!find pirat [07:14] <@pirateat40> Real investors with real money need accountability. [07:14] <p0pcorn> Madoff, Stanford, Worldcom CEO, Enron, ZeekRewards all in USD [07:14] <p0pcorn> regulation isn't the be all end all [07:14] <+reeses> straw man [07:14] <sharpfocus> I've handed my money over to accountable people and they still lost it [07:15] <p0pcorn> I'm just pointing out a regulated market does not eliminate risks [07:15] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Swashy, you're back too soon. [07:15] <@pirateat40> Swashy, not thus far, if things don't progress in the next 12-14 hours I'll let everyone know. [07:15] <cr4zywork> pirateat40: Do you have any insight on the repayment schedule, such as are you setting up some automatic system that'll be repaying a lot of people at once, or will it just be a continual trickle until it's done? [07:15] <p0pcorn> at least not any of the regulation that actually occurs in markets to date [07:15] <Anduck> pirateat40: wanna light us what things? [07:15] <mb300sd-bot> guess that means i'll be up till 5am tonight.. [07:15] <ultramancool> I think more transparency would help, if it were present I'd have been very intersted in BTCST... as of now I'm a few BTC against pirateat40 just because that was my gut feeling. I'm not on the forums ranting about how he's a scammer, but I just couldn't shake the feeling. [07:15] <EmanuelDeOrtego> You guys keep making your suggestions. [07:16] <EmanuelDeOrtego> He'll be sure to consider them. [07:16] <+reeses> I don’t know why sarbanes-oxley didn't stop enron [07:16] <mb300sd-bot> far more worried about getting my coins to market the moment pirate pays than wheather he will pay or not [07:16] <EmanuelDeOrtego> http://memeorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/I-Understand-Your-Frustration-Beavis.jpg [07:16] <ultramancool> mb300sd-bot: do a deposit now then ;p [07:16] <Cusipzzz> reeses: dodd-frank surely is the answer! [07:16] <mb300sd-bot> i have nothing left to deposit [07:16] <@pirateat40> cr4zywork, I can't really comment on which accounts will be paid in which order. :( [07:26] <sharpfocus> pirateat40, are you still going to invite a new wave of people to gpumax in the coming months? [07:26] <EmanuelDeOrtego> vidz: It's whatever is in pirate's will. [07:27] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Pirate has already admitted he stands under no man, no regulator, no law. [07:27] <EmanuelDeOrtego> He does whatever he wishes. : P [07:27] <Swashy> I noticed some public shares on GPUMAX lately. :) [07:29] <simonk83> mb300sd-bot: what this community needs is more moderation... find any other forum worth joining that has as many trolls [07:29] <simonk83> This, plus a trillion [07:29] <+reeses> I resemble that remark [07:30] <EmanuelDeOrtego> simonk83: You say that but you will end up one of the first being banned. [07:30] <Vinnie_win> did pirate pay? [07:30] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Take a guess. [07:30] <Anduck> simonk83: try ntsd forums [07:30] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Take a honest guess. [07:30] <Anduck> every single person there is a troll [07:30] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Why are we so quiet if he paid? [07:30] <Vinnie_win> well it says last payment 8/12/2012 but I see he's in the channel (?) [07:31] <jcpham> shit i have two rigs on the wrong pool again [07:31] <@pirateat40> sharpfocus, yes [07:35] <trademaster> pirateat40, do you have some charities in mind [07:35] <p0pcorn> assume any unencrypted communication has been vacuumed [07:35] <mb300sd-bot> do the tesla one! [07:35] <@pirateat40> trademaster, yes. [08:08] <+ErebusBat> Can someone dump to 9.5? kthnx [08:08] <p0pcorn> carrier groups are too vulnerable to tactical nukes [08:09] <Swashy> HOLY SHIT IT IS PAST 3:00. [08:09] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Anyways, the US has drones. [08:09] <EmanuelDeOrtego> and drones suck [08:09] <hrumph> carrier groups would be wiped out in the first two weeks of a real war [08:09] <Swashy> Happy trading! [08:09] <vampireb> ;;ticker [08:09] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Indeed [08:09] <Clipse> all the military talk is pointless anyhow [08:09] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Obama just needs to push a button [08:09] <Clipse> china and US have nukes [08:09] <hrumph> carrier groups exist to terrorise small nations that can't fight back like iraq [08:09] <EmanuelDeOrtego> and you're dead [08:09] <Clipse> if one is overpowered they will nuke [08:09] <Clipse> end game [08:09] <@pirateat40> ErebusBat, be patient. [08:10] <vampireb> pirateat40: can we go as low as 2? :-) 02[08:10] * waltmarkers (4717b904@gateway/web/freenode/ip.71.23.185.4) Quit (Quit: Page closed ) [08:10] <Clipse> thats why the US doesnt want other nations to have nukes [08:10] <+reeses> I go away and we're talking nukes? [08:10] <p0pcorn> china sea resources are looking mighty tempting to all players in that area [08:10] <+reeses> jesus, stfu [08:10] <jcpham> shit get suuurious in here reeses [08:10] <jcpham> keep up [08:10] <Clipse> they know if nations have nukes they dont really need military spending since having nuclear capabilities is enough [08:10] <Clipse> to deter the Us :P [08:10] <Clipse> nehehehehehe [08:10] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Clipse: That's how it is supposed to be. [08:10] <EmanuelDeOrtego> but no [08:10] <@pirateat40> vampireb, sure send me your coins, ill dump them with the rest. :P [08:11] <ineededausername> lol pirateat40 boarding plane to his island soon :) [08:11] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Yeah, I have a crush on China even though its government is shitty [08:11] <EmanuelDeOrtego> but its independent. [08:11] <ineededausername> he's taking all the loyalists [08:11] <vampireb> china is actually slowly taking over russia, buying property, building factories [08:11] <Clipse> god US must feel like school yard bullies who face their victims 10 years later and suddely their victims are strongmen [08:11] <Clipse> hahahahaha [08:11] <TimothyA> ineededausername: I wasn't invited... [08:11] <jcpham> can i get a rain chekc on the plan ride? [08:11] <@pirateat40> ineededausername, its a really nice plane. Full log here http://ge.tt/1b9hiRM/v/0
RAW Paste Data
Full log here http://ge.tt/1b9hiRM/v/0 [05:24] <Spekulatius> ok, so when was pirate last seen here?? [05:24] <@pirateat40> a while ago [05:24] <@copumpkin> lol [05:24] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Spekulatius: You're pushing it [05:24] <TimothyA> pirateat40: how long ago? [05:24] <DutchBrat> hahahaha [05:24] <mb300sd> hes alive! [05:25] <@pirateat40> I slept like a coma [05:25] <TimothyA> he should talk more often in the channel [05:25] <Anduck> how's the project to pay back going? [05:25] <@copumpkin> TimothyA: the more he talks, the less happens [05:25] <EmanuelDeOrtego> Pirate, I am your number one fan! Can I have your autograph and your babies! [05:25] <TimothyA> copumpkin: *less* can happen? :O [05:25] <zerokwel> LOL trololooo [05:25] <Otoh> pay back is the name of his island [05:25] <@copumpkin> TimothyA: just because it hasn't had an observable effect yet doesn't mean nothing is happening [05:25] <+_matthew_> lol [05:25] <_sharpfocus> autograph AND babies? [05:25] <@pirateat40> Anduck, good. It's taken longer to get started but I think it's going to be worth it. [05:26] <Luceo> pirateat40: Take your time, get it right. [05:26] <Anduck> lol do u _really_ get so much pm spam [05:26] <Luceo> Ignore the people bitching about it. [05:26] <AnonX> pirateat40: can you start paying people soon? [05:27] <+_matthew_> Topic: I'm giving 100% ROI away to anyone who thinks pirate is a fraud (Read 6434 times) [05:27] <+_matthew_> lawl [05:27] <+BTCHero> don't do it [05:27] <@pirateat40> Luceo, im use to it. [05:26] <AnonX> pirateat40: can you start paying people soon? [05:27] <+_matthew_> Topic: I'm giving 100% ROI away to anyone who thinks pirate is a fraud (Read 6434 times) [05:27] <+_matthew_> lawl [05:27] <+BTCHero> don't do it [05:27] <@pirateat40> Luceo, im use to it. [05:27] <+_matthew_> One of the most popular threads on the forum 06[05:27] * TimothyA's stomach growls [05:27] <TimothyA> I really want to eat something on my birthday.. [05:27] <copumpkin> happy birthday to you [05:27] <arij> cake [05:27] <@pirateat40> AnonX, the more you ask the longer I spent finding your account to add to the end of the line. [05:28] <+_matthew_> like betting on pirate [05:28] <@pirateat40> Btchero, nice. Maybe I should not pay and split half of it with you. [05:28] <+BTCHero> that is so much better [05:28] <@pirateat40> You win twice [05:28] <TimothyA> I will make sure it gets re-invested properly! [05:28] <+_matthew_> Btw pirate, the bets against you are up to 1778.8 BTC [05:28] <+_matthew_> lol [05:29] <+_matthew_> Don't let me down [05:29] <+_matthew_> ;_; [05:29] <c0ins> pirateat40 your the man [05:29] <+BTCHero> you're [05:29] <+BTCHero> come on dude [05:29] <@pir |
things the robot wants to avoid hitting during its descent. Off-the-shelf surveying software can create such maps, but it may take hours back in the lab to process the data. Our software creates and updates these maps essentially as fast as the data arrive.
The system evaluates the mesh map by continually updating a list of numerically scored potential landing places. The higher the score, the more promising the landing site. Each site has a set of preferred final descent paths as well as clear escape routes should the helicopter need to abort the attempt (for example, if something gets in the way). The landing zone evaluator makes multiple passes on the data, refining the search criteria as it finds the best locations. The first pass quickly eliminates areas that are too steep or rough. The second pass places a virtual 3-D model of the helicopter in multiple orientations on the mesh map of the ground to check for rotor and tail clearance, good landing-skid contact, and the predicted tilt of the body on landing.
In the moments before the landing, the autonomous system uses these maps to generate and evaluate hundreds of potential trajectories that could bring the helicopter from its current location down to a safe landing. The trajectory includes a descending final approach, a flare—the final pitch up that brings the helicopter into a hover—and the touchdown. Each path is evaluated for how close it comes to objects, how long it would take to fly, and the demands it would place on the aircraft’s engine and physical structure. The planning system picks the best combination of landing site and trajectory, and the path is sent to the control software, which actually flies the helicopter. Once a landing site is chosen, the system continuously checks its plan against new data coming from the ladar and makes adjustments if necessary.
That’s how it worked in simulations. The time had come to take our robocopter out for a spin.
So it was that we found ourselves on a sunny spring afternoon in Mesa, Ariz. Even after our system had safely landed itself more than 10 times, our crew chief was skeptical. He had spent decades as a flight-test engineer at Boeing and had seen many gadgets and schemes come and go in the world of rotorcraft. So far, the helicopter had landed itself only in wide-open spaces, and he wasn’t convinced that our system was doing anything that required intelligence. But today was different: Today he would match wits with the robot pilot.
Our plan was to send the ULB in as a mock casualty evacuation helicopter. We’d tell it to land in a cleared area and then have it do so again after we’d cluttered up the area. The first pass went without a hitch: The ULB flew west to east as it surveyed the landing area, descended in a U-turn, completed a picture-perfect approach, and landed in an open area close to where the “casualty” was waiting to be evacuated. Then our crew chief littered the landing area with forklift pallets, plastic boxes, and a 20-meter-high crane.
Photo: Sebastian Scherer The Boeing ULB has both the sensors and the judgment needed to find its way to an unprepared site, avoid collisions—even with obstacles that might arrive at the last minute—and land near a casualty. This allows people on the ground to evacuate a wounded person (who might not be mobile) without putting a pilot’s life at risk.
This time, after the flyover the helicopter headed north instead of turning around. The test pilot shook his head in disappointment and prepared to push the button on his stick to take direct control. But the engineer seated next to him held her hand up. After days of briefings on the simulator, she had begun to get a feel for the way the system “thought,” and she realized that it might be trying to use an alternative route that would give the crane a wider berth. And indeed, as the helicopter descended from the north, it switched the ladar scanner from downward to forward view, checking for any obstacles such as power lines that it wouldn’t have seen in the east-west mapping pass. It did what it needed to do to land near the casualty, just as it had been commanded.
This landing was perfect, except for one thing: The cameras had been set up ahead of time to record an approach from the east rather than the north. We’d missed it! So our ground crew went out and added more clutter to try to force the helicopter to come in from the east but land further away from the casualty. Again the helicopter approached from the north and managed to squeeze into a tighter space nearby, keeping itself close to the casualty. Finally, the ground crew drove out onto the landing area, intent on blocking all available spaces and forcing the machine to land from the east. Once again the wily robot made the approach from the north and managed to squeeze into the one small (but safe) parking spot the crew hadn’t been able to block. The ULB had come up with perfectly reasonable solutions—solutions we had deliberately tried to stymie. As our crew chief commented, “You could actually tell it was making decisions.”
That demonstration program ended three years ago. Since then we’ve launched a spin-off company, Near Earth Autonomy, which is developing sensors and algorithms for perception for two U.S. Navy programs. One of these programs, the Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System (AACUS), aims to enable many types of autonomous rotorcraft to deliver cargo and pick up casualties at unprepared landing sites; it must be capable of making “hot” landings, that is, high-speed approaches without precautionary overflight of the landing zone. The other program will develop technology to launch and recover unmanned helicopters from ships.
It took quite a while for our technology to win the trust of our own professional test team. We must clear even higher hurdles before we can get nonspecialists to agree to work with autonomous aircraft in their day-to-day routines. With that goal in view, the AACUS program calls for simple and intuitive interfaces to allow nonaviator U.S. Marines to call in for supplies and work with the robotic aircraft.
In the future, intelligent aircraft will take over the most dangerous missions for air supply and casualty extraction, saving lives and resources. Besides replacing human pilots in the most dangerous jobs, intelligent systems will guide human pilots through the final portions of difficult landings, for instance by sensing and avoiding low-hanging wires or tracking a helipad on the pitching deck of a ship. We are also working on rear-looking sensors that will let a pilot keep constant tabs on the dangerous rotor at the end of a craft’s unwieldy tail.
Even before fully autonomous flight is ready for commercial aviation, many of its elements will be at work behind the scenes, making life easier and safer, just as they are doing now in fixed-wing planes and even passenger cars. Robotic aviation will not come in one fell swoop—it will creep up on us.
About the Authors
Lyle Chamberlain is a founder of Near Earth Autonomy and Sebastian Scherer is a Systems Scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, which are helping the U.S. Navy develop an autonomous flight-control package for helicopters.Have you played every single game in your Steam library? No? Neither have I—and that accomplishment is apparently just a small sand grain in the over 288 million games in Steam collections that have never felt a press of the Play button. That's a surprising figure from a new report by Ars Technica researching the most active and popular games on Steam straight from the recorded statistics of some of the platform's 75-million-strong community.
Ars' method for its number flood involves sampling registered games and their played hours via profiles and their unique Steam IDs. With the help of a server for computational muscle, Ars randomly polled more than 100,000 profiles daily for two months to pull together an idea of which games see the most time on everyone's monitors. In other words, your Backlog of Shame (don't deny it, everyone has one) probably took part in some SCIENCE at some point. Exciting.
Some caveats exist, though. The data Ars looked at for its research only extends back to 2009, when Steam brought in its "hours played" tracking system. Owned and played/unplayed games are thus slightly skewed to not account for older releases from the early noughties, and any length of time spent in offline mode wouldn't get picked up by Steam either. Still, Ars claims its results deliver a good picture of Steam gaming trends for the past five years albeit with some imperfections.
Predictably, Valve's personal products stack high on the list in terms of ownership and most played hours. Dota 2 takes the crown with an estimated 26 million players who ganked faces at some point in the MOBA, but free-to-play FPS Team Fortress 2 follows closely behind with a little over 20 million users. Counter-Strike: Source rounds out the top three with nearly 9 million players, but it's also collecting dust in over 3 million libraries.
As for non-Valve games, Skyrim wins in activity, barely edging out Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with 5.7 million estimated active owners. Civilization V kept 5.4 million players hooked for Just One More Turn, and Garry's Mod boasts 4.6 million budding physics artists.
Want to know what the most unplayed Steam game is? It's Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, the Source tech demo given free to pretty much everyone on Steam who bought or fired up Half-Life 2. It hasn't been touched by an approximate 10.7 million players. I guess that old fisherman is feeling pretty lonely right now.
My favorite stat is the total of played hours divided by game mode, more specifically the separate multiplayer clients of the Steam versions of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops. The single-player campaigns for each respective title sits modestly within the mid-20-hour range, but the multiplayer side balloons well into the hundreds of hours. It's a pretty obvious indicator of where the biggest chunk of popularity resides in FPS gaming, but it's not like you wouldn't get weird looks for claiming you play Call of Duty for the story anyway.
See more of Ars' results in both number and pretty orange graph form in its report.U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions talks about the goal to stop violent gang MS-13 that has expanded to about 10,000 gang members with some in Philadelphia, Maryland anf New York.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a speaking appearance in one of the country's biggest sanctuary cities Friday.
He spoke about that controversial topic in the heart of Philadelphia, which under Mayor Jim Kenney has vowed to continue policies that the Department of Justice says doesn't comply fully with federal immigration law.
At the Center City offices of the U.S. Attorney for Eastern Pennsylvania, Sessions also talked about gangs like MS-13 and the need for quality local policing.
He emphasized of the violent nature of gangs like MS-13 and said they recruit young new members from schools, "even elementary schools."
“The more they recruit, the more damage they do,” Sessions said. He called for everyone "to work together to take MS-13 off the streets."
Sessions even said the violent MS-13 gang is operating in Philadelphia.
Protesters of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration demonstrated outside the federal building at 6th and Chestnut streets.
Sessions initially planned the visit for early July, but canceled.
The attorney general and Philadelphia officials have been at odds over immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump took office in January. Philadelphia has been a so-called sanctuary city since Kenney began his term, though last year the city began calling itself a "Fourth Amendment city" in an effort to highlight constitutional rights protecting due process and probable cause.
Sessions said that by giving sanctuary to undocumented immigrants, the city is "providing sanctuaries for criminals."
“I urge the city of Philadelphia and every sanctuary city to consider carefully the harm they’re doing to residents by refusing to cooperate with federal law enforcement,” he said.
Under the Trump administration, federal law enforcement agencies, notably Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have asked for increased help from local agencies in detaining undocumented immigrants who have been arrested.
Philadelphia and many other municipal and county law enforcement agencies have refused to follow ICE's request to hold undocumented immigrants until federal agents can meet with the arrested individuals, which have become known as "ICE detainers."
And twice since January, the Department of Justice has publicly demanded local agencies follow federal guidance that involves police officers inquiring about the immigration status when making arrests. In March, the attorney general said Philadelphia and others risked losing Department of Justice grant money if they remained out of compliance.
He did not give a deadline for compliance at that time.
The DOJ gave $26 million in grants to Philadelphia in the 2015 fiscal year, which a city spokeswoman said was the most recent year in which a comprehensive total is available.
In April, the DOJ sent a letter to Philadelphia and at least nine other local and state governments warning again about failure to comply with one federal guideline in particular.
The letter stated that Philadelphia is required to cooperate under Section 1373 of the federal code as per its grant agreement with the DOJ's Office of Justice Programs, which is one of the federal government's largest funding sources for local law enforcement. That section, the DOJ contends, is related to the federal government's request that local law enforcement provide information about the legal status of arrestees.Besides having one of the best public transportation systems in Canada, Vancouver has just been named as one of the top cities in North America for sustainable transit.
According to a new report from the Arcadis Sustainable Cities Mobility Index, Vancouver ranks as the third greenest transportation city in North America.
The report ranked 100 cities based on three main pillars (People, Planet, and Profit), which are broken up further into 23 criteria including:
Air pollution
Access to multiple transport modes
Active commuting
Bike infrastructure
Greenhouse gas emissions
Public transit affordability
“(Vancouver) has already met its 2020 target with more than 50% of all trips now taken by foot, bicycle, and public transit. Vancouver is also adopting a traffic congestion plan for increased safety,” notes the report.
New York, San Francisco, and Vancouver ranked as the top three most sustainable cities for green transport in North America. Montreal and Toronto placed fourth and ninth, respectively.
The top five cities on the global ranking were Hong Kong, Zurich, Paris, Seoul and Prague.
Vancouver ranked 28th. No major Canadian city (Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver) placed in the top 20 spots in global rankings.
The report notes that Europe “dominates” the list.
“Of the top ten places, seven are taken by European cities. Many of these European cities benefit from established and well-used metro networks such as London’s Underground, strong bicycle infrastructure in cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen, and high shares of commuters using public rather than private transport,” states the report.
“European cities are also environmentally conscious, with incentives to lower emissions reflected in cleaner air and greener mobility systems.”
See alsois a Youth Development Company. Our mission is to renew the minds of the youth and to encourage them in finding purpose and vision in life. We aim to give a hope that creates determination and increased productivity for a successful future-one life at a time. We are a faith-based company with a vision for change for our future generation. Without investing in children and teenagers today, we contribute to them losing in life tomorrow. CEO and founder Tariko Satterfield is building a team of like-minded people who are passionate about reaching as many youth as possible.ReaLifEmpire offers a wide range of services such as mentoring, Leadership Academy, Sports training, Step Teams, tutoring, Art Classes, Urban Renewal projects and more. The services are aimed at youth with the desire to see full-family involvement and improvement.Working in the local school system for 6+ years, Satterfield "Mr. Satt" has seen a significant and consistant decline in the general behavior of youth, an increasing generational divide, and growing economic disparity for this young generation. Providing ReaLIfEmpire's services to many individuals over the recent years, Mr. Satt has seen many struggling students progress to acheive academic and social success. Many testify that regular encouragement, support and example outside of home and school contributed to their current successes.We are based in the city of Norwich, seeking to begin to make a difference in the lives of our youth on a larger scale. There is a huge need here for a center where youth can be sheltered, helped, taught, encouraged, fed and mentored outside of school and home. There is a need for a positive 'home base' for kids who would otherwise roam the streets and for those that need more than they get at home.Several years ago now, Norwich's center of social and extracurricular activity was eliminated with the closing of the YMCA on Main Street. The once thriving sports hall, swimming pool, center for those in need with a faith-based motive and the well-known attraction now sits in shambles. Many say the building is beyond repair and that it would take a millionaire to bring the YMCA property back to life. Many say its an impossible task.In 1981, Mr. Satt was born 2 1/2 months premature. He was on a breathing machine for almost 2 months and weighed a mere 4lb. From a broken family and a poor background, he was physically abused, molested as a young teen and was thrown out of college. Many said he was an impossible task.If you talk to the teens who have had Mr. Satt's empathetic voice in their lives, in the midst of their personal struggles, you will hear one after the other testify to the strength and direction it has provided for them. One teen candidly summed up the plan for the youth center-asking for a constant positive voice and safe place in his life after school is out and when trouble knocks on his door.ReaLifEmpire wants to do the impossible for, what some have called, an impossible generation. We have to start here and now. But we can't do it alone. It takes a village to raise a child, so with the help of families, schools, businesses and our community, we believe that one building can be the resurrecting center of change for our community and communities everywhere.Editor’s Note: This review, originally published December 2015, is being re-featured as it just released in the West as Monster Hunter: Generations.
Monster Hunter X is the latest iteration of CAPCOM’s popular, long-running action series. The game was designed and marketed as a celebration of all things Monster Hunter, bringing together a range of monsters, areas, equipment and mechanics, old and new. With such a well-loved and lengthy repertoire of content to sift through, the team at CAPCOM had their work cut out for them. What they delivered was a stellar homage to the series, but did it manage to stand on its own two feet?
The concept of X as an homage is made consistently apparent throughout your journey. From humble beginnings in the new town of Beruna Village, your adventure takes you through three classic villages stemming from previous games in the series. Dating all the way back to the original game from 2004, we have the pre-historic Kokoto Village, the snowy Pokke Village from the second generation, and finally, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd exclusive Yukumo Village. Outside of aesthetics, these towns add nothing of consequence to your journey, and the bulk of the game’s offline content can indeed be completed in any one of the villages. Prominent characters from the franchise’s history pop up here and there to offer sidequests and the like, but it quickly becomes apparent that narrative was not the focus here.
In fact, Monster Hunter X is almost entirely devoid of anything resembling a narrative structure. While the Monster Hunter franchise has never been known for its story, I can’t help but feel this is a wasted opportunity. Bringing back classic characters and locales, only to discard them immediately seems like a detriment to what they set out to accomplish in bringing back these classic locations and characters. It’s not a major issue, since the true appeal of a Monster Hunter game comes from the gameplay rather than the story, but it is a gripe nonetheless. Completing the offline content rewards you with a brief credit sequence accompanied by a short piece of J-Pop, so it’s quite clear that CAPCOM took a more tongue-in-cheek approach this time around.
What Monster Hunter X added, however, is a slew of new mechanics and functions designed to tailor the game to your particular style. To achieve this, X includes a selection of four hunting styles, accompanied by 52 interchangeable hunter arts. The four styles can drastically alter the approach to any given fight, while the hunter arts are powerful actions ranging from an instant heal to a powerful knockout blow, locked to a gauge. Of the four styles, two remain rather close to classic Monster Hunter play. Guild Style and Striker Style both remain simple in form and function, but Aerial Style and Bushido Style add new layers of complexity, and new angles of approach to the combat. To give a brief rundown, Guild Style retains the mechanics of previous games, while granting the player two Hunter Art slots, while Striker further simplifies the moveset of your chosen weapon, in exchange for a total of three Hunter Art slots. Aerial Style grants the player the ability to vault off any monster, player or bomb, continuing the assault from the air. Finally, Bushido Style is centred around counter attacks, allowing the player to rapidly follow up from a well-timed dodge of block. Both Aerial and Bushido styles are locked to one Hunter Art.
All four styles are well designed and balanced incredibly well. Taking one weapon type and switching between the different styles presents a very different combat experience, and that sentiment extends to the entire 14-strong weapon selection. For example, taking an Aerial Style Switch-Axe removes your ability to close gaps in Axe form, forcing you to remain mobile and use aerial movements to stay aggressive. Taking Bushido style greatly alters your infinite combo in Sword mode, encouraging you to use both forms of the weapon. Striker goes the opposite direction, with the three weapon-specific Hunter Arts all focused on amplifying the damage output and longevity of Sword mode. It’s these subtle changes to the movement and flow of each weapon that makes experimentation so enticing. While one particular weapon and Style combination might seem awkward and unwieldy at first, there is almost always a well-justified design choice behind that. No combination seems inherently better or worse than any other, which means that Monster Hunter X offers a degree of variation and diversity unparalleled by any preceding game in the franchise.
However, the downside is that some of the styles and arts seem situational at best. Using Bushido will grant you an immense advantage against the more predictable foes, but severely limits your options against smaller, faster opposition. The same can really be said about Aerial style. The new angles of approach opened up by the style are invaluable against larger monsters, but more mobile opponents put you on the back foot rather quickly. This can be considered as a way to encourage diversity, as both Bushido and Aerial style are immensely powerful under the right circumstances, but I don’t think it’s the right way to go about it. It’s immediately frustrating to be punished for taking an inappropriate style to a fight, where you should be encouraged for the choices you make.
The other major addition is the option to play as a ‘Nyanta,’ the feline companions that have been a mainstay of the series for generations. The Nyanta system is deceptively complex, with an overwhelming number of skills to choose from fitting into one of several different archetypes. The general focus of Nyanta play is support, so there are the usual array of healing, trapping and buffing skills to keep the party in prime form. Other abilities include piercing boomerangs, combo attacks, and the fan-favourite cat tank, which is fully player-controlled for the first time. These support skills draw from a gauge that builds up over time, as well as by attacking, with more powerful skills requiring more gauge. In addition, Nyantas are incapable of using items, which means any healing must be done through the use of skills. It’s a simple system that encourages aggressive, yet careful play, and in the right hands, a Nyanta can be just as deadly as any hunter. It’s a lot to get your head around though, with additional skills unlocked as you progress, and certain archetypes being restricted to certain skills. Still, it’s a welcome addition, and it’s a nice change of pace from the usual hunter play. They are also invaluable for gathering quests, with an increased gathering speed and no reliance on tools like pickaxes and bug nets.
Gathering materials is more prominent now than ever before, with the changes to the equipment upgrade system. In addition to requiring a selection of specific materials, an upgrade may also call for a number of materials drawing from a particular category. For instance, upgrading a base weapon may require two Iron Ore, as well as a total of 8 points from the ores category. Rarer materials give more towards that point total, and later upgrades tend to have a higher upgrade threshold. In theory, this should serve to alleviate the need for rarer drops, a situation that the Monster Hunter franchise is almost infamous for. In practice, it doesn’t really change the general flow, with rare materials required for upgrades at key points regardless. My experience thus far has shown a decrease in the number of required rare drops, making progress significantly quicker than previous games. Another new addition to the upgrade system is the leveling mechanic. Rather than branches in weapon trees being hidden until separate paths open up, all potential paths are visible from the start. Leveling up a weapon usually comes with slight increases in attack power and sharpness, as well as opening up the potential to branch down any pathways at an equal or lower level. This means that branching pathways are available at any point in the upgrade path, but it quickly becomes overwhelming to see all of these potential options laid out in front of you. Taking note of which paths branch where is almost mandatory if you want to get the most out of your upgrades.
The roster of monsters available in Monster Hunter X comes in at a rather hefty 71, with an additional 34 small monsters to round it out. In comparison to the previous title’s 75 large monsters, it’s a small step down, but there’s still plenty of content to get stuck into. With the shoutout to the older titles with X, the bulk of the monsters filling out the roster are returning from previous titles, with a grand total of seven new monsters. While this is a rather disappointing number, it’s worth noting that X was never designed to be a mainline entry in the franchise, instead sitting as a spin-off title akin to Monster Hunter Portable 3rd for the PSP. The new additions to the roster are all vibrant, well-designed and possess a great deal of character, particularly the four ‘flagship monsters.’ They all possess their own ecological niche and core design motifs, and they each present a unique, interesting fight.
Each of the four flagships are tied to a particular village, and each is designed to evoke memories of an earlier game. For example, Raizex is a flying wyvern akin to series mainstay Rathalos. It inhabits the same area, and the ecological niche, and has a similar fighting style, while possessing its own unique traits. The Japanese mythology vibe of the Leviathan, Tamamitsune is a perfect fit for the hot spring village of Yukumo, and calls back to the aquatic themes of the third generation. These four monsters are a definite highlight of the game, as they’re each incredibly well designed, from an aesthetic, thematic and mechanic perspective. Of the other new additions, Hororo Horuru is the standout. This strangely-named creature is a majestic blue owl with a range of status ailments to ruin your day. The Great Maccau is your standard early-game enemy, but certainly isn’t lacking its own flair. With the wide range of returning monsters, some some have been tweaked to better fit with the current mechanics. New moves and, in some cases, new status ailments are spread across the roster, which reaches all the way back to the first generation, and even into the Japan-exclusive MMO, Monster Hunter Frontier. However, some additions seems questionable at best. Monsters like Cephadrome and Plesioth add nothing to the game, with exceptionally frustrating fights and no real payoff. Fan favourites like Barioth and Gigginox are nowhere to be seen, and there is a notable absence of subspecies, presumably to more effectively highlight the Variant Species. Still, with such a large roster, they can’t all be winners.
To venture into spoiler territory, the final new creature takes the role of a final boss of sorts, barring your progress into higher ranks. The Osutogaroa is a strange cephalopod-like creature covered in the skeletal remains of fallen wyverns. It’s an interesting concept coupled with a menacing, otherworldly design, but unfortunately, the fight itself falls short of expectations. Previous elder dragons akin to Osutogaroa have presented lengthy, challenging fights unlike anything else in the game, but this one lacks any real unique concepts, and is deceptively simple. It’s a disappointing cap to the game’s journey, but any Monster Hunter fan will tell you that the journey does not end when the credits roll.
Monster Hunter X has its own approach to end-game content, in the form of Variant Species. These unique creatures are unlocked as you progress through the online portion of the game, and present a threat beyond anything else you may have faced thus far. In basic terms, these Variant Species are alterations of previously-encountered creatures, often emphasizing a single trait and possessing a wider, deadlier set of moves. Early on, you might face a Variant of Arzuros. For those unfamiliar, a regular Arzuros is a simple bear-like creature that only really poses a threat in the beginnings of your journey. The Arzuros Variant, dubbed the Crimson Helmet remains a threat even towards the end of your adventure, with a slew of powerful moves and a very aggressive temperament. The moves change enough to throw you off guard, and the unique aesthetic design of each variant helps them stand out from their base species. If you’re familiar with Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, this Variant system effectively takes the place of Guild Quests. While there is nothing here quite as difficult as a Level 140 Apex Rajang, these Variants pose enough of a challenge to keep you invested well into post-game.
Accessing these Variant Species is done through the exchange of special tickets. These tickets can be accrued either through StreetPass, or simply purchased using resource points accumulated from completing quests. Tickets are consumed regardless of the quest outcome, so approach these quests with caution. Completing a Variant Species quest rewards you with exclusive materials used to make a unique set of armor and accompanying weapons. These armor sets possess distinctive skills that generally can’t be found anywhere else, and outside of the challenge, are the main reason to pursue Variant Species. Completion of any Variant Species quest will unlock a more difficult version of the quest up to Level 10. Each subsequent level provides better potential rewards, and upgrading any Variant Species equipment requires these higher-level rewards. As a late-game objective, Variant Species equipment pales in comparison to the sheer breadth of the Guild Quests and Relic systems of 4 Ultimate, but this system seems much more approachable and less repetitive. It’s also not quite so RNG-dependent, which is an advantage in and of itself.
This brings up the question of difficulty. To be blunt, Monster Hunter X is the easiest game in the series by a rather lengthy margin. Hunters are empowered by the wealth of new tools at their disposal, allowing an unprecedented level of aggression. Monsters however, seem to have had their damage output significantly diminished. The result then is a string of fights that generally don’t last much longer than 5 minutes, perhaps less so in multiplayer. However, the action is incredibly engaging and entertaining, and the frenetic pace of combat is a joy to behold. There is still some difficulty here, particularly heading into the online content, but never quite to the degree of previous titles. It’s never quite as satisfying to bring down an enormous foe when they never feel like much of a threat to you, but satisfaction in Monster Hunter X comes from other areas. It’s worth noting that, like Portable 3rd, X does not have a G-Rank, instead capping out at High Rank. There is still a veritable wealth of content between both Low and High Rank, so I don’t think that’s anything to be discouraged by. Instead, it encourages the player to get the most out of their current rank, rather than blitzing through to G-Rank as was prominent in previous titles.
All things considered, it’s difficult to think of Monster Hunter X as anything else but a step to the side, rather than a step forward. All of the additions here were aimed at approaching the same content in a different way, rather than adding new mechanics, or refining older ones. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as Monster Hunter X is still a whole lot of fun to play, but it never feels quite like the next big step that it should have. Styles and Arts are an interesting new addition, and the sheer wealth of options for experimentation means there’s always something to do here. Monster Hunter X is a game for veterans of the franchise. Those experimentation options will mean little to someone unfamiliar with the finer details, and the constant attempts to play on nostalgia will go completely unnoticed. As a long-term fan, I do wholeheartedly appreciate all those subtle nods, and the sheer breadth of content on display is nothing short of entrancing, but it’s difficult to recommend this title to franchise newcomers. However, Monster Hunter X is a sheer joy to play, and the easier progression lowers the bar for entry quite considerably. My recommendation for a Monster Hunter game still goes to 4 Ultimate but there is plenty to love in X even if it’s not quite the progression we wanted it to be.Roads Less Traveled
Text and photo by Paul
A province with a long history of emigration abroad, Fujian's unique culture is arguably more mainstream in Chinatowns overseas than in its own coastal location on the east coast of its homeland. While you might be pleasantly surprised by the mix of modern skyscrapers and colonial architecture of Fujian's major metropolises like Xiamen, the real gem of tourist sites in the province is found in the charming Hakka earth houses located four hours from the coast.
The Hakka are a subgroup of Han Chinese who arrived from central China and settled in the southeastern provinces of Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Fujian before migrating overseas. A number of notable figures, including Deng Xiaoping, have traced their ancestry to this unique culture and people. During the 17th century, conflict between the Hakkas and the Cantonese drove many refugees to the rural mountains of western Fujian where they began building earth houses to protect themselves from bandits and wild animals.
The Fujian earth houses (福建土楼Fújiàn tǔlóu) are large, communal living structures built of rammed earth and brick that made for easily defendable walls. Most of these large houses were built round in shape with different internal sections for food storage, armor, temples, and residences that held as many as 300 people. UNESCO designated 46 of the earth-house clusters in Fujian world heritage sites in 2008.
To get to the Hakka earth houses, take a direct bus from Xiamen that winds you through stunning rural countryside of scenic farmlands and lush green hills as make your way to Yongding. Since the earth houses are scattered in small clusters throughout the remote area, it's best to choose only a few to visit for the day. Before entering the buildings, take a moment to notice the gun holes on the outer walls and the iron-shelled wooden door at the main gate.
The inside of the earth houses offer fascinating glimpses into the miniature Hakka worlds of a forgotten time. Start off by roaming around the ground level where you can visit the ancestral halls, shrines or kitchens in the common courtyard. As you slowly work your way up the wooden stairs to the residences on the upper levels, make sure to snap a few shots of the beautiful roofed tiles and eaves below. Be careful not to wander into an unsuspecting grandmother's private quarters though—people still inhabit these buildings.
As there are more than 20,000 earth houses in Fujian, if you haven't had your fill by the end of the day, there's no need to rush back to Xiamen. With basic Chinese, you can talk to one of the earth-house residents who will be happy to cook you a simple meal and let you spend the night for a reasonable price.
Travel Information
Flight from Chengdu to Xiamen: 2.5 hours, RMB700 to 1,300
Bus from Xiamen to Yongding: 4 hours, RMB45
Most buses leave in the morning on the hour from Xiamen's downtown bus station.
Things to See
Zhencheng Lou—most lavish earth house
Hongkeng Earth-house Cluster, Hongkeng Village, Yongding Town, Hukeng County
振成楼(洪坑土楼群 永定县湖坑镇洪坑村)
Yuchang Lou—one of the oldest and tallest earth houses
Xiaban Village Earth-house Cluster, Shuyang Town, Nanjing County
裕昌楼(南靖县书洋镇下坂村下坂村土楼群)
Chengqi Lou—largest earth house
Gaobei Village Earth-house Cluster, Gaotou Town, Yongding County
承启楼(永定县高头镇高北村楼群)
Jiqing Lou—largest rotunda earth house
Chuxi Earth-house Cluster, Chuqi Village, Xiayang Town, Yongding County
集庆楼(初溪土楼群 永定县下洋镇初溪村)
This article was first published in CHENGDOO citylife Magazine, issue 23 ("streets")St. Patrick’s Day in Calgary 2013
St. Patrick’s day is a time of national celebration for the Irish, kind of like a second Christmas, and a time to remember their Patron Saint.
Whether you’re from the land of leprechauns or not, if you’re looking for a place to celebrate with an Irish party you’re in luck! There are a number of pubs downtown hosting them between now and Sunday, March 17th.
JAMES JOYCE
For something authentic, the James Joyce is probably your best bet. This pub, located in the old Molson’s (TD) Bank building on Stephen Avenue, is Irish owned and operated by the Currans. Enjoy hearty Irish food and drink, and music by Fraid Knot.
Doors open at 10:00AM, only $10 cover. VIP Tickets are $30.00+GST and include a VIP entry line, breakfast, party favours (while supplies last), and you’re able to come and go as you please (according to AGLC and fire regulations). For more information call (403) 262-0708.
THE LIBERTINE PUBLIC HOUSE
Why drink green when you can drink craft? You won’t have to at The Libertine where they always have 18 rotating taps |
to question the validity of that job.
A GoFundMe has been set up in Amylea’s name. Please show them some support by donating or sharing this article.
Healthy Holistic Living Editor’s Update:
Today Amylea is back home in New Mexico with her family and doing quite well, however, now she is fighting a different battle…Now Amylea’s new fight, along with thousands of other New Mexicans enrolled in the state’s medical marijuana program, is finding the medicine that her mother says ‘saved my daughter’s life.’ Amylea’s mother, Nicole Nunez, is suing the New Mexico Department of Health claiming the strict plant count producers are allowed to grow cannot meet the needs of all the patients in the state. (Source)
The Department of Health said it can’t comment on pending litigation but said the program has increased its number of licensed producers in the state, adding 12 this year for a total of 35. It has also increased the number of plants producers are allowed to grow from 150 to 450. There are currently 28,927 patients enrolled in the program. Right now the Nunez family travels back and forth to Colorado to buy their hemp oil, even though [a spokesman for Ultra Health, one of the state’s medical marijuana producers with six dispensaries around New Mexico] said he’d be able to make enough to meet their needs if the state allowed him to. (Source)
A Santa Fe District Court judge listened to testimony from both sides in August 2017 and is set to announce a decision by November 2017. (Source)
Matt Agorist writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appearedMARS SOCIETY ANNOUNCEMENT View this email in your browser HP & Mars Society Partnering on Mars Home Planet Initiative
Dr. Robert Zubrin to Talk at Inaugural HP Meetup Friday 7pm PDT
Hewlett Packard (HP) and the Mars Society are partnering to bring you the HP Mars Home Planet initiative, a program intended to conceive, plan and ultimately build a virtual colony on the Red Planet that the online public can experience in virtual reality (VR).
HP Mars Home Planet will allow participants to join the virtual mission by designing buildings, transportation, infrastructure, clothing and other related elements needed for a VR human presence on the Martian surface.
HP representatives have described the new effort as “a universe-changing design, architecture, engineering and virtual reality project for the imaginative problem-solvers and technology enthusiasts of tomorrow.”
Dr. Robert Zubrin, President & Founder of the Mars Society, will be one of the primary speakers during the inaugural HP Meetup on Friday, September 29th from 7:00-10:00 pm PDT, and will also serve as one of the judges for HP’s virtual program.
Other participants will include Ryan Holmes, Founder & CEO of SpaceVR, and Sean Young of HP, who will lay out the details of the project, including exactly what the program is looking for and requirements for submission. A panel of scientists and experts will also join the HP Meetup session to discuss plans for Mars exploration.
Those interested in attending the HP Mars Home Planet Meetup in person at HP headquarters (1501 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA) should register at: https://www.meetup.com/Mars-Home-Planet/events/242778501. If you would like to join Friday’s event via live streaming, please visit our web site (www.marssociety.org) or our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheMarsSociety) prior to the scheduled Meetup.
Facebook Twitter Website YouTube Share TweetJohnny Blaze is burning his way into Slide Show Collectibles Exclusive Marvel Ghost Rider Sixth Scale Figure.
Blaze is consumed by fire as his skull bursts with flame as the Ghost Rider takes over granting him supernatural powers of strength and endurance along with the ability to wield the deadly hellfire.
The statue is masterfully crafted by Walter O’Neal, JPark, Narae, Tim Niver, and an assortment of painters and molders on Sideshow’s expert team.
More from Bounding Into Comics
Ghost Rider stands 12″ high and weighs about one pound. He comes with four different hand sets. One pair of fists, one pair of chain holding hands, one pair of expressive hands, and one exclusive “Hellfire” hands. And those chain holding needs a chain whip and metal chain and of course he has it.
His skull features a translucent fire effect that creeps up from the collar of his jacket. He also comes equipped with his signature “JB” belt buckle. And you can see the time they put into this statue with the expert detail on the microscopically stitched jeans. My favorite feature is his articulating jaw that really allows you to personalize the figure while on display!
Take a look at this gorgeous craftsmanship:
You can pre-orderSideshow’s Ghost Rider Sixth Scale Figure today! It’s an absolute gorgeous piece of craftsmanship!
(Visited 652 times, 1 visits today)KALAMAZOO, MI – A Kalamazoo Township man who subjected a boy with autism to sexual abuse and torture that included locking him in a dog cage and pulling out eyebrow hairs will spend at least 25 years in prison.
A jury found David John Bassett, 52, guilty of one count each of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and torture, and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct following a two-day trial last week in front of Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Alexander C. Lipsey.
The jury deliberated for about an hour before reaching its verdict Thursday, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Carrie Klein said.
The charges against Bassett stemmed from incidents that occurred between 2006 and 2008 and involved a boy with autism who was between the ages of 6 and 9 during those years, Klein said.
Klein said Bassett will receive a minimum of 25 years in prison for first-degree criminal sexual conduct when he is sentenced April 29 in front of Lipsey.
Bassett was accused of sexually abusing the boy and authorities also say he was tortured, according to Klein.
She said the torture consisted of, among other things, being kept in a dog cage, having his eyebrow hairs pulled out and his penis squeezed until it would bleed.
“The evidence showed it was very sadistic treatment toward the child,” Klein said.
Klein said the boy testified last week at Bassett’s trial.
Klein said Monday that one of the second-degree criminal sexual conduct charges that Bassett was found guilty of stemmed from a 2006 incident in Texas Township.
That incident, Klein said, was originally investigated by the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office but no charges were brought in the case at that time.
Klein said she did not know if any of the other charges stemmed from incidents that were brought to the attention of police prior to the Kalamazoo Township police investigation that eventually led to Bassett’s conviction last week.
Bassett has a criminal record that includes a 2007 conviction in Kalamazoo County for distribution of child sexually abusive material. In that case, Bassett pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and five years of probation.
Contact Rex Hall Jr. at rhall2@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter.27-year-old Dalvir Singh died at the Maribyrnong detention centre on February 13 after allegedly taking his own life.
Mr Singh was detained at the centre after overstaying his student visa.
His brother Harpal has told SBS Radio's Punjabi program, he believes the federal government should have kept him informed about what took place.
"As far as the detention centre or the police is concerned, they didn't think it was their duty to tell me anything. They didn't even give me the news about his death. It was the Indian Consulate that told me about it. I am a citizen of this country- I live here. Shouldn't the authorities here look after their citizens? Whatever I've come to know, it's only through media reports or newspapers."
Victorian Police have confirmed they are not regarding the death as suspicious and are currently preparing a report for the coroner.
The coroner's office says there will be a public hearing into the matter which is being treated as a death in custody.JACKSON, MI – These are sobering times for old-fashioned American sports guys. We must accept the plain truth: soccer won and we lost.
Nine days ago, I enjoyed an old-fashioned sports dream weekend by attending a Detroit Tigers baseball game and then visiting Allen Park to watch the Lions play a "simulated" football game at their practice facility. Fifty-six years of steadfast futility suggest they need practice.
As I drove home full of the thrill of pro football training camp, I hit a dead-stop traffic jam on I-94 near Ann Arbor. To avoid that mess, I jumped onto US-23 and found more gridlock continuing for miles.
"Stop cursing at the other cars," my wife said. "It's not their fault."
"Of course it's their fault!" I roared. "They're in my way!" Outbursts like that explain why she claims I need blood-pressure medication.
"These traffic jams cannot be a coincidence," I surmised. "There must be something going on in Ann Arbor."
Checking her smart phone, my wife provided the answer.
"There's a soccer game in Ann Arbor," she said. "Manchester United versus Real Madrid."
"Good Lord, the end is near," I stammered.
We had stumbled into the largest crowd ever to watch a soccer game in the United States, 109,313 people converging on Michigan Stadium to cheer European teams. Many paid hundreds of dollars for tickets, and it wasn't even a real game. It was an exhibition game.
Old-fashioned American sports guys grew to adulthood mocking soccer because it's boring and it had no tradition in the United States.
My high school did not have a soccer team, and we didn't want one. No schools in our area played soccer. That started to change in the 1980s.
Our generation fought a good fight, snorting at the absurdity soccer taking root in the United States.
Then, all of a sudden, our kids started playing soccer. We had to pretend to like it, even though we feared it could ruin real football.
"If good athletes play soccer," we grumbled amongst ourselves, "how will America produce running backs and wide receivers?"
Eventually we noticed young adults crowding into sports bars to watch World Cup soccer games. They seemed excited even though the score was always 0-0.
If 109,313 people will now pay to watch soccer on the most sacred turf of college football, the fight is over. The Big House was even splashed with ads for European beer.
Reality cannot be denied. I now suspect we are watching soccer become the most popular sport in the United States. Two generations more should do the trick.
Prepare terms of surrender, old-fashioned sports guys. We lost.
-- Contact Brad Flory at brad@lifeinplaid.comHOUSTON - The Aldine Independent School District Middle School teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old student was released Wednesday — hours after she turned herself in to Montgomery County police.
Prosecutors said Alexandria Vera had a sexual relationship with one of her students and also got pregnant by the eighth-grader.
An Aldine Independent School District peace officer was assigned to investigate an improper relationship between Vera and a student at Stovall Middle School, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Alexandra Vera court document
Vera, an English teacher, admitted to conducting a sexual relationship with the student since last September, authorities said. A report said the student was in her eighth-grade English class. The DA's office said the officer received school records showing the student to be younger than 14 when Vera began the sexual relationship.
Vera told the officer that she first met the student during a summer school session. The DA's office said the student tried to communicate with the teacher on Instagram. She later sent a message to the student after he didn't show up for class, which led to the student asking for her phone number, prosecutors said.
Vera said the student asked if the two of them could hang out and she agreed, according to court documents. She told an officer that she drove to the student's house to pick up the boy, and they drove around and kissed in the car, court documents say.
Vera said she drove to the student's house again the next day because the student's parents were not home, the report says. According to the report, Vera said that was the first time when she and the boy had sex. Officials believe that was in September.
Vera said the student's parents not only knew about the relationship, they approved of it and allowed the teen to spend the night at Vera's home in Spring, where they engaged in sex on a regular basis, according to court documents. She told an investigator that she would drop him off at home in the morning so he could catch the bus to Stovall Middle School, prosecutors said.
Vera told an officer that the school had an open house in October, when she met the student's parents. After the open house, Vera went to the student's home and was introduced as his girlfriend to his parents. According to the report, Vera said the parents were accepting of their relationship and she was invited to family gatherings.
Parents to whom we spoke were in disbelief.
[VIDEO: Alexandria Vera released from jail]
"(It's) horrible for any father or any family member going through this situation," Gerson Bonilla said. "When you send your kid to the school you think everything will be safe for them and everything. But I think this is something that is serious that needs to be investigated."
Vera told investigators that the relationship with the student grew, and they continued to have sex and spend time together. According to court reports, Vera said she got pregnant with the student's baby in January. She told the officer that the student's family was told about the pregnancy and that they were supportive and excited about the baby, prosecutors said.
Court documents said Vera had an abortion because she got nervous when Child Protective Services showed up at school in February to question her and the student about their relationship. The DA's office said Vera denied the relationship then.
An officer did a forensic examination of Vera's phone. According to the report, many messages between the teacher and the student were consistent with what she had said.
She faces a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Copyright 2016 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.What's The Difference Between Debt And Deficit?
European Union officials are spending the weekend preparing a massive bailout package to deal with Ireland's debt crisis. Meanwhile, protesters took to the streets of Dublin to denounce the painful public spending cuts heading their way.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Washington is bracing for the official release of recommendations from President Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
And if an unscientific survey of people at a suburban Maryland is any indication, we could use a primer on the differences between debt and deficits.
"I don't think I do know the difference," says Kohl's shopper John Matsick. "There is a difference?"
L.T. Jones, a Washington, D.C., resident, chimes in: "I don't think I can explain the difference honestly. Personally the only thing I can worry about right now is that I have debt."
This Year Vs. History
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, tells NPR's Audie Cornish the terms are often confused.
"The deficit is how much the government borrows each year -- it's how much more it spends than it takes in in revenues," she says. "The debt is all the borrowing we've done, accumulated. So the debt is trillions and trillions of dollars because it's each year's deficit layered upon the previous years."
She says the United States is in a dire position -- with projections that the government will never be able to balance the budget, that there will always be deficits. That situation, MacGuineas says, is the result of overconsuming for too long.
"We're over-leveraged," she says. "I think leverage -- or borrowing -- was the theme that really put us into this crisis that we've recently endured. And, in order to help get out of it, we've had to borrow more.... We have to figure out a way to not live beyond our means, both in the family level and in the federal government level."
MacGuineas says in the 1990s, on the heels of a large deficit, the White House and Congress "woke up to the concerns about deficits and debt.
"They did all the things that you have to do to bring deficits down," she says. "They raised taxes, they cut spending, they put strong budget rules in place to keep these things on track -- and we made a lot of progress, progress that was really bolstered by a growing economy and a stock market bubble."
Those efforts were bolstered by a baby boomer generation in the prime of their working years.
The Return Of Red Ink
But once budget surpluses returned, MacGuineas says, official Washington lost its resolve, and the cycle started over.
"Suddenly it was tax cuts and spending increases everywhere," she says. "It was Christmas. We got everything we wanted. The narrative in this country changed from fiscal responsibility to 'deficits don't matter.'... And nobody tried to pay for the policies that they put in place."
In the coming months, MacGuineas says, she doesn't think it's realistic for Americans to hold out for a balanced budget. But she thinks debt reduction, as a percentage of the overall economy, is possible.
Ultimately, she's hopefully the White House's fiscal commission will make progress. But she warns to watch out for false promises.
"We're not going to grow our way out of these problems. We can't do it by cutting taxes more or spending more," she says. "You have people who are always making claims that sound great if only they were true -- but it's wishful thinking."I think we can all agree that yesterday was a big day. Here at Critical-Distance, we had an amazing new guest curator (Jill Murray!) to present This Week in Video Game Blogging, and there was also a big thing with lots of expensive ads to watch on TV – you guess it: the Puppy Bowl! What with all that excitement, we wanted to hold back on the Blogs of the Round Table roundup to make sure you had time to take in and digest everything yesterday had to offer. Hopefully, you’re now recovered/recovering from yesterday’s happenings and are ready for an exciting roundup. This month’s theme was ‘Player’s Choice’
This month, we’re interested in hearing about self-regulated or self-inflicted rules. For instance, do you take stealth games so seriously that any detection causes you to restart from the last save point? Or maybe, when you played Skyrim you completed the game without once using a melee weapon? Alternately, perhaps you refuse to run left in side scrolling games – no backtracking allowed. Maybe you only ever allow yourself to rotate Tetris pieces two times. Maybe you played with an all female cast in Fire Emblem? Maybe, just maybe, you always choose the last dialogue option in games, no matter what it is. These are the circumstances we want to hear about: choices you make as a player that aren’t dictated or necessitated by the game, but which alter your experience and understanding of the game. Tell us about your choices and commitments to self-regulated play circumstances. Let’s talk about the resolutions you’ve made and how strong your resolve was in sticking to those modes of play.
Kicking us off this month, Oscar Strik of Sub Specie uses the theme to discuss the ways players create subgames and what the creation of those subgames reveal about play styles and player types. His analysis covers stealth play and role play. Strik’s analysis also considers what happens when the play styles we once to incorporated ourselves become a part of the game itself. He says:
The more your specific playstyle becomes part of the official game rules, the less it becomes a game within a game.
Commodore Purry’s Cupcake Party contribution also discusses roleplay by musing over self-imposed roleplay in Fallout: New Vegas. Commodore Purry developed a list of constraints to make playing in hardcore mode even more meaningful. I won’t detail the list of constraints here, though there are some good ones, because the really interesting bit is in how the constraints changed morality in the game:
I felt myself playing the game differently as well as viewing my own morality in a more disposable way.
PeterZ was also thinking about morality this month. Over at One More Continue, PeterZ discusses the eternal conflict between the dedication to play as the bad guy when we’ve been socialized to want others to like us. This is especially difficult, PeterZ notes, when unlike real life, video games validate our goodness thereby making it even harder to be evil.
Taking a different tack, Phil of Tim and and Phil Talk About Games, took the opportunity to discuss ‘Player’s Choice’ in terms of multiplayer games – specifically Counterstrike. Phil describes his self-imposed play style is being comprised of ego (challenging himself to use challenging weapons) and empathy (considering whether everyone in-game is having a fun/good experience). Phil states,
These two tendencies–one which is essentially showing off and another that boils down to some kind of strange fairplay–might seem to be at odds with each other. But they find a home in exploring the joy of competition within the rules of the game. The theatre of it.
This month, Leigh Harrison also considered the theme in terms of a multiplayer setting: a Half Life mod in which a group of role players made the most of the mod’s limited amenities to create a rich world of interaction. Harrison then uses this as a springboard to compare and contrast the role player’s dedication to eschewing the game’s rules against his own, more “adversarial” mode of play.
Over at Depth of a Failsman, Taylor Hidalgo recalls his experience with Shenume and his exploration play that stretched and reformed the limits of its narrative. Hidalgo notes,
The more choice the game gave me, the more I pushed at the boundaries. However unorthodox, though, I don’t think the game ever made my choices “wrong,” per se. They never did more than waste a few minutes or yen, for the most part, and sometimes managed to help Ryo’s quest along.
Also considering the bounds of narrative, but this time through the lens of translation philosophies, The Rev catalogs an experiment in which a friend, Rick, plays through the original Japanese version of Catherine (Kyasarin) to see if the game is different in translation. To make the experiment more interesting, Rick must play with some other, alcoholic, parameters too. The end result, in addition to what I imagine would be a rough hangover, is that Rick’s perception of the characters and story did change.
In a similar vein, Zachary Kerr reflects back on his experience of trying to be a pacifist in Skyrim, and how playing this way revealed the inherently violent undertones of the game itself. He states,
My pacifistic experience reveals dissonance between the heroic tone of the game and the nature of the acts I’ve committed. There is Skyrim the story, and there is Skyrim the game. The clash between my story and the mechanics weakens the game for me. The game pretends that I am a hero while I commit severe crimes against other people.
Over at Vidyasaur, Steve Hernandez played through Castlevania: The Adventure and added one simple rule: No destroying candles unless required. Dorin remarks how much additional difficulty this adds to the game – stage 3 was impossible:
I didn’t make the game harder by changing the difficulty within a menu, I made it harder by choosing not to interact with a ubiquitous and useful element throughout my adventure.
Tom Holt talks about his experience with the (as he notes “poorly named”) Straight Character Challenge in Final Fantasy Tactics, and the six things he learned in the process. In addition to six specific learning outcomes, Holt also advises others to try playing with self-imposed rules and reflects,
self-imposed challenges are a great way to learn something. I strongly encourage everybody to try playing games in a new way, whether officiated or not. Limit your toolkit, and learn to adjust for the gaps. It’s like the old saying: When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
I Think that’s a great thought on which to end this month’s roundup. I hope you enjoy reading this round of submissions as much as I did. It was great to see so many people contribute. If you haven’t already, feel free to use this code to embed the links in your blog (provided your publishing platform allows iframes, that is):
<iframe type=”text/html” width=”600″ height=”20″ src=”http://www.tinysubversions.com/bort.html?month=January15″ frameborder=”0″></iframe>
Also, make sure to check back tomorrow for Mark Filipowich’s February theme. I’ll look forward to your submissions!The Labour Party made a “monumental cock-up” by forgetting to nominate its own candidate to stand as leader of Peterborough City Council, according to a leaked email.
Councillor John Holdich was the only person nominated as council leader, meaning he replaced fellow Conservative Marco Cereste in the role following a meeting of the full council on Wednesday, May 20.
Councillor Mohammed Jamil
However, the decision by Labour’s Cllr Mohammed Jamil not to stand against him was revealed to be a huge mistake by Labour Cllr John Shearman in a leaked email to his own group, which also claimed Cllr Jamil had been forced to gloss over the error in an interview with the PT.
Cllr Shearman’s email stated: “As for last night’s ill-fated council leadership counter-nomination, if anyone is looking for a conspiracy then they are going to be disappointed! It was no more than a monumental cock-up involving a number of people, including myself for not ensuring at the group meeting that we confirmed who was to propose and second the nomination at full council.”
The email went on to say: “When questioned after the meeting by Joel Lamy as to why the nomination was not made, Jamil had the choice of saying either ‘we made a cock-up and no one was sure who was proposing/seconding’ (that would have looked good in the press and on Twitter!) or being less than truthful and telling Joel he had decided not to stand. To his credit he protected the group by choosing the latter.”
Cllr Jamil told the PT straight after the meeting: “I was going to stand. I was expecting all of the opposition’s support but there were people who changed their minds.”
He added: “I’m conciliatory. I want this council to work for everyone in Peterborough. If I went up against [Cllr Holdich] it would send out the wrong signal.”
The failure of Cllr Jamil, who was appointed group leader a week earlier, to be nominated as council leader led to a call for a vote of no confidence by fellow Labour Cllr Jo Johnson.
Cllr Johnson and Labour and Cooperative Cllr Ed Murphy, who himself had been preparing to stand against Cllr Holdich, both walked out of the meeting after Cllr Jamil was not nominated. Both later re-joined the meeting.
After the meeting Cllr Johnson said: “We agreed at a Labour group meeting to oppose Cllr Holdich’s leadership with Cllr Jamil to stand, but he did not do so. There will be a vote of no confidence in the group, and if they do not get it I will walk from the party.”
Labour Cllr Richard Ferris, after reading a tweet which stated that Cllr Jo Johnson had called for the vote of no confidence, tweeted back saying: “And do you really think that she is in charge? Pathetic journalism.”
In his own email to the group, which was leaked to the PT, Cllr Ferris took full responsibility for the failure to nominate Cllr Jamil and offered his resignation as group secretary.
The emails also show Cllr Johnson is pushing for the vote of no confidence once half term ends this week.
An attachment sent from the Labour group to the Peterborough Telegraph by mistake also stated that Cllr Murphy is being investigated for his use of social media.
After being contacted for a comment, a Labour spokeswoman said: “The Labour Party does not respond to unsubstantiated leaked emails.”
The Conservatives hold 26 of the 57 seats in the council, with one seat left vacant.
Cllr Holdich was nominated as council leader by Cllr Peter Hiller who said: “You cannot question his integrity.”
Other party leaders said they were willing to work with Cllr Holdich for the betterment of the council.
Cllr Holdich said: “It’s good for the people of Peterborough if we are working together.”
However, the Conservatives suffered an immediate setback as an amendment, which passed from support by opposition groups, could see the party lose their positions as chairs of council scrutiny committees.
Previous story: Labour leader under fire after deciding not to stand for council leadership.Vega is a declarative format for creating, saving, and sharing visualization designs. With Vega, visualizations are described in JSON, and generate interactive views using either HTML5 Canvas or SVG.
Toolkits
Vega is a visualization grammar, a declarative language for creating, saving, and sharing interactive visualization designs. With Vega, you can describe the visual appearance and interactive behavior of a visualization in a JSON format, and generate web-based views using Canvas or SVG. Vega-Lite is a high-level visualization grammar. It provides a concise JSON syntax for supporting rapid generation of visualizations to support analysis. Vega-Lite support interactive multi-view graphics. Specifications can be compiled to Vega.
Systems
Lyra is an interactive environment that enables custom visualization design. Without writing any code, designers can create visualizations on-par with hand-coded D3 and Processing. Polestar is a web-based visualization specification interface, inspired by Tableau. Analysts can rapidly generate visualizations as part of the data exploration process.
Voyager is a visualization browser for open-ended data exploration. It provides a gallery of recommended visualizations, produced by Compass visualization recommender engine. Compassql is a visualization recommendation engine. Given user query, it suggests visualizations, ranked by both data properties and perceptual principles.
Utilities Datalib is a JavaScript data utility library. It provides facilities for data loading, type inference, common statistics, and string templates. This is a standalone library useful for data-driven JavaScript applications on both the both the client (web browser) and server (e.g., node.js).
Vega's 3rd Party Integration
The MediaWiki Graph extension allows you to embed Vega visualizations on MediaWiki sites, including Wikipedia.On March 16th and 17th, RPI TV will provide ECAC Hockey fans with a professional hockey broadcast, live from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ via online pay-per-view provider America One. RPI TV's broadcast will feature five camera angles, professional commentary, instant replays, scoreboard, stats, graphics, and more. CHN's Adam Wodon will team with former RPI head coach Dan Fridgen to call the games.
Viewers around the world will be able to watch each game live on any internet enabled computer through America One at a cost of $9.95 per game through www.ecachockey.com as well as www.americaonesports.com. Semi-finals will be broadcast at 4:30pm and 7:00pm on Friday, March 16th. On Saturday, March 17th, coverage of the consolation game at 4:30pm will be followed by the championship final at 7:00pm.
After the championship weekend, RPI TV will provide HD quality videos of the games for on demand viewing on their website, www.rpitv.org, at no cost to viewers. DVD and Blu-ray copies will also be available to order at this time.
RPI TV has been producing live broadcasts of RPI's home hockey games since 2005, but the ECAC Championship marks the first time the TV club will produce a live broadcast from an off campus location. Completely student-run television clubs like RPI TV are a rarity at college campuses. RPI TV's annual budget is funded solely through a portion of the Student Activity Fee levied on each RPI student.
"It's truly a unique opportunity for our members and everyone involved. We're extremely excited to raise the profile of RPI TV and ECAC Hockey through our exceptional student-produced broadcasts and free videos on demand," said RPI TV President Ben Vreeland. "It seems only fitting that a championship of student athletes is being broadcast by student television producers," said RPI TV Executive Producer Reilly Hamilton.
For more information about ECAC Hockey and the ECAC Hockey Championship, log onto www.ecachockey.com.
ECAC Semifinal #1 - Colgate vs. Union - 4:30pm - 3/16/2012
ECAC Semifinal #2 - Harvard vs. Cornell - 7pm - 3/16/2012
ECAC Consolation - TBD vs. TBD - 4:30pm - 3/17/2012
ECAC Final - TBD vs. TBD - 7pm - 3/17/2012
RPI TV will be selling DVD and Blu Rays of all of this weekends championship games, as well as a box set of the entire tournament. All proceeds go to support RPI TV and RPI TV
For more information, please contact Reilly Hamilton.Aerospace giant Boeing has released a video showcasing the lightest metal structure ever, which is also one of the lightest materials known to science, called Microlattice.
The entire structure is 99.99% air and is comparable to the hollow honeycomb architecture of bone. The structure is composed of a network of super thin, hollow struts. The struts are around 100 micrometers in diameter and have walls just 100 nanometers thick. It's this design that makes Microlattice 10 times lighter than Styrofoam. However, despite it being insanely light, it is also extremely strong.
Microlattice was first announced in 2011 when a nickel-phosphorous alloy prototype was developed in collaboration between University of California, Caltech and HRL Laboratories – the Boeing-owned lab that built the first laser in 1960. As the video explains, this development has many possibilities, ranging from use in aerospace, high-performance vehicles, as well as shock absorption and vibration insulation.Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images
Chicago Bulls wing Jimmy Butler has a lot to be proud of. Drafted 30th overall in 2011, the former Marquette player has outperformed nearly everyone's expectations as a pro, earning himself back-to-back spots on the All-Defensive second team, a 2015 NBA All-Star berth and last season's Most Improved Player award. He also signed a five-year, $90 million deal this offseason.
All of this came after a difficult upbringing -- as documented in 2011 on this site -- in which his mother kicked him out of the house at 13 with the words: "I don't like the look of you. You gotta go."
But Butler does not want to dwell on any of that.
From Bryan Smith in Chicago Magazine:
Still, he loathes reliving the past -- so much so that he has removed the rearview mirror on his car (yes, really) as a symbolic reminder to never look back. His coach at Marquette University, Buzz Williams, says Butler was so sensitive about his upbringing that he swore Williams to secrecy while playing for him.
Smith continues:
When I ask why he hates talking about the past so much, Butler shifts uncomfortably on the sectional in the grand San Diego house. "It's because I don't ever want that to define me," he says. "I hated it whenever it came up because that's all anybody ever wanted to talk about. Like, that hasn't gotten me to where I am today. I'm a great basketball player because of my work. I'm a good basketball player because of the people I have around me. And if I continue to be stuck in the past, then I won't get any better. I won't change, I'll get stuck as that kid. That's not who I am. I'm so far ahead of that. I don't hold grudges. I still talk to my family. My mom. My father. We love each other. That's never going to change." In fact, the day I visited Butler, his father was staying with him.
Now, we have no trouble with Butler's feelings nor his desire to make a symbolic gesture, but removing an essential car component might not be the best way to go about this. Perhaps if Butler makes a point to frequently check his sideviews and over his shoulder, he can get away with it. Still... we wouldn't recommend it.
But hey, we're not about to tell him what to do. He's an All-Star -- and Mark Wahlberg's good friend, among many other things as captured in Smith's expansive piece.Lashinbang, a “conbini of ‘moe',” boasts of being the largest second-hand shop for otaku goods (figures, other merchandise, official media, doujinshi). Their Akihabara shops were asking customers who was the best girl of summer 2017's anime. With 14 servants, Fate/Apocrypha had a formidable roster to work with. How exactly, they made a showing in the results has certainly raised some eyebrows.
10. Classroom of the Elite's Suzune Horikita - 68 votes
9. Gamers!'s Karen Tendo - 77 votes
8. Fate/Apocrypha's Berserker of Red - 102 votes
7. New Game!'s Nene Sakura - 111 votes
6. Angel's 3Piece's Little Wing - 113 votes
5. Fate/Apocrypha's Berserker of Black - 127 votes
4. Kakegurui's Yumeko Jabami - 150 votes
3. New Game!'s Aoba Suzukaze - 200 votes
2. AHO-GIRL's Yoshiko Hanabatake - 216 votes
1. Fate/Apocrypha's Rider of Black - 274 votes
via yaraon
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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Aug. 28, 2016, 6:34 PM GMT / Updated Aug. 28, 2016, 6:34 PM GMT By Elisha Fieldstadt
President Barack Obama |
average, I may use their number. Sometimes the number in the third decimal place differs slightly, presumably due to all months not having the same number of days.
22. rnk: This is the final rank for each particular data set for 2013. In cases where two numbers are close, future adjustments may change things. For example GISS could easily end up in 6th from 7th. Due to different base periods, the rank is more meaningful than the average anomaly.
Source UAH RSS Had4 Had3 Sst3 GISS 1. 12ra 10th 12th 10th 11th 10th 10th 2. 12a 0.161 0.192 0.448 0.403 0.346 0.58 3. year 1998 1998 2010 1998 1998 2010 4. ano 0.419 0.55 0.547 0.548 0.416 0.67 5. mon Apr98 Apr98 Jan07 Feb98 Jul98 Jan07 6. ano 0.662 0.857 0.829 0.756 0.526 0.94 7. y/m 9/3 17/4 13/1 16/6 13/1 12/6 Source UAH RSS Had4 Had3 Sst3 GISS 9. Jan 0.504 0.439 0.450 0.392 0.292 0.63 10.Feb 0.175 0.192 0.479 0.436 0.309 0.52 11.Mar 0.183 0.203 0.405 0.392 0.287 0.60 12.Apr 0.103 0.217 0.427 0.404 0.364 0.48 13.May 0.077 0.138 0.498 0.480 0.382 0.57 14.Jun 0.269 0.291 0.457 0.431 0.314 0.61 15.Jul 0.118 0.221 0.520 0.483 0.479 0.53 16.Aug 0.122 0.166 0.528 0.496 0.483 0.61 17.Sep 0.294 0.256 0.532 0.517 0.457 0.74 18.Oct 0.227 0.207 0.478 0.446 0.391 0.61 19.Nov 0.111 0.131 0.593 0.576 0.424 0.78 20.Dec 0.177 0.158 0.489 0.475 0.352 0.60 Source UAH RSS Had4 Had3 Sst3 GISS 21.ave 0.197 0.218 0.486 0.461 0.376 0.61 22.rnk 7th 10th 8th 6th 6th 7th
If you wish to verify all of the latest anomalies, go to the following:
For UAH, version 5.5 was used since that is what WFT used.
http://vortex.nsstc.uah.edu/public/msu/t2lt/tltglhmam_5.5.txt
For RSS, see: ftp://ftp.ssmi.com/msu/monthly_time_series/rss_monthly_msu_amsu_channel_tlt_anomalies_land_and_ocean_v03_3.txt
For HadCRUT4, see: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcrut4/data/current/time_series/HadCRUT.4.2.0.0.monthly_ns_avg.txt
For HadCRUT3, see: http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/temperature/HadCRUT3-gl.dat
For HadSST3, see: http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/temperature/HadSST3-gl.dat
For GISS, see: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata_v3/GLB.Ts+dSST.txt
To see all points since January 2013 in the form of a graph, see the WFT graph below:
As you can see, all lines have been offset so they all start at the same place in January.
Appendix:
In this section, we are summarizing data for each set separately.
RSS
The slope is flat since September 1996 or 17 years, 4 months. (goes to December) So RSS has passed Ben Santer’s 17 years.
For RSS: There is no statistically significant warming since November 1992: CI from -0.018 to 1.936.
The RSS average anomaly for 2013 is 0.218. This would rank it in 10th place. 1998 was the warmest at 0.55. The highest ever monthly anomaly was in April of 1998 when it reached 0.857. The anomaly in 2012 was 0.192 and it is now ranked 12th.
UAH
The slope is flat since October 2004 or 9 years, 3 months. (goes to December using version 5.5)
For UAH: There is no statistically significant warming since January 1996: CI from -0.008 to 2.437.
The UAH average anomaly for 2013 is 0.197. This would rank it 7th. 1998 was the warmest at 0.419. The highest ever monthly anomaly was in April of 1998 when it reached 0.662. The anomaly in 2012 was 0.161 and it is now ranked 10th.
Hadcrut4
The slope is flat since December 2000 or 13 years and 1 month. (goes to December)
For Hadcrut4: There is no statistically significant warming since September 1996: CI from -0.003 to 1.316.
The Hadcrut4 average anomaly for 2013 is 0.486. This would rank it 8th. 2010 was the warmest at 0.547. The highest ever monthly anomaly was in January of 2007 when it reached 0.829. The anomaly in 2012 was 0.448 and it is now ranked 10th.
Hadcrut3
The slope is flat since July 1997 or 16 years, 6 months. (goes to December)
The Hadcrut3 average anomaly for 2013 is 0.461. This would rank it 6th. 1998 was the warmest at 0.548. The highest ever monthly anomaly was in February of 1998 when it reached 0.756. One has to go back to the 1940s to find the previous time that a Hadcrut3 record was not beaten in 10 years or less. The anomaly in 2012 was 0.403 and it is now ranked 11th.
Hadsst3
For Hadsst3, the slope is flat since December 2000 or 13 years and 1 month. (goes to December).
For Hadsst3: There is no statistically significant warming since June 1993: CI from -0.009 to 1.793.
The Hadsst3 average anomaly for 2013 is 0.376. This would rank it 6th. 1998 was the warmest at 0.416. The highest ever monthly anomaly was in July of 1998 when it reached 0.526. The anomaly in 2012 was 0.346 and it is now ranked 10th.
GISS
The slope is flat since July 2001 or 12 years, 6 months. (goes to December)
For GISS: There is no statistically significant warming since June 1997: CI from -0.004 to 1.276.
The GISS average anomaly for 2013 is 0.61. This would rank it as 7th. 2010 was the warmest at 0.67. The highest ever monthly anomaly was in January of 2007 when it reached 0.94. The anomaly in 2012 was 0.58 and it is now ranked 10th.
Conclusion:
Everything seemed to go wrong for the warmists this year. The temperatures did not go up; a ship got stuck in huge ice in the Antarctic during their summer; north polar ice made a big come back; and climate change happenings were not significantly different from what can be expected. Can anyone point to anything for warmists to hang their hat on, so to speak, in 2013?
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RedditThe Warden Level Proficiency Bonus Features Green Shapes Cantrips Known Spells Known 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1st +2 Soul Vine, Green Shaping, Spellcasting 2 2 2 1 — — — 2nd +2 Green Tongue 2 2 2 1 — — — 3rd +2 Wild Tradition 3 3 3 2 — — — 4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 3 3 4 3 — — — 5th +3 Extra Attack, Green Shaping (1d10) 3 3 4 3 — — — 6th +3 Tradition Feature 4 3 4 3 — — — 7th +3 Creeping Vine 4 3 5 4 2 — — 8th +3 Ability Score Improvement, Merge with Plants 4 3 6 4 2 — — 9th +4 Tradition Feature 4 3 6 4 2 — — 10th +4 Soul Vine Affinity 4 4 7 4 3 — — 11th +4 Green Shaping (2d6) 4 4 8 4 3 — — 12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 5 4 8 4 3 — — 13th +5 Natural Communion 5 4 9 4 3 2 — 14th +5 Tradition Feature, Nature's Form 5 4 10 4 3 2 — 15th +5 Bastion of Thorns 5 4 10 4 3 2 — 16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 5 4 11 4 3 3 — 17th +6 Tradition Feature 6 4 11 4 3 3 — 18th +6 Greater Soul Vine, Green Shaping (2d8) 6 4 11 4 3 3 — 19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 6 4 12 4 3 3 1 20th +6 Neophyte Constant 4 13 4 3 3 1 Class Features. As a warden, you gain the following class features. Hit Points Hit Dice: 1d10 per warden level
1d10 per warden level Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
10 + your Constitution modifier Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per level Proficiencies Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, scimitar, shortsword, whip
Tools: Herbalism kit Saving Throws: Strength, Wisdom
Strength, Wisdom Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Survival Equipment You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background: (a) a wooden shield or (b) any two simple weapons
(a) a scimitar, (b) a shortsword or (c) a simple weapon
Leather armor, an explorer's pack, and a druidic focus Soul Vine Either through an ancient druidic ritual or through a mad arcanist's experimentations, a semi-sentient, symbiotic plant has been implanted into your body. This plant drains some nutrients and water from your body, and in turn follows your commands, aiding you in battle. This plant responds to your mental commands to the extent that it acts almost as a part of your own body. The vines that snake around your arms and legs can grab and hold any object you would be able to pick up, but, however, can reach up to 10 feet away from you. While you are unconscious, your Soul Vine remains aware of its surroundings but is generally not able to do much without your knowledge besides moving small trinkets and baubles around. As a Warden, you consume twice the normal amount of food and water as a normal creature of your race.
Green Shaping For short bursts, you can cause your Soul Vine to rapidly grow and become better able to aid you during battle. As a bonus action on your turn, you gain the following benefits: You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
You are able to use your Soul Vines as weapons. These act as melee weapons with the reach property that deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d8 + your Strength modifier. You are proficient in all attacks made with your Soul Vine.
If an effect requires you to be within 5 feet of a creature or object, you only need to be within 10 feet of it. Your Green Shape lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are successfully targeted by a Blight spell or Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting. Whenever you are Green Shaping and take fire or necrotic damage, you must immediately make a Concentration check as if casting a spell. The DC for this Concentration check is equal to half the fire or necrotic damage you took or 10, whichever is higher. If you fail this Concentration check, your Green Shaping ends. You cannot Green Shape if your Green Shape was involuntarily ended after your previous turn. Once you have green shaped the number of times shown for your warden level in the Green Shapes column of the Warden table, you must finish a long rest before you can green shape again. Additionally, at 5th level the damage die for your Soul Vine attacks become 1d10. This improves to 2d6 at 11th level and 2d8 at 18th level. Spellcasting Drawing on the innate divine energies of your Soul Vine, you can control the natural world. See chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook for the general rules of spellcasting and the end of this document for the warden spell list. Cantrips At 1st level, you know the Druidcraft cantrip and 1 cantrop of your choice from the warden spell list. You learn additional warden cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Warden table. Spell Slots The Warden table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these warden spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you know the 1st-level spell entangle and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast entangle using either slot. Spells known of 1st level and higher You know two 1st-level spells o f your choice from the warden spell list. The Spells Known column of the Warden table shows when you learn more warden spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the warden spells you know and replace it with another spell from the warden spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots. Spellcasting Ability Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your warden spells, since your magic draws on your attunement to the Soul Vine. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a warden spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier Green Tongue At 2nd level, your connection with the Soul Vine allows you to communicate with other plants as well. You may Speak with Plants as per the spell of the same name at will. You cannot use this to create or remove difficult terrain caused by plants.
Wild Tradition At 3rd level, you choose to nurture your Soul Vine as per the ways of one Wild Tradition: the Tradition of the Blood or the Tradition of the Waters. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 6th, 10th, 14th, and 17th level. Ability Score Increase When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. Extra Attack Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. Creeping Vine At 7th level, your Soul Vine grows large enough to aid your movement even more than before. While Green Shaping, your speed increases by 10 feet. Additionally, you are considered to have a climb speed equal to your movement while Green Shaping. Merge with Plants Starting at 8th level, you can blend into plantlife. As an action, you can attempt to temporarily merge with plantlife nearby. For this to function, you must be adjacent to a tree, mushroom, bush, moss blanket, or other plantlife that is of your size or larger. If you attempt to merge with a sentient plant, they can choose to prevent you from merging with them and become aware of you if they are not already. While merged with a plant, you may move anywhere within the spaces that it occupies so long as you have enough movement to do so. If you attempt to hide while merged with a plant, you gain a +10 bonus to Stealth checks so long as you keep your entire body inside of the plant. If you move only your Soul Vine outside of the plant you are merged with, you only recieve only a +5 bonus to Stealth Checks. If a nonsentient plant that you are merged with would have to make a saving throw, you must also make a saving throw and at disadvantage. If a sentient plant that you are merged with would have to make a saving throw, you must use its result. Soul Vine Affinity At 10th level, you have become even more familiar with the abilities of your Soul Vine. When you attack with it, you may choose to deal bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. Additionally, attacks made with your Soul Vine are now considered magical for the purposes of overcoming damage resistances and immunities. Natural Communion As your Soul Vine grows larger and stronger, your connection with nature deepens further. Beginning at 13th level, once per long rest, you may cast Commune with Nature, Tree Stride, or Transport Via Plants without expending a spell slot. Nature's Form By 14th level, your Soul Vine has become even more incorporated into your being. You have advantage on saving throws against any effect that would change your form involuntarily. Bastion of Thorns At 15th level, you gain the ability to form an impenetrable fortress using your Soul Vine. As an action, you may expend 1 Green Shape usage. When you do so, you plant your feet firmly on the ground and a barrier of thorns appears around you. This barrier can take the form of either a 60 feet long, 10 feet tall, 5 feet thick wall or a dome with an interior radius of 15 feet, an interior height of 15 feet, and a thickness of 5 feet. All creatures that occupy the same space as the barrier when it is summon must immediately make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, they take 8d8 piercing damage. On a successful save, they take half damage and may move 5 feet away from the wall as they jump out of the way. All creatures that move through the barrier take 2d8 piercing damage from the thorns.. All area covered by this barrier takes 4 feet of movement instead of 1 foot. This lasts for 1 minute. Once you use this feature, you must take a long rest before using it again.
Greater Soul Vine Beginning at 18th level, your reach with your Soul Vine extends to 20 feet. As such, you can grab objects with it out to that range as well as attack with your Soul Vine out to that range. Neophyte Upon reaching 20th level, your Soul Vine entirely fuses with your form. You are considered to be a humanoid, a plant, or both for all effects. You use whichever option is the most favorable to you. You are always considered to be Green Shaping for the purposes of your Warden class features and your Green Shaping cannot be ended by any means. If a feature only occurs when you begin Green Shaping, you can reinvigorate yourself as a bonus action and activate any class features that would only occur when you begin Green Shaping. You can still control your vines well enough to function in normal activities outside of combat, but it becomes almost impossible to disguise your status as a Warden without using illusion or polymorph effects. Wild Traditions At 3rd level, all Wardens begin to follow one Tradition which determines how their Soul Vine grows and develops. They are listed below. Tradition of the Blood The Soul Vine is an odd plant that feeds on nutrients inside of its host. However, this is usually not very detrimental to the host due to the Soul Vine allowing it enhanced physical prowess. Some Soul Vine growths, however, require a bit more than just some excess vitamins. These Soul Vines, sometimes called Bloodied Vines, can be fed with blood from the host, allowing even more powerful bursts of strength and ferocity not unlike a barbarian's rage. Gift of Blood When you enter this Tradition at 3rd level, you are able to revitalize your Soul Vine when it would otherwise retreat. When your Green Shaping would end, you may immediately channel your blood and life essence to your Soul Vine. When you do so, you take necrotic damage equal to your Proficiency bonus and your Green Shaping does not end. However, when your Green Shaping ends after using this feature, you gain 1 level of exhaustion.
Bloodied Vine When you enter this Tradition at 3rd level, you also learn how to tactically enhance your Soul Vine during battle. While Green Shaping, you can decide to take damage equal to your Green Shaping damage dice. You do not add an ability modifier to this damage, but this damage cannot be resisted. When you do this, your Soul Vine begins to lightly drip blood as it lashes out at your foes. You add your Proficiency bonus to all damage rolls of your Soul Vine for 1 minute or until your Green Shaping ends. Warrior's Soul At 6th level, if you fall unconscious while Green Shaping, your Soul Vine continues fighting. When you fall unconscious while Green Shaping, you can choose to activate this feature, which lasts until your Green Shaping would end, you die, or you become conscious. When you activate this feature, your Soul Vine continues to attack while you are unconscious. On each of your turns, you still make Death Saving Throws as normal if you are not stable, but you may also take the Attack action if you choose. When attacking in this way, you are considered to have Blindsight out to a range equal to your reach with your Soul Vine. You are not allowed to use a Bonus Action during this time and your movement is 0. Once you use this feature, you must take a short or long rest before using it again. Vicious Evolutions Starting at 9th level, when you Green Shape, you gain one of the following benefits for the duration. You choose this each time you Green Shape. Thorns: Your Soul Vine grows sharp thorns along its length. Attacks made with your Soul Vine score a critical hit on a 19 or a 20
Your Soul Vine grows sharp thorns along its length. Attacks made with your Soul Vine score a critical hit on a 19 or a 20 Poison: Your Soul Vine becomes coated in a thick, syrupy sap. Once per turn, you can cause one creature struck by your Soul Vine to take 3d6 poison damage.
Your Soul Vine becomes coated in a thick, syrupy sap. Once per turn, you can cause one creature struck by your Soul Vine to take 3d6 poison damage. Bark: Your Soul Vine grows a rough bark over itself. You add your Strength modifier to damage rolls for your Soul Vine attacks twice. Bloodroot Starting at 14th level, when you kill or reduce a creature down to 0 hit points with your Soul Vine, you can use a bonus action to regain 1d10 + your Constitution modifier hit points as the Bloodied Vine saps your enemy's life force. You must have killed or reduced the creature to 0 hit points since the beginning of your last turn. Vicious Improvements Starting at 17th level, the evolution chosen when you Green Shape advances. You gain an additional benefit depending on which option you choose. Thorns: When you score a critical hit, you roll the damage dice from your Soul Vine 3 times instead of 2.
When you score a critical hit, you roll the damage dice from your Soul Vine 3 times instead of 2. Poison: The additional poison damage increase to 5d6. As a bonus action, you can cause a creature who has taken damage from your Poison evolution since the beginning of your last turn to take that amount of damage again.
The additional poison damage increase to 5d6. As a bonus action, you can cause a creature who has taken damage from your Poison evolution since the beginning of your last turn to take that amount of damage again. Bark: You may make 1 attack as a bonus action with your Soul Vine. However, this attack only deals twice your Strength Modifier and no additional damage. You cannot substitute this attack with a grapple or shove. Tradition of the Waters As Soul Vines grow larger and larger, they begin to need more and more resources. Some wardens feed their vines their blood, but others use more sustainable approaches. The Tradition of the Waters utilize Soul Vine growths that require much more water in exchange for more protective and defensive capabilities. Gift of the Waters When you enter this Tradition at 3rd level, your Soul Vine needs noticably more water than before. You now require 4 times the normal amount of water for a creature of your race. Because of this, your Soul Vine is almost always wet. Additionally, while Green Shaping, you have resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning, and poison damage. The warm water flowing through your Soul Vine dilutes toxins, warms the cold, douses fires, and redirects electricity away from your vital organs. Additionally, you do not need to make a Concentration check to maintain your Green Shaping when you take fire damage. You still need to make Concentration checks as normal when you take necrotic damage. Defending Vine When you join this Tradition at 3rd level, your Soul Vine becomes more adept at defending you. While Green Shaping, your AC equals 14 + your Wisdom modifier. You do not recieve any benefit from using a shield when you calculate your AC in this way.
Verdant Defense At 6th level, if you fall unconscious while Green Shaping your Soul Vine encases you in its vines as the ultimate defense. When you fall unconscious while Green Shaping, you can choose to activate this feature, which lasts until your Green Shaping would end, you die, or you become conscious. When you activate this feature, your Soul Vine wraps itself around you to protect its host. You immediately stabilize. For the duration, your armor class is 16 + your Wisdom Modifier. Additionally, whenever you need to make a Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution saving throw while using your Verdant Defense, you can choose to make a Wisdom saving throw instead. Spells can still be cast on you through your Soul Vine as normal. Once you use this feature, you must take a short or long rest before using it again. Great Bulwark Beginning at 10th level, your Soul Vine has become more fortified and can effectively protect you from most damage. While Green Shaping, you have resistance to all damage types except for necrotic, as your Soul Vine interposes its thick bulk between you and your attacker. Earth's Vitality, Water's Clarity In your symbiotic relationship with your Soul Vine, your Soul Vine begins to restore and purify your body in addition to its normal offensive capabilities. Beginning at 14th level, when you begin Green Shaping, you can immediately regain 1d10 + you Constitution modifier as if you spent a hit die. This does not spend a hit die. As your Soul Vine infuses you with more and more strength and power, you begin to be able to heal yourself even faster than most creatures. While you are Green Shaping, you can expend a hit die as a bonus action. You may only expend one hit die with each bonus action, but may expend hit dice in this manner as long as you have hit dice remaining. Additionally, you become immune to disease and poison as your Soul Vine begins to imbue pure waters into your body. Gaia Surge Beginning at 17th level, once per long rest you may realign yourself with the earth and plant your vines firmly into the firmament as an action. You magically heal Hit Points up to your current Max HP and you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to 2d10 + your Wisdom Modifier. This fuctions even if you are on another plane of existence or not on natural ground.
Warden Spell List Cantrips (0 Level) Druidcraft
Frostbite (EE)
Guidance
Gust (EE)
Magic Stone (EE)
Mending
Mold Earth (EE)
Poison Spray
Resistance
Shape Water (EE)
Shillelagh
Thorn Whip 1st Level Absorb Elements (EE)
Animal Friendship
Create or Destroy Water
Cure Wounds
Detect Magic
Detect Poison and Disease
Earth Tremor (EE)
Ensnaring Strike
Entangle
Fog Cloud
Goodberry
Healing Word
Jump
Longstrider
Purify Food and Drink 2nd Level Animal Messenger
Barkskin
Darkvision
Dust Devil (EE)
Earthbind (EE)
Gust of Wind
Locate Animals or Plants
Locate Object
Moonbeam
Pass Without Trace
Protection from Poison
Silence
Spike Growth
Warding Wind 3rd Level Conjure Animals
Daylight
Dispel Magic
Erupting Earth (EE)
Feign Death
Meld into Stone
Nondetection
Plant Growth
Protection from Energy
Speak with Plants
Tidal Wave (EE)
Wall of Water (EE)
Water Breathing
Water Walk
Wind Wall 4th Level Blight
Conjure Woodland Beings
Control Water
Elemental Bane
Freedom of Movement
Grasping Vine
Hallucinatory Terrain
Locate Creature
Stone Shape
Watery Sphere(CNN) -- People along the Texas coast were leaving home or planning to evacuate Thursday as Hurricane Ike churned toward them, slowly intensifying on its march west.
Forecasters say the storm could slam into the Texas coast -- south of Galveston -- as a powerful Category 3 storm late Friday or early Saturday.
Mandatory and voluntary evacuations were planned or underway in at least seven coastal counties.
Aransas County, on the eastern coast of Texas, has ordered a mandatory evacuation of all nonessential government employees, becoming the latest county in the state to urge residents to flee.
In Galveston, city officials ordered mandatory evacuations for part of the island town beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday. The rest of the town will be under a voluntary evacuation order. Only residents will be required to evacuate on the western end of the island.
Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas defended that, saying current models call for Galveston to be hit with winds and rain only equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane.
"We do not intend to evacuate Galveston Island," she said. "It's the last thing we want to do. Our job is to protect lives and property, [and] right now we feel that sheltering in place is the best action for our citizens to take."
Farther up the Gulf Coast and closer to where the National Hurricane Center predicts a direct hit, Brazoria County ordered a mandatory evacuation to begin at 8 a.m. Thursday. Some other Texas localities have ordered mandatory evacuations, while others have left the decision to depart up to residents.
As of 5 a.m. ET Thursday, the Category 2 storm -- with top sustained winds near 100 mph -- was about 620 miles east of Brownsville, Texas, and about 285 miles southeast of the Mississippi River, the hurricane center said. Track the storm »
Hurricane-force winds extended out up to 115 miles from the storm's center, and tropical storm-force winds extended out up to 255 miles forecasters reported.
About 15,000 residents were leaving Galveston's Brazoria County Wednesday after a mandatory evacuation order was issued at 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET) governing one ZIP code -- 77541 -- and residents throughout the county with special needs.
Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc issued a warning to residents of the city's West End, citing forecasters' estimates that the area could get tides of 6 feet above normal if the storm arrives there. The West End is the area of Galveston most susceptible to flooding, LeBlanc said.
Other Brazoria residents were being allowed to remain as of 6 p.m. ET.
In Matagorda County, southwest of Galveston, officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for all areas except the cities of Bay City and Van Vleck.
The evacuation must be completed by at 6 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) Thursday. Galveston is likely to experience a high tidal surge, officials said, urging people living in low-lying areas or mobile homes to get out soon.
"One of the things that the public has to understand if they decide to stay, there will be a period of time during this storm when they will absolutely be on their own," Brazoria County Sheriff Charles Wagner said.
"There will be no medical services; there will be no fire department; there will be no law enforcement, groceries, gasoline, drugs, electricity."
The center issued a tropical storm warning from the Mississippi River's mouth to Cameron, Louisiana, and a hurricane watch from Cameron to Port Mansfield, Texas, about 60 miles south of Brownsville. Tropical storm warnings mean winds of 39 to 73 mph (63 to 118 kmh) are expected within a day, and a hurricane watch means winds of 74 and higher are expected within 36 hours.
"Hurricane Ike is now in the Gulf of Mexico and making its approach toward our coast," Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement. "The next few days will be crucial for residents to follow the direction of local leaders and to take the necessary steps to protect themselves and their families."
Perry put 7,500 National Guard members on standby this week, his office said, and issued a disaster declaration for 88 counties.
About 1,350 buses, several ambulances and paramedic buses were available to support evacuations. The vehicles were positioned near Houston, Matagorda County, Nueces County and Victoria County, the governor's office said.
President Bush declared an emergency in the state, making federal funds available for the state to prepare for the storm.
Corpus Christi officials also began the evacuation process for residents with special needs, supplying buses to transport them out of town.
Voluntary evacuations were issued in San Patricio and Victoria counties and parts of Jackson County, according to the governor's office.
More than 1,300 inmates from the Texas Correctional Institutions Division's Stevenson Unit in Cuero were being evacuated to facilities in Beeville and Kenedy, Perry's office said, and 597 were transferred from the substance abuse Glossbrenner Unit in San Diego, in south Texas, to Dilley.
Naval air stations in Texas also began to prepare for Hurricane Ike's expected arrival. Naval Air Station Kingsville was to begin moving about 50 aircraft to El Paso, San Antonio and Fort Worth on Wednesday afternoon, the public affairs office there said. Naval Air Station Corpus Christi will also move about 75 aircraft to other Texas locations, its public affairs office said.
Evacuations appeared to have saved lives in Cuba when Ike slammed into the island. Four deaths were reported from the storm, according to the Cuban government. The Cuban Civil Defense brought buses or trucks to take people to shelters. See the damage from the storm »
Cuban state television reported that two people were killed when they tried to remove an antenna, The Associated Press said. One man died when a tree crashed into his home, and a woman died when her home's roof collapsed, according to the AP.
The storm shredded hundreds of homes and caused some dilapidated buildings in Havana's older areas to collapse, the AP reported. Watch as winds and waves pound Cuba »
The United States, which provided $100,000 in emergency aid to communist-run Cuba through private aid agencies after Hurricane Gustav hit the island August 30, said Tuesday that it was considering additional emergency aid for Cuba because of Ike.
Also, the United States said it will lift restrictions on cash and humanitarian assistance sent to Cuba for the next 90 days. The move will allow nongovernmental organizations to provide assistance and cash donations.
The storm pounded Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos chain, putting a strain on the British territory's tourism industry. Watch houses lie in heaps on Grand Turk »
Flooding and rains from Ike's outer bands have been |
pre-written, and some of it algorithmically generated on the fly during the performance, was constructed by Ben Rubin, Mark Hansen and myself (The Office for Creative Research) in close collaboration with John Collins and Elevator Repair Service. We constructed a system of narrative boardwalks through the data; John and the performers at ERS learned how to walk the planks. The performances were a culmination of a long Artists Experiment residency that we undertook at MoMA, an undertaking which in many ways set the stage for this week’s public release of the data that served as the periodic table for our performance.The Trump administration announced Monday that it is taking a multibillion-dollar step to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs’ electronic medical records system to make it compatible with the Defense Department’s records.
“This is one of the biggest wins for our veterans in decades,” President Trump said at the White House.
VA Secretary David J. Shulkin announced the move that’s intended to streamline the agency’s health care for veterans by coordinating their records with the Pentagon.
“I have decided that VA will adopt the same [electronic health records] system as DoD,” Mr. Shulkin said. “It’s time to move forward.”
Mr. Trump said the use of two separate systems “has caused massive problems for our veterans.”
“We are finally taking steps to solve the situation once and for all,” the president said.
Mr. Shulkin is issuing a waiver on open bidding requirements due to “the urgency and the critical nature of this decision.” The move means that the VA can issue a solicitation directly to Cerner Corporation for acquisition of the EHR system currently used by the Defense Department.
Veterans likely won’t see changes for several years, with the software contract to be forged over the next six months, and the system’s custom design and implementation to take much longer. Mr. Shulkin couldn’t estimate the eventual cost but noted that the VA system will be bigger and more complex than the Pentagon’s, which cost about $4.3 billion.
The money isn’t in the VA’s current budget, and Mr. Shulkin said he’s already begun talking to House and Senate appropriators about additional funding.
House Appropriations Chairman Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, New Jersey Republican, said he has been pushing for the upgrade for years.
“To avoid interruptions in care or expensive redundancy, the Appropriations Committee has demanded that the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense use an identical or at least compatible or interoperable network,” Mr. Frelinghuysen said. “Today, with his decision, Secretary Shulkin confirmed that the time for action has arrived.”
Rep. Charles W. Dent, Pennsylvania Republican and chair of the Appropriations subcommittee on Military Construction/Veterans Affairs, said an integrated medical records system is a “bipartisan goal” in Congress.
“My focus is to provide the best care possible for veterans, supported by a modern electronic health record system that best serves their needs as they transition from active to veteran status and protects their personal information in a cost-effective manner,” Mr. Dent said.
The VA has been long criticized for records and scheduling systems that cause backlogs and long wait times for treatment.
In the 1970s the agency pioneered the electronic system known as VistA, which manages health care information for millions of veterans at VA centers and clinics across the country.
But critics say that VA officials have failed to upgrade the system, leading to consideration of a commercial provider.
Mr. Shulkin said VistA “is in need of major modernization to keep pace with the improvements in health information technology and cybersecurity.
“Software development is not a core competency of VA,” he said. “I said recently to Congress that I was committed to getting VA out of the software business, that I didn’t see remaining in that business as benefitting veterans. And, because of that, we’re making a decision to move towards a commercial off-the-shelf product.”
Concerned Veterans for America Policy Director Dan Caldwell said the decision was long overdue for the Veterans Health Administration.
“The VA’s electronic health record system is obsolete and is a barrier to making the VHA a better-functioning health care system,” Mr. Caldwell said. “We commend Secretary Shulkin for following through on his promise to modernize information technology at the VA, and we hope this new system is properly implemented.”
Mr. Shulkin said the government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to make the Defense Department’s and VA’s health records systems more compatible, but he said many challenges remain.
“Seamless care is fundamentally constrained by ever-changing information-sharing standards, separate chains of command, complex governance, separate implementation schedules” and other complexities, he said. “The bottom line is we still don’t have the ability to trade information seamlessly for our veteran patients and seamlessly execute a shared plan of care with smooth handoffs.”
He added, “Without improved and consistently implemented national interoperability standards, VA and DoD will continue to face significant challenges if the departments remain on two different systems.”
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.I have something really special to share with you next week. It’s been a while since I did a Cinematic Chiasmus, and I’ve got a great one in store for you.
In the meantime, I have prepared a list of beautifully sad movie music themes in case you’d like to shed some tears.
1. Casper – One Last Wish
I love how the visuals and little snippets of dialogue in this video add to the emotional resonance of this already-perfect musical composition from 1995’s Casper.
2. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story – Main Theme
This song starts softly and then kicks into its triumphant, moving stage at about the 1-minute mark. Fun bit of trivia: Randy Edelman, who composed Dragon’s beautiful score, also did the score for Gettysburg. You can hear little touches from that film’s score in this song.
3. Edward Scissorhands – The Grand Finale
I wish I loved Edward Scissorhands because there is a lot to love about it. Even though I think it’s a flawed film, there’s no denying that Danny Elfman’s score is flawless. Especially this bit of music from the film’s finale. It builds in a crescendo before coming to a devastatingly beautiful apex. That scene where Edward tells Kim he can’t hold her and then she climbs into his arms is the highlight of the film, in my opinion.
4. Krull – Colwyn And Lyssa
James Horner pops up again on this list to offer a quietly understated theme for the hero and heroine of Krull. I really like this movie. Sure, it has some oddities in its storytelling, but it more than makes up for its flaws with its earnest performances and fantastic music. Prepare to feel your heartstrings being tugged.
5. Kung Fu Panda 2 – Po Finds the Truth
I already wrote about what a triumph Kung Fu Panda 2 is. This sequel tops its already-great predecessor in every way and takes the audience on an astonishing emotional rollercoaster. Especially this scene. The music alone has me in tears, but the visuals just make it that much more heart-wrenching. I cannot watch this scene without crying tears of sorrow and profound joy.
6. The Land Before Time – Littlefoot’s Mother Dies
A few movies made an indelible impact on me as a child. The Land Before Time is one of them. I can’t believe how sad this movie is. Every scene makes me want to either cheer or cry. This scene is similar to the one in Kung Fu Panda 2, with the mother sacrificing herself for her son and being forced to leave him on his own.
