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, OF, Red Sox
Round 4
1. Arizona Diamondbacks: Devin Harris, OF, Giants
2. Los Angeles Dodgers: Julio Morban, OF, Mariners
Round 5
1. Los Angeles Dodgers: Alexander Burgos, LHP, Marlins
Double-A phase
Round 1
1. Miami Marlins: Juan Caballero, RHP, CardinalsIt is clear what the iPhone 8 will get right: its new design, the upgraded (if heavily protruding) camera, a potentially revolutionary unlocking system and the significant spec bump. But now there is an explanation for two problems Apple ’s new iPhone will also deliver...
Famously reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has spilt the beans in a new report obtained by 9to5Mac and, put bluntly, it’s all Samsung’s fault.
In short Kuo says Samsung has Apple over a barrel. He reveals Samsung is the sole supplier of OLED panels for the iPhone 8’s headline feature, it’s 5.8-inch OLED display, and as such is demanding upwards of $130 per display.
By comparison the iPhone 7 Plus LCD display costs Apple only $45-55 and this is the biggest factor behind the iPhone 8’s most unpalatable element: the astronomical asking price. Why hasn’t Apple gone elsewhere? Because Samsung was the only company which was able to supply OLED panels in the quantity Apple requires.
Apple is already trying to fix this. It recently invested $2.7BN in LG to build a new OLED manufacturing plant, though that won’t be ready until 2018 at the earliest. In Kuo’s words: “Apple is in urgent need of finding a second source of OLED.”
But this is just part one. The second area where the iPhone 8 will inevitably disappoint many is its removal of the Touch ID fingerprint sensor.
Again Kuo lays the blame on Samsung’s OLED panels. He claims Samsung was unable to create an OLED panel with favourable scan-through performance for the fingerprint sensor to operate effectively. Apple was not prepared to copy Samsung by putting the sensor on the back or, like Sony, in the power button so it scrapped Touch ID on the iPhone 8’s completely and will gamble on Face ID handling everything instead.
But Samsung’s OLED is far from the only culprit here. Previous reports have cited the introduction of fast charging and wireless charging, among others, as adding significant additional cost and complexity to the iPhone 8’s assembly.
Cynics will point out features like OLED, fast charging and wireless charging are merely catch-ups and Apple shouldn’t have been so far behind in the first place to feel forced into making them all in a single generation. Then again all these upgrades may just make the iPhone 8 worth both its high price and the omission of Touch ID.
Whichever position you take, we won’t have to wait long for answers. Apple has already confirmed, the iPhone 8 is launching very soon...
___
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Apple iOS 10.3.3 Has A Great Secret FeatureGeorgia is a serif typeface designed in 1993 by Matthew Carter and hinted by Tom Rickner for the Microsoft Corporation. It was intended as a serif font that would appear elegant but legible printed small or on low-resolution screens. The font is inspired by Scotch Roman designs of the 19th century and was based on designs for a print typeface in the same style Carter was working on when contacted by Microsoft; this would be released under the name Miller the following year.[1] The typeface's name referred to a tabloid headline claiming "Alien heads found in Georgia."[2]
Design [ edit ]
As a transitional serif design, Georgia shows a number of traditional features of 'rational' serif typefaces from around the early 19th century, such as alternating thick and thin strokes, ball terminals and a vertical axis. Speaking in 2013 about the development of Georgia and Miller, Carter said, "I was familiar with Scotch romans, puzzled by the fact that they were once so popular...and then they disappeared completely."[3] Its figure (numeral) designs are lower-case or text figures, designed to blend into continuous text; this was at the time a rare feature in computer fonts.[4]
Closer inspection, however, shows how Georgia was designed for clarity on a computer monitor even at small sizes.[5] It features a large x-height (tall lower-case letters) and its thin strokes are thicker than would be common on a typeface designed for display use or the greater sharpness possible in print.[6][7][8] Its reduced contrast and thickened serifs make it somewhat resemble Clarendon designs from the 19th century.
Georgia's bold is also unusually bold, almost black. Carter noted that, "Verdana and Georgia...were all about binary bitmaps: every pixel was on or off, black or white...The bold versions of Verdana and Georgia are bolder than most bolds, because on the screen, at the time we were doing this in the mid-1990s, if the stem wanted to be thicker than one pixel, it could only go to two pixels. That is a bigger jump in weight than is conventional in print series."[3] Given these unusual design decisions, Matthew Butterick, an expert on document design, recommended that organizations using Georgia for onscreen display license Miller to achieve a complementary, more balanced reading experience on paper.[9][10]
The Georgia typeface is similar to Times New Roman, another re-imagination of transitional serif designs, but as a design for screen display it has a larger x-height and fewer fine details.
Georgia is a "Scotch Roman"—a style which originated in types sold by Scottish type foundries of Alexander Wilson and William Miller in the period of 1810–1820. According to Thomas Curson Hansard, these were cut by London-based punchcutter Richard Austin. Hansard was writing within Austin's lifetime and this attribution is accepted by Austin's biographer Alastair Johnston, although historian James Mosley has expressed caution on the attribution.[11][12][13]
Releases [ edit ]
Microsoft publicly released the initial version of the font on November 1, 1996 as part of the core fonts for the Web collection, and later bundled it with the Internet Explorer 4.0 supplemental font pack: these releases made it available for installation on both Windows and Macintosh computers. This made it a popular choice for web designers, as pages specifying Georgia as a font choice would display identically on both types if users installed the core fonts package (or later Internet Explorer), simplifying development and testing. Its creators also produced at the same time Verdana, the first Microsoft sans serif screen font, for the same purposes. Some early public releases of Georgia included number designs between upper and lower-case, similar to those later released with Miller.[14][15] Carter was asked by Robert Norton, Microsoft's type director, to change these to text, a decision Carter later considered an improvement.[16]
New versions of Georgia, along with its sister sans-serif font Verdana, were released in 2013.[17] The extension of the original font, named Georgia Pro, features a set of additional typefaces and designs, including:
Additional weights, including condensed versions.
Specialized small caps designs.
Extensions to the character sets.
Extensions to the kerning.
OpenType typographic features such as ligatures. [a]
Lining figures
The expanded font was designed for organisations which had made extensive use of Georgia and Verdana due to its availability but desired additional versions for specific uses.
Microsoft has commissioned a number of variants. Georgia Ref, a variant of Georgia consisting of a single weight, but with extra characters, was bundled with Microsoft Bookshelf 2000, Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 99, Encarta Virtual Globe 99. MS Reference Serif, a derivative of Georgia Ref with a bold weight and italic, was also included in Microsoft Encarta. However, Microsoft's font manager Bill Hill wrote of it that "I for one never felt totally comfortable with it as a book face. There's something very dark and'vertical' about the way it feels", and noted that Microsoft had commissioned an alternative, versions of the pre-existing typefaces Berling and Frutiger, for its Microsoft Reader e-book product. Despite this, Georgia is used as one of the bundled book-reading fonts on several e-book applications.[19]
Awards [ edit ]
The Cyrillic font won an award at Kyrillitsa in 1999.[20]
May 26, 2011 Matthew Carter received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in part for designing the Georgia font.
See also [ edit ]You could say I grew up watching George Carlin.
He was always my favorite rhetoric-ist. The most logical. The most reasonable. He was in effect my only access to what I now know as the Trivium.
In my first 25 years of life, George Carlin’s material truly made me laugh at what could only be defined as Carlin’s hyper-realistic perspective stand-up routine. It was the most harsh and abusive form of truth intervention for the entire human species – and yet it was masked brilliantly as comedy.
At around age 25, I attended an event in Las Vegas that was the beginning of my own transformation and incremental arrival into the over-exposure of hyper-reality Carlin spewed. This event was George Carlin, live at the Bally’s Casino resort. How wondrously excited I was to see up close and personal one of my few Idols in life. And the show went on…
But something was different.
Something just didn’t feel right.
George wasn’t the problem, for he was delivering his material just as rehearsed-ly as he always had, mentally re-ciphering eerily associative memory poems with endless lists of material and anecdotal stories with an almost autistic flair.
No, the problem laid elsewhere… It was the crowd. And it was myself.
I realize now as I listen to archives of the HBO and large older productions of Carlin’s televised stand-up routines that the audiences were given a bit of help. Laugh tracks were used to either replace or augment the seemingly jovial nature of the large audiences. Years of working in Hollywood sound departments helped my ears confirm the false stereo and room placement effect of certain “callers” within the otherwise echo-effected hall – their outbursts were out of place and sometimes non-situational. In other words, fake laughing was added to create the typical sitcom fake audience.
As I listened intently to and watched the live body language of the same old Carlin I was used to up on that stage, it seemed to me that somehow the material had changed… yet inevitably it had stayed exactly the same, with the same timeless delivery.
Have you ever wanted something so bad that in your mind you allowed it to be what you expected, even when you knew it was not? This was how my own cognitive dissonance played havoc on my conscious that night. For I realized something very disturbing as this man spoke with contempt.
George Carlin is not being funny. He is not telling jokes. In fact, George Carlin isn’t actually funny.
His disturbing truth is such a blow to anyone-whom-might-be-listening’s ego that the accepted response is a nervous laughter to match that of the crowd. I would bet that Carlin’s last thought before he received his standing-ovation and final laughs and cheers for the night was that each and every audience member out there cheering, at one time during this routine tonight thought to him or herself: “Yeah… the asshole he’s joking about right now is me…”. I’d even imagine he could feel and almost taste the difference in tonal quality between those who laughed genuinely and those who laughed to cover up their horror and dissonance relating to Carlin’s hyper-accurate satire.
For truly, no man has ever laid out the reality of the American way of life than did this man. No common blood man in his right mind can possibly think that anything Carlin stated about the actions and control by elite forces of the common man could be even close to funny. For George was revealing nothing but the rawest of reality, tearing it wide open, and relinquishing it upon the audience like a plague of truth. And I would imagine that George, if impossibly presented with this statement today, would simply and logically conclude that: ‘this very reasonably must mean that none of them are in their right mind. My statements, that are not jokes but instead a guide to the revelation of hell on earth, are greeted with belly-laughing and idiotic group-think cheers by 90% of the population?’
And so I laughed miserable and false laughs all night, wanting to fit into the crowd, and sometimes without really smiling, while in my heart I was taking in everything this brilliant commentator projected as his world view. In short, as far as comedy routines go, this one was horrific. I could sense the same reaction throughout the arena; while much of the audience went through the familiar simulation of comedy. But his words rang true, and I couldn’t help but notice the same disappointed sentiment traveling randomly throughout the audience.
Now, many years later, I know what I was feeling was not disappointment in a show that was not necessarily very funny, but instead I was empathizing with George’s live emotional state. He never laughs at his own “jokes”. He seldom tells any jokes, other than to cleverly end one of his painfully real appeals to reason and logic with an anecdotal happenstance.
No, the problem wasn’t George’s material, it was that his material was working on my soul… and it wasn’t funny.
And so I ask you to take the time to do a little experiment on yourself, like I did.
Here is a video of Carlin’s finest political satire and truth telling with laugh tracks added for effect. Click it and see if you laugh at his truth-telling. Perhaps the question “are you awake” fits nicely here, for those awakened to the truth of Carlin’s words would never justify laughing at not only their own sick society-based disposition but the very sickness of society and the government that kills to protect that sickness.
Maybe it’s just me, but I found this to be more sobering than any State of the Union speech ever delivered:
No smiles…
No laughs…
Just an agonizing presence and sobriety on stage mixed with hopeless comedic simulation with visions of a fat paycheck at the end. Here, truly was a man without hope, abandoning his faith in humanity long ago.
Now you might go watch the pain and contempt we call the comedy of Bill Hicks and see how it feels. I stopped laughing at him too.
This is the George Carlin sanity test – an experiment for the analysis of your own state of mind. I hope you passed, and I wish I could personally tell George I get it man… I finally get it. And you are not a funny man. Just a misunderstood brilliant prophet of the times.
.
–Clint Richardson (realitybloger.wordpress.com)
–Saturday, January 11th, 2014
AdvertisementsA significant milestone was announced this week. Induct has moved their "Navia" vehicle into commercial production, and is now taking orders, though at $250,000 you may not grab your wallet.
This is the first commercial robocar. Their page of videos will let you see it in operation in European pedestrian zones. It operates unmanned, can be summoned and picks up passengers. It is limited to a route and stops programmed into it.
The "catch" is that it stays safe by going only 20km/h, where it is much harder for it to harm things. It's aimed at the campus shuttle market, rather than going on public roads, but it drives on ordinary pavement, not requiring special infrastructure, since it localizes using a prepared laser map of the route.
Now 20km/h (12mph) is not very fast, though suitable for a campus shuttle. This slow speed and limited territory may make some skeptical that this is an important development, but it is.
This is a real product, ready to deploy with civilians, without its own dedicated track or modified infrastructure. The price point is actually quite justifiable to people who operate shuttles today, as a shuttle with human driver can cost this much in 1.5 years or less of operation. It smashes the concept of the NHTSA and SAE "Levels" which have unmanned operation as the ultimate level after a series of steps. The Navia is at the final level already, just over a constrained area and at low speed. If people imagined the levels were a roadmap of predicted progress, that was incorrect. Real deployment is teaching us important things. For example, Navia found that once in operation, teen-agers would deliberately throw themselves in front of the vehicle to test it. Pretty stupid, but a reminder of what can happen.
The low speed does make it much easier to make the vehicle safe. But now it become much easier to show that over time, the safe speed can rise as the technology gets better and better. (To a limit -- see my article on the dangers at different speeds.)
The route limitation has two elements. The first is that they want to keep it only in safe locations, which makes sense for an early release. It also avoids legal issues. The second is simpler -- they are using a map based approach, so they can only drive somewhere that has been mapped. Mapping means driving a scanner over the route and building a map of all the details, and then typically having humans confirm the map. This is the same way that the cars from Google and almost all other vendors do it when they are doing complex things that go beyond following lane markers on a highway. As such it is not that big a barrier. While building new infrastructure is hugely expensive, mapping it is much more modest in comparison, though non-trivial. Covering the whole world would take time, but it becomes possible to quickly add routes and destinations.
I single out the Navia because of its ability to drive without requiring any changes to the roads or extra infrastructure. Previous shuttle-style systems like the ULTra PRT at Heathow (which I rode a couple of months ago), the Masdar PRT and earlier Cybercar projects all required a dedicated guideway or fenced-off ground track to run. While the Navia is being kept to private property for safety and legal reasons, there is no technical reason it could not operate in public spaces, which moves it from PRT into Robocar territory.
The Navia is very much designed to be a shuttle. It is open-air and doesn't really have seats, just padded bars to lean against. There is no steering wheel or other traditional control. This belies that common expectation of the first vehicles looking just like traditional cars.
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Mitt Romney is probably best known for his work at the private equity firm Bain Capital. But the former Massachusetts governor and current GOP presidential contender also has close ties to a Utah-based company—one that doesn’t have quite the cachet of the Wall Street power broker Bain. Instead, some of Romney’s most loyal financial backers hail from a Provo, Utah-based company called Nu Skin that has had repeated run-ins with federal regulators for deceptive business practices and has been criticized as nothing more than a pyramid scheme.
In August, MSNBC broke the news that a new super-PAC had been created to support Mitt Romney’s presidential bid, and that one of the donors was essentially a shell company that dissolved right after giving $1 million to the PAC. Buried in the story, though, was some other interesting news about the PAC’s funders. Two other companies later outed as shell corporations that didn’t do any business also donated $1 million each to the super-PAC. Both of those companies were founded by top operatives of Nu Skin, including the former CEO and cofounder of the firm, Steven Lund, a longtime Romney supporter. On Monday, the Washington Post noted that Lund is a big Romney supporter and described his firm as one that specializes in anti-aging creams.
But what the Post missed is that unlike the Wall Street financial whizzes Romney is usually associated with, Nu Skin is what’s known as a multilevel marketing firm. It supposedly sells vitamins and skin care products (the Post called Lund the “luxury cosmetics king”). But virtually none of its revenue comes from selling anything. Instead, its money comes from recruiting a never-ending stream of new distributors who are the primary buyers of the company’s products and who pay to attend seminars in the hopes of making big bucks. Of course, most of the people who take the plunge lose money rather than earning it. As a result, Nu Skin has a long and troubled history with regulators dating back to the early 1990s, when several states were investigating the company for operating a pyramid scheme.
In 1992, Nu Skin settled a threatened lawsuit with the Michigan attorney general’s office and four other states, promising to clean up its business practices and to pay $25,000 to cover the cost of the investigation. It later paid $85,000 to settle a suit with Connecticut, where then-attorney general (and current US senator) Richard Blumenthal had filed suit alleging that it was an illegal pyramid scheme. (Incidentally, during this time when Nu Skin was under fire from state consumer protection officials, its official spokesperson was Jason Chaffetz, who now represents Utah’s 3rd District in Congress.)
Nu Skin also got into hot water with the Federal Trade Commission for making false claims about its products, including weight loss supplements and baldness cures, and for misrepresenting the earnings new distributors would make. (The FTC alleged that Nu Skin failed to disclose that new distributors made virtually no money, despite its promises of easy wealth.) In 1994, the company settled a case with the FTC and signed a consent order promising not to engage in false advertising and to stop misleading potential distributors, among other things. In 1997, it paid $1.5 million in civil penalties for violating the order. These actions are one reason that for the past decade, 85 percent of the company’s distributors are in Asia, where the market is not yet oversaturated with distributors and consent orders don’t apply, according to company critic Jon Taylor, the head of the Utah-based Consumer Awareness Institute. Taylor used to be a Nu Skin distributor himself.
Romney’s ties to the firm go back at least to his time overseeing the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, when Romney convinced the company to contribute $20 million to sponsor the city’s Olympic effort.
That Nu Skin would pop up in the Romney super-PAC controversy isn’t much of a surprise. Romney’s ties to the firm go back at least to his time overseeing the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, when Romney convinced the company to contribute $20 million to sponsor the city’s Olympic effort. After the sponsorship deal was announced in 1999, Romney appeared at the company’s 10th international convention in Salt Lake City, where more than 10,000 of the company’s distributors had assembled for a meeting. Romney took the stage to address the crowd, telling them that both Nu Skin and the Olympics are “about taking control of your life and managing your own destiny.”
But even then, Romney’s deal sparked controversy because of Nu Skin’s troubled history and the appearance that Nu Skin was trying to buy its way to legitimacy. Speaking at the 1999 convention with Romney, Lund, then Nu Skin’s president, didn’t dispel that impression when he told the assembled distributors, “We have aligned ourselves with the Olympics because this alignment helps you do your jobs better.” According to the Deseret News, Lund promised that the Olympic rings affixed to distributors’ business cards would bring them loads of new recruits. Plus, Lund said, the Olympic affiliation “will also further mainstream our brands in the business community.”
As part of the Olympic sponsorship deal, Nu Skin and its subsidiary Pharmanex distributed nutritional supplements and vitamins to the athletes even as the International Olympic Committee was advising athletes not to take any of the supplements because of concerns that they may be adulterated with steroids and other banned substances that could get athletes kicked out of the games. The IOC cited lax US regulation as the problem. Romney insisted that he had no problem with Nu Skin’s quality, and the company ended up having its name splashed all over TV for two straight weeks.
Nu Skin seems to be returning the favor. The company’s founder and chairman, Blake Roney, became a bundler for Romney in 2007, and he is a partner in Rainmaker Sports and Entertainment, a Utah political consulting firm that worked on Romney’s 2008 campaign. Lund has donated tens of thousands of dollars. Nu Skin employees donated $40,000 to Romney’s 2008 campaign, according to data collected by the Sunlight Foundation.
More importantly, though, Nu Skin may also be serving as an important conduit for Romney’s Mormon donors. In his last campaign, he raised more than $5 million in Utah, tapping the Mormon community’s wealth in a way no other presidential candidate had before. But in 2006, Romney came under fire for meeting with officials of the LDS church to discuss setting up a donor network. The church is barred by its tax-exempt status from supporting candidates. But Romney could have done worse than picking Nu Skin as a substitute for the church.
Nu Skin is dominated by Mormons. Roney and Lund are heavily involved in the church. Last year, the pair donated hundreds of thousands of shares of Nu Skin stock to the LDS church, which sold them for a whopping $10 million. The pair also underwrote a PBS documentary on Mormons in 2007, during the heated battle over California’s anti-gay marriage initiative Proposition 8, which was supported by the LDS church. In 2003, Lund stepped down as Nu Skin’s CEO and served for three years as the LDS mission president in Atlanta before returning to Utah to join the church’s Fifth Quorum of Seventy, a full-time leadership post in the church. (He’s currently the vice chairman of the board of Nu Skin.) Roney is such a church supporter that he commissioned a Mormon sculptor to carve giant pieces of stone into replicas of the original sunstone capitals that were part of the legendary 19th-century Mormon temple in Nauvoo, Illinois. He put them in his front yard in Provo.
Even so, Taylor, a retired professor from Romney’s alma mater, Brigham Young University, says that given Romney’s business background, he should know better than to get in bed with a company like Nu Skin. Taylor also fears what might happen nationally with these companies if Romney were to get elected. He notes that George W. Bush, who was elected with a huge boost from another pyramid-type company, Amway, virtually put an end to regulatory actions against such companies during his administration.
“Do you think Romney’s going to support any FTC efforts to clamp down on ’em? I don’t think so,” he says. “He is certainly not likely to advocate for consumers on this issue. In its proposed Business Opportunity Rule, the Federal Trade Commission has already caved in to the MLM industry in exempting MLMs from having to disclose information that would help consumers make an informed decision.” Romney, Taylor says, isn’t likely to “buck that trend, given the amount of donations from these MLM companies.”Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio finds himself in serious political trouble after he inaccurately accused Breitbart News Network and chief White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon of being anti-Semitic last week. Bannon is the former executive chairman of Breitbart News.
Last Tuesday, Brown appeared at a Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) event in Washington, D.C., and bashed President Donald Trump’s White House and Breitbart News Network. He spoke after Dr. Sebastian Gorka, a former Breitbart News national security editor who is now a senior White House aide. Now, Brown is under fire as both the head of ZOA and the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio in 2018—Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel—are calling him out publicly as he continues to refuse to apologize and correct his inaccurate statements.
“I listened to the words of Mr. Gorka, I’m not going to engage in a political debate but a conversation I had with the Prime Minister of Israel in a small group—a bipartisan group—about a month ago, I told the Prime Minister ‘I know you’re happy with this new president standing up on Israel. I know you’re happy with his support on QME [Qualitative Military Edge]. I know you’re happy with his support on sanctions legislation as I am but,’ I said, ‘there are a whole lot of members of the Senate in both parties and a whole lot of people in my state that are very concerned about the bigotry and the anti-Semitism in the White House,’” Brown said when he took the stage at ZOA. “And I see, I know that doesn’t necessarily play well with this group but you invited me to speak my mind. I know that the beginning of Donald Trump’s career in politics was continuing to insist that year after year after year on something that I know the Jewish tradition found abhorrent and that is that this president of the United States [Barack Obama] wasn’t born here. I know that Mr. Gorka mentioned Stephen Bannon—I even saw some people cheer when he mentioned Stephen Bannon—I think we know the history of Breitbart.”
The audience at ZOA—the oldest pro-Israel advocacy group in the United States—began loudly booing Brown’s comments, and Brown thought the audience might have been booing Bannon.
“I’m not sure if those cheers are for Bannon or cheers are for me, they may be more for Bannon and I’m okay with that,” Brown said. “But I also know that—I also know—I also know I could come in here and say what I believe about Israel and you would like that and I will always stand strong on Israel. But I also feel it’s my duty to speak out when I see what is more and more common in this country, whether it’s issues of race, issues of religion that frankly bother me. I grew up in a Lutheran family where my faith is important to me. I also grew up having a number of—a good bit of exposure to the Jewish faith. I know the history of Judaism. I know the history of the belief and fight for social justice that your faith teaches better than perhaps any of us are exposed to. I am very, very appreciative of that. I am very worried about this president’s attitudes towards people who are a little bit different and that’s why I say that.”
Almost immediately, ZOA denounced Brown for making the inaccurate insinuation that Breitbart News, Bannon and Trump are somehow anti-Semitic. ZOA external adviser Arthur Schwartz told Axios’ Jonathan Swan that the comments were unacceptable.
“We were deeply disappointed by Senator Brown’s attacks on President Trump, Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka and others that serve in this White House,” Schwartz said. “We work closely with Mr. Bannon and Dr. Gorka; they are true friends of the Jewish state of Israel. The same cannot be said of Senator Brown, a supporter of the catastrophic Iran Deal.”
This weekend on Breitbart News Sunday on SiriusXM Patriot Channel 125 on Sunday evening, Breitbart News offered Sen. Brown the opportunity to appear on the radio program for an hourlong special on these comments—and the ability to retract the inaccurate comments and apologize. Brown did not make an appearance on the show.
Instead, ZOA president Mort Klein and others including Brown’s GOP opponent in next year’s Ohio U.S. Senate race did appear to denounce Brown further.
“This was the Zionist Organization of America, ZOA, mission to Washington lobbying for strong U.S.-Israel relations,” Klein told Breitbart News Sunday. “That’s why we were there. That was the focus. That’s all we wanted to talk about. In fact, when I was sitting with him at the table before he went up, I said ‘Sen. Brown this is a great opportunity to let our people—hundreds of people from all over the country—know that Democrats are also pro-Israel.’ Too many people think it’s only Republicans. Even though the Democrats are not as strong for Israel, there are many good Democrats who are good on Israel. I said ‘this is the time to let people know you are a strong supporter and you are a Democrat.’ I told him that and yet all he did when he came up was when he got up to speak was attack Donald Trump, attack the administration as filled with bigots and anti-Semites, and attack Steve Bannon. Steve Bannon, Breitbart has never had a neo-Nazi or racist or David Duke type article ever. I’ve never seen it. The articles I see are articles fighting anti-Semitism and articles telling the truth about the Arab-Islamic war against Israel and promoting Israel. But I’ll tell you where this phony image comes from, when Steve Bannon said that ‘Breitbart is a platform for the alt-right,’ Steve Bannon meant a platform for those who are anti-establishment, anti-the mainstream people. Too many people thought wrongly [when he said that] that ‘alt-right’ meant Neo-Nazis and David Dukes. Frankly, I’ve urged him to make it clear that he never meant that and that’s where this distortion of meaning about Steve Bannon came. But what’s shocking to me is that even if this were true, we were there about Israel and not there about Donald Trump or Steve Bannon. So it showed to me the intense enmity that Sherrod Brown and many Democrats have toward the Trump administration—a really irrational enmity that makes no sense. In fact, Breitbart—as you mentioned—hired an Orthodox Jew to be head of its Jerusalem station in Israel and he has hired two other Orthodox Jews to work with you over the years. Joel Pollak is still working with you, who is an Orthodox Jew. Anti-Semites rarely hire Orthodox Jews.”
LISTEN TO MORT KLEIN OF ZOA ON BREITBART NEWS SUNDAY:
Klein said that Brown furthering inaccurate accusations against Breitbart News, Bannon, Gorka and the Trump White House hurts efforts to hold real anti-Semites accountable.
“It makes charges about others that are anti-Semitic not as believable, if people see that these charges against people who are the opposite—philo-Semitic,” Klein said. “In fact, the ADL—after attacking Steve Bannon—the Anti-Defamation League, and after I defended Steve Bannon saying this is absurd and he is pro-Israel, pro-Jewish, they came out and said ‘the truth is we do not know of anything he has written or said that is anti-Semitic.’ So they actually told the truth ultimately, but never said anything again. It’s really painful to see this extraordinary lie continue, and they’ve done the same with Sebastian Gorka, calling him a Neo-Nazi and anti-Semite. I know both Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka. I’ve met with them at the White House. I haven’t met more pro-Israel, two people who are more supportive of Jewish people and Israel than those two guys. And if they were in any way shape or form hostile to Israel or hostile to Jews, I would be all over them. I am a child of Holocaust survivors, the head of the oldest pro-Israel group. I would be all over them.”
Klein wrapped the interview discussing President Trump’s recent trip to Israel where he became the first sitting U.S. President to visit the Western Wall. He said the trip was a great success and called on the administration to follow through on moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. He also praised Breitbart News as a positive force in the media, saying this outlet is “one of the media beacons of the world,” and that “I’m so grateful for you.”
Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate against Brown in next year’s midterm U.S. Senate elections, appeared on Breitbart News Sunday on SiriusXM Patriot on Sunday evening as well. Mandel nearly defeated Brown in the 2012 U.S. Senate race, coming up just short of victory as now former President Barack Obama carried the state of Ohio and dragged Brown back into the Senate on his coattails. Now, a different story is brewing in Ohio after Trump’s landslide victory in 2016 in the Buckeye State as Mandel makes a second run at Brown in 2018. The rematch between Brown and Mandel is expected to be one of the highest-profile Senate races in the 2018 midterms and offers Republicans one of many national opportunities for pickups in the upper chamber of Congress. In his appearance on Breitbart News Sunday, Mandel lambasted Brown for his inaccurate attacks on Bannon, Gorka and Breitbart.
“I think he’s trying to pander to his far-left base,” Mandel said of Brown’s inaccurate comments. “This guy has voted with Elizabeth Warren 97 percent of the time and this is not Ohio. The fact that he is falsely accusing Steve, and falsely accusing Breitbart, of this is in my mind grotesque and also he lacks courage because he won’t even come on to talk about it. He can say it behind a microphone but when he is invited on a show like this to actually discuss it my guess is he didn’t have the time to come on. It’s pure politics. I’d rather him sticking up for the people of the state of Ohio. Rather than doing what’s right by the people in our state, he’s just playing politics and trying to pander to his far-left base. Like I said, he has voted with Elizabeth Warren 97 percent of the time so part of his base is out there in Massachusetts and East Coast coastal elites and part of his base is on the West Coast in California where there’s coastal elites as well.”
LISTEN TO JOSH MANDEL ON BREITBART NEWS SUNDAY:
Mandel wonders how Brown can claim he supports Israel when he backed the Iran deal from the previous administration.
“Exactly,” Mandel replied when Breitbart News raised the question about how Brown could say he supports Israel after backing a deal that saw pallets of cash get dropped off in Iran but didn’t end the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. “And how is it pro-American? Iran is funding terrorism in different parts of the globe and it’s a radical Islamic regime there in Iran and I believe it threatens people here in the United States and freedom-loving people in other parts of the globe. You know, it’s interesting how he as ranking member of the Banking Committee he voted and opposed Iran sanctions. As you mentioned, he was one of the people who supported the president’s Iran deal where they transferred American money—the money of hardworking citizens throughout Ohio and the country, paid to our government—transferred it over to this radical Islamic regime in the Middle East.”
Mandel pointed to the protests around America this weekend against Sharia law, and said that if Brown wants to fight bigotry—as he says he does—then “he should be standing up against these components of Sharia law not against people who are serving our country at the highest levels in the land, not against journalists like yourself who are trying to hold public officials accountable. It just rings intellectually hollow and it doesn’t make much sense, but, again, knowing him — as |
up every day. The lessons they access are interactive and draw on countless books, primary documents, and oral histories.
There have been a lot of responses on twitter to Wineburg’s article, including the two below. Click on each one to pull up the full thread:
A thread, in which I eventually talk about that Sam Wineburg article that’s going around. #sschat My museum studies prof Jay Rounds taught me a valuable lesson: instead of trying to get visitors to do what you want, assume visitors are in fact already making intelligent choices — Lisa Gilbert (@gilbertlisak) September 17, 2018
This take-down of A People’s History of the United States is unfair to Zinn, but also to the teachers who use the book in their classrooms. Wineburg assumes we simply *replace* textbooks with APHUS. https://t.co/tRL5DyxAs0 — Ursula Wolfe-Rocca (@LadyOfSardines) September 18, 2018
The article below by Alison Kysia, written while a fellow with the Zinn Education Project, is a response to “Undue Certainty: Where Howard Zinn’s A People’s History Falls Short.” Much of Kysia’s critique of that article is relevant to the latest one by Wineburg in Slate.
By Alison Kysia
Since the death of historian Howard Zinn in 2010, a number of scholars and politicians have targeted Zinn’s work in an effort to undermine his influence among educators. Most famously, former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels celebrated Zinn’s death in emails to his education lieutenants and ordered them to find and remove Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United States, from schools and teacher education programs.[1] Peter Wood, president of the National Association of Scholars, writing for the Chronicle of Higher Education, applauded Daniels’ attempts at censorship when he said: “Daniels’s four e-mails... are a window into the frustration of American conservatives with the quotidian anti-Americanism of the academy.”[2] Wood goes on to reference Sean Wilentz, a professor of history at Princeton University, in a statement he wrote for the Los Angeles Times after Zinn’s death, disparaging his work: “What he [Zinn] did was take all of the guys in white hats and put them in black hats, and vice versa.”[3]
Arguably, the most thorough attack on Zinn appeared in the American Educator. In the article, “Undue Certainty: Where Howard Zinn’s A People’s History Falls Short,”[4] Sam Wineburg, professor of education at Stanford University, insists that Zinn’s work is just as problematic as traditional textbooks in that “A People’s History and traditional textbooks are mirror images that relegate students to similar roles as absorbers—not analysts—of information, except from different points on the political spectrum.”[5] Zinn succeeds at relegating students to a position of passivity, according to Wineburg, by manipulating the historical record to fit his ideological perspective—a people’s history, the deliberate inclusion of perspectives ignored in histories that celebrate power. Wineburg contends that Zinn cannot practice honest scholarship precisely because of this perspective—that an ideological commitment to a people’s history necessarily reduces students to a leftist but no less totalitarian mindset. For these reasons, Wineburg warns, educators should be careful about using Zinn’s work in the classroom.
Although Wineburg is not the only critic of Zinn, he is nevertheless significant and less susceptible to easy dismissal. His academic credentials and accessible writing style bolster his credibility. He is a university professor and has published a number of academic books and articles on teaching history. Wineburg’s well-cited arguments and use of history are elegant enough to plant seeds of doubt among readers, opening up the possibility that Zinn was, in fact, being manipulative. Wineburg’s critique gains further credibility through his publication in the American Educator, the journal of the American Federation of Teachers, which boasts 1.5 million members.
Because Howard Zinn was a leading advocate of a grassroots historical perspective—one that inspires educators to rethink and revise their curricula—an attack on Zinn is a way of discouraging educators from teaching a people’s history. Thus, it’s worth subjecting Wineburg’s critique to careful scrutiny.
Zinn’s ‘Mainstream’ History
Wineburg argues that a thorough critique of Zinn is necessary because A People’s History is the most popular history textbook being used in U.S. classrooms today. For as much as I wish this were true, it isn’t. Wineburg contends that Zinn’s A People’s History has unprecedented influence on American readers and has gone “mainstream”: from the 2 million copies sold, to its ranking on Amazon.com, to references made from the likes of Matt Damon and Tony Soprano.[6] Wineburg states, “In the last 30 years... A People’s History has arguably had a greater influence on how Americans understand their past than any other single book.”[7] Wineburg claims that Zinn’s work has become a standard text among K-12 social studies teachers. He cites four syllabi from teacher training courses that include Zinn’s A People’s History to show that Zinn’s work is “a perennial favorite in courses for future teachers.”[8]
The problem with this argument is evidence. He does not include the number of K-12 teacher training courses offered in the United States in any given year. Given that there were more than 3 million elementary and middle school teachers in the United States as of the 2010 census, four syllabi are less than representative.[9] To the best of my knowledge, there have not been any studies to determine the texts most often assigned in K-12 U.S. history or social studies courses. One study evaluated the syllabi of 258 undergraduate U.S. history survey courses taught in spring 2004 and found that only three included Zinn’s A People’s History—or just over 1 percent.[10] Arguing that Zinn’s work has become the dominant narrative on U.S. history is factually untenable. Therefore such statements on Zinn’s impact are unverifiable without the use of anecdotal evidence, a criticism that Wineburg makes of Zinn’s work.[11]
That is not to say that Zinn has not been influential. There are many educators who enthusiastically use Zinn in the classroom. The Zinn Education Project, formed in 2008, designs and disseminates curriculum that supports the work of Zinn; there are currently 33,000 teachers registered to download teaching resources from their website.[12] Nevertheless, there is no evidence that A People’s History of the United States is the new U.S. history textbook of choice in schools across the country.
More importantly, the crux of Wineburg’s critique questions Zinn’s scholarly rigor, a weakness that he claims is reinforced by Zinn’s commitment to a people’s history. Wineburg focuses much of his attention on Zinn’s handling of World War II. Wineburg analyzes three of Zinn’s arguments: the utility of the moniker “people’s war” to describe WWII and the degree to which black Americans resisted the war; a comparison of German and Allied bombing campaigns and Zinn’s chronological references to those campaigns; and the United States’ use of two atomic bombs at the end of WWII. It is useful to read Wineburg’s critiques side by side with Zinn’s work in order to evaluate the veracity of his claims.
The Meaning of ‘People’s War’ and Black American Resistance
Wineburg decontextualizes or ignores Zinn’s statements throughout chapter 16 in order to sow doubt about the evidence Zinn uses. Wineburg initially acknowledges Zinn’s embrace of the popular reference to WWII as “a people’s war,” meaning that it was supported by a majority. As Zinn explains, “By certain evidence, it was the most popular war the United States ever fought,” including the 18 million people who participated in the armed services as well as the 25 million workers who bought war bonds.[13] Wineburg fails to include the analytical questions Zinn goes on to ask: “But could this be considered a manufactured support, since all of the power of the nation—not only the government, but the press, the church, and even the chief radical organizations—was behind the calls for all-out war? Was there an undercurrent of reluctance; were there unpublicized signs of resistance?”[14] Zinn is asking students to think outside of the “majority” box, to look for signs of resistance even when the war drums are beating the loudest. Zinn states that “these questions deserve thought,” language that does not coerce students to make any specific conclusions about history, but rather to think critically about who writes and defines history. These kinds of questions reveal the power of people’s history to engage students in the politics of telling stories of the past.
Wineburg confuses the reader by initially agreeing that Zinn embraces the concept of “a people’s war,” but then argues that Zinn overstates black American resistance to the war in an attempt to prove that Zinn is manipulating historical evidence. Wineburg fixates on Zinn’s use of the word “widespread”[15] to describe black resistance to the war and accuses Zinn of inflating black disillusionment. Wineburg states:
He [Zinn] asserts that black Americans restricted their support to a single V: the victory over racism. As for the second V, victory on the battlefields of Europe and Asia, Zinn claims that an attitude of “widespread indifference, even hostility,” typified African Americans’ stance toward the war. Zinn hangs his claim on three pieces of evidence: (1) a quote from a black journalist that “the Negro... is angry, resentful, and utterly apathetic about the war”; (2) a quote from a student at a black college who told his teacher that “the Army jim-crows us. The Navy lets us serve only as messmen. The Red Cross refuses our blood. Employers and labor unions shut us out. Lynchings continue”; and (3) a poem called the “Draftee’s Prayer,” published in the black press: “Dear Lord, today / I go to war: / To fight, to die,/Tell me what for? / Dear Lord, I’ll fight, / I do not fear, / Germans or Japs; / My fears are here. / America!”[16]
Wineburg is correct that Zinn says, “There seemed to be widespread indifference, even hostility, on the part of the Negro community to the war despite the attempts of Negro newspapers and Negro leaders to mobilize black sentiment.”[17] However, Wineburg does not include what Zinn says on the next two pages. He also deleted the first few words of Zinn’s quote that begins with “there seemed to be...,” language that qualifies what comes next. Neither does Wineburg include the beginning of the next paragraph where Zinn states that despite the examples of black indifference and hostility to the war, “There was no organized Negro opposition to the war.”[18] In these few sentences alone Zinn does not portray a monolithic black community that is wholly disenchanted and disengaged with the war, but rather one in which there were those who served in the armed services, others who expressed discontent despite a general lack of mobilization against the war, and those who actively resisted. Zinn’s language is restrained when describing antiwar activism. For example, he says, “a few small anarchist and pacifist groups refused to back the war...,” and “only one organized socialist group opposed the war unequivocally.”[19] Zinn goes on to say that “the vast bulk of the American population was mobilized, in the Army, and in civilian life, to fight the war.”[20] Zinn is not arguing that there was widespread indifference or hostility in the black community or within the larger American community. If we read Wineburg’s article without Zinn side by side, it is easy to take Wineburg’s critique at face value and assume that Zinn was making untenable statements about black resistance to WWII.
While Wineburg is busy restructuring Zinn’s argument he misses the point of a people’s history: to highlight minority voices in order to encourage students today to speak up for justice even when the majority discourages dissent and silences debate. Wineburg picks and chooses Zinn’s evidence and quotes in a way that frames Zinn as purely an ideologue rather than a competent scholar. By presenting Zinn’s work in this way, he creates doubt in the minds of educators about the integrity of Zinn’s work. What is interesting is what Wineburg does not include from Zinn’s chapter—the quotes that reveal the real power of a people’s history. In doing this, Wineburg uses the issue of “evidence” as a way of discrediting the essential questions Zinn wants us to think about in the study of history. Zinn asks us to rethink majority behavior and patriotic sloganeering, to look both deeper and within the margins of community to find resistance, to reevaluate the efficacy of choices of the past in order to prepare us to make our own choices today and in the future.
Wineburg continues this critique by claiming that Zinn neglects precious information that would provide a more honest assessment of black American attitudes toward WWII. For example, Wineburg claims that Zinn omits the number of conscientious objectors to WWII; his argument is that if Zinn had included these numbers then the reader would see that there was a disproportionately low representation of African Americans among conscientious objectors, thus proving that African Americans were not as disenchanted with the war as Zinn would like us to believe.[21] Wineburg states that black draft refusal was as low as 4.4 percent of all Justice Department cases of refusal.[22] This line of reasoning is problematic. There is no direct correlation between draft refusal and support for war; many draftees may not want to fight but nevertheless report for duty due to a variety of reasons. Wineburg does not inform the reader about the complex and expensive process of being certified as a conscientious objector.[23] Nor does Wineburg acknowledge the emotional, financial, and political repercussions of a black man resisting the draft or publicly challenging the morality of the war while living in the Jim Crow United States. He is conflating draft refusal with conscientious objection, which are not the same categories. Draft refusal could include a wide variety of antiwar activities. Wineburg’s history is one of collecting statistics without commentary, as if the statistics are inherently objective. Teaching from the perspective of a people’s history, on the other hand, is a way of analyzing historical information and asking critical questions that reveal relationships of power.
Comparing German and Allied Bombing During WWII
Another example from Zinn’s chapter on WWII that Wineburg challenges is Zinn’s treatment of German and Allied bombings during WWII and his chronology of those events. Wineburg argues that Zinn uses “a slippery timeline,”[24] questioning his competence as a historian. He accuses Zinn of “chronological bait and switch,” arguing that Zinn is playing “fast and loose with historical context,” in order to convince the reader to condemn U.S. participation in WWII. Wineburg states that “Zinn’s point is clear: before we wag an accusing finger at the Nazis, we should take a long hard look in the mirror.”[25] Wineburg cuts and pastes parts of Zinn’s argument, confusing the reader while misrepresenting Zinn. Reading Zinn’s chapter next to Wineburg’s critique gives us the opportunity to critically investigate these accusations, while also seeing that the real target here is not “evidence” as much as it is a people’s history.
Wineburg questions Zinn’s comparison of German and Allied bombings in WWII, and by extension Zinn’s implication that readers should take a closer look at the “us-versus-them” dichotomy of war. Zinn cites the German bombings of Rotterdam, Holland and Coventry, England in 1940, noting President Roosevelt’s criticism of those bombings for their brutality, yet later followed in 1943-45 by Allied saturation bombings of German cities.[26] Zinn also references the United States’ bombing campaigns in Japan, including the use of two atomic bombs[27] and reflects on the importance of these comparisons in A People’s History:
There was a mass base of support for what became the heaviest bombardment of civilians ever undertaken in any war: the aerial attacks on German and Japanese cities. One might argue that this popular war support made it a “people’s war.” But if “people’s war” means a war of people against attack, a defensive war—if it means a war fought for humane reasons instead of for the privilege of an elite, a war against the few, not the many—then the tactics of all-out aerial assault against the populations of Germany and Japan destroy that notion.[28]
Wineburg here is correct: Zinn is asking us to think critically about the meaning behind catchy slogans like “a people’s war.” Although Wineburg does not explicitly make the accusation, Zinn is not arguing that the Allied forces were just as bad as the Axis powers, nor is he excusing the German-led genocide campaigns of WWII or claiming that ending those genocides was irrelevant. Rather, he is addressing the hypocrisy implicit in most textbook treatments of WWII—that the Germans were monsters and Americans and Brits were the saviors; a just fight of good vs. evil.
Who are “the people” in “a people’s war”? Zinn asks us to think about civilian casualties, to think about the Unpeople,[29] the majority of dead in this war and every other one who are overwhelmingly civilians, the ones who are killed en masse and become mere statistics, recorded in books and shelved for future research. Zinn wants us to think about war as more than a sports event between “our” team and the “other” team but rather as choices with consequences—human consequences. Zinn’s use of historical evidence here is appropriate. These are exactly the questions we need to ask when living in a society based on a war economy and even more pertinent after a 12-year-long “War on Terrorism.”
Sloppy Scholarship
Wineburg continues to challenge Zinn’s historical acumen by questioning his use of a basic chronological timeline in relation to some of the aforementioned bombing campaigns. He derides Zinn’s presentation of the Dresden bombing: “[Zinn] begins his claim with the phrase ‘at the start of WWII,’ but the Dresden raid occurred five years later, in February 1945, when all bets were off and long-standing distinctions between military targets (“strategic bombing”) and civilian targets (“saturation bombing”) had been rendered irrelevant.”[30] If you go back to A People’s History you will see that Zinn says, “The climax of this terror bombing was the bombing of Dresden in early 1945...”[31] Zinn clearly states the year of the Dresden bombing. Wineburg is either ignoring what Zinn actually wrote or is practicing sloppy scholarship. More importantly, Wineburg’s assertion that the distinctions between military and civilian targets were irrelevant is exactly the kind of statement that Zinn wants us to critically analyze. Such distinctions are figments of a militaristic imagination that then get recorded in state-sponsored history textbooks and regurgitated as facts, leaving citizens without the intellectual tools necessary to think critically about how the government frames current and future war rhetoric.
Wineburg continues to question Zinn’s grasp of a basic timeline, stating that “people familiar with the chronology of WWII immediately sense a disjuncture between the phrase ‘at the start of WWII’ and the date of the Coventry raid,” which Wineburg reminds us is 1940. However, WWII lasted from 1939 to 1945 which begs the question of what the proper use of the phrase “at the start...” is. Is referencing something that happened one year after the beginning of a six-year war really a sign of flagrant scholarly abuse? When we deconstruct Wineburg’s arguments piece by piece, the structure falls quickly.
Continuing his critique of Zinn’s treatment of WWII, Wineburg accuses Zinn of being silent on Poland, and through this omission, denying the reader the ability to appropriately assess Nazi terrorism. Wineburg is right: Zinn left out any reference to Poland. But it does not matter, because Zinn is not arguing that the Nazis were peaceniks, nor is he attempting to write a complete history of WWII. Zinn states at the very beginning of the chapter:
It was a war against an enemy of unspeakable evil. Hitler’s Germany was extending totalitarianism, racism, militarism, and overt aggressive warfare beyond what an already cynical world had experienced. And yet, did the governments conducting this war—England, the United States, the Soviet Union—represent something significantly different, so that their victory would be a blow to imperialism, racism, totalitarianism, militarism, in the world?[32]
Zinn is not asking us to excuse Hitler or the Nazis. He is not asking us to ignore genocide. He is asking us to think about our own nation’s history and the ways we create and support terrorism, racism, and militarism. He is asking us to reject the moral posturing that afflicts war histories in power-centric history textbooks. These are vitally important perspectives we need to encourage students of history to consider.
Atomic Bombs
Lastly, on the issue of WWII, Wineburg takes issue with Zinn’s presentation of the United States’ dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan. Wineburg claims that “[Zinn’s] goal is to demolish the narrative learned in high school: that faced with the prospect of the entire Japanese nation hunkered down in underground bunkers and holed up in caves, the United States dropped the bomb (sic) with profound remorse and only then as a last resort.”[33]
First, it is important to note that Wineburg refers to the bomb in singular throughout this section of the article, when in fact two atomic bombs were dropped: one on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and the other on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Nevertheless, Wineburg is critical of Zinn’s reliance on just two “revisionist” scholars: Gar Alperovitz’s Atomic Diplomacy (1967) and Martin Sherwin’s A World Destroyed (1975). If you go back to Zinn’s arguments on WWII, you will see that he incorporated additional sources, including a report by the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, set up by the War Department, which challenged the necessity of dropping the bombs—a source that cannot be dismissed as “revisionist.”[34] Wineburg is ultimately criticizing Zinn’s argument that the U.S. did not have to drop the bombs to stop the war but rather chose to use the bombs for other strategic purposes. Zinn’s argument is firmly within the realm of mainstream academic debate and we can list scholars who argue both perspectives.[35]
The more relevant question is whether or not Zinn is being irresponsible as a scholar for not presenting both points of view. I argue no. Zinn introduces his discussion of the atomic bombs by stating, “The justification for these atrocities was that this would end the war quickly, making unnecessary an invasion of Japan. Such an invasion would cost a huge number of lives, the government said—a million, according to Secretary of State Byrnes; half a million, Truman claimed was the figure given him by General George Marshall.”[36] Zinn’s point is to challenge the dominant narrative of justification, which he describes.
Wineburg, communicated through his silence on the significance of a people’s history, does not want students to spend too much time thinking about the messy aspects of history: people. He is arguing that the most important message that students take away from the story of the United States dropping bombs on Japanese civilians is the inability of the U.S. government to make any other logical choice. He is emphatic about this point, but utterly silent on the necessity for students to understand the human cost of that decision, how it killed and maimed children, and burned bodies past the point of recognition, even vaporizing some, how it poisoned the water and soil and created long-term birth defects. I want my students to immediately conjure up these images when our government comes knocking for the next war, so that they are equipped to make conscientious choices about their role in subsequent conflicts rather than ignoring such debates as the same empty abstractions they talk about in history classes.
The Facade of Evidence
Wineburg’s entire critique rests on the argument that Zinn was a sloppy historian precisely because of his commitment to a people’s history. Wineburg uses the facade of “evidence” to argue that a people’s history is an untenable project that cannot support the real facts of history. He is criticizing a people’s history perspective as inherently subjective, i.e., leftist and therefore not grounded in objective history that presents all possible arguments about any given event. Yet Zinn never claims to be writing from the purported position of objectivity. In the first chapter of A People’s History, Zinn makes this clear:
My viewpoint, in telling the history of the United States, is different: that we must not accept the memory of states as our own. Nations are not communities and never have been. The history of any country, presented as the history of a family conceals fierce conflicts of interest (sometimes exploding, most often repressed) between conquerors and conquered, masters and slaves, capitalists and workers, dominators and dominated in race and sex. And in such a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, as Albert Camus suggested, not to be on the side of the executioners. Thus, in that inevitable taking of sides which comes from selection and emphasis in history, I prefer to try and tell the story of the discovery of America from the viewpoint of the Arawaks, of the Constitution from the standpoint of slaves, of Andrew Jackson as seen by the Cherokees, of the Civil War as seen by the New York Irish,...the Second World War as seen by pacifists....[37]
Zinn’s goal is to provide alternative viewpoints and to make readers think critically about the “official” version of stories as well as the alleged neutrality of textbooks. To assume that readers of Zinn do not understand where he is coming from or cannot read his work critically is patronizing. Wineburg decontextualizes what Zinn wrote to argue that he did not write the book he never claimed to be writing.
Next, Wineburg zeroes in on what he claims is Zinn’s use of imprecise and influential language, unduly prompting the reader to arrive at a specific conclusion about the use of the bombs. He says:
Anyone who raises the possibility of a negotiated peace versus an unconditional surrender is playing the game that historians call the counterfactual, a thought experiment about how the past might have turned out had things not happened as they did. Its game pieces are if, may, might (Wineburg’s italics).... The counterfactuals’ qualifiers and second-guesses convey the modesty one is obliged to adopt when conjuring up a past that did not occur. But when Zinn plies the counterfactual, he seems to know something no one else knows—including historians who’ve given their professional lives to the topic: “If only the Americans had not insisted on unconditional surrender—that is, if they were willing to accept one condition to the surrender, that the Emperor, a holy figure to the Japanese, remain in place—the Japanese would have agreed to stop the war.” Not might have, not may have, not could have. But “would have agreed to stop the war.” Not only is Zinn certain about the history that’s happened. He’s certain about the history that didn’t.[38]
Wineburg is correct: Zinn does include this exact quote in chapter 16, and there is indeed no way to prove such a statement, and Zinn could have used a better qualifier. So far in Wineburg’s entire critique, this is the first example he provided that has merit—the absence of one qualifier in one sentence in a 600-plus-page book.
The Danger of Thinking
The ideological point that Wineburg seems to be making is that it is dangerous to allow students to think that political decisions of the past were choices and not “facts.” Having used Zinn in my classrooms for years, this is precisely the consciousness-raising power of a people’s history: alternative viewpoints shed light on perspectives we are not privy to in the typical obedient narratives of state-sponsored histories. I want my students to contemplate the possibilities for alternative readings of history and apply those same processes when evaluating world events today.
The larger issue of not just Wineburg’s critique but the persistent vilification of Zinn is the attempt to create doubt about Zinn’s qualifications as an historian in order to challenge the entire people’s history project. Although Wineburg exaggerates the influence of Howard Zinn and A People’s History of the United States in schools, no doubt there are many who would prefer Zinn be entirely scrubbed from the curriculum. The content of today’s textbooks are controlled by those with power: corporate, political, and religious leaders whose worldview—that Great Leaders make history, capitalism is freedom, dissent is permissible only in designated spaces—is well represented in mainstream texts. Howard Zinn’s work represents a fundamental challenge to this worldview. Thus, the attacks on Zinn, that seem increasingly shrill, are not simply about one historian or even one’s approach to history, but are really about one’s hope for the kind of society we want to live in—and how we might get there.
‘TRUTH’ and Fascism
Wineburg’s language toward the end of his essay becomes more desperate. He paints a picture in which Zinn, through his books, is able to exert a nefarious influence on his readers. Weinberg supplies a series of nameless Amazon.com reviews of Zinn’s book as proof of the zealotry that Zinn inspires in readers. For example, one reviewer, referred to as gmt903, wrote in her or his Amazon.com review that Zinn’s book was the “TRUTH” and in Wineburg’s estimation this is valid, scholarly evidence of Zinn’s dangerous power. Again, it is important to ask what Wineburg isn’t using as evidence in his critique. For example, while he has time to analyze anonymous Amazon.com reviews, he chooses to skip the Howard Zinn papers currently housed at New York University’s Tamiment Library, including letters sent to Zinn from students and teachers describing the impact of his work on their understanding of history. New York University Professor Robert Cohen read these letters and found that students and teachers overwhelmingly embrace Zinn’s work, provoking healthy historical debate even among those who do not support Zinn’s politics per se. For example, Cohen says:
Students who disagreed with Zinn’s radical take on history, no less than those who agreed with him, tended to find these sessions intellectually stimulating since Zinn’s writing was so accessible and his ideas so new to them. As [one teacher] told Zinn, “Over the course of the school year, no matter if a student ‘loved’ you or ‘hated’ you, they all looked forward to what you had to say on a topic.”
Cohen cites a student who wrote to Zinn: “Your writings are very educational. They help us to think about a side of history that we usually aren’t exposed to. Until I read one of your writings I never even stopped to think about the fact that our history [text] books were only giving us one viewpoint.... I didn’t realize that there were so many controversial happenings to be written about.” Cohen goes on to note that “The students were making their first moves towards recognizing that history was more than a simple trivia game involving remembering names and dates, that history was a critical discipline.”[39] In contrast to anonymous reviewers, these letters convey how clearly Zinn’s history illustrates the politics of writing history, while increasing students’ ability to critically analyze historical arguments and evidence.
Wineburg then uses the F-word—fascism—to describe Zinn’s influence. Wineburg argues, “A history of unalloyed certainties is dangerous because it invites a slide into intellectual fascism. History as truth, issued from the left or from the right, abhors shades of gray.”[40] After reading and teaching Zinn for many years, I do not see history as simply a matter of extremes, and using the word fascism to describe the influence Zinn has on readers is a desperate attempt at demonizing a people’s history.
Zinn’s language throughout the book does not impose an either/or duality upon the study of history. Reading A People’s History encourages students to talk back to the history they are given, regardless of the ideological perspective of the author—to think about what information is not included in a historical story, to ask which chapters of history books are wholly left out, to investigate perspectives that are ignored or silenced. A people’s history is about asking questions, challenging authority and the abuse of power, discovering the everyday women and men who fight for a more inclusive and just society, looking for heroes outside of those who are commemorated on holidays. These are the lessons I have learned from work like Zinn’s and the lessons I want my students to master.
Having taken Wineburg’s concerns seriously, I am confident in my continued use of Zinn’s work in my classroom, as one of many solid sources in teaching a people’s history.
Alison Kysia has taught history at Northern Virginia Community College for six years. She has been an educator for more than 15 years. Special thanks to Bill Bigelow for his thoughtful comments and suggestions.
Footnotes
[2] Peter Wood, “ Why Mitch Daniels Was Right,” Chronicle of Higher Education, July 18, 2013, accessed Sept. 10, 2013.
[5] Ibid., 32.
[6] Wineburg, “Undue Certainty,” 27.
[7] Ibid., 28.
[8] Ibid., 32.
[9] There were 7.2 million teachers total in the USA 2010 census; “ Profile America: Facts for Features: Back to School,” US Census Bureau. Accessed Sept. 1, 2013.
[10] Daniel J. Cohen, “By the Book: Assessing the Place of Textbooks in U.S. Survey Courses,” Journal of American History, Vol. 91, No. 4 (March 2005): 1405-1415.
[11] Wineburg, “Undue Certainty,” 28.
[12] Zinn Education Project website
[13] Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States (HarperPerennial, 1995): 398 (note that page numbers differ between the edition Wineburg used and the one used in this paper).
[14] Zinn, 398.
[15] Zinn, 410.
[16] Wineburg, “Undue Certainty,” 28.
[17] Zinn, 410.
[18] Zinn, 411.
[19] Zinn, 411.
[20] Zinn, 412.
[21] Wineburg, “Undue Certainty,” 29.
[22] Ibid., 29.
[24] Wineburg, “Undue Certainty,” 30.
[25] Ibid., 30.
[26] Zinn, 412-13.
[27] Zinn 413.
[28] Zinn, 412.
[29] George Orwell. 1984. Signet Classic, 1950.
[30] Wineburg, “Undue Certainty,” 30.
[31] Zinn, 413.
[32] Zinn, 398.
[33] Ibid., 31.
[34] Zinn 414.
[35] See for example, Ward Wilson, J. Samuel Walker, Ronald Takaki, Kai Bird, Lawrence Lifschultz.
[36] Zinn, 413.
[37] Zinn, 9-10.
[38] Wineburg,” Undue Certainty,” 31-2.
[40] Wineburg, “Undue Certainty,” 34.Jerick McKinnon wants to become a more complete running back for the Minnesota Vikings, as he attempts a comeback from a back injury that ended his rookie season. Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson offered a positive update on McKinnon’s progress, Andrew Krammer of 1500ESPN.com reports.
"Jerick is working on those things," Wilson told 1500ESPN.com. "Trying to be three phases: a runner, protecter and pass catcher and he knows it’s a process. Something you have to put in the time and work ethic to get there and to his credit, he’s doing that and I’m looking forward to training camp to see where he’ll be when we make it real."
Offensive coordinator Norv Turner also commented on Wilson’s progress, noting that there’s no evidence of his recent back surgery in his play.
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"I think he’s building on what he did a year ago," Turner said, per 1500ESPN.com. "He’s healthy, he’s 100 percent. It’s unfortunate he got hurt late in the year because he was having a very good rookie year. He looks quick, fast, he’s going to be a good change-up guy."
McKinnon, a third-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, will see some snaps behind starting running back Adrian Peterson. Last season, with Peterson out of the lineup, McKinnon played in 11 games (six starts) and carried the ball 113 times for 538 yards.
(h/t 1500ESPN.com)
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Ann HeisenfeltCurried Lentils
This recipe for Curried Lentils is a spin off of the ever popular Quick Curried Chickpeas. It always amazes me how a recipe with so few ingredients can have such big flavor! For this version I subbed out chickpeas for lentils, added some diced carrot for color and sweetness (and because my New Year’s resolution is VEGETABLES!), and increased the curry powder. The result, although not exactly pretty, was so good that I couldn’t stop piling forkfuls into my mouth while I took the photos. Seriously, I couldn’t stop.
There are so many ways you can eat these Curried Lentils that I decided to present the recipe as the lentils them selves. They’d be great as part of a Indian platter with some creamed spinach and naan. You could stuff them into a pita as sort of a sloppy joe-like sandwich (but vegetarian, of course), or you could build a “bowl” meal with brown rice, a fried egg, and maybe even some spinach. Options, options, options!
This recipe made about four cups and depending on how you serve it, that should be at minimum four servings. Pretty stinking cheap. If you happen to have any left over, these lentils should freeze quite well.
Print Recipe 4. |
the afterlife, I was told that a great evil was about to appear in our world, and that it would threated all existence. Bakura and Malik were there too. We werer told that if we, all three of us together, helped save the world from destruction, then we could keep our bodies. Live normal human lives."
"Wait," said Joey worriedly. "All three of you? Than that means that Bakura and Malik are our there right now?"
"Yes. Unless they were sent into the same world that Yugi and the others were sent to."
"Sorry to interrupt your fairytales Pharaoh," Kaiba cut in, "but did the magical voices tell you anything that could actually help us? Like a name? A place we can go?"
"Actually, I do remember a name. Thaddeus Dixon. I have no idea who that is though." He turned to the brothers. "Is the name familiar to you?"
Edward shook his head. "Never heard it before."
"Oh," the Pharaoh perked up. "One more thing. I remember something about the Millennium Items. Something like their powers have trapped inside of people. I'm not sure how that's possible though."
Edward stood up. "You said the Millennium Items opened a gate to the afterlife for you a year ago right? And after that their powers faded away? When we were searching for the Philosipher's Stone it's power was inside Al. Maybe if we can find those people-"
"We could use them to open another gate, maybe even to our world!" Al finished.
"Let me go you little brat," Bakura threatened as he struggled against the bond that Mokuba had bent around him.
Everyone else was still looking at Mokuba; the boy was crouched to the ground, eyes shut. After a few seconds he opened them and stood up. "I'm sorry," he said meekly. "I was afraid he was going to hurt you, so I just acted."
"What you did was very impressive," the major said. Suddenly his eyes got watery. "It was a true show of selflessness and bravery! Although I could have held my own against him," he added, his composure serious once again.
"Ha," Bakura laughed. "I wouldn't actually hurt any of you, not for the time being anyway. That would negate the agreement."
"What agreement?" Leiutenant Hawkeye asked, moving directly in front of the incapacitated man.
"The one that says if I help you I get to keep my body."
"Your body?" Hawkeye asked, taking a step back.
"That's right, lieutenant," Bakura spat the word like a curse. "Even in our world I lacked a physical form. For years I lived in the ring around my neck, using him," he jerked his head towards Ryou, "as a vassal to do as I pleased. Appearrantly something so bad is happening that the gods have given myself and the others our own bodies, and if we help you out like good little Yamis then we get to keep them."
"Like I would let you help me!" Ryou suddenly yelled. "You ruined my life for years, why the hell would I work with you?"
"Because you have no choice. I'm the only one who knows anything about what's going on here. Without me you'll all be stranded here while the world falls apart around you!" Bakura began laughing maniacally as the everyone in the room exchanged glances.
"Let him go Mokuba," Yugi said finally. "He said himself if he hurts us he loses his body. I may not trust him, but I know he's not stupid."
Mokuba clapped his hands together again, then pressed them to the floor. Slowly the wood around Bakura's hands and feet receded, until the floor was normal once more.
"Thank you," Bakura said snidely. "Now, where do we begin?"
The major grabbed Bakura's wrist. "You can start by giving us this important information that you say you have."
"All I'm willing to give you for now is a name. Thaddeus Dixon."
Roy Mustang sat up slowly, his head pounding. As his vision came back to him he observed his surroundings. He was in a dark room, with nothing but a couch and a small end table. Behind the couch, which he was laying on, was a door, a single crack letting a sliver of light into the room. His uniform was folded neatly on the end table next to a glass of water, and he realized he was only in a light shirt and shorts. He quickly put it back on, and, finding that his gloves were missing, moved hesitantly towards the door.
He peered through the crack and saw a room with decoration as minimalist as the one he was in. A single table was in the center of the room with four chairs placed around it, and a single plain light hung from the ceiling. In one of the chairs sat a woman, sipping what looked to be tea from a small cup.
"You can come in," she said, still facing away from him.
He gently opened the door and stepped into the room. Awkwardly he stood behind her, unsure of what to do next.
"You can sit down if you'd like," she said.
He did as she said, hesitantly waiting for something to happen.
"Who-" he started, but she cut him off before he could ask his question.
"My name is Ishizu Ishtar. But the real question is who are you? A mysterious person who appeared suddenly in front of me on the street."
"My name is General Roy Mustang. Where am I?"
"You are in a hotel in Domino City. I brought you here after you appeared. You've been passed out for almost four hours."
"Domino City?" he asked, a grim feeling coming over him. "I've never heard of it before. What country is that in?"
The woman hesitated, seeming confused by his question. "Japan," she said finally.
Roy reeled internally. He had never even heard of that country before. And the woman in front of him looked like an Ishvalan, which didn't help the situation.
"How did I get here, what happened, how far are we from Amestris?" The questions poured out of his mouth unintentionally as he became more concerned. The woman, however, remained calm as ever when she answered him.
"I'm sorry, but I have traveled the world and never have I heard of this 'Amestris.' As for how you got here, I know nothing other than that you appeared in front of me out of thin air. It would seem something has happened and brought you into this world from far away."
"You talk as if people showing up out of nowhere is normal."
"I have seen a lot in my life, people magically appearing is nothing great to me."
Roy paused. This woman, Ishizu Ishtar, had an aura of power and understanding, he could feel it. Suddenly another question came to mind.
"When I was brought here I was wearing a pair of gloves. They were white with red circles on the back. Do you have them?"
She pulled the gloves out from under the table. "I was examining them, I apologize. They are rather interesting, metallic fibers sown in so that they create a spark. Tell me, what do the figures on the back mean?"
He took the gloves, putting them on. The soft material was familiar against his skin. "They are a weapon of sorts, allowing me to…" He stopped, not sure why he was explaining this to a total stranger. "Never mind, it's not important." Without making anything obvious, he placed his hands into his lap and focused on the transmutation circles that were now on the back of his hands. He didn't want to do anything major, just change the air in front of him enough to make sure that they were still working properly.
For a moment the familiar flow of power rushed through him, but suddenly subsided and disappeared. Nothing in the air changed and no bolts of energy lightened the room. His alchemy wasn't working.
"Whatever power you were trying to summon, I don't believe it works in this world," the woman said, still extremely calm.
"How did you know what I was trying to do?"
"Once I held an item of great power which gave me the power to see everything, past, present, and future. Even though I no longer have it, I still retain some of that ability."
"Why are you telling me all this? You don't even know me."
"I know what I observe and sense. You are a good man, although you keep much to yourself. You are hardened by years of fighting, and you are far from home. Because of these things I believe you deserve the information I'm giving you." She set her cup down and folded her hands in her lap. "Now General Mustang, there is something you will need if you are going to go out into this world. Follow me."
She got up and led him into a side room, which had a single table. On the table was a silver briefcase, which she opened and motioned for him to look into. Inside the case were cards. Hundreds of them, all with different depictions of creatures and items on them. Some were tan around the edge, some were pink, and others still were green or blue. A faint echo of power resonated around them, as if the cards themselves were going to come to life.
"What are these?" He asked, confused.
"In this world there is a game called Duel Monsters. This game is based off an ancient magic that summoned monsters and spells. In modern times the game is used for fun, settling disputed, and tournaments around the world. However, throughout history and especially in recent years there have been individuals able to summon the monsters into the world once again." She paused, her hand going up to her neck as if holding an invisible necklace. "You will need to build a deck and learn the rules of the game. If you have been brought into our world by some type of magic, then calling the spirits of these monsters might help you get home."
"Will you teach me?" Roy asked, skeptical of what the lady had said.
"I will, but only after you choose a deck. Forty-one cards, no less, no more.
"But how will I know what to choose?" he objected.
"Follow your heart, let it guide you to the right choice."
Hesitantly he stepped forward and picked up a stack of the cards. As his hand connected with the cards a small burst of energy erupted inside of him, like a fire in his chest. He began shuffling through the stack, setting aside those that he thought would be useful. It was easier than he imagined, certain cards felt right, like they were choosing him instead of the other way around. As he was picking through the last stack, he stopped suddenly. A card had caught his eye, a warrior with a sword in a blue and orange tunic, with a helmet of gleaming orange metal on his head.
"What is this one called?" he asked Ishizu.
"Ah, I suspected that you would choose that card. That is the Flame Swordsman."My arbitrary day gift was absolutely incredible. My secret Santa hit all of my main interests and proved why Reddit secret Santa is so much fun. My gifts are as follows:
1) An awesome California Surf book. I have flipped through it twice since I got it last night and am going to keep it in my office as a coffee table book.
2) A t-shirt in my favorite color which is navy blue.
3) A Batman Funko figure to add to my office collection.
4) A box of local chocolates from Chicago which unfortunately is not pictured because my wife and I ate them while unwrapping the rest of my gifts.
5) and finally, an awesome homemade arbitrary day card.
My secret Santa, hands down, won this exchange. I hope your Arbitrary Day was as good as mine.OTTAWA -- Rising house prices and consumer indebtedness, particularly among already indebted Canadians, is a worry because the economic picture could change without warning, Bank of Canada's Deputy Governor Sylvain Leduc said on Monday.
Speaking to a House of Commons finance committee, Leduc said the central bank has repeatedly warned about rising debt levels among consumers in case of an unexpected shock, even though the risk of an adverse event is low.
"House prices are going up, people are reaching maybe a bit more and getting a bit more indebted. And the fact that the indebtedness is rising the most for highly indebted people is really worrisome, because again the macro conjecture might change very quickly, putting people under stress, under duress," Leduc told the committee.
"So having to repay their loans, their debt, might be more complicated, putting stress not only on the macroeconomy but also on the financial system as a whole," he added.
Canada's long housing boom has prompted policymakers to tighten mortgage lending rules several times in recent years in a bid to cool the market and avoid the kind of housing crash that happened in the United States.
Leduc said Canada's financial system is strong enough to withstand a large and persistent rise in unemployment, which he said was the biggest risk facing its financial system.
"We've conducted model simulations to analyze the effects of such a shock and found that the buffers in the Canadian financial system would be sufficient to absorb its impact. So while there would be stress, the financial system would remain resilient," he said in his opening statement.Return of the Dark Sorcerer is a Final Fantasy VI mod that's been in development for about six years and has had many different hands on to help get it to where it is today.
This mod promises to showcase some of the more challenging aspects of FFVI modding, as well as plenty of fun and exciting new content -- from an all new cast of playable characters with customized movesets, a radically changed story with many new and customized events, new overworld maps, much assembly work, a new soundtrack, music player, a difficulty selection, a font change option, and lots of unique sprites.
It is a highly personalized modification of the original game and therefore naturally won't appeal to everyone. It's not a sequel or a prequel or a remake to FFVI, it is just a massive mod and customization of FFVI. If you go into it thinking like this I am sure you will have a much more enjoyable experience than expecting some high quality re-take on the game and coming out feeling disappointed. That being said, a lot of time and love has gone into this project and I'm very happy with how it has turned out thus far.
Current version is 1.8.3MP Mhairi Black has called on the Labour Party to "turn over a new leaf" and join forces with the SNP to oppose Tory plans for further welfare cuts.
The Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP hit out at plans by Labour MPs to abstain on the Welfare Reform and Work Bill if their party's amendments to it fail, saying their constituents are looking to them to take action.
Labour have rejected her calls, claiming abstention is the best way forward for the party as they agree with some parts of the Bill - which will receive its second reading in the House of Commons tomorrow - and disagree with others.
Speaking just days after her emphatic maiden speech, Miss Black said: "This week Labour party have the perfect opportunity to turn over a new leaf and join forces with the SNP to form the strong opposition we badly need. It is not enough for Labour simply to abstain on this Bill – they must join us in voting against it.
"To every Labour MP who has seen the impact of Tory welfare policies on their constituents I say this: your constituents are looking to you to grab this opportunity with both hands."
The Bill includes plans to cut the household benefits cap and limit child tax credits to two children per family.
Labour's amendment to it opposes the abolition of child poverty targets and changes to Employment and Support Allowance, however the party has offered to back the household welfare cap and plans to move mortgage support from grants to loans.
It makes no mention of the child tax credit change.
The SNP have also tabled amendments against the cuts it proposes.
Miss Black's comments came as new figures from the Scottish Government confirmed benefit sanctions by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) are hitting young people and lone parents the hardest.
Briefings published by the government show that young people account for more than 40 per cent of all Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) sanction decisions, while the number of sanctions imposed on lone parents increased by almost 43 per cent between 2010 and 2014.
More than a quarter of all JSA claimants sanctioned are also disabled.
The 20-year-old has now called for a moratorium on the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) "indefensible" sanctions while an urgent independent review of the policy is carried out.
She said: "Westminster’s sanctioning and conditionality regime is causing misery for people right across Scotland – leaving many people unable to afford basics like food for weeks at a time as part of a right-wing ideological Tory crusade to demonise the unemployed.
"These new figures from the Scottish Government show that young people and single parents are all being hit hardest by these indiscriminate, inhumane and completely indefensible sanctions.
"The SNP has already been clear that there needs to be an immediate root and branch review of the UK Government’s conditionality and sanctions regime - and that the DWP should not be allowed to impose any more unfair sanctions on vulnerable people while the review is ongoing.
“The Work and Pensions Select Committee has already twice called for a review and yet the UK Government has done absolutely nothing – which is exactly why I’ll be using my place on the committee to highlight the appalling impact of sanctions every step of the way."
An independent review has also been backed by front-line organisations such as Citizens Advice Scotland, the Church of Scotland and other charities – but Miss Black added that more devolved powers are needed to ensure Scotland is protected.
"We need more than a review of some of the worst aspects of the social security system", she said. "We need the powers here in Scotland to put a stop to this relentless assault on vulnerable people and to design a system which truly supports and empowers people into work, rather than punishing them.
"The Tories have shown time and time again that they can’t be trusted to take decisions on social security on Scotland’s behalf – and it’s time that these crucial powers are in Scotland’s hands, rather than Iain Duncan Smith’s."As part of an expanding programme of battlefield automation, the US Air Force has said it is now training more drone operators than fighter and bomber pilots and signalled the end of the era of the fighter pilot is in sight.
In a controversial shift in military thinking – one encouraged by the now-confirmed death of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a drone-strike on 5 August – the US air force is looking to hugely expand its fleet of unmanned aircraft by 2047.
Just three years ago, the service was able to fly just 12 drones at a time; now it can fly more than 50. At a trade conference outside Washington last week, military contractors presented a future vision in which pilotless drones serve as fighters, bombers and transports, even automatic mini-drones programmed to attack in swarms.
Contractors made presentations for "nano-size" drones the size of moths that can flit into buildings to gather intelligence; drone helicopters; large aircraft that could be used as strategic bombers and new mid-sized drones could act as jet fighters.
This Terminator-like vision in which future generations of fighter aces become cubicle-bound drone operators thousands of miles from conflict is already here: the deployment that began during the Bush administration has accelerated during the first seven months of Obama's term.
Some 5,000 robotic vehicles and drones are now deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. By 2015, the Pentagon's $230bn arms procurement programme Future Combat Systems expects to robotise around 15% of America's armed forces. In a recently published study, The Unmanned Aircraft System Flight Plan 2020-2047, air force generals predicted a boom in drone funding to $55bn by 2020 with the most exotic changes coming in the 2040s.
Last month, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates underscored the change in strategic thinking when he capped production of the F-22 Raptor, the US air force's most advanced interceptor, at just 187 planes, arguing that it was designed to fight 20th century super-power conflicts or "near-peer" engagements – and was not crucial to any future conflicts foreseen at the Pentagon.
In June Army General Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander in Afghanistan, said he couldn't envision a day when he had enough surveillance assets. "The capability provided by the unmanned aircraft is game-changing," offered General Norton Schwartz, the air force chief of staff. "We can have eyes 24/7 on our adversaries."
Some analysts view the Flight Plan study as a virtual death knell for the pilot profession and predict the F-22s' successor, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, could be the last piloted fighter program that is funded.
According to Oxford Analytica, the US is likely to account for 77% of global drone research and development and 64% of procurement over the next decade. US firms currently control more than 50% of the market and could gain a further 10% over the next decade.
As US domestic approval for the "Af-Pak" conflict slips (a new Washington Post poll found less than a quarter of the US public support sending more troops to Afghanistan), the reliance of drones is likely to grow, analysts say.
But with mounting civilian casualties, even as an estimated 100 Taliban militants and perhaps one half of al-Qaida leadership have been killed in drones attacks since September, there is rising Pakistani opposition to US strikes on its soil. Prime Minister Gilani repeated his requests this week for the transfer of drone technology to the Pakistani military. US officials have yet to publicly respond.
The air force study suggests areas of warfare too critical for automation, including dogfighting and nuclear-bombing, could eventually be handled by drones.
For now the numbers are overwhelming – 550 drone operators compared with 3,700 fighter and 900 bomber pilots – but a future in which pilots merely direct planes remotely is unsettling to many in 61-year-old service.
"Many aviators, in particular, believe that a'man in the loop' should remain an integral part of the nuclear mission because of the psychological perception that there is a higher degree of accountability and moral certainty with a manned bomber," wrote Adam Lowther in Armed Forces Journal in June.
Colonel Eric Mathewson, who directs the air force task force on pilotless aerial systems, has sought to downplay the study's most futuristic predictions. "We do not envision replacing all air force aircraft with UAS (unmanned aircraft systems)," he says.
The CIA runs its Pakistan-focused drone programme from its headquarters in Langley, Virginia, while the air force has designated Creech AFB, 35 miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada, as centre for operations for flights over Iraq and Afghanistan. No after-burners; no G-Force; no opportunity for "Top Gun" flair.
Currently, airborne drones are directed by trained pilots who then return to their assigned aircraft. This year, the service started training career drone operators with no airborne experience – they go to war in cubicles with a computer-game joystick and eight video screens.
"It is safe to say most pilots will always miss getting back in the air," Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Turner, who leads Predator and Reaper training at Creech, told the LA Times. "But we see where the air force is going."
The rapid development of drone aircraft has given smaller defence industry players, including General Atomics, makers of the MQ-1 Predator and the new, heavily armed MQ-9 Reaper that carries 14 Hellfire missiles and guided bombs, the chance to challenge established military contractors.
A British developer, QinetiQ, is currently developing an ultra long duration Zephyr high-altitude drone; another, Insitu, was recently acquired by Boeing after developing the Scan Eagle, a basic aerial platform originally designed for spotting ocean-going tuna.
Last April, BAE Systems announced it has won a contract to lead the development of crawling or flying robots designed to go into areas too dangerous for troops. General Atomics, in San Diego, has announced plans for the MQ-X, a three-in-one surveillance, attack and cargo drone.
Wonder at the sci-fi inspired technology, including the 2.3 gigapixel, Predator-mounted camera Gorgon Stare and Northrop Grumman's high-altitude Global Hawk, is not shared on the ground where it widely viewed as cowardice.
Plans for drones that could be directed autonomously present the military with a dilemma. Autonomous swarms of drones preprogrammed to attack on their own is, at the least, unnerving and legally problematic.
In Wired for War, author Pete Singer speculates the machines are harbingers of a new era of "cost-free war". In the Washington Post poll showing a majority of US public view the war in Afghanistan as "not worthing fighting", the detached appeal of drone combat is self-evident.
"It's a historic change," says Singer. "Going to war has meant the same thing for 5,000 years. Now going to war means sitting in front of a computer screen for 12 hours. Then you go home and talk to your kids about their homework."Richard Pitino will leave Louisville to replace Isiah Thomas as the head coach at Florida International. The story was originally reported by AllKyHoops.com.
The most interesting aspect of the news for Louisville fans is the fact that Rick Pitino had previously stated that all three of his new assistants had to sign a contract forcing them to stay at U of L for at least two seasons. Pitino was apparently looking to maintain some stability on his staff after Tim Fuller bolted for Missouri following just one season with the Cardinals.
Richard Pitino, 29, began his career as an assistant coach in 2004. He spent the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons working for his father at Louisville, before leaving for a two-year stint at Florida. He then returned to U of L and helped lead the Cardinals to the Final Four this past season.
Richard will be walking into a bit of a mess at FIU. The Golden Panthers were just 26-65 in three seasons under Thomas, but that didn't stop players from walking out of an awards banquet earlier this week to protest his firing.
I know he has great ties in Florida, but it seems like a better (or at least far more stable) jumping off point would have been available for Richard had he held out a little bit longer. That said, best of luck to him at FIU.An upper caste villager from Dumbar village in Tikamgarh district has left to take a dip in the Ganga, in keeping with local custom, after he killed a cow belonging to a lower caste villager in a fit of anger. Mohan Tiwari, 40, reportedly got angry because the cow, owned by Shankar Ahirwar, entered his field more than once. He allegedly hit the animal with a sharp weapon.
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When word spread that the cow had died, members of the Brahmin community met and ordered that Tiwari undergo punishment that involves taking a dip in the Ganga and organising a feast for the village. Ahirwar was not keen on filing a police complaint after reportedly striking a deal with the upper caste villager.
Inspector Kailash Babu Arya said that Bajrang Dal activists forced Ahirwar to lodge a police complaint. Arya said post mortem was conducted and after it was established that the animal died of injuries, Tiwari was booked under the Madhya Pradesh Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act.
Arya said the villagers were under the impression that the cow had died on Friday but that was not the case. The animal died on Saturday morning. He said neither the complainant nor the villagers came clean on the amount Tiwari had agreed to pay to him. Quoting the complainant, the police official said he did not want to approach the police after the caste panchayat’s decision but was made to approach the police by right-wing activists. Arya said Tiwari was likely to return on Sunday.MANGALORE: In a fresh vigilante group attack, a Muslim woman was assaulted at Karmar in Bajpe, near here, allegedly by a fringe mob.Deeba Algani, 23, was attacked because she was travelling in a car with a person from another community. Her mother, Zubeida, is an independent member of the Padubidri gram panchayat. Deeba, who was admitted to Government Wenlock Hospital here, told TOI she was beaten up by a mob of 20 persons on Wednesday night."The mob waylaid our car, pushed us out and assaulted us. They asked me why I was travelling with a Hindu. I heard the miscreants talking over phone in the Beary language and referring to KFD (Karnataka Forum for Dignity). I can identify those who assaulted us," she added.Her mother, Zubeida alleged that the group snatched her cellphone and robbed her of Rs 3.07 lakh. "I had taken a house on lease at Bajpe from realtor Dharma a week ago. I had given my daughter Rs 3 lakh to pay Dharma. Deeba had another Rs 7,000 in her purse," she said."We were in Mangalore city to purchase home appliances for our new house. Since there were a lot of appliances in my car, I asked Deeba to return with Dharma in his car. Both cars started together, but our car moved ahead. Miscreants waylaid their car and attacked them," Zubeida said.Zubeida was elected to the gram panchayat with BJP's support. Dharma was admitted to a private hospital in the city. Bajpe police have registered a case.Popular Front of India (PFI) denied any role in the incident. Its district secretary Abdul Majeed said: "The issue has been brought to our notice. We're inquiring into it."Swedish LGBT non-governmental organisation RFSL has released a bizarre and overtly graphic sex brochure directed at transsexual and homosexual asylum seekers.
The brochure, entitled “Sexual Health and Rights in Sweden” covers a variety of topics from information on the transmission of HIV to the rights of asylum seekers who are gay or transsexual. The booklet is illustrated with graphic illustrations of explicit sex acts by artist Bitte Andersson.
A number of the illustrations show group sex between crudely drawn people, some who appear to be gay, disabled, or transsexual.
Andersson is also a director and actress who has worked in film. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), she is the writer and director of the 2014 film Dyke Hard.
Aside from the overtly graphic depictions of sex, the 32-page booklet tells new migrants to Sweden: “If you are trans you can get medical help transitioning into a body that suits your gender identity. You can also change your legal gender.” The group describes six clinics across the country where transsexual asylum seekers can procure hormones or sexual reassignment surgeries for any migrant over the age of 16.
The brochure claims to be targetted at any asylum seeker over the age of 15, which is the legal age of consent in Sweden.
According to the group’s website, RFSL stands for The Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Rights and was formed in 1950.
For the next two years, the RFSL has set several goals including advocating for “LGBTQ people’s right to asylum and opportunity to live in the country of their choice”. They also mention the need for more organisations to be open to LGBT people including religious organisations and advocate the changing of laws to make groups “more open”.
The ideals of the organisation are sharply contrasted by reports from migrant-populated no-go areas like the Stockholm suburb of Husby where feminists have complained that Islamic fundamentalists rule the streets. Some women have complained of harassment and threats from Muslim men over the way they dress and other issues that conflict with fundamental Islamic teaching.Kurdish militia have driven The Islamic State militants from the Syrian border town of Kobane after months of heavy fighting, a monitor and spokesman said Monday, dealing a crucial blow to the jihadists.
Across the border in Iraq meanwhile, a top army officer announced troops had "liberated" Diyala province from IS jihadists.
In Syria, the Kurdish advance marked the culmination of a battle lasting more than four months in which nearly 1,800 people were killed.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) had pushed IS militants from all of Kobane.
They "expelled all Islamic State fighters from Kobane and have full control of the town," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
"The Kurds are pursuing some jihadists on the eastern outskirts of Kobane, but there is no more fighting inside now."
Despite the news, the Pentagon has declined to declare the battle for the Syrian town Kobani over.
"I am not prepared to say the battle there is won. The battle continues. But as of now, friendly forces... I believe, have the momentum," said Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren.
It is a battle that has cost the Kurdish forces heavy casualties. Six months into the jihadist offensive in Iraq, Kurdish soldiers said they had lost more than 700 fighters and argued the burden of hosting a million displaced civilians was becoming unsustainable.
Since the Islamic State group launched a devastating offensive from Syria on June 9, Iraq's Kurds have been involved in battles along a frontline stretching more than 600 miles.
A statement from the region's military forces, known as the peshmerga, said 727 members of the Kurdish security forces had been killed and 3,564 wounded since June 10.
The jihadists believed they would quickly conquer the small town in northern Syria, which was little known to the outside world before the deadly fighting broke out.
IS took over dozens of villages surrounding Kobane, known in Arabic as Ain al-Arab, besieging the town's Kurdish fighters.
Tens of thousands of civilians have fled across the border into Turkey in fear of the reputed brutality of the IS fighters.0
Last night, Vin Diesel posted a very sneaky (and “top secret”) video announcement on his Facebook page with some major updates for the next two movies in the Fast and Furious franchise. There has been some turmoil of late within the Family, after Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham were given their own spinoff, which prompted a purported feud between Diesel and The Rock, which Diesel then addressed earlier this month. But In a live video from the secret set, Diesel has unveiled the news that might set fans’ minds at ease.
As far as where things go from here, there were rumors earlier this month that director Justin Lin would return to the franchise, and now Diesel has confirmed that in his new Facebook video. Not only will Lin be back for Fast and Furious 9 and 10, but he also was adamant about the return of Jordana Brewster’s Mia Toretto, sister of Diesel’s Dom (if your memory is hazy about the details of her character, check out our full Fast & Furious Character Guide). Watch the full announcement below (he rambles for a bit at the beginning, but stick with it):
Lin is credited, of course, with turning the whole Fast franchise around with Tokyo Drift and then the following 3 films, and with some of the discord that’s been brewing behind the scenes (as well as the visually fun but narratively lackluster The Fate of the Furious), now seems like a good time for Lin to come back and resurrect the franchise he helped build into a phenomenon. With the last Fast & Furious movies making over $1 billion at the box office, it’s an extremely important franchise for Universal (especially since their Dark Universe seems like it’s dead in the water), so it’s not surprising that they would court Lin to return to put the franchise back on the right path.
Let us know what you think about the announcement in the comments!Iran has 'other options' if nuclear deal falls through under Donald Trump, Foreign Minister says
Posted
Iran wants all parties to stick to an international nuclear deal but has "options" if that does not happen, its Foreign Minister said after the US election victory of Donald Trump, who has vowed to pull out of the pact.
Key points: Deal is not bilateral for one side to scrap: FM
Trump has called the pact both a "disaster" and "the worst deal ever negotiated"
FM says not fulfilling its obligations under the pact would be "unwise" for the US
"Of course Iran's options are not limited but our hope and our desire and our preference is for the full implementation of the nuclear agreement, which is not bilateral for one side to be able to scrap," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
President Barack Obama's outgoing administration touted the July 2015 deal reached between Iran and six world powers as a way to pre-empt Tehran's suspected drive to develop atomic weapons by curbing its enrichment of uranium.
In return Mr Obama, a Democrat, agreed to a lifting of sanctions on Iran.
Republican Mr Trump called the nuclear pact a "disaster" and "the worst deal ever negotiated" during his election campaign and said it could lead to a "nuclear holocaust".
The accord removed sanctions in return for Iran reducing the number of its uranium-enrichment centrifuges by two-thirds, capping its level of uranium enrichment well below the level needed for bomb-grade material, reducing its enriched uranium stockpile, and accepting UN inspections to verify compliance.
"Our strong preference as a party that has remained fully committed and implemented its side of the bargain... is for every member and participant and for international community to continue to remain committed to the agreement," Mr Zarif said after meeting his Slovak counterpart Miroslav Lajcak.
"But it doesn't mean we don't have other options if the USA unwisely decides to move away from its obligations under the agreement."
When asked whether he hoped for a similarly good working relationship with Mr Trump's future secretary-of-state as he had with the outgoing John Kerry, Mr Zarif said it would not be necessary.
"We had a long nuclear negotiation between Iran and the United States. I do not expect another negotiation, certainly not on the nuclear issue, but nor on any other subjects so that I would need to establish a same type of contact with the new secretary of state, whoever that may be," he said.
Former US House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich — who has said he would renegotiate the nuclear deal with Iran, has been floated as a potential secretary of state under Mr Trump, according to political sources.
Reuters
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Neil Peart:
Rockin' and rollin'...rollin'...rollin'
Cycle World Magazine
February 2003 |
's also hard to unravel people's motivations or to understand what their assumptions are when they make changes.
Bottom line: There may be a growing chorus of veggie cheerleaders, but don't assume everyone is influenced by them.News Release (510) 486-4019 •
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A new way of surveying microbes for the metals they contain reveals that biologists have been relying on the equivalent of a 15th century map of the world.
It turns out that there are many more metal-containing proteins in microbes than previously recognized.
This means the microbial world boasts a broader and more diverse array of metal-driven chemical processes than scientists have imagined. In fact, most have yet to be discovered, according to a first-of-its-kind survey of the metals in three microbes conducted by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in collaboration with scientists at the University of Georgia.
Their research will help chart a more complete understanding of the far-reaching roles of microbial metals in biology and the Earth’s climate. It could also lead to new ways to harness metal-driven chemical processes to create next-generation biofuels or to clean up environmental contaminants.
Microbes assimilate metals from their environment and incorporate them into proteins in order to power life’s most important chemical processes, such as photosynthesis, respiration, and DNA repair. Metal-containing proteins in microbes also helped oxygenate the planet’s atmosphere billions of years ago, enabling life as we know it, and they continue to play a critical role in the Earth’s carbon cycle.
But the diversity and extent of microbial metals had eluded scientists until now.
“This is a huge surprise. It reveals how naive we are about the wide range of chemistries that microbes do,” says John Tainer of Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division and the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. Tainer conducted the research with Michael Adams of the University of Georgia and a team of scientists that includes Steven Yannone and Gary Siuzdak of Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division.
The scientists report their research July 18 in an advance online publication of the journal Nature.
Using state-of-the-art techniques, the team catalogued the metals in three microbes: one that lives in human intestines, one plucked from a hotspring in Yellowstone National Park, and one that thrives in the near-boiling waters of undersea thermal vents.
They uncovered a microbial world far richer in metals than ever expected. For example, in the undersea thermal-vent loving microbe, or Pyrococcus furiosus, they found metals such as lead, manganese, and molybdenum that P. furiosus wasn’t known to use.
The scientists traced these newfound metals to the proteins that contain them, called metalloproteins. They discovered four new metalloproteins in the microbe, which increased the number of known metalloproteins in P. furiosus by almost a quarter. Their discovery also increased the number of nickel-containing enzymes in all of biology from eight to ten.
A similar survey of the other two microbes unearthed additional unexpected metals and new metalloproteins. Based on this sizeable haul from only three microbes, the team believes that metalloproteins are much more extensive and diverse in the microbial world than scientists realized.
“We thought we knew most of the metalloproteins out there,” says Tainer. “But it turns out we only know a tiny fraction of them. We now have to look at microbial genomes with a fresh eye.”
The team used a first-of-its-kind combination of two techniques to envisage this uncharted microbial landscape. Biochemical fractionation enabled them to take apart a microbe while keeping its proteins intact and stable, ready to be analyzed in their natural state. Next, a technology called inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry allowed them to identify extremely low quantities of individual metals in these proteins.
Together, these tools provide a quick tally of the metalloproteins in a microbe.
The current way to discover metalloproteins is much slower. Simply stated, it involves genetically sequencing a microbe, identifying the proteins encoded by its genes, and structurally characterizing each protein.
“Standard methods of identifying metalloproteins can take years,” says Yannone. “By directly surveying all microbial proteins for metals we can rapidly identify the majority of metalloproteins within any cell.”
In addition to gaining a better understanding of the biochemical diversity of microbes, the team’s new metal-hunting technique could expedite the search for new biochemical capabilities in microbial life that can be harnessed for clean energy development, carbon sequestration, and other applications.
“If you want to degrade cellulose to make biofuel, and you know the enzymes involved require a specific metal-driven chemistry, then you can use this technique to find those enzymes in microbes,” says Yannone.
Adds Tainer, “Knowing that all of these metal-containing proteins are out there, waiting to be found, is kind of like being in a candy store. We might discover new proteins that we can put to use.”
The research was funded by the Department of Energy Office of Science.
Berkeley Lab scientists provided the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry equipment. They contributed to the experimental design and data analysis in collaboration with University of Georgia scientists.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory provides solutions to the world’s most urgent scientific challenges including clean energy, climate change, human health, and a better understanding of matter and force in the universe. It is a world leader in improving our lives and knowledge of the world around us through innovative science, advanced computing, and technology that makes a difference. Berkeley Lab is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory managed by the University of California for the DOE Office of Science. Visit our website.
Additional information:
The paper describing this work, titled, “Microbial metalloproteomes are largely uncharacterized” appears in the July 18, 2010 advance online publication of the journal Nature.
This research is part of the MAGGIE (Molecular Assemblies, Genes and Genomes Integrated Efficiently) project supported by Department of Energy.As Jonny Daniels was paying his respects in his Polish ancestors’ Jewish cemetery three months ago, he was privy to a most gruesome sight.
Standing side by side with Poland’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Marek Sawicki in Dobrzyn nad Wisla, a small town on the Vistula River in central Poland, Daniels suddenly saw a bone, and then a ball and socket joint.
Daniels, the head of From the Depths, an organization dedicated to memorializing victims of the Holocaust, recalls exclaiming out loud, “I think that’s a human bone!”
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Startled, unsure what to do, he called Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich, who advised Daniels to collect the remains for reburial in Warsaw. He began picking up the scattered bones and soon found a jaw bone and other human remains.
“There’s nothing more horrific than out of nowhere picking up teeth. It could literally have been my great-grandfather,” says London-born Daniels, who reburied the gathered remains that same day in a Warsaw Jewish cemetery.
The ghastly state of Poland’s decrepit Jewish graveyards is nothing new. But From the Depths, founded a year ago with a board including soccer coach Avram Grant, politician Dalia Itzik and Yad Vashem’s Shevach Weiss, with its new Matzeva Project has gained surprising results.
The recent initiative to reclaim Jewish gravestones which were repurposed for other use during the Nazi regime and ensuing Communist rule in Poland was successfully instituted in Warsaw, which this week announced it will return and preserve 1,000 tombstones.
Elsewhere in Poland, the project has led From the Depths to small towns hiding big crimes.
Sunday, August 17, in Wizajny, a village in northeastern Poland close to the Lithuanian border, a mass grave of some 2,000 Jews slaughtered in the Holocaust was discovered based on eyewitness testimony taken by one of From the Depths’ cadre of young Polish volunteers.
Using borrowed ground-penetrating radar equipment and a rough sketch taken from the elderly witness, the team was able to pinpoint the abandoned grave.
Daniels says his volunteers were in tears as they retold the witness’s testimony. The 2,000 Jews were lined up in front of a pit they had dug and shot in the back by the Nazis. One large, strong man, after being shot, didn’t immediately fall and instead looked the murderers in the eyes and said to them, “God will judge you.”
The townspeople told the Polish volunteers that blood seeped out of the hill for months afterwards.
For Daniels, his organization’s work is a race against time. As the elderly survivors and witnesses to Nazi horrors die, any hope of finding and marking graves perishes with them.
On such sites as a new volleyball field, a garbage heap, a factory or a planned playground, Daniels hopes to restore gravestones — and respect — to locations throughout Poland. At the same time he is working to find and mark the graves of Nazi victims found in rural farmers’ backyards.
He tells the story of the Kowalski family, poor Polish farmers who courageously took in two Jewish girls and hid them in a bunker in their basement. Informed on by their neighbors, the Nazis came, rounded up the girls and the whole family aside from one absent son, and burnt them alive in their barn.
Daniels says he was the first Jew to return to that house, which is unchanged since the Holocaust. He was shown the bunker, left in the same condition as when the girls hid.
In the nearby cornfield is a patch where nothing will grow. This is where the burnt barn stood. Today From the Depths has erected a marker over the mass grave of their charred remains.
But sometimes it is less clear where the remains lie. Daniels tells of a father and son who were discovered at a farmer’s house. To give his son chance of escape, the father ran towards the Nazis while his son fled in the other direction. An eyewitness told From the Depths that he’d seen the father fall somewhere near a pear tree.
Using the ground-penetrating radar technology, the skeleton was found and another unmarked grave given a name.
“Whether it’s one person or thousands, we’re trying to deal with it,” said Daniels.
Since ground-penetrating radar equipment costs around $250,000 per device, the organization borrows the gear from various organizations, including archaeology departments at universities. It is also from these faculties that most of its volunteers arrive.
Provided with food, lodging and travel stipends, young students spread out in rural Poland and investigate what happened to the dead from the over 1,000 Jewish shtetls that once dotted the landscape.
The database from the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute gives the students an indication of a geographical area to search. When they arrive, the students’ first stop is always the local liquor store, both a gathering place and town depot of sorts in rural Poland.
Their next stop is the village gossip, someone who is known to speak freely and be in the know. Next, says Daniels, it’s wise to turn to the local junk dealer, who often has “kiddush cups or even a Torah scroll knocking around.”
In a Polish small town, says Daniels, residents will often tell the volunteers quietly who among their neighbors is likely to have grave markers. He recounts one case in which they were told, “We don’t have any gravestones, but I think the man in No. 7 does.”
When the team arrived at No. 7, the resident denied having any markers, but said “by the way” that he had a mass grave in the backyard. Twelve Jewish forced laborers were shot in front of a pit they had dug after the Nazis didn’t have any more use for them, said the resident.
The non-Jewish Polish student volunteers are the face of the organization in rural Poland and, unlike Daniels, have borne the brunt of latent anti-Semitism. Daniels tells of one student who was asked by her friends, “Why are you hanging around with those Jews?” He says one member of her friend group somewhat jokingly broke a beer bottle and said, “Let’s go get those Jews.”
However, the organization has begun partnership projects with several Polish universities and he is hopeful for more. In addition to the undergraduates, it is working with three graduate students who are writing their dissertations on the reclamation of the gravestones.
The potential for unearthing grave markers and mass graves is endless, says Daniels.
“The issue of mass graves can be solved. We can find almost all of them with experts and money to pay for them. But it will take time and work,” he says.
He is optimistic that with proper funding, From the Depths will be able to find them one by one, and emphasizes that the organization’s work is pressing with the approach of the long Polish winter creating impossible work conditions, and eyewitnesses’ ever-frail health.
“Especially in Poland, Belorussia, Ukraine, you throw a stone and you hit a site of Jewish interest. It’s more a matter of where to begin,” he says.Email Share +1 4K Shares
The government of Botswana announced on Tuesday it has deported an anti-LGBT U.S. pastor from the country.
Steven Anderson told a Botswana radio station during an interview on Tuesday that the government should kill gays and lesbians. He also described the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Fla., as “disgusting homosexuals who the Bible says were worthy of death.”
Botswana immigration officers were with Anderson when he left the radio station.
Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana said it received a report that Anderson assaulted someone who attended his church service on Monday. The advocacy group wrote on its blog that Anderson called the person “a fag, a homosexual and with a mouth full of AIDS” before he was forcibly removed.
LGBT rights advocates launched a petition last week that urged the Botswana government to ban Anderson from entering the country.
Anderson, who is a pastor at the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Ariz., arrived in Botswana on Sept. 15. The government of neighboring South Africa announced earlier this month that it had banned him from entering the country.
A State Department official referred the Washington Blade to the Botswana government for comment “on their policy regarding individuals affiliated with the Faithful World Baptist Church.”
Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana criticized the government from allowing Anderson into the country. The group nevertheless applauded the decision to deport him and “in the process defended its citizens.”
“We applaud the people of Botswana who have stood with us to protect, defend and promote human rights in our country,” said Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana.AN OLIGARCH’s daughter, 20, has killed six people including a schoolgirl, 15, after “jumping a red light at a pedestrian crossing”.
There was carnage in the streets of Ukrainian city Kharkiv after a speeding Lexus struck a VW Touareg, police said.
East2west News 13 Alyona Zaitseva was allegedly involved in a crash that killed six people
The Lexus completely overturned and landed on its wheels before mowing down people waiting on the pavement at a pedestrian crossing, cops said.
Heiress Alyona Zaitseva's armed bodyguards reportedly drove up in two jeeps immediately after the crash and protected her from a furious crowd who witnessed the appalling crash.
The dead included a 15-year-old schoolgirl.
One onlooker who was trying to help the injured said: "It's like a war zone."
East2west News 13 A Lexus is said to have flipped over and slammed into a crowd of people
East2west News 13 Witnesses try to help the injured in the aftermath of the horror crash
East2west News 13 A view from above shows the carnage in the street in the wake of the collision
East2west News 13 Stunned witnesses stand next to dead bodies in the street after the smash
Ms Zaitseva, 20, daughter of local energy company multi-millionaire Vasily Zaitsev, was uninjured.
A shocking video of the aftermath of the crash showed bodies strewn on the pavement.
Among the seriously wounded is a woman who is seven months pregnant, described as being in a grave condition in hospital.
Student Ms Zaitseva was detained initially for three days.
Rex Features 13 Bodies litter the streets in the aftermath of the shocking crash in Kharkiv, Ukraine
East2west News 13 The other car involved in the smash was allegedly driving through a green light
East2west News 13 Emergency workers arrived and cordoned off the scene of the accident
Rex Features 13 Six people were killed in the crash, including a 15-year-old schoolgirl
East2west News 13 Wreckage is strewn across the street after the fatal car accident in Ukraine
Police said she was found not to have been drinking before the crash.
If convicted of causing the crash, she faces up to ten years in jail.
Local bloggers expressed fears that because of her powerful father she will be exonerated despite witnesses saying she sped through the red light.
Rex Features 13 Investigators examine the scene of the horrific smash which killed six people
Rex Features 13 Zaitseva had to be protected from a crowd by her bodyguards after the crash
Rex Features 13 The front of the other car involved in the crash is completely mangled
The driver of the Touareg, Gennady Dronov, 49, was on a green light when the vehicles collided, according to witnesses.
Three of the dead were named as Elena Berchenko, 25, Yury Neudachin, 24, Oksana Nesterenko, 36.
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We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.“You just gotta be smarter than the government,” boasted arms dealer Marc Morales to an undercover FBI agent in 2008. He was explaining how he had secured lucrative arms deals abroad by giving so-called commissions — including armoured cars — to intermediaries.
Following the sting, Morales was indicted alongside 21 others for bribing a foreign official but the trial in Washington DC collapsed in 2011 as a series of juries struggled to reach verdicts.
Marc Morales uploaded photos on January 29, 2015, of him testing weapons at the Zastava factory, Kragujevac, Serbia.
Photo: Facebook
Today, his new firm, Global Ordnance, is one of the most important players in the Pentagon’s supply-line arming Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, ISIS.
He and 13 other US contractors are competing to secure a slice of up to US$ 2.2 billion worth of Soviet-style arms and ammunition to be delivered to the rebels by 2022, sourced mostly from state-owned arms producers based in the Balkans and Eastern Europe and often negotiated over drinks and dinners in the restaurants and bars of Belgrade, Budapest and Bucharest [see gallery].
The firms were selected, vetted and contracted through two channels: the Picatinny Arsenal, a New Jersey military base, and the Pentagon’s Special Operations Command, SOCOM.
But Morales is not alone in facing or having faced questions about his past, according to an investigation by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, OCCRP.
Senior executives for other two contractors – Vose Technical Services and Purple Shovel – and a major sub-contractor, Regulus Global, have been accused of fraud, providing dangerous ammunition that exploded causing the death of a SOCOM instructor and bribery respectively.
Leaked flight cargo documents also reveal that SOCOM accepted direct deliveries from a Bulgarian firm Algans, which was investigated for its involvement in the deadly blast and whose owner is the former business partner of a notorious organised crime figure. One set of deliveries was received by the Pentagon after the fatal explosion.
And Heinrich Thomet, a businessman at the centre of a scandal involving the Pentagon’s supply of ammunition to Afghanistan from Albania in 2008, is again involved in providing the US government with munitions through one of its blue-chip contractors, UK defence giant Chemring.
The findings raise questions about the Pentagon’s vetting process, according to an expert interviewed by BIRN and OCCRP.
But while the Pentagon can decide to bar companies from bidding for contracts based on previous convictions and, in some circumstances, allegations of wrongdoing, it is not obliged to do so.
Pentagon spokesman Mark Wright said contractors were subjected to a “rigorous vetting process.” This includes checking the quality and source of the arms and ammunition to avoid supplies from “unapproved sources” such as North Korea, Iran and Syria.
However, he acknowledged, “mistakes are still possible,” adding that the vetting process does not routinely include checking the criminal records of company executives.
“They [contracted firms] have to follow the rules in hiring people that are eligible,” he said.
Paying the ‘Commission’
In 2010, Morales was among 22 arms executives indicted by the US Department of Justice on charges of trying to bribe Gabon’s Minister of Defence to secure a $15 million arms contract. The Gabon deal was, in fact, a work of FBI fiction, set up to root out bribery of foreign officials in the arms industry.
Two undercover FBI agents posed as representatives of Gabon’s Ministry of Defence and explained to Morales and his partner, John Gregory Godsey, that they would inflate the price by 20 per cent and call it a “commission”. Half of this was to go to the defence minister and the other half was to be split among intermediaries, according to court files.
This is an abridged transcript of a wiretapped conversation between Marc Morales and FBI informant Richard Bistrong from a 2010 court case. Charges were eventually dropped against Morales. For the full conversation click here.
“If somebody says to me, I need twenty per cent … I … [say] is the twenty per cent gonna guarantee me the business?” Morales was recorded saying to the agents in an unnamed Miami restaurant in 2008, prior to the proposal being put to him. “Nobody wants to violate the FCPA [Foreign Corrupt Practices Act] … but everybody knows it happens.”
During the meetings, Morales described “creative” ways he had previously paid “commissions” to foreign agents to secure weapons deals, such as justifying the gift of a $100k armoured car for an Egyptian middleman as a business expense.
“I mean, that was a $100,000 vehicle. That’s a very creative way of paying a rep’s fee,” Morales bragged.
After learning that he had won the first contract to procure 30,000 rounds of ammunition from Gabon, Morales and his partner Godsey wired the “commission” to the undercover FBI agent.
This is an abridged transcript of a wiretapped conversation between Marc Morales and FBI informant Richard Bistrong from a 2010 court case. Charges were eventually dropped against Morales. For the full conversation click here.
Twenty-one other dealers agreed to pay “commissions” as well. It was the biggest ever case of its kind.
Three dealers – Jonathan Spiller, Haim Geri, and Daniel Alvirez – pleaded guilty to bribing a foreign official, while the 19 others denied the charges, arguing that a “commission” was not the same as a “bribe”.
In February 2012, charges were dropped against all 22 after juries failed to reach a verdict on seven defendants – including Morales – during two separate trials. Three defendants – Godsey, Stephen Giordanella and Patrick Caldwell – were cleared and trials against nine had not even started.
The US Department of Justice took the unusual step of withdrawing all charges because of criticism by the judge in the second trial, who pointed out “structural deficiencies” in the case.
Morales’ set up Global Ordnance in 2013, after the collapse of the bribery trial. His new company has gone on to secure nearly $72 million in munitions as part of SOCOM’s contract supplying Syrian rebels with arms, including machine guns, mortar rounds and other weapons and ammunition from mostly state-owned producers in Serbia and Bulgaria.
And his ties to the Pentagon’s arms pipeline to Syria are more extensive than just the SOCOM contract. The Florida-based firm has also been working with British military giant Chemring, one of two firms to secure the largest Pentagon contract for Eastern Bloc ammunition, worth $750 million over five years and signed in April 2016 to supply munitions to Syria.
The contract is run through the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, which has recently awarded Global Ordnance its own contract and selected it alongside three other firms – including Chemring – to bid to supply a further $500 million of Eastern Bloc weaponry up until August 2022.
Asked if Chemring was concerned to be working with Morales given his comments in the FBI wiretaps, a Chemring spokesman said, “Chemring Group companies operate strict sale-of-goods and anti-bribery policies which ensure that they are fully compliant with all relevant legislation.”
Contacted on his mobile phone, Morales refused to answer questions.
The Russian Helicopter Fraud
Small firms, big contracts
Analysis of SOCOM’s contracted firms reveals that most are classified as small businesses, while half are owned by veterans or service-disabled veterans, which gives them priority in obtaining US contracts. All but two– Purple Shovel and Sierra Four – had secured more than $5million of contracts to supply munitions to the Pentagon before 2015 and seven – Blane International, Global Ordnance, Multinational Defense Services, Purple Shovel, Sierra Four Industries, Trident Rifles and UDC USA – had six or fewer staff and turnovers of less than $4 million before they began to secure multi-million-dollar weapons deals, according to official procurement documents. Only Blane International and Purple Shovel responded to written requests for comment on their experience. Purple Shovel said it was skilled and experienced to do the job, while Blane International said it had no comment.
Vose Technical Systems of Tacoma in the US state of Washington has secured SOCOM deals worth $16 million since the beginning of the Syria train and equip programme, buying weapons and ammunition from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The company is run by Greg Vose, a veteran of the arms trade, and his sister, Deborah, who is the firm’s president. This qualifies Vose Technical Systems as a female-owned business, giving it preferential treatment under Pentagon procurement rules.
One of their executives, Jeffrey Howard Stayton, was sentenced to five years jail in 2008 for fraud and obstructing justice. In 2011, his fraud conviction was overturned, after it was ruled the original judge had misdirected the jury, and resentencing ordered for the obstructing justice conviction. A retrial for fraud has never been held “given the age of the case”, a spokesman for the DOJ explained.
Court papers reveal that Stayton, then a Pentagon employee, helped award a $4.7 million contract to supply and refit Russian helicopters to a company owned by his long-time friend, William Curtis Childree. Stayton approved the final payment to the company although it didn’t complete the work. Subsequently, Childree wired $61,000 to Stayton.
Stayton did not disclose the payment and said it was a loan from a friend to pay off the second mortgage on his home.
Greg Vose said Stayton now works for a sister company and was not directly involved in the SOCOM contracts.
Stayton was director of aviation at Vose Technical Systems when it secured the SOCOM deal. In June 2016, according to his LinkedIn profile, he transferred to the newly created sister firm, VTS Aviation LLC.
Deadly Blast and Links to Organised Crime
One of the most successful and controversial contractors for the Syrian train and equip programme is Virginia-based Purple Shovel, which had only $1.9 million in annual revenue before securing its first major deal with SOCOM – worth $28 million – in December 2014. Since then, the value of its SOCOM contracts has more than doubled.
In December 2014, the company was employed by SOCOM to provide training and weapons for Syrian rebels, including rocket-propelled grenade, RPG, launchers and anti-tank weapons.
The table shows the value of contracts for Soviet-style weapons and ammunition awarded by the Pentagon since September 2015 through SOCOM or Picatinny when the final destination was either Syria or undeclared.
Purple Shovel hired two other companies, Regulus Global and Skybridge Tactical, to help with the job. Regulus Global’s president, Lee Tolleson, was also among the 22 executives indicted for bribery in the Gabon case which collapsed.
When he was arrested as part of the FBI swoop, Lee Tolleson told officers that “he understood that the Minister of Defence, […], and his family would be receiving a commission” and that “when the term ‘commission’ was used it meant that someone would be paid”. Tolleson pleaded not guilty and a jury failed to reach a verdict on his case. He did not respond to requests for comment from BIRN and OCCRP.
The firm of which Tolleson is now president, Regulus Global – alongside Purple Shovel and Skybridge Tactical – is being sued over a fatal explosion in June 2015 at an arms testing ground in Bulgaria, which killed instructor Francis Norwillo, a US Army veteran, and injured two others. The men had been in Bulgaria to prepare for training Syrian rebels.
Norwillo’s widow and his injured colleague allege that the firms provided 30-year-old RPGs for testing despite knowing that the same grenades had earlier been rejected by the US government as “defective, unstable and dangerous,” according to court documents.
During the trial, Purple Shovel denied responsibility, claiming the explosion happened during a recreational shoot, a position also taken by SOCOM. Skybridge Tactical said the blast occurred during official training and victims should receive US government compensation. Regulus Global argued the allegations lacked substance.
Purple Shovel insisted in a statement that it was well qualified for the job and although it was not responsible for the deadly accident, it had nonetheless helped to repatriate the injured and deceased. The trial continues. Skybridge and Regulus did not respond to requests for comment.
As part of the contract, Regulus Global outsourced some of its work to a Sofia-based firm, Alguns Ltd. The owner of the firm, Alexander Dimitrov, is a former business partner of Bulgarian organised crime figure Boyan Petrakiev, nicknamed ‘the Baron’, who has been convicted of a string of offences and described by police as an “established figure in the criminal world”.
Dimitrov has previously dismissed his links to the Baron arguing the firm they set up together in 2004, Sib Metal, was never active.
Alguns admits to having organised the Pentagon training for Purple Shovel and Regulus Global in the days running up the fatal session, but denies involvement in the tragedy. The firm was initially fined 62,500 euros by the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy for failing to obtain the proper paperwork for the training on the day of the blast, but was cleared on appeal as it was deemed the ministry had presented insufficient evidence.
SOCOM argued in a statement the explosion did not occur during official training and that its contractors were therefore not implicated. It also refused to discuss the role of Alguns in the Syria supply-line, telling BIRN and OCCRP that it cannot release information on sub-contractors and that questions should be addressed to the firm directly.
But documents related to the Azerbaijani cargo carrier Silk Way, leaked online in June, reveal Alguns had direct ties to SOCOM.
Air freight paperwork shows that it was involved in six deliveries of rocket-propelled grenades by giant Ilyushin-76 planes from Bulgaria to SOCOM’s Turkish base in Incirlik in May 2015. Purple Shovel is named as the shipper in the first, with Alguns listed in that role for the next two.
Alguns made a further three deliveries in March 2016 to Incirlik and another NATO-base in Turkey, Konya, despite the Sofia-based firms links to the earlier deadly blast. No major US contractor is named in these air cargo documents.
…
<a href=’https://www.cincopa.com/features/video-platform’>Cincopa Online Video Platform</a> Powered by Cincopa.com<span>New Gallery 2017/9/15</span><span>On December 16, 2015, Global Ordnance shared an article from the Serbian website B92, reporting the transportation of weapons from Nis, southern Serbia, to Ramstein, Germany, by US air force C-17 planes (http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/drustvo/aktuelno.290.html:581349-Srpsko-oruzje-putuje-avionima-SAD). Global Ordnance posted: “Glad Global Ordnance could contribute to support out military!”</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>width</span><span> 510</span><span>height</span><span> 475</span><span>Marc Morales uploaded photos on January 29, 2015, of him testing weapons at the Zastava factory, Kragujevac, Serbia. "Another day in the office," he added.</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>width</span><span> 502</span><span>height</span><span> 525</span><span>On January 29, 2015, Marc Morales of Global Ordnance posted a picture from Krcma restaurant in Kragujevac, Serbia. Pictured are officials from state owned Zastava Arms, the producer of Serbia’s version of the Kalashnikov and the heavy machine gun Coyote, often seen in the Syrian war. </span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>width</span><span> 503</span><span>height</span><span> 475</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>width</span><span> 800</span><span>height</span><span> 325</span><span>Marc Morales, president of Global Ordnance, posted this picture on his company’s Facebook account on August 5, 2016. He checked into Mangal Steak House, an exclusive restaurant in Baku, Azerbaijan, although the location of the photo is unclear. The photos shows Morales with Matthew Herring, owner of UDC USA, which also bids for SOCOM contracts.</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>width</span><span> 800</span><span>height</span><span> 430</span><span& |
-expansion for Galactic Civilizations III: Crusade. The expansion opens up the player’s options for after they’ve colonised Earth, handing them new tools for the remainder of their galactic conquests. New tools like colony ships, Galactic Citizens, a Civ and ship builder and economic structure. They’ve also been kind enough to send out some accompanying screenshots to give us an idea of what these new systems will look like.
For more action in the eternal abyss, check out our list of the best space games on PC.
For starters, one of the Crusade expansion’s main new features are Galactic Citizens, which act as a new form of economic system in the game, where you decide what job roles your citizens perform: scientists, engineers, diplomats, spies, commanders, generals, and more. Each Galactic Citizen specialisation has a corresponding set of abilities that will aid you in your quest, and certain specialties will tie into your desired strategy. Want to colonise through bloodshed? You’ll want plenty of generals, and maybe a few scientists to ensure your weapons are up to date. This replaces the main game’s previous economic system of tinkering with sliders, which you can see in the header image.
Players will also be able to create their own civilization using the new Civilization Builder, which lets you choose from a number of presets and the massive pool of 10,000 user-created ships to create your own nation. This should work well with another of Crusade’s incoming additions: new ship parts and ways to create ship for your Galactic Civ, both in terms of aesthetics and functionality. You can see the ship builder in the image above.
Here’s the Civ builder:
Crusade is due out this Spring, and will be available on Steam and GOG.The New York Times (9/18/17) gave an enormous platform to a hawkish think tank that is funded by the US government and by top weapons corporations, letting it absurdly claim, without any pushback, that the gargantuan US military—by far the largest in the world—has been “underfunded.”
On September 18, the Senate voted overwhelmingly (89 to eight) to pass an enormous, record-breaking $700 billion Pentagon bill, giving far-right President Donald Trump even more money for war than he had requested.
Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg effectively helped to sell the bill in an extremely sympathetic article, headlined “Senate Passes $700 Billion Pentagon Bill, More Money Than Trump Sought.”
Stolberg’s story also doubled as a kind of puff piece for hyper-hawkish Sen. John McCain, whom it lionized as an intrepid hero boldly taking the lead on the Pentagon legislation.
The Times report all but openly applauded the bill, describing it as “a rare act of bipartisanship” that “sets forth a muscular vision of America as a global power.”
The nearly 700-word article quoted three people, only one of whom was not an elected official. Not a single person or organization that opposes the Defense Department budget expansion was cited in the story.
The lone non-official voice quoted by the Times was Anthony H. Cordesman (incorrectly identified as Anthony N. Cordesman), a national security analyst at the influential, bellicose think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The Times gave no background information about Cordesman, failing to disclose that—as his CSIS bio clearly notes—he previously served as McCain’s national security assistant, and that he formerly worked for the Pentagon, the State Department and NATO. (He was even awarded the Pentagon’s distinguished service medal.)
Naturally, Cordesman used his space as a putatively independent expert in the US newspaper of record to claim that the Senate’s gigantic Pentagon bill was a response to years of supposed underfunding of the US military.
Cordesman’s notoriously pro-war employer CSIS, which in January boasted of being “named the world’s number one Defense and National Security think tank for the sixth year in a row,” also just so happens to be generously funded by the governments of the US and its military allies, along with leading corporations in the arms industry (Extra!, 10/16)—although the New York Times left that out of its report as well.
The Times merely quoted Cordesman saying, in reference to the bill’s top supporter Senator McCain, “He’s someone who has lived with underfunding of the military, seen the impact on readiness, seen the strains that impact the force.”
The notion that the US military has suffered in any way from “underfunding” would surprise the 95 percent of the world outside of the United States.
With a $611 billion budget in 2016, the US already spent more on defense than the next eight largest countries combined (and six of those eight are US allies):
Moreover, “defense” already accounts for more than half of US federal discretionary spending:
But, again, Cordesman’s employer, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, is not just any old think tank. Readers might not be able to tell this from the New York Times story, however, as it did not provide any details other than that it is “in Washington.”
CSIS states clearly on its website that the think tank’s top corporate donors include the most influential weapons companies, such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and General Dynamics. Another significant contributor is Raytheon.
All of these military technology contractors stand to profit directly from an expanded Department of Defense budget.
Fossil fuel companies Chevron, ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco are likewise some of the biggest donors to CSIS. These corporations also will likely profit from an expanded Pentagon budget, given that the US military is the world’s largest consumer of oil.
Top government donors to CSIS, moreover, include the United States and its close allies the United Arab Emirates, Japan and Taiwan, which coordinate with the US military. The UAE is also the second-largest customer for US arms.
Other significant CSIS donors include Saudi Arabia, the top purchaser of US weapons; Sweden, one of the world’s leading exporters of arms per capita; and Turkey, a NATO member that works closely with the US military, and the third-largest customer for US weapons.
All of these states have a direct vested interest in pushing for more US military spending.
According to the think tank’s website, the US government funds CSIS’s research on technology policy, national security and regional studies (including research on the Middle East, Russia, Asia and more).
The New York Times failed to disclose any of these glaring conflicts of interest, leaving readers clueless that the employer of the one “independent” expert in the piece is actually bankrolled by the government and arms industry.
John McCain Hagiography
In addition to helping sell the gargantuan Defense Department budget to cash-strapped taxpayers, the Times story also comes off as hagiography for one of Congress’ most avowed war hawks.
Reporter Stolberg characterized the bill as
a point of personal pride for Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, and who has spent the past week shepherding the bill on the Senate floor as he battles brain cancer.
Stolberg went on to describe the legislation as a reflection of “McCain’s expansive vision of the role of the United States in world affairs.” The only other person the Times story quoted was top Democratic Sen. Richard J. Durbin—who voted for the bill and called it “a grandiose spending plan.”
None of the eight senators who voted against the legislation — such as Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul — were quoted in the New York Times article. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was mentioned, in reference to her opposition to President Trump’s attempt to ban transgender troops, but even then she was only named in the last paragraph.
Double Standards
The Times story noted the Senate bill “also includes a string of provisions to streamline the management of the Defense Department.” But the US newspaper of record failed to mention the Pentagon’s notorious inability to keep track of its bloated budget.
A 2016 Department of Defense inspector general report found that the Pentagon was unable to document what had happened to a staggering $6.5 trillion in funds.
The Senate’s new record-breaking Defense Department bill also comes at a time when the Republican-dominated Congress is trying to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and reduce taxes on the rich.
With the help of corporate media, pundits have constantly insisted the US supposedly cannot afford basic social programs like single-payer healthcare (Newsweek, 9/13/17; Chicago Tribune, 9/15/17). Yet the same corporate media leading the charge against the attempt to institute a Medicare for All system are effectively cheering on an additional $0.7 trillion for Defense Department warmongering.
The 1,215-page Senate bill, a version of which was approved by the House, allots $640 billion for Pentagon operations and $60 billion for war operations abroad. The legislation also designates $705 million for Israeli missile programs, $500 million for Ukraine and $100 million for anti-Russian operations in the Balkans.
The United Nations and anti-poverty organizations have estimated it would cost just $30 billion per year to end world hunger.There is no simpler way to say this, but thank you.
Thank you to all involved in all three PHP South Coast conferences. You have all played a big part in who I am today as a software engineer. The speakers were fantastic and the organisers have been great!
On a personal level, I want to say thank you as PHP South Coast was my first conference back in 2015 after first getting involved with my local user group PHP Warwickshire. That year I also went to PHP North West and Symfony Live. Since then my hunger for knowledge has grown and as a result my career has progressed.
Without these communities and the awesome people in them I would not be who I am today as a developer, granted not the best but I can understand more thanks to peoples time to offer talks for free or use their free time to speak at conferences over spending time with loved ones.
At the time of writing this, I am 2 weeks away from completing my first year at my current Employer and it has been so enjoyable and great after previous places of work. I am working with people who are just as like minded as people in the community and have fantastic attitudes which make them a pleasure to work with.
So, thank you to James and his team (sorry, I don’t know who all of the speakers are) for creating such a memorable experience three years in a row. I have made new friends every year and pushed my self every year to talk to new people and ask questions without feeling like I was an idiot. You will be missed by many as a conference for the UK PHP community.
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Gurugram Records Highest Swine Flu Cases In Last 5 Yrs 2019-02-15 22:32:00 Detail India Bareilly District INDIA - Rise In Cases Of Swine Flu In Bareilly Distric 2019-02-11 22:12:00 Detail India Gurugram INDIA - 85 Cases Of Swine Flu Reported 2019-02-06 21:48:00 Detail India Zirakpur INDIA - 30-Year-Old Zirakpur Resident Dies Of Swine Flu 2019-02-05 22:13:00 Detail India Telangana INDIA - 330 Positive Swine Flu Cases Reported In Telangana 2019-02-04 21:59:00 Detail India Rajasthan INDIA - Deadly Swine Flu Hits Himachal After Rajasthan 2019-02-01 22:05:00 Detail India New Delhi INDIA - Swine Flu Cases In Delhi Cross 600-Mark Notable H1N1 News And Announcements DATE/TIME DETAIL COUNTRY CITY No Event to Display Polio DATE/TIME DETAIL COUNTRY CITY 2019-02-18 23:16:00 Detail Pakistan Islamabad PAKISTAN - OVER 13M Children Targeted In Polio Drive 2019-02-15 23:53:00 Detail Indonesia Jakarta INDONESIA - Polio In Indonesia - 1st Case In Over A Decade 2019-02-15 23:20:00 Detail Pakistan Shalimar PAKISTAN - First Polio Case Of Year Reported In Lahore 2019-02-09 00:03:00 Detail Pakistan Faisalabad PAKISTAN - Poliovirus Detected In Faisalabad After Two Years 2019-02-07 00:00:00 Detail Pakistan Bannu PAKISTAN - Second Polio Case Of Year-2019 Surfaced In KP 2019-02-03 23:58:00 Detail Pakistan Bajaur District INDIA - First Polio Case Of 2019 Reported From Bajaur 2019-02-02 22:33:00 Detail Pakistan Bajaur District PAKISTAN - Pakistan Confirms First Polio Case In 2019 Avian Flu DATE/TIME DETAIL COUNTRY CITY No Event to Display Rift Valley Fever DATE/TIME DETAIL COUNTRY CITY 2019-02-12 00:20:00 Detail Kenya Nyandarua County KENYA - Test Show More Rift Fever Cases In Nyandarua 2019-02-02 22:24:00 Detail France Mayotte FRANCE - Mayotte Reports Increase In Rift Valley Fever Cases Botulism DATE/TIME DETAIL COUNTRY CITY No Event to Display Dengue / Hemorrhagic Fever DATE/TIME DETAIL COUNTRY CITY 2019-02-27 21:53:00 Detail Colombia Boyaca Department COLOMBIA - Nearly 50 Cases Of Dengue Reported By The INS In Boyaca 2019-02-26 22:17:00 Detail Colombia Quindio Department COLOMBIA - About 92 Probable Cases Of Dengue Have Been Presented In Quindio During The Course Of The 2019-02-26 22:06:00 Detail Brazil Piaui BRAZIL - Piaui Notifies 94 Cases Of Dengue In 2019 2019-02-26 21:49:00 Detail Taiwan Taipei TAIWAN - Taiwan Confirms First Imported Dengue Cases From The Philippines 2019-02-26 21:45:00 Detail Reunion Saint-Denis REUNION - 179 Dengue Cases Confirmed In One Week 2019-02-25 21:57:00 Detail Wallis and Futuna Mata Utu WALLIS ANN FUTUNA - 1st Case Of Dengue Type 2 In Wallis 2019-02-25 21:49:00 Detail Pakistan Karachi PAKISTAN - 25 New Dengue Fever Cases Emerge In Karachi 2019-02-25 21:42:00 Detail Pakistan Karachi PAKISTAN - Officials Confirm Year First Death From Dengue In Karachi 2019-02-24 22:52:00 Detail Brazil Franca BRAZIL - With 47 New Cases A Day - Franca Struggles To Contain Dengue Fever 2019-02-24 22:40:00 Detail India Bhilai INDIA - Dengue Outbreak In Bhilai Again 2019-02-23 22:54:00 Detail Mexico Jalisco MEXICO - There Are 13 Cases Of Dengue In Jalisco 2019-02-23 22:43:00 Detail Argentina Rosario ARGENTINA - Rosario Adds 22 Cases Of Dengue So Far This Summer 2019-02-22 22:09:00 Detail Mexico Mexico City MEXICO - Suman In The Region 44 Cases Of Dengue 2019-02-22 21:46:00 Detail Brazil Campo Mourao BRAZIL - Campo Mourao Has 15 Suspected Cases Of Dengue Fever 2019-02-22 21:42:00 Detail Colombia Bogota COLOMBIA - 232 Cases Of Dengue In Bolivar In The First 6 Weeks Of 2019 2019-02-21 22:02:00 Detail Ecuador Esmeraldas Province ECUADOR - 65 Cases Of Classic Dengue In Esmeraldas 2019-02-21 21:51:00 Detail Cambodia Phnom Penh CAMBODIA - Dengue Cases Hit 1000-Mark In 2019 2019-02-20 00:48:00 Detail Brazil Jundiai BRAZIL - Jundiai Has 30 Confirmed Cases Of Dengue 2019-02-20 00:18:00 Detail Taiwan Tainan TAIWAN - Dengue Fever Cases Hit Southwest Taiwan 2019-02-19 22:13:00 Detail Colombia Cartagena COLOMBIA - 304 Cases Of Dengue Have Been Reported In Cartagena And Confirmed 155 2019-02-19 00:23:00 Detail Brazil Ceara BRAZIL - Dengue Has 81 Confirmed Cases In Ceara In 2019 2019-02-18 22:16:00 Detail Colombia Risaralda Department COLOMBIA - Alert For Increase Of Cases Of Dengue In Risaralda 2019-02-18 22:07:00 Detail Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM - HCM City Sees Strong Rise In Dengue Fever Cases 2019-02-18 22:06:00 Detail India New Delhi INDIA - 2 Fresh Dengue Cases Appear - Total Hits 14 This Year So Far 2019-02-18 22:02:00 Detail Philippines Central Visayas PHILIPPINES - Dengue Fever Has Killed 28 In Central Visayas Since January This Year 2019-02-16 23:57:00 Detail Paraguay Itapua Department PARAGUAY - Confirmed First Case Of Dengue In Itapua 2019-02-16 23:50:00 Detail France Reunion FRANCE - Dengue Cases Up In Reunion 2019-02-15 22:48:00 Detail Peru Paijan PERU - There Are 46 Probable Cases Of Dengue In Paijan 2019-02-15 01:00:00 Detail Paraguay Alto Parana Department PARAGUAY - Confirm 94 Cases Of Dengue 2019-02-15 00:55:00 Detail Hong Kong S.A.R., China Central HONG KONG - Dengue Fever - Hong Kong Reports Record Number In 2018 2019-02-14 23:28:00 Detail Armenia Yerevan ARMENIA - 57 Cases Of Dengue In Armenia Registered To Date - The Figure Increased In 2019 2019-02-14 22:02:00 Detail Argentina Salta ARGENTINA - Dengue - In Salta 72 Cases Are Registered 2019-02-14 21:51:00 Detail Peru Cajamarca PERU - Five Confirmed Cases Of Dengue In Jaen 2019-02-13 23:05:00 Detail Brazil Blumenau BRAZIL - First Recorded Case Of Dengue Of The Year In Blumenau 2019-02-13 22:24:00 Detail Honduras Tegucigalpa HONDURAS - 510 Cases Of Dengue Fever Have Been Recorded In The Northern Part Of The Country 2019-02-13 21:49:00 Detail Philippines Biliran PHILIPPINES -Dengue Outbreak Declared In Kawayan - Biliran 2019-02-13 21:47:00 Detail Jamaica Kingston JAMAICA - Dengue Kills 6 Children Since Virus Outbreak 2019-02-13 21:44:00 Detail French Polynesia Tahiti FRENCH POLYNESIA - Dengue Type 2 Diagnosed In Tahiti 2019-02-13 21:34:00 Detail Indonesia East Sumba Regency INDONESIA - Dengue Fever Claims Lives Of Eight East Sumba Residents 2019-02-13 21:17:00 Detail Malaysia Johor Bahru MALAYSIA - Dengue Cases Rising In Johor - Says Health Department 2019-02-13 00:37:00 Detail India SCB MEDICAL And College INDIA - Two Swine Flu Patients Admitted To SCBMCH 2019-02-12 22:20:00 Detail Brazil Parana BRAZIL - Dengue Bulletin Points To 95 New Cases Of The Disease In Parana 2019-02-12 22:12:00 Detail Brazil Ribeirao Preto BRAZIL -Ribeirao Preto Confirms 124 Cases Of Dengue - But Secretary Of Health Of SP Discards Epidemi 2019-02-12 22:10:00 Detail Maldives Male MALDIVES - 107 Cases Of Dengue Reported So Far In February 2019-02-11 22:15:00 Detail Brazil Sorocaba BRAZIL - Sorocaba Has Recorded 30 Cases Of Dengue Since The Beginning Of 2019 2019-02-11 22:06:00 Detail Pakistan Karachi PAKISTAN - 17 New Dengue Cases Surface In Karachi 2019-02-11 22:03:00 Detail Taiwan Taipei City TAIWAN - Tainan Reports 8th Case Of Dengue Fever For 2019 2019-02-11 21:46:00 Detail Philippines Aklan PHILIPPINES - Twice As Many Dengue Cases Reported In Aklan 2019-02-10 22:09:00 Detail Brazil Araraquara BRAZIL - Araraquara Confirms Death Of 28-Year-Old Woman Due To Dengue 2019-02-09 23:05:00 Detail Mexico Tampico MEXICO - Two Cases Of Non-Severe Dengue Have Been Recorded In The First Month Of The Year 2019-02-09 22:26:00 Detail Brazil Ipua BRAZIL - Health Secretariat Of Ipua-SP- Confirms First Death Due To Suspected Dengue In 2019 2019-02-08 23:45:00 Detail Brazil Bauru BRAZIL - Health Confirms Another 410 Cases Of Dengue And Epidemic Reaches 1547 People In Bauru 2019-02-08 23:42:00 Detail Paraguay Asuncion PARAGUAY - Paraguay Registers 60 Cases Of Dengue 2019-02-08 22:57:00 Detail Philippines Cebu PHILIPPINES - Daanbantayan Reports 66 Dengue Cases Since January - Loot Orders Cleanup Drive 2019-02-08 22:43:00 Detail France Martinique FRANCE - 4 Confirmed Cases Of Dengue In Martinique 2019-02-08 21:58:00 Detail Singapore Pulau Ujong SINGAPORE - Two Dengue Deaths So Far This Year - One In Bedok Reservoir - The Other In Hougang 2019-02-07 22:02:00 Detail Philippines |
hold down the yen.
The BoJ has in effect outsourced its devaluation policy, shielding it against accusations of currency manipulation. Any retaliation by China is likely to be conducted by the same arms-length mechanism.
Japan has to move carefully. The world turned a blind eye to the currency effects of Mr Kuroda’s first round of QE because the yen was then seriously overvalued. This is no longer the case.
The risk for premier Shinzo Abe is that further bursts of stimulus may be taken by critics as an admission of failure, though it is in reality far too early to judge whether the country has closed the chapter on its two Lost Decades. What seems certain is that Japan was sliding headlong into a debt compound trap before Mr Abe launched his “Hail Mary” pass into the unknown.Skip navigation
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• Designed solely for movement of letters and parcels
• Operated 19 hours a day, 286 days a year
• 23 Miles (37 Kilometres) of 2 foot gauge track
• 70 feet (21 meters) below the streets of London
• Fully automated, computer controlled trains
• Carried the Capitals mails for over 75 years
• Once served 9 stations, including 2 mainline stations
• Once carried around 4 million letters every day
• Paddington to Whitechapel, with all stops, in 26 minutes
Speeding London's Mail
Deep down beneath the choked streets of London was a railway which once ran busily for nineteen hours a day. It carried no passengers and its trains had no drivers or guards. Yet this seemingly strange system was one of the most successful railways in the world.
The Post Office underground railway was a unique solution to the problem of transporting large volumes of mail across a capital city. Designed solely for the movement of letters and parcels, its automatically controlled trains operated on a 6 1/2 mile (10.5Km) route between Paddington and Whitechapel. An average of 4 million letters were once carried each day between the nine stations on the line - serving two British Rail main line stations and major London sorting offices.
The beginning
The idea of transporting mail in tubes began many years before the Post Office Railway was even thought of. Way back in 1853 the first ever mail tube went in to service. Although it was only 225 yards (approx 206 meters) long and only 1.5 inch's in diameter and used the equivalent of a giant Vacuum cleaner to power the system it did prove very successful. Over the next few years various forms of this system were built and tested, even to the point of carrying passengers.
So impressed by its success, the Post Office, set up a team to look at the possibilities of building a larger system between two of their buildings. This idea was dropped after they worked out the costs involved. Just a few years later in 1859 the Pneumatic Dispatch Company was formed, with the aim of building a system to carry parcels and goods and perhaps even mail, if the Post office agreed. After building a test line at Battersea, London, the company went on to build a tube from their premises adjacent to the Post Office's, North Western District Office on to the Parcel office at Euston Station. Despite many problems with the system, a second line was built from Euston Station on to The General Post Office. All this time the Post Office would not guarantee any mail for the line. Eventually the Pneumatic Dispatch Company with little income was closed down in 1874. In 1899 another company, the London Dispatch Company, was formed with the idea of rescuing the abandoned lines, but this proved too costly and was wound up. But all was not lost, the tunnels that had been built, were eventually found a use, carrying electricity and telephone cables.
Even back in the very early 1900's London had a very serious traffic problem and the Post Office soon realised the need of some type of system to transport mail between the major central London sorting offices. In 1908 a team of Post Office engineers visited the Chicago Freight subway system and a similar system in Berlin, Germany. Eventually in 1911 the plan was hatched to build a subway system some six and a half miles long from Whitechapel to Paddington and serving the main sorting offices on the route, with the option of extending the system at various points.
And so it was, The Post Office Railway was born.
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You are visitorThe first time I heard a live rendition of “Go Down, Moses” was at the first Passover Seder I ever attended. Somewhere around the third cup of wine, a room full of Jews sang the classic negro spiritual in lively fashion, followed almost immediately by “O Freedom,” another classic negro spiritual.
A feeling of bewilderment and paranoia began to steal over me: Why are they singing these songs? Are they looking at me? Do they expect me to know these songs?
That was six years ago, before I converted. Now that I’ve formally been a Jew for a couple of years, being the only black man in Jewish spaces has lost some of its initial awkwardness. Still, when a black man decides that he is going to attend shul regularly, he doesn’t have to look for awkwardness—it will find him. There was the time I unwittingly stood on the wrong side of the mechitzah while visiting the Carlebach Shul; it was the only section with any room, so I thoughtlessly went there. Oftentimes other Jews, well-meaning and otherwise, are the source of awkwardness, like the time a synagogue greeter stopped me to request that I wear a kippah before entering the sanctuary with a stern statement: “This is the custom of our people.” I was somewhat embarrassed to have to show the greeter that I already had a kippah on my head—my own kippah, in fact.
At that first Seder, I was my own source of awkwardness. I wouldn’t say I’d been actively running away from negro spirituals, but I’d spent 15 years as an African-American classical singer scrupulously avoiding singing them. That Seder was indeed a “night of questions,” implicated as I was by the question of the Wicked Child: What does all this mean to you?
I struggled to retain my cool. This is Passover, I told myself. A time to sing songs about Moses. A time to sing songs about freedom. This, for once, is really not about you.
Or was it? That question would be eventually answered by another question—in Yiddish.
***
Despite the fact that my family’s roots in the Church of Christ lie geographically close to the sources of the negro spiritual, I grew up in the Bay Area, where religious music—Christian and Jewish, I can now confidently say—is influenced as much by modern rock, folk, and world music as it is by its own traditions. Church might have been one of the last places I would have heard a spiritual as a child.
My first encounters with negro spirituals came instead when I began training as a classical singer in the late ’90s, when I was 17. Spirituals are a defining feature of black classical singers, from Paul Robeson to Jessye Norman. It is something of an unspoken rule that singers of color should devote at least part of their recital and recording repertoire to spirituals—at the very least, choosing a spiritual as an encore after having sung over an hour’s worth of high-toned European music.
When I began my training, I knew immediately that I didn’t want be so easily defined by something as obvious as my race. I wanted to be defined by my something else I didn’t choose—my low bass voice—and something I could choose: a repertoire of mostly Mozart, some Handel, a little Verdi, and a little Brahms.
I sang a diverse variety of roles; playing a Spanish gardener in an Italian opera by an Austrian composer based on a French play was just the tip of the iceberg. After concert performances, however, oftentimes audience members would express their disappointment that I had failed to burst into the rendition of “Ol’ Man River” they felt I had owed them as an African-American bass. I would occasionally meet audiences halfway by singing “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’” from Porgy and Bess, but that was mostly because it was the truth. Being a classical singer was ruinously expensive, and that was even before I studied to get my degree in music in 2005 from Holy Names University in Oakland, Calif.
I went on in the fall of 2007 to make my professional opera debut in the world premiere of Philip Glass’ Civil War-era Appomattox with the San Francisco Opera Company. It was in the role of a freed slave, so obviously my attempts to transcend race hadn’t worked very well, but this role was different. In the opera I ran out to meet Abraham Lincoln and, to the strains of Glass’ glorious music, I sang him Psalm 47—not a spiritual, exactly, but decidedly not “Ol’ Man River.”
Listening in the audience was my boyfriend of barely two months, Michael Rothbaum, a rabbi I had met that summer in New York. Almost as soon as the curtain dropped on Appomattox, I moved across the country to be to be with him, formally converting to Judaism three years later at Congregation Sons of Israel, a Conservative shul in Nyack, N.Y.
***
Even before I’d formally converted, I knew I wanted to contribute my particular set of skills to my new religious designation, to find “my branch on the etz chayim,” as I put it to myself. I had volunteered to cover for a sick soloist during the Rosh Hashanah service my partner was leading for the Hillels of Westchester in 2009. This was followed two years later by an Unetaneh Tokef for a thousand people under a large tent during High Holiday services for a congregation in upstate New York. Both experiences were profound. They were also profoundly unusual, as I was not used to the intensity of communal intention that is projected onto a person who is davening before a congregation (and God, of course) during the High Holidays. It was oddly grounding and otherworldly at the same time.
Becoming a Jew meant being defined by choice: the deliberate acceptance of texts, narratives, tropes, and experiences that would now inform my view of the world. Becoming a classical singer had also involved the acceptance of texts and experiences—from learning how to watch a conductor out of the corner of my eye to memorizing late-19th-century German poetry—though to completely different ends. After 15 years, I grew weary of the competition, rejection, technical difficulties, great expense, and casual racism I found in the world of classical singing. I had wanted classical music to be a simultaneous vehicle for the composer’s view of the world and my own views as well. What I experienced was a number of hard proofs that perhaps opera was not an ideal medium for self-expression. I left the stage in October 2011.
Having just fled the stage, I tried to find a new direction in the texts, narratives, and experiences I had chosen to accept as a Jew. These, in turn, led me to those sounds I had carefully tried to avoid. They led me to myself.
***
In dem land fun piramidn
Geven a kenig, beyz un shlekht
Zenen dort geven di yidn
Zayne diner, zayne knekht … In the land of the pyramids
There was a king, angry and evil
There, the Jews were
His servants, his slaves …
Thus ran “Piramidn,” the first song I ever learned in Yiddish, just a month after leaving the stage. Coming from a classical background, I was not particularly impressed with it. The melody was simple and the words by anarchist poet David Edelstadt seemed too didactic for any kind of effective “artistic” interpretation. I found the piece lacking—though it was I who was lacking in any kind of context for “Piramidn.”
The first time I heard a live rendition of “Piramidn” was also at a Seder, two years ago, where it suddenly made profound sense. The song not only told the narrative of Passover but moved its message into the present: “Folk, ver vet dikh haynt bafrayen?”—“People, who will free you today?”
It may come as surprise that I—a young-ish African-African gay convert—have any affinities with the world of Yiddish song. But right there, at the beginning of my Yiddish journey, was a story I could credibly portray. I knew the discontents of a history that included “di viste shklafnvelt,” “the bleak slavery-world” described in “Piramidn.”
I began to take on the repertoire of Sidor Belarsky, a rich-toned bass from Russia and one of the 20th century’s most prolific performers of cantorial music, Hasidic nigunim, and Yiddish art song. Gaining an entirely new repertoire, I tried it out for the first time performing a short concert in Yiddish one afternoon in January 2012 at the Sholem Aleichem Kultur Tsenter in the Bronx.
That was only the beginning of a journey. In Yiddish, I began to find texts with arresting parallels to my own dim recollections of the spirituals I had so cavalierly rejected at the beginning of my career. Spirituals suddenly became something different; I could allow myself to hear them with different ears from the ones that heard “Go Down, Moses” four years earlier at my first Seder. I could now hear my own history along with striking projections, elaborations, and celebrations of the foundational texts I had accepted as a part of myself as a Jew.
Continue reading: Yiddish songs and negro spirituals
I found that yidishe lider (songs) and spirituals had much in common: folk-derived evocations of culture and spirituality expressed against a backdrop of systematic marginalization and oppression. In both kinds of music I found resignation and despair and impatience. I found hopes for redemption invoked, sometimes cynically and sometimes with great, heartbreaking earnestness. I found voices reproving those earnest hopers-for-redemption, calling them to action, change, and revolution. Out of the smoking crucible of the 19th century, on the eve of more horrors to come, I experienced texts in dialogue with each other. I recalled this confession—
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
A long ways from home…
Sometimes I feel like I’m almost gone
A long ways from home…
—while learning this empathetic question from Belarsky’s setting of “Der Gemore Nign” by Abraham Reisen:
…Tsi du benkst aheym nokh dayne
Tate, mame, shvester, bruder,
Vos on zey, bistu geblibn
Vi a shifl on a ruder? Are you homesick for your
father, mother, sister, brother,
and without them,
you are like a ship without a rudder?
I was young enough—and ignorant enough and excited enough—to think I had invented the wheel, but it wasn’t very long before I encountered this quote from Ethel Waters, explaining why the song Yiddish song “Eli, Eli” was one of the most-requested pieces in her repertoire: “It tells the tragic history of the Jews as much as one song can, and that history of their age-old grief and despair is similar to that of my own people that I felt I was telling the story of my own race, too.”
Even more surprising was to read these words from Paul Robeson in Jeffrey Melnick’s superlative A Right to Sing the Blues: African Americans, Jews, and American Popular Song, which Robeson gave in an interview with the Yiddish-language paper Morgen Journal-Tageblatt, about how he “did not like to sing in French, German, or Italian. … I do not understand the psychology of these people, their history has no parallels with the history of my forebearers, who were slaves. The Jewish sigh and tear are close to me.”
***
When I made the choice to become Jewish, I wasn’t expecting to find my own experiences, personal and inherited, to be trebled so closely by aspects of Jewish culture. I eventually remembered what partially led me to Judaism in the first place: my deep love for the narratives, phrases, and images of the Jewish scriptures, disseminated to me as an African-American child of religious upbringing.
I have become fascinated with the appropriation of foundational images and texts from Judaism that have become integral to African-American religious expression. How can I begin to convey the resonance of phrases like “My Rock, in whom there is no flaw” (Psalm 92) when that euphonious phrase falls upon the African-American religious heart and mind, held there as surely as “light is stored up for the righteous”? The cultural or artistic use of music that is tied to a particular historical moment can be moving in its ability to transcend space and time.
Of course, a reverse appropriation—Jews comprehensively adopting African-American texts—is more difficult, because it does not take very long for most African-American religious texts to run in a decidedly Christian direction. There’s definitely a reason why “Go Down, Moses” made inroads into Jewish ears and hearts while many of its musical brethren—“Ride on, King Jesus,” for instance—were left behind. The unedited content of most negro spirituals, with their exultant depictions of protagonists from both the Jewish and Christian religious canon, is alarming and provocative when placed beside the established tenets of normative Judaism. The meaning of these traditional African-American texts to me as a Jew has become intensely personal, nuanced, and idiosyncratic.
Let me clarify: The meaning of these traditional African-American texts to me as a Jew—to me, and not necessarily to you, to paraphrase the Haggadah. I haven’t necessarily lost all of the bewilderment I felt hearing “Go Down, Moses” at my first Seder. Some additional questions I might add to a Seder would be: Is it strange that some Jews have decided to use African-American religious expression in the privacy of their own domestic rituals to tell their own story? Why is it that “Are you Jewish?” and “How are you Jewish?” have oftentimes been the first things that I hear from Jews I meet for the first time? If I walk into a Seder and find Jews singing negro spirituals, may I ask, “Are you black?” and “How are you black?”
My work with Jewish music and texts encouraged me to engage with the music and texts of my own heritage—not out of an obligation to assumed tradition, but as a catalyst for creative departure. My ongoing musical project, Convergence, combines African-American roots music (work songs, early blues, and spirituals) with Jewish liturgical, folk, and art music from the late 19th and early 20th century to create narratives of spirituality, redemption, and hope. Convergence resides in an unusual place in my repertoire—when I perform pieces from it, I feel as if I am davening more than anything else.
On the cusp of Passover, I can’t help wondering if I will throw my voice full-heartedly behind any spirituals I may happen to hear over the Seder table this year. Most likely I will. If you should happen to hear my voice, know that it will be for reasons that are specific instead of general, acquired instead of assumed: I am remembering my own past as I perform the mitzvot of the Seder in the present. I am present at the Seder table as I enrich the meaning of these mitzvot in my future.
For me, in the negro spiritual is written the nascent name and acts of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As a respectful Jew, I cannot simply throw these texts away. I can only place them, along with their occasional messianic heresies, in the genizah of my soul.
***
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Anthony (Mordechai-Tzvi) Russell is a classical performer of Yiddish (and Hebrew, and Aramaic) living in Oakland, California, with his partner, Rabbi Michael Rothbaum.Turkish state found responsible for 1993 Sivas massacre
ISTANBUL
Some 35 Alevi intellectuals and others were murdered in the Sivas Massacre as the state watched on, according to an audit report.
A top official audit board report into the 1993 Sivas Massacre has declared that the Turkish state is responsible for the arson attack on the Madımak Hotel, in which 35 people were burnt alive and two assailants died, as well as for deficiencies in the subsequent prosecution that has lagged for over 20 years.The State Audit Board (DDK) of the presidency, which started inspecting the attack upon an order by President Abdullah Gül in 2012, stated in its report issued July 15 that the Governor’s Office in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas showed “serious negligence and failures” in preventing the massacre.The report accused the state of remaining a “spectator” to the attack, which eventually resulted in the killing of renowned Alevi intellectuals such as the poets Metin Altıok and Behçet Aysan, writer Asım Bezirci, and popular musician Muhlis Akarsu.Noting that the torching of the Madımak Hotel on July 2, 1993, was the result of a gradual escalation of tension following the organization of a conference by an Alevi association that started a day earlier, the report said officials could have taken more safety measures to prevent the massacre.“Despite the obvious social crisis developing [in Sivas] … the incident was caused after serious negligence and failures of the governor's office to take preventive measures such as the cancelation of the event, the dispersal of the crowd, the evacuation of the participants from the hotel, or the implementation of a curfew,” said the report, adding that “all the state dignitaries” at the time were responsible.“For the [responsibilities] of its administrative and political organs, all the state dignitaries and their approach were just as responsible as the behaviors that caused the perception of provocation in the Sunni collective memory,” the report stated.Turkey’s legendary short story writer Aziz Nesin, who had become a public target at the time for translating Salman Rushdie’s novel “The Satanic Verses” into Turkish, also attended to the event, and his presence was used by radical Islamists to spread anger before the attack. Nesin ultimately survived the fire, but was beaten by firefighters as he was rescued from the burning hotel.The DDK also stressed that what marks one of the worse cases of civil violence in Turkey’s recent history should legitimately be defined as a “massacre,” saying no signs of “conspiracy” or “provocation” were noted during the inspections and thus ruling out similar implications in former reports.“The incidents that took place in Sivas … resulted in the death of 35 people inside an hotel by mobs of people who were out of control, who had lost their sense and who acted with feelings of hate … and should be defined as a ‘massacre,’” the report said.It also said two of the assailants who died while participating in the attack were killed by gun shots by the security forces, while nine others were injured. It accused prosecutors of failing to inspect these incidents which breached regulations, but noted that the Sivas Governor’s Office also approved an internal inspection into the issue. The two assailants’ deaths increased the total death toll to 37.The report also pointed to difficulties faced during its compiling, saying evidence and information gathered during the 20-year-long investigation was “insufficient.”The Ankara court overseeing the trial had dropped the case on March 2012, ruling that the charges against the suspects exceeded the statute of limitations of 20 years, stirring outcry. Up to that point, the case had gone back and forth, and there have been many calls for a re-trial.The report also stressed that the lack of investigation into any public official was unacceptable.“Unfortunately, due to the lack of any efficient judicial or administrative investigation against public officials, the [lack] of a perception of political responsibility, as well as our insufficient democratic standards, everyone preferred the convenience of pinning the crime on the mobs and society,” the report said.It also criticized politicians’ attitude for having created rifts that “led to otherization within society.”The Madımak Hotel has since become a symbol of discrimination faced by Turkey’s Alevi community, which has long demanded that the state turn the building into a memorial museum. The hotel was initially reopened after repair works, before eventually being turned into a science museum after it was expropriated in 2010. Victims’ families continued to demand that it be converted into a “museum of shame.”Devel::Cover history Release 1.23 - 24 April 2016 - Enhance html coverage popups (Haydn Newport) (guthub 156). - Add cpamcover about page (Guillermo O. Freschi) (github 146). - Perl versions below 5.8.1 are now unsupported. Release 1.22 - 9 April 2016 - Test against 5.20.3, 5.23.1 - 5.23.9, 5.22.1. - Improve uncoverable docs (Alex Balhatchet) (github 148). - Improve cpancover. Release 1.21 - 20 September 2015 - Test more versions on travis. - Fix things up with cpancover for new docker release. - Fix problem under 5.22 (Dick Franks) (github 140). Release 1.20 - 6 July 2015 - Document setting PerlSwitches for mod_perl (jpsalvesen) (github 128). Release 1.19 - 5 July 2015 - Get things working with 5.22.0. - Test against 5.23.0. - Remove dependency on Test::Warn. Release 1.18 - 6 April 2015 - Remove dependency on CGI (use HTML::Entities instead) (Lee Johnson). - Fix a use of the wrong type of null constant (Zefram) (RT #103102). - Link to next uncovered statement in html_basic (H.Merijn Brand) (github 112). - Add "provides" to metadata (Ivan Wills) (github 119). Release 1.17 - 20 September 2014 - Get cpancover to release quality. - Add IRC link to META. - Test against 5.20.1, 5.21.1, 5.21.2, 5.21,3 and 5.21.4. - Officially support 5.20.1. Release 1.16 - 17 August 2014 - Fix segfault in 5.20.0. - Improvements to cpancover. - Fix vim report to work with recent versions (cono) (github 94). - Ignore vim swap files in git (Gábor Szabó) (github 95). - Improve help for cover command (Gábor Szabó) (github 96). Release 1.15 - 1 June 2014 - Allow -coverage default,-pod option to cover (David Cantrell) (github 89). - Get cpancover coverage in docker containers. - Add CGI.pm as a prerequisite. - Test against 5.20.0 and 5.21.0. - Add longer delay in tests to try to appease *BSD. Release 1.14 - 2 May 2014 - Fix test failures on OpenBSD, NetBSD and Windows. Release 1.13 - 28 April 2014 - Test against 5.19.11. - Fix "use 5.xyz;" on pre 5.10 perls (github 87). - Round percentages down in summary and reports (also fixes Windows tests). Release 1.12 - 17 April 2014 - Fix test failure on OSX, FreeBSD and HPUX (thanks H.Merijn Brand). Release 1.11 - 13 April 2014 - Tests should pass when all run in parallel (Kent Fredric) (github 69). - Fix problems with using Sereal as DB format. Release 1.10 - 6 April 2014 - Test against 5.19.10. - Add Sereal backend and use it if available. - Support spaces in DB path (Keith Wissing) (github 81). - Test against 5.8 on Travis (Slaven Rezić) (github 76). - HTML cleanups (H.Merijn Brand). - Fix deep recursion with use overload (Matthew Horsfall) (github 78, 79). - Improve testing process. Release 1.09 - 15 March 2014 - Add Contributors file. - Test against 5.19.4 - 5.19.9. - Officially support 5.18.2. - Fix shortcircuiting conditional operators for blead changes (Matthew Horsfall) (rt 90591) (github 75, 80). - Fix tab expansion in HTML report (H.Merijn Brand) (github 83). Release 1.08 - 24 August 2013 - Don't test against 5.17.x development releases. - Don't test against 5.19.2 and 5.19.3 which have a bug which causes tests to fail. - Perl 5.18 is more picky about POD encodings (Gregor Herrmann) (rt 88027). - Numerous typo fixes (David Steinbrunner) (github 67). Release 1.07 - 22 August 2013 - Improve -coverage options, fix -ignore_re for.gcov files (Steve Sanbeg) (github 53). - Work around B::CV::GV regression in 5.18.1. - Officially support 5.18.1. - Test against 5.19.1, 5.19.2 and 5.19.3. Release 1.06 - 17 July 2013 - More DEVEL_COVER_NO_TESTS changes for p5cover. Release 1.05 - 17 July 2013 - Quieten some deparse warnings. - Fix errors in write_csv (Jim Keenan) (github 64). - Fix error in -inc/+inc docs and pod formatting (Olaf Alders) (github 65). - Add DEVEL_COVER_NO_TESTS option to not run any tests during p5cover. Release 1.04 - 1 June 2013 - Fix return code from cover (Kan Fushihara) (guthub 61). - Fix pod coverage for multiple packages in a file. (rt 34888). - Speed improvements. Release 1.03 - 20 May 2013 - Fixes for correct operation with 5.17.11, 5.18.0 and 5.19.0. Release 1.02 - 28 April 2013 - Make -silent even quieter (Sergiy Borodych) (guthub 49). - mod_perl2 on Debian sets $^X to apache2 (Lasse Makholm) (github 47). - Add csv file for use with metacpan (Dinis Rebolo) (github 56). - cover -test exists with the staus of the underlying test run (Kan Fushihara) (github 57, 58). - Quieten a warning (Jim Keenan) (github 59). Release 1.01 - 30 March 2013 - Test against 5.14.4, 5.16.3, 5.17.8, 5.17.9 and 5.17.10. - Ignore PERL5OPT during tests. And other make targets. (rt 43833). - &&=, ||= and //= operators now require RHS to be true and false. - Fix some "uninitialized value" warnings. Release 1.00 - 10 February 2013 - Fix segv in constant folding of xor ops (github 40). - Fix various problems running Devel::Cover under tainting (github 41). - Add JavaScript to filter results in html_basic (David Cantrell) (github 42). Use -norestrict option to keep previous behaviour. - Document ability to mark code as uncoverable (github 45). Release 0.99 - 31 December 2012 - Improve documentation (Olaf Alders) (github 34). - Thank Bytemark for the cpancover server. - Test against 5.17.7. - Provide coverage for subs removed from the symbol table (rt 13207). Release 0.98 - 25 November 2012 - Fix links on html_basic report. - Fix setting Inc under taint mode (Guillaume Aubert) (guthub 26, 33). - Test against 5.17.6. - Improve warnings from Devel::Cover and reduce duplicates. - Make cover -test -nodelete work. - Run cpancover with 5.16.2. - Prefer bugs on github rather than RT. Release 0.97 - 10 November 2012 - Filter paths contained in CWD out of @Inc (Christian Walde) (github 32). - Test against 5.12.5, 5.14.3, 5.16.2, and 5.17.5. - Improve parallelism for cpancover. Release 0.96 - 24 September 2012 - JSON:PP should have been JSON::PP (Paul Hirst) (github 28). - Correct when some new tests should be skipped. - Quieten some debugging output. - Fix infinite loop during global destruction (github 29). Release 0.95 - 22 September 2012 - Fix loss of condition coverage data when first operand calls into ignored file (Celogeek, Christian Walde) (rt 63090) (github 15, 20). - Fix similar problem with branch coverage (Robert Freimuth) (rt 72027). - More similar problems (Brian Cassidy, Florian Ragwitz, Heikki J Laaksonen) (rt 63698). - Test against 5.17.4. Release 0.94 - 18 September 2012 - Officially support 5.16.1. - Manage mod_perl2 setting $^X to httpd. - Make changes to support 5.17.3. Release 0.93 - 4 August 2012 - Fix up start and finish times in text report. - Make summary cover report respect options given. - Make vim report respect specified criteria (rt 38258). - Only collect time and condition coverage when requested. - Fix some "ignoring extra $criterion" errors. - Don't stop reports at __END__ with AutoLoader. - Add perl version and OS to html_basic. - Make html_minimal summary more like html_basic. - Time coverage is no use in the vim report. - Keep descriptions to a single line. Release 0.92 - 17 July 2012 - Fix inc directories when working with local::lib (Olivier Mengué) (github 25) Release 0.91 - 15th July 2012 - Generate inc directories at runtime (rt 68991, 76528, 66881, 37349). - Get the tests running again on Windows. Release 0.90 - 13th July 2012 - Fix cover -test on Windows (Christian Walde) (github 24) (rt 75565). - Better document coverage options (github 23). - Run in directories containing spaces (rt 62423). - Add moose_constraint test (rt 57173). Release 0.89 - 15th June 2012 - Fix POD syntax error (gregor herrmann <gregoa@debian.org>) (rt 77599). - Handle RE metachars in build directory (rt 75633 & 77598) (dcoupal@cisco.com & Niko Tyni <ntyni@debian.org>). - Return to starting directory after cover report (John Lightsey) (rt 61515). - Relax permissions on DB directories (github 22). Release 0.88 - 8th June 2012 - Add -launch option to open report in appropriate viewer (Stephen Thirlwall). - Move ignored filename list into DB module (rt 77163 and github 12). - Don't complain about Mouse accessors (rt 71680). - Turn off $^W when calling B::Deparse (fixes perl #113464). - Update cpancover. Release 0.87 - 21st May 2012 - Major documentation overhaul (Pau Amma). - Cleanup Data::Dumper usage (localise settings) (Olivier Mengué) (rt 76531). - Ignore more generated filenames - Moose and Template Toolkit. - Improve results for chained logical operators. - Officially support 5.16.0. Release 0.86 - 9th April 2012 - Add all coverage criteria to the Vim report. Release 0.85 - 1st April 2012 - Add customisable thresholds to HTML reports (Xavier Caron). - Improve Vim report. Release 0.84 - 31th March 2012 - Add Vim report (based on discussion with Tatsuhiko Miyagawa). Release 0.83 - 30th March 2012 - Prefer JSON::XS for faster operation (Audrey Tang (唐鳳)). - Rework testing framework (Xavier Caron). Release 0.82 - 19th March 2012 - Do not distribute MYMETA.json (Olivier Mengué) (rt 75883). Release 0.81 - 18th March 2012 - Fix up dzil release process. Release 0.80 - 18th March 2012 - Don't be so noisy with Moose code. - Move to Dist:Zilla (Christian Walde). - Test against 5.14.2 and 5.15.2 - 5.15.8. - Select gcov2perl from the same directory as cover. - Print warnings to STDERR so $SIG{__WARN__} isn't called (Christian Walde). |
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MARY'S ACADEMY OF CAPIZ ROXAS CITY 161 BALGAN, LUKE GABRIEL AYSON MAIN / CLC BRIGHTWOODS SCHOOL ANGELES CITY 162 BALHON, MARCO ANGELOU MAICO CMC CITY CENTRAL SCHOOL CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 163 BALINSAT, JOHN KEVIN SKYLER TACLOBAO CARC HOME-ORIENTED PRIME EDUC CHRISTIAN ACADE BENGUET 164 BALLESTEROS, MARIA THERESE PONTILLAS BRC LA CONSOLACION COLLEGE-BAAO CAMARINES SUR 165 BALONGGAY, JAKOB FRANCIS REIMUND MADAMBA MAIN / CARC SPECIAL EDUCATION CENTER BAGUIO CITY 166 BALT, HAFIZAH NAJAAH RADIAMODA CMC LA SALLE ACADEMY ILIGAN CITY 167 BALTAR, ELDRIDGE JIAN GONZALES SMC DAVAO CITY SPECIAL SCHOOL DAVAO CITY 168 BALUAN, RAZEL LAGUTAN CLC MOTHER GOOSE SPECIAL SCH. SYS., INC. PANGASINAN 169 BALURAN, J ISI TUBEO SMC ST. JOHN'S SCHOOL - MALAYBALAY BUKIDNON 170 BANAN, GIANCARLO GAMIAO CVC ST. PAUL UNIVERSITY CAGAYAN 171 BANAS, RENZ FREDERICK PESASILO WVC LEGANES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ILOILO 172 BANDILLA, ANTHONY FIEL P. EVC PALO I CENTRAL SCHOOL LEYTE 173 BANGAD, JOHN CHRISTOPHER JASMIN CVC ST. 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CABAHUG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MANDAUE CITY 236 BOMBEZA, JOSHUA ANTHONY PUEBLAS CMC MARY INFANT JESUS SCHOOL ILIGAN CITY 237 BONACHITA, CASSEY KHAYE SILVA CVISC WEST CITY EXCEPTIONAL CHILD LEARNING CENTER DUMAGUETE CITY 238 BONCODIN, JUSTINE ISABEL AQUINO CARC BAGUIO PATRIOTIC SCHOOL BAGUIO CITY 239 BONGBONG, SEAN PHILIPPE MIGUEL CVISC LARENA UCCP LEARNING CENTER SIQUIJOR 240 BONILLA, GIAN CHRISTIAN SUMAYLO CRC SURIGAO CITY PILOT SCHOOL SURIGAO CITY 241 BONTILAO, JASMIN BLAISE ESTRERA MAIN / SMC KAPT TOMAS MONTEVERDE SR CENTRAL ELEM DAVAO CITY 242 BOONYARAT, VINCE LYRA SABILE EVC NAVAL SPED CENTER BILIRAN 243 BORANSING, KHALEEL ANWAR BATALO CMC LA SALLE ACADEMY ILIGAN CITY 244 BORBAJO, JEANNE MARGARETTE YU CVISC ST. BENEDICT CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CENTRE CEBU CITY 245 BORLAS, MARK JOEL ISAAC MANSIT CBZRC WOODRIDGE COLLEGE CAVITE 246 BORNILLA, NIKKI FAYE RAVAGO BRC TABACO NORTHWEST CENTRAL SCHOOL ALBAY 247 BOTRON, CHRISTAN JAKE BALDOZA SMC TUGBOK SPED CENTER - TUGBOK CENTRAL ES DAVAO CITY 248 BRACIA, DENISE PAOLA BADIOLA BRC NAGA CITY MONTESSORI SCHOOL NAGA CITY 249 BRANGCA, JANJOE AQUINO CRC COUPLES FOR CHRIST- SCHOOL OFTHE MORNING BUTUAN CITY 250 BRASILEÑO, ANDREA ISABEL GONZALES WVC ST. PAUL COLLEGE - MAKATI MAKATI CITY 251 BRIONES, ANDREA PAOLA CABALO ZRC DIPOLOG PILOT DEMONSTRATION SCHOOL DIPOLOG CITY 252 BRITANICO, LUISA CARESSE FLAVIANO WVC UNIVERSITY OF ST. LA SALLE BACOLOD CITY 253 BRITANICO, TEMUJIN BALATUCAN BRC LAKAN DULA ELEM. SCHOOL MANILA 254 BROCA, KLEINWARD MALARIJES ZRC BALANGASAN CENTRAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PAGADIAN CITY 255 BUENAVENTURA, ANDREA NICOLE FIGUEROA CMC TAMBO CENTRAL SCHOOL ILIGAN CITY 256 BUENCONSEJO, VINCENT AGUALLO BRC TABACO NORTHWEST CENTRAL SCHOOL ALBAY 257 BUENSUCESO, JOSHUA GOTICO MAIN / CBZRC OUR LADY OF CAYSASAY ACADEMY BATANGAS 258 BUESER, KARL GABRIEL GATIL MAIN MORNING STAR MONTESSORI SCHOOL LAGUNA 259 BUHANGIN, AHRYSTAN DENIZ SEVILLA CARC SAINT LOUIS CENTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BAGUIO CITY 260 BUHION, FREDRICH VON MARQUEZ CVISC SAN NICOLAS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CEBU CEBU CITY 261 BUISAN, ELYSA NASREEN BARAGUIR SMC ALBERT EINSTEIN SCHOOL COTABATO CITY 262 BUISON, ALBERT GEOFF SADIANG-ABAY SRC KORONADAL CENTRAL I ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SOUTH COTABATO 263 BULANADI, JAN MAXIMUS LOMBRIO EVC BENEDICTINE INSTITUTE OF LEARNING CAVITE 264 BUMANGLAG, BRYCE GABRIEL PASCUA CVC CENTRO DE CULTURA, INC. ISABELA 265 BUMANGLAG, FITZ LORD OWEN. IRC IMMACULATE CONCEPCION ACADEMY - BATAC ILOCOS NORTE 266 BUMANLAG, MARIAN FRIAS CARC EDNA'S SCHOOL OF SAN CARLOS SAN CARLOS CITY 267 BUNGABONG, HANA URIAH NEBIT WVC ANTIQUE SPED CENTER ANTIQUE 268 BURCE, HAZEL BALUNCIO BRC TABACO SOUTH CENTRAL SCHOOL ALBAY 269 BURGOS, ANGEL LANNA LAINE MENDOZA CBZ COLEGIO SAN AGUSTIN LAGUNA 270 BURGOS, VENICE JOLIANNE DUBOUZET CRC BUTUAN CITY SPECIAL EDUCATION CENTER BUTUAN CITY 271 BUSTAMANTE, MATTHEW FRANCIS LLIDO MAIN / CLC MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE INTERNATIONAL SCH. QUEZON CITY 272 BUTALID, ROSAIRE SOFIA MAGHUYOP CMC ILIGAN CITY SPED CENTER ILIGAN CITY 273 CABAHUG, KARYLLE MARTINA MAKIPUTIN CMC PAGADIAN CITY PILOT CENTRAL ELEM. SCHOOL PAGADIAN CITY 274 CABANGUNAY, DAN ANTHONY GARCIA CBZRC LOPEZ ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LAGUNA 275 CABANOS, ZHENICE DAWN SEVILLA CVISC ST. THERESA'S COLLEGE CEBU CITY 276 CABERTE, SUNDY JAY AMISTAD CMC ILIGAN CITY CENTRAL SCHOOL ILIGAN CITY 277 CABIGON, VISHNA YANNI C. EVC SACRED HEART COLLEGE - TACLOBAN TACLOBAN CITY 278 CABINTA, JOSEPH ANTHONY ZINAMPAN CVC UNIVERSITY OF SAINT LOUIS, ELEM. DEPT. CAGAYAN 279 CABRERA, RAISHA ANIKA SACAY SMC MARY IMMACULATE CHILD DEVT. ACADEMY TAGUM CITY 280 CADIZ, PAULEEN D. EVC EUGENIO S. DAZA PILOT CENTRAL SCHOOL EASTERN SAMAR 281 CADUNGOG, CARL TIAGA CVISC BAYAWAN CITY EAST CENTRAL SCHOOL NEGROS ORIENTAL 282 CADUYAC, LIAH MEI IBARRA CVISC TAGBILARAN CITY CENTRAL SCH-SPED CENTER TAGBILARAN CITY 283 CAISIP, JANELLA ANDREA DE MESA CARC NORTHRIDGE ACADEMY, INCORPORATED BAGUIO CITY 284 CALA, AYESHA PABELONIO CMC TAMBO CENTRAL SCHOOL ILIGAN CITY 285 CALAUSTRO, URIEL YVAN PASAG CARC ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY LAB. ELEM. SCHOOL BAGUIO CITY 286 CALBANG, JOSH JONER PARAS CLC SURE VALUES SCHOOL PAMPANGA 287 CALERA, DAMARIZ GABRIELLE SOMERA CARC BENGUET SPECIAL EDUCATION CENTER BENGUET 288 CALIBO, NIKKOLAS GABRIEL GUNHURAN CMC TAMBO CENTRAL SCHOOL ILIGAN CITY 289 CALLORA, CHARLES JOESTIN CABARSE CVISC MINGLANILLA SPECIAL SCIENCE ELEM SCHOOL CEBU 290 CALO, DIMITRI LEGASPI MAIN / CRC BUTUAN CITY SPECIAL EDUCATION CENTER BUTUAN CITY 291 CALUMBA, LOVELY DYIZA NUÑEZ CRC NORTH CABADBARAN CENTRAL ELEM. SCHOOL AGUSAN DEL NORTE 292 CAMACHO, HANAH S. IRC BACARRA CENTRAL SCHOOL ILOCOS NORTE 293 CAMBEL, EDRIELLEN MEY GABRILLO WVC OUR LADY OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY ACADEMY CAPIZ 294 CAMELLO, ZACK KENSHIN CABRAS CVISC MARY HELP OF CHRISTIAN SCHOOL - CEBU CEBU 295 CAÑA, MARC BRYAN PRADO CVISC ST. THERESA'S COLLEGE CEBU CITY 296 CANASTRA, DOROTHY JEANNE SANDE CMC OZAMIZ CITY CENTRAL SCHOOL SPED CENTER OZAMIZ CITY 297 CANAYONG, JOHN PIO LOYOLA EVC HOLY VIRGIN OF SALVACION SCHOOL, INC. TACLOBAN CITY 298 CAÑAZARES, YUAN ALKINZ SIUAGAN CVC UNIVERSITY OF SAINT LOUIS, ELEM. DEPT. CAGAYAN 299 CANCEJO, FROILAN CALAGUI MAIN / CVC TUGUEGARAO WEST CENTRAL SCHOOL CAGAYAN 300 CANCERAN, DONNE ANDRES DELOS SANTOS CARC MARIA MONTESSORI HOLY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL MAKATI CITY 301 CANCERAN, LANCE VINCENT CORBETA CMC LIVING SPRING ACADEMY ILIGAN CITY 302 CANCIO, JOHN PETROSIAN MERCADO CLC THE SEED MONTESSORI SCHOOL QUEZON CITY 303 CANLAS, NATHALIA FRANCHETTE ALVAREZ EVC CHRIST THE KING COLLEGE-ELEM. LAB SCHOOL CALBAYOG CITY 304 CANONIZADO, KAROL POPE LA TORRE CVC SANCHEZ MIRA CENTRAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CAGAYAN 305 CANTERO, MARIA ANDREA GALE FERNANDEZ SRC SHALOM CREST WIZARD ACADEMY GENERAL SANTOS CITY 306 CAO, ELJAN ROJAS MAIN / BRC ST. AGNES ACADEMY LEGAZPI CITY 307 CARANDANG, JAMES PATRICK FALLER CBZRC NOTRE DAME OF TRECE MARTIRES CAVITE 308 CARBUNGCO, MARK LOUELLE PINEDA CLC HOLY FAMILY ACADEMY ANGELES CITY 309 CARLES, CHESQUA CLAIRE DANO EVC CATBALOGAN I SPED CENTER CATBALOGAN, SAMAR 310 CARREON, MARIA ADARA BUKCHINELLA MOSCARE CLC SAN FERNANDO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-PAMPANGA PAMPANGA 311 CARTAGENA, FAYE ANGELIE MACARSE WVC MAASIN CENTRAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ILOILO 312 CARTAGENA, WILLARD DANIEL TAPDASAN CMC CITY CENTRAL SCHOOL CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY 313 CASAYAS, MARY ANGELOISE SAYAANG CVISC MINGLANILLA SPECIAL SCIENCE ELEM SCHOOL CEBU 314 CASIBANG, JOSHUA MIGUEL DACANAY IRC SALINCOB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LA UNION 315 CASIPE, GIUSEPPE GABRIEL JUAN MAIN / CLC MONTESSORI SCHOOL OF MALOLOS BULACAN 316 CASQUEJO, CHRISTI REVELLAME SMC STELLA MARIS ACADEMY OF DAVAO DAVAO CITY 317 CASTILLO, JOSEPH ANGELLO DELA CRUZ CLC DON BOSCO TECHNICAL COLLEGE MANDALUYONG CITY 318 CASTRO, IVORY DAWN ROSALES EVC STO. 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BUTUAN CITY 334 CHAN, NARCISO III BALAY CVC KE BING SCHOOL CAGAYAN 335 CHAN, SHANE JACOB DELA CRUZ IRC LA UNION CULTURAL INSTITUTE LA UNION 336 CHARONGEN, DESHA JANALLIE BACUTENG CARC UCAB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BENGUET 337 CHING, SIEGFRID JAMES HERNANDEZ CARC BALER CENTRAL SCHOOL AURORA 338 CHIONG, PATRICIA ANN LIM ZRC PAGADIAN CITY MONTESSORI CENTER PAGADIAN CITY 339 CHIU, LANCE ALBERT CORNELIO MAIN / CVISC BOHOL WISDOM SCHOOL TAGBILARAN CITY 340 CHOI, ASHLIE WINKY BONGGAO MAIN MAKATI HOPE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL MAKATI CITY 341 CHUA, BERNSTEIN JOACHUA HO EVC BETHEL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL LEYTE 342 CHUA, HAROLD SCOTT ANG MAIN DIVINE GRACE CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER QUEZON CITY 343 CHUA, HZANTELLE LEY GO CVISC SACRED HEART SCHOOL - HIJAS DE JESUS CEBU CITY 344 CHUA, LOUISE MONICA TIEMPO CVISC UNIV. OF BOHOL-VDT ADVANCED LEARNING CTR TAGBILARAN CITY 345 CHUA, PATRICIA NIÑA SARENAS MAIN U. P. 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SCHOOL BAGUIO CITY 358 COLIMA, CJ YUAN ROS BRC ARISE & SHINE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL OF LIGAO ALBAY 359 COLUMBANO, RICEL ALTHEA SANTOS MAIN / IRC CATALINO ACOSTA MES - SPED CENTER ILOCOS NORTE 360 CONCEPCION, CRIS OLIVER DE ZENA ZRC TETUAN CENTRAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ZAMBOANGA CITY 361 CONCIL, YOANNA HEATHER MRC CONPEREY LEARNING CENTER AKLAN 362 CONLU, INGRID TRINIDAD MAIN ASSUMPTION COLLEGE MAKATI CITY 363 CONSUL, JARED CEDRIC BORJA MAIN COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS-SAN JUAN SAN JUAN CITY 364 CONTADA, LORHAEGNE NICOLE SANTOS CARC BENGUET STATE UNIVERSITY LAB. SCHOOL BENGUET 365 CORONADO, GARY PAULUS MIGUEL PUNA CBZ CRISANTO GUYSAYKO MEM. ELEM. SCHOOL LAGUNA 366 CORONICA, MIKAELA FRANCESCA DELA PEÑA SRC POLOMOLOK CENTRAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SOUTH COTABATO 367 CORPUZ, JEZI ARYHEN FLORES IRC BHC EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION, INC. LA UNION 368 CORPUZ, KAICZAR ULRICH ACOSTA CARC MARY IMMACULATE SCHOOL BAGUIO CITY, INC. 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LAGUNA 381 CULAJARA, JORGE PAUL SIEZ ZRC OROQUIETA CITY CENTRAL ELEM. SCHOOL OROQUIETA CITY 382 CUREG, EDWARD ANDREW BAUTISTA CVC CABAGAN SCIENCE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ISABELA 383 CURILAN, MARIANE ANGIELA TAPALES CRC BUTUAN CITY SPECIAL EDUCATION CENTER BUTUAN CITY 384 CUSTODIO, ALLEYAH BELLE GUACENA SRC GENERAL SANTOS CITY SPED INTEGRATED SCH. GENERAL SANTOS CITY 385 CUSTODIO, JOSHUA ALLEN TIMBAL MAIN / CLC KALALAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OLONGAPO CITY 386 CUSTODIO, NEIL MATTHEW BUMANGLAG CLC SPECIAL EDUCATION CENTER - OLONGAPO OLONGAPO CITY 387 CUTARAN, ARNOLD JR. VIZON CVC BAYOMBONG CENTRAL SCHOOL NUEVA VIZCAYA 388 DABALOS, CHARLIZE ALLYRA AGUILAR CRC RAINBOW OF ANGELS LEARNING CENTER, INC. BUTUAN CITY 389 DADIVALOS, ANDREW JASPER SULLANO EVC CASSIDY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEYTE 390 DAGANI, BENSAN JOHN C. 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1042 to a soft touchdown aboard the drone ship. The landing came about eight minutes and 35 seconds mission elapsed time – just three seconds after the end of the second stage’s first burn.
The aft of the booster was observed to be on fire, although hoses on the drone ship will have put out the flames shortly after landing.
Recovery of the first stage is a secondary objective of any Falcon 9 launch: the primary concern is always the successful deployment of the payload into its planned orbit. For Koreasat-5A, this is a geosynchronous transfer orbit.
To complete insertion, the second stage made a second burn, beginning 26 minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff and lasting for 67 seconds. Spacecraft separation came seven minutes and 46 seconds after the conclusion of this second burn.
Monday’s launch was the sixteenth of the year for SpaceX and the Falcon 9, which has flown more times in 2017 than any other rocket worldwide. Up to four more Falcon 9 launches are planned before the end of the year – along with the Falcon Heavy’s debut that is still targeting a date no earlier than December. Falcon’s next launch will come on 15 November when it deploys the mysterious Zuma payload under contract from Northrop Grumman.
Flight Proven for CRS status:
Looking further ahead, at the beginning of December Falcon will return to at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with the launch of Dragon’s CRS-13 resupply mission to the International Space Station – the first launch from SLC-40 since the pad was damaged last September.
According to L2 coverage of extensive reviews, NASA has internally cleared SpaceX to begin using flight-proven Falcon 9 vehicles to launch Dragon.
While NASA’s official stance remains one of no decision being made, information has pointed to CRS-13 being the first mission, re-using the first stage of the rocket that carried CRS-11 to orbit earlier this year. NASA has already approved the use of previously flown Dragon hardware on ISS resupply missions.
The NASA review into flight proven boosters has been ongoing for months, involving a final review and approval process at NASA HQ to asscertain if flight proven boosters could be used on ISS resupply missions.
Towards the end of December, SpaceX’s last planned West Coast launch of the year will carry a further ten Iridium communications satellites into orbit: Falcon’s fourth launch for Iridium in the last twelve months.
This will use another flight-proven booster, which was used on one of the previous Iridium missions back in June. Spain’s HispaSat 30W-6 communications satellite is slated to launch no earlier than December, while the Falcon Heavy’s demonstration flight could also launch late in the year or slip into 2018.
(Images via SpaceX and L2/Chris Gebhardt for NASASpaceFlight.com – to join L2, click here)Ugandan gay rights activist Dennis Wamala (28) can pinpoint when "the war went from rhetoric to action".
It was in early March 2009. Ugandan Pentecostal pastors such as Martin Ssempa and Solomon Moses Male had begun to make a noise a few years earlier about gays allegedly recruiting children at schools with Western help, according to Wamala.
Later, three American evangelical Christians jetted into Kampala to be keynote speakers at the Seminar on Exploring the International Homosexual Agenda.
They were Scott Lively, the co-founder of the international anti-gay extremist group Watchmen on the Walls, and the co-author of The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party; Don Schmierer, who has worked with "homosexual recovery groups" and has penned five books relating to "ex-gay therapy"; and Caleb Lee Brundidge, an "ex-gay" who is said to lead groups to mortuaries in an attempt to raise the dead and who has experience working as a "sexual reorientation coach".
Homosexual acts were already illegal in Uganda under sodomy laws introduced during colonialism, and were punishable by 14 years to life in prison.
"You'd hear isolated cases, so-and-so was beaten because they were kissing, hugging. But it's not like it is now," Wamala, who works at lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) support group Icebreakers, said on March 3, just before he went to check on another Ugandan distressed after being outed as a "homo" by local tabloid Red Pepper.
With their eyes and ears to the ground, in March 2009, Uganda’s LGBTI community got wind that the seminar, advertised by church posters, was being hosted by the Uganda-based Family Life Network (FLN), founded by Ugandan pastor Stephen Langa, just two days before it began at Kampala’s Hotel Triangle.
Wamala was an "undercover" fly on the wall with two other activists and silently endured "a million and one lies" about gays at the seminar, targeted at parents, politicians and preachers, whom they charged 25 000 Ugandan shillings (R108) a day.
Until the final day when, so outraged, he blew his cover.
"I have to give them credit. They are good. Don Schmierer would even cry," said Wamala, who has been an activist since 2004, and has faced death threats.
"People in the audience began crying, and you could feel the anger burning. Everyone left saying, 'We need to do something about this'."
Meeting
Reverend Dr Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian Anglican priest and senior religious and sexuality researcher at social justice think-tank Political Research Associates, attended the conference and the separate strategic meeting on combating homosexuality hosted by the FLN five days later. He recalls being informed that Parliament, having heard from Lively, believed that a new Bill was needed to take into consideration the international gay agenda.
The same week, Kaoma said, Ugandans petitioned Parliament for new legislation. He claims the first draft of a Bill, which he says contained "all the talking points of Scott Lively", was presented to Parliament on April 20 2009.
The Bill wasn't officially brought to the floor until October 2009, when MP David Bahati introduced legislation containing a death penalty provision for certain homosexual acts such as gay people with Aids having sex.
Fast forward nearly five years, and President Yoweri Museveni signs the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014, prescribing life sentences for gay sex and same-sex marriage, but without the death penalty clause.
Both Wamala and Kaoma are adamant that what’s come to fruition can be traced back to 2009.
"Ugandans are people who really don't talk about sex that much," said Wamala. "If you go to rural areas, it's largely ignored. So, if they [Lively and company] hadn’t come and lit this flame, I'm sure people would just have continued ignoring it.
"This workshop was a strategy to cement what was already going on. It was definitely a turning point. Everyone left as a campaigner against us."
Kaoma, the first researcher to expose the strong links between American right-wing evangelicals and anti-gay laws in Uganda, said he warned in 2009 that Lively's seminar had "planted hatred and a new law was coming".
Denied claims
Lively has denied claims that he was involved in the drawing up of the anti-homosexuality legislation.
In an email to the Mail & Guardian last week, Lively, who is the president of conservative Christian association Defend the Family International and a "Bible-believing Christian missionary to the global pro-family movement", said: "I did not participate in the drafting of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill but was asked to review it before it was released to the public.
"I suggested a shift in emphasis from punishment to prevention and rehabilitation. They did not follow my suggestions."