7. The Rocketeer – Jenny
The Rocketeer is such an underrated film. I’m so glad director Joe Johnston got a chance to really shine with Captain America: The First Avenger. James Horner’s score is so fitting. It feels majestic and like it’s floating high in the air, as it should. He sells the film’s romance with this captivating theme.
8. Rudy – To Notre Dame
As I mentioned once before in a very personal article, Rudy inspired me to graduate from college. This part, in particular, stuck out to me. This music goes with the scenes of Rudy’s best friend dying, followed by his saying goodbye to his girlfriend at the funeral, and then talking with his dad. His dad tries to talk Rudy out of chasing his dream and going to Notre Dame, saying that Rudy can have a decent life, like his older brothers. But Rudy refuses to be like his brothers and bravely sets out on an adventure.
I felt the same way growing up. I wasn’t as confident or talented as my brothers when it came to drawing, public speaking, or engineering. I had a pretty bad stutter and I was very shy. I had a talent for writing, and I wanted to become a better speaker, so I was determined to go to college to develop my talents. Watching Rudy overcome every obstacle in his path gave me courage to overcome my own and become the good man I am today.
9. Somewhere in Time – Main Theme
I love Somewhere in Time. Everything about this movie is so melancholy and yearning for joy. Especially the music.
10. WarGames – Home Movie
https://youtu.be/jA6Z8WwTzIM?t=14m36s
I couldn’t find this track in isolation, so you’ll just have to click the link above to go check it out. It’s definitely worth it. It’s definitely the simplest composition on this list, but I think it is amazing. It has this sense of childlike longing wrapped up in a somber little package. It plays over the scene of the main characters talking about how a great scientist lost the will to live after his wife and son died in an accident. I love this song.
Tears of Joy
Are you in tears yet? I definitely shed a tear or two as I worked on this article. I love beautiful music that challenges and uplifts me. These music tracks all produce rich emotions in my heart and bring up melancholy memories from my childhood and beyond.
As I said before, I have a special treat planned for next week, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.
All video clips are the copyright of their respective owners.
AdvertisementsWhile threats to data security and privacy are often perceived to come from the outside, all signs point to internal threats being just as dangerous, intentional or not.
Forrester recently released its Understand the State of Data Security and Privacy report, which offered insight on the reasons behind data breaches, with internal threats emerging as the leading cause. The survey—which featured respondents from Canada, France, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. from companies with two or more employees—also covered other topics, including how security budgets are being allocated and the changing landscape of security teams' responsibilities.
According to Forrester's research, insiders take the cake as the top source of breaches in the last 12 months, with 36 percent of breaches stemming from inadvertent misuse of data by employees. Obviously, the issue here is ignorance; the study's numbers indicate that only 42 percent of the North American and European small and midsize business workforce surveyed had received training on how to remain secure at work, while only 57 percent say that they're even aware of their organization's current security policies.
"People don't know what they don't know," said Heidi Shey, a Forrester analyst and the author of the report. "You've got to give them some kind of guidance and guard rails to work with."
What to watch
It's also important, however, that the business has some amount of visibility to what's happening on its networks, given that 25 percent of respondents said that abuse by a malicious insider was the most common way in which a breach occurred in the past year. While a lot of security focus is on looking outwards and what's coming in, Shey said, there also needs to be some attention being paid to looking inwards and seeing what's going on within the company and what's going out.
There could be, for example, someone who has employee level access to segments of the network so everything they do looks like employee activity. As such, companies often aren't looking at something like that even though it could be suspicious.
"Security teams need to look at this and ask, is this normal? Is this a normal pattern? Is this what the typical employee does as part of their work, or is this behavior out of the ordinary?" Shey said. "Spotting these kinds of patterns is one way to address that issue."
Of course, implementing the means to track this kind of behavior is often easier said than done. While the survey results indicated that 17 percent of the collective security budgets of the respondents was going towards data security (the second highest allotment behind network security at 21 percent), that doesn't mean as much if the budgets themselves are light on funds in the first place. As such, how exactly these companies choose to invest in data security solutions is important.
Often, companies take their budgets and only (or mostly) invest in technology and expect it to do the rest of the work for them, Shey explained. They're not investing in the front end, like internal processes or policies, that aren't necessarily technology. Some of these solutions need to be fine-tuned or fixed so they look for exactly what the company wants.
"Until they get their house in order on the front end, anything they throw on the other side is not as effective as they would have hoped or expected it to be," Shey said. "If you don't know what your data is or what you need to protect, you can't do much to protect it properly."
Suggested solutions
Since some of the solutions, like data leak prevention, are not a silver bullet, Shey recommended a more holistic approach to security by using a data control framework. Things like data leak prevention and encryption are useful for data protection, she said, but they're very tactical. "You need to be more strategic on a higher level," she said. "That's where this kind of framework comes in."
The framework is split up into three parts, the first of which involves a company defining its data, the very thing it wishes to protect. So aspects like data discovery, classifications, and determining what exactly the company values all come into play here.
Then companies need to dissect their data. Companies typically have traditional reporting tools, said Shey, which tell them about alerts and events. They can then analyze this data and see what information they can glean about visibility, their environment, and what exactly is going on in that environment. They can also look at data flows to see where it goes and how it's being used. By looking at their security data and info about their data, companies can determine the requirements that need to be put on the type of data they're handling.
The final part of the framework is, of course, defending. Defending and inspecting access controls, proper data disposal (getting rid of data that is no longer needed, as it could be a liability), and killing or encrypting data are all imperative in carrying out the last step of the data control framework.
"The framework is a way we found to be really helpful with enterprise clients," said Shey. "It's a good way to think about this whole big picture view on how to handle and treat data in the enterprise."
Security teams are beginning to take on more responsibility, too. When it comes to privacy, security is only one aspect of the larger picture and as such, IT security groups generally are not the only ones involved. The survey results, however, indicated that 30 percent of the respondents' security teams were "fully responsible" for privacy and regulations, with the most frequent answer being that security is "mostly responsible" at 34 percent.
This contrasts with 2012, when responsibility for privacy and regulation appeared to be shifting towards a dedicated privacy officer. The changes in 2013 may not necessarily be a beneficial change either, however, as privacy programs should first mature and security teams could get overloaded with the extra responsibility.
"With data security, people think of it as a technical thing," said Shey. "But with privacy, there are a lot more cooks in the kitchen. Because of that, you'll see a greater variation in the proportion of folks."
Shey went on to give examples of other involved parties, including those in a company's legal department, given the risk in compliance. There are also, as previously mentioned, dedicated privacy groups and privacy functions at a company, but this may not always be the case.
"A lot organizations haven't invested in a dedicated privacy group or function," said Shey. "So instead there are often IT teams with legal or risk and compliance groups that have more privacy responsibility. It's an extra role on top of security."
That said, security and privacy go hand in hand. Privacy is more the regulatory side of things, while security is the enforcer side of it; security ensures that the measures that are in place are actually supporting the privacy initiatives and policies. Shey points out that while it's good to see that companies are caring more about privacy, they may realize going forward that they should have a dedicated group."
"It shouldn't be an add-on on top of what a security group is already doing," Shey said. "The security group should be involved, but they don't need to be the ones leading privacy efforts."
This story, "Biggest data security threats come from inside, report says" was originally published by CSO.It's a treasured American maxim that every problem is an opportunity in disguise. Seven months before the mid-term election Democrats face a serious problem: most Americans feel the country is headed in the wrong direction and many blame the president. Meanwhile, Republican billionaires are spending millions of dollars on attack ads with the intent of sweeping Dems out of Congress. Nonetheless, 2014 is an opportunity for progressives to remake the Democratic Party with a clear populist ethic.
The latest Gallup Poll indicated that 73 percent of respondents are, "dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States." That same poll found that only 45 percent approved of the way President Obama is doing his job. (Although Obama's numbers are bound to get better, given the number of enrollees for Affordable Health Care and the corresponding surge in support.)
Fortunately, underneath this political turmoil is a hopeful reality: most Americans don't want less government; instead, they want government to work for all the people not just the rich and powerful. In a February speech, political columnist Jim Hightower identified the core problem: "[In] today's America... too few people control too much of the money and power, and they're using that control to grab more money and power from the rest of us." Average Americans realize our democracy is slipping away and want politicians who will fight for the 99 percent.
2014 is an important battle in an ongoing struggle for the soul of America; a class war that's flared up several times in the Republic's 238-year history: plutocrats versus democrats. On one side we have rich capitalists, the 1 percent, who believe what is good for them is good for the country; who believe whoever has the most wealth should have the most power. On the other side are egalitarian democrats -- populists -- who believe what benefits the 99 percent strengthens the country; who believe power should be shared by all the people.
Although Americans are concerned about lots of issues -- the minimum wage, decent jobs, healthcare, education, and protection of the environment, to name only a few -- what they crave is a reassertion of fundamental American values: fairness, justice, and equal opportunity for all. (By the way, these are the same values that motivated America's founders.)
Fairness begins with the assertion the economy must work for all the people. This means that the proceeds from economic growth should go to everyone, not just the one percent.
Fairness requires that women and men get equal pay for the same work.
Justice requires that Americans be treated be treated equally regardless of class, race, ethnicity, age, or sexual persuasion. Justice requires that the 99 percent get a say in their government by being able to vote. Justice requires common-sense limits on the role of money in elections -- politicians should not be bought and sold by the rich.
Justice requires a level playing field. Justice demands a society where all citizens have access to food, water, shelter, and healthcare; a nation where everyone has the right to a decent education and the requisite support services (such as childcare).
And, justice requires that all Americans have the right to live in a healthy community free from environmental pollution, where they can trust that the air the breathe, the water they drink, and the food they eat are from harmful contaminants.
Equal opportunity for all means ensuring that everyone who wants to work can find a job -- a job rebuilding American's infrastructure, if need be. And this should be a decent job that pays a living wage and has benefits such as healthcare. Opportunity means keeping alive the cherished myth of the triumphant individual. As UC professor Robert Reich tells it, "The little guy who works hard, takes risks, believes in himself, and eventually gains wealth, fame, and honor."
The 2014 midterm election offers voters a stark choice. On the one side are plutocrats and their Republican lackeys who want to maintain the status quo. Politicians who are satisfied with an economy that benefits the one percent at the expense of everyone else. Republicans who, for the 5+ years of the Obama Administration, have dogmatically blocked every Democratic initiative to create jobs. Politicians who resist all efforts to raise the minimum wage, create gender wage equity, or extend unemployment benefits. Republicans who feign disbelief at global climate change while stolidly supporting subsidies and policies that benefit fossil-fuel companies. Politicians who argue a corporation is a "person" and strive to limit voting rights for struggling Americans at the same time they work to shred campaign-finance reform.
On the other side of the 2014 election are populists. They must keep the American dream alive and prevent capitalist barbarians from storming the gates of American democracy. Populists have to rally Democrats and Independents to keep an already troubled Washington from descending into absolute gridlock. The way for populists to succeed is by emphasizing classic American values of fairness, justice, and equal opportunity for all.
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About author Bob Burnett is a Berkeley writer, activist, and Quaker. Before starting a second career as a journalist, he was a technologist and one of the founding executives at Cisco Systems. Bob can be reached at Bob Burnett is a Berkeley writer, activist, and Quaker. Before starting a second career as a journalist, he was a technologist and one of the founding executives at Cisco Systems. Bob can be reached at boburnett@comcast.netIf there is one particular thing I am proud of Faby and Carlo (London Boudoir Photography) is the personal feedback we receive from our customers. Today I am not going to talk about our images. Our style is displayed in every page of this site, and you can love it or hate it. Today I will talk about Faby and Carlo, the way we are. That is something that defines our brand, our style and… well it is us.
We say that we are “Uncompromisingly Faby and Carlo“, as what you see is what you get. This is why the Skype or phone conversation part of every Boudoir Photography Experience is not optional. We want to know you, but more than that, we want you to know who we are. If you are thinking of being photographed intimately, we believe you should know who your photographers are.
Why we don’t take ourself too seriously
One of the things we say to everyone is that we don’t take ourself too seriously. The world is already full of worries that we prefer to live our lives mindfully. We believe that a smile on our face can change the way the world responds to us, so we tend to be positive and easy going.
Does this affect our professionalism? No, of course not. It simply means that we leave our worries out of the door. We believe that taking a deep breath before over-reacting is a nice way of living.
Do you like this approach?
Faby and Carlo or London Boudoir Photography?
Faby and Carlo started under the name London Boudoir Photography quite few years ago. What we discovered, though, was that a name like that one was not telling much of who is behind the cameras. We moved to “Faby and Carlo” last year, and it has been the best decision ever as that is more who we are.
In the beginning, I said that we are proud of the personal feedback we receive from our customers. Images aside, we are proud we can make everyone comfortable in their skins. And if you think about it, seen that you will wear few things more than that, being comfortable in your skin is the most important part in a Boudoir Photography Experience.
Why Uncompromisingly Faby and Carlo?
In the past, we have tried being who we are not. We tried to become conservative in our style. We tried to appeal to a wider audience. It was a failure. We compromised on who we are, providing an Experience that was not at the quality level we are used to offer. The good thing is that we learned from our mistakes.
“Faby and Carlo” is a style. “Elegantly sultry“, underlying the “angelic/sensual” duality that every woman has. Our style is the one you can see today on every image in our website. We are not scared of the non-sexual nudity, and we know how to photograph it well. This is the style of Faby and Carlo, our style. We have decided that to provide the best service, we do not compromise on that. If you like what you see on our website, I can guarantee you will not find a better service for this style.
Uncompromisingly Faby and Carlo, because only being passionate in what we do we can make you feel and look fabulous.
Get to know us
We want to know you, who you are. We want to know your dreams, your visual preferences, the magic that you would love (secretly or not) to see in your photos. There is something more important than this, though. You are going to be almost naked, if not totally nude, in front of a photographer. This takes guts, but it requires trust. We want you to know us because the trust that can make the thrill become a positive, exciting Boudoir Photography Experience is all you need.
We often rely on technology when distances are too wide. London is big, and traveling from one side of it to the other may take you away hours. Or maybe you are in the States or in Europe, so a face to face meeting is not feasible. But if you are around the corner, you are always welcome for a cup of coffee or tea.
There is one more detail about getting to know us. We have an open book policy: there are no taboo questions. At Faby and Carlo, what you see is what you get.Sen. John McCain's decision this week to suspend his campaign and return to Washington to help address the financial mess wasn't an example of his campaign slogan "Country First." Instead - according to Democrats and the media - it was a chance for McCain to sabotage the deal so he could take credit for rebuilding it.
"Some Democrats suspect that he tried, that he's coming in, working with the House Republicans to blow this up so he can put it back together and get some credit," ABC Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos said and "World News with Charles Gibson" Sept. 25. "It's not clear that he's signed on entirely to the House Republican plans."
Stephanopoulos' suggestion was similar to accusations made by Sen. Barack Obama, McCain's Democratic opponent in the presidential race.
The Obama camp has called McCain's decision to suspend his campaign and return to the capital to help work on a bailout plan a "political stunt." In a Sept. 25 statement, reported by Politico, Obama's team said McCain's move was "aimed more at shoring up the Senator's political fortunes than the nation's economy."
The media have repeatedly sided with Obama on economic issues during the campaign. They have hounded the Republican vice presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, on earmarks while virtually ignoring the pork barrel requests made by Obama and his running-mate, Sen. Joe Biden.
Journalists have also tended to blame the financial mess on Republicans and their support for free market principles. But they've remained generally quiet on Democrats' role in creating, supporting and running Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the beleaguered government-sponsored enterprises at the heart of the crisis.(J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
“Senator, there needs to be a change in the culture of prosecution at the entire federal level. It's a national disgrace. The fact is, we could dramatically cut crime in this country with guns and save lives all over this country if we would start enforcing the 9,000 federal laws we have on the books.”
— National Rifle Association Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre, testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jan. 30, 2013
Many readers have asked us about this claim of 9,000 federal gun laws, which was later repeated by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday when LaPierre appeared on that program. When we checked with NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam for the sourcing, he said that LaPierre had misspoken.
“If anything, he understated the number of laws,” Arulanandam said, noting that the NRA generally refers to “20,000 laws.”
Indeed. A Nexis search found nearly 500 references in media reports, often by NRA officials or their allies, but also by the NRA’s foes. It is repeated in letters to the editors in newspapers big and small. The figure has stretched back almost five decades. Here’s a sampling:
“We have 20,000 gun laws on the books now, but the Attorney General's office has consistently refused to prosecute and consequently imprison convicted felons.They too often go through a revolving door.”
— Charlton Heston, assuming the presidency of the NRA, Sept. 23, 1998
“Criminals violate every one of these 20,000 gun laws on the books.”
— LaPierre, appearing on CBS This Morning, Oct. 1, 1993
“More than 20,000 gun laws are already on the books, and they vary widely. In that sense, a new proliferation of local laws amounts to a powerful argument for national legislation and makes clear its political feasibility.”
— New York Times editorial, July 1, 1982
“Washington, D.C., has probably the strictest gun laws in the United States, and there are some 20,000 gun laws now in the United States. And yet March 30th a year ago, a young man that disabled me — he was in Washington, D.C., in broad daylight, out on the public street, standing, made his way among the press corps as I came out of the building, and all those laws did not keep him from having a gun and not only shooting me but shooting three other people.”
— President Ronald Reagan, question-and-answer session with students at St. Peter's Catholic Elementary School, April 15, 1982
“Consider the fact that we now have on the lawbooks of this nation over 20,000 laws governing the sale, distribution and use of firearms.”
— Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), hearings before the Senate Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency, 1965
Yep, you read that last one right — 1965. That’s three years before passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, the sweeping measure that became law after the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
The Facts
The Dingell quote is the earliest reference found by Brookings Institution researchers Jon S. Vernick and Lisa M. Hepburn when they first tried to untangle this factoid in 2002. (They have a fuller account, including the complete Dingell quote, in the 2003 book “Evaluating Gun Policy,” edited by Jens Ludwig and Philip J. Cook.) The figure was then repeated in a 1969 study, “Firearms and Violence in American Life,” which cited Dingell but noted he did not provide a source when he testified. Dingell’s staff did not respond to a query on Monday about how Dingell came up with the figure.
Vernick and Hepburn argued that, as a result of NRA efforts, “more than 40 states preempt all or most local gun-control laws, which has likely reduced the overall number of local gun laws.” But the Brookings paper has not been updated in the last 10 years.
Arulanandam referred us to three sources for the 20,000 figure: The 1983 book “Under the Gun,” by James D. Wright, Peter H. Rossi and Kathleen Daly; the Firearms Law Deskbook, by Stephen Halbrook, and a compilation of state firearms laws by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Wright noted that his book was 30 years old. He said the figure was “at best a reasoned guess, by no means a precise count,” and was based on four sources: ATF's 1978 publication, “Your Guide to Firearms Regulations;” the NRA's 1975 pamphlet, “Firearms and Laws Review;” an unpublished 1980 paper for the Department of Justice by Edward D. Jones and Marla Wilson Ray and two papers by Philip Cook; and his own survey of weapons policies in a sample of U.S. police departments.
Halbrook wrote in his 2009-2010 edition: “A decade ago it was said that there were over 20,000 laws on the books regulating firearms at the federal, state and local levels. The gun control law explosion since then has surely caused that number to double.” But he said he made that reference simply to indicate there are a lot of laws on the books. “The figure is hyperbole,” he said. “There is no way to count them all,” but the number is in “the sphere of ‘countless.’”
Arulanandam cited the ATF guide to state laws because it is 507 pages long and includes only laws relevant to dealers. “There are more than 3,000 counties in the U.S., most of which have nothing listed in the book. So if there are even a few ‘laws’ per page, and if even a sizable fraction of those counties have anything like a discharge law or a licensing requirement for guns stores, they will add up very quickly,” he said.
But these sorts of counting exercises may not be particularly relevant to the current debate. After all, not all laws are created equal.
Vernick said last week that it is very difficult to add up the number of laws. He counted about 300 state laws as 1999, but it was hard to decide what should be considered a law.
“Even if one breaks down the Gun Control Act of 1968 into separate pieces, is the part requiring, for example, gun dealers to be licensed one ‘law’ or does each separate requirement for the licensing process count as a separate law,” Vernick said. “There is no gold standard answer to a question like this. In part, this is because it’s the wrong question. We need to be asking not ‘how many’ laws (however defined) do we have. But do we have the right ones to make it harder for high risk people to gain access to guns.”
Wright agreed. “Not sure that number is relevant to anything,” he said. “In the context of the times, it was a useful counter-point to the common argument that the U.S. is (was) virtually the only advanced society that exercises no controls over civilian gun ownership, acquisition and use. Not true then and not true now. The problem is not the lack of gun control laws but the lack of nationally uniform and effective laws.”
Alan Korwin, who co-wrote “Gun Laws of America” with Michael P. Anthony, has added up 271 federal gun statutes, but says all of these numbers are fairly meaningless. He has written an essay on his Web site addressing the question of how many gun laws exist, and whether this is even the proper metric in the first place.
“If the goal of the laws is to outlaw crime, then there are enough, because all these luridly promoted acts of infamy involve many laws being violently broken.... Ask if there is sufficient ‘crime control,’ and everyone seems to agree there is not,” Korwin wrote.
Anthony, his colleague, says the issue is complicated by the fact that new federal legislation often changes many gun statutes in the United State code — and that many gun laws are not included in the code at all but in so-called statutes at large.
“The Statutes at Large are federal statutes that have been omitted from the U.S. Code and simply piled into an unnumbered and largely non-indexed compilation of federal laws,” he said. “Even most lawyers are unaware of the existence of the statutes at large.” But he felt more comfortable saying there were thousands of gun laws rather than hundreds.
Korwin, who is highly skeptical of the need for new laws, believes the figure is a distraction. “A few small clues here and there … have led me to believe the 20,000 number was invented, or at best wildly guessed, probably by the gun-rights community, as a catch-all sound bite for the debate,” he wrote in his essay.
“The point is that there are — insert number here — laws on the books that address anything illegal that anyone can do with a firearm,” Arulanandam said. “Having that number of laws, plus one, isn’t going to make anyone safer. What will make everyone safer is if we enforce the laws that we have on the books now.”
The Pinocchio Test
By any reasonable measure, this is suspicious figure. Its origin is murky, and it is inconceivable that the same number of gun laws would exist now as some five decades ago.
Moreover, even experts who favor the NRA’s agenda have their doubts about the figure or its relevance. It may well be the case that there are “thousands” of laws, but what does that mean? What does counting statutes, or local regulations, say about the quality or effectiveness of those laws?
We don’t play gotcha here at The Fact Checker, so we accept that LaPierre misspoke when he said 9,000 federal laws rather than 20,000 laws across the nation. But that slip of the tongue actually points out the fuzzy nature of the claim.
This 20,000 figure appears to be an ancient guesstimate that has hardened over the decades into a constantly repeated, never-questioned talking point. It could be lower, or higher, depending on who’s counting what.
UPDATE: Anthony, and a number of other readers, asked why this merited Three Pinocchios. The Pinocchio rating is always the hardest part of the column and certainly is subject to debate.
In this case, the |
executing hashCode() method. In the braces of the lookupswitch instruction, branch is made to the different location according to the hashCode result value. String "abc" is hashCode result value 96354, and is moved to #36 byte. String "123" is hashCode result value 48690, and is moved to #50 byte.
In the #36, #37, #39, and #42 bytes, you can see that the value of the str variable received as an argument is compared using the String "abc" and the equals() method. If the results are identical, '0' is inserted to the #3 index of the local variable array, and the string is moved to the #61 byte.
In this way, in the #50, #51, #53, and #56 bytes, you can see that the value of the str variable received as an argument is compared by using the String "123" and the equals() method. If the results are identical, '1' is inserted to the #3 index of the local variable array and the string is moved to the #61 byte.
In the #61 and #62 bytes, the value of the #3 index of the local variable array, i.e., '0', '1', or any other value, is lookupswitched and branched.
In other words, in Java code, the value of the str variable received as the switch() argument is compared using the hashCode() method and the equals() method. With the result int value, switch() is executed.
In this result, the compiled bytecode is not different from the previous JVM specifications. The new feature of Java SE 7, String in switch is processed by the Java compiler, not by the JVM itself. In this way, other new features of Java SE 7 will also be processed by the Java compiler.
Conclusion
I don't think that we need to review how Java has been developed to use Java well. So many Java developers develop great applications and libraries without understanding JVM deeply. However, if you understand JVM, you will understand Java more, and it will be helpful to solve the problems like the case we have reviewed here.
Besides the description mentioned here, the JVM has various features and technologies. The JVM specifications provide a flexible specification for JVM vendors to provide more advanced performance so that various technologies can be applied by the vendor. In particular, garbage collection is the technique used by most languages that provides usability similar to that of a VM, the latest and state-of-the-art technique in its performance. However, as this has been discussed in many more prominent studies, I did not explain it deeply in this article.
For Korean speakers, if you need more information on the internal structure of JVM, I recommend you to refer to "Java Performance Fundamental" (Hando Kim, Seoul, EXEM, 2009). I have referenced this book as well as the JVM specifications to write this article. For English speaking readers, there should be many books covering Java Performance topic.Website Spotlight!
JogoBox
RPS Article - http://www.rockpaper...f-free-jogobox/
IndieGames.com Article - http://indiegames.co...he_jogobox.html
JogoBox, though still in beta, is a polished and well-designed Windows PC app that lets you play all sorts of freeware games be they indie, flash, casual or even retro for, err, free. It's quite a bit the Steam-clone like Tiggit only better looking and less open source. Also, and as I just mentioned (you weren't paying attention, were you?), it does actually play older DOS games via dosbox and flash games without any glitches whatsoever, and even though the way those games are categorized does border on odd, I must admit I'm loving the interface and, frankly, the selection of games already on the service.
Hit the jump for a short interview with Renate Geven; one of the creators of JogoBox:
1. Why did you actually create JogoBox? What were your main goals?
We wanted to bring the old retro games alive. We noticed that there is a need for eighties and nineties games, but installing these games could be hard for people with a lack of technical knowledge. With JogoBox we want to give these people the opportunity to play their retrogames with one mouseclick.
There exist a lot of quality indie games, but due to the fragmentation of the market a larger group does not get in contact with indie games. For these games we want to offer (via JogoBox) a place where all of them are brought together.
The main goal is ease of use and we want to reach this by: no registration, no difficult installations, a clear and organized overview of the thousands of games with a simple search system.
2. How do you see it evolving?
We find it really important that JogoBox is easy to use, we don't want to have a (difficult) registration part or difficult installations. We want to have an open platform with free games that can be played by 1 mouseclick. We want to expand JogoBox by adding more indiegames and retro games to the platform (besides the flash games). Besides this, we want to collaborate with more developers in the future.
3. How did you secure the rights to such games as Lost Vikings, Golden Axe and Civilization?
With JogoBox we try to focus on freeware and abandonware games. In most cases we contact the developers to ask their permission to distribute their game. In most cases, their response is positive because they see JogoBox as an extra platform to distribute their game on.Image caption Agathe Habyarimana has been living in France for years, and denies responsibility for the genocide
A French court has rejected a Rwandan bid to extradite the widow of ex-President Juvenal Habyarimana, whose killing sparked the 1994 genocide.
Rwanda accuses Agathe Habyarimana, 69, of helping to plan the genocide. She denies the accusations.
Rwandan Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugaramatold the BBC that he respected the ruling, but said she should now face trial in France.
More than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus died in the massacres.
Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was killed when his plane was shot down above Kigali airport on 6 April 1994.
Within hours a campaign of violence, carried out mostly by Hutus against Tutsis, spread from the capital throughout the country.
The Hutu militias blamed the Tutsis for downing the president's plane, although it has never been proved who was responsible.
It is widely believed that Hutu extremists and the government had long planned the genocide.
Rocky relations 1994: France sends troops to Rwanda as part of UN-led mission; Rwanda later accuses France of protecting genocide suspects
France as part of UN-led mission; Rwanda later accuses France of protecting genocide suspects 2006: French judge accuses Tutsis including President Paul Kagame of the 1994 Habyarimana killing; Rwanda breaks diplomatic ties
French judge accuses Tutsis including President Paul Kagame of the 1994 Habyarimana killing; Rwanda 2009: Rwanda joins Commonwealth; restores diplomatic ties with France
Rwanda joins Commonwealth; with France 2010: Nicolas Sarkozy visits Rwanda, admits France made mistakes in 1994
Nicolas Sarkozy visits Rwanda, in 1994 2011: Mr Kagame visits Paris, says it is time to leave history behind
After the Paris court gave its judgement, Mrs Habyarimana told journalists: "I'm relieved, I've always had faith in the French justice system."
Mr Karugarama told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that Rwanda would respect the ruling "for whatever it is worth".
"Whether we are happy with it or not is a different matter," he said.
He called for Mrs Habyarimana to be tried in the French courts.
She already faces a case in France's civil courts, brought by rights activists in 2008.
But her lawyer, Philippe Meilhac, said the extradition ruling would cause problems for the civil case.
"We can't stay like this for ever. The very serious accusations against Mrs Habyarimana are old and completely denied by Mrs Habyarimana," he said.
France and Rwanda have no extradition treaty, so each case is dealt with separately.
In recent years French courts have turned down several extradition requests for genocide suspects on the basis that the individuals would not get a fair trial.
Rwanda's Tutsi-led government, which seized power after the genocide, has often accused France of not doing enough to help provide justice for the victims.Four white teachers in a predominantly poor, black Philadelphia school are suing a black principal, charging that he suggested they were unfit to teach black students.
Principal Charles Ray III was also charged with treating the white teachers differently than black instructors at Thomas Mifflin Elementary School.
"Charles Ray consistently stated that he had a relationship with top school officials indicating that his conduct was part of an approved policy or was part of a pattern of practices sanctioned and supported by 'higher authority,'" the lawsuits said.
The teachers also alleged that when they complained, Ray retaliated against the quartet. Ray lasted only a single school year before he left, according to the lawsuits.
The school district declined to comment, and spokeswoman Shana Kemp declined to say if Ray was still employed by the district.
Mifflin is home to about 270 students, with about 86 % of them black and 85 % poor.
The school has a history of racial tensions going back to 2007, when a white principal departed over complaints by black teachers.
The next year, a mural at the school was marked with anti-Semitic graffiti - followed by Ray's arrival for the 2008-09 school year.
lmcshane@nydailynews.comThe last time I checked there was a harp on the front of my passport, not a picture of Michael Fingleton
The last time I checked there was a harp on the front of my passport, not a picture of Michael Fingleton
The other day I met a German radio presenter from ARD, the German public radio station. I've known her for quite a while -- since a brief spell working on the German economy in the 1990s for an investment bank. She, like many other foreign correspondents, has been sent to Ireland to see what is going on here.
After a while, I wondered why she hadn't asked me anything about the Government, or the prospect of an election or what new political constellation might emerge here. She joked and in an exaggerated German accent laughed: "David, it doesn't matter who your next prime minister is, he will have no power -- we own you now, and he will do what we tell him."
The problem is that the joke is on us. She touched on the nub of the issue: the Irish elite is prepared to sell the sovereignty of this country to protect the likes of Roman Abramovich and other vulture investors who bought up third-rate Irish banking debt at a discount and are hoping to get paid in full.
In the world of debt, these people are referred to as 'rogue creditors'. Typically, they are treated as rogues. They are nothing to us and should be treated as nothing. As the clever economist Karl Whelan observed, if we are happy that our tax is used to pay Frank Lampard's wages, then that's more of a reflection on us.
People such as Abramovich, like the other creditors, can be told to line up in an orderly queue and wait for the liquidator to give them the morsels that might remain from the broken Irish banking system. The crud Abramovich owns -- an IOU from Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS) -- is not the same thing as Irish government debt.
The last time I checked there was a harp on the front of my passport, not a picture of Michael Fingleton.
Any political party that fights the election on that premise of protecting the Irish taxpayer from vulture investors will get my vote. Not only will that party be doing the right thing, but it will begin the process of giving back to the people the country that we built. This country and our future income needs to be ripped from the grip of the 'political elite' (a group the governor of the Central Bank identified the other day) who are selling us to the lowest, not highest, bidder.
My German friend was amazed when she saw Abramovich's caper and she observed that the Irish parliament kept genuflecting to some crowd called bondholders. She asked me one of the most insightful questions I have heard throughout this long saga: "Do you Irish need to be loved so much that you will stand up for nothing?"
With Germanic precision and with the benefit of distance, she touched a nerve. The Irish weakness for not causing any trouble (bar a few theatrically drunken songs for the audience late at night) has led us to a situation where we are embarrassed to admit that we messed up. We don't want to stand out. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves for serious reasons. Is it because we want to impress the foreigner and above all make life easy for him?
Is it fair to say that over the years the language of resistance has been replaced by the language of compliance?
What is clear is that some countries fight, some make nuisances of themselves, but the default position of Ireland, or at least the Irish elite, is to comply -- no matter what the cost.
So take the example of euro membership. Denmark and Sweden -- two great European countries whose bona fides as EU members was never in doubt -- decided to keep their own currencies because they were perfectly happy with them and the euro's case wasn't compelling enough.
Meanwhile, what did our elite do? They went along for the ride -- one which the evidence would suggest was an extremely ill-advised ride. Ireland had much greater cause for concern about joining the euro, but we hardly made a noise. Why?
Could it be -- to follow my German friend's line of enquiry -- that we didn't have the self-confidence to stand on our own two feet and do some hard analysis about the consequences of this currency or any other decision?
Did we just want to be a mute member of the club -- unlike the pesky Danes, Swedes or, God forbid, Brits?
It is difficult to answer these questions. They are fraught and can lead to lots of heat and sometimes not too much light, but you don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to see a pattern.
Take, for example, Abramovich owning a huge amount of INBS debt. How did he get his hands on it? Who sold it to him? Would it be too much to conclude that whoever -- whichever broker -- sold the debt to him, also sold it to some other mega-rich clients elsewhere?
That would stand to reason. If so, could it be that the mega-rich who are closer to home find themselves in the same position as Abramovich?
Could it be that the only people benefiting from the Government's blind rush to impale the small guy with the debts of Fingleton et al are our own "high net worth" individuals? Could they be pulling the strings?
In all this haze, allegation and counter-allegation, can the "cui bono" question help us at all?
A clear domestic banking resolution law would clear all this up. But we have no such law. So the people are left in the lurch wondering who to believe.
We do know that, for example, the EU Commission gave its opinion on Friday at the wind-up of a Danish bank where it enthusiastically supported the principle of burden sharing.
Here's the quotation from the EU Commission regarding bust Danish banks: "Moreover, burden sharing is ensured by excluding shareholders and subordinated debt holders of the failed bank from any benefit from the aid."
There you have it in black and white. This is what the EU has advised Denmark to do. It clearly states that they won't give any state money to the troubled bank until the subordinated debt holders are burnt.
So let's get back to my German friend's observation: is it because we need to be loved or are we protecting someone big?
The EU says burn them and move on. Logic says don't sacrifice your sovereignty to bail out the hyper-rich, democracy says it is unfair to penalise the poor for the mistakes of the rich. What do you think?
David McWilliams will teach an economics diploma called 'Economics without boundaries', enrolling now; see www.independentcolleges.ie
Irish IndependentComic Archives, yo 152. The Warning 151. Blowing Bubbles The Chosen One, Part 10 The Chosen One, Part 9 The Chosen One, Part 8 The Chosen One, Part 7 The Chosen One, Part 6 The Chosen One, Part 5 The Chosen One, Part 4 The Chosen One, Part 3 The Chosen One, Part 2 ‘The Chosen One’, part one Cobber’s Christmas Video Game Comix 150. Validation 149. Guest Comic by Christopher Baldwin Intermission: The Joys of Spring 148. Blood Baubles 147. No Like 146. The Exercist Intermission: Rhyme Scene Investigation 145. Bad Blood 144. Reel Gone 143. Billions & Billions 142. A Change of Scene 141. Misfortune Cookie 140. Scratch and Snuff 139. The Call of the Mild 138. Reality Cheque 137. Some Assembly Required 136. Have You Heard the News Today 135. Flutter By 134. Duck! 133. Yer Lyin’! (Brad Erkkila Guest Comic) 132. You’ve Grot Mail 131. A Holiday in the Sun 130. Cunning Punts 129. Player Two 128. A Remarkable Sunset 127. That Special Time of Year 126. Spring in the Air 125. The Spawning Ground 124. Democratically Processed Vote Early, Vote Often, Vote Elf! 123. Sheer Heart Attack 122. Remaining Anomalous Intermission: The Hand of Dr. Zelman 121. Born and Bread 120. The Nightmare Front 119. Suck it in! (Sandy Debrueil Guest Comic) 118. For Whom the Bell Jingles Intermission: The Surgery Intemission: Guest Comic by Beartoons Intermission: Boomerang Love 117. Hip to be Square 116. Float On 115. Empty Rooms, Empty Hallways 114. The Mask 113. Muggered 112. The Tourist Trap 111. Gorra Light, Bud? 110. The Spider 109. Unfair Trade 108. The Magic Eye 107. The Vuvuzubu’s Lament 106. Head in the Clouds 105. Spacemob 104. Les Connoisseurs 103. Vampire Weekend 102. Cat’s outta the Bag 101. Mr. Elf’s Bad Day 100. Rainbow’s End 99. The… Storm? 98. Allez les Blobs! 97. Hook, Line and… 96. Well Oil be Damned! 95. The Printer of the Dark 94. Lava Lumps 93. Life’s a Picnic… 92. Ashes to Smashes 91. Finger of Fun 90. A New Leaf 89. The Humongous Fungus 88. Restraining Ordure 87. Life’s a Gas 86. Uncle Joe’s Atom Chomper 85. The Case of the Montefiore Emeralds 84. Dolphin’s Barney 83. Mind Over Matter 82. Thick as Cluck 81. Up the Oiseau 80. Snowflak 79. Buttered Up 78. Die Hardly 77. Zombie Aporkalypse: Epilogue 76. Zombie Aporkalypse Part 7 75. Zombie Aporkalypse Part 6 74. Zombie Aporkalypse Part 5 73. Zombie Aporkalypse Part 4 72. Zombie Aporkalypse Part 3 71. Zombie Aporkalypse Part 2 70. Zombie Aporkalypse 69. Royale with Quease 68. Sleepy Holler 67. Dr. Mysterio’s Wonderarium 66. Mulligan, P.I. 65. Nature Adores a Vacuum 64. Scourge of the Seven Servers 63. Your New Favourite Bland 62. Back again… 61. The Echo 60. We Stare a Lot 59. The Demon Seed 58. The Magic Bin 57. Destination Moon 56. FtB meets Godzilla 55. Caught Somewhere in Time 54. Mr. Tinyface 53. Revenge of the Fallin’ Apart 52. Foam is where the Heart is 51. Beware of the… 50. Subterranean Homesick Blob 49. Candidate Elf 48. Battlestar Suburbia 47. The Mummy’s Curse (with extra cheese) 46. Of Human Bandage 45. Let there be… Argh! 44. Pigs Might Flu 43. The Big Sneeze 42. The Christo Maze 41. Lift to Experience 40. (Water)Foul Play 39. Keep Off the Grass 38. A Right Beating for the Wrong Guy 37. Grim Theft Auto 36. Canis Horribilis 35. The Mysterious Standing Stone 34. Emergency Exit 33. Voodoo Economics 32. Rubbed the Wrong Way 31. Bongo bongo bongo… 30. Up, Up and Aweigh! 29. Sleight of Hat 28. Monkey Puncher 27. Viva la Resolution! 26. A Pain in the Art 25. The Christmas Underground 24. Machine Washable at 30° 23. The Belt of No Return 22. The Great Debate 21. Fun in the Sun 20. Yellow for my torment 19. The Curse of the Were-Comic 18. The Rolling Bones 17. Damn Hogburgers! 16. Live after Death 15. Unusual Suspects 14. Talent is for amateurs 13. Darth Blob 12. Counterfeit Pope 11. Future Tense 10. The Mysterious Masked Blob 9. ‘Tis the hour… 8. The Clairvoyant 7. Superthought Revolution 6. Microwaves 5. I, Lemon Creme 4. FTB UXO 3. Faraday and the Cactus 2. Are you being ironic? 1. Faraday for President!Georgia’s Republican Gov. Nathan Deal is taking heat from meteorologists and critics for claiming that the snowstorm that paralyzed Atlanta and left thousands stranded overnight was “unexpected.” Activists and even NBC’s Al Roker slammed the governor for delaying action on the storm and insisting that no one could have predicted what meteorologists had been predicting for days.
Better Georgia activist Bryan Long blasted the governor for his lackadaisical approach to the storm.
“Governor Deal and Mayor Reed continue to make excuses for their lack of response to the winter storm that created gridlock on Atlanta’s roads and trapped children on school buses,” Long said in a statement to Raw Story. “It is shocking that just moments ago, Gov. Deal told reporters that he believed that they had done a ‘reasonable’ job of managing this crisis. Those who are still stranded and the parents who waited at home for their children would disagree.
Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s “flat-footed response” to the storm, Long said, “put thousands at risk. It’s time for them both to fully accept responsibility.”
Roker appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to set the record straight on predictions about Atlanta’s response to Winter Storm Leon.
“The mayor and the governor got on TV yesterday and said, ‘Oh, this wasn’t expected,'” said Roker. “And that’s not true. We were talking about this Monday, that this was going to happen.”
“They took a gamble,” he continued. “They didn’t want to pre-treat the roads. I don’t think they wanted to spend the money and do what they needed to. And then, they told everybody…everybody started going home right around noon.”
By 1:30 p.m., Roker said, the city’s highways were “a parking lot.”
“This was poor planning on the mayor’s part and on the governor’s part,” he concluded.
Even the normally staid and apolitical Weather Channel network leveled criticism at the Tea Party governor, saying that his excuses don’t square with the record.
“The entire metro Atlanta area was under a winter storm watch early Monday morning, giving plenty of time to prepare for a worst-case scenario,” said meteorologist Chris Dolce of Weather.com. “By late Monday afternoon and evening, confidence increased that significant snow would impact Atlanta and winter storm warnings (south metro) and winter weather advisories (north metro) were issued.”
As of 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Gov. Deal still insisted that state business should go on as usual and that schools should remain open. He said on Tuesday night that as of that morning, “it was still in most of the forecasts anticipated that the city of Atlanta would only have a mild dusting or a very small accumulation, if any. And that the majority of the effects of the storm would be south of here. Preparations were made for those predictions.”
Dolce pointed out that at 3:38 a.m. Tuesday, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the metro Atlanta area, saying that the area should expect significant impact from the storm.
“Confidence increased more by early Tuesday morning that significant snow would affect Atlanta and winter storm warnings were posted for the entire metro area at 3:38 a.m,” he said.
Nonetheless, Deal said at his press conference on Tuesday night that no one could have known what was coming.
“There are certain things we don’t have control over and one of those is the weather. This came rather unexpectedly. The time frame in which it hit was a very short time frame,” he told reporters.
When the order to close schools and the state government at 1:00 p.m., the first flurries were intensifying to snow showers. As bridges and overpasses began to quickly freeze and become treacherous, thousands of people were stranded in their vehicles. Hundreds of Atlanta schoolchildren were still hoping to return home as of Wednesday afternoon, more than 24 hours later.
Watch video about this story, embedded below:
[Image courtesy of the Office of Governor Nathan Deal]Three of the four Guerrero miners who were abducted while on their way home from work March 5 have been found dead.
They were located in a hidden grave Saturday in Mazapa, in the municipality of Eduardo Neri, after families received an anonymous phone call.
The fourth man had been freed earlier. They were all employees of the Canadian firm Goldcorp Inc. and worked at the Los Filos gold mine near Carrizalillo. All showed signs of having been tortured.
Family members appealed to authorities to have the mine provide protection in the area and pay the indemnification due to them.
Originally from Carrizalillo, the families moved to the municipality of Iguala, citing insecurity and environmental pollution as reasons for leaving.
The miners’ bodies were found last Thursday but no one spoke up for fear of reprisals. “Now we want (President) Peña Nieto to be aware of what’s happening in Guerrero and that there be an investigation so their deaths do not go unpunished,” said María Elena Celso Solís, mother of two of the dead miners.
The wife of the third victim said her husband had warned mine representatives that criminals were a constant threat to the workers. “They didn’t answer our calls or anything,” said Gabriela Peña. “We want the company to accept responsibility for our pensions and our children, because they were advised of the risks and never did anything about it.”
Source: Milenio (sp)Audie Murphy’s single handed battle, kills 50, holds line
Audie L. Murphy had come a long way since he had landed in Sicily in 1943 as a Corporal and the runner for B Company, 15th Infantry Regiment. A string of promotions and medals had been accompanied by a number of wounds and incapacitation with Malaria. In October 1944 he had been awarded two Silver Stars and a battlefield commission – but had also been shot in the leg and during subsequent hospital treatment had had muscle removed after gangrene set in. Many men would have taken a long time to recover from such a wound but in January 1945 Murphy rejoined his regiment and soon was back in the thick of the action.
On January 23, the 30th Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division had reached the outskirts of the village of Holtzwihr, the wooded area known as the Bois de Riedwihr. They suddenly encountered 10 tanks and accompanying infantry and sustained heavy casualties before they were forced to withdraw.
On the 25th Company B of, 1st Battalion, 15th Regiment was ordered to attack the same ground again. Losing six out of seven officers and 102 out of 120 men killed or wounded they penetrated 600 yards into the woods and held their position overnight. The eighteen surviving men led by Murphy found it impossible to dig foxholes because of the frozen ground – but they were re-inforced by some Tank Destroyers before dawn and later by a Forward Artillery Observer.
Audie Murphy describes the position on the 26th as they waited in the freezing cold for the German counter-attack which must inevitably come. Their orders were to hold the position and wait for re-inforcements:
Checking the other men, I find that our right flank is exposed. Some unit failed to get up on schedule. The morning drags by. A forward artillery observer with a radio joins us. The icy tree branches rattle in the wind. Again I contact headquarters. “What about orders?” “No change. Hold your position.” At two o’clock in the afternoon, I see the Germans lining up for an attack. Six tanks rumble to the outskirts of Holtzwihr, split into groups of threes, and fan out toward either side of the clearing. Obviously they intend an encircling movement, using the fingers of trees for cover. I yell to my men to get ready. Then wave after wave of white dots, barely discernible against the background of snow, start across the field. They are enemy infantrymen, wearing snowcapes and advancing in a staggered skirmish formation. One of our tank destroyers starts its engine and maneuvers for a firing position. It slides into a ditch at an angle that leaves the turret guns completely useless. The driver steps on the gas; the tank wallows further into the ditch; the engine dies. The crew bails out and takes off for the rear. “I’m trying to contact headquarters,” shouts the artillery observer. I had forgotten about him. We cannot afford to have the radio captured. “Get to the rear,” I holler. “I’ll get the artillery by phone.” “I don’t want to leave you.” “Get going. You can’t do any good. Just take care of that radio.” I grab a map, estimate the enemy’s position, and seize the field telephone. “Battalion,” cheerfully answers a headquarters lieutenant. “This is Murphy. We’re being attacked. Get me the artillery.” “Coming up.” “I want a round of smoke at co-ordinates 30.5 — 60; and tell those joes to shake the lead out.” “How many krauts?” “Six tanks that I can see, and maybe a couple hundred foot soldiers supporting.” “Good god! How close?” “Close enough. Give me that artillery.” I hang up the receiver and grab my carbine just as the enemy’s preliminary barrage hits. It is murderous. A single tree burst knocks out our machine-gun squad. The second tank destroyer is hit flush, and three of its crew are killed. The remainder, coughing and half-blinded, climb from the smoking turret and sprint down the road to the rear. At that moment I know that we are lost. The smoke shell whizzes over, landing beyond the oncoming Germans. 200 right; 200 over. And fire for effect. Our counterbarrage is on the nose. A line of enemy infantrymen disappear in a cloud of smoke and snow. But others keep coming. The telephone rings. “How close are they?” “5O over, and keep firing for effect.” That artillery curtain must be kept between us and the enemy. The tanks are now close enough to rake our position with machine-gun fire. Of the hundred and twenty-eight men that began the drive, not over forty remain. And I am the last of seven ofiicers. Trying to stop the armor with our small arms is useless. I yell to the men to start pulling out. “What about you?” shouts Kohl. “I’m staying up with the phone as long as I can. Get the men back, and keep them grouped. Candler will help you.” “Candler’s dead.” The telephone rings. “How close are they?” “50 over, and keep blasting. The company’s pulling back.” I raise my eyes and see that the men are hesitating. Clapping down the receiver, I yell, “Get the hell out of here. That’s an order!” Kohl says something, but his words are lost in a shell burst. He shrugs his shoulders, beckons with his thumb, and the men stumble through the woods, casting worried glances backward. I seize my carbine and start sniping. The advance wave of infantrymen is within two hundred yards of my position. The telephone rings. “How close are they?” “50 over. Keep it coming.” Dropping the receiver, I grab the carbine and fire until I give out of ammunition. As I turn to run, I notice the burning tank destroyer. On its turret is a perfectly good machine gun and several cases of ammunition. The German tanks have suddenly veered to the left.
See Audie Murphy: To Hell and Back.
The official citation for the Medal of Honor:I am pleased to announce a new release 0.6.0 of Entangle is available for download from the usual location:
This release has a mixture of bug fixes and new features / changes and new widget styling
Add a demonstration plugin for setting up a captive photo box display mode
Switch to use Python3 for plugin engine instead of JavaScript
Use GTK dark theme
Require GNOME symbolic icon theme to be installed
Switch to require lcms2 instead of lcms
Move application icon into a standard directory mandated to work with the appdata tools
Make manual focus work with Canon EOS cameras
Disable flickering progress bar in preview mode with Canon EOS cameras
Remove use of deprecated GTK methods/classes/constants
Remove use of gexiv2 method which is not long exported
Remove use of deprecated libpeas methods
Add GTK-DOC transfer annotations / docs to all methods
Avoid loosing camera capabilities on disconnect
Fix off by one in histogram tables causing memory corruption
Mark appdata / desktop files for translation
Fix typos in README file
Fix inverted tests when checking if range widget changed
Avoid storm of expose events due to auto-drawer widget
Avoid never ending circular update of controls causing errors in some camera modes
Add workaround for crazy D5100 camera serial number
Add customizable highlight/background for images
Avoid reference leak of windows preventing proper cleanup
Remove camera manual/about/driver help windows since it did not contain any info useful to users
Filter list of cameras in connect dialog to only those which support capture/preview
Don’t auto connect to cameras which don’t support capture or preview
Ensure parent window is set on dialogs to prevent them falling behind main window
Fix crash with latest GTK due to incorrect overriding of GtkApplication startup method
Update to cope with changed GExiv API version
Refreshed translations from transifex
Thanks to the great work of the Fedora translation team, Entangle has > 90% translation coverage for Dutch, Polish, Ukrainian, French and Japanese and > 80% coverage for Swedish, Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Chinese and German. If you are in a position to help translate Entangle further, consider joining the Fedora translation team.Has Skynet become self-aware? It seems the 'robots' that run the US equity markets (HFT/algo trading dominates what little volume there is left) have decided to cut out the middle man in the market as Associated Press reports this morning that it will employ the story-writing software by start-up Automated Insights to automate the production of U.S. corporate earnings stories. To be frank, given the copy/paste nature of most mainstream media 'analysis' of earnings, we thought this had already occurred but AP notes, "We are going to use our brains and time in more enterprising ways during earnings season." Does that mean that anyone but Zero Hedge will be discussing cashflows or GAAP earnings?
As USA Today reports, The Associated Press is going robotic.
The news service revealed Monday it will employ the story-writing software by start-up Automated Insights to automate the production of U.S. corporate earnings stories, the quarterly bane of the existence of many business reporters. The AP typically produces about 300 earnings stories per quarter, requiring reporters to crunch data in the heat of wire-service deadlines. Soon they will be producing many, many more. Using the software would allow AP to automate short earnings stories, typically 150 to 300 words, "in roughly the same time that it took our reporters," says Lou Ferrara, the AP managing editor who oversees business news. The initiative will start in July. Zacks Investment Research will comb through earnings statements and provide the data for the stories, which will conform to AP Style. Editors will read the articles before they are published, but the process will eventually be fully automated. By the end of the year, AP plans to provide up to 4,400 earnings stories per quarter, which its media clients can post quickly or use as templates to expand. AP will continue to produce staff-written earnings stories for high-interest companies, such as Google and Apple. Automation will free reporters to pursue more in-depth work, according to Ferrara. "We are going to use our brains and time in more enterprising ways during earnings season," he told staffers in a memo. AP is not eliminating jobs, and Ferrara says "most of the reaction (among AP staffers) has been very positive." But the automated stories — as seen in an example copy provided by AP — are largely formulaic, and there are concerns about editorial quality. "There is a healthy dose of skepticism that the whole thing will work," Ferrara says. "They're journalists. I want them to be skeptical."
It seems the circle is complete, machines write the stories that machines trade on; why not just do everything in binary - it's not like humans have a chance to react anyway before the robots.CHARLE |
ic precept proposes what the Romans defined as parsimony, or modesty. Seneca’s point on the subject is clear: it is not a problem to be rich, on the contrary, through richness one is able to express more virtues. It is a problem however when an individual becomes a slave of his or her own wealth, or when the wealth beings to own the individual, rather than the contrary. Stoic parsimony is a reaction to the tendency of the rich Romans to embrace the epicurean lifestyle. While not following the precepts of Epicurus entirely, this lifestyle encourages the rich to indulge in a life of pleasure and excess.
Stoicism is, in this respect not as extreme as Cynicism, with Diogenes living in a barrel and contenting himself with only the sun. Stoicism is a way of life that accepts social complexity but encourages maintaining a certain inner virtue, in an otherwise corruptible environment. Besides Cato Uticensis, another example used by Seneca to describe a modest life is Scipio. On one occasion, Seneca visits the villa of this great Roman general and is impressed to see how modestly he lived. Stoicism is an attempt to recover the ancient customs of the Roman ancestors who were both politically active and cultivated the land in their free time. Throughout their career, the great Roman ancestors only wished to retire to their humble farmsteads, like Scipio.
Seneca is infuriated with the vanity of his time. He sees how gold has made the Roman population become addicted to commodities. He describes how people living during his time (right after Christ), could not take a bath unless the water was boiling, unless they could contemplate beautiful views, unless they could sit on the most precious marble or sun-bathe at the same time. Interestingly, none of these richly decorated baths remain. It is clear that Seneca saw in the many properties and treasures of his contemporary folk, the very decadence that would bring Rome to collapse.
-IV- BE GRATEFUL
The wisest of stoics, says Seneca, is always grateful, above all to god. While declaring that the stoic is like a god with the only exception that he doesn’t live forever, god intended as the creator of the universe is highly respected. At the lower level comes the authorities. If it is clear by now that Seneca despises the rich class and the new empire, but authorities should be respected for the sole reason that they allow him to maintain his virtue. Maintianing this sense of respect however, the stoic should not refrain to fight against authorities that, through their worldly ambitions, corrupt society. Nonetheless a stoic is also grateful to anyone, even if the have done something against him. He should never complain or take revenge, as that is the attitude of the ignorant. The ignorant complains, in particular after having received a favor. The ignorant is always dissatisfied and looks for something bigger, remaining ungrateful to his benefactors.
-V- KEEP ABOVE THE CROWD
In many instances stoicism is anti-democratic. On one hand, the stoic ought to avoid popularity. Fame steals time to pursue virtue and, like richness, it disappears overnight. On the other hand, the masses are seen as a threat, a cluster of clouds ready to storm at anytime. According to Seneca, the stoic ought to be like a clear and steadfast star above the crowd. Most importantly, the stoic ought not to assimilate any of the opinions of the crowd. He ought to see things for what they truly are, like a ray of sun falling on an object. Seneca goes as far as advising his mates not to blend with the crowd. The crowd is vulgar, the crowd goes to festivities and gladiator shows. The crowd goes to hear famous musicians and too few devote themselves to virtue. Additionally, and many passages reveal this in Seneca’s letters, experiencing the crowd brings a sense of corruption to the spirit.
-VI- FOLLOW NATURE
Following nature should not be taken in a literal sense. One can also look within oneself in a city environment, without having to seek the seclusion of mountains or the sea. Having said this, one should see things for what they are, and most of all know oneself, to understand what his nature is mostly inclined to. Only through this process can one reach a “directive principle”, a way to act and make decisions based on an objective understanding of one’s own will.
Seneca’s idea of a real philosopher is the wise person who follows nature. In order to do so, it is natural for the stoic to choose a leader. Differently from animals, human leaders were once chosen for their spiritual superiority. Once greediness and other vices entered human communities, laws had to be written and authorities established. According to Seneca, philosophers, following their nature, should be human leaders. These philosophers are more like Indian gurus than contemporary philosophers. They content themselves with what nature gives them and conduct a simple life.
The role of the stoic philosopher is thus to liberate folk enslaved by richness and sophistication, pointing to nature as the way to simplicity and freedom. In this respect, Seneca writes that complex jobs and human hardship were invented along with luxury and that stepping back to poorer living, closer to nature, will free humanity. Ironically, he writes that by going back to nature human communities will no longer need cooks nor soldiers. He adds that, the more complex humans become, the sicker they get and the more complex the stoic philosophy ought to be to cure them.
-VII- VALUE TIME
Marx and Marxists would be quite shocked to find that the only capital for a stoic is time. Money can be gained or lost to be gained again, yet time remains the only real capital that cannot be brought back to us. It is in this respect that a stoic must fully live his life and commit himself to be wise, without losing time with economical issues and generally any issue that does not contribute to the formation of the soul. Life should be fully lived rather than long lived.
Recurrently, Seneca and his colleagues do not waste time studying what he defines as liberal arts. To argue about how many rowers were on Ulysses boat when he left Troy, to debate about minor, sophisticated details is just a waste of time. A stoic ought to use his time to elevate his soul morally above all. While liberal arts and similar studies can prepare the soul for elevation, they are not necessarily do so.
Seneca advises to see our soul as a room. This room should be tidy and not too crowded with notions. Only what is most essential should be retained from the liberal arts, but even that is not necessary or strictly a precondition of becoming wise. In fact, to become wise, one needs self-examination and an objective study of the reality. The teaching of other sages should not be kept subdivided, but should be considered as food to be fully digested and integrated into one’s own self, without credit them unecessarly. Time should be then regarded as, in the first place, a self-formative activity.
-VIII- BEHOLD VIRTUE
From Seneca’s writings, it is clear that, once obtained, virtue never disappears. A virtuous man is like a god standing on top of a mountain. In that state, he is perfect; he ought not to develop further since anything that is under development is not perfect. Often times, we read that virtue corresponds to honesty. Therefore the stoic man, having seized virtue, lives an honest life and acts accordingly. Elsewhere we read that virtue is to be in full control of oneself, even in the most dreadful circumstances.
The stoic man ought to have a goal so as not to disperse himself. This higher objective in life, this goal should be of guidance for him in any situation, good or bad. This objective should be firm and always present. It is the result of an arduous spiritual development which has positioned the stoic in the position of a god, on a summit.
Moreover, the stoic should always have a guardian within him. He should choose a virtuous man and always retain his figure, as a model to guide him. This virtuous man ought to be chosen not for what he wrote or said; words alone bring no real credit. He ought to be chosen merely based on his actions and Cato Uticensis is again a good example.
-IX- BLOCK VICES
Seneca does not even accept moderation. Any kind of vice ought to be blocked all together, even if only practiced sporadically. The soul of the stoic ought to be fully at work and work itself diminishes the risk for vice, which ought to be blocked as soon as it emerges. Seneca reasons that relaxation is sometimes needed, however it should not take the lead and should be applied only when strictly necessary, to recharge for more undertakings.
There are several vices enumerated by Seneca. At one time he calls rage the worst vice, confuting Aristotle who thought of rage as a secret weapon to be used in extraordinary circumstances. Seneca sees that the initial instinct towards a certain vice cannot be blocked. However stoics can train themselves to prevent falling further. It is impossible to block one’s first reaction, but our soul should learn not to procrastinate about our nature towards a certain vice.
-X- EXAMINE YOURSELF
Seneca writes that at night he revisits his day as if he was in a tribunal, identifying what he did well and where he was weak. He claims that prayers should be made as if we were before a wide audience. In this Seneca was inspired by Socrates; we ought to know the monster within us before even daring to try to extend our knowledge elsewhere.
Seneca sees his contemporaries getting busier and busier with the administration of a bigger and bigger empire. He sees social duties as a yoke prohibiting the ox from looking back at the past, only allowing it to continue into the abyss of the future. In this respect, at his time when there was no more hope of re-establishing a republic, Seneca recalls his pupils from the agitated waters and invites them to retreat to safer shores and dedicate themselves to themselves.
Seneca points out to the existence of two republics. There is the republic we are usually acquainted with, with its global scopes and affairs, turning inevitably into a corrupted empire, and there is a more intimate republic constituted by a person and his private domain. When public affairs get too entangled and dishonest, it is better for the wise person to put his operosity toward the minor republic. It is here that his work lead by his practice of virtue can inspire others for eternity, becoming the lantern for obscures times ahead.
Stoicism today
Now that I have presented my synthesis of stoicism in what I believe to be the 10 main precepts, I want to reflect on stoicism today. When Micheal Foucalt, prior his death, wrote about the “Technology of the Self” as an alternative to the “Technology of Power”, he used stoicism as an example. Similarly, when talking about early forms of self-tracking (quantified-self and life-logging practices), several contemporary authors have pointed again at stoicism. If we are to think of life-logging and quantified-self technologies and the hype connected to them, we come to realize that they are mostly devised for future oriented consumers who have a busy life and therefore are quite in contrast with stoic precepts.
In the first place, Seneca despises the busy men of Rome running from one meeting to another and caring about the last fashion. To me, it is clear that wearable gadgets are this fashion. More importantly, Seneca despises those who takes too much care of their body, of their corporal appearance and of their health. Stoics see their bodies as a temporary host of the soul. I would say then that Quantified Self appliances are very much based on the body and too little on the soul. Popular tendencies of self-tracking are thus quite far from stoic precepts.
To enforce my conviction that contemporary self-tracking at large, as conceived by the industry, is not a form of stoicism but quite its opposite, let’s focus on the main goal of a stoic, his virtue. If virtue is a result of laboriousness, Seneca hints that, in order to invest our time without waste, we ought to be fatigued. Self-examination in Seneca is therefore conceived as a form of fatigue and in contrast, the self-tracking devices offered by the industry promise zero-effort capturing, retrieving and analysis devices.
In addition, it is vital not to forget the anti-imperialistic spirit permeating stoicism. It is clear that the drive of the self-tracking industry at large is to get a better grip on users, selling their souls and enslaving them to a mere corporal life without much intellect. Like the greatest of stoics, we ought to oppose this imperialistic vision and attempt to cultivate our own stoic framework, to keep up a minor republic of our own.
Then how can we define a modern stoic? What is his or her love and practice of virtue in the digital age? It is an effortful self-examination, avoiding the use of the pre-configured systems developed by the industry, an examination that must be self-crafted with effort and using a process. This effortful self-examination is, I believe, at the base of modern virtue, a virtue that gives insights on life, but also prepares for a death that is feared by consumers buying wearable gadgets.
What Seneca calls the minor republic, what Jacques Ellul calls magic and what Michel Foucalt calls technology of the self, I call the personal framework. To cultivate virtue then, it is necessary to develop a framework of self-examination that is not provided by anyone, but ought to be conceived and constructed following one’s own nature. Marco Aurelio, as well as Benjamin Franklin and Mahatma Gandhi were all important political figures who developed schemes to enforce their virtue prior to turning to the social at large.
A personal framework is therefore a frame designed by an individual to dedicate himself to a laborious self-examination of which he is in full control. In a digital age then, the individual who aims for virtue and freedom ought not, in my opinion, to utilize frameworks provided by the industry;they hinder they laboriousness and take full control away.
The personal framework ought to be conceived as a system to achieve what Aurelio defined as holiness. It is not a selfish device but rather a means to become a shaman, guiding humanity after the inevitable catastrophes that imperialism will inevitably bring along. My ultimate invitation here is to set forth crafting and cultivating your own personal frameworks!
AdvertisementsBaltimore City Public School officials today released the names of the eight schools still without principals as the 2015/2016 school year looms.
The schools include three charter schools: Northwood Appold Community Academy, Midtown Academy near Bolton Hill and the Maryland Academy of Technology and Health Sciences, just southwest of Mondawmin Mall.
The others are Holabird Elementary/Middle School in Bayview, Cross Country Elementary/Middle School, Baltimore IT Academy in Woodbourne, Digital Harbor High School in South Baltimore and Historic Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School, just north of Heritage Crossing.
School officials previously had confirmed six additional leadership vacancies and announced appointments for them last week at the School Board meeting.
At that meeting, schools CEO Gregory E. Thornton promised all schools would have principals on the day when class resumes, which for most students is August 31.Scientists from Japan and the United States have directly observed a rare quantum effect that produces a repeating butterfly-shaped energy spectrum first theorized by physicist Douglas Hofstadter in 1976.
The phenomenon, a complex pattern of the energy states of electrons that resembles a butterfly, has appeared in physics textbooks as a theoretical concept of quantum mechanics for nearly 40 years. However, it had never been directly observed until now. Confirming its existence may open the door for researchers to uncover completely unknown electrical properties of materials.
Prof Cory Dean of the City College of New York, the first author of a paper published in Nature, explained: “we are now standing at the edge of an entirely new frontier in terms of exploring properties of a system that have never before been realized. The ability to generate this effect could possibly be exploited to design new electronic and optoelectronic devices.”
Douglas Hofstadter, a physicist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, first predicted the existence of the butterfly in 1976, when he imagined what would happen to electrons subjected to two forces simultaneously: a magnetic field and the periodic electric field.
The energy spectrum, or pattern of energy levels, that these dueling forces create is said to be ‘fractal,’ that is, infinitely smaller versions of the pattern appear within the main one. This effect is common in classical physics, but rare in the quantum world.
“When you plot the spectrum, it takes on the form of a butterfly. Zoom in on the spectrum and you see the butterfly again, zoom in and see butterfly again. The light and dark sections of the pattern, respectively, correspond to light ‘gaps’ in energy level that electrons cannot cross and dark areas where they can move freely,” Prof Dean said.
“The existence of gaps changes the way electrons move through a material. Copper for example, has no gaps, whereas an insulator, like glass, has very large gaps. The relationship between energy and how dense the electrons are in a material – energy density – determines all electrical properties. That’s why copper conducts, glass or ceramic doesn’t, and other materials weakly conduct, like semiconductors.”
“What you see in a Hofstadter spectrum is a very complicated structure of gaps arranged in a fractal pattern.”
The team produced the effect by sandwiching together flat sheets of graphene – a single-atom-thickness of carbon – and another material, called boron nitride, and twisting them against each other to create what is called a superlattice.
“Graphene has hexagonal chicken wire structure and boron nitride does too. It is as if you take screen door material and put one sheet on top of other. As you rotate it you see a periodic pattern appear. You get an interference effect – a ‘moiré’ pattern. In the case of the chicken-wire structure of graphene and boron nitride, the pattern forms a fractal butterfly of energy states.”
“This is a very good example of fundamental discovery that opens doors that we don’t even know about yet. Why go to a distant planet? We go there to discover what’s out there. We don’t yet know what this new world will result in and what will emerge out of this,” Prof Dean concluded.
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Bibliographic information: C. R. Dean et al. Hofstadter’s butterfly and the fractal quantum Hall effect in moiré superlattices. Nature, published online May 15, 2013; doi: 10.1038/nature12186The Department of Education (DOE) sent a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray Friday afternoon announcing its intent to terminate a data-sharing policy enacted under the Obama administration, according to documents released to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The DOE and the CFPB entered into an agreement to share data to increase the efficiency of identifying and processing claims of fraud on student loans, specifically for-profit colleges. The goal of the policy was to “collaborate to ensure coordination in providing assistance to and serving borrowers seeking to resolve complaints,” related to either their private education loans or Federal Student Aid.
How the relationship was supposed to work was rather simple. The DOE would provide data to the CFPB, which would in turn source through the various complaints. If the agency found a claim or if a student presented them one, the CFPB was supposed to report it to the DOE, which is subject to congressional oversight. The agreement required that the CFPB report “all complaints related to Title IV federal student loans” to the DOE “within 10 days” of its discovery.
What the CFPB actually did was rather different. When a student made a complaint, the CFPB would start processing themselves. The CFPB “has handled such complaints itself.”
“It is the Department’s role to work with federal student borrowers to ensure that their issues are addressed within the rules applicable to its program. The CPB’s intervention in this area adds confusion to borrowers and servicers who now hear conflicting guidance” for “student loan services for which the Department is responsible,” the letter said.
“This latest expansion is characteristic of an overreaching and unaccountable agency, and it has led to the Department to terminate” the agreement “in order to ensure fair and consistent enforcement.”
“This is another example of the CFPB going rogue and thinking that they are above the law and congressional oversight. Frankly, Secretary Devos is not going to stand for it,” a DOE staffer told TheDCNF.
Cordray is already under fire from Republicans in the House. A subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee recommended in early August that Cordray be forced to step down after the CFPB refused to comply with an investigation into the CFPB’s rule making process.
The CFPB is also under the microscope of Trump’s deregulatory squad, which includes White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
The CFPB is the brainchild of Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who believes the bureau is vital to constrain Wall Street and protect ordinary American consumers.
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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.Constantin Mugur Isărescu ( Romanian pronunciation: [ˈmuɡur isəˈresku]; born 1 August 1949) is the Governor of the National Bank of Romania, a position he held since September 1990, with the exception of an eleven months period (22 December 1999 to 28 November 2000), during which he served as Prime Minister of Romania. He is a member of the Romanian Academy.
Early life [ edit ]
Isărescu was born in Drăgăşani, Vâlcea County. His father was a school teacher who, after the establishment of the socialist state, studied at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, worked as a bank executive during the 1950s and then he was a professor of accounting for 20 years.[1]
Isărescu studied international trade at the Academy of Economic Studies of Bucharest, which he graduated in 1971[1] and where he was an assistant professor between 1975 and 1989.[2] In 1989, Isărescu defended his PhD thesis on exchange rate policies under the supervision of Costin Kirițescu.[2]
For 19 years, he worked as a researcher for the Institute of International Economics. He took a number of courses in the United States, writing several papers on capitalist economics.[1] Isărescu claims it was as if he prepared for 20 years for the 1990 moment.[1]
In February 1990, after the Romanian Revolution of 1989, he began working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[2] In March 1990, he was sent to work as an economic and monetary affairs secretary at the Romanian Embassy in the United States,[3][1] being in charge of handling Romania's relations with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.[2]
He expected that Romania would need IMF help within a couple of years, but he was surprised to find that the government depleted the foreign-exchange reserves within six months and, as such, he was recalled to Romania in July 1990 to head the National Bank.[1]
Governor of the National Bank of Romania [ edit ]
In September 1990 he was named Governor of the National Bank of Romania by the Romanian government.[3] During the early years, he negotiated several agreements with the International Monetary Fund.[1] His mandate was renewed by the Romanian Parliament in 1991, 1998, 2004 and 2009.[3]
According to a World Record Academy article, Isărescu managed in 19 years of leadership at the National Bank of Romania to create and maintain a mysterious aura around the policies of the National Bank, and many pointed out that the agenda of the Bank remained independent from any Romanian Government. The same article states that many credit the National Bank team for saving Romania's economy from a Bulgarian-type collapse, raising the national gold and Euro reserves beyond needs, cutting down inflation to single-digit figures and introducing the New Leu. [4]
He was involved in a series of legislative debates regarding some consumer protection laws, as "datio in solutium" and Swiss franc to Romanian leu conversion, when he had a pronounced role, strongly supporting banks against Romanian debtors, in last two years. [5]
In 2009, World Records Academy named him as the longest-serving governor of a central bank.[4][6]
Prime Minister of Romania [ edit ]
In 1999, he was asked to become Prime Minister of Romania, which he accepted on the condition that he could return to the National Bank after it was over.[1] Then-President Emil Constantinescu agreed with the terms[1] and on 16 December 1999 Isărescu was sworn in as Prime Minister of Romania, but only for about a year, since in November 2000, the ruling coalition lost the election.
In November 2000 Isărescu ran for President of Romania but was soundly defeated, coming in fourth place and receiving 9% of the vote.
Thereafter, he returned to the National Bank of Romania for another term as governor.
Although he served only one year as Prime Minister, Isărescu is considered[by whom?] to have started the reform process[clarification needed], continued later by Adrian Năstase and Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu. During his premiership, on February 15, 2000, Romania formally initiated negotiations with the European Union (a process started by the Romanian application in 1995 and European Commission approval on October 13, 1999[7]). As governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu has coordinated Romania's economic policy since 1990, being considered by some[by whom?] the hidden prime minister of the country.[citation needed]
He is a member of the Club of Rome, the Trilateral Commission and a Grand Cross and Sash ranks of the Order of the Star of Romania recipient.
He was considered several times between 2009 and 2012 as a suitable replacement for Emil Boc as Prime Minister of Romania. Isărescu declined the offer from President Băsescu, refusing to re-assume his former office in order to remain Governor of BNR.
Honours [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
7. http://m.romanialibera.ro/special/dezvaluiri/exclusivitate-romÂnia-libera--guvernatorul-bancii-nationale-a-romaniei--mugur-isarescu--a-turnat-la-securitate-sub-numele--manole-----documente--442904 8. http://contrabanci.com/clienti-contra-banci/conversia-creditelor-din-franci-elvetieni-chf-lei-la-cursul-de-la-data-acordarii-argumente/Does MDMA Have Psychotherapeutic Potential?
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is also known as “ecstasy” because of the ecstatic feelings it produces in those who use it. While many dismiss the drug as a dangerous substance, some scientists claim it may have positive therapeutic uses with little risk of harm when used under proper supervision.
According to researchers, in the early 1970s a small group of therapists and researchers began to explore the potential of MDMA and its therapeutic use. MDMA encouraged the experience of emotions by reducing the response to perceived emotional threats. When used under controlled, therapeutic conditions, there were no direct observable harmful physical effects. For example, MDMA-assisted therapy helped trauma survivors delve into the root of their problematic ; they experienced a healing catharsis, and subsequently functioned more efficiently and happily.
Then the 1980s saw a change from the therapeutic use of the drug to recreational use. In May 1986, after almost two years of hearings, a judge recommended that MDMA be placed in Schedule III. He made three basic findings: that MDMA had a low potential for abuse; that it had an accepted medical use; that there was an acceptable level of safety for use under medical supervision. Despite the ruling, the DEA administrator placed MDMA into Schedule I.
Formal therapeutic use and human research of MDMA has been deterred by its Schedule I status. Though the FDA claims that its refusal to permit experimentation is based on concern for the of volunteers, this comes after millions of doses of MDMA were previously taken in the United States. Past literature does not contain one case of an individual suffering neurological symptoms linked to MDMA-related brain damage when the drug was administered in controlled, therapeutic settings.
In Switzerland, psychiatrists have used MDMA successfully in hundreds of cases in recent years. They have used it to help individuals uncover painful memories and experiences that had been repressed; to decrease fear and defensiveness; to increase communication and with one's spouse; to get through experiences such as rape and incest; to live with the pain of cancer; and to resolve oneself to dying.
Dr. Michael Mithoefer, a Charleston, South Carolina, psychiatrist who works under the umbrella of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies is conducting a new study on the effectiveness of using MDMA in combination with to treat, to allow patients to reflect on their trauma with emotional clarity.
He showed in a 2010 study that 83% of PTSD patients treated with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy showed marked improvement, compared to 25% of those treated with psychotherapy alone. A follow-up study found that the majority of those treated with the assistance of MDMA remained symptom-free two years later, demonstrating the treatment possibility of long-term efficacy.
Dr. Mithoefer said of the participants in the 2010 study,
"They were neither overwhelmed by emotion nor numbed from it. It is not just that people get blissed out. The psychotherapy is still difficult and can still be painful, but they have a sense that they can do it."
While there are certainly promising indications of the medical possibilities of using MDMA, there remains difficulty in human testing of Schedule 1. Scientists are divided about MDMA’s safety. Until scientists can provide the FDA evidence to change the drug’s classification, future medical research will be slow in coming.
There are some serious health risks when taking any illicit drug for recreational use. The MDMA sold on the streets today is usually some mysterious chemical substance that often contains no MDMA at all. Confiscated drugs over a recent two-year period, showed only 13 % contained even a small amount of MDMA. Risk from unknown drug combinations is not worth the danger, nor is it to use any illegal drug.
That said, there is evidence once again that drugs like MDMA may have important psychotherapeutic uses when given in controlled medical settings. These drugs should be studied for their possible therapeutic effects.
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Constance Scharff is the Senior Research Fellow and Director of Addiction Research for Cliffside Malibu. She is also the coauthor of the Amazon.com bestselling book Ending Addiction for Good with Richard Taite.NOTE: I am embarrassed to admit that I made a significant error in my original measurement methodology and the numbers originally listed below were inaccurate. I’ve redone all the measurements and the text and tables below reflect the corrected measurements. *
Your host, K4SWL, asked me to share my experiences in trying to find a small, lightweight, battery pack for use with my field-portable QRP station. While I’m looking for a battery pack specifically for my Elecraft KX1, what I’m learning should be useful for users of any low-current QRP transceiver.
Currently, I’m experimenting with a pair of ten-cell AA battery-holders, one of unknown provenance (photo) and a new, more rugged one from Batteries America (p/n 10AAT, photo). When filled with ten AA NiMH cells, the resulting battery-packs provide about 14v at full-charge. At the 2012 Flight of the Bumblebees, my KX1 generated an indicated 2.6w on 20m and 4w on 40m while being powered by one of these packs; the nearly four hours of low-stress operating during this event did not discharge this pack of 2,000mAh cells very deeply. The use of two AA dummy-cells will also allow the use of eight lithium primary or alkaline cells in an emergency.
I became concerned about using this style of spring-contact battery-holder when I found an article (link) by Phil Salas, AD5X, in which he reported that this sort of battery-holder is likely to display significant voltage drop under load.
I tested my original battery-holder with ten 2,000mAh NiMH cells and my KX1 transmitting into a dummy load. In addition to measuring whole-pack voltage-drop, I measured the voltage-drop of each of the individual 2,000mAh cells as I transmitted into the dummy load on 20m.
Original Battery-Holder / 2,000mAh cells Band ΔV pack ΣΔV indiv. 20m 0.76v 0.52v 30m 0.79v — 40m 0.75v — 80m 0.70v —
The sum of these individual drops was 0.52v, so I’m losing 0.24v in the spring-contacts and/or battery-holder’s “transistor battery” output connector.
After replacing the original nylon connector with a pair of Anderson Powerpoles, I tested the same 2,000mAh NiMH cells in the new, more rugged battery-holder, this time only on 20m:
New Battery-Holder / 2,000mAh cells Band ΔV pack ΣΔV indiv. 20m 0.73v 0.53v
I’m losing about 0.20v in the battery-holder’s spring-terminals, slightly less than with the older battery-holder.
The 0.20v ~ 0.24v drop from the spring-terminals doesn’t seem excessive to me and the difference in these measurements between the two battery-holders is probably not significant. I am more concerned by the 0.53v ~ 0.54v voltage-drop I measured in the individual cells. It is likely that these older 2,000mAh cells, which have been cycled many times, are exhibiting greater voltage-drop than new cells would. To test this theory, I purchased new 2,100mAh cells to measure.
I measured the new cells as above, again on 20m into a dummy load, and found that with each of the battery-holders, the sum of the individual cell voltage-drops was 0.22v, so my speculation appears to have been correct–the new cells do have lower voltage drop under load than the old cells do.
Orignal Battery-Holder, 2,100mAh cells Band ΔV pack ΣΔV indiv. 20m 0.48v 0.22v
New Battery-Holder, 2,100mAh cells Band ΔV pack ΣΔV indiv. 20m 0.47v 0.22v
The new 2,100mAh NiMH cells are marketed by Polaroid and cost $6 per four-pack at Big Lots; the least expensive AA NiMH cells available at Batteries America, 2,500mAh Sanyo cells, cost $3 each at the time of this experiment. I don’t know if the Polaroid cells will last for as many cycles as the probably-higher-quality Sanyo cells would but trying the significantly less expensive Polaroid cells seemed like a a good gamble.
As indicated above, the new battery-holder (Battery American p/n 10AAT) is more rugged than my original battery-holder; it holds the AA cells more securely and and doesn’t use a “transistor battery” connector to connect to the load. I replaced the original nylon connector with a pair of Anderson Powerpoles. This battery-holder will be my preferred battery-holder for field operations with the KX1.
In his article (link), Phil Salas, AD5X, recommends foregoing battery-holders in favor of soldered/welded battery packs but I will continue to experiment with battery-holders. I prefer to charge my NiMH cells individually, using an intelligent MAHA charger, rather than charging an entire pack. In addition, my KX1 draws significantly less current on transmit than Phil’s IC-703 does so the the IxR losses I’ll experience will be less significant than that which Phil experienced.
Visit my website to learn more about my QRP operations or to learn more about my KX1 Mini Travel Kit.
* What had I done wrong? I discovered when testing my new battery-holder that the previous measurements of the old and new NiMH cells in the original battery-holder had been made with the KX1 transmitting into a 50Ω dummy load with the KX1 autotuner configured in tune mode instead of in bypass mode; because the KXAT1 autotuner doesn’t sense a mismatch and automatically tune, this meant that transmitter current–and the measured IxR voltage losses–might be also be significantly different than with the KX1 transmitting into a matched load. Comparisons of my original numbers to measurements made later of the new battery-holder wouldn’t be meaningful, so I had to do all the measurements again.Just in time for Halloween, our scientists are engineering one of the most intense phobias around.
Strictly speaking, the incredible bounce of water in these gifs above doesn’t have to do with being scared—last we checked, water was still pretty stoic—but the phenomenon is called hydrophobicity, literally a fear of water. Nanoscale cone structures across the material repel water with extreme prejudice, preventing any absorption and sending the little molecules on their merry way.
The slower droplets—captured here with a camera capable of shooting at 30,000 frames per second—bounce along the superhydrophobic (!) surface unimpeded, but the faster ones break apart in that gravity-defying dance. Moving this technology into car and aircraft windshields might ramp up visibility and also help self-clean by carrying along dirt particles.
While not quite as magical as the Impervius Charm, just consider that the scientists actually used a self-assembly fabrication process. You know, because billionths-of-a-meter structures just work better when they can build themselves.Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York denied on Wednesday that President-elect Donald Trump forgot about him and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey when appointing key members of the incoming administration.
"He didn't forget about us," Giuliani told Fox News during an interview. "He offered me some Cabinet positions, which I'm very, very thankful for, but it just didn't work out in terms |
you’ve probably never thought about it. It seems obvious and sensible that the plug goes into the socket and the radio gets power without you being electrocuted.
Obvious and sensible can be complicated. The plug and socket fit together because they were designed to. But making that design a standard means it has to be independently reviewed to be reliable and safe, and can be adopted everywhere. If a standard is backed up by law, the cheap, dangerous knock-off can be made, but it can’t, legally, be sold. Arguably, you owe your life to standards.
Our entertainment production industry owes a lot to standards, too, though it took a long time to embrace them. Until three decades ago, if you bought one manufacturer’s dimmers, its desk would probably be the only compatible one so you had to buy it as well, like it or not. In 1986 a group of suppliers got fed up with that and created a common protocol: DMX512. Suddenly, any desk could talk to any dimmer, or to the myriad pieces of kit that have come along since – scrollers, moving lights, media servers, none of which were invented before DMX. A generation of upstart young pioneers could now take on the establishment and the entire industry prospered.
DMX512 is now a standard: American National Standard Institute E1.11. But things don’t spontaneously become standards. In the ANSI system they have to be carefully shepherded: precisely written, carefully reviewed and democratically accepted to create something recognised as a mark of “technical diligence and commercial impartiality”.
For DMX, and more than 50 other standards covering everything from the construction and use of aluminium truss to the use of theatrical smoke to measuring and specifying the slipperiness of stages, the shepherd has been the Technical Standards Program of the Entertainment Services and Technology Association, the US trade organisation. Things you’ve probably never considered for a moment – by no means just lighting – have been given a lot of thought by some very smart people. Though they’re technically American standards rather than British or European ones, it’s a global industry (despite the threat of the Brexit-Trump double-whammy). They have value everywhere, to us all.
All this might be about to stop. ESTA says the money it received as a co-sponsor of the American LDI show has vanished after Penton, the media company behind the show, ended that agreement to improve its own financial standing, while trying to sell itself – the sale completed just a few weeks ago. Without that income to support the standards process, not only will there be no new standards written, but existing ones will lose their ANSI status, since there will be no organisation maintaining them – an ANSI requirement.
They won’t immediately vanish from use, of course, but without the degree of policing they could become less, well, ‘standard’. And a standard that isn’t standard really isn’t a useful standard at all.
ESTA is now appealing directly to organisations and individuals to support their standards work. Do take a look at the enormous range of subjects covered.
Consider a world where you can’t control your lights from your desk or trust the truss you’re climbing on, and see if there’s anything you can do to contribute.Journey into the weird, wonderful world of Puscifer… Words: George Garner When Puscifer emerged in 2007 with a single called C*ntry Boner and a debut album named V Is For Vagina, a lot of people thought Tool/A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan’s latest band was just a project for him to exercise his comedic impulses. But the joke’s on you if you think Puscifer are just a joke: over three brilliant albums, they’ve released some extremely powerful, not to mention moving, music. Recently, in K!1621, we caught up with Maynard ahead of Puscifer’s first UK tour to find out all about how the band has evolved and how it continues to inspire and challenge him. Still, there’s more to Puscifer than that. Much more. Reaching him at his home in Arizona, it’s time to find out more about rock’s most mysterious frontman and one of the world’s most enigmatic bands… Hello, Maynard. It had been a long time coming, but what finally made the UK tour happen? Maynard James Keenan: “I used to be in the military, I was a surveyor, so whenever you’re trying to establish a point of reference, three points kind of end up establishing it for you. I think having these three full records out – and the EPs – has given us the seven years needed for people to kind of digest what this is and be vocal enough about it, and have promoters catch up with the interest. Just because there’s a bunch of people interested doesn’t mean the promoters know about it. They’re looking at K-Rock and wondering, ‘They’re not on K-Rock they might not be popular.’ Welcome to the tar pit, dinosaur!” Oddly enough, I recently visited a tar pit… “Did you see a bunch of DJs? Was there a record company executive sort of slowly sinking in it?” There were a lot of bubbles. So, one of your goals seems to be to make the Puscifer live shows a unique experience – was that a reaction to the fact that all gigs are up on YouTube almost immediately these days and there’s few surprises left? “I think partly. But I just think in general, even with bands that I love, I find myself bored with, ‘We’re all standing out here staring at you, and the four of you are up there strumming and jumping around, and shaking your hips a little and regurgitating your songs back at us.’ There’s not really a show. There’s something to be said about live music if Nick Cave gets up on stage with a piano in a single spotlight – I’m going to be mesmerised because that’s a show. There’s something about him you want to watch. But not everybody can do that. So just four ding-dongs jumping around there with their new songs just seems boring to me. There’s your basic light show: the lights blink, we clap, they do another one. It seems boring. That was a challenge for me to see how I could integrate more theatrical elements to the show without it taking away from the show, but rather adding to the show. Years ago with Tool we tried to bring out Bill Hicks to see if we could do, like, an opening: he does a set, we do a set, he does a set, we do a set – I dabbled in it a little bit, it never worked out, of course, because he passed away. But later on we had David Cross come out and do stuff, we had Tenacious D open for us and the audience was absolutely rude. They were violent. So, I kind of abandoned it. But I thought, ‘Puscifer’s not that band, so maybe I can get away with it here,’ and we’ve been able to.”
Alongside the unique shows, humour has always been a key part of Puscifer. On your latest record Money $hot you address your love of Monty Python with the song The Life Of Brian (Apparently You Haven’t Seen) – what went through your mind when you wrote that? “Well, honestly, that was a rough one. We just kept chasing our tails around and around on how to approach that song. We had various versions of it that just weren’t working at all. It’s one of those ones on the album that when it clicked it was like, ‘Aaaaah, it’s awesome it finally worked.’ From a writing perspective, it was such a relief when we finally broke through that one. But just in general, I feel there’s a lot of people that get obsessed over things that they shouldn’t – there’s a lot of amazing philosophers and really intelligent people that have written extensive books and collections on the idea of metaphor and how a lot of cultures get caught up on the metaphor, rather than the thing that the metaphor’s kind of pointing towards. That kind of blind worship, that’s distracting. As you get older you go, ‘Maybe they’ll figure it out’ and clearly they just haven’t. So, humour, when you bring in something like a film like The Life Of Brian, anybody who’s seen the film and enjoys the film immediately get it. They don’t even have to hear the song; they know exactly what I’m taking about. So in that respect, in a way, I’m paying a bit of an homage to the Monty Python crew to inspire a whole new generation of people to watch that film. Maybe it’ll help nudge something in them. The song is a gateway drug to Monty Python.”
As well as Monty Python, Puscifer have also really embraced remixes. What do you get out of handing your music over to other people – have you learned anything about yourself in the process? “I’m not sure if I can even articulate this, I’m not that bright, but I’ll try. When you think of Pink Floyd, The Dark Side Of The Moon, that’s a finished piece. And bands tend to think that when they’re doing the records. Historically it’s the way we’re taught or we’ve grown up listening to music – when it comes out, that’s it, there’s going to be nothing different about that thing. As time’s gone on, I think Puscifer’s embraced the idea that, ‘We’ve had this idea for this song, and now we’re going to explore a completely different idea for this song.’ So, rather than it being a fixed object, it’s actually a moving target. For The Undertaker, we had five different versions and I don’t think there’s any one of them that I like more than the other one. I think they’re all very interesting directions for the song.” Considering you said how hard it can be to just make one song, is that not torturous? Like, when does a song ever end? “Yeah, but it can also be liberating. Why not just get that song to where we feel like it’s 100 per cent done for now, for this day, where we are right now? We can always come back because we’re going to be in a different spot in a year and re-release that song.” You’ve said in the past that films and books are not only a great source of inspiration to you but also a means to convey the emotional pitch of a song you’re writing to your band mates. What’s been inspiring you lately? “Man, that’s a tough one. Lately, I’ve not been doing much reading at all, I’ve been working with my friend Sarah Jensen, she’s the one that’s been drawing my life story out of me for a biography. It’s really interesting to go back and go, ‘Really that was my life? I did that?’ or ‘I didn’t do that?’” What stage are you at? “It’s delivered, we’re just arguing about the cover.” You don’t want to lose that battle… “I already did! I don’t like the cover, I don’t like the font. But you know what? Fuck it. I don’t put books at airports or at whatever bookstores are left; I don’t know how that works. I know with Puscifer, we’re an independent band so the cover of a Puscifer CD… I don’t care! I’m not trying to bring you in the door. The covers tend to be completely contrary and goofy compared to what’s inside the CD. If we need a cover that’s going to sell from across the room – I have that background; I can do that for you. I’m totally good at that. But I didn’t do it with Puscifer, I was more about, ‘This is how I’m feeling today, let’s put that one out there!’” It’s interesting to think how you must have been feeling for the cover of Conditions Of My Parole? “Oh God, yeah. I mean, Conditions was like four or five years past MySpace, and I just remembered some of the photos that were circulating on it – some of the funniest crap! I was just like, ‘Wow, we’re a mess as a culture!’ (Laughs) I had to capture that somehow, so that was the cover.”
Going back to the book, what made you feel it was the right time to release it? “I turned 50. I thought we’d be able to get it done by the time I turned 50, but it was a lot more laborious process. Sarah’s really good at doing research so she went above and beyond the call of duty on picking up details outside of the story and bringing them into the book for absolute structure. It took a lot longer than we thought it would.” Did you give her all your private papers? “No, I gave her a lot of photos and, basically, just every Sunday we’d speak for an hour or two hours and just try and go through era by era.” Did you learn anything about yourself in the process? “Yeah, I’m a prick. Are you sitting down?” Yes, I’m sitting down… “Turns out I’m a prick. The end. (Laughs) I did not know that. It was a very rewarding experience seeing some of the crossroads and choices made and how a lot of it ended up coming down to intuition. By just trusting your instincts. I think people that are raised as an only child kind of have a little bit more of that than most people, because we don’t have siblings to correct our path or tell us what’s acceptable, or not acceptable. We just have the voice in our head, which is our own, you know?” Have you always stayed true to that? “I feel so, yeah. And even when you’re not, if you’re not learning something… are you a fan of the UFC at all? Conor McGregor? I wasn’t a huge fan of him and then I just love that guy now. He was so true to his own self; running his mouth, getting his ass kicked. In my mind you either win, or you learn, or you’re a loser. Those are the three. I feel like he learned, it was great. To answer your question, I think you make choices and then you learn from the choices. That’s what it really comes down to. If you’re just a negative person in general, I guess you consider yourself a loser if you made the wrong choices. I don’t think of that. I know the choices I’ve made with every band I’ve ever been in – and the approaches we’ve made for songs – I don’t ever think of anything as a failure. It was just a learning process. You can go back and get a bit of 20/20 hindsight on a piece and go, ‘Ok, I would have done that differently.’ They’re not all gonna be winners, there are going to be learners.” In terms of inspiration, what has been inspiring you lately? “Going back to inspiration in films and books, the self-indulgent biography aside, I’ve just been watching anything and everything. Even if it’s a crap show, I really like trying to puzzle out, ‘What the hell was the writer thinking with this story?’ Like, where are they going with this? I’m so curious! You’ve managed to put 12 episodes together for a TV show and it’s still on – I’m so curious to figure out how this train-wreck happened. I’ll just watch them all. Of course, I’m inspired by the better-made films and Breaking Bad, things like that. I just really like dissecting shit TV. Even in those awful programmes there are archetypes – there’s myth and metaphor contained in those things that some people are responding to. What is the architecture of that script that’s captivating an audience to have them watch these shit, awful actors with stupid fucking hairdos for 12 episodes. How did that happen? What’s the story that’s captivating people? I’m fascinated by those things.” So, who is inspiring you in the music world right now? “I’m always a huge fan of Greg Edwards. Autolux is really a fantastic band. Definitely an example of guys who need their feet on the ground, because they’re so out in the ether, and so indie, and very Portlandia in their approach to things. God bless ’em, they’re a mess, but their fucking music is incredible. So I can’t fault them for that – they deliver. I’m always listening to Failure’s stuff, then there’s Tricky working with Massive Attack again and PJ Harvey. All those things excite me because when I go into the cellar to work on the wine come the last week of July, we have soundtracks. Whatever fruit comes in, my friend Tim and I pick the soundtrack for the day and we process whatever fruit’s coming in that day to a particular soundtrack and write it down. Now, starting 2014, when our vintages start coming out, along with the tasting notes, at the very bottom there will be the soundtrack for that day when we actually processed it. That’s really exciting to me to have all this new music coming out for harvest. That’s always great. We have the Pink Floyd day, one where we have Steve Martin comedy going along with Earl Scruggs. So as far as new music, I’m trying to keep my eyes peeled. I need that person handing me the music to be inspired by.”
“I think so. I think everyone’s wired for a certain area. If you’re born in the London area and your parents were eating Marmite as a kid, there’s something in you that resonates with that area – that chaos seems harmonious to you. And when you have Marmite on toast you don’t retch. It was in your mother when you were in the womb, so somehow it’s part of you. I wasn’t in that. I was in a small town, low-income family. I had a harder time writing more balanced songs in LA because I was out of balance. I was more aggressive and angry about being there, I guess. So being in a quieter setting, I can let some form of elegance shine through more – because there’s no noise.” You’ve seen dozens of changes in the music industry throughout your career. Do you ever worry about the present state of the music business into which you’re releasing music that you’ve laboured over? “I think what happened with us is that we managed to be right on that cusp. When Mat [Mitchell, Puscifer guitarist] and I were in hotel rooms, dressing rooms, local studios, travelling around the country recording the V Is For Vagina album, the music industry had, let’s just call it, 1,000 record stores, and by the time we actually released that record there were only 200 record stores. It went down to one fifth of the stores remaining from the time we were mixing to the time we released. I thought we still had a little bit of time; if we could just get it out right before the wave crashed, I felt like we were going to be ok. But we didn’t. We weren’t. Comparatively, it was gone. But, more than a silver lining, that made us really dig our heels in on being independent and self-sufficient. I think that’s what came out of that in a positive way. We were able to go, ‘Okay, there isn’t an industry, so we’re going to build this’. That gave us all this time to slowly develop who we were. If there was a huge industry in place still, I’m not sure where Puscifer would be. If we were shoved down people’s throats right away, before we actually got to the point where we are right now? I don’t know. So, addressing your question, I think the current state now is we’re in a weird spot. There’s almost a generation and a half of people who don’t understand why you paid for Jimi Hendrix or David Bowie. I’m sure there’s a bunch of awesome stuff out there, but because there’s no industry to really present it to you, you really have to dig – and most people are lazy as fuck. They’re not going to find those amazing bands that exist in their back yard. And most bands that are existing in the backyard must be crazy – because if they’re actually trying to pursue a music career in their garage: to what end? There’s no place to go (laughs) – no-one’s buying anything. How do you make your living doing that? You must be out of your mind!” I feel depressed now… “Well, you know, it doesn’t matter because art will prevail. Those songs are going to come out and eventually there’s going to be some major shift where it all comes back in a beautiful way. Independent, let’s call it more balanced, artists. Because most artists get caught up because they’re just trying to emote and it’s, ‘I’m just trying to feel, maaaaan’ and they hand the reins to some douchebag manager or record company person that ruins their path and career, or coddles them so all they are is emotion – and it’s like a drunk child with a weapon steering the ship. You are now in charge of your own destiny. There’s nobody else to do it for you, so you have to figure out somehow, in you, the balance between balancing the books, looking forward for your career and getting in that emotional space to write those songs.” So there might be a positive outcome after all… “You can decide your own destiny on your own terms by not just living out in the ether. You have to have your feet on the ground, too. That’s good. I think that’s a good thing.”
“The harmonies. Recording a harmony in the studio and going back and fixing the pitch issues and going back and re-singing it and paying attention to a particular spot where there’s a rub, to being onstage live and doing three part harmonies and having to be connected with the other two people on the stage with those harmonies – that’s a wonderful challenge.” What kind of preparation do you have to do for touring? “It’s really been taking a lot more warming up before the show, paying attention to diet – everything you wouldn’t think goes into touring. You know you’re going through Kansas City and you’ve got all the various awesome barbeque places? You can’t eat them.” Not even a bit? “Nope. Because then you get on the bus, your stomach is upset, you get reflux and you can’t sing the next day. When we step out the door, well, two weeks before the tour, I’m preparing, just getting ready. It’s an, ‘All in’. The most important part of your body now is the two little pieces of flesh in your throat. And you have to pay attention to everything – everything – that affects them.” Thinking of the voice as an instrument – do you still feel you’re learning how to use it? “I’m always learning, man. I always feel that at any minute my voice is going to break and it’s going to be a train-wreck or someone’s going to go, ‘Did he mean to hit that note?’ or where the character of the note doesn’t make sense. I’m always fighting the spots in every song that I almost dread every night because I don’t know how I’m going to make it through them. So, no, I don’t have total control.” Do you ever think you’re making life too hard on yourself in the studio, then? “Well, you paint yourself into the corner, like that song needs that note to make it make sense. You try and reproduce that every night live and that’s a huge challenge. As long as you’re writing new material and coming out every couple of years then that’s great because you’re singing and writing where you are right now, rather than recreating something you did when you were 25. I mean, 25 and 51 are not the same age.” How have you coped with that? “You adjust the way you approach the song and singing. Everything has to be adjusted to where you are now – we’re capturing moments, you have to capture the moment you’re in, not the one you were in.” You’ve previously stated that you experimented with Bulgarian choir style on Grand Canyon on Money $hot – are there any other vocal mountains still left for you to climb? “Yeah, we kind of hit a little bit of that on Grand Canyon. I have a hard time with singing falsetto live and maintaining any kind of integrity to the note. I would like to figure out some way to be comfortable and confident enough live to be able to do a full song live in falsetto without feeling like I’m boring the fuck out of people.” They probably wouldn’t get bored… “Well, if I’m wearing a dress with a fucking bra then, no, they’d be completely entertained while I did that. Like, ‘Look over here while I do this awful falsetto.’” Earlier on you said that you find film engaging, and you’ve obviously acted in films and made your documentary, Blood Into Wine. Do you see yourself making another documentary – are there any other subjects you want to tackle? “I think I need to remake that film because I no longer remember the guy that was in that film. We had so little to talk about at the point that film was actually made, there’s been so much more – so many developments in Arizona since that film was made. I feel like, not really a follow-up, but a new film. There’s a lot of people that really enjoy what I’m doing with the Arizona fruit and there’s easily a dozen guys in the state that are knocking my dick in the dirt – they’re doing such great work, but nobody really knows about them outside the state. I feel like another documentary would be important to show, ‘no, it’s not just some rock douchebag with deep pockets with a vanity project in the middle of the desert and nothing else is happening’. No, I’m one of dozens making wine here.”
So: Puscifer, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Winemaking, book-writing… how are you juggling all of this? “Coffee.” All things considered, you’re doing it well… “The trick is that I’m not doing it all. If I was some kind of egomaniac and tried to do it all I would fail. You have to be ok with trusting other people around you to carry the weight and load and share the credit. I could not have done this biography without Sarah. It just would not have happened with Sarah. You need the right people around you.” Finally, Puscifer have been very prolific; do you anticipate another record or EP sooner rather than later? “We’re still within that year of release – we released in November so we’re still focused on this album, but I think Mat is already compiling all the remixes from various artists. We’re going to shoot for a remix release either fall or spring.”
Posted on June 22nd 2016, 7:10pmEditor’s note: This article’s original title & body may have mislead readers into believing Budaev’s piece was genuine and non-satirical
Russian satirical artist is Andrei Budaev released the following photoshopped image, titled The Peace Maker, in a digital book titled “Metamorphosis XXI Book VIII,” page 157. The piece, which depicts Putin as glorified strongman in a Soviet realist art style (example here) also gives him the added height of Russian Imperial Tsar Peter I (‘The Great’) and flanks him with various anti-Ukrainian or anti-Western figures, such as Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
The image is based off a mural by North Korean artists of late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad at the October War Panorama in Damascus, Syria; which in turn was inspired by the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum in Pyongyang, North Korea.