In a February 25 blog post, Lively said that he believed "the Russian approach of banning homosexual propaganda [aimed at] children as a preventive measure is a better model for other nations of the world looking [to] avoid the moral degeneracy that has occurred in the US and European Union due to so-called 'gay rights' ".
In March 2012, the lobby group Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug) sued Lively, accusing him of conducting a campaign of homophobia in Uganda. The advocacy group filed the lawsuit in Massachusetts, under a statute that the group said allowed noncitizens to launch United States court actions for violations of international law. The lawsuit also names Langa, Ssempa, Bahati and James Buturo, a former Uganda minister of ethics and integrity.
Pamela Spees, staff attorney at the Centre for Constitutional Rights and a lawyer representing Smug, said the parties were exchanging evidence and taking testimonies, but it was a long process, and the next court date would be in May 2015.
Wamala said the case was about "trying to tell the world that you cannot just come into a country, plant your seeds of hate, and then go".
"Even if it's not about homosexuality, even if it's another ideal," he said. "And we're trying to tell pastors here that there is freedom of speech, freedom of expression. But you need to know where the boundaries are."
Lively said that he had "no current plans to return to Uganda or to travel to any other country".
Huge presence
But Gary Skinner, the founder of the extremely popular and well-connected "cell-based community church" Watoto Church and the team leader of Watoto Ministries, which cares for HIV and Aids orphans, has a huge presence.
During one packed service at Watoto Church Central in downtown Kampala on Sunday March 2, Skinner asked his flock: "Do you not know verse 19 [1 Corinthians 6:19] that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?"
Bouncing up and down on an auditorium stage, a waterfall lit up by red lights behind him as his image was beamed to hundreds of regular followers sitting in other parts of the building, he continued: "You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honour God with your … sexuality."
Uganda has been fertile ground for Pentecostal movements, but Kaoma said American conservatives had also managed to wield considerable influence in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Russia, Jamaica and some Eastern Europe countries courtesy of pastors portraying themselves as "preachers of factual Christianity".
"They are taken seriously by African audiences, who see them as representatives of Christianity," he said. "They have also taken advantage of a colonial residue or internalised colonialism, by which I mean the respect white people attract among Africans. Hence, they find it easy to propagate their ideologies and attract big audiences. They find it easy to meet politicians and present their cases to political leaders."
As Skinner was preaching at Watoto Church Central, the archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Stanley Ntangali, was at St Andrews Church in Bukoto, another Kampala suburb. During a service, he warned that Uganda was ready to break away from the Church of England if its views on homosexuality were not respected.
But Kaoma said the Anglican Communion had little influence over Uganda. American conservative extremists with direct links to local pastors, who this week had endorsed Museveni for a fifth term, were the "darlings".
With reports that Tanzania and Kenya might be considering introducing anti-gay laws, Kaoma said it was a critical moment for LGBTI rights struggles. The way the issue was addressed in Uganda and Nigeria would affect other countries.
"The marriage between politics and religion in Uganda makes it impossible to stamp out homophobia," Kaoma said. "The only way this can be addressed is by changing political and religious power.
"Uganda's future depends on how Ugandans perceive themselves in the global community."Houston police cited the driver of a truck that struck the West Dallas bridge earlier this month, opening the possibility state officials will recoup some of the costs to replace the damaged span.
Police Thursday confirmed Jose L. Rios, 62, of Richmond was cited by the city’s truck enforcement officers for, among other things, operating an over-height vehicle without a special permit. Rios, who was hauling a piece of construction equipment at the time, had a vehicle height of 14 feet, 7 inches.
Rios was driving south along Interstate 45 around 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 2 when he struck the bridge, which has a clearance of 14 feet, 1 inch, according to Texas Department of Transportation records.
The truck involved in the collision was rented from a Rosenberg heavy equipment rental dealer.
The West Dallas span has been closed since the bridge mishap, after inspectors concluded the strike compromised its weight limits. TxDOT spokesman Danny Perez said crews are working to open the two inner-most lanes of the bridge – one in each direction – to passenger vehicles only by later this week.
Eventually, Perez said, the entire bridge will need to be demolished and replaced. Replacing the span could be a costly emergency project. Perez said officials are still working on a long-term plan to remove and rebuild the bridge. The process will include seeking some compensation from Rios or liability insurance held by him or his employer, Perez said.
Commuters who use West Dallas, which handles around 11,000 vehicles per day west of I-45, said the closure has already affected their daily routine.
Patrick Abbott, 29, said he started leaving from his apartment 20 minutes earlier, just in case Allen Parkway traffic was backed up.
“There’s work everywhere,” Abbott said of his neighborhood around Taft and Dallas. “I’m sure (a long closure) is going to make it worse.”
Meanwhile, Perez said insurance often is part of the state's attempt to claim damage, ranging from mangled guardrails to bridges compromised by strikes.
“If there is an individual who is responsible, we would pursue compensation where there has been an incident,” Perez said, noting the same applies when trucks lead to hazardous material spills on the freeways. “We don’t want that to be an expense covered by the taxpayer.”
Just as other motorists, commercial truck drivers are required to carry liability insurance. Typically, policies would be for $500,000 or $1 million. Those carrying hazardous materials or large equipment can have policies covering them for damage up to $5 million.
Vehicles greater than 14 feet tall or with a gross weight of more than 80,000 pounds must obtain a permit to use state-maintained roads. The procedures exist so large trucks can navigate the area while avoiding low bridges, such as West Dallas and others around the Houston area.
“Generally, permit loads would not be routed for travel through the heart of downtown Houston,” said Adam Shaivitz, spokesman for the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, which oversees truck permitting.
With the exception of downtown-destined cargo, Shaivitz said permitted trucks typically use Loop 610 of the Sam Houston Tollway.Intel’s Core i7-8700K flagship processor has once again been tested, this time in 3DMark. The latest benchmarks show performance comparison of the upcoming chip against current generation SKUs from Intel and AMD.
Intel Core i7-8700K 6 Core Flagship Processor Benchmarks Leak Out – 3DMark 11 CPU Performance Revealed
The Intel Core i7-8700K will be the fastest mainstream and also an enthusiast processor based on its unlocked design.
Related Intel 9th Generation High-Performance Notebooks CPUs Officially Listed – Core i9-9980HK Flagship With 8 Cores, 16 Threads and Up To 5.0 GHz Clocks
The chip will be compatible with the LGA 1151 socket and rumors are that board makers will extend support of Coffee Lake onto 200-series and even 100-series platforms. The chip will be Intel’s first hexa core product and will be based on the 14nm process node.
In terms of clock speeds, we are looking at a 3.7 GHz base frequency which boosts up to 4.3 GHz (6 core), 4.4 GHz (4 core), 4.6 GHz (2 core) and 4.7 GHz (1 core). These clocks are really impressive so we can expect much faster gaming performance on Coffee Lake parts than the current generation of CPUs.
The chip is fully unlocked allowing for overclocking and comes with a TDP of 95W. There’s 12 MB of L3 cache on board along with a GT2 tier iGPU. The chip supports native memory of DDR4-2666 MHz and up to 4400 MHz+ (OC). There’s no word on pricing yet but we can expect it to cost around $349 US when it launches in Q3 2017.
Intel Coffee Lake 8th Gen Desktop Core Lineup:
CPU Name Intel Core i3-8100 Intel Core i3-8350K Intel Core i5-8400 Intel Core i5-8600K Intel Core i7-8700 Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-8086K CPU Family Coffee Lake-S Coffee Lake-S Coffee Lake-S Coffee Lake-S Coffee Lake-S Coffee Lake-S Coffee Lake-S CPU Process 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm CPU Cores 4 4 6 6 6 6 6 CPU Threads 4 4 6 6 12 12 12 Base Clock 3.60 GHz 4.00 GHz 2.80 GHz 3.60 GHz 3.20 GHz 3.70 GHz 4.00 GHz Boost Clock (Max) N/A N/A 4.00 GHz 4.30 GHz 4.60 GHz 4.70 GHz 5.00 GHz Boost Clock (6 Core) N/A N/A 3.50 GHz 4.40 GHz 4.20 GHz 4.30 GHz 4.30 GHz L2 Cache 1 MB (256 KB per Core) 1 MB (256 KB per Core) 1.5 MB (256 KB per Core) 1.5 MB (256 KB per Core) 1.5 MB (256 KB per Core) 1.5 MB (256 KB per Core) 1.5 MB (256 KB per Core) L3 Cache 6 MB 6 MB 9 MB 9 MB 12 MB 12 MB 12 MB Overclocking Support No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Socket Support LGA 1151 LGA 1151 LGA 1151 LGA 1151 LGA 1151 LGA 1151 LGA 1151 PCH 300-Series 300-Series 300-Series 300-Series 300-Series 300-Series 300-Series TDP 65W 91W 65W 95W 65W 95W 95W Price $117 US $168 US $182 US $257 US $303 US $359 US $429 US
The Intel Core i7-8700K Performance Tests in 3DMark 11 – Can It Be Any Better Than Current 6 Core Parts?
The Intel Core i7-8700K was tested on a Supermicro SuperO CLZ370-CG-L motherboard. This confirms the upcoming Z370 PCH which will be followed by more SKUs in Q1 2018. The Core i7-8700K was tested on the AMD Radeon RX 480 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card. The different test cases used fairly identical hardware since the testing was performed by the same user.
Related Intel Readies 8 Core/16 Thread, Ghost Canyon X NUC With 9th Generation Core i9, H-Series Processors – 6 Core/12 Thread, Core i7 Model Also in The Works
We see very similar scores on stock clocks on both tests. The one with the GTX 1080 scored 14,251 points in the physics test which is entirely CPU dependent. The one with the Radeon RX 480 scored 14,021 points which is very close to the other test. Now if we compare these scores to an Intel Core i7-7700K, we are looking at a really good boost in terms of multi-threading performance. Even the likes of Ryzen 5 1600X with 6 cores and Ryzen 7 1700X with 8 cores are beaten by the Intel CPU at stock clocks.
However, these results are not showing a clear picture as different setups provide different results. The other systems may be using faster memory or better system hardware that can directly affect the physics score even if it only takes in account the CPU performance. As we know, faster memory can have a huge impact on CPU performance and the Intel system with Core i7-8700K maybe using memory with native clock speeds (under 3000 MHz) while the other systems can be using higher (OC) series memory.
Intel Core i7-8700K CPU-z Performance:
CPU Name CPUz Single Thread Score CPUz Multi Thread Score Intel Core i7-8700K 2323 13980 AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 1888 12544 Intel Core i7-7700K 2301 9993 Intel Core i7-6700K 2144 9124 Intel Core i7-6850K 1940 11170 Intel Core i7-5930K 1841 10676
We can definitely expect more performance data in the coming days as the processors are planned for launch later this month.Individuals with overseas assets worth more than ¥50 million must report them to the nation’s tax authorities or face tough penalties, according to new government regulations introduced ahead of this year’s tax return filing.
Taxpayers who fail to report these assets face penalties of up to a year in prison or a maximum fine of ¥500,000, according to the National Tax Agency.
People affected by the new regulations are those holding assets overseas, including savings and deposits, real estate, securities, precious metals, accounts receivables and artworks, whose combined total exceeds ¥50 million as of Dec. 31, 2013. They must report details on such assets to their local tax bureau by March 15.
Non-Japanese residents are also subject if they have lived in Japan for more than five years within the past 10 years.
“Overseas assets” cover securities and investment trusts issued in Japan by foreign capital companies, including yen-dominated samurai bonds. Securities and bonds Japanese companies issue abroad, on the other hand, are excluded from the reporting obligation.
The new regulations are aimed at curtailing tax evasion involving assets overseas. The number of undeclared overseas assets stood at 111 in fiscal 2011, up from 78 in fiscal 2007.
The amount of money taxed on undeclared income also rose to ¥7.2 billion in 2011, compared with ¥6.7 billion in 2007, the agency said.Three men were arrested and charged in connection with stealing thousands of dollars worth of video games and equipment from an Anne Arundel County store, Anne Arundel County police said.Devonte Brooks, 20, of Washington, D.C., Sammie Smith, 21, of Hyattsville, and Samuel Whitmire, 20, of Temple Hills were charged with theft over $1,000 and other related charges connected to the theft Sunday at the Game Stop store in Severna Park, police said.Police said the theft was reported at 6:08 p.m. Sunday after an alarm was sounded at the store. The men were located driving on Route 50 with the lights out on their vehicle. The group entered Prince George's County and abandoned their vehicle, police said.Police said one of the men was arrested not long after abandoning the vehicle while the other two were caught after running into a nearby home.In all, more than $3,000 in property was recovered, police said.
Three men were arrested and charged in connection with stealing thousands of dollars worth of video games and equipment from an Anne Arundel County store, Anne Arundel County police said.
Devonte Brooks, 20, of Washington, D.C., Sammie Smith, 21, of Hyattsville, and Samuel Whitmire, 20, of Temple Hills were charged with theft over $1,000 and other related charges connected to the theft Sunday at the Game Stop store in Severna Park, police said.
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Police said the theft was reported at 6:08 p.m. Sunday after an alarm was sounded at the store. The men were located driving on Route 50 with the lights out on their vehicle. The group entered Prince George's County and abandoned their vehicle, police said.
Police said one of the men was arrested not long after abandoning the vehicle while the other two were caught after running into a nearby home.
In all, more than $3,000 in property was recovered, police said.
AlertMePosted by Rampant Coyote on May 23, 2011
I have died dozens of times now. Many times in the first or second room of the dungeon. I’m not so much rolling up new characters as creating the latest incarnation of my last dead character. But those bird-like Diggles who taunt with the creativity of the French knights in Monty Python and the Holy Grail have been having a field day at my expense. I feel like the world’s worst dungeon delver.
Yet I keep coming back for more punishment. And laughs.
I’m playing the beta of the upcoming indie graphical roguelike Dungeons of Dredmor. It’s a game with its tongue in its cheek that takes advantage of its randomness with amusing word combinations and general silliness. The 2D art and animations, the descriptions, the objects, many of the feats (“Fleshsmithing,” “Necronomiconomics,” and “Fungal Arts”), and so forth are filled with humor and silliness that all seems to say, “Don’t take this game too seriously!”
But it wraps a set of mechanics that belong in a pretty serious roguelike. The player must explore a randomly generated series of dungeon levels filled with traps, treasures, and monsters. Everything is turn-based, though an extended lack of input will cause your character to whip out a mobile gaming device and amuse himself. At least at medium difficulty – it doesn’t hold your hand to keep your initial forays in any way easy… or even balanced. In one dungeon, I opened the one and only door leading out of the first room to get swarmed by Diggles with no real hope of victory. Fortunately, that bit of bad luck has proven to be an exception, but the pile of corpses I’ve left in the dungeons are a testament that “survivable” doesn’t mean “easy.” But after leveling a couple of times and picking up some halfway decent gear (and potions), things tend to go more smoothly.
Dungeons of Dredmor lacks the complicated key-chords and ASCII graphics of its kin. In addition, it (currently) does not nuke your save game when your character dies, making it far more “soft-core” than your run-of-the-mill roguelike. In fact, while not exactly user-friendly, its interface is downright tame and should seem fairly familiar to experienced RPG fans. There are certainly places that have been streamlined from some roguelikes I’ve played in the past, but I don’t feel it’s been significantly “dumbed down.” The learning curve is still pretty steep, but the more straightforward mouse-driven interface means that just learning how to move my character and pick up items isn’t a significant part of the challenge.
Part of the appeal of roguelikes for me is the ability to find opportunity in complexity. Those games don’t tend to reward the brute-force approach of many mainstream RPGs, but rather a cautious approach, sometimes employing the kind of cheap tactics that might have gotten your account banned on some MMORPGs. Dredmor has this, and goes a step further with a deep crafting system. The game is littered with crafting materials and crafting stations for adventurers to build their own gear.
To give the money earned (“zorkmids” – that sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it?) some use, shops can be found throughout the dungeon offering a very limited trading options. Those with the archeologist skill line also gain the ability to send artifacts back to a museum (or shadowy government warehouse, according to the skill description) to directly gain experience from the value of the item.
Characters are created not by rolling up stats (though the stats are there) and choosing a class, but rather by picking a combination of skills (or actually, skill lines). You can build your own perfect class this way. As you gain levels, you gain points where you can advance any of your skill lines to give your character new and improved abilities.
There’s just a lot to the game, and I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. I don’t know if Dungeons of Dredmor is exactly a gateway drug to roguelikes, but it’s married the genre with the conventions of more mainstream RPGs in what for me feels like a great combination. I don’t play the game and think, “roguelike.” I think, “role-playing game.” But it’s an RPG with most of the advantages of roguelikes and few of the disadvantages, filled with plenty of humor.
For roguelike fans and RPG fans alike, this is a game to keep an eye on as it nears release.GREENE COUNTY – While ham radio offers a social opportunity for some, it provides therapeutic relief for others. The Dayton VA grabbed this notion by the horns, opening an on-campus station, (W8DVA) in late 2016 to assist veterans living with PTSD.
Xenia “hammer” Jim Simpson (WB8QZZ) played a major role in getting the station up and running. Much of the operation was funded by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association, which is also sponsoring Hamvention.
“It’s intended to assist those with PTSD to focus and get their minds off the bad things that have happened in their life,” Simpson said. “Amateur radio is an extraordinary thing for focusing people and it’s enjoyable to be able to communicate around the world with hams.”
Station guests are greeted by postcards, or logs, of interactions hanging on the walls, in addition to a radio called a “Classic” that was used by military members contacting home during the Vietnam War and utilizes tubes in order to function. Dr. John Mathis (WA5FAC), a doctor in charge of radiology at the Dayton VA, said just the sight of the “vintage” equipment is yet another avenue of therapeutic relief.
“We have not just acute care veterans here, but veterans that are homeless, veterans that are retired, veterans that are in rehabilitation for all sorts of things … This is just another one of the things we provide to try to give them something to grab a hold of and pull themselves out of a hole,” Mathis said.
And it has since proven to be of service.
“PTSD is one of the things we certainly face, but even for our guys in wheelchairs, or in the retirement center or the rehabilitation center or homeless center — all of which are housed on the [Dayton VA] campus — they can wheel in here and talk to someone across the country or world just by pulling up here,” Mathis said. “Many times they’ll talk to people who don’t exactly have the same problems, but their own problems, so they can commiserate back and forth and it’s a nice way to have an opportunity to socialize outside of face-to-face.”
Simpson acquired his amateur radio license before he earned his high school diploma and has since allowed the airwaves to lead him into a number of employment opportunities, such as wedding photography, technological and safety equipment salesmanship and engineering.
“It’s opened many doors for me,” Simpson said. “It’s a multifaceted hobby that educates hams and allows us to become friends with people from all over the world on a routine basis and it benefits public safety.”
Mathis pointed out that when he became license to operate amateur radio airwaves, approximately 150,000 other individuals were licensed at that time in the United States. Since then, that number has grown — Mathis said approximately 750,000 individuals are now licensed hams. He credits amateur radio allowing the ability to communicate regardless of overwhelmed or downed cell phone towers in the case of an emergency situation.
“When disasters occur and when communications become problematic on normal channels, we fill in,” Simpson said. “Our obligation through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) obligates us to support community and we do that without hesitation.”
Simpson has been involved in DARA and Xenia Weather Amateur Radio Network for several years and has watched Hamvenetion, the world’s largest gathering of ham radio operators move from its home of 52 years, Hara Arena, to its new location at the Greene County Fairgrounds.
It took a committee of six individuals and 14 months of research before they made the final call.
And while Simpson was excited to learn of Hamvention’s new home when it was announced to the public last summer, he was not involved in making the final call on its new location. He said Hamvention officials examined both the Clark and Montgomery County Fairgrounds before ultimately deciding that the Greene County Fairgrounds would be suited venue for the event, crediting its updated infrastructure and facilities.
“It’s one of the hobbies, often and probably 75 percent or higher, is a hobby that’s a lifelong endeavor for us,” Simpson said.
Whitney Vickers | Greene County News Jim Simpson, a Xenia hammer (WB8QZZ) got his amateur radio license before he earned his high school diploma. The airwaves have since led him into several employment opportunities. http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2017/05/web1_DSC_0953.jpg Whitney Vickers | Greene County News Jim Simpson, a Xenia hammer (WB8QZZ) got his amateur radio license before he earned his high school diploma. The airwaves have since led him into several employment opportunities. The Dayton VA has its own amateur radio station (W8DVA) to be of service to local veterans. It includes a “classic,” which was used by Vietnam War military members as they contacted home. It uses tubes to function. http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2017/05/web1_DSC_0950.jpg The Dayton VA has its own amateur radio station (W8DVA) to be of service to local veterans. It includes a “classic,” which was used by Vietnam War military members as they contacted home. It uses tubes to function. Chester Howes (K8NYC) speaking with another amateur radio operator in Louisiana about intense weather conditions happening there at that time. http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2017/05/web1_DSC_0954.jpg Chester Howes (K8NYC) speaking with another amateur radio operator in Louisiana about intense weather conditions happening there at that time. Chester Howes (K8NYC) speaking with another amateur radio operator in Louisiana about intense weather conditions happening there at that time. http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2017/05/web1_DSC_0948.jpg Chester Howes (K8NYC) speaking with another amateur radio operator in Louisiana about intense weather conditions happening there at that time.Search the database
ATLANTA, MI- There are no guns to be seen in the county seat this day. And that is the point. Montmorency County is among Michigan's hot beds for concealed handguns. One in 11 adults are licensed to carry. That compares to one in 30 in Kent County. Inside Coach's Corner Bar & Grill, the curved bar is backed by two harried tenders. Outside, two wall posters welcome both Lions Fans and Atlanta visitors. The first advertises Bud Light, the second Miller Lite. A line of bar seats are nearly full at 5 p.m. on a weekday. Tables are more available. Two men play pool. They are between games. One player says he knows no one there who has a concealed permit, of the five or six people there he knows. "I would not steer you away," he says. His pool partner returns. Asked the same question, the 65-year-old transplanted downstater says nothing at first, but opens his wallet. There is his concealed license. There are many reasons to own a permit. Self-defense. Easier transport in a vehicle for hunters, or as a secondary weapon in the woods. There is a firm belief it is a constitutional right. But that right, easier in Michigan for the past 13 years, is exercised unequally, an MLive analysis found. Adults in some counties are enthusiastic, in others, less so. But new permits are climbing dramatically, from 78,721 in the year before President Obama was reelected to 118,025 afterward, a 50 percent increase. There are a total of almost 570,000 active permits in the state. As it has been said, "All politics is local." Michigan stores sold out of bullets, and handguns, each year after President Obama was elected. There was concern he would restrict firearms rights. At Roy and Sons New and Used Firearms in Atlanta, a sign on the door says "Trust Me," in red letters. "Nothing inside's worth dying for." Managing son Steven Roy believes one in two customers he knows have concealed permits. A gunsmith who prefers to be called Old Man Louis is nearby. Another customer, who prefers not to be named, said he and at least four of six co-workers have concealed permits. A ledger shows page after page of gun purchasers, some 700 in a year. Windows are adorned with outdoors shooting photos. A picture of a guide in Alberta, Canada, features an enormous wolf he has killed. Walls are hung with handgun accessories, including Blackhawk concealed holsters and others. Several private, loaded handguns are below a counter. Steven Roy, 21, sometimes carries two. Why? "Because it is my right," he says immediately. In the glass display counter, there is a pink SCCY 9 mm.There also is a Ruger Blackhawk.41 Magnum. The store also stocks Mossburg 500 shotguns with a short grip. The right to bear firearms is not as enthusiastically embraced everywhere. You must be 21 to apply for a concealed permit in Michigan. Montmorency, with 7,700 adults, has issued 718 active permits through October, one for each 11 adults. Neighboring Alcona County is about the same. Keweenaw County, with a much smaller population in the northernmost reaches of the state's Upper Peninsula, has the most per adult, one in eight. Contrasts are stark. Kent County is the fourth-most populous in the state, but last in permits per adults, one in 30. Ingham, Washtenaw, and Kalamazoo counties are also near the bottom. State |
have actual knowledge that this is not the case (either before or during the sale process) then they are required to remove it, which is the case for infringing items for sale on eBay.
It is also worth noting that should the sale in fact not be legitimate the user may be targeted by the rights holder directly of the products and they in turn would have to take action against the online seller.
How about other territories? Does it matter where the site is based, or where the customer is based? Is there any way that reselling can possibly be legal?
For other territories I am not aware if it is legal. In the US the position is very similar to the EU and it is going through the same process as the EU as it tries to decide how to move forward.
If a site is based in another territory but is making infringing content available in the UK (for example) and advertising to UK residents, then it does not matter where it is based. There is an infringement going on in the UK which would be actionable in the UK courts.
Any response to this Gamezebo article, which asserted that “while initially it sounds illegal, there is no concrete court ruling that says it is, in fact, illegal”?
As explained above, the sale of the product is in the firstly subject to the terms of the EULA or the terms of the original contract for sale in the circumstances of bulk purchases. There have not been any cases before the courts in respect of this practice for games, however, in the case mentioned above regarding non-gaming software (“Court Rejects EULAs, Says Digital Games Can be Resold”) the court was very clear on the issue of licences bought in bulk.
It stated that where the original software was bought as part of a large bulk sale for one particular entity and that was the basis of the unit price in the first sale, such products cannot be unbundled and sold on. Since this is a similar practice at hand here, subject to the original terms of the sale, should some rights holders take it upon themselves to challenge such sales, the parties doing the unbundling and reselling may find themselves liable for breach of contract and/or copyright infringement should this approach be upheld in respect of gaming software.
Is there anything that developers can do to prevent these sites from distributing their games if they would like them to be taken down?
If developers are concerned about the resale of the products then it would be worth speaking with the original distributors of the products in the first instance to see if any restrictions where included in the original sale. Should concerns remain, they should contact the website/reseller and query the resale products. Humble have changed the way that they sell bundles and we would expect further changes to be made to make it more difficult to resell keys.
If a developer’s game is being resold and it is prohibited under the EULA then it would be sensible to contact the marketplace where the games are being sold and demand that they are removed. If that market place does not expeditiously then they may find that rather than being able to rely on the protection offered by law and their reliance on their terms with the seller that they become liable.
Finally what would you say to people who still believe this is a grey area?
As outlined above, the outcome of cases involving the resale of licences and codes will be determined by the individual circumstances of each case. I am aware that this sounds like a lawyer’s response but unfortunately since each sale will be subject to differing terms or EULA’s that is the reality.
Unfortunately, the main consequence of the uncertainty impacts the buyers of used or unbundled games and keys. Many will not be aware of possible restrictions and they may find that when they try to access the games that the keys are not useable or valid.
In order to ensure that buyers are getting a legitimate sale it is best to ask questions of the seller to ensure that they are entitled to sell the product in that particular way. This will assist should the issue of the buyer’s knowledge become relevant at a later stage."I didn't want to go in my pants," a 57-year-old defecating defendant told a judge in Northampton County, explaining why he dropped his pants and pooped by the side of the road in broad daylight.
But what happened next was even more odd: The man who just had to go, identified by our sister website LehighValleyLive.com as Charles McMahon, picked up his own poop and threw it into the woods.
At this very low moment last October, he was spotted by two women who were driving by. They thought he was doing something illegal. But when they stopped and investigated, one of them stepped right into it - so to speak.
Here are more of the odious details of the case, as reported by LehighValleyLive.com:
"You were standing on the side of the road. You pulled your pants down. You picked it up and you started throwing your fecal matter around," Northampton County Judge Stephen Baratta asked at the hearing Thursday. "Tell me there's a good reason for this."
"I didn't want to go in my pants," McMahon answered.
"You must have eaten something really bad," the judge said.
On picking up his own poop and tossing it into the woods:
"Why'd you pick it up? That doesn't make sense," Baratta asked. "Why'd you get your hands dirty?"
"I don't know," McMahon said. "It's the first time it ever happened."
Defense attorney Anthony Rybak added McMahon had been drinking. McMahon admitted he had three beers.
"Oh. In the woods. You were cleaning up after yourself?" the judge asked.
On the witnesses who saw the incident:
Two women driving by that afternoon saw McMahon reaching near his rear end and pulled over because he looked suspicious.
"They saw him reach in his pants and they were afraid he was discarding something illegal," said Assistant District Attorney Tatum Wilson.
They went to the woods to see what McMahon had thrown. Unfortunately, one of them stepped in it. The charging police officer reported he smelled the evidence on her shoe.
In the end, McMahon pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and will spend six months on probation
As the DA said: "Nobody wants to go to trial and have the jury hear that story."Thank you to everyone for your continuing support. To everyone who replied to the original announcement or messaged us privately, your words of kindness mean a lot.
Unfortunately the situation is not looking good. We've been targeted as a "hate sub" in the past and honestly I don't care, everyone is allowed their point of view no matter how wrong it is.
Online threats mean nothing to us, I don't know how many times we've been called women abusers, misogynists, psychos, virgins, faggots or how many times we've been told to kill ourselves. But its always been in the realm of online and online threats mean nothing to us - you very quickly get a thick skin modding here (and we wouldn't have been chosen as mods if we didn't already have a thick skin as it is haha).
The problem is now they are trying to take this offline and try and use real life details to cause trouble. In the past people have lost their job, lost their family or even gotten national attention from doxxing ruining their lives - think violentacrez back from the 2011 days and any of the right wing mods from the recent election. It's straight up bullying, terrorising and intimidation.
At the moment we are monitoring the situation. The initial threat came that they want us to give the control of PPD to them so they can shut the sub down - and if we don't they will release personal information about us then use that information against us i.e. phoning our places of employment, harassing family members etc.
Personally I've not been targeted specifically but I know that some of the older mods have been - some of their real personal info was revealed to them, more than enough that we took this threat legitimately.
Alot of the mod team are seriously considering stepping down over this. Whilst we all truly believe in the subs message of equality, it's not worth ruining our lives. We'll keep everyone posted but this unfortunately feels like we're fighting a losing battle.
The primary issue is that our stated online opinions are controversial enough to cause us trouble, they don't actually have to lie - employers wouldn't want the hit to their reputations if this became public, even though we've done nothing wrong.
A few hours ago I received word from /u/mustaka that unfortunately the doxers carried out some of their threat and did contact his employer. He says that although there are no immediate consequences he is under review and it's quite possible he won't need to return on Monday. Our thoughts are with him, this shouldn't happen to anyone.
It appears though that this is just the beginning and apparently he is just the first. As developments happen we shall keep everyone informed.
Once again thank you for your all for your continued support. We do this for you guys and it's nice to know it's appreciated. For however long it lasts anyway.Get the biggest daily news stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
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A woman called in ghostbusters - after claiming a pervy poltergeist was stealing her KNICKERS.
Terrified Pauline Hickson has moved house seven times in two years - but claims the saucy spirit has followed her around the country, hiding her knickers and bras.
But now, Pauline, from Hull, East Yorks, has called in a professional ghost-buster - who says he has banished the ghost for good.
Pauline, 58, said: "I thought I was going crazy. I didn't know why it was happening to me, it was like living through hell and I had no one to turn to.
"I'd come home from work and all my things would have been rifled through.
"My underwear was going missing and someone had been in my shower - all the windows would be steamed up and the shower all wet.
"I thought my family were doing it to me. I didn't believe anyone and I started to lose people from my life. I would spend all day just wandering around the streets, trying to stay out of the house."
The spooky happenings started two years ago, after she moved into a bungalow in north Hull.
Within a few weeks of living there, Pauline said she felt a presence she could not explain and strange things would happen while she was out of the house.
Pictures started slipping off the walls, the shower room was being used and there were scratches left up and down the doors, Pauline claimed.
She says she would come in from a day out and be greeted by the mess left behind by the ghosts, who she says would also rifle through her belongings, send the temperature either soaring or plummeting in her home and even leave her a cup and spoon out ready for a hot drink.
(Image: Caters)
And despite leaving her flat and moving in with friends and family, wherever she went, the spooky happenings continued.
Pauline said: "One day when I was staying with my nephew me and my sister came back from the shops and the kitchen looked like someone had wiped it down with dirt and then freeze-dried it. There were scratches up the walls too.
"I was too frightened to go home - I'd spend most nights in a hotel."
It was the final straw for Pauline, who packed up her belongings and moved to Cambridge - but she was followed and the same spooky pranks started happening again.
Within a few months she returned to Hull, this time to live with her niece, but it was not long before her clothes, including her bras, went missing again.
But now, after a hypno-exorcism, she says she is finally free of the mischievous spirits
.Ghostbuster Steve Kneeshaw put Pauline under hypnosis, which he combined with an exorcism, with instant results.
Steve reported feeling a blast of cold air before seeing a large man and a 14-year-old boy fly past him.
Since then, Pauline has not experienced a hint of paranormal activity in her home.
She suspects the 'ghosts' are associated with an old dressing table she bought before she moved into the bungalow, in which she found a ruby wedding anniversary card and other personal items.Share selection to:
On the 9th of March this year, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released their Gas Statement of Opportunities report. The report warned of electricity supply shortfalls resulting from reduced availability of gas and gas-fired electricity.
These warnings were widely covered in the national media with headlines like “AEMO warns of blackouts as gas runs out” and “gas supply shortage will threaten nation’s power supplies”.
Torrens Island Power Station in South Australia. Picture: Peter Ede/Flickr
The short-term political response to this was a call for “more gas supply and gas suppliers” and ‘crisis talks’ with gas suppliers. Then, in a dramatic intervention, the Prime Minister declared that there was a shortage of gas supplies for eastern-Australia and that certain restrictions could be placed on gas exports.
Our research reviews the results and recommendations for addressing gas and electricity supply security that emerged from AEMO’s initial report. Our work finds that there is certainly a shortage of cheap gas, which is already creating so-called “demand destruction”, particularly in the industrial sector.
However, it is also important to note that the total gas supply in Eastern Australia has expanded rapidly in recent years, and the key domestic issue is more to do with the gas price that is now dictated by linkages to international trade, than the supply.
In addition the combination of falling renewable and storage costs means alternative options for the electricity sector will be cheaper than developing relatively expensive unconventional gas resources such as coal seam gas.
What gas shortfall?
The AEMO modelling suggested that a shortfall could occur in three of the next 13 years in the electricity sector, with largest shortfall amounting to approximately 0.19 per cent of the annual electricity supply. In gas-supply terms, this is equivalent to 0.20 per cent of the total annual gas supply across all sectors.
AEMO forecast electricity generated by fuel source showing AEMO’s forecast supply gap as a thin red line at the top of the stack. PIcture: Author supplied
It is important to note that this gas supply shortfall is significantly smaller than the range in demand scenarios considered likely by AEMO, which vary by roughly plus or minus 5 per cent.
Of note also is that some eleven days after the 9th March 2017 report, AEMO published an updated electricity-demand forecast. In the update, AEMO reduced its forecast in demand for the National Electricity Market (NEM) by approximately 1 per cent. With that more than accounting for the previously forecasted shortfall in the electricity sector, it points to the complex and rapidly changing dynamics in our energy markets.
Subsequently, Shell announced its intention to proceed with the 161-well Project Ruby in south-West Queensland in mid-March, a commitment that will add around 10 per cent more gas to the domestic supply-side.
Alternatives to gas in the electricity sector
While such rapid changes in outlook speak to the old adage “forecasting is difficult, especially for the future”, they raise important underlying questions about the way we best reshape our energy system to meet current and future needs.
Gas is often characterised as a ‘transition fuel’, on the pathway to a zero-emissions power system. Gas certainly offers many advantages over coal, in terms of relatively lower CO2, and much lower particulate emissions. However, the falling costs of renewable energy and storage technologies combined with increasing gas costs means this pathway is no longer necessarily economic. In fact, it raises the question as to whether gas may indeed be a detour.
This question is now being openly addressed by some key industry participants, with AGL suggesting “...the National Electricity Market...here in Australia could transition directly from being dominated by coal-fired base load to being dominated by storable renewables.”
Gas generation generally falls into two categories: open cycle gas turbines (OCGT) and combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT). These two technologies effectively play different roles in the energy sector. OCGT’s are highly flexible and provide peak capacity, and are have low utilisation rates over the course of the year. CCGT’s on the hand, operate more continuously and provide large amounts of energy over the course of the year.
Each of these technologies is now under competitive threat from renewable generation and storage, with the flexible capacity provided by energy storage technologies, and bulk energy renewable generation.
So how do they compare?
Energy - renewables vs. gas
If we compare the cost of providing bulk energy with gas and renewable technologies, the ‘new CCGT’, Photovoltaic (PV) and wind cost represent the levelised cost of energy. This is a representation of the cost of providing energy over the lifetime of the plant.
Comparison of energy cost from new and existing gas with new renewable energy generation. The range of solar and wind costs reflect different capital cost assumptions, while the range of gas costs reflects gas price assumptions. Picture: Supplied
The other two gas generation costs - CCGT and steam - represent the costs of energy from existing plants, at their respective thermal efficiencies. The steam thermal efficiency is similar to that of open cycle gas turbines. Surprisingly, and depending on gas price and capital cost assumptions, new renewable energy projects provide cheaper energy than existing gas generators.
Flexible Capacity - storage vs gas
We can look at the cost of providing flexible capacity between gas and storage technologies, by comparing the levelised cost of capacity. Similar to the levelised cost of energy, it is a representation of the provision of flexible capacity over the lifetime of the plant.
In this analysis we can compare the cost of capacity from OCGT with that from diesel and various storage technologies, including battery and Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES). These storage technologies can compete with OCGT in providing flexible capacity depending on technology and capital cost.
Comparison of flexible capacity cost from gas (OCGT), diesel and storage technologies generation. The range of costs reflect different capital cost assumptions. Picture: Supplied
But demand response would be cheaper again.
Demand response is when electricity consumers are incentivised during critical times to reduce electricity demand, rather than serving the demand with new and expensive peak generation.
what next?
What is clear is AEMO’s forecast gas shortage is very small, and it may have already closed by revised demand forecasts and new gas field developments.
The question of how Australia should deal with a potential shortfall invites a larger debate, including the role of gas in our electricity system, and whether the falling costs of renewable energy and storage technology mean we’ve outgrown gas in the electricity sector.
Banner: Stokesley77/Flickr
A version of this article appears on The Conversation. The short-lived gas shortfall: A review of AEMOs warning of gas-supply ‘shortfalls’ was prepared by Tim Forcey and Dylan McConnell.Reeling from a disappointing 2016 campaign cycle, Senate Democrats appealed to the more progressive wing of their party Wednesday by naming Massachusetts' Elizabeth Warren and Vermont's Bernie Sanders -- an independent -- to its expanded chamber leadership structure.
Newly elected Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, picked Warren and Sanders to serve on a diverse 10-member team, which he said will aim to unite the caucus and speak to those across America.
"Our whole leadership team is emblematic of that," he told reporters Wednesday's leadership meeting. "Our team is ideologically and geographically diverse, it mixes the wisdom of experience with the vigor of youth -- at least in Senate years."
Schumer stressed that although all senators represent diverse factions, they have all devoted their lives to fighting for the middle class and those struggling to get there.
Pointing to the results of the 2016 elections, Schumer said he heard "loud and clear" the concerns of the American people and plans to address them with his leadership team.
"We need to be the party that speaks to and works on behalf of all Americans and a bigger, bolder, sharper edged economic message that talks about how people in the middle class and those struggling to make it there can do better," he said.
Warren, who previously held a leadership position under retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, will serve as vice chair of the conference.
Sanders, who amassed millions of young supporters as a Democratic presidential candidate, meanwhile, was named chair of outreach.
Schumer said that adding the Vermont senator and others to the leadership team "shows we can unite the disparate factions of our party and our country."
Sanders, who did not switch to the Democratic Party despite running in it's primary, called for "real change" in response to joining the leadership team.
"Real change doesn't take place on Capitol Hill. It takes place in grassroots America. It takes place when millions of working people, young people and senior citizens come together to demand that our government works for all of us and not just the 1 percent," he said in a statement. "When the people lead, the leaders follow."Lawns in north-end Dartmouth are under attack by crows ripping up the grass to get at an infestation of beetle larvae, also known as grubs.
"It's a mess here," said Jim Dewolfe, who's lived on Moira Street for 40 years. "They've kind of taken over."
The first time he said he noticed the problem was in 2016, but a year later it's worse. He has a bucket handy with pebbles that he throws at the crows to try to keep them at bay.
His problems come as another Nova Scotia community faces grub and bird issues. Middleton has been forced to close it municipally run sports fields because seagulls and other animals are tearing up the turf to get to the insects.
A crow in north Dartmouth on one of the ripped up lawns. (CBC)
The only real solution is to try to reduce the what's attracting the birds. Grubs are short, fat worms, while another problem larvae called leatherjackets are longer, skinnier and are black or brown, according to Emily Tregunno, a gardening expert at Halifax Seed.
In north Dartmouth it appears the white larvae are the problem.
There is only one approved treatment product available in Nova Scotia, according to Tregunno. It's called a nematode, which is a microscopic worm that eats specific insects from the inside out.
"So if you have a grub or a leatherjacket, you need a different species of nematode in order to control them," said Tregunno.
Some residents have put coverings on their lawn to stop the crows from tearing it apart. (CBC)
The cool spring weather is not helping the situation because nematodes cannot be spread on lawns until the temperature warms up.
It could be the end of May before the nematodes can be applied, and one application may not be enough.
"My neighbour bought it and right now it doesn't seem to be working," said DeWolfe. "We're waiting for somebody to come up with another solution."GINGRICH: I will say, I think the recent Supreme Court decision to turn over to a local district judge decisions of national security and life and death that should be made by the president and the congress is the most extraordinarily arrogant and destructive decision the Supreme Court has made in it's history.
REID: In it's history?
GINGRICH: In it's history. Worse than Dred Scott, for the following reason: The court has now knowingly stepped in, this morning's newspaper say, smugglers had actually gotten the design of a nuclear weapon, that we now have the evidence that people out there had a nuclear weapon design. And this court is saying that any random district judge, based on whatever their personal caprice is, whatever their personal ideological bias, can intervene with a terrorist in such a way.Nigerian nationals have topped the list of foreigners arrested for drug smuggling in Navi Mumbai over the past five years. According to the sources from the anti-narcotic cell of Navi Mumbai police, a total of 66 narcotic related cases were registered between 2012 and April, this year in the city. Nigerian nationals were involved in 14 of these cases, the police said.
Since 2012, the police have arrested 14 foreign nationals for smuggling drugs to the city and 13 of them were from Nigeria, while one was from Ghana.
Barely a week ago, the police arrested one Nigerian from Kopar Khairane who had come to sell mephedrone rock and powder. Around 25 gram of the drug in powder form and 85 gram in rock form collectively worth Rs 3.30 lakh was seized from his possession.
As far as foreign nationals are concerned, several Bangladeshis were also arrested in the city in different crimes. But they were mainly into fake currency notes scam, cheating, theft and robbery. None of them were arrested for trading drugs.
Tushar Doshi, deputy commissioner of police (special branch) said, “When it comes to drug smuggling by foreign nationals, by and large all the criminals are from Africa in general and from Nigeria in particular. The number of foreign nationals including those from Africa has also increased in the city over the past two years.”
The police said that these Nigerians work in networks which also operate in other cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. Apart from their countrymen, several Indians are also working in those networks.
Maya More, police inspector from the anti-narcotic cell said, “These criminals collect their drugs from people in their networks and then smuggle those to different cities. The biggest problem faced while trying to get details about their business is the language issue. We cannot interrogate them properly after their arrests, as many of them cannot speak proper English or any Indian language.”
Officials from the city special branch told Hindustan Times that presently around 950 foreign nationals from nearly 70 counties are staying in Navi Mumbai and around 50 of them are Africans.
Amit Shellar, police sub-inspector from the anti-narcotic cell said, “Most of the Nigerians arrested for drug smuggling, had come to India on a business visa. Initially, they would export garments from Mumbai to their country. However, when their business would fail, they would trade drugs for easy money.”
According to the crime branch official, such networks are operating in the city through word-of-mouth publicity. “They initially target students from the affluent families and help in forming a habit of taking the drug. Once they create a good number of customers, they keep selling it to them,” an officer said on condition of anonymity.
Apart from drug smuggling, several Nigerians were also arrested for online cheating, credit card and debit card frauds among others.
First Published: May 03, 2017 16:01 IST2013 – It has been a year of looking and learning about wild edibles and medicinals on our property. We have learned that we have a plethora of wild edibles available to us, and we are confident that we have barely scratched the surface.
We enjoy finding and learning about these plants because they are natural, self maintaining, perennial, and in some cases medicinal as well. Unless we destroy them, they should always be available to us – a great food store should troubled times or natural disaster come knocking at the gate of J&J Acres.
This will be a 4 part series.
Here is a list of some of the plants we have found and some of the general uses. This list is of the items we have found or learned about in 2013 and does not include any edible animal life:
Wild Potato Vine – (Ipomoea pandurata)
Also known as a Morning Glory or Big-Rooted Morning Glory – these produce amazingly stunning paper-thin white blossoms that have a deep purple center. They vine and climb up other vegetation, but the real value is in the tuber.
The tuber, or enlarged part of the root, is used much like a potato. This means you can use it as a replacement for potato, if you wished.
We only have only see one instance of it on our property, right next to the driveway where the culvert goes under the drive. Makes sense – after all, potatoes like water, right? Of the other water bearing areas on the property the only other one with a reasonable amount of sun is overtaken with black raspberries.
When not cooked, the tubers are a laxative which, when needed, is valuable – and when it is not, can be a horrible thing to find out about. Cook your tubers.
Jerusalem Artichoke – (Helianthus tuberosus)
Also known as Sunchoke – these grow as tall as and look similar to sunflowers. However, it is the tuber we are after.
The tuber root is knobby and can be eaten raw or it can be cooked like a potato. Caution is required, however, as this tuber contains Inulin (not Insulin), and can cause gas. As they say, moderation in all things.
I have read that they are great in a thick creamy soup.
However, Jerusalem Artichokes have the great benefit of being able to be turned into bacon. Let the hogs root them up and eat them – you won’t have to deal with any potential for gas and you get bacon. Win/Win.
We plant to transplant some in to our upcoming perennial garden to use as an attractant for pollinators.
Japanese Honeysuckle – (Lonicera japonica)
Because every child and adult should have the ability to put a drop of this nectar on their tongue.
No, I do not believe you are going to find any great nutritional value here – but it is just an incredibly pleasant thing to do. Yes, there are other uses, such as attracting pollinators… but really – I would rather get to the nectar first, all things being equal.
Of course there are always enough flowers for us and the butterflies, so everyone is happy.
There are medicinal uses here as well. Traditional Chinese medicine uses honeysuckle in a variety of ways. Not having used these methods I will not repeat them here, but mention them so that you might investigate further if you wish.
In case of the dire situation where the art of honeysuckle eating is lost in your family, have no fear. We have a video for that!
Watch our video about Honeysuckle Nectar by clicking the link or watching below:I feel half-superhero, half-idiot. The jacket I’m wearing is letting me fly a drone around a virtual university campus just by spreading my arms and moving my body from side to side – like a kid pretending to be a plane. And a virtual reality headset gives me a perfect bird’s-eye view. But I’m sitting in the Swiss embassy in London, with the jacket’s creators looking at me across a table wondering if I’m going to fall off my chair.
The jacket is a prototype drone controller kitted out with sensors that measure body movement. This motion is then translated into the controls of an airborne drone – or, for my test-flight, a virtual drone in a simulator. When I move my body to the left, the drone moves to the left, and when I dive forwards and almost lose my balance, so does the drone.
The VR headset lets me see where I’m going. Headphones provide the sound of wind rushing past my ears and metal supports under my elbows keep my arms aloft for flight. I might look like a plucked chicken in a harness, waving my arms and staring at the floor, but from where I sit, I’m an eagle soaring in the sky.
“The goal is to make people fly without ever leaving the ground,” says Dario Floreano at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), who created the jacket.
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Floreano believes that the jacket gives drone pilots a more intuitive way to control their aircraft, letting them focus on other tasks at the same time. Pilots on a search-and-rescue mission could communicate with the ground team more easily if they didn’t have to focus all their attention on using their hands to control a drone, for example.
Jackets vs joysticks
The team’s initial tests have shown that people learned to control a drone more quickly with the jacket than with standard joystick controls. What’s more, people handled stressful situations better with the jacket than with a joystick. For example, testers were more likely to get their drone through tight gaps between buildings using the jacket.
“People with a lot of practice are really good at controlling drones with traditional controls,” says team member Carine Rognon. “But with the fly jacket people reach the same level without the practice.”
The next version of the jacket will also provide physical feedback to the wearer. Cables running through the material that can be tightened or relaxed will give the sensation of turbulence. The cables will also be used by an AI co-pilot to tug people into the right body position for the optimum flight path.
“Piloting drones is a difficult thing,” says Karen Anderson at the University of Exeter, UK. It’s hard to keep track of everything like flight direction and telemetry read-outs while also thinking about what your fingers are doing on the controller. “Wearing a suit that can control the drone without that brain-eye-finger co-ordination gives a more direct way of sending commands to the flying machine,” she says.
Correction:The spelling of Carine Rognon's name has been corrected since this article was first published.Feastly, a startup that connects diners with chefs offering unique food experiences outside of restaurants, is announcing that it has raised $1.25 million in seed funding.
We first wrote about the company in April, describing it as an “Airbnb for dinner.” Basically, it’s a site where chefs (who need to be approved by the Feastly team) can offer things like this four-course, Tuscany-focused focused meal in Chicago and this pie-cooking class in New York.
Co-founder Noah Karesh told me that that since Feastly launched last year, its chefs have hosted “thousands” of meals for “tens of thousands” of customers in San Francisco, Washington DC, New York, and Chicago. He also said that with individual chefs making up to $60,000 annually, some of them have actually been able to make a living on Feastly alone. And others have used it as a platform to build a following and then launch their own restaurants.
For diners, Karesh argued that Feastly is a good way to access hard-to-find cuisines (such as Malaysian, Guatemalan, and Macanese) and to try tasty food that accommodates unusual dietary restrictions. But he also said it’s not just for foodies — it’s also a way for people to feel connected.
“I have this vision of a person with 5,000 friends on Facebook eating alone,” Karesh said. He added, “When you go to a restaurant, you don’t know anything about the food. When you have … context around something, that gives what you’re doing more meaning.”
The company previously raised funding from Tim Draper, Mike Walsh, Scott and Cyan Banister, Lisa Gansky, Adri Capital, and others. The new seed round comes from The Westly Group, founded by investor and politician Steve Westly. Karesh pointed out that the firm, which is known as a cleantech investor, has also backed food startups like Good Eggs and Revolution Foods.
Feastly recently added a $1 million insurance policy protecting cooks in cases of food illness or property damage. Insurance has been a big concern for peer-to-peer marketplaces (Airbnb, for example, recently rolled out $1 million liability insurance on top of its $1 million Host Guarantee in case of property damage), but karesh said P2P food startups haven’t offered anything like this before.
Over the summer, Feastly hired Leigh Goldstein as its chief operating officer. Goldstein was most recently CEO at sports startup Exiles, and he’s also served as director of product at StubHub and director of global shipping at eBay.By Brian Foster
Abstract
People wonder do we have many families, mothers, fathers, and so on as we travel through multiple lives. How do we manage having a menagerie of relatives while in the spirit world? The answer is we don’t; read on and find out why.
Introduction
Most of us love our families and our fondest wish is to be reunited with them in the spirit world. We may ponder what life would be like in a heavenly place with our loved ones. Then we think about reincarnation and realize that we may have had multiple families, many different mothers and fathers, and who knows how many brothers and sisters. So, is there a legion of relatives waiting for us, so many we would need a telephone book size address book to keep them straight? Allan Kardec’s book, The Gospel According to Spiritism, gives us the answer;
“Family ties are not destroyed by reincarnation, as certain persons believe; on the contrary, they are strengthened and become tighter.”[1]
How can that be? How can we travel through countless centuries and somehow remain involved in our close family circle? The answer, like the answers to many other questions, lies in the Law of Affinity. Whereby, souls who are at the same level, mutual affection and have similar tastes naturally gather together.
Law of Affinity
The Law of Affinity is actually one of the great filters, or more aptly, sorters, of the universe. Where souls more interested in doing harm are collected in darken areas, souls who have respect and admiration for the achievements of each other are also grouped with one another in celestial cities. Allan Kardec explains how affiliated souls tend to stay with each other;
“These spirits happy at being together, seek out one another. Incarnation separates them only momentarily, because after their reentry into the errant state they meet again like friends who have returned from a journey. Frequently, they even follow one another into incarnation, wherein they are reunited in the same family or the same circle, working together for their mutual advancement.”[2]
The tight cluster of souls will watch out for each other. While some are incarnates on earth, others will look on from high and help guide the spirits going through their trials. Each helps everyone in the group to advance together. As they become purer, their friendship becomes more concrete, as their bodies divest themselves of matter. Petty jealousies and selfishness doesn’t disrupt their relationships.
Of course there are different types of family relationships, with those that we are stuck together because of a purely physical connection. Or a person we marry, not because of true spiritual affection, but of a sensual or monetary attraction. These are people who have been selected for us in order to experience the trials, that, need I remind you, we have selected ourselves. We may not like them very much, but I can guarantee we will learn some hard lessons from them and for that we should be grateful. As Allan Kardec states, “There are no lasting affections except spiritual ones; physical affections die out with the cause that gave rise to them; but that cause no longer exists in the world of spirits, whereas the soul exists forever”.[3]
Therefore, when we feel a special kinship |
-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:wim:repairSource\install.wim:1 /LimitAccess
Note: Remember to replace "repairSource" for the path to the source with known good files. For example, D:\Sources\install.wim.
The command will perform a Windows image repair using the known good files included within the install.wim file using the Windows 10 installation media, and without trying to use Windows Update as a source to download the required files for repair.
Using DISM with an install.ESD file
Alternatively, you can not only specify a source pointing to install.WIM, but you can also use an install.ESD file, which is an encrypted version of Windows image.
If you have upgraded to Windows 10 from a previous version of the operating system, the installation files may still stored on the C: drive, which means that you may just have a source of known good files.
To use the install.esd to repair the Windows image in your computer use the following steps:
Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu and select Command Prompt (Admin). Type the following command and press Enter: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\Install.esd Or you can also run the following to limit the use of Windows Update: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\Install.esd /LimitAccess Alternatively, you can also use following variant of the previous command to accomplish the same task: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:esd:C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\Install.esd:1 /LimitAccess Or if the install.esd is located on another drive use the following command: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:repairSource\Install.esd
Note: Remember to replace "repairSource" for the path to the source with known good files. For example, D:\Sources\install.esd.
The Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) utility will always create a log file at %windir%/Logs/CBS/CBS.log capturing any problems the command-line utility fixed or found.
How to repair Windows 10 problems
The instructions you've learned thus far are to repair the Windows image. Now you can use the Windows image to fix the problems in your Windows 10 installation using the System File Checker (SFC) utility.
Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu and select Command Prompt (Admin). In the Command Prompt type the following command and press Enter: sfc /scannow
Quick Tip: It could take up to three tries for SFC to fix the issue.
This SFC command will scan and repair system files on Windows 10, but now with access to replace missing or corrupted files using known good files from the Windows image.
There is more to SFC command-line utility. You can learn more about SFC in our previous Windows 10 guide.
Windows 10 resources
For more tips, coverage, and answers on Windows 10, you can visit the following resources:
This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy for more details.The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a Corporate Coup in the Making
Trade agreements that emphasize openness should be treated with caution. When the term partnership is used, an even warier eye should be cast at texts, negotiations, and agreements. Where is the pin that underlies the agreement?
On November 13, 2013 WikiLeaks released the draft text of the entire Intellectual Property Rights Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). As noted in the preamble, “This chapter published by WikiLeaks is perhaps the most controversial chapter of the TPP due to its wide-ranging effects on medicines, publishers, internet services, civil liberties and biological patents.”
The document’s wording has the recognizable features of the Obama administration’s trade policy, an unsurprising fact given that much of it was authored by United States Trade Representative Michael Froman. It says virtually nothing about the rights of individual citizens, and everything about the rights of states and corporations. An interesting feature of the draft text is the extent to which it discloses various disagreements of the parties.
Tiny and at times plucky New Zealand was none too thrilled by a range of the US positions in the chapter, a position that has gotten sharper as negotiations have gone on. Two-hundred and fifty references involving New Zealand are featured, of which 60 show support for the US position. Peru, Vietnam, Chile, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei tended to keep company with NZ at many a turn.
The only thing open about US diplomacy on trade is the conscious policy of keeping markets open yet regulated by US rules. Free trade is free, as long as it is mediated by the juridical and legislative guidelines of US law. Good if you can get it, and the imperial sentinels are confident they can force a whole set of enforcement provisions down the willing, and some not so willing throats, of their negotiating partners.
A few highlights from the troubling document
Japan and the US have proposed extending the net of pharmaceutical redress in terms of claims made on patents regarding medicines and drugs. This is tantamount to declaring war on generic drugs: Money first, patient treatment and consumer welfare a distant second. Indeed, drug companies are treated as potential victims, able to seek compensation for delays in the grant or extension of patents. Manufacturers of generic drugs will be in the firing line here, as they will be prevented from using previous data on trials to manufacture cheaper alternatives.
There are also issues about extending the royalty payments 20 years longer than present on all books, movies and videos. There are disagreements about patents on plants and animals. One particular concern is requiring internet service providers (ISP) to become guard dogs for foreign corporations and pursue copyright violations on their behalf.
Both Japan and the US turned up their noses on the issue of “maintain[ing] a balance between the rights of intellectual property holders and the legitimate interests of users and the community.” Legitimacy is in the eye of the beholder, as long as the one beholding has the clout to do so.
The extent of the US aversion to various concerns of smaller negotiating partners was evident to the objectives section of the Chapter, among them being the “transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations.”
Each party to the agreement would retain a “right to protect public health, including by facilitating timely access to affordable medicines.” Such a social conscience would not wash with Washington’s stance. As intellectual property law expert Matthew Rimmer explains, the draft reflected core trade objectives of Washington and US multinationals “with little focus on the rights and interests of consumers, let alone broader community interests.”
The wind is bound to blow favorably towards Washington from some circles. They will have a compliant Canberra on their side, given the stern eye US officials have regarding Australians’ cavalier disposition to copyright infringement. Former US ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich had been browbeating Canberra over the naughty infractions of Australian citizens on copyrighted content, calling them in April 2013 “some of the worst offenders with among the highest piracy rates… in the world.”
The battle with small New Zealand will continue ahead of the next round of talks. Community, welfare and sharing will come face to face with the corporations, copyrighters and illiberal trade experts.
Editor’s Notes: All photographs from Backbone Campaign.Workers at Cyprus's state electricity utility have clashed with police in a rare explosion of anger over government privatisation plans under a $13.7bn international bailout.
In a rowdy protest at parliament on Monday, up to 400 demonstrators burst through police barricades in central Nicosia while politicians were debating provisions of a privatisation law with the island's finance minister.
After electricity was cut to parliament, the finance committee meeting was moved to another part of the building.
Cyprus is required to approve legislation governing the future disposal of state assets under a three-year economic reform programme brokered with the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission a year ago.
Monday's protest, which left two demonstrators slightly injured, is unusual. The island has seen little of the unrest stirred by bailouts in other euro zone nations, even though its aid conditions were among the harshest and involved closure of a failing bank and forcing large depositors in a second to help recapitalise the lender.
Under bailout conditions, Cyprus is called upon to privatise the electricity authority EAC, the Cyprus Ports Authority and Cyprus telecoms CyTA by 2018, raising $1.9bn.
Full debate
Further consultations are expected this week, and the legislation is expected to be debated by the full parliament on February 27.
Labour unions representing workers called the bill an abomination, and vowed to step up action.
"Every member of parliament will be held accountable for this crime perpetuated against semi-government corporations," said Andreas Panorkos, a representative of electricity workers.
Politicians said consultations on the legislation would continue this week.
"Even without electricity and (working in) darkness we have to do our duty. We cannot stop examining serious issues we are unfortunately called upon to review in view of the financial predicaments of the state," said Nicolas Papadopoulos, head of parliament's finance committee and leader of the Democratic Party, a junior governing coalition partner.
After bursting through metal barricades and hurling water bottles and citrus fruit from nearby trees, demonstrators spilled over a metal fence and attempted to burst through glass doors, heckling politicians.
The government said "vandalism" would not be tolerated and it would invoke legislation banning strikes in essential services, which include electricity and telecom utilities.
It warned that international lenders could withhold a new tranche of aid worth $324m if the sale was not approved by parliament by March 5.
The government has also assured workers that their employment conditions and pension rights would not be affected.In a recent interview with the Canadian International Council, Tyler Cowen — the George Mason economics professor and influential blogger — noted that to an increasing extent, new technologies are originating from a small number of global clusters. “I think any location, not just Canada, has to ask itself ‘are we going to be one of those clusters or not?’ And the correct answer may be ‘no.’” His guess is that “Canada will not be a huge innovative part of the knowledge economy.”
Canadians’ reactions to talk of this sort typically fall into two categories. The first is to call for even stronger efforts to prove Cowen wrong. With more and better government support, it is argued, Canada can be home to a world-class research cluster. The other is resignation and pessimism: our collective failure has doomed us to mediocracy. But Cowen’s comments are cause for neither defiance nor despair.
Research and development (R&D) activity is one of those cases where there is a strong case for government support. (Here I am referring to for-profit R&D undertaken in the private sector; publicly-funded, not-for-profit research is the topic for another discussion.) It is widely believed that R&D is more productive when it is done in close proximity with others: researchers benefit from interactions with their peers. So R&D generates “positive externalities” in the form of increased productivity for other researchers. Since firms must pay all the costs of R&D but do not receive all the benefits — they cannot force other researchers to pay for their increased effectiveness — too little R&D will be done. (In the case of negative externalities, such as pollution, you get the opposite result: if firms don’t have to pay for all the costs, then it will produce and pollute too much.) So it makes sense to have some level of government support for R&D.
It is much less clear whether or not it makes sense for governments to provide the kind of support necessary to reproduce a global-scale R&D cluster in Canada. For one thing — as Cowen notes — existing clusters have what look to be an insurmountable head start. Silicon Valley’s ability to attract talent is largely based on the talent that is already there. Using public funds to attract a small number of researchers is pointless when the goal is to generate economies of scale and scope, and using public funds to attract a large number of researchers would be prohibitively expensive. If you mix in the fact that other jurisdictions are all trying to do the same thing, then the prospects for creating a Silicon Valley North are quite bleak.
Given these obstacles, it’s worth asking if the benefits outweigh the costs — and as Professor Cowen says, the correct answer may be “no.” This goes beyond the fact that R&D is a risky activity and that not all research ideas pan out. It’s possible for an economy to have too many resources allocated to R&D, or at least to the wrong sort of R&D, if the social and private costs and benefits are misaligned
Patents are the usual way of covering the costs of R&D activity. These confer a legal monopoly for the use of the new technology, and make it possible to earn monopoly profits. Suppose for minute that a firm is able to develop and patent a new technology that is a demonstrable improvement on what is currently on the market. If it is able to establish itself as the new industry leader, the private gains from developing and patenting new ideas can be enormous.
If the private gain from a new technology is the power to extract monopoly profits from the entire market, the social gain is simply the difference between the new and the old technologies. From society’s point of view, investing large resources to produce incremental improvements may fail a cost-benefit test.
The pharmaceutical industry is a good example of this tension between social and private benefits. The private benefits from developing what can be marketed as the most effective treatment on the market can be large, even if the improvement on the existing market leader is minor.
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Canada’s economic prospects are not dimmed by not being the home to a global R&D cluster. The main determinants of growth are the accumulation of capital — both physical and human — and access to new technologies, even if some of those new technologies were developed in another country. Or in another province, come to that.
None of this is to say that Canadian R&D is a waste of time, or that Canadian governments should abandon its support for these activities. But bragging rights aside, the prospect of not being a world leader in R&D is not particularly alarming. What really matters for economic well-being is the technology itself, not the activity that went into developing it. As with so many things, if it’s cheaper to buy new technologies off the shelf, then there’s no point on insisting on doing it ourselves.
National PostIn a historic vote yesterday, the California Assembly passed the Microplastic Nuisance Prevention Law to ban the sale and manufacturing of personal care products containing tiny, synthetic plastic microbeads. Thanks to 5 Gyres Institute, the group that authored the bill sponsored by Assembly Member Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), California sets a national precedent for holding companies liable for products that harm aquatic species and pollutes our water.
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“The passage of our bill by the California Assembly is a big win not only for California waters, but sets a national precedent for industry to take recoverability and recyclability seriously when formulating products," said Stiv Wilson, associate director of 5 Gyres who was responsible for coordinating the legislative effort. "We are past the tipping point with regard to plastic pollution in our waters and we’ll target any product for regulation, redesign or ban that has no sustainable end of life scenario. We’re on the offensive to protect our precious waters from mindless plastic pollution.”
“Passing the Assembly Floor is a big milestone for this bill," said Assemblyman Richard Bloom. "I am proud that my colleagues support our efforts to ensure that our waters are clean, getting plastic microbeads out of these products will eliminate a significant source of pollution.”
Throughout the last several years, 5 Gyres and researchers from SUNY Fredonia discovered large quantities of plastic microbeads escaping wastewater treatment in several New York watersheds, the Great Lakes, Chicago River and Los Angeles River. In 2013, 5 Gyres and SUNY published a peer-reviewed paper in the Marine Pollution Bulletin, believed to be the first micro-plastic pollution survey of the Great Lakes Region, documenting high concentrations of plastic microbeads in the Great Lakes.
“We found concentrations of plastic microbeads in Lake Erie that rival some of the highest concentrations in the world’s oceans," said Dr. Marcus Eriksen, co-founder and research director for 5 Gyres who authored the Great Lakes paper. "Looking to our home waters in the Los Angeles River, we found microbeads there too. Unfortunately, the more we look, the more we find plastic in our environment.”
The high concentrations of microplastics in Lake Erie accounted for about 90 percent of the total plastics found. Polyethylene and polypropylene beads were found in the samples, as well as particles of aluminum silicate, or coal ash, a byproduct of coal-fired power plants.
In addition to 5 Gyres there were dozens of California based organizations dedicated to the passage of this bill, including Clean Water Action and Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
“By passing AB 1699 (Bloom), the California Assembly made a bold move today to reduce the contamination of fish and other marine life with pollutant-covered plastic debris," said Miriam Gordon, director of Clean Water Action. "This is a sensible easy bill to vote for as there is no down side- no job loss or significant impact to California businesses and we hope to see the Senate exercise similar good judgment.”
The Microplastic Nuisance Prevention Law will go a long way to protect our watersheds from poorly designed products, including products containing microplastics that are designed to go down the drain and into the environment.
“Who wants to wash their face with plastics? Microbeads are completely unnecessary, as safer, natural alternatives that don’t pollute the water already exist," said Janet Nudelman, director for Campaign For Safe Cosmetics (Breast Cancer Fund). "Consumer pressure has led multinational cosmetics companies to stop using microbeads, including Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive, but we need laws on the books to make sure their commitments stick. Eliminating microbeads brings us one step closer to cleaning up the beauty aisle.”
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——–Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption UK Foreign Secretary William Hague: "If there is a missile test, we will advocate further measures to the UN Security Council"
Foreign ministers from the G8 group of nations have condemned in the "strongest possible terms" North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
Tensions have risen on the Korean peninsula in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, a Pentagon spy report concluded "with moderate confidence" that North Korea had the capability to launch nuclear-armed missiles.
But their reliability would be low, the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) said.
It is thought to be the first time that the agency has acknowledged North Korea's capability to produce warheads small enough to fit onto a missile.
The report's conclusion was made public by Republican Doug Lamborn as he questioned senior Pentagon officials about North Korea's nuclear weapons programme during a hearing of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.
"DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles, however the reliability will be low," Mr Lamborn said, quoting directly from the report released in March.
The study's conclusion was erroneously marked unclassified, an unnamed US official later told the Associated Press news agency.
'Belligerent approach'
Analysis When all was said and done, it was the film actress - Angelina Jolie - who stole the show. And this was not just due to her star quality. The nuclear dialogue with Iran is going nowhere. North Korea is unlikely to be deterred by the strong words coming from the G8 in London. And the Syrian crisis is doubly intractable because the UN Security Council is divided, with Russia and China opposing any strong statements, let alone action. So this was a meeting of the G8 that emphasised the art of the possible. The measures taken to combat sexual violence in armed conflict were thrust into the limelight. Many will say that a scourge that has afflicted societies from the Balkans to Africa and now the Middle East merits this kind of attention. But its billing at this G8 is a measure not just of its importance but of the intractability of so many of the other issues facing the premier league of world diplomats.
In a news conference after the G8 summit, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said that "if the DPRK [North Korea] conducts another missile launch or nuclear test, we have committed ourselves to take further significant measures".
The Group of Eight nations comprises the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia.
Britain currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the G8 and the talks are a prelude to the annual G8 summit later this year in Northern Ireland.
Correspondents say Japan, present at the talks, had been looking for a strong statement of solidarity over Korea.
North Korea has been making bellicose threats against South Korea, Japan and US bases in the region.
Mr Hague said the ministers condemned North Korea's "current aggressive rhetoric", saying it would "only serve further to isolate the DPRK".
Later on Thursday, US President Barack Obama also called on North Korea to end its "belligerent approach".
He added that the US would take "all necessary steps" to protect its people, while stressing that "nobody wants to see a conflict on the Korean peninsula".
Musudan missile The Musudan, also known as the Nodong-B or the Taepodong-X, is an intermediate-range ballistic missile. Its likely targets are Okinawa, Japan, and US bases in the Pacific
Range estimates differ dramatically. Israeli intelligence suggests 2,500km, while the US Missile Defense Agency estimates 3,200km; other sources put the upper limit at 4,000km
These differences are due in large part to the fact that the missile has never been tested publicly, according to the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Its payload is also unknown Missile defences in the region North Korea's missile programme
BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins says ministers agree that the combination of warlike threats from North Korea and preparations for new missile tests amount to dangerous provocation.
South Korea has raised its alert level amid indications that the North is preparing for a missile test.
Pyongyang has moved two Musudan ballistic missiles to its east coast. Estimates of their range vary, but some suggest it could travel 4,000km (2,500 miles).
A missile therefore has the potential of hitting US bases on Guam, although it is not known whether the Musudan has been tested before.
North Korea has increased its fiery rhetoric following fresh UN sanctions imposed after its third nuclear test and joint military manoeuvres by the US and South Korea.
The North says it will restart a mothballed nuclear reactor, has shut an emergency military hotline to the South and has urged countries to withdraw diplomatic staff, saying it cannot now guarantee their safety.
However, in the past few days North Korea's media appear to be in more of a holiday mood, due to the approach of Kim Il-sung's birthday on Monday - a potential launch date for a new missile test.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption North Korea has been making bellicose threats against South Korea, Japan and US bases in the region
Humanitarian assistance
The G8 ministers also pledged to work to end sexual violence in conflict, calling for urgent action to address "comprehensively" the "culture of impunity" in conflict zones.
Mr Hague said he was "delighted" that ministers had agreed on plans to tackle "the horrific use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war in conflicts around the globe", which he described as "one of the greatest and most persistent injustices in the world".
Mr Hague said the G8 had "committed to the development of a comprehensive international protocol on the investigation and documentation of rape and sexual violence in conflict".
The UK announced £10m ($15.4m) of fresh funding to supports efforts against sexual violence.
In a statement welcoming the moves, the Save the Children charity said: "The majority of victims of sexual violence, especially in conflict situations, are children so we must ensure these funds reach the most vulnerable children as a matter of urgency."
Key North Korean anniversaries 11 April - Kim Jong-un elected first secretary of the Workers' Party, and late father Kim Jong-il named General Secretary for Eternity in 2012
- Kim Jong-un elected first secretary of the Workers' Party, and late father Kim Jong-il named General Secretary for Eternity in 2012 13 April - Kim Jong-un appointed first chairman of the National Defence Commission in 2012
- Kim Jong-un appointed first chairman of the National Defence Commission in 2012 15 April - Birthday of state founder Kim Il-sung (1912-1994)
The UN special envoy for refugees, Angelina Jolie, said that wartime rape should not be regarded as inevitable, saying: "It can be prevented and must be confronted.
"Finally we have some hope to offer victims."
On Syria, Mr Hague admitted that "the world has failed so far in its responsibilities, and continues to do so", adding that divisions over the conflict continue.
"This is on track to be the biggest humanitarian catastrophe of the 21st Century so far," he added.
Ministers called for greater humanitarian assistance to Syrians affected by the conflict.
They affirmed their support for a "political transition", but did not mention any punitive measures against President Bashar al-Assad.
Fresh evidence of links between some opposition fighters and al-Qaeda has made it even harder for governments to decide a course of action, correspondents say.
G8 ministers met Syrian opposition figures on Wednesday on the sidelines of the two-day forum.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Actress Angelina Jolie, the UN's Zainab Hawa Bangura and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague on the bid to end sexual violence
More than 60,000 people are estimated to have died since the uprising against the government of President Assad began in March 2011.
The London talks were also the first chance for G8 ministers to discuss face-to-face the failure of last week's meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on curbing Iran's nuclear programme.
Mr Hague called that failure "disappointing".
"We will continue to work with the twin-track approach of sanctions and negotiations, but... the window of diplomacy will not remain open forever," he went on.
Tehran says it only wants to produce energy but the US and its allies suspect it is trying to develop a nuclear weapon.
Burma, Somalia and cyber-security were also topics on the agenda.In a surprise move Quentin Tarantino has withdrawn his lawsuit against online media company Gawker. The sides had been in dispute over the leak of his potential movie script 'The Hateful Eight', with Tarantino accusing Gawker of both contributory and direct infringement. The lawsuit can be refiled, however, so a sequel might be just around the corner...
Just when it seemed that Tarantino and his legal team were in for the long haul against Gawker, things have taken a turn for the unusual.
After his initial lawsuit over the leak of his script ‘The Hateful Eight’ was kicked out by a judge due to a lack of evidence, just last week Tarantino filed an amended complaint.
But now, and without even waiting for Gawker to respond to his revised allegations, Tarantino has withdrawn the lawsuit attacking Gawker’s conduct as it reported the leak, or as the writer/director previously claimed, actually encouraged its distribution.
“This dismissal is made without prejudice, whereby Plaintiff may later advance an action and refile a complaint after further investigations to ascertain and plead the identities of additional infringers resulting from Gawker Media’s contributory copyright infringement, by its promotion, aiding and abetting and materially contributing to the dissemination to third-parties of unauthorized copies of Plaintiff’s copyrighted work,” the dismissal motion reads.
The details were covered in our earlier article, but this means that Tarantino may later decide to refile his complaint if he can come up with a way to identify third parties that infringed his copyrights after being encouraged to do so by Gawker. No easy feat.
It’s also possible this is a convenient way to back out of a battle that’s looked less solid after each step. Tarantino loves making films, and it’s doubtful he likes legal battles to the same degree. After spending a considerable sum on lawyers already, swapping one for the other may have been too great a temptation.THE UK GOVERNMENT'S Cyber Essentials security scheme has been whacked by a security breach that has exposed the email addresses of consultancies bidding for sensitive contracts.
While the details exposed as a result of the attack are only email addresses, it could put organisations at greater risk of phishing and spear-phishing attacks.
Details of the attack were only exposed when warning emails were leaked to The Register.
"We would like to make you aware that, due to a configuration error in the Pervade Software platform we use for Cyber Essentials assessments, the email address you used to apply for an assessment and your company name may have been released to a third party," the notice stated.
"We would like to make it clear that the security of the assessment platform has not been compromised. Your account, the answers you provided in the assessment and the report you received are secure. No information other than your email address and your company name was accessible to the third party."
The organisation attributes the breach to a misconfiguration of one of its platforms, which enabled "an unknown person" to access the list of email addresses in a log file generated by the platform. It claims only company names, email addresses and IP addresses were exposed as a result.
Commenting, Ilia Kolochenko, CEO of web security company High-Tech Bridge played down the seriousness of the breach.
"In light of the recent breaches exposing billions of records containing extremely sensitive information, I would not call this particular incident a ‘breach'. Indeed, it can facilitate phishing attacks against the companies whose emails addresses were exposed, however, virtually all this data can be gathered from public sources...
"The government's reaction is quite professional. However, additional technical details, such as date/time of the breach and preliminary results of the investigation would be helpful. Such incidents are quite hard to avoid unfortunately, moreover, due to lack of resources, many governmental websites have much more dangerous vulnerabilities that remain undetected for years," said Kolochenko.
"Practically speaking and due to the nature of the CES accreditation, all the companies from the list should have capabilities to detect and mitigate phishing attacks. Additional vigilance would certainly not harm though." µNew Torres Strait Islander MP Cynthia Lui aims to inspire next generation of Indigenous politicians
Updated
For the first time in Australian history a Torres Strait Islander will serve as a member of parliament.
Key points: Cynthia Lui makes history as the new member for Cook
She spent most of her life on the Yam Island in the remote northern Torres Strait
Queensland's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is the second-largest in the country
While there is a celebration of the historic election there are also calls for the major parties to do more to ensure there is adequate Indigenous parliamentary representation.
Cynthia Lui spent most of her life on Yam Island in the remote northern Torres Strait, and has just made history as the new member for the vast far north Queensland electorate of Cook.
"Every step was a milestone for me as a Torres Strait Islander, and getting to this point now is just the most significant step in the history of Australia, I believe, because I am the first Torres Strait Islander to enter Parliament," she said.
"I am proud, I am excited, emotional, but I think there are lots of good days ahead."
The mother-of-three now lives on the mainland in Cairns, where she has seen some of the major issues facing Indigenous communities in her career as a social worker.
"Growing up on a remote Indigenous community, I experienced a lot of the challenges with remote living," she said.
"My work took me across the Cook electorate, working with families in child protection, and I want to give back to my community and get better outcomes for communities."
She credits her family for helping her to victory. Her relatives pitched in to help her in the campaign across the vast electorate, which covers north of Cairns, Cape York and the Torres Strait.
"I had to rely on my family to do a lot of the hard work out there. The best part about growing on an island, you have families always looking out for each other and extending that support that's needed," she said.
Queensland's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is the second-largest in the country, but in the history of the state's parliament there have only been four Indigenous MPs, including Ms Lui.
It was not until the previous state election in 2015 that the first Aboriginal woman, Leanne Enoch, was elected.
"It just seemed like that had taken too long, it is absolutely essential, as we start to grow up as a nation and as we progress as a state, you need to have perspectives that are representative of everybody's lives," she said.
"That's what you need in your caucus, that's we you need in your government."
Inspiring the next generation of Indigenous politicians
Ms Enoch said the major parties needed to ensure they were fostering pathways for Indigenous people to become politicians at a state and federal level.
She said that included setting firm targets about Indigenous representation.
"For me, I really believe you need to put some deliberate structures in place," she said.
"The Labor Party in particular, we've already set some targets around what that needs to look like, we are moving towards those.
"There will be some deeper conversation, I imagine, at some state conventions that will be ahead of us."
Mayor of the Torres Strait Regional Council Fred Gela said he was confident Ms Lui's election would inspire the next generation of Torres Strait Islanders to consider a future in politics.
"It is an achievement for the Torres Strait region, we'll be celebrating across the whole width and breadth of this region. This is a new beginning. There will be lots more," he said.
"It'll definitely inspire a lot of our youth, in terms of affecting and controlling our destiny. This is what we've been encouraging and advocating for.
"We do have people, youth that have been inspired enough to look at this as a career path."
Topics: government-and-politics, states-and-territories, parliament, state-parliament, indigenous-policy, alp, political-parties, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, community-and-society, qld, torres-strait-islands, cairns-4870, australia, brisbane-4000
First postedHillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders and the other candidates took on gun control, Benghazi and other big issues at the first Democratic presidential debate of the 2016 race. Here are the highlights. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
The Democrats on stage in Tuesday night's primary debate have traded barbs over guns, banking regulation and college tuition. You might forget that the candidates on stage agree about the major issues, including the economic ones. They believe that in order for most Americans to enjoy improving standards of living, the government has to intervene in the economy, redistributing wealth and reining in what they see as the excesses of the free market.
Since the Second World War, the economy has done better when Democrats are in the White House, a point that Hillary Rodham Clinton made in response to a question from CNN's Anderson Cooper.
"The economy does better when you have a Democrat in the White House and that's why we need to have a Democrat in the White House in January 2017," the former secretary of state said.
The average rate of economic growth under Democratic presidents since the Truman administration has been 4.4 percent, compared to 2.5 percent under Republicans. The economy has performed better on other measures under Democratic presidents, too. Industrial production, unemployment and returns on the stock market have all been worse when a Republican occupies the Oval Office.
It is unclear, though, whether Democrats' approach to the economy is responsible for this impressive record, or whether they just got lucky. All kinds of factors affect the economy that are beyond the president's control -- wars, oil shortages and the decisions of the Federal Reserve.DAMASCUS, Syria — The Russian Ministry of Defense announced Oct. 20 that 92% of Syrian territories have been liberated from Islamic State (IS) militants. The announcement came after the Syrian army, backed by Russia and with Iranian support, advanced in Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria and in IS-controlled areas in Hama’s eastern countryside. The army defeated IS and gained control of most villages and towns.
The increased Iranian support for the Syrian regime in the battlefield of Hama’s eastern countryside was evident from the results. The pro-Iranian Al-Mayadeen channel, which is allegedly funded by businessmen close to the Syrian regime, reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced Oct. 17 that “the Syrian regime and Resistance Axis allies tightened their grip on the liberated areas in Hama’s eastern countryside, asserting the cleansing of 15 villages from IS militants and securing the Salamiyah-Ithriya road.”
The Ithriya road stretches from Salamiyah (33 kilometers, or 20 miles, to the southeast of Hama) to Raqqa, IS’ former capital, which was liberated Oct. 17 by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The road holds strategic importance as it secures a safe supply line from the regime-controlled areas to reach Raqqa in the east.
The military presence in Hama’s eastern countryside is not limited to the regime, its allies and IS. Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is also present in the northeastern Hama countryside near the borders with Idlib. According to the opposition’s Rozana website, clashes between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and IS have been ongoing since IS attacked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham-controlled areas Oct. 9. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham announced Oct. 24 the death of 10 IS militants who tried to infiltrate its positions.
Media activist Abed Abu Jamil told Al-Monitor from Hama’s eastern countryside that “IS couldn’t have reached the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham locations in the north if the Syrian regime hadn’t allowed the organization to cross from the south of Ithriya to its north.”
He added, “The regime opened its barricades along 13 kilometers to allow IS to cross from its control areas. IS is now restricted to five small villages in the area, after the regime took over the south of the Ithriya road completely.”
The regime-controlled areas constituted a dividing line between the |
for her murdered sister Lily’s twins while the dead woman’s husband – and acquitted killer – comes looking for money he’s sure Lily has hidden. One early reader has said that these elements result, surprisingly, in a book that’s less a thriller than an intense character study. (Bill)
The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje: Michael Ondaatje’s publisher, Ellen Seligman, has called his sixth novel “perhaps Ondaatje’s most thrilling and moving novel to date.” The Cat’s Table is set sixty years ago; a young boy, for reasons that are initially mysterious, is leaving the country that was then called Ceylon—the only home he’s ever known—and being sent to England. On board the Oronsay, “the first and only ship of his life,” he falls in with two fellow travelers of about his age. It’s a long voyage, involving the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Mediterranean and Atlantic, and the three boys—virtually abandoned by their caregivers, ignored by ship’s officials—become close friends. Kirkus called the book “[e]legiac, mature and nostalgic—a fine evocation of childhood, and of days irretrievably past.” (Emily M.)
Parallel Stories by Péter Nadás Okay, so Parallel Stories is not actually the longest novel ever written. But at 1,150 pages, it’s damn close. It took Nádas decades to write – and Imre Goldstein who knows how long to translate. So it’s pretty much an assured thing that this won’t sell like FSG’s previous venture into 1,000-page novels in translation, 2666. But the excerpt that ran in The Paris Review last year was a stunner. Nadas is one of the few contemporary novelists capable of producing masterpieces; his last novel to appear in English, A Book of Memories (no beach read itself), was one. Has he done it again? (Garth)
The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright: As the Celtic Tiger was morphing into a toothless pussycat during the past decade, so the adulterous Irish lovers in Booker Prize-winner Anne Enright’s fifth novel, The Forgotten Waltz, find themselves spiraling from apparent marital success into the confusions of its ruined aftermath. The married adulterers are Gina Moynihan, a successful, strong-willed IT professional, and brooding Sean Vallely. “The whole project is about failure,” Gina says of adultery. “It has failure built in.” Enright has written a novel that is, in one British reviewer’s opinion, “the opposite of chicklit.” (Bill)
Nanjing Requiem by Ha Jin: For his sixth novel, Ha Jin, author of Waiting and War Trash, recreates one of the most horrific incidents of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Nanjing Requiem re-imagines the Japanese occupation of that city in 1937 through the eyes of a fictional narrator named Anling Gao, and the remarkable work of the real-life missionary Minnie Vautrin, who sheltered more than 10,000 Chinese women and children in Jinling Women’s College. Readers of Iris Chang’s controversial nonfiction book, The Rape of Nanking, will know much of the story, but Publishers Weekly has called Jin’s novel “a convincing, harrowing portrait of heroism in the face of brutality.” (Bill)
Ghost Lights by Lydia Millet: Lydia Millet is delightfully promiscuous in her range of social critique–she deftly shifts from satirizing popular culture in stories that depict celebrities alongside animals (Love in Infant Monkeys), to considering the implications of the atom bomb (Oh Pure and Radiant Heart), to voicing deep ecological concerns. Her latest novel, Ghost Lights, is the second in a trilogy focused on extinction, that began with How the Dead Dream. Ghost Lights revolves around domestic unrest fueled by a man’s discovery of his wife’s infidelity. He soon sets off on his own journey to track down her boss who disappeared in the jungles of Belize. Millet’s preoccupation with “relationship of the individual self to society and the social self, and morality” promises to frame this adventure tale within a harder-hitting conceit. (Anne)
The Palace of Dreams by Ismail Kadare: Ismail Kadare’s Palace of Dreams, widely regarded as a modern classic, was banned in Albania almost immediately upon its publication in 1981. While Kadare is one of the better-known Eastern European novelists in the West, his work is still relatively obscure and this re-publication is overdue. Critics often invoke Orwell or Kafka or Escher to describe the quality of the book, which offers an imagined version of the nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire in which the dreams of the populace are gathered, transcribed, and interpreted by the Sultan and used to formulate policy and control the populace. (Emily W.)
Nothing: A Portrait of Insomnia by Blake Butler: “Bad sugar fuels fucked dreams,” and fucked dreams are something Blake Butler’s become accustomed to, or hasn’t–as he’s prone to chronic bouts of insomnia. For a writer whose fictions often access the surreal, it’s fitting that his first book of nonfiction considers, among other things, sleep and dreams and his nightly battle to access this state. While dreams are well-trodden territory for creative types, the borders and barriers between sleep and dreams, the slippery in-between, and being shut out of the promised land, are less often considered. For a delicious glimpse of the ways Butler maps insomnia, see his “Insomnia Door.” (Anne)
November:
The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories by Don DeLillo: The first ever collection of short stories by Delillo, these nine were written between 1979 and 2011. Not much info has been released, but this bibliography gives a rundown of the stories that will comprise part or most of the collection. (Sonya)
11/22/63l by Stephen King: For years Stephen King has been talking about writing a novel based around time-travel. This November it arrives. The date that serves as the book’s title is the day of John F. Kennedy’s assassination; the story concerns 35-year-old Jake Epping who discovers a time portal in a diner in his hometown in Maine and travels back to 1958, which gives him five years to figure out a way to prevent Lee Harvey Oswald (or whoever it was) from taking his fateful shot. This spring Scribner released an excerpt from the book, which has the protagonist contemplating murdering Oswald. “Even if you do have to kill him, you don’t have to do it right away.” (Kevin)
The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco: Last October, while Americans were transfixed by House campaigns, The Social Network, and Brian Wilson’s beard, Italy was swept up in literary controversy. Umberto Eco’s The Prague Cemetery, published that month, followed “the most hateful man in the world”—a fictitious anti-Semitic forger responsible for The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The Vatican’s Osservatore Romano, among others, charged Eco with unwitting hate speech: “Forced to read disgusting things about the Jews, the reader remains tainted by this anti-Semitic nonsense.” Unsurprisingly, the fracas propelled The Prague Cemetery to European bestseller status; the book’s forthcoming English translation may run a similar course. (Jacob)
The Third Reich by Roberto Bolaño: A posthumous examination of Bolaño’s papers revealed the text of The Third Reich, a short novel written in 1989. A German war-game champion, Udo Berger, takes his girlfriend Ingeborg on vacation to the Spanish coastal town where he summered during his childhood. They meet another German couple on vacation, Charly and Hanna, and a group of locals. Charly disappears one night without a trace, and when Hanna and Ingeborg return to their lives in Germany, Udo refuses to leave the resort hotel. He quickly finds himself caught up in a round of Third Reich, an elaborate board game that pits him against El Quemado, a mysterious man from South America who rents paddle boats to tourists on the beach. (Emily M.)
Blue Nights by Joan Didion: America’s most astringent commentator on life and politics in the Postwar Era turns her gimlet eye on the subjects of aging, parenthood, and loss in the wake of the death of her daughter, Quintana Roo Dunne. Billed as a sequel of sorts to Didion’s best-selling memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking, about the sudden death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne, this new book explores the fresh hell of her daughter’s 2005 death from a massive hematoma while Didion was on tour touting the book about her husband’s death. Now well into her 70s, Didion examines her successes and failures as a parent and meditates on the tragic fragility of life in a world where even six hours of emergency surgery cannot save her 39-year-old daughter from a burst blood vessel. (Michael)
Dante in Love by A.N. Wilson: Touted as “a lively introduction to The Divine Comedy” as well as “biography as done by a novelist at the height of his powers,” A.N. Wilson’s Dante in Love aims to give the lay reader all the biographical and historical context she’d need to make the most of the Comedia. Other British reviewers (who’ve had first crack at it; it’s already out across the pond) have found the book wanting: ponderous in its erudition and labyrinthine in its organization. (Emily W.)
Gathering Evidence: A Memoir by Thomas Bernhard: Thomas Bernhard, the lit world’s favorite misanthrope, showed little discretion in dispersing his contempt. He hated his homeland, Austria, where he banned the posthumous publication of his works; he hated books and articles that began chronologically, with a date of birth; he despised “sinister” nature and the countryside where he was forced to live due to his poor health, and even literary prizes, which he compared receiving to “having one’s head pissed upon.” If you wonder at the sources of his cantankerousness and great despair, his five-volume memoir, Gathering Evidence, coming back into print in a paperback edition, contains an exacting ledger. From a father who didn’t acknowledge him, to bombing raids and involvement with Hitler youth, to contracting tuberculosis and his chronic convalescence in sanitariums, there’s much to lament but also great beauty in the devastation. (Anne)
Adam and Evelyn by Ingo Schulze: Since getting the New Yorker treatment in the ’90s, the German novelist Ingo Schulze has fallen into unjust neglect in the U.S. His great epistolary novel, New Lives and his 2009 collection One More Story were perhaps too subtle in their ironies to find a broad American readership, while not being subtle enough for the critic who gave them the most attention. But Schulze’s work stays with you, if you stay with it. Adam and Evelyn is something of a departure – a comic love story, and a retelling of the Fall. It continues, however, Schulze’s effort to define a post-Iron Curtain literary sensibility, drawing equally from East and West. (Garth)
December:
The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai: A collection of three novellas, The Artist of Disappearance is Anita Desai’s latest examination of Indian society—its wealth, its poverty, and the ways in which its culture permeates its daily life. Americans have been taught to view India with a mixture of awe and foreboding, as a source of exotica and our own economic displacement. But Desai reminds us that real people live there, with fears and desires at once specific and universal. In a world of Outsourced caricature, her characters are drawn with a much-needed precision. (Jacob)
Triptych: How to Look at Francis Bacon by Jonathan Littel: Jonathan Littell, French-American bad boy author of the middling cyberpunk novel Bad Voltage and the controversial, hefty, first-person Nazi confessional novel The Kindly Ones, celebrated in France but—quel surprise—less loved here, is back: This time around, he’s trying his hand at art history. With his apparent taste for the gruesome and atrocious (see The Kindly Ones), Littell may be just the man to have a go at the squeamish-making work of Francis Bacon. (Emily W.)
January 2012:
The Recognitions by William Gaddis: Mr. Difficult’s classic ur-post-modern novel, first published in 1955 and returning in a new edition from Dalkey Archive, is not for the faint of heart (Gaddis himself described his work as “not reader friendly”). Notoriously difficult in all of the ways postmods are (allusive, dense, multi-plot, hyper-intellectual, long, rich in unmarked dialogue), The Recognitions is also regarded as one of the great American books of the last century. It charts the travails of aspiring artist Wyatt Gwyon, who makes exquisite forgeries of the Dutch masters—paintings so true to the originals that they’re indistinguishable from them. Gwyon’s plot is, of course, entangled in those of many other lives and the novel is acutely interested in figuring out what authenticity, forgery, plagiarism, and originality mean in the post-war, post-modern age. (Emily W.)