Some of Budaev’s other work humorously depicting Vladimir Putin:
Tags: Op-ed, Putin, RussiaGet the Recipe Snout and Split Pea Soup
Here are a few things I bet you didn't know about pig snouts.
One: they're bigger than you might think. A pig snout, from its nostril to the base near the head, weighs at least one pound.
Two: if you take a look at the picture, you can see that there's more meat on a snout than appears from the outside. Once you tunnel past the layer of skin and the generous half-inch or so of fat, there are pockets of luscious meat.
And three: the fattiest part of the snout, near where the two nostrils are located, tastes like a cross between fatty tongue and firm tendon.
A pig snout, a pound of dried split green peas, and a pot of water practically make themselves into soup on a cold winter's night. It's not an exact science, but the ratio of one to one works well when it come to pounds of pig snout per pounds of split peas (or lentils, chickpeas, and white beans, for that matter.)
You boil the snout with the dried peas or beans; the snout gives the soup both porky flavor and rich body. Split pea soup, which is so tasty when you cook it with a ham bone or hock, is just as delicious with other parts of the hog. Fergus Henderson uses pigs ears in his rendition, but ears are so high on my list of favorite parts that I rarely have any left over for soup.
Once you're done with simmering the snout for soup, remove the snout from the pot. Pan-frying slices of snout will easily render out the fat, after which you can add the slices back to your soup as a crispy garnish. It depends on what part of the snout you choose to pan-fry, but for much of the snout you'll get a little section of juicy meat and crispy skin. You can choose to cut slices from the part of the snout near the nostrils where there is only skin and gelatinously textured tissue. These are the chewy, crispy bits that taste like candy to some meat lovers. The slices of snout contrast nicely against the smooth, sweet flavors of a velvety split pea soup.
You can also consider deep-frying the slices of the snout once it has been simmered in soup or stock. Doing so will yield golden, crispy slices like chicharrónes, if a bit more gelatinous and fatty. Eat them as a snack or appetizer, though if you have any left after nibbling, they're awfully good in chicharrón-style burritos with beans and cheese.
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Today the extraordinary Phonon-VLC team released version 0.3 of their Phonon backend. Marking another milestone on the way to a truly cross platform Phonon backend.
Phonon-VLC 0.3 comes with Casian Andrei’s video and audio capture functionality, he implemented as part of his Google Summer of Code project. This makes the VLC backend the first one to implement this new terrific feature, introduced in the recently released Phonon 4.4.3. Additionally an incredible amount of fixes and improvements are part of this release.
We now consider the Phonon VLC backend stable enough for day to day use and encourage everyone to give it a try.
Mark Kretschmann, founder of Amarok said following about this release:
Phonon-VLC is rock solid now. Not a single crash in two weeks. Smooth as butter.
If you want to try the newest release, either poke a distribution developer near you to get a ready to go package for you distribution or compile the source yourself, following the excellent guide by Myriam Schweingruber.
Have fun, I already do… 😉
AdvertisementsMirko Cro Crop may have never failed a drug test. That doesn't mean his suspension will be rescinded.
The Croatian media outlet Vecernji reported Saturday that Cro Cop received his drug test results from USADA on Friday and that they were all negative. Vecernji reported that Cro Cop, the MMA legend, got an email with the results from USADA CEO Travis Tygart.
That information might be accurate, but Cro Cop's two-year suspension will still stand, USADA spokesperson Annie Skinner told MMA Fighting.
"Regardless of whether Mr. Filipovic was actively using a prohibited substance during the time of his test, he admitted to the use, attempted use, and possession of human growth hormone (hGH), which are all violations of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy," Skinner said.
Cro Cop, 41, informed USADA in November that he injected hGH due to injury in an attempt to stay in a fight with Anthony Hamilton at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Masvidal in South Korea. USADA provisionally suspended Cro Cop for a violation of the UFC's anti-doping policy and the UFC pulled him from the card on Nov. 10.
Cro Cop, whose real name is Mirko Filipovic, said a day earlier that he pulled out of the fight due to an injury and would be retiring from MMA. Skinner told MMA Fighting at the time that the anti-doping case against him began before he announced his retirement.
On Nov. 25, the UFC announced that after an adjudication process USADA had suspended Cro Cop for two years due to a substance violation.
"Filipovic, 41, admitted to the use, attempted use and possession of human growth hormone (HGH) following an out-of-competition test conducted on November 4, 2015, in Zagreb, Croatia," the UFC statement read. "On the day he was tested, prior to any results being reported, Filipovic contacted the UFC to advise that he had been using HGH in violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy. Thereafter, on November 9, 2015, Filipovic admitted to USADA as well that he had been using the prohibited substance."
Cro Cop wrote on his website in November that he had a doctor inject a small amount of hGH and plasma to help with a shoulder injury that would not heal. He said he was "desperate" to make the fight against Hamilton. Cro Cop said he was tested by USADA six days into the treatment. Knowing he had used a banned substance, Cro Cop said he informed the UFC immediately.
Skinner would not comment on whether or not Cro Cop failed a test, but to USADA it does not matter since Cro Cop admitted to taking a prohibited drug.
If he never informed on himself, there's a chance he would have never been found out. It is very difficult to test for hGH, according to most experts.Starting with the occupation of a park next to Wall Street on September 17, a new movement is spreading across the country in which people gather in public spaces in protest against social inequalities. We’ll present a full analysis of this phenomenon here shortly; in the meantime, here’s an open letter to the occupation movement, engaging with some of the issues that have arisen thus far. Please forward this widely and print out versions to distribute at the “Occupy” events!
Dear Occupiers [online viewing version]
Dear Occupiers [print version]: A two-sided flier intended to be folded down the middle, longways.
Dear Occupiers
A letter from anarchists
Support and solidarity! We’re inspired by the occupations on Wall Street and elsewhere around the country. Finally, people are taking to the streets again! The momentum around these actions has the potential to reinvigorate protest and resistance in this country. We hope these occupations will increase both in numbers and in substance, and we’ll do our best to contribute to that.
Why should you listen to us? In short, because we’ve been at this a long time already. We’ve spent decades struggling against capitalism, organizing occupations, and making decisions by consensus. If this new movement doesn’t learn from the mistakes of previous ones, we run the risk of repeating them. We’ve summarized some of our hard-won lessons here.
Occupation is nothing new. The land we stand on is already occupied territory. The United States was founded upon the extermination of indigenous peoples and the colonization of their land, not to mention centuries of slavery and exploitation. For a counter-occupation to be meaningful, it has to begin from this history. Better yet, it should embrace the history of resistance extending from indigenous self-defense and slave revolts through the various workers’ and anti-war movements right up to the recent anti-globalization movement.
The “99%” is not one social body, but many. Some occupiers have presented a narrative in which the “99%” is characterized as a homogenous mass. The faces intended to represent “ordinary people” often look suspiciously like the predominantly white, law-abiding middle-class citizens we’re used to seeing on television programs, even though such people make up a minority of the general population.
It’s a mistake to whitewash over our diversity. Not everyone is waking up to the injustices of capitalism for the first time now; some populations have been targeted by the power structure for years or generations. Middle-class workers who are just now losing their social standing can learn a lot from those who have been on the receiving end of injustice for much longer.
The problem isn’t just a few “bad apples.” The crisis is not the result of the selfishness of a few investment bankers; it is the inevitable consequence of an economic system that rewards cutthroat competition at every level of society. Capitalism is not a static way of life but a dynamic process that consumes everything, transforming the world into profit and wreckage. Now that everything has been fed into the fire, the system is collapsing, leaving even its former beneficiaries out in the cold. The answer is not to revert to some earlier stage of capitalism—to go back to the gold standard, for example; not only is that impossible, those earlier stages didn’t benefit the “99%” either. To get out of this mess, we’ll have to rediscover other ways of relating to each other and the world around us.
Police can’t be trusted. They may be “ordinary workers,” but their job is to protect the interests of the ruling class. As long as they remain employed as police, we can’t count on them, however friendly they might act. Occupiers who don’t know this already will learn it firsthand as soon as they threaten the imbalances of wealth and power our society is based on. Anyone who insists that the police exist to protect and serve the common people has probably lived a privileged life, and an obedient one.
Don’t fetishize obedience to the law. Laws serve to protect the privileges of the wealthy and powerful; obeying them is not necessarily morally right—it may even be immoral. Slavery was legal. The Nazis had laws too. We have to develop the strength of conscience to do what we |
origins of neoliberal devastation as well as ways to overcome it.
In David Palumbo-Liu’s essay, it is the Liberal image of the state that troubles critique. Palumbo-Liu goes far in resisting the false moralism of the neoliberal debt economy. He is right to blame the neoliberal state for making the 99% pay for the sins of the financial class. He inspires when proposing an explosive countermorality, which rebuffs the guilt-inducing forms of subjectivization that legitimize neoliberal debt consciousness. Yet a more insidious moral drama subtends this countermorality, one that Palumbo-Liu seems unable to detect.
That drama positions the nation-state as a debt-burdened market actor, which must either balance its books like a private business or displace its burdens onto the citizenry. We need to disabuse ourselves of this bogus dilemma and its bad-faith morality if we are to overcome the debt-consciousness Palumbo-Liu implores us to resist. Government establishes a system of credits and debits by levying taxes in the currency it authorizes. And government is singularly implicated in this system because it is exempt from the market’s internal rules and limitations. The state spends ex nihilo and, as Alan Greenspan has publically admitted, it can forever service debts administered in its own unit of account. Let us, then, not shame government for failing to keep its economic house in order, as Palumbo-Liu suggests, but rather insist that the state deploy its boundless public reserve to prevent unjust forms of usury and debilitating private debt obligations.
A similar difficulty impedes Nancy Fraser’s important contribution. In her talk, Fraser politicizes the hidden background of non-monetized care work and ecological provisioning that sustains capitalist commodity production. But an enduring Liberalism prevents Fraser from installing what I call the problem of care within the money form itself.
The possibilities and limits of Fraser’s intervention are clearest during the Q&A session that follows her talk. In the session, Fraser sketches out a path toward a post-capitalist future wherein surplus allocation becomes democratically determined and matters of social and ecological reproduction are taken up as overriding concerns. On one hand, she suggests that a major step toward realizing such a future would result from a politicized return to a kind of midcentury Keynesianism, which implies progressive taxation, financial regulation, and deficit spending. This alternative would, of course, be less than ideal, as Fraser admits. Still, she maintains that it would represent a significant transformation in the context of the present neoliberal debacle. On the other hand, Fraser calls for a radical coalitional politics, which would strive to overturn the current system and replace it with a post-capitalist order. This option is preferable, but less probable, Fraser tells us, since it currently lacks conceptual and infrastructural supports.
This cleavage between neoclassical Keynesianism and an underdetermined coalitionism is familiar to the Leftist imagination and has long made meaningful transformation unimaginable. Yet the split is neither innocuous nor inevitable. It is structurally produced by an orthodox ontology of money and quickly vanishes when we refuse its Liberal premises.
Envisioning money as a private technology and government as dependent on the market’s limited funds, the Left presumes that the state is de facto incapable of wholly transmuting capitalism’s disavowed background into a foregrounded mode of concern. As a consequence, care is demoted to the status of money’s external supplement and the future splits into two unpromising alternatives. Either we can tax, spend, and regulate, leaving society permanently hamstrung by private power, or we can imagine more just and non-monetized modes of association, which are at present neither intuitive nor totalizable.
With MMT, however, we learn that money is a boundless public center, that caretaking is internal to money’s constitution, and that there is an immanent alternative to the Left’s doubly damned futurity.
Money is not only the root form of representation in bourgeois society, as T. J. Clark has eloquently written. It is also the crux of caretaking in modernity. Money is the basis of cultivation in the modern world and its own ongoing maintenance grants quotidian forms of care-taking their orientation, pace, and value. In this sense, all work is care work and money is care’s gravitational center. As a center without limits, moreover, the money form does not force us to choose between neoclassical pump priming and money’s obliteration. Money can be immediately and even radically deployed to meet communal and environmental needs. This is not an apologia for money or a disavowal of its limitations. Instead, it is a plea to install the problem of care at the heart of the money form and right the injuries committed under the guise of a false Liberal ontology.
Liberal man discovers himself by treating money as a little mirror. Securing a fantasy of autonomy, while denying his dependency on others, he imagines money as a peer-to-peer compact, which largely takes care of itself. Marxo-feminists have made a habit of exposing this charlatan and politicizing the off-scene labor that supports his self-reflection. But they have left his orienting object essentially in tact. Now is the time to smash Liberal man’s little compact so that a grander image of money can appear.
Occupational hazards
If MMT needs the capaciousness of Marxist critical theory to redeem its broad social promise, 21st-century Marxism requires MMT to purge the residual Liberalism that haunts leftist critique. The result makes way for a new critical praxis, which as of yet knows no name or institutional home. In the meantime, we must work to realize money’s curative powers by occupying the unheard-of center that presently organizes collective life.
Occupy Wall Street and Main Street. Occupy school in addition to prison. Occupy face space as well as the database. But by all and every means, occupy the center that configures such spaces and bring money’s imminent answerability into visceral contact with a shared contingent reality.Different from other CSS frameworks
Although the overall look and feel are most definitely inspired by Twitter Bootstrap, Cascade framework is not just another Bootstrap clone. Where Twitter Bootstrap puts its focus on delivering shiny user elements that can be dropped into any project and takes control of your project's overall look-and-feel, Cascade Framework is intended to do the opposite. By splitting your CSS into separate files based on features rather than selectors as well as by implementing atomic design, Cascade Framework puts you in control!
Also different from Twitter Bootstrap or other CSS Frameworks out there, Cascade Framework can be used for modern browsers and older browsers alike. All features of Cascade Framework support Internet Explorer from IE6 upwards or degrade gracefully. With Cascade Framework you no longer have to choose between supporting only modern browsers or downgrading your design.In a Japanese-language interview, Hideo Kojima said seeing the competition at E3 has pushed him to work even harder on Metal Gear Solid 5, which he describes as much more of a realistic stealth simulator than previous entries in the series.
Kojima made the comment in an interview with 4Gamer, as translated by DualShockers. After commenting that he’s been working towards the game’s 1980’s setting time period for a long time, building up in decade increments, he shared some details on Metal Gear Solid 5’s stealth gameplay, noting that it’s “very realistic”.
“It’s not just a matter of following the rules of the game anymore. You can decide to just walk to your destination or ride a car. There are less sentries during the night, but you’ll be easy to spot if you turn on the headlights. Of course there are a lot more sentries during the day,” he said.
“I think the definition of ‘real stealth simulator’ is appropriate. Previously when the game was on rails players knew what to expect, because designers just put an explosion there, a collapsing wall there. It was like a haunted house. Now weather and time will change. I wanted to make this game allowing a million of different players to play in a million of different ways.”
Kojima also noted again that he wants to take on the world with MGS5, picking out one game in particular as a rival.
“I thought it received a good reaction, but after seeing Ubisoft’s The Division I felt I have to work harder,” he said.
Metal Gear Solid 5 is expected on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One in 2014.
Thanks, GameInformer.We have devoted our lives to philosophy. We want the field to survive and, if possible, prosper. But it is increasingly doubtful that academic philosophy can thrive in an era of declining budgets, soaring debts, antipathy to tax increases, and new technologies such as distance education.
Of course, philosophy is secure at America's elite universities. But what of the vast number of universities whose future is tied to the decisions of state legislatures or other financial conditions?
At these colleges, philosophy is now subject to powerful cultural trends that include a distrust of the public realm, a utilitarian habit of mind where only what is countable actually counts, and a widespread assumption that "values" are mere preferences to be tabulated and traded rather than critically assessed and debated. Recent cuts or threatened cuts to the philosophy departments at Howard University and the University of Nevada, and overseas at the University of Liverpool and the University of Greenwich, highlight the danger.
We are on the downside of a 60-year period that saw the expansion of colleges and universities nationwide and the development of the great state systems of education (for example, the University of California system, now being dismantled). Indeed, philosophy and the humanities have been in a hiring crisis since 1970. Now online education poses a more profound threat. Might it herald the academic equivalent of Napster, putting many of us out of jobs?
The philosophic community needs to respond to these dangers in a thoughtful and proactive way. In our view, there are four aspects to the challenge we face.
The status quo: We are saddled with early-20th-century modes of philosophy. In the 20th century, philosophy abandoned its Socratic heritage in favor of a disciplinary model of practice. Rather than engaging citizens in all walks of life on the issues they faced, philosophers spoke mainly to one another about problems of their own invention. In this we are the heirs of Kant. In the Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), Kant argued that we must separate the role of the technical philosopher from that of the general philosopher. Philosophy would demonstrate its bona fides by developing a mode of inquiry that only other philosophers could understand. To attempt both philosophic rigor and public engagement would result in "nothing but bungling."
By the beginning of the 20th century, we had abandoned the public role. Like biologists or economists, we embraced expertise. We burrowed down into ever-smaller niches, coming to know more and more about less and less.
It was a model that became self-justifying, by defining its own goals and standards and creating a closed market for the supply and demand for philosophy. Decrying this development in his 1906 presidential address to the American Philosophical Association, William James argued for the recognition of both technical and general roles for philosophers. James lost that battle. Yes, 20th-century philosophy dealt with issues of perennial importance. But this work came at the cost of increasing cultural insignificance. The specialist's task was not counterbalanced by an equal emphasis on the public role of the philosopher.
It is time to reclaim the public role of philosophy. This does not mean rejecting rigor. By venturing into the agora, testing his ideas out in the world, Socrates did not abandon standards. Rather, he embodied a different type of rigor, one sensitive to and partially defined by social context.
Academic philosophizing suffers from what Hegel called a bad infinity—that to every argument there is a counterargument, and a reply to that reply, without end. Of course, a number of philosophic questions are perennial in nature: The philosophizing lies in the asking rather than the answering, an asking that goes on without end. But without the rigors of everyday life, which often demand an answer, the debates of academia lack any governor on them at all.
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The 20th-century paradigm of philosophy did eventually, reluctantly, make room for a few "applied" philosophers in fields such as bioethics, environmental ethics, business ethics, and the like. But even here, in the vast majority of cases, research consisted in talking about applied ethics rather than actually applying, or better, integrating philosophic insights with problems on the ground.
Applied ethics has been centripetal—scholars mostly go out into the world only long enough to latch onto an issue and then bring it back into the fold of specialized academic journals. Applied ethics is written for other ethicists, rather than for the nonphilosophical audiences who actually wrestle with the problems being discussed—doctors and nurses, lab technicians and computer programmers, corporate toxicologists and managers of fisheries.
We speak from experience born of failure. In reading about the controversy surrounding the proposed wind farm on the Nantucket Sound, we came to believe that a great deal of rancor and misunderstanding hinged on aesthetics. But "aesthetics" had been poorly framed both in the official policy evaluations (for example, the environmental-impact assessments) and in public discussions. The controversy was not simply a matter of "views" or "visibility" but rather competing visions about the appropriate human presence in a place of natural and cultural significance. Reframing aesthetics as "visions" of the good life, we argue, could help improve the adequacy of policy and the productivity of public debate.
So we wrote a paper on the subject. Yet rather than sharing our insights with policy makers or the concerned public, we published our work in an academic journal, one that relevant decision makers probably did not even know existed. Of course, it counted as a peer-reviewed publication—the coin of the realm for academic production. But the Socratic task of public philosophizing remained undone.
New theory: For the reasons we noted at the outset, the 20th-century model of philosophy today is politically and economically unsustainable. It is also irresponsible. Philosophers at public universities are state employees, and the rest of us are dependent in various ways on public funds, not to mention on the tuition paid by students and their families. It should be obvious that we need to reflect on the questions raised by the current crisis.
What is the nature and extent of a philosopher's obligation to society? How should this get worked out on a day-by-day basis? How does this affect our closely held notions of tenure and academic freedom, and our assumptions about what counts as excellence and rigor?
Philosophers work within one or another canonical field—ancient philosophy, the philosophy of science, ethics, metaphysics, or phenomenology—categories that have remained stable over generations. These categories need rethinking. (Introductory logic courses, for instance, strike us as icons of a past age.) Within each of these areas, aspiring philosophical experts move to the leading edge and make a small indentation in the outer boundary of knowledge. This needs to be questioned. Why, for instance, is there no tradition of philosophers being trained as specialists in the general, to work in the public and private sectors?
But the crux of the problem is this: Questions concerning the institutional forms that philosophy takes are not considered topics for philosophic reflection. There is little or no research into how our philosophic questions and standards of excellence are shaped by the particular bureaucratic forms that philosophy takes.
Why, for example, are philosophers housed in philosophy departments? Should groups of two or three philosophers be placed in departments across campus, to draw out the philosophic aspects of chemistry, economics, and business? Why is there no "lab" or "field" component for philosophy courses? Given the transformative nature of contemporary science and technology, in areas from synthetic biology to nanotechnology to climate change, are there opportunities for philosophic research—and employment—within the public and private sectors? Why are we not training philosophers to work at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Education, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Park Service, and a similar set of places across the private sector?
Note that the questions we are raising are different in kind from the questions asked in fields such as social and political philosophy. The insights of philosophers in these areas are often quite relevant to society. We are posing a different type of question: How can philosophic insights be translated or integrated with other disciplines and with the wider world? Political philosophy contains insights important to practical issues; but our concern is with the different ways that philosophical theory (whether in political philosophy, or metaphysics, or epistemology, or any other area of philosophy) becomes involved with social practice. This is a philosophical question that philosophers have left unasked.
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Ideas do not exist in the ether; they take form within a material context that shapes them in subtle and profound ways. The current institutional dimensions of philosophy—training, teaching, promotion, and tenure—need to be thought through afresh. We need to train future philosophers so they can recognize philosophical disputes happening in the world and insert themselves artfully into the public and private spheres. And when they come up for tenure, we need means for properly assessing their success in such endeavors.
Areas of reform: We see three broad, interrelated areas in need of reform.
First, we need to reconsider what counts as expertise, rigor, and excellence—the single-minded model of specialization that keeps us writing philosophy papers for each other. We should develop new, more interactive models of rigor that take account of the need for timeliness, sensitivity to context, and rhetorical skill in communicating with multiple audiences. And we should rank philosophy departments on measures other than publication counts in philosophy journals; other factors would include grants, for instance, or mentions in the press.
Second, a new philosophy calls for new types of philosophers trained with the skills necessary for being successful "interactional" experts. Interactional expertise means knowing enough about another field so that one can engage others in conversation and raise penetrating questions. The pedagogical challenge before us consists in educating students so that philosophy is understood not as an isolated body of ideas, but as indistinguishable from human existence and interwoven throughout contemporary social issues.
Students need to learn how to identify and create opportunities for integrating philosophy outside of the discipline. Undergraduate students need courses that draw out the philosophical dimensions of everyday life—what a colleague of ours has called "found philosophy." Graduate students need training in grant writing and multimedia communication; policy and budgets; and rhetorical skills in how to make ethical theory relevant to different audiences within severe budgetary, time, or political constraints.
Third, the case for reform made here involves an appeal to prudential self-interest—devising ways to survive in a harried, impatient, and increasingly market-driven age. Philosophers have broad social responsibilities that require directly engaging social problems. This can mean activism, but in a bureaucratic age it is more likely to mean working at the project level with scientists, engineers, and policy makers. Rather than philosopher kings, our future is more likely to lie in becoming philosopher bureaucrats.
Of course, everyone hates bureaucrats. But they serve us well in keeping the trucks and trains and planes running on time and our food and medicine safe. As philosopher bureaucrats the two of us have helped the U.S. Geological Survey think about acid mine drainage; the city of Denton, Tex., rewrite its ordinance governing natural-gas drilling and production; and the European Commission devise better criteria for peer review of research grants.
Such work raises the worry that philosophy may compromise its essential function as social critique and become captured by powerful interests. In seeking to adapt, might philosophy risk selling its soul? Or, in speaking truth to power, might we be forced to drink hemlock?
These are real concerns. But such concerns simply highlight the need and opportunity for serious philosophic work. We must recognize that clinging to the status quo in the name of academic freedom is not just unsustainable but also irresponsible. Philosophers, like any professional group, have a moral responsibility to serve the community. We need to embody our own professional code of ethics.
New models: What new approaches to philosophy should we develop? Fortunately, we need not start from scratch, as alternative models are springing up daily. Individual philosophers, and occasionally whole departments, are striking out in new directions. The recent launch of the Public Philosophy Network is one indication of the growing interest in bucking the status quo. This past October, PPN hosted a conference on "Advancing Publicly Engaged Philosophy" in Washington.
Another indication is a conference we ran at the University of North Texas in March, called "A New Practice of Philosophy." Thirty-five philosophers shared their experiences about doing engaged work in the world and in the classroom. That was followed later that month by a conference at Mount Holyoke College on "Engaging Philosophy." The conference was in honor of Mount Holyoke's new president, Lynn Pasquerella, a philosopher who has engaged a broad range of real-world problems, from hospital ethics to potable water in Africa. Linda Martín Alcoff from CUNY's Hunter College (and a former fellow graduate student at Brown with Pasquerella) gave the opening talk, making a powerful case for reviving the role of the public intellectual.
Yet another signal of changing times was the 2009 creation of PIN—the Philosophy of/as Interdisciplinarity Network. Founded by philosophers from the United States and Europe, PIN seeks to develop the theory and practice of "de-disciplining" philosophy.
These are exciting indications that new models are beginning to set roots within our community. Yet these philosophers continue to work largely at the margins of the profession, with little institutional support. We need to grow this nascent community of practice.
At the department of philosophy and religion studies and the Center for the Study of Interdisciplinarity at the University of North Texas, we have christened our approach "field philosophy." Field philosophy means working outside the library or study, doing philosophy at the project level, with scientists, engineers, and policy makers. Unlike applied ethics, where the value of the work is still largely expressed within the discipline, field philosophy adds value out in the world by responding to societal needs.
Our own work, with Britt Holbrook, on peer review is an example. Today Congress and grant makers are asking that the peer-review process become more publicly accountable. Society wants to support scientific work that is not only of high quality but also socially relevant. We have worked with both the National Science Foundation and the European Commission to think through these challenges. In other cases, department members have worked with the EPA, the United Nations, and the Chilean government.
Field philosophy, found philosophy, public philosophy, experimental philosophy, philosophy of/as interdisciplinarity—these are all expressions of a growing feeling that change is afoot. We seek to promote this change. We view 20th-century philosophy as an aberration—academically challenging work that forgot half of philosophy's task. It is time to strike out in new, intellectually exciting, and socially useful directions.Two young girls were forced to change for swim class in front of a biological boy according to their mothers, who say attempts to get the Clover Unified School District to accommodate the young, intermediate school girls were ignored.
Mothers Kathy Hannen and Emily Wildey said at a Wednesday board meeting that they first contacted Clovis Unified trustees in May when they learned that their daughters voiced their concerns about being made to change in front of a biological boy, according to the Fresno Bee. They said they were told to accept it or withdraw their daughters. The transgender bathroom/locker room law that California Gov. Jerry Brown signed in 2013 was cited as the reason the girls were forced to change in front of the boy.
“Explain to my 14-year-old that this did not happen. Explain to her that she was not forced all semester to change in front of a boy,” said Hannen, according to the Bee. “While everyone is denying that this happened, nobody is actually reaching out to my daughter. This is happening, and it’s something that needs to be addressed.”
California’s AB 1266, the “bathroom bill,” pointedly applies to children disrobing in school locker rooms. The 2013 bill allows children to use a bathroom or locker room for the opposite gender to the one that they are biologically.
Since Brown signed AB 1266, the Obama Administration intervened in the state’s decision and made written declaration that transgender students may use the bathroom for the gender with which the child identifies. Though not law, under the May 2016 order, schools were put under threat of losing federal funding should they not comply, Fox News reported.
Obama has insistently defended the order, which was made as debate surrounded North Carolina House Bill 2. Elected North Carolina legislators passed that law, defining sex discrimination to correlate with a person’s biological sex and requiring people to use the bathroom which coincides with his or her biological sex. A federal judge blocked the bill last month; however, the final word may be determined in the Supreme Court next year.
“What do you do when God’s law goes this way and man’s law goes this way?” Wildey said at the Wednesday meeting in central California, according to the Bee. She now homeschools her daughter because of this incident. She said she wasn’t asking for the law to be defied, but “We are asking you to fight for our children.”
Hannen added that her request was not that the transgender student be removed, but simply that her daughter be provided an alternative option to changing clothes in front of the biological male. She said the real issue is with each student having a right to privacy that these children were denied over and over again. Hannah said the mothers were blindsided and that they had been unaware a biological male was changing in the same locker room as their female children. Hannah’s daughter is no longer at the intermediate school and is now a student at an area high school.
The Bee recorded that other parents associated with the group Stop the Madness also spoke in support of the mothers at Wednesday Clovis meeting. Due to the level of parental concern over this issue, Clovis has installed private changing stalls and standalone bathroom trailers since the girls’ concerns were ignored. One member of the group spoke out at the meeting revealing that the stalls merely have curtains and that there should be lockable doors and children should be allowed to opt out of a P.E. class if the current situation is uncomfortable.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana“… each of the players brought in today can start a game, and can certainly come off the bench [in the] early weeks of the season and impact the game in a positive manner.” — Sky Blue FC head coach Christy Holly
S
ky Blue FC fans could be forgiven for some confusion as they awoke to the news on the Friday morning of the 2016 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) College Draft that Nadia Nadim had been traded to the Portland Thorns FC in a deal for, primarily, a draft pick.
That the team would deprive itself of the goal-scoring prowess of Nadim up top, in what could be legend Christie Rampone’s final year, speaks to a key change in Sky Blue’s approach.
The rebuild is here. And judging by the haul the team came away with at the draft, it could mean the franchise’s best days are coming soon.
Bolstering the Attack
“There’s definitely been a few changes,” Sky Blue FC head coach Christy Holly, one of those changes himself after Jim Gabarra left for the Washington Spirit, said as several of his new players posed for photographs at the Baltimore Convention Center during the draft.
“And this is something that we’ve been looking at since toward the end of last season. We knew the changes we needed. We had an extremely strong starting eleven. We struggled when players were injured or players were away on national team duty. This is something — each of the players brought in today can start a game, and can certainly come off the bench [in the] early weeks of the season and impact the game in a positive manner. It’s really important to me that we have that bounce across the team.”
The group of four new Sky Blue players really begins with Raquel Rodriguez, the midfielder from Penn State who dominated College Cup and captured the 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy. The consensus is that few players come in as ready to contribute as Rodriguez, providing a traffic cop for the Sky Blue attack.
It is just as notable, when evaluating Sky Blue’s difficulty breaking into the sports marketplace (with attendance well shy of 2,000 per game, the lowest in the NWSL) that Rodriguez is extremely well-spoken, cognizant of the need to connect with fans, and eager to get started replicating the following she’s built in Costa Rica in New Jersey.
“The media at home — this is the first time I’ve ever felt so announced in Costa Rica,” Rodriguez said shortly after getting picked. “They’re very aware. And I can see that change. And in social media more than actual news, people aren’t waiting on the news, they’re already aware of what happened here. But like you said, it has to increase, hopefully, to the point it’s like the men’s coverage. But I’m also aware it takes time.”
“My goal is to be a role model that my generation did not have. And I hope that this grows the game. And I just want to be that role model, and take that responsibility.”
Picking up the attacking slack following Nadim’s departure will be Sky Blue’s second pick, and the 13th overall pick in the draft, Leah Galton of Hofstra by way of Harrogate, England.
“Leah’s a very talented player,” Holly said of Galton. “I wasn’t sure how many teams had her on their radar. But she brings the balance with her left foot. She’s more than capable of scoring goals. She’s got that burst of speed which is very beneficial for us on the left wing. She can play as an 11, she can play as a 9. She didn’t develop her game in America, her early years were in England. So she comes with a different level of savviness within the game, and it makes her unique.”
Added Defensive Depth
While Rodriguez and Galton figure to play key roles in the Sky Blue attack this season, the team took precautions with the back line and in goal as well. And few will know the terrain at Yurcak Field better than the team’s third pick and the 23rd overall selection, Erica Skroski, a central defender who paired with fellow 2016 NWSL draftee Brianne Reed (who went 18th to FC Kansas City) to lead Rutgers to its first College Cup berth.
The Galloway, New Jersey native is Jersey through and through, having spent many evenings watching Sky Blue through her college days, and now will get to play on the same field she experienced her greatest collegiate triumphs, next to the ultimate prototype of a Jersey defender in Rampone.
“It’s amazing,” Skroski said, shortly after she was selected. “Everything I could’ve hoped for in my next step as a soccer player. To play at Rutgers for four years after growing up in New Jersey, to play professionally where Rutgers plays its soccer games means so much to me.”
“Absolutely. When we’re out at the store, people don’t just know about me, about Rutgers and this season — but they know about the professional league. Whether that’s guys, that’s girls, they know about it — the whole country knows about it, and everybody is benefitting.”
Sky Blue’s final pick lasted until 29th overall, but the team made a trade to get her — dealing picks 33 and 36 to Chicago for the 29th slot and taking William & Mary goalkeeper Caroline Casey. The intellectually driven Casey wasn’t even sure she wanted to play professional soccer a year ago, but a summer with the Washington Spirit Reserves team and a senior campaign that included an All-America selection led her to continue her professional pursuit.
“I’d been wrestling with the idea of what to do. I was pre-med in college, and eventually I’ll pursue that path,” Casey said after the pick, her parents nearby waiting to take her out to celebrate.”
“But with the help of my coaches, teammates, and other individuals along the way really convinced me to pursue this path. So many opportunities it provides, so I absolutely wanted to jump at the chance. I was training with the Washington Spirit Reserve team, and I just fell in love with the environment, and just felt like I was 13 years old again — when you just love soccer so much, and there’s no pressure, any of that. So in a sense, I fell in love with the game all over again. So I think, from that point forward, I knew this is what I wanted to do.”
I
t all should make for a fascinating summer of novelty and growth in Piscataway. And while Holly was realistic about the difficulties in getting a young team to play at an elite level so quickly, he didn’t sound ready to punt the season. Not with his optimism about Rampone, who he’d spoken to the day before the draft, and said “what I expect from Christie is to play every game, and lead the team.” And not with so much young talent added to the roster in a single day.
“The players we brought in were extremely successful,” Holly said. “You have a Hermann winner, you have a first team All-American, you have a player who went to the Final Four. So we’re extremely fortunate. A lot of what they bring in is the humility, the hard-working attitude. And that’s a lot of it. There’s no question about their ability. The application of that, the transition from the college game will be that much smoother.”
All images courtesy of Cynthia Hobgood.WME-IMG have acquired Global eSports Management, a talent agency that represents clients who compete in videogame tournaments around the world.
GEM, whose co-founders Tobias Sherman and Min-Sik Ko will now join WME-IMG, reps a number of notable names in the space, including players Jang Min Chul, Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez, commentator Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles and YouTube star Robbert “Siv HD” van Eijndhoven. Company handles sponsorships and endorsement deals.
The company was founded in 2013, and operates out of U.S., Europe and South Korea, the largest markets so far for eSports tournaments like Major League Gaming’s “Call of Duty” Tournament, above.
“WME-IMG is proud to work with the best in the business across sports, entertainment, media, marketing and fashion,” WME-IMG chief operating officer Jason Lublin said. “Toby, Min-Sik and the team bring unparalleled industry knowledge and an entrepreneurial spirit to our world-class digital talent offering. We see tremendous growth and opportunity in the eSports space, and we’re excited to bring this expertise in-house.”
Until now, WME-IMG haven’t had much of a presence in the eSports biz, which is dominated in the U.S. by companies like Twitch and MLG.
But it’s been hard not to realize that the companies should play a part somehow, given that eSports has a worldwide audiences of around 71 million, and Amazon bought Twitch last year for $970 million.
“By becoming a part of WME | IMG, we can maintain our core values while providing our clients with amazing access and opportunities they won’t find anywhere else,” Sherman and Ko said in a joint statement.
Financial terms of WME-IMG’s acquisition were not disclosed.This is my first year participating in this Secret Santa event. I wasn't expecting much, but what I received blew me away.
I mentioned on my profile how I have been working on a nursing a little dream: to start my own small ceramics business (I'm a sculptor) selling works of art people could smoke out of. My SS sent me a messaging asking about some of my work and my plans for my little business "Halcyon Clays." I answered and expressed some of the gnawing doubts as to my ability. It's always been a problem with me, a lack of confidence. It has stopped me a lot of times in the past.
My SS's gift. It's inspiring. It's incredible. I cannot express how amazed and how touched I am by his gift.
Thank you technicolordreams. You are an incredible human being with a gifting ability beyond what should be had by any mortal man.My Doryani's:
poetrade's Doryani's:
GGG, could you please fix these so their implicit mods are updated properly when using a Blessed Orb? I have a Doryani's Catalyst from before 2.3, so I tossed a Blessed Orb at it. Instead of the expected 32% implicit value that all new drop vaal sceptres have, I got 20%. I have also verified there is at least one other 20% currently on poe.trade.My Doryani's:poetrade's Doryani's:GGG, could you please fix these so their implicit mods are updated properly when using a Blessed Orb? Last bumped on Jun 8, 2016, 6:20:59 PM Posted by Jackinthegreen
on on Quote this Post
I've been watching for any response to this issue and so far GGG has not said anything.
Would be nice to hear if this is a bug or intended. If I had known I could only get 20% when I blessed mine I wouldn't of wasted the orbs. Posted by Maverick31
on on Quote this Post
Because of limitations with updating old implicits that were used on multiple item types, we weren't able to have the Sceptre implicits fully match their new values. We've increased them as much as we reasonably can so they will always be better than they were, but I'm afraid most higher level sceptre types won't be as good as fresh copy of that item type. I'm sorry we didn't make this clearer in the patch notes! Balance & Design Posted by Rory
on Grinding Gear Games on Quote this Post
Clear(er) in the patch notes? Using a Blessed Orb to update them wasn't mentioned at all in the patch notes. Posted by Jackinthegreen
on on Quote this Post
" Jackinthegreen Clear(er) in the patch notes? Using a Blessed Orb to update them wasn't mentioned at all in the patch notes.
It was mentioned on the manifesto post https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1665252 It was mentioned on the manifesto post https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1665252 Posted by Khisanth
on on Quote this Post
" Khisanth " Jackinthegreen Clear(er) in the patch notes? Using a Blessed Orb to update them wasn't mentioned at all in the patch notes.
It was mentioned on the manifesto post https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1665252 It was mentioned on the manifesto post https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1665252
Ah, now Rory's post makes sense. Thank you. Ah, now Rory's post makes sense. Thank you. |
300 feet to get back on his bus. He then radioed in to the dispatcher, but did not appear to be out of breath or winded, [Dayton Police Chief Richard] Biehl said, or having just been involved in a life-or-death struggle. Additionally, Wagoner said a religious book stopped two of the bullets fired at him. Two bullets were found lodged in the book titled, “The Message,” which is a modern translation of the Bible that was inside Wagoner’s shirt pocket. Biehl said it’s “not credible” that bullets were fired into the book without penetrating the torso. … Police ballistics tests showed that bullets fired from the handgun — a 25-caliber Raven model semiautomatic — at the same distance as had been fired at Wagoner’s book penetrated the book and traveled 15 inches through a gel designed to simulate the effect of bullets on a human body.]
Biehl also said Wagoner’s injuries were not consistent with defensive wounds, but were consistent with hesitation wounds. Alongside a deeper wound were shallower, smaller cuts. The knife Wagoner said he used to stab one assailant was never recovered.
Also,
Wagoner owes the city of Dayton more than $100,000 in property taxes, Biehl said. The Chief speculated that the bus driver may have planned to enrich himself by inventing a tale that, in a country where religious bullshit sells like hotcakes, might have conceivably made him the next Todd Burpo.
Remarkably, the cops do not intend to file charges against the bus driver for his false statements; and all that the city of Dayton has done so far is suspend Wagoner — with pay.
I suppose we’ll never know if the authorities would treat Muslims or atheists who are guilty of similar infractions with such leniency and consideration.Stussy Clothing and What it Means in Streetwear Culture and Fashion
Shawn Stussy, Founder of Stussy Clothing/Father of Streetwear
Frank Sinatra Jr and the Birth of Stussy, Inc.
Stussy Clothing Hits Europe
The International Stussy Tribe is Born
The First Stussy Clothing Store and Global Brand Expansion
Founder, Shawn Stussy Leaves his Brand Behind
Frank Sinatra Jr. Takes Full Ownership of Stussy Clothing
Stussy Clothing Today and Forever
The story of Shawn Stussy and his eponymous Stussy clothing brand is one of the greatest tales in streetwear history. However, the influence of the California born brand reaches far outside of streetwear fashion. With only a broad-tipped black marker in hand and an appreciation for music, art, and surf, Shawn Stussy begins crafting custom surfboards. Finding inspiration in the cool California surfer and new wave scenes, he discovers his unique style. Heavily influenced by his uncle, Jan Frederick Stüssy, an abstract painter, the Stussy logo is born. Soon after, Shawn Stussy’s graphic, grafitti style logo makes its way onto t-shirts, shorts and caps. The retailer is Shawn Stussy himself, and the store is the backseat and trunk of his car. A lot has changed since then. However, the essence of the Stussy clothing brand remains very much the same. There was really no such thing as streetwear and urban uniforms consisted of pressed work shirts and trousers. For the most part, each coast had its own signature style. The East coast with its metropolitan take on business casual and the West coast with it cool, laid-back surfer style. Bridging cultures through an exploration of new age and hip hop music, multi-disciplinary artistry, and a global curiosity, a surfer kid from California becomes a founding father of streetwear. Let’s take a look back at the fascinating history of Shawn Stussy and his eponymous Stussy clothing brand.Shawn Stussy isn’t one of those artists adopting surf culture because it sounds cool, it’s always been his life. Born in 1954, his first view of the world is sand, surf and waves. In the years that follow, his love for surf culture only intensifies. Alongside his three siblings, Shawn discovers a love for art as he leans screen printing at his parents California print shop. By the age of 13 years old, Shawn Stussy masters another craft, making his own surfboards. Talented and eager to refine his skills, he easily finds after-school employment as surf shops around the city including Russell Surfboards in Newport Beach and Chuck Dent’s surf shop in Huntington Beach. By 1980, the young artist has an idea. Combining his love for surf and his artistic skills from screen printing, Shawn Stussy opens shop creating custom surfboards. His designs are an instant hint prompting the young artist to pursue an even bigger idea. Realizing the importance of branding, he imprints his squiggly, graffiti logo on shorts, t shirt and caps. However, Shawn doesn’t wait for customers to come to him. Opening perhaps one of the first authentic streetwear pop-up shops, Shawn Stussy hits the streets of Laguna Beach, California in his car. His plan for the Stussy brand still isn’t focused on creating a streetwear brand. The designs are simply promotion for his custom surfboard business.By 1983 Shawn Stussy has a new understanding of surf culture as a business. At the request of long-time friend and surf buddy, Frank Sinatra Jr., Shawn Stussy considers launching a Stussy clothing line. In 1984, the Stussy, Inc. partnership is officially born. The products, a signature apparel line revolving around the Stussy name and logo. Now for the first time, 29 year-old Shawn Stussy can focus solely on maturing his creative vision. With the insights of Frank Sinatra Jr.,an accountant, the future of the Stussy clothing brand begins to move in a new direction.Shawn’s business decision proves to be a wise one. Now free to focus on branding, Shawn Stussy finds new ways to print his namesake. Inspired by indie kids wearing painter’s caps, Stussy introduces classics like the “Stussy No.4” and double “S” logo designs. Although the Stussy clothing and accessories business is booming, surfboard sales aren’t as impressive. Eventually, Shawn makes a surprising decision and begins outsourcing the production of his handcrafted boards. Soon after, the brand sets its sights globally. In 1988, the company officially introduces the Stussy clothing line in Europe. It’s an immediate success granting Shawn Stussy an exciting, new audience of fans.During his time in Europe and international cities like Tokyo, Shawn Stussy begins to connect with a progressive group of rising creatives. His new group of friends consists of DJs, skaters, club kids and new age artists. Amongst his newfound network are names like Michael Kopelman, Hiroshi Fujiwara, and Luca Benini. United by a shared fascination with street culture the elusive “International Stüssy Tribe” is born. Known around the world for collectively sporting custom Stussy clothing and baseball caps, the brand further establishes its exclusive cult like appeal. However, the concept of the tribe wasn’t limited to its official members. It’s is a figurative club built around the Shawn Stussy’s brand concept. With increasing connections in the hip hop and urban scene, youth everywhere began showing their allegiance by collecting Stussy apparel.The first Stussy store opens its doors in 1991 in New York. Located at 104 Prince Street in Manhattan’s artsy Soho neighborhood, the brand sets its roots in the emerging cultural hub. Joining Shawn Stussy in his new adventure is a now familiar name, Supreme clothing founder James Jebbia. Back then he was the owner of a different early stage streetwear concept, Union. The 900 square foot retail boutique was a success making it a breeding ground for New York’s awakening streetwear scene. Though the brand finds immense success on the east Coast, Shawn doesn’t forget his deep California roots. Next, he opens a second shop,this time a 200 sq. foot space situated in Laguna Beach, California. At this point, Shawn Stussy is fully committed to the expansion of his business. In a matter of months, a Tokyo boutique is opened, followed by another west coast shop located on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles.Looking at the numbers, Shawn Stussy and Frank Sinatra Jr had built one of the most profitable fashion brands of the era. The company’s annual revenue routinely approached upwards of $35 million and was showing no signs of slowing. However, money alone was not enough to keep the Stussy, inc. partnership alive. In January 1996, Shawn Stussy officially resigns as the company’s President. The reason (according to Frank Sinatra Jr.) had nothing to do with their business partnership. In an interview with the LA times Sinatra reinforces their relationship by stating,”This is not a hostile thing”.”Fashion is still very important to him. He still wants to be involved,” he continues. “He’s just tired of the day-to-day grind.” Fans and the media had no choice to but take Frank Sinatra Jr.’s word for it. Shawn Stussy provided no definitive comments on the split.It is by no means an abrupt exit. Shawn had already began cutting back on his daily work schedule and ultimately agrees to stay on-board as a brand consultant. Additionally, he decides to continue overseeing operations for the brand’s New York and Los Angeles shops. During this time of transition, Shawn Stussy introduces his last major contribution to the clothing brand, Stüssy Sport. Between spending time with his wife and family in Hawaii and upholding his remaining responsibilities to the Stussy clothing brand, his schedule is still tight. Eventually, Shawn Stussy agrees to fully hand over the company to his co-founder. Frank Sinatra Jr. officially dissolves the partnership by buying out all of Shawn’s remaining shares in the company. The news was startling and everyone immediately began contemplating what type of future awaited the thriving, California bred Stussy clothing brand.To the surprise of many, Frank Sinatra Jr. is somewhat able to continue the brand’s upward trajectory. However, much of his solo success is contributed to the brand’s existing footprint in the streetwear market it helped create. Still, the company’s usual annual sales average of $35 million plummeted to $21 million. Using his understanding of numbers and experience as an accountant, Sinatra seeks out a path. David Sinatra, CEO and son of Frank Sinatra jr., recalls it as the “lowest point in Stüssy’s history”. First, the new President recruited a new creative team. Among the freshman is a new head designer, Nick Bower, an impressive graduate of Central Saint Martins whose first job was Valentino. Soon after, in 1997, a new creative director, Paul Mittleman, is appointed. With his new team in tow, Frank Sinatra Jr. focuses his sights abroad on the bustling streetwear scenes of Europe and Japan. Today, the elusive International Stussy tribe lives on. Membership is still international and fans are as loyal as ever. Ironically, Shawn Stussy’s west coast born surf brand found its largest market well outside of California and the United States. As far as sales go, purchases outside the U.S. now make up 60% of the company’s total revenue. A telling reflection of the globalization of streetwear, Stussy is receiving a well earned visit from Karma-in recognition of the international community of streetwear followers it created.JUAN WILLIAMS: We have a situation right now where you have Trump's people described by conservatives as having botched the rollout, the approach to this. Even if you give him the benefit of the doubt and say this is about trying to protect the country, which is what I think you were trying to say. People would say, "Well gee, how come they couldn't have anticipated the impact on people with green cards? How can you talk about people who are refugees?"
GREG GUTFELD: But it got remedied. It got remedied!
WILLIAMS: Oh, yeah. You're right. It got remedied after the fact, after the chaos at the airports. In other words --
[CROSSTALK]
WILLIAMS: In other words, if it's your rights, oh it would be a problem. But the other --
[CROSSTALK]
ERIC BOLLING: Don't use the word rights. Don't use the word rights. No rights involved here.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE: They don't have rights.The Nordoff-Robbins approach to music therapy is based on the belief that everyone possesses a sensitivity to music that can be utilized for personal growth and development. In this form of treatment, clients take an active role in creating music together with their therapists. At Nordoff-Robbins, we make music with people, notfor them. Our approach is based on techniques that allow even the most disabled clients to become active and successful participants. Through this interaction therapists support and enhance the clients' expressive skills and their ability to relate to others.
Our therapists work with a broad range of people, including children with autism and other special needs, individuals under psychiatric care, self-referred adults seeking a creative approach to emotional difficulties or personal development, individuals with medical problems, and those in geriatric care. Therapists use a variety of conventional and specialized instruments and clients do not need to have prior musical skill or training.The Cat in the Hat Comes Back is a children's book written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss and published by Random House in 1958. The book is a sequel to The Cat in the Hat.
Plot [ edit ]
Once again, Sally and her brother are being left home alone for the day, but this time, their mother has left them with instructions to clear away a large amount of snow while she is out for the day. However, they are soon interrupted in their work by the arrival of the Cat in the Hat. Sally warns her brother not to talk to the Cat, because he plays lots of bad tricks. She tells him not to let him come near. She tells her brother, "Remember what he did the last time he was there."
But the Cat lets himself into their house to get out of the snow, and when the brother follows him in, he finds the Cat eating a cake in the tub with the hot and cold water on. He glares at the Cat, turns off the water, and drains the tub only to find that a long pink ring has formed around the sides of the bath tub. The Cat offers to help, but his preliminary attempts to remove the pink spot fail as he only transfers the mess to a succession of other objects: their mother's white dress, the wall, their father's pair of $10 shoes, a rug, and their father's bed. Unsure of how to remove the stain from the bed, the Cat calls on the help of Little Cat A, who lives inside his hat, who lifts his hat to reveal Little Cat B, and then Little Cat C. The three Little Cats go to work, sending the stain to the television, then a pan, and finally outside.
Seeing the spot cover the snow, Little Cat C lifts his hat to reveal Little Cats D through G. The seven Little Cats wage war on the snow spots, shooting at pink snowballs with pop guns. This only spreads the spots more, so Little Cat G lifts his hat to reveal Little Cats H through V. All the cats work more, but the spot keeps spreading, until all the snow is pink, so Little Cat V takes off his hat to uncover Little Cats W, X, Y and the microscopic Little Cat Z. Z takes his hat off and unleashes a "Voom", which cleans up the spot, clears all the snow from the paths, and puts all of the Little Cats back into the Cat's hat. The Cat leaves, with the promise that he and the Little Cats, from A through Z, will return someday.
The book ends in a burst of flamboyant versification, with the full list of little cats arranged into a metrically perfect rhymed quatrain, designed to teach the reader the alphabet.
Adaptations [ edit ]
After the 2003 film adaption of the original story, it was planned to make a sequel based on The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.[1] However, due to negative reception, Theodore Geisel's widow, Audrey Geisel, decided to not allow any future live-action adaptions of her husband's works and the plans for the sequel were cancelled.[2]
The book has included other stories, Fox in Socks & There's a Wocket in My Pocket.
References [ edit ]Share 0 SHARES
AFTER struggling for years to conceive a child naturally, one Waterford couple is to make the journey to Northern Ireland to see if the UVF can sort them out.
Jeanette and Phillip Montague have been together for 10 years and married for 3, but have been unable to get pregnant despite years of trying.
Taking advice from close family, the Montagues have accepted that they may need some extra help if they’re going to have a family of their own, and will today make contact with the leader of the Ulster Volunteer Force to see if he can help them out.
“I thought that contacting a paramilitary organisation was strange, to be honest, but the people up the road from us said they did it and they had triplets,” said 34-year-old Dungarvan native Phillip Montague.
“So we made contact with some lower-ranking UVF lads and we’re meeting them in Belfast today. When I say ‘meeting them in Belfast’, we have to meet a lad outside Newry and then he’s going to take us somewhere in the back of a van. We have to wear bags over our heads so that we don’t know where we’re going, but we’re willing to try anything at this stage”.
Should their visit with one of the most feared Loyalist terrorists in history prove fruitless, the next port of call is to check here.After a record-breaking 2015, GTM Research expects the global solar PV market to grow 21 percent and add 66 gigawatts of capacity by the end of the 2016. Tempered by policy pullbacks across major markets China, Japan and the U.K., PV growth will slow in 2017, but the market will reach 95 annual gigawatts by 2020.
Below are some of the key trends GTM Research identified in its new report, Global Solar Demand Monitor: Q2 2016.
Source: Global Solar Demand Monitor, Q2 2016
Multi-gigawatt markets
To date, 13 countries have installed at least 2 gigawatts of PV capacity. According to the report, that number will grow to more than 20 by 2020.
Source: Global Solar Demand Monitor, Q2 2016
Europe's rebound and India's surge
Europe, once the stronghold of the global market, will see its top markets continue to fall down the rankings in the short term. However, GTM Research expects a turnaround for the region. Its share of installations will grow from 10 percent this year to 13 percent by 2020.
GTM Research expects India to solidify as a major market, growing from 4 percent of the global market in 2020 to 13 percent by 2020. That means India will install just as much solar in 2020 as all of Europe.
Source: Global Solar Demand Monitor, Q2 2016
Latin America heats up
While it has a small base, Latin America will impressively double in size this year. Mexico's recent auction results have positioned the nation on-par with Brazil as the two most promising regions in Latin America.
Source: Global Solar Demand Monitor, Q2 2016
Evolving mechanisms for growth
As the price of solar continues to fall, the report notes that the number of countries using auctions as a mechanism to drive solar installations has significantly increased. GTM Research identified 14 countries using auctions in 2014, and today that number has grown to 22. Feed-in tariffs, however, look to be going out of fashion as the number of countries using the mechanism dropped 14 percent in the same time period.
Utility-scale leads, but DG will grow
Utility-scale installations will account for 61 percent of all PV installed in 2016.
Source: Global Solar Demand Monitor, Q2 2016
"The gap between utility-scale solar and distributed generation (DG) has shrunk in the past two years as residential growth in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., and Japan has picked up," says the report. "DG growth will continue to be driven by greater end-customer familiarity with solar, higher cost-competitiveness, and country-tailored business models that build on leasing’s success in the U.S. but are adapted to the specific needs of emerging markets.
Download the report's free executive summary here.A Canadian news outlet must give the RCMP background materials used for stories on a suspected terrorist, despite objections from the reporter, a judge has ruled.
In addition, Ontario Superior Court Justice Ian MacDonnell banned publication of information police relied on to obtain a court order that Vice Media and reporter Ben Makuch produce the materials related to Farah Shirdon.
Three Vice stories in 2014 were largely based on conversations Makuch had with Shirdon via an online instant messaging app called Kik Messenger. RCMP want access to Makuch's screen captures of those chats.
"The screen captures are important evidence in relation to very serious allegations," MacDonnell said in his ruling. "There is a strong public interest in the effective investigation and prosecution of such allegations."
Makuch told CBC News that he does not want to comply with the ruling and said he will be "exhausting every legal option available."
Makuch's lawyer, Iain MacKinnon, said Vice is considering an appeal and Makuch would not need to hand the files over until a decision on that has been made.
Canadian judge orders <a href="https://twitter.com/vicenews">@vicenews</a> journalist to hand over digital messages: <a href="https://t.co/ppvZwFn1OF">https://t.co/ppvZwFn1OF</a> <a href="https://t.co/YRG4krqjIW">pic.twitter.com/YRG4krqjIW</a> —@vicecanada
In October 2014, Makuch cited Shirdon, of Calgary, as saying from Iraq: "Canadians at home shall face the brunt of the retaliation. If you are in this crusader alliance against Islam and Muslims, you shall see your streets filled with blood."
RCMP charged the Toronto-born Shirdon, 22, in absentia last September with several offences, including leaving Canada to participate in the activity of a terrorist group, taking part in the activity of a terrorist group, and threatening Canada and the U.S.
An RCMP spokesman said in an email that the police force respects the court decision.
Police said they needed the Makuch materials as proof Shirdon had been in Iraq. They also want to know how Makuch tracked the suspect down, but the reporter said he simply monitored his online activities.
'It's a scary thing,' says reporter
Makuch said this case is not just important for journalists, but for Canadians in general.
"If we're going to be made an investigative arm of the police, it's going to change how we newsgather," he told CBC News. "It's also going to change how sources interact with us."
He said it could affect sources in areas such as drug trafficking and hacking, and whistleblowers.
"Do whistleblowers want to come forward to a journalist if they know that any of their communications or any notes that the journalist makes about them could be forked over to the police? It's a scary thing."
MacKinnon reiterated concerns about the ruling's effect on the ability of journalists to do their jobs.
Farah Mohamed Shirdon is shown in an RCMP photo. The RCMP charged the Toronto-born Shirdon, 22, in absentia last September with several terrorism-related offences. (RCMP/Canadian Press)
"Police officers investigating crimes may start using similar production orders more often in the future and rely on journalists as an investigative arm or tool to gather evidence in their investigations."
MacDonnell, however, accepted government arguments that Vice was the only source of the needed information.
"The screen captures are a copy of the actual electronic messages that Shirdon placed on Mr. Makuch's computer screen," MacDonnell said. "They are highly reliable evidence that do not require a second-hand interpretation."
The justice also rejected Vice's argument that police essentially already had all the relevant information.
Makuch said he has published all information relevant to the public.
"There's no imminent national security threat based on information I have," he told CBC News. "I would never sit on something like that — and in fact, why would I? I'm a journalist — we make stories."
'Serious chilling effect'
MacKinnon said he was satisfied the judge who issued the initial production order last year had taken into account the special position of the media, and had properly balanced the interests of law enforcement and the media's right to freedom of expression.
MacKinnon, however, said the decision could have a "serious chilling effect" on journalists.
"Their credibility and independence will be undermined if people believe that anything they say to journalists could be easily turned over to police," the lawyer said.
Nick Taylor-Vaisey, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, said in a statement the ruling "could set a dangerous precedent, and certainly threatens press freedom."
"Journalists should never be expected to act as an on-call branch of law enforcement," he said. "We report in the public interest, not in the interest of ongoing police investigations."
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair takes part in a Vice town hall meeting in Toronto during the federal election race in October. Started in 1994 as a Montreal punk magazine, Vice Media Canada Inc. has grown into a global multimedia brand with print, television and online content. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)
In banning publication of the supporting documentation police used to obtain the production order, MacDonnell said it was necessary to preserve Shirdon's right to a fair trial — should he ever be arrested and tried.
The case, he said, had attracted national attention in light of ISIS's "brutality and barbarism" and the prospect young Canadians were being radicalized and might become homegrown terrorists.
"I am satisfied that publication of portions of the information … concerning Farah Shirdon's alleged involvement with ISIS and of statements he is alleged to have made — some of which the public might find to be quite alarming — would pose a serious risk to his right to be tried by an impartial jury," the justice said.
MacDonnell's ruling was issued Tuesday, but was subject to a temporary ban to give the federal government a chance to see if any of his reasons needed redacting. That ban has now been lifted.Rising prices for condominiums in the Greater Toronto Area are pushing rents higher and spurring development, a real estate consulting firm said Thursday.
Toronto-based Urbanation said the average rental price for a condo in the first three months of 2016 in the Greater Toronto Area was up almost seven per cent when compared to the same time frame last year.
The average rental rose to $2.53 per square foot, or $1,891 monthly.
"The rental market is benefitting from strengthening fundamentals such as employment and population growth, but also quickly eroding affordability and intense competition in the ownership market," said Shaun Hildebrand, senior vice president at Urbanation.
"Even with record numbers of condos coming up for rent by investors, conditions have tightened, supporting increased rental development," Hildebrand said.
After purpose-built construction starts increased to a 25-year high of 3,476 units in 2015, applications for new rental developments surged by 40 per cent between the start of January and the end of March, Urbanation said.
Fewer condos available too
Meanwhile, the vacancy rate within the 7,309 purpose-built units completed since 2005 averaged 0.5 per cent.
Illustrating the tight market conditions, condo lease transactions grew faster than total listings for a fourth consecutive quarter.
Additionally, the average time a rental condo was on the market fell from 27 to 23 days, and the number of rentals that leased for higher than asking rents shot up by 59 per cent, Urbanation said.Roger Berkowitz, owner of Legal Sea Foods, sits under the florescent lights of an empty warehouse, his arm hooked up to a lie detector test. The machine reveals that Legal Sea Foods is not (really?! remind me again), repeat NOT a chain.
What on earth is going on here? Some sinister plot to kidnap fish providers around the nation and discover whether they were promulgating the dreaded frozen fish and uninspected seafood?
Au contraire! The scene comes from a series of television spots released yesterday by Legal Seafoods, which has embarked on a mission to rebrand itself as anything but a cookiecutter chain. The advertisements are going to air for the first time Friday.
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“Each of our restaurants is unique, not cookiecutter,’’ Berkowitz says during another spot. “So you can call me stupid, an egomaniac, or even an asshole—just don’t call me a chain.’’ For the record, the swearing was beeped out during the commercial.
Oh boy. He sounds serious.
Legal Seafoods has expanded from its Boston home to operate locations scattered around six more states and the District of Columbia. Boston has long been the heart of what owner Roger Berkowitz calls a “family’’ or “group’’ of restaurants, rather than a chain, according to The New York Times.
The Times suggests that chain restaurants now carry a stigma as wealthier clientele seek microbreweries and unique food offerings.
Berkowitz seems pretty darn concerned that the Legal Sea Foods brand will be lumped into that kettle of fish—so concerned that he actually agreed to stroke a large crustacean on national television.
During another spot, Berkowitz sits at a desk, talking about inspecting seafood, while he strokes the back of a massive lobster. All we can say is… Ick.North Korea has sent hundreds of workers to labour as “state-sponsored slaves” in member states as Pyongyang seeks to circumvent international sanctions aimed at starving it of money over its nuclear weapons programme, rights campaigners said on Wednesday (5 July).
North Korean labourers commonly work 10-12 hour shifts, six days a week, but up to 90% of their pay is sent back to the hermit state, according to the European Alliance for Human Rights in North Korea (EAHRNK).
Most are working in Polish shipyards, construction sites and farms. North Koreans are also employed in leisure and clothing firms in Malta, and have worked in other EU countries, it said.
A recent article in The Telegraph revealed that slave labourers from North Korea work in some cases in companies receiving financial support from the European Union. The UN estimates that North Korea earns as much as £1.6 billion a year from labourers it sends overseas
The Voice of America reported that Poland has stopped issuing visas for North Korean workers amid reports that Pyongyang is sending its citizens to foreign countries in harsh working conditions to earn hard currency.
The North Korean embassy in Warsaw denied workers were deprived of pay.
“This is all nonsense,” said an official, declining to give his name. “Nobody is taking (their salaries), they work and make money for themselves.”
But campaigners say North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s regime is using overseas labour to earn much needed foreign currency to offset the impact of UN sanctions, which were expanded in March after a nuclear test on a 6 January and a 7 February rocket launch.
EAHRNK director Michael Glendinning said Pyongyang was “in full control and benefiting hugely”.
A UN report last year estimated there were over 50,000 North Koreans working abroad, earning the state $1.2 billion to $2.3 billion annually, although some experts question these figures.
Mogherini slams 'dangerous behaviour' after North Korea nuke test The EU has strongly condemned the “grave violation” of UN resolutions by North Korea, after the secretive dictatorship claimed to have carried out a nuclear test.
Most are employed in Russia and China. Others are working in African countries and on construction sites in the Middle East, including in Qatar which is preparing to host the 2022 World Cup.
But EU countries are more attractive for North Korea, because wages are higher, Glendinning said.
Families held ‘hostage’
The conditions faced by North Korean workers in Poland was revealed in a report to be published on Wednesday by LeidenAsiaCentre in the Netherlands.
Researchers used testimonies from North Korean labourers in and outside the EU, field research in Poland and data from governments and other sources to compile the study.
Earlier this year, LeidenAsiaCentre detailed the case of a North Korean welder who died from 95% burns in an accident at a Polish shipyard in 2014. Investigations showed the clothing supplied to him by his Polish employers was flammable.
Campaigners say the welder had been working over 70 hours a week without proper remuneration.
North Koreans do not have proper contracts or payslips, must surrender their passports and face restrictions in their movements, Glendinning said. They are also kept under surveillance and have to participate in ideological study sessions.
“What we’re seeing is a mini-Pyongyang being exported. They are literally sending their human rights abuses to the EU and we’re tolerating it,” he added.
Poland issued 2,783 work permits for North Koreans between 2008 and 2015, according to the LeidenAsiaCentre which has linked 32 Polish companies to their employment.
Glendinning said Poland stopped issuing new visas for North Korean workers this year.
Campaigners say North Koreans are vetted closely before being sent overseas to minimise the risk of defection.
“They only select workers who are married and have children – hostage-taking essentially,” Glendinning said.
“If they were to defect the family would likely face some kind of punishment in a political prison camp, a re-education camp or – in extreme cases – execution.”
There has been one defection in Poland and possibly a few elsewhere, he said.
A recent documentary by Vice News shows footage of North Korean labourers in Polish shipyards and on construction sites, but workers approached by the filmmakers declined to talk.
One North Korean who escaped while working in Russia told them his family had been “destroyed” after his defection.
Campaigners do not want North Koreans deported to non-EU countries where conditions could be worse, but say firms must ensure they enjoy the same rights and pay as other workers.
The 2016 Global Slavery Index estimates almost 46 million people are living as slaves globally. North Korea ranks worst for prevalence, with one in 20 people thought to be in some form of modern slavery.Image caption Oswaldo Paya won the EU's human-rights award in 2002
The family of a Cuban dissident who died last year have filed a complaint in Spain alleging that he was killed by senior Cuban military officers.
The family of Oswaldo Paya filed a case in the High Court asking for an inquiry into the official account that he died in a car crash.
According to Cuban officials, Paya and another dissident, Harold Cepero, died in the crash in July last year.
Paya was a prize-winning campaigner for civil rights.
His family have long dismissed the official account of his death, alleging that the Cuban security services killed him.
"[His death] was not an isolated incident, it was the result of a continuing process that started a long time ago," Paya's brother, Carlos, told the Spanish news agency Efe.
The Spanish court has jurisdiction over allegations of crimes against humanity committed abroad when Spanish citizens are involved.
Paya had Spanish and Cuban nationality and a Spanish politician, Angel Carromero, was convicted of vehicular manslaughter for driving the car when Paya died.
Carromero was jailed for four years in Cuba, though he has been allowed to serve most of his sentence in Spain.
He has since denounced the Cuban account of the death, and said in an interview with El Mundo newspaper that Paya was not killed in the crash.
Paya was known as the founder of the Varela Project, a campaign set up in 1998 to gather signatures in support of a referendum on laws to guarantee civil rights.
In 2002 he won the Sakharov Prize, the European Union's human rights award.Ted Cruz lashed out at fact-checkers this week after getting caught making factually incorrect statements about the 2012 Hurricane Sandy relief bill that he opposed.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has found himself in an awkward position this week, asking the federal government to provide disaster relief funding for his flood-ravaged state of Texas while also trying to justify why he voted against the very same thing after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called out the Texas senator for his hypocritical stance on federal disaster relief, prompting Cruz to defend his 2012 vote by saying the bill was “filled with unrelated pork”:
“The problem with that particular bill is it became a $50 billion bill that was filled with unrelated pork,” Cruz told MSNBC. “Two-thirds of the bill had nothing to do with Sandy. And what I said then and still believe now is it’s not right for politicians to exploit a disaster and people who are hurting, for them to pay for their own political wishlist.”
Fact-checkers pounced on Cruz’s statement. The Washington Post quickly and thoroughly debunked his claim that two-thirds of Hurricane Sandy relief funding had nothing to do with the hurricane, as did PolitiFact and several disaster relief experts.
“It is wildly incorrect to claim that the bill was ‘filled with unrelated pork’,” Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler wrote. “The bill was largely aimed at dealing with Sandy, along with relatively minor items to address other or future disasters.”
Many of the items that Cruz dismissed as “unrelated pork” were actually long-term projects to help the area recover from Hurricane Sandy and develop more resilient public infrastructure. As one disaster historian put it, Cruz’s claim that these provisions were unrelated to disaster recovery “[exposes] his failure to connect the causes of disasters to their effects.”
But Cruz wasn’t interested in hearing any of it.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Katy Tur, Cruz accused his critics of “political sniping” and said now isn’t the time to discuss disaster funding — even though he’s in the process of requesting it.
Cruz took things even further during a Wednesday morning interview on “Fox & Friends.” He accused his critics and fact-checkers of being “desperate to get their names in the news” and willing to say “whatever they need to do that,” going so far as to suggest that they are not focused on “the lives that are being threatened”:
CRUZ: I’m sorry there are politicians that are desperate to get their names in the news and saying whatever they need to do that. We have a crisis on the ground of people who are hurting right now, people who are in harm’s way — whose lives and families are in jeopardy as we speak. And I’ll tell you, my focus — and I wish the focus of others — would be on saving the lives that are being threatened. I |
Writing and public service career [ edit ]
Bari became a political writer as part of her interests in feminism, class struggle, and ecology. In May 1992, in her writing, she claimed to have feminized Earth First!, a radical environmentalist group that was founded by men.[46] In 1994 Bari headed a congressional advisory committee chartered by then-Congressman Dan Hamburg that advocated a much larger Headwaters Forest Reserve (44,000 acres) than the one that was actually acquired (7472 acres), including a compensation clause for lumber workers that would have been laid off because of establishment of the more extensive reserve.[47] The bill based on the "large reserve" proposal died when Hamburg lost his 1994 re-election bid. The 7472 acre reserve was incorporated into the bill passed on November 14, 1997, shortly after Bari's death.[48] By the end of 1996, Bari was working as a para-legal and hosting a weekly public radio show.[2]
Death and posthumous civil rights trial [ edit ]
On March 2, 1997, Bari died of breast cancer at her home near Willits.[49] A memorial service in her honor was attended by an estimated 1,000 people.[50]
Bari and Cherney had filed a federal civil rights suit claiming that the FBI and police officers falsely arrested the pair and attempted to frame them as terrorists so as to discredit their political organizing in defense of the redwood forests.[51]
In 1997, the law enforcement officers named in the civil rights suit were sued for conspiracy to violate Bari and Cherney's First and Fourth Amendment rights.[52] On October 15 that year, the agents lost their bid for immunity from prosecution.
Also on October 15, federal judge Claudia Wilken dismissed from the case FBI supervisor Richard Wallace Held, who had been prominent in the agency's COINTELPRO effort, on the grounds that he had no duty to oversee the daily duties of his subordinate agents.[53][54] The contention that the FBI was responsible for the bomb was also dismissed from the case, leaving the scope of the case restricted to malicious investigative malpractice on the part of the FBI, and the allowed damage claim reduced from $20 million to $4.4 million.
In 2002, a jury in Bari's and Cherney's federal civil lawsuit found that their civil rights had been violated.
As part of the jury's verdict, the judge ordered Frank Doyle and two other FBI agents and three Oakland police officers to pay a total of $4.4 million to Cherney and to Bari's estate.[55] The award was a response to the defendants' violation of the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, and for the defendants' various unlawful acts, including unlawful search and seizure in violation of the plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights. At trial the FBI and the Oakland Police pointed fingers at each other.[49]
Oakland investigators testified that they relied almost exclusively on the F.B.I.'s counter-terrorism unit in San Francisco for advice on how to handle the case. But the F.B.I. agents denied misleading the investigators into believing that Ms. Bari and Mr. Cherney were violence-prone radicals who were probably guilty of transporting the bomb.[56]
While neither agency would admit wrongdoing, the jury held both liable, finding that "[B]oth agencies admitted they had amassed intelligence on the couple before the bombing."[57] This evidence supported the jury's finding that both the FBI and the Oakland police persecuted Bari and Cherney for being bombed instead of trying to find the true perpetrators in order to discredit and sabotage Earth First! and the upcoming Redwood Summer, thereby violating their First Amendment rights and justifying the large award. Simply, instead of looking for the actual terrorists, they persecuted the victims of that terror because of their political activism.[58]
After the trial's gag order was lifted, jurors made it clear they believed the agents were blatant liars.
"Investigators were lying so much it was insulting.... I'm surprised that they seriously expected anyone would believe them... They were evasive. They were arrogant. They were defensive," said juror Mary Nunn.[59]
Legacy [ edit ]
Writings [ edit ]
Judi Bari Day [ edit ]
On May 20, 2003, the Oakland City Council unanimously voted a resolution saying: "Whereas, Judi Bari was a dedicated activist, who worked for many social and environmental causes, the most prominent being the protection and stewardship of California's ancient redwood forests.... Now, therefore, be it resolved that the City of Oakland shall designate May 24 as Judi Bari Day.[60]..
Books [ edit ]
In early 2005, a critical biography of Bari titled The Secret Wars of Judi Bari, by Kate Coleman, drew fierce condemnation from Cherney, managers of Bari's estate (portion of the FBI settlement award), Bari's ex-husband and suspect in the bombing Michael Sweeney, and their followers, who claimed hundreds of factual errors and a bias against Bari and Earth First! They also pointed out that the book was published by Encounter Books, a non-profit publishing house founded by arch-conservative Peter Collier and funded primarily by arch-conservative foundations not sympathetic to Bari's causes. Coleman said that allegations of errors, and aspersions cast on the publisher, were being used as a smokescreen by the book's detractors, whose real aim is to preserve an incomplete and distorted memory of Ms. Bari.[61] In the book Coleman relies heavily on the accounts in Stephen Talbot's documentary, Who bombed Judi Bari?, and articles from the Anderson Valley Advertiser[3] in outlining the case that Bari's ex-husband had planted the bomb in hopes of killing her.[62] A review of the book in the Los Angeles Times by Mark Hertsgaard entitled, Too many rumors, too few facts to examine eco-activism case, said, "the reporting is thin and sloppy, and the humdrum prose is marred by dubious speculation."[63] However, the Times review was said by Ed Guthmann in a review in the San Francisco Chronicle to contain its own errors.[62] Critics of the book including Karen Pickett of Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters, Tanya Brannan of Redwood Summer Justice Fund, and Darryl Cherney point out its lack of information from their side, however, Coleman reported that those parties named were not responsive to her attempts at contact.
In Redwood Uprising,[64] IWW advocate Steve Ongerth speculates on the bombing being a collaboration between COINTELPRO operatives, representatives of the timber corporations, and anti-environmental extremists active in the redwood forest region of northwestern California in response to Bari's purported efforts to build alliances between radical environmentalists and rank and file timber workers opposing the corporations.
Movies [ edit ]
The story of the case and the trial inspired an award-winning documentary movie, The Forest For The Trees. The film, which aired on PBS and the Sundance Channel, follows the case through the lead attorney, civil rights legend Dennis Cunningham, and is told by his daughter, Bernadine Mellis. Among the awards the film received was the Grand Prize at the Green Film Festival in Seoul.[65]
The documentary "Who Bombed Judi Bari?", produced by Darryl Cherney and directed by Mary Liz Thomson (not to be confused with the 1991 documentary of the same name by Stephen Talbot), was released in 2012. The film promotes the narrative that the FBI and/or the timber industry were responsible for the bombing. Cherney is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading the arrest of the bomber.[66][67]
References [ edit ]
Bibliography [ edit ]A federal court judge in Utah has adopted new voting district boundaries in San Juan County which could reverse the historic political domination by whites over Navajos there.
U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby on Thursday evening issued a ruling that gives Navajos a significant majority of voters in two of three commission districts and three of five school board districts.
Shelby ordered the new boundaries be used in special elections for all commission and school board seats in November.
According to the new boundaries, County Commission District 1 will have an American Indian population of 11.1 percent; District 2 will have an American Indian population of 65.6 percent; and District 3 will have an American Indian population of 79.9 percent.
During a hearing earlier this month, Jesse Trentadue, a Salt Lake City-based attorney representing San Juan County, contended the redrawn boundaries would amount to unconstitutional gerrymandering in the sprawling southeast Utah county and would discriminate against white voters.
In the ruling, Shelby wrote: “It is critically important that the officials representing the citizens of San Juan County are elected under constitutional districts — not districts that have been racially gerrymandered. The County’s objections do not explain how such elections would burden the County, nor does the County address the rights of its citizens to have officials elected from constitutional districts.”
One of the plaintiffs, former County Commissioner Mark Maryboy, who is Navajo, hailed the ruling as recognition of the rights of American Indians in San Juan County.
“It is good news,” he said Friday. “It’s unfortunate that it had to take a lawsuit to settle this issue. White people in Blanding and Monticello decided to prevent the redistricting to occur.”
But San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman said the county will appeal the ruling and ask the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver for a stay on the November voting order.
“Our appeal is ready to file, so we’ll file it,” he said Friday. “It doesn’t make sense to divide Blanding into three districts. They say it’s only two but it’s really three.”
Further, Lyman said the ruling is biased. “It’s intended to hurt Blanding and it’s aimed at me.”
In 2015, Shelby had overseen a trial in which Lyman was convicted of misdemeanor crimes for leading a group on motorized vehicles up Recapture Canyon, federal land where such use is not allowed. Lyman continues to appeal the conviction in federal court.
In the voting district case, the Navajo Nation filed suit in January 2012, alleging that San Juan County was in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by ensuring that non-Indian voters hold majorities on the commission and school boards.
Last year, Shelby ruled the voting districts in San Juan County, which today is home to 16,895 residents, are unconstitutional and violate the rights of American Indians. He ordered the county to redraw them.
In June, Shelby declared the county’s new proposals did not meet legal mandates. He then appointed Bernard Grofman, a professor of political science at the University of California, Irvine, to redraw them.
Grofman created three potential maps for new county commission voting boundaries, and two for the school board. After a pair of public hearings in San Juan County last month, Grofman selected one map for each body.
San Juan County is at least 50 percent American Indian and 47 percent white, according to the most recent data.
Trentadue had argued it is unfair that 47 percent of the population should have just one representative on the commission. “It doesn’t pass the smell test,” he said.
Trentadue also maintained that Navajos vote for Democrats and that whites vote Republican. As such, the proposed “gerrymandering” is both political and racial, he said.
But Shelby said that for San Juan County’s argument to hold up, it would have to show a long-standing discrimination against white voters. Quite the contrary, the judge said, the county’s history is that there has been no time when whites didn’t control the county commission and school board.
Steven Boos, a Durango, Colorado-based attorney representing the Navajo Nation, had argued there is no evidence that white residents of San Juan County have been discriminated against.
“That may be the case some day,” Boos said. “But there is no evidence of that in the short term.”
According to Grofman’s report to the court, the proposed voting district maps are based on census geography in an effort not to divide communities with boundary lines.
“The plans are drawn from a good government perspective in which race was not a preponderant motive,” he said.
San Juan County’s partisan commission once was elected at large. The three commission districts were created as part of a 1984 federal court consent decree — the outcome of an earlier court battle by Navajos to gain representation on the panel. One district was more than 90 percent Navajo. The other two held large white majorities.
Maryboy became the first Navajo elected to the commission and took office in 1986. He served four terms. His brother Kenneth Maryboy was then elected to that District 3 seat and served for two terms.
Rebecca Benally now holds what has become the Navajo seat. Bruce Adams represents District 1, and Phil Lyman hails from District 2.The highly anticipated new season of American Horror Story has so far been shrouded in mystery. Aside from the fact that Cheyenne Jackson recently confirmed he'd be returning to the show, there hasn't been much for fans to work with — until now.
On Tuesday, AHS revealed the new logo for its sixth season, featuring a bright red six made with a super-appropriate, giant question mark. While not exactly the major insight AHS fans have been craving, it's definitely something for them to overanalyze. Does it represent a season of more mystery than ever? Does it tell anxious TV watchers that the new season will focus on one question in particular? Does it mean, against all odds, Jessica Lange will be coming back?!
... While that last one might seem like a stretch, hear me out: It's fair to say that the no. 1 question on everyone's mind with each passing season of AHS is whether or not Jessica Lange will return. It makes sense that the people behind AHS would respond to that burning question with a question (mark) of their own.
Maybe, just maybe, it isn't quite as far out of the realm of possibility as you'd think, either, given the fact that Lange has said she'd return to the series if she felt a role was right for her.
"If Ryan came to me and said, 'Would you want to do a small character for a couple episodes?' I would absolutely say yes if I liked it," she told the Wrap. "This was a great collaboration, so I would love to keep working with him."
No matter what the logo represents, however, it's safe to say that AHS' characters aren't the only sadistic people involved with the show. Here's hoping for more details about season six soon.
Follow Gina on Twitter.Small towns try to save vital grocery stores
KENT CITY, Mich. Scott Weston figured there would be a dip in business at his hardware store after the only grocery store in this town of 1,100 people closed in December.
He wasn't expecting the bottom to fall out, though. "It's cut my business in half," says Weston, 48, who has owned Master Supply & Hardware for eight years.
Since Kent City Marketplace closed, he says, residents and nearby farmers drive to Sparta, Cedar Springs or Grand Rapids to buy food — and often do their other shopping at big stores in those communities.
At Grice's Pharmacy, across Muskegon Street from Weston's place, it's the same story. The lack of a grocery store "has been very detrimental" to its business, says pharmacist Melissa Hills, 36. "I think everybody in town is affected."
Weston worries about the fate of Kent City. Other businesses, including his, might close if people stop patronizing them, he says. He wonders whether people will move away and then the schools will shut down. "We're neighbors," he says. "We're supposed to take care of each other."
Weston's concerns are not misplaced, says David Procter, director of the Center for Engagement and Community Development at Kansas State University. He studies the demise of rural groceries and advises towns on how to keep them open. "Small groceries are part of the critical infrastructure of rural communities," along with post offices and schools, he says. "When one of those goes, it really does begin to have a domino effect."
There were 213 rural groceries in Kansas in 2007 when Procter began studying the issue. Since then, 87 closed, he says, although the net loss is about half that number because some new stores have opened.
A ripple effect
Linda Gobler, president of the Michigan Grocers Association, says the recession and slow recovery have taken a toll on small, independent stores. "We had no idea that it would be as extensive as it has been, not just in Michigan but across the country," she says.
Gobler says groceries are "the hub of a community. … When they leave, there's shock, then the ripple effect as other businesses start feeling it."
In Kent City, they already are. Siblings Dave Lutz and Lisa Johnson, owners of Red Rock Grille & Café, sometimes run out of lettuce, lemons or milk and now have to drive for miles to buy them or do without.
Bert Rose, 61, says Kent City's residents probably contributed to the loss of their store. When it was still open, he says, many people spent their money instead at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and other stores in neighboring towns with broader selections and cheaper prices.
"They weren't factoring in the cost of gas for going to town and back," he says. "Now if you want to do serious shopping you've got to go a long way. I miss our old store severely."
There are two convenience stores here that carry milk and bread but no fresh produce or meat. The Family Dollar Store started stocking a few basics after the grocery closed. Churches started offering rides to senior citizens who don't have cars or don't want to drive for groceries out of town.
Really a shame
Karen Wellman, 69, lives a few miles from town and used to drive to Kent City to shop, then stop at the café. Now she drives 8 miles in the other direction, plans her shopping lists more carefully and shops less often.
Harlan Krehbiel, 81, is closing Luray Grocery in Luray, Kan., after failing to find a buyer for the store he has owned for eight years. The town has about 250 residents, most of whom buy their food at big stores in nearby towns, he says.
"It's very bittersweet, and it's really a shame for a small town to lose a grocery store," Krehbiel says. "Other businesses are affected and pretty soon it's a ghost town."
Some towns find novel ways to keep their stores open. Nine months after the only grocery in Walsh, Colo., closed, the community, population 600, decided to sell $50 shares and reopen it as a cooperative. "It has been win-win for the whole dadgum town," says Rick Mills, a former chairman of the grocery store's board.
The store brings in about $1.4 million in annual sales, has a full- and part-time staff of 14 and even makes deliveries. Other towns, he says, "can pick themselves up by their bootstraps, or they can go down the tubes."
The 650 people in Leeton, Mo., had been without a grocery for a decade when town leaders opened the Bulldog Express in 2009 as a project by high school business classes. It is staffed by students and is doing so well it will add a coffee shop and deli, says teacher Marijayne Manley.
Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.comImage copyright Wolverhampton Wanderers Image caption The bees were on a seat in the Stan Cullis stand
Honey bees created a buzz by swarming around one of the seats at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC.
The Championship club said the bees had gathered in Row B of the Stan Cullis stand at its Molineux stadium.
They were re-homed on Thursday evening by a beekeeper Phil Healey, who is a Wolves season ticket holder.
The club said on Twitter: "We've COMBED through the records and unBEElievably this seat is still free for next season."
Wolves facilities and safety manager, Steve Sutton, said: "We were made aware of a swarm of honey bees who had become attached to a seat in the Stan Cullis Stand and yes - wait for it - it was in Row B!"
The colour of the stadium seats reflect the fact that Wolves play in old gold, but the British Beekeepers' Association said bees were "normally attracted to blues" because of the way they perceive colour in ultraviolet.
Gill Maclean, from the association, added that it was normal for honey bees to swarm at this time of year as they follow a queen in the search for a new home once their hive became overcrowded.
In recent times, the association has received calls to swarms that have stopped on the handlebars of a motorbike, around a deckchair and over a shop shutter.The provincial government and Quebec have agreed to explore economic opportunities along their shared border during a premier’s meeting in Alberta this week.
Premier Dwight Ball and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard today announced the launch of discussions on two major areas of common interest; the Labrador Trough and the extension of the Quebec lower north shore highway.
Premier Ball says the Labrador Trough, an iron ore deposit that straddles the Quebec-Labrador West border, is of particular interest. He says there’s duplication when it comes to those seeking to invest in mining in the region, and they’re looking at ways to streamline the process.
Ball says the extension of the Quebec Lower North Shore Highway is something that will provide greater economic and tourism opportunities.
The province is currently carrying out a feasibility study into what a fixed link between the island and Labrador will look like.On Media Blog Archives Select Date… December, 2015 November, 2015 October, 2015 September, 2015 August, 2015 July, 2015 June, 2015 May, 2015 April, 2015 March, 2015 February, 2015 January, 2015
The MSNBC ratings keep getting worse
Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for MSNBC, along came the quarterly ratings reports.
In both daytime and prime time, MSNBC endured its lowest quarterly demo numbers in a decade, and its total viewership since the final quarter of 2007. Prime-time viewership was down 45 percent in the demo from the first quarter of 2014, while daytime viewership was down 39 percent in the demo.
On Tuesday, while Fox News and CNN were boasting their own quarterly numbers -- Fox News remained dominant, CNN made major strides in the demo -- MSNBC chose to focus on the month of March instead, where it boasted gains in prime time and a victory for "Morning Joe" over CNN's "New Day."
But things are still looking grim for MSNBC: Between the hours of 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday, for instance, more people were watching Al Jazeera America than MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, Thomas Roberts and "The Cycle."
As we reported in mid-March, MSNBC is now planning a major reorganization of its lineup to stem the ratings losses. In the months ahead, high-level sources at NBCUniversal told us, the network is likely to shake up the bulk of its programming, moving some shows and canceling others.
You can read my full report on MSNBC's ratings woes, on the coming changes, here.BANGKOK (Reuters) - The European Union will resume political contact “at all levels” with Thailand, its foreign affairs council said on Monday, after putting relations on hold following a 2014 coup by the Thai military.
The move comes after Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced in October that a general election would take place in November 2018 - the most precise date the junta has given after many delays since the 2014 coup.
The government, however, has yet to end a political ban that would allow political parties to campaign ahead of the vote.
The EU is Thailand’s third trade partner after China and Japan. Thailand is the EU’s third-largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Thailand exported goods worth €19.6 billion ($23.11 billion) to the EU in 2015, according to the European Commission.
“The Council decided to resume political contacts at all levels with Thailand in order to facilitate meaningful dialogue on issues of mutual importance, including on human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the road towards democracy,” the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council said in a statement.
In June 2014, the EU said it would keep its relations with Thailand under review and put on hold the signing of a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which was aimed at closer economic and political ties with Thailand.
It has expressed concerns over freedom of expression in the country and has called for a swift return to democracy.
The signing of PCA and talks on EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could resume with a democratically elected civilian government under the new Constitution, the statement said.
The United States also downgraded ties with Thailand following the coup, scaling back joint military exercises, among other things.
According to the European Commission, the EU exported goods worth €13.4 billion ($15.80 billion) to Thailand in 2015, including machinery and transport equipment.
($1 = 0.8480 euros)A fun toy that mounts a Star Wars themed body on top of a mini quad. Out just in time for Christmas but for a chunk of money, $2-300 USD. That’s nudging Phantom 3 standard money.
Bring the magic of flight to a whole new dimension with our Star Wars high performance laser battling Quads. Pilot your favorite Star Wars ships at speeds above 35 MPH and engage friends and family in exciting multiplayer laser battles. Each Propel Star Wars battle Quad is extremely detailed, hand painted to model quality finish, certified, numbered and packed in a collectable display box.
These will make the web tingle for a couple of days and look great but don’t beat some of the larger fan built models. I know though my sons would like some though.
The box seems to be where most of the money is.
I really don’t like their thinking that they have invented something. Plenty of people hang their props below their quads.
Oh look this fan one did already….. Better still he has FPV gear in the cockpit for an Empire pilots view.
If size is your thing who can forget the fabulous Star Destroyer from the Flite Test crew.For the first time since the twin tornadoes ravaged Pilger, Neb., on June 16, video allows us to experience what it was like in the community when the storm struck.Video posted by Farmer's Co-Operative employee Ryan Kruger shows several angles of the property.VIDEO: Surveillance cameras catch Pilger tornado destruction as it happenedAt precisely 4:16 p.m. on the Co-Op's security cameras, the tornado tore into the building. In most cases, the tornado knocked-out the camera.But inside the store, you can see employees and customers emerge from the back, just two minutes after the storm hit.PHOTOS: Tornado damage in PilgerRyan Kruger tells KETV NewsWatch 7 that he and his coworkers took shelter inside a vault at the Co-Op that day. Other employees sought shelter in the meat cooler of the store.KETV NewsWatch 7 Chief Meteorologist Bill Randby was on the air as the storm hit Pilger. At 4:14 p.m. that day, KETV's Twitter account repeated Bill's urgent message for the people of Pilger to seek shelter immediately.
For the first time since the twin tornadoes ravaged Pilger, Neb., on June 16, video allows us to experience what it was like in the community when the storm struck.
Video posted by Farmer's Co-Operative employee Ryan Kruger shows several angles of the property.
VIDEO: Surveillance cameras catch Pilger tornado destruction as it happened
At precisely 4:16 p.m. on the Co-Op's security cameras, the tornado tore into the building. In most cases, the tornado knocked-out the camera.
But inside the store, you can see employees and customers emerge from the back, just two minutes after the storm hit.
PHOTOS: Tornado damage in Pilger
Ryan Kruger tells KETV NewsWatch 7 that he and his coworkers took shelter inside a vault at the Co-Op that day. Other employees sought shelter in the meat cooler of the store.
KETV NewsWatch 7 Chief Meteorologist Bill Randby was on the air as the storm hit Pilger. At 4:14 p.m. that day, KETV's Twitter account repeated Bill's urgent message for the people of Pilger to seek shelter immediately.
AlertMeAbout This Game
Robot Soccer Challenge is a football game in which robots on remote control stand against each other. Show your abilities and skills in robot control and bring your team to victory. Dynamical and fast game, in which there is no lack of exciting and amusing moments. Game is inspired by robotic football and robot wars show.Learn the basics of the game and robot control. Go through the basic training to prepare yourself for the real matches.Choose your favourite country and win the whole championship.Only one of the 16 progressing countries will become the winner. Be there!Ideal for fast play. Choose your opponent, arena and conditions. Pleasant and fast match can begin!Play with your friends on a single PC or in front of the TV and enjoy a lot of fun together! There is a cooperative championship, friendly match against each other or play against the computer together. Entertainment can take up to 6 players!You can play in two modes: In full 3D view or top down view.There are several arenas at the disposal. Play during the hot sunny day or at evening light.Stand against each other can the individuals at the duels, in teams 2 vs 2 or 3 vs 3.The Capitals announced their final roster cuts Monday morning. The most surprising dismissal was veteran center Derek Roy, who played well during training camp. With Jay Beagle announced as the team’s third-line center and Nicklas Backstrom potentially missing only four games, the Caps must have seen little upside keeping Roy around as a fourth-line center.
The Caps also cut forwards Liam O’Brien and Chandler Stephenson, defensemen Aaron Ness and Ryan Stanton, and goalie Justin Peters, who struggled mightily last year, from training camp. That means Philipp Grubauer will be Braden Holtby’s back-up this year.
As the Capitals PR team noted, Ness, Peters, and Stanton will all have to pass through waivers before joining the Hershey Bears in the AHL.
For those of you keeping track at home, that means forwards Chris Brown (who is injured), surprise-of-camp Sean Collins, and oft-criticzed Stan Galiev all remain on the roster, at least for now.
Here’s the full roster:
After last night’s final preseason game, head coach Barry Trotz praised Collins, comparing him to departed fan-favorite Joel Ward.
“He’s not going to wow you as a sexy player or anything like that,” Trotz said. “He’s going to wow you with his consistency and he does a lot of those detail things that we know Joel Ward used to do here for many years that probably didn’t get noticed a lot until you start watching real closely.”
The cuts bring the Capitals’ roster down to 24 players. With Nicklas Backstrom and Brown presumably starting the season on injured reserve, that means the Caps are under the 23-man limit for the start of the season.
Cuts leave #Caps roster at 24. Backstrom and Brown will likely start season on IR, so that should do it. Caps down to opening night crew. — Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) October 5, 2015
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PinterestDespite various approvals over Marijuana Legalization in different states and districts, nothing much has been done towards implementation of the laws. As a result, many people died and especially those who are not able to take advantage of the safe and legal access to medical cannabis.
To remember victims of such kind of deaths, Medical Marijuana advocates gathered on the State House steps for a vigil. According to the executive director of Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance, Nichole Snow, a lot of patients have continued to struggle while waiting for the implementation of the medical marijuana program.
Snow further argued that three years since voters passed the Humanitarian Care Act of 2012 nothing has been done, and people have continued to lose their lives. Besides, only one dispensary is in operation in the state despite 63% approval by Bay State voters that gave patients with certain ailments the option of using medical marijuana. Nevertheless, another one seems to be on track and will probably be in operation early next year.
Ken Roberts is one of the victims suffering from trigeminal neuralgia and whose pain could be moderated by a few strains of marijuana. However, getting a hold of marijuana was a terrible task probably because of the restrictions associated with the law. Sadly, Roberts died at the age of 35 from heart attack associated with his condition.
In the meantime, as a result of the confusion that has been created by Marijuana laws, many people have now turned to using it while infused in coffee or tea. It is very frequent in the Forest Hills neighborhood in Northwest Washington where sale and purchase of marijuana remain illegal.
Apparently, House of Jane, a California-founded company sells cannabis-infused beverages. The company’s co-founder, Jill Amen, says that Jane’s Brew is only trying to ease the stigma for cannabis. As such it can be done in a professional way without causing any mayhem.The Economist
Leonard M?ller, boss of Askania, a Berlin watchmaker, no longer frets about thefts from his three shops during opening hours: they happen once a quarter. It is the four big break-ins since 2011 that shock him. Twice in four weeks this spring, professionals broke into his secure outlet at Tegel airport at night and cleaned it out. When he closed the store and opened one on the posh Kurf?rstendamm, thieves promptly broke in there and made off with historic watches that are almost priceless.
Overall crime has long been falling in Germany, as in most of Europe. In each of the past two years Germany has recorded fewer than 6m crimes. But these numbers hide counter-trends.
First, the north suffers more than the south. The German average is seven crimes per 100,000 people, but it is 14 in Berlin, next to five in Bavaria. The police are also better at solving crimes in the south.
The second trend, of which Askania’s travails are one example, is a sharp rise in specific property crimes. One fast-growing category is pickpocketing. In Berlin last year robbery involving tricks (such as children asking for help while an accomplice dips in) rose by 39%. And break-ins of single-family houses, rising since 2006, increased by 32%, with every 76th house affected.
The new factor, says Christian Pfeiffer, director of the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony in Hanover, is the eastward expansion of the European Union, with full rights of free movement. Eight countries joined in 2004, followed by Bulgaria and Romania in 2007.
Romania and Bulgaria, in particular, have sophisticated crime syndicates, with training and scouting networks reaching deep into the nearest rich EU countries, Germany and Austria. Of the suspects in Berlin’s trick-robbery cases last year, 75% were non-German; 31% came from Romania. (Only 24% of suspects in overall German crime cases were foreign.)
These eastern syndicates have local contacts and mark their targets, especially along motorway or railway escape routes. Then they strike with stunning professionalism, says Mr Pfeiffer. They go where the return on risk is highest. They avoid Bavaria and Baden-W?rttemberg, where homes are wealthier but better protected with alarms and there is a faster police response. Instead they go north, where police are overwhelmed and the risk of being caught and convicted is about one in 100.
Crime often spikes in a city for a few days or weeks, before the gangs move to a new place or go back home with their plunder. Mr M?ller, who calls his contacts with the Berlin police disappointingly sparse, says that his watches are turning up in eastern Europe.Ireland is the fifth most expensive state in the EU, according to a new report from the Central Statistics Office.
According to the report, only Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Luxembourg are more expensive places to live within the EU, with Irish prices 15 per cent above the EU average.
The report, Measuring Ireland’s Progress 2012, said this was a “considerable improvement” on the 2008 figure, when Irish prices were the second highest in the EU, at 30 per cent above the EU average.
The report looked at comparative statistics for Ireland against other EU member states in that year. Among the categories examined are the economy, employment and education.
Ireland has the highest fertility rate and the second lowest divorce rate in the EU in 2012. Its population is increasing at the third highest rate in the EU and it has the highest proportion of young people and the second lowest proportion of old people in the EU.
Average class size at primary level in Ireland is the second highest in the EU, though the early school-leaver rate is better than the EU average. The proportion of the population aged 25-34 in Ireland that has completed third-level education is the fourth highest in the EU.
As regards macroeconomic indicators, GDP rose slightly by 0.2 per cent in 2012. The public balance deficit was the third highest of any EU member state at just over 8 per cent of GDP, while government debt increased to 117.4 per cent of GDP, having been at only 44.2 per cent of GDP in 2008.
The number of new houses and apartments, after peaking at almost 90,000 in 2006, collapsed to 8,488 in 2012, below the level in 1970. Ireland’s employment rate was the fifth lowest in the EU, and its unemployment rate was the fifth highest in the EU. The productivity of the Irish workforce remained above the EU average.
The CSO main observations were:
Economy:
Despite low growth rate |
the FDA says it "will not at this time take steps to change the approval status of the two-pill Plan B or its generic equivalents." According to the government, "there are fewer data available regarding the actual use of Plan B" meaning the use of the two-pill product "as a nonprescription product by younger adolescents," compared to the one-pill product.
That means the two-pill products will remain prescription-only and behind the pharmacy counter for those younger than 17.
Still, advocates of easier access to the drugs were pleased by the administration's action.
"This decision by the Administration affirms what feminists have been fighting for all along – the Morning-After Pill should be available to females of all ages, on the shelf at any convenience store, just like aspirin or condoms," said Annie Tummino, the lead plaintiff in the long-running lawsuit.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who had been pressuring the FDA to approve the pill for non-prescription sale for most of the last decade, said: "After far too long of a delay, science has prevailed."(Image: © KMazur/Getty Images)
This classic article from the August 1997 issue of Guitar World serves as the definitive guide to Kurt Cobain's grungy assortment of pawn shop prizes, turbo-charged stomp boxes and blown woofers.
Kurt Cobain must have been amused when magazines like Guitar World and Guitar Player requested interviews and when Fender approached him to design a guitar. But here's where another irony exists—although Cobain often said he didn't care very much about equipment, he certainly possessed more than a passing interest in the tools of his trade.
Cobain may not have collected vintage Gibsons, Martins, D'Angelicos and what-not, but he owned an eccentric cache of budget models, low-end imports and pawn shop prizes—most pursued with the same passion as a Gibson collector seeking a mint '59 Les Paul. Even when he could afford the best, Cobain's taste in instruments never changed. "Junk is always best," Cobain stated matter-of-factly to Jeff Gilbert in a February 1992 Guitar World interview. "I use whatever I can find at junk shops."
Over the years, rumors about Cobain using special processors and studio trickery to obtain his sound have proliferated, so we figured the time had come to get to the real bottom of the truth about Cobain's equipment to be revealed. To do so, we contacted the most reliable sources available—the dealers who sold him his equipment, the engineers and producers who worked with him in the studio and the technicians who looked after his gear on the road.
A couple of well-researched websites, Chris Lawrence's site and Brian Haberman's site [Editor's Note: These websites no longer exist. Remember this story is from 1997!], also supplied many useful details. Michael Azerrad's Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana (Main Street/Doubleday) provided excellent background information and photographs, and we also pored over the few interviews on the subject granted by Cobain himself.
Cobain almost certainly would have laughed at the idea of a magazine scrutinizing the minute details of his gear. "I've never considered musical equipment very sacred," he once said. But for the thousands of guitarists who consider Cobain's music sacred, it's important to understand what he played and why he played it.
SCENTLESS APPRENTICE: COBAIN'S VIRGIN MUSICAL YEARS
Kurt Donald Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington, on February 20, 1967. His first guitar, a used electric, was a 14th birthday present from his uncle Chuck. "As soon as I got my guitar, I just became so obsessed with it," Cobain told Michael Azerrad. "I don't think it was even a Harmony. I think it was a Sears."