The Map and the Territory by Michel Houellebecq: Michel Houellebecq, the reigning bad boy of French letters, has been accused of every imaginable sin against political correctness. His new novel, The Map and the Territory, is a send-up of the art world that tones down the sex and booze and violence, but it does feature a “sickly old tortoise” named Michel Houellebecq who gets gruesomely murdered. The book has drawn charges of plagiarism because passages were lifted virtually verbatim from Wikipedia. “If people really think that (this is plagiarism),” Houellebecq sniffed, “then they haven’t the first notion what literature is.” Apparently, he does. The Map and the Territory was awarded the Prix Goncourt, France’s most prestigious literary prize. (Bill)
The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus: Ben Marcus, who is best known for his experimental, language-driven fiction, and for editing the oft-assigned anthology The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories, has a new novel, The Flame Alphabet. In an interview with HTMLGIANT, Marcus said the book is about “a husband and wife who are sickened by the speech of their daughter. Literally. So sickened that they have to leave her.” The novel is apparently a chronological narrative told by a single character; in the same interview, Marcus admitted that it’s “…formally a lot simpler than my other books, and it felt entirely new to me when I wrote it. I’ve never written a single book-length narrative that has a clear plot. I loved being in such strange waters.” (Edan)
Zona: A Book About a Film About a Journey to a Room by Geoff Dyer: Geoff Dyer’s books are never quite what they first seem. Out of Sheer Rage began as a critical study of D.H. Lawrence and became a vehicle for a wonderfully digressive account of avoidance that James Wood called “a work of delicious, stunned truancy.” Dyer’s novel Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi documents its real-life foundations in visits to the Venice Biennial. The two narratives themselves straddle extremes, the first a devotion to aesthetics, excess, and ennui, and the second, to self-denial and dissolution of the ego. And so while Dyer’s forthcoming Zona’s subject is Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker, he strays–of course–from convention to discuss European film and realizing one’s deepest wishes, among other grander and lesser things. With Dyer at the helm there’s no telling where he’ll go, but it’s generally advisable to follow his lead. (Anne)
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes: Three-time Man Booker shortlister Julian Barnes has written a new novel, the first since Arthur & George was published in 2005. According to Barnes’ website, The Sense of an Ending is a middle-aged man’s retroactive search for truth about his time as a member of “sex-hungry and book-hungry” adolescent crew, one of whose members meets an untimely end. The title–certainly a nod to Frank Kermode’s classic work of literary theory–suggests that Barnes, true to fashion, will apply the theories of literature to private life, hopefully with the same panache of his earlier novels. (Lydia)
February 2012:
Stay Awake by Dan Chaon: With the publication of his first two novels, You Remind Me of Me and Await Your Reply, Dan Chaon has gained a wider reading audience and a reputation for character-driven narratives shot through with a sinister darkness. Readers who discovered Chaon through his short stories will be delighted to see him return to the form with his latest collection, Stay Awake, his first collection since Among the Missing, which was nominated for the National Book Award in 2001. The jacket copy promises: “In these haunting, suspenseful stories, lost, fragile, searching characters wander between ordinary life and a psychological shadowland. They have experienced intense love or loss, grief or loneliness, displacement or disconnection—and find themselves in unexpected, dire, and sometimes unfathomable situations.” Sounds like good-old Dan Chaon to me. Don’t expect to be uplifted, but count on being moved, discomfited, and, certainly, impressed. (Edan)
March 2012:
Hot Pink by Adam Levin: Adam Levin’s gigantic first novel, The Instructions, made a splashy, panache-y debut in 2010, blowing lipfarts, flipping birds, and tipping hats in the direction of George Saunders and Philip Roth. Hot Pink collects nine stories in the same inventive vein. (Garth)
Arcadia by Lauren Groff: Arcadia by Lauren Groff tracks the life of Bit Stone, a man who grows up in an agrarian utopian commune in central New York that falls apart, as they generally do. Groff says, “I was interested in how a person who’d been born and raised in such an idealistic environment would adapt to the larger world–in all of the accounts I’ve read about communalist experiments gone wrong, the children are the silent suffering ones.” Groff, the author of the bestselling novel The Monsters of Templeton and the story collection Delicate Edible Birds, is already garnering strong praise for Arcadia. Richard Russo says, “Richly peopled and ambitious and oh, so lovely, Lauren Groff’s Arcadia is one of the most moving and satisfying novels I’ve read in a long time. It’s not possible to write any better without showing off.” (Edan)
April 2012:
When I Was a Child I Read Books: Essays by Marilynne Robinson: “When I was a child I read books,” writes Robinson, “My reading was not indiscriminate. I preferred books that were old and thick and dull and hard…I looked to Galilee for meaning and to Spokane for orthodonture, and beyond that the world where I was I found entirely sufficient.” The exalted author of Gilead and Home claims that the hardest work of her life has been convincing New Englanders that growing up in Idaho was not “intellectually crippling.” There, during her childhood, she read about Cromwell, Constantinople, and Carthage, and her new collection of essays celebrates the joy, and the enduring value, of reading. (Janet)
Night Film by Marisha Pessl: Fans of Pessl’s stylistic pyrotechnics in Special Topics in Calamity Physics will be disappointed to learn that the publication of her second novel, Night Film, has been delayed by a year. One wonders if the wunderkind is having a more difficult labor with baby number two—“a psychological thriller about obsession, family loyalty and ambition set in raw contemporary Manhattan” (so Pessl’s agent describes Night Film). As noted in the last Most Anticipated, Pessl’s Special Topics heroine, Blue van Meer, had a distinct, scintillating voice that it’ll be hard to match without imitating. (Emily W.)Bitcoin is nothing but a “distraction” from the creation of a "rational digital currency", even though the shadowy figure behind it is set to “make a bloody fortune”, says a pioneering online payment entrepreneur.
Nathaniel Borenstein, the inventor of the technology which allows files to be attached to emails, was one of the founders of First Virtual in 1994, a startup which offered many of the features that were to be provided years later by PayPal.
“I’ve been a big fan of online payments since I founded First Virtual, and I still think that we will be gradually moving in that direction,” said Borenstein.
“I think there are many ways of doing it: some right, some wrong and some inbetween. I just can’t understand why anyone is enthusiastic about Bitcoin.
“Here’s my take on Bitcoin: the shadowy figure, Satoshi Nakamoto, nobody knows who he is, he builds a protocol in which each amount of currency takes more computing time to mine than the last. He lets it loose on the world after building some unspecified amount of the money himself. What do you think he’s been doing since? Well. I think it’s pretty obvious: he’s been making a bloody fortune.”
Security researcher Sergio Demian Lerner estimates that Satoshi - the pseudonymous creator of the currency, mined around 1,000,000BTC in the early days, but has never spent any. At a price of around $400 each, that would make him worth around $400 million.
“Libertarians have some good points. I certainly believe that people should have as much liberty and freedom to choose and freedom to act as is possible, while compatible with a society that is in other ways fair and functional. But the notion that they can free currency from governments is really misguided. One of the few functions of government that I thought was unassailable was providing a stable currency.
“What is a stable currency? It used to be a currency that was either made up of or backed by gold or silver. In modern era its more a currency that’s backed by the full faith and credit of the government. Bitcoin is backed by the full faith and credit of wasted computer time.
“Wasted computer time. It’s like stock in a company that doesn’t do anything. One of these totally speculative IPOs. It’s a promise. I think its’ a distraction.
“I think the enthusiasm for Bitcoin will, if we’re lucky, will help us make some progress towards a more rational digital currency. Ultimately the providers of those currencies are probably going to be governments.”
Will Bitcoin replace traditional currencies?
Borenstein awknoledges that many people have made their fortunes on the huge price fluctuations seen by Bitcoin in recent years, he says it is nothing more concrete than the tulip bubble seen in the Netherlands around 1637. In March that year a single bulb of one species of tulip was being traded for around ten times the income of the average skilled craftsman.
"I have no doubt that not only have people made a fortune on Bitcoins, but some people in the fortune will make a fortune on Bitcoins, because it's a speculation. Some people will lose a fortune. At the level of an investment it may be a little more than tulips but on the level of a technological indicator it may be a pointer towards a multi-currency digital future," he said.
First Virtual took initial funding, including from established firms like GE Capital, and floated in a 1996 IPO. It was later bought out by DoubleClick in the dot com crash.Advertisement Popular TV cable company impacted by data breach of up to 4 million personal records Share Shares Copy Link Copy
The personal records of up to four million Time Warner Cable customers were possibly leaked via an unsecured Amazon server. The breach, which involved more than 600GB of data (the equivalent of 20 HD movies), was discovered by Cologne, Germany-based cybersecurity firm Kromtech. Charter Communications bought Time Warner Cable last year, and the two companies currently operate under the Spectrum brand name. Prior to its purchase, Time Warner was the second-largest cable company in the U.S. and operated in 29 states. Some of the affected records date back to 2010, but it's unclear exactly how many people were impacted by the incident. Though four million records were likely breached, that doesn't mean the data of four million individuals is at risk.Some of the compromised info contained duplicate material, but an unknown number of Time Warner subscribers' email addresses, MAC addresses, financial transaction info, usernames and device serial numbers were openly available online. The billing addresses, phone numbers and general contact info for hundreds of thousands of Time Warner users were also left on unsecured servers. The servers also stored corporate emails, internal company records and database dumps. "A vendor has notified us that certain non-financial information of legacy Time Warner Cable customers who used the My TWC app became potentially visible by external sources," Charter told the Hollywood Reporter on Friday. "Upon discovery, the information was removed immediately by the vendor, and we are currently investigating this incident with them. There is no indication that any Charter systems were impacted. As a general security measure, we encourage customers who used the My TWC app to change their user names and passwords."Online security is a growing concern - unsecured data and criminal breaches will cost businesses a total of $8 trillion over the next five years, according to a global report from U.K-based market intelligence firm Juniper Research.In 2015, research revealed that more than $315 billion had been lost by businesses around the world during the past 12 months, highlighting a greater need for digital security professionals.Iranian president Hassan Rouhani will begin his historic visit to France on Wednesday after being invited by François Hollande last year.
However the pair won't be dining together as originally planned.
Iran's Rouhani has reportedly had to turn down a dinner invitation with French president François Hollande at the Elysée for religious reasons.
It appears the Iranian presidency's request for halal meat to be served and for the wine to be left off the table, which is a common request by Iran, was rejected by officials at the Elysée.
“A meal had been planned but fell through,” a source involved in French–Iranian affairs told the RTL site, adding that the leaders were missing out on "a great opportunity".
The pair will now hold their meeting once the two parties have dined separately.
Rouhani, whose country has strict laws governing the consumption of alcohol, had requested a meal with a halal, alcohol-free menu. But this proved unacceptable for the Elysée, who politely declined citing France's “republican traditions” surrounding Elysée dinners.
The Elysée have not confirmed or commented on the reports.
(Hollande meets Rouhani at the United Nations last year. Photo: AFP)
In an attempt to reach a compromise, the Elysée suggested a breakfast meeting instead, but this was reportedly rejected by the Iranians as being “too cheap”.
Rouhani's visit comes after his trip to Italy, where not only was wine off the menu, but nude statues at a museum in Rome had to be covered up so as to spare the head of state's blushes.
The wine row recalls a 2009 incident, when the Iraqi prime minister Nuri Al-Maliki, declined a dinner invitation with former French president Nicolas Sarkozy because he did not want alcohol at the table.
The visit of Rouhani was announced in Tehran by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius last July, two weeks after the nuclear deal was struck between the Islamic republic and world powers.
Acknowledging much had to be done to improve the relationship between Tehran and Paris however, Fabius said both nations stood to benefit from recent diplomacy.
"We are two great, independent countries, two great civilizations. It is true that in recent years, for reasons that everyone knows, the ties have cooled but now thanks the nuclear deal, things will be able to change," he said.
The trip will be Rouhani's first to France as president, and he is set to meet with representatives of French business including Orange, Total, EADs and Accor, as well as Minister for Economics Emmanuel Macron.
At the time of writing, neither the Elysée nor the Iranian Embassy in Paris had responded to The Local's requests for comment.Trainspotting in the UK
Wellingborough Station Victorian Goods Shed on Platform 1
Railway Time Capsule At Wellingborough Railway Station
Amid the stark modernity that is becoming more glaringly obvious on Britain's railway stations today, it is somewhat heart-warming to see that not everything has completely vanished from an age that has past into history. And the former goods shed adjacent to platform 1 at Wellingborough station, on the former Midland Railway, is one such example.
Although in a small way it has been a target for vandals, the evidence for this in the two broken windows nearest the camera, the overall structure is in remarkably good condition for a Victorian station builing.
Wellingborough Station Goods Shed from Platform 1
But, what is even more remarkable is that the interior, (unfortunately blocked from public access), far from being stripped, looks much as it did during its working life. The solid wooden-planked unloading platform is still there, as are the two small hand-operated cranes once used for unloading the open wagons that were commonplace for decades.
Wellingborough Goods Shed Interior Showing Platform and Crane
Wellingborough Goods Shed is a Grade II listed building
If, as well as train photos, you are equally interested in images of trucks and buses, then you might like to visit my other photo blog -'Truck and Bus Photos UK '.
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A few historical facts about Wellingborough station:
The station was built by the Midland Railway in 1857. It was known then as Wellingborough Midland Road.
The station and buildings were designed by C.H.Driver.
Wellingborough station once had a large locomotive depot with two roundhouses.
On the 2nd September 1898, the station was the scene of a serious rail accident when a luggage trolley ran off a platform into the path of a Manchester express train. The crew and six passengers were killed and 65 people were injured.
The once-busy station originally had five platforms but only two now remain open to passengers.
In 2005 Wellingborough station was featured in the film 'Kinky Boots', but renamed temporarily as Northampton.
Great Days of Steam, can also be seen here Another interesting artefact, a railway water tower from the, can also be seen
************************************************************Labor's Gotta Play Hardball to Win!
Showdown on West Coast Docks: The Battle of Longview
(November 2011).
click on photo for article
Chicago Plant Occupation Electrifies Labor
(December 2008).
click on photo for article
May Day Strike Against the War Shuts Down
U.S. West Coast Ports
(May 2008)
click on photo for article
September 2016 “Picket Lines Mean Don’t Cross!” Knock Out the Lockout at LIU Brooklyn!
Contingent of the Internationalist Clubs at the City University of New York joined picket outside Long Island University’s downtown Brooklyn campus, September 7. Protesters chanted, “Picket lines mean: Don’t cross!” (Internationalist photo)
Contingent of the Internationalist Clubs at the City University of New York joined picket outside Long Island University’s downtown Brooklyn campus, September 7. Protesters chanted, “Picket lines mean: Don’t cross!” The administration of Long Island University kicked off the new school year by locking out the entire faculty at its downtown Brooklyn campus. It was the first time ever in the United States that the bosses of higher education have resorted a lockout. This is not just a negotiating tactic. By systematically preparing for this step over a period of months, including demanding what amounts to a pay cut of 25% or more for adjunct faculty, declaring a lockout even before the union voted on the take-back contract, cutting off health care and hiring over 140 “replacement workers” – i.e., scabs – the LIU administration is making it clear that they are out to destroy the faculty union. On September 7, New York labor activists and students came out in solidarity with the Long Island University Faculty Federation (LIUFF) against the lockout. Scores of faculty gathered at 8:00 a.m. outside of the main entrance with signs reading, “Let Us Teach.” Also present was a solid contingent from the CUNY Internationalist Clubs. Unionists and students picked up our chant of “Picket lines mean: Don’t cross!” The next day, some 200 students walked out in solidarity with their professors. But with the administration playing hardball, there is only one way to win: solid labor action. Instead of looking to Democratic Party politicians, all the unions at LIU Brooklyn should be out on the picket lines, along with faculty, students and union supporters from all over New York to shut it down. We say: Knock out the lockout! ■ Return to THE INTERNATIONALIST GROUP Home PageAn announcement of a lecture next Monday night at the New School in New York:
THE NEW SCHOOL HISTORY DEPARTMENT PRESENTS: AMOS GOLDBERG The Holocaust and the Nakba: Traumatic Memories and (Bi)National Identities in Israel-Palestine The Jewish Holocaust and the Palestinian Nakba fundamentally shape two peoples’ identities. Memories of each function as exclusionary “Myths of Origin,” at once demanding acknowledgement by the other, while denying recognition of the other. Deeply polarizing, the Jewish and Palestinian national narratives become irreconcilable, inhibiting prospects for a political settlement. Amos Goldberg will offer a framework – influenced by Arendt, Agamben, and LaCapra — for establishing an egalitarian public sphere for Jews and Palestinians which will enable both catastrophes to be told on shared ground. Dr. Amos Goldberg is a senior lecturer of Holocaust Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and author of Trauma in the First Person: Diary Writing During the Holocaust (2012). October 29, 6-8pm 80 5TH Ave, Room 529
Wow, we’re living in amazing times. It’s great that Americans and Israelis are talking about the Nakba– and that a scholar wishes to have the Palestinian narrative “on shared ground” in a binational social sphere. So he has idealistic political notions of what might arise from the opening to Palestinian suffering. But one quick point: I have not heard Palestinians denying the Holocaust; and as for my country, for 40 years Americans have embraced knowledge of the Holocaust, and sought to memorialize it to make humanity better. The New School itself was founded on the noble wreckage of European Jewish refugees. There is, by contrast, widespread denial of the Nakba in this country and dishonor of its refugees. Goldberg refers to Arendt. Well 50 years ago she was writing about the Eichmann trial in The New Yorker. No parallel cultural process has taken place involving the Nakba.The call of the wild is like a call from an elderly grandparent: though you can’t quite make out what’s being said, you feel better about yourself when you answer. Pick up nature’s phone with this voucher.
Choose from Three Options
$21 for a beginner-level Ninja Special or intermediate-level basic-training package for one, plus ammo pouch and safety vest rental (a $55 value)
$31 for a beginner-level Ninja Special or intermediate-level basic-training package for two, plus ammo pouch and safety vest rental (a $110 value)
$93 for a beginner-level Ninja Special or intermediate-level basic-training package for five, plus ammo pouch and safety vest rental (a $275 value)
Amid rugged terrain, players demonstrate their skills with all-day admission from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Both packages come with a rental of a.50-caliber Kingman marker, unlimited air refills, a safety mask, and 200 paintballs per person. This Groupon is valid only at the Oxnard location.storywriter Profile Joined February 2011 Australia 527 Posts Last Edited: 2012-05-15 13:30:22 #1 MVPDongRaeGu
+ Show Spoiler +
Your thoughts on advancing straight to Code S?
I was so sorry to my fans about falling down to Code A. I am glad to have made it back in.
How much have you recovered so far?
I think I’m feeling a lot better. Not entirely but it’s definitely better. I reviewed my Code S matches today and they were rather bad. Compared to then, I’m playing much better right now.
Virus is also a player who has improved a lot
I prepared nothing in particular. All Terrans play in a similar manner so today’s match looked just like practice.
Lately, there was a patch that affected Zerg.
It’s definitely become easier since the patch. I’m not too happy with it though. The patch helped all Zergs. I was already good before the patch but now there’s no advantage for high level players like me. ZvT has become easier since the patch.
How does it feel to have played all the way from Code A Round 1?
The waiting time for Code A matches is so long and you get less attention so I wanted to get back into Code S quickly.
The finals is on this weekend
I’m not really interested since I’m not in it and neither is a Zerg. I do want to get back on the stage of the finals.
Are you confident about making the finals of next season?
If I keep up my current performance and practise consistently then I won’t be eliminated so helplessly from Code S like this season.
Any desire to take on the champion in ro32?
I don’t care. They’re both great players so either one will give me a good match. I guess I’ll receive a lot of attention if I take on the champion.
You had a lot of foreign events lately.
I attended an event match in Taiwan recently and it’s good to have something to do. Anything’s better than doing nothing.
So how was the event match in Taiwan?
I visited because of a sponsor and I took the opportunity to attend the event match. The Taiwanese fans were really happy. They made the event great for me.
Anything to add?
I want to thank the coach, his family, my family and players who practised with me: Dream, Keen, Sc, Noblesse. Since I’m back in Code S now, I’ll take good care of myself and play some great matches. Today is a special day for a special someone so I want to say thanks for staying by my side and ask that he/she continues to be my pillar of strength (T/N: must be his girlfriend he’s talking about).
Source:
MVPGenius
+ Show Spoiler +
Your thoughts on your return to Code |
administration is information leaks. The situation with Flynn proves the efficiency of this instrument.
Meanwhile, during the presidency of Barack Obama, information leaks and media exposure did not result in the resignation of high-profile officials. Revelations by Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning about crimes committed by US troops in Iraq, massive illegal surveillance and corruption in the US power elite backfired on the whistleblowers themselves.
"Such a situation is an example of double standards and ethical relativism and cynicism of the US establishment," political analyst Oleg Matveichev said.
© AP Photo / John Locher WikiLeaks Claims Flynn's Resignation Triggered by 'Destabilization Campaign'
Many experts said that during Obama’s presidency Washington launched an unprecedented crackdown on whistleblowers.
Former executive editor of The Washington Post Leonard Downie wrote: "The [Obama] administration’s war on leaks and other efforts to control information are the most aggressive I’ve seen since the Nixon administration."
"Impunity in the cases of [former Director of National Intelligence James] Clapper, [former Secretary of State Colin] Powell and many others was typical for the US at the time when the establishment was not divided and controlled all media. But now the media establishment is trying to impose its will on the government," Matveichev pointed out.
Trump’s Reaction
It is almost no secret that US intelligence was involved in the scandal over Flynn and his resignation.
© AFP 2018 / Eduardo Munoz Alvarez The Trump Team's First Loss: Who Was Behind Flynn's Resignation
According to former intelligence officials who spoke with Daily Caller, Flynn was the victim of a "hit job" launched by intelligence operatives and security officials loyal to Obama.
Commenting on the scandal, Flynn described the leak as a crime.
"You call them leaks. It's a criminal act. This is a crime. It's not just a wink and a nod," he said, according to The Daily Caller.
On his Twitter, President Trump wrote: "The real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington?"
The real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington? Will these leaks be happening as I deal on N.Korea etc? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 14 февраля 2017 г.
Then, Trump blamed US intelligence agency for leaking information to the media.
Information is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost by the intelligence community (NSA and FBI?).Just like Russia — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 15 февраля 2017 г.
In turn, the whistleblowing organization WikiLeaks called to make public an audio recording between Flynn and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergei Kislyak. The website also put the blame for Flynn’s resignation on "US spies, Democrats and press."
Trump's National Security Advisor Michael Flynn resigns after destabilization campaign by US spies, Democrats, press https://t.co/vKlX1Tqek1 — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) 14 февраля 2017 г.
Intelligence vs. Trump
In all countries, there are written and unwritten regulations banning security services from spying on the political leadership and wiretapping on conversations by high-profile officials.
© REUTERS / Carlos Barria/File Photo Trump Considers Appointing Ally to Conduct Review of Intelligence Services
However, legal norms are often put on the backburner when it comes to intelligence, according to Pavel Zolotarev, deputy director of the Institute for American and Canadian Studies, at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In any state, the intelligence community has a certain scope for independent and uncontrolled actions. When it comes to US intelligence agencies this scope is tremendous.
"The reputation of the US intelligence community is already too bad. So, they don't take care of observing laws," Mukhin said.
"US intelligence agencies were spoiled by the Patriot Act and other similar moves. They act like some kind of an enfant terrible and don’t bother to observe any laws," he added.
Moreover, Mukhin suggested that Flynn’s case is only the first shot in a major information war against Trump, which is currently gaining momentum. The majority of US media supports the Democrats and will continue attacks on the president.
"There will be new incidents. They will continue and multiply. This looks like an information civil war. Actually, this is what it is," the expert added.
© REUTERS / Carlos Barria US Defense Intelligence Agency Suspends Mike Flynn's Secret Clearance
Flynn’s resignation was a heavy blow to the Trump administration. According to experts, at the moment Trump is losing to his opponents in media and in the intelligence community.
Mukhin suggested that Trump was not ready for such a turn of events, but he will be able to deal with it.
In turn, Matveichev assumed that a serious of harsh administrative measures by the Trump administration would change the situation in favor of the new president.
"After a series of landmark resignations the US intelligence community will get more flexible," he concluded.
Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!I have been thinking about this lately after a reader of my book pointed out to me that he felt prostitution should be made legal in order to give men more freedom from marriage and being tied down to a relationship in the hopes of getting sex. If prostitution were legal, men could get sex more readily and not be so dependent on getting involved with women. Given how dangerous it can be these days for men, between being called a rapist, a sexual harasser or a pervert, it makes sense that legal prostitution might be a good solution for some men that want to avoid the risks inherent in taking on a wife or long term (or short term) relationship with a woman. I looked at a couple of articles about why prostitution was illegal and found this article at Slate:
In 1999, Sweden made it legal to sell sex but illegal to buy it—only the johns and the traffickers can be prosecuted. This is the only approach to prostitution that's based on "sex equality," argues University of Michigan law professor Catherine MacKinnon. It treats prostitution as a social evil but views the women who do it as the victims of sexual exploitation who "should not be victimized again by the state by being made into criminals," as MacKinnon put it to me in an e-mail. It's the men who use the women, she continued, who are "sexual predators" and should be punished as such.....Sweden's way of doing things is a big success. "In the capital city of Stockholm the number of women in street prostitution has been reduced by two thirds, and the number of johns has been reduced by 80%." Trafficking is reportedly down to 200 to 400 girls and women a year, compared with 15,000 to 17,000 in nearby Finland. Max Waltman, a doctoral candidate in Stockholm who is studying the country's prostitution laws, says that those stats hold up. He also said the police are actually going after the johns as ordered: In 2006, more than 150 were convicted and fined. (That might not sound like many, but then Sweden has a population of only 9 million.) For feminists like MacKinnon (with whom Waltman works), this sure looks like the solution: Go after the men! Take down Eliot Spitzer and leave the call girls alone! On the other hand, the group SANS, for Sex Workers and Allies Network in Sweden, doesn't like the 1999 law.
My question after reading this mind-numbing drivel? How can it be legal to sell sex but illegal to buy it? Who are you selling sex to if no men are allowed to buy it? Of course, any time one sees a feminist of the Catherine MacKinnon ilk, all logic goes out the window as long as men are rounded up and put in jail. This is sick, twisted logic and has no place in a free society. It was a group of women who apparently banned prostitution in the US according to this Wikipedia entry:
Originally, prostitution was widely legal in the United States. Prostitution was made illegal in almost all states between 1910 and 1915 largely due to the influence of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
Perhaps women don't want the competition from prostitutes for resources from men? Or they just feel disgusted that a man might be able to get sex so easily? I do wonder if men were able to go freely to prostitutes without fear of jail time if it would free them sexually from female and (and state) control? Or do you think there would be more problems caused by it?Scientists now have geochemical clues about the composition of volcanic ash used in Maya pottery between the 7th and 10th centuries, although the ash’s source is still a mystery. Results of a new study definitively discount one Mexican volcano, long thought to be the likely supplier of the ash.
Researchers have long known that Maya of the Late Classic period, an archaeological interval that stretched approximately from 600 to 900, used a mixture of volcanic ash and clay to make pottery. Microscopic analyses of broken potsherds show that the ash particles are sharp-edged, indicating they were freshly erupted when the pots were made, says Brianne Catlin, a geoarchaeologist now at Hess Corp. in Houston. While at the University of California, Santa Barbara, she and her colleagues analyzed pottery fragments found at El Pilar, a Maya site near the Belize-Guatemala border, in an attempt to find the source of the pottery’s ash.The official beta for Paradox and Fatshark’s War of the Roses has begun, the Swedish publisher announced today. Over 100,000 gamers have been added to the beta roster so far, and more are welcome to sign up as players are being let in. The publisher also announced today that the game would be available for pre-order from August 20th.
“It’s a real testament to the hard work that Fatshark has put into the game, that over 100,000 people have signed up for the Beta,” said senior producer Gordon Van Dyke. “The level of enthusiasm that people have had to start playing has been incredible, and we can’t wait to hear what they think once they’re actually in the game.”
“Our goal right now is to make sure every last person who signed up [gets in], but forging 100,000 swords takes a while,” he added. “We’ll be letting folks in, following the priority order we’ve set, and I’ll see every last one of you on the battlefield!”
A new development diary has also been released, which you can see embedded above, or find on YouTube here. War of the Roses is slated for launch sometime in the third quarter of this year. You can sign up for the beta here.Let me start by saying that everybody has unfinished business. Take me for example. It's practically November and I still haven't done the spring cleaning I said I was gonna do in April; it was my sister's birthday last week and I haven't gotten her a present; I haven't been to the dentist in three years; and my LinkedIn profile is severely out of date. All of that notwithstanding, my problems pale in comparison to Matt Barkley; the pressures of being a freak athlete and national celebrity, with a big time payday every month, under the table from USC boosters just over the horizon in the NFL. That must weigh hard on a kid. And to make matters worse, his 2012 season at USC is not living up to the lofty expectations that were anointed by the national media; losses to Stanford and Arizona have left the Trojans out of the national title picture, and USC is no longer a lock to represent the South Division in the Pac-12 Championship game. So what business has Matt Barkley - lord of the talented and confusing, the evolutionary Jay Cutler - left to do?
Win a national title - deedleedleedleedleedleedleedleedlee wompwomp
deedleedleedleedleedleedleedleedlee wompwomp Make it to a BCS Bowl - This can't happen without beating Oregon, probably won't happen without beating Oregon in December, and might not happen if Oregon State finishes the year with two losses. This one may have gone out the window with the Trojans' loss to Arizona.
This can't happen without beating Oregon, probably won't happen without beating Oregon in December, and might not happen if Oregon State finishes the year with two losses. This one may have gone out the window with the Trojans' loss to Arizona. Beat Stanford - Swing and a miss. Four straight losses to the Cardinal has to be the second strangest losing streak the Trojans currently sport (three straight losses in Corvallis, anyone?).
Swing and a miss. Four straight losses to the Cardinal has to be the second strangest losing streak the Trojans currently sport (three straight losses in Corvallis, anyone?). Win a Pac-12 Title - They have to get to the championship game first, and that isn't looking like such a sure thing anymore. USC still controls its own destiny in the Pac-12 South, but so does UCLA, and Arizona lurks one win back of first, with the easiest remaining schedule in the Pac-12 and the tiebreaker over the Trojans. This week's Oregon game isn't a must-win for USC if they want a shot at a conference title, but it's pretty close.
They have to get to the championship game first, and that isn't looking like such a sure thing anymore. USC still controls its own destiny in the Pac-12 South, but so does UCLA, and Arizona lurks one win back of first, with the easiest remaining schedule in the Pac-12 and the tiebreaker over the Trojans. This week's Oregon game isn't a must-win for USC if they want a shot at a conference title, but it's pretty close. Improve his draft stock - Debatable, but ultimately moot because the NFL no longer cares about college sucess, and Barkley has NFL measurables. Had he declared a year ago, he (most likely) would have ended up in Miami instead of Ryan Tannehill. So that will be the measuring stick this spring when Barkley is drafted. He should be the first QB off the board, so that's progress, right?
Debatable, but ultimately moot because the NFL no longer cares about college sucess, and Barkley has NFL measurables. Had he declared a year ago, he (most likely) would have ended up in Miami instead of Ryan Tannehill. So that will be the measuring stick this spring when Barkley is drafted. He should be the first QB off the board, so that's progress, right? Break the Pac-12 career touchdowns record - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED EVERYBODY, LET'S GO HOME. Question: if a record falls in the Pac-12, and it happens against Colorado, does it really count?
Here's what scares me about this game, aside from the superstitious : this is it for Barkley and the Trojans. This season is already falling short of the media's lofty expectations, and it will really take a Pac-12 title to really consider this season a success. The road to a Pac-12 title goes through Oregon. So I wouldn't expect to see the USC team that currently leads the country in penalties. I wouldn't expect to see the Matt Barkley that has already thrown eight interceptions this year. I expect to see that team that came out and stomped all over Oregon in 2011, giving Chip Kelly the first black mark on his home record as a head coach. I expect USC's best effort, because this game could be the difference between a shot as a Rose Bowl berth, and a trip to the Holiday Bowl, complete with alumni grumbling. And I don't think a promotional appearance at the San Diego Zoo was exactly what Matt Barkley had in mind back at that podium last December.That came just days after Liam Byrne, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, had stated that no new tax rises would be needed to fulfil its commitment to pay down the deficit. He also ruled out a rise in Vat.
But on Tuesday Mr Byrne attempted to dramatically row back from that position, fearing he had tied the Chancellor's hands just days before the vital pre election Budget is delivered.
When he was asked by the BBC about whether he stood by his comments about ruling out a Vat rise, he said: “No, I mean Chancellors reserve the right to come back to tax matters at every budget.”
Mr Byrne, who is usually one of the Cabinet's most assured performers, was then pressed about whether there would be taxes rises or not after the election and again backtracked.
He said: “I said that I had spelt out very clearly how we were going to raise £19 billion in tax now of course every Chancellor reserves the right to come back at every budget and make decisions about tax.”
His comments last week appeared categorical however when he said that Labour has identified the £19 billion it will raise from taxes to pay down part of the deficit in the next four years.
Mr Byrne said: “We don't see a need to [raise VAT] and that's because we've made difficult decisions on national insurance, that have not been hugely popular.”
Mr Darling was slapped down by Mr Darling for his remarks. He said no Chancellor was going to say he is not going to change the taxes at all.
Few independent commentators think that whoever wins the election can avoid tax rises.
However, yesterday, Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, warned that a government trying to "ram through" spending cuts without popular support could be "torn to pieces" and face huge social unrest on a scale akin to protests in Greece.
Mr Clegg told the Institute of Public Policy Research in London: "There is an enormous risk ahead. In a democracy, dramatic change cannot be imposed from above or it will fail. It has to be led by a process of political engagement.
"You only have to look at the scale of industrial unrest in Greece to see that it is impossible to reduce a public deficit quickly if you do not find a way to persuade people to go along with the process."
The Quotes:
11 March:
BBC: Are you telling us that you can get to a fifty percent reduction in the deficit with the tax increases we already know about?
Liam Byrne: Yes.
BBC: You don't need anymore?
Liam Byrne: No, we've set out exactly how we will find that £19bn, and we set that out in the Pre Budget Report
BBC: So there will be no need to increase VAT to, say, 20 per cent?
Byrne: We don't see a need to do that because we've made some difficult decisions about National Insurance contributions.
16 March
BBC Radio 4: And you ruled out a VAT rise and you still do that I take it?
Byrne: No, I mean Chancellors reserve the right to come back to tax matters at every budget.
BBC Radio 5: But when you were pressed, and I’m going to do it again, on whether beyond that there would be more beyond the election if you win the election, you said no
Byrne: I said that I had spelt out very clearly how we were going to raise 19 billion in tax now of course every chancellor reserves the right to come back at every budget and make decisions about tax and you’ll forgive me for not giving away the budget on Radio 5 this morning.Back in 1986-87, Marcos loyalists were small groups of thugs, goons and simpletons who held violent rallies in Luneta and were always dispersed by police. In 2014 things are a bit different: Marcos loyalists are coarse thugs, goons and simpletons with Facebook accounts.
By staying on Facebook, the loyalists avoid being hit with a ruler by their angry school teachers for inventing facts, using warped logic and murdering English and Pilipino grammar.
The problem is, loyalists aren't happy just staying in their own loony zones, they also like going out and infesting other sites. Last week, a Facebook friend of mine put a picture of a Marcos human rights victim tearfully holding up a check he'd received as compensation. Immediately the page was swarmed by loyalists who offered the following observations about the victim: he faked his case to get money; he was a communist; he probably did something bad during Martial Law or lacked discipline, so he was tortured.
History and the world know Marcos was a loathsome dictator whose brutal military regime murdered at least 3,000 people, tortured easily 37,000 and illegally jailed more than 70,000. Marcos also suppressed constitutional rights and crushed the free press. He and his family stole at least US$10 billion and - together with cronies - looted the treasury, destroyed Philippine institutions, fostered widespread corruption and torched the economy.
This is all very inconvenient for loyalists, who feel their idol, the putrescent Marcos, is perfect. So they've developed various sophisticated responses. The main one is, it's all propaganda. Those reports and records from the US, Swiss and Philippine governments showing Marcos' barbarity, greed and stolen wealth? Propaganda! Reports from the media? Propaganda! From New York Times, Washington Post, Time magazine? Propaganda! Books? Propaganda! Financial reports? Propaganda! Human rights victims? Give me the names of 10,000 of them, NOW. You can't? Propaganda!
Although "propaganda" has four syllables, it's still just one word, so I suppose it is easy for any idiot to remember and helps loyalists stay on message.
Loyalists have very deep counterarguments to make against Marcos critics, namely "you're a Noytard", "you're a yellowtard", "you're a "communist" and "you don't know anything you should do more research." If you happen to be someone who actually experienced Martial Law, they will say you must imagined everything. It's surprising how many loyalists believe that, just by being on Facebook, they are suddenly expert academics, economists, historians, analysts, lawyers, etc. Especially when you see from the way they write and argue that they would fail a basic high school assignment. And they also love passing around bogus documents and statistics, but this is understandable considering their master Marcos was a prince of fakes: fake war record, fake medals, fake economic progress...
One more thing: on Facebook people will start off by telling you "I'm no Marcos loyalist but..." and then a few minutes later their mouths will start bubbling and foaming as they howl their love for their decomposing dictator. Later when you check their pages you'll find them plastered wall-to-wall with adoring posters of Marcos.<
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A CD spectrometer
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A simple spectrometer can be built from a CD and a box. Cut a slit on one side of the box. Place the CD on the other side with about 60 degree angle. Look down into the openning on the box. The slit should not be too wide, otherwise the spectrum lines will be blurred. It should not be too narrow either, otherwise the spectrum is too dim. I use a 0.2mm wide slit.
structure of the CD spectroscope
my cereal box spectroscope (arrow: the slit)
viewing the spectrum
Let's look at the spectra of some common light sources. All photos by the authors with a Nikon coolpix 995 camera.
(1a) afternoon sun, altitude 24 degrees
(1b) setting sun, altitude 0.5 degree
(1c) high Sun spectrum
(1d) low Sun spectrum
(1) Solar spectrum is continuous with dark lines, i.e. the famous Fraunhofer lines. Several Fraunhofer lines can be seen with this simple spectroscope (1c, 1d): C line in dark red(H-alpha, 656nm), orange D(Na,589nm), green E(Fe,527nm) and b1,b2(Mg,518nm), blue F(H-beta, 486nm), purple G(Fe and Ca, 431nm).
Interestingly the solar spectrum changes with the Sun's altitude! As the Sun is lower its light passes more Earth atmosphere. Comparing (1c) and (1d) we found a new dark line 'a' in red (molecular oxygen in Earth's atmosphere). Who can tell me what the dark band under D is?
(2a) incandescent light
(2b)
(2) Incandescent light is typical black body radiation, with continuous spectrum. No black lines. Same with tungsten halogen lamp.
(3a) fluorescent light
(3b)
(3) Fluorescent light has mercury gas emitting (mostly) ultraviolet light, which activates phosphor. The latter emits broad band visible light. Therefore we see bright mercury spectrum lines, most obviously green 546nm, on a continuous backgroud.
(4a) high pressure sodium light
(4b)
(4c)
(4d)
(4e)
(4f)
(4) The spectrum of high pressure sodium lights changes too! When the lamp is just on, there are several bright spectrum lines including yellow sodium at 589nm (4c). In a few seconds as the light gets brighter, the yellow line becomes wider, and a thin dark gap emerges at the center (4d, 4e). After the lamp stablizes, cooler sodium vapor absorbs light at 589nm, and we see a thick gap (4f, 4b). Note the camera settings for (4c--f) are the same.
(5a) computer display
(5b)
(5) Spectrum of white screen on a computer display.
(6a) laptop display
(6b)
(6) Laptop display is different from a CRT display.
(7a) red LED
(7b)
(7) Red LED emits continuous spectrum in red.
(8a) neon bulb
(8b)
(8) Neon bulb has many red and orange discrete bright spectrum lines.
(9a) night light
(9b)
(9) The night light uses phosphors and emits a continuous spectrum.
(10a) compact fluorescent light
(10b)
(10) Compact fluorescent light is similar to a normal fluorescent light but with tri-color phosphors. Instead of a continuous backgroup, it emits bright lines of various colors.
(11a) green and purple neon light
(11b) green tube spectrum
(11c) purple tube spectrum
(11) The green and purple neon tubes actually contain argon and mercury, with different phosphors produce different color. The mercury line is visible.
(12a) the moon
(12b) use a telescope
(12c) lunar spectrum
(12) I took this photo before the total lunar eclipse of 2004. Moonlight from a full moon was collected with an 8" Dob telescope. The spectroscope was held behind the eyepiece. As moonlight is nothing but reflected sunlight, the spectrum looks the same as a solar spectrum (1). It is continuous with dark absort lines, i.e. the Fraunhofer lines (some of them are marked).
(13a) candle
(13b) table salt
(13c) candle spectrum
(13d) table salt spectrum
(13) Candle light has a continuous spectrum. In the first few seconds after a candle (or a match) is lit, there is also the yellow sodium line which disappears thereafter. If table salt is burnt, the yellow sodium line becomes prominent. The sodium line should be double lines, but this simple device cannot resolve them.
(14a) metal halide lamp
(14b)
(14) Metal halide lamp has a complex spectrum.
(15a) blue neon sign
(15b)
(15c) red neon sign
(15d)
(15) The blue neon sign could be a mixture of argon and mercury (or phosphors). The red neon sign truly contains NEON, which is the same as in the neon bulb (8).
References
CD spectrometer
Science Toys
MiniSpectroscopy
University of Maryland Physics Lecture-Demonstration Facility
Neon FAQAubrey McClendon walks through the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana March 26, 2012. REUTERS/Sean Gardner/Files
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Oklahoma City police said on Tuesday an inquiry found no evidence suggesting oilman Aubrey McClendon committed suicide when he died in a fiery crash in March, but acknowledged his state of mind at the time of the accident was unknowable.
McClendon’s Chevy Tahoe slammed into a concrete bridge abutment on March 2, one day after federal prosecutors indicted him for violating anti-trust laws by rigging bids for oil lands. He had denied the charges.
Details of the crash, in which his vehicle was driving well above the speed limit at 88 miles (142 km) per hour, stunned the U.S. energy industry. Many executives worried he had committed suicide.
“Our investigators found no information that would compel us to believe this was anything other than a car accident,” police Captain Paco Balderrama said.
“With 100 percent certainty we will never know what his state of mind was” at the time of the crash, he said.
The findings of the inquiry were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Investigators have previously said McClendon died of multiple blunt force trauma, though a final report from the medical examiner’s office is still pending.We are sorry, you need to be a subscriber to watch this video
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Liverpool hope to have Jürgen Klopp installed as Brendan Rodgers’s successor by the end of this week after the former Borussia Dortmund manager indicated he is willing to take on the challenge of reviving their fortunes.
After opening formal talks with Klopp and his representatives yesterday, Liverpool are increasingly confident that the 48-year-old will become their next manager in the wake of Rodgers’s departure, which was confirmed after the 1-1 draw with Everton on Sunday.
A three-year contract is understood to be under discussion, with Klopp informing Liverpool of his desire to bring Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz, two of the most senior members of his coaching staff, with him to Anfield. That move would increase the likelihood of Sean O’Driscoll and Gary McAllister, Liverpool’s…55 points · 30 comments
Feminists.png
110 points · 48 comments
German Cop Breaks Ranks: We Are BANNED From Detaining Migrants
19 points · 12 comments
Over 100 arrested at PEGIDA demonstration. How many of the rapists have been arrested for the NYE attacks?
51 points · 77 comments
German woman, aged 31, surrounded by Arabs then sexually assaulted by two in Leipzig Main Station. Leipzig prosecutor releases both men calling the assault just an "insult"
21 points · 13 comments
RIP Arminas. This 15 y o boy was killed by a 14 y o Syrian "refugee" in Sweden because he defended a girl in school.
21 points
TotalBiscuit on Cologne attacks: "it should never be controversial to say 'hey, stop raping people'."
22 points
Freedom of speech in the West - "Our apologies. The printer has been pressured into destroying the products." They were selling "Rapefugees Not Welcome" t-shirts.
16 points · 21 comments
I remember when /r/European was below 5,000 members and would add about 10-50 a day; now we're adding 200-300/day and the number only grows
23 points · 6 comments
Three-year-old boy is raped 'by multiple people' at asylum centre in Norway
22 points · 43 comments
Time to get a few things straight againAustralia’s former Prime Minister John Howard has been accused of war crimes before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
A document titled Complaint against John Howard to the International Criminal Court has been sent to The AIMN by a member of the SEARCH Foundation – an on-line copy of the document can be found here. Permission has been given by one of the authors to reproduce the document, but due to its length (75 pages) we have reproduced a summary.
Early in 2012 the Committee of the SEARCH Foundation resolved to submit a complaint to the International Criminal Court (the ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, against John Howard, former Prime Minister of Australia, for his decision to send Australian forces to invade and wage war against Iraq.
The ICC is a permanent international tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and for the crime of aggression. The Court was set up through the Stature of Rome which was drafted and signed on 17 July 1998, and came into force on 1 July, 2002.
Australia signed the Statute on 9 December 1998, ratified it on July 1 2002, so as to be bound as from 1 September 2002.
Article 17 of the Statute, which deals with ‘Issues of admissibility’ prescribes that every step of the domestic jurisdiction of a country be exhausted before the Court may take jurisdiction over a complaint.
The SEARCH Foundation believes that it has satisfied the preconditions for admissibility.
Here are the steps taken
On 16 March 2012 the Search Foundation sent complaint to Commissioner Tony Negus APM, the head of the Australian Federal Police. The complaint is substantially the same as the one which would be sent to the Court. As far as the domestic jurisdiction is concerned, the complaint was based on Mr Howard’s violation of Division 268 of the Australian Criminal Code Act 1995. That Division ‘received’ the substance of Article 6: Genocide; Article 7: Crimes against humanity, and Article 8: War crimes, as contained in the Statute of Rome.
The Office of the AFP Commissioner replied to the effect that the complaint had been sent ‘for assessment’ and the subsequent response concluded that:
... An assessment by the AFP Legal Branch, of the information you have supplied, does not disclose an offence against Division 268 of the Code, and therefore the matters raised cannot be investigated by the AFP. You may wish to seek further independent legal advice to clarify this.
The SEARCH Foundation took time to reconsider the matter, to seek further legal advice, and resolved to submit a similar complaint to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
The complaint was sent on 9 May 2013 to Mr Robert Bromwich SC, Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
The reply contained the following:
... The CDPP has considered the material you have provided and will not initiate a prosecution of Mr Howard based on this material. The material is not a brief of evidence, containing admissible evidence against Mr Howard. I also note that the allegations set out in your letter do not appear to fall within the terms of any offence contained in Division 268 of the Criminal Code.
The SEARCH Foundation resolved that as all avenues of domestic jurisdiction having been attempted without success, time had come to approach the International Criminal Court.
The complaint
I have the honour hereby to file with you and your office the Complaint against Mr John Winston Howard, former Prime Minister of Australia, who is responsible for sending Australian military personnel into war, and into waters of, the Republic of Iraq, pursuant to a 17 March 2003 decision of the Australian Cabinet to join in the invasion of the Republic of Iraq.
As a result of this decision, I believe that offenses were committed, and that these offenses are punishable under Article 6 Genocide, Article 7 Crimes against Humanity, and Article 8 War Crimes of the Rome Statute.
I ask you initiate an investigation under Article 15, with a view to issuing a warrant of arrest for Mr John Winston Howard.
Australia’s ratification of the Rome Statute came into force on 1 September 2002, and these crimes were committed after that date. The offenses we enumerate are most serious.
On 16 March 2012, our organisation made a complaint in these same terms to both the Australian Federal Police, which is the primary agency responsible for investigating breaches of the Commonwealth Criminal Code 1995 which was amended to implement Australia’s ratification of the Rome Statute i.e. Chapter 8 – Offences against humanity and related offences, Division 268 – ‘Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes against the administration of the justice of the International Criminal Court’. That Division of the Code ‘receives’ the provisions of the Rome Statute of 1998, as amended.
On 23 March 2012, the Office of the Australian Federal Police Commissioner acknowledged receipt of our complaint and on May 3 2012, the AFP Operations Coordination Centre stated that our information did not disclose an offence against Division 268 and so declined to investigate.
On 9 May 2013, after consulting with many lawyers about how to proceed, we sent our complaint to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the other agency which can consider a prosecution under Division 268.
On 18 June 2013, the DPP replied that it would not initiate a prosecution of Mr Howard, noting that information provided was not a ‘brief of evidence’ and that the allegations we made did not appear to fall within the terms of any offence under Division 268.
Under Article 17(b) of the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor cannot investigate if:
“The case has been investigated by a State which has jurisdiction over it and the State has decided not to prosecute the person concerned, unless the decision resulted from the unwillingness or inability of the State genuinely to prosecute... “
However, we have demonstrated that the Australian State has not investigated this complaint. We argue that this is because the Australian State is unwilling to prosecute a former Prime Minister, since it is very clear to us that the invasion of Iraq directly produce breaches of Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute, as we set out below.
Therefore we consider that this complaint is open to your investigation under Article 17.
(A brief summary of) The Facts
On 11 September 2001 Mr Howard was in Washington DC. USA, on a state visit while the terrorists on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon were taking place. The day after the attacks he is reported as having declared support for the USA in retaliation: “We will help them. We will support actions they take to properly retaliate in relation to these acts of bastardry against their citizens and against what they stand for”.
Five days later the Australian Government, with the support of the Opposition Labor Party, passed a motion in the Australian Parliament invoking the ANZUS military alliance with the United States on the ground that the criminal actions of Al Qaeda, the terrorist organisation responsible for the attacks of 11 September 2001, were the equivalent to a state “attack on the United States”.
...
In January 2002 Mr. Howard was in Washington and endorsed former President George W. Bush’s State of the |
crew on a pirate lair for a reward; when there are three crew there, the pirate lair is taken, generating more rewards.
The Mission Boards. The pirate, fish, and spice variants each have a "mission board". This is just a victory point tracker. You get points for doing stuff; for example in the "pirates" variant each player gets a point on the mission board for each pirate lair that he helped to take over, and for each pirate lair that he was the "hero" of. A player's location on amission tracker gives him a few victory points (from 1-3) and whoever is in the lead gets a 1VP bonus marker.
Fish: In scenarios involving fish, there are six hexes to be discovered that randomly generate fish. Taking those fish back to the "Council of Catan" causes advancement on the fish mission board.
Spice: In scenarios involving spice, there are six hexes to be discovered that hold spice. Players must drop crew off on a hex to get a spice, which they can then return to the Council of Catan to advance on the spices mission board. Players also get special powers when they leave their crew behind on a spice space.
About the Scenarios: Explorers & Pirates arranges these various rule sets into five scenarios as such: an exploration-only scenario; a pirates scenario; a fish & pirates scenario; a spice & fish scenario; and a pirates, fish, and spice scenario.
Winning the Game: A player wins when she earns enough victory points: 8, 12, 15, or 17 depending on how many rule systems the scenario uses.
Relationships to Other Games
Explorers & Pirates is an expansion for The Settlers of Catan. To me it feels very much like a new take on many of the ideas from The Seafarers of Catan.
They are separate supplements, and they can each be played to enjoy separate gameplay. However, they also both focus on the idea of sea exploration. Seafarers feels much more like a minor expansion of the standard Catan game, but it creates variety through lots of different board setups. Conversely, Explorers & Pirates moves further away from normal Settlers gameplay and offers its variety through new rules systems.
The Game Design
Explorers & Pirates does a good job of introducing new rule sets that extend and expand the Settlers game.
Exploration is at the heart of the game, and it works quite well -- thanks in large part due to a careful control of the randomness. Because the unexplored tiles are laid out in two parts, neither of the halves of the board is ever a lot "luckier" than the other. The fact that the movement of ships doesn't actually cost anything is another aspect that makes the exploration really stand out as the obvious "thing to do".
Beyond that, each of the various game systems add some nice variability to the game. They also can allow for some markedly different strategies that seem pretty well balanced. One player focusing on settlements and harbors is pretty balanced with another trying to gather fish and spices. The choice between the different cargos can also be very interesting. Overall, I really enjoy not just the variable gameplay that these rules variants introduce, but also the variable options that show up within the game when you're using one or more of them -- as you now have Settlers strategy, plus more.
The spice lands are particularly interesting because each one gives a player a special power when he collects the associated spice. These powers can be developed into interesting strategies as a player continues forward.
Finally, I also enjoy the fact that the arrangement of the different rule sets into scenarios in Explorers & Pirates allow for variable game lengths -- from the very short exploration scenario to the longer scenarios combining multiple rules sets. I only played as far as the scenario that combined both spice and fish, and that played without a couple of hours, which I thought was a fine length for the complexity involved. (The spice/fish/pirates scenario would probably go a bit longer.)
On the whole, I've really liked the last couple of Catan expansion boxes. Though I'd recommend Traders & Barbarians before Explorers & Pirates because it has even more varied gameplay, this is definitely the next set to buy afterward. I've given it a "4" out of "5" for Substance.
Conclusion
Catan: Explorers & Pirates is another fine expansion for The Settlers of Catan. If you've already purchased Traders & Barbarians, or if you just prefer exploration of new lands, then it's well recommended for your Settlers of Catan game.[UPDATE 26 June 2015] The Safe Mode Kids voice pack on Waze is now available to the public! It’ll be available to more than 50 million Waze users around the world.
The ‘kid-sourcing’ phase started with 100 parents who volunteered their kids. 60 children were then auditioned and given lines to record, and 20 voices were finally selected for the voice pack. (Check out the video here!)
To download, open your Waze app and follow these instructions: Settings > Sound > Voice Language > Select “English (US) – Safe Mode with Kids” (powered by Maxis)
[Ok, end of update 😀 ]
Let’s be honest. When we drive alone, we’re completely ourselves. Pissed off with the uncle in front of you? Flip finger, don’t care. Got meeting? Put mascara while 90km/h on highway. Need to berak? Curse and jump red light lor abuden.
But… What if there were kids in the car?
OK, at time of writing we don’t know the result of our poll, but we’re guessing ugaiz would drive extra carefully with children in the car. (Sometimes you don’t even need children, mother-in-law enough already.)
So here’s the thing, Maxis knows that most parents are on their best behaviour in situations like these, so they’ve come up with something really cute to tackle it. Now, before you ask, NO LA CILISOS isn’t getting a single cent out of this. They do send some news to us once in a while, but we felt that this was really quite sweet and worth mentioning
So, how is Maxis gonna make Malaysians drive properly?
By using their voices on Waze!
Nah, just kidding. No screaming, nagging toddlers la. (We hope…)
Maxis is actually teaming up with Waze to create a a ‘Safe Mode’ voice option, where instead of hearing the voice of an angmoh fella or a weirdly Thai-like boy band singer, you actually hear children’s voices.
These kids will warn you not to forget your safety belt or text at an upcoming traffic jam… Y’know, stuff like that. Here… watch the promo video here. It’s a wee bit schmaltzy, but the idea is super cool!
And with voices that remind you of your little one (provided you have kids, little cousins or something), Maxis believes it’ll make a change in the way parents drive.
It’s common sense la that these voices will evoke a sense of caution to the driver, reminding him/her that their precious little ones are waiting for them to come home. Or that if they drive like mad fellas, there’s a high chance they may end up in some tragic accident and turn their kids into orphans. #coldhardtruth
So hopefully, an adorable voice chirping from the phone telling you stuff like…….
……. can make people be less reckless and more cautious on the road.
But that’s not the best part yet.
You can actually hear YOUR OWN KID on Waze!
That’s right! Who knows, the voice telling you that the po-pos are round the corner could be your little one! Maxis is looking for children between the ages of 4 and 12 to volunteer their voices. Chosen talents will find their voices in Safe Mode voice option, something that we’re sure beats another Power Ranger toy. That is, if kids are still playing them.
If you’re interested, email [email protected] for details.
Oh, and if you ever see our editor surfing in a traffic jam, go smack him on the face can?Drop your panzers: Panzer Corps expands with Operation Sea Lion By Dave Neumann
Holy ships.
Pocket Tactics is a member of the Wargamer Limited Group, which is owned by Slitherine Software.Working at Mt. Hexmap has its advantages: plenty of coal for the fireplace, an occasional glimpse out of the windows in Owen's office, and leg irons that don't hinder mobility as much as you'd think they would. As great as everything is, however, it still takes a while to get used to Owen's love of Panzer Corps. Poems and songs are common, with even a hand drawn chapbook produced at one point. It gets old and uncomfortable fast but, then again, you have to admit that Owen's on to something. Panzer Corps is pretty terrific.Earlier today, Slitherine decided to make Panzer Corps even better by adding a massive 30-scenario campaign based on the German invasion of England that never was, Operation Sea Lion. With this scenario, you can either bring your core troops from your conquest of France or start over from scratch with a preset force. Troops will follow you between scenarios in Sea Lion, and the campaign is not linear. Making choices along the way will cause certain scenarios to not be accessible, so completing all 30 of the expansion's scenarios will take multiple play throughs.The game is available for iPad and PC with pretty much everything going on sale for the Steam version. As for iPad users, they'll be paying full freight which is $10 on the App Store for the base game, and Operation Sea Lion coming as a $10 IAP.Check after the break for a 4 year-old trailer for Panzer Corps that still holds up.Routine heading of a soccer ball can cause damage to brain structure and function, according to a new study from the United Kingdom that is the first to detect direct neurological changes by impacts too minor to cause a concussion.
The research, published this week in EBioMedicine, studied brain changes among amateur players, ages 19 to 25, who headed machine-projected soccer balls at speeds modeling a typical practice. Though the results seen were temporary, they trigger questions about possible cumulative damage done over time.
"[A]lthough the magnitude of the acute changes observed was small,” the researchers note, “it is the presence of the effect that is of interest. This measure was previously shown to be altered in confirmed concussion, but the acute changes... following the sub-concussive impact of football heading raise concerns that this practice, routine in soccer, may affect brain health.”
[He got lost in the supermarket -- because of soccer-related concussions]
Changes in motor response and memory were observed in the five women and 14 men participating in the study. Each was asked to perform a rotational header — redirecting the soccer ball — 20 consecutive times during 10-minute sessions. The researchers found that immediately following these sessions, subjects' error scores on both short- and long-term memory tests were significantly higher than subjects' baseline performances.
Even after just a single session of heading, memory-test performance was reduced by as much as 67 percent, though the alterations appeared to clear within 24 hours. The researchers caution against taking this temporary disruption as a sign of no long-term damage.
Other studies over the past few years have also found:
* Soccer players are prone to traumatic brain injury, with 22 percent of all injuries being concussions.
* Changes in brain anatomy of soccer players — particularly, a thinning of the cortex — is associated with slower cognition.
* Molecular markers of brain damage are significantly elevated in response to heading by male professional soccer players.
The latest research, which used transcranial magnetic stimulation to measure brain function, builds on similar work that has found biochemical markers of brain injury in soccer players suffering the accumulated effects of sub-concussive head impacts. In these players, an initial injury triggered a pathological process, a cascade of cellular events, that led to brain degeneration.
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, with more than 265 million amateur and professional players. Competitive players head the ball an average of six to 12 times per game, according to experts, and at ball speeds far greater than those in practice drills.
[Soccer-related ER visits soar with youth players]
“For the first time, sporting bodies and members of the public can see clear evidence of the risks associated with repetitive impact caused by heading a soccer ball,” Angus Hunter of the University of Stirling in Scotland said in a statement accompanying the new research results. “We hope these new findings will open up new approaches for detecting, monitoring and preventing cumulative brain injuries in sport. We need to safeguard the long-term health of soccer players at all levels, as well as individuals involved in other contact sports.”
Read more:
In a medical first, brain implant allows paralyzed man to feel again
The man who lost his memory but gave much to neuroscience
Researchers just doubled what we know about the map of the human brainWhen you are looking for a fast throw-together dinner, try cooking with shrimp. They cook very quickly, are low in fat and calories, and high in valuable omega-3, vitamin B-12, and niacin. They are also a good source of iron, zinc, and copper. In the 1990s shrimp got a reputation as being bad for you. Unfortunately that myth has continued, but in subsequent studies it was proven that they actually help lower triglycerides and are a healthy alternative to red meats.
In addition to different sizes, shrimp vary by the area they live in. Small cold water species are succulent and very sweet. They are excellent used in sandwiches and salads. The larger, warm water Gulf shrimp are more strongly flavored and marry well with aggressive flavors such as those in Asian cuisines.
Look for firm meat with a sweet, lightly briny aroma. Any with discolored shells or an ammonia smell should be thrown away. It’s a good idea to ask to smell the shrimp prior to buying. Do you watch Top Chef? The contestants always smell everything before they buy it – and in the case of fruits and vegetables, usually taste it too. If your grocer doesn’t want you to smell the products before you buy them, they may have something to hide and I wouldn’t shop there.
Shrimp are one of the few seafood options that do not suffer from being frozen – as long as they are handled properly. Always look for transparent packaging and avoid any that have ice crystals inside the bag or shrimp with discolored spots which may be a sign of freezer burn. Defrost them in the refrigerator overnight, or if time is tight, leave them in their sealed plastic bag and submerge the whole thing in a bowl of cold water on the counter. They should be ready in less than an hour. Don’t soak them in water or they’ll lose a lot of their flavor.
They cook extremely quickly and will overcook in an instant. They start out white or grey and translucent, and are done when they turn pink and opaque. When overcooked, they become tough and rubbery. They should always be the last things you throw in the pan, and depending on the size, I often add them off heat. Most of the time the residual heat of the pan and the other ingredients is more than sufficient to cook the shrimp. Take the pan off the heat, add the shrimp, cover with a lid and set aside for a couple of minutes (3 to 5 minutes for larger shrimp) and they’ll be perfect every time.
They can be boiled, steamed, grilled, sautéed, baked, or deep-fried. When using direct dry heat methods such as grilling, always cook shrimp in the shell to help protect the delicate meat and keep them moist. If you choose to deep-fry them, they don’t have to turn out oily. If the oil is hot enough, the food won’t absorb it and turn perfectly crispy.
This is one of my favorite go-to dinners. I can have it on the table in under half an hour and you know what a lifesaver that can be when you have a hungry family anxiously waiting, LOL!
Jane’s Tips and Hints:
When you are buying fresh shrimp, they are sold by the size. It sounds like a code and it is … 21-25 means that there are 21 to 25 pieces per pound. It is much more accurate way to order than asking for medium or jumbo shrimp.
Here is a chart of Shrimp Counts (per pound) and their common names:
Name Count (per pound)
Extra Colossal U-10 (under 10)
Super Colossal U-12 (under 12)
Colossal U-15 (under 15)
Extra Jumbo 16 – 20
Jumbo 21 – 25
Extra Large 26 – 30
Large 31 – 35
Medium Large 36 – 40
Medium 41 – 50
Small 51 – 60
Extra Small 61 – 70
Kitchen Skill: Sauteing
Sautéing is simply quickly frying items in a little hot fat. Sauté literally means to “jump.” Use a shallow pan over relatively high heat and keep the food moving. Use a spoon or spatula to stir or jerk the pan back and forth. Make sure you don’t move the food too often or it won’t have a chance to brown the way you want it to.
Sautéed Lemon Dill Shrimp 2015-07-21 16:59:20 Yields 6 Write a review Save Recipe Print Ingredients 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced 3 shallots, sliced 2 lb shrimp (21/25 count), shelled and deveined Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice 2 tbsp butter 4 tbsp minced fresh dill, or 2 tsp dried dill weed, plus extra for garnish 2 to 4 cups steamed white or brown rice, kept warm Instructions In a very large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and shallots and cook over medium-high heat until softened, about 1 minute. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink and opaque throughout, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Using a slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to a bowl; set aside. Add lemon juice and butter and cook over low heat until the butter is melted and a sauce is developed. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp fresh dill and toss to distribute. Remove from the heat. Return shrimp to pan and toss to coat with the sauce. Cover and set aside while you get the serving dishes ready. Shrimp will be warmed through when you serve. Place a portion of rice into 4 warmed serving bowls. Spoon the shrimp and sauce over rice, sprinkle with additional fresh dill. Serve this dish with a side of steamed vegetables such as asparagus, carrots, or broccoli. Notes Yield: 4 to 6 servings For a jazzier presentation, cut out 4-inch circles of brioche bread, lightly brush with butter and toast until golden brown. Place croutons in the bottom of wide, shallow bowls and top with shrimp. Drizzle with some of the sauce and sprinkle with additional fresh dill or garnish with a dill sprig. Serve immediately. By © 2009 Jane Bonacci, The Heritage Cook. All rights reserved. The Heritage Cook ® http://theheritagecook.com/
Unauthorized use, distribution, and/or duplication of proprietary material without prior approval is prohibited. I can be contacted via email at: heritagecook (at) comcast (dot) net. Feel free to quote me, just give credit where credit is due, link to the recipe, and please send people to my website, www.theheritagecook.com
Thank You!The hard fork presents tremendous risk to the entire Bitcoin Ecosystem, in exchange for almost no marginal benefit. Instead, use extension blocks or sidechains.
Intro
Overview of Problems
A Hard Fork is a categorical replacement of one protocol with another. When compared to an Alt-chain (an Altcoin or Sidechain), they have a number of obvious problems:
They attempt to break an existing contract, and replace it with an “updated” version. The entire purpose of a contract is, of course, that it is binding unless all parties agree to update it. However, such an agreement-to-update is often difficult to measure, due to many factors, the most important being the size, heterogeneity and clandestine nature of the Bitcoin Community. Due to monetary network-effects, contracts can be violated, by hard fork, even by a small minority of Community Members. Relatedly, the Hard Fork introduces a non-peer “Authority” to answer the question “Which Bitcoin Network is the Real One?”. This is unambiguously not Peer-to-Peer! Hence, it is not surprising that the Hard Fork also spits in the face of Nakamoto Consensus, as Satoshi’s Heaviest Chain Rule answers the very same question (and is the entire purpose that the Bitcoin software exists). They reset the clock on the Accumulation of Security. Bitcoin has a chicken-and-egg problem, such that there’s no way to know if something is secure until people trust it with large amounts of money. They virtually guarantee that, eventually, Users will have their funds stolen and Developers will be violently coerced.
I’ve previously written and commented about the first two, which (I think) are well known, so this post will focus primarily on the nexus of phenomena supporting #3 and, especially, #4 (which are more novel).
( But, if you blur your eyes, you’ll notice that all four are really the same reason: Satoshi created a P2P network so that there would be no single point of attack. )
Benefits of Hard Forks
To be fair, I will point out the following advantages of Hard Forks.
Less Baggage : Hard Forks are unambiguously ‘cleaner’ - they accomplish their goal directly and as simply as possible. An excellent metaphor is the laryngeal nerve of the giraffe. If nature could ‘hard fork’ it would redesign the nerve, from scratch, to travel in a direct path of 2 inches. However, Mother Nature’s process of Darwinian evolution -being unable to ‘design’- will blindly preserve as much “backwards compatibility” as possible, thematically akin to our ‘soft fork’. As a result, the nerve is longer by a factor of ~140 for no reason; pure inefficiency.
: Hard Forks are unambiguously ‘cleaner’ - they accomplish their goal directly and as simply as possible. An excellent metaphor is the laryngeal nerve of the giraffe. If nature could ‘hard fork’ it would redesign the nerve, from scratch, to travel in a direct path of 2 inches. However, Mother Nature’s process of Darwinian evolution -being unable to ‘design’- will blindly preserve as much “backwards compatibility” as possible, thematically akin to our ‘soft fork’. As a result, the nerve is longer by a factor of ~140 for no reason; pure inefficiency. More Transparent : Hard Forks tell a user that they need to upgrade, and how to do so. There is no ‘secret’, behind-the-scenes forced upgrading.
: Hard Forks tell a user that they need to upgrade, and how to do so. There is no ‘secret’, behind-the-scenes forced upgrading. More Sovereign : A user can choose to outright reject a Hard Fork. This is a benefit when the change is bad, but it is also a severe drawback the change is good.
: A user can choose to outright reject a Hard Fork. This is a benefit when the change is bad, but it is also a severe drawback the change is good. More Flexible: Given that one is starting from scratch, a Hard Forks can be used to do anything. (Again, as many rival cryptosystems have discovered, this flexibility can cause many more problems than it solves. To continue with the biological metaphor, it might be analogous to the fact that over 99.999999% of mutations do not cause species-evolution, and instead cause the animal to simply die of cancer.)
In truth, few of these benefits are marginal benefits, given that ‘advanced soft forks’ (extension blocks, sidechains) can also score very highly on baggage, transparency, sovereignty, and flexibility. And most of the flexibility lost, by downgrading from HF to ASF, is flexibility that no one is interested in pursuing anyway (such as increasing the 21 million coin limit).
In general, such a paltry benefit is not enough to outweigh the tremendous costs, as I will now explain.
Users don’t care about upgrades, and won’t tell you how little they care. Free work isn’t free, because you have to check it. Some people are un-upgradeable, and their contribution to the network effect might make the entire network un-upgradeable.
Keep these three thoughts in mind, when considering the strategy of protocol upgrades.
1. Upgrade Reluctance
People are reluctant to upgrade their software.
Cell Phones
This attitude surprises many developers, but it doesn’t surprise many cell phone users.
Upgrading your phone is tedious, and can often break things. In return, the benefits are usually zero – after all, at any given time, most people are blissfully unaware that updates to their phone are even possible. Life’s serene tranquility is then ambushed by this random box on your phone that won’t go away.
Henry Ford / Steve Jobs can complain that ‘customers don’t know what they want’, but that maxim cuts both ways! How many current Bitcoin users were chomping at the bit, to use RelativeCheckLocktimeVerify (or even the lightning network, for that matter)?
( Why? )
It is well-known that people have a bias towards the status quo. This is probably because thinking consumes scarce biological resources. Secondly, it is known that humans have a loss aversion bias. One synthesis of these phenomena, is to point out that ‘ignoring gains’ is free, but ‘ignoring losses’ is impossible – losses might require you to rewrite your whole plan. And they therefore require some of your (scarce) attention.
Upgrades Suck
The point is that upgrades suck. They can break your workflow in all kinds of ways!
For most people, it is rational to just avoid the whole upgrade process. And it is most rational of all, for these users not to tell developers how little they care about the incredibly sexy world or ‘version numbering’ and ‘release notes’. Upgrading will always be an uphill battle, and it will always be more-uphill than expected.
2. The Cost of Free Work
Imagine that you need to hire someone for a job. (And conversely, recall your first job search). Who should you hire (how do you get hired)?
You do not care about how hard your employee works. He may produce something you ultimately cannot use, or never wanted. Conversely: people do not care how hard you work. Many toil in the farmlands, or construction sites, and their relative prosperity is low – they are out-earned by sloths residing in comfy offices.
Clearly you need an employee who produces something valuable – something you value. And, relatedly, their paychecks must sum to a cost that is less than the value they produce for you. The employee must be profitable.
But, even now, you face a critical problem: checking the quality of your employee’s work. Assume the following: [1] a job takes 1 hour, [2] your time is worth 10 $/hr, and [3] you can hire someone to do this job in 2 hours at 3 $/hr. By hiring, you would be up +$4 ( = $10 - (2 * $3)). However, if it takes you 30 minutes to check your employee’s work, you have lost an additional $5 and are now at a net -$1.
Worse, your efforts to check your employee’s work might fail. Your employee might even hide something, and your hard-earned reputation might be damaged or destroyed.
Because work can’t be checked for free, even ‘free’ work can easily cost you a fortune.
Hiring is expensive! (This explains why, in our world, there’s simultaneously [1] plenty of work to do, and [2] many people who are willing to work, but can’t find a job.)
3. Coordination and Ambiguity
a. March 2013
Consider this writeup of Bitcoin’s March 2013 emergency.
I agree that this case can help us understand Bitcoin Upgrades. I don’t agree that: “Without the central co-ordination of the Bitcoin Core developers and the strong trust that the community places in them, it is inconceivable that adopting this counterintuitive solution could have been successfully accomplished”, however.
In fact, it is because the Core developers were unable to coordinate, and because they were not able to convince (ie “get”) the community, that the (supposedly “counterintuitive”) solution would have inevitably manifest itself.
That said, the CoreDevs did minimize the damage. And you can’t knock that response time.
b. The Power of Being Unable
Taleb recently noted that certain conditions would produce a ‘tyranny of the minority’. network effects would allow the most intolerant person to win.
This would not have surprised Tom Schelling, who noted in 1956 that the most constrained (ie, most intolerant) person would always hold a brutal negotiating advantage. Your boss and you agree that you are worth between $10 and $20 an hour – the smartest thing is to say “I cannot accept less than $20”, and to back-that-up by fastening on a collar that explodes if you indeed get <$20.
( Both pieces of writing are of superb quality. )
c. A Good Night’s Sleep
The central question of March 2013 was: “how do we re-merge the fork”, and the most relevant fact, in answering it, was the following:
23:30 Pieter Wuille: and we _cannot_ get every bitcoin user in the world
This outright disqualifies the “everyone upgrades” strategy – the “un-get-ables” are wearing explosive collars. By process of elimination, this leaves only the “everyone downgrades”. It is the kind of thing that is, apparently, “counterintuitive” to computer scientists; in my experience, game theory is not part of the CS curriculum.
The blockchain allows users to coordinate on a single network (by using a simple ‘heaviest valid chain’ rule, that a computer can automatically calculate). Schelling would say that successful coordination requires participants to read a ‘common signal’ from the situation itself (not from each other). Some participants will never get an ‘upgrade signal’, and some will ignore a signal they do get, and a third group will actively fight the upgrade.
Anyone concerned with ‘being on the wrong network’ would, inevitably, reach the same conclusion as Pieter Wuille: the downgrade would win. In any situation of ‘motivated ambiguity’, the downgrade will probably always win. Worse, this conclusion has momentum – the cleverer individuals would realize sooner, thus transmuting an initially-ambiguous situation into a ha-ha-losers-sorry-for-your-loss cutthroat meritocracy.
The Devs did minimize the transition period, however, which minimized the collateral damage.
Conclusion: Each of these three points favors the soft fork over the hard fork.
Many argue that hashpower will provide the common signal (dooming the less-heavy chain to extinction).
This argument has many points in its favor: Hashrate is a good barometer of health (a neglected chain cannot proceed), and it is globally-available to all decision-makers (and this is common).
However, the argument suffers, because of the inherent reactiveness of mining. First, notice that [1] there is an infinite number of hard-fork-paths forward, from any given block, and no objective criteria with which to disqualify any of them. The decision to bless one of them with hashpower, is, therefore, inherently both arbitrary and reversible. Second, notice that [2] if investors support one chain, this financial support will necessarily attract hashpower to the chain.
So, any decisions the miner makes can-and-will be reversed by investors. Hashrate would coordinate more-effectively, if Hashers could prove that they were unable to ever support a chain. Since they cannot prove this, the metric is flaky.
The Game Theory of Bitcoin Upgrades
Bitcoin’s Upgrades are safe, because they are optional.
Upgrade Model
Here is a simple game, where:
An update, which is one of two types (‘vulnerable’, or ‘not vulnerable’) is proposed, Row Player decides whether to ‘upgrade’ or ‘not’, Column player decides whether to ‘attack’ or ‘not’.
The Column Player knows [1] if attack is possible, and [2] how to attack (and can attack for free). The Row player bears an ‘investigation cost’ of “a” – it costs Row a units, to learn the update’s type.
Payoff Matrix Interpretation |Attack | Don't | |Attack | Don't | --------------------------- ----------------------------- Do | 0 | 0 | Do |nothing |nothing | Nothing | 0 | 0 | Nothing |happens |happens | --------------------------- ----------------------------- Check | -2 | 1 | Check |attack |user | First |-a | 3-a | First |thwarted|paranoia| --------------------------- ----------------------------- Upgrade | 4 | 1 | Upgrade |attacker| lucky | w/o Check |-10 | 3 | w/o Check | wins! | user | ---------------------------- ------------------------------
If the user declines to update, nothing changes (hence the zero payoffs). The attacker (left Column) prefers to succeed in his attack, scoring 4 if he can trick Row into upgrading. If the attack fails, the attacker is embarrassed and loses 2. Nice devs (right Column) score 1 if their good upgrades are installed. Row Player prefers to upgrade (scoring 3), but loses 10 if installs an Attack. Row must pay ‘a’ to learn the state of the upgrade (‘vulnerable’ or ‘not vulnerable’).
Equilibria of Game
For a>0, there is a Nash Equilibrium at { Do Nothing, Attack }, and when a=0 there is a second equilibrium at { Check First, Don’t Attack }.
When a is high, upgrades are very unsafe. However, when a=zero, everything changes. Not only is the new equilibrium {3,1} a Pareto improvement over the old {0,0} one, but, by forward induction, we can assume that, if Column Player bothers to propose a software update, he is avoiding the { Do Nothing, Attack } equilibrium.
When is a=0?
Some people derive great pride and personal satisfaction from contributing to Free Software. Thus, for them, “a” may be zero or even negative.
If we discuss hard forks, the conversation ends with this tiny minority (<0.1%) of people. But what about mainstream users, who are accustomed to secure, high quality software, but who are completely unfamiliar with terms like “gitian”, “checksum”, “binaries”, etc? What’s the plan for reaching those users? Is there a plan?
Well, with soft forks, everyone (even grandma) can use “indirect evidence” to lower their a to zero. Simply, they wait for other people to install and use the software, while keeping an ear open in case anyone sounds the alarm. By being slow to upgrade, they can “check” the software for free. The more technically-illiterate users can simply choose a longer update-lag-time.
Soft forks “flip” the process of validating the new code – users can assume the code is bad, and falsify that hypothesis by watching their friends. It also “flips” the cost – with a hard fork, users must “pay” to validate the software,
Who Protects The Developers?
If Devs commit to a policy of Soft Forks, then an attacker gains nothing by coercing them.
A world of Hard Forks is a DevoCracy – whoever controls the devs, controls the software.
A world of Soft Forks is…what exactly? Our model (above), applies regardless of how many attacks are attempted by evil devs. Whether all the proposed updates are malicious, or none of them are, the process above will passively filter out all attacks (thus making each individual attack pointless).
The converse is true: if we lack a process for filtering out Dev-misbehavior, then there is a reason to attack.
The crucial point: Dev’s inability to do harm is also their inability to be intimidated.
Of course, such immunity is far from perfect. Historically, there has unfortunately been some intimidation of Devs, and more than a fair share of stress. But it is noteworthy that, for an enterprise of this size (billions of dollars) and quality (constant dark net criminal activity, scams, fraud, and misrepresentation, little/no identify verification or background checking) the harassment of developers has been so minimal. There has been some doxxing, and “mean comments on the internet”, and this post which I’m 95% certain is merely a complex pun on Bitcoin’s concept of “verifiable”.
In fact, the most threating thing to happen so far, was not an attack on Bitcoin itself, and merely an example of the complete technical incompetence of today’s prosecutors, and their pedophilic obsession with a completely inert demo of an opt-in browser plugin.
I attribute this relatively continuous pacifism to our commitment to soft forks (notice: we have never actually hardforked). In other words, I attribute safety of the Bitcoin Developers and Researchers to the fact that we don’t actually control who gets paid. We cannot undo payments, reset passwords, etc. We can’t do any of that.
( Finally, consider the process of Mining: it not only discourages attackers from rewriting the chain, but also divorces any individual from the issuance process – this means that, if an attacker wanted to obtain newly-issued coins, there is no one for him to extort. )
Supposed Counterexamples
Many readers will notice that Ethereum has hard-forked several times. BitShares also hard-forked many times. And so has everything, really – VISA, SWIFT, Google, and so forth.
If hard forks appear in the wild, why can’t we conclude that they’re safe for Bitcoin?
1. Jumping the Gun
One large piece of this puzzle is that these protocols were released too soon. In the design state, the protocol ‘hard forks’ innumerable times, in the mind of the designer. This is a normal part of the creative process – surely, Satoshi revised his Bitcoin design in many ‘hard fork’ ways before finally presenting the finished project. In contrast, the Altcoin Community consistently releases too early, because of the tremendous “FOMO effect” where projects scramble to grab anyone who is interested and has initiative |
<rindolf> Su-Shee: heh. <rindolf> Su-Shee: it doesn't matter if you're rigid on the outside as long as you're rigid on the inside. <Su-Shee> chuck norris doesn't make mistakes. <rindolf> Su-Shee: Chuck Norris corrects God. <Su-Shee> rindolf: I'll apply as his secretary. <rindolf> Su-Shee: as Chuck's? <Su-Shee> rindolf: yes. <rindolf> Su-Shee: OK. <rindolf> Chuck Norris doesn't code. When he sits next to a computer, it just does whatever he wants. <Su-Shee> I'll tell my boss tomorrow. Chuck is who he wants. <rindolf> Su-Shee: Chuck Norris is his own boss. <rindolf> Su-Shee: if you hire him, he'll tell your boss what to do. <Su-Shee> good point.Census: Whites make up minority of babies in U.S.
WASHINGTON (AP) For the first time, whites make up the minority of babies in the U.S., part of a sweeping race change and a growing age divide between mostly white, older Americans and predominantly minority youths that could reshape government policies.
Preliminary census estimates also show the share of African-American households headed by women — mostly single mothers — now exceeds African-American households with married couples, a sign of declining U.S. marriages overall but also of continuing challenges for black youths without involved fathers.
The findings, based on the latest government data, offer a preview of final 2010 census results being released this summer that provide detailed breakdowns by age, race and householder relationships.
Demographers say the numbers provide the clearest confirmation yet of a changing social order, one in which racial and ethnic minorities will become the U.S. majority by midcentury.
"We're moving toward an acknowledgment that we're living in a different world than the 1950s, where married or two-parent heterosexual couples are now no longer the norm for a lot of kids, especially kids of color," said Laura Speer, coordinator of the Kids Count project for the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation.
"It's clear the younger generation is very demographically different from the elderly, something to keep in mind as politics plays out on how programs for the elderly get supported," she said. "It's critical that children are able to grow to compete internationally and keep state economies rolling."
Currently, non-Hispanic whites make up just under half of all children 3 years old, which is the youngest age group shown in the Census Bureau's October 2009 annual survey, its most recent. In 1990, more than 60% of children in that age group were white.
William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution who analyzed the data, said figures in the 2009 survey can sometimes be inexact compared with the 2010 census, which queries the entire nation. But he said when factoring in the 2010 data released so far, minorities outnumber whites among babies under age 2.
The preliminary figures are based on an analysis of the Current Population Survey as well as the 2009 American Community Survey, which sampled 3 million U.S. households to determine that whites made up 51% of babies younger than 2. After taking into account a larger-than-expected jump in the minority child population in the 2010 census, the share of white babies falls below 50%.
Twelve states and the District of Columbia now have white populations below 50% among children under age 5 — Hawaii, California, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Maryland, Georgia, New Jersey, New York and Mississippi. That's up from six states and the District of Columbia in 2000.
At current growth rates, seven more states could flip to "minority-majority" status among small children in the next decade: Illinois, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, South Carolina and Delaware.
By contrast, whites make up the vast majority of older Americans — 80% of seniors 65 and older and roughly 73% of people ages 45-64. Many states with high percentages of white seniors also have particularly large shares of minority children, including Arizona, Nevada, California, Texas and Florida.
"The recent emergence of this cultural generation gap in states with fast growth of young Hispanics has spurred heated discussions of immigration and the use of government services," Frey said. "But the new census, which will show a minority majority of our youngest Americans, makes plain that our future labor force is absolutely dependent on our ability to integrate and educate a new diverse child population."
Kenneth Johnson, a sociology professor and senior demographer at the University of New Hampshire, noted that much of the race change is being driven by increases in younger Hispanic women having more children than do white women, who have lower birth rates and as a group are moving beyond their prime childbearing years.
Because minority births are driving the rapid changes in the population, "any institution that touches or is impacted by children will be the first to feel the impact," Johnson said, citing as an example child and maternal health care that will have to be attentive to minorities' needs.
The numbers come amid public debate over hotly contested federal and state issues, from immigration and gay marriage to the rising cost of government benefits such as Medicare and Medicaid, that are resonating in different ways by region and demographics.
Alabama became the latest state this month to pass a wide-ranging anti-immigration law, which in part requires schools to report students' immigration status to state authorities. That follows tough immigration measures passed in similarly Republican-leaning states such as Georgia, Arizona and South Carolina.
But governors in Massachusetts, New York and Illinois, which long have been home to numerous immigrants, have opted out of the federal Secure Communities program that aims to deport dangerous criminals, saying it has made illegal immigrants afraid of reporting crimes to police. California may soon opt out as well.
States also are divided by region over old-age benefits and gay marriage, which is legal in five states and the District of Columbia.
Among African-Americans, U.S. households headed by women — mostly single mothers but also adult women living with siblings or elderly parents — represented roughly 30% of all African-American households, compared with the 28% share of married-couple African-American households. It was the first time the number of female-headed households surpassed those of married couples among any race group, according to census records reviewed by Frey dating back to 1950.
While the number of black single mothers has been gradually declining, overall marriages among blacks are decreasing faster. That reflects a broader U.S. trend of declining marriage rates as well as increases in non-family households made up of people living alone, or with unmarried partners or other non-relatives.
Female-headed households make up a 19% share among Hispanics and 9% each for whites and Asians.
Other findings:
—Multigenerational households composed of families with grandparents, parents and children were most common among Hispanics, particularly in California, Maryland, Illinois, Nevada and Texas, all states where they represented nearly 1 in 10 Latino households.
—Roughly 581,000, or a half percent, of U.S. households are composed of same-sex unmarried couples, representing nearly 1 in 10 households with unmarried partners. Unmarried gay couples made up the biggest shares in states in the Northeast and West, led by the District of Columbia, Oregon, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont. The largest numbers were in California and New York, which is now considering a gay marriage law.
—Minorities comprise a majority of renters in 10 states, plus the District of Columbia — Hawaii, Texas, California, Georgia, Maryland, New Mexico, Mississippi, New Jersey, Louisiana and New York.
Tony Perkins, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council, a conservative interest group, emphasized the economic impact of the decline of traditional families, noting that single-parent families are often the most dependent on government assistance.
"The decline of the traditional family will have to correct itself if we are to continue as a society," Perkins said, citing a responsibility of individuals and churches. "We don't need another dose of big government, but a new Hippocratic oath of 'do no harm' that doesn't interfere with family formation or seek to redefine family."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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.comGraffiti mainly in Arabic has been found on four Easyjet aircraft (AFP Photo/Denis Charlet)
London (AFP) - British police arrested two men on suspicion of making a bomb hoax that caused a flight to be evacuated at Manchester Airport on Thursday, according to police.
Officers were called to the easyJet flight bound for Marrakech in Morocco after reports that a passenger had claimed to have a bomb in his bag.
The plane was evacuated and the passengers re-screened before the flight departed several hours later.
"The aircraft was immediately evacuated and two men, aged 45 and 46, were arrested on suspicion of making a bomb hoax," a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said.
"No explosive devices have so far been found."
Manchester Airport said that passengers had been disembarked from the aircraft "as a precautionary measure".
EasyJet thanked passengers for their patience and said police had come aboard the flight EZY1893 at the request of the flight captain.
"We take very seriously any security related issue made to easyJet to ensure the continued safety and security of our passengers and crew," an easyJet spokesman said.The answer to the “Jeopardy” clue “Alex Trebrek’s replacement” has a new and surprising question:
“Who is Matt Lauer?”
The beleaguered host of the “Today” show is at the top of the list to take over the brainy game show when Trebek steps down, as expected, in 2016, knowledgeable sources tell The Post.
Lauer is widely reported to be on his way out at the morning show, which has tumbled to No. 2 in the ratings in the last year. He is being blamed for the show’s fall from grace after 16 years on top.
The Post reported this week that Lauer is not expected to re-sign with “Today” when his blockbuster, $25-million-a-year deal expires in 2015.
By coincidence, that’s about the time Trebek is expected to end his three-decade run as the host of the habit-forming game show.
Sony Pictures Television, which owns the hugely profitable show, has quietly been feeling out TV personalities in recent months to see who might be available and willing to take on the role in 2016, sources say.
Trebek — who suffered his second heart attack last summer — said in interviews last year that he was thinking about retiring this season.
But Sony convinced him to sign one final, three-year contract — taking him to age 76 — to give producers enough time to find a next-generation successor.
Trebek is so thoroughly identified with “Jeopardy” that finding a new face for the show is a decision that will take several years to make.
According to sources with knowledge of the internal discussions, Sony is also strongly considering Anderson Cooper — whose contract with CNN reportedly ends next year — for the job.
But right now, Lauer’s name is at the top of the list, several sources say.
Until this week, Sony thought it might have to convince Lauer to do double duty on a game show and the morning show.
But if Lauer is off “Today,” it makes him suddenly available.
It is unclear if Sony has approached Lauer’s long-time agent, Ken Lindner.
But one source says that Cooper — who hosted a competitive reality show on ABC called “The Mole” before his CNN days — knows that “Jeopardy” wants to talk and “he likes the idea.”
Hosting a show like “Jeopardy” is not nearly as time-consuming as a daily show like “Today.”
Meredith Vieira hosted “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” during all five years she was on “Today” with Lauer.
In fact, game shows can tape a week’s worth of shows in a single day and some shows — like “Millionaire” — can shoot nearly a whole season in seven or eight weeks.
Final decisions on all these moves are at least a year-and-a-half away, and much can happen before then.
“In this business,” said one insider with knowledge of the players, “that’s a lifetime.”
Calls to Lauer’s agent yesterday were not returned.
A spokesman for “Jeopardy” declined to comment.Share. Zero Year enters the home stretch. Zero Year enters the home stretch.
We were blown. a. way. by the ending of Batman #29 as the second act of Zero Year concluded with the Riddler's scheme successfully coming to fruition. Could things get any worse? We'll find out in Batman #30, which marks the start of the third and final act of Zero Year called "Savage City."
Check out our exclusive preview of Batman #30 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, on sale April 16 for $3.99. Then take to the comments to let us know how you think Zero Year will end!
Batman #30 Preview 8 IMAGES Fullscreen Image Artboard 3 Copy Artboard 3 ESC 01 OF 08 01 OF 08 Batman #30 Preview Download Image Captions ESC
Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Pokemon, Game of Thrones, or Green Lantern are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter and IGN.Image copyright Pete Bucktrout/BAS Image caption The team is anxious to find out if the part failure was indicative of a bigger problem in the drilling kit
A tiny electronic component the size of a thumbnail holds the key to the future of an £8m search for life beneath the ice of Antarctica.
The project to drill through the ice-sheet to reach the hidden waters of Lake Ellsworth has been on hold for the past week after a boiler broke down.
The component just arrived after a journey of roughly 15,000km.
Engineers will now attempt to fit the part in the next few days in the hope of restarting drilling next week.
The drill is meant to be powered by hot water but the entire effort had to shut down when a "varistor" - a variable resistor - on the boiler's circuit board burned out. A replacement also failed.
A spare was sent from Britain via Chile to the remote camp in West Antarctica.
But tension surrounding this operation is mounting because of the uncertainty about whether the boiler will not only fire up but also whether it will continue to run for at least a week - or fail again as a result of a fundamental fault.
Image copyright Pete Bucktrout/BAS Image caption A mission of staggering size and scope was halted by the tiniest of parts
Another major concern is the amount of fuel being used to run a back-up boiler which is essential for keeping the drill system from freezing up.
It is likely that the system can be kept ticking over in this way for another fortnight - but any longer will use up too much fuel to power the main boiler for the drilling operation itself, assuming it starts.
In case the new component fails, another replacement is already on its way from Britain but is likely to take several more days to reach the drill site.
So the window of opportunity for a successful drilling operation is getting tight.
Should it prove impossible to carry out the drilling before winter arrives in February, one option on the horizon will be to winter-proof as much of the equipment as possible to be ready for another attempt next year.
But sources at the British Antarctic Survey say they are still determined to keep trying and that "fingers are crossed" that the new component will work.
The project's aim is to penetrate the 3km-thick ice-sheet to gather samples of water and sediment from the lake below - to answer the fascinating question of whether life is possible in conditions of total darkness and immense pressure.
Lake Ellsworth is one of nearly 400 sub-glacial lakes in Antarctica - a feature of this polar region only discovered 16 years ago.
If the drilling does start next week, the first samples could be brought to the surface a week later.J – Like all good, red-blooded Americans (and most other humans) I love steak. A good steak is a thing to be marveled at. Growing up in the South, I’ve always been told that the way to cook a steak is on the grill, and to cook it rare or medium-rare (relevant King of the Hill scene) – anything else is a waste of good meat. However, our good friends gave us an Alton Brown cookbook for Christmas, and in it we found a method for making steak that piqued our interest. When we got a couple of really excellent pieces of meat from Friends & Farms a little while back, we decided to give it a shot.
So the basic method needs only the following: a large oven-safe skillet (we used our cast-iron skillet and it was perfect), a kitchen timer, a colander + a pot lid big enough to cover it, your stovetop, and an oven pre-heated to 500 F. Oh, and two steaks – 1-1/2″ thick ribeyes are best, about 15-16oz each. For the sauce, if you choose to make it, you’ll need either cognac or bourbon (your choice; I used some bourbon and it was delicious), a crumbly cheese (I used goat cheese but blue cheese would work very, very well too), and two tablespoons unsalted butter.
Put the skillet in the oven as it heats. Once the oven reaches 500 F, leave the skillet in there for about 5 minutes, then move the skillet (carefully) to the stovetop on high heat. Leave it on the stovetop on high for another 5 minutes, then (carefully) place your seasoned (salt + pepper + some oil on all sides) steaks on the hot pan. Cook for 30 seconds (time it with the kitchen timer), flip with tongs and sear for another 30 seconds on the other side. When the timer goes off the second time, place the skillet in the 500 F oven for 2 minutes. Flip the steaks one more time and leave in the oven for the final two minutes. Immediately remove the pan from the oven and place on a heat-safe surface (I pulled one of the guards off the stovetop and put it on there). Remove the steaks to the colander and place them at an angle such that the steaks don’t lie on top of each other, and the juices drip down into a bowl below. Cover the colander with the pot lid and collect the drippings while you make the sauce.
Add 1/4 cup cognac or bourbon to the still-very-hot skillet and deglaze all of the delicious bits stuck to the bottom with a whisk (just whisk it). Let the residual heat of the pan reduce the cognac for ~30 seconds, then add 1 oz of cheese and whisk.
When the cheese is good and dissolved, add the butter one piece at a time and whisk in until it, too, is dissolved. Return the drippings you collected from the steak and whisk those in, or just soak them up with a few pieces of toast for a delicious snack. Pour the sauce into bowls or ramekins, or just pour on top of the steak (careful – the pan is still molten lava). We also fried a couple of eggs and topped the steak with those – you’re going to eat steak covered in bourbon/cheese/butter sauce, you might as well throw an egg in the mix, too.
Serve with pan-fried asparagus and home-made fries to soak up all the juices left on your plate. Enjoy!
*Note – the recipe here will get you a medium-rare steak. Leave it in the oven for less time if you want it rare (and I bet you do). If you want it medium or, god forbid, medium well, then you just get out. If you’re thinking well done, just go season some charcoal and call it a day, you barbarian. Just kidding – just cook it longer, Conan.
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A new device combines a microbial fuel cell and photoelectrochemical fuel cell uses nothing but sunlight and waste energy to produce hydrogen gas.
A research team led by Yat Li of the University of California, Santa Cruz, has discovered a new device that could provide a new way of obtaining hydrogen gas as a fuel source. The system uses sunlight and waste water to produce the hydrogen using a combination of a microbial fuel cell and a photoelectrochemical cell.
In the first stage of the device, bacteria breaks down organic matter in the waste water, generating electricity in the process. The generated electricity is then used to drive the solar-powered component, which splits the remaining water into oxygen and hydrogen.
Both parts of the device can be used independently to produce hydrogen gas, but require an additional voltage to overcome the energy barrier that is required for proton reduction of the water into hydrogen gas. Unfortunately, this additional voltage requirement makes such a device not very cost effective, and this is where Li’s device finds it’s niche: Because both devices work together, it’s self sustaining and self powering.
Hydrogen is becoming an increasingly important fuel source.
“The only energy sources are waste water and sunlight,” explains Li, “The successful demonstration of such a self-biased, sustainable microbial device for hydrogen generation could provide a new solution that can simultaneously address the need for waste water treatment and the increasing demand for clean energy.”
Source: ScienceDailyFake news is playing a massive role on Twitter in the run-up to French and German elections, a British study has said amid concerns on Russian meddling.
The study, by the Oxford Internet Institute, part of Oxford University in the UK, out on Friday (21 April), said that one in four political news stories being circulated by Twitter users in France in the run-up to Sunday’s presidential election were deliberately false or “junk” articles that voiced “ideologically extreme, hyper-partisan or conspiratorial" points of view.
One in four tweets shared "extreme, hyper-partisan or conspiratorial" stories (Photo: europarl.europa.eu)
It said that the run-up to German presidential elections in February “found Germans sharing four professionally produced news stories for every one piece of junk”.
It noted that the problem was less acute than in the US elections, where junk news, for instance in the state of Michigan, at times accounted for one out of every two links shared.
It also said that the bulk of France’s junk traffic targeted Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, pro-EU, and Russia-critical candidate, but that “highly automated accounts” also circulated large amounts of traffic about Francois Fillon, a centre-right and Russia-friendly contender.
The Oxford study comes hot on the heels of a similar one by Bakamo, a private-sector internet research firm based in the UK.
Bakamo said on Wednesday that 19.2 percent of links shared by users of social media in France in the past six months pertained to articles that did not “adhere to journalistic standards” and that expressed “radical opinions … to craft a disruptive narrative”.
It said a further 5 percent related to “narratives [that were] often mythical, almost theological in nature” or discussed “conspiracy theories”.
The bogus news mostly favoured anti-EU or pro-Russia candidates, including also far-right leader Marine Le Pen, radical left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, the self-described "Frexit" candidate Francois Asselineau, and Trotskyist candidate Philippe Poutou.
It said one in five of the “disruptive” stories had been influenced by Russian media and that one in two of the “conspiracy” articles bore Russian fingerprints.
Two of the Russian state’s biggest disinformation outlets, RT and Sputnik, both have dedicated French-language services.
Research by the Atlantic Council, a US-based think tank, out this week said that “much” of RT France’s coverage was “adequately balanced”.
“[RT France] has tended to report criticism of Macron, but at least mentioned the candidate’s own stance, albeit often briefly”, it said.
But it said Sputnik France showed a “distinct bias” against Macron and in support of Le Pen and Fillon.
It claimed, for instance, in five articles in February and March that French broadcaster BFMTV had given more airtime to Macron, whom it dubbed the mainstream media’s “darling”, than to rivals, even though the French media regulator, the CSA, said this was not true.
It also claimed in a series of articles in March that polls were predicting a Fillon victory even though most polls were not.
It based the reports on figures published by Brand Analytics, a Moscow-based firm, whose methodology was said to be unrepresentative by another French regulator, the Commission des Sondages.
The Atlantic Council said in an earlier report that RT France and Sputnik France had just 102,000 Twitter followers compared to mainstream media, such as the AFP news agency, which had 2.6 million.
It said their users were much more active, at almost 5 tweets per follower in a sample period compared to 1.5 tweets per follower of other media, and had a “strong political bias” that was broadly pro-Russia and anti-Macron.
It also said Sputnik France’s output was being circulated by automated “bots”, or Twitter accounts that gave no personal information on the user and that tweeted more than 100 times per day.
It said almost one in three (28%) of Sputnik France followers were of this type.
It also said the most prolific bots RT France or Sputnik France bots, such as @RTenfrancais or @heelleclech, were tweeting or retweeting content an average of 392 to 777 times each day.
A German translation of this article may be found here.Give Me My Remote #1 featured SLEEPY HOLLOW: Orlando Jones Teases an Upcoming (Real) Death, Surprises, and More
SLEEPY HOLLOW: Orlando Jones Teases an Upcoming (Real) Death, Surprises, and More
SLEEPY HOLLOW may have killed off Orlando Jones’ Irving in the midseason finale, but death has (so far) been a mere bump in the road for characters on the Fox drama: at the end of the midseason premiere, Irving reappeared.
When Jones found out about Irving’s death, “I wasn’t so much concerned for me,” he admitted. “I’m a fan [of the show]. I was concerned for how it would be received [by the audience], because there are so many characters [to accommodate].”
“There was so much pressure having been so successful in season 1,” he continued. “I’m excited for the second half of the season, because the most exciting part of what’s happening now is that the writers have been listening, we’re four or five episodes in the can, so it’s very hard to self-correct, but they’re very much fans of the show, very much committed. Someone is going to die — and they won’t come back — before the end of the season.”
And while Jones would only tease that Irving’s reunion with Team Witness is “imminent,” he did share this delicious tease: “Irving’s soul still hangs in the balance.”
“If we get this right, I think the second half of the season has some real surprises,” he said. “What that means for season 3, I don’t know. But I definitely think there’s some worthwhile stuff [ahead]…I’m mostly excited that you’re going to get to see more of Jenny and Irving…I think the second half of the season is going to be an exciting exploration for Sleepyheads, and I hope it lives up to their expectations.”
How the show plays out is also a bit of a question mark: new Fox bosses, Dana Walden and Gary Newman, raised eyebrows during their TCA session when they said that SLEEPY HOLLOW had gotten “a little too serialized,” and that the series would be getting more “episodic.” But the changes might not be as drastic as fans might have feared.
“Good story is about the characters,” Jones said. “What [characters are] going for, what they’re trying to achieve: their hopes, their dreams, their aspirations. Whatever structure they want to use, as long as they remain true to telling the story of all the characters, I think it could be exciting. How it works [if they change the format] is above my pay grade. I know that I love these characters, and that [episodic] format has not traditionally been kind to characters; it’s more kind to plot.”
“In the first half of the season, you certainly saw more procedural-type of episodes [on SLEEPY HOLLOW],” he continued. “Whereas I don’t believe that’s there the second half of the season, based on what I’ve seen. I haven’t seen the final edits, so I can’t speak [about that]. It’s a daunting challenge. But then again, this show as a whole has been a daunting challenge. So hopefully they’ll pull it off.”
–
SLEEPY HOLLOW airs on Mondays at 9 PM on Fox.
Related:
SLEEPY HOLLOW Exclusive First Look Photos: Meet the New Angel!
SLEEPY HOLLOW: ‘Pittura Infamante’ Photos — Meet Michelle Trachtenberg’s Abigail Adams
SLEEPY HOLLOW: Johnathon Schaech to Guest Star
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And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel at youtube.com/givememyremotetvThe new CW show “Black Lightning” came to Comic-Con to tease what the newest addition to the superhero lineup will be about when it debuts this fall.
The panel included executive producers Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil and cast members Cress Williams, Nafessa Williams, China Anne McClain, and Christine Adams.
Salim Akil explained, “It’s time [for Black Lightning.] Jefferson Pierce is the epitome of what black men are: He loves his wife, his children, and the community. This family is the Obamas of the superhero world. This show will have an authentic black voice. This character will add something to the conversation. We’ve always been character-based and we’ll continue to be character-based. It’s about when and how he uses his powers and why. We want people to get to know this family. Their powers, like their race, is only part of who they are. There’s definitely a problem with police brutality and we will get into that. There’s also a problem with us killing each other and we’ll talk about that too.”
Mara Brock Akil explained further, “By having Thunder and Lightning help in the community, we get to shade in the humanity of the community. We all have a choice to use our power for good or for bad. What’s happening in our world today can inspire change.”
Cress Williams is thrilled to portray Pierce. He shared, “I’ve played a lot of bad guys. I’m changing teams. I’m officially on the side of light. Jefferson is going into the community. We effect change positively from his family out to the community. He’s trying to save the world one person at a time.”
Newly announced additions to the cast include James Remar in the role of Gamby and Damon Gupta as Inspector Henderson.On August 5, US President Barack Obama compared the rhetoric employed by opponents of the P5+1/Iran nuclear negotiations to that used by the Bush administration during the run-up to America’s catastrophic war in Iraq, noting (Washington Post, 8/5/15) that “many of the same people who argued for the war in Iraq are now making the case against the Iran nuclear deal.”
Indeed, opposition to the Iran deal has been all but apocalyptic, with Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee going so far as to claim (Business Insider, 7/26/15) the agreement will “take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven.” Similarly, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas—also a Republican presidential hopeful—asserted (Huffington Post, 5/5/05) that “this deal makes war a certainty.” Huckabee and Cruz’s attitudes echo the position of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warned (Times of Israel, 7/20/15) that “they say this agreement pushes war away but in fact it brings war closer.”
Yet Obama’s own rhetoric in defense of the Iran deal shares more in common with his opposition than he might like to admit. In the same speech (Washington Post, 8/5/15) during which he criticized Iraq War proponents for opposing the Iran deal, Obama stated that, “absent a diplomatic resolution, the result could be war with major disruptions to the global economy, and even greater instability in the Middle East.”
Obama’s rhetorical tactic illuminates the new reality of American foreign policy discourse: For nearly all commentators, regardless of their position, war is the only alternative to that position.
This situation is little different in corporate US media. The New York Times (7/14/15) ran an editorial favoring the negotiations on their likelihood to curtail Iranian nuclear ambitions, titled “An Iran Nuclear Deal That Reduces the Chance of War.” Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN’s GPS, similarly argued in support of the negotiations in his weekly Washington Post column (4/2/15) that, short of the proposed deal or continued sanctions against Iran (which he views as unlikely), “the United States would effectively have to go to war.”
Philip Gordon of the Council on Foreign Relations wrote for Politico (8/11/15), in an article titled “War Actually Is an Alternative to Iran Deal,” that “to walk away from this good nuclear deal with Iran based on the hope that it will behave differently would be to take an enormously dangerous risk.” CBS’s Face the Nation (The Hill, 8/9/15) ran an interview with Vermont senator and Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders in which he said: “The alternative of not reaching an agreement, you know what it is? It’s war.”
The other side of the coin is aired in traditionally conservative news outlets. On the day the draft agreement was announced, Sean Hannity hosted former Vice President Dick Cheney on his Fox News program (7/14/15), during which Cheney ominously warned that the world is now “closer to the actual use of nuclear weapons than we’ve been at any time since Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.” In an op-ed published in the Washington Times (8/10/15), Ed Feulner of the Heritage Foundation wrote that supporters of the deal
shouldn’t fall for the administration’s rhetoric to the effect that this agreement is all that stands between us and war…. The deal actually makes war more likely.
The specter of war in American foreign policy discourse has thus produced a rather troubling framework: Advocates of diplomacy with Iran cite war as the inevitable alternative, while critics of diplomacy cite war as its inevitable outcome. No matter which side you choose, it seems, you are choosing war.
What can account for this foreboding simplicity through which politicians and the popular media analyze foreign policy issues? On the one hand, it naturally arises from a society that has been on a constant war footing since September 2001. In his 1999 book Capturing the Complexity of Conflict, Dennis Sandole of George Mason University suggests:
A situation characterized by increases in the frequency of war at increasing rates would probably involve the socialization of actors into aggressive cognitive sets whereby they continually expected to wage war, always prepared for it, and, indeed, always found reasons for waging it.
This rings true for American foreign policy in the new millennium, bizarrely culminating in Obama promoting peace with Iran by brandishing his war credentials (Intercept, 8/6/15). Despite running on a campaign to wind down America’s wars and his ongoing rhetoric advocating such an end, Obama has paradoxically expanded the US war front to half a dozen countries in the Middle East.
Compounding the aggressive cognitive set that seems to have developed in 21st century America is the codification of George W. Bush’s doctrine of preemptive war, on which the dire predictions of both advocates and critics of the Iran deal are founded. One might think the disaster that became of Operation Iraqi Freedom would be enough to thoroughly discredit this concept, yet both Obama and his critics envision a preemptive war with Iran as the inevitable outcome of the respective alternative.
On the other hand, this discourse represents a profound lack of imagination with regard to the set of possibilities presented by foreign relations. The either-this-or-war binary with which both sides of the debate analyze the Iran deal ignores the historical reality that failures in nuclear nonproliferation have produced a variety of outcomes.
Both sanctions and diplomacy failed to inhibit nuclear development in North Korea, yet, while tensions remain high, there has been no war as a result. Pakistan and India developed nuclear weapons in the face of fierce opposition from the West, and now the United States conducts positive diplomatic relations with both countries. And of course Israel itself is known to possess nuclear weapons in defiance of international treaties, likely as the result of collaboration with the United States, and politicians on both sides of the aisle enthusiastically proclaim the two countries to share an “unbreakable” bond.
Perhaps the most poignant counter-example, however, is the recent rapprochement with Cuba, a nation that briefly harbored Soviet nuclear warheads only a hundred or so miles from the US mainland. The nuclear threat was abated through rapid diplomacy with America’s chief enemies in Moscow, but relations with Cuba continued to be acrimonious for another half-century. Yet, aside from the Bay of Pigs debacle orchestrated by the CIA in 1961, there has been no resultant war with Cuba, and formal diplomatic relations have finally resumed.
A pair of psychologists from Iowa State University, Nicholas Carnagey and Craig A. Anderson, published a study in 2007 titled Changes in Attitudes Towards War and Violence After September 11, 2001, demonstrating that positive attitudes towards war in the United States increased markedly after the 9/11 attacks. The authors commented that, preceding the run-up to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, “the initial framing of the attacks (by the president and a wide range of news services) heavily emphasized war themes” and that “such salient framing effects are important determinants of attitudes and attitude change.”
One has to wonder at the extent of the mainstream media’s continued influence on foreign policy discussions fourteen years later. From Fox |
cheers from the crowd for his remarks as he was joined by his family, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, Holocaust survivor Louise Lawrence-Israels and Orthodox Rabbi Meir Soloveichik.
Soloveichik recited a traditional prayer that he claimed had special meaning this year in light of Trump’s recent actions with Israel
"For the first time since the founding of the State of Israel, an American president has courageously declared what we have always proclaimed, which is that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel," Soloveichik exclaimed.
Tonight, @FLOTUS Melania and I were thrilled to welcome so many wonderful friends to the @WhiteHouse – and wish them all a very #HappyHanukkahhttps://t.co/wyPkpTsP1i pic.twitter.com/XhNXZSBEC8 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2017
Later in the night Trump took a shot at former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama when he tweeted a video montage of all three former presidents making promises to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city followed by a clip of him delivering.
Trump tweeted, “I fulfilled my campaign promise - others didn’t!"
WATCH:Most of the reporting was focused on the storm, but several outlets picked up on the fact that laws passed earlier in the year now allowed for openly carrying swords, banned texting while driving, and had several other assorted effects, but one thing that went virtually unreported when it became effective was a small but significant change to the State’s underage drinking laws.
Senate Bill 966 added three sections each to Texas’ laws regarding underage possession of alcohol and underage consumption of the same. These changes grant immunity from violations of either of these statutes for anyone who either is or reports a victim of sexual assault which occurred during such a violation.
At first blush, this sounds pretty reasonable. Nobody wants victims of sexual assault to not come forward out of fear they’ll be ignored and/or fined $500 because they were drinking at the time. However, the devil is in the details, as they say.
There are three groups of people to whom a sexual assault report may be made in order to gain immunity from underage drinking – law enforcement agencies, health care providers, and Title IX coordinators.
It is a crime to make a false report to law enforcement. It is not a crime to make a false report to a Title IX coordinator.
By allowing anyone under the age of 21 to escape prosecution for underage drinking by making a report of sexual assault to a Title IX coordinator, Texas lawmakers have inadvertently created an incentive for college students to do something we never want to see: lie about sexual assault.
Passing the law they did may help sexual assault victims, but several specific clauses also help those who would throw innocent classmates under the bus to protect their reputations or escape punishment for legal transgressions.
The inclusion of Title IX staff in the list of those to whom a report may be made, combined with granting immunity not just to the victims but to anyone who makes a report, except for assailants themselves, gives anyone who wants it a consequence-free pass to lie in order to escape underage drinking charges simply by reporting that they witnessed an assault to someone to whom it is not a crime to lie.
If Texas lawmakers want to keep Title IX coordinators on the list of report recipients, they should stipulate that only victims themselves may make such a report to that group, specify that making a false report to a Title IX coordinator is itself a crime, or both.
That said, it would be better to simply remove the references to Title IX coordinators from these laws. Sexual assault victims should be encouraged to take their reports to law enforcement so violent criminals can be convicted and removed from society, rather than simply barred from college campuses and allowed to victimize others elsewhere. Either way, this law needs some tweaks to for it to properly serve its intended purpose.So first of all, thanks to Shuroan for helping me carry equipment to the event and of course thanks to Maxmode.tv’s Youseff for organising the event and sourcing such a nice venue.
The system was really great, with pools and then two tournaments with double elimination, plus FT3, FT5 and FT10 for the last stages. It was a test of stamina and patience, for both viewers and contestants but it’s undeniably the better way to see who really is the stronger player.
Some REALLY hype moments with matches down to the line, check out the replays below: hmmmm Fox vs Luffy was the highlight for me!
Really good for the scene to see Fox and Salim knocked out, unfortunately Frionel was around to mop up the pieces. Better luck next time Luffy!
Great to see all these players turning up for JUST KOF. This was a pure KOF event not one single other game got even a mention!
Shout outs to Valentin, Pharaon and JPKOF for holding down the stream and allowing me to rant in English.
GGs to 2pac (with his very Guile like Leona urrrrgh), Shinkawa and the other guys who beat me up but still fear Clark. YEAH. Downloading works both ways, ouch, lol. I still have no clue what to do about Chin apart from anticipate a counter with a command throw and try to crouching B everything else.
It’s been interesting watching and learning the setups but it’s a different story when you’re trying to guess which one is about to hit you.
RESULTS
LEAGUE B
2pac Jym Dooms
LEAGUE A
Frionel Luffy Coungster
Now here are a couple of replays!
Coungster vs CCL, Fox vs Luffy
Watch live video from danstacavesf on TwitchTV
Semi Finals: Coungster vs Frionel, Gym Tonic vs 2pac and the monstrous FT10 Finals between Luffy and Frionel.
Watch live video from danstacavesf on TwitchTV
More at http://www.twitch.tv/yamato_fr
Maxmode will be doing something at least every month, gonna be fun!Four years ago, technical writer Becky Chambers had run out of paying work, and turned to crowdfunding to raise the $2,500 (£1,750) she needed to finish writing her debut novel. Now her space opera has been longlisted for the Baileys women’s prize for fiction, alongside works by some of the most garlanded names writing today, from Anne Enright to Kate Atkinson.
In 2012, the American writer had asked Kickstarter for the money she needed, to give her “two months of mornings dedicated to finishing” The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. “I found myself in a jam. I was out of paying work until June, and I didn’t know how I was going to make a book happen without losing sanity and shelter in the process,” she wrote at the time. She secured the funds and initially self-published the novel, in which a ship of wormhole builders travels the galaxy, making holes in space. She went on to land a deal with Hodder & Stoughton.
Baileys women's prize for fiction 2016 longlist – in pictures Read more
On Tuesday, her novel was one of 20 books longlisted for the £30,000 Baileys prize, which celebrates fiction by women writing in English, and which has been won in the past by Zadie Smith, Lionel Shriver and Eimear McBride. Eleven debut novels were chosen for the longlist, from Chambers’ space opera to film director Hannah Rothschild’s The Improbability of Love, about a woman who discovers a lost masterpiece in a secondhand shop, and psychotherapist Rachel Elliott’s Whispers Through a Megaphone, about an unlikely friendship between timid Ralph and Miriam, who has not left her house in three years. The number of debut novels selected is the highest since 2000, when the longlist also ran to 11.
A host of major names also made the cut in a field of condenders praised for their imaginative scope and ambition by chair of judges Margaret Mountford, the former lawyer who gained a cult following on The Apprentice. Booker winner Enright was picked for The Green Road, about the return home for Christmas of the adult children of Rosaleen Madigan; Costa winner Atkinson for A God in Ruins, the follow-up to her award-winning Life After Life, and Hanya Yanagihara for A Little Life, in which the unspeakable childhood of a graduate is slowly revealed.
Pulitzer winner Geraldine Brooks was longlisted for The Secret Chord, and Petina Gappah, winner of the Guardian first book award, for The Book of Memory, narrated by an albino woman convicted of murder and held in a maximum security prison in Harare. Gappah is the first Zimbabwean author to be longlisted for the prize.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The 20 books on the 2016 longlist for the Baileys women’s prize for fiction.
“Over half of our longlist is debut writers, but at the same time we have well-established names,” said judge and novelist Elif Shafak, who together with Mountford is on the judging panel for the prize, alongside singer and writer Tracey Thorn and journalists Naga Munchetty and Laurie Penny. “The longlist shows that you don’t have to start out with a big publishing house.”
With over 170 novels read by judges, Shafak said that many dealt with the past, “and how the past continues to live in the present”, with family also “a very important theme … Many of the books we read were taking a very complex look at family relationships, how complicated it all is, how children and the younger generations take on the burden of the past.”
The Baileys is in its 21st year, but Shafak insists that there is still a need for the award set up by novelist Kate Mosse after the 1991 Booker prize shortlist failed to feature a single female author. “I very wholeheartedly believe we need the Baileys until complete equality is achieved,” said Shafak. “At first glance the books world is very open-minded and egalitarian, but when you see the number of reviews of books by women in mainstream publications” – analysis of literary coverage has found reviews are skewed heavily towards books by men, reviewed by men – “you realise there is still an inequality.”
The shortlist for the Baileys, which was formerly known as the Orange prize, will be revealed on 11 April, with the winner announced on 8 June.
The 2016 Baileys prize longlist
A God In Ruins by Kate Atkinson (UK)
Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett (Australia)
Ruby by Cynthia Bond (US)
The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks (Australia/US)
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (US)
A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton (UK)
Whispering Through a Megaphone by Rachel Elliot (UK)
The Green Road by Anne Enright (Ireland)
The Book of Memory by Petina Gappah (Zimbabwe)
Gorsky by Vesna Goldsworthy (UK/Serbia)
The Anatomist’s Dream by Clio Gray (UK)
At Hawthorn Time by Melissa Harrison (UK)
Pleasantville by Attica Locke (US)
The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney (Ireland)
The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie (US)
Girl at War by Sara Nović (US)
The House on the Edge of the World by Julia Rochester (UK)
The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild (UK)
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout (US)
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (US)This page contains community suggestions for the Fedora 11 release name. All submissions must meet the guidelines for release names.
Sulphur -> Cambridge -> <blank>? Cambridge is a <blank>, and so is <new name>.
The link between Sulphur and Cambridge was "both are cities." The link between Cambridge and the new name must be different than that link.
Note: General links such as "is a word" or "is a location", while technically within the scope of the rules, will most certainly be rejected by the Fedora Board. Remember, the goal is to come up with a creative link to Cambridge.
Name "Is a..." Tested Initial Approval Board Approved Legal Approved
Stonehenge is a famous British landmark Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT (conflict with an IT service firm: http://www.stonehengeit.com/) (conflict with software company: http://www.eznumerologysoftware.com/) (conflict with well-known Perl consultancy: http://www.stonehenge.com/)
Wroclaw is an education city (Wroclaw university of technology, Wroclaw University etc) like Cambridge Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT (reuses the 'city' link that is forbidden)
Yaxn is "Plus, More" in Mamaindé language - Mamaindé is a brazilian indian tribe Mamaindé dictionary - http://orbita.starmedia.com/~i.n.d.i.o.s/mamainde1.htm (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Bacon George Cambridge is Knight Grand Cross and Francis Bacon is also a Knight http://baconsoft.com/ (conflict with software company
Bacon is a cut of meat taken from the sides, belly, or back of a pig that has been cured, smoked, or both. Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT Pass (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Alexandria was a library/research institution and is a university Book management software for GNOME, library management software (http://goalexandria.com/ (conflict with software products)
Hewish He's a british radio astronomer who has discovered the pulsars. He has worked in Cambridge University. Nothing obvious (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Puppis A star (actually L2 Puppis) researched by Cambridge University in 1881 which was determined to have bands in it's spectrum..it was also considered, at that time, to be the southern most object ever observed from that location No conflicts found on Google (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Glasses is a creation from 1284 Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT (Cambridge University was founded around 1209 - 1284 was the founding of Peterhouse college, some time later) (incorrect factual information)
Paisley Caves source of interesting coprolites Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT shows nothing obvious in top hits (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Commodore... a personal computer from the 1980's as was Cambridge (aka Sinclair) Commodore is also a common word in English so it is fairly safe (obvious conflict with computer related technology)
Somerville Cambridge is a city near Boston, and so is Somerville. (reuses forbidden city link)
Tokyo Cambridge is a city with several prestigious universities in it, and so is Tokyo. (reuses forbidden city link)
Eagle Only freedom. (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Longfellow American educator and poet. Famous resident of Cambridge, MA (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Gokyo Cambridge is door to higher education so is Gokyo door to zenith of world No conflict (does not meet the 'is a' link rule fully (metaphor is overdoing it))
π π (Pi) is deeply connected with science, as well as Cambridge Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT shows no obvious conflict (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Nebula is a strange name for Fedora release. Nothing obvious (is a' link too vague)
Universe Universe is a location, and Cambridge is, too. Plus, our universe is blue! Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT shows no obvious conflict ( 'is a' link too vague)
Athens Cambridge is where the oldest American university is located, Athens where the oldest, public American university is located USPTO lists 97 trademark inclusions, all that are related to software or similar technology are cancelled or dead. Other considerations are Williamsburg (second oldest American) or Chapel Hill (debatable as the oldest public, American and also in NC near Red Hat HQ). I like Athens the most because it's short (2 syllables like most of the prior names), begins with "A" (the next generation of Fedora) and links to many things outside American influence (which should please our European colleagues). (reuses forbidden city link, unless it's Athens University)
Trinity Cambridge has a College named Trinity as there is a University Trinity in San Antonio Texas. Trinity Software #1 (http://www.trinitysoftware.com/), Trinity Software #2 (http://www.trinitysoft.net/), Trinity Rescue Kit (Linux distro -http://trinityhome.org/Home/index.php?wpid=1&front_id=12) (too many related uses of the name)
Harvard is a University in Cambridge, MA (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Kalasasaya is the name of an ancient temple that refers a solid rock. Google search +Kalasasaya (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Boston Cambridge has stops on the MBTA subway system, and so does Boston. (reuses forbidden city link) <= reworded as to not use the city link - See above
Lexington Cambridge is located in Middlesex County in Massachusetts, and so is Lexington. (reuses forbidden city link) <= reworded - See above
Hawking is famous cosmologican, professor of Maths on Cambridge University (does not meet the 'is a' link rule, is a Hawking Radation )
Turing Cambridge is a city in the US, it is also a university in the UK. Alan Turing attended Cambridge University and is often considered to be the father of the modern computer. No obvious commercial links, tons of computer related links. (does not meet the 'is a' link rule, as google shows no evidence of a 'Turing University' )
linuxcolor linuxcolor (does not meet the 'is a' line rule)
Stroke is related to rowing. No conflicts found. Stroke is term for rower on "port" side of boat. (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Claddagh is a type of Ring Nothing obvious as top hits (does not meet the 'is a' link rule) Claddagh is a ring you wear on your finger. The Cambridge Ring was a network architecture, similar to token ring
Crystal A rock formed by solidification of a substance No conflicts found. (does not follow the 'is a' link rule)
Eclipse Both Soccer clubs. Eclipse Foundation, with Eclipse software already in Fedora (http://eclipse.org/)
Sangai is a endangered Brow-antlered deer found only in Keibul Lamjao at Manipur, which is also the only floating national park in the world. nothing obvious (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Spinal Tap fictitious band from the mocumentary "This Is Spinal Tap" - "The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and..." - "Eleven. Exactly. One louder." Possible Links: Cambridge is an album by the band Lemon Heads and Spinal Tap is a band. Spinal Taps are often performed at Mass General Hospital which is right across the Longfellow bridge from Cambridge, MA. Tony Hendra, one of the stars of Spinal Tap wrote a book called "Father Joe" where the main character goes to Cambridge University (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Atreides Like Cambridge, Atreides is a dukedom No obvious software/computer-related links, aside from adaptations of the books (conflict -- Google clearly shows two firms trading under this name in the software/services business)
Pancetta Cambridge is a kind of diet, as is a 'Pancetta' diet (italian). Mmm. (No recognized diet by that name, thus fails "is-a" test) Atkins
Maxwell (Mw) is a compound derived CGS unit measuring magnetic flux. James Clerk Maxwell Road in Cambridge, which runs beside the Cavendish Laboratory. See wikipedia We could use this a a spring board to coffee aka maxwell house Google search for +software, +computer, +it, returns Maxwell Software (conflict with software company. also doesn't meet 'is a' link rule? Mw is a unit of measure defined, there for it meets this test IMHO)
Zakir Ustad Zakir Hussain is a bridge across nations. Cambridge 'a bridge on river Granta' (does not meet 'is a' link rule. The metaphor is a bit over-reaching
Photon is a basic unit of light or any Electromagnetic Radiation "Photon" as a concept is a part of many theories in Quantum Mechanics. Also, we have "Photon Theory of Light" similar to "Cambridge Theory of Distribution". No other conflicts found. (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Pitchblend is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO2, but also contains UO3 and oxides of lead, thorium, and rare earth elements. It is found in states of New Hampshire, Connecticut, North Carolina, Wyoming, Colorado, in United States where Cambridge Lies.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitchblend No other conflicts found. (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Sanjeevani is a lythophytic plant with medicinal properties.The popular name "Sanjeevani" which translates as "One that infuses life" derives from the medicinal properties.Sanjeevani grows on the hills of tropical areas, particularly the Arawali mountain terrains from east to west in India. In Hindu mythology, Sanjeevani is a magical herb which has the power to cure any malady. It is believed that medicines prepared from this herb can even revive a dead person.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selaginella_bryopteris No other conflicts found. (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Havelaar Cambridge is a Fairtrade Town, and Havelaar is a non-profit organization promoting Fairtrade. Nothing found conflicting on Google. (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Sequence Cambridge Reference Sequence "The Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS) for human mitochondrial DNA was first published in 1981 leading to the initiation of the human genome project." (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Mountbatten Cambridge has a university, and Lord Mountbatten attended. Google search for cambridge, famous students (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
quixotic adjective for resembling or befitting Don Quixote. (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Futhark Cambridge is not a mean of water transportation and so is not Futhark. (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Windsor is a British Dukedom that was created for an abdicated king because Dukedom of Cambrdige was extant at the time Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT (conflict with an IT service firm: http://www.windsorcorp.com/)
Oxford is a university in England Oxford Software (recruitment software -http://www.oxfordsoftware.com/). Also a local consulting group in Oxfordshire. And Oxford Semiconductor (conflict with existing companies)
Galápagos is a place central to Charles Darwins discovery of natural selection, so is Cambridge http://www.galapagossystems.com/ (conflict with exsiting open source related company)
Ivory Tower Cambridge is a place of academic elitism, and so is the Ivory Tower. Commonly people think of the university of Cambridge when they hear Cambride, so a link definitively exists No Conflict found using google search (having a link is not the requirement. Cambridge is not an Ivory Tower, so this suggestion does not meet the rules)
Boat race The "Cambridge" "boat race" against Oxford is well known (as is the Oxford boat race against Cambridge ;-) No conflicts found. (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Tolerance The CUUNA (Cambridge University United Nations Association) has been involved an International Day for Tolerance (14th November) with campaign of several parts of tolerance, the aim and objective being raising awareness of tolerance and diversity in society through a variety of thought-provoking activities. Great cause. Fedora is verify that tolerance in the public is possible. visit: http://www.cuuna.org/2008/11/11/international-day-for-tolerance/ Google search for tolerance include "+computer", "+hardware", "+technology", "+IT" match no conflict (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Rumburak Rumburak is a name of famous Czech wizard. (http://www.csfd.cz/film/9428-rumburak/) Cambridge is magic, and so is Rumburak. (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Eel Pie Like Cambridge, Eel Pie is a British publishing company no obvious links (Eel Pie is a record label. Cambridge is a printing company. does not meet 'is a' link rule)
Caffe Latte Like Cambridge, Caffe Latte is a line of Vera Bradley designer luggage. (conflict with existing Linux project http://caffe-latte.sourceforge.jp/index-en.html )
Peacock Like Cambridge, Peacock is a line of Vera Bradley designer luggage. (conflict with an existing Linux project http://peacock.sourceforge.net/ )
Night Owl Like Cambridge, Night Owl is a line of Vera Bradley designer luggage. (conflict with an existing IT company http://www.nightowlconsultants.com/)
Imperial Cambridge is a university, and so is Imperial (College, London). (conflict with an existing software company http://imperialsoftwaresystems.com/index.php)
Sapienza It is the largest European university and the most ancient of the city of Rome. ("Sapienza" means "knowledge") Nothing obvious (conflict with an existing software company http://www.sapienzaconsulting.com/)
Galway Like Cambridge, Galway is the last name of a crew member of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (conflict with an existing software company http://www.galway.com.au/)
Nalanda Nalanda is one of the first great universities in recorded history (conflict with existing Linux project http://nalanda.sourceforge.net/doc/index.html)
Taxila Taxila or Takshasila is one of ancient university in the world as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Taxila is a butterfly too. (conflict with an existing software company http://www.taxila.com/
Magic Bred is an anagram of Cambridge Google search for +software, +computer, +hardware, +technology, +IT, +Linux turned up nothing obvious. (does not meet the 'is a' link rule. an anagram is a type of word play that results in a new word. Cambridge is not an anagram of Cambridge)
Cavendish is an experiment, Cambridge is an experiment resubmitted (conflict with existing software company http://www.cavesoft.net/)
Aqueduct is a bridge (conflict with an existing software project http://aqueduct.sourceforge.net/ also http://www.twu.ca/divisions/technology/sst/aqueduct/)
Athabasca is a university (in Canada) with a Press. All works of Athabasca University Press are available online under a Creative Commons license There is a university, and also a software company that publishes a Camp Management software (conflict with an existing software company http://www.athabascasoftware.com/)
Chelsea Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Chelsea. http://www.chelseacomputer.com/ http://www.chelseacomputer.net/ http://www.chelseacomputersolutions.com/ https://launchpad.net/chelsea (ARGH!)
Shipyard Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Shipyard. http://www.florian-diesch.de/software/shipyard/ http://www.shipyard.com.au/
Ska Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Ska. http://skasoftware.com/
Viking Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Viking. http://www.vikingsoft.com/ http://www.viking-software.com/ http://www.vikingsoftware.com/ http://sourceforge.net/projects/viking/
Elysian Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Elysian. http://www.elysianlabs.com/products/ http://www.elysiansystems.co.uk/Services.aspx
Upstream Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Upstream. http://www.upstream.se/?page=1&setlanguage=eng&language=eng
Blackwater Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Blackwater. http://www.blackwaterss.com/ http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-Environment/Themes/Project-Blackwater-38918.shtml
Trailhead Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Trailhead. http://www.trailheadinteractive.com/ http://www.trailheadtech.com/products.html
Summit Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Summit. http://www.summit-soft.com/ http://www.summitsoftwaresolutions.com/ http://www.summit-sw.com/ http://www.summsoft.com/content/CompanyOverview.aspx
Magic Hat Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Magic Hat. http://www.magichatsoftware.com/
Yukon Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Yukon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukon_(software)
Blue Moon Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Blue Moon. http://linux.softpedia.com/get/GAMES-ENTERTAINMENT/TBS/Blue-Moon-19844.shtml http://www.bluemoon.com/
Moon River Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Moon River. http://www.moonriversoftware.com/ http://moonriverconsulting.biz/About.aspx http://www.moonriverconsulting.com/products.php
Mohawk Cambridge is the name of a paper manufacturer, and so is Mohawk. http://www.mohawksoft.com/ http://www.mohawksoft.org/
Penguin Cambridge is the name of a dictionary, and so is Penguin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin_Software
Concise Cambridge is the name of a dictionary, and so is Concise. (does not meet 'is a' link rule. Concise is an adjective used to describe various dictionaries. It is not a dictionary in and of itself)
Fellevven "Cambridge" is a word with nine characters so is Fellevven (and it sounds like F-11) No Conflict found (uses generic 'is a word' link)
Miskatonic A university like cambridge, but in the land of lovecraft http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miskatonic (conflict with existing software company http://www.miskatonicsoftware.com/)
Steampunk Cambridge is associated with the Victorian era's fashion sense, as is Steampunk. Nothing found on google (does not meet the 'is a' link rule)
Diamond Cambridge is a university so is Diamond http://www.blackdiamonduniversity.com/home.asp?bhcp=1 http://www.diamondsoftware.net/ http://www.diamondsoftwareservices.com/ http://www.diamondsoftwaresystems.com/
Hazzard part of the "dukes of..." title Nothing obviously conflicting (factual information is suspect. Hazzard is not a real dukedom. It's not even a real county)
Canterbury Cambridge is a Roman conquest, and so is Canterbury. (reuses forbidden city link) <= reworded as to not use the city link. The link is still between Cambridge, the city, and Canterbury, the city, regardless of the wording. <= Reworded yet again. Note that the link implied is not between cities but sites of Roman invasion.
Fanbore is a compound word which consists of an electrically driven device and a construction Nothing found on Google (fanbore does not appear to be a real word, and the link is tenuous)
Sinclair The Cambridge Computer Z88 was a portable personal computer, light, the size of a sheet of A4 paper and Sinclair Research Ltd is a consumer electronics company founded by Sir Clive Sinclair in Cambridge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Research
Gearbuilding Cambridge is a nonsensical concatination of a mechanical primitive and a man-made structure (Cam-bridge). So is...this
Orion is a book publisher (Cambridge University Press and Orion Books/Orion Publishing Group) It appears that half of the software companies in the world call themselves "Orion something" (which should mean that "Orion" can hardly be a trademark in itself?): http://www.orionsoftware.com/, http://www.orion-soft.com/, http://www.orionoutcomes.com/, http://www.orionsoft.ca/, http://www.orionsoftwareservices.com/, http://www.orion-software.biz/, http://www.ogse.com/, http://www.orionsoftwaresolution.com/, http://www.orionsoftware.com/, etc.
Phlogiston is a theory like Cambridge Theory of distribution Google search for +software, +computer, +IT, +hardware turned up nothing obvious.
Fredrikshald is a bay on Victoria Island, Nunavut, Canada, as is Cambridge Bay Google search for +software, +computer, +IT, +hardware turned up nothing obvious, other bays on Victoria Island caused numerous hits since they were English names.
Cabbage Soup is a diet, so is Cambridge nothing obvious
Dictator was a ship in the Union navy No apparent conflicts (probably for obvious reasons)
Orcher "Cambridge" is a castle so is "Orcher" No conflicts found.
Zythos is a "Beer Festival" Search for +software, +linux, +it. No conflicts found.
Blood also a type of sausage (and think of the artwork!) Nothing obvious
Starkbierzeit Beer festival! Passes google search
YoungHeart is a soccer club in New Zealand. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_(soccer) and http://www.rsssf.com/tablesn/nz05.html Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT
Hamline is a university. Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT (there is a university with the same name)
Edsac Cambridge is an early computer so is Edsac Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT shows no obvious trademark conflict and EDSAC was an acronym and presumably not a trademark
Canadiana (USS) Cambridge is an old steamship, and so is (SS) Canadiana Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT shows no obvious trademark conflict
Nugent Like Cambridge, Nugent is an earldom No obvious software/computer-related links. Name of a computer lab at the University of Arizona
Yo-Yo is a term used to describe a form of dieting. Some google hits about the XO, no conflicts as far as I can tell
Guinness Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Guinness.
Long Trail Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Long Trail.
Farmhouse Cambridge is the name of a brewing company, and so is Farmhouse.
Princess Cambridge was a model of car made by Austin. Princess was another model of car made by the same manufacturer Obviously the Austin Princess car itself, several countries have princesses, Disney has a film called The Princess Diaries. None seem relevant
Pune Pune is an education hub, so is Cambridge (EDIT: also a city, ineligible). Google search for +software, +computer, +hardware, +technology, +IT, returned nothing obvious. +Linux returned Pune Linux/GNU Users Group. They shouldn't be having any problem.
Whammy A Cam Bridge is a type of tremolo system. Whammy [Bar] is another name for a guitar tremolo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahler_Tremolo_System http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_(instrument)#Tremolo_bridges http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whammy_bar
Titania Cambridge is a castle so is Titania http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titania%27s_Palace. more info about Titania (is the largest moon of Uranus. http://www.solarviews.com/eng/titania.htm) no conflict found
Pickard is part of the name of Reverend Octavius Pickard-Cambridge. This offers the options to use a mispelling of a Star Trek character's name for future releases. Poss. Conflicts: Pickard Hardware (http://www.pickardhardware.co.uk), Pickard Computer Consulting of Syracuse, Utah (a bit tenuous of a link)
Random Cambridge (University Press) and Random (House) are publishers Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT shows a few "Random Number Generator" applications, but nothing that could be trademarked, the word is simply used in context. -- I think the proper usage here for the link would be the full 'Random House'ASSOCIATED PRESS India's opposition lawmaker Subramanian Swamy speaks to the media outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012. India's top court ordered the government on Thursday to cancel 122 cellphone licenses granted to companies during an irregular sale of spectrum that has been branded one of the largest scandals in India's history. Swami filed the court complaint based on which the court canceled the licenses. (AP Photo)
Earlier this month, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy launched Virat Hindustan Sangam, a new Hindu organisation, which, he told HuffPost India, will be a “promoter of a renaissance in India." In a tumultuous political career spanning four decades, Swamy has rarely been very far from controversy. He has been a lawmaker in both houses of parliament, served as a union cabinet minister, and memorably once attended Parliament and artfully dodged the police even as there was an active arrest warrant against him during the Emergency. Amplified by social media in recent years, the maverick |
can become very complicated. Simply put, the approach to money in a relationship shouldn’t remain static. It’s crazy to think that we would get it right on the first try, or even the third try. It’s important that we remain flexible in our approach so we can shift the approach when our circumstances change.
We also learned that even as a team, we were still two different people with two different sets of needs and goals. Hopefully this approach will work for awhile, but I’m sure we’ll change it again.
In the end, we were able to meet our savings goals, cover our expenses and most importantly, be happy with how things were being handled.
Do you and your significant other have a different way to manage your money? If so, please share it in the comments. I’d absolutely love to hear it as we’re still learning ourselves!From a major VC firm’s recent $30 million investment in the industrial-grade 3-D printing space to the news that Staples will become the first major U.S. retailer to sell consumer-friendly 3-D printers, it’s clear that 3-D printing has reached its inflection point.
And perhaps its hype point, too.
The technology is decades old, but now there’s an ecosystem in place (which includes my own company) that moves it beyond the maker edges to mainstream center. So now more than ever I’m asked for an insider’s view on the hype vs. realities of 3-D printing – and where it’s going.
3-D printing won’t replace other manufacturing technology
3-D printing is indeed an important fabrication technology, because it has the marvelous ability to make anything regardless of the complexity of the form. Other fabrication techniques, honed over decades of industrialization, struggle with geometric complexity – where 3-D printers can print either the most intricate shapes or simplest cube with equal ease.
>The fact is that 3-D printing is really, still, an immature technology.
Never before have we had a technology where we can so freely translate our ideas into a tangible object with little regard to the machinery or skills available. Yet just as the microwave didn’t replace all other forms of cooking as initially predicted, 3-D printing will not replace other manufacturing technologies let alone industrial-scale ones for a variety of reasons. It will complement them.
The fact is that 3-D printing is really, still, an immature technology. We’ve built a magical aura around it – sci-fi style replicator! – but as soon as anyone actually uses a 3-D printer for any period of time, they immediately wish for faster build times, higher quality prints, larger build envelopes, better and cheaper materials … and so on.
We need a different kind of Moore’s-like Law for 3-D printing
While the hype paints visions of limitless replication – lost components, shoes, body parts, musical instruments, even guns – here’s a key fact: Where 3-D printing may be unfettered by complexity, it is constrained by volume.
Everything from cost and time to amount of material increases exponentially: specifically, to the third power.
So if we want something twice as big, it will cost 8 times as much and take 8 times as long to print. If we want something three times as big, it will cost about 27 times more and takes 27 times longer to print. And so on.
#### Carl Bass ##### About Carl Bass is president and CEO of Autodesk, a provider of 3-D design, engineering, and entertainment software. He co-founded Ithaca Software, which was acquired by Autodesk in 1993. Bass serves on the Board of Directors of Autodesk, E2open, the Art Center College of Design, and the Rocky Mountain Institute. He is also a member of the Executive Advisory Boards of Cornell Computing and Information Science and the U.C. Berkeley School of Information. Bass holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Cornell University.
The 3-D printing ecosystem is changing
The limitations introduced by "the 3rd power law of 3-D printing" – as well as the freedom of scale introduced by the unfettered complexity – should bookend any discussion of where 3-D printing is going.
But everything else in between these two immutable facts is constantly changing. That includes the quality and speed of 3-D printing as well as the vibrant collection of people and companies working to overcome the current limitations and broaden use of the technology.
The most common 3-D printing today is smaller-than-a-breadbox printing of plastic parts on machines ranging from open-source printers like RepRap to off-the-shelf printers like 3D Systems’ Cube (the one being carried by Staples). Then there are low-cost commercial printers like MakerBot and more expensive industrial versions made by companies like Stratasys and EOS. [For more specific numbers and data about the size, share, and growth of the market here, see the recent annual report by Wohlers Associates, which has been releasing it for 18 years.]
The ecosystem isn’t just about the printers, however. 3-D printing is part of the accelerating software-controlled manufacturing trend which is making not just 3-D printers – but laser cutters, mills, lathes, routers, and industrial robots – increasingly powerful, affordable, approachable... and therefore accessible to lay users. Software is democratizing this space just as the PC democratized computing.
3-D printing needs better business models
The range of 3-D printable materials and scale of output has broadened considerably even as the plastic formulations of current materials continue to improve. Large industrial printers can now print metal, rubber, and ceramics in addition to plastic.
However, many commenters focus so much on the limitations of printed materials, that they tend to overlook something much more important: the cost.
In the average life of a typical 3-D printer, yards – even miles – of material (which are really just spools of plastic) can be used. Many manufacturers have therefore adopted a razor-razorblade model, or in this case: an inkjet cartridge-like business model for 3-D printing. There’s really very little difference between the material fed into the 3-D printer and the raw commodity, yet the cost to consumers can be up to 100 times higher. So I think this aspect is ripe for new business models that would better expand the use of 3-D printing technology and viability of the marketplace.
These are the important research directions
With so much buzz around every latest announcement in the 3-D printing space, it’s hard to tell what’s commonplace and what’s really interesting to pay attention to. Because constant improvements are happening in everything and especially in what you can print – whether replacement part or novel design, inert or organic material, at scales from the microscopic to a house, on earth or in space.
>The 3rd power law of 3-D printing: Everything from cost and time to amount of material increases to the third power.
I think two important areas to watch here are printing electronics – i.e., not just objects but logic and function – and the burgeoning field of bioprinting. The latter represents some of the most exciting work employing 3-D printers. For example, Dr. Anthony Atala of Wake Forest University has pioneered work that includes the successful printing and implantation of human urethras. San Diego-based Organovo prints functional human tissue that can be used for medical research and therapeutic applications. And companies like Craig Venter’s as well as Cambrian Genomics (which I have a small personal investment in) are printing DNA – yes, DNA! – one base pair at a time.
Another important direction in the 3-D printing landscape involves the shift to architectural-scale 3-D printing. Examples include the work of Ron Rael at U.C. Berkeley, who has been working with new, low-cost organic materials and the work of Boris Behrokh Khoshnevis at the University of Southern California who has been experimenting with 3-D printing full-size buildings.
The European Space Agency and Foster + Partners have teamed up to design a moonbase structure 3-D printed with Monolite UK’s D-Shape, though the beauty of their concept is that it would draw entirely on materials found on the moon. This is important since it helps push the materials limitations of 3-D printing from what is supplied to what is found. And someone out there has already hacked a 3-D printer to use only waste materials – imagine the possibilities of using 3-D printing for true recycling and reuse.
The next shift is from prototyping to limited production
3-D printing and other technologies in the software-controlled manufacturing trend fundamentally rewrite the rules of mass production. No longer do we need to produce things in very large quantities to enjoy low cost and high quality; we can get very high quality products in small lots at a reasonable cost.
There is a shift looming where 3-D printing can be useful for more than just rapid prototyping of small plastic parts and for small-batch production. However, I don’t expect to see 3-D printing replace very inexpensive production methods.
>Note that cost-plus business models are very vulnerable to disruption — it’s the equivalent of having a one-trick pony in the race.
Think about the Kinko’s model, which didn’t replace desktop printers or production-scale printing houses – but still played an important role in the reproduction ecosystem. With 3-D printing, companies like Shapeways round out the ecosystem of printer hardware and software-controlled manufacturing by providing both services for 3-D printing and a marketplace of designs. And then there are also design repositories, like Thingiverse, and Instructables (owned by Autodesk).
Note however that fee-based, cost-plus/ time-and-materials business models are very vulnerable to disruption – it’s the equivalent of having a one-trick pony in the race. The advantage there, then, isn’t in being a first mover but in having a rich and thriving community – that’s the key differentiator in what can easily become a crowded space.
Instead of a mass-manufacturing marketplace where everything is made the same way, I expect the “production” trajectory for 3-D printing to start with low-volume, high-value objects like prosthetic devices or bespoke items like jewelry. Most 3-D printing will be personal and custom, similar to the way we use our inkjet printers today. Just as rip-mix-burn became the anthem for digital music, we are starting to do the same thing for the physical world with capture-modify-print (or download-modify-print) using only the cameras on our cellphones to inform computer vision algorithms.
3-D printing won’t bring manufacturing back to the United States
So will this capability really bring manufacturing back to the U.S. and other developed countries?
Yes and no. It will enable domestic manufacturing, but not the same kind, and it probably will not bring back the jobs that have been lost. The product companies of the future will have design, engineering, and manufacturing more tightly integrated together – rapid prototyping and the ability to manufacture small runs will be crucial to their success. This means the jobs of the future will continue to be higher skilled, and that the skills of future craftspeople will be as much digital as they are analog.
Perhaps the only way to truly understand the crucial role computers are playing in the next generation of manufacturing is, ironically, by omitting the digital. There’s a delightful 3-D printing device on Kickstarter called the 3Doodler – a 3-D printer without the computer – which has raised more than $2M. You can hold it in your hand and “draw” in the air, essentially piling molten plastic on top of itself. But it’s like dripping wet sand to build castles in the air. So while this revolution may appear to be all about hardware, it’s impossible without the microprocessors and the software.
Editor: Sonal Chokshi @smc90AMD's Vega GPU is just around the corner, and it's a much larger architectural upgrade than we expected. AMD divulged a bunch of new details about Vega at their Tech Summit last month, and while we don't have any graphics card information or specifications at this stage, AMD fans have a lot to be excited about in the coming months.
For much of 2016, it was assumed that Vega was simply a larger version of Polaris with more compute units, complete with High Bandwidth Memory. It's now clear that Vega contains significant architectural improvements that will make AMD's next-generation graphics cards more powerful and more capable. In fact, it now seems that Polaris was a mere intermediary stepping stone as AMD transitioned their flagship GPUs from Fiji to Vega.
While Vega reportedly contains more than 200 new features, AMD spent time at their Tech Summit detailing the four most important changes. The biggest of these is a complete overhaul of their memory controller and structure, including the introduction of a High-Bandwidth Cache Controller (HBCC) and High-Bandwidth Cache.
One of the problems that AMD identified with their last-generation GPUs is that some applications need to access more data than is available in their VRAM. Compute applications in particular, along with professional rendering tools, are most susceptible to slowdowns due to these problems. Why? Well, traditionally if a GPU wants to access data outside its VRAM, it must first pause and transfer this data from system RAM or SSD/HDD storage into VRAM before any processing can take place.
Vega changes this through the inclusion of a High-Bandwidth Cache Controller. AMD hasn't gone into detail on exactly how this controller works, but it seems as though it provides easier access to off-card storage like system DRAM, non-volatile RAM, and networked storage like SSDs and HDDs. Vega supports a virtual memory address space of 512 TB, which is far larger than any on-board VRAM solution, making it well suited to big data applications.
To demonstrate how useful the HBCC is, AMD showed off a scene being rendered on a Vega card using Radeon ProRender. This scene used hundreds of gigabytes of data, and was being rendered in real time, and even though the demonstration ran at only a few frames per second, AMD claimed that on previous cards it would have taken upwards of an hour to render each frame. Presumably these speed improvements have come from a drastic reduction in memory transfers per frame.
The HBCC also supports adaptive fine-grained data movement from external memory to Vega's on-die memory, which AMD is calling High-Bandwidth Cache. To be clear, High-Bandwidth Cache is simply a new name for VRAM, and in Vega this will be on-die HBM2. To speed up processing, the HBCC will dynamically shift the most scene- or compute-relevant data into Vega's HBM2.
While the HBCC will have the biggest implications for compute workloads, AMD did suggest it will have some use in games. AMD showed a graph that illustrated how games allocate a lot of memory for any scene, but only access a fraction of it to render a frame. In the future, we could see games make use of HBCC-like technology by utilizing a lot more memory per frame while allocating more memory than the cache/VRAM can hold.
Vega comes with a next-generation compute unit called the Vega NCU. It supports 128 32-bit, 256 16-bit and 512 8-bit operations per clock; the latter two are particularly important for deep learning, and this is where Vega will boast significantly improved performance over older architectures. The NCU also supports flexible mixed-precision, and a configurable double precision rate.
Aside from improvements to half and quarter precision performance, AMD claims the NCU is optimized for higher clock speeds and higher IPC, with an increased instruction buffer and an improved cache schedule.
Vega includes a new programmable geometry pipeline that offers over twice the peak throughput per clock. This pipeline is essentially a primitive shader, which sits alongside other shaders like the vertex shader and compute shader. It has the ability to launch threads at the same rate as the compute shader, and the pipeline in general offers improved load balancing, which is an issue console developers highlighted during their time working with previous GCN architectures.
Developers will have to specifically target this new shader to get the most out of the Vega architecture, so it's not necessarily something we'll see utilized often, particularly for gaming workloads.
AMD has revamped the pixel engine in Vega as well, introducing a new rasterizer called the Draw Stream Binning Rasterizer. This rasterizer improves performance and power consumption by fetching only once for overlapping primitives, and shading only the pixels visible on screen. The pixel engine also now has access to L2 cache, which improves performance in deferred shading applications.
Basically, the pixel engine includes improvements that allow the GPU to work on stuff that actually needs to be worked on, while scheduling past work that doesn't contribute to a frame.
It could still be a little while before we see Vega graphics cards on the market, but AMD did have a working sample at their event, where they showed off Doom gameplay at 4K with ultra settings. In their demonstration, which was thrown together using beta drivers in a few weeks with little optimization, Vega achieved around 60 to 70 FPS, placing it in the same performance bracket as Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1080.
Vega sounds like a promising upgrade over AMD's past architectures, both for compute and gaming workloads. We'll have to wait a little while longer for AMD to reveal its consumer graphics card line-up and their corresponding specifications, but it's clear that AMD will have a high-performing flagship card in just a few months' time.The Terra Nova Expedition
The Terra Nova Expedition is amazing. It is one of the few times in written history where we have the extraordinary instance of direct comparison. By that, I mean, we had two separate teams attempting to reach the same goal, at the same time, with catastrophically different results. Terra Nova cannot even be said to be a cursed expedition, but it was certainly doomed. Every single decision made by Captain Robert Scott (the British leader of the trek) directly led to the tragic end to their journey. In contrast, Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian leader of the other expedition, not only succeeded completely, but he is actually less spoken-of, less written about, and less-remembered than Scott DESPITE the fact that he was the first man to ever reach the South Pole. You can ask why that is, but its pretty obvious. History loves itself a good train-wreck, and Amundsen's dangerous trek went off without a hitch due to excellent planning and preparation. Booo-ring.
In 1911, the two teams headed for the South Pole. They didn't leave at the same time, and, in fact, didn't even know about each other. Amundsen had kept his expedition's destination a secret for fear of others usurping the triumph of being the first to get there. So Scott did not know Amundsen was even out there until he came across evidence of the other team many weeks into the trip (big morale boost for them, I'm sure!). But let's go over the list of bad decisions that Scott made, shall we? And in doing so, we'll discover just how things went for them out there in the glamorous vacation destination of the Antarctic.
First off, Scott was British right at a time when the British had a particular mindset. You know the one I'm talking about. Certain unshakable ideas about things despite reality. Scott had a purely British distaste for using dogs as transportation – and this was probably his single biggest mistake – because they were not as romantic a traveling tool as a horse. He fancied exploration to be a "Grand Adventure," and dogs were just too utilitarian. He justified this oddball supposition because of an earlier expedition he'd done where he'd used them and found them too difficult to deal with. He'd been feeding his dogs dried fish, which did not agree with them, and they sickened and became hard to handle. They also ran the sledges too fast, making it hard for his men (poorly trained on skis) to keep up. Scott decided that he was going to bring some dogs, but to rely on (and this is sad and hilarious) ponies. And also 3 motorized sledges, which had been invented for the trip – and, get this – he decided to leave the man who had built and designed them behind at the last minute. Which led to ANOTHER mistake: he brought five men, instead of four, despite the fact that the trip had been planned for four. AND, he utterly miscalculated how many calories he and and men would need to consume daily for such arduous work at high altitudes in terrible, human-hating conditions. He packed his sledges incorrectly, forcing the men to load and unload them every single day. He failed to properly seal the fuel canisters despite knowing from previous expeditions that the seams would fail in the sub-zero temps. This meant half his fuel leaked out, and the fuel – yes – was used for heating both men and food. Heat is useful when your limbs are freezing into a rictus. His ponies died almost right away, by the way. They were useless in the snow – and the man in charge of the ponies mistrusted the horse-snowshoes that had been constructed, and so they were left behind. Are you ringing a bell for every mistake? Let's keep going! There are so many more!
Scott's men STILL didn't know how to ski and hadn't trained on them. Plus, he had actually planned to do something called man-hauling – which doesn't mean hauling men, but that the men would be hauling the massive, insanely heavy sledges. Since his motor sledges had failed spectacularly (one fell through the ice and the other two stopped working in the cold) and his ponies had died, that meant that the men were pulling the sledges much more than Scott had planned for. Which meant they needed more calories, which they weren't getting because there wasn't enough food. They apparently had no (or faulty) goggles as Scott's team regularly suffered from painful snow-blindness (which is the actual BURNING of your corneas). Aaaand, there's MORE.
Scott's team was a scientific exploration team, so they were collecting rock samples as they went. Rocks are heavy, as most of us know. They continued to do this even when they started losing drastic mileage per day. Reminder: they had planned a certain amount of food for the trip, which meant they needed to keep to their mileage or they would run out of food. Even better for keeping to mileage is knowing where you are going. Scott did not bring the lightweight sextant that Amundsen used; instead, he brought a heavy theodolite. Scott only had one navigator, and he'd dismissed an offer to have the man trained to read latitudes.
This led to one of the most disastrous mistakes of the trip besides the lack of dogs. The route marking and depot laying. As the expedition made its way across the ice, they needed to lay markers and depots of supplies for the return trip (turns out coming back is a lot harder than going) and because they sucked at pretty much everything, their depots were not where they should have been. And, in fact, the last depot was 11 miles off its marker.
25km away from the South Pole, Scott and his men discovered evidence that Amundsen's team was ahead of them (in fact 37 days ahead). Ouch. Amundsen had returned safely to his base camp after 99 days, no casualties, on January 25, 1912.
At this point, Scott and his men started to die. The first man died of exposure on February 17th. The second on March 16th. Scott and the remaining two men died in their tent, frozen, approximately March 29th, 11 miles short of the last supply depot that could have saved their lives.
A final note. Amundsen trained himself and his men on skis for three years before embarking. They travelled light. They knew their dog teams intimately. Four of his five men knew how to navigate. He was not out there for scientific exploration, but to achieve a single goal. His men wore furs (like the native inuits) instead of wool. His sledges were designed to be lashed permanently – he used canisters that he could take off and replace without unpacking everything. He had made sure to reinforce all the seams of his fuel cans.
It was Scott's mentality more than anything that doomed his expedition. The idea that he was out on a grand adventure. Amundsen stated outright that he wanted no adventure.
"Adventure," he said, "meant that things were going wrong."A 4-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed himself early Thursday morning in his home in East Chicago, Ind., relatives said.
A 4-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed himself early Thursday morning after finding a gun in his home in East Chicago, Ind., relatives said.Garrion Glover Jr. was just days away from celebrating his fifth birthday. But the little boy who loved to play with toy guns never made it.Police have not yet said if the shooting was accidental or self-inflicted."They were all asleep and he got hold of a gun and he shot himself, fatally shot himself," said LaToya Glover, the boy's grandmother.Glover said Garrion lived in an apartment in the 3500-block of Guthrie Street. His mother told her she heard a loud boom overnight.Police said she had been asleep in her bedroom with her boyfriend when they heard the noise. She found her son lying on the floor in the living room, near the couch where Garrion's uncle had been sleeping, bleeding."She just said she woke up, she heard the loud noise, she ran turned on a light and if she hadn't have moved him she would have never know because she thought he was asleep," Latoya Glover, Garrion's grandmother, said. "They got up and they ran. It looked like he was asleep. So they're looking, but when they moved him, it was a whole different scenario."Police responded to a report of an assault with a firearm just before 12:05 a.m. Garrion was rushed to the hospital where he died at 3:05 a.m., the Lake County Coroner's Office said. An autopsy did not rule on his manner of death, which is pending further studies.Glover said this is the second tragedy for her family.The child's father, Garrion Glover Sr., was shot and killed at the same apartment complex in 2014, when the boy was almost two.LaToya Glover and other family members said her grandson's tragic death could have been prevented."I was angry because first and foremost, if there's a handgun on the premises, it should be put away," Glover said."To him - it probably was a toy to him. That's what he probably thought it was," said Kenny Trout, the boy's cousin. "It should have been locked away and put on a shelf somewhere where he couldn't reach it."Andrew Holmes, an anti-violence activist, agreed."They're not getting it and they're not listening. If they were getting it and listening, this baby would still be living. So somebody has to be held accountable," Holmes said.Police recovered the gun and are running the serial number to see who it is registered to.On Thursday, neighbors brought flowers and candles in memory of the little boy who was just days away from celebrating his fifth birthday."As a mother I couldn't imagine enduring the pain of losing a child. I am just praying for this family," Nakia Bell, a neighborhood resident, said.Anyone with information on the shooting should call Detectives Machuca and Orange at (219) 391-8326; or the anonymous hotline at (219) 391-8500.Migrants and refugees keep warm using blankets as they walk towards a refugee center | AFP/Getty EU expecting 3 million more migrants by 2017 Commission predicts an economic boost from new influx.
The EU expects to absorb three million more migrants by the end of 2017, giving a "modest" boost to host countries' economies.
In its autumn economic forecast released Thursday, the European Commission predicted the influx of migrants would help boost the bloc's gross domestic product by 0.2-0.3 percent by 2020.
“We expect a positive impact" from the migrants, economy commissioner Pierre Moscovici told reporters, "but that depends on how well they are integrated."
More than 710,000 migrants have entered the EU so far this year, according to the bloc's border agency, Frontex. That figure is an increase from 282,000 for all of 2014.
The Commission report claims to be "a first assessment of the impact of the larger-than-expected inflows of asylum-seekers on the economies of the EU."
The Commission arrived at the estimate, which Moscovici said was not precise, by assuming a continuation of current inflows until the end of 2016 and a "gradual normalization" in 2017.
“I think you have to say we are not quite sure about the figures," Moscovici said. "So we can’t say the influx of the refugees is likely to have a negative impact or some kind of kicking people out of the labor market."
He said the positive economic impact was dependent on "public policy that gives incentives and helps people and integrates them," while the forecast also said growth depended on the skill sets of the new arrivals.
"Research indicates that non-EU migrants typically receive less in individual benefits than they contribute in taxes and social contributions," the forecast read. "Yet, if the human potential is not used well, the inflow can also weaken fiscal sustainability."
In his State of the Union speech in September, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said "migration must change from a problem to be tackled to a well-managed resource," particularly as Europe is an ageing continent.
The forecast found "while migration flows can partly offset unfavorable demographic developments, earlier studies have shown that immigration could not on its own solve the problems linked to ageing in the EU."
The Commission expects the impact on countries will differ according to whether asylum-seekers transit or stay, and on differences in how they can access the labor market.
It predicted the effect of transit countries’ spending on rescue, registration and short-term care costs would be a maximum of 0.2 percent of GDP in 2015, "broadly stabilizing in 2016.”
The impact on destination countries is estimated at a maximum of 0.2 percent of GDP in 2015, "with a small further increase in some countries in 2016."Donald Trump said Henry Kissinger agrees with his foreign policy ideas at a rally in Fresno, California Friday.
“One of the biggest diplomats in the country who is a friend of mine, you saw recently I actually met with him and it was all over the place, so you can figure it out,” Trump began, apparently referencing a meeting he had with Kissinger, former secretary of state and foreign policy guru, in the middle of May.
Trump continued: “And he said, ‘Donald, I thought you were wrong in your approach. I thought it was too tough. But you know what? All of those countries are calling me, What do we do, what do we do, how can we make him happy?’”
Through a spokesperson, Kissinger disputed Trump’s account. “On foreign policy, you identify many key problems” Kissinger said of Trump. “I do not generally agree with the solutions. One-shot outcomes are probably not possible.”
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s likely opponent in the general election, has also touted support by Kissinger. “I was very flattered when Henry Kissinger said I ran the State Department better than anybody had run it in a long time,” she said at a Democratic debate in February, MSNBC reports.
Read More: How Henry Kissinger May Help Hillary Clinton in Email Lawsuit
Write to Tessa Berenson at tessa.berenson@time.com.Briefly: The flirtation between Japanese animation giant Studio Ghibli and a smaller distributor didn’t last long. For many years, Disney had the US distribution rights to all of Studio Ghibli’s movies. A couple years back that deal ended, however, and in 2011 rights to the Ghibli catalog went to the small company Gkids. The outfit mounted revival screenings of most of the studio’s animation slate last year, and distributed From Up on Poppy Hill, from Goro Miyazaki. (That film hits DVD next week.)
But Ghibli has gone back to Disney for US distribution of Hayao Miyazaki‘s latest film, The Wind Rises. The movie tells a dramatized version of the biography of Jiro Horikoshi, who designed the Zero fighter plane that became the iconic image of Japanese air power in WWII.
The film has already opened in Japan (to some controversy) but we don’t have US release info yet. Borys Kit of THR tweeted the info that Disney will distribute. The film will have its North American premiere at TIFF in a couple weeks.ZP103
Gorgeous translucent, jewel-colored ears, each one unique. A stunning variety selected over many years by Carl Barnes, a part-Cherokee farmer and breeder from Oklahoma. Selected from crossing several traditional corn varieties and saving seed from the vivid, translucent kernels. Size of ears range from 3-8 inches. Height of plants depend upon water, but can reach up to 9 feet, typically 6 feet. The kernels may be ground into cornmeal or popped. Glass Gem can be harvested approx. 110-120 days after planting when the husks are dry and brown for the most intense and translucent colors. Gifted to NS/S by Bill McDorman who acquired the seed from Greg Schoen, one of Carl's students. To read the story behind this magnificent corn, check out this Native Seeds Blog post.
All photos shown here are copyrighted by Greg Schoen and used with permission.
Packet size 9g/approx. 50 seeds;
Seed Saver Size includes approx 35g/250 seeds plus information on corn pollination and seed saving.A five judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Justice RM Lodha will deliver the verdict
The Supreme Court today refused to disqualify ministers with criminal cases, leaving the decision to the "Prime Minister's wisdom", but made the point that those involved in serious offences should not be ministers."Corruption is an enemy of the nation. As a trustee of the Constitution, the PM is expected not to appoint unwarranted persons as ministers, no disqualification can be prescribed," a Constitution bench of the country's five senior most judges said."It is expected that the PM will not appoint persons against whom charges have been framed and he is facing trial. We leave it to the PM and Chief Ministers," the judges ruled on a 10-year-old petition that sought the removal of charge-sheeted ministers from the UPA government at the time.The petition was dismissed in 2004 when the court said interfering would be "premature" as the issue of ministers with criminal cases was being debated in Parliament.The Centre had argued that the dismissal of ministers would be against the Constitutional prerogative of the PM and the will of the people, and that "once a person is an MP, he is entitled to be in the council of ministers."The court today accepted the argument, but also said the "Constitution reposes immense trust in the PM and Chief Ministers and they are expected to act with responsibility and with constitutional morality."Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet has 14 ministers with police cases, but today's comments have a bearing on them only if charges have been framed by a court.The Election Commission has repeatedly said candidates with a criminal past should be barred from contesting elections and called for a law. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that elected lawmakers will stand disqualified if convicted by a court and sentenced to two years of imprisonment or more.CONGRESS seldom agrees on health care, as is shown by the Republicans’ fruitless attempts to rip up the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. A longtime exception to partisan feuds was the Children’s Health Insurance Programme (CHIP), established in 1997. The scheme, which covers some 9m American children, has been credited, along with Medicaid, health insurance for the poor, and Obamacare, with reducing the share of children without health insurance from 14% to a record low of 5% over the past 20 years. But on September 30th federal funding for CHIP expired. State agencies, which administer the programme with federal grants, are running short of cash and are on the cusp of issuing notices cancelling policies.
Lawmakers, who must offer a fix to restore the funds, are dithering while Republican leaders concentrate on grander legislation. Senators Orrin Hatch of Utah, a rock-ribbed Republican and a grandfather of CHIP, and Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, have offered a bipartisan patch to fund the programme for the next five years. Over the next ten the proposed fix would cost $8.2bn, a paltry sum for a Congress also pondering a tax cut of $1.5trn. But the bill has become stuck in the House, where committee members have attached contentious offsets tinkering with Medicaid and Medicare—health insurance for the elderly—which are unlikely to be approved by Democrats. This brinkmanship “breaks the history of bipartisanship” that CHIP has long enjoyed, says David Blumenthal, the president of the Commonwealth Fund, a health-policy think-tank. “We’re setting ourselves up for a game of chicken.”
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As yet, no state has been forced to suspend coverage or issue cancellations. State CHIP programmes have instead run on fumes, subsisting on unspent funds and emergency injections of federal funds from the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services. These jerry-rigged funding mechanisms will not last long. By the end of the year six states, including California and Ohio, expect to be completely out of cash. Most will have blown through reserves by the first quarter of 2018. In Utah, where 19,000 children are covered by CHIP, cancellation notices were supposed to go out this month, though the health department is trying to delay them as long as possible.
Because CHIP is financed through block grants, large cash transfers with few restrictions, the scheme is administered differently from state to state. Some create stand-alone programmes, but almost every state enrolls children in Medicaid to reduce administrative burdens. Because a provision of Obamacare requires states to maintain their insurance-eligibility standards until the end of 2019, states with children in Medicaid may be legally on the hook for their medical bills. Those with separated programmes may freeze enrolment, create more stringent eligibility rules or discontinue their operations altogether. Perhaps because of turmoil at the Department of Health and Human Services—the secretary has been sacked for using private planes at the public’s cost—the Trump administration has been quiet on the matter, not issuing public guidance to the states.
Besides wasting administrative resources, winding down CHIP programmes might reverse the steady increase in insured children. Without federal funds, 1.2m children would lose their health insurance because alternative coverage would be too expensive, according to the Urban Institute, a think-tank.
Even if funding is eventually restored, |
oble, France, said: “The tactics are very common. They are all based on human psychology. We followed very closely the initiation process of a Sierra Leonean tribal army, in terms of weapons training, propaganda, and spiritual indoctrination.” Fukunaga stressed he wanted to avoid any suggestion of a religious dimension to the on-screen conflict, saying “it’s too easily pigeonholed”.
Idris Elba says he's still smiling after comments by James Bond author Read more
Fukunaga also said that the character of the charismatic Commandant, played by Elba, was based in part on a Haitian gang leader he had met in the notorious Cité du Soleil neighbourhood. “He was just a handsome charismatic figure who came out of the streets and had a natural magnetism, and had the ability to command a portion of his neighbourhood.”
As for being a crucible for the Netflix revolution in cinema, which has seen the film threatened with a boycott by major US cinema chains in protest at the breaking of the traditional 90-day window between theatrical release and home availability, Fukunaga was circumspect on the subject of whether his film was helping to cripple cinemas. “It’s very hard to get a film exhibited these days. It’s already very hard to find space in a theatre for a film that isn’t some giant spectacle... Right now we find ourselves in a very interesting democratic moment of cinematic attendance, where by the simple act of showing up to a screening we are telling exhibitors and distributors we want to watch these kind of films, instead of only tentpole films.”
Beasts of No Nation is released in cinemas and on VOD on 19 October.Google is planning to launch an update to its Google Translate app for phones, enabling automatic, real-time translation of voice to text for a few languages, The New York Times reports.
In its current iteration, the app can translate text-to-text between 80 languages, and offers voice to text translation, but it's not automatic — you have to choose the desired input language for it to work. After the update, the app will automatically recognize when someone is speaking in "a popular" language and turn it into text in the chosen language.
The report does not offer any more details about the update, nor when it's supposed to be launched, other than saying it'll happen "soon."
Google had announced it's working on this technology in July 2013. Back then, Google's VP of Android product management Hugo Barra said the technology is still years away for all languages, but some language pairs, including English and Portuguese, were already working "near perfect."
Still, while Google has been perfecting its translation technology for years now, it's a bit behind the curve on this one. Microsoft's Sykpe launched its Translator Preview in December 2014, enabling real-time voice-to-voice translation between English and Spanish speakers.Mimic Arena is a local couch multiplayer platform shooter that focuses on high energy and quick reflexes. Up to four buddies are pitted against one another, but only those who have mastered the arts of jump and shoot dare hope to stand a chance, thankfully you will have some backup. Everything the player does, wherever they go, and wherever they fire; is recorded and then played back again as a Mimic. These clones will be an integrate part of any players arsenal. Providing distractions and supporting fire for new players and enabling more advanced strategy such as zoning and coordinated attacks for veterans. Throughout the battle players and Mimics alike will be able to equip themselves with an assortment of weapons such as the reflective disk that travels like a boomerang and reflects projectiles or the Phase Beam that instantly pierces through terrain and all attempting to use it as cover. With the right weapon and these clones can prove to be a dependable ally or a troublesome enemy. Control your shots for precision and efficiency or let them fly wild and embrace the bullet storm that is bound to ensue, just be sure to watch your back.
Show MoreIntegrity Now
“I highly recommend that you consider offering this comprehensive message to your church. Steve's own testimony of God's grace, his education, and now daily ministry of helping people struggling with sexual integrity, equip him as a solid voice for the local church and its community.”
- Sr. Pastor Jeff Peterson - Central Assembly of God, Springfield Missouri
“Sexual integrity and Pornography are “elephant in the room” kinds of issues in our homes and by extension in our churches. Your conference gave hope and a pathway to health to many in our congregation. Your team informed, equipped and inspired us! Your team struck just the right tone. It was a valuable investment in our people, I couldn’t be more pleased.”
- Sr. Pastor Gary Hay, Hope Church, Springfield, MO
Wow, this really works! I was looking 3 or 4 times a day, but I haven’t looked at porn at all now for two months.
- Anonymous ClientFor the newcomer to iOS development, “animation” may seem like a daunting proposition. That’s how I felt when I wanted to animate a game board 90 degrees in my very first app. How could I possibly do that!? It must be difficult! And so off I went to see how to do it….
Turns out, it was really easy! And it didn’t require much code at all. In fact, the iOS SDK provides a lot of support for adding animation to your UI. You can do many thing with just a little code and achieve some stunning effects.
Project X has a few places where animation is used. One place, as I wrote about last time, is to rotate the game board and game pieces. These animations are “simple” in that they rotate objects point A to point B, if you will. The app on which Project X is based included another rotation animation for each game piece if the user tried to choose one that was not in the set of allowed next game pieces.
For Project X I wanted a different effect to indicate “sorry, you can’t pick that one.” I immediately thought of the animation you can see if you try to login to your Mac using the wrong password. The input field shakes left to right a couple times, then settles back to it’s original position. Sounds simple enough…
I first tried to use the animation tricks I already knew and was familiar with. Namely things like:
[UIView animateWithDuration:... delay:... options:... animations:^{... } completion:^(BOOL f) {... } ];
The problem with this approach is that I would have had to nest multiple calls to -animateWithDuration: in each call’s completion block. Messy, at best.
After some thought I remembered there was something called Key Frame Animation and set out to refresh my memory.
Key Frame Animation is pretty powerful; you can do a lot of really cool things with it, from moving objects on the screen to scaling and resizing, and much more. For my desired effect, Key Frame Animation proved to be just the thing, and the solution was elegant.
You can download a sample project from github, but here is the one method that makes it all work:
-(IBAction)buttonPress:(id)sender { NSString *keyPath = @"anchorPoint.x"; CAKeyframeAnimation *kfa = [CAKeyframeAnimation animationWithKeyPath:keyPath]; [kfa setValues:[NSArray arrayWithObjects: [NSNumber numberWithFloat:-.05], [NSNumber numberWithFloat:.1], [NSNumber numberWithFloat:-.1], [NSNumber numberWithFloat:.1], [NSNumber numberWithFloat:-.05], nil]]; [kfa setAdditive:YES]; [kfa setTimingFunction:[CAMediaTimingFunction functionWithName:kCAMediaTimingFunctionEaseInEaseOut]]; [kfa setDuration:.35]; [button.layer addAnimation:kfa forKey:nil]; }
There are a few things to take note of here. First, animations are applied to the object’s layer, so you’re dealing with layer properties. For this effect, we’re animating a button’s anchorPoint.x property. That is, we’re specify the changes to be made to that property, on a per-frame basis. (Think of a frame as an incremental animation of your object.)
The setValues: method receives an array of values to apply to the button’s anchorPoint.x property. These values are specified each in the range from -1.0 to 1.0. The anchorPoint.x range is from 0 to 1; it’s value represents a relative position within the object. The default value for anchorPoint is {0.5, 0.5}, or the middle of the object.
The values you specify can be applied cumulatively or additively. The former is good if you want to move an object across the screen — from point A to point B. Additive, on the other hand, works really well for our purposes because we want to move the object relative to its anchor point. We want to move the button left by -.05, then right by.1 (which is +.05 in total), then back by.1 (now we’re back at -.05), etc. So the animation here goes left, right, left, right, and back to center (back to where it started).
I chose the Ease In/Easy Out timing function so that the button sort of winds up, shakes, then winds down. There are several timing functions to choose from, and I thought this one produced a nice visual effect.
Finally, we add the Key Frame Animation object to the button’s layer (button is a class variable).
That’s it! It took me about an hour to work this out, only because I had not ever done anything with Key Frame Animation before. And, not surprisingly, the solution is short and sweet.
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EmailA dissection of the test-driven development process: does it really matter to test-first or test-last?
A dissection of the test-driven development process: does it really matter to test-first or to test-last? Fucci et al., ICSE’17
Here we have a study with a really interesting aim – to find out which aspects of TDD are most significant when it comes to developer productivity and code quality. What we’d really love to know is how TDD fares in the hands of experienced practitioners. Unfortunately the results of the study come with the usual caveats: it’s a fairly limited group of participants (39), with fairly limited experience, undertaking a somewhat artificial set of tasks. With that pinch of salt firmly in hand, the results show that the most important thing is to work in short uniform cycles with each cycle introducing a small new piece of functionality and its associated tests. The order within the cycle – i.e., test-first or test-last didn’t really seem to matter.
Study tasks and participants
The context of this study is a larger research effort investigating software engineering practices, including test-driven development, in industry. This research initiative involves several industrial partners from the Nordic countries. Two companies, referred to as Company A and Company B in the paper, participated in this study. Company A is a large publicly-traded provider of consumer and business security solutions… Company B is an SME based in Estonia that offers on-line entertaining platforms to businesses worldwide.
Bonus points for the study participants not being computer science undergraduates! 😉
Participants took part in 5-day unit testing and TDD workshops, first teaching the principles of unit testing and how to apply it in an iterative process, and then introducing how to drive development based on a TDD-style test-first approach. Three instances of the workshop were run in company A, and one in company B. In total 22 participants from company A, and 17 from company B took part.
All the subjects except two had at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field. The average professional experience in Java development was 7.3 years (standard dev. = 4.1, min. = 1, max. = 15 years). Before the workshop, the participants were asked to state their level of skill in Java and unit testing on a 4-point Likert scale. Table 4 shows the breakdown of their answers.
There are a couple of red flags here for me: firstly, studying effectiveness of TDD in a workshop context where participants are pretty much learning unit testing and TDD for the first time means that we’ll learn a limited amount about the benefits in the hands of experienced practitioners – it takes time to adapt your way of thinking; secondly, how can you work professionally in Java development for an average of 7.3 years and still be mostly a novice in terms of Java language and unit testing??
During the workshop, the participants undertook three tasks. The Mars Rover task involved implementing a public API for moving a vehicle on a grid. There are 11 (sub) stories in total, and the participants are given the stub for the class definition, including the full API signature. The Bowling Scorekeeper task is also small with 13 stories to be implemented across two classes, and the class stubs with method signatures already provided. The third task is a larger MusicPhone system with 13 classes and 4 interfaces (i.e., still tiny), and participants had to implement three requirements in the business logic tier (11 sub-stories).
The authors assert:
Two of the three tasks used in the study were artificial and not particularly representative of a real-word situation for a professional software developer. This poses a threat to the generalizability of our results. To mitigate this concern and increase realism, we included a third task, and the three tasks together provided sufficient diversity and balance between algorithmic and architectural problem solving. The resulting diversity moderated the threat to external validity.
From what we’ve been told, I’m not so convinced that the third task is sufficiently realistic to introduce the balance the authors seek, but it’s certainly better than not having it. Also note that in the first two tasks, the precise method signatures to be filled in have already been provided (we don’t know whether this was also the case in the third task). This nullifies one of the expected benefits of the TDD process in my mind – helping you to shape and refine the design / interface.
When requirements may change or are not well known, leading the cycles with tests can provide advantages that were not detectable in this study: test-first can help to understand the requirements, discover new/missing requirements, and find and fix requirements bugs.
While completing the tasks, participants used an Eclipse IDE with the Besouro tool monitoring what they did.
The heuristics used by Besouro to infer the development cycle type are shown in the following table:
Breaking down TDD
The authors analyse four main TDD process dimensions, and two outcome dimensions.
The process dimensions are granularity, uniformity, sequence, and refactoring:
Granularity is measured as the median cycle duration in minutes. The lower the value, the more fine-grained in general the process is.
is measured as the median cycle duration in minutes. The lower the value, the more fine-grained in general the process is. Uniformity measures how well a subject was able to keep the rhythm of development cycles – i.e., do cycles all tend to have a similar duration, or is there more variation in cycle length?
measures how well a subject was able to keep the rhythm of development cycles – i.e., do cycles all tend to have a similar duration, or is there more variation in cycle length? Sequence addresses the order in which steps are carried out within a cycle. It is measured as the percentage of cycles which are test-first.
addresses the order in which steps are carried out within a cycle. It is measured as the percentage of cycles which are test-first. Refactoring effort captures energy expended on refactoring the code base without introducing any new functionality (or at least, any new tests!). It is measured as the percentage of cycles which include some refactoring.
The outcome dimensions are quality and productivity:
Quality is defined based on the basis of how successful a participant was at the stories they actually tackled. A tackled story is considered to be one in which at least one JUnit assert statement passes. The quality of an individual tackled story is defined to be the percentage of assert statements for that story which pass. The overall quality score for a user is their average tackled story quality.
is defined based on the basis of how successful a participant was at the stories they actually tackled. A tackled story is considered to be one in which at least one JUnit assert statement passes. The quality of an individual tackled story is defined to be the percentage of assert statements for that story which pass. The overall quality score for a user is their average tackled story quality. Productivity is defined as the percentage of assert statements that a participant got to pass (regardless of whether the associated story is considered ‘tackled’ or not), divided by the total time taken.
Results and caveats
Overall, the dataset contained 82 complete observations. The authors examined correlations between the variables, and then sought to find the simplest possible model with the most predictive power using Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC)p.
Granularity and uniformity are positively correlated – i.e., the shorter your cycles, the more consistent you tend to be from one cycle to another.
Quality is negatively correlated with granularity – i.e., the smaller the cycle, the higher the quality.
Quality is also negatively correlated with uniformity; the more consistent your cycles, the better the quality (Although this might just be following from the first two points).
… we explore the relationships between the four factors and two outcome variables and find optimal models that explain how useful the factors are in predicting the observed outcomes. We start with a full model that includes all the factors and employ a backward elimination approach to find the model that minimizes information loss according to Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC).
At the end of this process, the the factors in the quality prediction model are granularity, uniformity, and the amount of refactoring undertaken:
The factors in the productivity prediction model are the same:
Note that sequence does not appear in either model:
This is surprising as it implies the sequence in which writing test and production code are interleaved is not a prominent feature. The finding counters the common folklore within the agile software development community.
(Remember from our earlier discussion though that the task setup precludes some of the expected benefits of test-first).
Refactoring also shows up in both models as a negative factor – i.e., the more refactoring you do, the worse the productivity and quality. For productivity at least, this seems to me to be an artefact of the chosen measurements. Since productivity is simply a measure of passing assert statements over time, and refactoring doesn’t change that measure, time spent on refactoring must by this definition lower productivity. Not accounted for at all are the longer term impacts on code quality (and hence future productivity) that we hope to attribute to refactoring. The model is set up to exclusively favour short-term rewards.
Regarding the GRA coefficient in QLT Y (Table 9), reducing the cycle length further from the often suggested values of five to ten minutes results in little improvement. The improvement can be as high as 14% when cycle length is reduced from its maximum observed value at around 50 minutes down to the average observation of eight minutes in the nominal range of the dataset.
Given all the caveats, what can you take away from this study? For me the main takeaway is that much (most?) of the value is in working in small cycles introducing both code and its associated tests in each cycle. Whether you test-first or last within a cycle is secondary to that, but test-first may well have other benefits not measured in the study.
… we have not tackled the potential benefits of test-first in resolving requirements uncertainty, formalizing design decisions, and encouraging writing more tests, all of which may kick in the longer term and tip the balance in favor of an emphasis for test-first.
And I certainly wouldn’t rush to stamp out all refactoring!!!1 injured after chemical device explodes in Ore. Porta-Potty
ALOHA, Ore. – Washington County Sheriff's deputies are searching for the person who placed two explosive devices at a public park and inside someone's mailbox on Saturday afternoon.
One woman was hurt by the first explosion inside a porta-potty at Arnold Park around 12:30 pm.
The explosions were caused by mixing chemicals together in a container, like a water or soda bottle, according to deputies.
The device was placed inside the toilet area and exploded several minutes later, when the woman happened to be inside, according to officials.
She was at the park attending a high school girls softball tournament along with 200 players and their families from all over the Northwest.
Shortly after the blast, deputies evacuated the park and searched the porta-potties for additional devices, but did not find any in the park.
"People who heard something thought it sounded like a ball had hit the porta-potty," said RJ Puterbaugh, who was running the snack bar for the tournament.
The victim was visiting from Spokeane and was treated for a bloody head, according to Puterbaugh, before paramedics rushed her to the hospital.
The second explosion happened a few blocks away inside a homeowner's mailbox about 15 minutes later.
Nobody was hurt.
Investigators say both devices were similar to plastic water bottle explosives.
The bomb squad searched the rest of the park and surrounding area gave the all-clear a few hours later.
"We don't know if the device was meant to harm somebody, or just scare folks or create a loud distraction, "said Washington County Sgt. Vance Stimler.
Stimler says authorities would like to catch the person or persons responsible, who may face assault charges.Insurgents seized one of the last Syrian government positions in the northern province of Idlib on Thursday night, in the latest in a series of recent gains by a newly effective opposition coalition that includes the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda as well as other Islamist factions and a few nationalist groups backed by the United States. The government forces’ quick retreat from the small city of Ariha left insurgents celebrating in the streets and made it appear increasingly unlikely that forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad would retake the provincial capital, also called Idlib, as officials vowed to do when it fell to insurgents two months ago. The government is also facing advances by the Islamic State, which seized the central desert city of Palmyra last week. Taking Ariha puts the insurgents a step closer to the government’s coastal strongholds and the plains around the city of Hama.On Wednesday I joined Neal for my very first Campus and Community Planning feedback session in about 6 years. Yeah, I’ve landed myself back at UBC for a PhD, and it seems like the French expression applies equally to myself and to the subject of this post. I still think it’s a good use of time hang around hackish friends, pick arguments with nice C+CP employees, and write feedback on the minutiae of campus planning politics before heading to Wednesday hot lunch at Hillel (delicious). The U-Blvd “neighborhood” redevelopment is still an essentially ill-conceived market-housing-focused project endlessly repackaged in a series of increasingly confounding planning-babble.
Main things I remembered/learned/noticed from this iteration of the plan:
The two totally unnecessary infill buildings (charmingly christened B and D) to occupy the little triangular lots between War and U-Blvd are now established fact. They will still block the view of the iconic War Memorial Gym. They would still be better turned into green space. One has already been granted a Development Permit. The administration building on the corner of U-Blvd and University (GSAB) which is now being torn down is now also being proposed as residential development. The Copp building (on the south side of U-Blvd, between Dentistry and Wesbrook), is now also part of the U-Blvd plan, slated as yet more housing development. Both buildings in 2. and 3. are outside the boundaries of the University Blvd Neighbourhood Plan, as defined in the Land Use Plan (LUP). That means that they’re defined as “Academic” and no non-residence housing is to be build on them, making the presented plan an outright transgression of the LUP. Isn’t it funny that the two remaining academic buildings on U-Blvd suddenly reached the “natural end of their lives” at the same time? And even suspending disbelief that that is indeed true, they cannot be sustainably retrofitted, but must be torn down? The new bus loop has been given the larger footprint it needs, with an above-ground pickup/dropoff area at 90 degrees to the current one (in the parking lot of War), and a parking/storage area where the current loop is. The parking/storage area would be covered by a building containing – you guessed it – housing. Think of all those delicious fumes. War Memorial Gym itself is on the chopping block next
General impressions and insights from the event and my chat with the charming Gerry McGeough of C+CP:
C+CP considers it to be an act of charity (for which they deserve plaudits) not to tear things down. Even perfectly good things. This I learned upon asking the simple question “does every square inch of this area need to be demolished and redeveloped?” whereupon I got the answer “Well, we might not tear down the Gym”.
The “livable community/mixed-use” jargon has penetrated to the very core of the identity of this project (and of C+CP itself). Criticism of the amount of housing presented in the plan is apparently an attack on this ineffable quality. And it is obvious that the way to achieve it is to max out residential density in every possible way.
There is a shady internal-financing combination being executed by moving student and staff housing that was slated for the Wesbrook Village into the U-Blvd area (so that more expensive condos can be sold in the former). This is supposedly to finance the loan to renovate the last wing of the BioSciences building. I don’t know the details of that situation, but it’s weird. [Ed: It's explained here]
C+CP is getting better and better at the consultation game. No, that’s not a compliment. Revisionist history of the area, check. Liberal use of planning-babble, check. Very-brief summary of negative feedback and concerns (without actually addressing them), check. Yeah, it’s better than no consultation, but I still feel like people’s legitimate and unanswered questions are being suffocated under a mass of high-gloss posters.
Now I’m not beating up on Gerry. I liked him a lot (Hi Gerry!), and he took my sometimes intemperate complaining with a great deal of gallantry and good humour. What he didn’t do was ever question the idea that there 1) ideally should be 2) is allowed to be (under the LUP), and 3) can practically be (on top of a polluting bus terminal), this amount of housing in the area. The assumption that “mixed use” communities with mega-housing density is a GOOD THING is gospel truth to the current generation of Vancouver-ish planners.
The idea that there should be housing in this area has been the central (centrally contested, and centrally unchanged) ingredient in the U-Blvd area from the get go. It started with the 1997 designation of this area, and the site of the current bus loop, dubbed Gage South, as a “neighbourhood” to begin with, opening the door to market housing (unlike the other “neighborhoods”, which are all in outlying areas of UBC, this one is in the very core). Years of consultation and opposition (including Neal’s awesome work on this blog), has changed the housing proposed for the area into more student and staff focused, though not exclusively. But it’s still expensive (ie. market), some of it is still on top of a polluting bus loop, and it’s still fundamentally adding a lot of residential density to the academic core and gateway of the campus.
So when I say that nothing’s changed, that’s an exaggeration. The plan itself has changed, and it’s a lot better now than it used to be. But the push-pull dynamics of market housing and commercial spaces vs. academic, student, and community spaces remains the same. This dynamic is not what C+CP’s revisionist history poster would have you believe, and to understand it, people need to remember a bit. Eight years ago, when I was an undergrad at UBC, the footprint of where the Nest is now was planned as an expensive, dubiously safe, and too-small underground bus loop, covered by a mall, with market housing on top. That plan was also sold by C+CP in identical terms of “mixed use” and “vibrancy”, even though it was correctly recognized as the craven commercialization of the centre of campus and widely panned. That plan changed: The bus loop in that location was canceled, the mall was canceled, and the space was given to the AMS and the Alumni centre. I must emphasize that these changes are not thanks to C+CP but despite it. They are due to students that protested and advocated against the commercially-oriented plans, and then funded their own public, student-oriented alternative. UBC now benefits from the fact that the student body essentially forced it kicking and screaming to cancel its plans to commercialize and cheapen the centre of campus, and literally paid for it to be public- and student-space focused ourselves.