Cobain took guitar lessons for less than a month—just long enough to learn how to play AC/DC's "Back in Black." Those three chords served him well when he began writing his own songs shortly thereafter.
[[ Read Guitar World's Final Interview with Kurt Cobain from the February 1992 Issue ]]
Cobain soon set his sights on forming a band. One day, a couple of friends invited him to jam in an abandoned meat locker they used as a practice space. Afterwards, Cobain foolishly left his guitar in the locker and was subsequently unable to return and get it back.
When he finally made it back to the rehearsal space a few months later, he found his guitar in pieces. He salvaged the neck, hardware and electronics and made a new body for the guitar in wood shop, but Cobain lacked the skills to make the restored instrument intonate properly.
When Cobain was 17, his mother married Pat O'Connor, whose ensuing infidelity led to a situation that greatly facilitated Cobain's acquisition of musical gear. After Cobain's mother learned that Pat was cheating on her, she dumped his gun collection in the river. Cobain observed his mother's antics and later encouraged some of the neighborhood kids to fish his stepdad's weapons out. Cobain sold the guns and bought a used Peavey Vintage amplifier with two 12-inch speakers with the proceeds.
In early 1985, Cobain moved in with his natural father who discouraged his son's musical pursuits and convinced him to pawn his guitar. After about a week, Cobain got his guitar out of hock and moved out. He almost lost the guitar again when he loaned it to a drug dealer, but managed to repossess it a few months later. With this unknown guitar and the Peavey amp in hand, Cobain formed his first band, Fecal Matter, in late 1985.
The Peavey amp disappeared sometime between early 1986 and late 1987. Krist Novoselic remembers that Cobain gave the amp to him for about a week, in what apparently was a friendly attempt to get him to join Fecal Matter. Novoselic declined on both offers.
The amp disappeared sometime after that. By late 1987 Novoselic finally agreed to form a band with Cobain and drummer Aaron Burckhard, which they called Skid Row. Photos from this era show Cobain playing a right-hand model sunburst Univox Hi-Flyer flipped over and strung for left-handed playing. According to Azerrad, Cobain's amp during this period was a tiny Fender Champ. Also around this time, Cobain acquired a Univox Superfuzz, but it was stolen from his rehearsal space.
The band's name changed frequently, from Fecal Matter to such similarly choice monikers as Ted Ed Fred, Pen Cap Chew, Throat Oyster, Windowpane and Bliss. Eventually they settled on Nirvana. When Burckhard proved too unreliable, Cobain and Novoselic kicked him out of the band and enlisted drummer Dale Crover, who they temporarily stole from the Melvins. Three weeks later, on January 23, 1988, Nirvana recorded its first studio demo at Reciprocal Studio with Jack Endino-whose early production/engineering/mixing credits include Soundgarden, Green River, Tad and Mudhoney-behind the board.
BLOND AMBITION: THE BLEACH YEARS
A few months after working with Nirvana for the first time, Endino played the band's demo tape for Jonathan Poneman of Sub Pop Records, who signed the band to the label. Three of the songs that Nirvana recorded during that session ended up on Bleach, the band's first album.
The band liked working with Endino, and they returned to Reciprocal Studios several times during the year to record more songs, although Chad Channing replaced Crover on drums. Nirvana signed a contract with Sub Pop, and in late December 1988, they entered Reciprocal Studios to record Bleach. The album was recorded in three days for $606.16, although five tracks from earlier sessions were included on the final album. Most of the remaining songs from the various Reciprocal sessions were released several years later on Incesticide.
"When they recorded Bleach, Kurt's Randall was in the shop so they borrowed my amp, which was a Sixties Fender Twin," Endino recalls. "I'm a tube nut, so everything was tweaked and up to spec on that amp, but it didn't have speakers because I had fried them. Kurt brought in a little closed-back 2x12 cabinet with two Celestions, most likely 70-watt models. He was using a little orange Boss DS-1 distortion pedal and these Univox guitars [Hi-Flyers] that looked like Mosrites. The pickups were stock. I ended up getting one of those pickups from him once, because he was smashing those guitars all the time. I said, `You must have some extra pickups,' and he said, `Oh yeah. Here's one.' It was in two pieces. I was able to stick the wires together and use it. It's not the greatest sounding pickup in the world, but it seemed to work for him."
In 1989, Nirvana went on its first American tour. According to Earnie Bailey, a Seattle guitar repairman who was friends with Novoselic and who often worked as a technician for the band, Cobain's live rig during this period was a red Epiphone ET270, a solid-state Randall amp head, a BFI Bullfrog 4x12 cabinet and a Boss DS-1 distortion. When his guitar was destroyed beyond repair, Cobain would look for cheap replacements in pawn shops or have Sub Pop ship him guitars via Federal Express.
"I heard stories about Kurt's guitar destruction from the Sub Pop people early on," says Endino. "When he was out on the road he'd call them up and say, `I don't know what got into me, but I just smashed up my guitar.' I don't think he was planning on smashing guitars from day one. It was just something he did. The poor Sub Pop people would call all the pawn shops up and down the coast, looking for Univox guitars."
Between tours, Cobain often bought equipment from Guitar Maniacs in Tacoma, Washington, and Danny's Music in Everett, Washington. According to Rick King, owner of Guitar Maniacs, Cobain "bought a whole bunch of Univox Hi-Flyers—both the P-90 version and ones with humbuckers. Those pickups have huge output and are completely over the top. He broke a lot of those guitars. We sold him several of them for an average of $100 each over the course of five years."
Although humbucker-equipped Univox Hi-Flyers apparently were Cobain's favorite guitars in the pre-Nevermind days, he often appeared on stage with other models, including a blue Gibson SG and a sunburst left-handed Greco Mustang copy he bought from Guitar Maniacs.
[[ Read Guitar World's Final Interview with Kurt Cobain from the February 1992 Issue ]]
Cobain purchased what probably was his first acoustic guitar, a Stella 12-string, for $31.21 on October 12, 1989. He brought the Stella to Smart Studios in Wisconsin to record some demos with Butch Vig in April 1990. The guitar wasn't exactly a studio musician's dream.
"It barely stays in tune," Cobain told Jeff Gilbert in a February 1992 Guitar World interview. "I have to use duct tape to hold the tuning keys in place." At some point in the Stella's history, the steel strings had been replaced with six nylon strings, only five of which were intact during the session. However, the guitar sounded good enough to Vig, who recorded Cobain playing a solo acoustic version of "Polly" on that guitar. That track can be heard on Nevermind.
Cobain didn't seem to be exceptionally particular about what equipment he was playing through, with the notable exception of his effects pedals. Sometime in 1990, he bought an Electro-Harmonix Small Clone from Guitar Maniacs, and it remained a favorite and essential part of his setup to the end of his life. On January 1, 1991, Cobain used the Small Clone to record "Aneurysm," which later was issued as the b-side to the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single.
BREEDING GROUND: THE RECORDING OF NEVERMIND
Prior to formally signing with Geffen Records on April 30, 1991, Nirvana received a $287,000 advance for the recording of Nevermind. The advance was somewhat meager, but it gave the band some freedom in choosing equipment. However, Cobain didn't exactly go wild with his spending.
"I sold Kurt a bunch of guitars and effects for the Nevermind album," says Rick King. "When they got signed to Geffen and started getting money, Kurt was still very frugal. He bought some Japanese left-handed Strats and had humbuckers installed in the Strats' lead position. He didn't spend very much money on guitars."
Apparently Cobain developed a taste for Fender guitars just prior to recording Nevermind. "I like guitars in the Fender style because they have skinny necks," said Cobain in a late 1991 interview. "I've resorted to Japanese-made Fender Stratocasters because they're the most available left-handed guitars." During this period, he also acquired a left-handed '65 Jaguar that had a DiMarzio Super Distortion humbucker in the bridge position and a DiMarzio PAF in the neck position in place of the guitar's stock single-coil pickups. These modifications were made before Cobain purchased the guitar. Cobain also bought a left-handed, Lake Placid Blue '69 Fender Competition Mustang around then.
"Out of all the guitars in the whole world, the Fender Mustang is my favorite," Cobain told GW. "They're cheap and totally inefficient, and they sound like crap and are very small. They also don't stay in tune, and when you want to raise the string action on the fretboard, you have to loosen all the strings and completely remove the bridge. You have to turn these little screws with your fingers and hope that you've estimated it right. If you screw up, you have to repeat the process over and over until you get it right. Whoever invented that guitar was a dork. I guess I'm calling Leo Fender, the dead guy, a dork." To overcome these tuning problems, Cobain had his '69 Mustang fitted with a Gotoh Tune-O-Matic bridge, a modification that was routinely performed on the Mustangs he subsequently acquired.
Some claim that Cobain's preference for low-end guitars was a punk statement, but he insisted that it was a matter of necessity. "I don't favor them," Cobain told Guitar World in 1992. "I can afford them. I'm left-handed and it's not very easy to find reasonably priced, high-quality left-handed guitars." Before entering the studio, Cobain purchased a rack rig consisting of a Mesa/Boogie Studio preamp, a Crown power amp and a variety of Marshall 4x12 cabinets. "I can never find an amp that's powerful enough," Cobain told GW. "And I don't want to deal with hauling 10 Marshall heads. I'm lazy-I like to have it all in one package. For a preamp I have a Mesa/Boogie, and I turn all the midrange up." Cobain brought this rig along with his Mustang, Jaguar, a Japanese Strat and his Boss DS-1 and Electro-Harmonix Small Clone pedals to Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, where the band recorded Nevermind with Butch Vig.
"Kurt had a Mesa/Boogie, but we also used a Fender Bassman a lot and a Vox AC30 on Nevermind," Vig recalls. "I prefer getting the amp to sound distorted instead of using special effects or pedals, which lose body and the fullness of the bottom end."
Still, Vig allowed Cobain to use a few pedals on the album, especially since the guitarist felt that the DS-1 was the main factor in his tone. Cobain also used the Small Clone liberally. "That's making the watery guitar sound you hear on the pre-chorus build-up of `Smells Like Teen Spirit' and also `Come As You Are,'" says Vig. "We used an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff fuzz box through a Fender Bassman on `Lithium' to get that thumpier, darker sound."
Cobain's pawn shop Stella was used again for "Something in the Way." Vig recorded the performance while Cobain sat on a couch in the control room. Against Vig's wishes, Cobain plugged his guitar direct into the board for "Territorial Pissings." During the recording of "Lithium," Cobain instigated the noise jam that became the "hidden" track "Endless, Nameless." (This track does not appear on the first 50,000 copies of the CD.) Towards the end of the track, Cobain can be heard smashing his Japanese Stratocaster.Algae are complicated. The little plants can be both good and bad.
Single-celled algae called phytoplankton are a main source of food for fish and other aquatic life, and account for half of the photosynthetic activity on Earth—that’s good.
But certain varieties such as some cyanobacteria produce toxins that can harm humans, fish, and other animals. Under certain conditions, algae populations can grow explosively -- a spectacle known as an algal bloom, which can cover hundreds of square kilometers. For example, in August 2014, a cyanobacteria outbreak in Lake Erie prompted Toledo, Ohio, officials to ban the use of drinking water supplied to more than 400,000 residents.
With support from NASA, the EPA has developed an app to track algae that can threaten fresh water supplies.
In the United States alone, freshwater degradation from "bad" algae costs the economy about $64 million a year.
NASA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Geological Survey are doing something about it. NASA has long used Earth observing satellites to locate algal bloom outbreaks in the ocean. But now, this unique satellite data will be routinely produced in a form that helps US water quality managers monitor our freshwater. Water quality managers will soon, with a peek at their cell phones, have an answer to "how's the water?"
The four agencies are working on a joint project, sponsored by NASA, to transform satellite data into an indicator of cyanobacteria outbreaks in our freshwater supply. The data will be integrated into an EPA Android smart phone application so environmental officials can see – at a glance – the condition of a specific water body.
"With our app, you can view water quality on the scale of the US, and zoom in to get near-real-time data for a local lake," explains the EPA's Blake Schaeffer, Principal Investigator for the project. "When we start pushing this data to smartphone apps, we will have achieved something that's never been done – provide water quality satellite data like weather data. People will be able to check the amount of 'algae bloom' like they would check the temperature."
Here’s how it works:
A harmful species of cyanobacteria emits chlorophyll and fluorescent light at various points in their life cycles. Landsat and NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) can detect these "ocean color" signals, which reveal the location and abundance of cyanobacteria. The project team will collect this data for freshwater bodies and convert it into a form accessible through web portals and the EPA mobile app. In addition to MODIS, they'll draw data from the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3.
With early warning about a developing bloom, officials at water treatment plants will be better able to determine when, where, and how much to treat the water to keep consumers safe. That means unnecessary -- and expensive -- overtreatment may be avoided. The data will also help park managers alert swimmers, boaters, and other recreational users to hazardous conditions.
Says NASA Administrator Charles Bolden: “We’re excited to be putting NASA’s expertise in space and scientific exploration to work protecting public health and safety."
The project will also help scientists understand why "bad" algae outbreaks occur. By comparing the color data with landcover change data, they’ll learn more about environmental factors that spur algal growth. The result: better forecasts of bloom events. So we’ll know when an algae bloom is safe or harmful.ROME—Teenage girls are supposed to be having fun. They should be on the cusp of new discoveries, dreaming of what the future holds. They shouldn’t be locked up in the back room of an apartment enslaved and groomed by their fathers as child brides.
But earlier this month, after a year-long investigation, Italian police in Florence swept in and rescued just such a young girl in just such a situation. She had recently turned 17, the age her Serbian father, who had been living in Florence as a legal resident for decades, promised to deliver her to a Serbian buyer in France who had chosen her as a bride for his own son.
She had been captive for the last four years.
According to a police report seen by The Daily Beast, the man had put his daughter on the market as a potential bride with an asking price of €15,000 ($18,000) when she was just 13 years old.
At that time, a Serbian man residing in France reportedly came to Florence to “inspect her” to see if she would be suitable for his own son. She was, so he put down a €4,000 ($4,780) deposit. The rest was to be paid upon her delivery this month. She had not been delivered earlier because she was not yet 17, the age of consent and the age by which she could cross borders without raising eyebrows.
Police say the girl was kept confined in a hidden room of the Florentine apartment for the last four years while her father waited for her to reach the age of delivery. Her mother is reportedly still in Serbia with other siblings. The mother has not been arrested.
The police say the conditions of the young girl’s sale were that the girl keep the prepubescent figure she had when she was purchased and that she remain a virgin, to be tested upon delivery. Her father carefully controlled her diet to keep her thin.
Police say she was also forced to perfect basic household chores like washing dishes and cleaning the house so she would be a “ready made wife” for her new owner. She was taken out to grocery stores by her father twice a month to learn what products to buy and to get exercise.
The young girl, who had been educated in a public school in Florence until her captivity at the age of 13, apparently was allowed only one simple pleasure: playing a video game on a Sim-less cellphone, which she did for hours each day, according to initial testimony she gave police.
But because the Florentine apartment where her father kept her did not have WIFI available to her, the girl was left incommunicado. Then one day, she said she noticed an alert for a new but weak password-free WiFi network, likely from a new establishment on the lower floors of the building.
She logged on but had no way of using it to contact anyone because she had no email or phone numbers. After a few weeks of playing her video game, she discovered a multi-player feature that allowed her to play with others, though she still didn’t know how to call for help until she accidentally discovered a chat room feature she unlocked after reaching a higher level of the game.
She used the chat room to try to get help but most players ignored her until a young person in Sicily took her seriously and alerted authorities with very little information––just the girl’s username and location. Then, police were able to trace her to a suburb of Florence and through an investigation pinpointed her building.
After asking residents about whether there had ever been a young girl living there, they were able to find the apartment and start surveillance. Through that, they finally caught the father talking about the sale of his daughter and were able to trace a money trail to France to also find the buyer, who is under French jurisdiction, but who may not actually be guilty of committing a crime since he had not yet made the final payment or picked up the child bride. They rescued her in early September, just weeks before she was set to be delivered.
The girl is now under police protection where she is receiving psychiatric treatment. Her father is in jail, awaiting trial for kidnapping and harming a child.That’s because Green isn’t really interested in the actors’ performances (although she does include some test footage). She cares more about their opinions on the case, their recollections of the media fracas that ensued at the time, and their theories on who might have killed JonBenét and why. Beyond that, she’s also curious about the actors themselves, and why they might relate to the parts they’re looking to play (particularly the Ramsey parents, whom some suspected of killing their daughter).
Green herself isn’t an actual character in Casting JonBenét. So there’s no explanation for her film’s strange premise, no voice heard from offscreen asking questions of the interviewees, no attempt by her to recap the details of the murder case itself. That’s left entirely to the actors, all of whom have something to say, and the audience, who can piece together the rest of the context pretty easily. This confessional device draws some fascinating digressions from its subjects, while filtering their words through the prism of a national tragedy every American of a certain age likely remembers.
Casting JonBenét takes sad stock of a country, perhaps without meaning to. Its central idea is unavoidably disturbing: that the best way to get these ordinary people to reflect on their lives is by getting them to relate to one of the most infamous murders of recent decades. But, of course, that’s something people do all the time—we’re often pulled into macabre true-crime stories, perhaps because they offer a glimpse into a world we don’t understand, or because we recognize something from our past, or ourselves, in them.
Some of the actors auditioning to play Patsy Ramsey paint her as guilty of murder, or recall being disturbed by her perceived lack of emotion at the time. The women, almost all of them clad in a red outfit Patsy was identified with, speculate on her motivations—anger at JonBenét’s bedwetting, jealousy over her daughter’s success as a beauty-pageant star—while pondering when they get angriest at their own children. One boils with rage at the idea that Patsy felt murderous anxiety simply because she had turned 40; Green then slyly cuts to another actress advancing that theory with the utmost seriousness.
The film’s point is clear: When it comes to crimes of the century, any bystander can turn into a speculative monster. There’s something almost endearing about everyone’s keen awareness of the details of the case, as though they’re obsessives of a science-fiction series. But the death of JonBenét is, of course, jarringly real. Green sometimes hits the laugh lines too hard, but in general does well to maintain the rhythm between the silly and the serious, especially as the actors think about their own lives, and summon stories of abuse, depression, and family strife, in an effort to connect with the characters they might want to play.With Adam Lallana ruled out for up to three months with a thigh injury, Liverpool supporters are left ruing a major setback ahead of 2017/18.
The 29-year-old is sidelined following Wednesday night’s Audi Cup clash with Atletico Madrid, and is expected to miss a “significant period,” according to Jurgen Klopp.
Lallana established himself as a key player in a new midfield role last season, and Klopp will now be forced to plan without him for the start of the campaign.
This is particularly pertinent following the failure to sign Naby Keita from RB Leipzig, and continued speculation of the future of Philippe Coutinho following Neymar’s move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Unsurprisingly, the news of Lallana’s layoff left Liverpool fans roundly disappointed, and hoping for a new signing.
It was all looking so promising for 84 mins against Bayern. Not much good news for LFC since as Adam Lallana misses first 3 months of season — Chris Bascombe (@_ChrisBascombe) August 4, 2017
https://twitter.com/LWOS_Liverpool/status/893507819021971459
The season hasn't even started yet and Clyne,Sturridge and now Lallana are already injured…? — Archie Andrews (@FiqriAzahari) August 4, 2017
Lallana out injured for a few months brilliant start to the season start as you mean to go on and all that #LFC #YNWA — Jamie (@Lyncchh) August 4, 2017
“Stop training the boys so hard klopp this triple sessions are the cause of all this, first it was Sturridge now Adam. We have an already thin squad, slow down the training or go buy a new midfielder.” – Leago D Jeopardy Thulare on Facebook.
“Something concerning with the amount of injuries out players suffer from on a regular basis, is it to do with the coaches and fitness structure? Needs to be looked at again.” – Scott McIntosh on Facebook.
Lallana out for three months. If we didn't already need a midfielder then we do now. — Kop Talk (@KopTalk28) August 4, 2017
We needed a central midfielder even with Lallana around. Now we need 2. — Nana Yaw Aidoo (@Nanalfc7) August 4, 2017
“First Clyne now Lallana; time to start making a few signings the top priority now. A couple more injuries and our squad will be thin again with all the fixtures we’ll have this season.” – Martin Ward on Facebook.
#Lallana is off for 2 months! Players with such quality are so much limited in Transfer market, #LFC has to wake up before being too late! —??????? (@KarimFathy91) August 4, 2017
15 – Adam Lallana was directly involved in 15 @premierleague goals last season (8 goals, 7 assists); his best return at Liverpool. Blow. pic.twitter.com/gswTGOZN7m — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 4, 2017
Many fans were discussing the need to sign another midfielder…
“So is there still anyone out there that thinks we don’t need a bigger squad and more top players. Just based on the fact we won a few friendlies.” – Leon Django Mac Craith on Facebook.
“Let’s just hope Klopp decides to buy someone now and not expect/hope to get by without Adam for 2 months.” – NYRhockey on the forums.
“Contact the Ox…just in case.” – Wilkored08 on the forums.
Liverpool need to act quick following the Adam Lallana injury. Oxlade-Chamberlain supposedly back on the agenda. #LFC — Aidan (@asLFC_) August 4, 2017It should come as little surprise that two of the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys" teams of the late 1980s ranked well in Kevin Pelton's list of the 50 greatest NBA teams.
Overall, the Pistons had three teams on the list, with the 1988-89 squad leading the way at No. 19. The '89-90 team a year later was ranked at No. 26 while the more recent 2003-04 team came in at No. 47.
About that '88-89 Detroit team. Led by Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer, the Pistons went 19-2 in the postseason on their way to an NBA title. In the Finals, they took advantage of a Los Angeles Lakers team hampered by injuries to Magic Johnson and Byron Scott to easily sweep the series.
Next season was more the same for Detroit, who claimed their second straight title. After the Chicago Bulls took them to Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals, the Pistons were able to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers in five games for the championship. The series was a close affair -- with four of the games decided by six points or less -- but the Bad Boys ones again came out on top.
Finally, the '03-04 Pistons that brought home the franchise's third title cracked the bottom of Pelton's list for good reason. After acquiring Rasheed Wallace at the trade deadine, Detroit went 20-6 the rest of the season to make the playoffs, where they ran into trouble against the New Jersey Nets in the conference semifinals but prevailed.
Against the heavily favored Lakers in the Finals, the Pistons won four of five to finish their season on the highest of notes.
Read more about those Pistons teams and see Pelton's full list of the top 50 teams in NBA history (Insider).When nearly one-half of Kazakhstan’s saiga antelope population died suddenly in May 2015, speculation followed that this unique animal was on the brink of extinction. The immediate cause of death was found to be the bacterial disease hemorrhagic septicemia. But something had to happen to ignite the disease outbreak in the first place, and precious few clues exist as to what this might have been.
The saiga have faced similar mass die-offs in the past and have displayed a remarkable capacity to recover. There is great concern for this critically endangered species, but there is also room for hope. A better understanding of the complex epidemiology of hemorrhagic septicemia in saiga and livestock will reinforce this hope.
The Saiga
Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica tatarica) inhabit the vast semi-arid grasslands of Kazakhstan. Their peculiar wrinkled, tubular noses are designed to warm frigid winter air and cool sweltering summer air, as well as to filter dust thrown up by thousands of animals on the move.
During the winter mating season, a single male watches over a harem of anywhere from 15 up to 30 females, before the two sexes separate into distinct herds to migrate. The saiga move long distances between their wintering grounds in the south and their summer grazing range in the north, covering up to 50 miles in a day.
On their way north from April to early June, herds of well over 100,000 females gather on calving grounds, nearly all giving birth within a 5-8 day period. Newborns lie motionless in the grass for the first few days, to escape the prying eyes of their nemesis, the gray wolf.
In prehistoric times, the saigas’ range extended from Alaska in the east to what is today Great Britain in the west. But 90% of today’s population, estimated at over 300,000 by early 2015, live for the most part in Kazakhstan (see map).
Cycle of Death
The hapless saiga have experienced severe population swings in recent decades. From over 1 million individuals estimated in the early 1990s, by the year 2000 the saiga population had declined by more than 80%, to an estimated 178,000 individuals. By 2003 their numbers were fewer than 50,000.
The bulk of these declines stemmed from poaching, the result of the economic downturn following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. In addition to supplying meat to hunters, the horns of males are sold in Asian markets as a traditional herbal medicine.
Yet even before poaching, saiga populations were constantly under pressure from other sources. Every few winters, repeated melting and freezing of snow coats pastures with a layer of ice that the saiga cannot penetrate to reach the grass underneath. When following on the heels of a drought the previous summer, the antelope are especially vulnerable. Just such an event led to the starvation of some 400,000 saiga in the winter of 1971-72.
Diseases, too, have taken their toll. One of the more common used to be foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), one outbreak of which killed 50,000 saiga young in 1967. Vaccination campaigns among livestock in Kazakhstan put an end to large FMD outbreaks in the saiga in the 1970s.
The May 2015 Die-off
On or around 10 May 2015, saiga females and their newborn calves began dying in large numbers among the Betpak-Dala population between the Aral Sea and Lake Balkhash (males were relatively unaffected as they do not accompany the females to the calving grounds). Within three weeks, over 150,000 carcasses from a dozen or so herds were scattered across the vast grasslands of central Kazakhstan.
According to Richard Kock of the UK’s Royal Veterinary College, who headed an international team investigating the die-off, mothers fell ill first. They became weak and uncoordinated with labored breathing, followed by bloody diarrhea and frothing from the mouth just before death a few short hours after the onset of illness. Calves died within hours of their mothers, usually with diarrhea.
Necropsy (autopsy on an animal) and laboratory tests showed the immediate cause of death to be the bacterial disease hemorrhagic septicemia. But there are many problems with this diagnosis and its implications for the saiga, as pointed out freely by the investigators themselves.
Hemorrhagic Septicemia
Hemorrhagic septicemia (HS) is caused primarily by one of two forms of the bacteria Pasteurella multocida: generally the B serogroup in Asia and the E serogroup in Africa. Water buffalo are the main victims of HS, but cattle can also be severely affected and, to a lesser extent, pigs and wild ruminants (such as the saiga).
Southeast Asia suffers the highest number of HS cases, but the disease is enzootic (i.e. endemic in animals) in most countries throughout Asia and Africa and is one of the more costly livestock diseases on both continents.
The bacteria survive well in mud or water and oubreaks are most common during the rainy season. Infection stems from inhaling or ingesting the bacteria.
In a typical livestock outbreak, anywhere from 10% to 50% of the cattle or water buffalo in a herd develop fever, respiratory distress, nasal discharge, frothing from the mouth, swelling from edema at the base of the jaw, and pneumonia. Bacteria spread to the bloodstream, causing the animal to collapse and die shortly afterwards, often within just a few hours. Some animals are affected so severely that they die before any of these outward signs become evident.
Only through antimicrobial treatment at the very earliest sign of illness does the afflicted animal have much hope of surviving. And detection at this early stage is difficult and typically impractical.
Those few animals that survive a bout of HS often become carriers of the bacteria, which set up shop in the animals |
depending on the number of states selected, the model may produce an NA value if a sentence cannot be generated. Also, depending on the number of iterations and state selected you may see repeat output. The more iterations and higher state selection, the more likely you are to have this occur.
Step 5 – Put it all together We now have prepared the ingredients needed to generate our fake start ups. Lets put them to use. Message to those coding along Even if you follow my exact parameters, your results will be different. So please don’t be alarmed. Step 5A – Filter the YC data The first thing we want to do is run the filter_yc_alumni function we built. This will clean the company names and descriptions, removing companies that don’t have a description. For the purposes of today’s tutorial I also want to exclude companies that indicate they were acquired. df_yc <- df_yc %>% filter_yc_alumni(exclude_acquisitions = TRUE, only_defunct_companies = FALSE) We now have our filtered data provides the text corpa needed for our neural network and our Markov model. Step 5B – Run the neural net to generate fake start-up names We are ready to generate the fake start-up names. The key input for our function is the vector of real start up company names. We can get this by using the dplyr::pull function on the nameCompany column. In machine learning speak this is going to be our training data from which our fake company names will be generated off of. yc_companies <- df_yc %>% pull(nameCompany) Now that we have the input text it is time to run the function. Before we can do that we need to decide on the other input parameters. We are going to call the output nameCompanyFake since we are generating fake companies. I want to see the output as it is generated so I will leave that TRUE. I want the model to have a decent number of looks at the training data each go around which we can do by setting the number of epochs to 25. We don’t want any companies with more than 4 words in the name so we set the maximum length to 4. We also don’t want them to exceed 300 characters in length so we set that maximum chars parameter equal to 300. We will set the batch size equal to 140. We can use the default parameters for learning rate and diversity so we don’t have to include them in the function call. Lastly I want the model to run 50 times so we set the maximum iteration parameter equal to 50. We are now ready to go but please be patient this is going to take a while!! df_names <- kerasify_text( input_text = yc_companies, output_column_name = "nameCompanyFake", regurgitate_output = TRUE, epochs = 25, maximum_length = 4, maximum_iterations = 50, batch_size = 140, maximum_chars = 300 ) Once the neural network is done you should see a data frame with a few thousand results. We have a bit more work to do before we are done with the names though. The only thing we want from the output are the fake company names. We can do this by selecting that variable. There are likely be repeat names and we only want the unique names and so to return only unique names we will use the dplyr::distinct function. Next we will add a variable that calculates the number of characters in the name. We only want to include names that contain between 2 and 15 characters. Using the dplyr::filter and dplyr::between functions achieve this. Finally, we need to add an ID column that allows us to join the company names with the company descriptions we wll soon generate. df_cos <- df_names %>% select(nameCompanyFake) %>% distinct() %>% mutate(charName = nchar(nameCompanyFake)) %>% filter(charName %>% between(2, 15)) %>% mutate(idRow = 1:n()) %>% dplyr::select(-c(charName)) Step 5C – Generate fake start-up descriptions with our Markov model Now we are ready to generate our fake descriptions. Similar to what we did before we will pull in our input text variable, in this case the company descriptions. company_descriptions <- df_yc %>% pull(descriptionCompany) Now we are ready to define the parameters and run the model. We want to call the output dsecriptionCompanyFake. We will keep the Markov state to the default of 2. We want to limit the length of the sentence to no more than 400 characters and finally we will run the model so there is a description for each of the fake company names we generated by making the number of iterations equal to the number of rows in the company name data. df_descriptions <- markovify_text( input_text = company_descriptions, output_column_name = 'descriptionCompanyFake', markov_state_size = 2, maximum_sentence_length = 400, iterations = nrow(df_cos) ) You should now see a data frame with the same number of descriptions as company names. This function already includes an ID column so we don’t need to add one. Step 5D – Join everything together to create the final product We now have data containing fake names and descriptions all that is left to do is combine them together. To do this we will take the df_cos data frame and use the dplyr::left_join function to bind together df_descriptions data. The final step is to filter out any NA company descriptions which we may or may not have. all_data <- df_cos %>% left_join(df_descriptions) %>% dplyr::select(-idRow) %>% filter(!descriptionCompanyFake %>% is.na())
Time to Explore Now after all this hard work it is time to enjoy the fruits, or more appropriately, the cold-pressed juice pods of our labor 😃😎😎 We generated a few thousand companies, lets take a look at 10 random ones. To do that we will use the `dplyr::sample_n`` function. all_data %>% sample_n(10) %>% formattable::formattable() nameCompanyFake descriptionCompanyFake CALLER A SIMPLE, AND INTUITIVE VISUAL INSTRUCTION, BASED ON 56+ PHOTO PROPERTIES. DEARDHEAR BUILDS WORKFLOW & COLLABORATION SOFTWARE FOR SMALL AND MID-MARKET BUSINESSES. R8VETURE HEALTH PROVIDES NATIVE VIDEO ADVERTISING EXPERIENCE FOR KIDS, COUPLES AND ATTORNEYS. STRICWITEA ENABLES LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO ACCEPT AND CURATE DIGITAL CONTENT. HIMY IF YOUR STARTUP IS LOOKING FOR A SHARE OF THEIR TEMPORARY STAFFING NEEDS. HYPART WE’RE A B2B MARKETPLACE FOR INSURANCE SECURITIZATION. LATT TABLETS ON RESTAURANT TABLES, SO GUESTS CAN ORDER, PAY AND PLAY GAMES FROM THEIR SMARTPHONE IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES. AIYDLRMSS FLOYD IS HEROKU FOR MACHINE LEARNING TO HELP YOU GET FEEDBACK AND ITERATE ON THEIR DESIGNS. KIPPI WE BUILD CROWDFUNDING SITES THAT LETS WOMEN RENT DRESSES FROM EACH OTHER. TATT CCG EMPOWERS CLINICIANS TO MAKE PR SCALE IN THE REAL WORLD. Take a look at that, 10 machine learning generated start-up ideas that could be the next billion dollar unicorn and probably are a better idea to me at least than Juicero’s pitch. Now lets take a look at all 4507 machine learning generated start up ideas and make them available to the whole world for the rest of time. Feel free to peruse, export and even use them for possible start-up ideas of your own. I just ask that you remember me if anything ever comes of the idea and drop me a line about how you encountered this post after you raise your first successful round of funding!
library(DT) all_data %>% datatable( filter = 'top', extensions = c('Responsive', 'Buttons'), options = list( dom = 'Bfrtip', buttons = c('csv', 'excel', 'pdf', 'print'), pageLength = 5, autoWidth = TRUE, lengthMenu = c(5, 25, 50, 100, 500) ) ) That wraps up the second portion of this post. I encourage you to play around a bit with these functions. Change around the parameters and try filtering the input data to focus on specific verticals or company outcomes and see how the results differ.This is just horrifying, the kind of story I wish I could ignore, like a kid covering his eyes to make the monsters go away, so as not to give forces of darkness power over my friends in the film industry who care about Palestinians, but that doesn’t work. And yes the report is mostly gossip, but when tongues start wagging in Hollywood, who knows who looks down and finds that their legs are gone.
From the Independent in London:
Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem are reportedly facing a serious backlash from top Hollywood executives following their support for Gaza, which saw the couple sign an open letter condemning the actions of Israel as tantamount to “genocide”. The couple were among 100 film professionals to sign the open Spanish letter calling on the European Union to end Israel’s military operation in Gaza, along with director Pedro Almodovar in July. But their actions have sparked anger in top Hollywood executives, which has reportedly called their careers in to question. One top exec told the Hollywood Reporter that he was “furious at Javier and Penelope” and queried whether he would want to work with the couple again… one industry executive said the Hollywood couple’s actions did not reach the “Mel Gibson threshold,” referencing the widespread public outrage that erupted after Mr Gibson was caught making an anti-Semitic tirade while being arrested in 2006. One producer who has previously worked with Ms Cruz, told the magazine that he privately vowed never to work with the actress again.
Penelope Cruz later bethought her earlier statement and walked it back, kumbaya-style, to USA Today:
“I’m not an expert on the situation and I’m aware of the complexity of it. My only wish and intention in signing that group letter is the hope that there will be peace in both Israel and Gaza. “I am hopeful all parties can agree to a ceasefire and there are no more innocent victims on either side of the border. I wish for unity, and peace… I believe in a civilization that can be capable of bringing the courage to have a world where humans can live side by side.”
The Hollywood Reporter quoted an unnamed producer rolling his eyes over the clarification, dismissing it out of hand. Only one producer, Ryan Kavanaugh, spoke on the record to the Hollywood Reporter:
“As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, anyone calling it Israeli ‘genocide’ vs. protecting themselves are either the most ignorant people about the situation and shouldn’t be commenting, or are truly anti-Semitic.”
And Kavanaugh is a player. From Wikipedia:
he has financed more than 200 films representing more than $17 billion in revenue (earning the nickname “Billion Dollar Producer”)
The good news here, for all my nightfrights, is that Bardem has said important noble statements about Palestinian human rights in a Spanish op-ed-– “I can’t understand this barbarism, even more cruel and incomprehensible considering all of the horrible things the Jewish people have gone through in the past”– and many folks in Hollywood agree with him and his wife; and that agreement has produced a reluctance to stand up for Israel. The report from the Hollywood Reporter said that Jon Stewart, Jonathan Demme and Mark Ruffalo have all escaped criticism though voicing “nuanced concerns about Israel’s military action in Gaza while supporting the nation in general.” And it cited this silence as a concern to Haim Saban, the Democratic party boss and Obama ringmaster:
“I don’t know why more prominent Hollywood people don’t speak out about what’s going on there,” [Howard] Stern said on his radio show July 28. “They’re all afraid.” Hollywood political donor Haim Saban, one of the industry’s biggest Israel supporters, echoed those sentiments. “I don’t understand this myself,” Saban told the Jewish Journal on Aug. 1. “But starting today, I will be working the phones to enlist the vocal support of people who I know have an interest in supporting our staunchest ally in the region — which also happens to be the only democracy in the region.”
Working the phones, he is. Why would anyone answer Haim Saban’s phone call? Yes, why.
Years ago John Mearsheimer said to me, “You have to understand, this is mortal combat.” The more time passes, the more I agree with the professor and West Point grad.Both MBS, as he has come to be known, and his elderly father King Salman, the BND analysts wrote, want Saudi Arabia to be seen as “the leader of the Arab world” with a foreign policy built on “a strong military component.” Yet the memo also pointed out that the consolidation of so much power in a single young prince’s hands “harbors a latent risk that in seeking to establish himself in the line of succession in his father’s lifetime, he may overreach,” adding: “Relations with friendly and above all allied countries in the region could be overstretched.”
“The current cautious diplomatic stance of senior members of the Saudi royal family will be replaced by an impulsive intervention policy,” the memo warned, focusing on the role of Mohammed bin Salman, who had been appointed as deputy crown prince and defense minister at the age of 30 earlier that year.
Kudos to Germany’s spooks. Back in December 2015, the German foreign intelligence agency, BND, distributed a one-and-a-half-page memo to various media outlets titled: “Saudi Arabia — Sunni regional power torn between foreign policy paradigm change and domestic policy consolidation.” The document was pretty astonishing, both in its undiplomatic bluntness and remarkable prescience.
And so it has come to pass. In fact, despite being repudiated at the time by a German government more concerned about diplomatic and commercial relations with Riyadh, the BND warning turned out to be eerily prophetic.
Consider recent events in the Gulf. Can you get more “impulsive” than rounding up 11 fellow princes, including one of the world’s richest men and the commander of the national guard, and holding them at the Ritz Carlton on charges of corruption? Especially since MBS, who ordered the arrests only a few hours after his father set up an anti-corruption committee and put him in charge of it, isn’t exactly a paragon of probity and transparency himself. Where, for example, did the crown prince find more than $500 million to spend on a luxury yacht while vacationing in the south of France last year?
Photo: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images
Is it anything other than “interventionist” to force the resignation of the prime minister of Lebanon on a visit to your country and then put him under a form of house arrest (though the hapless Saad Hariri, a long-standing client of Riyadh, publicly claims otherwise and says he is heading back to Beirut this week)? Or to also detain the president of Yemen? According to an investigation by the Associated Press, “Saudi Arabia has barred Yemen’s president, along with his sons, ministers and military officials, from returning home for months.”
That the crown prince of Saudi Arabia can, essentially, kidnap the elected leaders of not one but two Middle Eastern countries — and, incidentally, put the leading Saudi royal he replaced as crown prince under palace arrest — speaks volumes about not just his “impulsive intervention policy” but the shameless pass he gets from Western governments for such rogue behavior. Imagine the reaction from the international community if Iran had, say, detained the Iraqi prime minister on Iranian soil after forcing him to resign on Iranian television. Yet President Donald Trump has gone out of his way to tweet his support for the crown prince and his father: “I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing.”
The more sober Europeans haven’t been much better. President Emmanuel Macron of France, on a surprise visit to Riyadh last week, saluted MBS “on the opening of his country and support for a moderate Islam.”
Meanwhile, are we supposed to call the rift between the Gulf countries, instigated by the Saudis, with the support of the Emiratis, anything other than “overreach,” to quote the BND, on the part of MBS? The crown prince and his cronies had assumed that tiny, defenseless Qatar would be brought to heel within a matter of weeks, if not days. Five months on, however, the Qataris, continue to reject the long list of Saudi/UAE demands — including the closure of the Qatar-owned Al Jazeera media network — and have retreated into the warm embrace of the MBS’s key regional rivals, Iran and Turkey. Bravo, crown prince!
Then there is Yemen. More than two years after the richest country in the Middle East began bombing the poorest country in the Middle East, there is no end in sight. MBS owns this disastrous conflict — he pushed for it, defended it, escalated it. But wasn’t the recent Houthi rocket attack on Riyadh — which the crown prince called an act of “direct military aggression by the Iranian regime” — evidence of a complete failure of Saudi military strategy? Weren’t those pesky Houthi rebels supposed to have been vanquished by the Royal Saudi Air Force by now? Instead, Yemen has become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis — which MBS, as defense minister, shamefully intensified with his order last week to blockade all entry points into the country.
From Lebanon to Qatar to Yemen, the much-lauded MBS has in fact proved to be the reverse Midas — everything he touches turns to dust. Maybe the authors of that scathing BND memo underestimated just how much of a disaster this favored son of Salman would be both for the kingdom and for the wider region. The inconvenient truth about the crown prince is that he isn’t only impulsive, he’s incompetent; he isn’t only ambitious, he’s reckless. He is also a nationalist and a hawk who is bent on turning the long-standing Saudi/Iran cold war into a very hot war — and is even willing to ally with Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel in order to do so. If MBS is the new “leader of the Arab world”… then Allah help the Arab world.
Mehdi Hasan teaches as an adjunct professor at the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, and is a host on Al Jazeera English.Two weeks after voting to keep the military draft, neutral Austria has discovered why it needs an army: not for defence but to prepare the ski races so beloved in this alpine country.
Some 70 recruits were mobilised overnight to help combat severe snowfall on the courses of the World Ski Championships in Schladming, which kicked off officially on Monday.
After the famed Hahnenkamm races in Kitzbuehel a week ago, troops in brown could be seen dotted along the icy steep slopes, on skis or armed with large shovels, frantically digging up the protective race nets.
With close to a dozen World Cup events held in this small country every winter — from alpine skiing to ski jumping and nordic combined — the army has often been recruited to clear snow and prepare courses.
At Monday’s glitzy opening ceremony in Schladming — which featured ski acrobatics, lederhosen-clad dancers and the Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger — a small troupe of soldiers marched forward to raise the Austrian and International Ski Federation flags.
“Ah, so that’s what we need an army for!,” exclaimed Gerhard, one of the 10,000 spectators in the large arena, to nods and laughs from his neighbours.
Austrians voted in a referendum on January 20 to maintain the current conscription system rather than switch to a professional, more specialised army, bucking a European trend since the end of the Cold War of scrapping the draft.Legendary comedian George Carlin was born in New York on May 12, 1937, which would have made him 80 years old today had he not died in June of 2008, shortly before Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. Long before that election, however, Carlin had soured on the political process and given up on the idea of voting. According to the Nation, the last vote George Carlin says he ever cast was for George McGovern to beat Richard Nixon in 1972. After Nixon, whom Carlin described as a member of a human sub-species, defeated McGovern overwhelmingly, Carlin’s views on politics would take a cynical turn that followed him his entire life. Luckily for us, his views made their way into his comedy routines and we can learn a lot from his wisdom.
In his 1996 stand-up special Back In Town, George Carlin expressed a brutal truth when he explained why he generally doesn’t complain about politicians.
“Now, there’s one thing you might have noticed I don’t complain about: politicians,” Carlin said. “Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don’t fall out of the sky. They don’t pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It’s what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you’re going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain’t going to do any good; you’re just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it’s not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here… like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There’s a nice campaign slogan for somebody: ‘The Public Sucks. F**k Hope.'”
"It's called the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it." - George Carlin. [Image by Ken Howard/Getty Images]
Rather than focus on the particular problems with individual politicians or political parties, Carlin opted for an indictment of the problems inherent in our entire society. It wasn’t just about politician ‘A’ taking bribes to pass law ‘B,’ but the entire social reality that makes it impossible to not have such selfish, corrupt politicians in the first place. George Carlin rightfully saw that, as he said, politicians don’t just “fall out of the sky,” but rather are cultivated in the social sphere of which we are all a part. He recognized that, by our commitment to ignorance and lazy thinking, we not only allow such a political reality to prosper but literally become the substrate on which it thrives.
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According to Splitsider, George Carlin elaborated on his view of politics in the 2005 special Life Is Worth Losing.
“Forget the politicians. Politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t,” Carlin said. “You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehouses, the city halls, they have the judges in their back pocket, and they own all the big media companies, so they own and control just about all the news and information you get to hear. They’ve got you by the balls.”
George Carlin was not afraid to speak difficult truths about society. [Image by Mark Mainz/Getty Images]
Later in that same special, Carlin said what has become one of his most famous and sadly accurate quotes.
“It’s called the American Dream, ’cause you have to be asleep to believe it,” Carlin informed his audience.
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Nearly nine years after George Carlin’s death, his political observations are more succinct than ever. While George Carlin did not explicitly offer any way out of the mess we’re in, perhaps we can learn something from his commitment to expressing biting, difficult truths about society. Too often people shy away from difficult truths for comforting narratives. George Carlin saw this for what it was, and he was not afraid to say it. Happy birthday, Mr. Carlin.
[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]Religious Right psuedo-historian David Barton spent a good portion of his “WallBuilders Live” radio program today insisting that the absence of any mention of God in the U.S. Constitution is proof that it is not a secular document.
“People say, ‘Well, the word “God” isn’t in the Constitution,'” Barton said. “There’s a reason for that and it doesn’t mean it’s secular, it means just the opposite.”
As Barton sees it, there are four mentions of God in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution is really nothing more than “part two of the Declaration,” so the Founding Fathers didn’t need to bother mentioning it again.
“They didn’t feel like they had to say anything in the Constitution because they’ve already said it really strongly in the Declaration,” Barton claimed. “Why repeat it? Because this is just the completion of the Declaration, if you will.”
Barton’s argument hinges on his assertion that “Article 7 of the Constitution dates itself not as a new document, [but] dates itself to the Declaration of Independence.”
We are not sure what Barton means when he says that the Constitution does not date itself as a new document :
Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth. In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names….
Barton claims that the mention of “the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth” is what binds the Constitution to the Declaration, making them two parts of the same document.
Those who don’t see this obvious connection, Barton said, are being misled by “brainless” professors who don’t know what they are talking about.
“If you say that that’s proof of secularism, that means you haven’t read the Constitution, you haven’t read history and you haven’t read what the Founders said about the Constitution,” Barton insisted, saying that in order to believe there is no mention of God in the Constitution, “you have to buy into a bunch of pablum by brainless kind of professors that either doesn’t know what they’re talking about or they’re speaking maliciously trying to undermine and shift the nation to move in a different direction.”Yes eggs. Here’s a must-see video of a woman named Kelly Atlas of the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere who invaded the Bluestem Brasserie in San Francisco and tearfully scolded diners for eating eggs:
On Saturday I told my little girl's story inside a place where they'd say she's just an object: http://t.co/MOX5uxx1vU #disruptspeciesism — Kelly Atlas (@kellyemilyatlas) October 1, 2014
She’s mad that diners are laughing at her. For real. Read these tweets and you’ll laugh, too:
@kellyemilyatlas enjoying my absolutely delicious/violent meal of two perfectly cooked eggs and bacon #ohthehumanity pic.twitter.com/aGnLCrushC — A.J. Antonescu (@BabyNescu) October 6, 2014
You DO know you're a few egg salad sammich's short of a picnic right? lol @kellyemilyatlas http://t.co/8DVGoeKNFZ #disruptspeciesism — Hammy (@e2pilot) October 4, 2014
Just a few eggs short?
In the video, Atlas cries to diners about eating “somebody else’s eggs.” Which raises this obvious question:
.@kellyemilyatlas Serious question for you – Are you pro-abortion? — Kimberly Morin (@Conservativeind) October 4, 2014
We all know the answer to that. Pro-choice on abortion is different than pro-choice at breakfast: scrambled, fried, poached, etc.Jurgen Klinsmann didn't wait around until June 2.
On Thursday, the US national team manager announced his final 23-man roster for the 2014 World Cup, well ahead of the FIFA deadline, and it does not include the USMNT's all-time leading scorer, Landon Donovan.
The list features 10 MLS players, including MLS Designated Players Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy) and Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes).
Michael Parkhurst (Columbus Crew), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana /Mexico), Maurice Edu (Philadelphia Union), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna /Austria) and Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), who was aiming for his fourth straight World Cup, did not make the cut.
Julian Green, the 18-year-old Bayern Munich reserve player who only earned his first cap with the USA in an April friendly against Mexico, was a surprise inclusion in the final 23.
Seattle Sounders 20-year-old right back DeAndre Yedlin beat out his club teammate Evans, who started several matches at the right back position during World Cup qualifying.
On Monday, May 12 Klinsmann called up 30 players for a camp being held on the campus of Stanford University. But as recently as Wednesday Klinsmann indicated that he didn't "have a specific date in mind" for making the seven cuts.
The USA face Azerbaijan on Tuesday, May 27 (10 pm ET, ESPN2), in the first of three warm-up exhibition matches ahead of the World Cup. Many observers expected Klinsmann to wait until at least one or two of those matches were played before naming his final squad.
2014 USA 23-MAN WORLD CUP ROSTER:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa/England), Tim Howard (Everton/England), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (8): DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla/Mexico), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin/Germany), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/England), Timmy Chandler (Nürnberg/Germany), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim/Germany), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes/France), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg/Norway), Julian Green (Bayern Munich/Germany), Jermaine Jones (Besiktas/Turkey), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Sunderland/England), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar/Netherlands), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
Gutted. At peace tho knowing i did everything i could and made it a tough decision for coaches. All the best to the boys in Brazil #USMNT — Michael Parkhurst (@MFparkhurst) May 22, 2014The Minnesota Timberwolves joined the NBA in 1989 as an expansion team, which means that we have 27 seasons worth of players from which to choose an all-franchise starting five.
Over the Timberwolves’ 27 seasons of existence, the Wolves have not been known for having the best players in the league. In fact, there has only been a grand total of five players to be selected as All-Star teams — none prior to 1996. (Tom Gugliotta was first, followed by Kevin Garnett, Wally Szczerbiak, Sam Cassell, and Kevin Love.)
Minnesota also has only had one player to win the MVP in Kevin Garnett in 2004. He posted 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, and five assists per game.
Minnesota has also had two players win Rookie Of The Year in Andrew Wiggins in 2015 (16.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game) and Karl-Anthony Towns in 2016 (18.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game).
When it comes to Defensive Player and Sixth Man Of The Year, well, the Timberwolves have won exactly zero of those award.
The Timberwolves have also only made the playoffs eight times from 1996-2004, which was the last year in which they made postseason play. The furthest Minnesota has made it was also in 2004, when they lost to the Los Angles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
After setting this list up with some team history, let’s take a stroll through a list of the best players at each position in Timberwolves history.In the lead up to today’s release of the Steve Jobs biography, there’s been an increasing stream of news surrounding its subject. As a business researcher, I was particularly interested in this recent article that referenced from his biography a list of Jobs’s favorite books. There’s one business book on this list, and it “deeply influenced” Jobs. That book is The Innovator’s Dilemma by HBS Professor Clay Christensen.
But what’s most interesting to me isn’t that The Innovator’s Dilemma was on that list. It’s that Jobs solved the conundrum.
When describing his period of exile from Apple — when John Sculley took over — Steve Jobs described one fundamental root cause of Apple’s problems. That was to let profitability outweigh passion: “My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products. The products, not the profits, were the motivation. Sculley flipped these priorities to where the goal was to make money. It’s a subtle difference, but it ends up meaning everything.”
Anyone familiar with Professor Christensen’s work will quickly recognize the same causal mechanism at the heart of the Innovator’s Dilemma: the pursuit of profit. The best professional managers — doing all the right things and following all the best advice — lead their companies all the way to the top of their markets in that pursuit… only to fall straight off the edge of a cliff after getting there.
Which is exactly what had happened to Apple. A string of professional managers had led the company straight off the edge of that cliff. The fall had almost killed the company. It had 90 days working capital on hand when he took over — in other words, Apple was only three months away from bankruptcy.
When he returned, Jobs completely upended the company. There were thousands of layoffs. Scores of products were killed stone dead. He knew the company had to make money to stay alive, but he transitioned the focus of Apple away from profits. Profit was viewed as necessary, but not sufficient, to justify everything Apple did. That attitude resulted in a company that looks entirely different to almost any other modern Fortune 500 company. One striking example: there’s only one person Apple with responsibility for a profit and loss. The CFO. It’s almost the opposite of what is taught in business school. An executive who worked at both Apple and Microsoft described the differences this way: “Microsoft tries to find pockets of unrealized revenue and then figures out what to make. Apple is just the opposite: It thinks of great products, then sells them. Prototypes and demos always come before spreadsheets.”
Similarly, Apple talks a lot about its great people. But make no mistake — they are there only in service of the mission. A headhunter describes it thus: “It is a happy place in that it has true believers. People join and stay because they believe in the mission of the company.” It didn’t matter how great you were, if you couldn’t deliver to that mission — you were out. Jobs’s famous meltdowns upon his return were symptomatic of this. They might have become less frequent in recent years, but if a team couldn’t deliver a great product, they got the treatment. The exec in charge of MobileMe was replaced on the spot, in front of his entire team, after a botched launch. A former Apple product manager described Apple’s attitude like this: “You have the privilege of working for the company that’s making the coolest products in the world. Shut up and do your job, and you might get to stay.”
Everything — the business, the people — are subservient to the mission: building great products. And rather than listening to, or asking their customers what they wanted; Apple would solve problems customers didn’t know they had with products they didn’t even realize they wanted.
By taking this approach, Apple bent all the rules of disruption. To disrupt yourself, for example, Professor Christensen’s research would typically prescribe setting up a separate company that eventually goes on to defeat the parent. It’s incredibly hard to do this successfully; Dayton Dry Goods pulled it off with Target. IBM managed to do it with the transition from mainframes to PCs, by firewalling the businesses in entirely different geographies. Either way, the number of companies that have successfully managed to do it is a very, very short list. And yet Apple’s doing it to itself right now with the utmost of ease. Here’s new CEO Tim Cook, on the iPad disrupting the Mac business: “Yes, I think there is some cannibalization… the iPad team works on making their product the best. Same with the Mac team.” It’s almost unheard of to be able to manage disruption like this.
They can do it because Apple hasn’t optimized its organization to maximize profit. Instead, it has made the creation of value for customers its priority. When you do this, the fear of cannibalization or disruption of one’s self just melts away. In fact, when your mission is based around creating customer value, around creating great products, cannibalization and disruption aren’t “bad things” to be avoided. They’re things you actually strive for — because they let you improve the outcome for your customer.
When I first learned about the theory of disruption, what amazed me was its predictive power; you could look into the future with impressive clarity. And yet, there was a consistent anomaly. That one dark spot on Professor Christensen’s prescience was always his predictions on Apple. I had the opportunity to talk about it with him subsequently, and I remember him telling me: “There’s just something different about those guys. They’re freaks.” Well, he was right. With the release of Jobs’s biography, we now know for sure why. Jobs was profoundly influenced by the Innovator’s Dilemma — he saw the company he created |
is to find a way of allowing — I always say the sub-conscious writer — but allowing the ideas that are floating around looking for a place to settle, find a way of switching off sufficiently to allow them to do so. That’s why, and I’m not the only person to say it, you often get ideas when you’re driving a car, because various parts of your mind are actually taken up with the job in hand, which actually means that something comes through from the back. Listening to music can do the same sort of thing.
In fact, it boils down to what I always tell kids, if you want to be a writer, try and do something else. A., because you should try and look for an alternative means of making a living, and B., because no one ever went straight from school into “being a writer”, I mean, that’s ridiculous. You should get a life, fill yourself up, and you start to overflow. But also sometimes you have to fool yourself to allow the ideas to come through. That’s why I mow the lawn. I’ve got a big lawn, it’s one of the shortest lawns in Yorkshire. I’ve got a ride-on mower, and I sit on there with my hat singing American revivalist hymns at the top of my voice, because no one can hear me. I often get the ideas, because everything’s switched off, and it’s noisy. That’s why kids do their homework in front of the television. Kids do their homework in front of the television because it actually provides white noise, to allow things to happen. I often write with music on.
Back to the Johnny books — and I have to say that I read Johnny and the Dead just yesterday, and I think it’s one of the finest kids’ books I’ve read in a long time. I just think it’s wonderful…
It’s up for a Carnegie, but it won’t get it.
Because it’s funny?
Yes, it’s partly that, but also because I’m, how can I put it. This is the second one I’ve had for that award…
What else was up? Truckers?
Truckers. And Truckers was up for the Smarties award. Johnny and the Dead’s won a couple of awards. No, Johnny and the Dead’s won one award, the Writer’s Guild award. That was very nice, because it’s actually fellow writers. Because I have a small suspicion that in the UK I am thought of to be personally politically incorrect, even if I sit there being absolutely quiet, and saying the right things, people say, “Yes, but he’s thinking politically incorrect thoughts. He’s not really a proper children’s writer, you can see, inside. He might be sitting there, but any minute if we’re not careful he’s going to do something.”
The whole argument I think is really unfortunate, because of course it’s good to be nice to people regardless of whether they’re one thing or another, but when it starts restricting people’s creativity…
Well, I don’t mean it like that. I use the term “dirndl mafia”, with whom I have sort of love-hate thing. I think it’s really great that around the world there are people, probably like yourself, there’s this loose association of librarians, and teachers and the adults involved in the book business who are keeping the guttering flame alive, usually in the face of total media disinterest. When you think books for kids in the UK get in the mainstream newspapers get minimal reviews, and there’s usually a little teddy bear at the top of the page to show that it’s not really that important. Given the vast forces ranged against them, I’m just incredibly gratified that there’s anyone out there doing that kind of job. The fact that they sometimes annoy me is almost a minor consideration.
It’s a very vexed issue at the moment, isn’t it. Anyway, back to Johnny. The Johnny books are more in the realist mode, and again, this is broad generalisation…
I think they are exactly in the realist mode if you are about 12 years old.
They also deal — now, I think that all your books have serious ideas lurking around — but I think you’ve brought them more to the front in the Johnny books. Do you agree? What prompted the change of approach anyway to a more realist mode, was it just that’s what the story needed?
That was what the story needed. I’m quite viciously straightforward about that. I couldn’t have written — Johnny and the Dead had to be set in a world which appeared to be the real world to have the effect it could. on Discworld, in Ankh-Morpork, the dead have a perfectly everyday role to play in the normal civilisation. Your milk may well be delivered by a zombie. As I say, in Ankh-Morpork, the fact that I have the classical races of horror and fantasy actually playing roles as citizens has its own pleasant connotations. The fact that your local butcher might be a vampire has no more or less comment than him being a Muslim. So there had to be a framework of conventional reality for both those books to work. In Only You…, for example, I actually was up late working when the Gulf War started, and I was also aware of how much an effect it had on kids, that despite apparently being inured by years of video games and Schwarzenegger movies, this is a real war, and they seem to understand it was a real war, more than adults did. They were actually afraid it was going to happen here, maybe because they were a bit locationally challenged, as far as the Gulf was concerned. And the thing that triggered Only You… was that I was having all the normal wishy-washy things that it’s not a nice idea to say “wow, look we can drop this bomb straight down this chimney” because 38 people you might like if you’d met in person have been laminated against the walls inside, but we don’t want to show you that, we’re going to show you the video. And then there was an interview, I think it was by CNN, with two pilots who’d just come back from over-flying the desert, and they were Americans. If the Brits had been interviewed it would have been “well, yes it was very regrettable, but yes, it was a successful flight.” Because we’ve learned the stiff upper lip. But these Americans pilots come out like “Woh, it’s like a turkey shoot out there, we really kicked some butt, it’s like shootin’ cockroaches.” Everyone was raising their hands in horror, and I watched this and a lot of people were saying how disgusting it was, to show this, and I thought, “They’re soldiers.” And despite the fact that there was more or less air supremacy, I mean there were ak-ak guns, and they’d been doing what civilisation had been very specifically training them to do for years, and at any moment when they were out there there could have been a bang and their manhood could have gone past their face on a little column of white-hot metal, and they were at least sub-consciously aware of that. And when they came back, they were drunk, they were drunk with relief and testosterone, as soldiers always are after a battle. The only difference is that, after the Trojan wars or whatever, we never saw it television. And I thought it’s silly, I mean, what do you think soldiers are like? They’re humans, they come back and they’re safe, and that’s why in the book there’s a scene where all the kids in the class are discussing it, they’re all taking a view, and Johnny says, “Look, it’s more complicated than that. When they go up there they’re soldiers who might be dying. It’s just a whole lot more complicated than you think.” That’s what war is, it isn’t so nicely clean-cut. And all these things sort of came together, and I thought I can do this in a children’s book, because children seem to be involved in all that. Children all seem to live between video games and video war very readily.
_UPDATE: CMPD has released the full length body and dash cam footage in the Keith Lamont Scott shooting investigation. WARNING: Viewer discretion is advised.
Full length video can be found below:
Edited videos can be found below:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — CMPD has released the body and dash cam footage in the Keith Lamont Scott shooting investigation. The video was released days after protesters demanded that the footage be made public.
Scott’s wife released cell phone footage she captured in the moments leading up to the shooting on Friday. That video can be seen HERE.
Complete coverage of the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott and the protests following his death can be viewed HERE.
The shooting was reported Tuesday afternoon just before 4pm on Old Concord Road near Bonnie Lane and John Kirk Drive.
Police say officers with the Metro Division Crime Reduction Unit were searching for a suspect with an outstanding warrant on him at The Village at College Downs.
Officers say during that search they noticed a subject, later identified as Keith Lamont Scott, inside a vehicle in the apartment complex. Scott exited the vehicle armed with a firearm, according to police. Officers say Scott got back into the vehicle and then the officers started to approach him.
That’s when police say Scott got back out of the vehicle armed with a firearm and posed an imminent deadly threat to the officers who subsequently fired their weapon striking Scott. The officers immediately requested MEDIC and began performing CPR, according to a news release.
Scott was pronounced dead on the scene.After the barrage of sad tales about depression caused by indies turning into millionaires overnight, allow us to raise your spirits with a story about the liberating and energizing effects of complete commercial failure.
Having a sale is fun. Many people get to play your games who normally wouldn’t and you receive a lot of positive feedback. But of course that’s not the reason for having a sale. The reason is always a need for money. And in our current economy, money tends to be collected from large amounts of tiny sources. It was a desperate move for us. An attempt to pay the debts caused by the production of Sunset and stay afloat while we figure out what to do with the rest of our lives.
Reaching out
In its 12 year existence Tale of Tales has always teetered on the edge of sustainability, combining art grants and commercial revenue to fund our exploration of video games as an expressive medium. We considered it spreading our dependencies. And that was fine, because we assumed this situation to be stable. All we really wanted was the opportunity to create.
Our desire to reach a wider audience was not motivated by a need for money but by a feeling of moral obligation. We felt we had to at least try to reach as many people as possible. To make the world a better place through the sharing of art as videogames, you know.
The drying up of funding for artistic videogames in Belgium (an issue beyond the scope of this article) did make satisfying this desire more urgent. No problem, we thought. This is an opportune moment. Several games with similarities to our own have been greatly successful. Some of their creators openly admit to be inspired by our work. So we studied theirs and figured out how to make our next project more accessible. At least more accessible to people who actually play and buy games (the others, we decided, can just go to hell for the moment since they apparently didn’t care as much about us as we do about them).
Nevertheless, even within Sunset’s carefully constructed context of conventional controls, three-act story and well defined activities, we deeply enjoyed the exploration of themes, the creation of atmosphere, the development of characters, and so on. Abandoning some of our more extreme artistic ambitions actually made work easier and more enjoyable. And that’s when we should have realized that we were on the wrong path. Because whatever we enjoy is never, ever, what the gaming masses enjoy.
Numbers
We hate the idea of viewing our audience as numbers in statistics. Way back in the nineties we embraced the internet as the distribution channel for art precisely for the opposite reason: to get away from impersonal mass-market broadcasting and to establish a two-way relationship with the people who enjoy our work. And that still exists, and is lovely. But we knew all along that the small number of people we can reach and have that relationship with would not be sufficient to sustain our work. So if you talk with us on twitter, hello, we love you, but we needed to reach beyond you. Into the land of big numbers.
In the end, we spent more money than we had on the production of Sunset. Because we wanted to make it really good and reach a wider audience. Compared to the ambitions we had for the game, the extra $40,000 seemed like a relatively small sum. “Surely we can make that amount back in the first month of sales!”
We were wrong.
So far a little over 4,000 copies of Sunset have changed hands. That includes the copies for our backers on Kickstarter. That includes the sale. There’s barely enough income to keep our company going while we look for ways to raise the funds to pay back our debts.
It’s hard to deal with this intense feeling of disappointment in a context of glowing reviews and compliments and encouragement from players. A small group of people clearly deeply appreciates what we do and we curse the economic system that doesn’t allow us to be pleased with that.
Being wrong will set you free
We studied successful games and applied our findings to the design of Sunset. And while the inclusion of certain conventions seems to have helped some people enjoy the game, it didn’t affect the size of our audience much.
We spent a lot of money on a PR company who got us plenty of press, took some work and worries off our shoulders, and found us other marketing opportunities. But it didn’t help sales one bit.
We even took out an advertisement on Rock, Paper, Shotgun, where we figured the people most interested in Sunset would be gathered. They must all use AdBlock because that had no effect whatsoever.
We worked hard on presenting a gentler Tale of Tales to the public. Which basically meant that Michaël was forbidden to talk in public and Auriea often just smiled at the camera, parroting words whispered in her ears by communication coaches. Didn’t make a difference.
So now we are free. We don’t have to take advice from anybody anymore. We were wrong. Everybody whom we consulted with on Sunset was wrong.
We are happy and proud that we have tried to make a “game for gamers.” We really did our best with Sunset, our very best. And we failed. So that’s one thing we never need to do again. Creativity still burns wildly in our hearts but we don’t think we will be making videogames after this. And if we do, definitely not commercial ones.
— Michaël Samyn & Auriea Harvey.
You can support and encourage us by simply buying our games (for yourself or a friend). Or by supporting Auriea’s Patreon or Michaël’s. Thank you.SketchUp users have never been shy about giving us feedback -- and that's great. In fact, we’re always encouraging people to tell us what they’d like to see improved in our products. When we launched SketchUp Mobile Viewer last year, we received surprisingly concentrated feedback. Folks wanted to open SketchUp files from any cloud service; they wanted more model viewing capabilities; and they wanted to use the app on their phones too.
Today, we’re happy to share that our latest update to SketchUp Mobile Viewer on the iTunes and Play stores makes all of these things (and a whole lot more) possible. Let’s take a quick tour of the new SketchUp Mobile Viewer.
Available on phones, and a whole bunch of languages…
First things first: today, SketchUp Mobile Viewer is compatible with select iPhone and Android smartphones (you’ll want to check for compatibility). We’ve also translated the app in 13 languages.
Open models from Dropbox and Email Apps
Probably the most requested improvement for SketchUp Mobile Viewer has been the ability to open models stored in Dropbox or attached to emails. We’re happy to say that in addition to allowing users to sign in to their 3D Warehouse account, the app’s new cloud menu includes options for signing into Dropbox and Trimble Connect accounts as well.
You can also open.skp files in the SketchUp Mobile Viewer directly from any other app. For example, if you want to open a SketchUp model attachment from your email app, or if you want to open a SketchUp model from your Google Drive or Box app, just tap on the file and select SketchUp Mobile Viewer as the default app for opening.skp’s.
We’ve also added the ability to copy.skp files directly to the app via iTunes (iOS only) or via an SD card (Android only).
SketchUp Mobile Viewer, now with even more SketchUppy stuff!
In this update, we’ve taken some big steps towards making mobile models look and feel more like they do in SketchUp. In particular, we’re excited to have taken a first crack at bringing Styles to mobile screens with added support for SketchUp’s standard Face Styles: WireFrame, Hidden Line, Shaded, Shaded Textures, and Monochrome, along with a toggle for XRay mode.
Since viewing models is pretty crucial to a model viewing app, we also made sure to beef up the camera options and controls. Notably, we’ve added an Orthographic camera mode to the app. So with the right configuration of standard views and visible layers, you can now more easily create plans and elevations on the fly.
You’ll also notice that when the camera is in Perspective mode, a Field of View slider lets you control how much of your model is visible. We think you’ll find this especially handy for visualizing interior spaces. We’ve even tossed in SketchUp’s Look-around camera tool so that you can explore your field of view without accidentally orbiting into a wall.
We love that our users have high expectations for how SketchUp should behave on their devices. We may be a laid-back, piñata-clobberin’ crew from Boulder, Colorado, but your expectations for SketchUp are ours too. Thanks for all the feedback on our first version of SketchUp Mobile Viewer -- if you haven’t already, we hope you’ll add this app to your home screen, load up your SketchUp models, and tell us what you thinkIs India going to miss the bus yet again? I asked myself this question many times last week in Davos as the mightiest of our business leaders wandered about with doleful expressions because of the almost total absence of India in the conversations the world is currently having.
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There were as many Indian participants at this year’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum as there were Chinese, but nobody noticed India at all. More depressing still was that Xi Jinping was greeted by this gathering of the rich and powerful as if he were the emperor of the world.
While listening to his excellent speech, I marvelled at the irony of a Communist dictator being kowtowed to by people who believe in democracy and free markets. These do not exist in China. They do in India, but no Indian leader has ever attracted the kind of attention the Chinese President did. Why? When I asked myself this question, images of China’s modern highways, superfast trains and orderly cities rose in my head and the answer became evident.
China realised in the Seventies that central planning and Marxist economics would not bring prosperity. So it changed course. India did not change course till 15 years later when P V Narasimha Rao began to dismantle the licence raj. He did this slyly without telling people why change was necessary. This stealthy approach to economic reform has unfortunately been copied by every prime minister since then. Most Indians continue to be fooled by rubbish about how the rich have stolen money and resources that belong to the poor. So in a truly tragic way we remain mired in an economic time warp.
Narendra Modi began what seemed like a process of real reform by abolishing the Planning Commission, but he did this without explaining why it had become an anachronism. Not only did ordinary Indians not understand what the disappearance of this symbol of central planning meant but even Narendra Modi’s ministers seemed not to see the NITI Aayog as a new idea. Modi should have not just explained this reform but also explained why India had to open her economy to change and private investment.
If in his conversations with ordinary people on Mann ki Baat he had asked whether government should be running businesses or concentrating on governance, it is hard to think of any Indian who would not have agreed that the government had no business to be in business. Modi himself said this often in those early months of his tenure when he travelled the world asking overseas Indians to put their faith and their money in India. So what changed?
When did he change from being a dedicated economic reformer to suddenly becoming Robin Hood? If he talks to ordinary people, he will discover that the main reason why there has been huge popular support for the currency withdrawal is because they believe that money taken from the rich will be put in the bank accounts of the poorest Indians. Modi has himself taken to talking about how the money of the poor has been looted by corrupt people, lending dangerous credence to these rumours. Has he noticed yet how much damage the hysteria over black money has caused? Has he noticed that since he took office there has been almost no major foreign investment in new projects?
In the main bazaar in Davos, I spotted a sign for Make in India and it reminded me once more of the bus India could be missing again. Inside the conference halls of the World Economic Forum nearly all conversations were about the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the consequences of digitisation on jobs and businesses. The great manufacturing opportunities that China benefited so cleverly from 20 years ago now no longer exist. Besides, making in India will only become possible when our transport systems improve dramatically. The money needed for modernising India’s infrastructure is huge. Can the government find it without private investment?
Since demonetisation, Modi has urged Indians to accept that the world has changed and that they will have to learn to use digital systems of banking and commerce. He is absolutely right. But once more India fails when it comes to the infrastructure needed for us to become participants in this Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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If India misses the bus once more, it will be a long, long time before we are able to catch the next one because buses are moving much faster today than ever before and they are travelling on highways that we could not have imagined even five years ago. A session on solar cell technology in Davos and another on the use of holograms in medical science made me feel I had come from another planet. The world is no longer what it was but alas India is exactly as she was.For any strips with families, and certainly for any that feature kids in starring roles, back-to-school cartoons are one of those tiresome annual required arcs, most of which can be safely ignored, except that then you'd miss a headspinner like today's Agnes.
Much of what makes this work is that it uses the concept of back-to-school without getting tangled up in the mandatory gags. There's a huge difference between acknowledging that kids are going back to school and getting into stereotype-lockstep with those insulting Staples commercials (which I haven't seen in a while, thank goodness) in which children are depressed over the prospect of returning to the classroom while parents celebrating getting rid of the brats.
I won't pretend this is a "poll," but we asked the kids who visit a web site I work with how they felt about back to school. Ten percent chose "My life is over" and another 27 percent picked "Living for the Weekend," but the rest were split between "Summer can be kind of boring" and "There's homework but I'll have plenty of free time." And that seems about right to me.
For my part, I didn't like class all that much as a kid, but I liked being back at school where my friends were, while, when I became a parent, I missed having the kids around after they went back to school. The cliches didn't hold at either end.
But none of this pontificating and projecting has much bearing on Agnes, whose existence is so surreal as to start off the chart and go in random directions from there.
I think I feel about Agnes the way other people feel about "Zippy the Pinhead" or "Hark! A Vagrant!" neither of which I quite get. That is, I understand what they're saying, I catch the references, but it doesn't resonate for me, and they are all strips where, if it doesn't resonate, it ain't happenin', but, if it does, it's as blissful as an abode with Plumtree's Potted Meat.
What the three strips have in common is that they feature references that, much of the time, are amusing enough to be pleasurable but then, more often than chance would dictate, offer up a nugget that is fabulous.
I suspect, however, that it is a rare person who finds equal fabulosity in the gems of each of those three strips. Not a value judgment, simply an observation.
In this case, the gem is the "well, of course" epiphany that these little girls, insightful as they are in their own universe, are utterly indifferent to the pop culture references of another generation, even one that has barely reached maturity itself.
Not "hostile" to them, and not even engaged enough to be "puzzled" by them, but, rather, completely untouched and indifferent to them.
Trout is only mildly curious about sorting out which of the loveable mop-tops was Bailey. It does not matter to her in the least, except maybe as a sort of $100-level Jeopardy question. I give Agnes credit for even knowing who the "Power Rangers" were, except that it's likely that the lunchbox -- excuse me, the "lunch loader" -- has the words "Power Rangers" written on it.
And I have always adored the way Agnes and Trout accept the economic limits of their world. It reminds me of a story my grandfather told of being a young fellow not much older than these two, and lying on his back in the yard of friend in turn-of-the-century Ironwood, Michigan, a not-so-fashionable mining town on the Upper Peninsula, looking up at the sky and talking about the future.
He said something about growing up and leaving, and his friend asked, in some astonishment, "You'd leave this?"
My grandfather said he raised his head and looked around at the nearly grass-less red iron dirt of the yard, and back at the house, paint-free from the constant scouring of wind-swept sand, and said, "Yes."
Similarly, Agnes plans to get out one day, but Trout is more not so much "resigned to her fate" as simply comfortable with what she's been given, and, if she's more practical than Agnes, she's also less ambitious, the difference between "more practical" and "less ambitious" being, in the majority of cases, a distinction without a difference.
And yet, for all her impatience with the limitations of her reality, Agnes loves her grandmother and accepts that yard sale items are part of life, and that your grandmother isn't expected to quite get what it is you know and care about.
So anyway.
So, anyway, while there are some cartoonists who would probably do better crafting comics for Agnes's grandmother than they would writing them for her or for Trout, there are also those who aren't aiming for either demographic, and that's fine, too.
I doubt, for instance, that Agnes, Trout or Grandma would have a clue about today's "That Is Priceless," but it made me giggle.Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer made a surprise appearance at the 2017 Emmy Awards, pushing Melissa McCarthy's famous Saturday Night Live faux podium out from backstage to help Stephen Colbert embellish the evening's viewership numbers.
"This will be the largest audience to witness the Emmys, period — both in person and around the world," Spicer said, before disappearing as quickly as he popped up, a reference to his first press conference where he valiantly defended President Donald Trump's contention that his Inauguration audience was the largest in history.
"Melissa McCarthy everybody. Give it up," Colbert said, jokingly referring to the actress who played Sean Spicer on SNL.
Spicer was clearly poking a little fun at himself — a quick moment of bipartisan humor in what would otherwise be a liberal-dominated night — and the audience loved it, giving Spicer a raucous round of applause for his ten seconds on stage. Certainly it reinforced the "reality show" quality the Trump Administration seems to have embraced, but hey, everyone needs to have a little fun sometimes.
Not everyone was happy to see Sean Spicer out and about, and not cowering in his home, fearful and ashamed of Hollywood leftists. In fact, left-leaning Twitter nearly lost their marbles the moment Sean Spicer appeared from offstage. Calling him a "liar" and branding the joke an attempt at "normalizing" the "criminal" Trump Administration, traumatized leftists melted down across social media.
Journalists were angry.
Power is all about who gets forgiven. Who gets fresh starts. — Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 18, 2017
Power is all about who gets forgiven. Who gets fresh starts. — Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 18, 2017
The degree to which Sean Spicer has faced no consequences is a glimpse into the post-Trump future. — Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) September 18, 2017
Sean Spicer lied for MONTHSSSS and now he's up there on the #Emmys stage. pic.twitter.com/artgntiOH0 — Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 18, 2017
But uninvited actors were even angrier.
.@seanspicer can normalize himself in good fun, but he still passionately advocated against human rights, health care, & American values — Kal Penn (@kalpenn) September 18, 2017
Steve Bannon got a 60 Minutes feature & Sean Spicer got an #Emmys cameo, but Hillary Clinton needs to "shut up & go away"? Mmkay. — Sarah Lerner (@SarahLerner) September 18, 2017
Sean Spicer is not allowed to be funny, you guys. He's not. He shouldn't be allowed to be in public. He should be in jail. Also probably unemployed. Maybe shunned. Can we put him on his own island? Please don't laugh at him. He's not allowed to be funny. Stop normalizing his abuse, don't you understand?
The good news for Sean Spicer, of course, is that his doppleganger, Melissa McCarthy, at least, enjoyed the bit.As production prep gears on the first Star Wars spin-off film Rogue One, we are beginning to learn about new creative talent who will be part of the team. The latest bit of info tells us who to expect as the Star Wars Rogue One composer — and it isn’t Star Wars franchise composer John Williams. Details after the jump.
Academy Award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat will compose the score for Star Wars Rogue One. The composer just won his first Oscar for Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, although he was also nominated this year for his work on The Imitation Game. His credits include Argo, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The King’s Speech, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Queen and Zero Dark Thirty.
Star Wars franchise composer John Williams will not be composing the score for the Star Wars spin-offs I don’t think anyone really expected Williams to compose the music for the new Skywalker saga episodes and also the standalone Star Wars films, as that would add another film each year on to his workload (which has been gearing down in recent years).
Desplat apparently dropped the news in an interview with French website Radio Classique (via MakingSW):
@MakingStarWars He says it around 56.13. Just in case you want to make a post about it, I have seen no reports of it so far. — Violinthief (@Violinthief) March 15, 2015
A French-speaking Twitter user translated the mention as follows:
“We (Gareth Edwards and I) will make another movie together very very soon, which is a Star Wars spin-off.”
Desplat joins an already all-star team. What we knew already:
Rogue One was written by Gary Whitta (Book of Eli) with a rewrite by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Chris Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz), based on a story by Industrial Light and Magic chief creative officer and effects legend John Knoll.
(Book of Eli) with a rewrite by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz), based on a story by Industrial Light and Magic chief creative officer and effects legend. The film titled Rogue One will be directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Monsters).
will be directed by (Godzilla, Monsters). Academy Award-nominated actress Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) will have a starring role in the spin-off film.
(The Theory of Everything) will have a starring role in the spin-off film. Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty, Let Me In) will be the film’s cinematographer.
(Zero Dark Thirty, Let Me In) will be the film’s cinematographer. And the many producers: John Knoll will executive produce along with Simon Emanuel (The Dark Knight Rises, Fast & Furious 6) and Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds). Kathleen Kennedy and Tony To (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) are on board to produce and John Swartz (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will co-produce, and J.J. Abrams will serve as executive producer.
To learn more about the first Star Wars spin-off film Rogue One, including what was contained in the first publicly revealed concept art, click here.
The fan made Star Wars Rogue One logo used in the header was created by Michael Cohen.Craft Beer Guild LLC — a Massachusetts beer wholesaler responsible for selling about 200 craft brands from around the U.S. — has agreed to pay more than $2 million for violating state laws that prohibit unfair trade practices and illegal activities, the Boston Globe reported.
In February, after more than 15 months on investigation, the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) handed Craft Beer Guild a 90-day license suspension for offering inducements and unfair discounts in exchange for guaranteed retail placements — a practice known in the beer industry as “pay-to-play.”
In lieu of serving the suspension, Craft Beer Guild agreed to pay a fine equal to 50 percent of its daily gross profit, multiplied by the number of days its license was scheduled to be suspended.
“The Craft Beer Guild offered a letter of compromise to the ABCC and we have accepted that letter of compromise,” an ABCC spokesperson told Brewbound.
The Globe, citing a person familiar with the wholesaler’s operations, said the fine was about $2.6 million. That amount also includes sales made via its “Craft New Hampshire” operation, the ABCC and Craft Beer Guild confirmed.
“Being out of the market for 90 days would have caused upheaval, and we are committed to our customers and our brewer partners,” Tom Schreibel, the company’s vice president of government affairs told Brewbound.
Craft Beer Guild, which has just seven days to pay the fine, has not asked the ABCC for a payment plan, the ABCC spokesperson told Brewbound. Craft Beer Guild could still appeal the state’s decision and petition for the opportunity to make payments in multiple installments, a move Schreibel said was unlikely.
The $2.6 million figure represents the largest fine any Massachusetts alcoholic beverage license holder – brewer, retailer, wholesaler or importer – has ever paid, an ABCC spokesperson confirmed to Brewbound. In 2008, the ABCC slapped Boston Wine Company Ltd. (DBA Winebow Boston) with a 27-month suspension for fraudulently selling products on behalf of an unlicensed importer. Winebow eventually settled with a superior court and agreed to pay $418,000 in fines.
But there’s more at stake than just a hefty fine: breweries that may be unhappy with the company’s performance, and looking to break an agreement, have a difficult time doing so because of strict franchise laws the govern the relationships between the two parties. By paying the fine, however, Craft Beer Guild simultaneously leaves a record of having violated portions Massachusetts’ general law.
That could give some of its suppliers an opportunity to terminate contracts, according to John P. Connell, a Boston-based alcoholic beverage licensing attorney who advises retailer, wholesaler and brewery clients.
“Craft Beer Guild was essentially found responsible for price discrimination violations, which at its core was offering alleged kickbacks to restaurants for only some of its brands and only to some restaurants,” he told Brewbound.
Any beer companies that do not have written contracts with Craft Brewers Guild Brewers “certainly have grounds to terminate or at least have the issue decided by the ABCC,” Connell added.
Even those with contracts could still attempt a break, he said, but the process could take months to resolve in both cases.
“A brewery would be required to offer the distributor six months notice,” he said. “Even if a brewer thinks it has just cause to get out of an agreement, the process is such that the distributor can force continued sales while the matter gets resolved before the ABCC.”
A similar case resolved last month between Constellation Brands and M.S. Walker, Inc. lasted nearly four years, Connell noted.
The ABCC said it is still continuing to investigate issues of pay-to-play and additional charges could still be brought against retailers, producers and other wholesalers.
Five Boston bars already charged with violating state regulations and accepting inducements from Craft Beer Guild were supposed to appear before ABCC commissioners last month but were granted a continuance.
Originally scheduled for Feb. 23, the hearings have been moved to May 3, according to ABCC notices obtained by Brewbound. Poe’s Pub (DBA Estelle’s), Rebel Restaurants (DBA Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill), Northern Avenue Hospitality (DBA Gather), Game On Fenway and Coogan’s could all face fines, suspensions or license revocations.Original Airdate: May 2, 2011
Written & Storyboarded by: Rebecca Sugar & Adam Muto
This is a big one. This is the game-changer for most viewers, as it was for me at the young age of thirteen. The stakes are instantly raised in this episode with the introduction of the Lich as a major villain. We’ve previously seen him in His Hero, but this is the first time we truly get to experience the Lich as a villain. His presence in this episode adds new heightened danger that Finn and Jake aren’t typically used to dealing with, and this time they aren’t just facing a threat to save a single princess or candy person. As Jake acknowledges |
map, going for a marine stim timing, when blue flame hellions from Top hit Polt's bases and leave him with only 9 SCVs remaining. The marine timing does some damage, but still leaves Polt behind 20 SCVs. Top is able to keep attacking with blue flame hellions to take the game.5/5Ingenious move to use his banshee to force expansion SCVs into the main where the blue flame hellions were4/5 it was a neat timing that he was going for, but blue flame hellions are too good against marines.
Game Three: Xel'Naga Caverns -
+ Show Spoiler + Top > Polt
Both players open this game with a fast expand, but Top does a clever little marine blue flame hellion timing that would have killed Polt had he not built a bunker. As the game goes macro, Top goes for the recently popular mech style TvT, focusing on tank, hellion, viking, while MarineKingPrime Polt goes for the MarineKing style. However, Top's positioning is just too good to allow any counter attacking all game long.
The game goes super late, and Polt goes battlecruiser to try and break the tank. Polt stays a base behind Top the entire time, and due to that he never has a viking lead over Top. There are a few epic air to air battles, but Polt is never able to seriously threaten Top's mass viking with a BC-viking mixture. Polt has no way of exerting map control, and is forced to GG.
Polt:
Top: Both players open this game with a fast expand, but Top does a clever little marine blue flame hellion timing that would have killed Polt had he not built a bunker. As the game goes macro, Top goes for the recently popular mech style TvT, focusing on tank, hellion, viking, whilePolt goes for the MarineKing style. However, Top's positioning is just too good to allow any counter attacking all game long.The game goes super late, and Polt goes battlecruiser to try and break the tank. Polt stays a base behind Top the entire time, and due to that he never has a viking lead over Top. There are a few epic air to air battles, but Polt is never able to seriously threaten Top's mass viking with a BC-viking mixture. Polt has no way of exerting map control, and is forced to GG.3/5 Wasn't quite active enough to pull off the MarineKing style5/5 Played the mech style near flawlessly all game long on one of the hardest maps to pull it off on.
Game Four: Terminus RE -
+ Show Spoiler + Polt > Top
The game starts off with some pro gardening tips from our favorite casting duo. Both players go one rax expand with Top going for a mech style and Polt a marine marauder tank style. A combination of harass and superior macro has Top with almost 30 more workers than Polt.
Top tries to do a huge hellion run by but it is denied doing no damage to Polt. Polt goes for a huge counter attack, and manages to pick off 5 out of position siege tanks, tons of workers, and plenty of hellions. After that counter attack, Polt has enough to just straight up attack Top's low tank numbers and take the game.
Polt:
Top:
The game starts off with some pro gardening tips from our favorite casting duo. Both players go one rax expand with Top going for a mech style and Polt a marine marauder tank style. A combination of harass and superior macro has Top with almost 30 more workers than Polt.Top tries to do a huge hellion run by but it is denied doing no damage to Polt. Polt goes for a huge counter attack, and manages to pick off 5 out of position siege tanks, tons of workers, and plenty of hellions. After that counter attack, Polt has enough to just straight up attack Top's low tank numbers and take the game.4/54/5
Game Five: Crossfire SE -
+ Show Spoiler + Polt > Top
Polt does a banshee opener with cloak that puts him 11 SCVs ahead of his opponent right at the beginning of the game. TOP has a chance to do the same with his own banshee, but screws up massively by having his banshee grouped with his defending marines and having it uselessly return to defend his own base after having crossed half the map.
Polt continues with the harassment, and again gives himself a huge worker lead over his opponent, who is managing, through better macro, to keep almost catching back up. Just as Top is finally equalized with Polt in terms of SCVs, Polt gets a huge marine flank and is able to efficiently kill a tons of Top's marines and SCVs. After this engagement, Polt is able to do one final attack and take the game.
Polt:
Great banshee harass but kept falling behind in workers despite the huge lead
Top:
Top almost caught up to Polt several times, despite messing up the first 6 minutes so badly.
Polt does a banshee opener with cloak that puts him 11 SCVs ahead of his opponent right at the beginning of the game. TOP has a chance to do the same with his own banshee, but screws up massively by having his banshee grouped with his defending marines and having it uselessly return to defend his own base after having crossed half the map.Polt continues with the harassment, and again gives himself a huge worker lead over his opponent, who is managing, through better macro, to keep almost catching back up. Just as Top is finally equalized with Polt in terms of SCVs, Polt gets a huge marine flank and is able to efficiently kill a tons of Top's marines and SCVs. After this engagement, Polt is able to do one final attack and take the game.4/5Great banshee harass but kept falling behind in workers despite the huge lead2/5Top almost caught up to Polt several times, despite messing up the first 6 minutes so badly.
by
Game One: Crossfire SE -3.5/5Game Two: Metalopolis -3.5/5Game Three: Dual Sight -4/5Game Four: Xel'Naga Caverns -4/5Game Five: Crevasse -3/5Game One: Bel'Shir Beach -4/5Game Two: Dual Sight -4/5Game Three: Xel'Naga Caverns -4/5Game Four: Terminus RE -4/5Game Five: Crossfire SE -3/5 Semi-final interviews by PlayXP, translated by Phosgene
by WaxAngel
Years ago, we thought that we had discovered Boxer's heir. His name Jung Myung Hoon aka 'Fantasy,' and he was a rising Terran star on Boxer's then team SKT1.
Though a few other prominent Terrans had played on Boxer's team (known over the years as Orion, 4U, and finally SKT1) since the early 2000's, there hadn't been a real need to find a successor while the Emperor was still a force to be reckoned with. But by 2008, a greatly deteriorated Boxer had gone into voluntary exile with the Korean Air Force's e-Sports team, leaving a massive spiritual void in hearts Brood War fans.
Though SKT1 was still one of Brood War's powerhouses with an abundance of talent and history, a large part of its identity was as 'Boxer's Team.' The idea of SKT1 as a formidable team with Boxer at its helm was such a deeply ingrained part of pro-gaming culture that it just felt wrong for things to be any different. And so, fans scrambled to find an heir to force into the royal line, anyone that would restore some semblance of order to the Brood War world.
Fantasy had even less in common with Boxer than his predecessors iloveoov and Midas (who were in their time, discussed as teammates and not heirs), but nonetheless he was shoe-horned in out of necessity. And while the so called "crown prince" proved to be an excellent player, his play style would always show that he was no Boxer (he actively tried to get around using marines, for God's sake!). Once Boxer left for SC II, the idea of succession died down for good, while Brood War fell into another sort of spiritual disarray.
In 2011, when we had stopped looking for an heir, he found us.
Moon Sung Won aka 'MMA' left the ranks of SKT1 to join Boxer's new SC II team, SlayerS. As part of team SlayerS, he immediately proved that he was their most valuable member by playing as the team's anchor in GSTL, defeating many other 'established' SC II pros and delivering two championships to (because SKT1 was always an 'ace by committee' team, Boxer was never their designated ace in team leagues. MMA's accomplishments as the SlayerS Ace are purely personal, no romanticizing here).
There isn't any forced belief, any looking aside while marines get bloodily killed by lurkers, or similar sorts of nonsense. This guy is so much like Boxer, he might as well be Boxer's mental imprint transferred to a younger body.
First, he's obsessed with drops to the point that it becoming a liability. Like Boxer, MMA goes about trying to medivac drop his Zerg opponents not just because it's a good tactic (it is), but because it's something that he can't help doing. Yes, he could use those extra 16 marines and two medivacs to just straight up crush his opponent in a fight, but it that wouldn't be MMA. Boxer knew that while winning was the most important thing, winning with an identity was almost as important. MMA has caught on.
Second, MMA makes instant, accurate marine decision. Everyone loves to compliment Boxer's amazing marine micro, but in large part it was an illusion caused by his incredible judgment. He could see lurkers start to burrow, and in a fraction of a second, know whether or not to engage. You can't hesitate in those situations, because getting caught in the middle ground between fight and flight means certain death.
The margin of error is even smaller against range 13 siege tanks, but MMA handles them perfectly. It looks risky when he charges his marines into a group of tanks beginning to siege up, but it's actually a foregone conclusion. MMA knew the outcome of the battle the moment his opponent pressed "E," and just followed with the logical decsion.
Third, even his character is eerily reminiscent of a young Boxer. Not many people remember this, but before Boxer became the well-groomed and even more well-spoken icon of e-Sports, he was one the shyest, soft-spoken pro-gamers out there. And despite his fame and success, Boxer never gave way to cynicism (no one's left more
While Slayers is trying to bring MMA up to speed on ceremonies and ways to be an engaging pro-gamer outside the game, at heart he's still a kid who's trying to come to terms with his fame. That much was transparent when he stood on the stage after winning the championship at MLG, trying to answer interview questions when the crowd broke into a chant of
So, what's left then for the heir apparent? Oh right, more championships.
One, going on two.
Years ago, we thought that we had discovered Boxer's heir. His name Jung Myung Hoon aka 'Fantasy,' and he was a rising Terran star on Boxer's then team SKT1.Though a few other prominent Terrans had played on Boxer's team (known over the years as Orion, 4U, and finally SKT1) since the early 2000's, there hadn't been a real need to find a successor while the Emperor was still a force to be reckoned with. But by 2008, a greatly deteriorated Boxer had gone into voluntary exile with the Korean Air Force's e-Sports team, leaving a massive spiritual void in hearts Brood War fans.Though SKT1 was still one of Brood War's powerhouses with an abundance of talent and history, a large part of its identity was as 'Boxer's Team.' The idea of SKT1 as a formidable team with Boxer at its helm was such a deeply ingrained part of pro-gaming culture that it just feltfor things to be any different. And so, fans scrambled to find an heir to force into the royal line, anyone that would restore some semblance of order to the Brood War world.Fantasy had even less in common with Boxer than his predecessors iloveoov and Midas (who were in their time, discussed as teammates and not heirs), but nonetheless he was shoe-horned in out of necessity. And while the so called "crown prince" proved to be an excellent player, his play style would always show that he was no Boxer (he actively tried to get around using marines, for God's sake!). Once Boxer left for SC II, the idea of succession died down for good, while Brood War fell into another sort of spiritual disarray.In 2011, when we had stopped looking for an heir, he found us.Moon Sung Won aka 'MMA' left the ranks of SKT1 to join Boxer's new SC II team, SlayerS. As part of team SlayerS, he immediately proved that he was their most valuable member by playing as the team's anchor in GSTL, defeating many other 'established' SC II pros and delivering two championships to (because SKT1 was always an 'ace by committee' team, Boxer was never their designated ace in team leagues. MMA's accomplishments as the SlayerS Ace are purely personal, no romanticizing here).There isn't any forced belief, any looking aside while marines get bloodily killed by lurkers, or similar sorts of nonsense. This guy is so much like Boxer, he might as well be Boxer's mental imprint transferred to a younger body.First, he's obsessed with drops to the point that it becoming a liability. Like Boxer, MMA goes about trying to medivac drop his Zerg opponents not just because it's a good tactic (it is), but because it's something that he can't help doing. Yes, he could use those extra 16 marines and two medivacs to just straight up crush his opponent in a fight, but it that. Boxer knew that while winning was the most important thing, winning with anwas almost as important. MMA has caught on.Second, MMA makes instant, accurate marine decision. Everyone loves to compliment Boxer's amazing marine micro, but in large part it was an illusion caused by his incredible judgment. He could see lurkers start to burrow, and in a fraction of a second, know whether or not to engage. You can't hesitate in those situations, because getting caught in the middle ground between fight and flight means certain death.The margin of error is even smaller against range 13 siege tanks, but MMA handles them perfectly. It looks risky when he charges his marines into a group of tanks beginning to siege up, but it's actually a foregone conclusion. MMA knew the outcome of the battle the moment his opponent pressed "E," and just followed with the logical decsion.Third, even his character is eerily reminiscent of a young Boxer. Not many people remember this, but before Boxer became the well-groomed and even more well-spoken icon of e-Sports, he was one the shyest, soft-spoken pro-gamers out there. And despite his fame and success, Boxer never gave way to cynicism (no one's left more tears on stage ).While Slayers is trying to bring MMA up to speed on ceremonies and ways to be an engaging pro-gamer outside the game, at heart he's still a kid who's trying to come to terms with his fame. That much was transparent when he stood on the stage after winning the championship at MLG, trying to answer interview questions when the crowd broke into a chant of "MMA! MMA!" There, you could pinpoint the precise moment when all rational thought left his head, with only the raw emotion of the situation remaining.So, what's left then for the heir apparent? Oh right, more championships.
I had a great analogy where Boxer is Don Corleone, Fantasy is Sonny, MMA is Michael, and iloveoov is Tom Hagen. Then I realized the cross section of people who watched early 2000's pro BW AND The Godfather is surprisingly small.
by Fionn
Every single time you want him to go down, he doesn't. You think he's about to get knocked out? He fights back. How many times will you have to bet against this guy until he changes your mind? Polt has made his first Grand Final and many of the Team Liquid faithful are looking at him like he doesn't belong. Who the hell does this guy think he is? He was supposed to lose in the first round! Losira was supposed to mop the floor with this guy and fight for the honor of winning the group against Alicia! How the hell did this guy, someone who was a laughing stock of the GSL months ago, get to the final?
There's thousands of reasons why you might hate Polt. Let's go through a few, shall we?
A. He trash talked Jinro months ago before their GSL match, saying that our Swedish Gorilla Terran got lucky by getting into the semifinals two seasons in a row. Polt then promptly got embarrassed by Jinro in their match.
B. He eliminated one of the most popular zergs, Losira, in the first round.
C. He knocked out Team Liquid's Huk in the next round with a resounding 2-0 victory, flexing his TvP muscles.
D. He fell down against the lovable Maka, but then made a comeback to knock him out in decisive fashion.
E. He rolled over one of the most popular protoss, and the only protoss left in the tournament, Alicia, in the most lopsided best-of-five series in GSL history that didn't involve TheBest.
F. He broke thousands of sad Korean fangirls' hearts by defeating TOP in the semifinals.
G. He has a freakishly long neck.
H. He gets to hug and touch MarineKing while you can't.
I. He might take away the OptimusPrime ID that many thought was destined to be MarineKing's.
J. He's the person responsible for the terrible streams at MLG Dallas.
K. He's also the owl in those
Okay, okay, those last two might not be totally 100% factual, but you get the picture. A lot of people (not all, mind you) think that Polt is just another Inca in waiting. He got here just because of one strong match-up (TvP like Inca's PvP) and will get crushed in the final when he can't rely on that anymore.
While it is true that Polt's TvP is probably the best in the world (10-0 all-time in the GSL), he didn't get here just by beating protoss. Unlike his opponent, MMA, who got to the finals by only beating terran, Polt had to go through every single race. He took down one of the best zergs in the world, Losira, and two tough terrans in Maka and TOP. Of course he looked brilliant in his TvP, but his other two match-ups haven't been shabby at all. Nothing like Inca's horrendous PvZ that he showed us in the last final.
When you watch Polt play, you might not get out of your seat like when you watch MMA or MarineKing with the amazing builds they prepare, but you can tell the guy is smart. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He's solid. His decision making is amazing, and he knows what to do in any situation you put him in. He knows how to counter these wonky builds that are thrown at him. He might not always win the battle, but lately, he's the one winning the wars.
MarineKing has been helping Polt for this final. Who better to be your main training partner than the guy who just faced your opponent a few days earlier in a series that could have went either way? The builds that MarineKing probably prepared for the finals if he got there, are now getting passed on to Polt. Can he show us that his bio play is as good as his teammate's? At times this tournament, especially against Maka, it looked like MarineKing was in the booth playing with the micro that Polt was showing.
There is one thing that Polt might have over the king of marines. Polt hasn't tilted. He's the same as MMA in that way. When Polt looked like he was down and out against TOP, losing a gigantic air battle in Game 3 where he went Battlecruisers, and going down 2-1 in the Bo5, a lot of people would have been shaken. Losing a long, intense game that went thirty minutes? Being one game from elimination? That would shake a lot of players. You could see it with MarineKing against MMA. When MMA started making his comeback, MarineKing looked like he was about to throw up.
Polt, instead of falling to the pressure, came back and won the next two games. Even down in Game 4, on the brink of elimination, he made a brilliant decision in sandwiching TOP's mech army with his marauders and checkmating him right there and then. After that, TOP was the one who tilted and let Polt almost kill his entire supply of SCV's with two banshees in the deciding game.
So why should Polt have any chance against MMA? The same MMA who swept MLG Columbus and took down MarineKing in one of the best comebacks in GSL history? He should get crushed! MMA's drops and macro will totally destroy him, right? Polt is a flash in the pan!
Look at Polt's record since Jinro embarrassed him all those months ago. Counting the Champions Trophy Tournaments (where he bested the highly regarded terran, TheStC, twice in both finals), he has an amazing record of 41 wins and 14 losses. Yes, you read that right. He's been on the hottest streak in SC2 for the longest time and it is only now people are realizing how good he is.
Hey, MMA is also on an incredible streak, going 32-9 in both MLG and GSL/GSTL and not dropping a match in that time since losing to Huk in the Up-and-Down matches a month ago. These two are currently the hottest players in the scene. Yeah, yeah, Nestea, MVP and MC might be the best players in the world, but these two are playing out of their minds at the moment. Together, their streaks would be 73 wins and only 23 losses between them. A fifty win difference? Heh, not too bad. Not Flash, but still good.
So when it comes down to it all, can Polt beat MMA? Can Polt become OptimusPrime? Is there an actual possibly that MMA doesn't win the GSL?
In my opinion? Yes, Polt has a good shot at taking this entire tournament and $100,000 prize. Neither player is invincible. In this tournament, it looked like MMA might get knocked out by Lyn in the first round, but MMA did his magic trick where he makes an epic comeback out of nowhere and went through to the next round. I thought Supernova was going to beat MMA in the second round, but Supernova stumbled and another comeback was completed. There are times when MMA looks like he's down and out, but he always rises up again to turn the tide. If Polt can exploit the weak early game play by MMA and not tilt when he makes his routine comeback, he'll win this series. Polt has the skills. Polt has the training partners to win this. He has the drive that he didn't have months ago. If MMA gets too over confident, he will lose. This won't be a walk in the park by any means.