The new SUB and Alumni Centre, and the public spaces around the knoll and on the other side of the old SUB are going to be social centre of the campus, as they should be. There really isn’t all that much left to get right. U-Blvd should concentrate on the street-level stuff. The bikes, the buses, the grocery store, the parks and outdoor seating, the traffic improvements to Wesbrook Mall, the artwork. I might even give in and stop mocking the gimmicky “living lab” and “incubator” spaces (whatever they may be) that infest any given mock-up poster. The point is, C+CP – go forth and build the lively mixed-use street of your dreams along U-Blvd. Just understand that there are people here who have memories longer than a goldfish. And we will continue to question the justification, legality, and need for 5-7 stories of (essentially) market residential on top of every build-able square meter.If you’ve ever read the Bible, you know Satan was one bad dude. So it stands to reason people acting in his name wouldn’t exactly be upstanding citizens, right? Not exactly. Over the centuries, we’ve proved ourselves kinda adept at spotting Satanism where there’s nothing to be seen. Sometimes—as with the Salem witch trials—this leads to grand tragedy. At others, it only leads to farcical idiocy. Guess which this article is about.
9 The Basel Rooster
We in the 21st century aren’t exactly unused to stupid, time-wasting lawsuits. But at least our judges have a tendency to slap them down with enough regularity to stop us losing all faith in the system. The same can’t be said for their medieval counterparts. In 1474, a Swiss rooster was discovered to have laid an egg—something roosters typically lack the, uh, equipment to do. Rather than dismiss it as an obvious case of mistaken identity, the townsfolk had the rooster arrested and put on trial for demonic possession.
Yeah: a real trial, in a real court, with real judges. People at the time believed a possessed rooster could give birth to a Basilisk—a monster so evil it got a whole Harry Potter book devoted to it. Faced with this imminent danger, the judges sentenced the rooster to be burnt at the stake—a feat so uniquely stupid they felt compelled to repeat it 300 years later.
8 The Dungeons and Dragons Scare
For most of us, ‘Satanism’ conjures images of black mass and blood sacrifice and so on. Not for Patricia Pulling. As far as she and her organization B.A.D.D were concerned, there was only one face to modern Satanism—and that face involved 12-sided die and skinny adolescents pretending to be Thunder Gods.
In 1982, Pulling found herself on the wrong side of a shitty tragedy when her teenage son committed suicide. That would be enough to screw anyone up, and Pulling was not just ‘anyone’. Learning that her son had played D&D shortly before his death, she put two and two together and sued the game’s creators, along with the principle she believed had put a D&D ‘curse’ on him. It took two years for the case to be thrown out of court, but by then the damage was done—and a whole generation of hysterical parents had something they could fear until rap music was invented.
7 Satan’s Footprints
Like the Deep South, rural England has its fair share of rednecks just itching to form a mob. Only, instead of child molesters and Peter Fonda, their vigilante groups have their sights set on something a little bigger.
In the winter of 1855, the population of Devon woke up to discover hoof-prints covering 100 miles of the county in a perfectly straight line. And I mean perfectly: when they met a wall they carried on over it. When they reached a house, they continued across the roof. Since nothing says ‘Satan’ like unexplained footprints, the local men armed themselves up and set out to kill the devil. Luckily, no dapper, goateed men happened to be strolling around the country at the time and the mob eventually wore itself out. In a ridiculous twist, it later emerged that a kangaroo had recently escaped from a nearby zoo—meaning Skippy’s brother was probably this close to being lynched by angry villagers.
6 The Anti-Pope
Martin Luther is a pretty important guy in the history of protestantism. He triggered a major schism, helped spread protestant doctrine and even founded his own branch of Christianity. Not bad for a guy who thought the pope was literally the antichrist.
Yes, the pope. God’s representative on Earth and so on. Obviously a fan of the ‘it’s always the person you least suspect’ school of thought, Luther condemned the papal office as being in league with Satan—sparking a vast conspiracy theory that survives to this day. Islam, Communism, Nazism, Freemasonry, the assassination of Lincoln... everything bad that’s ever happened is said to be the fault of ‘Satan’s pope’, who no doubt teaches piety as a cunning way of condemning people to the flames. It doesn’t make any sense, but hey, that’s insanity for you.
5 The Loudon Possession
The Loudon Possession is probably one of the stupidest witchcraft cases on record. Basically, a bunch of repressed French nuns began to suffer vivid, erotic dreams and blamed the Devil. Since this was the early 17th century, the target of their lust—a local priest called Grandier—was arrested for causing demonic possession. Then things got really dumb. Exorcists were called in and found the nuns showed absolutely no signs of supernatural visitation. They couldn’t levitate, read minds, see the future, speak in previously unknown languages or do anything a half-assed con artist couldn’t. All they could do was scream about sex a lot, something most of us can accomplish with nothing more demonic than a pair of vocal cords. The exorcists dismissed the claims, so Grandier was released without charge and given a full apology.
Whoops, I mean the exorcists were told to zip it and Grandier put on trial for witchcraft. There, the judge ruled that anyone speaking in Grandier’s defense would be fined and tortured, while the prosecution was allowed to submit evidence like this ‘contract’ between Grandier and Satan, that just happened to be written in the handwriting of one of the nuns. After a fair and balanced trial that was anything but, Grandier was tortured horrifically and burnt alive at the stake. Meanwhile the ‘possessions’ continued—with the convent eventually charging tourists entry to watch the exorcisms.
4 Affair of the Poisons
But Loudon wasn’t even the largest case of mass-insanity to rock seventeenth century France. That dubious honor would go to the Affair of the Poisons, an outbreak of Satanist hysteria so widespread it would even affect the King. Around 1679, Louis XIV discovered that some of the noblemen and women of his court were resorting to charms, curses and potions to get ahead. And by ‘some’, I mean ‘all of them’—the subsequent investigation uncovered over 300 alleged poisoners. Quite a scandal, huh? Well, sort of. Unfortunately, most of those arrested were third rate alchemists, conjurers and quacks hawking folk ‘poisons’ about as deadly as a case of Mountain Dew. And, faced with torture and a certain death, they started indicting anyone they could think of—and when they ran out of people, they started inventing lurid details. Infanticide, black mass, blood sacrifice, magic curses... the French police believed every single word of it. Panic gripped the court, hundreds of people were thrown in prison and dozens executed in a five year purging—proving it’s not just America that can do ‘blind panic’.
3 McMartin Preschool Trial
Sometimes, the line between tragedy and comedy is so blurred as to become not just invisible, but completely non-existent. The McMartin Pre-School Trial is one of those times.
The panic started in 1983, when an alcoholic, paranoid schizophrenic named Judy Johnson accused her estranged husband Ray of sodomizing her son. Now, there’s nothing amusing or unusual about that sentence in itself, but Johnson’s accusations didn’t stop there. She also claimed her Ex had sex with animals, held satanic orgies with the other teachers at the preschool he worked in and could fly. Usually, when a mentally ill woman starts claiming her former-boyfriend has magic superpowers, the authorities make sure she gets the treatment she clearly needs. Not this time.
Ray was arrested and over 300 pre-schoolers questioned in the most absurdly-leading way possible. Being, y’know, toddlers, they did what the adults obviously wanted them to do and started making up stories about witches, and secret tunnels hidden inside toilets. Because the ’80s were insane, the case went to trial—resulting in one of the most-expensive, protracted legal battles in history. It wasn’t until 1990 that someone finally realized we’d all gone collectively mad and Ray was acquitted—seven years after his crazy ex-wife first decided he was Superman’s pervy brother.
2 North Berwick Witch Trials
In a list of ‘biggest overreactions’, James VI’s response to bad weather on his wedding day would come at #1. On the way from Denmark, his bride’s boat ran into rough seas. When James went out to lend a hand, a storm sprang up, nearly drowning the future King and Queen of England. Rather than being grateful for his near-escape, James decided he’d been the victim of a witches plot and promptly had dozens of people arrested and tortured. In what’s probably a familiar pattern to you by now, many of those tortured indicted other people to save themselves—triggering a wave of witch trials |
is an opportunist? Well, the reality doesn’t back up that accusation."
Khakan Qureshi: founder of Birmingham South Asian LGBT – Finding a Voice Twitter
"She sounded like someone who can relate to the people." "I’ve never voted for the Tories, and I’ve never liked Theresa May, but in the leadership campaign she sounded like someone who can relate to the people. The referendum was a wake-up call, the people had spoken, and the people who have been neglected in the past will have to be listened to. I’m hoping May has taken on board what people have said and listen to the BAME and LGBT communities. The rise in hate crimes concerns me greatly – I remember the 'GO HOME' bus a few years ago. She was responsible for that. Now we’ve had the Brexit campaign, which has seen a spike in racial hatred and no one seems to be getting it under control. She and her ministers need to strengthen laws against hate crimes. "There is some understanding of racism and homophobia [in government] but we’re not even close to understanding intersectionality [the combination of two or more forms of discrimination] at the top level. Last night I tweeted to say if there’s an Asian minister in the cabinet that would be a true reflection of the community. We keep saying it’s a multicultural society and we accept homosexuality but at the top level there’s never been a BAME LGBT minister. If there were role models there, having a proper ministerial role within the cabinet then that would be a step in the right direction. "My group is not funded and I’m trying to apply for funding, but I’ll probably have no chance at this rate [with potential spending cuts]. We also have the Birmingham LGBT centre, which is the main hub for LGBT services in the city, and they’ve just received funding, but in the long term they might lose that, so we’ll likely lose services that are essential for the LGBT and BAME community. In that way, we might end up going back to the 1980s."
Juno Dawson: YA author, columnist Twitter Twitter
"May is inheriting a lot of catastrophes from David Cameron." "We have just done some good work towards amending the Gender Recognition Act (2004) and there is more awareness of trans issues now than ever before. But if you identity as gender non-binary there isn’t a lot for you, and the worry is the existing acts aren’t particularly well supported by May. She didn’t turn up to vote for the Gender Recognition Act. The rights we have won have been hard-fought and the fear is that at any time things can slide backwards. I said this throughout the referendum campaign – the sense of a creeping far right within British politics. Once it’s finished with immigrants it will come for other minority groups, of which LGBT people are obviously one. "A lot has been made of the fact that David Cameron brought in same-sex marriage, but his spending cuts disproportionately affected people from minority groups – he clamped down on sexual health, mental health, and homelessness, all things that LGBT people are statistically more inclined to. So the worry is that austerity is great if you can afford it. There is no such thing as the 'pink pound'; LGBT people are not living fabulously wealthy, childless lives. Many are struggling with housing. So May is inheriting a lot of catastrophes from Cameron, and he will be best remembered for one major catastrophe. "Things will get worse before they get better. If nothing else May has taken a tough stance on law and order, and I hope she will take an equally tough stance on hate crime."
Michael Salter: chair of Pride London and former adviser to David Cameron YouTube
"We have to be careful that services for LGBT people don't become an easy touch for cuts." "There’s a lot of suspicion in terms of there being another Conservative prime minister, but we have to recognise that May has helped push the agenda on. Not her voting record before being in government but what she has done when she’s had power – her work work on equal marriage and her time at the Home Office, where the reporting on hate crimes have increased. Six years ago, would people have reported it in the same ways they do now? It’s become easier to report and people have more faith now in reporting it. So I think that’s got to be continued, until we have a true understanding of the levels of hate crime in the UK. "I also hope she makes sure she gives teachers the tools to tackle homophobic bullying in schools. Nicky Morgan has been keen on this as a subject – people will question whether the sums of money (£2 million) were sufficient to tackle homophobia in schools, but I hope she follows that up with action in this area. "We have to be careful that services for LGBT people don’t become an easy touch for cuts, so the onus is on all of us to make sure we get involved in our local societies. "The other area will be what happens in terms of long-term care for the elderly – with LGBT people going back in the closet, there’s a lot that need to be done over that long term."
Bisi Alimi: writer, LGBT/HIV activist, founder of the Bisi Alimi Foundation Bisi Alimi Bisi Alimi
"To save money, who will May punish? The poor? The 'homosexuals'?" "In terms of hopes I have none. Or perhaps the only hope I have is that she surprises us in a good way. My fear is that her record on immigration and on asylum has been horrible. And she’s going to push for the British bill of rights, and what that means for LGBT asylum-seekers is not clear. There are still many asylum-seekers locked up in detention centres. My fear is what the fate might be of LGBT people who are coming to this country to seek support. A lot of LGBT people could be outed because a lot of people will have to come out in order to seek the possibility of staying in this country. "HIV funding is already going down. The last time I was at my clinic my doctor was telling me about the struggles they’re facing because of [health secretary] Jeremy Hunt. The concepts the Tories have about HIV is from a morality position – as if you have HIV because you led a bad life and therefore you should pay for it. And that’s why they never cared. "A lot of HIV organisations will be an easy target for May to cut the funding. I’m afraid that the NHS will get commercialised. And there’s already issues facing mental health services. "To save money, who will May punish? The poor? The 'homosexuals'?"
Lisa Power MBE: co-founder of Stonewall and former head of policy for the Terrence Higgins Trust Twitter Twitter
"I have a distinct memory of her gossiping with Evan Davis, who was dressed completely in rubber." "I’m hoping she’ll be the Theresa May I met when I worked at the first Tory LGBT disco at their conference a few years ago. I was there on behalf of the Terrence Higgins Trust and she and [former cabinet minister] Eric Pickles were the two official Conservative party attendees. Theresa May was perfectly charming and perfectly poised and I have a distinct memory of her perched on some stairs gossiping with [BBC Newsnight presenter] Evan Davis, who was completely in either rubber or leather from head to foot, and she was happily chatting away to him. I was tasked with looking after her husband, who was clearly there on sufferance – and had earplugs in. He said he was more of a Wagner fan than a disco fan. She handled the situation very well. She is a consummate politician. But I’m worried about her moralistic streak – because I’d rather my politicians were pragmatists. "Under May, I’m less worried about LGBT people from the EU but more worried about LGBT refugees. But it could have been a hell of a lot worse than Theresa May. Many LGBT people have gone on about the fact she used to be anti-gay – which she did – without recognising that she has changed her tune. "I fear that the chances of the NHS providing PrEP [the HIV-prevention medication] are fast receding into the distance but you never know: May is usually persuadable by decent evidence."
Damian Barr: author (Maggie & Me), columnist, broadcaster Twitter Twitter
"The right wing of her party will make her sacrifice our rights on the altar." "Like Thatcher, May is the daughter of a vicar and she’s a woman but I think there the resemblance ends. I think Theresa May is homophobic in a way that Thatcher was not. I think had Thatcher been around now she would have supported gay marriage from the beginning because she would have seen the sense in it, and the socially coherent value, and the tax receipts. May did eventually vote for same-sex marriage but that’s a drop in a bigoted ocean in terms of her voting record and I don’t know if it indicates a change of heart, or political expediency. "The real test for her will be in this post-referendum era. LGBT rights are going to be one of the first footballs to be kicked around so it’s not whether or not she stands by us in liberal, fair, good times, it’s whether she stands by us when things get difficult and when minority groups get threatened. If she’s going to be another iron lady it has to be then, not before. "I’m hoping Theresa May will see sense about gay adoption – she’s not been good on that, and I’m fearful because she wants to create this British bill of rights. Whether you’re British or Italian you should enjoy the same human rights. I’m worried she’ll enable backdoor bigotry and the right wing of her party will make her sacrifice our rights on the altar."
Monty Moncrieff: CEO of LGBT health and wellbeing charity London Friend Twitter
"The main concern is the general direction of where the Conservative party might go." "It’s interesting to see Lynne Featherstone is very defensive of May’s role in same-sex marriage and she was stating yesterday how progressive May can be, and I think there’s a sense of May having changed her position on a number of LGBT issues. Her early voting record is not good, although it was 20 years ago in some cases. Her change in outlook is to be commended but if the policies are still pursued around reducing spending on local government and therefore reducing spending that can go out in grants and contracts to the voluntary sector then LGBT charities will be especially at risk because there is already significant underinvestment. "It’s not just about Theresa May as prime minister though, but the fact the government is moving considerably to the right. So the main concern is the general direction of where the party might go – it’s what’s not being said that is perhaps of more concern. The party is probably doing a good job of appealing to the centre ground at the moment but what happens to their policies behind that? The sheen is not always connected to how you deliver policies."
Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett: chair of LGBT+ Liberal Democrats and the first HIV+ parliamentary candidateConstant ID checks in supermarkets and off-licences are "infantilising" young adults and confusing shoppers about legal age limits, a report by a civil liberties group claims today.
The survey by the Manifesto Club suggests that cashiers' over-zealous questioning of customers in their 20s is "penalising thousands of innocent" people and forcing them to carry their passports all the time.
The study, 28¾: How Constant Age Checks Are Infantilising Adults, is published as the coalition government is considering increasing to £20,000 the maximum penalty for those illegally serving underage drinkers.
"The most annoyed constituency is people in their late 20s, who are being frequently ID checked, particularly by supermarkets," the report says.
"Many people in their late 20s said that they have been checked more over the past two years than when they were 18, and that they are now forced to carry their passport to the shops."
Campaigns under the slogans of Think 21 and Think 25 have led to confusion about the correct age limit for consuming alcohol, resulting in some checkout staff refusing to sell products to those who are under 25 but over 18, the Manifesto Club maintains.
"People are being refused alcohol when shopping with younger siblings or children – including one woman who was prevented from buying a bottle of wine, because her 23-year old daughter and 22-year-old friend could not provide ID."
In some cases, the study finds, adults have been ID-checked for other products including matches, glue, paracetamol, Christmas crackers, bleach, chocolate cherry liqueurs, Rizla rolling papers and cough drops.
"These adults are no longer young and feel that they have earned the right to be treated with some respect," the report's author, Dolan Cummings said. "It's not flattering, so supermarkets should stop telling us that it is.
"Constant ID checks create the idea of alcohol as an illicit substance, rather than as a normal part of adult life to be enjoyed in an adult manner."
The Manifesto Club describes its aim as campaigning "against the hyper-regulation of everyday life". Its director, Josie Appleton, added: "'Producing your passport should not be a routine part of the checkout procedure.
"There is little point in the government abolishing ID cards while backing policies that mean we have to show ID whenever we go shopping. People in their 20s and 30s should be free to go to the supermarket or off-licence without being constantly challenged."Law firm sent letters to Dean Archer demanding he pay ‘compensation in lieu of damages’ over Facebook post, on behalf of Tory chairman when he was MP
Grant Shapps sought “compensation in lieu of damages” from one of his constituents and demanded that he post an apology over claims about the Conservative chairman’s use of the name Michael Green while an MP.
Letters sent last October and November by lawyers acting for the then MP for Welwyn Hatfield to Dean Archer, a chauffeur and former Labour councillor, reveal aggressive demands to retract what was described as a “defamatory allegation” made in a posting on Facebook.
The October letter, which was sent on Shapps’s behalf by the international City firm Hill Dickinson, then asked for Archer’s “proposals for compensating our client in lieu of damages and (an) undertaking to indemnify our client in full for his legal costs”.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Grant Shapps Letter - 1d Photograph: Guardian/Ragout
Archer had noted on Facebook that Shapps had called fellow MP Mark Reckless “a liar” for defecting to Ukip and then went on to question how honest Shapps had been when he had previously appeared as online marketer “Mr Green”.
Details of the letter came a day after the Guardian published an audio recording of Shapps appearing under the name of Michael Green, promoting his online marketing schemes while he was an MP. Since 2012 the Tory chairman had repeatedly denied that he had used the Green pen name while in the House of Commons.
Labour demands investigation into Grant Shapps' second job Read more
However, after the story broke, Shapps said on Monday that he had “over firmly” denied that he worked as Green, while he was in Westminster.
The October letter also says that the damage caused by Archer’s “libellous” posting may not have ended. It quotes former Lord Justice Bingham, who once said, “Defamatory statements are objectionable not least because of their propensity to percolate through underground channels and contaminate hidden springs” – and warns that the law firm will “monitor the spread of any allegation”.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Grant Shapps Letter - 1c Photograph: Guardian/Ragout
Speaking to the Guardian, Archer said: “At first I laughed it off but then my wife got worried. He was threatening us. We stood to lose our house.
“It mentioned [Lord Justice] Bingham and was a three-page letter. Shapps was a powerful person who was threatening me, my wife, my family. We couldn’t fight it. We live in a terraced house”.
At first the Archers’ suggested potential wording for the apology – but Shapps rejected that and his lawyers wrote back in November insisting that an apology would have to be posted on Facebook “making it clear that he used a pen name merely to separate business and politics, prior to entering parliament”.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Grant Shapps Letter - 2b Photograph: Guardian/Ragout
Archer said it was worrying that Shapps appeared to think he could do anything. “Once elected (MPs) think they can do whatever they want. When you start threatening people in your own constituency. I mean an MP has a lot more clout than you and me. ”
When the story broke, Shapps tried to dismiss the Guardian’s reporting, tweeting: “Old story: all properly declared at the time and all many years ago. Labour just hate business.” However when the story was widely shared on social media, Shapps admitted he “screwed up” the dates when he denied ever holding a second job as an MP.
This prompted Labour’s election chief to write to the prime minister demanding an investigation into the Conservative party chairman. Lucy Powell, the Labour MP, said that there was “irrefutable evidence” that Shapps was posing as a businessman called Michael Green while he was an MP and she called for an inquiry into whether he had broken the ministerial code.
A Tory party spokesman said that this has all been “exhaustively reported before”. He added “The party chairman’s business interests were properly and openly declared at the time on the register of members interests.
“Like many authors and journalists, he wrote with a pen name. This was completely transparent: his full name and biographical details were permanently published on the company’s main website.”
The prime minister’s spokesman said David Cameron had full confidence in Shapps and believed he had done the right thing in acknowledging his mistake. The spokesman said the Conservative chairman had apologised for his mistake, and that was “the right thing to do”.
However, Archer said that he would now be seeking compensation for the stress caused by Shapps. “Shapps forced me to write something that was false. MPs are powerful people and Shapps has not liked me because I campaigned against his plans to abolish the local council here and let Welwyn Garden City take us over. That’s how I got involved in Labour council politics.”NEWPORT NEWS — Newport News 2013-2014 teacher of the year Tina Chelgren had an audience of new teachers roaring in laughter Friday morning as they gathered for training at Woodside High School. Instead of a speech, Chelgren said she prepared a light-hearted list in the spirit of late-night talk show host David Letterman's nightly Top 10. The countdown was of things she wish she knew as a beginning teacher.
With the beginning of the school year only two weeks away, here's the list:
• 10. Make sure you have a great working relationship with the secretarial and custodial staff. They are the keepers of your teaching world. I promise that.
• 9. Get plenty of rest. Stock up on hand sanitizer, tissues and Vitamin C because I guarantee you will have your first "teacher cold" by November.
• 8. You are not expected to know everything and teach every lesson perfectly. It's OK to ask questions. It's OK to say "I don't know, I need help." Be flexible, modify, adjust and adapt because teaching is a craft, so just take it one day at a time.
• 7. A well-trained bladder is a must. I suggest you start practicing today.
• 6. A well-balanced plan is the key to effective classroom management. Be prepared and organized. Establish routines and procedures then repeat, repeat, repeat.
• 5. After the first six months of school your teacher hearing will be very fine tuned. Train that beast or you'll find it difficult to enjoy a meal out with your family without trying to eavesdrop on the family next to you.
• 4. Everyone's child is someone's sweet baby. Remember that in your challenging moments with them. By all means never trust what you hear about your students. Form that opinion on you own.
• 3. Like most things in life, everything can not be achieved in one day. It's OK. What's not finished today will still be there tomorrow, so have a social life.
• 2. Don't compare yourself to experienced teachers or any teacher to that matter. Instead learn from their experiences, collaborate, talk about it and push forward. As my son would say, "do you."
• 1. Build relationships with your students. I teach 8-year-olds all day long. I will tell you they can tell if you care about them and if you're interested in them — and if you are not. They can see through you. Let them know you care about them.
Bogues can be reached by phone at 757-247-4536.
Back to School
Public school starts on Sept. 2, the Tuesday after Labor Day.(Adds portfolio manager quotes and details on Keystone XL and updates prices)
* TSX closes up 130.56 points, or 0.84 percent, at 15,610.69
* Index posts its highest close since September 2014
* All of the TSX’s 10 main groups end higher
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index moved within reach of its all-time high on Tuesday as base metal and oil prices rose and U.S. President Donald Trump smoothed the path for TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL pipeline.
TransCanada jumped 2.7 percent to C$64.24 after Trump signed two executive orders to move forward with construction of the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, rolling back key Obama administration environmental actions in favor of expanding energy infrastructure.
“Having access to different entry points into the U.S. is good and positive (for the energy sector). It reinforces the economic and energy integration between Canada and the United States,” said Michael Simpson, senior portfolio manager at Sentry Select Capital Corp.
The energy group, which had hit a nearly two-month low on Monday amid investor worries about a U.S. border adjustment tax, rallied 2.3 percent.
Investors have taken greater heed of Trump’s recent comment that a border adjustment provision is too complicated, Simpson said.
Suncor Energy Inc, Canada’s largest oil and gas producer, rose 2.4 percent to C$42.45 as higher oil prices also helped boost sentiment.
U.S. crude oil futures settled 43 cents higher at $53.18 a barrel ahead of weekly U.S. inventory data on evidence the global market is tightening as lower production by OPEC and other exporters drains stocks.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 130.56 points, or 0.84 percent, at 15,610.69, its highest close since September 2014.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.3 percent as copper prices rose more than 2 percent and other base metals also gained.
Teck Resources Ltd surged 6.9 percent to C$34.18 and First Quantum Minerals Ltd added 3.2 percent to C$17.33.
All of the index’s 10 main groups ended higher, with the heavyweight financials group gaining 0.2 percent and consumer discretionary stocks climbing 0.7 percent.
A planned EU-Canada free-trade deal, seen as a counterweight to anticipated U.S. protectionism under Trump, moved closer to reality after a key committee advised the European Parliament to give its backing after months of protests and heated debate. (Additional reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)Despite constant assertions to the contrary, it would seem the good folks at Harley-Davidson have a rather poor sense of their own history. Case in point: a recent Harley-Davidson insert in Dealernews, a magazine that bills itself as the voice of powersports retailers.
The insert, which was also sent to the Harley-Davidson dealer chain, is a glossy, 14 X 20 fold out poster that lists the 2013 recipients of the Motor Company's Bar & Shield award, which, according to the blurb -- and pardon my paraphrasing here -- is based on sales, customer satisfaction, and “various operational measures.” Also listed are the names of long-term dealers, notably that of Dud Perkins, the San Francisco dealer that’s been selling the brand continuously since April 1st, 1914.
Now, you’d think that a company so steeped in tradition and so aware of its own history would choose a cover portrait worthy of its legacy. Something that represented one of their many race victories perhaps, or, I dunno, maybe a portrait of someone that helped steer the company through its many years of success. You have to figure that a company that’s been around since the inception of motorcycling would have literally tens of thousands of images to choose from, one that would sum all that’s good and true about them. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, so this particular one, which was intended to honor the dealers that made them the company they are today, should be a doozy right?
Well it is. The photo that Harley chose, is one of an archetypical American dirt tracker, backing his archetypical American dirt track motorcycle into turn. Presumably H-D picked the shot because nothing says American motorcycle like an old dirt tracker and no riders better exemplify what the typical H-D rider is all about than guys that raced them, guys that were tough as leather with reflexes of a gunfighter. There’s only one slight problem. The photo that Harley-Davidson used to celebrate their dealers is of a guy named Gary Scott, and what he’s riding is a Triumph.
Doh!
That the photo is of someone riding a Triumph is bad enough. It speaks poorly of whoever picked it, and of the H-D executives that approved it. But it gets worse. For those of you that aren’t students of dirt track history, the name Gary Scott probably doesn’t mean much. According to the record books he was a hard-charging rider and member of the 1974/1975 Harley-Davidson race team who won the 1975 AMA Grand National Championship, and accompanying number one plate. What the record books don’t tell you is that he hated riding for Harley, didn’t get along with the other members of the team, and quit the team shortly after winning the title. He then forbid them to use his name or photo in any of their advertising. To say that the relationship between Gary and H-D was adversarial would be a gross understatement, one he’d later underscore by engaging in physical altercation with his former tuner, and all around Harley good guy, Bill Werner.
In short, the image is something of a slap in the face to the Harley faithful, and their dealers. It also displays a lack of knowledge about the factory’s history, history which is well documented. Of course Harley has always had a little trouble separating myth from their reality, so perhaps this isn’t such an unusual thing after all.photo: Riverboat Gamblers at Webster Studio in 2012 (more by Keith Marlowe)
Denton, TX garage punks Riverboat Gamblers are prepping a series of 7″s to come out over the next year via End Sounds, and the first is the new song “Time to Let Her Go” backed by a cover of The Soft Boys’ “I Wanna Destroy You.” We’ve got the premiere of the a-side, produced by Stuart Sikes (who’s worked with likeminded bands Rocket from the Crypt and Reigning Sound), and you can dig into that below.
They’ve also got a tour surrounding their upcoming appearance at The Fest. All dates are listed below…
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Riverboat Gamblers — 2015 Tour Dates
Oct 07 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
Oct 08 San Diego, CA – The Hideout
Oct 09 Thousand Oaks, CA – Borderline
Oct 10 San Bernardino, CA – It’s Not Dead Fest
Oct 11 Las Vegas, NV – Beauty Bar
Oct 12 Tempe, AZ – Yucca Tap Room
Oct 13 Albuquerque, NM – Low Spirits
Oct 14 San Antonio, TX – Korova
Oct 28 New Orleans, LA – Siberia Nola (w/ Broken Gold)
Oct 29 Tampa, FL – Tequilas (Inside) (Pre-The Fest w/ Underground Railroad To Candyland, Beach Slang, Meat Wave, The Creeps, Tim Barry, and more)
Oct 30 Gainesville, FL – Cowboys (The Fest)
Oct 31 Atlantic Beach, FL – Harbor Tavern (w/ Broken Gold)
Nov 02 Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall (w/ Lagwagon, Runaway Kids, Pears, Broken Gold)
Dec. 11 – Corpus Christi, TX – House of Rock (w/ Broken Gold)
Dec. 12th – Houston, TX – Fitzgeralds (w/ Broken Gold)By Gabe LaMonica, CNN
(CNN) - A new study shows that attending religious services regularly can mean a more optimistic, less depressed, and less cynical outlook on life.
In a follow-up to its 2008 report that found that attending services increases life expectancy, the Women's Health Initiative observational study based this report on a survey of 92,539 post-menopausal women over 50. The participants made up an ethnically, religiously, and socioeconomically diverse group.
According to the report, to be published this week in the Journal of Religion and Health, those who attend services frequently were 56% more likely to have an optimistic life outlook than those who don't and were 27% less likely to be depressed. Those who attended weekly were less likely to be characterized by cynical hostility, compared with those who did not report any religious service attendance.
"We looked at a number of psychological factors; optimism, depression, cynical hostility, and a number of subcategories and subscales involving social support and social strain," said Eliezer Schnall an associate professor of psychology at Yeshiva University in Manhattan, who headed the initiative.
"The link between religious activity and health is most evident in women, specifically older women," he said.
The research focused on an important group, because "as they are living longer," Schnall said, "seniors are a growing group, and women have longer lifespans than men."
The study, funded by the National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute, National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "unlike many other previous studies," said Schnall, broke down the idea of positive social support into subcategories.
Emotional support and informational support, such as sitting down with a priest or a rabbi to speak about difficulties; tangible support, like someone driving a participant to a doctor; affectionate support; and positive interaction were all examined in the initiative.
"There's evidence from other studies to suggest religious involvement may be particularly important in enhancing social interaction," Schnall said.
But a "relatively new thought in the field," according to Schnall, called "social strain," encompasses negative social support. The hypothesis is that, "though some studies have suggested that attending religious services is beneficial in a host of ways, there also comes with it a social strain."
Though there has been much discussion around this "new area of inquiry," Schnall said, "I certainly believe, or to my knowledge, we are the first to look at this construct," social strain.
The researchers identified social strain by asking questions like:
- "Of the people that are important to you, how many get on your nerves?"
- "Of the people who are important to you, how many ask too much of you?
- And, "of the people who are important to you, how many try to get you to do things that you do not want to do?"
"We did not find that those who attend religious services where characterized by additional social strain," Schnall said.
To identify optimism, he said, participants were asked to rated the following questions on a five-point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree:
- "In unclear times I usually expect the best,"
- "If something can go wrong for me, it will,"
- "I hardly ever expect things to go my way."
Optimism is "about perceived control... positive expectations... empowerment, a fighting spirit, lack of helplessness - those are general definitions," Schnall said.
He conceded people could take a different message from the survey's results. "Someone who really wanted to take issue with the study" could say the results came out the way they did "maybe because optimists are drawn to believe in the divine."Welcome to the 2015 edition of Top Shelf Prospects. As the summer progresses, I will be featuring each NHL team’s top prospects, following the order of the first round of the 2015 NHL draft (as if there were no traded draft picks) — you can find all the articles here.
Because we already published an extensive NHL Draft preview, I will not be reviewing the players who were drafted in 2015, as my reports on them will not have changed — I will, however, link you to those articles. Instead I will focus on prospects that were acquired in past drafts, examining their progress and their chances of making the 2015-16 roster of their respective NHL team. I will also choose one sleeper pick – a player who was either drafted in the fourth round or later, or was an undrafted free agent signing who I pick as a darkhorse to make the NHL.
For those wondering, the determining factors for defining who is or isn’t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played or being 25 years old. These are not set in stone, and I may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.
Coming off a President’s Trophy in 2013-14, the Bruins had a very disappointing season. Injuries to first line centre David Kreijci and star defenceman Zdeno Chara, amongst others, were just too much to recover from. The Bruins missed the playoffs despite accumulating 96 points, the highest total ever for a club that did not qualify. All of this led to general manager Peter Chiarelli losing his job, and moving to the Edmonton Oilers. Former assistant GM Don Sweeney would take over and have an interesting first off-season in Boston.
Out are Dougie Hamilton, Milan Lucic, Carl Soderberg, Gregory Campbell, Dan Paille, Niklas Svedberg and Reilly Smith; while in are Matt Beleskey, Jimmy Hayes, Zac Rinaldo, Colin Miller, Matt Irwin, and a whole bunch of draft picks.
Players Drafted: Jakob Zboril, Jake Debrusk, Zachary Senyshyn, Brandon Carlo, Jacob Forsbacka-Karlsson, Jeremy Lauzon, Daniel Vladar, Jesse Gabriel, Cameron Hughes, Jack Becker
Graduates: Ryan Spooner
TSP: Boston Bruins Prospects
Top Prospect: David Pastrnak, Right Wing
Born May 25 1996 — Havirov, Czech Republic
Height 6’0 — Weight 168 [182 cm/76 kg] – Shoots Right
Drafted in the 2014 NHL Draft: Round 1, #25 overall by the Boston Bruins
David Pastrnak was a pleasant surprise for the Bruins, making the team in his first year after being drafted, and putting up 27 points in 46 games. He also added 28 points in 25 AHL games and 7 points in 5 games at the World Juniors. Overall it was a remarkable year for a player drafted near the end of the first round.
David Pastrnak is an extremely good skater, with good speed and an excellent first step and acceleration. He also has great edgework and agility helping him to elude defenders off the rush. Pastrnak has a great ability to beat defenders by changing speeds and can do this both on the rush and in the cycle game. He can dart into the smallest of openings and create a scoring chance. Pastrnak also has very good balance. He is strong on his skates which helps him in protecting the puck, winning board battles and fighting through checks. He could win more puck battles if he adds muscle to his frame though as he is a bit skinny for his size right now.
Pastrnak is very creative with the puck, he has excellent stickhandling, very quick hands, and a wide array of moves. He is able to use his skating skill and his quick hands to be a nightmare for defenders off the rush. If they back off too much to respect his ability to get past them, he can unleash a powerful and accurate wrist shot which features a very quick release. While he profiles as more of a sniper than a playmaker, Pastrnak is a good passer and has good vision to find open linemates.
Pastrnak’s defence is very much a work in progress, though he did show some good signs this year. He was a lot more consistent in terms of the effort level he shows on the back check compared to what we saw pre-draft. He still needs some work on positioning and play without the puck, but he’s getting there.
#2 Prospect: Malcolm Subban, Goaltender
Born Dec 21 1993 — Rexdale, ONT
Height 6.01 — Weight 190 — Shoots Left — Catches Left
Drafted by Boston Bruins in round 1, #24 overall at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft
PK Subban may be hated by the Bruins, and their fans; but the team made his younger brother Malcolm, a first round pick in the 2012 NHL draft. The middle brother in a trio of drafted brothers, Malcolm had his second AHL season with Providence in the AHL this year putting up a.920 save percentage. Similar to his first season when he battled for the starting job with Niklas Svedberg all season long, Subban battled Jeremy Smith for the starting job this season.
Subban is a tremendously athletic goalie. He has fabulous reflexes and is extremely agile. He is particularly quick sliding post to post and is able to make some very nice saves on one timers as a result. Subban is also extremely quick with his pads and effectively uses his quick feet to put up a wall in the bottom half of the net. Subban’s great skating ability allows him to come out of the net and challenge shooters, as he’s able to back up very quickly should they attempt to come in for a deke. He is also very quick with his glove hand and blocker and effectively covers the top of the net as well.
Subban shows excellent technique in the net. He is almost always square to the shooter and in position to make the first save. His movements in the crease are controlled and smart. This allows Subban to recover quickly and to get himself in position to make a second save. It also ensures that he covers the maximum amount of net possible. Subban is a natural leader who inspires a sense of quiet confidence for his Bulls teammates when he is in the net. He excudes a |
, this difference disappears or reverses.
Gendered Expectations and Gender Bias
Unfortunately, women are still often hamstrung by conflicting expectations; many people value workplace behavior that is different from what they value in women’s behavior. For example, according to Women in the Workplace, women who negotiate for a promotion are 54% more likely to get one than women who don’t—but they are also 30% more likely than men who negotiate to receive feedback that they are “intimidating,” “too aggressive,” or “bossy.” They are 67% more likely than women who don’t negotiate to receive that kind of criticism. In many of our minds, then, what an “assertive, successful employee” does is still different from what a “woman” should do.
In addition, there are factors outside the workplace in play. People who do more in the home—both men and women—are less likely to aspire to senior positions at work. And women at all levels report doing more than half the housework and childcare, so this may be a big part of why fewer women currently aspire to top executive positions than men. As Women in the Workplace found, 43% of women who do an even half of the housework aspire to become top executives, but only 34% of women who do more than half the housework and childcare do.
Many people still hold dear some ideas about which gender should not only do more housework and childcare, but also who should adopt unpaid communication and organization roles within schools and communities, and who should take care of elders as they decline. These kinds of expectations and roles, whether they are internal or external, may keep some employees from believing they can compete for bigger projects and promotions.
Plain old bias and sexism still play a role, as well. Blau and Kahn estimate that 38% of the pay gap is based on discrimination: simply choosing to promote or pay more based on gender.
The Pathway Toward Gender Equality and Diversity
The Women in the Workplace report draws four key points for closing the gender gap in the workplace. Forward-thinking HR leaders can play a large role in each.
1. Motivate people to value gender diversity in the workplace
A majority of leaders within organizations say that gender diversity is a priority, but only 28% of employees say those leaders encourage an open dialogue on the topic. And only 4% of companies are fully transparent with their own people when it comes to their gender metrics.
From senior manager to entry level, people need facts rather than rumors about the existing levels of gender diversity and equity in the company. Many will also need information on how these factors benefit everyone; they may be accustomed to thinking of employment as a zero-sum game (“if more women get jobs in this industry, then fewer men will, and that puts me at risk”).
This can include cultivating regard for behaviors and traits that used to be traditionally seen as “female” that benefit organizations, such as fostering teamwork and cooperation, using emotional intelligence, attending to detail, and so on. These traits are, of course, often found in males, just as analytical thinking and competitiveness are often found in females. Consciously cultivating a value of both “sets” of qualities may be yet another step toward gender diversity and equality.
Of course, you don’t actually have to hypothesize about why having both women and men in any organization is beneficial. You can simply point to results. For example, Fortune 500 companies with the most female board directors did better financially, on average, than those with the least. And many studies, like this one by Hong and Page, reveal that diverse groups outperform homogeneous groups when solving complex problems.
2. Ensure that hiring, promotions, and reviews are fair
A mere 4% of companies use a blind resume review process, even though it provides a great practical and legal way to avoid bias. It might seem like a hassle, but consider the case of American orchestras. In the 1970s, they consisted of about 5% women. Then most of them began auditioning candidates behind a screen so that the selection jury cannot see them. Sometimes the screen is only used for the first round, but even then it has a powerful impact: Researchers find it makes it 50% more likely that a female musician will advance to the final round. Many American orchestras today are 45–50% female.
But that’s hiring. What about promotion and pay? Well, only 57% of employees believe their manager’s review process uses clear and consistent criteria. Here’s an area every HR leader already prioritizes and should have in a continuous improvement loop. Input can come from several levels to clarify the performance expectations for each job. Reviews themselves can become shorter and more frequent (and Millennials are asking for this anyway).
3. Train people to avoid and discourage biased behavior
Managers need training on how to avoid bias in hiring and reviews, and how to push back when they see it happen. This requires a shift within company culture. Google has started theirs with a 60-minute training that covers all four of these key points in a short, approachable way. Microsoft has also released their full unconscious bias training for others to use.
These models may be a good starting point for your company to approach this internal shift by noting that bias and stereotyping are basic human processes for making sense of overwhelming amounts of input with shortcuts and assumptions; becoming aware of which of those shortcuts are useful and which cause harm is something that gets us all out of our habits and ruts of thinking. Approach the topic interactively as a way to think outside the box and get beyond our current assumptions—rather than as an effort to prescribe new rules for thinking or speaking.
4. Focus on results and accountability
Build a metrics system around this issue so you can see progress over time. No one person or group will break the glass ceiling for good, but if your company is gradually improving gender equity, measure that increasing headroom.
You can start by tracking gender at specific stages, such as application, interview, and promotion rounds, and then periodically examine salaries for comparable job positions by gender.
Tracking improvements over time will provide support for continuing the efforts that work. Your results can also be disseminated to help other organizations, demonstrate your leadership in this area in your industry, and boost your employer brand.
Interested in the topic of employer branding? Check out our new eBook, The 2016 State of Employer Branding. This eBook is key for companies both starting or well into their employer branding journey:Breakthrough in sensing at the nanoscale
Monday, 2 September 2013
Researchers have made a breakthrough discovery in identifying the world's most sensitive nanoparticle and measuring it from a distance using light. These super-bright, photostable and background-free nanocrystals enable a new approach to highly advanced sensing technologies using optical fibres.
This discovery, by a team of researchers from Macquarie University, the University of Adelaide, and Peking University, opens the way for rapid localisation and measurement of cells within a living environment at the nanoscale, such as the changes to a single living cell in the human body in response to chemical signals.
Published in Nature Nanotechnology today, the research outlines a new approach to advanced sensing that has been facilitated by bringing together a specific form of nanocrystal, or "SuperDotTM" with a special kind of optical fibre that enables light to interact with tiny (nanoscale) volumes of liquid.
"Up until now, measuring a single nanoparticle would have required placing it inside a very bulky and expensive microscope," says Professor Tanya Monro, Director of the University of Adelaide's Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) and ARC Australian Laureate Fellow. "For the first time, we've been able to detect a single nanoparticle at one end of an optical fibre from the other end. That opens up all sorts of possibilities in sensing."
"Using optical fibres we can get to many places such as inside the living human brain, next to a developing embryo, or within an artery - locations that are inaccessible to conventional measurement tools.
"This advance ultimately paves the way to breakthroughs in medical treatment. For example, measuring a cell's reaction in real time to a cancer drug means doctors could tell at the time treatment is being delivered whether or not a person is responding to the therapy."
The performance of sensing at single molecular level had previously been limited by both insufficient signal strength and interference from background noise. The special optical fibre engineered at IPAS also proved useful in understanding the properties of nanoparticles. "Material scientists have faced a huge challenge in increasing the brightness of nanocrystals," says Dr. Jin, ARC Fellow at Macquarie University's Advanced Cytometry Laboratories. "Using these optical fibres, however, we have been given unprecedented insight into the light emissions. Now, thousands of emitters can be incorporated into a single SuperDotTM - creating a far brighter, and more easily detectable nanocrystal."
Under infrared illumination, these SuperDots(tm) selectively produce bright blue, red and infrared light, with a staggering thousand times more sensitivity than existing materials. "Neither the glass of the optical fibre nor other background biological molecules respond to infrared, so that removed the background signal issue. By exciting these SuperDotsTM we were able to lower the detection limit to the ultimate level - a single nanoparticle," says Jin.
"The trans-disciplinary research from multiple institutions has paved the way for this innovative discovery," says Jin, "with the interface of experts in nanomaterials, photonics engineering, and biomolecular frontiers."
"These joint efforts will ultimately benefit patients around the world - for example, our industry partners Minomic International Ltd and Patrys Ltd are developing uses for SuperDotsTM in cancer diagnostic kits, detecting incredibly low numbers of biomarkers within conditions like prostate and multiple myeloma cancer."
Macquarie is now actively seeking other industrial partners with the capacity to jointly develop solutions outside of these fields.
Watch a short video about the research
Contact Details
Media ReleaseThousands of Romanians have spent six nights marching in towns and cities across the country. We asked them why
After six nights on the streets, Romanian protesters appear to have won after the government scrapped corruption legislation that ignited the country’s largest demonstrations since the fall of communism. But those who responded to a Guardian callout say it is not enough, and are demanding that the government step down.
“They are profoundly corrupt. Their first priority after taking office is to alter the most important work that has been done in Romania in the past 28 years: the anti-corruption fight,” says Andrei, a 28-year-old air traffic controller, who protested in Bucharest. “Nobody wants a reversal to the period of the early noughties where there was no consequences for organised fraud.”
Half a million Romanians took to the streets after the government put through a decree to decriminalise corruption involving sums of less than 200,000 lei (£38,000). The prime minister, Sorin Grindeanu, of the Social Democratic party (PSD) and who has been in office for less than a month, repealed the order on Sunday.
“In such a young democracy and with such a history, old habits of putting up with whatever is being thrown at you are hard to break. But 27 years of corruption are enough,” says Adrei, 32, from Buzău in the east of Romania.
“They have awoken our sleeping giant called conscience and you can see them scared of it roaring in every city. Even in my hometown of 120,000 people which traditionally is aligned with the government, hundreds of people took to the street,” he says.
An immediate beneficiary of the decree would have been the PSD leader, Liviu Dragnea, who faces charges of defrauding the state of €24,000 (£20,000). Dragnea has said he has not ruled himself out as a future leader, but under current law is not allowed to be appointed prime minister because of his conviction.
“I do not care that much about the fact that they wanted to print some ‘get out of jail’ cards for a few party members, but the manner in which this thing tried to be achieved is absolutely disgusting; the decree was adopted in the middle of the night and it wasn’t even in the day’s schedule. The parliament was completely ignored even though the situation was not an emergency,” says Mihnea, 17, from Pitești in south-central Romania.
“I do not usually protest because there were not many occasions in my lifetime when the actions of the current administration were 100% illegal. There is no way they will be able to govern after the huge mistake that they’ve made.”
Grindeanu has said his government, which won about 46% of the vote in December, will not resign. His cabinet still plans, using a separate order, to free about 2,500 prisoners serving sentences under five years.
“It’s the same people running the country that were doing it before the 89 Romanian revolution, their family members and political friends,” says Belinda, 32, a hair salon owner living in Timișoara, a city in the west of the country that will be the European capital of culture in 2021.
“In the last five years I have lost all my friends [to emigration]. They are happier than they ever were in Romania. My generation must win and come with something new, or this country is forever lost – no drama here, just the inevitable truth.”
Romanians who responded to our callout expressed dismay over a lack of jobs, low-quality education, low wages and a crumbling healthcare system, as well as how deeply corruption plays a part in their daily lives.
“Stress is a word that describes perfectly the state most of us are constantly living in. Our everyday problems are absurd. I shouldn’t wait six hours in a queue every month to pay my taxes, because institutions are not in the digital era. I shouldn’t live in fear that some institution is going to shut my small business if I do not pay the bribe to be left in peace,” says Belinda.
Romania is considered one of Europe’s poorest and most corrupt countries. Last year, a report by the IPP thinktank revealed 15% of MPs elected in 2012 were either under investigation for graft, had already been convicted, or chose to step down for other positions.
“Corruption is something that we, Romanians, got used to. I am scared to go to a public hospital because I wait for hours or pay bribes for a consultation,” says Ana, 36, an economist from Bucharest.
“I am terrified of having to send my kid to a public school, where there are very high chances to be traumatised by frustrated teachers that yell and physically punish kids to discipline them. I am sick to think there is nothing I can do but bribe the teachers and school directors.
“I bribe civil servants to do their jobs and stay at long queues to get a signature on a paper. The former prime minster Dacian Cioloș issued a decree asking the schools and hospitals to select managers based on professional criteria, after an objective and public exam. I thought that was a very good idea. A new ruling cancelled those regulations.”
Laura, 44, a dentist from Transylvania who lives and works in Sweden, flew from Malmö to take part in the protests with her 101-year-old grandfather as soon as the decree was announced.
“Romanians are used to suffering and did not retaliate other than fleeing abroad and taking the jobs in Europe that nobody else wants – fruit-pickers, cleaners, service personnel and so on. We deserve more than this,” she says.
“Unfortunately people were so disillusioned that they did not vote and the result was the victory of the Social Democrats, the only party with a disciplined group of senior voters that are always ready to cast their vote.
“I have been to all the six protest marches in Sibiu and will continue doing so until I see that the decree disappears and the government is replaced. I am tired of the way the Social Democrats treat the Romanian people.”by Jonathan Cook, July 30, 2016
Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian proves himself once again the master of cognitive dissonance. He berates the progressive left for its failure to match the emotional power of the political right’s slogans. The left lacks an answer, he says, to the rise of a Donald Trump.
It is hard (for once) not to agree with Freedland when he writes that the left must have:
…a response to the globalisation and automisation [sic] that has left so many millions feeling as if they, and the once flush towns they live in, have been consigned to the scrap heap. It means taming globalisation so that both its costs and benefits are shared more evenly. Right now, those at the top get the rewards while those at the bottom pay the price. There are policy answers, starting with putting people back to work in jobs that pay decent wages. Spending billions to repair the fabric of the country – whether that be the bridges, tunnels and roads that are falling apart in the US or giving a lick of paint to towns that have been neglected for 50 years in Britain – is the obvious place to start…This is the challenge now. To realise that in the battle of hearts and minds, it’s never enough to win just one. You need to win both.
But weren’t Freedland and most of his colleagues at the supposedly progressive Guardian the ones who preferred Hillary Clinton to Bernie Sanders for the Democratic party nomination, and are now preferring Owen Smith to Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership?
Are Clinton and Smith really the answer to our hunger for poetry and emotion? Do they speak to our hearts and minds? Or are they just yet more dull political automatons thrown up by a system desperate to put a gentler face on a cruel neoliberal order that benefits a tiny elite indifferent to the fate of the planet and most of those on it?
Somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind, battered long ago into silence by decades of liberal training at good schools, top universities and prestigious Guardian jobs, Freedland knows the answer.
Poets of emotion are to be found on the left. But for decades they have been “kettled” into the side alleys of the media landscape by enforcers of the corporate status quo like the Guardian. They are slowly making their voices heard through social media. They are creating a quiet political revolution. And Freedland and his ilk are doing everything in their power to try to stop them.Pier Paolo Pasolini’s career is one of many glaring contradictions, all of which are congruous with his talent as a director. His cinema is both lyrical, poetic with tendencies toward masochistic, scatology (mostly attributed to his Fascist allegory Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom), with roots in the neorealist tradition. He’s also a mystic, favoring weighty literary adaptations later in his career, with bawdy, earthy realism as their anchor to their mythic proportions. Pasolini was an outed and bold Marxist and atheist, so in checking off the list of what makes Pasolini distinctly Pasolini, he doesn’t sound like the candidate for a movie about the life and teaching of Christ, right?
Well, if history’s taught us anything it’s that sometimes the least likely candidate is the best candidate, and many have gone on record (including the Vatican press) stating that The Gospel According to St. Matthew is one of the best and most faithful film adaptations of one of the Gospels. Being made with such unemphatic dedication (the bulk of the dialog was culled directly from the text) as the director's passion, and respect as a writer of prose found the material spoke for itself.
There can be some understandable hesitations to the film, and selling a neorealist (which, to many means rough-hewn with a small budget) depiction of the titular gospel might not seem all that alluring. But Pasolini’s wields substantial power in this form of spiritual art and allegorical fable and operates on a wavelength that so many other filmmakers can’t grasp: that "passion" isn’t equated by pain. Apparently, Mel Gibson missed this for his torture porn masquerading as historical realism, his 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, but that more or less sums up Gibson's career as a director, which is another topic in itself.Shale gas is natural gas produced from shale, a type of sedimentary rock. Shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States over the past decade, and interest has spread to potential gas shales in Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. One analyst expects shale gas to supply as much as half the natural gas production in North America by 2020.[1]
In a 2013 report, the US Energy Information Administration estimated the quantity of technically recoverable shale gas for 41 countries.[2][3] North America leads the worldwide production of shale gas, with the US and Canada having significant levels.[4] Beyond the US and Canada, shale gas is so far produced at a commercial scale only in Argentina and China. While the shale gas potential of many nations seems promising, there are several obstacles spanning several economic, environmental, technical and social issues grouped in major categories such as access to resources, infrastructure and governance.[5]
Shale gas production has been blocked in many countries largely because of the environmental risks involved. These risks and social concerns have resulted in legal restrictions on hydraulic fracturing, that have prevented a more extensive development of shale gas worldwide.
Africa [ edit ]
South Africa [ edit ]
Map Showing Operator Permits in the Karoo Basin, South Africa
South Africa has a major sedimentary basin that contains thick organic-rich shales: the Karoo Basin in central and southern South Africa. The Karoo Basin is large, extending across nearly two-thirds of the country, with the southern portion of the basin potentially favorable for shale gas. However, the basin contains significant areas of igneous sill intrusions that may impact the quality of the shale gas resources, limit the use of seismic imaging, and increase the risks of shale gas exploration.[3] The Karoo is estimated to have technically recoverable resource of 485 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas.[6]
Several companies intend to explore for shale gas using hydraulic fracturing in the Karoo region. This is bitterly opposed by a coalition of environmentalists, farmers and local residents.[7]
Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. was an early entrant into the shale gas play of South Africa, obtaining an 11,600-mi2 (30,000-km2) Technical Cooperation Permit (TCP) along the southern edge of the Karoo Basin. Shell obtained a larger 71,400-mi2 (185,000-km2) TCP surrounding the Falcon area, while Sunset Energy holds a 1,780 mi2 (4,600-km2) TCP to the west of Falcon. The Sasol/Chesapeake/Statoil JV TCP area of 34,000-mi2 (88,000-km2) and the Anglo Coal TCP application area of 19,300 mi2 (50,000-km2) is to the north and east of Shell's TPC.[3]
Americas [ edit ]
Argentina [ edit ]
In June 2013, the US Energy Information Administration estimated that Argentina held 802 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale gas reserves, the third largest in the world.[2][8][9] Large reserves of tight oil and gas were in the Vaca Muerta formation. In 2014, three quarters of the shale gas and oil concessions in the country were held by the Argentinian company YPF (nationalised in 2012) which committed to develop the Vaca Muerta field with US company Chevron Corporation. However, in spite of a hydrocarbons law favourable to exploring and developing companies and passed by the Argentine Senate in 2014, the Financial Times noted that "Some analysts doubt whether many companies will follow Chevron until Argentine's erratic president Cristina Fernandez, leaves power in 2015."[10]
Canada [ edit ]
Recent shale gas discoveries have caused a sharp increase in estimated recoverable natural gas in Canada.[11] The nation has a number of prospective shale gas targets in various stages of exploration and exploitation in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.[12]
One major area of exploration in Canada is north of Fort Nelson, in north east British Columbia. Encana and EOG Resources are developing the area known as Horn River due to its high yield shale deposits. A number of these well sites are serviced by Alberta fracturing companies, many of which started out as a one-person operation with the purchase of a cement truck.[citation needed]
This rapid expansion of shale gas in Canada is not without controversy. On 8 March 2011, the Quebec provincial government effectively declared a temporary moratorium on the use of chemical fracturing during shale gas drilling pending a stricter full environment assessment audit. Acting under recommendations from a provincial environmental assessment board, Quebec Minister of Environment Pierre Arcand stated that "We are committed to making sure that it is done properly or it won’t be done at all,"[13] The assessment board cites the chief concern of groundwater contamination with respect to the St. Lawrence valley, and recommended the audit in order to fully inform and involve communities and the public of the risks involved in shale gas exploitation in Quebec.[14]
Mexico [ edit ]
Mexico drilled its first shale gas well in 2011, in the Burgos Basin of northern Mexico, in the equivalent of the Eagle Ford Formation of the US. But as of February 2013, there have been only six productive shale gas and tight oil wells drilled in Mexico (a seventh was abandoned as non-productive), all producing from Eagle Ford equivalent.[15] The national oil company Pemex has limited investment capital, and focuses its effort on what it sees as higher-return conventional oil and gas projects, rather than gas shales or tight oil.[16] The US Energy Information Administration estimates Mexico's recoverable reserves of shale gas to be 681 trillion cubic feet, the fourth largest shale gas reserves in the world.[17]
In Mexico's case, the relevance of shale gas passed from official speeches to energy policy priorities, with two scenarios of production included in the Energy Strategy 2012. With five shale basins preliminarily identified, the business-as-usual scenario in the Strategy encompassed the development of only one shale gas play, with the more favorable scenario adding another play. For each scenario, production would start by 2016 with the output expected amounting to 15% and 29% from the total gas production expected by 2026. By early 2013, the thrill of shale gas started to transform, with less fanfare in the edition of the Strategy that year, recognizing that in spite of the considerable shale gas potential, the path of development chosen would be constrained by Mexico's legal and economic framework, with more favorable opportunities depending on the implementation of more ambitious measures, namely an energy reform that could complement the state-owned oil and gas monopoly of more than 75 years[18]
While this reform was eventually accomplished, other challenges must be surmounted.[19] Mexico's shale oil and gas development close to the US border is hampered by the activities of organized criminal groups that include the theft of pipeline products and the extortion to companies in the extractive industries, along with lack of adequate infrastructure; overall, this has resulted in the low economic competitiveness of Mexico's shales in comparison with those across the border in the United States soil. It remains to be seen if the awaited Mexican energy reform will overcome these drawbacks. Owing to Mexico's weak rule of law and poor success in previous major industry reforms, the legal changes brought about might as well end up worsening the drawbacks in the energy sector and namely in the development of the country's shale resources.
United States [ edit ]
The first commercial gas well drilled in the US, in 1821 in Fredonia, New York, was a shale gas well producing from the Devonian Fredonia Shale formation. After the Drake Oil Well in 1859, however, shale gas production was overshadowed by much larger volumes produced from conventional gas reservoirs.
In 1996, shale gas wells in the United States produced 0.3×10 ^ 12 cu ft (8.5 km3), 1.6% of US gas production; by 2006, production had more than tripled to 1.1×10 ^ 12 cu ft (31 km3) per year, 5.9% of US gas production. By 2005, there were 14,990 shale gas wells in the US.[20] A record 4,185 shale gas wells were completed in the US in 2007.[21] In 2007, shale gas fields included the No. 2 (Barnett/Newark East) and No. 13 (Antrim) sources of natural gas in the United States in terms of gas volumes produced.[22]
A study by MIT says that natural gas will provide 40% of America's energy needs in the future, from 20% today, thanks in part to the abundant supply of shale gas.[23] With 4% annual production growth expected between 2010 and 2030, shale gas has been "a veritable game changer" for the United States.[24]
Shale gas, especially from the Marcellus Shale, have tested up to 16% ethane content.[25] This low priced feedstock for ethylene synthesis has led to a "frenzy" of new ethylene plants in the US.[26]
Asia [ edit ]
Turkey
According to data obtained from the US energy information. Turkey has 679 billion cubic meter shale gas reserves, especially in the Southeastern Anatolia and Thrace regions, 651 billion cubic meters can be drilled in the first stage. [27]
China [ edit ]
China has set its companies a target of producing 30 billion cubic meters a year from shale, equivalent to almost half the country's gas consumption in 2008.[28] Potential gas-bearing shales are said to be widespread in China, although as yet undeveloped.[29] In November 2009, US President Barack Obama agreed to share US gas-shale technology with China, and to promote US investment in Chinese shale-gas development.[30]
China launched a national shale gas research centre in August 2010. Based on existing reports, China may have 30 trillion cubic metres of shale gas reserves.[31] In a 2011 report, the US Energy Information Administration estimated that China had 1,275 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale gas, the largest reserves of all countries surveyed in that report.[32]
As of April 2012, Shell has already drilled a few wells in Sichuan. Notwithstanding the commercial production status reached in 2013, shale gas output remains marginal and at a preliminary stage in China. There are still many challenges to develop this type of unconventional gas resources on a massive scale. Because of the high population density across China, there are considerable water access limitations which must be taken into consideration in any scenario of rapid large-scale production.[33] Oilfield services are dominated by Chinese companies, while the interaction with international companies experienced in the development of shale gas and supply chain solutions is minimal.[34]
India [ edit ]
Companies including Reliance Industries Limited (E&P), RNRL, Vikas WSP Limited have expressed interest in exploring in India, which is estimated to hold 500 to 2,000 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale gas.[35] Reliance Industries paid a reported US$1.7 bn for a 40% share in Atlas Energy's leasehold in the Marcellus shale gas play in the eastern US.[36] A complication to shale gas in India is that the government-issued leases for conventional petroleum exploration do not include unconventional sources such as shale gas.[37] However, this policy now has been changed under the Hydrocarbon exploration and licensing policy, which provides a uniform license for exploration of conventional and unconventional oil and gas resources and includes private participation.[38]
In August 2010, a delegation including the director-general of hydrocarbons and officials of the oil ministry is scheduled to meet in Washington with the US Geological Survey to discuss help in identifying and exploiting shale-gas resources in India. Basins of preliminary interest identified by Indian geologists are the Cambay Basin in Gujarat, the Assam-Arakan basin in northeast India, and the Gondwana Basin in central India.[39]
During US President Obama's visit to India in November 2010, India and US decided to cooperate in the fields of clean-tech and shale gas. "We agreed to deepen our co-operation in pursuit of clean energy technologies, including the creation of a new clean energy research centre here in India, and continuing our joint research into solar, biofuels, shale gas and building efficiency," Obama said.[40]
Indonesia [ edit ]
According to the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia has proven shale gas resources of 574.07 trillion cubic feet (tcf) or 16.3 trillion cubic meters distributed as follows:[41] Sumatra Island has 233.05 tcf proven resources, Kalimantan Island has 193.93 tcf resources, Papua Island has 94.04 tcf, Java Island has 47.64 tcf, and Sulawesi Island has 5.41 tcf proven resources. In Sumatra Island, the proven shale gas resources are in the North Sumatra province, Central Sumatra, Ombilin, and South Sumatra. Proven shale gas reserves also found in north-west and also north-east of Java Island. In Kalimantan Island, the proven reserves are in Barito, Kutei, Tarakan, Melawi, and Ketungau. Whereas, in Sulawesi Island, there is only one proven reserve, which is Sengkang. Lastly, in Papua Island, the reserves are found in Akimeugah and Bintuni. As of 2012, shale gas, like coal bed methane (CBM), is not yet being developed in Indonesia.[42] The potential reserve of Indonesia shale gas is greater than either CBM or conventional natural gas, with 453 tcf and 334 tcf, respectively.[43]
The Indonesian government has established new regulations to reduce the cost of development of shale gas to ease the advancement of shale gas and bolster exploration both offshore and onshore. The government hopes that these new regulations will attract international as well as national investments. The vital part of this new regulation is that the government now treats oil and gas as oil and natural gas. The government also acknowledges the fracking technology, which makes shale gas exploration possible.[44]
There are some challenges in shale gas development in Indonesia even though that it has abundant resources of shale gas. First, there is a concern that hydraulic fracturing technology could affect the water system in certain areas. Advance and better technology must be applied if the developer wants to utilize the shale gas. Other challenges such as poor local governance, lack of incentives for investors, and insufficient infrastructure must also be addressed.[45]
Pakistan [ edit ]
As of 2009, Pakistan stands 19th in the world in terms of total technically recoverable shale gas reserves. Pakistan has about 51 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of shale gas reserves. Pakistan consumes 100% of natural gas that it produces, so shale gas may be an area of future growth in Pakistan.[46]
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has estimated shale gas at 586 Tcf against its 2011 estimates of 52 Tcf for Pakistan.[47] More recent estimates as of November 2015, point to over 10,000 Tcf of Shale gas reserves, of which about 205 Tcf is technically recoverable as reported recently by Pakistan's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Exploratory drilling continues.
Europe [ edit ]
Potential shale gas basins in western Europe (US EIA, 2011)
While Europe has no shale gas production as yet, the success of shale gas in North America has prompted geologists in a number of European countries to examine the productive possibilities of their own organic-rich shales.[48][49][50][51]
Norwegian company Statoil is in a joint venture with Chesapeake Energy to produce Marcellus Formation shale gas in the eastern US, and has indicated interest in bringing knowledge gained in the US to European shale gas prospects. Russian giant Gazprom announced in October 2009 that it may buy a US shale-gas producing company to gain expertise which it could then apply to Russian shale gas prospects.[52] In the Barnett Shale in Texas, French oil firm Total SA entered a joint venture with Chesapeake Energy, and Italy's ENI purchased an interest in Quicksilver Resources.[citation needed]
A 2012 report from the European Commission states that, unlike the United States, "Shale gas production will not make Europe self-sufficient in natural gas. The best case scenario for shale gas development in Europe is one in which declining conventional production can be replaced and import dependence maintained at a level of around 60%."[53] There is a divergence of opinion among the Weimar Triangle countries with regard to shale gas development. France has introduced a ban, because of the risks connected to the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process, while Germany has suspended operations awaiting further environmental assessments.[54]
In November 2012, a divided European Parliament approved committee reports which recommended that policy on developing shale gas should be set by each member country for itself, rather than by the European Parliament.[55] This was done despite intense lobbying by the Russian gas exporter Gazprom for an EU-wide ban on hydraulic fracturing.[56] As of February 2013, five European countries had bans or moratoriums in place against hydraulic fracturing: France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria; Romania had recently lifted its moratorium.[57]
The flood of shale gas in North America is credited with lowering the price of natural gas in Europe. Producers of liquified natural gas (LNG), which in 2008 had been preparing to ship their product to the United States, had to find new markets, and so increased their exports to Europe. The increased competition from LNG, as well as the prospect of shale gas development, has given European governments leverage to negotiate price reductions from the Russian gas exporter Gazprom.[58][59]
European Union Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard noted in 2013 that shale gas could be a "game changer" in helping Europe reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as the US has done, by switching from coal to less carbon-intensive natural gas. She cautioned, however, that shale gas would not reduce the need for greater energy efficiency and renewable energy.[60]
Austria [ edit ]
Exploration is underway in Austria, where OMV is working on a promising basin near Vienna.[28]
Bulgaria [ edit ]
Hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking' is prohibited by moratorium despite the 30-million-euro contract signed with Chevron for the exploration of shale gas deposits in Novi Pazar.[61][62] The exploration plans faced public disaffection that elevated to nationwide protests which led to the decision of the government to ban shale gas exploration in Bulgaria.[63] Study of an additional five sites was planned.[64] The Bulgarian government suspended Chevron's license for shale gas prospecting on January 14, 2012.[65 |
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•He said that his proposal to allow companies to move resources and capital back to the U.S. from overseas at a lower tax rate could mean upwards of $30 billion to $40 billion a year in new overall revenues. The proposal, also called tax repatriation and co-sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., would transfer those new monies to restock the highway fund. But Paul said the idea faces opposition not only from Democrats but from fellow Republicans.
The issue is in the forefront because Congress faces a May 31 deadline for renewing the fund, although temporary fixes are also being sought.
“What you have to realize is that most of the stuff that we do as temporary is fake,” Paul said. “I am of the hope that the repatriation act will actually create even more revenues so we can do new projects.”
Paul said that with other Republicans opposing it for various reasons, including the desire to include it in a broader tax reform effort, he didn’t know the likelihood of it passing.
“But I will add it as an amendment and we will get a vote on it this spring,” said Paul.
•Several questions focused around the current state of health care and the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Paul said that without a Republican president, 60 Republican Senators and a Republican majority in the House, the likelihood of repealing the controversial law was highly unlikely. He also said that in addition to reforming the tax code, that the U.S. needed to lower tax rates, especially its corporate tax rate of 35 percent on average.
“Canada’s is only 15 percent, and it kind of embarrasses me to say that we are that far behind Canada in something like that,” Paul said.
•Still, some minority concerns came up. Cincinnati USA Hispanic Chamber board president Alfonso Cornejo asked about income inequality and immigration reform, and whether the immigration bill passed last year by the then-Democratic controlled Senate had any chance of finally passing both Houses.
Paul said no, but there were parts of the proposal that could possibly be passed in pieces.
“But if it is a all or nothing vote, there is no way it gets through the House and will not satisfy conservatives over there,” Paul said.
•Chikere Uchegbu, a manager of public policy for United Way of Cincinnati, also pressed Paul on why his Senate health, education and labor committee on didn’t appropriate more funding for early childhood education.
Paul agreed that early childhood education is important, but he said that Congress is always faced with the dilemma of how to choose.
“The first question I ask someone looking to spend more is where is it going to come from,” Paul said. “We have an $18 trillion debt that grows at a rate of $1 million a minute.”
Later Uchegbu said that he welcomed Paul’s efforts to include more minorities in the Republican Party, but also appeared wary.
“To the question of broadening the base of the Republican party, the more important question is to what end,” Uchegbu said. “Some of the things he has articulated he is for do appeal to a broader base of individuals. And if he shows that he is aligned with what those individuals want, I can see him getting that broad base of support.”
Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/1zzJDiIBuy/Sell/Trade here on PbNation at your own risk. We assume no responsibility for any part of any transaction. Never send money or product before a deal is agreed to by both sides and full contact information is exchanged and verified. Do not rely on PM's. If the other party is unwilling to share contact information, then don't deal with them. Please read more B/S/T tips here. If you feel that you could offer a better deal, then make a new thread in the correct forum with your ad. Never post your item in another user's thread and ruin their chances at selling their gear. Do not post negative comments about someone else's item for sale even about their price. No flaming at all. Please be polite to both the seller and potential buyers. If you dont like something being sold or the price the seller is asking, go to another thread and simply dont post in theirs. Sellers also have an obligation to be polite to users who post in the thread. If it is a scam or violates our rules, report the post and specify in detail what is improper. We recommend you always check for new and old PbN feedback as well as the Theft Report Forum before considering any deal here. If you have questions, please post them in the If you have questions, please post them in the Talk to Mods/Admins section. Please read and follow the complete Terms of Service and the complete B/S/T Rules as well. Most B/S/T questions are answered in the PbNation FAQI purchased the Tatuaje Lil’ Drac as a part of the 2012 Little Monsters ‘Orange box’ release. I hadn’t actually smoked any of them until October of 2013.
Nose:
After careful nosing the only thing I was able to identify was cedar.
Construction:
The Tatuaje Lil’ Drac comes in a torpedo vitola measuring 5” by 48 ring gauge. It is triple capped, and the wrapper is a dark black color with tooth present throughout.
Each of the Lil’ Monsters series represents a limited release cigar from a previous year in a smaller vitola. The Lil’ Drac is a smaller version of The Drac cigar released October of 2009.
The black and red band for the Lil’ Drac is placed in the typical band location, while the original Drac release had an upside down band located at the foot. The Orange Lil’ Monsters box was produced in a limited run of 10,000. Each box also included 2 of each of the Monster series cigars in smaller vitolas, along with a trading card representing one of the characters. Along with the 5 characters matching the cigars, there was another 2 printed that were limited edition.
Flavor:
First Third
Chocolate mixed with a dry woody flavor. What a ‘monstrously’ amazing start to this cigar. I star to pick up sweet raisins a few minutes in.
The draw is very clean on the palate with almost no lingering after taste.
About 10 minutes in I start to get a hint of nuts on the post draw.
Middle Third
The flavors didn’t transition for me moving into the middle third. It wasn’t until the middle of the Lil’ Drac that some pepper started coming through.
The flavors are still extremely balanced and I’m enjoying this cigar very much.
Last Third
As with the second third, the flavors did not evolve moving into the last third.
Burn/Draw:
I made a guillotine cut on this and it was definitely towards the open side of the draw. The cigar went out at the halfway mark, but I attribute that to the cold weather I was smoking in. Total smoke time was 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Value:
The Little Monsters series was only sold as the ‘Orange box’ back in 2012. It’s possible that if you searched carefully you could still find a box sitting in the back of a B&Ms humidor. At the time they were available, a box of 10 could be picked up for the bargain of $75. Considering it contained 2 of every Monster release, I would consider the pricing to be excellent value.
Final Word:
The Tatuaje Lil’ Drac exceeded all expectations I had. It is an unbelievably smooth and balanced cigar with very defined flavors. After writing up this review, I found myself searching out the original 2009 release to compare. Unfortunately I think I’m too late to the party here. Hopefully Tatuaje has a revival release of these at some point in the future.Turtles face climate change threat as warming beaches turn eggs female
Updated
Researchers investigating the impact of rising temperatures on sea turtles are travelling to some of the most remote beaches in Australia to work out which populations are at risk of being feminised into extinction.
In a phenomenon being seen worldwide, warming temperatures are resulting in an increasing number of turtle eggs hatching female.
The race is now on to work out which rookeries are most at risk in Australia, with a University of Western Australia (UWA) team focused on turtle breeding areas on the Kimberley coast.
"This is very fundamental research, and will give us insights fifty years ahead about whether sex ratios will change, where distributions might shift to, and what impact climate change is going to have," team leader Nicki Mitchell said.
The tipping point for sea turtles is usually something in between 29 and 30 degrees, although there's been some research that shows it may be a bit higher in the north of Australia. Blair Bentley, researcher
"I don't think turtle populations are at risk of becoming extinct any time soon, because they live for a very long time, potentially 120 years. So the change is going to be slow.
"But the point is, climate change is very rapid compared to what turtles have experienced in the past, so our groups are trying to understand how rapidly they adapt."
The tipping point for sex determination in turtles is thought to be just over 29 degrees Celsius. If the beach sand is any warmer the incubating eggs will hatch female, however if it is any cooler, the hatchlings will be male.
The problem is that beaches are heating up across much of the globe, and that could have big implications for turtle rookeries.
Researcher Blair Bentley said whole populations could be at risk.
"If it keeps getting warmer there are going to be more females being produced, and over time the males will keep dying at a greater rate than they are being replenished, so it's what's called demographic collapse," he said.
"There might still be males in the population, but there'll be far more females, and reproductive success will go down significantly."
Turtle eggs carefully dug from Kimberley island sand
Mr Bentley has travelled up dirt roads and across remote bays to collect eggs for the thermal biology research program.
His most recent trip was to the Lacepede Islands north of Broome, where the local Nyul Nyul rangers took him by boat to the turtle-breeding beaches.
There, in the sweltering January heat, they carefully dug into the white sand to scoop out the small, perfectly round eggs.
"We cool the eggs down to about seven degrees Celsius, which suspends development while maintaining their viability, and then we put them on a plane and fly them back to Perth," Mr Bentley said.
"Then at the laboratory we incubate them at constant temperatures to find out the switch point, at which they switch from male to females.
"The tipping point for sea turtles is usually something in between 29 and 30 degrees, although there's been some research that shows it may be a bit higher in the north of Australia, so that's what we're trying to understand."
Turtles could 'find their own way to adapt'
The key will be how adaptable the turtles prove to be.
Dr Mitchell said shade cloth was being erected at some turtle breeding beaches overseas, to stop the hatchlings dying of heat exposure and to try to keep the gender mix at a healthy equilibrium.
But she hoped that would not be necessary in Australia.
"We'd expect the turtles will find their own way to adapt, either genetically, or by changing when and where they breed," Dr Mitchell said.
"But we just need to know how quickly that can occur, and if there are management implications for where industry wants to develop in the future, could that overlap with where turtles are holding on?"
For example, the research has already made a surprising discovery - with the sand at one remote East Kimberley beach bucking the trend by turning gradually cooler.
The coast at Cape Domett could end up becoming something of a natural sanctuary for breeding turtles trying to escape the heat.
The project is part of a $30 million research program being undertaken by Parks and Wildlife and the WA Marine Science Institute in the Kimberley.
The results of the thermal biology project are due to be released by the end of the year.
Topics: reptiles, veterinary-medicine, environment, climate-change, broome-6725, perth-6000
First postedThe Ontario government plans to make the majority of the province's buildings emissions-free and slash the use of cars to just 20 per cent of commuter trips by 2050 as part of a dramatic plan to meet its climate-change goals.
To achieve these aims, the province will establish a "new ultra-low-carbon utility" – an agency with a sweeping mandate to change everything about how Ontarians use energy to reduce carbon emissions drastically.
These details are in a confidential draft of the province's Climate Change Action Plan obtained by The Globe and Mail. The strategy, which wants to put "a zero emission or hybrid electric vehicle in every multicar household driveway within eight years," is expected to be unveiled next month. It is meant to supplement a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions that takes effect next year.
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The draft plan promises to get at least 1.7 million electric and hybrid cars in use by 2024, take seven million gas-burning vehicles off the road by 2030, and ensure that by 2050, 80 per cent of residents use public transit, walk or cycle to work.
It would also cut emissions from buildings by 15 per cent by 2030 and ensure most buildings are emissions-free by 2050. This would be done by helping homeowners and businesses install solar panels or geothermal systems and undertake retrofits, and by changing the building code to require renovations and new construction to make buildings more energy-efficient.
It would buy offsets to make the Ontario government carbon-neutral next year. By 2030, the government will cut its own emissions by 50 per cent.
The plan would provide funding for industry to switch to cleaner factories, and for research into new low-carbon technologies.
To co-ordinate the electricity system, home-based power generation such as rooftop solar panels, low-carbon transportation and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems in buildings, a new utility would be established – effectively an agency to oversee a massive shift to low-emission homes, buildings and transportation options.
Environment Minister Glen Murray's spokesman, David Mullock, said the document obtained by the Globe is a preliminary draft circulated among industry to get feedback on the government's ideas.
"These discussion documents are very much draft in nature and do not reflect any final decisions regarding the Climate Change Action Plan. We will continue to consult on the Climate Change Action Plan to ensure that Ontario is successful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in meeting our reduction targets," he wrote in an email.
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"This looks like a fairly comprehensive approach," said Keith Brooks of Environmental Defence. He said the idea of having a single agency to help Ontarians retrofit their homes and oversee the transition to electric and hybrid vehicles is a good one; such things now are often handled piecemeal.
But Mr. Brooks cautioned the plan is short on details: "This looks like a precursor to an action plan."
The document is largely silent, for instance, on how the new utility would fit with existing electricity distribution, transmission and generation companies. It also does not say how much more emissions-free electricity generation – whether from nuclear plants, wind farms or solar projects – would be necessary.
The plan does not spell out how it would get Ontarians to switch to zero-emission or hybrid electric vehicles in eight years. Possibilities include giving drivers more rebates on electric cars or mandating that a certain percentage of auto makers' sales be electric or hybrid.
Either way, reaching that number will be hard. By The Globe's calculation, it would entail sales of 1.7 million hybrid or electric vehicles in the next eight years in Ontario or about 200,000 annually – compared with just 52,000 last year.
Whether it is possible to reach that goal "depends on what you're smoking," said one auto industry source who has been involved in discussions with several provinces regarding plans to increase the electric and hybrid vehicle fleets. About 8 per cent of the fleet is replaced annually, the source said, which means it takes about 20 years to turn over completely.
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"Manufacturers are not and will not make or sell that many cars for Canada by that date," said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association of Canada.
Such a move would also signal to manufacturers of large volumes of vehicles with internal combustion engines that the products they make in Ontario are not welcome in the province, Mr. Volpe said.
Transportation accounted for 35 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions in Ontario in 2013, the document says, pointing out that to meet the province's goals, all vehicles will need to be low- or zero-emission by 2050.
The report suggests the government will push for the trucking industry to switch to cleaner-burning natural gas. It also says the province will "promote complete communities" – planning jargon for encouraging cities and towns to stop sprawling and create dense developments where people live within walking distance of work.
Joe Vaccaro, chief executive officer of the Ontario Home Builders' Association, said his industry can meet the province's goals, but the government would have to make building code changes over a period of time so companies can adapt, and also make it easier to connect home solar panels and geothermal systems to the grid. He said some developers are already raising carbon-neutral buildings, with tight construction and strong insulation, and solar panels or geothermal systems producing electricity.
"The aspiration is great, as long as we're reasonable about how to achieve this," he said in an interview. "It's not in the realm of the impossible."
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Mr. Vaccaro also pointed out that new home construction makes up only one per cent of the total annually, meaning the province will achieve its most signficant emissions reductions by retrofitting existing buildings. Among other things, he said the province could require an energy-efficiency audit whenever a home is sold; this would encourage people to retrofit their homes to raise their value.
Premier Kathleen Wynne and Environment Minister Glen Murray have made climate change a central policy priority over the past year. The province aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, 37 per cent by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2050. Ontario currently sits about 6 per cent below, meaning it has a lot of work to do.
Cap-and-trade is expected to raise about $2-billion annually, and the government plans to use the proceeds to build new transit lines and set up other programs under the action plan.(from the Information Services Blog)
As of March 31, 2010, the use of student-owned wireless routers is strictly prohibited. If you own a wireless router you must immediately power it off and remove it from the network. This action is being taken after consultation with College Counsel in order to protect innocent students from incurring legal liability due to DMCA violations. There are no exceptions. All devices must be powered off immediately.
Owners of personal wireless routers can be held legally liable for DMCA violations that passed through their routers. If you own a wireless router it is in your best interest to immediately comply and switch to the new college wireless service. If you are (or may be) in violation of copyright law and have been using a hallmate’s wireless router to obtain or distribute this material you have put them at legal risk. You should inform them immediately of your activity, so that any notices that they receive can be properly directed.
Contact David Bertagni, Head of Networking and Telecommunications with questions.Several Members of Parliament have praised secularism in a debate on Bangladesh, and the NSS is calling on them to support secular principles in the UK as well.
Anne Main, a Conservative MP, espoused the virtues of secularism in a debate about the future of Bangladesh, despite voting "very strongly against" equal rights for gay people and "moderately against" equality and human rights legislation in the UK. The MP asked what the UK could do to "help the people of Bangladesh on their path to fulfilling their potential and delivering a future that upholds the ideals of peaceful secularism, prosperity and political engagement?"
She described a "vital struggle for secularism" and said, "we need Bangladesh to hold the line in an uncertain world and stand up for secularism and freedom of speech."
Main said that Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was "warmly welcomed" at a recent event for "reaffirming her Government's commitment to upholding secularism". Main added that critics of international aid would be'satisfied' if they knew the money was going to "support a country that is independent, secular and a bulwark against the fundamentalist Islamism."
Conservative MP Mark Field mentioned the "importance of maintaining [a] secular society" in Bangladesh.
Several Labour MPs too were strongly supportive of secularism in Bangladesh. Jim Fitzpatrick, an honorary associate of the NSS, referred to Bangladesh's "proud secular history" while Chris Matheson said he was'strongly supportive' of efforts to "introduce a civil society based on secularism".
Kerry McCarthy MP, another NSS honorary associate, spoke out on "grave concerns" about freedom of religion and speech. "The Government must protect the rights of religious minorities and atheists in Bangladesh, as well as the majority Muslim population," she said.
She also raised issues around abuse within arranged marriages as well as child marriage.
Hugo Swire, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said "I associate myself closely with the comments of my right hon. Friend [Mark Field] about the importance of a secular society."
The Minister added: "The recent horrifying and brutal murders of three bloggers in Bangladesh caused consternation around the world. The perpetrators must be brought to justice and the Bangladeshi Government must be unequivocal in protecting those who speak up."
An NSS spokesperson commented: "We are very pleased to see the Government seriously considering the violence targeted at non-believers around the world. We are also pleasantly surprised to see such a strong and explicit endorsement of the benefits of secularist principles from a Government Minister.
"As the struggle against Islamism which the Minister referred to is a global challenge, as the Prime Minister called it, we hope to see the secularist principles that Anne Main MP described as a 'bulwark' against religious extremism, and which the Minister endorsed, applied in the UK as well.
"While there are debates about what model of secularism is best, and how assertive it should be, it is gratifying to see secularist principles being defended so widely and with cross-party support."
The full debate can be read here.Apache Hadoop adoption is accelerating among enterprises and advanced computing environments as the project, related projects, and ecosystem continue to expand. While there were valid reasons to avoid the 1.x versions, skeptics are reconsidering since Hadoop 2 (particularly the latest 2.2.0 version) provides a viable choice for a wider range of users and uses.
“The Hadoop 1.x generation was not easy to deploy or easy to manage,” said Juergen Urbanski, former chief technologist of T-Systems, the IT consulting division of Deutsche Telecom. “The many moving parts that make up a Hadoop cluster were difficult for users to configure. Fortunately, Hadoop 2 fills in many of the gaps. Manageability is a key expectation, particularly for the more critical business use cases.”
Hadoop 2.2.0 adds the YARN resource-management framework to the core set of Hadoop modules, which include the Hadoop Common set of utilities, the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), and Hadoop MapReduce for parallel processing. Other improvements include enhancements to HDFS, binary compatibility for Map/Reduce applications built on Hadoop 1.x, and support for running Hadoop on Windows.
Meanwhile, Hadoop-related projects and commercial products are proliferating along with the ecosystem. Collectively, the new Hadoop capabilities provide a more palatable and workable solution, not only for enterprise developers, business analysts and IT, but also a larger community of data scientists.
“There are many technologies that are helping Hadoop realize its potential as being a more general-purpose platform for computing,” said Doug Cutting, co-creator of Hadoop. “We started out as a batch processing system. People used it to do computations on large data sets that they couldn’t do before, and they could do it affordably. Now there’s an ever-increasing amount of data processing that organizations can do using this one platform.”
YARN expands the possibilities
The limitations of Map/Reduce were the genesis of Apache Hadoop NextGen MapReduce (a.k.a. YARN), according to Arun Murthy, release manager for Hadoop 2.
“It was apparent as early as 2008 that Map/Reduce was going to become a limiting factor because it’s just one algorithm,” he said. “If you’re trying to do things like machine learning and modeling, Map/Reduce is not the right algorithm to do it.”
Rather than replacing Map/Reduce altogether, it was supplemented with YARN to provide things like resource management and fault tolerance as base primitives in the platform, while allowing end users to do different things as they process and track the data in different ways.Lorna Colbert CHARLESTON - Lorna Elizabeth Tuck Colbert, of Charleston, widow of Dr. James William Colbert, Jr. entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, June 12, 2013. She was born in Larchmont, NY on November 6, 1920, a daughter of Andrew Edward and Marie Elizabeth Fee Tuck. Lorna Colbert was an adored wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. In addition to being the matriarch of a family of 82, Lorna Colbert was an accomplished artist, a church leader, a businesswoman, a supporter of the arts and a woman whose profound faith was apparent in her daily life. She was predeceased by her husband, Dr. James William Colbert, Jr., her sons, William George Colbert, Sr., Paul Joseph Colbert and Peter Michael Colbert; her brother and sister, Andrew Edward Tuck, Jr. and Colleen Tuck Tibbitts. She is survived by her children: James William Colbert III, Edward Tuck Colbert, Mary Colbert Denger, Margaret Colbert Keegan, Thomas Francis Colbert, John Andrew Colbert, Elizabeth Colbert Busch and Stephen Tyrone Colbert and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her Mass of Christian Burial and Rite of Committal will be private. Her Guestbook may be signed at www.jamesamcalister.com In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to Medical University of South Carolina Foundation for the Dr. James W. Colbert Endowment Fund: MUSC Foundation, 18 Bee Street, MSC 450, Charleston, SC 29425, or www.musc.edu/giving. Arrangements by JAMES A. MCALISTER Funerals & Cremation 766-1365 Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charlestonGAZA (Reuters) - The Gaza Strip’s sole power station stopped generating electricity on Saturday, causing blackouts throughout the territory after it ran out of fuel, officials said.
The power plant is one of the main sources of electricity for Gaza’s 1.8 million people and without it, daily blackouts of around 12 hours are expected. Electricity is also received directly from Israel and Egypt.
Gaza lacks much basic civil infrastructure and lives under an Egyptian-Israeli blockade meant to cut off arms flows but which also curbs imports of fuel and building supplies.
A few months ago the plant was switched off for 43 days due to a fuel shortage that arose after neighboring Egypt closed off smuggling tunnels. Israel eventually allowed in fuel paid for by Qatar when a storm swept the region.
But that fuel has run out, said Ahmed Abu Al-Amrain, a spokesman Gaza’s energy authority.
The Gaza Strip is run by the Islamist group Hamas, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction and the two sides have no direct dealings.
Last time there were blackouts, Qatar gave funds to Hamas’s West Bank-based rival, President Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority, which then ordered fuel for the enclave from Israel.
Gaza’s energy authority said on March 12 that Qatar had agreed to extend its funding of fuel for three more months.
For the arrangement to work again, Israel would have to open its commercial crossing on the border with Gaza, which it closed after violence erupted along the frontier this week.
“The closure of the crossing by the Israeli occupation is an act of collective punishment,” Amrain said.8 Problems for the Bitcoin Community to Solve Before Block Size:
JeremyRubin Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jun 9, 2015
Recently the debate around block size has been getting a huge amount of attention, and it is easy to think this is the most important issue for scaling Bitcoin. For context, currently the Bitcoin network can process only a few transactions per second. A proposal suggests increasing this 20 fold. While Bitcoin should eventually be able to handle increased volume, there is much debate about how and when to make this increase. It’s certainly an important issue, but it’s not as pressing as other issues. Here’s a list of 8 problems that are more important to solve than block size, and why I think so. My hope is that this article will provide the Bitcoin community with fresh targets for discourse on issues which are not getting the attention they deserve.
1: Privacy
Privacy is fundamentally important for the freedoms of Bitcoin users. While a globally public ledger is useful for certain applications, broader privacy guarantees are critical for Bitcoin’s success as an empowering tool for both the developed and the developing world. Technology which is private-by-default with opt-in publishing is under development. This is more important than block size because, while it would be nice to support all of humanity’s transactional volume in Bitcoin, it is meaningless if that information can easily be stolen as we’ve seen with the numerous data breaches over the last few years or if that information can be weaponized against the population.
2: Testing & Simulation
Developing more robust and accessible methods for testing and simulating the Bitcoin protocol and extensions to it is paramount because it gives us assurances that the software is doing what we intend for it to do. We can talk all day about what we would like the protocol to do, but without rigorous testing and simulation we can’t be sure that it actually does what we want. This is more important than block size because many of the properties we like to talk about are incredibly hard to reason about. Good simulation would allow for more evidence of behaviors under game theoretic conditions, and testing would allow us to be sure that a desired change does what we like. An upsizing to 20mb is not even guaranteed to be 20mb if a bug prevents this size from actually being utilized.
3: Formalization
Formalization is a similar goal to testing, but in a more rigorous sense. Under formalization, code can be mathematically proven to be correct. Advancements in formalization technology today allows for code to be structured with mathematical proofs to be computer checked and extracted into executable programs. With formally proven code, the need for testing is drastically reduced as failure is essentially impossible. While it might be difficult to formalize all of Bitcoin, decomposing the code into a more modular form would allow for certain components, such as the script processing engine, to be proven. Formalization, while difficult, can reduce the friction in the development of patches as they can be authoritatively shown to not modify other functionality. While it may be premature to fully prove, refactoring the code base to be more amenable to such proofs is a vastly important goal as it will ensure a path forward for a more robust Bitcoin. These major restructuring changes will be much more difficult to accomplish in the future as more software is written and platforms built which expect Bitcoin to behave in a specific manner, which is why it is more important than block size.
4: Usability of Crypto
Bitcoin heavily relies on users properly managing their crypto; the basis of its guarantees is digital signatures. However, managing keys is basically unusable for the end user. As a result of this usability fault, Bitcoin has seen the rise of services which “own” the private keys of their customers. Some of these services seem benign, such as Circle or Coinbase, others are infamous for violating their user’s expectations such as Mt. Gox. Developing more friendly interfaces for key management is critical for Bitcoin because otherwise use of the network will be mediated by these companies and user freedom will be all but eliminated. Non-Bitcoin companies such as Facebook have recently made great strides by supporting PGP keys as a profile attribute. Bitcoin companies like BitGo make a nice middle ground, where valuable features and services are added without taking custody over a user’s assets. This is more important than block size because otherwise Bitcoin isn’t much more interesting than PayPal.
5: Developer Education & Resources
Bitcoin development is centralized to a select few with an immediately apparent lack of diversity. This is not through any fault of the community being inherently exclusionary, however access to the education necessary to be competent enough to meaningfully contribute is not widespread. Focusing on lowering the barriers to entry and getting more diverse participants is more important than block size because otherwise major design decisions will be made in a prescriptive sense rather than getting to the root of what would actually be best for society at large.
6: Systematization of Knowledge
There are a lot of amazing ideas floating around in Bitcoin. It’s largely what makes the community such an incredible place. The development of these ideas is ill documented and needs a better platform. Not only would more accessible and systematized knowledge go a long way in terms of providing better educational resources, whose need has already been established, but it would also help address a major existential threat to Bitcoin: patents. Recently, several patents have been filed in the cryptocurrency space which has greatly upset the community, and there has been some outlash at the organizations which are pursuing them. While I understand the sentiment, software patents are majorly flawed, there needs to be a better response than anger. What is needed is for the community to defensively patent the algorithms behind Bitcoin so that innovation will not be blocked by patent suits. The development of these patents would serve a dual purpose in also making high quality information more accessible. Without this process, large corporations would be able to lob suits against fledgling startups cutting them off from the market completely or otherwise draining their funds with legal fees.
7: Mining Decentralization
Bitcoin is touted as a fully decentralized protocol, and to an extent it is. One of the major points of centralization in Bitcoin is the mining process. Mining is the process by which new bitcoins are generated and the network is secured. In Bitcoin’s original conception, this was decentralized because the only way to mine was to have a computer and all computers were essentially equal. However, special purpose hardware was developed which is many orders of magnitude more efficient and more quick than general purpose computers. The supply chains to produce this hardware are limited, so mining is controlled by a much smaller group of individuals than is desirable. Furthermore, it is desirable for miners to pool their resources together to reduce the variance in the amount of reward they get. This is problematic because these miners or pool operators could be more easily censor behavior they, or their governments, dislike. It is also problematic because Bitcoin is a fixed supply asset, which means that mining (which is the only way to make “new bitcoin” supports the centralization of value and economic power (perhaps a fixed supply asset is not best for a decentralized economy). There is some work which provides very interesting solutions to this centralization conundrum such as Peter Todd’s Treechains proposal, which is explained nicely here. As I’ve written about previously, control over mining presents a significant centralization bottleneck which can severely limit the freedoms of users. Increasing the decentralization of Bitcoin mining is an important goal, and deserves to be addressed before Bitcoin sees significantly more adoption, otherwise it will entrench the small number of current players.
8: Fork Support Protocol
Forks are the process by which new features make there way into the Bitcoin protocol. There are two main classification of fork, a hard fork and a soft fork. The main difference is that a soft fork is backwards compatible whereas a hard fork is not. Soft forks are easier to roll out, but harder to implement. Currently, soft forks are the preferred way to roll out changes. However, it is still a very difficult process. There has been work done recently which proposes a robust way to perform soft forks. Even though soft forks are preferred, hard forking cannot be ignored. For instance, if a crucial security vulnerability is exposed such as a faulty signature algorithm it would be imperative to quickly fork as clients running the old code would be able to be fooled and Bitcoin could be stolen. It is important to understand that forking, soft or hard, is not so much a technical problem as it is a political problem. Forks which are favored by a minority of users will have a difficult time being adopted. Even if they add very desirable features, much of the task is in educating all users neutrally about what the pros and cons are of supporting such a fork. Putting some thought behind new mechanisms for understanding and managing forks is more important than the block size debate because the block size debate is a proof that the current process is subvertible.
These aren’t the only issues or problems worth looking at. I selected them because they are a real issues and take a higher precedence in my book than block size. The number of transactions that can be confirmed per second will, eventually, go up. What is being debated is how, and when these changes take place. There are many important factors to take into consideration. But if we, as a community, can’t agree on increasing the block size right now, let’s cut out the circular debates and focus our energy on fixing these higher precedence issues before making moves to push global adoption.Last Thursday at the Mercer Island Community Center, Sound Transit held a Listening Tour to give residents a chance to comment on just about anything related to the East Link project. The open-mic night was well attended with an estimated 200 residents, from which 35 speakers were allotted 3 minutes each to speak. The meeting was attended by many Sound Transit staff, Bellevue Mayor (and County Council candidate) Claudia Balducci, WSDOT Secretary Lynn Peterson, and many Mercer Island council and mayoral candidates.
The tone of the conversation was one of polite exasperation, seasoned with occasional bursts of anger or bewilderment. Many commenters came prepared with talking points loosely organized around a list of special accommodations for Mercer Island residents proposed by the Vision Mercer Island group, namely:
Permanent SOV access to HOV lanes
Permanent exemption from I-90 tolling
Resident-only parking at the Link Station
Complete abandonment bus transfers on Mercer Island
Dedicated and guaranteed seats for Islanders on Metro and Sound Transit buses
Each of these 5 privileges would be completely unique to Mercer Island. Despite this, if you followed the #listen2mercer hashtag you saw that speakers overwhelmingly felt that this was the |
2. QED.
The set of integers of the form pp - 1 forms a subsequence of the refactorable numbers:
A more interesting way to prove Theorem 1 is to take the integers in numerical order, find their prime factorizations and apply the map:
3 = 31 becomes 331-1 = 9
6 = 2131 becomes 221-1331-1 = 18
It is easy to see that the integers produced from this map must all be refactorable numbers, as they have p 1 m 1... p k m k divisors, and for any prime p and any integer m we have m <= pm-1, so the number of divisors divides the integer itself. The result of the transformation on a even number is another even number, and the result on an odd number is another odd number. It follows that there are infinitely many even and odd refactorable numbers.
This mapping of the integers onto the refactorables produces another interesting sequence:
2.1 Membership Theorems
Since primes have two divisors, 2 is the only prime refactorable number.
Theorem 2. All odd refactorable numbers are squares.
Proof. Suppose n is as in Lemma 1, and is odd and refactorable. Since each m i + 1 must divide n, each m i is even, so n is a square. QED.
Theorem 2 makes it easy to search for odd refactorable numbers, which form this subsequence:
Theorem 3. No perfect number is refactorable.
Proof.
(a) Even perfect numbers. Using Theorem 277 from [4], we know that if k is an even perfect number, it has the form 2n-1(2n-1), where 2n-1 is a prime, p, and using Theorem 18 from [4], we know that if 2n-1 is prime, then so is n. Using Lemma 1, we know that k = 2n-1p must have ((n-1)+1)(1+1) = 2n divisors. If 2n divides k then either n = 2 or n = p (as n is a prime). If n = 2 then the perfect number is 6, which is not refactorable. If n = p then n = 2n-1, which is impossible for a prime n.
(b) Odd perfect numbers. No odd perfect numbers are known. If one were to exist, say q, with divisors d 1 <... < d k = q, then each d i must be odd, and by definition, d 1 +... + d k-1 = q. The sum of an even number of odd integers is even, so, as q is odd, we know that k-1 must be odd, so q has an even number of divisors. Therefore q cannot be refactorable as it is odd and cannot be divisible by an even number. QED.
2.2 Pairs and Triples of Refactorable Numbers
Theorem 4. If (a-1, a, a+1) is a triple of refactorable numbers, then a must be of the form:
for some integer n.
Proof. As odd refactorable numbers are square, and as no two square numbers differ by 2, a must be odd and a square, say b2. An instance of the Fermat-Euler theorem (Theorem 72 from [4]) states that b2 = 1 (mod 4), so b2 + 1 = 2 (mod 4). Therefore a + 1 is not divisible by 4 and so must have prime factorization a + 1 = 2 p 1 m 1... p k m k, where the p i's are distinct odd primes. This means that τ(a+1) = 2(m 1 +1)...(m k +1) and that each m i +1 must be odd as a+1 is refactorable. So each m i must be even and therefore a+1 is twice an odd square number. Therefore we can write a+1 = 2c2, so b2 + 1 = 2c2. This means that (b,c) must be a solution of the Diophantine equation x2 - 2y2 = -1. Theorem 244 of [4] states that the positive integer solutions to this equation are given by
for integers n. Expanding the coefficient of x on the right-hand side, we get:
and so a is as in the statement of the theorem. QED.
These numbers quickly become large. For example, if we take n = 10, then a = 2982076586042449. By considering n <= 35, it is easy to show that there are no triples between 1 and 1053, and it would not be difficult to take this number further.
Conjecture 1. There are no triples of refactorable numbers.
There are, however, pairs of refactorable numbers, although these are fairly rare. The only pairs of refactorable numbers between 1 and 1,000,000 are:
It is easy to see that if (a, a+1) is a pair of refactorable numbers, and a is even, then a is a multiple of four (from the Fermat-Euler theorem as in the proof of Theorem 4).
If two refactorables are relatively prime, their product is also refactorable. So the products of pairs of consecutive refactorables produces another (possibly finite) sequence of refactorables:
Conjecture 2. There are infinitely many pairs of refactorable numbers.
2.3 Distribution
We cannot yet give an accurate measure for the number of refactorables less than a given n, but we can say how many there are with a given number of divisors:
Theorem 5. The number of refactorable numbers with n divisors is:
1, if n = 1 or 4.
k!, if n is the product of k distinct primes (ie. it is square-free:[A005117]).
infinite, otherwise.
Proof. Clearly, 1 is the only refactorable number with one divisor. If an integer s has four divisors, then it must be of the form p3 or pq for distinct primes p, q. Taking the first case, if it is to be refactorable, then p = 2 and the refactorable number is 8. There are no refactorables of the form pq because 4 cannot divide the product of two distinct primes.
If n is the product of k distinct primes, n = p 1... p k, then any integer s with n divisors must be of the form s = a 1 p 1 - 1... a k p k - 1 for distinct primes a 1,..., a k. If it is to be refactorable, then n must divide s, so {a 1,..., a k } = {p 1,..., p k } and there are k! ways to choose the a i's from the p i's, hence k! possibilities for s.
Suppose now that n is not square-free, and n = p 1 m 1... p k m k. Firstly, if k = 1, then n = pm and m > 1. Then for any prime q which is not p, the integer s = qp - 1ppm - 1 - 1 has n divisors. Further, s is refactorable unless
pm - 1 - 1 < m <=> p = m = 2 <=> n = 4,
and we have already dealt with the case where n = 4. Secondly, if k > 1, with say m i > 1, for any prime q not in {p 1,..., p k }, the integer
has n divisors. Now s is also refactorable unless, as above, p i = m i = 2. If there is an i > 2 for which m i > 1, then choosing this i in the construction above works. This leaves only the case where n = 22 p 2... p k. In this case, for any prime q not in {p 1,..., p k }, the integer
has 2p 2 2p 3... p k = n divisors, and is refactorable because p 2 > 2 implies p 2 - 1 >= 2. QED.
Theorem 5 tells us, for instance, that there are precisely two refactorable numbers with 6 divisors, namely 12 and 18, and precisely 6 refactorable numbers with 30 divisors, namely 213254, 213452, 223154, 223451, 243152 and 243251.
Also, for a given non-square-free integer n = p 1 m 1... p k m k, if we can write:
n = (m 1 +t 1 )... (m k +t k ) a 1... a j
for j > 0, and some t i > 0, a i > 1, then for any set of primes, {q 1,..., q j }, none of which are in {p 1,..., p k }, the number:
will have n divisors and be refactorable.
So, for instance, because 36 = 22 32,
36 = (2+1)(2+1)4 implies 36p3 has 36 divisors and is refactorable (for any prime p > 3).
36 = (2+1)(2+1)2*2 implies 36pq has 36 divisors and is refactorable (for any primes p, q > 3).
36 = (2+1)(2+2)3 implies 108p2 has 36 divisors and is refactorable (for any prime p > 3).
36 = (2+2)(2+1)3 implies 72p2 has 36 divisors and is refactorable (for any prime p > 3).
36 = (2+1)(2+4)2 implies 972p has 36 divisors and is refactorable (for any prime p > 3).
36 = (2+4)(2+1)2 implies 288p has 36 divisors and is refactorable (for any prime p > 3).
Note that the first such formula comes from the first non-square-free integer greater than 4, namely 8, and we find that 8p is refactorable with 8 divisors, for any prime p > 2.
To end the discussion on refactorable numbers, we give a table of the distribution of (i) refactorable numbers, (ii) odd refactorable numbers, (iii) even refactorable numbers, (iv) pairs of refactorable numbers, and we compare these with the distribution of the primes and pairs of primes.
n at most primes refactorables odd refactorables even refactorables prime pairs refactorable pairs 10 4 4 2 2 2 2 102 25 16 2 14 8 2 103 168 92 5 87 35 2 104 1229 665 15 650 205 3 105 9592 5257 34 5223 1224 5 106 78498 44705 87 44618 8169 13 107 664579 394240 237 394003 58980 27 108 5761455? 650? 440312 75 109 50847534? 1813? 3424506 187 1010 455052511? 5152? 27412679 468 1011 4118054813? 14889? 224376048 1219
Table 1: Distribution of refactorable numbers, odd and even refactorables and pairs of refactorables, compared with distribution of primes and prime pairs.
We used UBASIC and GAP to compile this table. Based on this empirical evidence, it appears that the number of refactorables is always at least half the number of primes. Using the prime number theorem, (Theorem 6 of [4]), we can conjecture that the number of refactorables less than x is at least x/(2 log(x)).
3. HR - Automatic Concept Formation
The research of the author includes understanding and automating the processes at work when mathematicians invent new concepts, specifically in finite group theory. This has culminated in the HR system, named after Hardy and Ramanujan, to emphasize both a theory-driven and a data-driven approach to concept formation. HR starts with only the axioms of group theory and ends with definitions and models of concepts it has derived, such Abelian groups, cyclic groups, orders of elements and so on. It does this by:
Finding models of groups using the MACE model finder, [5]. Storing data from the group tables which details the core concepts in group theory, namely the group operation, the identity element and the inverses of elements. Manipulating this data in one of eight ways to produce a new data-table from one (or two) old ones. Assigning definitions to each new data-table using the information about how they were constructed.
Most of the concepts HR invents are calculations which can be made directly from the group table of a finite group. However, it also makes sequences of groups, for instance, the sequence formed by taking the subgroup generated by the center of the previous group (which produces sequences of length two only). The sequences produced were mostly disappointing. For this reason, we looked towards number theory to see if it was possible to find more interesting sequences using HR's limited set of production rules.
3.1 HR Working in Number Theory
In number theory, HR generated three initial tables for the integers up to 100:
The set of triples [a, b, c] for which a = b * c.
The set of triples [a, b, c] for which a = b + c.
The set of pairs [a, b] for which b is a digit in the decimal expansion of a.
By taking the sequence of integers with a given property, e.g. the prime numbers. By taking the output of some function on successive integers, e.g. the τ function. By finding those integers which, for some function, output an integer larger than any output for a smaller integer, i.e. those integers which set a record, such as the highly composite numbers.
The first time HR was tried in number theory, it invented the refactorable numbers. When we first saw this sequence, we did not know how it was found, but it looked interesting - it had a mix of odd and even numbers, sufficiently many terms between one and a hundred, and no obvious pattern. Therefore we looked it up in the Online Encyclopedia, and were surprised to find that it was not listed. Only then did we look at the output from HR to see its definition (expecting an unintuitive, complicated explanation), and were then even more surprised that this sequence was missing from the Encyclopedia.
We must point out that HR did only the easy part - it invented the concept - we have done all the rest of the above work. However, HR does make conjectures about refactorables. For example, it made the following conjecture, which we thought was true until a very large counterexample was found:
Conjecture. Given a refactorable number n, let
f(n) = |{(a,b) in N × N : ab = n, a =\= b}|.
Proof of [==>] Suppose n is refactorable, that f(n) does not divide n and that n is not a square. Then f(n) is equal to the number of divisors of n, and so must divide n, a contradiction.
Disproof of [<==] 36360900, 79388100 and 155600676 are the first three square refactorable number which are divisible by f(n).
Since HR only knew the factorizations of the integers up to 100, the conjecture was not implausible.
Note that there can be no odd refactorable numbers n for which f(n) divides n, because if n is odd and refactorable, it must be a square, and if so, f(n) is one less than the number of divisors of n, so, as n is refactorable, f(n) + 1 must divide n, and as n is odd, we cannot have both f(n) and f(n) + 1 dividing n, as one of these must be even.
We note that HR has in effect discovered the concept of square numbers, for which both τ(n) and τ(n)-1 divide n.
The odd or even square refactorable numbers are:
3.2 Recent Developments
3.2.1 Data Mining Using the Encyclopedia
Having down-loaded a copy of the Online Encyclopedia, we have enabled HR to check each sequence it makes against the database and flag those which it has reinvented. After tidying up the data, we were also able to write an add-on program enabling HR to perform some data mining with the encyclopedia. We are still implementing, experimenting and collating results, but it seems that it is certainly possible to find previously unknown results using data mining. For example, we asked HR to identify any sequences for which the refactorables are a subsequence. It first found [A009230], in which the nth term is lcm(n, d(n)), which was not too surprising since for every refactorable number r, lcm(r, τ(r)) = r.
Next, HR spotted that the refactorables are a subsequence of [A047466], the integers congruent to 0, 1, 2 or 4 (mod 8). This was an unknown result, which we subsequently proved:
Theorem 6. Refactorable numbers are congruent to 0, 1, 2 or 4 (mod 8).
Proof. Odd refactorables are squares, and therefore congruent to 1 modulo 8. If a refactorable number were congruent to 6 mod 8 then it would be of the form 2(4n+3), and by Lemma 2, 4n+3 would also be refactorable, a contradiction. QED.
This gives us another insight into triples of refactorables:
Corollary. If (a-1, a, a+1) is a triple of refactorable numbers, then a = b2 for some odd number b and b2 = 16c + 1 for some c.
Proof. By Theorem 6, odd refactorables are congruent to 1 (mod 8), hence a+1 = 8n + 2 = 2(4n + 1) for some n. Therefore, as a + 1 is refactorable and 4n + 1 is odd, we see by Lemma 2 that 4n + 1 is an odd refactorable number. Hence, by Theorem 6 again, 4n + 1 = 8c+1, so a + 1 = 2(8c+1) and we see that a = 16c+1. As a is an odd refactorable, by Theorem 2 we can write a = b2 for some b, and a = b2 = 16c+1. QED.
Another data mining investigation using the encyclopedia, this time to find super-sequences of the perfect numbers ["even" being understood here], showed that perfect numbers are a subsequence of [A009242], with nth term equal to lcm(n, σ(n)). Therefore HR had spotted that, for all (even) perfect numbers p, there is an n such that lcm(n, σ(n)) = p. In the same session, HR also spotted that the even perfect numbers are a subsequence of [A007517], in which the nth term is φ(n)(σ(n)-n). We have subsequently proved both of these results:
Theorem 7. For any even perfect number p, there is an integer a for which lcm(a, σ(a)) = p, and an integer b for which φ(b)(σ(b)-b) = p.
Proof. From Theorem 277 of [4], we note that p = 2n - 1 (2n-1) for some n, where 2n-1 is a prime. If we take a = 2n-1 then
σ(a) = 1 + 2 +... + 2n-1 = 2n - 1
φ(b) = b/2 = 2n-1
φ(b)(σ(b) - b) = 2n-1 (2n + 1 - 1 - 2n) = 2n - 1 (2n - 1) = p.
QED
So HR has highlighted the following appealing parallel between the refactorable numbers and the even perfect numbers:
Refactorable numbers are of the form lcm(a, τ(a)) for some a.
Perfect numbers are of the form lcm(a, σ(a)) for some a.
Refactorable numbers are those n for which lcm(n, τ(n)) = n,
Perfect numbers are those n for which lcm(n, σ(n)) = 2n.
3.2.2 A Mathematical Cycle
Invents definitions
Spots conjectures involving those definitions
Proves some of the conjectures using OTTER
Finds counterexamples to some of the conjectures that OTTER fails to prove
[2] gives a more detailed description of the HR system, and the following web page is devoted to HR:
4. Other Sequences
4.1 Re-Invented Sequences
After a preliminary examination, we can claim that HR reinvented the following sequences:
Sequences resulting from factorization:
the square numbers [A000290].
the non-squares [A000037].
the prime numbers [A000040].
the squares of primes [A001248].
the primes and squares of primes [A000430].
1 and the odd primes [A006005].
0 if prime, 1 otherwise [A005171].
the composite numbers [A002808].
the highly composite numbers [A002182].
τ(n), the number of divisors of n [A000005].
the number of proper divisors [A032741].
integers with 4 [A030513], 5 [A030514], etc. divisors.
integer square roots or zero [A037213].
writing out the divisors [A027750].
writing out the proper divisors [A027751].
the squarefree integers. [A005117].
the powers of 2 [A000079].
integers with at most 2 prime factors [A037143].
integers not divisible by 3 [A001651].
Sequences resulting from addition:
the even numbers [A005843].
the odd numbers [A005408].
writing out the numbers less than n [A005408].
1 together with the even numbers [A004277].
2 together with the odd numbers [A004280].
2,4 and the odd numbers [A004281].
Sequences resulting from examination of digits:
the repunits [A000042].
integers with only 2's as digits [A002276].
integers with a 1 [A011531], 2 [A011532], 3 [A011533], etc. as a digit.
the repdigits [A010785].
integers divisible by each non-zero digit [A002796].
each digit is prime [A046034].
the numbers with two distinct digits [A031955].
the number of distinct digits in n [A043537].
number with distinct digits [A010784].
numbers divisible by every digit [A034838].
no base 2 digit is a base 10 digit [A037344].
the natural numbers in base 3 [A007089].
More interesting than the fact that HR reinvented these sequences are the ways in which HR defines them. For example, even numbers are defined as integers n for which there is a natural number m such that m + m = n. The natural numbers in base 3 were defined as integers in base 10 which have no digits which can be written as a + b where a > 0, b > 0 and a =/= b. Powers of two were defined as those integers with no odd divisors.
HR invented many other sequences which were not found in the encyclopedia. Most did not seem of any great interest. However, we deemed the following seven of sufficient interest to be submitted to the encyclopedia.
1, 2, 14, 23, 29, 34, 46, 63, 68, 74, 76, 78, 88, 94,... [A036433],
the number of divisors is a digit in the decimal expansion of n. This sequence contains all primes with a 2 in them, and those primes starting with a 2, [A045708]. 1, 4, 9, 11, 14, 19, 41, 44, 49, 91, 94, 99,... [A036435],
those integers where all the digits are nonzero squares. 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 2, 0, 1, 1, 0, 2, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0,... [A036431],
f(n) = |{a < n : a + τ(a) = n}|. 1, 3, 6, 8, 11, 16, 17, 20, 22, 23, 27, 29,... [A036434],
integers which cannot be written as a + τ(a) for some a (i.e. those n for which f(n) = 0). 1, 2, 7, 38, 122, 2766, 64686,... [A036432],
integers that set a record for f(n). 1, 4, 6, 10, 12, 14, 22, 24, 26, 27,... [A036438],
integers which can be written as m * τ(m) for some m (which of course include twice the primes, [A001747]). 1, 6, 8, 10, 14, 15, 22, 26, 27,... [A036436],
integers for which τ(n) is a square. This sequence contains the multiplicatively perfect numbers [A007422], n such that the product of the divisors of n equals n2.
HR has also found some interesting finite sequences of integers. For example, HR invented those integers which have more distinct digits than any smaller number
1, 10, 102, 1023, 10234, 102345, 1023456, 10234567, 102345678, 1023456789 [A038378].
5. Conclusions
Also, we have shown that HR is capable of producing interesting concepts. Automated concept formation programs have some advantages over humans, in that they have no pride (are not ashamed to look at concepts with simple descriptions) and are very thorough. The use of computers with integer sequences has also been explored in [7], where the Seek-Whence program was used to identify definitions of integer sequences. Indeed, the Superseeker server for the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences does a certain amount of concept formation in attempting to find a match between a given sequence and one in the database. A similar program to HR is Graffiti, [3], which makes conjectures in graph theory. Another program, [1], automatically invents theorems in plane geometry.
Machine discovery in mathematics and in science in general is a productive and interesting area which is gaining recognition and attention. HR and refactorable numbers were themselves recently mentioned in the popular press, [8], which reflects the interest that machine discovery is attracting. As more work is done in this area, we hope to make discovery programs as much a part of the mathematician's tool box as computer algebra packages.
6. Acknowledgements
7. References
[2] Bundy, A., Colton, S. and Walsh, T.: HR - Automated concept formation in finite algebras, in Proceedings of the Machine Discovery Workshop, ECAI 98, Brighton. Also Research Report RP920, Division of Informatics, University of Edinburgh.
[3] Fajtlowicz, S.: On conjectures of Graffiti: Discrete Mathematics, Vol. 72, pages 113-118, 1988. (See also Fajtlowicz, S.: On conjectures of Graffiti V. In Proceedings of the 7th International Quadrennial Conference on Graph Theory, Combinatorics and Applications, Vol. 1, pages 367-376, 1995.)
[4] Hardy, G. H. and Wright, E. M.: The Theory of Numbers, Oxford Univ. Press, 1965.
[5] McCune, W.: A Davis-Putnam program and its application to finite first order model search: Quasigroup existence problems. Technical Report ANL/MCS-TM-194, Argonne National Laboratory, 1994.
[6] McCune, W.: The Otter User's Guide. Technical Report ANL/90/9, Argonne National Laboratory, 1994.
[7] Meredith, M. J.: Seek-Whence: A Model of Pattern Perception, Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Computer Science, Indiana University, 1987.
[8] New Scientist, 5th Sept. 1998, p. 17, para. 3.
[9] Sloane, N. J. A.: The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences, published electronically at http://oeis.org.
8. Addenda, April 19, 1999
In this paper we tried to make two points: (i) that the HR program we have implemented can invent new and interesting concepts in number theory and (ii) that one concept output by HR, namely the refactorable numbers, had many interesting properties. Because refactorables and associated sequences were missing from the Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences, [9], and after a preliminary search of the relevant literature, we concluded that the refactorable numbers were a genuinely new invention.
However, on 23rd March 1999, we received notification from Robert Kennedy and Curtis Cooper, of Central Missouri State University, that they had read the above paper and that the concept of refactorables had been defined already as `τ numbers' in a 1990 paper, [10], which proved that the natural density of the τ numbers is zero.
This news detracts from our original paper in only one way, namely that the title is inaccurate, refactorables were a machine re-invention. Indeed, the news that they have been developed so recently adds both to the point that HR can invent and re-invent concepts of interest and, of course, to the point that refactorables are interesting.
To add to the argument that HR produces interesting, novel concepts in number theory, we present the following very simple function defined by HR recently:
f(n) = |{(a,b) : a * b = n and a | b}|.
This has been added to the encyclopedia:
This was interesting because of its similarity to the τ function, [A000005]: (τ(n) = number of divisors of n). HR went on to define the integer sequence of numbers which set a record for f (ie. those integers, a, for which for all b, 0 < b < a, f(a) > f(b)):
It was easy to spot that these are all square numbers, but a little investigating revealed the following result:
Theorem 1. The nth integer setting the record for f as above is the square of the nth highly composite number [A002182] (the highly composite numbers have more divisors than any smaller integer).
To prove this, we need the following lemma:
Lemma 1. f(n) = τ(square root of the largest square dividing n). Note that the square root of the largest square dividing n, which we write as s(n), is integer sequence [A000188].
Proof of Lemma 1.
Writing n=p 1 k 1...p m k m, the largest square dividing n is p 1 2[k 1 /2]...p m 2[k m /2], the square root of which is: p 1 [k 1 /2]...p m [k m /2], where [z] denotes the integer part of fraction z. The pairs of integers dividing n are of the form:
(a,b) = (p 1 x 1...p m x m, p 1 k 1 - x 1...p m k m - x m )
and a|b if for all i, x i =< k i - x i, ie. x i =< k i /2. Therefore, each x i can be 0,1,2,...,[k i /2], and:
f(n) = ([k 1 /2] + 1)([k 2 /2] + 1)...([k m /2] + 1) = τ(p 1 [k 1 /2]...p m [k 1 /2]) = τ(s(n)),
using Theorem 273 from [4]. QED
Proof of Theorem 1.
Suppose that a sets a record for f. Therefore, f(a) > f(1), f(a) > f(2),..., f(a) > f(a-1), and by lemma 1, this means that τ(s(a)) > τ(s(1)), τ(s(a)) > τ(s(2)),..., τ(s(a)) > τ(s(a-1)). Suppose now that c2 is the largest square less than or equal to a. Then we see that:
τ(s(a)) > τ(s(1)) = τ(1)
τ(s(a)) > τ(s(4)) = τ(2)
..
τ(s(a)) > τ(s((c-1)2)) = τ(c-1)
If a > c2, the largest square dividing a will be less than c2 and s(a) < c. But then, s(a) = c - k for some k, and τ(s(a)) = τ(c-k), which is a contradiction. Hence a = c2, s(a) = c, and τ(c) > τ(c - i) for all i < c, which makes c a highly composite number, and a the square of a highly composite number.
Suppose now that b is a highly composite number, and a=b2. Therefore, s(a) = b, and, as b is highly composite, if, for some k, τ(s(a-k)) > τ(s(a)), then s(a-k) > s(a) = b, which is impossible. Hence, for all k < a, τ(s(a)) > τ(s(a - k)), and by lemma 1, f(a) > f(a - k), thus a sets a record for f. QED
Coincidentally, the previous time there was a similar confusion over a machine invented concept, Douglas Lenat, who wrote the AM program, [11], thought for a while that what he called maximally divisible numbers were a machine invention. These turned out to be the highly composite numbers we've discussed here, which were originally developed by Ramanujan, [12].
This time, we will only claim that it is possible that the function f above was invented by HR, and that it is possible that, while the concept of the squares of highly composite numbers may have been looked at before, HR may have been the first to define them as setting the record for f. It was fortunate that τ numbers had not been added to the encyclopedia, because we may have decided not to develop them. However, the story of refactorable/τ numbers emphasises the need for databases of mathematical knowledge such as the Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences, [9], which can be used by people and computers alike to check the novelty of inventions.
Additional referencess
[10] Kennedy, R.E and Cooper, C.N.: Tau Numbers, Natural Density, and Hardy and Wright's Theorem 437, Internat. J. Math. Math. Sci. 13 (1990), no. 2, 383-386.
[11] Lenat, D.B.: An Artificial Intelligence Approach to Discovery in Mathematics, PhD thesis, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University.Published: 15:02 EST, 24 September 2016 | Updated: 15:04 EST, 24 September 2016
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Springsteen made his comments during an appearance on Skavlan Talkshow in Sweden
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'The absurdity is beyond cartoon-like,' he said.
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'I don't think he's going to win, but even him running is a great embarrassment if you are an American.'
Speaking to a music magazine in London, Jon Bon Jovi said the prospect of a Trump presidency'scares the |
separate the different districts. Versatility in federal structures was emphasized, to create a sense of authority and absolute power. Architectural elements such as high towers, pillar gates, terraces, and high buildings amply conveyed this.[33]
Philosophy and literature [ edit ]
海内皆臣，歲登成熟，道毋飢人 ". Stone slab with twelve small seal characters. Qin Dynasty (221 – 207 BC). The 12 characters on this slab of floor brick affirm that it is an auspicious moment for the First Emperor to ascend the throne, as the country is united and no men will be dying along the road. Small seal scripts were standardized by the First Emperor of China after he gained control of the country, and evolved from the larger seal scripts of previous dynasties. The text on it is "".
The written language of the Qin was logographic, as that of the Zhou had been.[34] As one of his most influential achievements in life, prime minister Li Si standardized the writing system to be of uniform size and shape across the whole country. This would have a unifying effect on the Chinese culture for thousands of years. He is also credited with creating the "lesser-seal" (Chinese: 小篆,; pinyin: xiǎozhuàn) style of calligraphy, which serves as a basis for modern Chinese and is still used in cards, posters, and advertising.[35]
During the Warring States period, the Hundred Schools of Thought comprised many different philosophies proposed by Chinese scholars. In 221 BC, however, the First Emperor conquered all of the states and governed with a single philosophy, Legalism. At least one school of thought, Mohism, was eradicated, though the reason is not known. Despite the Qin's state ideology and Mohism being similar in certain regards, it is possible that Mohists were sought and killed by the state's armies due to paramilitary activities.[36]
Confucius's school of thought, called Confucianism, was also influential during the Warring States period, as well as throughout much of the later Zhou dynasty and early imperial periods.[note 10] This school of thought had a so-called Confucian canon of literature, known as the "six classics": the Odes, Documents, Ritual, Music, Spring and Autumn Annals, and Changes, which embodied Chinese literature at the time.[37]
During the Qin dynasty, Confucianism—along with all other non-Legalist philosophies, such as Daoism—were suppressed by the First Emperor; early Han dynasty emperors did the same. Legalism denounced the feudal system and encouraged severe punishments, particularly when the emperor was disobeyed. Individuals' rights were devalued when they conflicted with the government's or the ruler's wishes, and merchants and scholars were considered unproductive, fit for elimination.[38]
One of the more drastic allegations, however the infamous burning of books and burying of scholars incident, does not appear to be true, as it was not mentioned until many years later.[39] The Han dynasty historian, Sima Qian wrote that First Emperor, in an attempt to consolidate power, in 213 BC ordered the burning of all books advocating viewpoints that challenged Legalism or the state, and also stipulated that all scholars who refused to submit their books to be burned would be executed by premature burial.[22] Only texts considered productive were to be preserved, mostly those that discussed pragmatic subjects, such as agriculture, divination, and medicine.[40] However, Sinologists now argue that the "burying of scholars" is not literally true, as the term probably meant simply "put to death".
Government and military [ edit ]
The Qin government was highly bureaucratic, and was administered by a hierarchy of officials, all serving the First Emperor. The Qin put into practice the teachings of Han Feizi, allowing the First Emperor to control all of his territories, including those recently conquered. All aspects of life were standardized, from measurements and language to more practical details, such as the length of chariot axles.[21]
The states made by the emperor were assigned to officials dedicated to the task rather than place the burden on people from the royal family. Zheng and his advisers also introduced new laws and practices that ended feudalism in China, replacing it with a centralized, bureaucratic government. The form of government created by the first emperor and his advisors was used by later dynasties to structure their own government.[20] Under this system, both the military and government thrived, as talented individuals could be more easily identified in the transformed society. Later Chinese dynasties emulated the Qin government for its efficiency, despite its being condemned by Confucian philosophy.[21][42] There were incidences of abuse, however, with one example having been recorded in the "Records of Officialdom". A commander named Hu ordered his men to attack peasants in an attempt to increase the number of "bandits" he had killed; his superiors, likely eager to inflate their records as well, allowed this.[43]
Terracotta Army General (Left), Mid-rank officer of the terracotta army in Xi'an (Right)
Qin Shi Huang also improved the strong military, despite the fact that it had already undergone extensive reforms.[44] The military used the most advanced weaponry of the time. The invention of the sword during the Warring States period was a great advance. It was first used mostly in bronze form, but by the third century BC, the Qin were using stronger iron swords. The demand for this metal resulted in improved bellows. The crossbow had been introduced in the fifth century BC and was more powerful and accurate than the composite bows used earlier. It could also be rendered ineffective by removing two pins, which prevented enemies from capturing a working crossbow.[11]
Credit: Liang Jieming Qin dynasty composite bow arrows (top) and crossbow bolts (bottom)
The Qin also used improved methods of transportation and tactics. The state of Zhao had first replaced chariots with cavalry in 307 BC, but the change was swiftly adopted by the other states because cavalry had greater mobility over the terrain of China.[45]
The First Emperor developed plans to fortify his northern border, to protect against nomadic invasions. The result was the initial construction of what later became the Great Wall of China, which was built by joining and strengthening the walls made by the feudal lords, which would be expanded and rebuilt multiple times by later dynasties, also in response to threats from the north. Another project built during Qin Shi Huang's rule was the Terracotta Army, intended to protect the emperor after his death.[44] The Terracotta Army was inconspicuous due to its underground location, and was not discovered until 1974.[46]
Religion [ edit ]
Floating on high in every direction,
Music fills the hall and court.
The incense sticks are a forest of feathers,
The cloudy scene an obscure darkness.
Metal stalks with elegant blossoms,
A host of flags and kingfisher banners.
The music of the "Seven Origins" and "Blossoming Origins"
Are intoned as harmonious sounds.
Thus one can almost hear
The spirits coming to feast and frolic.
The spirits are seen off to the zhu zhu of the musics,
Which purifies and refines human feelings.
Suddenly the spirits ride off on the darkness,
And the brilliant event finishes.
Purified thoughts grow hidden and still,
And the warp and weft of the world fall dark. Han shu, p. 1046
The dominant religious belief in China during the reign of the Qin, and, in fact, during much of early imperial China, was focused on the shen (roughly translating to "spirits" or "gods"), yin ("shadows"), and the realm they were said to live in. The Chinese offered animal sacrifices in an attempt to contact this other world, which they believed to be parallel to the earthly one. The dead were said to have simply moved from one world to the other. The rituals mentioned, as well as others, served two purposes: to ensure that the dead journeyed and stayed in the other realm, and to receive blessings from the spirit realm.[note 11][47][48]
Religious practices were usually held in local shrines and sacred areas, which contained sacrificial altars. During a sacrifice or other ritual, the senses of all participants and witnesses would be dulled and blurred with smoke, incense, and music. The lead sacrificer would fast and meditate before a sacrifice to further blur his senses and increase the likelihood of perceiving otherworldly phenomena. Other participants were similarly prepared, though not as rigorously.
Such blurring of the senses was also a factor in the practice of spirit intermediaries, or mediumship. Practitioners of the art would fall into trances or dance to perform supernatural tasks. These people would often rise to power as a result of their art—Luan Da, a Han dynasty medium, was granted rule over 2,000 households. Noted Han historian Sima Qian was scornful of such practices, dismissing them as foolish trickery.[49]
Divination—to predict and/or influence the future—was yet another form of religious practice. An ancient practice that was common during the Qin dynasty was cracking bones or turtle shells to gain knowledge of the future. The forms of divination which sprang up during early imperial China were diverse, though observing natural phenomena was a common method. Comets, eclipses, and droughts were considered omens of things to come.[50]
Etymology of China [ edit ]
The name 'Qin' is believed to be the etymological ancestor of the modern-day European name of the country, China. The word probably made its way into the Indo-Aryan languages first as 'Cina' or 'Sina' and then into Greek and Latin as 'Sinai' or 'Thinai'. It was then transliterated into English and French as 'China' and 'Chine'. This etymology is dismissed by some scholars, who suggest that 'Sina' in Sanskrit evolved much earlier before the Qin dynasty. 'Jin' (pronounced as 'Zhin'), a state controlled by the Zhou dynasty in seventh century BC, is another possible origin.[51] Others argued for the state of Jing (荆, another name for Chu), as well other polities in the early period as the source of the name.[52]
Sovereigns [ edit ]
An edict in bronze from the reign of the second Qin Emperor
Qin Shi Huang was the first Chinese sovereign to proclaim himself "Emperor", after unifying China in 221 BC. That year is therefore generally taken by historians to be the start of the "Qin dynasty" which lasted for fifteen years until 207 when it was cut short by civil wars.[53]
Posthumous name / title Personal name Period of Reigns Shi Huangdi Zheng (政) 221 – 210 BC Er Shi Huangdi Huhai (胡亥) 210 – 207 BC None Ziying (子嬰) 207 BC
Imperial family tree [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
^ Not to be confused with any Duke of the Song dynasty of a later period. ^ This was due to the large workforce available as a result of their landowning policies (implemented by Shang Yang), described in the culture and society section. ^ This was the heart of the Guanzhong region, as opposed to the region of the Yangtze River drainage basin, known as Guandong. The warlike nature of the Qin in Guanzhong evolved into a Han dynasty adage: "Guanzhong produces generals, while Guandong produces ministers." (Lewis 2007, p. 17) ^ As the modern Chinese habit is to include dynasty names as a surname, this became Qin Shi Huangdi. Later, this was abridged to Qin Shi Huang, because it is uncommon for Chinese names to have four characters. ^ Formerly known as Canton. ^ This was largely caused by regional differences which survived despite the Qin's attempt to impose uniformity. ^ The first emperor of the Qin had boasted that the dynasty would last 10,000 generations; it lasted only about 15 years. (Morton 1995, p. 49) ^ Meaning "High Progenitor". ^ A text named for its sponsor Lü Buwei ; the prime minister of the Qin directly preceding the conquest of the other states. ^ The term "Confucian" is rather ill-defined in this context—many self-dubbed Confucians in fact rejected tenets of what was known as "the Way of Confucius", and were disorganized, unlike the later Confucians of the Song and Yuan dynasties. ^ Mystics from the state of Qi, however, saw sacrifices differently—as a way to become immortal.
References [ edit ]
Citations [ edit ]
Sources [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]As someone who uses multiple types of mobility aids - a cane, a scooter and a wheelchair - Anthea Skinner reflects on the different reactions each of these options attract from members of the public.
I have a disability, but I am ambulant... mostly. I can walk, but it's painful, and because my neurological condition is remitting, my balance and pain levels can change dramatically from hour to hour, day to day and week to week. Usually I walk with a cane, but when my health gets bad, or when I have a lot to do, I prefer to get around on wheels. I usually use a scooter, but sometimes I have someone push me in a manual wheelchair.
My situation is not uncommon, but people sometimes react strangely to the idea of someone who can walk using a wheelchair. In 2005 Miss Wheelchair Wisconsin, Janeal Lee, was stripped of her title after appearing in press photos standing up. Lee has muscular dystrophy, can walk about 15 metres at a time and usually uses a scooter to get around. She hadn't lied about her disability to win the title. Despite this, the event's organisers refused to accept that someone who could stand up could also be a wheelchair user.
Personally, I've lost count of the amount of times I've heard people make jokes about miracles when I've stood up from a chair. My friends, to their credit, mostly take it in their stride, and upon seeing me in a chair for the first time, their most common reaction has been along the lines of, "Nice wheels". One even told me that seeing me using a scooter was like seeing a seal swimming gracefully after only having seen it flap about on land. I think that was a compliment.
However, a few people have commented that they hadn't noticed I was disabled until seeing me in a chair. I found this astounding, not only because I'm a fairly outspoken member of the disability community, but also because I walk with a cane and have the gait of drunken giraffe. I guess for some, the concept of disability is so tied to wheelchair use that the ability to walk can be seen as the marker of able-bodiedness. In some people's minds, it seems, if you can walk, you're able-bodied, and if not, you're disabled.
I've been an occasional wheelchair user for a good 15 years now, but late last year I started using a scooter regularly to get around my very large university campus. The changes that it has brought to my life have been startling. I wasn't surprised to discover that my levels of pain and exhaustion at the end of each day reduced, but I was surprised at the psychological changes that have taken place.
I suddenly realised how much mental energy I had been spending planning my day so that it included the fewest number of steps. Say, for example, I knew that I needed to leave my office to go to the library, to get lunch and to go to a meeting in the adjoining building. I would always do my best to ensure that I did all three things at once (fewer steps than going there and back each time), and of course I would have to go to the library last, so I'd be carrying books for the minimum distance.
In the past, each day was like a highly planned military exercise, but with my scooter, I suddenly have the freedom to go where I want, when I want.
There have been other changes too. On foot, I avoid being alone in places that are unfamiliar. I get anxious that I'll get lost or run out of energy and not be able to get home on my own. I tend to stick close to my friends and, to be honest, I can be a tad clingy. And because I plan every trip down to each step, I become frustrated and distressed if my friends unexpectedly want to make a detour or extra stop. (Yep, my friends are very patient.) But in a scooter, I'm independent, I'm confident and I know that I can always get home safely - as long as my battery is well charged.
Deciding to use a wheelchair or a scooter for the first time can be a daunting prospect. After a lifetime of walking, I can understand how it can feel like giving in to one's disability. Despite society's perceptions, wheelchairs are not confining, and their use doesn't preclude the ability or choice to walk. Wheelchairs are really just tools, to be used how and when they're needed. They can even open up your world and take you on all kinds of adventures.
Anthea Skinner is a PhD student at the Sir Zelman Cowan School of Music and Assistant Archivist at the Music Archive of Monash University. She is the music columnist for Link Disability Magazine and plays percussion in crip-folk band the Bearbrass Asylum Orchestra. She is lucky enough to have not one, but two neurological conditions.Yes, they wrote “your,” not “you’re.” They’re too busy cracking down on the freedom of speech to bother with basic grammar. They’re too busy policing what people say (no doubt with stamping out “Islamophobia” as their first and highest priority) to devote any significant energy and resources to tracking down those who commit female genital mutilation. They’re too busy making sure that the British people observe politically correct speech restrictions to stop Muslim rape gangs. They’re too busy making sure “right-wing extremists” aren’t typing something naughty to conduct proper surveillance of the numerous known jihad terrorists who are walking around free in Britain.
They’ve never tweeted any warnings about that their “boys & gals in blue” would ever find any of those people. Only this.
Britain is finished.Russia has made what may be a move towards taking part in talks over the Ukraine crisis, but is standing firm in its insistence that Crimea has a right to break away from Kiev's rule.
Britain said on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin had promised to meet his foreign minister to discuss creating an "international contact group", according to a report from the Agence France-Presse news agency.
The small diplomatic step forward came against the backdrop of Putin's recognition on Sunday of Crimea's self-declared leaders as the breakaway peninsula's "legitimate" authorities.
The promise of talks comes on the back of statements made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who insisted a contact group be formed to deal with questions of territorial integrity, minorities and the preparations for elections.
Merkel, speaking after an extraordinary meeting in Brussels last week, said that if a group was not formed it would lead to travel and financial restrictions, and finally to "severe and far-reaching consequences for relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation".
A Moscow-backed referendum on whether Crimea should join Russia, due to be held on March 16, is illegal and violates Ukraine's constitution, Merkel said in statements published on the German government's website.
Article 73 of the Ukrainian constitution states that "alterations to the territory of Ukraine shall be resolved exclusively by the All-Ukrainian referendum", meaning a vote held only in Crimea would be unconstitutional, and, therefore, void.
Many people in Crimea, however, view the current Ukrainian government as illegitimate, arguing that the ousting of former President Viktor Yanukovich was a coup.
Putin on Sunday defended breakaway moves by pro-Russian leaders in Crimea, where Russian forces tightened their grip on the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula by seizing another border post and a military airfield.
As thousands staged rival rallies in Crimea on Sunday, street violence flared in Sevastopol, when pro-Russian activists and Cossacks attacked a group of Ukrainians.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, called for all parties to remain calm and urged a political solution to the crisis, during telephone calls with US President Barack Obama and Merkel, the Reuters news agency reported.
"The situation in Ukraine is extremely complex, and what is most urgent is for all sides to remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid an escalation in tensions," China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday, citing Xi as telling Obama.
'Legitimate interests'
Putin said last week that Russia had the right to invade Ukraine to protect Russian citizens, and his parliament has voted to change the law to make it easier to annex territory inhabited by Russian speakers.
Speaking by telephone to Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron, Putin said steps taken by authorities in Crimea were "based on international law and aimed at guaranteeing the legitimate interests of the peninsula's population", the Kremlin said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk will hold talks with Obama in Washington on Wednesday, on how to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis, the White House said.
One of Obama's top national security officials said the US would not recognise the annexation of Crimea by Russia if residents vote to leave Ukraine in a referendum next week.
"We won't recognise it, nor will most of the world," deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken said.NEW DELHI: AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes, who is about to launch an airline in India partnering the Tata group, is known to be as outspoken as he is focused on low costs. On Wednesday, at a press gathering to discuss his airline venture's plans, Fernandes did not disappoint.When a female reporter quizzed him about his vow to never work with an airline again after a failed joint venture with Japanese carrier ANA Holdings, he said, "I am sure you met many men. You thought he was a good guy but realised he was a complete disaster. So the relationship didn't last. ANA was like that. It looked like one sexy woman - really nice - said all the nice things. And when we got to bed, it was a horrible experience. So we had a quick divorce."What about the Tatas? "Mr (Ratan) Tata is a fantastic guy," he said."It is a fantastic experience working with him, although I have not gone to bed with him."Fernandes also revealed he "has plans for Tata". "We will make him an A320 (the planes that the Malaysian low-cost carrier flies) pilot so we won't have to pay him. "It would be another way of cutting costs." On July 2, Fernandes had tweeted a photograph of Tata flying his private jet.Fernandes was candid about his thoughts on authorities and competitors alike, which makes him refreshingly different from the crowd of foreign and Indian CEOs who are careful with words for fear of annoying authorities.On trying to convince chief ministers about reducing state taxes on jet fuel, whose costs comprise nearly 60% of an airline's operating costs in India, he offered an example."When I sponsored (English football club) Manchester United, we only had seven planes. My shareholders couldn't see the returns straightaway. It was painful for me because I hate the club... But you have to be a prostitute once in a while."In the same way, according to him, if one goes to the CMs and talk about jet fuel, they won't see the benefits straightway.Aviation is a tough business, according to Fernandes. "Too many people in aviation thought it is short work, but it is hard work," he said, adding that there will be many days when "you want to kill yourself".He was referring to his experience with Sars (epidemic), a tsunami, evolutions, credit crisis and so on.He then turned to Mittu Chandilya, the Indian venture's young CEO. "If this guy still looks like this two years down the line, we would have failed.""His hair is still very nice and black. I bet every morning he looks at the mirror and says I am still good looking. That will change in time. He won't have this look. So take a picture and chart our progress by the way he looks. The worse he looks, the better we are becoming."There was more to come. Some reporters doubted if he will be able to lobby to reduce tax on fuel, reminding him of Gulf carrier Emirates' inability to increase its allotted number of seats from around 54,000 a week.Pat came the reply: "Maybe my English is different from the guys from Dubai." He said Emirates may not have seen all the CMs.Fernandes refused to reveal the complete strategy of AirAsia."Everything you write will be read by the guys who don't like me. I am like Colonel Sanders (founder of American restaurant chain KFC) right now. I can't give you all my secrets."Though the Tatas were his partner, Fernandes said he wouldn't have stayed in their hotel (Taj Palace). "The Taj guys said we offer the cheapest rates and we insist on free internet in rooms. That's why I stayed because we are very aggressive on cutting costs."Fernandes also displayed a sharp understanding for the aviation business. He said AirAsia will not fly to the Mumbai and Delhi airports because of the high charges, but has asked the government to build another airport in Mumbai. "That may sound weird, but remember London has four airports and New York has three.Air travel in India maybe concentrated at Mumbai and Delhi because he said all airlines are like sheep - they go to the same place. But there is plenty of market to be developed in India, according to him. "After we start flying, routes will be redistributed. That is exactly what we did in Malaysia - we created many new traffic flows."Soon after, he was back to being a quote hunter's delight. One reason to fly AirAsia? "Mittu looks good."Mount Evans Highway is now open to the peak, so go ahead, jump in your car and drive right up to the 14,264-foot summit without bothering with those silly hiking boots.
The Mount Evans Recreation Area sees about 150,000 people each summer, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
There are three sites along the highway: Mount Goliath Natural Area and Nature Center, the Summit of Mount Evans Interpretive Site and Summit Lake Park. Visitors hoping to stop by all three sites need a $10 Forest Service pass and $5 City of Denver pass, which can be bought at the Mount Evans Welcome Station. Fees are per vehicle.
People who are just passing through do not need a pass. Bicyclists also are exempt. Federal interagency passes are honored at all three locations.
For more info on the opening and closing of seasonal highways, CDOT recommends checking cotrip.org.From Inkscape Wiki
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Inkscape 0.92
Release highlights
Released on 2017-01-01.
Mesh Gradients are now supported.
Many SVG2 and CSS3 properties are now supported (e.g. paint-order, mix-blend-mode). Not all are available from the GUI.
The new Object dialog allows to select, label, hide and lock any object in the drawing from a dialog that lists them all
Selection sets make it possible to 'group' objects together regardless of document structure
Guides can now be locked to avoid accidental movement
Several new path effects have been added, among them Envelope/Perspective, Lattice Deformation, Mirror and Rotate Copies
There are several new extensions (e.g. a seamless pattern extension) and a new filter (colorblindness simulation) included in the release, many old extensions have been updated or got new features
Spray tool and measure tool received a set of nifty new features
Interactive smoothing for lines created with the Pencil tool
BSplines (and more) are available for the Pen tool
Checkerboard background can be used to more easily see object transparencies
Watch the video which presents the latest version
Important changes
The default resolution was changed from 90dpi to 96dpi, to match the CSS standard. For more background information, please see the Wiki article about handling of units in Inkscape. Inkscape 0.92 will attempt to identify 'legacy' Inkscape files that need to be converted. If such a file is detected, the user will be offered three options: Set 'viewBox'. Inkscape will add an appropriate 'viewBox' which will do a global scaling of the document. It will also adjust the document width and height if necessary. Scale elements. Inkscape will scale each internal element. Ignore. Do nothing. This is an appropriate choice for documents meant for screen display. [See release blocker bug report for more details.]
For developers and packagers, the switch from autotools to CMake is a relevant change (users who do not compile their own version will not be affected). While the old system is still available for 0.92, it is now also possible to compile Inkscape using CMake (Background info about why this change was made and How to work with CMake).
Manipulating Objects
Objects Dialog
New dialog for manipulating the object tree.
Drag and drop reordering of objects.
Lock, and hide one or more items.
Use Ctrl+F to search for an item.
Select one or more objects in the drawing.
Shows individual objects as well as layers.
Ability to change highlight color of objects.
Ability to set blend mode per object.
Imported from Ponyscape.
Selection Sets Dialog
New dialog that allows the creation of selection sets that are not affected by document structure.
Usage:
Open Dialog with 'Object > Selection sets'
To create a new selection set: click on the '+' button at the bottom of the dialog (double-click on its label to edit)
a new selection set:
To add objects to a selection set: select object on the canvas in the 'Selection sets' dialog click on the '+' icon before the selection set in the list
to a selection set:
To select all objects of a selection set: deselect any existing selection and click on the selection set in the list
of a selection set:
To remove an object from a selection set: select the selection set in the dialog click on 'Items' to show all objects in the set select an object on the canvas or in the Items list in the dialog click on the 'Delete' icon (trashbin) before the object in the list
from a selection set:
To delete a selection set: select it in the list and click on the '-' button at the bottom of the dialog
a selection set:
Text
Font Features
It is now possible to take advantage of OpenType tables to select alternative glyphs from a font. For this, a third tab ('Variants') has been added to the 'Text and Font' dialog. Note that browser support is still limited. Inkscape must also be linked with a recent version of the Pango library.
Vertical Text
Support for vertical text layout has been improved.
The default behavior for Latin bases glyphs has been changed. They are now rotated sideways as required by the SVG 1.1 standard.
Support for the CSS 3 'text-orientation' property has been added. (Note that this property is not yet fully supported by browsers.)
The CSS 3 values for the 'writing-mode' property are supported in rendering. Saving still uses the deprecated SVG 1.1 values.
Accessibility
Converting text to a path will save the text in the 'aria-label' attribute. This is useful for accessibility and could eventually be used by Inkscape to reconstruct the text.
Line Spacing
Line spacing in Inkscape now follows the CSS standard for the 'line-height' property. Note the following points:
Outer: "font-size:40px;line-height:0", Inner: "line-height:1.25em"
If the'strut' has zero height, you'll need to set 'line-height' on all the inner text elements to keep the lines from being on top of each other. Use Ctrl-A to select all the text and disable the "Outer Style" button to set the "line-height" on all the inner elements.
Note: when the "Outer Style" button is not enabled, the "Font size" and "Line height" boxes show the values of either the high-lighted selected text or at the cursor point (if no text is selected). Changes in font size and line spacing will be applied to the selected text or to all the inner elements (if no text is selected). Unlike other styling properties (e.g. fill color), there is no visual indicator of which characters have a particular 'line-height' value. One can step through character by character with the cursor to determine a span of characters with the same 'line-height' value.
Live Path Effects
Now some suitable LPEs can be applied to clips and masks.
Helper lines come again to life.
The option to add a bend path directly was added to the pen/pencil shape combo box.
On-canvas controls for the width parameter have been added to the Pattern Along Path and Bend LPE.
Spiro Live
Extended video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFakiI5f0-Y
Based upon Spiro Live Path Effect, now shows the result while drawing.
Cusp nodes can be created by holding down the Shift key.
nodes can be created by holding down the Shift key. When you append a path in cusp and Spiro mode, the helper preview path will be displayed.
BSpline
Extended video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwV0DHvA-OE
Pen & Node mode
Uses the BSpline Live Path Effect while creating and editing paths.
Works with Pen and Pencil tool directly.
Create cusp nodes by holding down the Shift key (Pen/Bézier tool only).
nodes by holding down the Shift key (Pen/Bézier tool only). When a path is appended, a preview helper path will also be shown.
Hold down Shift key and drag on a handle to change the weight of a bspline in node tool.
of a bspline in node tool. Custom weight steps are applied by holding CTRL down and dragging on a handle with the node tool (no Shift key required).
are applied by holding down and dragging on a handle with the node tool (no Shift key required). Double-click on a handle resets weight to default
Live Path Effect mode
Bspline LPE
The options in the Live Path Effect dialog give you full control over bspline paths.
Option to set to Default weight (0.3333 times curve segment)
(0.3333 times curve segment) Option to make nodes cusp
Numeric input for weight
Option to set number of Steps with CTRL to quickly snap the weight in node/handle editing
to quickly snap the weight in node/handle editing Apply changes if weight... applies changes in the widgets to all nodes with weight == 0 or weight > 0 or both, for example, retains cusp nodes when you change the weight and have unselected "Apply changes if weight == 0".
applies changes in the widgets to all nodes with weight == 0 or weight > 0 or both, for example, retains cusp nodes when you change the weight and have unselected "Apply changes if weight == 0". Change only selected nodes applies to all other widgets changes.
applies to all other widgets changes. Shows a helper path with the final shape and the generated new nodes.
Roughen
Roughen LPE
Extended video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=130Dbt0juvY
This path effect is a semi-clone of two extensions, ("add nodes" and "jitter nodes") and handles units.
The parameters are similar to both extensions and adds a global randomizer.
Can be applied to paths, shapes and groups.
Can be applied to clips and masks, if they are vector objects.
Simplify
Simplify LPE
Extended video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaWujN_iTSk
Simplifies a vector element using a non-destructive live path effect.
Can be used on paths, shapes and groups of these.
Can be applied to clips and masks, if they are vector objects
The effect's threshold can be modified in the preferences dialog, by setting a numeric parameter.
Apply Simplify multiple times in the same LPE.
This path effect can optionally be applied directly via the pencil/freehand drawing tool's tool bar when creating a new path. It then replaces the normal smoothing (which would be a destructive operation).
Perspective/Envelope
Perspective/Envelope LPE
Extended video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjKGatyxTZ8
Both deformations can be applied by specifying 4 points.
Two modes, perspective and envelope
Can be used on paths, shapes and groups.
Also works with vector clips and masks.
Lattice Deformation 2
Lattice Deformation 2 LPE
Extended video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlK9L88_tWE
Symmetry video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhuVjqFA6ig
Deforms an object by 25 handles arranged in a mesh
Optionally deforms symmetrically along vertical or horizontal axis or both.
Can be applied to paths, shapes and groups.
Also works on vector clips and masks.
Show Handles
Show Handles LPE
Extended video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9ul_PR9XYo
An LPE version of the Show Handles extension.
Works on paths, shapes and groups.
Works on clones.
Node and Handle shapes are resizeable
If not applied to a clone, this is a destructive LPE, it does not save styles, better work on a copy!
Transform by two points
Transform by 2 points LPE
Extended video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLmYdWoXXIw
Extended video (Elastic rubber): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOWTeZC_LjM
Transforms an element by two control points (e.g. moving, skewing, resizing and rotation). You can position the control points on the bounding box edge midpoints or by the index of the nodes of the original path. Thanks to Ivan Louette for the idea for this effect!
Works on paths, shapes. With groups you have limited features constrained to bounding box.
Allows snapping of both control points.
Allows to fix angle or distance.
Elastic mode to simulate a rubber band path.
Two bounding box edge midpoints can be used as control points if 'From original width' is active.
Rotate copies
Rotate copies LPE
Extended video (partial fuse path): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpI8gRbkTu4
Extended video (live editing): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBQpvfgT4mE
Extended video (kaleidoscope): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v |
,” her grandmother Han Han Guo explained. “The doctor said she had hydrocephalus. We asked family and friends for donations, but were just able to scrape together 100,000 yuan. At 1-year-old, Han Han’s mother left, and her father Chen Youzhi had to go out of his way to do odd jobs in order to earn 100 yuan per day to buy her the anti-inflammatory drugs she needed.”
Recently when Han Han was brought into the hospital, doctors sent her home with various treatments to help her gain weight and better prepare for a potential surgery.
“CT results showed that Han Han’s brain was filled 80% with water,” explained Dr. Bo of the Second People’s Hospital of Hunan Province. “If she was not sent to hospital for treatment, Han Han would not have survived the summer. We had to first eliminate the infection in Han Han’s head because the brain wound area was too large, and we needed to do skin graft surgery and insert a shunt to help eliminate the infection, and remove the fluid from her brain.”
Upon seeing Han Han, the medical team at the Hunan Province Brain Hospital elected to perform an unheard of life-saving surgery which they called (translated from chinese) “whole brain shrinking plastic surgery”. It would involve the removal of Han Han’s scalp, full 3D reconstruction and 3D printing of a new titanium skull, repositioning of her brain, and removal of the excess cerebrospinal fluid.
Surgeons and medical personnel used 3D data that they acquired as well as CT scanners to create models for 3D printing three titanium mesh skull implants which would together replace Han Han’s entire top portion of her skull.
Taking place on July 14 and 15, the surgery lasted an incredible 17 hours. Her scalp was peeled away from her skull and then adhered to protective saline pads. Drainage tubes were put in her head to slowly release the cerebrospinal fluid. Then surgeons took the three 3D printed titanium implants and inserted them into Han Han’s head to recreate a new skull for her.
Miraculously the surgery went better than expected, and doctors say that Han Han should make a full recovery. When surgery was complete, Han Han immediately opened her eyes and resumed breathing on her own before being sent to the ICU for postoperative treatment and recovery.
Over the course of the next few months and years, her normal bone growth should build up upon the titanium implants creating an entirely new, and smaller upper portion of her skull.
What do you think about this groundbreaking surgery? Discuss in the 3D Printed Entire Upper Skull Implant forum thread on 3DPB.com.Image caption Mr Mcalpine said he would sue the arresting officer and chief constable
A Christian preacher who told police homosexuality was "a sin" is planning to sue for wrongful arrest.
Dale Mcalpine was charged with a public order offence after speaking to a community support officer (PCSO) in Workington, Cumbria, in April.
The charge was later dropped by Cumbria Police, which said it respected freedom of expression.
Mr Mcalpine said he would launch a civil action against the arresting officer and the chief constable.
He also intends to sue for false imprisonment and unlawful interference with his right to freedom of expression and freedom of religion.
The 42-year-old, who denies being homophobic, was preaching to shoppers when he said he was approached by a PCSO, who told him he was a liaison officer for the local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
After a discussion with the PCSO, during which the preacher made the comment, he was arrested by a uniformed officer.
This can't just be brushed under the carpet, freedom of speech is too precious for that Dale Mcalpine
Mr Mcalpine denies making any mention of homosexuality in his sermon.
He said: "As a Christian man, I forgive the police for their actions. However, I also want to protect others who may face similar problems in the future.
"This can't just be brushed under the carpet, freedom of speech is too precious for that."
Mr Mcalpine's arrest was criticised by veteran gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell who said criminalisation of anyone's views was a step too far.
A spokesperson for Cumbria Police said: "We can confirm that we have received a letter from Mr Mcalpine however we will be unable to comment further on this at this time.
"We would like to reassure the public that we respect, and are committed to upholding, the fundamental right to freedom of expression.
"We are just as committed to maintaining the peace and preventing people feeling alarmed or distressed by the actions of others in public places."
The Christian Institute charity, which acts to defend religious liberty for Christians, is supporting Mr Mcalpine and financing his legal action.Update at 1:11 p.m. ET: NHK World TV reports minor injuries and minor damage from a magnitude-7.1 quake, ranging from cuts and bruises to at least one broken leg. In addition, no major damage has been reported, although power outages have caused considerable travel problems because of outages of street and traffic lights. The quake was initially reported as a magnitude-7.4 quake.
See quake photo gallery here.
Update at 12:29 p.m. ET: Don Blakemore, geophysicist with the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., says today's quake "is not at all unexpected." The Pacific Ocean's crustal plate is sliding underneath the crustal plate Japan rests upon, he says, triggering the quakes. "It doesn't give all at once, so we will see aftershocks for a long time," Blakemore says.
Update at 12: 24 p.m. ET: The Japanese meteorogical agency spokesman calls the latest quake the first major aftershock from the huge quake that rocked the country March 11.
Update at 12:01 p.m. ET: NHK World TV reports that two of three power lines servicing the Ongawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture were cut because of the quake. NHK reports that the power lines "became unavailable." It says only one line is in service to continue to cool down the nuclear fuel, according to the National Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
Update at 11: 57 a.m. ET: NHK World TV reports that all tsunami alerts have been lifted.
Update at 11:34 a.m. ET: The Japan meteorological agency has issued a tsunami warning for a wave of up to 6 feet. Japan's public broadcaster NHK warns coastal residents to run to higher ground and away from the shore. The warning covers a coastal area torn apart by last month's tsunami, which may have killed about 25,000 people and sparked an ongoing crisis at a nuclear power plant.
Paul Caruso, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., says the latest quake hit at about the same location and depth as the March 11 quake.
Update at 11:22 a.m. ET: Tokyo Electric Power says workers evacuated the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, CNN reports. The AP reports that officials at the nuclear plant say there is no sign of new problems after the strong aftershock.
Update at 11 a.m. ET: A magnitude-7.4 earthquake off Japan triggered a tsunami alert for the country's ravaged northeastern coast, the Associated Press reports.
Officials say the quake hit 25 miles under the water and off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture. Buildings as far away as Tokyo shook for about a minute, the AP says.
Last month's devastating quake that triggered a major tsunami was a magnitude 9.The number of Liberals planning to abstain from a motion to be sponsored by crossbench MPs and supported by the opposition had reached about ten, according to MPs involved, and was growing as the scandal continued. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Sunday ‘‘this has obviously been a very difficult day for Bronwyn Bishop’’. Credit:Louie Douvis While Mrs Bishop would have survived on these numbers, the trend was one-way and the outcome was becoming increasingly uncertain. Mr Abbott's decision to force her from the Speaker's chair on Sunday therefore averted a potential crisis for his own leadership - potentially the second such "near death" experience this year. It could have seen the Prime Minister's hand-picked Speaker humiliated or even tipped out of the chair as a result of his not being able to command a simple majority on that question on the floor of the chamber where government is formed.
And the danger for Mr Abbott has not passed yet. In a reprise of the roiling backbench discontent which saw a spill motion supported by 39 MPs in February, Fairfax Media can reveal several Liberals are again pushing for material changes to the way the government is run, with the most common demand being no more "captain's picks". Mr Abbott was informed of fracture in party discipline over the weekend, Liberal MPs said. "The situation was already spinning out of his control," said a Liberal speaking on background. Mr Abbott sought to restore control by engineering Ms Bishop's resignation and announcing an inquiry into the system of parliamentary expenses, parliamentarians said. But the anger at Mrs Bishop continues to burn inside the NSW Liberal Party and there is now a push to force her out of Parliament altogether. "She's 74, she's a laughing stock with the public and she's about to discover that she has become persona non grata in the party," said a Liberal senator.
Ms Bishop would come under increasing pressure to make sure she did not stand for re-election to Parliament, her internal critics said. This would present an opportunity to put a strong candidate into a plum Liberal seat, Mackellar. Advising of Mrs Bishop's resignation late on Sunday, Mr Abbott raised eyebrows by simultaneously asserting that she had done the right thing by resigning, while also refusing to say what she had done wrong. "I have a great deal of personal respect for Bronwyn Bishop, and without wanting to underplay the significance of some of the errors of judgment which she herself has conceded and apologised for, I think she has certainly done the right thing today," he said. Asked if Mrs Bishop should have apologised earlier, he said: "I am just not going to sit in judgment of a friend and colleague like that... Bronwyn's resignation today, will help to restore public respect, but as I have said repeatedly this afternoon this is not just about one person – it is about a system which notwithstanding reforms by the former government, notwithstanding reforms by this government, is obviously gravely in need of further reform and that is exactly what will happen as a result of the review that I have announced today."
One MP said the backbench mood remained "uneasy" with MPs determined to take back control of decisions that should never have been surrendered to the Prime Minister's Office. Complainants say Mrs Bishop's politically costly descent into infamy was a long time in the making and is seen by unhappy Liberals as the inevitable result of one of Mr Abbott's earlier decision to foist her on his party upon winning the 2013 election. "We should never have let this post be decided by anything but a party room vote," said one malcontent. Follow us on TwitterWho the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.
Today we look at one of the most manic of Ditko’s creations: The Creeper
Appearances in Heroclix: World’s Finest. Justice League
First Comic Appearance: Showcase #73
Team Affiliations: Outsiders, Justice League
Created By: Steve Ditko
Jack Ryder is a former Gotham City talk show host that dated Vicki Vale. He is eventually fired for being too outspoken and finds a job as a security agent. After a scientist named Dr. Yatz is kidnapped by mobsters, Ryder goes to a masquerade party held by the criminals. He wears a costume with yellow tights, facial make up, a green wig and furry cloak. Ryder is about to rescue Yatz when the mobsters stab Jack. Yatz injects Ryder with an experimental serum and implants a device into the wound. The serum allows Jack to instantly heal any wounds, including his recent stab wound, as well as enhanced strength and agility. The implant allows Ryder to summon his strange costume at any point and exchange it with regular clothing. The mobsters return and kill Yatz. With his new powers, Jack is able to easily defeat the mobsters.
The Creeper goes on to have many adventures in Gotham City and eventually comes to view the Jack Ryder and Creeper personalities as separate. The Creeper eventually battles Eclipso and is temporarily placed under Eclipso’s control. The Creeper joins up with other heroes such as Major Victory, Steel, Amanda Waller and Wild Cat to form the Shadow Fighters. The Shadow Fighters again attack Eclipso only to have most of their ranks, including Creeper, seemingly killed.
Post Inifinite Crisis
Jack Ryder again tries to help Dr. Yatz only to be injected with an unstable nano-technological skin that creates a new personality, the Creeper. This new experiment is influenced by the Joker who sneaks his Joker venom into the agent. Batman helps the Creeper and offers to cure him but Jack and Creeper refuse, forming a truce in order to fight crime. Creeper is temporarily under Eclipso’s control once more before being freed and helping to battle the Sinestro Corps in New York.
The Creeper later joins the Outsiders and helps keep Hush from exploiting his resemblance to Bruce Wayne.
New 52
The Creeper is an Oni that justifies cruel temper tantrums in order to spread chaos. He is later trapped in Katana’s sword when it is used to kill him. Jack Ryder, not possessed by the Oni, is killed by a monster attack on Metropolis. Killer Croc breaks the sword and releases the spirit of the Creeper which immediately seeks out and bonds with Jack Ryder’s corpse.
Recommended Reading:Over the years we've had to deal with antivirus programs bringing PCs to a screeching halt as they perform a "background" scan. At my last job, it was a morning tradition to plug in the laptop, boot it and go for a walk while McAfee did the daily scan that reduced my laptop to the speed of a 386.
It's one reason why I use ESET's NOD32. The program is written in assembly and runs incredibly fast. I can perform a full, in-depth virus scan while playing 'Call of Duty' and neither the game nor the scan is impacted.
RELATED: Why iTunes is dying
10 years of the iTunes Store, in photos
At some point, Symantec and McAfee got a clue and made their software far less obnoxious so they don't kill your computer. They had to. Surveys found people were uninstalling antivirus programs because they were so obnoxious, and leaving PCs exposed in the process.
But not every ill-behaved program has been tamed. There are still apps that can choke a modern PC, even a gaming rig as powerful as mine.
I run a very nifty desktop utility called Rainmeter on my PC that I heartily recommend to anyone who wants to keep an eye on their system. One of its main features is it has skins that can monitor your system activity. Thanks to my numerous meters, I see all CPU, disk, memory and network activity in real time.
Occasionally, I would look over at the CPU meters and notice something wrong. There are eight total meters, since I have a quad-core PC with hyperthreading. And four of the eight, the cores, would often be running very high, like 25-35%.
Then I looked at the C: drive meter. It is a circle split down the middle, with the right half lighting up to indicate a read and the left half lighting up for write activity. The C: drive was flashing a fair amount of activity considering I had nothing loaded save Outlook and Word, plus a few background apps.
At the time, I didn't have a Rainmeter skin that lists the top processes by CPU and memory. So instead, I went into the Task Manager, and under Performance selected the Resource Monitor. Under the Processes tab, the culprit showed its face immediately: AppleMobileDeviceService.exe. It was consuming a ridiculous amount of threads and CPU cycles.
The problem came and went. Sometimes it would disappear for weeks at a time, then come back. Finally, I decided to look into it. A little investigation revealed everything I needed to know. This app is a service installed by iTunes and used for iPhone and Apple TV only. iPad and iPod users have no need for it. It installs as a Windows service, turns itself on as default, and is practically unkillable. I've tried to disable it in the Process Window, but no luck. The only way to turn it off is to go into Windows Services and turn off the service.
There’s just one problem. I use an iPhone. I can't disable it. But doing so for a little while dropped the CPU meters to nothing. So I now have more motivation to migrate to a new phone beyond just having one with a larger screen.
This problem has been known for years. AppleMobileDeviceService.exe has been in iTunes since version 7.3. People complained on the Apple boards more than two years ago that it was consuming up to 50% of CPU cycles, and thus far it's as bad as it always has been. Mind you, Mac users aren't complaining. Just Windows users.
So, if you are using iTunes on a PC and have no intention of connecting an iPhone to the PC in any way, go into Services and disable AppleMobileDeviceService.exe. You'll be glad you did.
Late note to the Slashdotters: I use the latest version of iTunes, 11.0.2.26.LOS ANGELES – Paige VanZant’s transformation over two and a half months of “Dancing with the Stars” was noticeable, but in the end she came up just short.
VanZant tonight fell short of the Mirror Ball Trophy on Season 22 of “Dancing with the Stars” along with pro dance partner Mark Ballas. VanZant and Ballas lost to deaf “America’s Next Top Model” winner Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd. ABC and “Good Morning America” chief meterologist Ginger Zee and Val Chmerkovskiy came in third.
Like any good television drama, the show came down to all three finalists waiting to see who finished third. And that was Zee, which left VanZant and DiMarco stuck with six minutes of tension before finding out the winner.
“It’s amazing. I’m just so thankful I got to have this opportunity, and I’m going to remember it forever,” VanZant told co-host Erin Andrews after learning she finished second. (Above, don’t miss VanZant’s exclusive interview with MMAjunkie prior to Monday’s first night of the two-night finale competition.)
VanZant and Ballas, closing out the routines for the season, scored a perfect 30 for their “24-hour fusion” routine – a mashup of a jive and salsa they had only 24 hours to choreograph and rehearse. DiMarco scored a perfect 30 for his fusion routine, and Zee scored a 27.
VanZant and Ballas actually had the highest total number of points for the season, picking up 407 points from the judges compared to DiMarco and Murgatroyd’s 403 – which means the fan votes played a factor in keeping VanZant from the title.
During the season, VanZant picked up her first 10 in Week 6 for a jazz routine, and in Week 7 she topped that with her first perfect score, pulling in a 30 for her jive. In this past week’s semifinals, she again scored a 30 with her samba and nearly double-dipped in perfection with a 29/30 for her Argentine tango. On Night 1 of the two-night finale, her freestyle scored a 30, and the 30 she scored on Tuesday was her fourth perfect score of the season, giving her the most of any contestant on the show.
Ballas, who has been on the show for 18 of its 22 seasons, was celebrating his 30th birthday during the episode. He won Season 6 with figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, and on Season 8, he helped Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson to the crown.
VanZant was looking to become the eighth athlete to take home the Mirror Ball Trophy in 22 seasons of the show. NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith won Season 3, followed by Olympic skater Apolo Anton Ohno in Season 4, Indy car driver Helio Castroneves in Season 5, Yamaguchi in Season 6, Johnson in Season 8, and NFL receivers Hines Ward in Season 12 and Driver in Season 14.
Going into the season, VanZant was the betting favorite to win the show at Bovada, which had the 22-year-old at 2-1 to win the long-running ABC dancing competition – but only after starting out at +1000 before being bet down to +200. DiMarco and Zee, however, remained massive longshots before the season started at +1400 and +2000, respectively.
After her fusion routine, the judges gave VanZant some of her highest praise of the season.
“Paige, you have delivered and set the standard from Day 1 of this competition, and you continue to set the standard,” judge Carrie Anne Inaba said after her final dance of the season.
Head judge Len Goodman told VanZant she was the one to beat if the competition was judged purely on dance. And judge Bruno Tonioli said: “You’ve always had the power, you’ve had the technique, and now you’re able to play it.”
But the competition is only half based on the scores they get from the judges. The rest comes from the votes from the fans – though those numbers are not revealed.
DiMarco and Murgatroyd were praised all season for overcoming DiMarco’s total deafness in order to still dance some of the most memorable routines in the show’s history.
Paige VanZant and Mark Ballas can be followed on Twitter (@paigevanzantufc, @MarkBallas) and Instagram (@paigevanzantufc, @markballas) and through their team hashtag #PowRightInTheKisser.
Also see:
And for more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.Changing The Face Of Astronomy Research
Enlarge this image toggle caption Beth Fertig/WNYC Beth Fertig/WNYC
Shooting for the stars is expensive.
Advanced sciences like astronomy require years of study and graduate degrees. And the soaring cost of college can be a heavy obstacle for low-income and minority students hoping to break into those fields.
A program at the City University of New York hopes to lift that burden by providing scholarships and one-on-one mentoring to underrepresented students.
AstroCom NYC is designed for CUNY scholars like Ariel Diaz, who first felt the pull of astronomy when he was a Marine stationed in North Carolina. Diaz was miserable at the time; he missed his friends and family back in New York City.
"I would go to the beach with my friend," he says. "We would just go to the beach, have a beer and just look at the stars, and everything was OK."
Diaz finished his service three years ago and came home, enrolling in a CUNY community college. When it was time to take a science class, he thought about that time on the beach.
"I like stars... let me take an easy course," he remembers thinking. "Let me take an easy astronomy course."
Diaz laughs now, because it wasn't easy. As any Astronomy 101 student can tell you, it's far more physics and math than stargazing. Diaz needed help passing calculus. But he says it was worth it to learn about stars and galaxies.
"Never in my life have I been motivated to do something," Diaz says. "And this is the first thing that touched me. It was like, I really like it and I want to do it."
One of Diaz' professors was so impressed, she encouraged him to apply to AstroCom NYC. Now he's one of eight students in the program, and has an astronomy research job lined up for the summer.
"And they're paying us. That's unheard of to me where I'm coming from," says Diaz, who hopes to become an astronomy professor.
AstroCom NYC is among many programs funded by the National Science Foundation to bring more underrepresented minorities into the sciences. Even though the country's most famous astronomer, Neil deGrasse Tyson, is African-American, only 2 percent of all U.S. students earning doctoral degrees in astronomy and physics over an entire decade were either black or Hispanic.
"If we just throw a couple more students into grad school, we make a huge impact," says Tim Paglione, who leads AstroCom NYC.
Paglione says CUNY's low-income, mostly minority students often aren't prepared well in high school for all that math and physics. And many of them have to work to pay for college.
"We don't want them to be working," says Paglione, who teaches astronomy at CUNY's York College at Queens. "We want them to be concentrating on their academics. So we removed that tuition problem."
AstroCom NYC pairs students with mentors and provides laptop computers and free transportation on city subways and buses. Students meet every Friday at the American Museum of Natural History, where Paglione works as a researcher. At a recent session, an instructor explained different types of radiation.
But one-on-one mentoring is expensive, which helps explain why the program has only accepted eight students since it was founded two years ago. AstroCom NYC expects to include about 25 students by the end of its five-year grant. Diaz's astronomy professor, Saavik Ford of the Borough of Manhattan Community College, says there's a reason it's so small.
"It's an apprenticeship program," she says. "Because that's what we know works. We can't have one faculty member to 50 students. It's not effective."
Ford says that's been proven by decades of research. "We have this huge dropout rate and it's much worse for underrepresented minorities and women," she says.
Researchers say these groups often need extra financial and academic support. They point to a similar program in Tennessee that boosted the number of blacks and Latinos earning Ph.D.s. But AstroCom NYC starts earlier, beginning with freshman, to keep them on track. So far, all eight of the program's students are still in school, although two left astronomy for other majors.
Betsy Hernandez joined the program this year and her goal is a Ph.D. in physics. Hernandez, who's 35 and works part-time, says the free tuition has lightened her load.
"[Without a scholarship] I would have continued with my student loans which I didn't want," she says. "That's one of the reasons why I stopped [attending school] at one point — because I wanted to get rid of the debt."
For Ariel Diaz, it's all the other support that's really making a difference. He lives with his father on the Lower East Side, in public housing where it's hard to find a quiet place to study.
"I just don't have the space," he says. "My door doesn't close and I receive knocks all the time."
Diaz is grateful for the free laptop computer and the monthly transit card. They enable him to study at the museum when he isn't caring for his father, who is blind and has diabetes.
Jovino Diaz, 68, says he's proud of his son, even if he doesn't fully understand what Ariel is studying. Jovino Diaz had very little education in his native Dominican Republic.
"As long as I'm studying, that's all he really cares about," Ariel Diaz says, translating his father's Spanish. "Because as long as you're studying to go forward, you're not going to go backwards."***
It is Trick or Treat Week on ROSALILIUM
and we have lots of awesome Guest Bloggers joining us.
Today Emma from Oh Gosh Em is sharing her DIY Puppy Pumpkin Costume tutorial
***
The lovely Elizabeth is allowing me to take over this space today to show you how I turned a cheap throw into a pumpkin costume for my puppy, Flash.
For this tutorial you’ll need
Orange fabric – I used a £1.99 fleecy Dunelm throw as i thought fleece would be soft on the puppy’s skin, but you can use anything. You’ll need enough to comfortably wrap round your pet, plus a little extra for the hood.
A4 piece of Black felt
Some scraps of green felt
A scrap of brown felt.
Black thread.
Scissors.
Sewing machine (you can do it by hand but it might take longer)
Tape measure.
Fabric pen.
1. Start by measuring round your pet’s neck and the fattest part of their belly and from the nape of their neck to their tale. Jot these numbers down and then half the neck and belly numbers. On a piece of paper (I can use A4 as Flash is small, but you might need to use something bigger, maybe a broadsheet newspaper?) First cut the paper down to the length of your pups body, then measure out the halved neck size at the top of the page, at the bottom measure out the halved belly width and draw a curved line up. Now is the tricky bit – making the arm holes. I had him stand on the paper and drew roughly where his paws were –but I’ll be honest it took a few goes until it fitted him so using cheap paper might be best! Your finished article will look something like this;
2. Next I popped the template on my fleecy fabric and cut myself a couple of orange body shapes, leaving a couple of cm’s each side for the seams. I checked they were the right size to his body before I cut the arm holes.
Don’t throw the template away as you can reuse it to make more puppy jumpers – like this one
3. If you’re using fabric with ‘right sides’ place them together and from what will be the inside of the jumper, sew up the sides, following the line of the cloth. Try it on your pup, just to make sure it fits. (The fleece didn’t have right sides, which makes everything easier.)
4. Now it’s time to shape the hoodie. Flash is a little boy dog so he needs a little more space to wee than a girl dog might, but i cut an arc out of the layer that covers his tummy and it’s not impeded his weeing yet!
5. Now it’s time to make the hood! Cut a piece of the fabric that is as long as your dog’s neck measurement. Fold it in half and then cut a hood shaped arc from it, like this;
I then sewed up the curved side of the hood, tried it on flash’s head and for size and then hemmed folded back the front of the hood to hem it.
6. To attach the hood I turned the sweater back inside out, turned the hood inside out and placed it inside the jumper, the right side of the hood next to the right side of the jumper – like this;
Inside of hood I lined up the front of the jumper so the hood almost met in the middle and pinned it. Once I sewed it and turned it the right side out it looks like this.
Now the jumper is done. It’s time to make the decorations.
7. Cut out 3 black triangles for the eyes and nose and a mouth. I’m not going to give you exact sizes as they need to look in proportion to the rest of the jumper. I hand sewed these on to the jumper.
8. To make the leaves and stalk, cut out 3-4 leaves from the green fabric, and a rectangle from the brown. Fold the ‘stalk’ in half, right sides together if you have them, and sew up the long edge. To turn it the right way round I wiggled a pencil through it, whilst making sure some of the fabric had ‘caught’ until it was right way round again. I sewed up one end and filled it with the scraps left over from the leaf edges. I then sewed the leaves to the top of the hood, and the stalk into the middle of them.
Phew – that sounds like a far longer process than it was – but it took me about 45mins in all – that included searching for the dog to try on his new jumper, snapping some pics as we went and a few breaks to check twitter and the likes.
But now I have a dog who can be dressed as a pumpkin for Halloween! Even if he’s not that happy about it!
And with a bit of adjustment to the decorations and colour you could turn your pup into any seasonal character you want.
***
Follow Emma!LOS ANGELES -- Rally car driver Tanner Foust and Hollywood stuntman Greg Tracy set a world record Saturday by driving two Hot Wheels all-wheel-drive advance rally spec coupe cars through the 66-foot tall Hot Wheels Double Loop Dare track at X Games LA.
"That was unbelievable," Tracy said after finishing first through the loop in the Team Green car and making the jump into the finish ahead of Foust. "I tell you what, I'm at a loss for words. That was absolutely the coolest thing I've ever done. It was a handful trying to land it and get it slowed down. I knew Tanner was right behind me and I was just hoping we weren't going to tangle before we got to the end."
The track, two football fields long, was modeled on Mattel's Hot Wheels Double Dare Snare toy racetrack set. Foust and Tracy smashed the previous record for the largest loop in a car, set at 42 feet in September 2011 by Chinese driver Li Yatao in a Lotus 5 Sportback for Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co., Ltd. in Shanghai.
"The moment when it's go time, the heart rate slows down, the adrenaline goes away and it's a matter of letting it happen," Foust said.
Foust and Tracy hit 52 mph in the track and experienced approximately 7Gs going through the loop.
"That was pretty hardcore: the 7 Gs … I almost felt my chin hit my lap, I think, in the loop," Foust said after finishing the stunt in the Team Yellow car. "I felt like I was in a toy."
To avoid passing out from the force of seven times gravity, Foust's strategy was to "grunt, tighten your core and try to make your eyeballs and veins pop out."
After the drivers shift from first gear to second gear, the hand control takes over and, Foust said, "It's a matter of following the black line and not passing out."
Said Tracy:
"It doesn't just happen on the day, it's something we've been working on for a year. When I heard the countdown, I was ready to go."
Foust, a three-time X Games gold medalist, will be looking to add to his collection in Sunday's RallyCross final at X Games LA, the third of five stops on the 2012 Global RallyCross tour. The X Games RallyCross finals will be airing on ESPN2 and ESPN3D from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET Sunday.Johnny Knoxville brings Jackass back to the big screen — minus the late Ryan Dunn, who sadly lost his life in 2011 — with this week's Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, a feature-length series of pranks that revolve around his aged Jackass 3D granddad Irving Zisman. Though for the first time marrying its stunts to a narrative framework — in which Zisman and his ten-year-old grandson Billy take a cross-country road trip — Bad Grandpa revels in gags both crass and inventive, many of them predicated on societal assumptions about, and prejudices toward, the elderly. In honor of Knoxville and company's latest cinematic slap to the face, here's a look back at ten of the most wildly inventive bits from the film franchise.
"The Mini Loop"
A challenge of athletic skill as well as pain tolerance, this Jackass 2 feat involves riding an electric mini-bike up and over a circular ramp without crashing or falling off. First delivering multiple failed attempts that result in bodily harm before offering a thrilling payoff, all via a stunt that looks like it'd be a blast if only one could survive it, it's something like the ideal Jackass bit: dangerous, exciting, and decidedly clever.
"The Toro Totter"
Going toe to toe with a bull is daring and stupid but also, from a conceptual standpoint, relatively dull. But if you throw into the mix crisscrossing seesaws, the level of anticipation and tension is upped to another level. That fact is incontrovertibly proven by this Jackass 2 stunt, which takes the man-against-beast conflict to idiotically ingenious new heights, all while subtly commenting on its own childishness via Knoxville and co.'s propeller beanies.
"Bad Grandpa"
A precursor to this week's film starring a latex-clad Johnny Knoxville, this sketch, again from Jackass 2, is cunning because it's been designed not just as a vulgar joke but also as a provocation aimed at cultural expectations of etiquette. By having a young boy smoke and drink in public, Knoxville eagerly courts social disapproval and, once attained, then mocks and taunts those good Samaritans for their weak-kneed refusal to truly intervene in such (fake) child abuse. It's profane commentary with a knowing wink.
"The High Five"
Brilliant in its simplicity, this Jackass 3D sketch hilariously plays off the expected safety of humdrum office spaces. Using a gigantic open-palmed hand attached to a slingshot-style axle, Knoxville and cohorts smack unsuspecting cast members when they walk through a doorway — upping the ante by nailing Ehren McGehey while he's holding a tray of soup, and then Bam Margera while the hand is strapped with bags of flour. It's the unforeseen cheap shot amplified to an absurdist extreme.
"Electric Avenue"
Forcing most of the Jackass team to navigate a daunting gauntlet of live tasers, Jackass 3D's sketch generates its humor from both the terror of being repeatedly zapped with electricity, as well as the inspired construction of the hallway itself, designed with planks, tires, and hanging and whirling stun-gun mobiles. Plus, by dressing its participants as striped-jumpsuit prison inmates, it goofily nods to old-school cinematic clichés while updating them for its new-school theater-of-cruelty comedy.
"Bungie Boogie"
A stunt that promises pain only if not properly executed, Jackass 3D's "Bungie Boogie" hits |
er. a) The plans seem to call for 2.5 million more people. But when it comes to population growth, according to the Weekly
the two key causes are illegal immigration and the high birth rate among the poor and working poor.
If somehow various immigration-control measures actually slow illegal immigration--i.e., if the Gran Salida continues--will all those multi-story apartments actually be needed? Put another way, does Villaraigosa's growth plan depend on continued illegal immigration?b) There's a case for greater density. What's most alarming is that Villaraigosa seems to be planning greater density without first building the subway system that might move all those people around. The Weekly provides a helpful sidebar comparison with Mexico City. c) The most powerful anti-growth voice cited by the Weekly is County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. But the city's already-dense West Side would have had a subway years ago if Yaroslavsky and his Democratic ally Henry Waxman hadn't foolishly stopped it in the 1980s and 1990s... "He blocked the subway his city needed" is one of the things that will be on Waxman's tombstone, along with "He expanded Medicaid."... "He busted Roger Clemens" is unlikely to make the cut....
Update: Emailer S.G. notes that the political system seems structured to produce the worse of both worlds: Powerful private developers are able to push through dense, multi-story housing. The only thing anti-growth forces are able to stop is the subway, because it (unlike apartment buildings) requires public, federal funding. The result: paralysis. Even in Blade Runner, there was a monorail, no?... 5.55 P.M. link
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Friday, February 29, 2008
HuffPo--"Study Suggests Tougher Words for Dems On Immigration": An obvious con job by the Center for American Progress, et. al.. In this "confidential" study, comprehensive reform boosters urge Democrats to seem tough by adopting the rhetorical attitude of their opponents.
"It is unacceptable to have 12 million people in our country who are outside the system," it reads. "We must require illegal immigrants to become legal, and reform the laws so this can happen."
In other words, we will take a tough stand against illegal immigrants by making them all... legal. Sorry, by requiring them to become legal!That'll teach them to mess with our laws again!... Of course, you can make any kind of amnesty seem like a triumph for the rule of law through this rhetorical trick: These [insert violators here] broke the law. But now we are bringing them into the system by making them all law-abiding residents again! Before: illegal. After: legal! How much more law-and-orderish can you get?...
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Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Katrina of All Potemkin Fences! Gee, it seems like only five days ago that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was singing the virtues of Boeing's "virtual fence" on the Mexican border:
"I have personally witnessed the value of this system, and I have spoken directly to the border patrol agents...who have seen it produce actual results, in terms of identifying and allowing the apprehension of people who were illegally smuggling across the border," Chertoff said.
Today we learn, from WaPo, that the "virtual" fence "did not work as planned" and has been delayed for three years by Chertoff's department.
The border fence saga can be confusing, filled with subtle twists, turns, and feints.** But here is my brief potted history. Please explain where I've got it wrong:
Then you can explain to me why Chertoff still has his job.
P.S.: Tammy Bruce has one unsubtle, but not implausible, explanation--Chertoff was only doing what he was supposed to do:
In other words, we've all just been taken for a ride.... In order to do whatever possible to avoid building an actual physical fence... Bush, McCain and their amnesty cronies made sure a monumental amount of money was wasted on a fake, untested, unreal fence to placate conservatives.... And now, after the tens of millions of dollars spent on an unworkable, failed system, and a year of the Feds touting the genius of the 'virtual' fence, Amnesty Secretary Michael Chertoff now says the border will not be prot[e]cted by a physical fence or even a virtual fence...
Instead, Bruce notes, Chertoff seems to be counting on plans "to double" the DHS "fleet of three unmanned aerial vehicles." That's a total of six (6) drones. Not joking. That's what he said. Three thousand miles of border. Six drones. Talk about a "light footprint"! This is the pre-Petraeus Iraq strategy applied to the border.
Except that this time John McCain almost certainly approves, at least in private. Of course, if McCain really wants to prove his bona fides as a newborn secure-the-border conservative, he might start by saying the things about Chertoff that he said about Donald Rumsfeld regarding Iraq (or that he now says he said about Donald Rumsfeld)....
P.P.S.: Did both Democratic contenders for the presidency endorse the virtual fence in a debate only a week before WaPo reported that it doesn't work? I think they did!...
** Note: For example, there was this deceptively simple exchange in a press conference a month before the 2006 election:
Are you committed to building the 700 miles of fence, actual fencing? PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes...
In fact, this was like an obvious typo in the paper, something experienced Washington observers discounted immediately. What Bush clearly meant to say was "No"--that he planned to finish only 370 miles of fence and also count "300 miles of vehicle barriers."... [Thanks to reader S.] 6:54 P.M. link
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Should later primaries count more than early primaries? If Hillary wins Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania, that's what she's going to claim. It's not a bogus argument. Voters in late primaries have more information than voters in early primaries. Superdelegates should be able to take note. That's different from arguing that Hillary should be able to pull strings and get superdelegates even if she keeps losing.... kf's suggested HRC strategy: Cry. Duh. She cries, she wins! Wail Mary! It worked twice. Why not try it until it stops working?... 5:57 P.M.