Hey, Polt has been the underdog in almost all his matches this tournament. Look at Liquibet. Most of you thought he would get crushed by Losira, Huk, Alicia and TOP. Why stop betting against him now? Keep on wanting him to go way. This isn't just for himself anymore. This is revenge for taking away MarineKing's chance at getting his first title, MMA. This is for every fan of MarineKing who wanted to see him finally have his moment in the sun. You might have beaten MarineKing, but can you beat MarineKing and Polt as one? If Polt wins this, it'll be a team effort to take down The Son of Boxer and The Emperor, Lim Yo-Hwan.
Haters gonna hate.
So the people who hate Polt, keep hating. The hate makes him stronger. It fuels him. When this final is over, we'll see who was right. Was it just luck and bad play by his opponents that got him here or was he the real deal? Will we see the rise of the true OptimusPrime or the Polt that was a laughing stock of the GSL?
Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: I'll be watching. But will you?
Every single time you want him to go down,. You think he's about to get knocked out?. How many times will you have to bet against this guy until he changes your mind? Polt has made his first Grand Final and many of the Team Liquid faithful are looking at him like he doesn't belong. Who the hell does this guy think he is? He was supposed to lose in the first round! Losira was supposed to mop the floor with this guy and fight for the honor of winning the group against Alicia! How the hell did this guy, someone who was a laughing stock of the GSL months ago, get to the final?There's thousands of reasons why you might hate Polt. Let's go through a few, shall we?He trash talked Jinro months ago before their GSL match, saying that our Swedish Gorilla Terran got lucky by getting into the semifinals two seasons in a row. Polt then promptly got embarrassed by Jinro in their match.He eliminated one of the most popular zergs, Losira, in the first round.He knocked out Team Liquid's Huk in the next round with a resounding 2-0 victory, flexing his TvP muscles.He fell down against the lovable Maka, but then made a comeback to knock him out in decisive fashion.He rolled over one of the most popular protoss, and the only protoss left in the tournament, Alicia, in the most lopsided best-of-five series in GSL history that didn't involve TheBest.He broke thousands of sad Korean fangirls' hearts by defeating TOP in the semifinals.He has a freakishly long neck.He gets to hug and touch MarineKing while you can't.He might take away the OptimusPrime ID that many thought was destined to be MarineKing's.He's the person responsible for the terrible streams at MLG Dallas.He's also the owl in those Tootsie Pop commercials that steals the boy's candy and eats it in front of him.Okay, okay, those last two might not be totally 100% factual, but you get the picture. A lot of people (not all, mind you) think that Polt is just another Inca in waiting. He got here just because of one strong match-up (TvP like Inca's PvP) and will get crushed in the final when he can't rely on that anymore.While it is true that Polt's TvP is probably the best in the world (10-0 all-time in the GSL), he didn't get here just by beating protoss. Unlike his opponent, MMA, who got to the finals by only beating terran, Polt had to go through every single race. He took down one of the best zergs in the world, Losira, and two tough terrans in Maka and TOP. Of course he looked brilliant in his TvP, but his other two match-ups haven't been shabby at all. Nothing like Inca's horrendous PvZ that he showed us in the last final.When you watch Polt play, you might not get out of your seat like when you watch MMA or MarineKing with the amazing builds they prepare, but you can tell the guy is smart. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He's. His decision making is amazing, and he knows what to do in any situation you put him in. He knows how to counter these wonky builds that are thrown at him. He might not always win the battle, but lately, he's the one winning the wars.MarineKing has been helping Polt for this final. Who better to be your main training partner than the guy who just faced your opponent a few days earlier in a series that could have went either way? The builds that MarineKing probably prepared for the finals if he got there, are now getting passed on to Polt. Can he show us that his bio play is as good as his teammate's? At times this tournament, especially against Maka, it looked like MarineKing was in the booth playing with the micro that Polt was showing.There is one thing that Polt might have over the king of marines. Polt hasn't tilted. He's the same as MMA in that way. When Polt looked like he was down and out against TOP, losing a gigantic air battle in Game 3 where he went Battlecruisers, and going down 2-1 in the Bo5, a lot of people would have been shaken. Losing a long, intense game that went thirty minutes? Being one game from elimination? That would shake a lot of players. You could see it with MarineKing against MMA. When MMA started making his comeback, MarineKing looked like he was about to throw up.Polt, instead of falling to the pressure, came back and won the next two games. Even down in Game 4, on the brink of elimination, he made a brilliant decision in sandwiching TOP's mech army with his marauders and checkmating him right there and then. After that, TOP was the one who tilted and let Polt almost kill his entire supply of SCV's with two banshees in the deciding game.So why should Polt have any chance against MMA? The same MMA who swept MLG Columbus and took down MarineKing in one of the best comebacks in GSL history? He should get crushed! MMA's drops and macro will totally destroy him, right? Polt is a flash in the pan!Look at Polt's record since Jinro embarrassed him all those months ago. Counting the Champions Trophy Tournaments (where he bested the highly regarded terran, TheStC, twice in both finals), he has an amazing record ofand. Yes, you read that right. He's been on the hottest streak in SC2 for the longest time and it is only now people are realizing how good he is.Hey, MMA is also on an incredible streak, going 32-9 in both MLG and GSL/GSTL and not dropping a match in that time since losing to Huk in the Up-and-Down matches a month ago. These two are currently the hottest players in the scene. Yeah, yeah, Nestea, MVP and MC might be the best players in the world, but these two are playing out of their minds at the moment. Together, their streaks would be 73 wins and only 23 losses between them. Adifference? Heh, not too bad. Not Flash, but still good.So when it comes down to it all,Can Polt become OptimusPrime? Is there an actual possibly that MMA doesn't win the GSL?In my opinion? Yes, Polt has a good shot at taking this entire tournament and $100,000 prize. Neither player is invincible. In this tournament, it looked like MMA might get knocked out by Lyn in the first round, but MMA did his magic trick where he makes an epic comeback out of nowhere and went through to the next round. I thought Supernova was going to beat MMA in the second round, but Supernova stumbled and another comeback was completed. There are times when MMA looks like he's down and out, but he always rises up again to turn the tide. If Polt can exploit the weak early game play by MMA and not tilt when he makes his routine comeback, he'll win this series. Polt has the skills. Polt has the training partners to win this. He has the drive that he didn't have months ago. If MMA gets too over confident, he will lose. This won't be a walk in the park by any means.Hey, Polt has been the underdog in almost all his matches this tournament. Look at Liquibet. Most of you thought he would get crushed by Losira, Huk, Alicia and TOP. Why stop betting against him now? Keep on wanting him to go way. This isn't just for himself anymore. This is revenge for taking away MarineKing's chance at getting his first title, MMA. This is for every fan of MarineKing who wanted to see him finally have his moment in the sun. You might have beaten MarineKing, but can you beat MarineKing and Polt as one? If Polt wins this, it'll be a team effort to take down The Son of Boxer and The Emperor, Lim Yo-Hwan.So the people who hate Polt, keep hating. The hate makes him stronger. It fuels him. When this final is over, we'll see who was right. Was it just luck and bad play by his opponents that got him here or was he the real deal? Will we see the rise of the true OptimusPrime or the Polt that was a laughing stock of the GSL?Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: I'll be watching.
P.S: You better watch or TheBest will haunt you in your dreams.
Strategies of the Tournament
TvT build orders and strategy trends, as understood through the games of the
Super Tournament
by WaxAngel
Bread and Butter Builds
One Barracks Expansions
[Barracks - Orbital - Command Center]
The "standard" build TvT at present. I would have called it the "gasless" expand,but there have been some variants (listed below) that include a refinery.
The most normal variant is to pump straight SCVs and marines until about 18 population, put down a CC, and immediately get two refineries. It allows for a very safe second orbital, as you can just hole up behind your wall-in against anything immediately dangerous, and once the danger is over you can simply float down to expand. Because double orbitals are so incredibly economically superior to single orbitals, a cheese rush has to do a massive amount of damage to really be worth it. It follows up nicely into anything off its strong economic basis, but has rather late tech as a drawback.
Despite its supposed status as the standard opener, fast expanding was actually slightly LESS popular than tech openings in the Super Tournament. I presume it's because it's been the most popular build on ladder for months, and by now everyone is very used to playing against it. It was the slight variations on this build that were more interesting.
Like, if you expect your opponent to do the normal 1 rax expand, how do you one up him? You get faster tech! So there were some variations that snuck in a refinery, like barracks - gas - orbital - CC, or one very strange instance of a barracks - gas - gas - orbital - CC build. Another version saw MMA try to squeeze in the CC even faster, cutting SCVs and marines at 16/18 population and quickly saving up for his CC.
Followed by:
Lotsa marine medivac tank
The normal TvT army. The maximum amount of firepower you can cram into a small space. However, it was uncommon in the Super Tournament for players to go straight up FE and then directly start playing the macro game. Many players preferred to try some techy, harassing tactics before transitioning into standard macro.
The normal TvT army. The maximum amount of firepower you can cram into a small space. However, it was uncommon in the Super Tournament for players to go straight up FE and then directly start playing the macro game. Many players preferred to try some techy, harassing tactics before transitioning into standard macro. Banshees
With the threat of ravens, vikings, etc, going for late banshees against someone who's already teched tends to be a bad idea. But when the opponent is fast expanding as well, and you don't plan to attack soon (and don't expect to die soon, I should say), it's a pretty good option. Techlab and starport are all things that will be needed later anyway, so basically only the banshee itself is really being invested in.
Unless the defender is really overloading on defense, banshees vs pre-stim marines is a pure micro battle, and plenty of progamers are confident that their micro is better than the opponent's. That opened up the Super Tournament's most popular mini-game "how many range 5 marines can range 6 banshee kill?" Though in the past, players prioritized SCV kills heavily, Super Tournament players seemed to know know how to exploit a low marine count better, and didn't mind going for marine kills on occasion.
Of course, if you're spending too much of your gas on tech crap, there's a timing where your opponent might just kill you with an actual army (see MKP vs MMA game two).
Fast Tech
[Gas - Rax - Factory // Rax - Gas - Factory]
One of the more interesting points this tournament was that Gas - Rax became the more popular build for going factory tech or above, overshadowing the previous standard of Rax - Gas. With players doing more and more 1 rax - fast tech/expansion variants, it was an easy decision for players to be one marine behind and have a faster factory instead.
Given the tendency towards passive early game play, some players opted to cut significant amounts of marines with this already low-defense build, if they thought their scouting indicated a lack of aggression. Of course, they were not always correct, and occasionally 1 rax marines + hellions and other such early pressure proved to be trouble for excessively greedy techers.
Though there were a few 1/1/1 all-ins, most of the time the tech builds were followed up by a fast expansion. In many cases, the techer did enough early damage that by the time his expansion was complete, the game was in a |
and he was glad for the time to regroup his senses and just think for a while, even if he found himself thinking, ‘I should tell Mycroft about this,’ at least once a day. After some serious reflection, which he hated, he found that he agreed with Alice. He had begun to feel something more than friendship for Mycroft after he had found Erin her position at the architect firm, without Lestrade having to ask and without asking for anything in return. Unfortunately, Mycroft was rather good at catching Lestrade at bad times.
“You are discharging yourself against medical advice. Why?”
Lestrade paused from his efforts to pull his sleeve over the bandage on his right arm and sighed, loudly, before he stood up and turned around. His entire arm, from his hand to his bicep, was heavily bandaged. A suspect had pinned his arm between a wall and a skip after hitting him rather pathetically in the back of the knees with a cricket bat and pushing the skip against his arm while he was down. The injury looked far worse than it was, but the A&E doctor had insisted on bandaging the wounds to prevent infection. In reality, it was a series of shallow but long lacerations and a handful of deeper cuts. Lestrade was oddly proud of them. He had managed to subdue the suspect from his ground position, with his arm pinned, before backup arrived. It’s too bad that no one had been in the alley to see it happen because it involved a series of very impressive kicks and some serious core strength. Most of his injuries had been sustained in that sequence, but he got the guy, a particularly violent but not especially intelligent serial killer, so he counted it as a win.
“As it happens, I have a rather important engagement tonight,” Lestrade said through gritted teeth, partly because he was in a bit of pain, but mostly because he really wanted to punch Mycroft in his overly-attractive face.
“I believe serious injury counts as a perfectly good excuse for missing a date, even a first one,” Mycroft retorted, a little more angrily than usual. Mycroft liked to keep his tone even and icy at all times, but there was a definite heat to those words.
“I’m not skipping out of hospital to go on a date,” Lestrade growled. “It’s my daughter’s housewarming party and I’m supposed to be meeting her girlfriend, finally, and I can’t miss it. I can’t! I promised her I would be there.” He began to fumble with the buttons of his shirt, wincing as several of the cuts reopened. Only two had been deep enough to require stitches, the others left to heal naturally. The bleeding had stopped quickly enough the first time, but he could feel the new blood seeping into the bandages.
Mycroft reached forward and carefully pulled his hands away from his buttons, stepping closer so he could do it himself. He buttoned the shirt, leaving the top button undone, and ever-so-gently fixed the collar. Lestrade was certain that he had never before been so aroused by someone putting clothes on him.
“I saw,” Mycroft said, his voice that was usually so controlled reduced to a raw, broken whisper.
“You saw what?” Lestrade asked, whispering in turn.
“I saw the fight. With the murderer, the man who killed those people, the man who did this to you. I saw the fight. You kicked him into the skip until he passed out. I heard you scream in pain as they extracted you.”
“CCTV cameras don’t have sound,” Lestrade stated automatically.
“That’s what you think?” Mycroft asked. His laugh was hollow and made Lestrade’s hair stand on end.
“Why were you watching? Why then? Why are you here now?”
“You,” Mycroft began, pausing to clear his throat. “You wanted to be my friend and I told you something, do you remember?”
“You told me that caring wasn’t an advantage. I told you that you were wrong.”
“You showed me that I was wrong. You gave Sherlock and John a chance to be friends, even though you knew it would mean you would see less of John. You protected John from my interference, you risked your own life and safety to bring someone to justice, even though he never killed anyone you knew. You risked your career by hiding that you knew who killed the cabby. Everything you do, you do because you care, and you are, and always have been, the best man I have ever known. You are better than me, than anyone, so how can caring not be an advantage? Caring is your advantage.”
“Mycroft?” Lestrade asked softly. “Is everything okay?”
“No!” he snapped. “I watched as you were attacked. I saw you bleed.” He drew in a shuddering breath. He wasn’t crying, but there was something so desperate and pained in his eyes that Lestrade had to take that one step forward and bring his arms around him. He ignored the pain of his cuts and tightened his hold. Mycroft was only just taller than he was, but he leant his head against Mycroft’s shoulder, anyway. He rubbed small circles on Mycroft’s back with his left hand, like his sister had done when he was sick as a kid, and waited. Mycroft’s arms came up to pull him to his chest even tighter, and Lestrade could barely breathe, but he didn’t mind. The tightness in Mycroft’s shoulders lifted just slightly and that was worth it. The light brush of lips on the top of his head was unexpected, but not unwelcome. He remembered all too clearly the initial piercing jolt as the murderer pushed the old, mostly-empty skip onto his arm. The feeling of the metal, rusted into sharp edges, digging into his skin and slicing through the thin material of his shirt, the screws and old bolts and crumbling brick cutting deeper and deeper into his hand as he struggled. Most of all, he remembered the overwhelming feeling of being trapped. In that situation, he now knew that he would lash out, he would fight through the pain, and he supposed that was at least one good thing to come out of the experience. It was nice to feel like part of a whole, to feel comforted by someone who wasn’t a relative. It had been a long time since he had felt so safe in another person’s arms.
“Lestrade?” Mycroft murmured softly.
“Mycroft?” he replied, his breath ghosting across Mycroft’s neck.
“I’m sorry,” Mycroft said, exhaling loudly. “I should not have threatened your friend. I shouldn’t have tried to involve myself where I was not wanted. I was worried, yes, but I didn’t realise until much later the reason I actually did it.”
“Why did you do it?”
“I was jealous.”
“Because he is my friend, or because you thought he was my boyfriend?”
“Both,” Mycroft replied, his voice quieter than a whisper. “I wanted to be a good friend to you, the best, but I also wanted more. I wanted both. I still do, I know that now.”
“Why?”
Mycroft laughed. “Because you’re asking that question seriously, because you truly do not know how amazing you are. Because you use semi-colons in text messages, because you cared when no one else did, because you make me laugh and I want to know about your day, because you genuinely want to know about mine, because you yell so beautifully that I want you to be right, even if it means I’m wrong.”
“Stop.”
Mycroft trailed off and Lestrade could feel him retreating, but his arms stayed where they were.
“Would you like to come with me to my daughter’s housewarming?” he asked. “As my date,” he added, in case it wasn’t clear enough.
Mycroft didn’t answer.
“I mean, I know it’s a little intense for a first date, but, I mean, we’ve known each other long enough for it not to be an issue, right? And Erin can be a bit of a handful, but I really think you’d like her, if you met her, and I’m sure she’d like you too,” Lestrade rambled.
“Yes.”
Lestrade wouldn’t say that his daughter’s housewarming party was the best first date he’d ever had. It was awkward and confusing, too many people and too many things for him to be doing all at once. Surprisingly, Penny and Mycroft hit it off fantastically, which endeared him to both Lestrade and his daughter a little more with every interaction. Mycroft may have been overly formal and stilted with Erin, but she didn’t take offense, dragging him around the party and introducing him to her friends and co-workers as “my dad’s brilliant partner”. In Erin’s mind, Lestrade and Mycroft had been dating for at least a month, possibly as long as a year. She was very good with people and their emotions when she bothered to look close enough. Erin had announced to Mycroft that she already knew Lestrade was interested months ago, since she had last had dinner with her father, and Lestrade could see that was the case. Penny was much quieter than Erin, but she was confident and astoundingly clever. She truly loved Erin and actually respected Lestrade, which was a nice change. Although he spent more time that evening talking to people who weren’t Mycroft, they did share a few quiet conversations and some fairly intense eye contact, and that was good enough.
It might have been less awkward if he hadn’t insisted that Erin was not to know about his recent injury, spending the entire evening with his right hand in his coat pocket, trying to look like that was totally normal. She was far too busy with Mycroft and her other guests to notice, but Penny was remarkably more observant.
“You’re hurt,” she said quietly while they were in the kitchen, taking momentary reprieve from the masses.
“Don’t tell Erin.”
“Is it bad?” she asked, instead of automatically agreeing.
“Not really, just cuts and abrasions, mostly, with a couple of deeper lacerations. If I had been shot or stabbed, I certainly would have told her, no matter what the occasion.”
“Okay, I won’t tell her, Penny said, and he sighed in relief. “Until after the party,” she added sternly. He swore.
“Damn. I just don’t need her to worry.”
“She won’t until later, that’s the best I can do.”
“Good enough. I’ll be long gone by the time you get around to mentioning it, I can deal with her protective anger once I’ve rested some.”
She eyed him thoughtfully. “I admit that I’m curious, Mr Lestrade.”
“Just Lestrade,” he corrected. “What are you curious about?”
“Why haven’t you given me the customary ‘if you hurt her, I will do something nasty’ speech?” she asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.
“A few reasons,” he answered easily. “Most importantly, I trust Erin to make a good decision and recognise if she’s made a bad one. She’s old enough to think for herself and I trust her judgement. Also,” he paused, “do you really need me to say the words in order for you to get the message?”
She laughed. “I guess not.”
Lestrade and Mycroft left the party early, but Erin didn’t mind too much as they waved her goodbye and Mycroft guided him out of the room. He was too tired to argue when he was bundled into an unmarked, shiny black car, although he was surprised at their destination. Mycroft’s car took them to the hospital, where Lestrade was taken back to his room and forced to lie down by Mycroft himself. A nurse came in and hooked him back up to the machines and gave him a shot of some sort of antibiotic. Lestrade was battered, cut, and bruised, lying in a supremely uncomfortable hospital bed with wires everywhere. He shouldn’t have been at all comfortable, but he found that with the soothing sound of Mycroft’s breathing and his warm hand in his, sleep came easily.Parveen Negi / India Today Group / Getty Images Repair work in progress near the Dhaula Kuan Metro Station on the Airport Express Line in New Delhi on Aug. 30, 2012
A couple of weeks ago, I tried to convince the world that China isn’t as efficient as many believe. Now I’m about to take on an even more daunting challenge — making the case that India isn’t quite as inefficient as most people insist.
Many of you reading right now are probably having a good laugh. How can India, with its cow-lined roadways and infamously entrenched bureaucracy, even come close to the slick, high-speed railways and directed policymaking of China? Those same people who praise the modern transport and quick decisionmaking of China often go on to criticize India for its miserable infrastructure and plodding reform efforts. India’s fractious democratic political system, the critique goes, compares poorly with China’s more clinical authoritarian regime when it comes to implementing tough economic policies and building necessary roads and airports.
Is the comparison fair? To a great degree, yes. Reform in India has often ebbed and flowed on the unpredictable tides of electoral politics. While villagers in China can get cleared away to build a new road, villagers in India have rights to protect their interests and their land, slowing down the pace of development. India’s overly bureaucratic bureaucracy ties up power projects and other important investments in regulatory knots. Consulting firm McKinsey figures that completing a power plant in India takes about twice as long as in China. In the World Bank’s rankings of countries by ease of doing business, China, at 91, sits well ahead of India, at 132. These hurdles are having a detrimental impact on India’s growth and are big reasons why India’s development has trailed China’s.
(MORE: In Search of a New India)
But the situation in India is improving. I was recently in the New Delhi airport for the first time in three years, and I discovered that the old international terminal, in which I have spent far too many bleary-eyed hours in the middle of the night waiting in interminable lines, has been replaced with a spiffy new one that is every bit as efficient as anything in China. (Just try to ignore the vomit-colored carpeting.) The top policymakers at the national level clearly realize the need to slice through the red tape blocking other projects. New Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is striving to form a multiministerial “national investment board” to fast-track important power projects and other investments held up by the bureaucracy.
Chidambaram has been on a bit of a roll lately. Just when it seemed the current administration of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was too tied up in politics to mount any meaningful reform effort, Chidambaram engineered a flurry of measures over the past two months, which further opened the retail, insurance and airline sectors to foreign investors. The recent reform drive proves a point about Indian democracy as well. Though at times it may seem messy, India’s democratic system has produced a tremendous amount of economic reform over the past 20 years. All it takes is the political will to press forward with the changes, and some effort to build enough consensus to support those changes. China, despite the fact that it is an authoritarian regime, often gets stuck in political paralysis of its own on important reform. There is widespread agreement both inside and outside of China on the sort of reforms the country requires to make growth more sustainable — promoting consumption, improving the financial sector, reining in state enterprises — but the reforms have come only slowly because of opposition from political factions and special interests. India’s reform debates happen on TV and in the newspapers; China’s take place behind closed doors.
(MORE: China’s Century — or India’s?)
That isn’t to say India doesn’t have a ton left to do. As I detail in my contribution to TIME’s recent special issue on India, Chidambaram’s latest reforms need to be just an opening salvo in a much more sustained effort at dismantling the barriers to economic growth and investment. That means reforming the government to make it more responsive to the needs of businesspeople and effective in implementing new policies; further improving infrastructure to bring down the costs of doing business; and much deeper deregulation. Such steps would allow the real strength of India to drive growth higher — the nation’s stellar private businesses. If there is one area in which India is no doubt more efficient than China, it is the corporate sector. Historically, Indian companies are better managed and more profitable than China’s.
If India does become more and more efficient, the potential is enormous. Citigroup economists predicted in a report last year that India, not China, could be the world’s biggest economy by 2050. So instead of complaining about India, maybe businesspeople should bet on its (more efficient) future.
PHOTOS: Nationwide Strike Hits India’s Teeming CitiesFormer Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was found guilty on corruption charges Wednesday by a Naples court, which said he bribed a senator to help weaken the party of his main political opponent, Romano Prodi.
In the culmination of the trial that began in February 2014, Berlusconi was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison for paying then-senator for Italy of Values Sergio De Gregorio 3 million euros to give support to Berlusconi's party, Forza Italia, from 2006 to 2008. De Gregorio took a plea bargain and admitted to taking the money while he was serving as senator, and was handed a 20-month sentence.
Prodi is the only politician who has defeated Berlusconi in prime ministerial elections — in 1996 and 2006. His second victory relied on a slim majority in the Senate, and eventually collapsed in 2008.
Despite the conviction, Berlusconi won't serve his three-year sentence, as the statute of limitations in the case will end before the appeals process ends. Under Italian law, two levels of appeals must be completed before defendants begin serving a sentence. The process could take years, and the statute of limitations will expire in a few months.
The defense argued during the trial there was no proof of any deal between De Gregorio and Berlusconi. "It's a verdict that we contend is shockingly unfair and unjustified," one of his lawyers, Niccolo Ghedini, said after the conviction Wednesday. Berlusconi himself was not in court.The magnitude of the 2013–2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic enabled an unprecedented number of viral mutations to occur over successive human-to-human transmission events, increasing the probability that adaptation to the human host occurred during the outbreak. We investigated one nonsynonymous mutation, Ebola virus (EBOV) glycoprotein (GP) mutant A82V, for its effect on viral infectivity. This mutation, located at the NPC1-binding site on EBOV GP, occurred early in the 2013–2016 outbreak and rose to high frequency. We found that GP-A82V had heightened ability to infect primate cells, including human dendritic cells. The increased infectivity was restricted to cells that have primate-specific NPC1 sequences at the EBOV interface, suggesting that this mutation was indeed an adaptation to the human host. GP-A82V was associated with increased mortality, consistent with the hypothesis that the heightened intrinsic infectivity of GP-A82V contributed to disease severity during the EVD epidemic.
The large number of human-to-human transmissions of EBOV Makona during the 2013–2016 EVD epidemic provided greater opportunity for EBOV to adapt to the human host than in any previous outbreak. As expected for an RNA virus, monitoring over the course of the EVD epidemic revealed mutations throughout the genome of EBOV Makona (). However, except for the mucin-like domain in the glycoprotein (GP), which is under diversifying selection by the host humoral immune system, most of the EBOV genome exhibited purifying selection (). Although most nonsynonymous mutations detected during the epidemic probably had little effect on viral fitness, it is possible that some of these mutations proliferated because they conferred an advantage to the virus. One such candidate is the clade-defining A82V substitution in EBOV Makona GP, which emerged at a time in the epidemic just before the number of EVD cases increased exponentially. This mutation is particularly intriguing because it is located in the receptor-binding domain of EBOV GP. Here we describe our efforts to determine whether GP-A82V conferred a replication advantage to the virus.
Although sociological and epidemiological factors were central to the 2013–2016 epidemic’s unprecedented scale (), researchers have also examined the possibility that genetic changes unique to EBOV Makona played a role. To date, experiments with EBOV Makona have not detected evidence for increased replication phenotypes. Studies in primates and in immunodeficient mice, for example, failed to detect increased virulence with EBOV Makona compared to EBOV Mayinga, the 1976 reference isolate (). Likewise, the EBOV Makona immunomodulatory proteins VP35 and VP24 inhibited interferon signaling to the same extent as the analogous proteins encoded by EBOV from previous outbreaks (). These studies, however, examined only the early reference EBOV Makona isolate from Kissidougou, Guinea (C-15), and did not address possible changes in the virus over the course of the epidemic.
What factors might have led to the emergence of Ebola in West Africa?.
Ebola virus (EBOV) is an enveloped filovirus with a 19-kb, negative-sense, single-stranded RNA genome that causes sporadic outbreaks of lethal hemorrhagic fever in humans (). EBOV was identified as a human pathogen in 1976 (). The high case-fatality rate and self-limited nature of EVD outbreaks suggest that EVD is a zoonosis (). Detection of anti-EBOV antibodies and EBOV RNA in several fruit bat species from central Africa makes them leading candidates for the animal reservoir (). Historically, Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks have been geographically limited and resolved after at most a few hundred cases (). In contrast, the epidemic caused by the EBOV Makona variant was much larger: it began in Guinea in 2013 (), spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia in 2014, and infected more than 28,000 people before it was controlled in 2016 ().
Large serological survey showing cocirculation of Ebola and Marburg viruses in Gabonese bat populations, and a high seroprevalence of both viruses in Rousettus aegyptiacus.
We fit a model that allowed each location to have its own base fatality rate (i.e., its own intercept) and also its own slope for the cumulative cases (cumCases) variable, in order to account for heterogeneity in how locations responded to demand for healthcare. We find that the variability in the data and possibly the relatively small number of observations lead to very broad estimates of the model parameters. While there seem to be differences in base fatality rate between Forecariah and Nzerekore for example, the overlap of confidence intervals precludes definitive conclusions.
To better understand the association between GP-A82V and mortality, we modeled the fatality rates for both the ancestral and GP-A82V genotypes over a range of viral loads (transformed C(t) values) ( Figure 6 F). After correcting for differences in C(t) values, the adjusted odds ratio for GP-A82V remained above 1, but with a wide confidence interval (OR = 2.09, 95% CI [0.94, 4.64]). When we added multiple potential confounding factors, including geographic variation in base fatality rate and access to health care, to the model, they had little effect on the conclusion. We found only modest evidence of geographic variation ( Figure S1 ), while including the cumulative number of EVD cases per region (a proxy for EVD-associated burdens on the health care infrastructure) failed to improve model fit ( Figure S1 ). Taken together, these data suggest an increased risk of death in people infected with GP-A82V, but we cannot rule out that there is no independent effect of the mutation or demonstrate that the association is causal.
We examined associations between viral load (as assessed by C(t) values), risk of death, and GP-82 allele and found that both viral load and possession of GP-A82V were significantly associated with higher mortality. Lower C(t) values (corresponding to higher viral loads) were highly predictive of negative outcome ( Figure 6 C), consistent with previous reports (). GP-A82V-infected individuals had slightly higher viral loads (lower C(t) value, Figure 6 D), but the difference was not statistically significant (Student’s t test: mean A = 20.07, mean V = 19.68, 95% CI for difference in the means [−0.69, 1.44]; p value = 0.49). Infection by virus with GP-A82V was associated with a significantly higher risk of death (raw odds ratio: 2.64, 95% CI [1.29, 5.38]; Figure 6 E).
(F) Depiction of the correlation between GP genotype and mortality, based on results of a binomial generalized linear model using C(t) values and GP genotype as covariates to predict case fatality rates over a range of viral loads (depicted by transformed C(t) values). C(t) values were transformed by subtracting the mean, dividing by two standard deviations and flipping the sign such that the value 0 in the graph corresponds to the average C(t) value and the transformed variable reflects viral load.
Plots in (C) and (D) show mean with the box covering from the second to third quartile (25%–75%) of samples, and the bars marking the 5% and 95% quantiles. Dots represent samples outside of the 95% probability region.
(D) Viral load information (as determined by C(t) values) in individuals infected with EBOV encoding either ancestral or A82V GP. This analysis used all observations for which C(t) values were measured (A82: n = 97; V82: n = 216).
(C) Association between patient viral load (as determined by C(t) values) and EVD-associated mortality. This analysis used all observations for which C(t) values were measured (n = 313).
(A and B) Spatial distribution of GP genotypes for all available EBOV Makona sequencing data (A) or Guinean isolates linked to information regarding clinical outcome and viral load (B). The data included in (B) were used in subsequent modeling analyses.
To determine whether the GP-A82V mutation had detectable effect on viremia or mortality, we obtained EBOV genotype data from 56 locations in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone () where mortality and viral load information was also available. This data recapitulated the skew (82V > 82A) that was seen in EBOV GP genotype prevalence per country depicted in Figure 1 Figure 6 A). Further analysis was restricted to those cases for which data were available regarding all four parameters: viral load, mortality, sampling location, and viral genotype (). All but 15 of these 194 cases occurred in Guinea, so the analysis was further restricted to Guinea, with samples from 19 districts. After paring down the data, geographic differences in the prevalence of viral genotypes remained ( Figure 6 B).
J.R.KugelmanM.R.WileyS.MateJ.T.LadnerB.BeitzelL.FakoliF.TawehK.PrietoJ.W.DiclaroT.Minogue US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases National Institutes of Health Integrated Research Facility–Frederick Ebola Response Team 2014–2015 Monitoring of Ebola virus Makona evolution through establishment of advanced genomic capability in Liberia.
(D and E) NPC1 loop 2 amino acid (D) sequence alignments and (E) target-template homology models of cell species used in this study (rodents, green; other mammals, cyan; Figure 4 ) and bats (purple) compared to primates (orange). Highlighted in (C) are the amino acid differences in loop 2 from the target species compared to the template, humans, and their location compared to the GP-A82V variant.
(B and C) Zoom of the (B) ancestral GP-A82 (blue) and (C) derived GP-V82 (red) variants in relation to proximal amino acid side chains. The distance between R85 and E178 is close enough (i.e., <4 Å) where a salt bridge is possible.
(A) Structural overview of EBOV GP2 (yellow) and cleaved GP (GPcl, light blue) bound to human NPC1 (orange), as experimentally derived by. The EBOV GP-A82V substitution (red) occurs in the α1 helix of proteolytically cleaved GP that interacts with NPC1 loop 2.
Homology modeling was used to examine how EBOV GP-A82V and NPC1 loop 2 domain orthologs from the mammalian species tested here—as well as from bat species that are potential EBOV reservoirs—may alter virus-host interactions ( Figure 5 ). The EBOV GP-A82V mutation is located on the α1 helix that directly interacts with NPC1 loop 2 ( Figure 5 A), though residue 82 is located on the back side of the helix. In terms of how V82 is likely to affect the viral GP, our modeling suggests that the GP-A82V mutation will have little impact on the α1 helix backbone itself. Rather, the additional alkane branches in the side chain of valine compared to alanine may differentially impact neighboring amino acids such as the arginine at residue 85 ( Figures 5 B and 5C). R85 extends into a charged pocket present on the opposite side of the α1 helix to where NPC1 interaction occurs and the nitrogens of the terminal guanidinium group are likely to form ionic interactions with the sidechains of E178, Y109, and the backbone hydroxyl group of A76. On the host side, several amino acid differences in the NPC1 loop 2 domain among mammals are likely to impact filovirus susceptibility in a species-specific manner (). Specifically, a lysine is found at residue 499 in primates while all other species examined possess a non-polar residue here and several species, including mouse and dog, possess a tyrosine at 504 in place of phenylalanine ( Figures 5 D and 5E).
Based on the NPC1 sequence alignments, we anticipated that infections using EBOV GP-A82V variants in non-human primate cells would result in a similar enhancement to that seen in human cells. To test this prediction, we transduced cells from several primate species, as well as carnivores and rodents, with GFP-expressing lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with the EBOV GPs. Indeed, cells from non-human primates were more susceptible to infection by GP-A82V ( Figure 4 C). In contrast, cells from rodents and carnivores showed no difference in infectivity between the ancestral EBOV GP and GP-A82V. These results demonstrate that GP-A82V provides primate-specific enhancement of infectivity.
EBOV interacting loop 2 of NPC1 is almost perfectly conserved in primates ( Figure 4 B). Only two species, the New World monkey Callithrix jacchus and the lemur Microcebus murinus, harbor amino acid differences from those found in human NPC1: K499I in Callithrix jacchus and K499V in Microcebus murinus. Outside of primates, nearly all species have a non-polar amino acid at residue 499, the exception being rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), which have a glutamine. Several species harbor amino acid changes in residue 502. Previous studies have shown that a D-to-F substitution at residue 502 disrupts interaction between EBOV GP and NPC1 in straw colored fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) (), and it is likely that similar substitutions would prevent EBOV infection in killer whales (Orcinus orca), pigs (Sus scrofa), Jamaican fruit bats (Artibeus jamaicensis), and possibly the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus).
Data are means ± SEM (n = 3), with data points representing infections using independent viral stocks.p < 0.01; repeated-measures ANOVA with Dunnett’s post-test comparing to ancestral EBOV GP. See also Table S3
(C) Relative infectivity data for EBOV GP containing the A82V substitution in relation to the ancestral GP in four primate cell lines and five cell lines from other mammalian species.
(B) Alignment of NPC1 sequences in and around the second NPC1 interacting loop from a subset of mammalian species used for (A).
(A) Plot of the amino acid conservation in mammals across the region of NPC1 that interacts with EBOV GP. Shaded regions indicate EBOV-interacting residues of NPC1.
Next, we determined whether GP-A82V was more infectious for cells of any permissive species or whether the increased infectivity was a human-specific adaptation. NPC1 is the main cellular receptor for EBOV (), and the EBOV GP-interacting region of NPC1 has been well defined (). Because the EBOV interacting loop 2 of NPC1 is positioned in close proximity to EBOV GP-82, we assessed species-specific amino acid differences within this portion of NPC1 from 49 mammalian species ( Figures 4 A and 4B, Table S3 ).
Virus-like particles (VLPs) were generated with EBOV VP40-β-lactamase fusion protein and either the ancestral EBOV GP or one of the indicated mutants. U2OS cells were incubated with VLP-containing supernatant for 2 hr at 4°C, then for 2 hr at 37°C, and then loaded with CCF4-AM overnight at 11°C. Cleavage of CCF4-AM was measured using a fluorescent plate reader with 400/30 excitation and 460/40 emission filters. Signal for cleaved CCF4-AM signal for all EBOV GPs was compared to that observed with the ancestral EBOV GP. Data are means ± SEM (n = 6 viral infections) from a representative experiment. ∗ p < 0.05; ∗∗ p < 0.01; ∗∗∗ p < 0.001; N.S. p > 0.05; one-way ANOVA with Burnett’s post-test comparing with ancestral EBOV GP.
The EBOV matrix protein VP40 is sufficient to drive assembly and budding of filamentous virus-like particles (VLPs) from the producer cell plasma membrane (). VP40 is also sufficient for incorporation of EBOV GP into the virion membrane, such that the resulting particles are capable of bona fide receptor-mediated entry into target cell cytoplasm. To facilitate quantitation of EBOV GP-mediated entry, EBOV VP40 fused to β-lactamase was used to generate VLPs. These VLPs were used to infect target cells, and subsequently target cells were loaded with a fluorogenic substrate that is trapped within the target cell cytoplasm. The substrate can be cleaved only if the GP successfully attaches, binds, and triggers fusion, releasing β-lactamase-VP40 into the cytoplasm (). This experimental system does not require transcription of reporter genes, and therefore more directly tests whether the EBOV GP mutants increase the ability of EBOV VP40 cores to enter into the target cell cytoplasm. β-lactamase-containing VLPs bearing ancestral or mutant EBOV GPs were incubated with U2OS target cells, and then cells were loaded with the fluorogenic substrate. GP-A82V- or GP-A82V/T230A-bearing particles exhibited a significant increase in entry as compared with the ancestral EBOV GP ( Figure 3 ). In contrast, a decrease in entry was measured with the T230A and D637G mutant GPs.
Amino acid substitutions introduced into the EBOV GP may alter rates of protein production and processing, protein stability, or protein incorporation into virions. To determine whether any of these properties were changed by the EBOV GP mutants, the amount of ancestral versus mutant GP present in our EBOV GP-pseudotyped lentiviruses was compared. EBOV GP-pseudotyped lentiviruses were enriched by acceleration through a 25% sucrose cushion, and virion-associated proteins were analyzed by western blotting, using polyclonal antiserum against a V5 epitope tag that was appended to the carboxyl terminus of the GP. GP is cleaved by furin into two components, GP1 and GP2, and our western blot showed two distinct bands. One band was 70 kDa, consistent in size with full-length GP, either uncleaved by furin or GP1+GP2 covalently bound by disulfide linkages ( Figure 2 D). The second band was 25 kDa, consistent with the furin-processed GP2 product. GP1 + GP2 band intensity was compared to the intensity of the lentivirion capsid core (p24). All GPs showed equivalent levels of incorporation into particles, indicating that the enhanced infectivity observed in human cells with the GP-A82V-containing EBOV GPs was not due to differences in protein synthesis, processing, or GP incorporation into lentiviral particles.
Dendritic cells (DCs) are targets for EBOV replication in vivo, at both early and later stages of infection (). We therefore looked at the effect of the GP mutants on infection of this critical cell type ( Figure 2 C). Human monocyte-derived DCs were generated from eight blood donors. These cells were challenged with ancestral and with mutant EBOV GP-pseudotyped lentiviral vectors. As compared to the ancestral GP, A82V-containing GPs had significantly enhanced infectivity, while individually the T230A and D637G substitutions either had no effect or had less infectivity.
To determine whether the observed infectivity differences were particular to U2OS cells, similar transductions were performed with HEK293 cells as target cells. In HEK293 cells, a 2-fold increase in infectivity was observed with lentiviral particles pseudotyped with GP-A82V, GP-A82V/T230A, or GP-A82V/T230A/D637G ( Figure 2 B). Once again |
($0.08)
1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
1 cup loosely packed cilantro ($0.50)
1 cup loosely packed parsley ($0.50) Instructions Add the uncooked bulgur to a sauce pot and place it over medium heat. Cook and stir the dry bulgur over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until it smells toasty or nutty, then remove it from the heat. Add two cups of water, stir to combine, place a lid on top, then bring it to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about 12 minutes with the lid in place. Turn the heat off and let the bulgur rest for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid from the pot and fluff the bulgur with a fork. Allow the bulgur to cool (I like to place it in the refrigerator without a lid to cool quickly and dry slightly).
While the bulgur is simmering, preheat the oven to 400ºF. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes into 3/4-inch cubes. Place the cubed sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, then toss the cubes until they are coated with oil. Roast the sweet potatoes in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, give them a stir, then roast for an additional 10 minutes or until they are soft and slightly browned on the edges.
While the sweet potatoes are roasting, prepare the green tahini sauce. Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, and blend until the herbs are in very small pieces and the sauce becomes a light green color. Taste and adjust the salt if needed.
Slice the avocado and jalapeño. Rinse and drain the black beans.
To assemble the bowls, place 3/4-1 cup cooked and cooled bulgur in each bowl. Divide the sweet potatoes, black beans, avocado, and jalapeño even among the bowls. Sprinkle about 1 Tbsp pepitas over each bowl, then drizzle the green tahini sauce over everything. Be generous with the green tahini sauce as it is responsible for much of the flavor in this dish. If meal prepping, keep the green tahini sauce separate until just before serving. Notes *Any grain can be used in place of the bulgur. Just be sure to follow the cooking instructions on the package according to the grain used. Tried this recipe? Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
Step by Step Photos
Begin by cooking your grain so that it has time to cool. I use this bulgur because I love the flavor and texture, and it’s super easy to cook.
Dry toasting your grain before adding the water gives it just a bit more flavor. Add 1 cup dry bulgur to your sauce pot and place it over medium heat. Cook while stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes, or until you begin to smell a toasty or nutty flavor, then remove it from the heat.
Add 2 cups water to the toasted bulgur, place a lid on the pot, then bring it up to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest for about five minutes. Finally, remove the lid and fluff it with a fork (pictured above). Let the bulgur cool. I like to place mine in the refrigerator without a lid to speed up the cooling and to dry it out just slightly.
While the bulgur is simmering, preheat the oven to 400ºF. Peel and dice 2 lbs. sweet potatoes (about 3/4-inch cubes). Place them on a large baking sheet and drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, then toss the cubes until they are coated in oil.
Roast the sweet potatoes in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, give them a stir, then roast for an additional 1o minutes, or until they are soft and slightly browned on the edges.
While the sweet potatoes are roasting, prepare the green tahini sauce. Simply add 1/3 cup tahini, 1/3 cup water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, one clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp salt, and one loosely pack cup each of cilantro leaves and parsley leaves to a food processor or blender. Blend the ingredients until the herbs are in tiny pieces and the sauce has taken on a light green hue. Taste and adjust the salt if needed.
Rinse and drain a 15oz. can of black beans. Slice one avocado and one jalapeño. To assemble the bowls, place about 3/4 to 1 cup bulgur in each of four bowls. Divide the sweet potatoes, black beans, jalapeño, and avocado among the four bowls. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp pepitas on top of each bowl.
I prepared one bowl in an actual bowl to eat for lunch today, and prepped the rest in three resealable containers for the fridge. I’ll be eating these Sweet Potato Grain Bowls cold.
If you are meal prepping for the next few days, keep the green tahini sauce separate until just before serving. Otherwise, drizzle the sauce over each bowl. Be generous with the sauce because that’s where most of your flavor is coming in! The sauce is bright and tangy, but not at all too heavy like cream based sauces.
And then dig in! Every bite has something new. :)Our data provide evidence against the preventing role of prolonged exclusive (but not partial) breastfeeding in AD occurrence and confirm recent results indicating a beneficial role of early weaning in AD.
Early weaning, defined as the introduction of solid foods at 4 or 5 months of age, was inversely related to the risk of AD, with children weaned at 4 months having lower AD risk (OR = 0.41, 95% CI, 0.20–0.87) compared to those exclusively breastfed. Similar results were observed for weaning started at 5 months of age (OR = 0.39, 95% CI, 0.18–0.83). This association persisted when children with and without family history of allergy were considered separately. Prolonged partial breastfeeding (breastmilk plus milk formulas) was not associated with AD. Consistently, the introduction of a high number of different solid foods reduced the risk of AD ( P trend = 0.02 at 4 months of age and P trend = 0.04 at 5 months).
We conducted a matched case–control study on incident physician‐diagnosed AD in early childhood including 451 cases and 451 controls. Data on several factors, including feeding practices, were collected through an interviewer‐administered questionnaire. Odds ratios (OR) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated through logistic regression models, conditioned on study center, age, sex, and period of interview, and adjusted for potential confounders.
Epidemiological data on infant feeding practices and allergic diseases are controversial. The purpose of this study was to explore the association of early weaning with the occurrence of atopic dermatitis (AD).
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a major public health problem, given its high and increasing prevalence in higher‐income countries 1, the substantial impact on the quality of life of both patients and their families 2, and the associated economic burden 3. Moreover, increasing evidence from cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies and experimental data suggests that AD may progress to other allergic phenotypes (‘atopic march’) 4. Thus, any intervention preventing AD would have appreciable public health relevance. Breastfeeding has been considered an important strategy to reduce atopic diseases for many years, the first epidemiological evidence for a protective effect appearing in the mid‐1930s 5. Current prophylactic feeding guidelines to aid allergy prevention recommend exclusive breastfeeding for 4–6 months of life and the introduction of solid food thereafter 6-9. These guidelines were based on results from earlier observational studies, which reported a protective effect of prolonged exclusive breastfeeding on AD and increased risks among infants with early introduction of solid food 10-13, and derived from the theoretical concern that presenting environmental stimulations through the introduction of solid food to an immature mucosal immune system may result in IgE‐mediated sensitization to allergens 14, 15. However, recent studies did not support a favorable role of prolonged breastfeeding in AD 16-21, and some of them suggested that delayed introduction of solid food may even increase the risk of AD 22-24. Most of these recent studies had larger sample size and a more careful control for confounding than previous ones. Another possible explanation of the conflicting findings between earlier and recent studies is related to the decrease in the overall exposure to microbial stimulation in high‐income countries over the last decades, which followed the improvements in household amenities and higher standards of personal hygiene. According to the ‘hygiene hypothesis’, this may increase the risk of atopic diseases and swamp any protective effect of breastfeeding 25. The aim of the present multicenter investigation was to explore the association of different patterns of feeding practice with the occurrence of AD, using data from a case–control study of incident AD in early childhood in Italy, a country from where scanty data are available on this atopic disease 26.
Methods Setting and study population We conducted a case–control study on incident AD between March 2011 and April 2014. Cases and controls were recruited in 10 Italian hospital centers in the northern and central Italy (Table 1). Table 1. Distribution of 451 incident cases of atopic dermatitis and 451 matched controls according to study design and children major characteristics. Italy, 2011–2014 Total N = 902 N (%) Cases N = 451 N (%) Controls N = 451 N (%) Study design characteristics Study center Milano 326 (36.1) 163 (36.1) 163 (36.1) Bergamo 304 (33.7) 152 (33.7) 152 (33.7) Bologna 124 (13.7) 62 (13.7) 62 (13.7) Othera 148 (16.4) 74 (16.4) 74 (16.4) Distance in months between first symptoms and interview 0 63 (14.0) NA 1 93 (20.6) 2 114 (25.3) 3 102 (22.6) 4–5 79 (14.0) Child's characteristics Sex Male 604 (67.0) 302 (67.0) 302 (67.0) Female 298 (33.0) 149 (33.0) 149 (33.0) Age (months) 3 108 (12.0) 51 (11.3) 57 (12.6) 4 128 (14.2) 67 (14.9) 61 (13.5) 5 129 (14.3) 64 (14.2) 65 (14.4) 6 88 (9.8) 44 (9.8) 44 (9.8) 7 66 (7.3) 36 (8.0) 30 (6.7) 8 63 (7.0) 30 (6.7) 33 (7.3) 9 45 (5.0) 21 (4.7) 24 (5.3) 10–11 71 (7.9) 37 (8.2) 34 (7.5) 12–14 73 (8.1) 36 (8.0) 37 (8.2) 15–17 46 (5.1) 24 (5.3) 22 (4.9) 18–19 27 (3.0) 13 (2.9) 14 (3.1) 20–24 58 (6.4) 28 (6.2) 30 (6.7) SCORAD (classification of severity)b Mild (<25) – (Median = 20.1) 31 (6.9) NA Moderate (25–50) – (Median = 39.7) 198 (44.0) Severe (>50) – (Median = 61.7) 221 (49.1) Controls diagnosis Check‐up growth NA 236 (52.3) Dermatologic diagnosisc 154 (34.1) Eye check‐upd 24 (5.3) Vaccinations 17 (3.8) Pelvic echography 1 (0.2) Minor congenital malformations 9 (2.0) Trauma/ingestion of foreign bodies/others 10 (2.2) Cases Of the 504 cases originally included, 10 did not meet inclusion criteria, and 43 were excluded from analysis for matching reasons (absence of controls with same center, period of enrollment, sex, and age). Thus, cases considered were 451 outpatient children aged 3–24 months (302 boys and 149 girls; median age 5 months) for whom a first diagnosis of AD was established by a trained dermatologist during the inclusion visit. In particular, the dermatologist asked parents about children AD symptoms and performed a physical examination. The same diagnostic criteria, previously defined during a preliminary consensus study carried out on 100 AD cases not considered in the present study, were adopted by all the dermatologists. The diagnostic criteria of incident AD were based on the following eight mandatory conditions: ‘no previous diagnosis of AD’, ‘first symptoms occurring no longer than 5 months before AD diagnosis’, ‘symptoms occurring also in the last 4 weeks’, ‘the child is suffering from itching’, ‘the child has eczematous lesions’, ‘age‐specific affected areas’, ‘flexural involvement’, and ‘the groin and armpits areas are not affected, unless a diagnosis of inverted psoriasis’. In 406 of the 494 cases, all the criteria were met. The dermatologists confirmed a diagnosis of incident AD for the remaining 88 children, for whom at most 2 criteria were not met at the time of the inclusion visit but their occurrence in the last 4 weeks was reported by parents (see Table S1). During the inclusion visit, the dermatologists accurately recorded the date of the occurrence of the first symptoms and assessed the severity of AD through the SCORAD index 27, 28. Only children whose parents reported that symptoms had started no longer than 5 months before were included in the study (incident AD). Controls Of the 505 controls originally included, seven did not meet inclusion criteria, and 47 were excluded from analysis for matching reasons. Thus, controls considered were 451 outpatients attending for a pediatric/dermatological visit, with no history of AD. They were matched 1 : 1 with cases by centers, sex, age, and period of interview. Two hundred and thirty‐six controls (52%) were recruited during a check‐up growth visit, 154 (34%) had a nonatopic dermatologic diagnosis (i.e. angioma (37%), hemangioma (25%), nevi (21%)), and the remaining 17% had other dermatologic conditions presented by no more than two children each. The remaining 14% (61 children) attended the hospital for other care needs (e.g. eye check‐up, mandatory vaccinations, minor congenital malformations, traumas). Less than 3% of both cases and controls approached refused to participate. Ethical issues All study centers obtained local ethics committee approval. Written consent was obtained from parents for the child, based on the recommendations of the ethical committees of the study hospitals. Data collection Trained personnel administered face‐to‐face to children parents a structured questionnaire, including information on a variety of factors of interest, for example, family socioeconomic context, maternal pregnancy exposures, birth factors (e.g. weeks of gestation, type of delivery, birth weight, and breastfeeding), factors favoring contact with infectious agents (e.g. the number of siblings, presence of pets, daycare, and contact with other children), child history of any manifestation of atopy, childhood diseases, dietary habits of the child from birth, and history of atopic conditions in first‐degree relatives. For more details, see ‘Data S1 in the Supplementary material’. A reproducibility study including 190 patients was also conducted. Parents were re‐contacted by phone by a trained interviewer, between December 2011 and November 2012, in order to quantify differences among answers gave to the same question during the two successive interviews for 100 items. The proportion of observed agreement for answers related to ever breastfeeding and month of stopping breastfeeding was evaluated by Cohen's kappa statistic (K). For more details, see ‘Data S2 in the Supplementary material’. Data on feeding practices A specific section of the questionnaire collected childhood feeding data from birth. The questionnaire enquired about the pattern of breastfeeding (current breastfeeding and time when breastfeeding had stopped) and the child age (in weeks) when infant formulas (e.g. partially and extensively hydrolyzed formulas, plant‐based milk, humanized milk) and cow milk were introduced. Parents were also asked to indicate the age at the introduction of 22 foods or food groups representing the most common food in the diet of Italian infants in early childhood. These foods/food groups were grouped as vegetables, legumes, or roots (potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and beans), fruit (apples/pears, peaches/apricots/plums, citrus fruits, and red fruits), cereals (maize/tapioca, rice, pasta, and gluten‐free pasta), meat (poultry, pork, and beef), dairy products (cheese, and other dairies), fish, eggs, and nuts/cacao/chocolate. Supplementations with vitamin D, K, fluorine, and lactic ferments and the child age (in weeks) when these supplementations were introduced and stopped were also collected. The availability of a detailed schedule of infant feeding practices, as well as of the date of the occurrence of the first AD symptoms, allowed us to exclude exposures occurring after first AD symptoms. Dietary exposure occurring after AD onset was not considered in the analysis, which was focused on the influence of diet on AD occurrence rather than progression. We evaluated breastfeeding pattern at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 months of age. Breastfeeding pattern was categorized as ‘no breastfeeding’ (i.e. children received only milk formulas and/or solid food), ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ if she had given only breastmilk, while milk formulas and solid food had not been introduced, ‘introduction of other milks’ if the mother had given breastmilk and milk formulas but solid food had not been introduced, and ‘starting weaning’ if solid food had been introduced. We also assessed the total number of food items included in the child's diet at 4 and 5 months of age, as well as specific food groups’ introduction. Statistical analysis Data were presented as frequency/percent distribution in the overall study sample and separately for cases and controls. Because we were interested in exposures influencing AD incidence, and AD diagnostic criteria include symptoms recurrence, we adopted a conditional approach in order to consider the same time window of exposure from birth for a case and his matched control. As an example, for a case of 6 months of age at inclusion with AD first symptoms occurring at the age of 4 months (i.e. 2 months before), we excluded from the analyses those exposures (e.g. the number of solid foods introduced), occurring between 4 and 6 months of age. Thus, for the matched control, we excluded exposures occurring in the same period (i.e. the number of solid foods introduced between 4 and 6 months). In this way, we ensured that a control has the same time window to experience an event as his matched case (Fig. 1). Figure 1 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Diagram of the exposures included and excluded from the analysis. For cases, we included only exposures that occurred before first AD symptoms. For each control, the same ‘time window’ of observation of his matched case was considered. Odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of AD for infant feeding practices were computed using conditional logistic regression models, matching 1 : 1 cases and controls according to center, sex, age, and period of enrollment. Multivariable models including terms for history of allergy in mother and/or father, ethnicity, maternal age, maternal education, number of siblings, weeks of gestation, type of delivery, vitamin D and vitamin K supplementations were performed in order to adjust for potential confounding effects. Conditional models were also applied to perform analises on two subgroups of interest (i.e. controls with dermatologic diagnosis and controls with other diagnosis). Moreover, stratified analyses considering the type of milk and presence of atopy in parents were performed applying unmatched logistic regression models adjusted by center, sex, age, and period of enrollment (i.e. matching variables). The unmatched logistic model was used, instead of the matched one, in order to avoid the elimination of those matched pairs (case–control) presenting ‘discordant values’ for the factor of stratification. Q test was used to assess heterogeneity between strata (considering two strata heterogeneous when P was lower than 0.1). Statistical analyses were performed using SAS v. 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). We followed the STROBE guidelines on reporting of epidemiological studies throughout 29.
Results The distribution of 451 incident cases of AD and 451 matched controls according to the study design and selected children characteristics is presented in Table 1. Six hundred and four enrolled children were males (67%). About 50% of children were 3–6 months of age (108 were three months old, 128 four months old, 129 five months old, and 88 six months old), and ~22–23% were older than 12 months of age. SCORAD in cases ranged from 5.2 to 102.8 (mean = 49.4, SD = 17.1). After the exclusion of children with missing values in the variables of interest, and of 59 children (22 cases and 37 controls) not breastfed since birth, 329 case–control pairs (73%) were available for subsequent analyses. Compared to exclusive breastfeeding, the ORs for the introduction of other milks (i.e. partial breastfeeding) were, respectively, 0.70 (95% CI, 0.43–1.14) at 1 month of age, 0.91 (95% CI, 0.54–1.52), 0.73 (95% CI, 0.42–1.27), 0.77 (95% CI, 0.42–1.42), and 0.58 (95% CI, 0.25–1.33) at 2, 3, 4, and 5 months of age, respectively (Table 2). Although not significant, this inverse association observed for partial breastfeeding compared to exclusive breastfeeding persisted even when children fed with intact protein cow milk were considered separately (Table 3). OR estimates for children fed with hypoallergenic milks during the first 5 months of life were not reliable, because they were related to less than five exposed cases and five exposed controls. No major heterogeneity was also found when partial breastfeeding was considered in strata of matched case–control pairs with dermatologic or nondermatologic controls (i.e. 111 and 218 matched pairs, respectively) and history of allergy in mother and/or father (211 (64%) cases and 177 (54%) controls) (Table 3). Table 2. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of incident atopic dermatitis according to feeding practices before atopic dermatitis (AD) occurrence. Italy, 2011–2014 Total N = 774 N (%) Cases N = 387 N (%) Controls N = 387 N (%) ORa (95% CI) ORb (95% CI) Breastfeeding Ever 715 (92.4) 365 (94.3) 350 (90.4) 1.00c 1.00c Never 59 (7.6) 22 (5.7) 37 (9.6) 0.58 (0.34–1.00) 0.68 (0.38–1.24) Breastfed children Total N = 658 N (%) Cases N = 329 N (%) Controls N = 329 N (%) ORa (95% CI) ORb (95% CI) Feeding pattern at 1 month Exclusive breastfeeding 435 (78.8) 229 (83.0) 206 (74.6) 1.00c 1.00c Introduction of other milks 117 (21.2) 47 (17.0) 70 (25.4) 0.57 (0.36–0.89) 0.70 (0.43–1.14) Matched pairs for which cases had AD symptoms occurred at 1 months or before 106 53 53 Feeding pattern at 2 months Exclusive breastfeeding 326 (71.5) 171 (75.0) 155 (68.0) 1.00c 1.00c Introduction of other milks 130 (19.4) 57 (25.0) 73 (32.0) 0.68 (0.44–1.05) 0.91 (0.54–1.52) Matched pairs for which cases had AD symptoms occurred at 2 months or before. 202 101 101 Feeding pattern at 3 months Exclusive breastfeeding 242 (63.0) 132 (68.8) 110 (57.3) 1.00c 1.00c Introduction of other milks 142 (37.0) 60 (31.2) 82 (42.7) 0.56 (0.35–0.89) 0.73 (0.42–1.27) Matched pairs for which cases had AD symptoms occurred at 3 months or before 274 137 137 Feeding pattern at 4 months Exclusive breastfeeding 141 (45.2) 80 (51.3) 61 (39.1) 1.00c 1.00c Introduction of other milks 107 (11.5) 51 (32.7) 56 (35.9) 0.66 (0.35–1.15) 0.77 (0.42–1.42) Starting weaning 64 (20.5) 25 (16.0) 39 (25.0) 0.42 (0.21–0.84) 0.41 (0.20–0.87) Matched pairs for which cases had AD symptoms occurring at 4 months or before 346 173 173 Feeding pattern at 5 months Exclusive breastfeeding 72 (28.1) 44 (34.4) 28 (21.9) 1.00c 1.00c Introduction of other milks 52 (20.3) 25 (19.5) 27 (21.1) 0.57 (0.27–1.19) 0.58 (0.25–1.33) Weaning 132 (51.6) 59 (46.1) 73 (57.0) 0.43 (0.22–0.86) 0.39 (0.18–0.83) Matched pairs for which cases had AD symptoms occurring at 5 months or before 402 201 201 Solids diversity at 4 monthsd No solid food 248 (79.5) 131 (84.0) 117 (75.0) 1.00c 1.00c 1–2 foods 31 (9.9) 15 (9.6) 16 (10.3) 0.79 (0.34–1.83) 0.71 (0.29–1.74) 3–22 foods 33 (10.6) 10 (6.4) 23 (14.7) 0.31 (0.12–0.77) 0.30 (0.11–0.81) chi‐trend (P‐value) 5.1 (0.019) 5.7 (0.017) Matched pairs for which cases had AD symptoms occurring at 4 months or before 348 174 174 Solids diversity at 5 monthsd No solid food 124 (48.4) 69 (53.9) 55 (43.0) 1.00c 1.00c 1–7 foods 75 (29.3) 37 (28.9) 38 (29.7) 0.69 (0.34–1.41) 0.59 (0.27–1.26) 8–22 foods 57 (22.3) 22 (17.2) 35 (27.3) 0.48 (0.25–0.94) 0.44 (0.21–0.91) chi‐trend (P‐value) 4.6 (0.032) 5.1 (0.025) Matched pairs for which cases had AD symptoms occurring at 5 months or before. 404 202 202 Table 3. Odds ratios (ORs) of atopic dermatitis according to feeding patterns before first atopic dermatitis (AD) symptoms at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 months of age in strata of selected subgroups, in the 658 matched pairs of breastfed children. Italy, 2011–2014 Feeding pattern before first AD symptoms in cases at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 months of age (compared to exclusive breastfeeding) Introduction of other milks Start weaning OR (95% CI) OR (95% CI) 1 month 2 months 3 months 4 months 5 months 4 months 5 months Dermatologic controlsa 0.52 (0.25–1.09) 0.68 (0.35–1.31) 0.65 (0.34–1.25) 0.55 (0.26–1.18) 0.55 (0.22–1.34) 0.31 (0.10–0.96) 0.40 (0.16–1.02) Nondermatologic controlsa 0.59 (0.34–1.05) 0.68 (0.38–1.21) 0.48 (0.25–0.93) 0.81 (0.34–1.80) 0.61 (0.16–2.31) 0.52 (0.22–1.24) 0.47 (0.17–1.31) Type of other milksb Intact protein cow's milk 0.62 (0.40–0.96) 0.64 (0.41–1.00) 0.57 (0.37–0.89) 0.64 (0.38–1.09) 0.61 (0.28–1.30) 0.48 (0.22–1.02) 0.46 (0.23–0.91) Hypoallergenic milksc 0.94 (0.23–3.96)d 3.69 (0.75–18.20)d 1.50 (0.41–5.47)d 2.30 (0.44–11.93)d 0.58 (0.09–3.64)d 0.89 (0.16–5.14)d 13.31 (1.38–128.35)d History of allergy in parentsb No 0.45 (0.23–0.91) 0.54 (0.27–1.06) 0.37 (0.18–0.76) 0.53 (0.23–1.22) 0.76 (0.23–2.49) 0.45 (0.14–1.44) 0.88 (0.30–2.41) Yes 0.85 (0.45–1.45) 0.93 (0.53–1.63) 0.89 (0.51–1.56) 0.85 (0.43–1.69) 0.63 (0.23–1.73) 0.40 (0.17–0.93) 0.35 (0.15–0.82) Early weaning, defined as the introduction of solid foods, at 4 and/or 5 months of age, was inversely related to the risk of AD, with children weaned at 4 months having significantly lower risk of AD (OR = 0.41, 95% CI, 0.20–0.87) compared to those exclusively breastfed ones. Similar results were observed in children for whom weaning started at 5 months of age (OR = 0.39, 95% CI, 0.18–0.83). These associations were consistent with results obtained when food diversity at 4 or 5 months of age was considered (Table 2). Compared to no solid food intake, the ORs for the introduction of a high number of different solid food at 4 and 5 months of age were, respectively, 0.30 (95% CI, 0.11–0.81) and 0.44 (95% CI, 0.21–0.91). Those results were also confirmed when age of introduction of single food groups, in weaned children, was investigated (Fig. 2). In particular, positive time–risk associations were found for age at the introduction of vegetables, legumes, or roots (P trend = 0.06) and fruit (P trend = 0.02). No major heterogeneity was found when weaning patterns at 4 and 5 months of age were investigated in strata of control diagnoses, type of milk added as a supplement to breastmilk, and history of allergy in mother and/or father (Table 3). All children were weaned at 6 months of age. Figure 2 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Odds ratios (a) and 95% confidence intervals of atopic dermatitis according to the age of introduction of selected food groups (considering the period before first atopic dermatitis (AD) symptoms only) in the 207 matched pairs of weaned children. Italy, 2011–2014. (a) Matched by center, sex, age, and period of enrollment and adjusted for history of allergy in mother and/or father, maternal ethnicity, maternal age, maternal education, the number of older siblings, and contact with pets. Due to the small numbers in the analyses on eggs and nuts/cacao/chocolate, models were matched for age, sex, center, and period of enrollment and adjusted only for history of allergy in mother and/or father. Cutoffs for compared categories were defined according to the control distribution (i.e. approximate tertiles or median). (b) The age at the introduction of cow's milk was not considered as age at the introduction of a dairy product for 8 children (5 cases and 3 controls) for whom cow's milk was introduced before weaning.
Discussion The present findings from a large case–control study on incident AD show that early introduction of solid food decreases the risk of AD occurrence. Early studies supported a protective role of breastfeeding in childhood AD 12, 13. A systematic review of prospective studies published until 2000 showed a protective effect of exclusive breastfeeding for at least 3 months on the development of AD 12, particularly in children with atopic heredity. These results were contradicted by a meta‐analysis updated to 2008 (21 studies) that concluded for a lack of a clear protection from AD by exclusive breastfeeding for at least 3 months (OR = 0.89, 95% CI, 0.76–1.04), even when stratifying for parental atopy 18. A review in 2012 (results from 24 studies) concluded that data did not support a beneficial role of breastfeeding in the development of AD 20, in line with a Cochrane review published in the same year 30. More recently, results from a birth cohort (more than 18 000 newborns and 1000 AD cases) reported that longer duration of breastfeeding increased the risk of AD up to the age of 18 months, with no significant effect with the time of introduction of solid food 31. Findings from the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase Two (over 51 000 randomly selected 8‐ to 12‐year‐old schoolchildren in 21 countries) found no evidence that exclusive breastfeeding protected against eczema 16. Duration of partial and exclusive breastfeeding did not influence AD risk by the age of 5 years in 3781 consecutively born children in Finland 17. In a nationally population‐based birth cohort study in Japan (more than 38 000 infants and 1402 young children with persistent AD and 8787 with episodic AD), exclusively breastfed infants during the first 6 months of life were at an increased risk of AD when compared to infants fed formula alone 23. Concerning the timing of introduction of solid foods, in the 1980s and 1990s, several studies reported a positive association between early introduction foods and AD 32, 33. However, as for breastfeeding, other studies did not reproduce these findings 17, 31, 34-37. Some of them even suggested, in line with our results, an inverse association between early introduction of solid food and the onset of AD 21, 24 |
star and Brazilian legend Marta on Monday claimed her sixth FIFA Player of Year award after she was named The Best FIFA Women’s Player 2018 during Orlando Pride star and Brazilian legend Marta on Monday claimed her sixth FIFA Player of Year award after she was named The Best FIFA Women’s Player 2018 during CAPTION Orlando City goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar completed his final round of chemotherapy Tuesday Orlando City goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar completed his final round of chemotherapy Tuesday CAPTION After Orlando City's 1-2 loss to Atlanta United, fans threw trash onto the soccer field. After Orlando City's 1-2 loss to Atlanta United, fans threw trash onto the soccer field. CAPTION A high-tech business that makes crystal and silicon lenses for fighter jets and tanks was all shook up over construction of the Orlando City Stadium across the street — and now it’s suing the soccer team, the city and the general contractor. A high-tech business that makes crystal and silicon lenses for fighter jets and tanks was all shook up over construction of the Orlando City Stadium across the street — and now it’s suing the soccer team, the city and the general contractor.
But, he was dressed and ready on time for teammate and longtime friend Seb Hines to pick him up at 7 a.m. on the way to media day.
“I’m very punctual,” Barnes said. “Obviously, I was coming to meet all the boys and stuff, too, so that was little bit refreshing for me as well.”
Orlando City coach Jason Kreis is looking to factor Barnes into the lineup immediately, though he stopped short of guaranteeing the newcomer a spot in the starting lineup.
“You know me well enough not to jump on that, but I do see Giles Barnes competing right away,” Kreis said Tuesday during Orlando City’s media day press conference. “Giles is a very exciting player. I would tell you that a couple of years ago I felt that he was easily, for me, one of the best players in the league. He’s an attacking-gifted player, has great pace, great strength on the ball and typically makes very good decisions with it. These are the types of players we’re looking to add to Orlando City, the type of players who are always comfortable on the ball but are also willing to work for the team.”
Barnes’ best MLS year was in 2014, when he started every game for the Houston Dynamo, recording 11 goals and five assists. He also racked up 3,028 minutes that year, which ranked third in the league. The minute leaders for Orlando City the past two years were Cyle Larin (2,455) and Kaká (2,439).
He left Houston last July with a total of 31 goals and 14 assists in just under five years. He didn’t find immediate success as a goal-scorer the second half of 2016 in Vancouver, with his only two goals coming in the final match of the season against Portland and he never really had a chance to settle in with the Canadians. He left at the end of the season to return to Houston, the city he still calls home.
The transition to Orlando already has been easier since he’s familiar with many of the players.
“I’ve known Seb probably half my life, we used to play against each other as kids and we were roommates together when we played in England as well,” Barnes said, adding he also previously knew Jonathan Spector, Will Johnson and Cyle Larin.
While Barnes gets to know the rest of his teammates, there’s one way he already fits in. Plenty of Orlando City players have nicknames – Kaká, MPG, PC, Noce, Rafa – so what should fans call Barnes?
He was quick to answer: “G.”
ardelgallo@orlandosentinel.comHundreds of buildings -- from houses to strip malls -- could face the wrecking ball after California authorities unraveled a decade-long scam involving a pair of phony building engineers who used stolen software to craft bogus blueprints, officials told FoxNews.com.
Wilfrido Rodriguez and Ruben Gutierrez, allegedly posing as licensed professionals and using stolen software, drew up engineering and architectural plans for homes, apartments, commercial properties and strip malls in at least 56 Southern California cities beginning in 2003, according to police. Neither had the training, expertise or credentials to vouch for the safety of the building plans, and authorities are only now grasping the scope of the problem.
“There has never been a case involving alleged engineering fraud of this magnitude,” Detective Rod Barton, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Fraud and Cyber Crimes Bureau, told FoxNews.com. “Because this involves fraud related to structural engineering, we just don’t know if the houses are safe, unsafe or suitable for habitation.”
“There has never been a case involving alleged engineering fraud of this magnitude.” — Det. Rod Barton, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
The pair duped architects, builders and homeowners into believing they knew what they were doing, Barton said. Now, authorities are tasked with reviewing every building the pair worked on and determining if they are structurally sound, an issue made all the more urgent given the frequency of earthquakes in California.
“A significant concern is foundations,” said Panos Prevedouros, a professor and chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. “Experienced drafters can work out safe designs for small masonry structures, but proper foundation design and specialized structural components required detailed engineering analysis.”
Before embarking on their alleged scam, the pair worked for the Rolling Hills Estates-based Palos Verdes Engineering Company. The company, which declined to comment for this story, told authorities it uncovered the alleged engineering fraud after a customer complained about an offer made by the men in April 2014.
Since that time, Barton and his bureau have been tracking down projects that involved the pair, and have been stunned and horrified at the number of buildings involved.
“Up until then, nobody had any knowledge that this fraud was occurring,” Barton told FoxNews.com. “We visited 56 cities from San Bernardino and Riverside to Ventura County. Our nexus were the initial files Palos Verdes Engineering identified, and then we segued into other projects. It was a lot of groundwork.”
Law enforcement authorities are working the Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists to determine the scope and risk posed by the alleged fraud.
“Evidence thus far uncovered leads us to believe there were hundreds of projects built on their fraudulent structural engineering,” said Tiffany Criswell, the board’s enforcement manager. “Evidence leads us to believe there are additional properties we have yet to identify.”
One challenge for law enforcement is that many local governments only keep design and engineering plans on file for six months.
“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department sent contact letters to homeowners, developers, and architectural designers whose properties have been identified as possibly being associated with fraudulent structural engineering,” Barton said. “Investigators believe additional properties associated with structural engineering fraud may exist, but have not yet been identified.”
The men have not been charged and are cooperating with the sheriffs’ detectives. While sheriffs didn’t say how much the men allegedly profited on the deal, they likely made at least $2,000 to $3,000 per project on potentially several hundred projects over 11 years, according to industry insiders.
The LA sheriff’s white collar crime division will consider the case and whether to charge the men with a variety of crimes including civil engineering fraud, grand theft, theft of company identity, and forgery, LA sheriffs’ detectives said.
Palos Verdes Engineering Company had no business relations with the men between 2003 and 2014, during the time the alleged fraud occurred, Barton said. The men allegedly stole software from the company, which was used to produce fraudulent engineering plans bearing its company name and logo, Barton said.
“Palos Verdes Engineering Company’s civil engineer seal and forged signature was also used on structural engineering records to make the plans appear authentic, and as if they had been reviewed and approved by a licensed professional civil engineer.”
Legitimate professional engineers must have a degree in civil engineering, pass several grueling exams and obtain five years of experience before they can sign off on design documents for implementation.
On the architectural side, the value of architectural licensure is “immeasurable,” said Matt Tinder, spokesperson for The American Institute of Architects, in Washington, DC.
“Without it, the entire built environment could serve as a public safety hazard,” Tinder said.
While there have been no glaring design flaws brought to the sheriff’s attention, there could be a risk to the public, which could be heightened by a natural disaster such as an earthquake. The sheriff’s department is advising homeowners who worked with Rodriguez and Gutierrez to contract the services of a civil engineer to go through the plans, examine their residence and determine if they are safe.
“We want to make sure people are safe,” Barton said. “There is a reason all these requirements are in place. When the whole procedure is circumvented, something bad can happen.”Rau quagga walk on Elandsfontein farm, in the Riebeeck Valley, on February 3, 2016, near Cape Town (AFP Photo/Rodger Bosch)
Elandsberg (South Africa) (AFP) - In a spectacular valley less than two hours' drive north of Cape Town, a small herd of animals provides the chance to travel back in time over more than a century.
The animals roaming over a wide plain encased by jagged mountain ranges look like quaggas, a subspecies of the plains zebra -- but quaggas are extinct.
They were wiped out by colonial hunters in the 19th century.
Now, a small group of scientists and conservationists believe they have recreated the quagga, which is distinct from other zebra mainly through the lack of the characteristic black and white stripes on its hindquarters.
Over a period of 30 years the Quagga Project has used selective breeding of plains zebra to produce, in the fifth generation, an animal they say is indistinguishable from those that roamed the same plains centuries ago.
The last of the original quagga, found only in South Africa's Western Cape region, died in an Amsterdam zoo in 1883.
So why try to resurrect it?
"It's an attempt to try and repair ecological damage that was done a long time ago in some sort of small way," Eric Harley, a retired professor of chemical pathology at the University of Cape Town, told AFP.
"It is also to try and get a representation back of a charismatic animal that used to live in South Africa."
- DNA clues -
The project was founded by the late Reinhold Rau, a German-born South African natural historian, who had DNA samples from a quagga skin at the South African Museum analysed.
It was discovered that the DNA was the same as that of the vividly-striped plains zebra, and Rau set out to try to rebreed the quagga.
Selecting plains zebra in which the stripes were less strong in the hindquarters, thus exhibiting some quagga genes, they bred them together.
Each successive generation exhibited more of the quagga colouring and now, on the fifth generation, the project is satisfied that it has recreated the quagga.
The only way in which the quagga was ever defined was by its appearance -- the lack of striping over the rear part of the body and the darker brown colouration of the back part of the body, said Harley.
"To all intents and purposes they are the quagga back again. The project has been a complete success."
Harley defended the project against critics who say it is simply a stunt or unneccessary interference with nature.
"We don't do genetic engineering, we aren't cloning, we aren't doing any particularly clever sort of embryo transfers -- it is a very simple project of selective breeding," he said.
"If it had been a different species the whole project would have been unjustifiable."
To appease the critics, however, the new animal is formally called a Rau-Quagga, to distinguish it from its forebears.
But in the Elandsberg private nature reserve in the Riebeek Valley, a khaki-clad guide points to the herds drifting across the veld in the early morning light and names them simply as: "Wildebeest... springbok... eland... quagga."
The guide -- Quagga Project chairman and farm manager Mike Gregor -- says about 100 zebra are in the reserve, with some six animals from the fourth and fifth generations accepted as true representations of the extinct animal.
- Breeding criticism -
"I think there is controversy with all programmes like this. There is no way that all scientists are going to agree that this is the right way to go," he said.
“We are a bunch of enthusiastic people trying to do something to replace something that we messed up many years ago.”
Harley rejected any comparison with breeding programmes run by some game farmers which have produced white springbok and golden wildebeest -- which win higher market prices.
"What we're not doing is selecting some fancy funny colour variety of zebra, as is taking place in other areas, where funny mutations have taken place with strange colouring which may look amusing but is rather frowned upon in conservation circles.
"What we are trying to do is get sufficient animals -- ideally get a herd of up to 50 full-blown rau-quaggas in one locality, breeding together, and then we would have a herd we could say at the very least represents the original quagga.
"We obviously want to keep them separate from other populations of plains zebra otherwise we simply mix them up again and lose the characteristic appearance."
The quaggas once more roaming the veld have also not been subjected to the sort of treatment that has resulted in creatures such as the zorse -- a cross between a zebra and a horse -- and the zonkey, whose name speaks for itself.
Those creatures, being hybrids, are usually infertile, while the quagga -- with the time machine having been cranked up -- are expected to reproduce themselves.SEATTLE -- The fences at Safeco Field are coming in.
The Seattle Mariners announced plans Tuesday to move in the outfield fences at their ballpark for the 2013 season after years of debate on the impact that having one of the more spacious outfields in baseball was having on their offense.
The biggest change will come in the left-center field alley, where the fence will move in as much as 17 feet. The left-center power alley is currently 390 feet, but will be at 378 feet next season. From there, instead of a rounded fence, the wall will move straight out to its deepest point at 405 feet, four feet shorter than currently. The straighter line of the fence will lead to the 17-foot change.
Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik said many factors were taken into account when determining whether changes to the field would be made, including Seattle's notoriously chilly April and May.
"Our goal was to create an environment that is fair for both hitters and pitchers," Zduriencik said in a statement. "Considering the current field dimensions as well as the climate in and around Safeco Field, we feel this will be accomplished with this new layout."
The left-field corner will also see a significant change with the removal of the hand-operated scoreboard that raised the fence to 16-feet. The fence height will now be a uniform 8-feet from one foul pole to the other and the hand-operated scoreboard will be relocated to a yet-to-be-determined location.
This is the first change to the dimensions of the ballpark since it opened in 1999. Hitters have long complained of the cavernous dimensions of the outfield and the numbers have shown Safeco Field to be one of the more unfriendly hitter parks in baseball. Pitchers love the vast outfield and fly ball pitchers -- like current Mariners starter Jason Vargas -- have thrived pitching in Seattle.
Since 2000, the first full season for Safeco Field, the Mariners have scored the fewest runs and have the lowest batting average at home of any team in the American League. They are fourth-worst in baseball in home runs in their home park, but have the second-best team ERA in the AL at home during that span.The blockchain is fast becoming a symbol of the fourth industrial revolution. After steam, electricity and computing, this is the term coined by Davos founder Klaus Schwab for the deep digital transformation that Schwab says is now upon us
Richard Kemp, principal,
Kemp IT Law
The blockchain is fast becoming a symbol of the fourth industrial revolution. After steam, electricity and computing, this is the term coined by Davos founder Klaus Schwab for the deep digital transformation that Schwab says is now upon us. It is heralded as the next big disruptor, it’s got geeks and banks in a tizzy, but as yet there’s little mainstream evidence of major impact.
So what is the blockchain? The analogy is the finance director’s (FD) sales ledger. It’s a comprehensive, always up-to-date accounting record of who holds what or who transferred what to whom. The ‘what’ in the blockchain is pretty much anything that can be recorded – physical assets like diamonds (blockchain is used by Everledger to certify origination of 900,000 diamonds) and land (where blockchain will be a factor in the upcoming sale of the Land Registry) as well as intangibles like electronic cash (the rationale of Bitcoin, the blockchain’s orginator), transactions in securities, derivatives and other financial instruments and government interaction with citizens.
The clever bit is that it all works through cryptography – authenticating parties’ identities and creating immutable hashes (digests) of each ledger record, the current page of records (block) and the binding that links (chains) each block to the earlier ones. The really clever bit is that instead of the FD keeping one instance as ‘single version of the truth’, the blockchain ledger is distributed: a complete, current copy is held on the computers of each of the network participants (miners) who help keep it up to date. This is deliberate and serves to insulate the integrity of the ledger against cyberattack as any hacker would have to control more than half the network’s computing capacity to change any record in the block.
Hurdles to clear
But blockchain is in its infancy, and significant hurdles to commercial adoption remain. First, there’s a lot for regulators to get to grips with. Second, blockchain is fragmented. There are many different ecosystems, of which the best known are the bank-led R3, the exchange-led Post-Trade Distributed Ledger Working Group and China’s Zhong GuanCun Block Chain Industry Alliance. These will need to agree common standards to all work together. Progress is being made here and in April the ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) received formal requests to set up a new field of technical activity (the precursor to ISO standard setting) on blockchain and electronic distributed ledger technologies.
“Blockchain will enable all supply-side listings for a given service to be recorded on the ledger for users to filter and buy according to their selected criteria”
The third hurdle is scalability. The blockchain is, deliberately, enormously power hungry. A 2014 report from the National University of Ireland Maynooth showed that the total energy consumption of Bitcoin mining was comparable with Ireland’s total electricity usage. So more efficient power usage will be key to bigger blockchains.
Centralised platforms beware
Remove these blockers and the blockchain evangelists start to get a bit wilder eyed, speaking of the disintermediators disintermediated, Uber outmanubered, Airbnb airbnbrushed out and TaskRabitt outrun by the blockchain bunny. What they mean is that, just as these centralised internet platforms aggregated supply and demand to disrupt taxi companies, hotels and recruitment firms, so the blockchain will enable all supply-side listings and reviews for a given service to be recorded on the ledger for users to filter, display and buy according to their selected criteria. All this will be made possible by blockchain’s built-in technological integrity that enables transactions to be made not only securely but also ‘trustlessly’, without any need for any intermediation at all.
Going a step further, the blockchain paves the way for ‘smart contracts’, where the computer can make, verify and enforce an agreement. Next generation blockchain Ethereum, described by the Economist as ‘the most ambitious crypto-ledger project’, is looking to introduce functionality that is designed to verify a party’s contractual performance. And going further still, on 28 May, funding was reported to be closed having raised $150m in Ether, Ethereum’s electronic currency, for The DAO (short for Decentralised Autonomous Organisation), a new type of crowdsourced/venture capital-type fund existing entirely in software on the Ethereum blockchain and which will make all its decisions and commitments wholly through smart contracts.
The future here today or science fiction? Welcome to the revolution.ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The number of reported sexual assaults at the nation's three major military academies rose overall in the latest academic year from one year earlier, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pentagon.
The Defense Department's "Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies" for academic year 2010-2011 found there were 65 reports of sexual assault involving cadets and midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy. That was up from 41 reports of sexual assaults in the prior academic year.
"This is a leadership issue, first and foremost, so I also expect us to lead with integrity and with energy to eliminate sexual assault and harassment from our culture," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a statement. "I'm confident the steps we are taking are the right ones, but we must continue to improve."
The Pentagon said it could not conclusively identify the reasons for the increases. However, the department has worked to encourage more victims to report sexual assault and the Pentagon says that could explain the higher number of reports.
The annual report was mandated in the 2007 John Warner National Defense Authorization Act. It directed the Pentagon to evaluate the effectiveness of the sexual harassment and sexual violence related policies on an annual basis.
Aiming to eliminate sexual assault and harassment from military culture, the Pentagon also announced two new policies to support abuse victims as it released the findings Tuesday.
Service members who have been the victim of sexual assault and have filed an unrestricted report now have the option to request an expedited transfer from their unit or installation, the Defense Department said. Under the new policy, the service member must receive a response to the transfer from the unit commander within 72 hours. A service member also will be able to request a review of any denied request and receive that response within 72 hours, the Pentagon added.
Another new policy will standardize retention periods for sexual assault records across the military services. Specified documents will be retained for 50 years in unrestricted cases and for five years in restricted cases to give victims longer access to documents related to sexual assault, the Defense Department said.
While the report found that the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is in partial compliance with the department's policies regarding sexual harassment and assault, it concluded the academy was not in compliance with department policy for providing prevention and response training to all cadets.
The Service Women's Action Network, a national human rights organization founded by women veterans, was critical of the increase in sexual abuse reports. Greg Jacob, policy director for the organization, also underscored the noncompliance with Pentagon policy in the report.
"Ending the widespread issue of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military starts by ending it at the service academies," Jacob said in a statement.
West Point did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Other academy officials said they believe the increase in reporting indicates a positive step in making cadets and midshipmen feel more comfortable about reporting incidents – a crucial part of addressing the problem.
"We believe that there's much more trust in our system than maybe we've seen in years past," said Col. Reni Renner, vice commandant culture and climate at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Deborah Goode, a spokeswoman at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., said the school includes training for midshipmen throughout all four years to prevent harassment and encourage reporting.
"We believe there is a better understanding by midshipmen of what constitutes sexual harassment and sexual assault, as well as an increased willingness to report incidents, which may account for increased reports of sexual assault cases," Goode said.Where a historic landmark once stood at Farragut Square now sits a stump and wood chips. And it was never supposed to happen.
Nick Iannelli, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – Where a historic landmark once stood now sits a stump and wood chips.
And it was never supposed to happen.
“A large, historic tree was mistakenly cut down,” says Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, National Park Service spokeswoman.
“It’s pretty incomprehensible that something like this could happen.”
A contractor mistook the 102-foot-tall ginkgo tree for a sickly ash tree on the other side of Farragut Square and chopped it down early this month.
The company, Greentree, will likely face legal action.
“The park service will move to seek damages,” says Anzelmo-Sarles.
“We are evaluating essentially the value of what happened.”
Meanwhile, people who spend time around the downtown park will miss the oasis of shade.
“I was surprised and a little disappointed,” one woman who walks through the park frequently tells WTOP.
A man who passes by the tree twice a day said it was sad to see.
“It was a beautiful tree, I have to say.”
The Park Service says it was the tallest ginkgo tree in the District.
Historians estimate it was planted around 1873.
Follow @WTOP on Twitter.Susan Sarandon on MSNBC. MSNBC
Let’s be grateful to Susan Sarandon for exposing just how vapid and callous the left-wing #NeverHillary argument is. Speaking to Chris Hayes on MSNBC on Monday night, Sarandon, a Bernie Sanders surrogate, said she was unsure if she could bring herself to vote for Hillary Clinton in a general election. Hayes was shocked, but Sarandon posited that a Trump presidency might be preferable to a Clinton one, because it would hasten the revolution. “Some people feel that Donald Trump will bring the revolution immediately if he gets in, things will really explode,” she said.
It’s unclear how many people Sarandon speaks for. There are lots of posturing radicals on social media who pretend Clinton would be no better than Trump, but my guess is that they are a tiny fraction of Sanders supporters. Sanders himself certainly doesn’t encourage such political nihilism and will surely rally to Clinton’s side if she beats him in the primary. Inasmuch as #NeverHillary is a phenomenon, however, Sarandon, a rich white celebrity with nothing on the line, is a perfect spokeswoman for it.
What Sarandon is voicing is the old Leninist idea of “heightening the contradictions,” which holds that social conditions need to get worse in order to inspire the revolution that will make them better. In this way of thinking, the real enemy of progress is incremental reform that would render the status quo tolerable. That was the position of the German Communists in the early 1930s, who refused to ally with the Social Democrats, proclaiming: “After Hitler, our turn!” A similar—if less deadly—assumption underlay Ralph Nader’s 2000 presidential campaign, for which Sarandon served as co-chair of the national steering committee. George W. Bush, Nader argued then, could serve as a “provocateur,” awakening the power of the left. “If it were a choice between a provocateur and an ‘anesthetizer,’ I’d rather have a provocateur,” said Nader. “It would mobilize us.”
To be fair to Nader, under Bush, the contradictions got pretty high. He left the Middle East in flames, and the economy hasn’t recovered from the financial implosion he presided over. Had Bush not wrecked so many lives, we might never have gotten President Obama and the Affordable Care Act, or, for that matter, a democratic socialist running a credible presidential primary campaign. Yet the Bush example should also make it obvious that the cost of electing a Republican provocateur is human misery on an inconceivable scale, inflicted on people who lack Sarandon’s many resources.
The problems with Sarandon’s position go beyond its tolerance for human sacrifice. There’s also the gormless unreality of her idea of revolution. Does she mean a political revolution, like the one Sanders has proposed? Because the major barrier to such a revolution is not a populace that needs to suffer more in order to reach Sarandon’s superlative level of wokeness. It is the structural obstacles to democracy systematically erected by Republicans and Republican-appointed judges: the widespread erosion of voting rights, the unlimited flood of money into politics unleashed by the Supreme Court, and the epic gerrymandering following the 2010 census that makes it nearly impossible for Democrats to win back the House, even if they win a majority of votes. These things will get worse, not better, in any Republican administration, making the possibility of a peaceful electoral revolution all the more remote.
But maybe that’s not the sort of revolution Sarandon has in mind? Maybe she actually longs for the kind where things “really explode”? If so, one wonders who she thinks is going to fight this revolution. It’s certainly possible that a Trump presidency could lead to violent political conflict. If it comes to that, however, my money is on the side with all the gun fetishists, not subscribers to Jacobin.
The results of a Trump presidency would likely be far less dramatic. They might just include the widespread persecution of undocumented immigrants, the appointment of Supreme Court judges who will jettison Roe v. Wade, the end of any federal action on global warming, and a ramping up of American war crimes. We certainly won’t see any expansion of family leave or early education. Based on what we’ve seen of Trump so far, we can expect him to use the powers of the federal government, including NSA surveillance, to target and humiliate his personal enemies, especially women. One thing, however, is sure. No matter what happens, Susan Sarandon will be just fine.
See more of Slate’s election coverage.We customize web solutions for meeting your business needs through implementing the latest development trends in your web project
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The Court closed the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, ruling that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment does not allow states to ban same-sex marriage. But other critical issues facing LGBT Americans have been waiting for the same mix of funding and public interest that carried same-sex marriage over the threshold.
For decades, same-sex marriage has been something of an idée fixe for the LGBT political mainstream—no other issue reached the same level of awareness nor inspired quite so much spending. But to quote a song that was more popular back in 1970 when a Minnesota county clerk rejected the marriage license application of two gay men and put this judicial battle into motion: “It’s all over now, baby blue.” So, where to from here?
I asked the leaders of several LGBT organizations, big and small, to share their plans in light of today’s victory. LGBT leaders told The Daily Beast they celebrate the Supreme Court’s verdict but hope that politicians and the public can turn their attention to a wide range of other cultural and legal problems facing their communities.
For many, it’s as simple as devoting more attention to letters in the acronym besides that capital “G,” starting with the “L.” Beth Shipp, executive director of LPAC, a lesbian political action committee, pointed out that gains for LGBT people are not felt equally along gender lines.
“We seem to be at an incredible point in our LGBT history, on the precipice of full equality; and yet, these discriminations [like RFRAs] threaten lesbian and queer women’s economic security, our political equality and our personal freedoms. All the while, the reproductive rights of women continue to erode,” Shipp told The Daily Beast.
Poverty, contraception, and abortion might not seem like inherently LGBT issues but they are certainly intertwined with them. According to the Center for American Progress, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women are more likely to live in poverty than their heterosexual and non-transgender counterparts. They are also at increased risk of sexual assault, as the National Center for Lesbian Rights notes, which makes abortion access essential for lesbians and bisexual women.
BiNet USA board members Aud Traher and Faith Cheltenham hope the public can now recognize that there are roughly as many bisexual people in the U.S. as there are lesbians and gay men combined, and further acknowledge the role bisexual people have played in the fight for an issue that has too often been referred to as “gay marriage.”
“Now that we’ve won marriage, we need immediate and concrete support for bisexual community issues like domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, poor health, poverty and suicidality,” they told The Daily Beast.
Bisexual people, especially bisexual women, experience high rates of domestic violence and have some of the worst mental health outcomes of any demographic in the U.S..
But highlighting the “T” seems exceptionally urgent after today’s ruling. Every LGBT leader who contacted The Daily Beast mentioned that issues facing transgender people, especially transgender people of color, should become a priority moving forward.
Kris Hayashi, executive director of the Oakland-based Transgender Law Center, told The Daily Beast that his organization will continue doing business as usual: “Our priorities remain unchanged by the marriage ruling: We are working toward a future where all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of gender identity or expression.”In addition to pointing out the tragically frequent murders of transgender women of color, Hayashi wants the LGBT movement to address other social problems that acutely affect transgender people: education, unemployment, lack of access to health care, racism, and police violence.
Greta Gustava Martela, co-founder of Trans Lifeline, a crisis hotline for transgender people, made it clear that high rates of anti-LGBT violence and suicide will not simply disappear now that same-sex marriage has been legalized.
“Transgender women, particularly transgender women of color, are overwhelmingly the people represented by LGBT violence and suicide statistics, and yet we have to struggle for simple representation in the LGBT movement,” Martela said.
In 2012, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence programs found that, of 25 victims of anti-LGBT homicides that year, 73 percent were people of color and 53 percent were transgender women (PDF).
This level of anti-LGBT violence—as it occurs at the intersections of race, gender identity, and citizenship—was a central preoccupation for the organizations who spoke with The Daily Beast. Many seemed less concerned with LGBT people getting married than they were with simply keeping LGBT people safe and alive.
In light of today’s ruling, New York-based transgender advocacy organization Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) asked LGBT leaders “to prioritize racial and economic justice work to increase the health and wellness of our communities,” with specific attention to people in the LGBT community who are poor, incarcerated, non-white, or who are immigrants. Southerners on New Ground (SONG), a grassroots LGBT organization in the South, shares these priorities.
“Prioritizing our collective survival by centering on poor people, women, trans and gender non-conforming people, immigrants, and people of color, is the only strategy that doesn’t leave our people behind and gets us to the end of liberation,” SONG leaders said.
Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez, deputy managing director for United We Dream (UWD), a youth-led U.S. immigrant organization, called today’s ruling “bittersweet” for “the estimated 267,000 LGBTQ people who are also undocumented.”
“The reality for them is that they face unrelenting discrimination for both sexual orientation and gender identity as well as their immigration status,” he said.
Carlos Padilla, the program coordinator of UWD’s Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project (QUIP), added that undocumented LGBT immigrants face high rates of violence and sexual assault in detention centers, a point most recently raised by Jennicet Gutiérrez during President Obama’s remarks at a White House Pride Month event on Wednesday.
“To make matters worse, the Department of Homeland Security often places these people into solitary confinement for ‘their own protection,’” Padilla added. “This is torture and we cannot stand for it as a country.”
Undocumented LGBT people are also overrepresented in statistics on LGBT violence, constituting 3 percent of the U.S. LGBT community but accounting for 8 percent of LGBT hate-violence survivors.
RELATED: Scenes From A Supreme Victory For Same-Sex Marriage (PHOTOS)
And Carl Siciliano, executive director of the Ali Forney Center for homeless LGBT youth, told The Daily Beast that LGBT youth also face the fundamental problem of securing housing. The Center for American Progress estimates that between 20 to 40 percent of all homeless youth are LGBT—Siciliano calls 200,000 “a conservative estimate”—and yet most homeless shelters do not have space for youth, let alone resources for LGBT youth.
“Our movement is now called upon to pivot its focus from laws to resources,” Siciliano said. “Demanding housing for the hundreds of thousands of LGBT teens suffering homelessness in our nation’s streets is a great place to start.”
For LGBT people as a whole, a wide range of cultural problems are sure to persist even after same-sex marriages become a nationwide norm. A recent GLAAD poll found that, despite majority support for same-sex marriage in the U.S., many Americans still have a fundamental discomfort with LGBT people in their own social circles.
“More than 100 million Americans still say they’re uncomfortable just seeing a gay co-worker’s wedding photo, and staggering rates of hate violence continue to devastate the transgender community,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis told The Daily Beast. “We must not only advance policy, we must also accelerate acceptance of the LGBT community—because laws alone don’t end discrimination, people do.”
The leaders of Believe Out Loud, an online community for LGBT Christians, told The Daily Beast that they have a unique role to play in promoting this acceptance in the context of U.S. churches, particularly within Christianity.
“As we look ahead to a movement beyond marriage equality, we know that the work of affirming Christians is not yet finished. It’s now time for churches to move beyond simply accepting what we understand, to affirming LGBTQ people as they are,” the organization said in a statement.
Alongside religious advocacy efforts, changing the internal culture of families and schools seems |
place work for people, rather than pedestrians, and it will do wonders for society. After all, unexpected encounters with strangers or acquaintances have the power to make people feel happier and more fulfilled.
Perhaps the mayor’s scheme should be to humanise Oxford Street, rather than pedestrianise it – to create a place for people, and not just a street for pedestrians.
Nick Tyler is the Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering at UCL.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.SINGAPORE: A heavy downpour on Saturday afternoon (Nov 18) caused flash floods at Yishun and along Mandai Road, said national water agency PUB.
It warned in a Facebook post at about 4.45pm that water level at Yishun Avenue 2, Yishun Avenue 5 as well as Mandai Road had risen, and there was a "high flood risk".
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At one HDB carpark in Yishun, the wheels of vehicles were partially submerged, as seen in a video by Channel NewsAsia reader Johan Fayd Kamal Doral.
Heavy rain fell over many parts of Singapore in the afternoon.
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The National Environment Agency (NEA) had put out a heavy rain warning at about 4.15pm, saying that moderate to heavy thundery showers with gusty winds were expected over many areas.
Heavy rain warning: Moderate to heavy thundery showers with gusty wind are expected over many areas of Singapo... — NEA (@NEAsg) November 18, 2017
Amid the rain, several accidents were reported, including one at Sembawang Road at around 4.55pm.
Two people were taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
An accident at the junction of Lorong Chencharu and Sembawang Road.
According to the Met Service in an advisory on Friday, the wet weather experienced in the first half of November is expected to persist for the rest of the month.
With November usually being the second-wettest month of the year after December, "moderate to heavy thundery showers" are expected mostly in the afternoons on six to eight days of the month, said the Met Service.You remember Brad Clontz, right? Sidearm reliever, won a World Series with the ’95 Braves, had the kind of slider that worked so well in video games that it made your little brother complain to your mom?
Well, he’s been up to some stuff since he left the majors in 2000. Like impersonating babies, for instance, and working in casino marketing.
Brad Clontz, who helped the Braves to the '95 World Series, has made several dubstep mixes. Andy Lyon/Getty Images
Also: dubstep.
As confirmed by Chipper himself, Clontz has been stringing together fresh-to-death beats under the name Club Clontz, not to be mistaken with Club Clotz, a swanky new chain of deep vein thrombosis treatment centers.
Listening through his tracks, it’s nothing you’d expect from a 41-year-old former disciple of Bobby Cox. So far he’s posted five club mixes, each more than an hour in length, and they all sound like the kind of music that Ryan Lochte would listen to while throwin’ up deuces at some Vegas poolside as steamy girls in angel bikinis poke his abs.
I’ve found it’s enormously enjoyable to turn on “Believe The Hype” and imagine Fred McGriff in a mesh hat rhythmically gyrating his fanny right in front of Mark Lemke’s face, with Lemke trying to ignore it by fumbling awkwardly with a Rubik's Cube. Then Jeff Blauser walks in and starts line-dancing so the Crime Dog will think he’s cool, but he loses his footing and topples into a cart of used jocks.
It should be noted, by the way, that the only comment on “Believe The Hype” is one from Clontz himself that simply says, “Sick!”
Have a listen through the tuneskies and give us your thoughts. Would you play them to get amped before a wild night on the town? Would you play them at your wedding? How about as the official soundtrack to your team’s baseball season (cc: Fredi Gonzalez)? Let us know in the comments.Dobson’s Focus on the Family still humiliated by ‘Pray for Rain’ video
Following up on an amusing story we’ve been following, about a week ago, Stuart Shepard, who makes religious-right videos for James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, devoted a segment to asking politically-conservative Christians to pray for rain on Aug. 28, in order to disrupt Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Shepard called for “abundant rain, torrential rain … flood-advisory rain.” He adds, “I’m talking about umbrella-ain’t-gonna-help-you rain … swamp-the-intersections rain.” Explaining why he wants everyone to pray for rain, Shepard explains, without a hint of humor, “I’m still pro-life, and I’m still in favor or marriage being between one man and one woman. And I would like the next president who will select justices for the next Supreme Court to agree.”
Soon after, some Colorado reporters picked up on this, and earlier this week, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann featured Shepard as the “worst person in the world.” Focus, feeling a little humiliated, eventually backpedaled, said the video was intended to be “humorous,” and pulled the clip from its own site and video-sharing sites, including YouTube.
In a follow-up video, Shepard kinda sorta apologized.
People can reach their own conclusions about Shepard’s sincerity.
In the meantime, Focus really doesn’t want anyone to see the video it originally distributed widely.
My friends at Right Wing Watch report:
Despite their efforts to remove the video, someone else uploaded a copy of it to YouTube which quickly generated more than 100,000 views. But now, Focus has gone after that version as well and gotten YouTube to remove it. But try as they might, there are still several versions of the clip available on YouTube and now, News Blab 2008, which first posted the copy of the FOF video to YouTube, has gone ahead and posted it again on their own website, saying Focus “obviously [does] not understand Copyright ‘Fair Use’ when reporting a news story.” On top of that, Good As You also has a copy of it posted on their website.
With that in mind, here, again, is the video Focus seems anxious to hide:Finally! Who knew that Walter Library ran completely on solar power? I certainly didn’t.
And surprisingly enough, even though the vast majority of the net appears to be down, my trusty blog is still accessible. A silver lining among the gloom, I suppose.
First, on the general situation in Minneapolis:
Life isn’t difficult, but I can’t say that it doesn’t feel bleak. Nathan, Emiko, and I have been driving around to various grocery stores and gathering food. I reckon that we’ll have more than enough to get us through the winter, yet we’re still living off the remains of a industrial food system that will never again function like it once did. At some point, we’re going to need to begin growing our own food.
Luckily, we’ve also found a handful of other survivors, and we’ve started meeting downtown every couple days to exchange information and discuss what we should do next.
I’ve run into survivors in a few other locations as well, now that I think of it, though many are less than friendly. The situation is strange, because although there is little to no real remaining danger, quite a few people are still treating everything and everyone as a threat. Perhaps that’s a natural reaction, yet the truth is that now, more than ever before, we live in a world of abundance.
Abundant food, abundant shelter, abundant death … yes, death still hangs in the air. The virus wiped out somewhere between 90% to 99% of humanity and left us few remaining survivors to clean up the mess. Unfortunately, I think most of the corpses littered around the city will continue to rot rather than receive proper burials, as we simply can’t expect 1% of the people to bury the other 99%.
Though fuel is easy to find for the time being, I have to wonder how much longer that situation will hold. There are plenty of cars with full tanks of gas sitting around, but without a fresh supply of fuel that could change sooner rather than later. Gas doesn’t exactly grow on trees like food does.
Outside of that … well, it’s getting cold. Winter is coming. But as I said, shelter is abundant. I don’t foresee the bite of winter causing us any unforeseen difficulties.
I’ll try to stop by in another week or so to post again. And if anyone else is out there, please get in touch! We’re always looking for more fellow survivors — in the Minneapolis area or otherwise.This is huge news – but it is hardly surprising.
Google – President Barack Obama’s biggest crony in a sea full of armadas full of legions of Obama cronies – has been cozying up to the woman Obama just endorsed to succeed him: Hillary Clinton.
And by “cozying up” – we mean warping their search results to hide Clinton’s decades of scandals and scandalous behavior.
Last year, Wired magazine warned us about the election-manipulating power of Google:
Google’s Search Algorithm Could Steal the Presidency: “‘We estimate, based on win margins in national elections around the world,’ says Robert Epstein, a psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology and one of the study’s authors, ‘that Google could determine the outcome of upwards of 25 percent of all national elections.’”
So the goods on Google delivered by SourceFed and their host/writer Matt Lieberman – are devastatingly awful. As chronicled in their recently released stand-up video with visual aides. We will lean heavily on excerpted transcripts therefrom – because what they’ve done is so beautiful and terrible. Here we go:
There’s an inherent trust that when you Google something, you are seeing the actual factual answer to your query or question. Based at least in part on the results of what other people are actually searching for.
In the case of Hillary Clinton – who clinched the Democratic nomination – we know for a fact that that is not the case….SourceFed has discovered that Google has been actively altering search recommendations in favor of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
So quietly that we were unable to see it for what it was until today (SourceFed posted their video on June 9).
When we type – “Hillary Clinton cri” – into Google, the site’s auto-complete function shows three potential searches: “Hillary Clinton crime reform,” “Hillary Clinton crisis” and “Hillary Clinton Crime Bill 1994.”
However, when you type the same term – “Hillary Clinton cri” – into Google’s competitors Bing and Yahoo, you get very different results. Focusing on whether or not Hillary Clinton has ever committed a crime.
It’s like if you put three people into a room that’s on fire – and two out of the three people yell “Fire!” And the third person yells “I’m in a room.’”
That’s…odd. The video then demonstrates that there aren’t even enough Google user searches for “Hillary Clinton crime reform” for Google to graph – using Google’s own “Trends” function. So why is that their #1 auto-complete suggestion? There are plenty of Google “Hillary Clinton crime” searches on “Trends” – but Google doesn’t offer up that auto-possibility. Hmmmm….
When you type – “Hillary Clinton ind” – into Bing or Yahoo, there are plenty of indictment-based recommendations. When you type it into Google, the top two recommendations are “Hillary Clinton Indiana” and “Hillary Clinton India.”….
When we entered them both into “Trends,” people were searching for “Hillary Clinton indictment” eight times more often than “Hillary Clinton India.”
Yet Google auto-offers us “India” – and not “indictment.”
The intention is clear: Google is burying potential searches for terms that could have hurt Hillary Clinton in the primary elections over the past several months by limiting recommendations on their site.
For comparison, we searched for negative terms that have been associated in the media with Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump on all three sites. Specifically, – “Bernie Sanders soc” – for socialist and – “Donald Trump rac” – for racist or racism. This time, Google matched the recommendations of Bing and Yahoo. No visible tampering.
Google’s bias here is undeniable.
Indeed it is. Just as it is and has been with now-President Obama – since before he was President Obama.
Obama Gets Backing of Google CEO Eric Schmidt (October 20, 2008)
Getting in on the Democrat administration ground floor is a Google-Schmidt crony-business model.
There are a stunning number of links between Google and (Clinton’s) campaign, and they all stem to one person in particular. Eric Schmidt, the Executive Chairman of Google’s parent company Alphabet, Inc. and former CEO of Google – is also a major funder of “The Groundwork.”
Which is, according to sources acquired by Wired, an investment by Schmidt to ensure that Hillary Clinton has the technological and engineering prowess to win the election….They are one of the Clinton campaign’s priciest outside contractors….
So Eric Schmidt – the former head of Google who is chairman of their parent company – funds a data analysis company that works for the Hillary campaign. Whose chief technology officer Stephanie Hannon – is a former Google executive….
(These connections) showcase a man (Schmidt) who has a clear and vested interest in how our country is run – and is actively funding one candidate to run it, while the company he advises is warping search results in her favor.
Why does that sort of preemptive investment sound familiar?
Google’s Eric Schmidt Invests in Obama’s Big Data Brains
Because it is familiar.
So Eric Schmidt and his Google are doing their very best to rig the election for Clinton – in the hopes of delivering themselves another crony president.
So as to continue to reap for another four (or eight) years the ridiculous regulatory favoritism they have been so generously delivered these last eight.
Big Government, Big Business – and scratch-my-back cronyism on steroids between the two.
Welcome to 21st Century America.
[Originally published at RedState]Whenever WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange starts giving interviews, usually it means he has something big coming. This new wave of interviews is no different. This time he is saying that he can prove Hillary Clinton had knowledge of some weapons getting into the hands of ISIS.
The problem is that Assange has been promising a big release for weeks now. Although to his credit the last release that WikiLeaks had cost the Democrats their chairman of the Democratic National Committee and several other key members.
If Assange can prove that Clinton had information about arming ISIS terrorists in Syria, then it would mean a lot of new problems for her and her campaign. In addition to having many American voters (hopefully) turning their backs on her, it would also mean some more legal trouble for her.
Clinton isn’t a stranger to legal trouble. She spent a great deal of time interviewing and answering questions from the FBI and Senators about her email scandal while acting as Secretary of State.
Of course as everyone knows, Clinton escaped jail time for those email scandal. Now if Assange can put his money where his mouth is, who knows what might happen.
He did have this to say in one of his interviews. “So, for example, the disastrous, absolutely disastrous intervention in Libya, the destruction of the Gaddafi government, which led to the occupation of ISIS of large segments of that country, weapons flows going over to Syria, being pushed by Hillary Clinton, into jihadists within Syria, including ISIS, that’s there in those emails.”
If that is the case, then release them already man! Not just because you keep saying you will, but because of the legal trouble that Clinton would be in. Clinton actually testified, UNDER OATH, that she “had no information on that matter”, the matter being how the weapons got into the hands of ISIS.
That, ladies and gentlemen, could be classified as “Perjury”. Perjury is a felony and can be worth up to five years in prison. Even if that doesn’t happen to Clinton, it could very well wreck any chance that she has of becoming President of the United States. That would definitely make for an interesting story.
But for right now, all we can do is sit and wait for Assange to release these emails that he supposedly has. Share this article if you are waiting to see what could happen if Assange does release the emails like he says he is going to do.There are many things that people know about oil markets. This is especially true of those who know little, about oil. They know that oil prices, for example, are controlled by ExxonMobil. Or, at the very least, by nefarious speculators in the futures market. They also know that global oil producers don’t use much of their own oil. And, in particular, they know that OPEC has lots of spare capacity. Oil production capacity that can be turned on tomorrow, for example, should world events disrupt supply. Which brings us to today’s events in Libya.
I note with interest that David Fyfe of IEA Paris earlier today attempted to calm world oil markets, by reminding that in the OECD there are over 1.6 billion barrels of oil in inventory. By marshaling these western supplies of already-pumped, above-ground oil, the world could gain a new source of oil for up to one year, at a rate of 4 mbpd (million barrels per day). There are a few sticky issues surrounding such a claim. Not least of which is that oil markets regard drawdowns of above-ground inventories as a reason to send prices even higher. But that point aside, let’s consider what Fyfe did not claim: the head of IEA’s oil markets division did not claim that Non-OPEC oil producers, which account for nearly 60% of world oil supply, could lift supply to make up for the Libyan disruption. That’s no surprise. Non-OPEC oil production has already peaked, and couldn’t increase supply either tomorrow or next year.
In the graphic to the left we see the latest publicly available charts for OECD inventories, from the 18 January Oil Market Report from IEA. Note that in the bottom chart what’s being accounted for is not only the 1.6 billion barrels of crude that Fyfe refers to, but another 1 billion barrels of oil products. That said, the scale of these large numbers can be a tad misleading. They represent in part just the normal flows of the global oil market and are a snapshot of oil as it flows from production, to refining, and to distribution. For a different measure, these same levels of inventory represent 57.5 days of supply. Which the IEA itself says are the lowest in the past two years.
In truth, the spare capacity that the world cares about—that the oil futures market cares about—is not the inventory level. But rather, actual production capacity that can be brought on immediately. You can see the problem, from a price standpoint. If the world loses Libya’s 1.5 mbpd production for 90-120 days, and starts drawing down above-ground inventories, this only makes the inventory cushion that much thinner for any new supply disruptions. The question on the mind of the oil market therefore is not Mr. Fyfe’s 1.6 billion barrels of crude, but whether countries like Kuwait, the U.A.E. and especially Saudi Arabia or even Russia can lift supply. Immediately.
Of course, “everyone knows” that OPEC is sitting on lots of oil. However, as has been discussed here, at The Oil Drum, and elsewhere it remains decidedly unclear whether Saudi Arabia can indeed turn on extra taps at will. But the problems for world supply of oil do not merely end with production capacity. Even if OPEC is indeed sitting on 1-3 mbpd of spare capacity, it’s not clear for how long they can both increase production, and export that production to the world. Not only has Saudi Arabia’s production not increased in the past five years, but, Saudi is increasingly using its own oil for its own population. The result? Flat, to declining exports of oil from Saudi Arabia.
Spare Capacity Theory, therefore, looks alot like an unproven consensus reality. I’d like to define it as follows:
Spare Capacity Theory: the assumption among western bankers, policy makers, economists, and stock markets that OPEC producers can lift oil production at will, and, export all of that spare production to world consumers.
We shall see how much the oil markets themselves believe in this theory. Today’s five dollar upward price advance—from already high price levels—suggests the market is justifiably concerned about events in Libya, and the risk of more unrest to come in oil producing regions. Given the potential magnitude of this situation, I actually think its good that we can still rely on price as a means to ration supply.
-Gregor
Further Reading:
Brown and Foucher: Egypt, a classic case of rapid net-export decline and a look at global net exports
Gregor.us: The Ascent of Middle East Food and Energy DemandCreative Commons has officially launched a Web tool to aid content creators who want to publish material under the highly permissive CC0 license. The tool, which has been under development for over a year, has now reached 1.0 status and is accessible from the Creative Commons website.
Creative Commons was founded in 2001 by legal scholar and intellectual property reform advocate Lawrence Lessig to provide a legal framework for the free culture movement. Creative Commons offers a spectrum of copyright licenses that enable content creators to concede intellectual property rights to varying degrees in order to encourage third-party use of creative works. The organization has also developed technical tools that can be used to apply licensing metadata to digital content and to find material that is available under Creative Commons licenses.
In December 2007, Creative Commons launched its CC0 license—its most permissive—which effectively enabled content creators to waive all rights associated with a creative work. This is similar to dedicating a work to the public domain, but with stronger legal footing. The goal behind the CC0 initiative is to establish a vehicle for extending the concept of a public domain dedication into a form that will be recognized internationally as legally sound.
The CC0 Web tool provides a simple form that guides content creators through the process of distributing their work under a CC0 license. The form has several steps and includes the full text of the license for users to review. It also has information icons that can be clicked to get additional contextual explanations of various aspects of the license and form. Upon completion, the form will generate an XHTML blurb that can be embedded in a Web page to indicate the CC0 status of the work.
In addition to providing licenses, Creative Commons also provides simple "human-readable" summaries of the rights and obligations associated with each license. The CC0 overview is succinct and indicates that a work has been dedicated to the commons through a waiver of rights under copyright law.
Increasing the international applicability of Creative Commons licenses is one of the organization's major goals for this year. Creative Commons CEO Joi Ito described it as an important part of the roadmap in an open letter he wrote earlier this year during the organization's highly successful fundraiser. Ito believes that Creative Commons will supply a "basic layer of interoperability" for the propagation of content and ideas.
CCCritics
Not everyone is impressed with the CC0 initiative, however. License proliferation is a major concern that is often voiced by critics. In the open source software community, the growing number of conflicting and incompatible licenses has created numerous challenges for developers. Some fear that Creative Commons is paving the way for a similar problem in the free culture ecosystem.
Python expert and free software advocate Mark Pilgrim is among those who are skeptical about Creative Commons. In the past, he has been a vocal critic of the organization's non-commercial licenses and favors the GNU Free Documentation License for his own works. With his usual biting wit, Pilgrim joked about CC0 today in messages posted to identi.ca.
"Since I joined the Creative Commons license-of-the-month club, I've acquired new vim and vigor!" he sarcastically remarked. "Seriously, stop making new licenses. I know your needs are extra-special and super-unique and nobody understands you but JUST FUCKING STOP."
I can sympathize with his view to a certain degree, but it's worth pointing out that the criticism might not entirely be deserved in this case. The compatibility problems that are generally cited as the most undesirable effect of licensing proliferation aren't relevant here because CC0 is so permissive that it is compatible with everything.
CC0 serves specific functions that aren't addressed by other permissive licenses (such as the BSD license) by entirely eliminating the need to preserve copyright information or markings. The only apparent downside of CC0 is that it generates some confusion about when it should be used and when public domain dedication should be used instead. According to the official CC0 FAQ, public domain dedication is still relevant for certifying that a work created by a third-party is in the public domain.
For more details about the license and how it works, check out the overview from Plagiarism Today. The full text of the CC0 license is available from the Creative Commons website.
Further reading
Found via Slashdot
Listing image by R.B. 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Perfect Pork Chop Onion Mascarpone Grilled Naan Pizza Pasta Salad with Grilled Fruits and Goat Cheese Using the Grill as a Summer Kitchen--Grilled Napa Cabbage with Chicken Muffins/Breads A Bag of Cranberries Apple Cider Forgot-The-Sugar Muffins Apple Cinnamon Muffins Apple Oatmeal, a Whole Grain Muffin Apricot Pistachio Matcha Muffins Asian Pear & Cardamom Cream Muffins Asparagus Goat Cheese Muffins Banana Cookie Butter Oat Muffins Banana Date Pecan (No Sweetener) Muffins Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Whole Wheat Muffins Berry Mango Swirl Muffins Blueberry Beet Honey Oat Muffins Caramel Pumpkin Butter-stuffed Bread Cheddar Apple Soaked Multigrain Muffins Cheesy Chile Corn Muffins (GF) Chive Blossom and Potato Focaccia Chocolate Cherry Cider Muffins Christmas Morning Muffins Citrus and Honey Whole Grain Muffins Cocoa Beet Chocolate Chip Muffins Corn Cheddar Bacon Muffins Chive & Ricotta Muffins Cranberry Apple Pecan Tangerine Muffins Cream and Cereal Muffins Creamy Dark Chocolate 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Balls/Upcycling Food Swiss Chard Hash Swiss Chard Tart with Ham and Manchego Swiss Chard with Bacon and Roasted Potatoes Yakisoba Farm Fresh Feast Style Putting Up Apple |
. Hitchens offers an overview of the historical process that led to the publication of the King James Version, and waxes eloquent about the influence of its vocabulary and distinctive phrases on the English language. He also makes interesting comments on some of the political and religious motivations for certain translations (as an example of the latter, the use of “virgin” to translate ‘almah in Isaiah 7.14, so as to agree with New Testament prophecy in Luke, and despite the Hebrew term not specifically denoting a virgin). Hitchens contrasts the one, Authorised Version with the marketplace of “niche Bibles” available today, including “the ‘Couples Bible,’ ‘One Year New Testament for Busy Moms,’ ‘Extreme Teen Study Bible,’ ‘Policeman’s Bible,’ and…the ‘Celebrate Recovery Bible.'” He also makes a comment on the trend towards gender-neutral translations, including this sage comment:
to suggest that Saint Paul, of all people, was gender-neutral is to re-write the history…
Have a read.Student Monserac Arredondo, who is involved in her school's reorganization team, speaks during a meeting with the Las Vegas Review-Journal at Monaco Middle School on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Monaco Middle School reorganization members including principal Lisa Medina, second from left, and other prospective team members participate in a meeting with the Las Vegas Review-Journal at Monaco Middle School on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Martha Arenas and daughter, Jazmin. Arenas spent an entire afternoon in meetings at both Monaco Middle School and Eldorado High School to try to advocate for her children and the children in her community amidst district budget cuts. (Madelyn Reese/View) @MadelynGReese
While Martha Arenas’s daughter no longer attends Monaco Middle School, the concerned parent was at the school’s organizational team meeting on a recent Tuesday to find out how the Clark County School District’s anticipated $50 million to $60 million budget shortfall would affect the school.
Thirty minutes later, Arenas was at a parent meeting down the road at Eldorado High School, where her daughter Abigail attends.
The schools’s answer: We don’t really know, but it’s likely going to hurt. A lot.
Eldorado principal David Wilson started the meeting talking about sports, extracurricular activities and graduation rates. But Arenas quickly cut to the chase and asked him about budget cuts.
“It’s looking like I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Wilson told parents. “They’re looking at everything they can to keep teachers and support staff with jobs in the buildings. Anything they consider to be an extra is something they’re looking to cut.”
Cuts so far have hit school police, the English-language learner division, special education facilitator services, the district’s central office and individual school budgets.
While schools are responsible, so far, for eliminating $17.4 million from their individual budgets to help cover the district’s deficit, they’ll be impacted by the cuts made across the district as well.
In a second round of cuts approved by trustees Sept. 14, positions eliminated included welders, plumbers, clock/fire alarm/intercom technicians and furniture repair technicians, as part of up to $14 million in savings.
That will cause schools to have to hire outside the district for some of these services, Wilson said, eating into schools’s already-tight general supply budgets.
“When I have an instrument that breaks down right now, I send it into Clark County School District,” Wilson said. “For free, they have two technicians that fix my band instruments … They just let them go.”
The same thing goes if a table in the building breaks or if the building gets tagged with graffiti.
“When my walls get hit right now, (district staff) comes out with a sandblaster and blasts that,” Wilson said. “Those people are gone.”
Arenas said she was worried about the results of a recent survey from the district that asked participants to rank eleven items in the order of what they would be most willing to see cut.
Options on the survey included increasing the walk radius for bus service of high school students from 2 to 3 miles and eliminating late-activity buses. That’s something that Eldorado probably couldn’t afford to keep up on its own.
“It’s not just my kid; it’s a lot of kids that need that bus,” Arenas said.
Wilson agreed. At his school, he said, there are fewer students whose families can afford to buy them vehicles. Often both parents work, making transportation a challenge. To a school with a more affluent population, a late bus might not mean as much, Wilson said.
“A school like Eldorado, we need a late bus, because that’s what allows kids to stay late … and participate in clubs, activities, tutoring, free meals and those sorts of things,” he said. “It impacts Eldorado differently than it impacts Coronado or Palo Verde or Foothill. The economic impact to us is huge compared to other schools.”
Timeline confusion
School teams expected to receive their strategic budgets Sept. 18 and revise them before turning them back in Sept. 22. But the district asked schools to hold off on budget discussions after discovering an accounting error that would have had schools cutting too much from their budgets.
Monaco principal Lisa Medina told her school team that her plan would save $552,000 from the school budget by placing certain staff members under state or federal grant money, reducing teachers and not hiring for the second dean position.
“The due date is currently on hold,” Medina told her group. “If we talk about who we’re going to cut and what we’re going to cut, we’re going to have to do it with knowing we don’t have a dollar amount of what to cut.”
Most schools across the valley scrambled to reschedule budget meetings for the week of Sept. 25, hoping for some word on a new timeline.
Eldorado’s school organizational team decided to meet despite the lack of clarity. Wilson told his team that one version of the budget he received from the district would have required cutting $343,000 from the school’s overall $8.27 million.
“I was hoping I would have a budget tonight for us to be able to approve,” Wilson said. “I don’t. I wish I did, but it’s just the timeline that was put out by the district.”
Like many other schools, Eldorado likely will pay for as many staff salaries as possible using funds from state and federal sources, like Senate Bill 178 and Title I, which can’t be touched by district-level cuts. But that’s pretty much all the team had to go on.
“If I didn’t have that money I would be in a world of hurt,” Wilson said.
Contact Madelyn Reese at mreese@viewnews.com or 702-383-0497. Follow @MadelynGReese on Twitter.An associate of a Christchurch man who breached a court suppression order has clashed with media outside court this morning.
The incident occurred after lawyers representing Jordan Mason said a misguided sense of loyalty to cricketer Jesse Ryder led him to put video on YouTube of the men charged with assaulting Ryder in breach of a court suppression order.
Mason today admitted the charge of breaching the suppression order, at a Christchurch District Court appearance in the Nga Hau e Wha marae in Aranui.
Judge Jackie Moran remanded him on bail for sentencing on July 10, saying this would give the prosecution and defence a chance to make written submissions.
Mason left court covering his face with a piece of clothing before one of his associates tried to grab a camera from a TVNZ cameraman.
The man then verbally threatened a Press reporter before leaving in a car with Mason in the back, still hiding his face.
In court defence counsel Andrew McKenzie said Mason's offending was "not the most serious breach of its kind".
The suppression orders relating to the two men accused of assaulting Ryder were to be considered at a hearing on May 7.
"It is accepted that if the suppression order lapses it doesn't excuse his behaviour, but it may be a factor to be taken into account," McKenzie said.
Police prosecutor Stewart Sluis said the suppression order had been made by Judge Gary MacAskill at their court appearance on April 4, to cover the names and images of the men accused of assaulting Ryder.
That day, Mason filmed the pair on his cellphone outside the court building and loaded the footage to YouTube, even after being spoken to by a police officer who warned him about the suppression order.
McKenzie said Mason had done it out of a misguided sense of loyalty to Ryder.
"He is now very aware of the reasons for these orders and the importance of them to ensure that the process of justice proceeds in a fair manner," he said, adding that the names of the two men had been published that morning, and they had been named online.
Mason had not named them nor given any identifying details in the video he put on YouTube.
Mason said he had been a reformed boyracer since causing a near-fatal accident in 2002, when he was aged 17.
He was in the news again last year when he was criticised for being filmed hanging out the window of a car at a gathering of boyracers.
CHARGE ADMITTED: Jordan Mason has admitted breaching suppression orders by publishing cellphone footage of Jesse Ryder's alleged attackers.Mixer, formerly known as Beam before its acquisition by Microsoft, and Minecraft, Microsoft's most recent and expensive acquisition, are joining forces for a new level of integration.
With Mixer, Minecraft streamers can now integrate any command in the game into their stream for viewers to hit at their leisure. Want your viewers to summon zombie archers? It's a click away. Want them to summon creepers, for that matter? I wouldn't recommend it, but it's your stream, and Mixer's now letting you do it. This is similar to the Twitch integration in some games that allows people to cheer to rally a main character's health, but at a much more granular and fundamental level.
The process will start working with Minecraft on PC and Android, and will come to Xbox One later this week. All versions of Minecraft that support Mixer will be getting it once it exits beta, including Minecraft VR.
Minecraft is also still testing its Better Together update, which came to PC, mobile, and Xbox One earlier this year. The update will be coming to Nintendo Switch later and allows crossplay across all those versions.
With heavier streaming integration becoming a thing, which game would you want to see with audience-interaction features?Transcript:
Tom the Dancing Bug's Super-Fun-Pak Comix Edited by Ruben Bolling Young Albert Einstein Woman: Albert, why do you toil so on your theories? Woman: Is it to advance human understanding, or for the practical applications? Albert: Neither. It's to become famous enough to have my name on a line of chintzy classical music CDs for babies! Percival Dunwoody, Idiot Time Traveler From 1909 Percival: I have come back in time to KILL HITLER'S ANCESTOR! Percival: There! BAM 200 million years later, Germany. Percival: Perhaps I should have gone back farther... Darthfield: Darthfield: My lasagna is gone! Darthfield: Who ate my lasagna?! Yodie: I know not who ate your lasagna! Yes, hmmm Darthfield: Yodie, you're a moron. Particularly-Good-At-Archery-Man Particularly-Good-At-Archery-Man: Hold, thief, or face the wrath of Particularly-Good-At-Archery-Man! Particularly-Good-At-Archery-Man: Oh, no! It's the one enemy I can't defeat! Barely-Competent-With-A-Machine-Gun-Man: Yes, it's me, Barely-Competent-With-A-Machine-Gun-Man! NEXT: "An Archer's Funeral" Coleman's World Wife: GET A JOB!! YOU'RE A LAZY BUM! Coleman: Actually, I suffer from depression and attention deficit disorder. Mother-In-Law Guffaws ZOO "The posterior of that primate reminds me of my mother-in-law." Matriarch Merriment "I'm glad I was captured -- my mother-in-law was coming for the weekend." Spouse's Mom Sport-Making DEAD SEA "I would be happy if my mother-in-law were dead." Wife's Female Parent Wit "My mother-in-law is a loving person who has been kind to me and my family." "Get him!" "Kill him!"The armed coup in Kiev is painfully similar to CIA operations to oust unwanted foreign leaders in Iran, Chile and Venezuela, said US filmmaker Oliver Stone after interviewing Ukraine’s ousted president for a documentary.
Stone spent four hours in Moscow talking to Viktor Yanukovich, who was deposed from power during the February 2014 coup, the filmmaker wrote on his Facebook page.
“Details to follow in the documentary, but it seems clear that the so-called ‘shooters’ who killed 14 police men, wounded some 85, and killed 45 protesting civilians, were outside third party agitators,” he said. “Many witnesses, including Yanukovych and police officials, believe these foreign elements were introduced by pro-Western factions – with CIA fingerprints on it.”
READ MORE: Reuters investigation exposes ‘serious flaws’ in Maidan massacre probe
The filmmaker added that the events in Kiev, which led to collapse of the Ukrainian government and imposition of a new one hostile towards Russia, were similar to those in other countries, which he called “America’s soft power technique called ‘Regime Change 101’.”
Historically those were CIA-perpetrated coups against Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 and Chilean President Salvador Allende in 1973 – both leaders with policies undesired by Washington or its allies.
READ MORE: Kiev snipers hired by Maidan leaders - leaked EU's Ashton phone tape
More recently there was the 2002 coup in Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez was briefly deposed “after pro and anti-Chavez demonstrators were fired upon by mysterious shooters in office buildings” and the anti-government protests against Chavez’s successor Nicolas Maduro, which “was almost toppled by violence aimed at anti-Maduro protestors,” as Stone put it.
“A dirty story through and through, but in the tragic aftermath of this coup, the West has maintained the dominant narrative of ‘Russia in Crimea’ whereas the true narrative is ‘USA in Ukraine.’ The truth is not being aired in the West,” Stone wrote. “It’s a surreal perversion of history that’s going on once again, as in Bush pre-Iraq ‘WMD’ campaign. But I believe the truth will finally come out in the West, I hope, in time to stop further insanity.”
Stone’s critical assessment of the Ukrainian crisis provoked a storm of comments from pro-Ukrainian Facebook users, who accused him of taking embezzled money from Yanukovich, spreading Kremlin propaganda, simply being an idiot and a variety of other sins.
In addition to the documentary about the Ukrainian coup, Stone is currently working on a film about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who was granted asylum in Russia after exposing the practice of mass electronic surveillance by the US and its allies.
Snowden became stranded in transit at a Moscow airport as his passport was revoked and he couldn’t continue his journey to Latin America. The US wants to try him for his actions, but for many human rights activists and privacy advocates he is a heroic hero, who is being persecuted for revealing a government’s dirty secrets.The wheels may have seemed at times to be rattling on their rims, the axle jangling, the spokes pinging out, but Arsenal's season-on-three-fronts continues to roll along regardless. There was even a whiff of late-season rejuvenation, springtime for Özil and Arsenal, towards the end of this 4-1 FA Cup quarter final defeat of a well-drilled and competitive Everton. By the time Olivier Giroud scored Arsenal's rollicking fourth goal with five minutes left – Tomas Rosicky and Mesut Özil, who had his best match since the start of December, creating it at the end of a sinuous move – the wider struggles of the last few weeks of winter had seemed to fade a little.
If this was a potentially season-reviving result for Arsenal, it was a bracing occasion all round for Özil, who had not scored since the last time these two teams met on 8 December and had created only one assist in his past 12 matches. Arsenal's record signing was bought to make the difference on days like these, and so he did, creating more chances than any other player, scoring one and making one, and possibly even providing a decisive full-stop on a traumatic few weeks during which being wheeled out to play football twice a week has seemed a peculiar kind public trauma.
"He looked physically regenerated," Arsène Wenger said of the German afterwards and Arsenal's manager also looked encouragingly perky here. For all their early-season progress Arsenal have been in a state of mild disintegration these last few weeks, not waving but very slowly drowning ever since the traumatic 5-1 defeat at Liverpool. This time last month they were two points clear in the Premier League and still in the FA Cup with a nothing-to-lose last-16 Champions League tie to look forward to. Had they lost here the season would have effectively dwindled away to the familiar playing-for-fourth endgame within the space of eight matches.
In the end the FA Cup was always likely to be Arsenal's most viable option when it comes to tangible signs of progress this season. They are a few players short of a genuine title-challenging squad: probably they need another Mathieu Flamini, another, slightly better Giroud, a season's worth of fit Theo Walcott and another teeth-bearing, finger-pointing Per Mertesacker-flavoured leader in that starting XI.
For now a place in the Premier League top four looks safe, a 3-0 victory in Munich this week the stuff of the surrealist imagination. This, then, was basically Arsenal's season. In spite of which Wenger rested Giroud and started with Yaya Sanogo, who last scored a club goal on 24 May 2013 for Auxerre in Ligue 2 and who was again energetic and eager, without ever suggesting he has the qualities of a top-class striker, but acting quite effectively as an attacking distraction, a Trojan horse of a centre-forward around which Özil buzzed in the opening half-hour.
Özil began in the centre of a tripod of attacking midfielders, with a yen for drifting to the left, from where he scored the opening goal. There was a fast-breaking incision about the move leading up to it, Santi Cazorla's pass putting the German through in the inside-left channel. His finish, a touch to the side then a low early shot, was classily decisive, the celebration muted. Özil had been booed by a section of the Germany crowd in the defeat of Chile in midweek, despite having made the only goal of the game. Some would like Mario Götze to start ahead of him. Who knows, perhaps a little distant pressure might even do him some good. Here he flitted about purposefully, even at times rather surprisingly. Five minutes after the goal Everton broke quickly down the right. But wait. Who was that mysterious last-ditch tackling back-tracker hustling Kevin Mirallas into touch and drawing an ovation from the home crowd? He seemed to be wearing No11. It couldn't be, could it?
It has been a mark of Özil's drooping confidence that too often of late his shark-like bursts of acceleration have come only when he finds himself in possession, a player trying to invent the game around him from a standing start. Here, though, he moved ceaselessly without the ball in the first half, not simply wandering into space and waiting but using the full range of his gymnast's agility to find room for a pass. When Özil plays like this, on a high-rev even without the ball, Arsenal's attack is transformed.
For all that Everton scored an excellent equaliser. Ross Barkley, who was bold and inventive throughout, sprinted 50 metres through an unpatrolled midfield, Mirallas and Romelu Lukaku combining to convert his cross. For a while after that Özil retreated into himself. The doomed, decelerating sprint down the left wing has been a feature of his recent struggles and he looked for a while like a man on the verge of one of his familiar battery-fades, before the appearance of Giroud for the last 25 minutes turned the match. Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was also excellent, won the decisive penalty, drawing just enough contact from Gareth Barry as he bundled past him. Mikel Arteta scored from the spot and that was pretty much that. Everton played well and were hard done by the scoreline. Arsenal, two matches away from avoiding that lurking 10-year mark without a trophy, will hope this is the start of another spring bloom.I welcome your thoughts on this post, but please read through to the end before commenting. Also, you’ll find the related code (in R) at the end. For those new to this blog, you may be taken aback (though hopefully not bored or shocked!) by how I expose my full process and reasoning. This is intentional and, I strongly believe, much more honest than presenting results without reference to how many different approaches were taken, or how many models were fit, before everything got tidied up into one neat, definitive finding.
Fast summaries
TL;DR (scientific version): Based solely on year-over-year changes in surface temperatures, the net increase since 1881 is fully explainable as a non-independent random walk with no trend.
TL;DR (simple version): Statistician does a test, fails to find evidence of global warming.
Introduction and definitions
As so often happens to terms which have entered the political debate, “global warming” has become infused with additional meanings and implications that go well beyond the literal statement: “the earth is getting warmer.” Anytime someone begins a discussion of global warming (henceforth GW) without a precise definition of what they mean, you should assume their thinking is muddled or their goal is to bamboozle. Here’s my own breakdown of GW into nine related claims:
The earth has been getting warmer. This warming is part of a long term (secular) trend. Warming will be extreme enough to radically change the earth’s environment. The changes will be, on balance, highly negative. The most significant cause of this change is carbon emissions from human beings. Human beings have the ability to significantly reverse this trend. Massive, multilateral cuts to emissions are a realistic possibility. Such massive cuts are unlikely to cause unintended consequences more severe than the warming itself. Emissions cuts are better than alternative strategies, including technological fixes (i.e. iron fertilization), or waiting until scientific advances make better technological fixes likely.
Note that not all proponents of GW believe all nine of these assertions.
The data and the test (for GW1)
The only claims I’m going to evaluate are GW1 and GW2. For data, I’m using surface temperature information from NASA. I’m only considering the yearly average temperature, computed by finding the average of four seasons as listed in the data. The first full year of (seasonal) data is 1881, the last year is 2011 (for this data, years begin in December and end in November).
According to NASA’s data, in 1881 the average yearly surface temperature was 13.76°C. Last year the same average was 14.52°C, or 0.76°C higher (standard deviation on the yearly changes is 0.11°C). None of the most recent ten years have been colder than any of the first ten years. Taking the data at face value (i.e. ignoring claims that it hasn’t been properly adjusted for urban heat islands or that it has been manipulated), the evidence for GW1 is indisputable: The earth has been getting warmer.
Usually, though, what people mean by GW is more than just GW; they mean GW2 as well, since without GW2 none of the other claims are tenable, and the entire discussion might be reduced to a conversation like this:
“I looked up the temperature record this afternoon, and noticed that the earth is now three quarters of a degree warmer than it was in the time of my great great great grandfather.”
“Why, I do believe you are correct, and wasn’t he the one who assassinated James A. Garfield?”
“No, no, no. He’s the one who forced Sitting Bull to surrender in Saskatchewan.”
Testing GW2
Do the data compel us to view GW as part of a trend and not just background noise? To evaluate this claim, I’ll be taking a standard hypothesis testing approach, starting with the null hypothesis that year-over-year (YoY) temperature changes represent an undirected random walk. Under this hypothesis, the YoY changes are modeled as a independent draws from a distribution with mean zero. The final temperature represents the sum of 130 of these YoY changes. To obtain my sampling distribution, I’ve calculated the 130 YoY changes in the data, then subtracted the mean from each one. This way, I’m left with a distribution with the same variance as in the original data. YoY jumps in temperature will be just as spread apart as before, but with the whole distribution shifted over until its expected value becomes zero. Note that I’m not assuming a theoretical distributional form (eg Normality), all of the data I’m working with is empirical.
My test will be to see if, by sampling 130 times (with replacement!) from this distribution of mean zero, we can nonetheless replicate a net change in global temperatures that’s just as extreme as the one in the original data. Specifically, our p-value will be the fraction of times our Monte Carlo simulation yields a temperature change of greater than 0.76°C or less than -0.76°C. Note that mathematically, this is the same test as drawing from the original data, unaltered, then checking how often the sum of changes resulted in a net temperature change of less than 0 or more than 1.52°C.
I have not set a “critical” p-value in advance for rejecting the null hypothesis, as I find this approach to be severely limiting and just as damaging to science as J-Lo is to film. Instead, I’ll comment on the implied strength of the evidence in qualitative terms.
Initial results
The initial results are shown graphically at the beginning of this post (I’ll wait while you scroll back up). As you can see, a large percentage of the samples gave a more extreme temperature change than what was actually observed (shown in red). During the 1000 trials visualized, 56% of the time the results were more extreme than the original data after 130 years worth of changes. I ran the simulation again with millions of trials (turn off plotting if you’re going to try this!); the true p-value for this experiment is approximately 0.55.
For those unfamiliar with how p-values work, this means that, assuming temperature changes are randomly plucked out of a bundle of numbers centered at zero (ie no trend exists), we would still see equally dramatic changes in temperature 55% of the time. Under even the most generous interpretation of the p-value, we have no reason to reject the null hypothesis. In other words, this test finds zero evidence of a global warming trend.
Testing assumptions Part 1
But wait! We still haven’t tested our assumptions. First, are the YoY changes independent? Here’s a scatterplot showing the change in temperature one year versus the change in temperature the next year:
Looks like there’s a negative correlation. A quick linear regression gives a p-value of 0.00846; it’s highly unlikely that the correlation we see (-0.32) is mere chance. One more test worth running is the ACF, or the Autocorrelation function. Here’s the plot R gives us:
Evidence for a negative correlation between consecutive YoY changes is very strong, and there’s some evidence for a negative correlation between YoY changes which are 2 years apart as well.
Before I explain how to incorporate this information into a revised Monte Carlo simulation, what does a negative correlation mean in this context? It tells us that if the earth’s temperature rises by more than average in one year, it’s likely to fall (or rise less than average) the following year, and vice versa. The bigger the jump one way, the larger the jump the other way next year (note this is not a case of regression to the mean; these are changes in temperature, not absolute temperatures. Update: This interpretation depends on your assumptions. Specifically, if you begin by assuming a trend exists, you could see this as regression to the mean. Note, however, that if you start with noise, then draw a moving average, this will induce regression to the mean along your “trendline”). If anything, this is evidence that the earth has some kind of built in balancing mechanism for global temperature changes, but as a non-climatologist all I can say is that the data are compatible with such a mechanism; I have no idea if this makes sense physically.
Correcting for correlation
What effect will factoring in this negative correlation have on our simulation? My initial guess is that it will cause the total temperature change after 130 years to be much smaller than under the pure random walk model, since changes one year are likely to be balanced out by changes next year in the opposite direction. This would, in turn, suggest that the observed 0.76°C change over the past 130 years is much less likely to happen without a trend.
The most straightforward way to incorporate this correlation into our simulation is to sample YoY changes in 2-year increments. Instead of 130 individual changes, we take 65 changes from our set of centered changes, then for each sample we look at that year’s changes and the year that immediately follows it. Here’s what the plot looks like for 1000 trials.
After doing 100,000 trials with 2 year increments, we get a p-value of 0.48. Not much change, and still far from being significant. Sampling 3 years at a time brings our p-value down to 0.39. Note that as we grab longer and longer consecutive chains at once, the p-value has to approach 0 (asymptotically) because we are more and more likely to end up with the original 130 year sequence of (centered) changes, or a sequence which is very similar. For example, increasing our chain from one YoY change to three reduces the number of samplings from 130130 to approximately 4343 – still a huge number, but many orders of magnitude less (Fun problem: calculate exactly how many fewer orders of magnitude. Hint: If it takes you more than a few minutes, you’re doing it wrong).
Correcting for correlation Part 2 (A better way?)
To be more certain of the results, I ran the simulation in a second way. First I sampled 130 of the changes at random, then I threw out any samplings where the correlation coefficient was greater than -0.32. This left me with the subset of random samplings whose coefficients were less than -0.32. I then tested these samplings to see the fraction that gave results as extreme as our original data.
Compared to the chained approach above, I consider this to be a more “honest” way to sample an empirical distribution, given the constraint of a (maximum) correlation threshold. I base this on E.T. Jaynes’ demonstration that, in the face of ignorance as to how a particular statistic was generated, the best approach is to maximize the (informational) entropy. The resulting solution is the most likely result you would get if you sampled from the full space (uniformly), then limited your results to those which match your criteria. Intuitively, this approach says: Of all the ways to arrive at a correlation of -0.32 or less, which are the most likely to occur?
For a more thorough discussion of maximum entropy approaches, see Chapter 11 of Jaynes’ book “Probability Theory” or his “Papers on Probability” (1979). Note that this is complicated, mind-blowing stuff (it was for me, anyway). I strongly recommend taking the time to understand it, but don’t bother unless you have at least an intermediate-level understanding of math and probability.
Here’s what the plot looks like subject to the correlation constraint:
If it looks similar to the other plots in terms of results, that’s because it is. Empirical p-value from 1000 trials? 0.55. Because generating samples with the required correlation coefficients took so long, these were the only trials I performed. However, the results after 1000 trials are very similar to those for 100,000 or a million trials, and with a p-value this high there’s no realistic chance of getting a statistically significant result with more trials (though feel free to try for yourself using the R code and your cluster of computers running Hadoop). In sum, the maximum entropy approach, just like the naive random walk simulation and the consecutive-year simulations, gives us no reason to doubt our default explanation of GW2 – that it is the result of random, undirected changes over time.
One more assumption to test
Another assumption in our model is that that YoY changes have constant variance over time (homoscedasticity). Here’s the plot of the (raw, uncentered) YoY changes:
It appears that the variance might be increasing over time, but just looking at the plot isn’t conclusive. To be sure, I took the absolute value of the changes and ran a simple regression on them. The result? Variance is increasing (p-value 0.00267), though at a rate that’s barely perceptible; the estimated absolute increase in magnitude of the YoY changes is 0.046. That figure is in hundreths of degrees Celsius, so our linear model gives a rate of increase in variability of just 4.6 ten-thousands of a degree per year. Over the course of 130 years, that equates to an increase of six hundredths of a degree Celsius (margin of error of 3.9 hundredths at two std deviations). This strikes me as a miniscule amount, though relative to the size of the YoY changes themselves it’s non-trivial.
Does this increase in volatility invalidate our simulation? I don’t think so. Any model which took into account this increase in volatility (while still being centered) would be more likely to produce extreme results under the null hypothesis of undirected change. In other words, the bigger the yearly temperature changes, the more likely a random sampling of those changes will lead us far away from our 13.8°C starting point in 1881, with most of the variation coming towards the end. If we look at the data, this is exactly what happens. During the first 63 years of data the temperature increases by 42 hundredths of a degree, then drops 40 hundredths in just 12 years, then rises 80 hundredths within 25 years of that; the temperature roller coaster is becoming more extreme over time, as variability increases.
Beyond falsifiability
Philosopher Karl Popper insisted that for a theory to be scientific, it must be falsifiabile. That is, there must exist the possibility of evidence to refute the theory, if the theory is incorrect. But falsifiability, by itself, is too low a bar for a theory to gain acceptance. Popper argued that there were gradations and that “the amount of empirical information conveyed by a theory, or it’s empirical content, increases with its degree of falsifiability” (emphasis in original).
Put in my words, the easier it is to disprove a theory, the more valuable the theory. (Incorrect) theories are easy to disprove if they give narrow prediction bands, are testable in a reasonable amount of time using current technology and measurement tools, and if they predict something novel or unexpected (given our existing theories).
Perhaps you have already begun to evaluate the GW claims in terms of these criteria. I won’t do a full assay of how the GW theories measure up, but I will note that we’ve had several long periods (10 years or more) with no increase in global temperatures, so any theory of GW3 or GW5 will have to be broad enough to encompass decades of non-warming, which in turn makes the theory much harder to disprove. We are in one of those sideways periods right now. That may be ending, but if it doesn’t, how many more years of non-warming would we need for scientists to abandon the theory?
I should point out that a poor or a weak theory isn’t the same as an incorrect theory. It’s conceivable that the earth is in a long-term warming trend (GW2) and that this warming has a man-made component (GW5), but that this will be a slow process with plenty of backsliding, visible only over hundreds or thousands of years. The problem we face is that GW3 and beyond are extreme claims, often made to bolster support for extreme changes in how we live. Does it make sense to base extreme claims on difficult to falsify theories backed up by evidence as weak as the global temperature data?
Invoking Pascal’s Wager
Many of the arguments in favor of radical changes to how we live go like this: Even if the case for extreme man-made temperature change is weak, the consequences could be catastrophic. Therefore, it’s worth spending a huge amount of money to head off a potential disaster. In this form, the argument reminds me of Pascal’s Wager, named after Blaise Pascal, a 17th century mathematician and co-founder of modern probability theory. Pascal argued that you should “wager” in favor of the existance of God and live life accordingly: If you are right, the outcome is infinitely good, whereas if you are wrong and there is no God, the most you will have lost is a lifetime of pleasure.
Before writing this post, I Googled to see if others had made this same connection. I found many discussions of the similarities, including this excellent article by Jim Manzi at The American Scene. Manzi points out problems with applying Pascal’s Wager, including the difficulty in defining a stopping point for spending resources to prevent the event. If a 20°C increase in temperature is possible, and given that such an increase would be devastating to billions of people, then we should be willing to spend a nearly unlimited amount to avert even a tiny chance of such an increase. The math works like this: Amount we should be willing to spend = probability of 20°C increase (say 0.00001) * harm such an increase would do (a godzilla dollars). The end result is bigger than the GDP of the planet.
Of course, catastrophic GW isn’t the only potential threat can have Pascal’s |
housing facility for foreign military trainees at Pensacola. Two others, Hamza Alghamdi and Ahmed Alnami, have names similar to individuals listed in public records as using the same address inside the base. In addition, a man named Saeed Alghamdi graduated from the Defense Language Institute at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, while men with the same names as two other hijackers, Mohamed Atta and Abdulaziz Alomari, appear as graduates of the U.S. International Officers School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., and the Aerospace Medical School at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, respectively. order Mohamed Atta and the Venice Flying Circus, the real story of the Hijackers 2 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/1559151.stm
BBC - 9/23/01 - Hijack'suspects' alive and well
And there are suggestions that another suspect, Khalid Al Midhar, may also be alive. http://www.azstarnet.com/attack/10928TERRORISTMUGGRAPHIC.html
Online Service of the Arizona Daily Star - 9/28/01 - Hijack suspect profiles
"An FBI notice to banks on Sept. 19 raised the possibility that Almihdhar might still be alive without speculating or explaining how that could be possible. " http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/27/inv.suspects/
CNN - 9/28/01 - Details of hijacking suspects released
Khalid Almihdhar: there are reports he is still alive 3 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/1559151.stm
BBC - 9/23/01 - Hijack'suspects' alive and well
Another of the men named by the FBI as a hijacker in the suicide attacks on Washington and New York has turned up alive and well. Saudi Arabian pilot Waleed Al Shehri was one of five men that the FBI said had deliberately crashed American Airlines flight 11 into the World Trade Centre on 11 September. Now he is protesting his innocence from Casablanca, Morocco. 4 http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=94438
'Suicide hijacker' is an airline pilot alive and well in Jeddah - 9/17/01
A man named by the US Department of Justice as a suicide hijacker of American Airlines flight 11 the first airliner to smash into the World Trade Centre is very much alive and living in Jeddah. Abdulrahman al-Omari, a pilot with Saudi Airlines, was astonished to find himself accused of hijacking as well as being dead and has visited the US consulate in Jeddah to demand an explanation. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/WTC_suspects.html
ABC - Who Did It? FBI Links Names to Terror Attacks
"The name [listed by the FBI] is my name and the birth date is the same as mine, but I am not the one who bombed the World Trade Center in New York," Abdulaziz Alomari told the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/23/widen23.xml
Revealed: the men with stolen identities - 9/23/01
Mr Al-Omari, who was accused of hijacking the American Airlines plane that smashed into the the World Trade Centre's north tower, said that he was at his desk at the Saudi telecommunications authority in Riyadh when the attacks took place. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/1559151.stm
BBC - 9/23/01 - Hijack'suspects' alive and well
Abdulaziz Al Omari, another of the Flight 11 hijack suspects, has also been quoted in Arab news reports. He says he is an engineer with Saudi Telecoms, and that he lost his passport while studying in Denver. 5 http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/23/widen23.xml
Revealed: the men with stolen identities - 9/23/01
The Saudi Airlines pilot, Saeed Al-Ghamdi, 25, and Abdulaziz Al-Omari, an engineer from Riyadh, are furious that the hijackers' "personal details" - including name, place, date of birth and occupation - matched their own. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/1559151.stm
BBC - 9/23/01 - Hijack'suspects' alive and well
Meanwhile, Asharq Al Awsat newspaper, a London-based Arabic daily, says it has interviewed Saeed Alghamdi. He was listed by the FBI as a hijacker in the United flight that crashed in Pennsylvania. 6 http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/23/widen23.xml
Revealed: the men with stolen identities - 9/23/01
Mr Al-Hamzi is 26 and had just returned to work at a petrochemical complex in the industrial eastern city of Yanbou after a holiday in Saudi Arabia when the hijackers struck. He was accused of hijacking the American Airlines Flight 77 that hit the Pentagon. He said: "I have never been to the United States and have not been out of Saudi Arabia in the past two years." The FBI described him as 21 and said that his possible residences were Fort Lee or Wayne, both in New Jersey. 7 http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/23/widen23.xml
Revealed: the men with stolen identities - 9/23/01
Mr Al-Nami, 33, from Riyadh, an administrative supervisor with Saudi Arabian Airlines, said that he was in Riyadh when the terrorists struck. He said: "I'm still alive, as you can see. I was shocked to see my name mentioned by the American Justice Department. I had never even heard of Pennsylvania where the plane I was supposed to have hijacked." 8 http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/13/investigation.terrorism/index.html
CNN - FBI: Early probe results show 18 hijackers took part 9/13/01
Based on information from multiple law enforcement sources, CNN reported that Adnan Bukhari and Ameer Bukhari of Vero Beach Florida, were suspected to be two of the pilots who crashed planes into the World Trade Center. CNN later learned that Adnan Bukhari is still in Florida, where he was questioned by the FBI. We are sorry for the misinformation. A federal law enforcement source now tells CNN that Bukhari passed an FBI polygraph and is not considered a suspect. Through his attorney, Bukhari says that he is helping authorities. Ameer Bukhari died in a small plane crash last year. Some of those involved in the plot left suicide notes, but they are not believed to have been the hijackers, a government source told The Associated Press. It was unclear whether those who left the notes actually killed themselves. 9 Cairo Times - 9/27/01
He also claimed that his son had called him two days after the attack, and described it as "a normal conversation." But he snarled when asked to give further details. Asked what country Muhammad had called from, he said, "The name of the country isn't written on the phone." Asked where Muhammad was now, he said, "Ask Mossad." order Mohamed Atta and the Venice Flying Circus, the real story of the Hijackers
Video shows Atta was not suicidal, as he pays bills and returns rentals. 10 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-092101probe.story
Los Angeles Times - 9/21/01
A man by the same name is a pilot, whose father is a Saudi diplomat in Bombay. "I personally talked to both father and son today," said Gaafar Allagany, head of the Saudi Embassy's information center. 11 Saudi Gazette 9/18/01 and The Khaleej Times 9/20/01
Marwan al-Shehhi is still alive in Morocco 12 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/12/20/attack/main322092.shtml
CBS - Bin Laden Names Hijackers On Tape Dec. 20, 2001
He would identify only three: Nawaq Alhamzi, Salem Alhamzi and Wail Alshehri. Alshehri was on American Airlines flight 11, one of the planes that hit the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in New York; Alhamzi and Alhamzi were on American Airlines flight 77, which hit the Pentagon. Bin Laden's "smoking gun" video names living, uninvolved people? This makes no sense!
This is just the beginning, this "confession" video is full of abnormalities. 13 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1556096.stm
BBC- The last moments of Flight 11
The FBI has named five hijackers on board Flight 11, whereas Ms Sweeney spotted only four. Also, the seat numbers she gave were different from those registered in the hijackers' names. 14 http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/092701hjpic.htm
U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bueau of Investigation - Hijackers
15 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1553754.stm
BBC - FBI probes hijackers' identities 9/21/01
It believes that some of the hijackers used false identities, possibly even names of people who are still alive, which could significantly complicate the manhunt. 16 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sns-worldtrade-jarrah-lat.story
Los Angeles Times - 10/23/01 - Friends of terror suspect say allegations make no sense
By Carol J. Williams Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
...Ziad and Salim... left Lebanon together April 4, 1996, at the age of 20, heading to the eastern German town of Greifswald in pursuit of both an education and a good time. Jarrah and the other three men named by the FBI as hijackers...initially came to be on the list of 19 because they "have been identified as having 'Arabic' names http://web.archive.org/web/20010925123748/boston.com/dailyglobe2/268/nation/Hijack_suspect_lived_a_life_or_a_lie%2B.shtml
Boston Globe - Hijack suspect lived a life, or a lie - 9/25/01
Although a Brooklyn apartment lease from 1995-1996 bears Ziad Jarrah's name - and landlords there have identified his photograph - his family insists he was in Beirut at the time. How was he in Brooklyn and Lebanon at the same time?..two days before the hijacking, his nephew called and told the family he'd be coming home for a cousin's wedding in mid-September. "He said he had even bought a new suit for the occasion." http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/08/01/cia.hijacker/index.html
CNN 8/1/02 - September 11 hijacker questioned in January 2001
The CIA suspected Ziad Jarrah had been in Afghanistan and wanted him questioned because of "his suspected involvement in terrorist activities," UAE sources said. A CIA spokesman vigorously denied that the CIA knew anything about Jarrah before September 11 or had anything do with his questioning in Dubai. 17 The New Yorker - What Went Wrong
by Seymour Hersh - 10/1/01
Many of the investigators believe that some of the initial clues that were uncovered about the terrorists' identities and preparations, such as flight manuals, were meant to be found. A former high-level intelligence official told me, "Whatever trail was left was left deliberately--for the F.B.I. to chase." In interviews over the past two weeks, a number of intelligence officials have raised questions about Osama bin Laden's capabilities. "This guy sits in a cave in Afghanistan and he's running this operation?" one C.I.A. official asked. "It's so huge. He couldn't have done it alone." A senior military officer told me that because of the visas and other documentation needed to infiltrate team members into the United States, a major foreign intelligence service might also have been involved. 18 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19549-2001Sep24.html
Washington Post - 9/25/01 - Some Light Shed On Saudi Suspects - A12
Still, the father of Alghamdi told Al Watan that the picture provided by the FBI was not that of his son. "It has no resemblance to him at all," he said. 19 http://www.newsday.com/ny-usflight232380680sep23.story
Tracing Trail Of Hijackers - By Thomas Frank - 9/23/01
At Freeway Airport in Bowie, Md., 20 miles west of Washington, flight instructor Sheri Baxter instantly recognized the name of alleged hijacker Hani Hanjour when the FBI released a list of 19 suspects in the four hijackings. Hanjour, the only suspect on Flight 77 the FBI listed as a pilot, had come to the airport one month earlier seeking to rent a small plane.... However, when Baxter and fellow instructor Ben Conner took....Hanjour on three test runs during the second week of August, they found he had trouble controlling and landing the single-engine Cessna 172......chief flight instructor Marcel Bernard declined to rent him a plane without more lessons. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14365-2001Sep11.html
Washington Post - On Flight 77: 'Our Plane Is Being Hijacked' - 9/12/01 - Page A01
...the unidentified pilot executed a pivot so tight that it reminded observers of a fighter jet maneuver. The plane circled 270 degrees to the right to approach the Pentagon from the west, whereupon Flight 77 fell below radar level, vanishing from controllers' screens, the sources said.... Aviation sources said the plane was flown with extraordinary skill, making it highly likely that a trained pilot was at the helm... Someone even knew how to turn off the transponder, a move that is considerably less than obvious. 20 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/09/attack/main521223.shtml
CBS - Hijackers Lived With FBI Informant - Sept. 9, 2002
Two of the Sept. 11 hijackers who lived in San Diego in 2000 rented a room from a man who reportedly worked as an undercover FBI informant....the FBI informant prayed with them and even helped one open a bank account.View the original article on Raymmar.com
If You Could Have Any Super Power, What Would It Be?
I love to ask people this question.
It allows me to understand their creative and philosophical perspective while getting to know a little bit more about them as an individual.
I used to do a lot of interviewing for a sales and marketing firm, and this was a question I would ask every candidate I interviewed. It was a fun way to dig into the psyche of the applicant while disarming them and making the conversation instantly interesting.
It was always interesting to watch them react because it is not a question anyone expects to get asked during a job interview.
It is not something you prepare for, and definitely not a question you expect to answer at an interview for a sales job.
That’s What Makes It A Great Question
If asking someone where they want to be in 5 years is a regular interview question, then asking them about an imaginary super power is a super question.
It allows me to immediately gauge how they react to the unknown.
It allows me to understand how quickly they can run through their creative decision making process as well as letting me see how creative they can actually be.
Letting them pick a a super power is never enough though. I always follow up by asking why they want that particular superpower.
The Beauty Of This Question Is Always In The Why…
I am not interviewing you for a job, but I am challenging you with the same question. If you could pick a superpower, what would it be? What would you do with it?
Why would you pick that superpower?
Would you use your power for good or evil? Do you want to fly so that you can see the world, or do you want to be invisible so you can sneak into the girls locker room undetected?
I know you aren’t all out there thinking about saving the world with your super powers so be honest with yourself. You know you have those dark thoughts inside of you. The ones that make you do all the shit you hate about yourself. The ones that you cannot control at times, even though you mostly do.
No sense in lying here. It is not like your job depends on it. And we are just thinking in our own heads, so why lie?
Me? I think about stopping time so I can rob a bank.
I think about it all the time.
I probably think about robbing banks more than anyone should. I have imagined detailed get-away plans, high-speed chases, and complicated cons for how to maximize the score and diminish the potential of failure.
That doesn’t mean it will ever happen. It doesn’t mean I am going to ever execute the plan but there is something that comes with understanding that part of yourself that is vital to claiming your real world super power.
Understanding and embracing this side of my brain has allowed me to understand my thought process It has allowed me to understand myself. My true self. Not the pretend me that I so often project to the world.
Is This Dude Really Talking About Superpowers?
I meet people with real life super powers every day.
I even see people who think they are average when reality is that they have just not yet discovered what the extent of their true super powers really are. Unable to understand that we all have a super power hidden inside us. Something we each have to discover on our own.
Let Me Explain
Have you ever met anyone with real life superpowers? Someone who seemed to be bullet-proof, always on the right side of fortune and amazingly efficient in their daily tasks. Never sad, hurt, angry or annoyed. Just calm, alert, prepared, and able to adapt to anything that comes their way.
The guy that always has the right answer, always knows what to do next. Ready at a moment’s notice, to run off and fight the villains of life.
The guy that gets all the girls. The girl who owns the sales floor, the quarterback who makes all the throws…
You look at these people and wonder how they do it, how they get it all done. How do they outperform you at work, on the court, in the gym and at life in general?
For some reason, no matter how nice you are and how good you live you just can’t seem to crawl out from under your rock.
You feel like no matter how hard you try or how good you become at whatever you do there will always be someone better than you so you do not push. You do not strive for excellence.
You think the world is always one step ahead and always out of reach.
You think that the system is holding you down so “why bother?”.
Well… I say “fuck that”! I say “forget about those people and quit comparing yourself to them”.
Quit thinking that anything in life is fair, or supposed to be easy. Quit thinking that you will be successful, simply because you are a good person or because you deserve it.
Quit thinking anyone owes you anything, should buy you a present, do something for you or even care about how you feel.
It is up to you to decide when, where, why, and how you take off the tie, rip open your shirt and strip down to your tights, because until you can look at yourself in the mirror and love what you see you will never have a chance at being happy.
No one can ever truly love you because if you do not love yourself, they will never have a chance to love you. They will have fallen in love with your facade and when it vanishes, so will they.
Shame On You…
For holding other people up as more than human.
For thinking that you are not capable of doing everything you dream you can do. Everything you know you can do. From unleashing the monster inside you. The monster that the world might hate but you might love.
The monster you feel inside of you. Stirring. Waiting for you to set it free. Begging you to give in and let it help you become the person you always wanted to be.
For thinking that because someone has a little more money than you or a little more opportunity handed to them here and there, that they are somehow better than you. For giving up hope in the fact that you can go and create value in this world and change your circumstance.
For forgetting that this is still America.
For forgetting that this is still a place where risk, hard work and determination are still rewarded. That this is a place where the underdog always has a chance and where the little guy is always the crowd favorite.
I don’t care what color you are or where you come from, if you wake up each day and bust your ass for something you believe in then no one can stand in your way.
You can still go out and make a difference in your own life and the lives of the people around you.
You can go be anyone, or anything you want to be; so quit acting like a little bitch and grab your damn cape!
The Mutations
I can’t tell you where to find your super power or what specifically it is but I can guide you with examples of super powers I have encountered in this game called life.
When you finally discover your super power you will wonder what the heck took you so long and how you ever got along without it.
Control Time
No one is punctual anymore. Seriously… whats up with that?
It used to be a social taboo to show up late and now it seems that being late is the norm.
Some of my friends call it BPT which stands for Black People Time but we used to joke about Puerto Ricans always being late long before I found out what that was. My dad (born Puerto Rican) was adamant about us being on time. He used to tell me how much he hated people being late, especially other Latin people. It was a matter of pride. It was a matter of him honoring his word. That always struck a chord with me and has stayed with me to this date.
No matter what your race or what your excuse, being late is something you CAN control. Don’t give me the “I just can’t help it” excuse, because you and I both know it’s full of shit.
I get it. You slept in, forgot, or whatever but just fess up. We all do it. Don’t make a habit of it and make an effort to maximize the time you do spend working on your dream as well as for others.
And for gods sake, when you are with someone, make them feel like you are with them. Not in another galaxy, on your computer or on your phone. I know we can all say amen to that!
Fly:
So many people restrict their ability to succeed in life by throwing hurdles in front of themselves.
We all know someone like this; I am sure of it. That person who has all the potential in the world but never seems to be doing anything with it.
The person who always has an excuse for why things are not going their way. Maybe they need to “go back to school” or they “need an investor to fund their idea”.
These people will never fly because they are always looking at things from a negative light. They are always looking for reasons why something will not work as opposed to looking for the things that will work.
If you want to fly, you have to look for opportunities. You have to look for opportunities to try as opposed to focusing on the reasons why you will fail. Just go do something. Google it. YouTube it. Learn a new skill. Pick up a new hobby. Create something from scratch.
You will be amazed at what you can learn for free these days and if you really want to fly, then set yourself free. Don’t listen to the people around you who are weighed down with the same self imposed constraints that you are trying to leave behind.
Become A Shape Shifter:
The easiest things to break in life are rigid. Think glass vs Plexiglas. Why do you think they put rebar in concrete? So that the structure can flex and not crumble. It adds flexibility to reinforce the concrete.
“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” Bruce Lee
Being flexible in life allows you to change and adapt. As an individual, you have something that the large organizations can never have; the ability to change strategies and turn on a dime. With this skill you can learn, adapt, perform and grow on the fly. Always one step ahead of everyone else.
Become Bullet-proof:
Walk free in the world, by becoming comfortable with your flaws.
Quit hiding them from yourself and your friends.
Quit pretending you are perfect and then you can finally quit expecting the world to see you that way.
We give the people around us so much power over our lives by letting their opinions influence our decision, buying behaviors, sexual experiences and personal relationships. Learn to stand up for yourself. Learn to think for yourself.
Learn to love yourself because without that no one can ever love you. Sure you can try and it will feel good for a while but it always comes out. We always crack.
You know what I am talking about. Maybe you are there right now. Maybe you feel like a house of cards, waiting for the whole thing to come crumbling down. Waiting for the straw that breaks the camels back.
Maybe you cant see it. Maybe you are clueless to the possibility of collapse, which is the worst of all possibilities, but be warned, the world is trying to break you.
The world will put you in the corner and beat on you until you tap out or come out swinging.
There is no referee. There is no bell; no buzzer to save you from this beat down.
But you can fight back. You don’t have to just sit there and take it.
You can protect yourself. You can grab a shield and defend against the constant attack of your self worth.
You can claim your super power.
You can say to yourself that you will no longer stand on the sideline and watch as our culture is destroyed.
Come On Man, Get Real!
I know people don’t really have super powers (I love me some X-men though).
I know that humans will probably never (not in my lifetime at least) be able to shape-shift, fly independently, travel through, or control time.
I just want you to see that more often than not, success comes through hard work and dedication. Not luck. Not government, not Jesus, not Allah and not your mamma!
It is up to you!
Why wouldn’t you want to achieve something with your life. Why shouldn’t you have dreams and goals? Why shouldn’t you learn how to live with nothing in order to understand the value of having it all.
Being given nice things might feel good and living in wealth is definitely appealing but I have to imagine that creating wealth is much more fulfilling. I have to believe that building something for yourself, something that you can call your own has to be exponentially more rewarding.
It’s Never The Idea; It’s The Execution
Going out and setting your mind to something and then getting it done is definitely something to get excited about. It is something you should be rewarded for. Who are we to set a cap on that reward?
Who are we to judge anyone else for what they have; to pretend like we know what it took for them to get it.
Who are we to covet their possessions; to force upon them your perception of what a fair share should be when you are unwilling to contribute any share at all.
Why not use their success as inspiration towards the next level of success in whatever it is that defines the boundaries of your life.
To conquer one thing in life and then pick something else. And then something else. And on and on, until you are a transformer of talent. A candidate so unemployable that you have to start your own company.
Because you will always feel undervalued when you finally discover what you’re actually worth.
What Are You Waiting For?
You never know what you might inspire someone to do if you just did a little more yourself.
If you stopped worrying about the rest of the world and just worried about you.
You might just use one of your super powers to save someones life. One day at a time.
You might just be the very reason why someone else is living their life, so how dare you give up on yours?
So, I’ll Ask You Again…
If you could have any super power… What would it be?
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Issue Regarding Adamantite Ore Challenge
Update:
The issue described below has been fixed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
To thank you for your patience, we are extending the Daily Jewels Challenge by three days, until Jul. 6 11:59 p.m. (PT) / Jul. 7 6:59 (UTC).
That's 600 extra Jewels you could earn this week!
Original Notification:
We have confirmed an issue wherein players would get the error message "An error has occurred. (E:13-0003)60411" when attempting to do the Adamantite Ore Challenge "Lady Luck Pt. 2."
The issue is being addressed, and we will provide you with an update as soon as it has been resolved.
We thank you for your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Thank you for playingAfter almost five years of manic one-upmanship following the initial release of the iPhone, one OEM has finally realized that the future of smartphones lays in the arms of everyday consumers. The Nokia Lumia 900, available today and priced at $450 off-contract (or between $0 and $99 on-contract), is the cheapest, high-performance smartphone that the world has ever seen, and a strong indicator that it’s high time for early adopters to step aside before they’re washed away by mom-and-pop consumers. In comparison, the 16GB iPhone 4S is $650, and the 16GB Galaxy Nexus is around $600.
The key word here is “high-performance,” rather than high-end. The Lumia 900 has a thoroughly middle-of-the-road spec — a 1.4GHz single-core Snapdragon S2 Scorpion (circa 2010!), 512MB of RAM, a 800×480 display, and 16GB of storage — but for Windows Phone 7, that’s ample. A penta-band MDM9200 Qualcomm radio provides LTE coverage in the US, and good worldwide 3G coverage. The only stand-out piece of hardware is the 8-megapixel, Carl Zeiss, capable-of-720p-video camera on the back — but to be honest, this is the one bit that Nokia couldn’t skimp on; WP7 might be able to give an old CPU a new lease of life, but what good is that if the phone has a crappy camera?
Of course there are trade-offs, too. By using older, cheaper hardware, the Lumia 900 is larger and heavier than the competition, and it also has a shorter battery life (7 hours of talk time vs. 8 on the iPhone 4S and 12 on the Galaxy Nexus). And, of course, the biggest hurdle of all is still Windows Phone 7.
I know this is a very tired argument, but you can’t escape the fact that WP7 has just a 4% share of the US smartphone market (and probably much less worldwide). The third-party developer ecosystem is simply incomparable to Android or iOS. While WP7 recently crossed the 70k mark, Android and iOS both have at least 500,000. As a result, WP7 misses official apps for services like HBO Go, Hulu, Sonos, Tweetdeck, and Dropbox.
There are major architectural absences, too. WP7 doesn’t support IPsec VPN at all, and doesn’t have built-in support for VoIP or video calling, or USB mass storage. Windows Phone 8, due out later this year, will fix most of these issues, though, and cross-compatibility with Windows 8 should resolve any app ecosystem issues.
In reality, though, many of these factors are the kind of thing that would put off upgrades or sidegrades — they’re not the kind of thing that a first-time smartphone buyer balks at. The Lumia 900 feels good in the hand, looks attractive, is very responsive, and has most of the features that a smartphone should have.
That’s the key point here: The Lumia 900 isn’t targeting iPhone or Galaxy users; it’s targeting the 41% of the US public who still own a feature phone. If you’re already firmly set on getting an iPhone, the Lumia won’t stop you — but for walk-in customers, the $200 price difference is really quite significant. For customers on the fence — if saving $200 isn’t enough — the Lumia has a bigger screen than the iPhone and a better camera than most Android phones — two factors that could easily sway people towards the Nokia device.
Other tech sites are calling the Lumia 900 a flagship phone, and thus comparing it to other flagships like the iPhone 4S — but that’s like comparing the latest Hyundai with a Ferrari. They’re both excellent cars/phones, but they appeal to wholly different categories of consumer. The Lumia 900 is $200 cheaper than the iPhone 4S!
In actual fact, there isn’t really anything that we can compare the Lumia 900 to. It’s a whole new class of phone — a commodity smartphone that’s priced and marketed for the masses. It has all the trappings of a smartphone, but a price closer to that of a dumbphone. In short, as long as Nokia and Microsoft can convince the masses that this is a smartphone, and yet not directly comparable to the iPhone or high-end Androids — and the “Beautifully Different” ad campaign does just that — the Lumia 900 should fly off the shelves.
On a related note, the $450 Lumia 900 all but confirms my suspicion that a $200 Windows 8 tablet will be available at launch. Much in the same way that the Lumia could redefine the smartphone, the Nokia Windows 8 tablet should redefine tablet computing.
Read the full Lumia 900 review at PC Mag, or read about the dumbphone revolutionFormer Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, whose administration drew immense controversy in 2010 for signing into law the nation's harshest immigration laws, does not seem very worried Latinos could carry her state for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016.
In an interview with the Boston Globe, Brewer dismissed recent polls showing Clinton has up to a five-point 39-34% lead in Arizona, saying Latinos don't vote.
"Nah," Brewer told the paper. "They don't get out and vote. They don't vote."
Brewer might rightly be more concerned. While Arizona has been a Republican electoral stronghold for decades — the state has voted only once for a Democrat since 1976, re-electing Bill Clinton in 1996 — Latinos comprise a third of the state's population, and according to the Globe, are a major part of a coalition Clinton is building with other groups including Mormons to defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Poll-tracking site FiveThirtyEight, whose national model incorporating polls, economic and historical data currently predicts Clinton has a nearly 84% chance of winning on Nov. 8, still gives Trump an edge in the state with a 53.3% chance of victory as of Saturday afternoon. But just weeks ago on Sept. 27, that same model showed Trump with a 79.7% chance of victory and Clinton at a paltry 20.2% in Arizona.
While Brewer's brush-off might reflect a long-held view among Arizona Republicans the state's GOP establishment is unassailable, Trump's campaign seems set to post even more paltry numbers with Latinos nationally than his predecessor Mitt Romney.
Republican Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake said Republicans should be cautious regarding Trump's inflammatory rhetoric on Latinos and immigration, telling the Washington Post earlier this year, "We can't afford to alienate and demonize the largest-growing demographic out there. Back in the '60s, we Republicans lost the African-American vote that we still haven't gained back... I think we're not in a good position. I think Mr. Trump is not where he needs to be to win a general election."
In a statement forwarded to Mic, DNC Deputy National Press Secretary Jose Aristimuño said the GOP had ignored the results of a prior autopsy on Romney's campaign and Brewer "said in no uncertain terms that the Latino vote doesn't matter, that it's not going to make a difference this November. Her words are an incredibly offensive slap in the face to the Latino community."
Oct. 10, 2016 at 6:51 p.m. Eastern: This article has been updated.When you ask a stupid question, you get a stupid answer. And when you attempt a stupid crime, you might get your butt kicked.
That’s a lesson Karl Rogers and Adrian Sanchez learned the hard way.
(READ: Toys “R” Us Scam: Mother and Son Steal $2 Million in Toys)
Police arrested the two men in connection with an attempted burglary at a San Antonio martial arts gym Tuesday night–a crime that was foiled by mixed martial arts fighters still inside the building.
“We’re just kind of sitting down, drinking water, talking about what’s going on, and we start to hear pounding on this door,” Caleb Murphee, an MMA fighter, told KSAT News.
Rogers and Sanchez’ alleged invasion was thwarted by weight-wielding martial artists, who scared them off. The pair fled — wisely — but police caught up with them as Sanchez tried to hide in a parking lot and Rogers turned a corner, carrying a hatchet.
Police took them into custody, and Murphee never had a chance to put his skills to the test.
“If he would have tried to rough me up or something, yeah, I definitely would have defended myself,” he told KSAT News. “ |
should not be bound more closely to Washington, D.C.
"I don't want to automatically increase federal funding for education program growth, such as the National Endowment for the Arts, at a time when Alaska can't afford to sustain that increase," said Palin, who was the Republican vice presidential candidate last year. "We need to ensure that these stimulus dollars are used for job opportunities for Alaskans, while preserving the regular operating spending decisions through the normal budget process."
The governor, however, said she would not stand in the way of state lawmakers or local officials if they want to request additional funds.
Dismayed by Palin's decision, Sen. Mark Begich urged his state's legislature to request the rest of the $930 million allocated to the state. The money would help Alaskans struggling to cope with the recession.
"I trust the legislature will do the right thing and take Alaska's share of the money for education in the economic recovery package," said Begich, a Democrat. "We owe it to our children to give them the most opportunities possible, and this is money fairly allocated to Alaska in this stimulus package."
Thanks, but we're broke
Nevada's fiscal problems are so severe that it can't meet the stimulus law's requirement that it fund its higher education system at 2006 levels. Therefore, it's asking for a waiver. The state is set to receive nearly $324 million in stabilization funds for education of all levels.
"Our state is in such a dire financial crisis that we believe it would be very difficult or impossible to fund education -- especially higher education -- at 2006 levels," said Daniel Burns, spokesman for Gov. Jim Gibbons.
The state is facing the largest 2010 budget gap of any in the nation, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Hammered hard by the foreclosure crisis and suffering from rising unemployment, Nevada is looking to shear $1.1 billion, or 30%, from its budget.
Gibbons may also reject $77 million for unemployment benefits that would require the state to expand eligibility to part-time workers and others. If he does so, he'd join his peers in Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina and elsewhere who have said they would turn down the funds.
Several governors across the nation have expressed reservations about the expanded eligibility because federal money to fund it runs out after two years. They fear businesses would face higher unemployment insurance taxes to continue the benefits after that.
In Texas, for instance, Gov. Rick Perry said last week that his state's employers can't afford that stimulus provision.
"The last thing they need right now is government burdening them with higher taxes and expanded obligations," he said in prepared remarks.
The decision, however, doesn't rest with governors alone. The federal law allows for state legislatures to request funds. That's exactly what is happening in Nevada, where the House introduced a measure this week to expand its eligibility provisions. Nevada's unemployment rate in January was 9.4%, higher than the nation's 7.6% rate that month.
Though the governor could veto the legislation, which would bring more than 4,100 people onto the rolls, lawmakers don't believe he will. The governor's office did not respond to requests for comment.
"It would be a slap in the face to anyone who is unemployed, and right now that is one out of 10 Nevadans," said Barbara Buckley, speaker of the Nevada House.While configuring a Linux kernel, we can set some parameters that effect the system behavior. You can work with different priorities, scheduling classes and preemption models. It is very important to understand and choose the right parameters.
In this post I will cover the different preemption models and how does each one effect the user and kernel behaviour
If you configure the kernel (using make menuconfig), you can find, usually in kernel features sub menu the option – Preemption model:
To understand each option lets take an example:
We have 2 threads – one with high real time priority(50) and the other with low RT priority(30)
The high priority thread went to sleep for 3 seconds
The low priority threads uses the CPU for user space calculations
After 3 seconds the high priority thread will wake up
This case is easy and reasonable but what happens if the low priority thread call a kernel code while the high priority is sleeping? It is depends on the above configuration
No Forced Preemption
The context switch is done only when we return from the kernel. Lets take an example :
We have 2 threads – one with high real time priority(50) and the other with low RT priority(30)
The high priority thread went to sleep for 3 seconds
The low priority threads calls a kernel code that last for 5 seconds
After 5 seconds the low priority thread returns from the kernel
The high priority thread will wake up (2 seconds late)
Lets see the code:
Kernel code – simple character device driver:
#include <asm/uaccess.h> #include <linux/fs.h> #include <linux/gfp.h> #include <linux/cdev.h> #include <linux/sched.h> #include <linux/kdev_t.h> #include <linux/delay.h> #include <linux/ioctl.h> #include <linux/slab.h> #include <linux/mempool.h> #include <linux/mm.h> #include <asm/io.h> static dev_t my_dev; static struct cdev *my_cdev; // callback for read system call on the device static ssize_t my_read(struct file *file, char __user *buf,size_t count,loff_t *ppos) { int len=5; if(*ppos > 0) { return 0; } mdelay(5000); // busy-wait for 5 seconds if (copy_to_user(buf, "hello", len)) { return -EFAULT; } else { *ppos +=len; return len; } } static struct file_operations my_fops = {.owner = THIS_MODULE,.read = my_read, }; static int hello_init (void) { my_dev = MKDEV(400,0); register_chrdev_region(my_dev,1,"demo"); my_cdev=cdev_alloc(); if(!my_cdev) { printk (KERN_INFO "cdev alloc error.
"); return -1; } my_cdev->ops = &my_fops; my_cdev->owner = THIS_MODULE; if(cdev_add(my_cdev,my_dev,1)) { printk (KERN_INFO "cdev add error.
"); return -1; } return 0; } static void hello_cleanup (void) { cdev_del(my_cdev); unregister_chrdev_region(my_dev, 1); } module_init (hello_init); module_exit (hello_cleanup); MODULE_LICENSE("GPL"); 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 #include <asm/uaccess.h> #include <linux/fs.h> #include <linux/gfp.h> #include <linux/cdev.h> #include <linux/sched.h> #include <linux/kdev_t.h> #include <linux/delay.h> #include <linux/ioctl.h> #include <linux/slab.h> #include <linux/mempool.h> #include <linux/mm.h> #include <asm/io.h> static dev_t my_dev ; static struct cdev * my_cdev ; // callback for read system call on the device static ssize_t my_read ( struct file * file, char __user * buf, size_t count, loff_t * ppos ) { int len = 5 ; if ( * ppos > 0 ) { return 0 ; } mdelay ( 5000 ) ; // busy-wait for 5 seconds if ( copy_to_user ( buf, "hello", len ) ) { return - EFAULT ; } else { * ppos += len ; return len ; } } static struct file_operations my_fops = {. owner = THIS_MODULE,. read = my_read, } ; static int hello_init ( void ) { my_dev = MKDEV ( 400, 0 ) ; register_chrdev_region ( my_dev, 1, "demo" ) ; my_cdev = cdev_alloc ( ) ; if (! my_cdev ) { printk ( KERN _ INFO "cdev alloc error.
" ) ; return - 1 ; } my_cdev -> ops = & my_fops ; my_cdev -> owner = THIS_MODULE ; if ( cdev_add ( my_cdev, my_dev, 1 ) ) { printk ( KERN _ INFO "cdev add error.
" ) ; return - 1 ; } return 0 ; } static void hello_cleanup ( void ) { cdev_del ( my_cdev ) ; unregister_chrdev_region ( my_dev, 1 ) ; } module_init ( hello_init ) ; module_exit ( hello_cleanup ) ; MODULE_LICENSE ( "GPL" ) ;
The read is delaying for 5 seconds (delay is a busy wait loop) and returns some data
The User space code:
#include<stdio.h> #include<unistd.h> #include<pthread.h> #include <sys/types.h> #include <sys/stat.h> #include <fcntl.h> void *hi_prio(void *p) { printf("thread1 start time=%ld
",time(NULL)); sleep(3); printf("thread1 stop time=%ld
",time(NULL)); return NULL; } void *low_prio(void *p) { char buf[20]; sleep(1); int fd=open("/dev/demo",O_RDWR); // #mknod /dev/demo c 400 0 puts("thread2 start"); read(fd,buf,20); puts("thread2 stop"); return NULL; } int main() { pthread_t t1,t2,t3; pthread_attr_t attr; struct sched_param param; pthread_attr_init(&attr); pthread_attr_setschedpolicy(&attr, SCHED_RR); param.sched_priority = 50; pthread_attr_setschedparam(&attr, ¶m); pthread_create(&t1,&attr,hi_prio,NULL); param.sched_priority = 30; pthread_attr_setschedparam(&attr, ¶m); pthread_create(&t2,&attr,low_prio,NULL); sleep(10); puts("end test"); return 0; } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 #include<stdio.h> #include<unistd.h> #include<pthread.h> #include <sys/types.h> #include <sys/stat.h> #include <fcntl.h> void * hi_prio ( void * p ) { printf ( "thread1 start time=%ld
", time ( NULL ) ) ; sleep ( 3 ) ; printf ( "thread1 stop time=%ld
", time ( NULL ) ) ; return NULL ; } void * low_prio ( void * p ) { char buf [ 20 ] ; sleep ( 1 ) ; int fd = open ( "/dev/demo", O_RDWR ) ; // #mknod /dev/demo c 400 0 puts ( "thread2 start" ) ; read ( fd, buf, 20 ) ; puts ( "thread2 stop" ) ; return NULL ; } int main ( ) { pthread_t t1, t2, t3 ; pthread_attr_t attr ; struct sched_param param ; pthread_attr_init ( & attr ) ; pthread_attr_setschedpolicy ( & attr, SCHED_RR ) ; param. sched_priority = 50 ; pthread_attr_setschedparam ( & attr, & param ) ; pthread_create ( & t1, & attr, hi_prio, NULL ) ; param. sched_priority = 30 ; pthread_attr_setschedparam ( & attr, & param ) ; pthread_create ( & t2, & attr, low_prio, NULL ) ; sleep ( 10 ) ; puts ( "end test" ) ; return 0 ; }
The high priority goes to sleep for 3 seconds.
The low priority thread is sleeping for one second and then calls the kernel
The high priority is wake after 6 seconds:
# insmod demo.ko #./app thread1 start time=182 thread2 start thread1 stop time=188 thread2 stop end test 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 # insmod demo.ko #./app thread1 start time = 182 thread2 start thread1 stop time = 188 thread2 stop end test
Preemptible Kernel
In this configuration the context switch is done on time also in the kernel, means if we run the above test we will see the high priority thread waking up after 3 seconds:
It means that in this options the system will perform more context switches per second but it is more “real time”. On embedded systems with soft real time requirements it is a best practice to use this option but in a server system that we are usually work asynchronously the first option is better – less context switches – more cpu time
The output:
# insmod./demo.ko #./app thread1 start time=234 thread2 start thread1 stop time=237 thread2 stop end test 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 # insmod./demo.ko #./app thread1 start time = 234 thread2 start thread1 stop time = 237 thread2 stop end test
Voluntary Kernel Preemption
In this configuration the system is working like “no forced preemption” but if the kernel developer is writing a complex code it is responsible to check from time to time if a re scheduling is needed. He can do that with might_resched() function
So in this example, if we want to add this “check point” we will change the code:
// callback for read system call on the device static ssize_t my_read(struct file *file, char __user *buf,size_t count,loff_t *ppos) { int len=5; if(*ppos > 0) { return 0; } mdelay(4000); // busy-wait for 4 seconds might_resched(); delay(3000); // busy wait for 3 seconds if (copy_to_user(buf, "hello", len)) { return -EFAULT; } else { *ppos +=len; return len; } } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 // callback for read system call on the device static ssize_t my_read ( struct file * file, char __user * buf, size_t count, loff_t * ppos ) { int len = 5 ; if ( * ppos > 0 ) { return 0 ; } mdelay ( 4000 ) ; // busy-wait for 4 seconds might_resched ( ) ; delay ( 3000 ) ; // busy wait for 3 seconds if ( copy_to_user ( buf, "hello", len ) ) { return - EFAULT ; } else { * ppos += len ; return len ; } }
If we comment out the line might_resched() it will be delayed for 7 seconds total, adding a cond_resched call will check and perform the context switch if other hi priority threads is awake. It will be called after 5 seconds (1 second before the call and 4 seconds in the kernel)
Output:
# insmod./demo.ko #./app thread1 start time=320 thread2 start thread1 stop time=325 thread2 stop end test 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 # insmod./demo.ko #./app thread1 start time = 320 thread2 start thread1 stop time = 325 thread2 stop end test
Full Real Time Preemption
If you apply the RT patch, You get an Hard realtime kernel. This means any code can block other, if you run an interrupt service routine code and something more urgent need to be handled it will block the ISR code. The patch changes the following:
Converting hardware Interrupts to threads with RT priority 50
Converting SoftIRQs to threads with RT 49 priority
Converting all spinlocks to mutexes
Configuring and using Hi resolution timers
some more minor features
After applying the patch you can see 2 more options in the menu:
The option “Preemptible Kernel (Basic RT)” is for debugging (see documentation)
To make all the above changes you need to select the last option – Fully Preemptible Kernel.
Now if you create a thread with RT priority bigger than 50 – it will block interrupts
Note that in this configuration the system has more tasks and performs more context switches per second. i.e. the CPU is spending more time switching tasks but we can hit any deadline required (1ms or more)OTTAWA (Reuters) - With Canada’s three main political parties all getting around 30 percent support in polls, the odds of a period of political instability after the October 19 election are rising.
L-R: Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, Green party Leader Elizabeth May and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau take part in the French-language debate in Montreal September 24, 2015. REUTERS/Adrian Wyld/Pool
It could also shed an awkward spotlight on the constitutional role played by Governor General David Johnston, who is Queen Elizabeth II’s representative in this member of the British Commonwealth.
A proposal from Canada’s Green Party leader Elizabeth May for the two main parties on the left to take power immediately if Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper fails to get a majority - even if his party has more seats than anyone else - has triggered concerns that Johnston will face a very difficult decision.
While few see a full-blown constitutional crisis erupting, investors and economists warn that prolonged political uncertainty could undermine Canadian financial markets at a time when the economy has seen two straight quarters of negative growth, for many the definition of a recession, as the nation’s energy sector suffers from plunging oil prices. The Canadian dollar is already trading at near 11-year lows.
Johnston, 74, who is appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the prime minister, is usually a figurehead who presents awards and attends commemorative events while also giving routine royal assent to Canadian laws once they pass Parliament. But after an election, he plays a critical role by asking one of the political leaders to form a new government.
This is easy if one of the parties gets a majority of the 338 seats in Parliament. It gets a lot trickier if they are all short of that, and there is the possibility of a coalition being formed between parties, or at least some kind of cooperation that would allow one to govern with the other’s support.
“There could be a lot of confusion and disagreement and competing claims, and it’s not clear how those would get sorted out,” said Mark Jarvis, from Toronto-based think tank the Mowat Centre. “In a worst case scenario, we could potentially have a great deal of confusion about who has a legitimate claim to form a government.”
COULD FAIL QUICKLY
If Harper’s Conservatives get more seats than his two opposition left-of-center rivals, the Liberals and the New Democratic Party, then by tradition, the governor general would be expected to ask Harper to form the next government. Harper has said the party with the most seats should govern.
But some constitutional experts said the Greens’ proposal could be a viable alternative and reduce instability.
The danger if Harper forms a government without a mandate in seats or votes is that it could fail quickly.
He would likely lose the first vote in the House of Commons after the election, which would be a vote on the so-called Speech from the Throne, in which the new government lays out its policies. Its rejection would show that Harper would find it next to impossible to govern effectively.
May proposes that Johnston not wait for that but instead ask the Liberals and the NDP to form a government if they are prepared to support each other. She says the Greens, who have about 4 percent support in polls, wouldn’t join a coalition themselves.
Certainly, there is a good chance that this election will create historical waves. A Canadian prime minister has never been defeated on the first throne speech after an election, and Canada last had a coalition government in 1917.
Edward Schreyer, who was governor general from 1979-84, said if a combination of parties could show they could form a coalition with majority support, they would be allowed to form a government. “What the country needs, what the governor general must look for, is evidence of a stable government,” he said.
But insiders in all three main parties said if Harper had the most seats he would have the right to form a government and present his policies at the throne speech, usually several months after the election.
‘SNOWBALL’S CHANCE IN HELL’
Asked by Reuters whether the Liberals would back a Harper minority government, the party’s leader Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said at an event in Montreal: “There are no circumstances in which I would support Stephen Harper to continue being prime minister of this country.”
If the opposition brought down the government in a confidence vote over the throne speech, then the governor general would have to decide whether to let the second-place party try to form a government. He could also call a new election if Harper asked for one.
While up until now Trudeau has rejected the idea of a coalition or a formal arrangement with the NDP, he did indicate last week an openness to backing an NDP minority government, saying his party “has always been open in minority situations to working with other members of the house to pass legislation that serves Canadians.”
NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said last Wednesday there was not “a snowball’s chance in hell” of supporting a Conservative throne speech. He has said he is open to working with parties other than the Conservatives but says Trudeau has slammed the door shut on cooperation.
A lack of clarity on who was in the driver’s seat “is negative for GDP growth and unemployment,” said Canadian economist David Madani at Capital Economics.
Paul Taylor, chief investment officer of BMO Asset Management Canada, said a negative market reaction was guaranteed if there was no clear winner. “Anything Canadian should come off a little - the Canadian dollar, Canadian bonds and Canadian equities,’ he said.
STICK TO THE PRINCIPLES
Johnston, a constitutional expert himself, advised then Ontario Lieutenant Governor David Onley in 2014 when he looked set to face a similar constitutional problem in the province.
Onley said Johnston told him to “just remember, you stick to the basic principles... (those are) the sitting prime minister or sitting premier has the right to not resign even though his party may have fewer numbers of seats than one or both of the other parties.”
Johnston’s office said in a statement that while various scenarios can arise if no party wins a majority, it “will not hypothesize on potential courses of action” he may take, adding it was inappropriate to speculate on what he would do if party leaders called him about other power-sharing arrangements.
More recently, Harper fended off an attempt in 2008 by a Liberal-NDP coalition to bring down his government, calling it an undemocratic power grab.
Facing a confidence vote that would have defeated his minority government and seen the coalition take office, Harper bought time by asking and getting then-governor general Michaelle Jean to suspend Parliament.
One of her advisors, Peter Russell, told OntarioNewsWatch.com in 2012 that Jean feared “a dreadful crisis” if she had allowed the coalition to form a new government and then the Conservatives had condemned the decision as equivalent to a coup d’etat. “We would have been there in the headlines of the world like Greece. (That’s) not very good for the country in any which way.”
Jean, who is now secretary-general of the Paris-based Francophonie organization, declined comment.
One option at the time was to ask the Queen to dismiss or overrule Jean if she had refused to suspend Parliament, a Harper spokesman Kory Teneycke said in the 2010 book “Harperland.” Teneycke, who is now Conservative campaign spokesman, later said his comments were taken out of context.
Experts said there was little chance of the Queen wading into Canadian politics.
“There’s no way that the Queen is going to get dragged in,” said Robert Hazell, director of the Constitution Unit at University College London. “Even if he (Harper) were to appeal to the Queen, Buckingham Palace would refer it straight back to the governor general.”How Living In A Library Gave One Man 'The Thirst Of Learning'
Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of StoryCorps Courtesy of StoryCorps
When he was younger, Ronald Clark lived in the library.
Literally.
Decades ago, custodians who worked in the New York Public Library often lived in the buildings with their families. Clark's father, Raymond, was one of those custodians, and he and his family lived on the top floor of the Washington Heights branch in upper Manhattan. They moved there in 1949, when Ronald was 15 years old. In the 1970s, he raised his daughter, Jamilah, in the same apartment until she was 5.
The job of library custodian, Ronald tells Jamilah at StoryCorps, is like being "the keeper of the temple of knowledge."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of Ronald Clark Courtesy of Ronald Clark
"In some libraries, it's all chewing gum wrappers and dust. My dad's library, you saw nothing but wax. He would even wax the tops of the bookshelves," Ronald says. "And when you walked up those stairs and looked down on the book stacks, they gleamed."
At first, Ronald says, he was ashamed of his unusual home. "[Y]ou always want to be normal. I never invited any of my friends to visit," he says. Still, he says, nobody else had as many books as he had.
And once the library closed for the day, he reveled in being the only kid in the building.
"I could run and scream and jump and yell. And if I had any question about anything, I would get up in the middle of the night, go down, get out a book, read until 3 o'clock in the morning," he says. "I began to realize how great I had it because the library gave me the thirst of learning — and this just never left me."
He says his time living in the library shaped the man he would become.
He was the first in his family to graduate from high school, and after college, he got a position as a professor teaching history at Cape Cod Community College.
"I took my dad, and I showed him the classroom and my name on the door — Professor Clark. He just nodded. You know how Daddy is, quiet. But... I saw the way he looked at it," Ronald says. "He wanted me to have higher horizons, and I can hardly even imagine what my life would've been like had I not lived in the library."
Audio produced for Morning Edition by Liyna Anwar.
StoryCorps is a national nonprofit that gives people the chance to interview friends and loved ones about their lives. These conversations are archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, allowing participants to leave a legacy for future generations. Learn more, including how to interview someone in your life, at StoryCorps.org.Welcome to Commander (2016 Edition) Preview Week. This week we'll be talking all about the new series of Commander decks coming soon to a game store near you. I'm going to be discussing how the product got its theme and what problems had to be solved to do it. I'll also be revealing two preview cards showing off that theme. But before I do that, I want to start, as I always do, by introducing the Commander (2016 Edition) design team.
Ethan Fleischer (lead)
This is the fourth time for Ethan on a Commander product and the second time as the lead. (Ethan led Commander (2014 Edition) and Commander 2016—I guess he likes even years.) Ethan originally got his job by winning the second Great Designer Search. He's been in R&D for four years now. In that time, Ethan was the design lead on Journey into Nyx and Oath of the Gatewatch as well as co-lead for Amonkhet (the large set that comes out early next year) with me. Ethan is a very inventive designer and I'm always impressed by the work he and his team do. Commander 2016 was no exception.
Sam Burley
One of the cool things about working in R&D is that you have the chance to contribute to design even if that's not the focus of your job. Sam is a concept artist working on the creative team. It's his job to visually flesh out new sets/worlds to help turn concepts into more concrete ideas. The creative team then uses those ideas to begin to craft the world and communicate future sets/worlds to the rest of the company. We work hard to bring different viewpoints to design teams, and part of that is getting people with an alternate perspective from the normal designers and developers. Sam is very enthusiastic and full of ideas, and was an excellent addition to the design team.
Alli Medwin
Alli was in a situation similar to Sam's. She sits in the Pit, but her day job is not designing Magic but rather editing Magic Online. She loves to design Magic cards in her spare time though, and had been eager to land a spot on a design team. Commander 2016 was that opportunity. Alli did not disappoint, jumping into the project whole-heartedly and delivering many memorable card designs (and the template for the main mechanic in the set).
Ken Nagle
Ken is one of the biggest advocates of the Commander format in R&D and led the design of Magic: The Gathering—Commander (our first Commander release back in 2011). The runner-up in the first Great Designer Search, Ken has become a veteran designer having led numerous design teams (Worldwake, New Phyrexia, Return to Ravnica, Born of the Gods, Fate Reforged and Eldritch Moon; Ken is also co-lead on "Ham", the fall set of 2017, with me). Ken is a fire hose of ideas and is always invaluable on a design team. As you will see, he proved integral to solving the major challenge of the Commander 2016 design.
Robert Schuster
Like Alli, Robert also works on Magic Online. If you've ever visited the Magic Online Tumblr, you've seen his handiwork. (He also does the graphics for my Head-to-Head online matches when cards face off against one another.) Robert is both fun and insightful, and provided a unique vantage point for the Commander 2016 design team.
Four Cast
There are gaps in the Commander format, but no gap is more high-profile than four-color commanders. Magic has many choices for one-, two-, three-, and five-color commanders, but currently zero four-color commanders. In fact, in all of Magic, there is only one cycle of four-color creatures, the Nephilim from Guildpact. (And yes, with 20/20 hindsight, we should have made them legendary.)
When we were choosing the themes for the very first Commander products (back when it was just part of our summer innovation product line and not yet its own thing), four-color decks were high on the list. In the end, the team went with a three-color theme for the same reason that in over 16,000 cards, we've only ever made each four-color combination once: it's just very hard to design four-color cards. The lack of any color focus means they tend to end up very soup-y and without a clear definition.
Once the Commander decks became an annual product, we were faced with coming up with more and more themes, and each time four-color decks came up, the design team chose a different option. Shards, wedges, monocolor, enemy two-color—we did just about everything but four-color. For Commander 2016, we decided it was time for us to finally figure out how to make four-color work.
Ethan and his team started the design by asking themselves what were all the possible ways to make four-color decks. Here are some of the things they tried:
Four-color legendary creatures
The team was able to design one cycle (there's one in each deck), but the design space for four-color creatures was just as wonky as it's always been. The design team tried making more, but they weren't happy with anything other than the cycle they ended up using.
Three-color legendary creatures with an off-color activation
The design team knew they could design three-color legendary creatures. Two of the previous Commander decks had been built around them. To make them have a four-color identity, all they would need to do was have an off-color activation using the fourth color. There are ideas that sound interesting in concept up until you actually design cards—this idea falls into that bucket.
A two-color hybrid legendary creature with a different two-color hybrid activation
Imagine a red-green creature with stats and abilities that overlap red and green (like a 4/4 trampler). Then imagine an activation using a different hybrid activation, like a white-black activation that gives the creature lifelink until end of turn. This execution had a few problems. First, while the first creature usually turned out okay, further designs got harder and harder as you used up the small amount of hybrid design space between the two colors. Second, color identity is already a little tricky, and hybrid mana made it a lot more confusing when we did testing.
Artifact creatures with Phyrexian mana
This was one of the wilder ideas. All the legendary creatures would be artifacts, but they would have various colored Phyrexian mana symbols. (You can spend 2 life instead of providing the appropriate color mana.) This would allow the creature to have a color identity without the player necessarily having to support all four colors in their deck. This idea also had numerous developmental issues.
Ethan and his team were getting frustrated. They knew they had taken on a difficult challenge, but nothing was working. That's when Ken suggested a different take on the problem.
Split Verdict
The story of the solution starts during Return to Ravnica design. One of the responsibilities of the design team for Return to Ravnica was to figure out which aspects of Ravnica were supposed to return and which ones weren't. For those that returned, we wanted to recapture what made the mechanic enjoyable the first time around and then see if there was any room for tweaks.
Original Ravnica block had used split cards, so Ken (as the design lead of the set) was trying to figure out whether or not we wanted to bring them back. Ken came up with a tweak where the player had the ability to cast either part of the split card (like normal) or both. Ken had always wanted this option when playing the original split cards. This ability, called fuse, ended up being saved for Dragon's Maze, but it got Ken thinking. One cycle of the mechanic had one two-color card on one half and then a different two-color card that overlapped with the first two-color combination on the other half. Ken felt like the cards had a flavor of two guilds working together. (Interestingly, when we first made the Nephilim for the original Ravnica block, I suggested they be flavored as two guilds working together—but as the cycle was made as a means to give players who might not be into the guild structure something to enjoy, I was discouraged from connecting the four-color Nephilim to guilds.)
Flash forward to Commander 2016 design. The obvious four-color designs weren't working out, so the team was getting creative. Ken thought back to the fuse split cards and wondered if there was a way to do something similar, but with creatures rather than spells. There wasn't a way to do it with a single card, so Ken made a leap. What if you did it with two cards instead? What if you combined two different two-color cards through a mechanic rather than both being on the same card? And that is how the idea for partner was first formed.
Here's how partner works: when choosing your commander, you are allowed to choose two legendary creatures that both have partner in place of a singular legendary creature. All the legendary creatures with partner in Commander 2016 are two-color, some ally color and some enemy color. Here's the actual text: "Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.)"
The design team started by making two legendary creatures with partner per deck. One would be an allied two-color creature while the other would be an enemy two-color creature. By having this pair of partner creatures along with a four-color legendary creature, each deck would have two different options to use as its commander (or commanders).
Ben Hayes, the lead developer of Commander 2016, really liked partner and suggested that they increase the number of creatures with partner per deck. He did this by adding a second enemy color legendary creature with partner. (They chose an additional enemy color creature because Magic has a lot more legendary ally two-color creature than enemy.) That way each deck now had three different options for its commander—the four-color creature or two different combinations of the partner creatures, the ally two-color creature along with one of the two enemy color two color creatures.
Savor the Flavor
Ethan's vision for Commander 2016 had one other component. Ethan has always been a big fan of Magic's story, so when he made Commander 2014, he worked with the creative team to make as many of the new legendary creatures (and planeswalkers—that was the main theme of Commander 2014) characters from the past that had never received a card. This aspect of Commander 2014 had been very successful, so Ethan was eager to try it again. In fact, one of my preview cards is a character I've been trying to get made into a card for years.
I was one of the two creators of the Weatherlight Saga (along with a former employee named Michael Ryan) from way back when. The main character of the story was a man named Gerrard. In the backstory, Gerrard was foretold to play a major |
the collapse of the tech bubble has done over the past 2 1/2 years. Yardeni is well known for making bold predictions, his catastrophic forecasts for Y2K among them. Now, with all those year 2000 fears a distant memory, he thinks the next big problem on the economic horizon may occur where are hearts are.
Insana: Do you still think that a housing bubble is either occurring or likely to occur for the U.S. economy?
Yardeni: As you know, Ron, that's a rather controversial subject. I think most observers of the national housing market believe there is a bubble. The controversy is whether we're at the end of it and it's about to burst, or whether it's at an earlier stage. I think we're somewhere between the beginning and the middle of the housing bubble, so I certainly don't think it's about to burst. There are obviously some very solid fundamentals justifying higher prices, including both the aging of the baby boom and the entrance of baby boomers into the real estate market.
Insana: How long do you see this bubble continuing?
Yardeni: If, in fact, this continues, then we're talking about another 18 to 24 months of still higher home prices before we have to start to worry about a bursting bubble.
Insana: The people who argue with the notion that there is a bubble say that inventories of unsold homes haven't yet been built up, that there's no danger of overcapacity in the housing sector, the one sign that usually brings a bubble to a conclusion. What do you say to them?
Yardeni: I think that's a reasonable point. However, let's see what happens to home prices. Nationally they're up about 7% in the last 12 months, but there are a lot of metropolitan areas where home prices are up 20% to 25%--and most of that occurred in the last six months. So if we continue to see those kinds of appreciation rates in major metropolitan areas and start to see increases of more than 10% in the national average, I think you'll see people borrowing more against the gains, believing that you can't lose in real estate because home prices always go up. The main reason that there is the potential of a real estate bubble is because credit is amply and very cheaply available to purchase this asset. And notwithstanding Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan's speech in Jackson Hole, Wyo. a few months back--that the Fed doesn't really have much to do with bubbles--the reality is that easy money is always a precondition for bubbles.
Insana: Alan Greenspan has argued that a national housing bubble is not only not likely but also nearly impossible. Why would you disagree with that statement?
Yardeni: That worries me because the Fed chairman was also blind to the Nasdaq bubble and argued that he wasn't going to bet against thousands of investors who believed that stocks were worth what they were paying back in '99 and early 2000. Greenspan is entitled to his opinion, and obviously he's got great credibility--I think overall he's done a fine job--but his track record on seeing bubbles and dealing with them isn't all that great. I would say in many ways he contributed to the stock market bubble in the late 1990s. It's unfortunate that he's chosen to even comment on the subject, because that suggests that, once again, he's not going to take any actions to avert a bubble, and he's not going to do anything to stop it.
The reality is the Fed needs housing to be strong, because right now that's the only sector that's responding to low interest rates.
Insana: What constitutes a bubble in housing compared with merely a bull market in housing?
Yardeni: Well, you know, it doesn't look like a bubble to the average individual buying a house, given that mortgage financing is at this time so cheap. But all the preconditions are there if home prices do continue to rise--partly based on good, solid fundamentals and partly on people's frustration with stocks and other financial assets, and their belief that you can't lose with real estate--and people increasingly borrow that equity as they refinance their mortgages. As they leverage up their real estate holdings, they become more vulnerable to having to sell that house if they can't make the mortgage payments, either because they lose their job or because interest rates rise down the road, as hard as that is to imagine right now. A bubble is always easy to define after the fact. It's an enormous run-up in prices that seems totally justified by the fundamentals--and then suddenly something happens to make people realize that the prices are too high.
Insana: How would a burst real estate bubble affect the economy?
Yardeni: We would probably lose the only sector that is clearly responding very positively to lower interest rates. And then the Fed would just completely lose its power to revive the economy, and we would have to start worrying about a deflationary scenario a la Japan for the past 10 years.
Insana: Now, Ed, you're hardly a stranger to provocative or even hyperbolic forecasts--Y2K, for instance....
Yardeni: Guilty as charged, Ron.
Insana: What led you last year to start thinking about the prospects for a housing bubble when most people thought the stock market would drag real estate down almost immediately?
Yardeni: I watch savings deposits data every week and, again, with all due respect to the Federal Reserve chairman, just about every economic historian who has studied the history of bubbles has concluded that easy money is a precondition for bubbles. The Fed has been forced to lower interest rates dramatically to offset the deflationary, recessionary consequences of the bursting of the Nasdaq bubble. And there's clearly only one sector that's benefiting from the Fed's easy money, and that's housing. It's being financed by individuals who are pouring money into savings accounts instead of buying stocks. In the past 52 weeks, half a trillion dollars has poured into savings deposits. It's not a liquidity trap, because the banks are lending that money out to the mortgage market. In the year that ended in the second quarter, we had $600 billion in additional mortgage lending.
Insana: In other words, the individual investor is now recycling his savings into the mortgage market rather than the stock market?
Yardeni: Exactly. For over a year now, the Fed has been trying to avert a very severe recession, and so far it has succeeded. But by keeping interest rates extremely low at a time when people want to be very liquid, it is creating a huge pool of very cheap money that's going straight into the real estate market. It's keeping existing home sales at near-record highs. Greenspan has really been an unusual Fed chairman in the sense that he wants us to prosper all the time; when we get into trouble, he tries to bail us out.
Insana: So he is trading one bubble for another?
Yardeni: In some ways he's the bubblemeister--though he's certainly not the only contributor to these bubbles.
Insana: Alan Greenspan does not believe that monetary policy inflates or deflates asset bubbles. You obviously don't agree.
Yardeni: I think he's wrong. He's trying to rewrite history, because the reality is that he gave so many speeches in which he basically acted as a cheerleader for the bubble. Greenspan is the one who had the credibility and promoted the idea of a New Economy more than anybody on Wall Street did. At the same time that he's trying to rewrite history, he's also trying to distance himself from any responsibility.
Insana: While we wait to find out who is correct here, Yardeni or Greenspan, can you offer any practical advice to individuals who might want to participate in the real estate market but not get popped by another asset bubble?
Yardeni: Despite my misgivings, real estate right now is one of the best tax deals on the planet. If you're a married couple and you own your home for two years, you get to keep all of the capital gains up to $500,000 tax-free forever. There's no better deal anywhere in the tax code. Then you can do it again. And you don't even have to wait five years anymore. You just have to live in the next house for two years. That could be another major contributor to a housing bubble: If more and more people become aware of the extraordinary tax advantage of capital gains and real estate, that could feed into my scenario.
Insana: But the trick, as in the stock market, is not to get overleveraged.
Yardeni: Absolutely. Let's forget about getting rich quick--getting rich slow is not a bad way to go. And, you know, I'm not rooting for this to turn into a bubble. I just think all the preconditions for that are there. Real estate is much more widely owned than stocks, and so it could have a much more damaging impact if we ratchet prices up too fast relative to the fundamentals and then are forced to take them down when the bubble bursts.
Most individuals should stay home and enjoy it, fix it up. If they want to invest in real estate in the stock market, the home-builder stocks are really cheap. They've been very volatile lately; it's been a wild ride. There's still a lot of skepticism about the long-term growth prospects of home builders. But if you want to own stocks with price/earnings ratios under 10, the home builders are the place to be.
Insana: We can worry about the bubble, then, another time. Thanks, Ed.
Ron Insana is co-anchor of CNBC's Business Center. His new book, TrendWatching, will be published in November by HarperBusiness.Last month, when bitcoin’s new software upgrade to support Segregated Witness(SegWit). The network’s most heated debate on direction on the mark. However, the optimization need to leave more on a direction.
Even though there are rare transactions so far, approach is likely to grow as more bitcoin services and wallets supports the change. Meanwhile, it will have more of an impact on increasing the block size to support more transactions. Therefore, it paves the way for scaling solutions like Lightening Network.
Bitcoin Core developers, with the intention towards the goal most widely used version of the cryptocurrency. However, its underlying software are being assembling to help boost the effort.
A focus on performance
In an San Francisco presentation, Blockstream CTO and Greg Maxell, one of most active Bitcoin Core developers seconded the nation that 0.15.0s focus relates to preparing Bitcoin for a SegWit- enabled capacity boost.
Maxwell explained:
“With SegWit coming online, we knew the blockchain would grow at an even faster rate, so there was a desire to squeeze out all of the performance gains we could to make up for that”.
Also Read: After SegWit2x Hard Fork Rookstock Confirms Launch ‘By December’
The improvements aiming to reduce the time it takes to create a bitcoin full node. Since the changes increases the blockchain’s blocksize and predicts will become even harder with Segwit activated.
Particularly, full nodes are main for the bitcoin community since running one is arguably the best way to use bitcoin without 3rd party. However, as many as sees the whole point behind the digital money.
But it adds more of a reason to focus on optimization and speed.
Maxwell said:
“As always, but especially with 0.15.0, we had a big push on performance”.
Moreover, the technical upgrades introduce to speed up the software include non-atomic flushing and script validation flushing. The Core development team performance intent in making bitcoin more manageable ahead of SegWit.
Not yet witnessed
Presently, most of bitcoin wallets have yet to support SegWit, but it’s not to be the case for long.
Although, 0.15.0 focuses on performance upgrades to prepare for SegWit wherein the new software doesn’t support SegWit transactions. Bitcoin Core developers contends it’s safer to wait and see if it works before rolling out transaction support within Core. Although, the release notes mention, more “complete” support for the change will be included in “a next version” of the bitcoin software.
At that particular time, user will be able to create its transactions with the Core wallet and get the benefit of SegWit’s transaction fees.
Read Next: Bitcoin’s battle vs Segwit2x is commenceRussian Vlogger Faces Seven Years in Prison For Playing Pokemon GO in a Church
A Russian video blogger faces a sentence of up to seven years in prison for playing Pokemon GO in a church.
Ruslan Sokolovsky, a 22-year-old YouTube vlogger, published a video last year in which he was shown playing the popular mobile game Pokemon GO in a Russian Orthodox church in Yekaterinburg. The video, which went on to achieve over 1.6 million views, saw the vlogger intentionally run afoul of Russia’s incredibly strict rules in regards to offending religious believers. After it was forwarded to the police Sokolovsky was detained, with his trial beginning this week.
Sokolovsky has been accused of inciting religious hatred, the same charge levelled at Pussy Riot for their performance in a Russian church. The band’s imprisonment made international news, with two of its members serving 21 months behind bars. Sokolovsky faces a maximum sentence of 7 and a half years if convicted.
An atheist, Sokolovsky pokes fun at religion during the video, saying: “I didn’t catch the rarest Pokemon that you could find there – Jesus. But I couldn’t help it. They say it doesn’t exist, so I’m not really surprised.” Discussing the reasoning behind his decision to record the video, Sokolovsky says that he believes it’s “bulls***” that Russian citizens can be imprisoned or fined for using a smartphone in church, adding: “Why the f*** would they lock you up for that?”
However, now Sokolovsky faces a severe punishment for his crimes, potentially serving a stint in prison depending upon the outcome of the trial. Though the vlogger has refused to offer an apology to the church, he has stated that he will carry out charitable work for a Christian charity, or pay a fine if need be. He also faces separate charges related to a “spy pen” that was found in his apartment — a tool that records audio but is widely available to purchase in the region — though he has pleaded not guilty on all counts.
Watch the video that led to his arrest below:This story appears in the June 22, 2015 issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. To subscribe, click here.
Andre Iguodala lay in bed after Game 2 of the NBA Finals and his fiancée, Christina Gutierrez, placed a hand on his stomach. “Your skin,” she said, “feels hot.” Several hours had passed since Iguodala left Oakland’s Oracle Arena, but he was still burning up, as if he had just sprinted off the court. He wasn’t sick, but he popped a Tylenol and set the thermostat in his house to a frosty 60°. When the Warriors forward returned home five days later from Cleveland, he found that his air-conditioning unit had broken, maddening because his Finals fever had not. He joked that he shaved his head in hopes of cooling down. Iguodala’s condition may sound implausible, but one league trainer claims it is common for stress hormones to rise in demanding situations, causing spikes in body temperature. “It’s like you’re a car,” Iguodala says, “and your engine is overheating.” Such is the strain required to survive 48-minute collisions with the turbo-powered tank known as LeBron James.
Iguodala is 11 months older, two inches shorter and 35 pounds lighter than the most punishing player in the world. He entered the NBA out of Arizona a year after James, drafted ninth by the 76ers in 2004, and immediately began composing a mental manual on how to halt him. The 6' 6", 215-pound Iguodala developed a similar guide for every small forward, but James was a particularly compelling subject, and they faced off regularly in the Eastern Conference. With each matchup Iguodala added another page, until he knew James’s tendencies as well as his own. “That book is crazy big now,” says Iguodala, 31. “What he does in the post, what he does when he goes left, what he does when he comes at me like this.” Iguodala wriggles his shoulders, miming James’s open-floor shimmy. He has spent more than a decade preparing for the assignment that will define his career.
• MORE NBA: Five reasons LeBron should win Finals MVP | SI Roundtable
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, alone on that left wing.
Every possession is different, except for these undermanned Cavaliers, who have been making every possession essentially the same. James either dribbles the ball up the left side or catches it there. He either faces Iguodala or backs him down. He studies the shot clock, bleeding it to a single red digit, and finally he either rises or bull-rushes. If he fires, Iguodala contests, and if he charges, Iguodala braces. James dips his head when he drives, a signal that he has abandoned the pass and is headed to the hoop. That’s the cue for a second Warrior to slide over and help. If the help comes too early, James will hit a big man diving to the rim. If it comes too late, James will make a layup. And if it repeatedly comes from the same person, or the same place, James will diagnose and dissect the coverage. “The timing is critical,” Golden State assistant coach Ron Adams says. “You have to respect the genius of what he’s doing.”
Only three players in the last 30 years have completed a Finals game with at least 36 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. That’s the line James was averaging through the first five games of the 2015 Finals. Three times he reached 40 points, twice he had triple doubles and once he did both. “Don’t overreact,” Iguodala kept reminding himself, the lesson on page 1 of his King James bible. Failure is inevitable. Success is relative. At week’s end James was on pace for the best Finals performance in the history of the league, yet his primary defender was being serenaded with MVP chants. The crowd recognized that no one could have done better than Iguodala and most would have fared far worse.
Besides, the Warriors were prevailing in the only ledger that mattered. They led 3–2, one win from their first title in 40 years. As Iguodala left Oracle after Game 5, steaming under a dark green sweater, an attendant offered him a cup of water. Iguodala eyed the liquid suspiciously. “Did you do something to it?” he asked. Guarding James can make a person paranoid. Iguodala turned it down. “I can’t take any chances,” he said. “We’ve come too far.”
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
risten Myers wanted to spend the July 4 weekend at her parents’ vacation house on Zephyr Cove in Lake Tahoe. “We can go,” said her husband, Warriors general manager Bob Myers. “But I’m going to be on the phone the whole time.” It was the summer of 2013, Iguodala was a free agent, and one of his first meetings was with Golden State. Myers did not have enough salary-cap space to sign Iguodala, but he was flattered that such a prominent player was so interested in the Warriors, who were coming off their first playoff series victory in six years. The team they beat was Iguodala’s Nuggets. He saw how Andrew Bogut and David Lee passed, how Steph Curry and Klay Thompson shot, how Oracle throbbed. “I really want to be here,” Iguodala told Myers, “and I’ll give you the time to clear the space.”
Myers had three days to unload $24 million. “The hardest three days of work I’ve ever done,” he recalls. “There were so many twists, so many machinations.” He kept telling Kristen, “We’re not getting this guy,” but he couldn’t bring himself to hang up the phone and hit the beach. On July 5, Myers found a place to dump the money, agreeing to send three expiring contracts and two future first-round picks to the Jazz. He still hadn’t shaved when the Warriors held a press conference to unveil their missing piece, a playmaking wing with a reputation for deep thought and fierce defense.
As a rookie in Philadelphia, Iguodala sidled up to veteran Aaron McKie. “He told me what it was like guarding Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter,” Iguodala recalls. “He said, ‘They are going to get their shots. They are going to get their points. But learn their tendencies, what they don’t like, and make it as tough on them as you can.’” Iguodala memorized where opponents held the ball, so he could slap down on it, and kept track of moves they added over the summer. He heard coaches holler, “Get to the hole!” and developed a strategy ahead of its time: baiting stars into midrange shots and contesting with his endless arms. Against lesser players, he cheated off, gambling for steals and chasing rebounds.
“He has always valued the little things: the rotations, the reads, the footwork,” says Warriors assistant Luke Walton, Iguodala’s teammate at Arizona. “When you care about all that, plus you have crazy length and athleticism, you’re dangerous.” Iguodala grew up in Springfield, Ill., idolizing Bulls stopper Scottie Pippen. Like Pippen, Iguodala could score, but defense was his specialty. The complex schemes and detailed scouting reports appealed to his cerebral nature. This is a player who has been reading The Nat Turner Insurrection Trials—written by a legal scholar about slave trials in the 1800s—during the Finals. His mind wanders, though, to sequences with James that he should have handled differently.
When Iguodala arrived at Golden State, coaches were initially startled by his unorthodox defensive technique. Instead of crowding his man, Iguodala often allows space, enabling him to deflect passes, strip steals and close out hard on the midrange jumpers. After two weeks of training camp the staff understood and appreciated his approach. “You have to let special players use special talents,” says Pelicans assistant Darren Erman, the defensive mastermind who was with the Warriors last season. “Andre is probably the most instinctual defender in the last 10 years.”
Steve Kerr succeeded Mark Jackson as coach this season and sent Iguodala to the bench, a move more psychological than tactical. Kerr wanted to boost the confidence of Harrison Barnes, 23, even if it meant bruising a former All‑Star’s ego. An endearing curmudgeon, Iguodala grew surly enough in camp that one assistant said, “He’s pouting. Put him in the corner.” Bruce Fraser, the Warriors’ player development coach and de facto spiritual adviser, offered empathy instead. “I’m fine,” Iguodala kept telling Fraser, who was not convinced. “How could he be fine?” Fraser wonders. “It’s like when your wife tells you she’s fine. You can’t just let it pass. We couldn’t just lose him.”
The Warriors started 21–2, and Iguodala gradually reengaged, taking ownership of the second unit. He averaged 26.9 minutes, a career low, in part because Kerr wanted him fresh for the playoffs. Golden State, stacked with versatile defenders, had no shortage of candidates to throw in front of James: Barnes, Thompson, Draymond Green and Shaun Livingston all took turns, but when the Cavs went up 2–1, it became clear that only Iguodala was up to the task.
The night before Game 4, 28-year-old Nick U’Ren watched video of last year’s Finals in his room at the Ritz-Carlton in Cleveland. U’Ren, Kerr’s special assistant who is usually rebounding for Curry or putting together iPod playlists for practice, noticed that the Spurs swung their series against the Heat by plugging small forward Boris Diaw into the starting lineup. U’Ren called Walton and suggested doing the same with Iguodala. At 3 a.m., they texted Kerr, and the staff reached a consensus over breakfast.
Iguodala, stationed across from James, had come full circle. When he broke into the NBA, the league was bogged down with isolation offenses, none more stilted than the one-man band in Philly that featured Allen Iverson. “I’d laugh, catch some lobs, and watch him score 50,” Iguodala once said. As Iguodala entered his prime, coaches discovered more efficient methods, emphasizing space and movement. Iso-ball was a relic, never to return, until Iguodala looked up two weeks ago and saw James thundering down that left sideline.
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images
From the front office to the floor, 11 former members of the Suns are in the Finals. They are coaches (like Golden State’s Alvin Gentry and Jarron Collins), executives (like Cleveland’s GM, David Griffin, and director of player administration, Raja Bell) and players (like Warriors guard Leandro Barbosa and Cavaliers swingman James Jones). All are disciples of Mike D’Antoni and the fast-breaking, ball-hopping, paint-clearing, seven-seconds-or-less offense that has spread from Phoenix to every corner of the NBA. “Mike was a visionary,” says Kerr, who used to be D’Antoni’s GM. “He changed the league.” The last three champions—San Antonio, Miami and Dallas—took hints from the Suns with their small lineups and incessant pick-and-rolls. “That’s what everyone is moving toward,” says Bell. “And then here we come going straight grind-it-out iso with one guy.”
The Cavaliers wanted to play like the Warriors, which is to say, they wanted to play like the Suns. They surrounded James with one rim protector, Timofey Mozgov, and a cadre of shooters. Then power forward Kevin Love dislocated his left shoulder in the first round of the playoffs and point guard Kyrie Irving fractured his left kneecap during Game 1 in Oakland. James, sans two All-Stars, was down to four guys from the fringes. “We had to reinvent ourselves,” says Cleveland assistant Jim Boylan.
They traveled back in time, to an era when the team’s best player held the ball for 20 seconds and only then decided what to do with it. “Even 15 years ago, in the muck of the Eastern Conference, you never saw this,” says ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy, who steered the Knicks through that muck to the 1999 Finals. “You’d have to go to Charles Barkley maybe—back, back, backing in.” The approach, while antiquated, was inspired. The Cavaliers stalled the Warriors’ breakneck pace. They reduced possessions against a more talented opponent. And they increased opportunities for offensive rebounds, starting the cycle all over again. It was the basketball equivalent of a triple option keeping a spread offense off the field.
The slow-motion system allowed the Cavaliers to steal breathers—except James, of course. At week’s end he had logged 228 of 250 possible minutes, and his usage rate dwarfed any in Finals history. Rest was elusive. Last Saturday night James took teammates to an IMAX theatre in San Francisco for a 3D showing of Jurassic World, sneaking in once the lights had dimmed and out before the credits rolled. The following afternoon he lay on a massage table behind a grease board in the visiting locker room at Oracle, four hands kneading his back and legs. His response was astounding—in Game 5, Cleveland made 32 field goals, and James scored or assisted 26 of them—but still not enough. “What he’s doing is superhuman,” Van Gundy says. “Even if he just wins two games, I think it’s his greatest accomplishment.”
James, who prizes playmaking and efficiency, found the experience uncomfortable. His disdain for solo acts led him to Miami, with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and back to Cleveland, with Irving and others. “I’m so outside the box right now,” he said after Game 3. “I’m not O.K. with it. But this is a different challenge.” James seeks talented colleagues, and yet he does some of his best work with scraps. His vaunted team at St. Mary–St. Vincent High in Akron, Ohio, was not loaded with Division I prospects. His 66-victory Cavaliers of team 2008–09 depended on Boobie Gibson and Delonte West. Even the Heat, when they won 27 games in a row two seasons ago, often flourished with Wade and Bosh on the bench. “It’s the LeBron effect,” says Cavs forward Tristan Thompson, who averaged 5.6 offensive boards in the first five games of the Finals. “He takes guys to places they’ve never been.”
James led Cleveland to its first Finals win and then its first home Finals win. But the plan was to deliver the city’s first championship in a half-century, and as he headed home for Game 6, Iguodala was perched in his path. The lineup change altered the series in a few fundamental ways. It made the Warriors smaller, pressuring the Cavaliers to downsize, and faster, raising the tempo. It also forced James to see more of Iguodala. Despite his outlandish totals James did not hit half his shots in any of the first five games, and twice he shot below 32%. He was doing what his team needed, but so was Iguodala.
On the way out of Oracle Arena and back to Cleveland, Iguodala paused to pass along the name of the next book in his queue. It is about starting a business in the current economy, not stopping a tank in the NBA Finals, but the title works for either topic: The Hard Thing About Hard Things.
Gallery: Sports Illustrated's 100 best NBA Finals photos over the yearsRumor: Final Fantasy XV launches September 30
An early fall release for the Final Fantasy 10 years coming.
Gematsu has received word that Square Enix plans to launch Final Fantasy XV worldwide for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on Friday, September 30. This information was corroborated by three independent sources who would have knowledge of the matter.
The release date will be officially announced during “Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV,” an event set to take place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on March 30 that will also share a collection of other information about the game.
Our sources in this case are reliable. However, given the sensitivity of the matter, and that within a company setting anything can change before it is made public, we’re reporting this as a rumor until the release date is officially announced.
Final Fantasy XV was first announced as Final Fantasy Versus XIII for PlayStation 3 at E3 2006. It was officially re-revealed as Final Fantasy XV at E3 2013.She lost to Barack Obama in the Democratic primaries in 2008. Now she has been humiliated in her second bid for the presidency by political novice and former TV reality show host Donald Trump.
Hillary Clinton will go down in history as a woman of frustrated ambitions.
In February, a journalist asked Clinton if she has always told the truth to the American people.
"I've always tried to. Always. Always," the failed Democratic candidate answered.
Other, less cautious pols would have responded with an unequivocal 'yes'.
But Clinton, a lawyer by training, weighs her words carefully so as not to be caught out. Critics say she is dishonest.
And this apparent duplicity, despite her efforts for redemption and the support of US Democrats led by a spirited Obama, cost the party the White House in a historic repudiation that has the world on edge as it waits to see what the future now holds with a Trump presidency.
Looking back, it is clear that Clinton's defiant streak grew over the course of three decades in public life.
Back in the 1970s, when her husband Bill was the governor of Arkansas, Clinton still used her maiden name, Rodham, and kept her job as a lawyer.
Local people found this odd, and questioned her love for her husband and asked what the woman was up to.
Ultimately she took Clinton as her last name. But she had already come across as too hip and too ambitious for conservative southern US society.
"I think that's another one of the dangers of being in public life. One cannot live one's life based on what somebody else's image of you might be," she told Arkansas public TV in an interview in 1979.
First Lady
When her husband ran for the White House, Clinton showed herself to be both an asset and a liability.
She was the former when she defended her husband against allegations of adultery in 1992.
And she hurt herself when she seemed to criticise stay-at-home mothers by saying she would rather work than stay home and bake cookies.
When the couple came to Washington, Clinton raised eyebrows again. She was a key advisor to her husband and set up an office in the West Wing of the White House, reserved for the president himself and his closest aides. Previous first ladies always worked out of the East Wing.
Clinton dazzled official Washington when she undertook a reform of the US healthcare system. She knew the material well, worked hard and impressed Republican members of Congress.
But as the months wore on, the reform deadlocked, and critics of Clinton dismissed her as inflexible and abrupt. It was her first major political defeat.
She was fiercely defensive of her private life, and journalists found this behavior to be suspicious.
Americans considered Clinton to be smart and tough but the media asked 'who is the real Hillary?'
Clinton's popularity peaked in late 1998 when she was humiliated with the disclosure of her husband's affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
It would be the last time that the American people sympathised with her.
On her own
Clinton long wanted to get into politics on her own merits. In 1990, she commissioned polls to explore the idea of succeeding her husband. The results were negative, and this hurt her.
She sought redemption in 2000 when Bill Clinton left the White House: she won a seat in the Senate representing the state of New York. Clinton worked hard and impressed people as diligent and well prepared.
But her unpopularity returned.
In 2002, Clinton voted in favor of the United States invading Iraq.
A young Senate colleague named Barack Obama saw his chance, running in the Democratic primaries of 2008 with a message of change and relegating his powerful rival to the ranks of establishment politicians.
So a woman who was too modern in the Arkansas of the 1980s became a vestige of another time, a symbol of insider Washington.
In naming her secretary of state in 2009, Obama resurrected Clinton and consolidated her image as a stateswoman. This completed the longest resume in the recent history of American politics.
But Clinton made a fatal mistake when she set about working at the state department: she avoided using the government email system and used her own private server, ignoring rules on the handling of sensitive communications.
This mushroomed into a scandal, and although the FBI ultimately decided that Clinton did not deserve to be charged, critics of Clinton insisted this disqualified her from serving as president.
"I get it that some people just don't know what to make of me," Clinton said in July in accepting the Democratic presidential nomination. "So let me tell you."
She proceeded to talk about her middle-class upbringing, her commitments and her lifelong battle to advocate for women and children.
Friends have vouched for Clinton's honesty, and her campaign team produced videos about her that were moving and funny.
But it was in vain as American voters on Tuesday closed the book on Clinton.
(AFP)DES MOINES -- At Saturday night's Jefferson-Jackson dinner, an annual fundraiser that is also the big pre-primary event for Democratic presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton explained that she is not embarrassed to play the "gender card." On the contrary, her campaign has created a snappy retort to Republicans flinging the "gender card" accusation: If standing up for women's rights is the "gender card," then "deal me in!" The crowd ate it up, chanting "deal me in" while Clinton laid out her support for reproductive rights and equal pay.
It's a well-noted dramatic turn from her 2008 campaign, where Clinton famously tried to downplay the gender issue. Clearly, she's learned that doesn't work---as the Benghazi hearings show, Republicans will never stop harping on ugly stereotypes of women as weak and mendacious---so instead her campaign is turning her gender and her feminism into a strength.
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Fighting against sexism and breaking the glass ceiling of the White House was a major theme of the Clinton campaign in Iowa. Bill Clinton gave a wonky, rambling speech at the Clinton rally before the dinner, but when he joked that he's "tired of the stranglehold that women have had on the job of presidential spouse," the audience cheered.
During her speech at dinner, Clinton largely ignored Bernie Sanders, but she did make room for one dig insinuating he is sexist. "Sometimes when a woman speaks out," she said, "some people think it's shouting."
She didn't call Sanders by name, but it was a clear reference to Sanders suggesting that Clinton was shouting too much on the issue of gun control. It struck many people as an ugly double standard, since Sanders's standard speaking voice is shouting. The moment even worked its way into the "Saturday Night Live" skit about the debate when Kate McKinnon, playing Hillary Clinton, says, "God, it must be fun to scream and cuss in public," to Larry David's Bernie Sanders. "I have to do mine in tiny, little jars."
The dig clearly stung, as Bernie Sanders immediately went out on Sunday talk shows to deny Clinton's insinuation that gender played a role in his remarks about "shouting" during the debate.
From the female-heavy crowds that turned out to support Clinton in Iowa, it seems the strategy is working. And not just on older women, either. Girls, from little kids to college aged women, were out in force for Hillary Clinton in Des Moines over the weekend. Moms with daughters, both little girls and teens, were a dominant force in the crowd. Glitter, unicorns, and Disney princess memorabilia was on full display at the Clinton rally. I took a picture of one typical scene at the rally:
So many little and teen girls at Clinton rally. A photo posted by Amanda Marcotte (@freakamouse) on Oct 24, 2015 at |
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Jeff Wagner, a tipsy-sounding candidate for mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota, promises 'I will not even go to strip clubs anymore!' if he's elected
'Wake the f*** up!' Wagner screams into the camera, which is one way to get attention in a crowded field of 37 candidates
Wagner was arrested in 2000 for driving after his license and his car?s license plates had been revoked. He also had no proof of having car insurance
Wagner for Mayor > http://t.co/lgwoYAB1ER — Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) September 13, 2013
'You're not the ones deciding who you vote for. The media and the money is,' Wagner says.
Wagner's campaign video has attracted attention from national political observers including CNN host Jake Tapper, who jokingly tweeted Friday, 'Wagner for Mayor.'
One political website dubbed it 'the best political campaign video of 2013'.
The field of candidates is looking like a California governor's race, with no fewer than 37 candidates so far. His Facebook campaign page currently has just 4 'likes.'
It says Wagner is'running for Minneapolis Mayor Jeffrey Wagner is an advocate for Minneapolis Renters.'
Wagner is no stranger to Minnesota government, but he's usually been on the wrong side of the law.
Websites that specialize in publishing arrest mugshots have collected dossiers on him that include at least three separate jail bookings.
In 2000 Wagner was arrested for driving while intoxicated. His Ramsey County, Minnesota booking report, according to Bustedmugshots.com, indicated a blood-alcohol concentration of.21 - more than twice the legal limit.
Wagner's first appearance in the video has him walking out of a lake wearing nothing but skin-tight swim trunks
... and after he's done, he returns to the deep -- with a fresh cup of java
'You know what I want?' says his female companiion. 'A Minneapolis mayor who really represents the people'
Wagner later had his driving privileges revoked. In 2007 he was arrested for driving anyway in the town of Columbia Heights, and with no proof of insurance. The car he was driving also had invalid plates, according to police. A second DWI arrest followed in 2009
But politics is open to all comers, including the tipsy and the all-around strange.
In the inexplicable campaign video, the speech-slurring Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party member says he's 'cool with making $100,000 per year' as the next mayor of Minnesota's largest city.This post was contributed by a community member.
In his first week back at the capitol for the current legislative session, Sen. John Albers (R- Roswell) co-sponsored Senate Resolution 8, a proposal that would create a constitutional amendment to phase out the Georgia State Income Tax, according to a Georgia Senate press release.
"Eliminating the state income tax is the right thing to do for Georgia," said Sen. Albers. "I am optimistic that my colleagues in both chambers will recognize the significance of eliminating Georgia's income tax to support job creation and reduce the burden on our taxpayers."
According to the release, many economists suggest that one of the most effective ways to promote job creation is to systematically eliminate the state income tax.
While several states do not have an income tax including Florida, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming, Washington, New Hampshire, Nevada and Alaska, Georgia's income tax rate is currently six percent. Like Resolution 8 would suggest, other states also have the abolition of their state income tax under consideration, including North Carolina, Louisiana and Nebraska.
If approved by Georgia voters, Senate Resolution 8 would phase out the income tax completely by the year 2027. This process would be gradual, reducing the tax rate by.5 percent every year until the income tax is eliminated.
Amendments to the Georgia Constitution may be introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. An amendment must be approved by a 2/3 majority of each legislative chamber in order for it to be placed on the ballot for voter approval.Donald Trump took aim at the war on drugs on Saturday — by challenging Hillary Clinton to take a drug test.
"Athletes, they make them take a drug test," Trump said at a Portsmouth, New Hampshire, rally. "I think we should take a drug test prior to the debate because I don't know what's going on with her. But at the beginning of her last debate, she was all pumped up at the beginning. And by the end... she could barely reach her car."
Clinton is not campaigning this weekend in order to prepare for the third and final debate Wednesday, an aide told NBC News.
27 PHOTOS Women who support Donald Trump See Gallery Women who support Donald Trump Supporters of Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump recite the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance at a campaign rally in Panama City, Florida, U.S., October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar Supporters of Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump attend a campaign rally in Ocala, Florida, U.S., October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar A woman chants "Lock her up" in reference to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as she attends a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Miami, Florida, U.S., September 16, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump holds up signs at the end of a campaign rally in Lakeland, Florida, U.S., October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar Supporters of Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump attend a campaign rally in Panama City, Florida, U.S., October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar Supporters of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump cheer at a campaign rally, in Prescott Valley, Arizona, U.S., October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar Supporters start to get excited before Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump takes the stage for a rally in Kenansville, North Carolina, U.S. September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst A woman looks on as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Miami, Florida, U.S., September 16, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar A supporter of Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump holds a Trump doll as she listens to Trump speak at a campaign rally in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, October 10, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar Supporters rally with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Bedford, New Hampshire, U.S. September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Supporters of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump look on as he speaks at a campaign rally in Pueblo, Colorado, U.S., October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar Supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump cheer at a campaign rally in Manheim, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 1, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar A woman wearing a Muslim headscarf walks past people holding U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump signs before the start of the annual Muslim Day Parade in the Manhattan borough of New York City, September 25, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith A woman covers a child's ears as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks on stage during a campaign rally in Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S., August 20, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri Audience member Robin Roy (C) reacts as U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets her at a campaign rally in Lowell, Massachusetts January 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brian Snyder TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump supporters drive past the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton motorcade as she leaves a fundraiser event in Orlando, U.S. September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria A supporter of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Springfield, Illinois, United States, November 9, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Young Supporters of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attend a campaign rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, January 31, 2016. REUTERS/Scott Morgan Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is hugged by supporter Tracy McCullough during a campaign stop at the Boulevard Diner in Dundalk, Maryland, U.S., September 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Tracy McCullough (R), a supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, cries after she had the chance to hug Trump during a campaign stop at the Boulevard Diner in Dundalk, Maryland, U.S., September 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar A woman smiles after getting an autograph by U.S. Republican presidential candidate and businessman Donald Trump on her hat after he spoke at a campaign rally South Point Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada January 21, 2016. REUTERS/David Becker A woman yells "Kill the media" before Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Austin, Texas, U.S., August 23, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri A supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump uses her phone to photograph Trump during a campaign stop at the Canfield County Fair in Canfield, Ohio, U.S., September 5, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar A woman poses for a selfie with supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump dressed in costume prison uniforms as Bill and Hillary Clinton sing the U.S. national anthem before a campaign rally in Austin, Texas, U.S., August 23, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri A woman in a U.S. flag themed dress poses for photos as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks on stage during a campaign rally in Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S., August 20, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri A woman works her way to the front of the crowd as Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump signs autographs after addressing a Trump for President campaign rally in Macon, Georgia November 30, 2015. REUTERS/Christopher Aluka Berry Charmaine Adamo takes a selfie with friends and a Trump mascot "Trumpie" before a rally by U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, November 24, 2015. REUTERS/Randall Hill TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE
Trump tweeted before the New Hampshire rally that he would speak about "the massive drug problem there, and all over the country." The state is in the midst of a drug overdose crisis propelled by the heroin epidemic.
After slamming the latest Clinton emails released by WikiLeaks as proof that "the media collaborates and conspires directly with the Clinton campaign," Trump turned his attention to heroin and other drugs "that are poisoning our youth."
Related: Ex-'Apprentice' Contestant Describes Trump Advances
"You're the ones who really showed me the gravity of the problem of drugs pouring in, mostly from the southern border," Trump told the crowd in Portsmouth, doubling down on his promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The scripted comments came a day after the Republican presidential nomineeditched his broken teleprompters while speaking in North Carolina — capping off an unpredictable several days in which Trump was forced to defend himself against a barrage of allegations of inappropriate advances toward women, some dating back decades.
Related: Trump Ditches Prompters, Continues Defense at NC Rally
Trump has vehemently denied the allegations made by the eight women and went so far Friday to imply the accusers were too unattractive for his standards. He claims he's the victim of a left-wing conspiracy and that the media is colluding with Clinton to smear him.
He prolonged that attack on the media Saturday, pointing to the leaked Clinton emails.
"They show how the media collaborates and conspires directly with the Clinton campaign," Trump said. "The election is being rigged by corrupt media pushing false allegations and outright lies in an effort to elect her president."
He also outlined his plan to help Americans struggling with drug addiction by expanding access to treatment centers and giving caregivers access to Narcan — a life-saving opiate antidote that can be administered following an overdose.
And he vowed to hold U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs more accountable, so vets got the proper care.
"We have to solve this crisis and we will," Trump said.
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WATCH LIVE: Trump, Clinton face the voters in second debateCLOSE Police found former Disney star Lee Thompson Young dead from an apparent suicide. VPC
"The Famous Jett Jackson" actor, who appeared on TNT's "Rizzoli & Isles," committed suicide, his manager confirms.
Lee Thompson Young, photographed here in 2009, has died at age 29. (Photo11: Michael Tran, FilmMagic) Story Highlights Police were sent to Young's L.A. home after he failed to show up for filming Monday
The actor headlined 'The Famous Jett Jackson' and played Detective Barry Frost on TNT's 'Rizzoli & Isles'
TNT and the Disney Channel have released statements of condolence
Former Disney star Lee Thompson Young has been found dead, and his manager confirmed that the actor committed suicide.
The actor, who headlined The Famous Jett Jackson (1998-2001) and most recently appeared as Detective Barry Frost on TNT's Rizzoli & Isles, was discovered at his home in Los Angeles Monday morning. He was 29.
Los Angeles police officer Sally Madera told the Associated Press that police were sent to the home to check on Young after he failed to show up for filming early Monday.
The actor's manager, Jonathan Baruch, confirms that Young took his own life.
Rizzoli showrunner Janet Tamaro tweeted on Monday: "We are all without the words to truly express our collective grief and profound sadness at the loss of such a sweet, bright light."
TNT said in a statement: "We are beyond heartbroken at the loss of this sweet, gentle, good-hearted, intelligent man. He was truly a member of our family. Lee will be cherished and remembered by all who knew and loved him, both on- and offscreen, for his positive energy, infectious smile and soulful grace. We send our deepest condolences and thoughts to his family, to his friends and, most especially, to his beloved mother."
The Disney Channel also released a statement: "Nothing any of us can say will adequately express our sadness over Lee's untimely passing — our thoughts are with his loved ones and the many fans of his work."
Condolences were pouring in via Twitter.
Harry Shum Jr. of Glee wrote: "Feeling incredibly sad about Lee Thompson Young. My heart goes out to his family and friends. #gonetoosoon"
Young broke out as high school football star Chris Comer in the 2004 movie Friday Night Lights. Fans also remember him as Devon in 2006's Akeelah and the Bee.
He also appeared in TV's The Guardian, South Beach, Scrubs and Smallville.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/13zOjFaCongress has passed 15 anti-piracy laws in the past 30 years [GALLO/GETTY]
San Francisco, CA - In an op-ed published by Al Jazeera on February 18, Princeton ethicist Peter Singer argued that the "case for enforcing copyright laws was strengthened" by the recent seizure of popular file-sharing site Megaupload's domain name, along with the arrest of its owner Kim Dotcom. If copyright law is not vigorously enforced, he says, the economy will suffer, and authors, musicians and directors may soon not have a reason to create content anymore.
Contrary to Prof Singer's claims, the Megaupload case actually shows the dangers of draconian enforcement of copyright laws, which have recently been enforced at the expense of both free speech and US businesses. And despite misleading rhetoric from organisations such as the MPAA and RIAA, both creativity and the entertainment industry itself are thriving.
Inside Story - SOPA: Freedom or profits?
First, let's get one thing straight: the US not only enforces copyright laws already, it often does so overzealously in ways that hurt free speech and innocent users. We can see this in other news from just the past few months. The US government has been seizing thousands of other websites in the name of copyright, often times with little or no due process or court oversight. One such seizure last year led to innocent 84,000 domain names getting censored by mistake.
Just last week, the authorities seized the domain of a successful start up called Jotform - despite its robust copyright policy - leaving their millions of customers with no idea how to access their site. A couple of days later, the US returned the domain with no explanation. Recently, the US even began extradition procedures against a 23 year-old college student in Britain, not for providing copyrighted content, but for merely linking to other sites that do so.
Even in Megaupload's case, there is the potential for massive collateral damage. Putting aside the guilt or innocence of Megaupload's owners, we know that many there are many legitimate, innocent users of Megaupload that cannot access their files. Unfortunately, the case may also put the entire cloud computing industry at risk, including popular sites such as Dropbox. In fact, the US government's draconian stance on copyright enforcement in general may literally be scaring internet companies into moving out of the country.
The reality is that Congress has passed a staggering 15 anti-piracy laws in the past 30 years. Congress extended copyright terms another dozen times - including taking works hundreds of years old and already in the public domain and re-copyrighting them.
But is piracy really that big of a problem? Prof Singer uncritically cites the claim by content industries that "violations of copyright on the internet cost 100,000 jobs in the US alone". While he did not link to a study providing those numbers, the content companies' "estimates" of job loss numbers due to piracy have proven again and again and again to be grossly exaggerated. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) itself told the rest of the US government to stop citing the content industries' studies in 2010 because they "cannot be substantiated or traced back to an underlying data source or methodology". Despite this rebuke, the industry is still releasing studies without letting anyone look at their methodology or underlying data.
Alternatives
Prof Singer goes on to say that, without more copyright enforcement, "most creative people will need to earn a living doing something else". Here, the numbers don't back him up either. A study just released by CCIA and Engine Advocacy shows the content industry has thrived since the advent of file sharing. In the past decade the industry increased 50 per cent and people are spending more money, not less, on entertainment. The non-partisan Congressional Research Service came to similar conclusions. Another study showed that exceptions to copyright law - most notably fair use - are actually worth much more to the economy than copyright itself.
"If the fees were low enough the incentive to use pirated copies would diminish." - Professor Singer
And what about the idea that people are going to stop creating? Creativity is on the rise as well, including in the publishing industry, as the number of both traditional and non-traditional titles has skyrocketed in the past ten years.
Still, Prof Singer laments that some of his "older works, long out of print, are now far more widely available than they ever were before - in pirated versions". He also says: "When people use pirated books, the publisher and the author often are worse off - they lose earnings from selling the book." Putting aside the question of how Mr Singer would make any money on books "long out of print" even if piracy didn't exist, it's quite possible these downloads can make him better off, not worse.
The CEO of Rovio, maker of the popular video game Angry Birds, recently remarked how piracy can actually be good for copyright holders saying, "it can get us more business at the end of the day". The point being, Prof Singer should not fret about people downloading his out-of-print books because they now may be more likely to buy his new one. Legendary musician Neil Young echoed that point, explaining that piracy leads people to discover new works. That, in the end, will lead people to purchase content from the copyright holders.
But the real answer to piracy is innovation, not more copyright enforcement. Encouragingly, Prof Singer alludes to this at the end of his piece when he suggests a "user fee" for consuming content on the internet, much like libraries charge users in other countries. "[I]f the fee were low enough," he says, "the incentive to use pirated copies would diminish." In a general sense, new ideas about how to distribute content while being user-friendly is the way forward, as evidence suggests piracy withers in the face of reasonable alternatives. Comedian Louis CK recently showed how an innovative approach can work when he offered a stand-up special in a downloadable format free of restrictions directly to fans for $5 on his website. He made over a million dollars in a few days.
But unfortunately, content companies have steadfastly refused to innovate in the face of new technology for decades. Famously, the MPAA once told Congress: "The VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone" - and should, therefore, be outlawed.
Of course, in the years that followed, the movie industry was forced to embrace the VCR and made millions of dollars from it. Copyright holders need to do the same with the internet.
Trevor Timm is an activist and blogger for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.Feral cats in the Australian Outback massacre countless native birds and mammals, many of them endangered. The Guardian caught up with ecologist John Read who has come up with an ingenious way, he hopes, to kill off these invasive hunters without doing collateral damage. He has rigged laser-sighted robots to spray poison onto cats, and only onto cats, with the expectation that they'll lick their fur and die.
John Read has four of these traps, after seven years of development. And despite the inherent grimness of a machine designed to kill animals—even for the greater good of the ecosystem— the design of the mechanized device is very interesting.
Mostly, it contains a lot of little genius strokes. Main question being, How does a machine determine what is and isn't a cat? And how can it be sure to erase cats without hurting other animals? Read outfitted the gadgets with four laser rangefinders that scan an animal for its shape and height. A rangefinder positioned to detect a taller animal such as a dingo will shut the box down if triggered. Similarly, there is a laser that looks for skinny legs, to avoid killing a paunchy ol' wombat. Only something the size and shape of a cat will catch a spray.
But further, the choice of spray is inspired. For starters, it'll hit a critter's fur, and because cats are fastidious groomers, they're going to be most likely to lick at the dose. Read chose a toxin called 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) which is naturally occurring in some Australian plants, so it shouldn't be particularly harmful to Australia's native animals. The downside is that it is relatively slow-acting, not that it is ever fun to be posioned to death.
Ultimately, it seems like a respectable and well-considered solution to an ecological catastrophe, unpleasant though it may be. Also a good reminder to spay and neuter your pets.
Source: The GuardianGround fucking Zero.
Sir? Excuse me, sir. I don't know if you noticed, but my potato chips are soggy.
My potato chips are fucking soggy.
You know why they're soggy?
It may be the essence of life, but I want it to stay the FUCK away from my potato chips
Because you bumped into me while I was drinking my glass of water and forced several drops over the rim and into my basket which contains a ham and cheese sandwich (thankfully unharmed) and a handful of chips that were up until very recently decidedly NOT soggy.
But YOU had to get to throwing away your trash SO damn quickly that you forgot all regard for regular human decency and in the process-
What's that look for?
Crispy potato chips not unlike mine... that is, until you deflowered them.
You think I'm crazy? Look at the name of these chips: Crunchers. Why, praytell, are they called Crunchers? BECAUSE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE CRUNCHY. How can they be crunchy if they're motherfucking soggy?
You think I like wet potato chips? You think I dunk them in coffee like donuts or frolick through the sprinkler with a bag of Lay's in my hand? No, I don't, and I don't like assholes like you thinking they can do anything they want, even if that means ruining a guy's lunch by making his potato chips moist.
You laughing, jerk?
You think the word "moist" is funny? Here's something funny: why don't I shove this ice scraper down your face? Yeah, I accidentally brought my ice scraper in here, what's it to you? Obviously you could use it to scrape the ice off your cold, empty, black excuse for a heart. You just don't seem to understand what this has done to me.
Your soul.
What are you supposed to do? Oh, I don't know, maybe you could magically re-crisp my chips! Do you have some miraculous chip re-crisper up your ass for just such an occasion? Do you go from cafe-slash-bakery to cafe-slash-bakery just waiting to pounce on some poor sap just as he's lifting his glass, barreling into his unsuspecting shoulder and forcing a waterfall of cruel wetness upon his kettle chips, which may or may not be the only thing he lives for every day? There's nothing you can possibly do to repair the inescapable darkness you have rained upon my lunch hour. NOTHING. My chips are fucking SOGGY and there's not a goddamn thing you can do about it.
Come back here, you prick!
cheese. What kind of idiot would do that?) Be warned. Get in line, pal. By the way, the third guy from the right had the audacity to fuck with my quesadilla. (He added. What kind ofwould do that?) Be warned.
That doesn't mean you're off the hook! I want you to apologize. No, no, I want you to get down on your knees and kiss my feet for sparing your life today. You've been nothing but an insensitive, apathetic jerk this entire time. By making my potato chips soggy you have incurred a wrath once dormant deep within me I thought I would reserve only for somebody trying to harm a close friend or significant other. But because I don't have any of those yet, I'll have to settle for these chips. And the perfectly crafted, homestyle crispy crunch these chips once possessed was all I had in this godforsaken world.
I want you to become my servant, forever ruing the day you bumped into me in such a careless manner. I want you to repay me by catering to my every whim, including actually catering at any special occasions that may happen in the future. I want you to slave away under the hot sun, sweating all over your only sustenance: Potato chips.
Or I guess you could buy me another bag.CHICAGO (CBS) — The Fight for $15 movement took aim at shareholders meetings for two Chicago area corporate giants on Wednesday — McDonald’s and United Airlines — as low-pay workers continued their push for a higher minimum wage.
Hundreds of McDonald’s workers and other activists marched outside the fast food giant’s corporate headquarters in Oak Brook as shareholders held their annual meeting. Protesters began gathering outside McDonald’s headquarters around 7 a.m., and staged a boisterous protest as they chanted and marched outside the corporate campus.
Police shut down Jorie Boulevard for several hours to accommodate the protesters, who were marching as part of the “Fight for $15” movement.
Activists said McDonald’s, the world’s second largest private employer, fails to pay a living wage.
McDonald’s workers demanded union rights and a $15-an-hour minimum wage.
“We’re tired of living in poverty. Meanwhile, they get to build a new headquarters in downtown Chicago, which I’m pretty sure is pretty expensive; and we can’t even afford to buy our children they toy that they want, or put food on the table, and that is absolutely unacceptable,” Adriana Alvarez said.
McDonald’s employee Betty Douglas said working for the fast food giant is like “modern-day slavery.”
“It doesn’t make any sense. We deserve dignity. We deserve $15 an hour. We deserve to be able to take care of our kids. My son, I can’t even buy him any shoes,” she said.
Protest organizers said, since the “Fight for $15” movement launched nearly five years ago, more than 20 million low-wage workers have received pay raises.
However, they said McDonald’s hasn’t done enough, and essentially is exploiting its front-line workforce while executives line their pockets.
In response to Wednesday’s protest, McDonald’s issued the following statement:
“Our commitment to the communities we serve includes providing opportunities for those who work in our restaurants to succeed at McDonald’s and beyond. For hundreds of thousands, a job at McDonald’s is their very first and our world-class training and education programs begin building the skills first time workers will need to succeed in the workforce. In recent years, we have raised pay and started offering paid time off at our company-owned restaurants. Additionally, eligible employees (at both company-owned and participating franchised restaurants) can take free high school completion classes, get upfront college tuition assistance and learn English as a second language. In just two years, we are proud that over 17,000 employees have participated in this extended learning. Together, these important investments in our people show why we are committed to being America’s best first job.”
There were no incidents during the protest, and no demonstrators tried to cross police lines to get onto the McDonald’s headquarters campus.
Fight for $15 protesters also sought to send a message to United Airlines at the company’s shareholder meeting at Willis Tower on Wednesday.
Airport workers – including baggage handlers, janitors, and security officers – were joined by leaders of the Service Employees International Union, which has been trying to unionize the employees of subcontractors hired by the airlines.
“O’Hare workers are coming together with other airport workers from major cities across the country, all fighting for a better life by sticking together and speaking out,” SEIU Local 1 President Tom Balanoff said.
The workers claim contractors hired by United undercut jobs at O’Hare, and undermine safety and security.
“We understand this is an important issue being raised in cities and states across the country. At United, we hold our vendors to the highest standards and require them to follow all applicable laws and regulations. Since we do not have a direct employer-employee relationship with our vendors’ employees, we must rely on them to work with each other directly,” United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said in an email.
SEIU officials said 30 airport workers and supporters were arrested at the United Airlines protest, including Balanoff. Police issued citations for blocking traffic.PA Students Who Want To Join GSA Just Have To Come Out To Their Parents First
School board directors overseeing Bangor Area High School in Pennsylvania have agreed that the school can have a gay-straight alliance, just as long as students provide a signed parental permission slip to join (something that no other school club requires).
School board director Kevin Pruett said, “Folks are uncomfortable with clubs of this type. It’s not like the chess club.” But fellow school board director Frank Addessi countered Pruett’s thinking by saying that “a child in a hostile home environment could risk getting beaten or thrown out of his or her home if he or she came out as gay or supported gay rights.”
When the GSA realized that the school would require members to first get parental permission, they renamed themselves Bangor’s Safe School Club and clarified that they only seek to provide a welcoming environment to all students, discuss current issues and promote anti-bullying messages for everyone.
So Pruett thinks that “folks” are uncomfortable with an anti-bullying student group that doesn’t even mention the word “gay” in their name? What a dillhole.Climate scientists presume that the carbon cycle has come out of balance due to the increasing anthropogenic emissions from fossil fuel combustion and land use change. This is made responsible for the rapidly increasing atmospheric CO 2 concentrations over recent years, and it is estimated that the removal of the additional emissions from the atmosphere will take a few hundred thousand years. Since this goes along with an increasing greenhouse effect and a further global warming, a better understanding of the carbon cycle is of great importance for all future climate change predictions. We have critically scrutinized this cycle and present an alternative concept, for which the uptake of CO 2 by natural sinks scales proportional with the CO 2 concentration. In addition, we consider temperature dependent natural emission and absorption rates, by which the paleoclimatic CO 2 variations and the actual CO 2 growth rate can well be explained. The anthropogenic contribution to the actual CO 2 concentration is found to be 4.3%, its fraction to the CO 2 increase over the Industrial Era is 15% and the average residence time 4 years.Since the film series was announced in 2006, much ado has been made about the “Rebuild of Evangelion.” The project has alternately been described as a remake of or sequel to one of the most influential anime of all time, so the reaction to these movies has been polarizing. Where one camp might champion Rebuild as a refinement of the flawed original narrative, another might decry its deviations from the beloved source. What is it about Neon Genesis Evangelion that provokes such fervor, and what truly sets these two versions apart?
Rather than seeing the Rebuild films as replacements for the original series, it's more revealing to look at them as subsequent works where their creator, Hideaki Anno, reflects upon the original. He's looking back at the feelings of depression he first channeled into Evangelion with a renewed perspective, which is a big deal because those feelings were a major part of why so many people love the original show – you'd be hard-pressed to find a more honest depiction of crippling depression in pop culture. But Rebuild isn't Hideaki Anno "changing his mind" about how he felt, only changing his point of view in relation to those feelings.
If the original series comes from the “inside” perspective of someone in the midst of depression, Rebuild comes from the “outside” perspective of someone who has recovered from that state. This one simple difference changes everything how the two versions of Evangelion treat their characters – Rebuild allows them to make their own mistakes, while the original series frames the world around them as completely harsh and unforgiving. Taken together, these two versions of Evangelion reveal a powerful real-life story about a man coming to terms with his emotional past.
By his own admission, Anno illustrated Evangelion in blood straight from his own exposed heart. He channeled his personal problems into a pastiche of the mecha coming-of-age stories that dominated his otaku childhood. One of my favorite things about watching the original Mobile Suit Gundam (one of his favorite anime) was seeing how a young Anno might have latched onto aspects of that work and incorporated them into Evangelion. For example, there are the scattered suggestions of main character Amuro's daddy issues, along with that time when his magical space girlfriend turned into a pile of yellow goo.
Evangelion plays out like a version of Anno's favorite science-fiction anime that's been shuffled around and rewritten to speak to him personally. In the same way that Gundam's zaku, gelgoog, and minovsky particles are nonsense terms used to give the impression of a larger story-world, Evangelion's much-examined Judeo-Christian symbolism is just a tool used to explore a deeper emotional narrative about depression.
So if both the Evangelion TV series and the Rebuild films are about exploring feelings of depression, what makes one feel more like an "inside" view while the other shifts "outside?" Let's start by looking at the original TV series, which hit like Third Impact in 1996. It set off a unique wave of otaku fanaticism, critical acclaim, and mainstream awareness that has never been replicated even today. It hit a raw nerve and got stuck there, indelibly marking an entire generation of anime fans and influencing other creators for generations to come.
Evangelion succeeded in its rare two-pronged attack of casual enjoyment and thematic depth by gradually turning one into the other. It had all the successful hallmarks of a mainstream mecha series, like cute girls, cool robots, and a memorable world sculpted by talented artists. But unbeknownst to its initial audience, it was building to something very different from the easily marketable hero's journey. The man at the helm of this project was about to pour the blackest pit of his heart onto the moving canvas.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is beloved because it encapsulates what it feels like to be depressed. Not just "kind of sad in between moments of serving as a functional human being" depressed, but totally paralyzed, isolated, convinced down to the core of your soul that you are a worthless waste of skin who burdens everyone around you D-E-P-R-E-S-S-E-D. Now, that's not to say that everyone who's deeply invested in Evangelion relates to this aspect of it. But many people do have a little bit of Shinji inside them, particularly if they're anime-watching nerdlingers like you and me. Even before viewers actively realize that the story is about depression, the entire design of Evangelion's world is working toward creating an overwhelming atmosphere of isolation, entrapment, and despair.
First, there's the imagery. Depression isn't sadness, but rather dullness, a lack of feeling. EVA's characters are all people who feel hollowness, alienation, and self-loathing rather than active sadness. Consequently, many of Evangelion's most enduring images are of starkness, bleakness, and deprivation, which means that scenes tend to be dominated by one color.
Clinical blue for the hospital scenes.
Amniotic yellow for the dream sequences.
And red for the really painful, apocalyptic stuff.
Characters are also very rarely allowed to rest comfortably in the frame with one another.
When Shinji, Rei, Asuka, Misato, Ritsuko, or Gendo speak to one another, they rarely occupy the same shot together. During extended conversations, Evangelion often turns into fast-changing close-ups of individual characters' |
s, or tildes, or eights, or infinite symbols (that’s not very clear). There is also an eight or an infinite symbol mould-stamped in the feed. For the other mark, IRIDIUM POINT GERMANY, I have no means of verifying its veracity.
The writing itself is nice—on par with my Pilot 78G, if only slightly scratchier—and the pen writes nib-down. One caveat is that the nib does not allow much “angling”. By that I mean that if you rotate the tip ever so slightly sideways—for example, because you rolled the pen between your fingers—the nib will stop writing: the slit in the nib has to be straight on the page at all time. It is something that can get annoying, but that is overall minor. Also, it does not seem to shade as much as my Pilot 78G.
Converter
The pen comes with a piston converter with a slide mechanism. Inside the converter is a small plastic ball, most likely added to agitate the ink, similar to the metal piece in the Con-50 from Pilot. However, unlike the Con-50, where the ink goes up and down almost instantly with the action of the metal agitator, the ink in this converter does not move around quite as easily and some of it seems to stick around the piston independently of the pen’s position. My assumption is that the plastic ball is neither big enough nor heavy enough to produce the kind of movement you might see in the Con-50. Indeed, at times, it seems to have difficulty to even fall out of the ink (J. Herbin Vert Empire). Although I should note that I have not had any ink delivery problem at this point, neither did I experience any leakage. Should it happen, I will update this section.
Body
The body is built much like the cap: a long and smooth wooden barrel connected to a wooden knob by a gold ring washer (that washer has a clip on the cap). Once again, the knob shows noticeable marks of chipping, although on my particular pen, the knob on the body is in much better condition than on the cap. As this is a $5 dollar pen, that kind of issue on finish is not wholly important, but it is worth mentioning. Speaking of finish, all wooden parts—be it on the cap or the body—look clear-coated. That clear coat appears very light, however, so I expect any ink spill, hand sweat or dirt to be permanent, which might be a factor in deciding where and when you would use it. On the upside, should that happen, you would end up with a very unique pen (but better it be ink rather than food grease).
The assembly requires a modicum of caution: the threading on the plastic part is plastic; on the wooden part, metal. Therefore, screwing both parts together feels rough, and doing so carelessly would eventually lead to breakage.
When it comes to size, if I described my Pilot 78G as a #8 size brush, I would describe this pen as a #9 or #10 size brush. But that description alone would be misleading: there is a fairly sizeable gap between the wooden barrel and the plastic portion/handle where your fingers go. To keep with the Pilot 78G comparison, if the barrel on this pen is bigger than on the Pilot, its handle is smaller. Overall, I find it awkward, but workable. Your own experience with pens will dictate how the size of this pen in particular would work for you.
On the question of posted vs. unposted, well, there is no debate: the pen is not really designed to be posted. If you do post it, it will be loose and the pen will look crooked: the cap posts tilted by default and you will have to manually make it follow the line of the pen for it to appear straight. While you can avoid the looseness and the tilt by pushing the cap further down, you will be damaging (scratching) the pen barrel: I would personally not recommend it.
Conclusion
For its $5 price point, there is little that would constitute a deal-breaker unless you consider posting the pen to be essential: the pen writes well and looks good. I am very positive about the fact that the pen is made of real wood—rather than wood grain styled plastic—and that the amount of metal fixtures is minimal. There is nothing perfect about this pen, but everything is within the realm of what you could expect from a price that amounts to small change in the fountain pen world.
Thanks for flying by and feel free to hoot a comment.
~Nicolas a.k.a Nocto
AdvertisementsAll That Remains Bring Me The Horizon Clutch Mobb Deep + Ghostface Killah Cannibal Corpse Bring Me The Horizon Bring Me The Horizon Bring Me The Horizon All That Remains Bring Me The Horizon Mobb Deep + Ghostface Killah Clutch Cannibal Corpse All That Remains All That Remains Bring Me The Horizon All That Remains Clutch Dying Fetus Beartooth Beartooth Dying Fetus Bring Me The Horizon Suicidal Tendencies All That Remains Dying Fetus Slipknot Suicidal Tendencies Clutch Mobb Deep + Ghostface Killah Cannibal Corpse Dying Fetus Bring Me The Horizon All That Remains Mobb Deep + Ghostface Killah Dying Fetus Bring Me The Horizon Beartooth Suicidal Tendencies Beartooth Beartooth All That Remains Bring Me The Horizon Bring Me The Horizon Beartooth Slipknot Beartooth All That Remains Suicidal Tendencies
Knotfest 2014 was so successful, Slipknot brought their metal induced festival back to the grounds of the San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino California. Stretching two full days of music, there was sure to be something that could occupy your time. But let’s be honest, music was the number one thing on everyone’s minds. Here are a many of the bands that played this past Sunday for Day 2. Set lists for some below.
Slipknot Sarcastrophe The Heretic Anthem Psychosocial The Devil in I Me Inside Vermilion Wait and Bleed Prosthetics Before I Forget Eeyore Duality Cluster Spit it Out Metabolic (sic) People = Shit Surfacing Bring Me The Horizon Happy Song Go to Hell for Heaven’s Sake The House of Wolves Chelsea Smile Can You Feel My Heart? Shadow Moses Throne Sleepwalking Antivist Blessed with a Curse Drown
Clutch X-Ray Vision Firebirds Crucial Velocity The Soapmakers Decapitation Blues A Quick Death in Texas Sucker for the Witch Our Lady of Electric Light The Elephant Riders D.C. Sound Attack! Noble Savage The Mob goes Wild Cannibal Corpse Scourge of Iron Demented Aggression Evisceration Plague Stripped, Raped and Strangled Kill or Become Sadistic Embodiment Icepick Lobotomy I Cum Blood Make Them Suffer A Skull Full of Maggots Hammer Smashed Face Devoured by Vermin Suicidal Tendencies You Can’t Bring Me Down Institutionalized Subliminal Freedumb Possessed to Skate Cyco Vision Pledge Your Allegiance
All That Remains Now Let Them Tremble For We are Many Victory Lap Six The Air that I Breathe Pernicious No Knock This Calling Two Weeks Internal Bleeding The Visitant The Pageantry of Savagery Anointed in Servitude Fabricating Bliss Patterns of Force I. The Discovery Patterns of Force II. Plague Agenda Patterns of Force III. Aftermath Castigo Corpus Meum Snot Snot Joy Ride Snooze Button Deadfall I Jus’ Lie My Balls Hit the Lights (Metallica cover) Absent
Did you attend Knotfest?! How was it?! Comment below.
All photos by Matthew Saunders and Corey Kleinsasser
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Advertisements(See June 10 update below.)
The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety has purchased several devices capable of seizing funds loaded on to prepaid debit cards to aid troopers in roadside seizures of suspected drug-trafficking proceeds.
The portable card scanners are designed to be carried in law enforcement vehicles, allow troopers to freeze and seize money loaded onto a prepaid card, and to return money to an account whose funds were seized or frozen.
The vehicle-mounted scanners are also capable of retrieving and storing limited account information from other cards as well, such as banking debit cards, credit cards and “payment account information from virtually any magnetic stripe card,” according to the website and patent documents of the device manufacturer, Texas-based ERAD Group Inc. ERAD stands for Electronic Recovery and Access to Data.
The card readers could reignite debate over civil asset forfeiture in Oklahoma and across the nation. State and federal laws allow law enforcement agencies to seize property and cash believed to be involved in the illicit drug trade and then take ownership of the assets through a civil-court action.
Law enforcement officials say that civil asset forfeiture is essential in disrupting drug trafficking operations. Civil-rights advocates argue that the process violates individuals’ property and civil liberties and sometimes results in innocent people having money seized on the roadside without being arrested or charged.
The new devices will now allow law enforcement to not only seize money in physical possession of a person being stopped, but from a financial institution holding the money loaded onto a prepaid card as well.
Brady Henderson, legal director for ACLU Oklahoma, said the new tactic could easily run afoul of the Fourth Amendment and land the issue in court.
“I think this is likely to expand pretty radically the scope of civil asset forfeiture procedures,” Henderson said. “This is a capability that law enforcement has never had before and one that is very likely to land DPS in litigation.”
However, law enforcement officials say the devices are essentially part of the arms race between police and drug traffickers, who in recent years have been loading pre-paid cards with millions of dollars for transport as part of the drug trade, thus decreasing the likelihood of seizure by law enforcement.
“They’re basically using pre-paid cards instead of carrying large amounts of cash,” said Lt. John Vincent, public information officer for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The contract signed by the state and ERAD Group, obtained by Oklahoma Watch, states that Department of Public Safety will pay a one-time $5,000 implementation charge and a $1,500 training charge for the devices.
ERAD Group will receive a 7.7 percent cut of all funds seized via the card readers. Vincent said the 16 prepaid card readers obtained by the department were installed in May.
The card readers will not be used to randomly swipe motorists’ gift or prepaid cards, Vincent said, but only in cases in which the trooper suspects criminal activity is taking place. The device logs which trooper is using the device when a card is swiped.
“If we have reasonable suspicion to believe there’s a crime being committed, we’re going to investigate that. If someone has 300 cards taped up and hidden inside the dash of a vehicle, we’re going to check that,” Vincent said. “But if the person has proof that it belongs to him for legitimate reasons, there’s nothing going to happen. We won’t seize it.”
A joint law enforcement drug interdiction team under the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office also has the devices, and Oklahoma City police officers who are part of the team use them, said Capt. Juan Balderrama, spokesman for the Oklahoma city Police Department.
Henderson said the devices were something that his organization has not run across before.
“You have effectively a way of instantly seizing a digital account from a traffic stop,” Henderson said. “That’s a capability I have never seen before.”
Judith Rinearson, a partner with the law firm Bryan Cave and a prepaid card-industry attorney, said in the past most individuals who used reloadable prepaid cards were unbanked or low income, but younger adults have begun using those cards as their primary financial transaction card.
Homeland Security Video on Prepaid Card Readers
How It Works
ERAD card scanners were first developed around 2012 for the science and technology arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to combat the use of prepaid debit cards by drug cartels to transport drug money, according to a Homeland Security media release.
Since then, some law enforcement agencies around the country have adopted the technology.
According to ERAD Group’s patent for the device, law enforcement can determine the balance of money in an account associated with a prepaid card that is part of branded “open loop” networks such as Visa or MasterCard or “closed loop” cards that only allow purchases at a single company, such as gift cards.
When the card is scanned by the officer to check the account balance, the system disguises the balance request as a typical vendor request to prevent alerting suspects that law enforcement is checking the card, the patent states.
Once the card’s account balance is determined, the officer can use the device to freeze the funds, preventing withdrawal or use of the money in the account, or seize the funds by having them transferred to a law enforcement financial account, the patent states.
Although the device does not allow funds from non-prepaid cards to be frozen or seized, it can provide the officer information about those cards such as the card number, the name on the card, expiration date and the card issuer.
That data, along with any accompanying notes, is then saved in a case management database for future use, allowing law enforcement agencies to search for additional illicit funding by analyzing other card seizures, transactions and trends associated with the card issuer. The agencies also identify any accounts linked to the seized card, the patent and contract documents show.
T. Jack Williams, ERAD Group president and one of the leading magnetic stripe card consultants for federal and state law enforcement, said the device has three main purposes: intelligence, forensics and asset seizure.
“The seizure stuff is really secondary, even tertiary,” Williams said.
Williams declined to say exactly how many law enforcement agencies across the country now ERAD Devices.
“I can tell you it’s in the hundreds,” Williams said.
Williams said freezing or seizing funds from prepaid cards is not the same as freezing or seizing funds from bank or debit cards, since prepaid cards come from pooled accounts held by financial companies and are not protected by the Bank Secrecy Act.
“Prepaid cards are cash, they are not bank accounts,” Williams said.
According to a slide presentation delivered by ERAD’s Williams in early May at the West Coast Anti-Money Laundering Forum, using the card readers to obtain information on cards’ magnetic strips do not run afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure and warrantless searches.
Citing an Oklahoma case in which 83 Walmart gift cards were seized after the cards were loaded with drug funds, Williams’ presentation states that because prepaid cards are treated like currency, they can be seized like currency. “Individuals do not have privacy rights with magnetic stripe cards” because the information on the strip “literally has no purpose other than to be provided to others to read,” the presentation said.
Henderson, of the ACLU, said usually in freezing or seizing money from financial accounts, “there are all kinds of steps where courts get involved so that there’s a check and balance there. All of that would be eliminated in this situation. It’s a situation where you have an instant freeze with zero due process.”
Sen. Kyle Loveless, R-Oklahoma City, said he, too, was concerned with the constitutional and due process implications of the ERAD devices.
“Until this, we didn’t even know these things were in existence,” Loveless said. “It’s scary to know that technology even exists and that government agencies are using it without an arrest without a warrant.”
Last legislative session, Loveless introduced legislation to change aspects of the state’s civil asset forfeiture laws. The move triggered sharp criticism by law enforcement officials, and the legislation died in committee.
Before the session, Loveless said he was told by law enforcement that the presence of large sums of money packed into a vehicle was an indicator of possible criminal activity.
“It seems to me this new technology is taking the argument away – ‘we don’t have the cash here, but it’s somewhere,’” Loveless said.
However, Vincent, of DPS, said the devices are not only for seizure of suspected illicit funds. Although no seizures have yet been made with the devices, troopers have been able to use the card readers to uncover cases of identity theft, he said.
“The asset forfeiture part will definitely help us as far as we have people trying to courier large amounts of money, but it also, and is probably is seen more as, helping with identity theft, credit card fraud and all of that,” Vincent said. “This isn’t solely about asset forfeiture. This isn’t about money. We’re not in the business of making money. We’re in the business of solving crimes.”
Update, June 10: A state legislator has requested that an interim study and hearing be conducted on the use of card-reader devices by law enforcement and other aspects of civil asset forfeiture. “News of ERAD usage has prompted renewed calls in my district to examine the civil asset forfeiture process, with due process and safeguards against unreasonable searches and seizures as the main concern,” Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, said in his written request. “The idea here is to get both sides in the room.” A decision on interim studies will be made during the summer and hearings will be held later in the year.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that the Oklahoma City Police Department has card-reader devices. Department officers who are part of a joint interdiction team under the district attorney’s office use the devices, but the Oklahoma City Police Department doesn’t own any.Meet Ged Galvin, the Steve Austin of colorectal surgery. After a car crash in which Galvin almost died, surgeons at Royal London Hospital realized they could rebuild his crushed organs. Stronger. Faster. They had the technology to give him a cyborg colon.
"The operation changed my life and gave me back my pride and confidence," Galvin told the Daily Telegraph.
After he spent a short time with a colostomy bag, the doctors surgically removed muscle from Galvin's leg, fashioned it into an ersatz sphincter, and surgically implanted electrodes into the new muscle ring. Doctors then installed the device in Galvin.
Now, Galvin is free from the indignity of a colostomy bag. He controls his functions with a small remote control, about the size of a cell phone, that operates the electrodes. Now he can do his business at his leisure, although the muscles and electrodes will need replacement every five years. "Because of the remote control I can lead a normal life again," Galvin said.
Armed with his new sense of confidence, all Galvin has to do now to steal Steve Austin's crown is fight Sasquatch.
[Daily Telegraph, via Geekologie]On the world’s biggest stage with his team facing elimination, Uruguay’s Luis Suarez bit an opponent at the World Cup. Suarez, who earned a 10-match ban in 2013 for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini late into Uruguay’s final group game. Suarez also earned a seven-match ban in 2010 for biting a player in the Eredivisie.
No card was shown to Suarez by the referee, and Chiellini was furious. He pulled down his jersey to show the marks on his shoulder.
A closer look at Chiellini’s shoulder reveals the damage.
Suarez, meanwhile, grabbed his teeth in pain.
Italy only needed a draw to advance, but Claudio Marchisio’s mindless red card for stomping on Egidio Rios forced Italy to play a man down for the final half-hour of the game. The 2006 World Cup champions staved off Uruguay, and Suarez should have been given a straight red card for his bite to even out the game.
Minutes after the biting incident, Diego Godin won the game for Uruguay. Godin deflected in a Gaston Ramirez cross off the back of his shoulder, sealing a spot in the knockout rounds.
This isn’t the first time Suarez has been at the center of controversy at the World Cup. Four years ago, he committed a handball on the goal line to keep Ghana from scoring. He was given a red card, but Uruguay won the game to go to the semifinals.
Suarez certainly faces a ban from FIFA, which will investigate the incident.Sunday marked the first time that multiple female umpires - Sue Redfern (l) and Jacqueline Williams (r) - have officiated in a men's ICC tournament match © Peter Della Penna
Sue Redfern of England and Jacqueline Williams of the West Indies created history on Sunday for their roles in Oman's 181-run win over Nigeria at ICC WCL Division Five in Jersey. Redfern was one of the two standing umpires, working with Scotland's Alex Dowdalls, in the game while Williams served as third umpire. It marked the first time that two female umpires have officiated in a men's ICC tournament match.
Though multiple female umpires have served in women's ICC tournament matches - Redfern and Williams were two of four female officials at the Women's World T20 Qualifier in Thailand last November and filled standing and third umpire roles respectively in a game between Ireland and Netherlands on the opening day of that event - Sunday was the first time it occurred in a men's ICC fixture. Kathy Cross was the first women's official to stand in a men's ICC tournament match, serving at 2014 ICC WCL Division Five and Three, both held in Malaysia that year.
Redfern, 38, is a former England Women's Test cricketer who also works as the ECB's inclusion and diversity manager. Williams, 40, made history earlier this year when she became the first female umpire to stand in the West Indies domestic 50-over competition, officiating in a Trinidad & Tobago win over ICC Americas on January 15 at Port of Spain.
Peter Della Penna is ESPNcricinfo's USA correspondent. @PeterDellaPenna
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He wants an agreement for an enduring US counterterrorism presence in the country
(CNN) Sen. John McCain on Thursday unveiled his own strategy for the US in Afghanistan — a step he says he's taking because President Donald Trump's administration isn't coming up with one.
McCain's Afghan strategy includes adding more US troops for counterterrorism missions, increasing US airpower to aid Afghan forces and providing the US military with broader authority to target enemy forces including the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Al Qaeda and ISIS.
The Arizona Republican also would have the US military advising Afghan forces at the Kandak, or battalion level, which is about 600 troops.
"We must face facts: we are losing in Afghanistan and time is of the essence if we intend to turn the tide," McCain said in a statement. "We need an integrated civil-military approach to bolster U.S. counterterrorism efforts, strengthen the capability and capacity of the Afghan government and security forces, and intensify diplomatic efforts to facilitate a negotiated peace process in Afghanistan in cooperation with regional partners."
Read MoreOpposition groups in Venezuela are currently engaged in a campaign to overthrow the democratically-elected government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Portrayed by the media as a peaceful, democratic movement, it is clear that what Venezuela is experiencing is a right-wing destabilisation campaign that not only seeks to remove Maduro but to roll back the important gains of the country’s Bolivarian Revolution.
Through campaigns of terror, assassinations, the burning alive of government supporters and attacks on government services and food distribution networks, the opposition hopes to topple the government as a first step to destroying Chavismo.
Over the past two decades, Venezuela’s political landscape has been dramatically reshaped by the rise of Chavismo, a political movement of the country’s poor and working classes.
Chavismo’s origins lie in a convergence between the multitude of street protests that rocked neoliberal regimes during the late ’80s and ’90s and a large group of soldiers who no longer tolerated the army being used to repress the poor in order to protect the power of a corrupted elite.
Out of this convergence arose the figure of Hugo Chavez, who won the 1998 presidential elections riding this wave of discontent against neoliberalism and political exclusion.
Despite coup attempts, attacks on the oil industry, various waves of violent street protests and more than 20 elections, Chavismo went on to consolidate itself as the new centre of politics in Venezuela.
It also inspired millions around the world by demonstrating that an alternative to neoliberalism is possible; one that redistributed the nations’ wealth towards social programs, while dramatically expanding people’s participation in daily decision making in their communities and workplaces.
Chavismo also led the charge in terms of the leftward shift that occurred in South America at the turn of the century, and its call for a “21st Century Socialism” resonated around a world where only a few years before socialism was a dirty word.
Today, Chavismo remains the single largest political force in Venezuela. But it is facing its biggest challenge to date.
The challenge goes beyond the current rightist offensive.
It encompasses the serious economic crisis the country is engulfed in — the result of a combination of factors: a collapse in oil prices, economic mismanagement and a concerted campaign by the private sector to strangle the economy — together with the severe social consequences this has brought about for ordinary people.
The gains of Chavismo are at risk and the right within Venezuela and internationally are seizing this moment to try to wipe them out completely.
The inability of Venezuela’s right-wing opposition to remove Maduro — essentially because it has been unable to fracture Chavismo’s base of support in the popular classes and armed forces — has seen governments internationally, particularly the US, play a more active role in the destabilisation campaign.
Together, they hope to discredit the idea that any alternative to neoliberalism exists and to resolve the current crisis by making the poor pay for it. Doing this will require the destruction of Chavismo as a political movement.
Just as the right-wing has revealed that the international battle will be critical to their success within Venezuela, it is incumbent on the left to step up our solidarity with the people of Venezuela.
There is no doubt that criticism can be made of the Maduro government, but it is equally true that the overwhelming majority of popular, working class and social organisations — those most on the left would claim to be in solidarity with — continue to defend the Maduro government as a necessary shield against what is likely to come next.
In this regard, solidarity activists have held a number of public forums and protests in recent weeks as part of stepping up the campaign here.
Importantly, a number of trade unions, including the Maritime Union of Australia Sydney branch, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) Victorian branch and the construction division of the CFMEU WA, have come out in defence of the people of Venezuela and its government.
It is incumbent on the left to help continue building this solidarity to ensure that the current rightist offensive is defeated. What’s at stake is not simply the Maduro government, but the very existence of one of the most important left political forces in the world today.
Like the article? Subscribe to Green Left now! You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.CEVO is pleased to announce that team registration for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Season 10 is now open. Discounted Early Bird Registration is available from now until Sunday, May 29th, 11:59 PM ET. So don't wait, register your team today as league fees will increase after this date.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR CEVO CS:GO SEASON 10
Premium Pay-to-Play Divisions (Amateur / Intermediate / Main) features:
ALL matches played on premium 128-tickrate CEVO game servers across 15+ geographic locations protected by CEVO's proprietary anti-cheat technology.
Unlimited access to automated scrim system (with premium league team)
Complete live personal & team statistics for every match and individual ranking on Event Leaderboards
$$$ prizes in ALL premium skill divisions
Pick/Ban maps just like the Pros with our automated in-client veto system
CEVO's automated match service integration
Automatic recording and storage of GOTV demos
In-game coaching enabled in ALL premium skill divisions
Real-time updated standings and team rankings
Automatic weekly matches scheduled and easy to use match scheduling thread
Helpful league officials available for LIVE support Sunday through Thursday all season long
Ability to file match disputes for CEVO staff review
FREE access to community forums and match predictions
FREE-to-play Division information:
Bring your own game server (BYOS)
1 match per week during the regular season
ALL matches protected by CEVO's proprietary anti-cheat technology
Automatic weekly matches scheduled and easy to use match scheduling thread
Real-time updated standings and team rankings
Helpful league officials available for LIVE support on default match nights only
FREE access to community forums and prediction systems for every match
NOTE: CEVO will no longer provide rental game servers to the FREE division in Season 10
Season 10 Format & Schedule
Participating teams will compete in CEVO’s signature eight week regular season format in an attempt to qualify for the online playoffs, and the chance to climb the ladder of ranked skill divisions.
s10 Team Registration + Preseason (Friday, April 29th, 2016 - Sunday, May 29th, 2016)
s10 Online Regular Season (Monday, May 30th, 2016 – Sunday, July 31st, 2016)
s10 Online Playoffs (Thursday, August 4th, 2016 - Thursday, September 8th, 2016)
Skill Divisions & Prizes
Main Division (NA/EU Restricted skill divisions) - $20.00 (Early Bird) / $25.00 per player - $10,000.00 prize pool (per region)
CEVO-M is our premium pay-to-play restricted skill division consisting of 48 very highly skilled and experienced teams looking for serious, near-professional competition. Teams can qualify to play in this division through their performance in the previous season, and sometimes through our off-season tournaments. CEVO-M teams will play two matches per week on Sundays & Wednesdays in both North America and Europe across one conference (per region) and compete for cash prizes.
1st - $6,000.00
2nd - $2,500.00
3rd - $1,500.00
4th-6th - 1 month FREE CEVO MVP coupon for each player on roster
Intermediate Division (NA/EU Open entry skill divisions) - $12.50 (Early Bird) / $15.00 per player - $5,000.00 prize pool (per region)
CEVO-IM is our intermediary premium pay-to-play skill division open to ALL teams in both Europe and North America. It's designed for experienced teams seeking serious competitive play. CEVO-IM teams will play two matches per week on Mondays & Thursdays in both North America and Europe across one conference (per region) for cash prizes and the chance to move up to the CEVO-M skill division based on their performance in Season 10.
1st - $3,000.00 + automatic moveup to s11 Main skill division
2nd - $1,500.00 + automatic moveup to s11 Main skill division
3rd - $500.00 + automatic moveup to s11 Main skill division
4th-6th - 1 month FREE CEVO MVP coupon for each player on roster + automatic moveup to s11 Main skill division
7th-16th - automatic moveup to s11 Main skill division
NOTE: We encourage teams that are new to CEVO to start in our Intermediate division if they are looking for serious league competition with two matches per week and all of our premium league features.
Amateur Division (NA/EU Open entry skill division) - $7.50 (Early Bird) / $10.00 per player - $1,500.00 prize pool (per region)
CEVO-A is our entry level premium pay-to-play skill division open to ALL teams in both North America and Europe. It's designed for both new and experienced teams seeking casual competitive play. Teams in this division will play only one match per week on Wednesday evenings in three conferences across North America (East, Central, and West) and compete for cash prizes and the chance to move up to the CEVO-IM/M skill divisions based on their performance in Season 9.
1st - $900.00 + automatic moveup to s11 Main skill division
2nd - $400.00 + automatic moveup to s11 Main skill division
3rd - $200.00 + automatic moveup to s11 Main skill division
4th-6th - 1 month FREE CEVO MVP coupon for each player on roster + automatic moveup to s11 Intermediate skill division
4th-32nd - automatic moveup to s11 Intermediate skill division
FREE Division (NA/EU Open entry skill divisions) - FREE-to-Play
CEVO-FREE is completely FREE-to-play (you guessed it!) and open to ALL teams in both Europe and North America. Designed for beginner teams who are looking to get their feet wet with competitive play. Teams in this division play one match per week on Tuesday evenings at 9:00 PM in their conferences local time zone, and compete for free entry into Season 9 and the opportunity to move up to one of our pay-to-play skill divisions. The FREE division will be separated into three regional conferences in North America (East, Central, and West) |
zeros before the decimal point for amounts of less than one on prescription-container labels for oral liquid medications. APhA discourages the use of trailing zeros after the decimal point for amounts greater than one on prescription-container labels for oral liquid medications. APhA supports access to and universal availability of dosing devices with numeric graduations that correspond to the unit of measure that is on the container's label for oral liquid medications.
Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-Cooperative Adverse Event Surveillance System (NEISS-CADES) project estimated that each year in the United States:
Over 70,000 emergency department (ED) visits result from unintentional medication overdoses among children under the age of 18;
One out of every 151 two-year-olds is treated in an ED for an unintentional medication overdose;
Over 80% of ED visits among children under the age of 12 are due to unsupervised children taking medications on their own and 10% of ED visits in this age group are due to medication errors;
OTC medications are involved in about one-third of ED visits among children under the age of 12.
About the American Pharmacists Association
The American Pharmacists Association, founded in 1852 as the American Pharmaceutical Association, is a 501 (c)(6) organization, representing more than 63,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and others interested in advancing the profession. APhA, dedicated to helping all pharmacists improve medication use and advance patient care, is the first-established and largest association of pharmacists in the United States. For more information, please visit www.pharmacist.com.Recently Nick Vujicic spoke with the BBC about his extraordinary life and his recipe for success in the world. It turns out he’s a pretty famous guy and has done plenty of interviews before, but this one brought him to our attention and if you haven’t heard Nick’s story before you’ll want to check it out.
Nick Vujicic is the 32-year-old president of motivational speech marketer ‘Attitude is Altitude’. He was born without arms or legs, making everyday tasks such as brushing your teeth more difficult. Even so, he lives life to the fullest and has become an in-demand inspirational speaker; from the video below it’s easy to see why.
There is no medical explanation for Vujicic’s physical disability, an extremely rare congenital disorder known as tetra-amelia syndrome. He has a small foot on his left hip, however, which helps him balance. He can type, pick things up between his toes and even kick a ball.
In the BBC interview, Vujicic explained that confidence didn’t come naturally to him. Growing up in Melbourne, Australia, he struggled with depression. Over time, Vujicic worked on adopting a positive attitude—at 17 an encounter with his high school janitor inspired him to go into public speaking.
Aside from his work as a motivational speaker, Vujicic is a self-confessed adrenalin junkie (he’d be right at home at ADAPT then); he regularly swims, surfs and has gone skydiving.
The charismatic Australian now lives in California with his wife, Kanae, and their 2-year-old son. He travels the world addressing huge crowds, including business groups and schoolchildren—so far he has visited more than 50 countries and given thousands of talks.
Check out the Life Without Limbs official website to find out more about Nick’s story and his work.Two horrible tragedies in or at least near Libya: Up to 800 migrants trying to reach Europe from Africa die after their boat sinks off the coast, and 30 migrants are murdered by the so-called Islamic State on the shore in the troubled country.
Libya's chaos has once more made it a major way station for Africans seeking a better life, as the European Union grapples with the morality of cutting back on patrols to rescue migrants. The argument for doing less is that increasing the risk of crossing the Mediterranean would save lives. Word that there was no safety net would filter back to people, many of them fleeing persecution, and they'd stop coming.
"We do not support planned search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean,” British Foreign Office Minister Joyce Anelay said last year. Rescues have “an unintended ‘pull factor,' encouraging more migrants to attempt the dangerous sea crossing and thereby leading to more tragic and unnecessary deaths,” she argued.
It clearly hasn't worked out that way, as The Christian Science Monitor's Nick Squires wrote in March:
Last year, a record 170,000 refugees flooded across the Mediterranean, traveling in large part out of Libya and arriving in Italy. In January, more than 3,500 refugees and migrants reached Italy from Libya, a 60 percent increase from January 2014. They come from all over Africa and the Middle East. The Eritreans are fleeing a brutal regime which dragoons young men into military conscription and maintains a semi-permanent war footing with neighboring Ethiopia. Syrians and Iraqis are fleeing the war and atrocities committed by the self-described Islamic State, Palestinians the open prison that is Gaza, and West Africans the crushing poverty that has framed many of their lives... The vast majority of refugees make for Libya, where a power vacuum since the 2011 fall of dictator Muammar Qaddafi has enabled gangs of human traffickers to flourish... “Everyone in Libya is armed now,” says Djiby Diop, a 20-year-old from Senegal who spent three months in Libya dodging gunmen. “If you don’t work for them, they shoot you. If you don’t give them all your money, they shoot you. Or they shoot you just for fun.”
In some corners of Europe, there is a callousness and contempt for the migrants. Columnist Katie Hopkins called them "cockroaches" in The Sun, Britain's largest-circulating newspaper, on Friday.
"Show me pictures of coffins, show me bodies floating in water, play violins and show me skinny people looking sad. I still don’t care," she wrote. "What we need are gunships sending these boats back to their own country. You want to make a better life for yourself? Then you had better get creative in Northern Africa."
The callousness is far uglier in Libya itself, where local gangs prey on migrants, and racism against darker-skinned Africans is common.
The migration crisis in its current iteration stems, in part, from the fall of Libya's Muammar Qaddafi. In 2010, Europe was moving quickly to normalize relations with the former dictator. Oil interests played a role, but so did the desire of many European nations to outsource migrant control to the North African country.
Libya's coast has a long history of sending people – willing and unwilling – to Europe and the Americas. Ports like Tripoli and Benghazi were the final stops for medieval slave-trading caravans from the African interior until the 19th century. In recent decades, migrants have shoved off for Italy and Spain in rickety fishing boats, with Libyan officials looking the other way.
Mr. Qaddafi was well aware of European alarm at the rising tide of migrants in his final years in power. He used it as a powerful wedge to improve his own standing. Back to 2004, Qaddafi began making deals with individual European states to control the tide of migrants. In August 2010, he visited his friend Silvio Berlusconi, then president of Italy, in Rome and said Europe would turn "black" without his help.
"Tomorrow Europe might no longer be European, and even black, as there are millions who want to come in," Qaddafi said. "What will be the reaction of the white and Christian Europeans faced with this influx of starving and ignorant Africans... we don't know if Europe will remain an advanced and united continent or if it will be destroyed, as happened with the barbarian invasions."
Qaddafi had a handy solution. He offered to shut down his country and its coastal waters to the job seekers in exchange for €5 billion a year. He pointed to his work with Italy as proof he could get the job done. In June 2009, he signed a "friendship" agreement with Italy that involved joint naval patrols against migrants and Italy handing over migrants captured en route to Europe to Libya, no questions asked. The number of Africans caught trying to illegally enter Italy fell by more than 75 percent that year.
By the end of the year Qaddafi had struck a more modest €50 million deal. Internment camps were built and watchtowers erected on the beaches. There was little concern with how Qaddafi went about his business and there were frequent reports of rape and theft by Libyan security services.
When the uprising against Qaddafi began in early 2011, the situation only grew worse for the African migrants. Many rebel groups were convinced that any foreign African in the country were mercenaries for Qaddafi and hundreds were executed. I met a group of such so-called "mercenaries" – some shoeless, all poor and underfed and insisting they were only seeking jobs – held captive by rebels outside Benghazi that spring.
In the years since, Libya's lawlessness has made traveling through the country even more dangerous and unpredictable. The videotaped mass execution of Ethiopian and Eritrean migrants carried out by the so-called Islamic State makes that clear enough. Yet still people go, and the UN refugee agency is now calling the recent shipwreck the deadliest it has ever recorded.
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According to survivors interviewed by UNHCR, the boat departed from Tripoli in Libya on Saturday morning with some 850 people on board, including 350 Eritreans and others from Syria, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Ivory Coast, and Ethiopia. As the agency reported:
UNHCR staff in Catania said the survivors looked tired and nervous. Aid workers presented them with clothes and food. "The fear in the eyes of one man, his head lowered and hands stuffed into his pockets, is plain to see," wrote Kate Bond, a writer for UNHCR. "One survivor told UNHCR staff that there were children aboard the boat. So far, none of them have been found, although search-and-rescue operations at the site continue," she added.
It's hard to imagine that boatloads of African migrants are being filled in Tripoli without some of the militias that control the city taking a cut from the people smugglers. The Tunisian captain of the vessel that sank over the weekend is now in Italian custody and has been charged with murder. But in Libya, there's money to be made and few consequences for the gunmen who control the ports. For Europe, there's no prospect of a new Qaddafi to act as warden.B.C. performers in film, television and new media have voted overwhelming to ratify a new contract that includes what their union is calling “precedent setting” protections against sexual harassment.
On Tuesday, the Union of B.C. Performers and Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists announced that their members had voted 94 per cent in favour of accepting the tentative deal that had been put forward early this month.
The contract includes a rate increase of 9 per cent over the life of the agreement, which runs from 2018 to 2021. The current contract expires at the end of March 2018, with the new contract set to take effect on April 1.
It's a YES! Great news, the 2018-2021 BCMPA has been ratified with 94% voting in favour!
The new 2018 – 2021 Agreement will take effect on April 1, 2018.
Click here for the Memorandum of Agreement: https://t.co/kZbvZHz9pn #ubcpactra #BCMPA pic.twitter.com/JdP1Os8l6c — UBCP/ACTRA (@UBCP_ACTRA) December 20, 2017
It also includes language that bans auditions or meetings in private hotel rooms or residences where a performer is alone with a production member. According to the union, that represents “the most up-to-date provisions negotiated into any performer collective agreement.”
The move comes at a time when Hollywood and the wider entertainment industry are shining a light on instances of sexual abuse and harassment by powerful figures and producers.
”With this agreement we are not just improving protections for our members – we are setting a new standard for the entire industry,” said Alvin Sanders, UBCP/ACTRA present.
“Performers must be free to focus on their work without fear of sexual harassment.”
The contract also includes protections for performers who have worked long or late shifts, requiring productions to ensure there are alternatives provided instead of forcing the performer drive him or herself.
Negotiations with the Canadian Affiliates of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the Canadian Media Production Association, B.C. Producers’ Branch (CMPA) wrapped on Dec. 1.
The UBCP is the B.C. branch of ACTRA, which represents 22,000 members across Canada.
Hollywood has seen big name performers such as Rose McGowan, Terry Crews and Salma Hayek stepping forward to identify their equally well known alleged assailants. The allegations have sparked the #MeToo movement, and brought the topic of sexual assault to the forefront of cultural discussions.
Last month, Andrew Kreisberg, executive producer of several Vancouver-filmed CW superhero shows, was fired following allegations of sexual harassment.
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Liverpool FC's hopes of relaying the Anfield pitch this summer look set to be dashed due to building work on the redevelopment of the Main Stand.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has frequently bemoaned the state of the playing surface which has deteriorated badly over the course of the season.
The Reds’ hierarchy acknowledge the problem which hampers and slows down Liverpool’s passing game but plans to address the issue during the off-season are now in serious jeopardy.
Cranes are scheduled to be on the pitch during June as contractors Carillion step up work on the £100million Main Stand project to add 8,500 extra seats to Anfield’s capacity.
Even if Liverpool were able to put in new drainage prior to the cranes moving in there are fears the weight of the machinery would burst the piping. As a result the Reds may have to continue playing on the same surface in 2015/16 before it can be ripped up and replaced when the stand is completed in the summer of 2016.
Previously, Anfield was renowned as one of the best pitches in the Premier League but opposition players and managers have regularly commented on its shabbiness this term. There are numerous bare patches and the ball bobbles across it.
The ECHO understands there is no blame attached to the club’s ground staff who work tirelessly to ensure it’s in the best possible condition.
It’s simply a case of Liverpool having failed to sufficiently invest in the infrastructure. Industry experts says a pitch which was given a 10-year life span is now 14-years-old.
The current pitch is a ‘Desso GrassMaster’ – a combination of natural grass and artificial fibres. Some 20 million artificial grass fibres are injected 20cm deep and cover about 3% of the surface.
The natural grass roots intertwine with the artificial turf fibres and the result is a pitch that can take three times as much football as a normal, natural grass pitch. You don’t get clumps of turf being dislodged. The company’s list of clients also includes Wembley, Manchester City and Arsenal.
Liverpool are getting two new ‘Desso’ pitches installed at their Melwood training ground this summer but sorting out Anfield is proving more problematic.
The current drainage and irrigation system dates back to 1998. There is no state of the art sprinkler system with a hose currently used to water the pitch before matches. There is also a shortage of grow lights which are used to warm the surface and artificially grow the grass.
Issues with Anfield’s previous natural grass pitch during Gerard Houllier’s reign back in the 1999/2000 season led to the club teaming up with ‘Desso’ in 2001. Each summer since then extensive work has been carried out, with the natural grass removed and the surface re-seeded, but window dressing is no longer sufficient.
For such an iconic stadium, the current state of the pitch is a disgrace. It’s to the current crop’s immense credit that they haven’t allowed that historical neglect to hamper the Reds’ revival.In Malawi, a new bill in the country is trying to make it against the law to fart in public.
As the BBC is reporting, just whether or not the new bill criminalizes flatulence is being hotly debated among two of the African nation's most senior officials. The Local Courts Bill, to be introduced next week, reads: "Any person who vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the public to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."
Justice Minister George Chaponda certainly believes passing gas should be included among the various offenses. "Just go to the toilet when you feel like farting," he told local radio, before noting that local chiefs would deal with any offenders. According to the Afrik News site, the bill will also attempt to deal with citizens who hinder the burial of dead bodies as well as people who pretend to be fortune tellers.
Solicitor General Anthony Kamanga begged to differ, arguing that the "fouling the air" reference only directly meant air pollution. "How any reasonable or sensible person can construe the provision to criminalizing farting in public is beyond me," he said. Another Malawian is quoted as saying, ""How can this government criminalize the release of intestinal gases... Everyone does that, even if it's in public or it has an accompanying sound which is boring, making it criminal is a joke of democracy."Existing studies have tracked income disparities among bike-share users in the Twin Cities, Salt Lake City, Toronto, and Washington, D.C. Compelling as the data have been, that’s a pretty limited sample. But some new work by Julia Ursaki and Lisa Aultman-Hall of the University of Vermont Transportation Research Center extends the social analysis to seven U.S. cities: Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Boston, New York, D.C., and Arlington, Virginia.
If the bill becomes law it would serve as welcome recognition by federal officials of an increasingly popular urban travel mode. And from a mobility standpoint it’s not a stretch to consider bike-share a complementary part of established bus and rail networks. But the designation raises some flags from an equity standpoint, because to date bike-share systems have done a pretty awful job helping the very populations that rely on transit most: the urban poor.
Earlier this month, the chairs of the Congressional Bike Caucus introduced a bipartisan bill (#faints) called the “Bikeshare Transit Act.” By designating bike-share systems as public transportation, the legislation would make them clearly eligible for federal funding—something that’s currently a gray area. U.S. cities could then use this money for equipment, station technology, and cycling facilities to make a bike-share system even better.
Unfortunately that wider net gets snagged just like the others. Every city involved in the study suffered an equity problem with regards to race, income, or education—with four showing disparities on all three metrics. Here’s Ursaki and Aultman-Hall (my emphasis):
This study provides quantitative measures that backup many recent suggestions and concerns that there are equity and access issues relation to bikeshare system design and station location. A statistically significant difference in the race, education level, and income was found [in] Chicago, Denver, Seattle and New York City. Boston did not show differences in the means of age or education, but it did show race and income disparities. Washington DC and Arlington were the most equitable among the variables and cities in this study, but did show differences in household income variables. In all cases, the traditionally more disadvantaged groups had less access to bikeshare.
The paper (presented at last week’s TRB meeting) crunches a bunch of demographic numbers on bike-share members and the general population to reach its conclusion. The easiest to digest, while still echoing the larger findings, is a simple comparison of bike-share access by key markers of race, education, and income. The term access here was defined as living within 500 meters (0.3 miles) of a bike-share station.
Let’s start with race. As the chart below shows, there’s a sizeable gap in the share of whites and blacks with bike-share access in every city except Washington, D.C. (In a separate analysis of race disparities, using different but related measures, the gaps didn’t reach statistical significance in Arlington, either.) The clearest example is Boston, where nearly 43 percent of whites live near bike-share, compared with just 7 percent of blacks.
CityLab
The education metrics show a gap across the board. In all seven cities, residents with a college degree—the measure of choice for many scholars who study gentrification—have much better bike-share access than those without out. (In the finer analysis, education-level gaps didn’t reach statistical significance in Boston, D.C., and Arlington.) In Seattle, just 6 percent of city residents without a college degree live near a bike-share station.
CityLab
Last but not least there’s income. A greater share of households earning over $100,000 a year had bike-share access than did those making under $20,000 in every city except Seattle, where the shares were basically the same. (Seattle fared well in the alternative analysis, too.) What’s striking here is how many wealthy households in D.C. and Arlington have good bike-share access: nearly a third and a quarter, respectively.
CityLab
A steady flow of federal funding to local bike-share systems might do great things for urban mobility. But it’s a stream that would come with a responsibility to steer the money toward the disadvantaged areas currently missing out on the bike-share party. If these systems don’t serve the public, then it’s hard to see why the public should pay for them—far more fair to let companies putting their brand on the bikes, or the developers charging a premium for adjacent rental units, foot the bill.Harvard University. (Photo by Brent Lewin/Bloomberg).
More than 800 colleges and universities across North America hold endowment assets of $516 billion. But the top 10 schools in terms of assets have about $180 billion of that total, more than one-third of all the holdings. Harvard University alone has a $35 billion endowment.
None of that money, nor the gains on it — which at the top schools were about 16 percent last year — are taxed. As non-profit entities, neither are the extensive land holdings of the nation’s colleges and universities.
Such benefits account for $41,000 in hidden taxpayer subsidies per student annually, on average, at the top 10 wealthiest private universities. That’s more than three times the direct appropriations public universities in the same states as those schools get. Princeton University, for example, receives $105,000 in taxpayer benefits for each of its students, compared to the $12,000 in appropriations that go to New Jersey’s public university, Rutgers.
Those figures come from a new study, released Monday, which recommends an excise tax on private colleges’ endowments of more than $500 million. Such a tax, which would not impact individual gifts to the institutions and would be reduced by the amount the schools dedicate to financial assistance, could generate $6 billion for the federal government to use for President Obama’s free community-college proposal. That large sum also could be used more generally for federal student aid programs.
“The inequality of the distribution of this is the most troublesome,” said Mark Schneider, one of the co-authors of the study, who is a vice president at the American Institutes for Research, and a former U.S. commissioner of education statistics. “What is the public purpose of a school that educates wealthy people and foreign students?”
Just last week, many of these schools carrying significant endowments released admissions rates for this fall’s incoming class, and they noted that they rejected some nine out of 10 students who applied. At the same time, they have a poor record of enrolling economically diverse classes, according to a New York Times analysis last year. Low-income students who qualify for Pell Grants, most of whom come from families making less than $60,000 annually, make up 15 percent or less of the student body at Stanford, Princeton, and Yale.
Total federal, state, and local tax subsidies per student
Source: Nexus Research and Policy Center
The endowment gains for these private universities come at a time when public schools, which educate 80 percent of Americans seeking a college degree, with massive cutbacks in their state appropriations and increasingly needy students faced with higher tuition rates.
Take California, for example. Stanford University has a $21.4 billion endowment (as of Aug. 2014) and the assessed value of its land is nearly $8 billion. That equals a taxpayer subsidy of some $63,000 for each student at Stanford, according to the study by the Nexus Research and Policy Center, an independent, nonpartisan group in California. Stanford’s indirect subsidy compares with direct appropriations of $10,000 per student at the University of California at Berkeley, or $4,000 at California State University at Fullerton.
A Stanford University student walks in front of Hoover Tower on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
But unlike the appropriations given to public universities, the tax breaks given to wealthy private universities are not voted on every year by Congress or state legislatures. Rather, they are a historic relic of the tax code.
Proposals to tax endowments and the land holdings of colleges and universities are raised every few years, usually by lawmakers, and are promptly shot down by higher education lobbyists who maintain that the schools act in the public interest. That was their reaction to this latest salvo. If endowments were taxed, said Barry Toiv, a spokesman for the Association of American Universities, which represents the top research institutions, “the teaching, research, and public service activities that are supported by endowment would suffer.”
“Taxing them is not the solution to this problem,” Toiv said in a statement. “Rather states need to stop disinvesting and start reinvesting in higher education — and the federal government needs to provide adequate financial aid to low-income students seeking to attain college degrees.”
But the growing wealth gap between these top universities and hundreds of schools below them that serve the vast majority of college students shows that a small handful of institutions are increasingly benefiting from an often-hidden public subsidy. These top institutions need to do their part, too, rather than just claim in public statements to want to enroll a greater economic diversity of academically qualified students.
Some, like the University of Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis, recently announced plans to expand financial aid to increase the proportion of qualified middle- and low-income students at their schools. The other elite universities need to do more on this front, or perhaps their endowments and land holdings should be subjected to an excise tax.Jeff Golden/Getty Images
According to Fighters Only Magazine, Anderson Silva has decided to add a new coach to his camp for his UFC 168 rematch with Chris Weidman: Chuck Norris.
“I had a nightmare with Weidman, but I don’t fear him. He is determined, but has two arms and two legs just like me,” Silva said. “Now I’ll bring Chuck Norris [to my camp]. I’ll bring both, Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal.”
It is a curious move in light of Silva's recent loss at UFC 162. One would have assumed he would want to bring in an Olympic wrestler or otherwise-qualified ground fighter. Instead, Silva has chosen another celebrity martial artist to complement his use of Steven Seagal.
BloodyElbow.com quoted Demian Maia in a July interview on Brazilian television, as the former contender stated that he and others in the MMA community saw the Seagal and Silva connection as a sort of publicity stunt.
It's a lie. It's marketing. Like every actor from Hollywood, when Seagal saw Anderson's success, he glued himself to him. He was down on his career and made it up again. It worked because he appeared in the media again. He never taught Silva anything... For everyone who knows about it, it's a joke.
If Maia is correct, then Silva appears to be doubling down on the joke.
To be fair, Norris is accomplished in his own martial arts career.
In 1968, he defeated Louis Delgado to win the Professional World Middleweight Karate title. Norris held the title for six years. He is also the first Westerner to hold an eighth-degree black belt in taekwondo.
Silva utilizes the style in his fights, so it is possible Norris will be able to assist the middleweight in his already extensive striking game.
Time will tell if Silva's interest is genuine. For now, the move will likely perplex MMA fans more than endear Silva to them.A woman who originally told officers she was shot by an unknown assailant later admitted her boyfriend accidentally shot her while showing her a gun in her apartment Saturday night, Oceanside police said.
The woman called 911 and said she’d been standing in front of her apartment building on Edgehill Lane near Oceanside Boulevard when she was shot in the leg about 9:30 p.m., Oceanside police Lt. Taurino Valdovinos said. But investigating officers soon started to question her story, the lieutenant said.
They searched her apartment and found evidence that the shooting had taken place inside. The victim ultimately told officers that her boyfriend was showing her a gun when he accidentally shot her, Valdovinos said.
She was taken to a hospital with an injury that wasn’t life-threatening.Poll Shows Jindal Almost as Popular as Saban in Louisiana
The results of a statewide poll released this week show Gov. Bobby Jindal is less popular among Louisiana residents than University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban.
The poll conducted by the LSU Public Policy Research Lab asked 1,500 residents from around the state to rank — according to favorability — various people, entities, and other things generally despised by most Americans.
According to the poll, Saban, who was once burned in effigy by the management of an apartment complex near the LSU campus on the eve of an LSU-Alabama football game, has a higher favorability rating among Louisianians than the sitting governor of the state.
“Saban hasn’t even come close to decimating LSU like the governor has since taking office.”
Veteran political consultant Roy Fletcher said he’s not surprised by the poll’s findings.
“Saban has held his current job one year longer than Jindal has held his,” Fletcher explained, “yet despite his reputation as a Tiger killer, in eight seasons, Saban hasn’t even come close to decimating LSU like the governor has since taking office.”
Fletcher said the poll shows Louisianians see the Crimson Tide’s habitual raiding of Louisiana’s top high school football prospects as just slightly less enraging than the Jindal administration raiding hundreds of millions of dollars from the state’s higher education budget.
Other people and things having a higher favorability rating than both Jindal and Saban among state residents include telemarketers, hurricanes, AT&T customer service, the Atlanta Falcons, and Ebola.
In fact, the poll shows the only thing seen as less favorable than Jindal in the Bayou State is the terrorist group ISIS.Hillary Clinton held a pre-election rally last night at City Hall Park in Philadelphia. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
THE BIG IDEA: Pennsylvania is notoriously inhospitable to women politicians. But both Hillary Clinton and Katie McGinty are considered the favorites to win primaries here today, positioning them to possibly shatter significant glass ceilings come November.
PHILADELPHIA — Arlen Specter came off as badly as any other senator — if not worse — during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.
The way he pilloried Anita Hill from his perch of authority on the Senate Judiciary Committee helped lead to “the Year of the Woman” in 1992. California, Washington and Illinois elected female senators. In Pennsylvania, Lynn Yeakel — the daughter of a former congressman — was able to capture the Democratic nod in a primary. But she narrowly lost to Specter.
That was the last time either major party in Pennsylvania nominated a woman for Senate or governor. Today all 20 members of the commonwealth’s congressional delegation are men.
“All women candidates have different expectations placed upon them,” said Dana Brown, executive director of the nonpartisan Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics. “One of the greatest challenges that women have running in Pennsylvania is the incumbency advantage. We have a long history of incumbents winning time and again.”
Supporters watch Hillary speak at City Hall park in Philadelphia last night. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
-- Clinton’s big win in New York last week seems to have given her some meaningful momentum. Hillary’s coattails might help other female candidates down ballot.
The 189 Democratic delegates available in Pennsylvania make it the biggest prize in the presidential race on a day when four other states are also voting. It is being called the "Acela Primary,” though some are dubbing it “the I-95 primary.” Polls close everywhere at 8 p.m.
McGinty ran for governor in 2014 and finished fourth in the Democratic primary. The man who won, Tom Wolf, hired her as his chief of staff. She was then recruited by national Democrats to take on Joe Sestak. The retired admiral and former congressman toppled Specter in a 2010 Democratic primary after the now-deceased senator switched parties. Party leaders believe Sestak would once again lose to Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in a general election. McGinty is getting heavy support from President Obama, Emily’s List and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Katie McGinty (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
-- McGinty is a strong supporter of Clinton (she worked on environmental issues in the Clinton administration) and her messaging closely echoes Hillary’s. Both are running as progressive pragmatists who won’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good and can break through gridlock. Each talks a great deal about “breaking down barriers.”
-- Clinton could also be a factor in Maryland. Both Clinton and Democratic Senate candidate Donna Edwards, an African American single mother, received 16 points greater support among likely women voters than male voters in a Washington Post poll conducted earlier this month. Clinton got 63 percent among women vs. 47 percent among men, while Edwards got 50 percent among women vs. 34 percent among men, per pollster Scott Clement.
-- State Sen. Jamie Raskin was the early front-runner to pick up the House seat in Montgomery County that belongs to the other Senate candidate, Chris Van Hollen, but an influx of suburban female voters in a fractured field may give it to Kathleen Matthews, a former Marriott executive and MSNBC host Chris Matthews’s wife. (A third candidate, wine store owner David Trone, has spent more than $12 million on ads.)
Barbara Mikulski, center left, is neutral in the primary. At a Maryland Democratic Party reception in her honor last fall, that's Donna Edwards on the right. (Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
-- Maryland could be the only state currently represented by a woman in the Senate that will no longer be next year. The dean of congressional women, Barbara Mikulski, is retiring after 30 years. The demographics would seem to favor Edwards over Van Hollen, but he seems to have gotten the upper hand over the past few weeks in what remains a tight and fluid race. Martin O’Malley yesterday joined Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in supporting CVH, as he’s known.
Senate women are making gains elsewhere: The Democratic favorite to succeed the retiring Harry Reid is former Nevada attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto. Barbara Boxer will almost certainly be succeeded by Kamala Harris or Loretta Sanchez in California. Vulnerable Sen. Kelly Ayotte is being challenged by New Hampshire’s female governor, Maggie Hassan.
“Edwards has put race and gender at the forefront of her campaign, emphasizing that only one black woman has ever served in the U.S. Senate,” Rachel Weiner writes in a curtain-raiser on the primary. “I thought the Republican Party was full of dog whistles, but the Democratic Party has a foghorn,” the congresswoman told BuzzFeed.
Bernie Sanders campaigns yesterday in Hartford, Connecticut. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
Here are other things to watch as returns come in today—
-- Will Bernie Sanders be mathematically eliminated? Last night, he predicted victory in Pennsylvania during a rally at Drexel University that drew a crowd of 3,000. “Sanders aides initially thought they could win here but are now facing polls showing Clinton with a double-digit lead,” John Wagner writes. “Sanders has been running strongest in Rhode Island, which has only 24 delegates at stake. Because Democratic delegates are awarded proportionately, a win in Rhode Island would likely only yield Sanders a pick up of a couple of delegates. The large crowds that turned out for Sanders on Sunday seem to have boosted the campaign’s spirits about its prospects in Connecticut, which has 55 delegates in play. But a win in Maryland -- with 95 delegates, the second biggest prize on Tuesday -- is probably out of reach. Meanwhile, only 21 delegates are at stake in Delaware, the other state on the calendar.”
Four closed primaries work against Bernie: “Throughout the race, Sanders has performed far better in states that allow independent voters to participate in their Democratic primaries. Only one of the five on the calendar on Tuesday -- Rhode Island -- falls into that category. Clinton has routinely outpaced Sanders among registered Democrats, while Sanders … cleans up with unaffiliated voters,” Wagner adds.
Trump rallies in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., yesterday. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
-- Donald Trump is poised to sweep all five states today, but how many delegates will he get? “Depending on results, Rhode Island and Connecticut could end up awarding delegates to a mix of contenders while the final results from Pennsylvania may not be known until votes are cast on the convention floor,” Ed O’Keefe reports. Here is Ed’s state-by-state breakdown of how it works:
PA : The 14 at-large delegates all go to the winner of the state. The 54 congressional district delegates are directly elected by voters and are officially unbound to a candidate. Winners do not need to announce their |
more than 20 per cent since hitting a record high of $1,030.80 on March 17.
“The speed and severity of the dollar’s run higher has resulted in some long liquidation,” said Daniel Hynes, analyst at Merrill Lynch.
“At the moment it is hard to see an end to it, but we still have some supportive factors such as inflation, geopolitical tensions and falling mine supply.”
Prices of the metal attempted a recovery earlier on Tuesday after the dollar slipped on profit-taking. Also under heavy selling pressure was industrial metal platinum used to make autocatalysts. Investors have been selling their holdings on concern about falling demand from car makers.
The bulk of the world’s platinum is used by automakers in autocatalyst systems that scrub exhaust fumes of dangerous and environmentally damaging chemicals.
Spot platinum fell to $US1,462.50 an ounce, the lowest since the middle of December, and was last at $US1,492/1,512 from $US1,517/1,537 an ounce on Monday.
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However, the dollar was still hovering near a 6-month high against a basket of major currencies as investors looked beyond US growth worries to a slowing global economy.
A stronger US currency makes commodities priced in dollars more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Oil hit $112.48 a barrel, the lowest since early May as the market focused on events in currency markets and the International Energy Agency predicted higher supplies.
“It looks like sentiment towards gold has turned negative, we’re seeing long liquidation on the back of both dollar movement and the oil price movement,” said Suki Cooper, analyst at Barclays Capital.
Be Sociable, Share!To read more on this year’s Comic-Con, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands now, or buy it here. Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.
You’re never going to love the monster, but while you’re loving hating him, David E. Kelley hopes you have a little pity, too.
In his new series Mr. Mercedes, premiering on the AT&T Audience Network on Aug. 9, the producer of The Practice and Big Little Lies takes on a Stephen King novel about a retired, curmudgeonly Detective Bill Hodges (Brendan Gleeson) and the killer who got away. That madman is Brady Hartsfield (Penny Dreadful’s Harry Treadaway), who plowed a stolen Benz into a crowd of people years before and escaped without a trace.
Kelley says audiences should harbor a little anger toward the aging detective, who is wallowing in self-pity and wasting away in early retirement after botching the case. He fell short, and sometimes he keeps messing up. You root for him to do better – even as you yearn to slap him. Ultimately, Kelley says, it’s a comeback story – but a dark one. Hodges’ quest for vigilante justice will certainly end up costing more lives. It’s just a question of whether the people he saves will outweigh that price.
But Kelley also hopes viewers feel something besides hate for the killer. “You’re going to be afraid of him, and afraid for him in other moments,” he says. “I don’t think the contempt for him will ever be removed from the equation, and he also has some mean bones in him, and mean muscles he flexes. But he’s a bit of a victim of his circumstances.”
The forces that warped this young man into the monster who now taunts the old-timer who couldn’t catch him are disturbing in the extreme. But Mr. Mercedes focuses uncompromising scrutiny on its characters, good and bad. There’s no mystery, no whodunit. We know who the killer is, even if Hodges doesn’t. The why is the unknowable, perhaps unspeakable part.
Mr. Mercedes will showcase its first season at San Diego Comic-Con this week, with a panel on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in Room 8, but as a warm-up, here’s EW’s conversation with Kelley about bringing King’s story to the screen – and the challenge of keeping it going through two more books.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You do not soften the blow in the opening scene. I thought for sure you would dial back that initial crash from the novel, that mass-murder by car. But no…
DAVID E. KELLEY: No, it’s pretty tough. It’s disturbing. You know, I’ve obviously seen it too many times now with various cuts and iterations, but I did see it recently in a screening with a bunch of real viewers and it hits you all over again when you’re looking at it through the eyes of others. It’s pretty disturbing and upsetting fare.
Mr. Mercedes is obviously part of a long tradition of cat-and-mouse stories. But what sets it apart from that template?
Well, for me, I think when I went back to reading the book, which hooked me with the character of Hodges because there was just a nucleus of humanity within him. Covered by a bunch of scar tissue and years of doing a tough job. And then add to that the sudden bout of irrelevance that one feels when they’ve been kicked to the curb by your superiors.
It’s a comeback story, in addition to a hunt for a killer.
Hodges had to sort of locate who he was at this juncture of his life, at the same time within this mission to catch the bad guy, I thought it lent itself for real fertile storytelling.
The killer is finding himself, too. He’s trying to make his mark on the world … only in a very sick way.
They both have their mutual crusades and they’re both struggling to find relevance within their respective crusades. And it was a good character piece. The other thing about Brady was taking this villain who, as you say, is just beyond and beneath any redemption at the end of those [opening] five minutes, and yet finding avenues for the viewer to feel for him — and to not. I wouldn’t say we go so far as to relate to him, but we do empathize.
Sympathy for the devil is not an easy trick to pull off.
That was a tribute to, you know, Jack Bender, the director [known for Lost and Under the Dome]. And also the actor, Harry Treadaway, who has been doing a fantastic job. And I guess the central tenets of the cat and mouse relationship that you allude to between this very bad guy and this ex-cop.
Sonar Entertainment
Why is it not enough to hate the villain? Why is it important to feel something for him, too?
I think you’re going to feel all those things. I think you’re going to be afraid of him, and afraid for him on other moments. I don’t think that the contempt for him will ever be removed from the equation, just because of the nature of his act. He’s got some mean bones in him and mean muscles that he flexes as the series unfolds. It is a difficult trick to feel compassion for the one you are hating at the same time.
Is the reverse true with Hodges? Is it necessary to be disappointed and frustrated with him?
Yes, very much so. Yeah. He’s very flawed. He’s irresponsible in the middle, which, without giving away plot points, might be criminal negligence. But at the same time, that humanity that he has is pretty much beyond reproach. He’s not a guy who asks to be liked, and yet we adore him. That is a quality that Brendan Gleeson is able to bring to the table. He was everybody’s first choice.
Sonar Entertainment
Making the viewer like someone who is pushing everyone away is also a hard trick.
We all saw in Hodges this guy who was not overly nice to people. He didn’t care whether anybody liked him. And yet we’re hoping to cultivate an adoration within our viewers for him at the same time. And man, that’s a lot to ask for a character. Casting is crucial to it. Brendan just brings those qualities that allowed us to really reach the full measure of who Hodges is.
It’s a cat and mouse game, but the cat is worn out and the mouse is especially nasty.
Yes. Although remember, I think that the role, there is a little role reversal of who’s cat and who’s mouse as we go along.
I know Stephen King was on the set, but did you two have much interaction during the development?
None. I’ve not met him yet. We’ve exchanged emails. I’m looking forward to meeting him. I thought that it would have happened before now, but by virtue of the set being in South Carolina and me being on the West Coast and scripts being due and you’ve got to kind of stay close to the desk job. That said, there was certainly collaboration because he gave birth to this, these characters, and this world, and every time I picked up my pen, you know, I was working on his baby.
Was it the same way with Big Little Lies, and adapting Liane Moriarty’s novel?
The adaptation thing is new to me. And I never interacted with that author either, other than to say at the beginning “I love the book” and at the end, you know, “I hope we honored your pages,” because I love that book and I loved Mr. Mercedes. So the architecture of both pieces were so strong, there was never a time I felt, “Oh man, I need to get in a room with Stephen King and say, ‘Well, why did he zig there instead of zag?’ and ‘What was his thinking?'”
He makes it pretty clear.
Obviously, he’s Stephen King. He’s probably the most gifted and prolific writer of our generation, certainly on a short list. He knows what he’s doing and he knows this genre. So my role on this is like, I kind of felt like a world class architect had handed me the blueprints and I was the contractor and it was my job to construct something that lived up to that blueprint.
Mr. Mercedes debuts on the AT&T Audience Network on Aug. 9It’s seems a cruel twist of fate that beer-drinking-burgers-dogs-dips-eating season and bikini season line up perfectly. The same time that we load our paper plates with baked beans, slow roasted ribs, chips and creamy dips, is the same part of the year that we shed our clothes and romp in the sunshine in our bikini clad bodies.
I’m a strong advocate for both summer time gluttony and semi-nude public frolicking, I refuse to chose between the two. Although I’m also an advocate for flaunting your post-lunch glow in all it’s splendor, not everyone is quite so brave.
So here we are, bikini/beer/barbecue season in full swing and here I am as the least diet friendly blogger in all of Blogland. Yet, I’m still a girl. A girl who loves beer, has a large collection black bikinis, and not a lot of modesty. I’m trying to find some balance.
Here is my entry for Healthy Appetizer For A Back Yard Party. Although there isn’t a way to strongly argue that beer is healthy, as a replacement for the butter I would normally use to caramelize onions, it’s much lower calories and gives you a great flavor.
Plus you get to say that the healthy dips has beer in it, which is a win.
And it gives you more room for beer in your pint glass.How to Clean Bottles For Your Homebrew
Bottle cleaning for your homebrew can be a tedious process and really no matter how you cut it, it is going to be a time commitment. I know when I was a beginner, I was wondering how I could save all these bottles I was drinking of craft brew for my homebrew. I started with some Dawn and water and spent a lot of time scrapping labels off with a knife and then sanitizing the bottle before filling it. As I searched the internet for help and, tried a couple of things on my own, I found the following to be a great process for cleaning bottles for my homebrew without spending a bunch of money on fancy tools like a bottle tree or a bottle rinse head for my faucets, plus I saved a lot of time with labels and pretty much guaranteed no stuck on gunk in my bottles or chlorine flavors from bleach.
The following is one avenue on how to clean bottles for your homebrew. If you have other ways that work really well, I’d love to hear about them. So please feel free to comment or send me a message on twitter.
I know a lot of people hate cleaning bottles, but I rather enjoy it. I find that no one wants to help me so its a time for me to grab a beer, turn on some tunes and have some me time doing something extremely easy.
How To Clean Bottles For Your Homebrew
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Related PostsAnother alleged hate crime on an American college campus is starting to fall apart under scrutiny, this time in upstate New York.
Last weekend, three black female students at the University of Albany, a campus in the State University of New York (SUNY) system, made allegations that they were victims of a hate-fueled mob assault while riding a bus.
On Saturday, Jan. 30, the women claimed they were traveling on a public bus when they began arguing with a group of 10 to 12 white men and women, who were also SUNY students. They said the argument escalated into a torrent of racial slurs, and one of the alleged victims said she was pushed to the floor and then kicked repeatedly by several of the men.
“I just got jumped on a bus while people hit us and called us the ‘n’ word,” Asha Burwell, one of the alleged victims, said on Twitter. “NO ONE helped us.” Burwell suggested the attack was purely racially-motivated and accused others on the bus of being illegal “bystanders.”
I just got jumped on a bus while people hit us and called us the "n" word and NO ONE helped us. — Asha Burwell (@AshaBurwell) January 30, 2016
I can't believe I just experienced what it's like to be beaten because of the color of my skin. — Asha Burwell (@AshaBurwell) January 30, 2016
I begged for people to help us and instead of help they told us to "shut he f*ck up" and continuously hit us in the head — Asha Burwell (@AshaBurwell) January 30, 2016
I hope everyone that laughed and recorded this whole experience knows they are considered a bystander which is against the law — Asha Burwell (@AshaBurwell) January 30, 2016
The allegations sparked immediate outrage on campus. On Monday night, hundreds of students gathered on campus for a protest demanding justice, and even tying the incident into the national Black Lives Matter movement. SUNY Albany president Robert Jones ended an off-campus trip early to return and take charge of the situation, he pledged to hold the perpetrators “fully responsible.”
NFL player Tyreek Burwell, a tackle for the San Diego Chargers and the brother of Asha, even sent a violent threat via Twitter at one of the supposed attackers, though he deleted it shortly after.
@TyreekBurwell @Chargers To be clear, you know all the facts about this case, correct? Are you the police? pic.twitter.com/S2qnrv1b7z — SpokanesPlatinumDuo (@ThePlatinumDuo) February 2, 2016
But now, it appears the supposed mob assault may be little more than a fevered dream. As it turns out, the incident on the bus was captured by no fewer than 12 different cameras (several of which also recorded audio) that were able to capture the incident in detail. According to local station NEWS10, the footage on the cameras is “damaging to the young women’s accusations.”
Only one of these videos has emerged thus far, and it captures just part of the incident, making it very difficult to tell what is going on. However, in the video, no racial slurs are heard and there doesn’t seem to be a large crowd egging on an attack. Instead, the video seems to show one woman attacking another while a man tries to pull her away.
WATCH:
Police are continuing to investigate the matter, and no arrests or charges have been made thus far.
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NBER Working Paper No. 20965
Issued in February 2015, Revised in July 2018
NBER Program(s):Children, Development Economics, Labor Studies
We examine the channels through which a randomized early childhood intervention in Colombia led to significant gains in cognitive and socio-emotional skills among a sample of disadvantaged children aged 12 to 24 months at baseline. We estimate the determinants of parents' material and time investments in these children and evaluate the impact of the treatment on such investments. We then estimate the production functions for cognitive and socio-emotional skills. The effects of the program can be explained by increases in parental investments, emphasizing the importance of parenting interventions at an early age.
Supplementary materials for this paper:
Acknowledgments and Disclosures
Machine-readable bibliographic record - MARC, RIS, BibTeX
Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w20965
Users who downloaded this paper also downloaded* these:A 9-week old infant looked surprised when he heard his mother's voice clearly for the first time, thanks to hearing aids.
Elijah Cook was born profoundly deaf in his left ear and able to hear only 75 decibels on the right side, according to a description by his mother on her YouTube page.
His mother, Ahavah Cook of Andover, Minnesota, said in a post for the Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota that she and her husband, Jason Cook, knew it was a possibility that Elijah could have hearing loss because both of their fathers and mothers were deaf. Additionally, Jason had no hearing in one ear. But they were hoping for the best.
“When Elijah came back (from the first test), we were expecting good news because we have almost a dozen nieces and nephews that have no hearing issues," Cook said on the website.
Deaf Girl Regains Hearing and Cries
Life Changing Operation Helps Little Boy Hear
Deaf Girl Regains Hearing and Cries
After a series of tests at the Children’s Specialty Center, which is connected to the Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, doctors diagnosed Elijah with severe-profound sensorineural hearing loss.
One solution for the hearing loss would be tiny hearing aids that would allow Elijah to hear clearly as he grew up. Elijah got his first hearing aids last month at just 9 weeks old.
In a video, the infant looks slightly surprised as his mother says his name, and he starts blinking at the noise.
“The first time I saw him blink, I had a lot of emotions,” she said. “I was trying really hard not to cry. I didn’t want him to see me cry. I was trying hard to keep it together and just talk to him.”
Jason Cook said after the hearing aids were implanted, Elijah has even started making some noise of his own.
“The cooing is the big thing,” Jason Cook said on the website. “He wasn’t very talkative, but ever since he was fitted for his hearing aids, he’s cooing more, he pays more attention.”The modern world of mobile applications and dynamic websites is incredibly rich with images.
Major online newspapers are overhauling their UI design with wall to wall photographs. Social network feeds are chock-full of shared pictures, and e-commerce solutions are constantly improving their viewing widgets with additional product images.
As end-users, we enjoy sophisticated image capabilities on a daily basis. We capture images using our mobile devices leveraging face detection and recognition, apply filters and effects, instantly share with friends with ease, and more. We rarely take time to appreciate the powerful image technologies working behind the scenes to allow all this magic to take place.
For the Web and mobile developers who are responsible for building, maintaining, scaling and extending these solutions it’s a whole different story. Implementing image processing and management solutions can be a time consuming and challenging task.
Thankfully, there are quite a few amazing image processing solutions available out there to help ease the load. Image vision experts around the world have established companies that offer great products and services. Such solutions allow you to avoid reinventing the wheel and instead leverage the best available image processing algorithms, tools and techniques.
If you are using Cloudinary, your images are already managed in the cloud, enabling you to focus on building innovative applications. To further enhance your image management pipeline, we thought it made perfect sense to see how we can offer seamless integrations with all the powerful image processing products and services available out there.
And so, today we are excited to introduce the Cloudinary Add-ons
What are the Cloudinary Add-ons?Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
June 8, 2017, 2:48 PM GMT / Updated June 8, 2017, 2:48 PM GMT / Source: Reuters
SEATTLE — Boeing Co. is looking ahead to a brave new world where jetliners fly without pilots and aims to test some of the technology next year, the world's biggest plane maker said in a briefing ahead of the Paris Airshow.
The idea may seem far-fetched but with self-flying drones available for less than $1,000, "the basic building blocks of the technology clearly are available," said Mike Sinnett, Boeing's vice president of product development.
Jetliners can already take off, cruise and land using their onboard flight computers and the number of pilots on a standard passenger plane has dropped to two from three over the years.
Jason Clark (4th L), Vice President of Boeing 777 and 777X Operations, points to a model during a media tour of the 777 Wing Horizontal Build Line at Boeing's production facility in Everett, Washington. June 1, 2017. JASON REDMOND / Reuters
Sinnett, a pilot himself, plans to test the technology in a cockpit simulator this summer and "fly on an airplane next year some artificial intelligence that makes decisions that pilots would make", he said.
Self-flying aircraft would need to meet the safety standards of air travel, which had its safest year in 2016, according to the Aviation Safety Network. They would also need to convince regulators who don't yet know how to certify such planes.
"I have no idea how we're going to do that," Sinnett said. "But we're studying it right now and we're developing those algorithms."
Airlines are among those backing the idea, in part to deal with a projected need for 1.5 million pilots over the next 20 years as global demand for air travel continues to grow.
But a self-flying plane would need to be able land safely as Captain Chesley Sullenberger did in the "Miracle on the Hudson," Sinnett said. "If it can't, then we can't go there."
A U.S. Airways plane hit a flock of geese shortly after taking off from New York in 2009 knocking out its engines but Sullenberger managed to glide the Airbus A320 to a safe landing on the Hudson River, saving all 150 passengers on board.
Boeing is also inching closer to creating its next new aircraft to plug a gap in its product line between its best-selling narrow-bodied 737 and its larger 787 Dreamliner. It aims to bring the new jet to customers around 2025.
After in-depth talks with nearly 60 customers it concluded that current wide-body planes have too much range for most of the routes narrow-body planes fly, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Kevin McAllister said in a separate briefing.
"This is a market that cannot be served by narrow-bodies - not by ours or our competitors'" he said, referring to rival Airbus. "It can be served by wide-bodies, the question is can it be more efficiently served by a targeted airplane?"I have been expanding the functionality of Fire★ based on use cases. The first was creating the building blocks for a chat App, the next was the basics for a distributed drawing App. I thought the next obvious use case was a file transfer app.
Demo
Primitives
At a minimum I needed a way to open files, split the files into chunks, send them over the wire, and reassemble the file and save it. For safety the file open API is very simple and only allows the user to select a file…
file = app:open_bin_file()
And saving a file…
app:save_bin_file("my_file", bin_data)
Since Lua doesn’t have a native type to deal with bytes, I had to create one that allows to extract a sub array of bytes, get the size, and also append bytes.
Algorithm
For sending the file across the network, I needed several types of messages. The basic algorithm I decided on was that the sender would send a file initiation message with metadata about the file, including how many chunks. Then the receiver would ask the sender for a specific chunk. When the chunk arrived, it would be appended to the working set on the receiver end, where the receiver would then ask for the next chunk.
This pull model provides an obvious advantage, which is that it allows a limited rate of transfer allowing multiplexing with other messages that would be sent. So you can keep chatting, or drawing, or whatever while the file transferred.
Another obvious advantage to the pull model is that you can send multiple files at a time and they will be properly multiplexed. And if you have multiple people you are sending the file to, each one can receive it at their own speed.
The file data structure looks like this
local file = { id = send_id, name=file:name(), data=file:data(), size=file:size(), chunk=0, chunks = math.ceil(file:size() / CHUNK), ch = {}, mode=1}
Sending the initiation message looks like this
function send_start_file(f) local m = app:message() m:set("t","sf") m:set("name", f.name ) m:set("id", f.id) m:set("size", f.size) m:set("chunks", f.chunks) app:send(m) end
When the receiver gets the message, the following function handles it.
app:when_message_received("got") function got(m) local t = m:get("t") if t == "sf" then got_start_file(m) elseif t == "gc" then got_get_chunk(m) elseif t == "sc" then got_chunk(m) end end
This function is the most important one. “got_start_file” adds the metadata to its set and asks for the first chunk. Which the sender will then get a “gc” message which then “got_get_chunk” is called where the sender will then construct a chunk message and send it. The receiver will then get the “sc” message and call “got_chunk” function which will append the chunk to the working set and ask for the next one.
This file transfer application is not built into Fire★, but is built on basic building blocks. You can imagine many ways to improve this application such as adding a pause or a cancel button. This transfer App is part of the standard distribution of packaged apps.
Contribute
I am excited with the progress Fire★ has made. I am adding a breadth of features first to make this platform maximally useful. You can now chat, draw, and transfer files with multiple peers via p2p where all messages are encrypted and private.
Like what you see? Fire★ is GPLv3, please contribute using Github
or email firestr.dev@gmail.com
Full Source
s = app:button("send") app:place(s, 0,0) app:height(100) row=1 send_id = 1 CHUNK=1024 * 40 sfiles = {} gfiles = {} s:when_clicked("send()") function send() local file = app:open_bin_file() if not file:good() then return end local nf = { id = send_id, name=file:name(), data=file:data(), size=file:size(), chunk=0, chunks = math.ceil(file:size() / CHUNK), ch = {}, mode=1} send_id = send_id + 1 add_sfile(nf) send_start_file(nf) end function format_percent(p) p = p * 1000 p = math.ceil(p) p = p / 10 return p.. "%" end function g_percent(f) return format_percent(f.chunk / f.chunks) end function s_percent(f) local sc = f.chunks for k, v in pairs(f.ch) do if v < sc then sc = v end end return format_percent( sc / f.chunks) end function s_status(f) local s = "" local mode = f.mode local p = s_percent(f) if mode == 1 then s = "sending..." elseif mode == 2 then s = "... ".. p elseif mode == 3 then s = "done" end return f.name.. " ".. s end function g_status(f) local s = "" local mode = f.mode local p = g_percent(f) if mode == 1 then s = "getting..." elseif mode == 2 then s = "... ".. p elseif mode == 3 then s = "done" end return f.name.. " ".. s end function update_s_status(fd) local lb = fd.label local bt = fd.bt lb:set_text(s_status(fd.file)) end function update_g_status(fd) local lb = fd.label local bt = fd.bt lb:set_text(g_status(fd.file)) if fd.file.mode == 3 then bt:enable() bt:set_text("save") bt:when_clicked("save_file_by_id(\"".. fd.id.."\")") end end function add_sfile(f) local i = f.id row = row + 1 local cv = app:grid() app:place(cv, row, 0) local fl= app:label(s_status(f)) cv:place(fl, 0, 0) local bt = nil app:grow() local fd = {id=i, file=f, label=fl, cv=cv} sfiles[i] = fd end function add_gfile(f) local i = f.id row = row + 1 local cv = app:grid() app:place(cv, row, 0) local fl= app:label(g_status(f)) cv:place(fl, 0, 0) local bt= app:button("save") bt:disable() cv:place(bt, 0, 1) app:grow() local fd = {id=i, file=f, label=fl, bt=bt, cv=cv} gfiles[i] = fd end function send_start_file(f) local m = app:message() m:set("t","sf") m:set("name", f.name ) m:set("id", f.id) m:set("size", f.size) m:set("chunks", f.chunks) app:send(m) end function got_start_file(m) local n = m:get("name") local orig_id = m:get("id") + 0 local from = m:from() local id = from:id().. "_".. orig_id local chunks = m:get("chunks") + 0 local size = m:get("size") local nf = { from = from, orig_id = orig_id, id=id, name=n, data=d, chunks=chunks, chunk=-1, size = size, mode=4} add_gfile(nf) send_get_chunk(nf) end function send_get_chunk(f) local m = app:message() local chunk = f.chunk + 1 m:set("t","gc") m:set("id", f.orig_id) m:set("chunk", chunk) app:send_to(f.from, m) end function got_get_chunk(m) local id = m:get("id") + 0 local chunk = m:get("chunk") + 0 local f = sfiles[id].file send_chunk(m:from(), f, chunk) end function sent_all(f) local all = true for k,v in pairs(f.ch) do if v < (f.chunks - 1) then all = false end end return all end function send_chunk(to, f, c) local b = c * CHUNK if b >= f.size then return end local s = math.min(CHUNK, (f.size - b)) local ch = f.data:sub(b, s) f.ch[to:id()] = c if sent_all(f) then f.mode = 3 else f.mode = 2 end local m = app:message() m:set("t", "sc") m:set("id", f.id) m:set("chunk", c) m:set_bin("data", ch) app:send_to(to, m) update_s_status(sfiles[f.id]) end function got_chunk(m) local orig_id = m:get("id") + 0 local id = m:from():id().. "_".. orig_id local chunk = m:get("chunk") + 0 local chunk_data = m:get_bin("data") local fd = gfiles[id] local file = fd.file if file.data == nil then file.data = chunk_data else file.data:append(chunk_data) end file.chunk = chunk local last_chunk = file.chunks - 1 if file.chunk == last_chunk then file.mode = 3 update_g_status(fd) return end file.mode = 2 update_g_status(fd) send_get_chunk(file) end app:when_message_received("got") function got(m) local t = m:get("t") if t == "sf" then got_start_file(m) elseif t == "gc" then got_get_chunk(m) elseif t == "sc" then got_chunk(m) end end function save_file_by_id(gid) local f = gfiles[gid].file save_file(f) end function save_file(f) f.saved = 1 app:save_bin_file(f.name, f.data) end
AdvertisementsIn 2016, there was a lot of speculation linking Rajon Rondo as a possible free-agent target of the Los Angeles Lakers, but that never came to fruition as he signed with the Chicago Bulls. Free agency has begun in 2017, and the Lakers and Rondo have mutual interest, reports the Los Angeles Times.
According to Tania Ganguli, a source said Rondo's representative contacted the Lakers on Friday. How much interest the Lakers have with Rondo is unknown as they scour the market for a backup point guard. Kobe Bryant is a fan of Rondo's, and he might lobby the Lakers to offer the 11-year NBA veteran a contract.
Another option for the Lakers is to re-sign Tyler Ennis, who was acquired last season as part of a trade with the Houston Rockets. In 22 appearances with the Los Angeles, Ennis averaged 7.7 points and 2.4 assists.
Whomever the Lakers sign probably will have to accept a one-year contract as the team wants to preserve cap room for the summer of 2018.
-- Nick SilvaAccording to a new Korean report today, Samsung Electronics' upcoming Galaxy S8 is expected to feature a new shortcut button for quick web searching and watching videos that will eventually support the artificial intelligence assistant Bixby, possibly within the first half of this year with a simple software upgrade.
A telecom official told the publication that "A new button has been added on the left side of the device. The button will be used for Bixby in the long run." The official added that "The Galaxy S8 has one volume control button unlike the previous two. The Bixby button will be located below the volume button."
Originally the button was planned to support the voice-controlled Bixby right out of the gate but the smart assistant functions won't be ready at launch – at least in the early days of the phone's launch due to the still ongoing development work.
Samsung acquired the U.S. startup Viv Labs, the company originally behind Apple's Siri assistant in October last year with aims to develop its own version of an AI assistant.
Patently Apple posted a report in February that the Galaxy 8's Bixby would support up to 8 languages. The Korean report today claims that the delay of Bixby's launch may have been because the services in more diverse languages wasn't ready as hoped for. At the moment Google Assistant is only available in English with German next. So Bixby offering many more languages is a strategic advantage that Samsung wants to promote to the Android community around the world.
About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.Replacing three old schools with one big new elementary may be in the works for Bristol, Virginia. School leaders are working on a plan for a new $15-to-$20 million dollar school that wouldn't require the city to borrow money.
Investment in The Falls has the city at its $100 million debt limit, unable to borrow to build a new school to replace three of four very aging elementary schools. Only Van Pelt Elementary, in its 42 year, is considered viable long term. And there are mounting concerns with the others, Stonewall Jackson, Washington-Lee and Highland View Elementary, according to Superintendent Keith Perrigan.
"The electrical and the plumbing are not up to date," he said. "We've got asbestos management that we have to take care of. There's moisture issues. Washington-Lee is not ADA compliant."
Ester Wilson has had two daughters go through Washington-Lee. She's been thrilled with their teachers and academic success, but not with the building and grounds.
"The building is just so old, rundown," she said. "Not being handicapped accessible is one of the main things. I have a handicapped brother. I kept thinking about him coming and visiting. There would be no way."
The superintendent has been busy on a possible solution to build a new school under a public-private partnership with a special constructor. It's a relatively new process used to build more than 100 new schools in Virginia. And essential for Bristol, it opens the door for a pay-back method that won't require borrowing.
"Really it streamlines the procurement process and opens up new avenues that wouldn't be available going through the normal financing procedures," Perrigan says.
He hopes to present possible construction and financing partners to City Council next month.
A top issue yet to be decided is where a new school would be built.TULSA, Okla. (CN) – An Oklahoma police union filed an ethics complaint Wednesday against Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, claiming he indicted former Officer Betty Shelby for the shooting death of unarmed black motorist Terence Crutcher too quickly due to public and political pressure |
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what Frost’s offense is doing, he also has a handful of concepts that can confuse the defense’s post-snap keys.
Here, the back bounce-motions to the same side as the tight end. As mentioned before, a running back on the same side as the tight end usually means the zone read is coming. Milton and the back initially fake like they’re running zone read, which causes the backside end to shoot inside and linebackers to flow that direction.
The defense’s hesitation and movement toward the left of the formation creates favorable angles for the offensive line to block for the speed option to the right. They open up a huge lane for Milton, and he picks up yet another first down.
Another concept Frost uses to break keys is similar to the bash concept, which is simply a zone read where the quarterback and running back switch assignments. The quarterback is the runner in the zone concept, while the back is the backside option in case the end crashes. Instead of a zone run, Frost uses a rollout pass concept.
The defense has a safety rotation called to the side that the back is lined up on, presumably to help on any options on what they assume is the backside of the play. However, the backside is actually to the left of the formation, as the line blocks a rollout pass to the right. Milton sees the end crash on the backside, so he hands the ball off the running back on the sweep.
One of the biggest reasons why Kelly’s and Frost’s systems are so successful is because of how their concepts build off and compliment each other. For example, once defenses think they have the roll-out bash concept figured out, Frost will counter with a roll-out throwback post play.
The play starts with a sweep fake to the left, which causes the defense to flow that way because they’ve been gashed by it for most of the game. Once they realize Milton has the ball, they have to hustle to cover their zones toward the rollout side.
On the backside, the two receivers run a switch concept, which further adds to the confusion. Two defenders cover the short in-breaking route, while no one covers the slot receiver running an outside release post route.
The post gets wide open, Milton has time to set his feet and loft an easy pass for the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
Imagine having to line up and face this offense as they hurry up to the line play after play. There is so much thinking that defenses have to do in a short amount of time, and when they finally think they have a bead on the offense, Frost hits you with a key-breaking play. While UCF moves fast, they cause their opponents to suffer from paralysis by analysis.
Kelly said, “I think the coaches that are the best, really what they do is make the simple seem complex to their opponents, but they make the complex seem very simple to their own teams."
This is really the key to both his and Frost’s offense. Though Frost has taken it to another level by adding additional layers of deceptions to his concepts, underneath it all are just the same base plays over and over again. And that’s the beauty of it all.
Follow Ted Nguyen on Twitter at @raidersanalysisFake Assanges Drive Far-Right Messages A look into the impersonator accounts fooling real Twitter users @DFRLab Blocked Unblock Follow Following Sep 5, 2017
Screenshots from profiles of three of the fake accounts, @Julien_Assange, @JuliannAssange and @JulianAssanged.
Three false Twitter accounts which impersonated Wikileaks founder Julian Assange have spent months spreading far-right messaging, in a striking example of how easily fakes can drive online content. A fourth was created on September 4, and immediately began spreading more. All four accounts — @JuliannAssange, @Julien_Assange, @RealAssange and @JulianAssanged — copied the profile of the genuine Assange (@JulianAssange), occasionally claiming to be a “parody” (or “parity”) account when they were exposed. Their content was not parody, however, but a cocktail of far-right propaganda which achieved the greatest impact when it linked itself with Wikileaks. Some Twitter users appear to have been fooled by these accounts; others claimed not to have been, but supported their efforts anyway. Three of the four accounts were created in May. By the time the last of them was suspended on September 4, while under investigation by @DFRLab, it had over 25,000 followers. Minutes after the suspension, a new account was created, using the same techniques. These four accounts serve as a case study in the power of impersonation — and the worrying tendency of some internet users to spread stories even if they believe the sources to be false. How the fakes were made The three early accounts warranted studying to see how they operated, how they survived for so long, and how they gained such a following. Their survival was based on three factors: the exact copying of the real Assange’s profile; the use of a plausible handle; and the temporary use, when threatened with exposure, of the claim that they were parody accounts (or “parity accounts”). The genuine Assange’s profile page, from a screenshot on August 17. The salient features remained unchanged as of September 4. All four fake accounts used the same visuals, including the blue diamond next to the name (this appears to be a reference to the blue check-mark which Twitter itself uses to mark verified accounts). The similarity is most marked in the latest incarnation, @JulianAssanged, as this screenshot demonstrates. Screenshot of the @JulianAssanged profile page. Note the creation date on September 4. Archived on September 4. Other than the creation date and the number of followers, the profile is identical with the real account. The earlier incarnations were almost perfect matches, but added the words “parity account” or “parody account” once they were accused of impersonation. Screenshot of the @Julien_Assange profile page, showing the same visuals, taken on August 17. The words “parity account” were a recent addition; previously, the biographical text had been identical with that of the real Assange. Note that this account had over 14,000 followers. Screenshot of the @JuliannAssange profile page, from an archive created on August 13, 2017. Again, the words “parity account” were a recent addition.
Left, screenshot of the @RealAssange account from an archive created on August 31; note the bio, with the “parody account” line. Right, detail screenshot of the account’s bio, created on August 30, before it had been exposed as a fraud. Note the lack of the “parody account” phrase.
The main difference between these four fakes and the genuine article, other than the content which they posted, was the creation date. Both @RealAssange and @JuliannAssange were created on May 4, 2017, at the same minute; @Julien_Assange was created in the same month. @JulianAssanged was created on September 4. The real Assange joined Twitter in October 2011. When the words “parody” / “parity” were absent — as they were for much of the accounts’ existence — there were no visual clues to indicate that these three accounts were fakes. This can only be considered deliberate impersonation. Trying to hide The @Julien_Assange and @JuliannAssange fakes were suspended in mid-August, presumably after Twitter identified them as imposters. The @RealAssange account continued until September 4. However, it was exposed a number of times before then, including by this tweet, posted on August 30: Its behavior, once threatened with exposure, is a classic example of the techniques disinformation actors use to defend themselves. The first response, as the above screen-shots show, was to label the account a parody one. In parallel, it attacked its critics with tones ranging from plaintive… Screenshot of one of the fake account’s replies, archived on September 3, 2017. … to blaming journalists and “verified” accounts … Screenshot of one of the fake account’s replies, archived on September 3, 2017. … to blaming Assange himself: Screenshot of another reply from the fake account, archived on September 3, 2017. The user even tried to invoke the First Amendment. Screenshot of a desperate response, archived on September 3, 2017. Its main defense was the claim to be a parody account. However, as of September 3, the words “parody account” had been dropped from the bio once more. Instead, the background had been changed to include the WikiLeaks logo. This distinguished the account from the genuine Assange in purely visual terms (possibly allowing the account holder to argue that it was not an impersonation), but nevertheless continued the deception. The reworked profile page of @RealAssange, showing the absence of the “parody account” line. Screenshot taken on September 4 from an archive made on September 3. This was not a parody account; it was an impersonation account which used the label “parody” as a protection when its status was called into question, and then dropped it once the immediate danger of a reaction appeared past. Moreover, every indication is that the first three fake accounts were created and run by the same user, changing from one to the next as exposure and suspension loomed. While activated, @RealAssange repeatedly retweeted @Julien_Assange and @JuliannAssange, as screenshots from a machine scan show.
Some of the many retweets of @JuliannAssange by @RealAssange, from a machine scan… … and retweets of @Julien_Assange.
According to a scan of its mentions from May 4 to the end of August, the @RealAssange account only began to pick up significant traffic on August 18, as @JuliannAssange and @Julien_Assange were taken offline. Mentions of @RealAssange from August 9 to August 31, 2017. From May to August, the account was minimally active, tweeting, but achieving little impact. Twitter users reported the change early on August 19: Source: Twitter / @SuzieMoonLily. Archived on September 4. Source: Twitter / @henryjackp. Archived on September 4. Later in the sequence, the link between @RealAssange and @JulianAssanged was made explicit in the new account’s first tweets: The first post from @JulianAssanged on September 4. Archived the same day. Note the self-aggrandizing explanation for the suspension, which is actually likely to have been triggered because the account was fake. These four accounts are clearly the work of a single individual, aimed at deception and disinformation, not parody. A fake that worked Little survives of the @JuliannAssange and @Julien_Assange accounts. However, a number of analysts, including @DFRLab, studied @RealAssange before it was suspended; these analyses indicate that the fake account created significant impact. According to a study by Twitter user “Caroline O” (@RVAwonk), the fraudulent Assange account had more engagements than any other user on the term “Antifa” in the wake of clashes at Berkeley on the last weekend in August. Clip from the analysis by Caroline O. @DFRLab identifed a number of tweets from the @RealAssange account which used the term #Antifa in late August, racking up thousands of engagements (retweets and/or likes). Most were deleted before they could be archived, but they achieved hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of engagements. Some of these tweets linked the term #Antifa with billionaire George Soros, who is regularly attacked by far-right (and pro-Kremlin) conspiracy theorists. Others attacked CNN and Black Lives Matter, two other perennial targets of the far-right. Sample tweet from @RealAssange, archived on September 3, 2017. @RealAssange also supported United States President Donald Trump’s pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Archived on September 4, 2017. Note the number of engagements. Its best-performing tweets, however, came when it appeared to promise Wikileaks revelations, and to attack former Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton: Tweet from @RealAssange, archived on September 3. Note the high engagement rate. Another typical post from @RealAssange, with fewer shares. Archived on September 3, 2017. The numbers should not be taken at face value: some of the accounts which amplified these posts show a suspiciously high proportion of retweets in their content, suggesting a degree of automation. However, other users were clearly individual; the tweets also received a significant number of replies, indicating a degree of impact. The account’s deceptive nature was also demonstrated by real users’ reactions. On at least one occasion, a genuine reporting outlet was fooled by the account, and initially ran a story quoting it, before correcting: Screenshot from the article by ivn.us, acknowledging the fake. Replies by Twitter users also suggest they took the fake Assange as the real one, especially when the account appeared to flag WikiLeaks content. The following tweets were some of the many posted in response to the fake account’s “Wikileaks has duplicates” post. Archived on September 4. (Source: Twitter / @Destinbeach22) Archived on September 4. (Source: Twitter / @John_ship67) Archived on September 4. (Source: Twitter / @Kholt22Hol) On some occasions, other users pointed out the fake, and were acknowledged. (Source: Twitter / @InjectDLL) (Source: Twitter / @VerasRoses) Some users appeared to retweet the account even though they knew (or claimed they knew) that it was fake. Archived on September 4. (Source: Twitter / @euniverse1) Archived on September 4. (Source: Twitter / @euniverse1) Archived on September 4. (Source: Twitter / @AtomasVictory) Archived on September 4. (Source: Twitter / @AtomasVictory) Political messaging While the identity of those behind the account cannot be established by open sources, their purpose can. The fake Assange accounts routinely attacked centrist and left-wing politicians, especially the Democrats and Clinton, while defending and espousing far-right conspiracy theories. When the account was first activated, @RealAssange posted and shared attacks on French presidential candidate (now President) Emmanuel Macron. Such tweets have been captured by machine scan.
Early tweets and retweets from @RealAssange on Macron, from machine scan.
It also shared posts from a range of far-right commentators, and appeared to try to connect with them via its tweets.
Early tweets from @RealAssange, on May 6, from machine scan.
Other posts attacked the mainstream media, Clinton, and reporting on Russia’s attempted interference in the U.S. election.
Some of the August tweets from @RealAssange on Russia.
All these place the user firmly in the ideological world of the far right of U.S. politics. This is the same world in which the earlier fake account, @JuliannAssange, operated, as the following screenshots from the archive make clear. Screenshot from the archive of @JuliannAssange. Screenshot from the archive of @JuliannAssange. The new account, @JulianAssanged, followed on in the same tone, with the same conspiratorial arguments, and even the same image. Archived on September 4. (Source: Twitter / @JulianAssanged) Most of its early tweets, however, were retweets of the genuine Assange, apparently in an attempt to give it verisimilitude. Screenshot of three retweets from the real Assange (as shown by the handle, @JulianAssange), from the latest impersonation account. All can be seen on the archive. The network A final point of interest in this cluster of impersonation accounts is the amplification network. The first post from the @JulianAssanged account was a retweet of a post from an account called @BostonMAGA23, advertising the fact that @RealAssange had been shut down, and inviting followers. Screenshot of @JulianAssanged’s first posts. The tweet can be viewed here; the archive, here. This is not coincidence. In a machine scan of all posts mentioning @RealAssange from May 4 to August 18, @BostonMAGA23 was the most active user, other than @RealAssange itself, to mention the account. The top mentioners of @RealAssange, May 4 — August 18, showing the prominence of @BostonMAGA23. Just over two weeks earlier, on August 16, @RealAssange appealed to its followers to follow @BostonMAGA23, having been suspended for “supporting Trump” — a very similar phrase to the excuse @JulianAssanged gave for having been caught impersonating Assange.
Tweet from @RealAssange calling for follows for @BostonMAGA23. Captured by machine scan before the @RealAssange account was suspended.LONDON - MasterCard (MA) is being sued for 14 billion pounds ($18.6 billion) in Britain for allegedly charging excessive fees on millions of transactions over a 16-year period.
Law firm Quinn Emanuel filed the suit Thursday at the Competition Appeal Tribunal for Walter Merricks, a former U.K. financial services ombudsman.
The firm says the claim is the biggest in British legal history and could bring a payout to 46 million British users of MasterCard credit and debit cards.
The suit alleges that MasterCard charged stores unlawfully high fees on transactions between 1992 and 2008, which were passed on to consumers in the form of inflated prices for goods and services.
“The filing of this claim is the first step towards consumers obtaining compensation for what MasterCard did,” Merricks said, calling it “a watershed moment for consumer redress in this country.”
Under Britain’s new Consumer Rights Act, all U.K. consumers who paid the charges and currently live in Britain will automatically become part of the group of claimants - and eligible for compensation - unless they explicitly opt out.
The suit follows a 2014 ruling by the European Union’s highest court that the fees violated EU antitrust rules.
MasterCard said in a statement that “we continue to firmly disagree with the basis of this claim and we intend to oppose it vigorously.”
The tribunal will rule late this year whether the case can proceed, the law firm said. If so, it is expected to go to court in 2018.
Shares in MasterCard Inc. were down 1 percent in pre-market electronic trading in New York.Image caption Both sides alleged the use of chemical weapons in the Khan al-Assal area
Syria has rejected what it calls an attempt by the UN to broaden a probe into the alleged use of chemical weapons in the country's conflict.
The investigation was prompted by an incident in the village of Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province last month.
A UN inspection team is in Cyprus waiting for permission to enter Syria to investigate the claims.
But state-run media said Syria had rejected moves by the UN to broaden the probe to cover the whole country.
Meanwhile, a car bomb exploded in the centre of the capital Damascus, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, state media reported.
'Without delay'
The Syrian government and rebel forces blame each other for the incident in Khan al-Assal.
A Syrian foreign ministry source said that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had asked for "additional tasks" to be added allowing investigators to spread over the entire country, which the source said would constitute a "violation of Syrian sovereignty".
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ban Ki-moon: "A technical team is in Cyprus and ready to enter Syria"
The source said the ministry "regretted" that Mr Ban had "bowed to pressure exercised by states known for their support for the shedding of Syrian blood with the aim of diverting [the probe] from its true content".
"Syria cannot accept these manoeuvres from the UN's Secretariat-General, taking into account the truth of the negative role it played in Iraq," added the source.
Speaking in The Hague, Mr Ban said "all serious claims" of chemical weapons use "should be examined without delay, without conditions and without exceptions".
Only a handful of countries have failed to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) which internationally bans their use. Syria is one of them.
It is believed to have stockpiles of mustard gas and the highly toxic nerve agent, sarin.
Damascus blast
Monday's blast happened in a busy residential and commercial area, close to schools and Syria's central bank.
Huge plumes of black smoke could be seen rising over the area as emergency services raced to the scene.
At least 70,000 people have died since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began just over two years ago.
Monday's explosion was the second large car bomb attack in Damascus in recent months: At least 53 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in an attack on the ruling Baath party headquarters on 22 February.
A suicide bomber detonated explosives inside a mosque in Damascus's Mazraa district last month, killing 42 people including Sheikh Mohammed al-Buti, a prominent Sunni supporter of President Assad.Alberta's most famous gay twin singing duo Tegan and Sara applauded the Alberta government's decision to press pause on a controversial gay-straight alliance bill yesterday.
The third reading of Bill 10 was placed on hold for more consultation, according to Alberta Premier Jim Prentice. The legislation was intended to give school boards and principals the power over whether or not a gay-straight alliance (GSA) could be formed in schools by students. "Bill 10 has added to, rather than resolved these divisions, and I accept personal responsibility for that as the premier," Prentice said. "I'm most disturbed that our gay and lesbian youth are caught in the middle of a very divisive debate."
The bill was introduced by the Progressive Conservatives earlier in the week after a private member's bill, proposed by Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman, was basically quashed by the government. Blakeman's original bill would have made Gay-Straight Alliances mandatory in schools if students desired them, while the government's bill would give school boards the right to deny GSA clubs and force students to go to court if they wanted to challenge the boards' decision.
"We are encouraged by the latest news from our home province of Alberta, that the Premier has put the third reading of Bill 10 on hold, due to mounting public pressure," Tegan and Sara wrote on their site Dec. 4. "This provides us with an opportunity to ensure the next version of this bill truly accomplishes the goal of prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation."
Without naming names, the duo also took aim at the political posturing of some provincial parties regarding the legislation at the expense of youth coming to terms with their sexuality.
"In a country where marriage equality was achieved over a decade ago, it is absurd and shameful to make a political issue out of the right our LGBTQA youth to access the proper support services," the duo said.
"Growing up in Calgary in the 1980s wasn't easy for twin sisters with gender confusion. High school in the 1990s was even harder – when we both realized we were gay. At the time there were no gay characters on TV, there was nothing on the internet, and there was no such thing as a Gay-Straight Alliance. Through the support of friends, and because of music, we persevered, but the same was not true for all LGBTQ kids of that time, nor would it be true today.
"Suicide is the second highest cause of death in Canada for youth age 10-24. Low self-esteem, homelessness and alienation are all issues faced by LGBTQ youth. A High School Gay-Straight Alliance can be, in some cases, a life-saving safe space. It is also a place for youth to share and learn compassion, empathy, to educate each other, and to grow."
They also said the gay youth bill needs to be changed. "Bill 10 in its current state would subject students to more potential prejudice, discrimination, and unnecessary struggle," they wrote. "Calgary will always be our home, and because we care about the youth who are growing up there, we need to educate those who have the ability to influence this legislation; people of all ages who live in Alberta or who have friends or family there."
Tegan and Sara recently completed a lengthy worldwide trek behind their last studio album Heartthrob, released in early 2013. The duo are also set to release "So Jealous X," a tenth anniversary expanded reissue of their 2004 album featuring bonus material and a live DVD.I wrote something along these lines a couple of years back and now here I am again with a distinct sense of deja vu, albeit under slightly different circumstances.
Last week Transport For London (TFL) announced it would deny the renewal of Ubers licence to continue its minicab operation in London from the end of September, on various fit and proper operator grounds. Of course Uber will attempt to overturn this via appeal but for now it's caused all manner of consternation among the Uberati in the city and beyond.
I'm not here to argue with those people, after all, as a Licensed London Taxi driver (aka 'black cab driver' when it comes to this debate) I'd be dismissed as biased anyway. Which I am obviously, however, I have bitten my lip and kept well out of any spats on social media, where the battle of opinion on the matter seems to be taking place, in the main.
However, as usual in such instances, I see SO MANY ill informed and plain inaccurate comments being made about my industry all over the place that I just have to put some facts straight or at the very least, inform people of a few things to at least educate them to some extent. I don't expect for a minute it will change their outlook on the situation but it will make me feel better anyway and at least every time I see uneducated comment I can direct them to this.
So, I'm addressing the main points that it seems people have the most to shout about in this debate and hopefully this helps to put some context out there. This isn't biased ranting, anecdotal opinion or political spin, it's just plain facts, so please sit comfortably and digest.
1. "The Knowledge is outdated and isn't required now we have Satnav"
'The Knowledge', for those unfamiliar with the term, in a nutshell, is the qualification process that London cabbies embark on to attain their green badge (license). It involves learning all the streets and points of interest (POI) in London in order to pass a series of rigorous examinations to test your knowledge of these roads and points as well as your mental route planning ability around the city. It can take anywhere between 3-5 years to pass, depending on how well you perform in the regular exams.
Now, I get it, Satnav has come a long way and, yes, it can get you from A to B in the majority of cases. It won't always take you the best way, particularly in Londons congested labyrinthine road network and it doesn't have the intuition that a human brain with local knowledge has, but I accept for many situations it is fine. Having said that, it's not ideal having what is supposed to be a professional driver solely reliant on following a satnav, with all the distractions that entails.
However, the Knowledge is not just a test of your road, routing and POI knowledge, it is also a massive test of character. Who would invest so much time, effort and sacrifice to qualify as a professional in their field, only to throw away that livelihood at the drop of a hat via criminal activity. It's as good as a CRB check in my opinion. It sorts the wheat from the chaff, as it were. It verifies the dedication of a person and instills a sense of pride and respect in that person for their trade. What's wrong with that? Is having well qualified individuals who clearly care passionately about a trade a bad thing? Don't we want people to strive to be the best they can be in their chosen profession? I don't see a clamour for expensive lawyers, dentists etc to be replaced by some bloke armed with a YouTube video who will do the job for half the price. Not a perfect analogy I know but you get my point.
I wonder how many folk who demean the Knowledge as outdated and unnecessary got themselves degrees at University? I imagine if they did they feel a sense of self worth as a result, why should my qualification be any different? It took as much (perhaps even more) dedication, sacrifice and commitment.
2. "Black Cabs are afraid of Innovation and need to move with the times"
The London Taxi trade is one of the oldest professions in London. It goes back to Oliver Cromwell. So you could be excused for thinking we are old fashioned luddites. However, our trade has embraced technology for decades. We innovated with radio circuits and now we have Apps for booking. In fact we had apps long before Uber arrived. We still do, namely Taxiapp, Mytaxi, CabApp and Gett (formerly GetTaxi). The problem is they haven't been advertised to the extent uber has and to understand why you need to understand the two models. Uber is a multi billion $ corporation and the London Taxi trade is 25000 sole traders with no financial business organism or marketing machine to promote our offering. So despite having an identical offering to Uber, not enough people knew/know about it. Our apps offer both pre book and instant bookings as well as fixed prices in many cases (for those of you terrified of the nasty old meter).
3. "Black cabs are just afraid of Competition"
No, this issue has nothing to do with competition. After all we operate in an arena where competition is rife and has been for years. We compete with private hire companies, buses, tube, rail, coaches, in fact every cab driver on the road is competition as far as I'm concerned! Of course any business is a little afraid of a competitor that may affect your ability to put food on the family table. Anyone who says otherwise is probably fibbing I would say. But when an entrant to your industry comes and threatens your livelihood on an unfair basis (and it's not just taxis saying that but the existing established legitimate PH industry who have been decimated by uber), how would you feel? So this is about level playing fields, not competition and this is discussed further on.
4. "but uber are so much cheaper than black cabs"
Does the term 'Predatory pricing' mean anything to you? Last time I looked this was illegal under competition law (look up the definition, it's where a company uses artificially reduced prices to undercut and drive the competition out of business). It's great you're all getting around town for peanuts (at the moment) but there's a wider picture here. You claim black cabs have a monopoly (more on that later) but what on earth do you think ubers raison d'etre is? Their model is to use predatory pricing to drive out competition!! Sounds like monopolist thinking to me. It's the reason Italy kicked them out and I'm surprised that more wasn't made of this aspect of their operation in London to be honest. Did you know that the fare you pay uber is around 41% of the true cost of that ride? The remainder is subsidised by venture capital investment. What do you think will happen when that runs out and/or the competition no longer exists? In what version of reality do you think this pricing is sustainable? Uber continues to lose a ton of money by operating this model, it stands to reason they're going to need to recoup this at some point, right?
5. "Black cabs are a rip off"
Well let's start off by saying that I, the cab driver, do not set my fares (as explained previously). Uber are cheaper (also for reasons explained above) I get that totally (although in many instances a black cab is actually not particularly expensive compared to some alternatives where multiple passengers are taken into account). But I'd love to offer a cheaper service if I could. When you look at the meter you think "thats expensive" but have you any idea of our costs? For the average cabbie, around 40% of that meter price goes on expenses (cab finance/rental, insurance, tax, diesel, breakdown cover, repairs, 2 MOTs per year etc), then factor in income tax, pension (I'm self employed) and the fact I'm not paid for time off or sickness (for which I also pay for expensive income protection cover in the event of serious illness), then my 'take' reduces much further. So this urban myth that cabbies are raking it in because of what you see on the meter simply isn't accurate, there's a wider picture you need to consider. We make a living but it's hard earned.
With regards to choice/price of cab (our vehicle choice is limited to two very expensive models, around £40k in price) we have NO SAY in these costs and the meter tariff is set by TFL, NOT US (a tariff that I would add is set based on costs, RPI etc and DOES NOT involve'surging' at the drop of a hat). From 2018, thanks to the demonisation of diesel vehicles, all new cabs sold have to be 'zero emission capable' (electric or hybrid), and the only model announced thus far, taking into account finance, will cost around £70k! How on earth can the average cab driver afford that??
One last point on taxi fares, if the meter price bothers you, many of the taxi apps such as Gett and Mytaxi offer fixed price rides in certain circumstances.
6. "Black cabs are bullying Londoners and want to protect their monopoly"
This monopoly argument is so funny and I hear it time and again. As I touched on earlier WE DO NOT HAVE A MONOPOLY. We operate, and have done for decades, in an arena with minicabs, buses, tubes, trains, coaches, rickshaws, bikes, in fact every cabbie is my competitor to some extent. If that's your definition of a monopoly I suggest you advance directly to your dictionary without collecting £200 for passing Go. Furthermore, there is nothing stopping anyone from entering our trade, it is open to all who wish to put in the hard work to achieve a licence. If you haven't got the stuff to do it, fair enough, but please, ENOUGH with the monopoly nonsense. If you want to talk monopolies, as I said previously, look at the Uber model with regard to their predatory pricing strategy, it is the very definition of creating a monopoly!
As for the claim that cabbies are being 'bullies', if your ability to put food on your family table was threatened illegally, I'd think less of you if you didn't fight to protect it. As long as that fight was within the law then what's wrong with having a bit of stomach eh? Should we just roll over, forget the graft and sacrifice we put in to attaining our qualification and let Uber tickle our bellies? That's not bullying, it's standing up to BEING bullied if anything.
7. "Uber losing its licence will put 40k employees out of work"
Uber have moved heaven and earth in the courts to dispute the fact their drivers are employees in order to avoid offering them basic workers rights (I'm not necessarily saying they should either, there's a valid argument on both sides on this). It's hypocrisy of the highest order that they now use this concern for their drivers now it suits them. What will happen to this concern when/if Uber finally roll out their proposed fleets of autonomous vehicles? Enough said.
There will still be demand in the marketplace to fill the vacuum that uber leaves behind so don't worry, those drivers will find work with legitimate PH companies. They're self employed after all, right?
Oh and remind me again, where was the outcry and petition to sign when the livelihoods of 25k taxi drivers was (and still is to be honest) under threat from a tax avoiding US multi billion dollar corporation? Where was the moral outrage about the multiple sexual assault cases on women attributed to Uber drivers when it was on the front page of the national papers? I must have missed those.
8. "Black cabs are expensive because they get stuck in traffic"
Let's have a look at that eh. There has been an explosion in minicab vehicle numbers in London as a result of Ubers arrival and promises of riches to its drivers, which has even seen passengers switching to them from public transport. In 2009 there were 58k minicabs licensed in London, at last count there were almost 120k. In that same time the number of black cabs has remained virtually static at 24.5k. So is it any wonder it's becoming harder to negotiate roads with this level of unsustainable vehicular increase and the resulting added congestion.
Poor driving standards among a large number of these relatively inexperienced drivers and the resulting increase in RTAs has gone through the roof. But don't take my word for it, ask Inspector Neil Billany (head of the Metropolitan Police taxi and private hire unit) who spoke about this issue when he wrote to TFL about Ubers failures in reporting sexual assaults.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/13/uber-sex-scandal-police-accuse-taxi-firm-failing-report-sex
He raised his concern about the additional strain on his resources in attending these traffic incidents, resources that are paid for by our taxes ironically (considering uber contribute nothing in this respect).
9. "I've used uber and never had a problem, I feel safe, I can track the vehicle etc etc"
That's as maybe, but there have been 32 cases of sexual assault/rape in Uber vehicles investigated by police in a 12 month period. That's one every 11 days! In what other industry/business does that happen and not cause some kind of public outrage? Am I missing something here? Yes, I know about John Warboys, the appalling rapist who committed his crimes in a London taxi and is now rightfully in jail. People cite this case against the London taxi trade because that's the only one you can think of and it was widely reported because it is such a rare occurrence. But THIRTY TWO cases of sexual assault/rape in a single year? How many others went unreported I wonder, given the issues raised by Inspector Neil Billany
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/13/uber-sex-scandal-police-accuse-taxi-firm-failing-report-sex
This surely raises questions about the vetting process and comes back to my argument about the value of The Knowledge qualification as a deterrent to opportunist, would-be sex offenders jumping in a taxi after filling in a form and handing over a cheque.
So there it is, thanks for sticking with it and I hope |
computer network access. Latest developments include an RFID powder developed by Hitachi, for which the multitude of uses are endless — perhaps including tracking hard currency so we can’t even keep cash undetected. (Also see microchips below).
4. Traffic cameras
License plate recognition has been used to remotely automate duties of the traffic police in the United States, but have been proven to have dual use in England such as to mark activists under the Terrorism Act. Perhaps the most common use will be to raise money and shore up budget deficits via traffic violations, but uses may descend to such “Big Brother” tactics as monitors telling pedestrians not to litter as talking cameras already do in the UK.
5. Computer cameras and microphones
The fact that laptops — contributed by taxpayers — spied on public school children (at home) is outrageous. Years ago Google began officially to use computer “audio fingerprinting” for advertising uses. They have admitted to working with the NSA, the premier surveillance network in the world. Private communications companies already have been exposed routing communications to the NSA. Now, keyword tools — typed and spoken — link to the global security matrix.
6. Public sound surveillance
This technology has come a long way from only being able to detect gunshots in public areas, to now listening in to whispers for dangerous “keywords.” This technology has been launched in Europe to “monitor conversations” to detect “verbal aggression” in public places. Sound Intelligence is the manufacturer of technology to analyze speech, and their website touts how it can easily be integrated into other systems.
7. Biometrics
The most popular biometric authentication scheme employed for the last few years has been Iris Recognition. The main applications are entry control, ATMs and Government programs. Recently, network companies and governments have utilized biometric authentication including fingerprint analysis, iris recognition, voice recognition, or combinations of these for use in National identification cards.
8. DNA
Blood from babies has been taken for all people under the age of 38. In England, DNA was sent to secret databases from routine heel prick tests. Several reports have revealed covert Pentagon databases of DNA for “terrorists” and now DNA from all American citizens is databased. Digital DNA is now being used as well to combat hackers.
9. Microchips
Microsoft’s HealthVault and VeriMed partnership is to create RFID implantable microchips. Microchips for tracking our precious pets is becoming commonplace and serves to condition us to accept putting them in our children in the future. The FDA has already approved this technology for humans and is marketing it as a medical miracle, again for our safety.
10. Facial recognition
Anonymity in public is over. Admittedly used at Obama’s campaign events, sporting events, and most recently at the G8/G20 protests in Canada. This technology is also harvesting data from Facebook images and surely will be tied into the street “traffic” cameras.
All of this is leading to Predictive Behavior Technology
It is not enough to have logged and charted where we have been; the surveillance state wants to know where we are going through psychological profiling. It’s been marketed for such uses as blocking hackers. Things seem to have advanced to a point where a truly scientific Orwellian world is at hand. It is estimated that computers know to a 93% accuracy where you will be, before you make your first move. Nanotech is slated to play a big role in going even further as scientists are using nanoparticles to directly influence behavior and decision making.
Many of us are asking: What would someone do with all of this information to keep us tracked, traced, and databased? It seems the designers have no regard for the right to privacy and desire to become the Controllers of us all.
Read other articles by Activist Post HereRectal tenesmus Specialty General surgery
Rectal tenesmus is a feeling of incomplete defecation. It is the sensation of inability or difficulty to empty the bowel at defecation, even if the bowel contents have already been evacuated. Tenesmus indicates the feeling of a residue, and is not always correlated with the actual presence of residual fecal matter in the rectum. It is frequently painful and may be accompanied by involuntary straining and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Tenesmus has both a nociceptive and a neuropathic component.
Vesical tenesmus is a similar condition, experienced as a feeling of incomplete voiding despite the bladder being empty.
Often, rectal tenesmus is simply called tenesmus. The term rectal tenesmus is a retronym to distinguish defecation-related tenesmus from vesical tenesmus.[1]
Tenesmus is a closely related topic to obstructed defecation. The term is from Latin: tēnesmus, from Greek τεινεσμός teinesmos, from τείνω teínō to stretch, strain.
Considerations [ edit ]
Tenesmus is characterized by a sensation of needing to pass stool, accompanied by pain, cramping, and straining. Despite straining, little stool is passed.[2] Tenesmus is generally associated with inflammatory diseases of the bowel, which may be caused by either infectious or noninfectious conditions. Conditions associated with tenesmus include:
Tenesmus (rectal) is also associated with the installation of either a reversible or non reversible stoma where rectal disease may or may not be present. Patients who experience tenesmus as a result of stoma installation can experience the symptoms of tenesmus for the duration of the stoma presence. Long term pain management may need to be considered as a result.
Treatment [ edit ]
Pain relief is administered concomitantly to the treatment of the primary disease causing tenesmus. Methadone has been shown to be an effective pain-reliever.[6]
See also [ edit ]You may already know all the WordPress basics but, would you like to step up your game and learn the tricks all the Pro’s are using? Well, you came to the right place.
Most bloggers try to keep the best tricks for themselves. But here at WP League, we share everything.
This time, we wanted to share with you some of the lesser-known WordPress tips and tricks that other bloggers don’t want you to know.
The awesome WordPress hacks we’re about to show you will not only help you save time, but it will also allow you to become a better and a professional blogger.
See if you could learn something new from these WordPress blogging tips.
#1 Create Landing Pages In WordPress #
Do you sell ebooks on your WordPress blog? Do you collect emails by giving away free downloads? Then you already know how powerful landing pages can be when generating leads.
“48% of marketers build a new landing page for each marketing campaign.” – Marketing Sherpa
If you’re using WordPress, you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on landing page software. Many bloggers are unaware that you can actually create landing pages within your WordPress blog without spending a fortune.
Thrive Landing Pages plugin for WordPress is one of the best tools for creating conversion-optimized sales pages and landing pages right inside your blog. The plugin comes with plenty of great templates and costs a one-time fee of $67.
Parallax Gravity is a free plugin you can use to create landing pages. However, its quality and features are quite low compared to Thrive plugin.
Affiliate marketing is the second most popular method bloggers use for monetizing their blogs. When you sign up for an affiliate program, they provide you with a very long link with complicated codes.
Readers can see these links and they find this to be suspicious behavior. Well, we can’t really blame them. Would you feel safe clicking on a link with weird codes?
Although, pro bloggers know how to mask these links. They use WordPress plugins to get that job done. ThirstyAffiliates is a great free plugin that you can use to do the same thing on your blog.
Using this plugin, you can easily hide your lengthy links to look something like www.yourdomain.com/out/affiliate-product-name. You can also categorize and customize those links in the future without having to edit the article.
This is quite a nifty way to get more shares for your articles.
Install Click To Tweet plugin and whenever you mention a quote or a statistic in your article, insert a click to tweet box to let people share those stats and information on their Twitter.
The plugin will automatically add a link to your blog post and @mention your Twitter page, which will certainly give your website a quick social media boost.
#4 AutoFix Your Writing Mistakes #
It’s hard to admit, but even the professional writers make mistakes all the time. So, don’t feel bad if you’ve made a few grammatical mistakes in your blog posts. What matters is that you learn from your mistakes.
Sign up with a free Grammarly account and install the plugin on your browser.
Now, whenever you’re writing an article on WordPress or even typing and email, Grammarly will automatically highlight your writing mistakes and show you how to fix those errors.
#5 Add WordPress Shortcodes #
Shortcodes are one of the coolest hidden features of WordPress that allow you to embed files and style text with single WordPress specific codes.
For example, if you want to embed an audio file into your blog post with the audio player, all you have to do is use the
[ audio ]
shortcode with the URL. Like this –
[ audio http://yoursite.com/audio.wav ]
And the player will appear in your blog post.
Check out Shortcodes Ultimate plugin if you’d like to take things to the next level.
#6 Shortcuts For Text Styling #
Want to know how to type long articles without touching the mouse? Start by memorizing these WordPress keyboard shortcuts.
#7 Embed Image Galleries #
Uploading huge collections of images and galleries is not a good habit when your WordPress blog is hosted on a shared hosting plan with limited space.
The easiest way to avoid that problem is signing up with a Flickr account. Flickr is free to use and gives you 1TB of free space. You can go wild with all your high-resolution images.
Then install OmniGallery. It’s a great WordPress photo gallery plugin that you can use to easily embed your Flickr photos in your blog posts.
Problem solved!
#8 Change The Default Avatar #
When someone leaves a comment on your blog, it will show a small avatar image next to the comment to show the identity of that person. If that person doesn’t use a Gravatar with his/her email, that comment on your blog will show an ugly image.
You can see by going over to Settings > Discussion that the default avatars on your blog don’t look any good.
Luckily, you can upload your own custom avatar with WP User Avatar and add a more personalized touch to your blog’s comments section.
#9 Insert Ads Between Paragraphs #
If you’re using AdSense, you can try this method to try and increase your click through rates.
Insert Post Ads is a free plugin you can use to automatically embed AdSense ads inside your WordPress posts. You can also customize the ads to show up after specific paragraphs.
#10 Change Default Image Sizes #
Tired of manually resizing images to fit your blog layout? Here’s how to fix it.
From your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > Media and customize the default values of the image sizes. Insert the image size that perfectly fit your blog as “Large Size” and a moderately smaller size as “Medium Size”.
Next time when you’re uploading a large-sized image, simply select a preset from the drop-down menu.
#11 Write With Markdown #
Markdown is a text-to-HTML conversion method professional writers and bloggers use to write articles fast. It will take some time to familiarize yourself with all the codes, but when you do you will be able to save a lot of time and write your blog posts faster without any distractions.
WordPress doesn’t support all Markdown syntax by default. You’ll need a plugin to convert the Markdown. There are plenty of free options to choose from.
#12 Use An Editorial Calendar #
Being consistent in your blog writing is the key to growing a successful blog. And an editorial calendar will help you to plan your future blog posts to help you publish on a regular basis.
The Editorial Calendar free plugin is a great tool you can use to set up an editorial calendar right inside your WordPress blog. Or you can also use an online tool like Trello for this job.
Know any other WordPress blog writing tips that we don’t know about? Then feel free to share them with us through the comments section.Disunion follows the Civil War as it unfolded.
Washington, D.C., Feb. 16, 1861
His was a quintessential Virginian face: refined, hawkish, melancholy. It was now slightly diminished, to be sure; the cheeks sunken, the lips pinched, the gray curls retreating from the high forehead. But it was hardly fair to call him, as certain radical Northern papers did that winter, a “tottering ashen ruin,” a relic of some “antediluvian” age. The much blunter epithet that would soon be applied to him – traitor – is still a matter of debate.
Library of Congress
John Tyler, the former president, had, in any event, lately shown a surprising burst of energy. “Who would have thought the old man had so much blood in him?” asked the editor of the Richmond Examiner, quoting “Macbeth” to good effect. Perhaps Tyler’s vitality should never have been in question: he had fathered no fewer than 15 children, the latest one at age 70, no small achievement in the pre-Viagra era. (That child, a daughter, lived until 1947; two of Tyler’s grandsons, Lyon and Harrison, are still alive today, remarkably enough, 221 years after his birth.)
Now Tyler had taken on a different sort of paternal role: that of founding father. Or, rather, re-founding father. Since early February 1861, he had been presiding over the Peace Conference, a gathering of elder statesmen making a last-ditch attempt to rescue the Union as it pitched toward civil war.
The meeting was taking place, appropriately enough, at Willard’s Hotel, a Washington institution where, according to many insiders, more government business was enacted than anywhere else in the capital. (Its anteroom, where patronage-seekers mingled with political bosses, is said to have inspired the word lobbyist.) Since its founding as a small inn in 1818, Willard’s had come to occupy almost an entire block. Rather than demolishing the buildings that stood in its path, it strangled them like some relentless jungle vine, sending out shoots and tendrils of faux marble, carved oak and polished brass until the unfortunate structures were wholly engulfed. Most recently, it had swallowed up God himself in the form of a handsome little Greek Revival church whose Presbyterian congregation had hastily vacated, paying due reverence to the superior claims of America’s nascent hospitality industry.
That sanctuary had been reconsecrated as a conference room. Three figures from American history – George Washington, Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay – were installed in lithographic form at its altar end. A fourth, Tyler, was installed beneath them in the flesh.
In several respects he had a great deal in common with those other heroes. Like Washington, Jackson and Clay, Tyler owned slaves (43 of them, according to the last census). Like them, he was a border state man – in his case, a Virginian, a scion of the Cavaliers, not one of those swaggering Gulf Coast parvenus who had lately led the drive to secession. And like them, Tyler loved the Union – at least for the time being. On the basis of these claims, the last one especially, he had been selected as the conference’s president by unanimous acclamation.
The other delegates were among the most distinguished men America had to offer: not merely an ex-president, but senators, congressmen, former ambassadors, war heroes and railroad owners. They were also, as many observers noted, disproportionately elderly, in some cases actually decrepit. One man, 77-year-old John C. Wright of Ohio, was feeble and nearly blind – and, having vowed to sacrifice his life for the Union, made good that pledge by dying eight days into the convention.
Many, like Tyler himself, had been born in the 18th century; their cherished nation’s revolutionary founding was hardly ancient history to them. The ex-president was speaking quite literally when he exhorted his fellow delegates on the second day: “Our godlike fathers created, we have to preserve.” The post-revolutionary generation of Americans would now finally have its shot at undying glory. Tyler continued:
[Our fathers] built up, through their wisdom and patriotism, monuments which have eternized their names. You have before you, gentlemen, a task equally grand, equally sublime, quite as full of glory and immortality. … If you reach the height of this great occasion, your children’s children will rise up and call you blessed.
Conservative newspapers throughout the country praised Tyler’s oration: the Washington Star went so far as to call it “one of the most affecting and eloquent efforts … ever spoken in this country.” (Even the staunchly Republican New York Times offered plaudits.) Others were not so complimentary. One Ohio paper called Tyler “a man who is more cordially despised by honest men than any man who ever occupied the presidential chair.” The 22-year-old Henry Adams saw Tyler at a ball hosted by Senator and Mrs. Stephen A. Douglas:
A crowd of admiring devotees surrounded the ancient buffer Tyler …. Ye Gods, what are we, when mortals no bigger – no, damn it, not so big as – ourselves, are looked up to as though their thunder spoke from the real original Olympus. Here is an old Virginia politician, of whom by good rights, no one ought ever to have heard, reappearing in the ancient cerements of his forgotten grave – political and social – and men look up to him as they would at Solomon, if he could be made the subject of a resurrection.
Indeed, Tyler had been controversial ever since, two decades earlier, he had unexpectedly become chief executive after the sudden death of President William Henry Harrison. Many Americans in 1841 believed that the Constitution did not mandate that the vice president actually assume the highest office in the land, but merely that he execute its powers while retaining his title. So when Tyler asserted that he was actually president, he was condemned as a usurper and ridiculed as “His Accidency.” The following year he became the target of the first congressional impeachment attempt in American history. Northerners believed that his actions as president – especially his appointment of an almost wholly Southern cabinet and his push to annex Texas as a slave state – had done much to deepen fissures in the Union.
Tyler remained a staunch advocate not just of slavery’s existence but of its expansion. The week after Abraham Lincoln’s election in November 1860, he wrote to an old friend:
On one thing I think you may rely, that [Virginia] will never consent to have her blacks cribbed and confined within proscribed and specified limits – and thus be involved in all the consequences of a war of the races in some 20 or 30 years. She must have expansion, and if she cannot obtain for herself and sisters that expansion in the Union, she may sooner or later look to Mexico, the West India Islands, and Central America as the ultimate reservations of the African race.
In 1861, many Northerners had little faith that Tyler could truly serve as a neutral arbiter of the secession crisis. Several state legislatures even refused to send delegates to the Peace Conference. Among radical Republicans, the assembly became an object of derision; Horace Greeley’s New-York Tribune consistently referred to it as “the old gentlemen’s convention.”
At any rate, the proceedings at Willard’s went steadily downhill after Tyler’s opening address. The problem, indeed, was that the delegates were too eloquent: hour after hour, they declaimed on the urgent necessity of saving the Union – invoking Washington, Franklin, Bunker Hill and Yorktown – while making precious little headway toward actually doing anything about it. On the morning of Feb. 16, a delegate proposed that speeches be limited to no more than 30 minutes each – and the body then proceeded to spend almost the entire day debating this, to no conclusive result. Henry Adams predicted: “I suppose they will potter ahead until no one feels any more interest in them, and then they may die.”
Related Civil War Timeline An unfolding history of the Civil War with photos and articles from the Times archive and ongoing commentary from Disunion contributors. Visit the Timeline »
Tyler and his colleagues pottered ahead, but they did not die quite yet. On Feb. 23, the conference became even more surreal when the man whose recent victory had caused the Union’s split – President-elect Lincoln – arrived in Washington and checked into a suite at the hotel, just upstairs. Tyler and other delegates visited him that evening. One convention member warned that unless Lincoln placated the South, the nation’s economy would crumble: “It is for you, sir, to say whether grass shall grow in the streets of our commercial cities.” Lincoln replied: “If it depends upon me, the grass will not grow anywhere but in the fields and the meadows.”
Several days later, the conference adjourned after approving a set of proposed constitutional amendments that stood little hope of mollifying either North or South – and even less of being passed by Congress. Tyler returned to his home in Richmond, Va. on Feb. 28. That evening, a group of admirers came to serenade him on the veranda of the Exchange Hotel. He replied with a speech denouncing the conference, assailing its proposed compromise as a “miserable rickety affair” that did little to protect Southern slaveholders, and calling for Virginia to secede immediately as the only means of preserving its sovereignty.
Later that spring, Tyler cast a vote for Virginia’s secession and personally drafted a document placing the state’s militia force under Jefferson Davis’s direct control. His son Robert, then a lawyer in Philadelphia, narrowly escaped a lynch mob as he fled southward; his neighbors satisfied their fury by burning him in effigy in his own front yard.
In November 1861, John Tyler was elected to the Confederate Congress – becoming the only former American president ever to win office in a foreign country. Arriving in Richmond in January for the opening session, he took a room once again at the Exchange Hotel. Two days later, he had a sudden attack of the chills and nausea, then collapsed unconscious onto a sofa. Less than a week later, he was dead, having never taken his seat in the rebel government.
Back in Washington – the city where he had once presided as chief executive, now an enemy capital – Tyler was subjected to a final indignity when his portrait was removed from its place of honor in the Capitol and exiled to deep storage. But the passage of 150 years has effected a rehabilitation: that painting now hangs in the Blue Room of the White House.
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Sources: Robert Seager II, “And Tyler Too: A Biography of John and Julia Gardiner Tyler”; Gary May, “John Tyler”; Robert Gary Gunderson, “Old Gentlemen’s Convention: The Washington Peace Conference of 1861”; Dean R. Montgomery, “The Willard Hotels of Washington, D.C., 1847-1968,” (Records of the Columbia Historical Society, 1968); L.E. Chittenden, “Recollections of President Lincoln and His Administration”; U.S. Census, Slave Schedules, 1860; New York Times, Feb. 6, 1861; Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams, Feb. 8 and 13, 1861, in J.C. Levenson et al., eds., “The Letters of Henry Adams, Volume I: 1858-1868”; New-York Tribune, Feb. 14, 1861; L.E. Chittenden, ed., “A Report on the Debates and Proceedings in the Secret Sessions of the Conference Convention, for Proposing Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, Held at Washington, D.C., in February, A.D. 1861”; Harold Holzer, “Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861”; William C. Allen, “History of the United States Capitol: A Chronicle of Design, Construction, and Politics.”
Adam Goodheart is the author of the forthcoming book “1861: The Civil War Awakening.” He lives in Washington, D.C., and on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where he is the Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of Washington College’s C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: Because of an editorial error, this column misstated the number of years since John Tyler’s birth. It is 221 years, not 211.You must sign in or register to continue reading content.
EVERETT — One of Neil House’s last acts as the official city photographer three decades ago was to drop off his 35mm slides at the library.
And there they sat in storage — until now.
A collection of 752 photos taken in 1970s Everett are available online at the Everett Public Library’s web site.
House’s work is a scrapbook of 1970s Everett, a time of economic upheaval as the city weathered both the lulls and swells of Boeing and its final years as a mill town.
“It was amazing to me, especially the pictures of downtown,” said Melinda Van Wingen, the historian who oversaw the cataloging and digital archiving of the collection.
In 1975 the city hired House, then 24, to take photos of whatever official city business needed photographing: parades, meetings, buildings, streets, projects and people.
House and his Nikon F2 were at the beck-and-call of a half-dozen departments.
House snapped photos of workers spreading asphalt and city councilmen furrowing their brows. He captured Boy Scouts clutching American flags and a grizzled fisherman squatting on a dock. He photographed aeration ponds at the water treatment plant, the city dump and the transit yard.
One story that still makes the rounds at City Hall concerns an airplane shoot over downtown Everett. After peering through a telephoto lens from the front seat of a Cessna, House became violently ill — to the detriment of the city planner sitting just behind him.
One of his more ho-hum assignments — photographing the condition of streets — offers an unintentional benefit for dozens of homeowners today, who can view their homes circa 1975.
House’s photos capture a vibrant downtown on the brink of change. The Everett Mall opened in 1974, which eventually squeezed the vitality out of downtown. His work portrays a glimpse of businesses now long gone and shoppers bustling down sidewalks.
Perhaps most marvelous are the groovy fashions of the time: the butterfly-collared jackets, the mustachioed men, the spanking-new Volkswagen bugs.
House, now a 60-year-old retiree living in Puyallup, seems delighted to see his work join the library’s collection of local historical goodies.
“I’m very pleased,” House said. “I’d never thought in a million years that anyone would look at the photos again, much less digitize and catalog them.”
In 1975, House was working at an audio-visual studio in Bellevue when he heard that Everett might be looking for a professional photographer. Scoring the job was, for House, the height of his professional photography career.
“I always dreamed about being a photographer,” he said. “I loved taking pictures.”
He paid for his own camera gear and developed photos in a make-shift dark room in a janitor’s closet across the hall from the mayor’s office in old City Hall.
While many of his assignments were far from exciting, House said he enjoyed learning about how the city worked and talking with often enthusiastic city workers. He remains amazed that anyone is excited to discuss the inner workings of water filtration.
After nearly three years on the job, grumbling about whether the City Could afford to pay for a staff photographer began to burble around City Hall. House heard them and decided he’d better find work elsewhere, eventually settling into a 28-year career with the state’s surplus property division.
The city today does not have a staff photographer on the payroll.
House still takes photos for his own pleasure with his digital palm-sized Panasonic Lumix.
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.
That ’70s City
Find the Neil House photo collection of 1970s Everett online at www.epls.org/nw/digital.asp.Our girl Priyanka Chopra has had a dream run in Hollywood till date as a celeb, global icon and as an actor. However, not all are impressed and she has come in for some criticism as well. But that is for her culinary skills in Indian cuisine.
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, known for his acerbic comments on people’s culinary skills on social media, came down heavily on the Bollywood actor, calling the food she cooked recently as “dog’s dinner”.
Here’s how it happened. At the chat show What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, the host mischievously asked Ramsay to judge dishes cooked by famous celebrities. After trashing American writer and TV personality Martha Stewart, model Chrissy Teigen and US TV personality Kristin Cavallari, Ramsay was asked to talk about ‘khichdi’ and chicken soup made by Priyanka.
It didn’t take Ramsay more than a few seconds to diss it completely. One look at it and he went, “Sh*ttttt…I mean it looks like a dog’s dinner.” Harsh words... Wonder, what our ‘desi girl’ has to say about it!
On the work front though, Priyanka’s on a roll. Quantico has come in for much praise (even winning her a People’s Choice Award for her role as Alex Parrish). What’s more, her badass act in the upcoming movie Baywatch has created quite a buzz.
Follow @htshowbiz for more
First Published: May 21, 2017 12:08 ISTDear Polly,
First of all, let me assure you, I feel like a huge asshole just for asking this, but I’ve been chewing on this question on and off for more than a year without any real resolution, so I thought I’d turn to you. Here’s the deal: I’m wondering whether I’m abusing feminist ideology in order to justify a natural shyness around women and, if so, whether you could find me a new narrative that would help me feel less bad about acknowledging and acting on attractions.
I’ve always been seriously shy about any aspect of dating, sex, hooking up, whatever. It’s not that I have trouble interacting with women — indeed, my female friends greatly outnumber my male friends. I have no problem making friends with women and, in general, I feel I am generally more comfortable in mostly female environments (this probably came from being thirteen and being constantly made fun of by the other boys in my class, as well as growing up with two older sisters). While I’d hesitate to call myself a feminist, mainly due to my concerns about being appropriative, I would say that I have an enduring interest in gender politics that I do my best to express through my actions.
This interest began to manifest after unrequited crush no. 4,523, around my mid-twenties (I’m in early thirties now) when I began to wonder whether the reason I was so unhappy about my lack of meaningful romantic relationships was because of my attitudes towards women. It has, I believe, helped a lot internally: by working to change a lot of my problematic behaviors and mindsets, I’m not nearly as hung up about sex and relationships as I used to be, and overall I do feel like I approach thoughts about women in a much more healthy way than I used to, helping me get out from being the seething ball of bitterness and anxiety that I was when I was younger.
Despite this, however, dating still fills me with dread, and even though I no longer look at my lack of a love life as some sort of scathing indictment of who I am as a human being, I’ll admit that I’m still kind of lonely and would like a relationship, or at the very least to get laid more than once or twice a year. However, I seem to not want to do anything about it because I can’t help but think that everything that could be done to do so upholds some unhealthy societal norm.
So, for example, when my friends comment that a cute woman has been flirting heavily with me all night, and tell me to go for it, I say that there’s no way to tell what she’s really thinking and that the last thing any woman needs is to feel like she can’t communicate the way she wants to without some entitled creep getting entirely the wrong idea, and that some people are just naturally flirty and we shouldn’t assume that that’s some sort of indicator for desire, and that if she REALLY liked me that way she would have made it much more clear, and I don’t want to assume that any display of friendliness is automatically some attempt to get something going, because that’s a real problem in the way men and women interact nowadays. And then I bring up that she has a boyfriend, and I should respect her choice and it’s creepy to hit on someone in a relationship as if I know more about what she wants than she does. And my friends go, maybe she wants a new guy, to which I say, “If that were the case then she can say it and make things clear and unambiguous because I’m not going to try and override a decision she made about her own life.” This, incidentally, is the point where one of my friends says, “You’re letting your feminism get in the way of your game,” which makes me think but, at the same time, I think it would be safer to err on the side of not doing anything to avoid contributing to a toxic environment.
Or, talking to my one sister about a very attractive woman at one of my group activities, she said why not ask her out, and I said that she probably didn’t join the group to meet guys and I shouldn’t create an atmosphere where she has to worry about being hit on constantly. Besides, I just *know* she doesn’t think of me that way (I mean I don’t really know for certain, but I generally make the assumption that women aren’t interested in me that way, so why bother with someone I think isn’t interested?). So I don’t want to make her uncomfortable or anything. Or when my sister’s husband asked whether I ever talk to attractive people I see on the subway, and I respond that that’s the LAST place anyone wants to talk to a stranger and that women are harassed all the time by people who can’t take a hint and I don’t want to be one of them because nine times out of ten everyone on a subway, men and women, just want to be left the fuck alone.
Or, last week, I was hanging out with two friends of mine, both female, and one of them began giving me some sort of vibe that involved sitting MUCH closer than necessary, initiating much more physical contact than she had ever before, and also briefly and purposefully stroking my fingers under the blanket. When the other friend left for a bit to walk her dogs, she looked up at me and said she couldn’t concentrate on the movie, and I kind of just froze and said that I thought we should watch (stupid, stupid, stupid) and she harumphed and moved across the couch and bundled up her blanket and crossed her arms and acted weird to me the rest of the night. But I’ve known her for two years and she never had given me any indication that she was interested in the past, and neither of us were at all sober and I don’t want to be predatory and take advantage of someone, and she shouldn’t have to be concerned that I would try, she should be able to have fun and get fucked up with guy without having to worry that he’ll try to fuck her. And how do I know that what I perceived as flirty behavior isn’t just all in my head and she didn’t mean anything by it? Because that happens, not just to me but to people everywhere. But her reaction made me think I fucked up somehow, and I ALSO don’t want her to think I was necessarily rejecting her because she’s WAY cute and awesome and smart and principled and if I’d known I was good to go I totally would have gone for it, but I felt the situation was too ambiguous and now I’m worried I made her feel unattractive in that moment, which I know from experience is a terrible thing to feel.
So, things like that. Not helping matters is that the times when I have thought I was good to go, it turns out I had miscalculated, which made me feel awkward and probably made her feel that way too, and so I’m just crappy at trusting my instincts when they’re telling me “say you want to kiss her!” because I’ve been wrong so often in the past and it’s felt terrible and I don’t want to feel that way.
And so I’m wondering whether all those fancy explanations that I wrap up with deep political meaning are just excuses to justify me not pursuing the relationships I want, like the problems I’ve always had with sex and dating just went to grad school and came back with an MA in women’s studies and philosophy but, at heart, is still the exact same problem. It’s the same fear — that there’s something fundamentally unlovable about me and if I ever express a desire for someone in any way, they won’t like me anymore because how could I even SUGGEST such a thing — except dressed in big words and given some sort of political justification. Like, it’s not that I’m shy and need to learn to take some risks, it’s that I’m not going to impose myself on someone who just wants to be left alone and live her life and have male friends who don’t try to hit on her, because I refuse to be That Guy. They’re different mindsets, but it’s the same result: I don’t bring up the topic of possibly dating people I’m attracted to and decide it’s not that bad having a new friend, because, obviously, awesome people don’t stop being awesome just because they’re not sleeping with me, and I want to have awesome people in my life.
One thing I’ve been thinking about is that my mindset could be making this assumption of sexlessness on the part of women, as if they don’t also have bodies that get horny as well, but I’m not sure if that’s really reflective of my thoughts because I acknowledge that women also want to have sex, I just have a very difficult time thinking they want sex with me. And then I’ve been thinking that it’s unfair to expect women to take on all of the risk in romantic interaction by wanting them to make the first move and not responding to anything unless they make their desire abundantly clear, because as a man who was raised with the expectation that I’m the one supposed to do all the asking, that fucking |
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