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008
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Russert Chokes in Clutch: In Tuesday's debate, Tim Russert definitely let Obama off the hook on the issue of Obama's chosen pastor, Rev. Wright:
RUSSERT: The title of one of your books, "Audacity of Hope," you acknowledge you got from a sermon from Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the head of the Trinity United Church. He said that Louis Farrakhan "epitomizes greatness." He said that he went to Libya in 1984 with Louis Farrakhan to visit with Moammar Gadhafi and that, when your political opponents found out about that, quote, "your Jewish support would dry up quicker than a snowball in Hell." What do you do to assure Jewish-Americans that, whether it's Farrakhan's support or the activities of Reverend Jeremiah Wright, your pastor, you are consistent with issues regarding Israel and not in any way suggesting that Farrakhan epitomizes greatness?
If Russert had broken it off quickly around where the boldface stops--e.g., "do you feel comfortable associating yourself with these sentiments"--he'd have had a pointed question that put Obama on the spot. By babbling on about Jews and Israel--as if only Jews could be offended by Farrakhan--he gave Obama an easy answer that let him ignore Wright and the avoid the tricky business of distancing himself from his pastor. ("Tim, I have some of the strongest support from the Jewish community in my hometown of Chicago..." etc.).
Like Andy McCarthy, I don't think Russert was consciously helping Obama escape. But there are any number of potential subconscious motives for Russert's choke, including fear that his image wouldn't benefit if he were the heavy who skewered the popular, charismatic black Dem frontrunner.... 12:33 A.M. link
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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Is Obama Deval Patrick II? Obama didn't steal the words of his buddy Deval Patrick, governor of Massachusetts. He borrowed them. OK. But what are the other similarities between Obama and Patrick? The two pols have a lot in common even aside from shared rhetoric. Has Patrick's term been a success, or has it been a cautionary example of a promising, race-transcendant Democrat squandering his mandate by governing as a hack interest-group liberal? Fred Siegel has an answer to this question. Excerpt:
Patrick's governorship is the closest thing we have to a preview of the "politics of hope"—and that governorship has been a failure to date. As Joan Vennochi observes in the Boston Globe, "Democrats who control the Legislature ignored virtually every major budget and policy initiative presented by a fellow Democrat." Patrick's record in office, Vennochi concludes, "shows that it can be hard to get beyond being the face of change, to actually changing politics." His stock has sunk so markedly that Hillary Clinton carried the state handily against Obama in the Democratic primary despite, or perhaps because of, Patrick's support for his political doppelgänger. In one area, however, Patrick has achieved some of his goals. In thrall to the state's teachers' unions, he has partly rolled back the most successful educational reforms in the country. Most states gamed the federal testing requirements that were part of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act. But Massachusetts, thanks to Republican governors William Weld and Mitt Romney, created the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability to ensure that the state's testing methods conformed closely to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—federal tests that are the gold standard for measuring educational outcomes. In 2007, Massachusetts became the first state to achieve top marks in all four categories of student achievement. One of Patrick's first efforts as governor was to eliminate the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability. [E.A.]
Isn't it incumbent on those prominent NEA-bashing neoliberal Obama supporters to explain just why his term as president won't quickly descend into a Patrick-like interest-group quagmire? Jon Alter, this means you! And Charles Peters as well.... P.S.: Patrick could function as Obama's wrang-wrang, Vonnegut's term for a pioneer who by his bad example steers others away from a false course. Before neolibs go into a permanent campaign swoon, shouldn't Obama send them at least a subtle signal that he understands this?
Backfill: Here's Vennochi's column. She's a bit more charitable than Siegel.... Update: Boston Globe on Patrick's strained relationship with the legislature. Hope= casino gambling?... 4:19 P.M. link
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"Any comment that is disparaging of either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is totally inappropriate."-- Sen. McCain today.... Is that really how McCain is going to run for president? Why can't you disparage your opponent in a political campaign?... I'm obviously late on picking this up, but McCain really does have a habit of making categorical, blunderbuss statements that maximize, not the truth, or his political maneuvering room, but his own sense of righteousness.... Examples: 1) It's not that he doesn't remember various Iseman-related meetings. They never occurred. 2) The United States will not torture (except, you know, when it will). 3) Any comment disparaging of Senator Obama is not just inappropriate, it's "totally" inappropriate (except down the road, of course, when it may become necessary...). 1:47 P.M. link
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But I think the serious thing that happened is just this change in relationship between the candidates and the reporters has been such a sea change. In 1920, the reporters knew in detail that Warren Harding was having an affair for 15 years. They thought it wasn't their business to talk about the private life, compared to a front-page article that suspects an affair on the part of some aides. In fact, the Republican committee was so worried about this affair that they actually gave the woman $20,000 and sent her to the Orient during the entire campaign to get her out of the way. So we've changed the whole notion of what part of a private life matters. When the real story is what part of the public life matters. [E.A.]
Huh? If the Republican committee was so worried about Harding's mistress, doesn't that show she was considered relevant, and that there was a chance that at least some of the press would see it as their business?
Bonus PBS Newshour Moment: David Brooks defends the McCain campaign's reliance on lobbyists because
A lot of them work for no pay.
Um, doesn't that make it worse? If they work for no pay, then McCain owes them. Is he going to pay them back as President? On the other hand, if they get paid lavishly for their work in the campaign, he's freer to tell them to take a hike later, no?...[Thanks to alert reader J] 12:14 A.M.
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Monday, February 25, 2008
'I helped Page Six for decades and all I got was this lousy squib'? I was never quite sure "Baird Jones" actually existed. He was such a flickering ominpresence in the gossip pages, he could easily have been invented. But he was apparently an actual person, who is now dead. The NY Post, which Jones practically kept afloat with a steady stream of mid-range celebrity gossip items, has covered itself with ungrateful shame in its stinting report, but Radar at least begins to do him justice, including revealing a seemingly crucial secret.... 8:07 P.M.
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Things That Bother Media Matters : Now Tucker Carlson is echoing! Will he stop at nothing? P.S.: Either George Soros is wasting his money on MM or someone else is.... 6:14 P.M.
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Hear No Univision, See No Univision: It's dispiriting to watch the conservatives at National Review bend over backwards to play down the New York Times' McCain-Iseman story. What if before McCain had effectively won the nomination--say, when he and Romney were contesting New Hampshire or Michigan--it had been revealed that he may have been excessively influenced by a gorgeous lobbyist for Univision, the Spanish language broadcaster with a vested financial interest in promoting bilingualism at the expense of a unifying common language? So much so that the lobbyist boasted of her influence at meetings? So much so that McCain's right-hand strategist tried personally to intervene and tell her to go away? You think it might have been an issue?...
P.S.:National Review Online's David Freddoso scoffs at the idea that McCain received a mere $85,000 from Iseman's clients since 2000, arguing that if that's all McCain got he's "pathetic" at trying to "take advantage of people" in his committee's purview. Hmm. a) Former Univision CEO, controlling shareholder and Iseman client Jerrold Perenchio is a National FInance Co-Chair of McCain's campaign. Presumably he brings in more than $85,000; b) The worry isn't that McCain was taking advantage of Univision, et. al. It's rather the other way around. Or, more precisely, that this was a smarmy, mutually self-interested alliance that helped McCain and Univision in ways that maybe went beyond promoting the national interest.
If conservatives substitute "National Education Association" for "Univision" maybe the potential scandal will be easier to see. But at this point, McCain could be caught having an affair with Juan Hernandez and it wouldn't bother the National Review....
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"Hillary Should Get Out Now": Why would it help either Hillary or the Democratic party if she were to drop out before March 4 Texas and Ohio primaries, as fantasized by my friend Jon Alter? If Obama wins the two states, he'll be a much stronger candidate for it. If he loses, then Hillary would have been a fool to drop out, no? The idea that two weeks more of a relatively tame primary campaign is going to damage Democratic chances eight months from now seems a stretch.... If Hillary dropped out now while she still has a small but non-trivial chance, it wouldn't show "grace and class" so much as lack of judgment.... Alter, an Obama supporter and is just going to bat for his guy... P.S. Also, Hillary's "beautiful closing answer" in the Austin debate wasn't a "more genuine" Hillary. It was one of her phoniest moments yet. Nice try, though.... 12:51 A.M.
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Sunday, February 24, 2008
How is letting Marketa Irglova back on stage to finish her Oscar acceptance speech like Kosovo independence? Feels good, bad precedent. [Other ex.?-ed Immigration amnesty!] 11:37 P.M.
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Friday, February 22, 2008
"[n]o representative of [Iseman client] Paxson [Communications]...discussed with Senator McCain the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proceeding regarding the transfer of Pittsburgh public television station (WQED)..."
It turns out McCain himself said in a deposition that he'd discussed it with Mr. Paxson himself. McCain's subsequent staff's defense doesn't help the Senator:
"I]t appears that Senator McCain, when speaking of being contacted by Paxson, was speaking in shorthand of his staff being contacted by representatives of Paxson."
Err... McCain was fairly explicit on the issue in a sworn deposition, saying "I'm sure I spoke to [Paxson]". ****
Oh well, so he maybe got it wrong under oath. Another sign of his gruff authenticity!**
What's striking about the story so far is the extent to which core McCain supporters concede that if it's confirmed McCain is through. I don't see why that would have to be true--I'd think he could confess, cry, and weather the storm. (If the GOPs had someone to beat McCain they'd have beaten him already.) But here's McCainiac David Brooks:
At his press conference Thursday, McCain went all-in. He didn't just say he didn't remember a meeting about Iseman. He said there was no meeting. If it turns out that there is evidence of an affair and a meeting, then his presidential hopes will be over.
That means, of course, that even if the story is true, loyal McCain supporters would be under tremendous pressure--even self-imposed pressure--to deny it. Is McCain point man Charlie Black saying anything he wouldn't say if McCain did have the affair, and the meeting? A question to keep in mind.
**--Josh Marshall has more on McCain's distinctly un-Clintonesque style of blanket denial. In another politician this would just be recklessness. Does McCain do it because he hasn't been burned--i.e. the press has always given him a pass before?...
****--Update: Paxson himself now tells Wapo he met with McCain.... The McCain camp asks us to accept that when both parties to an alleged romance deny it, it didn't happen--but that when both parties to a meeting say it did happen, it didn't happen either.... 4:21 P.M. link
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In 2006, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both voted for the Secure Fence Act, widely understood to entail building 700 miles of fence along the Southern border. Now Hillary says
There may be places where a physical barrier is appropriate. I think when both of us voted for this we were voting for the possibility that where it was appropriate and made sense it would be considered, but as with so much, the Bush administration has gone off the deep end, and they are unfortunately coming up with a plan that I think is counterproductive. [E.A.]
Hmm. Isn't that a little like voting for the Iraq War and then saying you were just voting for the possibility that if it were appropriate it would be considered?
In this case, though, Obama is attempting the same two-step. He says he and Clinton "almost entirely agree" regarding the fence, adding
As Senator Clinton indicated, there may be areas where it makes sense to have some fencing. But for the most part, having Border Patrol, surveillance, deploying effective technology, that's going to be the better approach.... [E.A.]
Is voting for a fence and then denying you were actually voting for a fence the old politics of Washington or the new politics of hope? I get confused.... 2:57 A.M. link
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Dingalink of the Week: There is no excuse for our lapse in judgment. It won't happen again.... 2:10 A.M.
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The Scandal Is What Isn't Scandalous, Part III: Mike Huckabee's wife "attended a middleweight prize fight this past weekend in Las Vegas--where she stayed at the Hooters Casino Hotel"--which "may be problematic with conservative Christian voters," reports the S.F. Chronicle.
There's a Hooters hotel? Yikes.... 1:42 P.M.
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
"A lot of [what] you see in the stories is not true, but at the same time, I have to tell you that I always say, that wherever there is smoke, there is fire. That is true.
a) When the Times reports that two McCain "associates**... said Mr. McCain acknowledged behaving inappropriately and pledged to keep his distance from Ms. Iseman," the vagueness of "inappropriately" might mean the NYT doesn't have the goods on any possible romance. But it suggests to me that the paper's sources might not want to give it the salacious details or the paper itself is too decorous. If by "inappropriately" doesn't mean anything sexual, then the NYT has indeed been surprisingly sleazy. Someone should ask Mr. Rutenberg.
b) The Scandal-is-What-isn't-Scandalous Dept. Part I: From the NYT story:
The McCain aides said the senator sided with Ms. Iseman's clients only when their positions hewed to his principles. A champion of deregulation, Mr. McCain... introduced a bill to create tax incentives for minority ownership of stations; Ms. Iseman represented several businesses seeking such a program. [E.A.]
How is introducing this bill in keeping with McCain's deregulatory or deficit cutting instincts? There is no more fetid swamp of corrupting government favoritism than the FCC's minority ownership programs. And tax incentives aren't really all that different in their budget-gutting effect from earmarks, are they? If those are McCain's principles...
c) Part II: This paragraph from WaPo's follow up seems like a small fire in itself:
At the time he sent the first letter, McCain had flown on Paxson's corporate jet four times to appear at campaign events and had received $20,000 in campaign donations from Paxson and its law firm. The second letter came on Dec. 10, a day after the company's jet ferried him to a Florida fundraiser that was held aboard a yacht in West Palm Beach.
That was normal practice? Isn't it less damning if he did it for love?
d) McCain's License to Lie: McCain seems convinced that his wartime heroism and general righteousness make it OK for him to lie in bullying fashion when he really has to (e.g., when he needs to pretend that under his immigration plan illegal immigrants would "not be in any way rewarded for illegal behavior"). That could be what's happening here too.... Of course, as Michael Kinsley (and one of my emailers) has noted, sympathetic liberal reporters perversely give McCain straight talk points when he lies. That could happen here as well....
Backfill: Jack Shafer has already made many of these points....
**--The NYT describes these sources as two "former associates" of McCain. The text here originally said "aides." WaPo reports that "[m]embers of the senator's small circle of advisers" confronted McCain. McCain denies that the confrontation took place.... 3:37 P.M. link
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'I Was Nowhere Near Milwaukee': Now that he's safely won Wisconsin--a state relatively friendly to school vouchers-- Obama genuflects to the teachers' unions by denouncing "misleading reports that Senator Obama voiced support for voucher programs."... If you were in the mood to grasp at straws in Obama's defense--i.e. the mood I'm in, don't know about you--you would note that this isn't a Full Grovel,** which would involve retracting, rephrasing or apologizing for the Obama statements that suggest an openness to vouchers (if evidence turns out to support them). Instead, Obama's campaign merely calls "out of context" and emphasizes the anti-voucher aspects of his platform. That seems more like the Minimum Necessary Grovel to keep the National Education Association happy while preserving Obama's freedom to reverse his "longstanding skepticism" in the future....
**--An example of a Full Grovel would be DNC then-chair Paul Kirk's statement after he gave an interview suggesting openness to a Social Security means test: "I was wrong. Our party... is unalterably opposed to any cuts in Social Security benefits. I should not have mentioned the subject of a means test." 11:42 P.M. link
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Howie Kurtz is his own worst enemy? Not while Charles Kaiser is alive! Kaiser, who first (as far as I know) pointed out that Kurtz has the worst conflict of interest in journalism--Kurtz covers CNN while being "well compensated" by CNN for hosting a media show-- updates his anti-Kurtz brief. Best new point: Kurtz tries to compensate for his conflict by avoiding writing about CNN, which in itself is doing CNN a favor:
According to Nexis and the Washington Post's own website, during the past 12 months, the one subject the media reporter for the Post has almost never written about is... CNN.
This sort of benign neglect couldn't come at a better time for CNN, since many of Kurtz's own colleagues believe the news network has gotten so tabloidy and superficial that it's no longer worth watching at all.
11:20 A.M.
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Is Hillary better off losing Wisconsin? My friend S called with a so-crazy-it-might-be-true theory about the Democratic primary contest, which is this: Hillary does best when Democratic voters sense she's about to get brutally knocked out of the race, as in New Hampshire. That prospect taps a well of residual sympathy for a woman who has devoted her life to politics, etc. But when Hillary is triumphant she seems arrogant and unbearable, and voters feel free to express those perceptions at the polls. It follows that Hillary will do better in the crucial states of Ohio and Texas if she loses in Wisconsin and has her back to the wall. If she wins Wisconsin, and holds a big happy victory rally trumpeting her newfound momentum, the result will be a another surge of support for Obama.... In other words, it's not that there is no momentum from a primary victory this year ("nomentum"). There's reverse momentum ("mutnemom!"), at least where Hillary is concerned. If she wins a primary one week that makes her more likely to lose the next one..... 3:06 P.M. link
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Monday, February 18, 2008
suggests the Obama campaign really does have its roots in New Class leftism, according to which patriotism is not only the last refuge of a scoundrel, but the first refuge as well — that America is not fundamentally good but flawed, but rather fundamentally flawed and only occasionally good.
He could be right! Her comment is also of a piece with the cavalier Obamaesque dismissal of the achievements of the Clinton years and her church's focus on "this racist United States of America." ** But is the explanation necessarily political? Even Dennis Kucinich would probably have no problem finding something to be proud of in the past two decades. If Michelle Obama's default position is set to "Aggrieved," it also suggests something personal, no? Maybe, like many strong wives, she wonders why her husband is the one on the top of the family ticket--which might also explain her strange occasional habit of belittling him in public ("snore-y and stinky" ). Beats me. For whatever reason, she sure seems to have a non-trivial chip on her shoulder and it's not a winning quality....
**--In a forthcoming bloggingheads episode, Bob Wright reminds me of another jarring comment from Mrs. Obama, speaking about her husband:
"[T]he realities are, as a black man, Barack can get shot going to the gas station."
And white men don't get shot at gas stations? Sure, Mrs. Obama might have meant to say, in an anodyne rephrasing, that "as someone who lives in Barack's neighborhood, he could get shot going to the gas station." There are always anodyine rephrasings. At some point there are too many of them.... 4:29 P.M. link
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Psst--We Don't Think He's Pro-Life Either: Michael Kinsley lets out a secret Democrats have been guarding closely of late--when it comes to loyalty to conservative positions, we don't think McCain's as bad as conservatives claim. We think he's worse! For example, Charles Krauthammer, listing McCain's apostasies, concedes that "he's held the line on abortions." Kinsley suggests that even that may be wishful, cheap date thinking:
McCain is perceived as authentic, which is a deeper form of honesty than mere truth-telling. He says he's antiabortion? Oh, he doesn't mean that.
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Saturday, February 16, 2008
Why the Right Hates Newsweek: Newsweek, in a piece on "Why the Right Hates McCain," contains only a short description of what the magazine calls
his compromise position on immigration reform. (McCain championed a bill with archliberal Ted Kennedy that would have allowed illegal aliens to participate in a worker-visa program. He later retreated.)
"Participate in a worker-visa program." I think the "compromise" did a little more than that! Permanent legalization, "path to citizenship," etc. How is any Newsweek reader going to understand "Why the Right Hates McCain" if the magazine rewrites recent history to make him look more reasonable?... Nor is it clear he's really retreated.... P.S.--The Wimp Factor! Now that McCain's the near-certain nominee, mags like Newsweek really need easy access to his aides, no? Just saying! Presidential candidates have retaliated by cutting off Newsweek'saccess before.... 9:35 P.M.
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Friday, February 15, 2008
I'm a day behind, and I feel the crushing weight of every minute, but isn't this kind of brilliant?... 6:55 P.M.
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'Sorry Charlie, you just didn't meet your numbers this quarter': Let me get this straight--Clinton strategist Mark Penn is McCain strategist Charlie Black's boss?... Not since James Carville battled it out with Mary Matalin in 1992 has it been so clear which campaign's top aide has the upper hand! Actually, that one was clearer.... 3:57 P.M.
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The nose of the Pontiac Solstice appears to have been subtly degraded. (Last year/ This year).... 1:06 A.M.
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How is Obama not an unreconstructed lefty--Part III: Not only does he support charter schools, but--at least according the buried lede in the Democrats for Education Reform web site--he's willing to point out in public which major Dem interest group is against them:
At a Manhattan fundraiser I attended last April, a local charter school operator asked Obama why it was so hard to be a charter school person in the Democratic Party. His answer was thoughtful and measured, but he - not the person who asked the question - identified the teachers unions as the obstacle on the political side. He noted that the American public was hungry for change and that the unions' leadership was going to have to decide whether they want to be in on it, or be completely left behind. [Emphasis added]
Worse, from the NEA's point of view, he seems to be open to...v-v-vouchers...
But, and this is the interesting part, he said if studies end up showing that children are benefiting from vouchers, he wouldn't allow his skepticism to stand in the way of doing something to help them. "You do what works for the kids," Obama said. [Emphasis added]
When Obama says that near the beginning of his videotaped interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, he seems to be maybe just be play-acting the role of someone arguing with a voucher skeptic. But at the end of the interview he declares:
I will not allow sort of my predispositions to stand in the way of making sure that our kids can learn. We're losing several generations of kids and something has to be done.
You think that's what he said when he answered the NEA's questions earlier in the campaign?... Update: Back in July, he responded to the American Federation of Teachers questionnaire with what the AFT wanted to hear:
We need to invest in our public schools and strengthen them, not drain their fiscal support. And for this reason I do not support vouchers. In the end, vouchers would reduce the options available to children in need. I fear these children would truly be left behind in a private market system. [E.A.]
Hey, it's his contradiction. Let him explain it. But I note that back in July he was a dark horse candidate sucking up to the unions like every other Dem. Now the power relations is at least partly reversed--if he says something the union doesn't like, it's not clear what they can do about it. They could back Hillary, but that's not likely to endear them to Obama if he wins. [Also now he's telling the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ed board what it wants to hear--ed You don't like consistency?]
More: The New York Sun adds:
Asked the same voucher question by the Milwaukee paper, Senator Clinton had a strong response, saying she opposes vouchers because they hurt public schools and could also open up the possibility of using taxpayer dollars to finance dangerous schools including training grounds for "jihad."
Also:
The president of the National Education Association, Reginald Weaver, told The New York Sun today that he believes Mr. Obama still opposes vouchers.... He said that in conversations he expects to ask Mr. Obama to affirm his position on vouchers.
I guess we get to find out if John Edwards is right! 12:31 A.M. link
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
Formaldehyde makes me paranoid: From the NYT coverage of the Katrina-trailer scandal--
''I don't understand why FEMA bought trailers in the first place that were dangerous,'' said Henry Alexander, 60, who has been living in a trailer since February 2006.
1) Hmm. Isn't the issue why anyone is building trailers in the first place that are dangerous? This doesn't seem like a FEMA scandal. It seems like a trailer-industry scandal. Most victims of poisonous trailers are probably a) not Katrina victims and b) actually paying good money for their carcinogenic trailers. 2) Is FEMA using the formaldehyde issue as a prod to move people out of the trailers--something it's apparently been trying to do for a while, perhaps to avoid creating a permanent class of free-trailer dwellers? In other words, maybe FEMA wants this scandal (and the press is obligingly giving it to them).... 11:56 P.M.
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If a Hispanic who has performed as poorly and prominently as Patti Solis Doyle can't be fired without her employer getting grief from Hispanic leaders, isn't that a pretty big disincentive to hiring a Hispanic in the first place? Message: Stick to white males--if they screw up, you can sack them and nobody will whine.... 9:03 P.M.
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Ellisblog makes a rare appearance to wallow in Clintonfreude.... 8:53 P.M.
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008
It's hard out there for a Page: What word that he "shouldn't have" did Mark Halperin use?... Meow: The word appears to have been "pussy." As in
"[Edwards] thinks Obama is kind of a pussy. He has real questions about Obama's toughness..."
Does that bother you? Doesn't bother me. It adds evocative oomph.... The Phoenix's Adam Reilly has a cheap snitfit here. Prissy!...[via Romenesko] 4:09 P.M.
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It's a Dem group! It's a'swing' group! In Mark Penn's big electability memo, he identifies Hillary Clinton's strengths when compared with Obama:
Sen. Obama will have to fall back on core Democratic voters to stay competitive with McCain. But this is where Hillary has already built a powerful base, with overwhelming support among women, Latino voters, and other stalwarts of the Democratic Party. [E.A.]
A paragraph later, women and Latinos are back, this time as a "swing" voters:
And Hillary's core voters - working class, women, Latinos, Catholics - are exactly the voters that comprise the key swing voters the party has needed in the past to win.
I suppose it's possible that women and Latinos are "core Democratic voters" who nevertheless might desert the party on a moment's notice against McCain--though that would suggest the Democratic core is near-evanescent. It's also possible that a lot of core Dem voters are women and a lot of swing voters are women--indeed it would be odd if they weren't. But it's also possible that "women" and "Latinos" have to do double duty for Penn because there aren't a lot of other groups he can brag about....[Tks to emailer Y] 1:08 P.M.
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Didn't Ron Fournier kind of bury the lede in his story on how the |
data doors wide open? Greene said CISA could be helped by limiting sharing to only that data relevant to cyberthreats, and not, for instance, investigations into other criminal activity. She also suggested limiting the broad liability protections by giving consumers some way to seek recourse for damages done by information-sharing.
Others say that better sharing of certain kinds of information would help predict cyberthreats without particularly imperiling privacy or constitutional rights.
Matt Kodama of the cyber-intelligence and predictive-analytics group Recorded Future told Defense One that one of the most simple and straightforward indicators of potential cyberattacks is observing strange behavior among administrators. “After attackers break into a network, they need to avoid detection, get to their real target, and carry out the cyber crime. They might do this with lots of high-tech tricks, but there’s a much easier way. If the attacker can gain access to a user account with lots of access rights, like a computer administrator, they will be able to move right past all the alarms and defenses. “¦ However, the behavior of that user account, once it’s been hijacked by a cyber attacker, will be unusual. The user account is allowed to take those actions, but on any regular day the person using that user account doesn’t do all of those things. That’s the ‘user behavior’ that can tip off the defenders,” Kodama said.
Since companies don’t usually grant administrator privileges to the people who use their services, sharing information about admin behavior could be one way to improve situational awareness without endangering user privacy.
Another warning sign is the uploading of large files, especially ones that contain lots of mystery code that doesn’t seem to have any clear purpose. Sophisticated defenses will attempt to open such files in a sandbox, or walled-off portion of a machine or network, so it can’t spread its infection.
But more and more cutting-edge viruses can detect when they are being sandboxed, and goofy admin behavior can be a lagging indicator of a major intrusion, not a predictive one. Those who argue for sharing more information say that CISA doesn’t go far enough to encourage sharing the kind of data that will help the government fight off ever more sophisticated online attacks.
A recent Congressional Research Service report by Eric Fischer found that the bills in question don’t offer much incentive for companies to actually share user data. Liability protections, in other words, are not a carrot but the absence of a stick.223 SHARES Share Tweet
Puerto Rican artist Alexis Diaz has three major pieces in Wynwood – a mural in the main courtyard of an elephant octopus mashup; a mural of skulls on NW Second Ave outside Wood Tavern; and a creepy cool sculpture – his first – gliding through the courtyard like a steampunk Loch Ness Monster.
Hailing from Puerto Rico, Diaz has been drawing from a very young age but street art always called to him because, as he says: “I felt that traditional, paint-on-canvas style had its limitations – I had always dreamed of creating art for all people to enjoy”.
After attending Escuela Central de Artes Visuales, Diaz went on to collaborate with the well-renowned artist collective known as La Pandilla (The Gang). Seeking ways to express himself and the dreamlike visions he had in his head, Diaz turned to mural art and began creating his works in public spaces, to reach out to a broad audience for the people in the streets.
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Using a small brush and a lot of patience, Diaz uses a hash mark style of scratchy lines similar to vintage illustrations. He creates these meticulous compositions freehand, line-by-line as he goes along.
“I feel like having an intimate conversation between the wall, the surrounding space and me,” he says. “I put elements together like in a puzzle until the moment of mutual understanding.”
The subject is always important to both La Pandilla duo and Diaz, as he creates combinations of animals according to the ecosystem of the place he is working. He uses local stories, feelings, his imagination and also evolution and impulses of the times to create a personalized response to wherever he is.
“It is a pretty exciting way of working and means that every place I go, I produce something really individual.”
He hasn’t been at the game long, starting out in 2010, alongside his friend Juan Fernandez aka JUFE. Both artists are known for intricate line detail, streaks pulsating with vibrant color and the melding of fantastical animal imagery. The street art scene in Puerto Rico was very limited in 2010, only using typical spray cans.
When he discovered artworks by Keith Haring it became a major inspiration and encouraged him to step outside aerosol and begin to paint the street using other means.
Looking back, Alexis still is amazed how art changed his life. “I quit my job and everything I was doing at the moment and for a year and a half I painted the streets of Puerto Rico without gaining a penny,” he remembers. Now less than ten years later over 40 of his surreal murals can be found in more than two-dozen cities worldwide. And he keeps adding to the list: “I’ll be painting in New York, Budapest, Cozumel, Rome, Berlin, San Diego, Denver, Paris, and Sydney,” he says.
As a major muralist, artists have to have a singular style. Diaz’s unmistakable technique uses thousands of tiny black brushstrokes to create unearthly murals. His work features fantastical and dreamlike depictions of animals in various states of metamorphosis. The animals fluidly morph into one another creating new species, such as the elephant with octopus tentacles called an Octophant as seen in his mural in the Wynwood Doors for Wynwood Walls’ 2014 program, the Art of Collaboration. The incredible depth and texture his brushstrokes create give a 3-D quality to his work with glowing colors of green and pink and orange to heighten the unreality. He had previously created an Octophant in Shoreditch, London.
Diaz designed his first sculpture titled Hipocampo, created for Wynwood Walls during the Art Basel Miami 2015. His refined and meticulous aesthetic created hybrid cross of a horses skull and torso with crab claws for hooves and an undulating body with scales and fins and a giant flipper tail slithering through its own exuberant world. He has previously painted colorful murals of this creature, but for the sculpture he has painted it a gleaming inky black.
“I traveled to Roma for a project and there I saw a lot of fountains with sculptures of Poseidon with the hippocampus,” Diaz says via email. ”It sparked my attention since I usually paint mixtures of different animals. It was very interesting to me that these animal mixtures were done since Greek Mythology. Afterwards the space provided by Wynwood Walls seemed perfect for the dimensions of the hippocampus, so I decided to give it a try.”
The third work of art he has in Wynwood is outside the Wood Tavern, a restaurant/art project bar and restaurant on NW Second Ave and 25th Street. It’s a striking image of 2 skulls merged together so that there are three eye sockets instead of four. Surrounding the skulls are squawking ravens with sky of stars, a moon and a sun above. The effect is that of a giant tarot card. What is the fortune? What does it mean? Can we ever know? Quoth the raven, nevermore.
His giant murals now cover everywhere from the side of a crumbling building in Bratislava, Slovakia to a makeshift billboard in the middle of the Arizona desert. Both Diaz’s solo work and that of La Pandilla demonstrate a deep interest in transfiguration; animals morph into one another, human hands and skulls become wings and claws and shells and creatures are transformed into ships and submarines to be used for the transport of other animal subjects.
Apart from numerous murals left by his hand on the walls of Puerto Rico, Diaz brought street art to the city of San Juan on a whole new level when he co-organized an international urban art festival called Los Muros Hablan (translated as The Walls Speak), the first of its kind in Puerto Rico. During the event, neighborhoods that have seen hard times become canvasses for artists to create and showcase their work, transforming the area into an open-air gallery. Through the years, the festival has introduced some of the best-known artists to the streets of San Juan. As the popularity of the festival has grown, it has become a major art experience for the community and one of the largest art festivals of its kind in the Caribbean.
“The last 2 murals I did in Puerto Rico have been in El Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico and El Museo de Arte Contemporaneo,” Diaz says.” Every year I try to a mural in the island to maintain that bond with Puerto Rico. My hope is to do one this Christmas. The festival at this moment is on hold, it is very difficult to come up with a budget for this type of project and after Hurricane Maria my priority is to help my island get up on its feet again. Currently I’m still traveling around the world doing murals in places like Belgium, Argentina, Arkansas and coming soon Taiwan. In between I’m working in my studio creating different paintings for my next exhibition.”
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Puerto Rican artist Alexis Diaz has three major pieces in Wynwood. His elephant with octopus tentacles mural in Wynwood Walls shows a unique painting style.National Aboriginal Day is one of those “celebrations” that few Canadians know about and fewer celebrate. It was a proclaimed in 1996 by former governor-general Roméo Leblanc and observed on June 21 every year since then — usually with a government press release.
Steven Bolduc, who has built his business up to three printing franchises in the heart of Bay Street, is an example of the new generation of successful, urban native people. He's originally from the Fort William First Nation near Thunder Bay and grew up both on and off reserve. (April 8, 2011). ( Colin McConnell / Toronto Star )
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• Aboriginal people don’t pay taxes. This is true only for a minority. Status Indians living on reserves (30 per cent of the aboriginal population) are tax-exempt. Those living off reserve (30 per cent) pay taxes. So do non-status Indians (12 per cent), Metis (23 per cent) and Inuit (4 per cent). Even the exempt group can be taxed on income earned off the reserve and purchases made off the reserve. • Aboriginal students get free post-secondary education.
Some do, some don’t. The federal government provides money to First Nations and Inuit communities to pay for tuition, travel costs and living expenses. But not all eligible students get support because demand for higher learning outstrips the supply of funds. Non-status Indians and Metis students are excluded. • Aboriginal peoples live in remote, undeveloped areas.
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In fact, 54 per cent live in urban centres. Toronto has the highest aboriginal population of any city in Canada (although cities such as Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina and Whitehorse have proportionally higher aboriginal populations). • Aboriginal people are falling behind in the job market. Actually, they’re catching up. Thanks to the resource boom in western Canada and the construction that accompanied it, the unemployment rate for aboriginals fell from 17.4 per cent in 2001 to 12.3 per cent in 2010. (It went down as low as 9.3 per cent in 2008 before the recession hit. Burleton and Gulati expect it will be back to that level by year-end.) • Aboriginal people are not entrepreneurial. That’s at odds with the evidence. Approximately 32,000 small- and medium-sized businesses are owned and operated by aboriginal citizens. Fifty-one per cent of these firms were launched by women. • Aboriginal businesses are not very successful. That’s wrong as well. Six out of 10 reported a profit in 2010. A third managed to boost their revenues, even though the country was still climbing out of a recession. • Aboriginal businesses are just riding the coattails of the resource sector. Not according to the statistics. In a nation-wide survey, the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business found that 13 per cent of aboriginal businesses were in the primary sector, which includes forestry, agriculture, mining and oil-and-gas extraction. More were in the service sector (28 per cent) and the construction sector (18 per cent). • Most aboriginal communities are protected by treaties, which guarantee economic and political rights. That is true in Ontario, but not in British Columbia, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. • Aboriginal people receive a huge windfall when they settle a land claim. That is seldom the case. Governments pay out land claim settlements in a variety of ways: economic development incentives, cash that goes to the band council and is often placed in trust and direct payouts to individuals, which must be ratified by a community vote. It’s not like winning a lottery. • There is a hiring quota for aboriginal job applicants. Not in the private sector. In the federally regulated workforce, the Employment Equity Act requires employers to increase the representation of four designated groups: aboriginal peoples, women, members of visible minorities and individuals with disabilities. The legislation has raised aboriginal participation to 4 per cent, whereas it remains at 1.8 per cent in the much larger private sector. Some public perceptions remain sadly accurate. Aboriginal people have a higher poverty rate, dropout rate, substance abuse rate, suicide rate and incarceration rate than other Canadians. But they are making progress. The old labels — lazy, dependent on the public purse, unwilling to improve their lives — no longer fit. Each generation is doing better than the last. That is worth celebrating. Carol Goar’s column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.The Status Quo is not sustainable. Here are some resources on the many reasons why.
Coming to the understanding that the Status Quo is not sustainable is often a crooked path of overcoming programming, propaganda, denial and fear. My colleagues at peakprosperity.com (where I am a contributing writer) have summarized why the Status Quo is not sustainable in an engaging one-hour video program:
Why The Next 20 Years Will Be Completely Unlike The Last 20: the ‘Accelerated’ Crash Course (56 minutes).
The program’s roots are in Chris Martenson’s original video presentation, The Crash Course, a series that went viral around the time of the Global Financial Meltdown. The entire series has been completely reworked, and this one-hour summary introduces the key dynamics in a way that is accessible to those to whom these concepts and realities are new.
This program is free. If you’ve been looking for one program that would help those who are new to the topics of unsustainability, this is it.
One of my jobs (to use the term loosely) is to curate the vast trove of information the global correspondents of this site submit to further my own education. Another is to attempt to keep track of new books and what’s being published in influential journals.
Here is a limited selection of recent books that speak to the topic The Next 20 Years Will Not Be Like the Last 20 Years–Here’s Why. This is by no means authoritative or complete–but it is an interesting taste of the significant work being published.
The Open-Source Everything Manifesto: Transparency, Truth, and Trust
Makers: The New Industrial Revolution
Why Don’t Students Like School: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom
The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die
The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America
Mass Flourishing: How Grassroots Innovation Created Jobs, Challenge, and Change
Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia
Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets
The Tyranny of Experts: Economists, Dictators, and the Forgotten Rights of the Poor
Fragile by Design: The Political Origins of Banking Crises and Scarce Credit
Dirty Wars: The World Is A Battlefield
Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry
You may also find my list of hundreds of Books/Films of interest.The final chapter of Haruto Haneki and Akira Akatsuki's Luger Code 1951 manga announced the staff and premiere date for the planned anime adaptation of Haneki's original story on Monday.
Shinya Takahashi ( Urusei Yatsura: Only You character designer, Patlabor 2: The Movie key animation) will make his directorial debut with the anime at Studio DEEN. Katsuhiko Takayama ( Ga-Rei-Zero, Aldnoah.Zero, Mirai Nikki ) is in charge of the anime's script. Hirofumi Morimoto ( Getbackers, Is This a Zombie? animation director) is adapting the character designs for animation. Ryō Kawasaki ( Reikenzan: Hoshikuzu-tachi no Utage ) is composing the music.
In addition, the announcement reveals that the project has cast Takuya Eguchi as Sergeant Alex Rossa.
The anime will premiere in fall this year. Animax will air the anime, and the Shonen Jump+ website will stream it.
Haneki's original "Luger Code 1951" scenario won the Shonen Jump+ x Animax Anime Scenario Award last September. Akatsuki ( Medaka Box ) launched a manga adaptation of the scenario last December.
The original contest accepted unpublished entries that could be made into an anime 30 to 40 minutes in estimated length. Haneki won 2 million yen (about US$17,000) from the contest.
The story centers around the young linguistic genius and university professor Testa. He is introduced by his senior, Sergeant Rossa, to the Allied Cryptanalysis Department. There, he is tasked to break the enemy werewolves' code, which the werewolves are using to encrypt their radio transmissions. Testa is astounded, as the only sound the encrypted code produces is the howling of a wolf. His research yields no results, and he resolves to capture a live werewolf for better cryptanalysis. After exhausting all possible means, he finally finds a female werewolf, Yonaga.
The characters are (No official romanization for the character names exists yet):Xiaomi has a big event tomorrow, during which they’ll unveil the Mi 5 and Mi 5 Plus handsets and they decided to post a last minute teaser of the devices, which you can see below. Wireless charging is the feature teased here and the pics have been posted on the social media pages of the company.
What we see here is a wireless charger attached to a microUSB port and the accessory is small, discrete and branded Xiaomi. The Chinese firm also brags about redesigning something from “head to tail”. This is supposed to be an upgraded product, not an entirely new one, apparently. The Xiaomi Mi 4 debuted in July last year, so we’re bound to see an upgrade.
Wireless charging will be major for Xiaomi, seeing how Samsung promoted it so much as a feature of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge and the next gen iPhones are also said to get it. The Mi 5 is expected to come with a 5.2 inch Quad HD LCD display, as well as a Snapdragon 820 chipset, plus 4 GB of RAM and 16 or 64 GB of storage. A fingerprint scanner will be included in the Home button and we’re also going to get a 16 megapixel back camera and a front 13 MP shooter.
The Mi 5 Plus will have a full metal body, larger 5.7 inch Quad HD Screen, Snapdragon 820 CPU, fingerprint scanner and 32 GB of storage. Its back camera will be a 23 MP unit and inside we’ll get a 3500 mAh battery. Does this mean that Snapdragon 820 basically debuts tomorrow? Worst case scenario, we only get the charger
via BGR.inFinancially, it meant I didn’t have to work again if I didn’t want to. So that was the lens through which I was looking at things. It’s basically asking the question, what would you want to do if you won the lottery? For me, I didn’t want to be part of a company where I dreaded going into the office.
So when I joined Zappos about a year later, I wanted to make sure that I didn’t make the same mistake that I had made at LinkExchange, in terms of the company culture going downhill. So for us, at Zappos, we really view culture as our No. 1 priority. We decided that if we get the culture right, most of the stuff, like building a brand around delivering the very best customer service, will just take care of itself.
Q. So how do you do that?
A. About five years ago, we formalized the definition of our culture into 10 core values. We wanted to come up with committable core values, meaning that we would actually be willing to hire and fire people based on those values, regardless of their individual job performance. Given that criteria, it’s actually pretty tough to come up with core values.
Q. Tell me what happened.
A. We spent a year doing that. I basically sent an e-mail out to the entire company, asking them what our values should be, and got a whole bunch of different responses. The initial list was actually 37 long, and then we ended up condensing and combining them and went back and forth and came up with our list of 10.
Today, we actually do two separate sets of interviews. The hiring manager and his or her team will interview for the standard fit within the team, relevant experience, technical ability and so on. But then our H.R. department does a separate set of interviews purely for culture fit. They actually have questions for each and every one of the core values.
Q. Can you give me an example of the value and the question?
A. Well, some of them are behavioral questions. One of our values is, “Create fun and a little weirdness.” So one of our interview questions is, literally, on a scale of 1 to 10, how weird are you? If you’re a 1, you’re probably a little bit too strait-laced for us. If you’re a 10, you might be too psychotic for us.
It’s not so much the number; it’s more seeing how candidates react to a question. Because our whole belief is that everyone is a little weird somehow, so it’s really more just a fun way of saying that we really recognize and celebrate each person’s individuality, and we want their true personalities to shine in the workplace environment, whether it’s with co-workers or when talking with customers.
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I think of myself less as a leader, and more of being almost an architect of an environment that enables employees to come up with their own ideas, and where employees can grow the culture and evolve it over time, so it’s not me having a vision of “This is our culture.”
Maybe an analogy is, if you think of the employees and culture as plants growing, I’m not trying to be the biggest plant for them to aspire to. I’m more trying to architect the greenhouse where they can all flourish and grow.
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Q. Did the process of developing those core values go smoothly?
A. Honestly, there was a lot of resistance to the core values rolling out, including from me. I was very hesitant, because it just felt like one of those big-company things to do. But within a couple of months, it just made such a huge difference. It gave everyone a common language, and just created a lot more alignment in terms of how everyone in the company was thinking. If I could do it all over again, I would roll out our core values from Day 1.
Q. What other things did you do at Zappos to sort of reinforce and build the culture?
A. Probably the most important thing I did was try to encourage employees to come up with their own ideas for building the culture. The actual ideas that I’ve personally come up with are few and far between.
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Q. But what were those?
A. For example, for our offices in Las Vegas, it’s a big building. We’ve probably got 700 employees in Vegas. The previous tenants had multiple doors where you can exit, and the parking lot is in the back. We made the decision to actually lock all the doors so everyone has to go through the front-entrance reception area, even though that means you might have to walk all the way around the building. The reason for that is to create this kind of central hub that everyone has to pass through to help build community and culture.
And the free lunch we provide for employees is really meant less as a benefit in terms of a free lunch, and more to get employees to interact with each other. But most of the stuff that happens in our office is really about some employee coming up with an idea and, whether it’s me or other managers, saying, “If you’re passionate about it, just run with it.”
At some point, it kind of just snowballs, because once employees see other employees just doing stuff, then that lets them feel like they have more permission to run with their ideas.
Q. Any other examples?
A. One of our teams — the outdoor team in our merchandising department — decided to decorate one of the conference rooms, and transform it so that when you’re inside, you feel like you’re in a log cabin. They spent the weekend tearing up the floors and putting in a fake fire and all this stuff. It was pretty cool.
But then, the week after, the team sitting next to them said, we can outdo them. The next thing we knew, within two or three months, all 20 or so conference rooms were all decorated by different teams.
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Q. What else is unusual about Zappos?
A. We have a culture book. We put it together once a year and we ask all our employees to write a few paragraphs about what the Zappos culture means to them and, except for typos, it’s unedited, so you get to read the good and bad. It’s kind of like customer reviews you might read on Web sites, but these are essentially employee reviews of the company and our culture. We make it freely available to visitors and anybody who asks for a copy.
Q. If you’re hiring a senior executive, reporting directly to you, what kind of questions would you be asking them?
A. It’s pretty hard to interview senior executives, because they’re in that position for a reason. They do many interviews themselves. It’s hard to tell from an interview. So I’m not sure there’s that much you can get out of the in-office interview. They need the relevant skill set and experience and so on. But far more important is, are they going to be good for the culture? Is this someone we would choose to have dinner or drinks with, even if they weren’t working for Zappos?
Hiring senior-level talent is very hard, it’s hit or miss, and they can do a lot of damage to the culture. We’ve had bad experiences with that. So we have this thing called the pipeline, which is our vision for how we want to grow as a company. We’re hoping five years from now the vast, vast majority of all hires will actually be entry-level, but we’ll provide all the training and mentorship so that, over a five- to seven-year period, they can become a senior leader within the company. That will help protect our culture and also give all the employees a growth path professionally.
Q. But again, if you had to hire someone from the outside for a senior job, what would you do?
A. It’s not just a single day with them and you make a decision. We’ll invite them to barbecues on weekends and they bring their families, and just hang out, or go to dinner or happy hour or whatever. It’s more just about trying to get a sense of who they are outside the office, I guess, and whether you feel like you can actually get to know them on a personal level or if they’re very professional and standoffish.
If it’s the latter, then it’s probably not going to be a good fit for us because, at the end of the day, what matters most is how deep of a relationship you can develop with them. For someone who’s not comfortable being themselves, that kind of puts limits on how close of a relationship you have.
Q. If you could ask only one or two questions to get a sense of a person, what would they be?
A. “If you had to name something, what would you say is the biggest misperception that people have of you?” Then the follow-up question I usually ask is, “What’s the difference between misperception and perception?” After all, perception is perception.
Q. What are you trying to discover with those questions?
A. I think it’s a combination of how self-aware people are and how honest they are. I think if someone is self-aware, then they can always continue to grow. If they’re not self-aware, I think it’s harder for them to evolve or adapt beyond who they already are.Source: Wilson breaks $1 million
A source on Rep. Joe Wilson's campaign says his fundraising has broken $1 million -- and surpassed that of his Democratic rival, Rob Miller -- since his outburst of "You lie!" during President Obama's address to Congress Wednesday.
The source said Wilson's current tally is $1,005,021 from 18,859 donations amid a high-profile campaign on the Drudge Report and elsewhere telling conservatives that Wilson is "under attack" for his willingness to take on Obama.
Wilson, who initially apologized for his words, is now riding a reaction that has surpassed the liberal backlash to his words: Miller has raised less than $900,000, according to the Democratic fundraising site ActBlue -- though still more than enough to envigorate his challenge.
Still, Wilson's success -- despite having been criticized by Republican leaders -- represents the power of the conservative grassroots to reward politicians who confront the White House in the sharpest terms.
CORRECTION: He may still trail Democrat Rob Miller, who broke $1 million yesterday.Venerable Irish actor David Kelly—perhaps best known to American audiences for his late-career roles in Waking Ned Devine and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory—has died following a brief illness. He was 82.
Kelly's stage career dates back to the 1950s, and includes an indelible performance of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, as well as a production of Eugene O'Neill's A Moon For The Misbegotten that won him a Helen Hayes Award. His TV work made him one of the most familiar faces in his native country, where he was especially well known for his role in the seven-part 1980 miniseries Strumpet City.
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But it was two other roles that most defined his image outside most of Ireland: In 1975, he played the affably useless builder O'Reilly on the second episode of Fawlty Towers. In the pre-DVR era, the endless repeats of that series during PBS pledge drives across our great land guaranteed that his performance would come to be well-known among comedy geeks. Kelly later said of O'Reilly that "those full nine minutes make me recognized anywhere in the world."
And in Waking Ned Devine—released some 23 years later—Kelly’s movie career got a late-in-life kick-start. Kelly was almost 70 at the time, though with his bony, frail-looking build and bald head, he easily could have passed for older. He practically steals the picture via his buck-naked, high-speed motorcycle ride.
When the dust had settled, Kelly became one of the industry's go-to actors for very-old-guy roles, especially those that got laughs by revealing him to be unexpectedly spry. Some of those later credits include Greenfingers, Mean Machine, Laws Of Attraction, the Neil Gaiman adaptation Stardust, and Tim Burton's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, in which he played the hero's Grandpa Joe. In eulogizing Kelly—who regularly admitted that he’d always looked much more elderly than he actually was—the Irish Times deems him “the grand old man of Irish acting.”There are bittersweet emotions because he's no longer Chris Sale's pitching coach, but Don Cooper is excited about the future of the White Sox.
The team's veteran pitching coach joined the White Sox Talk podcast on Tuesday and said even though he's sad see Sale go, it's hard to overlook the talent the team has received in return. Last month the White Sox traded their five-time All-Star to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for four prospects, including Michael Kopech. The club also added Lucas Giolito and two other pitching prospects in a trade for Adam Eaton.
"When I saw Kopech, my eyes lit up," Cooper said. "Not only is he a big strong son of a gun, the stuff out of his hand is really good, life, energy stuff. He's just untapped talent right now. He's 20 years old. But he's already moved up the scale.
"Delivery-wise it was like, 'Whoa.' Everything I like, he does....
"If he stays healthy he has a chance to be a killer."
Cooper also has high hopes for Giolito, baseball's top pitching prospect in 2016, who posted a 6.75 ERA in six big league games last season. He discounted Giolito's struggles as a small sample size and hopes to maximize the pitcher's talent.
"He still has his good stuff," Cooper said. "We've got to mix it up. We need more strikes. We need more consistency."
[SHOP: Gear up, White Sox fans!]
Cooper also noted that the stuff of Reynaldo Lopez, acquired with Giolito and Dane Dunning from Washington for Eaton, caught his eye. Combined with the pitching prospects already in the organization, Cooper thinks the White Sox have a talented farm system.
"Looking around, all of a sudden, combined with the younger pitchers we had in the system already, the injection of these guys that Rick (Hahn) has traded for, it's giving us a stronger, stronger system," Cooper said. "We’re amassing a lot of good talent."
Cooper said Sale is the most talented pitcher he's ever coached and he'll miss their everyday relationship. He described Sale as one of the 10 best pitchers on the planet. But Cooper hasn't been surprised by any moves since the White Sox allowed Mark Buehrle to leave via free agency.
"It's sad that Chris is gone because my individual everyday relationship with him is over as a coach," Cooper said. "But the exciting thing is one of the reasons, the excitement of the guys you get back in return.
"It was mixed. 'Listen man, I'm sad you’re leaving because of that, the relationship. The everyday relationship is no longer there. We're friends.' I know this guy. I've seen every pitch in the big leagues he's thrown.
"When you get to see every pitch and you're with them every single day and that relationship is over, it's sad in some ways. But this has happened before. It happened to Buehrle. If it can happen to Buehrle, it can happen to everybody."Story highlights First Trump travel ban case reaches a settlement
All people who were denied entry into the US during the ban can reapply for visas
(CNN) People blocked from entering the United States under President Donald Trump's first travel ban can now reapply for visas to enter the US, according to a settlement reached in the case that temporarily blocked the travel ban back in January.
In the brief period after the first travel ban went into effect on January 27, a number of people with valid visas were denied entry into the US and put on planes back to where they came from. Two of those people, Iraqi nationals Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, filed suit after being detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Less than 24 hours after Trump signed the executive order, "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States," a federal judge ruled in the their case, Darweesh et al. vs Trump, that the travel ban was unconstitutional. Because the case was filed as a class action |
others. Unfortunately, this country is only looking to persecute us at all costs. What matters to them is that the sheikh is in jail."
The police raid. Mahajina, Umm al-Fahm
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan told Israel Radio that Salah is "a danger to the public" for encouraging "radicalism and despicable acts of murder," while Arab-Israeli lawmakers called for his immediate release.
MK Jamal Zahalka (Joint List) said the arrest was "vengeful" and "political" in nature and "meant to silence (Salah) in an effort to limit and minimize the Arab public's freedom of political activity."
"I call on all those who oppose fascism to wake up and protest. These arrests won't deter us and we will continue with our just struggle to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque from an insane government that supports actions meant to harm the mosque," Zahalka added.
In January 2017 Raed Salah was released from prison after serving nine months following his conviction for inciting violence and racism in a sermon he delivered in east Jerusalem in 2007. Hundreds of Umm al-Fahm residents greeted him with celebrations and fireworks.
In November 2015, the Security Cabinet declared the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel an illegal organization, particularly due to its connections to Hamas. This meant that the movement—led by Sheikh Raed Salah—was outlawed, any property belonging to the organization may be confiscated and any body or person that either belongs to this organization, provides it with a service or operates on its behalf is committing a criminal offense and is subject to imprisonment.OTTAWA—Rogers Communications saw a sharp drop in police requests for their customers’ private information after they started requiring warrants, new numbers show. Rogers received 113,655 requests for their customers’ information from law enforcement and government agencies in 2014. That’s around 61,000 fewer requests than in 2013, the first year Rogers released the numbers publicly.
Rogers received fewer than 114,000 requests for subscriber information in 2014, about 65,000 fewer than the year before. ( Galit Rodan / THE CANADIAN PRESS file photo )
The drop is almost completely accounted for in 58,400 fewer “customer name and address” requests, which allowed police to access a range of Canadians’ private information without a warrant. “It looks like the decrease in warrantless requests has not been replaced with an increase in warranted requests,” said Ken Engelhart, Rogers’ senior vice president of regulatory affairs, in an interview Thursday. “Doing an investigation is like doing anything else, you have costs and you have benefits. And I suppose if the cost of receiving some information are very, very low you’ll request a bunch of warrantless data, because why not?”
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Of the 113,655 total requests, the vast majority (71,501) came with a warrant or a court order. Emergency requests from police increased slightly to 10,016, and warrantless customer name and address requests came in at 29,438. Rogers flat out denied 2,278 requests, the company reported. Engelhart said all of those warrantless requests came in before a June 2014 Supreme Court decision limited the practice. Known as the Spencer decision, the court unanimously ruled police must obtain a judge’s approval to request basic subscriber information — details like names, addresses, phone numbers, and IP addresses. While that information may seem harmless in isolation, Canada’s privacy watchdog has reported it can be combined with other information to create a detailed profile of Canadian citizens. Shortly after the Spencer ruling, Rogers announced they would require a warrant for all requests, other than emergency situations.
The scope of warrantless requests came to light in April 2014, when it was revealed nine telecom and Internet companies were asked to turn over their customers’ information 1.2 million times in 2011 alone. Last year, Rogers was the first of the “big three” telecoms to release a transparency report on how often they’re asked to turn over their customers’ data to government and police agencies. TELUS followed shortly thereafter, and smaller companies like SaskTel and TekSavvy have released similar reports.
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Of Canada’s largest telecoms, only Bell Canada has refused to release details about how often they turn over their customers’ information to police. Bell has refused repeated interview requests on the subject. In a prepared statement, Bell spokesperson Jason Laszlo said the company wants “clear guidance” from the government on what information they can release. BY THE NUMBERS Rogers Communications Total Requests (2013) — 174,917 Total Requests (2014) — 113,655 Policy on Releasing Data — Require a warrant for most requests, except in “exigent” circumstances as set out by Supreme Court. Reports Numbers Publicly — Yes. TELUS Total Requests (2013) — 103,462 Total Requests (2014) — Unknown (for now) Policy on Releasing Data — TELUS says it releases data when permitted by their terms of service, their Privacy Commitment to customers, and when issued a valid court order. The company will be releasing its 2014 transparency report later this year. Reports Numbers Publicly — Yes. Bell Communications Total Requests (2013) — Unknown Total Requests (2014) — Unknown Policy on Releasing Data — Mostly unknown. Bell has repeatedly said it complies with privacy laws, CRTC legislation, and their own policies in handing over data, but has repeatedly refused interview requests on the issue. Reports Numbers Publicly — No.
Read more about:This article is about a jazz album. For the film of the same title, see Like Minds
1998 studio album by Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, Dave Holland
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [1]
Like Minds is a 1998 jazz album by vibraphonist Gary Burton with Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, and Dave Holland. In 1999, the album won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group. Recordings took place in the Avatar Sound Studio in New York City.
The album received a Grammy Award as best jazz album, and sold it so well, that it took fifth place in Billboard's jazz album list.
Track listing [ edit ]
All tracks written by Pat Metheny except where noted.
No. Title Length 1. "Question and Answer" (Pat Metheny) 6:24 2. "Elucidation" (Pat Metheny) 5:21 3. "Windows" (Chick Corea) 6:17 4. "Futures" (Chick Corea) 10:41 5. "Like Minds" (Gary Burton) 5:50 6. "Country Roads" (Gary Burton) 6:26 7. "Tears of Rain" (Pat Metheny) 6:33 8. "Soon" George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin) 6:24 9. "For a Thousand Years" (Pat Metheny) 5:23 10. "Straight Up and Down" (Chick Corea) 9:02 Total length: 66:61
Personnel [ edit ]
Charts [ edit ]
Album – Billboard
Year Chart Position 2000 Billboard Top Jazz Albums 5[2]
Awards [ edit ]
Grammy Awards
Year Winner Title Category 2000 Burton, Corea, Metheny, Haynes, Holland Like Minds Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental AlbumWhile Evolve has long had a mode that allowed players to team up against the AI, it was just substituting the AI in place of other players, not offering a real alternative to its 4v1 core. Starting today, however, Evolve players on PC can check out the first part of what may become a proper co-op campaign.
Developer Turtle Rock today introduces Evolve's first "co-op operation," as it's being described. This is a "linear four-player co-op experience built within the Evolve universe" that deviates from the 4v1 formula that has made up the game until now. This first operation is called The Deepest Dark and is available in beta today.
For now, it's accessible as a map variant from the Co-op vs. AI menu. Turtle Rock said in a press release that it's much more than a map variant, however, and is "potentially the seed from which more co-op vs. AI ops (or maybe even a campaign of ops) could grow from."
"At the start of the operation, the Hunters are greeted by an ominous voice setting the scene and alluding to the events that have led to the Queen of Gorgons taking over a Wraith containment facility and the surrounding area," the press release said. "As the team makes their way to the Queen's lair, they'll face hordes of infected wildlife and Gorgon minions that spawn from the Queen's eggs. Can the Hunters survive and take down the Queen of Gorgons to uncover why she's on Shear?"
Turtle Rock goes on to say this is an "experiment" much like Evolve: Stage 2, the new version of the game that's completely free to play right now.
The release of Stage 2 in July, which replaced the paid version of Evolve, led to a huge influx of players. Besides making it free, Turtle Rock also introduced some major changes and has been releasing new content for all players. It's only available on PC currently, but it may also come to consoles in the future.Funko Dragon Ball Super Pop! Animation Super Saiyan Rose Goku Black Vinyl Figure Hot Topic Exclusive is rated 4.9 out of 5 by 53.
Rated 5 out of 5 by Gokublack10 from It's amazing I love it a lot
Rated 5 out of 5 by Carlos the best from BEST POP EVER (Besides Beerus) I got this in store and the head came off, but I'm so happy he's no on the website.
Rated 5 out of 5 by cityslack from Mint Condition Pop Bought i a month ago and hot topic really takes care of their pops when they ship it.
Rated 5 out of 5 by 9davidandres from Excelent! I bought three and they came in great condition. Good shipping from hottopic and great design product from Funko.WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) — A man is accused of sucker-punching a person suffering from cerebral palsy in the face.
The entire incident was captured on video.
The Chester County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that 29-year-old Barry Baker of Georgetown, Delaware, was arrested for assault after being caught on video punching a 22-year-old man with cerebral palsy in the face outside a 7-Eleven store in West Chester on May 10.
Police: Off-Duty Del. Trooper Involved In Shooting During Domestic Dispute
“This defendant is a bully. Every decent citizen should be outraged by the defendant’s conduct. The victim is to be commended for keeping his cool and notifying the police,” said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan.
Authorities say Baker does his routine, imitating the victim, at least three times, before throwing that sucker punch. Police say, now stunned, the victim got in his car and called police.
“The victim showed a lot of dignity, I cannot say the same thing for the defendant here,” Hogan said.
Firefighters Haul 14 People Trapped In Elevator Over 100 Feet To Safety
Veteran police officers and detectives say even for them the video is hard to watch.
“The defendant’s actions in this case are appalling. You wonder what would make an individual treat somebody like that,” said West Chester Police Chief Scott Bohn.
Baker has an extensive criminal history, according to Chester County court records.
They show he’s been in jail before for theft and forgery.
Hogan says a strong message must be sent.
“It’s shocking that in today’s world you would have somebody attacking you simply because you suffer from cerebral palsy,” said Hogan.
Baker has been charged with simple assault and other related crimes. His bail was set at $25,000 and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 30.Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford and his brother Doug showed their support for Conservative Leader Stephen Harper this morning in Etobicoke, where they attended a Tory campaign event.
The brothers sat in the front row as Harper spoke to more than 100 supporters about his party's platform.
Doug Ford said Harper has the best plan for Canada.
Doug Ford talks to journalists at today's Conservative event. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/elx42?src=hash">#elx42</a> <a href="http://t.co/L2OxNjEz0m">pic.twitter.com/L2OxNjEz0m</a> —@cath_cullen
"This is all about the economy, making sure that we stay on track and continue to have a surplus," he told reporters.
The former city councillor for Etobicoke North also took a shot at the Liberals, both federally and provincially.
"We have to make sure we don't follow the provincial Liberal situation we have out there right now, and creating billions of dollars of debt," he said.
Doug Ford holds court at a campaign event for Conservative Leader Stephen Harper in Etobicoke. (Catherine Cullen/Twitter)
"That's what Justin Trudeau's doing. He's going to take after Kathleen Wynne, and that's a big issue, that's a big concern for every person in Canada."
Doug Ford ran for mayor in last year's municipal election after Rob had to drop out over health concerns. Rob Ford is currently a Toronto city councillor, representing Etobicoke.Changes Expected as a Result of the Recent Alligator Attack at Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian
Scroll to the bottom for the latest updates
Sources have told us a few changes that can be expected as a result of the recent alligator attack of a toddler at Walt Disney World:
Signs warning guests of alligators will be added
No crocodile jokes at the Jungle Cruise
Crock will be removed from the Festival of Fantasy parade
Louis the alligator will be removed from the new “Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire” castle show set to debut on Friday
The Electrical Water Pageant will remain on hiatus
We do not know which of these changes are temporary or permanent.
UPDATE 6/17 5:33p ET
As reported by the New York Daily News, Walt Disney Vice President Jacquee Whaler has said the following:
We are installing signage and temporary barriers at our resort beach locations and are working on permanent, long-term solutions at our beaches.
Construction has already begun as can be seen here:
They also have a picture of what is purported to be what the new signs will look like:In yesterday’s New York Times, columnist Frank Bruni bemoans the ubiquity of unfounded belief in a piece called “True believers, all of us.” Criticizing Rick Perry’s Christian Prayerfest for its reliance on magical thinking, he adds that that thinking isn’t limited to religion:
Seeking relief from the country’s woes through a louder, more ardent appeal to God strikes us as too much hope invested in too magical a solution. It suspends disbelief and defies rigorous reason. But if we stick with this honesty thing, don’t we also have to admit that to varying degrees and with varying stakes, there’s magical thinking in secular life, and that it springs from a similar yearning for easy, all-encompassing answers? Didn’t the debt-ceiling showdown show us that?... Faith-based is right. We all have our religions, all of which exert a special pull — and draw special fervor — when apprehension runs high and confusion deep, as they do now. And if yours isn’t a balanced-budget amendment and a government as lean as Christian Bale in one of his extreme-acting roles, it might well be a big fat binge of Keynesian stimulus spending. Liberals think magically, too, becoming so attached to a certain approach that they wind up advocating it less as option than as panacea.
He goes on to criticize the Head Start project (which according to a recent study produced few benefits for its participants), the policies of corporations, and even the reliance of baseball on statistics—the new “sabermetrics” approach.
Bruni’s right to decry policies enacted without supporting evidence, as well as their persistence in the face of counterevidence. Those are, of course, aspects of religion. But one can’t claim that every government policy is a complete shot in the dark. Medicare, of course, was enacted that way, as well as Obamacare, but in such cases we rely on reasoned judgment, and the odds are that giving medical care to people who lack it will help them. Whether alternative policies might provide better care is, of course, another question, but we can’t simply enact one big policy after another and then judge their results post facto.
But at least Bruni admits that religion is useless in the financial crisis we face now:
To get us out of this mess, we need a full range of extant remedies, a tireless search for new ones and the nimbleness and open-mindedness to evaluate progress dispassionately and adapt our strategy accordingly. Faith and prayer just won’t cut it. In fact, they’ll get in the way.Ennis athlete, Keith Whyte has won the 100km ice-marathon in a time of nine hours, twenty six minutes and two seconds.
The gruelling expedition took place on Union Glacier in the Antarctic which is one of the remotest parts of the continent. In second place to Whyte, was fellow Irishman Kevin McGeeney.
While this is a fantastic achievement for Whyte, he has certainly been very successful in the athletic scene during his career. In 2012 Keith won the British and Irish Championships, along with ultra-marathons in Dingle and Longford and as a result of his victories he was ranked European number one for fifty miles and number two in the world.
2013 continued to be a groundbreaking year for the Ennisman. He set the new Irish record for 100km when running the distance in Belgium in a time of seven hours and three minutes. However 2014 was disrupted by illness and injury preventing Whyte from maximising his potential, but this win certainly shows that Keith Whyte is back on the right track.
Speaking after his remarkable win, Keith Whyte commented “It was an amazing once in a lifetime experience. The scenery is out of this world. I am delighted to start the new year in this way, winning the 100k on the Antarctic continent”.Carson Wentz is having an amazing sophomore season. His team is winning (8-1). He leads the NFL in touchdown passes (23) and has a passer rating of 104.1. There are a lot of people who think he should be the league’s MVP.
Not everyone loves Wentz.
His two most infamous critics are Scott Kacsmar of Football Outsiders and Cian Fahey. They really didn’t like him a year ago, but have eased up a bit, begrudgingly giving Wentz some credit. Still, it feels like pulling teeth to get them to acknowledge anything positive.
Many Eagles fans know who these guys are and hit them up on Twitter after every Wentz TD pass. Kacsmar and Fahey seem to think they are being asked to admit Wentz is the best QB in the league. Eagles fans can be a tad aggressive at times so I get some of this. But these guys bring this upon themselves by playing the semantics game to the nth degree.
The Eagles scored 51 points against the best defense in the league. Great showing, right?
Lazy? Wentz hasn't completed 20 passes in 5 of his last 6 games. There is nothing special about 15-27 for 199, except the 4 TD part. https://t.co/8X8WucHaRy — Scott Kacsmar (@FO_ScottKacsmar) November 5, 2017
True. That isn’t an amazing stat line. But what about scoring all those points?
Except it didn't. Even needed a 35-yd pass from Foles on a 4th down to get to 51. https://t.co/KbmTruzu0I — Scott Kacsmar (@FO_ScottKacsmar) November 6, 2017
Okay…
The last DEN-PHI game (2013) also saw winning QB not play in the 4Q. Peyton Manning: 28/34 for 327 yds, 4 TD Now that's domination. — Scott Kacsmar (@FO_ScottKacsmar) November 6, 2017
So now the standard for Wentz is matching one of the greatest QBs of all time in a game from arguably the greatest QB season in NFL history. Seems fair.
The funny thing here is that Kacsmar hated Wentz initially because he saw him as a dink and dunk QB. He likes air yards.
Yes, I have an agenda. And it's been clear for years: I don't like QBs getting credit for dink-and-dunk offenses. https://t.co/4n11j26rrP — Scott Kacsmar (@FO_ScottKacsmar) September 26, 2016
Wentz did throw a lot of short passes last year. He was a rookie, playing most of the year without his RT, and had the weakest set of weapons in the league. Of course you are going to throw a lot of short passes. This was a fair criticism, but Kacsmar rarely seemed to give it context. This year Wentz is 8th in the league, averaging 7.8 yards per passing attempt. The Eagles are a terrible screen team so most of the big plays are due to air yards. I guess we’ve moved on from that criticism.
Kacsmar has made sure to point out that the Eagles have benefited from turnovers. They have had more drives start in the Red Zone than any other team and Wentz has 5 TDs on those drives. Those are “easy” TDs. It is fair to point out Wentz has benefited from those situations. If we take them away, Wentz is still tied for 2nd in the league with 18 TD passes. That’s impressive, right?
No, but more ordinary. A QB has had 18 TD passes thru 9 games 45 times since 2010. Wentz ranks 43rd in yards on that list. Hmm… https://t.co/NMWViRDpzK — Scott Kacsmar (@FO_ScottKacsmar) November 7, 2017
Here’s the bottom line. Wentz is a good QB having a terrific season. Kacsmar doesn’t care for him. Wentz just isn’t his cup of tea. He also doesn’t care much for Tom Brady so this isn’t some anti-Eagles agenda. Scott is a smart analyst and pretty good writer. Eagles fans piling on him at every opportunity doesn’t help matters, but Kacsmar just comes across as way too obstinate on this subject with the way he finds the negative angle to nearly everything Wentz does.
*****
Fahey really doesn’t like Wentz. He detailed all of his flaws back in March of 2016.
One player who Fahey loved was Vernon Adams. From the gridiron masterpiece “Vernon Adams Deserves to be A First-Round Pick in the 2016 NFL Draft”.
Jared Goff and Carson Wentz are considered the top two quarterbacks in this class. One of them is most likely going to be the second-overall pick for the Cleveland Browns or the seventh-overall pick for the San Francisco 49ers. Both could even go in the top 10. Neither should though.
Goff and Wentz are both closer to the perception of what makes a good NFL starter inside the league, but Adams is the better prospect. On first viewing, Goff appeared to be the best prospect. It’s easy to fall into that trap. Adams is shorter and plays in that Oregon system so the first viewing of his skill set can be misleading.
Adams was not a 1st round pick. The NFL didn’t think as highly of Adams as Fahey did. He is now in the CFL, as a backup. Adams went 1 for 3 for 8 yards this year.
Anyone who writes about draft prospects is going to be wrong. I thought Kevin Kolb was going to start for the Eagles and be a good QB. I liked Danny Watkins and thought age was the only concern with him. He was one of the safest picks in the draft. I just knew Matt McCoy and Ryan Moats were going to be stars for the Eagles. Loved those guys. Oops.
When you’re wrong, admit it and move on.
I always say that I hope I’m wrong when I rip a draft prospect. I would rather my opinion be wrong and that kid get to live out his dreams.
Fahey watched Wentz as a rookie and wasn’t impressed. He wrote about him this summer, comparing Wentz to Blake Bortles.
Nothing about Wentz’s rookie season suggested he fit Lurie’s definition of a franchise quarterback: “someone who has the physical talent, the mental leadership qualities, and mental toughness to be a consistently winning quarterback that puts you in contention to win a championship. He has to have that ‘it’ factor. The single most important trait is the mental fortitude to handle the challenges that face a young quarterback. He has to be a smart quarterback — in today’s NFL, quarterbacks have to routinely make intricate decisions in 2.5 seconds or less.”
Sure, Wentz could get better. He might actually turn into the generational talent he’s often described as, but there’s no rational reason to expect him to.
The funny thing is that a lot of people who watched Wentz play last year felt just the opposite. There was evidence that he could take a big leap forward. Obviously you had to have an open mind. If you expected him to fail, that’s what you were going to see. It wasn’t as if Wentz was great in the month of December and announced to the whole world that he would become a star QB this year. It was more subtle than that.
*****
The anti-Wentz holdouts are like those Japanese soldiers after WWII who didn't realize the war was over and their side had already lost. — Derek / IgglesBlog (@igglesblog) November 6, 2017
Leave it to Derek so summarize things brilliantly and succinctly.
*****
One storyline we’re starting to see is that Doug Pederson does too good a job designing and calling plays. Almost any QB could make this play, right?
Alshon Jeffery 32 yard TD pic.twitter.com/4BGkQwgb7T — ⓂarcusD (@_MarcusD2_) November 5, 2017
The NFL will adjust to these plays and then Wentz will be exposed as the mediocre player he really is.
Bullshit.
That play is a designed RPO, but exactly how is that different from a QB getting outside and then making a defender choose whether to come after the QB or stay back in coverage? The RPO is designed, but the concept is the same. And Wentz has shown he is very good on making touch throws to targets on the move while he is on the move. Not everyone can do that. Wentz has made similar plays before.
Shot 10 – 'Game within the game': Everett thinks Ertz is blocking & blitzes. Ertz releases, Wentz avoids and hits him for HUGE 1st down pic.twitter.com/4bmFnQhbD5 — Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) September 11, 2017
#FlyEaglesFly Carson Wentz continues to impress with this scrabble play for a 73 yard TD reception by D. Sproles. https://t.co/9Ve6o7zSk6 — Bovada Official (@BovadaLV) September 25, 2016
Offensive and defensive coaches have been playing cat and mouse games for more than a century. Defenses will adjust. Offenses will adjust to that.
If Wentz only made plays like this, I would say this is a valid criticism, but that’s just not the case. He hit Trey Burton for a 27-yard TD on a sluggo route, something that all teams use. Last week Zach Ertz caught a short TD on a play-action pass. That’s Football 101. Last week Wentz hit Mack Hollins for a 24-yard gain on a Bang 8 route. Don Coryell and Norv Turner have used that over and over for 40 years.
Mixing a traditional NFL playbook with some college concepts is a good thing. It helps the QB adjust to the NFL quicker. You don’t want to rely on those plays too much. At some point you must be able to execute base plays that work due to precision timing and execution. “Gotcha” plays should be a tool, not the foundation of the offense.
*****
Evaluating Carson Wentz is tough. Eagles fans just haven’t seen anything like this. Peak Ron Jaworski or Peak McNabb weren’t this good. Vick gave us an amazing ride for part of a season in 2010, but even that was different.
Wentz is not the best QB in football. Aaron Rodgers is still the king of the mountain. Tom Brady is still a freak. Drew Brees is having a great year and will be a HOF’er. After those three, I think it really gets down to style points. What kind of QB do you like? How important are intangibles?
Russell Wilson has a Super Bowl win and does some amazing things, especially behind a terrible OL. Dak Prescott, Jared Goff and Wentz will always be compared closely because they came in at the same time. Deshaun Watson looked freakishly good before he got hurt.
There are some terrific veterans having up and down years. Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan and Matt Stafford are inconsistent this season. Young guys Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr have all been slowed by injuries.
If I have to pick a guy to win one game for me, I’m probably going with Brady. If I’m picking a QB for the next decade, I’m going with Wentz. You can also make a compelling argument for Wilson, Prescott, Goff or Watson there.
*****
As much as Eagles fans love Wentz, it is good to have some people who don’t like him. It helps to have informed opinions from those who see things differently to provide some perspective. It is a shame that some of those people seem to take things to the other extreme.
Imagine one of the critics looking at the stats below and trying to find the negative slant to that.
#Eagles Carson Wentz 2017 Red Zone Passing 24/36, 15 TDs, 0 INTs, 0 Sacks… 117.6 QB Rating pic.twitter.com/FAMkpG2oi1 — Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) November 5, 2017
Wentz is good.
_[NOTE from Mimosab]
Thanks to SoreLoser, Eternal & Re1er for this new version 🙂
When Weed connected to Royal Road, his location was in Bayar Maze.
The maze was in a mountainous region behind Vargo Fortress and was infamous for being endless: you wouldn’t be able to explore it all even if you wandered in it for over 10 days.
He heard rumors that there was a portal leading to an unknown area, but he still couldn’t find it.
“Kchem”
Weed sat down on a stone and was lost in thought. There were skulls all around him.
He left a trail of fierce battles as he traveled with the Skeletons and Death Knights.
As they were passing through, many units of undead started to fight with monsters.
The role of a Necromancer wasn’t to surround each enemy with all undead at once.
It was to overwhelm the opposing side by spreading their numbers and endlessly summoning new undead.
“Well, what to do now?”
Weed viewed some responses on the internet forum before connecting.
Seo-Yoon’s death received a huge response during broadcasting as well, but the responses in the forum revealed the honest opinions of the public.
– Destroy the Hermes Guild!
– We have to sweep them out of the continent completely. Let’s erase them!!
– They are dangerous beings to the Versailles Continent. They dare to hurt even the Goddess?!
– I’m making a list of all their evil deeds. Currently, 389 pages of A4 are completed. Download the whole file!
– I heard rumors that there are resistance movements forming in the Gradian Kingdom. I want to join it.
– Let’s bring freedom back to our land.
Users were rising like clouds, holding banners against the Haven Empire.
If Weed had said anything about fighting with the Haven Empire a few days ago, the Northern users would have been annoyed about it.
You never know when the conquest will finish and you also have to consider the possibility of being defeated.
However, after Seo-Yoon’s death, the Northern users voluntarily wanted to march to the Haven Empire and even made plans of conquest.
– Poisonous mushroom porridge. Kuhuheuk. Can there be such a death as sad as hers? For this bitterness I want to eat poisonous mushroom porridge, but I’m going to endure for today. I found something I certainly have to do, so I have to survive no matter what.
– Chicken Rice Porridge has about 1 500 000 people. Ready to fly.
– Bamboo Shoots Porridge. Troops of Earth Palace. Ready for a battle. Ready to march anytime.
– We are the Steel Porridge. Please ask us if you need any weapons or armor. We blacksmiths are making equipment without sleep. If you bring your own materials, everything will be made for free.
– We are the Fire Porridge. We also make equipment. Combat materials and supplies. Producing endlessly.
– We are the Pork Porridge. We were pushed back by the Beef Porridge, so our popularity decreased a bit. But our courage is the best. We will bravely go to the front line!
The Grass Porridge Cult that stuck to the North.
They were voluntarily asking for the war.
It was to the point where Ginseng Porridge, Acorn Porridge, Sesame Porridge, Chestnut Porridge and Bug Porridge were organizing an army between themselves and were getting ready to march to the Haven Empire border.
There were many beginners in the Grass Porridge Cult and the North had a strong tradition of adventuring. No one thought of someone dying as anything serious.
However, Seo-Yoon’s dying face when she was killed by the Haven Empire and the Hermes Guild made them want to fight.
– Let’s go.
– We are going.
– We are following.
– No matter where!
– Go, go!
– We are the unbeatable Grass Porridge Cult!
They were all comrades with the same goal and did not fear death.
The Grass Porridge Cult counted most Northern users among their ranks and was still recruiting more.
If their minds are united, even their goal to sweep the Haven Empire can be achieved.
As long as Weed or Seo-Yoon doesn’t oppose the Grass Porridge Cult’s movement.
“It’s not like it can’t be stopped.”
In any case, Northern users respected Weed..
Although Weed was fighting against the Haven Empire’s evil jobs, if he asked them not to fight, his words will have some effects.
The users of Grass Porridge Cult may be greatly disappointed, but he might even be able to stop the war.
“But I don’t want to say that.”
Weed was quick to notice things.
He had an ability to identify if a conspiracy was forming somewhere and instinctively knew if someone there was talking behind someone else’s back!
He could feel how things were going through instinct.
‘Seo-Yoon… she wouldn’t have died for no reason.’
She even rode Wy-3 to the battlefield and still lost her life.
‘Even though Seo-Yoon tends to be kind, she’s not an idiot.’
If you looked at her ability to gather information during the Lord of the Desert quest or considered the way she governed the Arpen Kingdom temporarily, you would have to say she was incredibly smart.
Just like how Weed was skilled with money and had the ability to break through a crisis, Seo-Yoon didn’t miss even the tiniest of details.
She was able to quickly understand the flow of a problem and was able to identify the regions of the Arpen Kingdom that were going the wrong way while finding correct solutions.
Even though she obviously knew that she would die, she still went to the Haven Empire. Why did she do it then?
Seeing the responses of everyone, Weed understood the reason.
‘For me. For the Arpen Kingdom. To stop the growth of the Haven Empire.’
At the moment, Weed hesitated to use the death of Seo-Yoon.
Since she was like part of the family, he didn’t want to use family’s death for his success.
‘Using her death for success is the worst thing to do. It would be better to have the Arpen Kingdom fall.’
If Weed had known about this unimaginable plan, he would have done anything to stop her. However, Seo-Yoon already died.
He was worried whether it was right to stop the situation that was already caused by her death.
‘Seo-Yoon sacrificed herself for me. But is it right to make her death worthless?’
While thinking about that, Weed made a decision.
It wasn’t his or Seo-Yoon’s fault. The matter needed to be resolved first and he would just make the Haven Empire or the Hermes Guild take the blame.
‘It’s alright. At times like this, you use the “bad guys.” The people who are always cursed get cursed more and the people who are praised get praised more.’
***
The Haven Empire’s Northern area.
There was much tension in the city Ilsram which shared its border with the Arpen Kingdom.
“They are coming.”
“The scouts?”
“They don’t have such a thing.”
“So how did you get to know about it?”
“Watching the broadcasts. On all of KMC media’s channels, all the Northern users are marching.”
Members of the Hermes Guild gathered at the Lord Castle of Ilsram city. There were twelve members from the administrative office among them.
“Turn on the broadcast.”
“Yes. I will turn on KMC media.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s my favorite.”
“…”
The large crystal ball hanging on the Lord Castle’s wall was lit.
You can watch the television on it by using a charged mana stone or by using a wizard’s mana.
– Looks like there’s no end to them.
– It’s impossible to |
] http://blog.testobject.org/2012/04/giving-your-android-emulator-boost.html
[2] http://38911bytes.blogspot.de/2012/03/how-to-use-google-maps-api-in-android.html
[3] https://developer.android.com/guide/developing/devices/emulator.htmlAnti-abortion activists have amped up their campaign attacking Planned Parenthood ahead of a planned Senate vote to end federal funding to the reproductive health organization. The group called Center for Medical Progress released its fourth video overall — and second this week — purporting to show that Planned Parenthood is illegally profiting off of procuring tissues from aborted fetuses for researchers.
In Thursday’s video, a doctor said to be associated with Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains appears to discuss the pricing structure and legal classifications the affiliate prefers in its procurement of tissues for researchers, as well as the abortion protocols it follows to see to it certain tissues remain intact. The video released Tuesday features a woman who says she is a former worker for a tissue procurement company, in which she suggests Planned Parenthood nurses had profit motives in how they asked her to procure specimens.
Both videos contain graphic images of what appeared to be fetal specimens being examined by Planned Parenthood employees for the actors posing as tissue buyers.
Since Center for Medical Progress began releasing the videos, said to have been filmed over a three-year period, lawmakers have launched state and federal investigations into Planned Parenthood’s procurement operations. Planned Parenthood, while apologizing for the tone taken by some of its employees in the videos, says its affiliates have behaved appropriately in their participation in tissue donation programs and that researchers are only charged for the extra costs incurred by tissue procurement, as is permissible under federal law.
In the Thursday video, the alleged Planned Parenthood employee, said to be Dr. Savita Ginde, appears to tell actors posing as buyers that she prefers the transaction to be classified as “research” as it “gives us a little bit of an overhang over the whole thing.”
Planned Parenthood has also accused the Center for Medical Progress of heavily editing the videos, and indeed fuller cuts of footage or transcripts of the videos have revealed the officials making statements in line with the law and Planned Parenthood official policy.
For instance, the initial 11-minute video posted Thursday does not include Ginde’s response when the actor asks her whether providers would “adjust the technique” in order to better the chances that they could procure an intact specimen.
“No,” Ginde said, according to a fuller transcript provided to TPM by a representative of Center for Medical Progress (full transcript below). “Because we’re not — it’s not like we do inductions or anything where we would have an intact delivery of any type.”
Elsewhere in the transcript Ginde suggests she would be willing to instruct providers to “maybe be more gentle” and make “some tweaks” to the abortion procedure, “if it wasn’t a major deal.”
Nevertheless, the organization is under heavy fire from multiple angles. In addition to a Senate vote expected later this week or early next week on a bill to defund Planned Parenthood — an effort that is not likely to to overcome a Democratic filibuster — some Republicans are now suggesting they would being willing to shut down the government over the issue. Eighteen House Republicans, all male, signed a letter vowing to block any spending legislation that includes funding for Planned Parenthood.
Hackers have also repeatedly targeted the Planned Parenthood website, most recently taking down the national website Wednesday.
In a Wednesday Washington Post op-ed, Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards defended the organization.
“These extremists created a fake business, made apparently misleading corporate filings and then used false government identifications to gain access to Planned Parenthood’s medical and research staff with the agenda of secretly filming without consent — then heavily edited the footage to make false and absurd assertions about our standards and services,” she wrote.
“They spent three years doing everything they could — not to uncover wrongdoing, but rather to create it. They failed.”As I sat on the five-and-a-half hour train from Glasgow to Mallaig, I watched the open-cast grave of a way of life roll by; reduced to rubble and left for tourists to gawp at, preserved for aesthetics. By car the journey takes just a little over two hours, but the train carriages wistfully meander through the hills to allow one to fully take in the splendour of their surroundings.
There is only one train line and so only one set of carriages can make the journey at any one time, past the West Highland Way and into the “wilderness”. The rails nostalgically clickity-clack underneath as mist lingers and highland springs gracefully trickle down the hills. Tourists excitedly chatter as the Glenfinnan Viaduct creeps into view, a historic piece of industry made particularly famous by its appearance in Hollywood flicks.
Ancient boulders carried south by collapsing glaciers lay dispersed on the hills like clothing scattered from a dying man sweltering under a brutal sun. Nearby, hewn stones mark out the rubble of tiny dwellings, the picked-clean carcasses of long-lost Highland communities. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the Glen, next to a Loch, a manor house stands cocksure and regal in garish juxtaposition from the landscape surrounding it: Lord of all it surveys with all outside a playground. A Monarch in the Glen.
I spend the next few days, via a few ferries and hikes, looking at rural power systems on and off the West coast. Infrastructure isn’t profitable here because the economies of scale simply don’t exist. Locals frequently make do with what they have — a motley mix of diesel generators, tiny hydro schemes, solar, and wind- which allow these communities modern appliances and creature comforts where in the past you’d have to make do with a diesel genny and only 5 or 6 hours of light an evening. In places like Eigg, community trusts fund and maintain the power systems with community benefits. These are supported by Government grants by schemes like CARES and help provide jobs and amenities to local populations.
A connection to the main GB network would cost at least 2 or 3 times the entire network cost for the microgrid on the Isle with none of the independence community ownership brings, so the people simply did it themselves. They still rely on the massive power companies for support — parts, maintenance, and construction are not resources or skills readily available in the far North-West, and repairs can take weeks as these frequently have to be sourced externally. But it works. The engineering is jury-rigged and maintaining it is akin to “nailing jeely tae a wa’ ”, but it works. Without these communities taking the initiative they would be left to wither and collapse.It will likely be cold and gray and probably even snow on the ground in Toronto by the time the 2016 NBA All-Star Game tips off for the first time ever outside the United States in February.
But here at the Summer Dreaming headquarters the only chill these days comes out of the overworked blender that keeps churning out the frozen drinks that fuel our speculation for the upcoming season.
Now that we've made our very early projections for official unofficial awards for next season, let's turn our attention to our list of top 10 candidates to make their first All-Star appearances at the Air Canada Centre, some long overdue.
Send us your picks here.
• Summer Dreaming: Kia Most Improved Player of the Year
• Summer Dreaming: Kia Sixth Man of the Year
• Summer Dreaming: Kia Defensive Player of the Year
• Summer Dreaming: Kia Rookie of the Year
• Summer Dreaming: Kia MVP
• Summer Dreaming: Comeback Player of Year
• Summer Dreaming: Executive of the Year
Kawhi Leonard, Spurs: How do you play four NBA seasons, win a championship, get named MVP of The Finals and also win Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2015 without making a single All-Star team? Well, first you play for the Spurs and start off behind the holy trinity of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, while never averaging even 32 minutes of playing time, thanks to coach Gregg Popovich. But a year ago it was also a case of bad timing as a painful hand injury that kept Leonard sidelined during the critical month of All-Star voting. LaMarcus Aldridge might be the big offseason addition to the San Antonio lineup, but Leonard is increasingly the key cog in the machine at both ends of the floor and things should be made right this time around.
Conley Hits The Three Mike Conley creates some space and hits the three-pointer.
Mike Conley, Grizzlies: With Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook almost automatically taking up three slots in the Western Conference, Conley has been the victim of a numbers game throughout his career. Toss in Tony Parker and Damian Lillard and it's an embarrassment of riches at the point makes the Grizzlies quarterback practically need to set off firecrackers to get attention. But did you notice that Marc Gasol asked just one person one question when he was deciding to stay in Memphis: "Are you staying, Mike?" And did you notice that when Conley and Tony Allen were both healthy and playing full-time in the conference semifinals, the Grizzlies held a 2-1 lead on the eventual champion Warriors? We don't expect him to ever get love from the fans. But it's past time the coaches stepped up and did right by Conley.
Growing up in Connecticut Drummond's Connecticut roots carry on through his hustle on-the-court.
Andre Drummond, Pistons: Now that Greg Monroe has moved to Milwaukee, there will be all kinds of space around the basket and the Pistons center should see his numbers and opportunity to shine increase dramatically. In an age where everybody seems to be tripping over themselves to play small ball, the 22-year-old gives Detroit coach/president Stan Van Gundy reason to turn back the clock and pound it inside every chance he gets. Joakim Noah might be ready to re-establish himself with a bounce back year in the Eastern Conference. But if last year's numbers of 13.8 points and 8.1 rebounds go up, say, just two apiece, it should put Drummond squarely in the conversation with Al Horford and Hassan Whiteside for a spot just across the river from Detroit in Toronto for All-Star weekend.
Best of Greg Monroe with the Pistons Take a look back at Greg Monroe's best highlights from his years on the Detroit Pistons.
Greg Monroe, Bucks: What if Monroe and Drummond now manage to accomplish separately what they could not do together? Away from each other's gravitational pull in the paint, they should both thrive. Monroe will likely move into the center spot in Milwaukee and find himself with more chances to show what he can do. If his playing time were to hit 36 minutes per game, he'd be up to 18.5 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, which could have the up-and-coming Bucks thick in the middle of the playoff race in the East and turn him from a stifled star into an All-Star.
Schedule Release Special: DeAndre Jordan DeAndre Jordan joins GameTime to talk about returning to the Clippers and the big early-season games with Dallas.
DeAndre Jordan, Clippers: Here's the guy who might need to work extra hard to get votes, because he'll surely have to find a way to overcome a big goose egg from Dallas. Coach Doc Rivers was already blowing a gasket last season when his center didn't get recognition as an All-Star or as Defensive Player of the Year. Any chance that those private conversations when half the Clippers team was barricaded in his living room in Houston involved promises to get Jordan more of his props? With L.A. teammates Chris Paul and Blake Griffin virtual automatic picks each year, it's going to be hard to shoe-horn in a third Clipper if they don't have one of the top two records in the league. But if the new team harmony includes an extra couple of lobs for dunks each game to pump up his scoring average, it could happen.
Block of the Night: Hassan Whiteside Hassan Whiteside erases Aaron Gordon's dunk attempt.
Hassan Whiteside, Heat: Can Whiteside turn that 32-game sample as a starter last season into an All-Star berth in 2016? He can if he puts up another 13.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game. With a healthy Chris Bosh back in the lineup and a backcourt pairing of Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic delivering the juice, Miami is projected by many to make the biggest jump in the East standings next season and Whiteside could ride that wave to the All-Star Game and then into a free agent payday next summer.
Draymond Green Highlights Draymond Green finishes with a triple-double (16 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists) to help the Warriors win the NBA Championship.
Draymond Green, Warriors: Here's another case where the coaches will have to stop giving lip service to the kind of guy who has all of the winning attributes and find a place for him on the West roster. With Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson sucking most of the oxygen out of the arena when the Warriors play, Green's numbers of 11.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.7 rebounds aren't going to attract attention and gobble up votes in the fan balloting. He's a lockdown defender who plays with heart and energy and can guard all five positions on the court. The Warriors just don't win 67 games and make their title run without him. He's the kind of player every coach says he wants on his team. So here's the chance for every coach in the West to prove it.
BWB Africa: Bradley Beal's Player Profile Take a look at Bradley Beal's player profile as he gets ready to participate in BWB Africa as a member of Team World.
Bradley Beal, Wizards: His breakout season as an All-Star was supposed to come last year after he had moments to shine in the 2014 playoffs. But the young shooter took a step back and that's one reason why the Wizards didn't take a big step up in the regular season. But the 22-year-old guard lit up to the tune of 23.4 points per game in the playoffs and is back on the cusp. If he takes advantage this time around, Beal and John Wall really can become the Eastern Conference answer to the Splash Bros. and play side-by-side in Toronto.
BWB Africa: Giannis Antetokounmpo's Player Profile Take a look at Giannis Antetokounmpo's player profile as he gets ready to participate in BWB Africa as a member of Team Africa.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks: Plenty of folks thought the "Greek Freak" was going to be more of a sideshow and project for several years while getting accustomed to the league. But in just two seasons he's made tremendous strides. He has the ability to lock down the 3-4 positions and is a good ball-handler. He's been working during the off-season on improving his shooting range and if that happens, Antetokounmpo could be virtually unstoppable. On a Bucks team that has added Greg Monroe, gets back healthy Jabari Parker, things could take off for all of them and this is the guy who could break out as the headlining All-Star. His 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season was just scratching the surface.
Kia Rookie of the Year: Andrew Wiggins The Minnesota Timberwolves' Andrew Wiggins is the Kia Rookie of the Year.
Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves: The numbers of 16.7 points per game and 43.7 percent shooting from his rookie season hardly scream All-Star. Kevin Durant didn't make his first All-Star team until the third year of his career. There are still holes to fill and areas of maturity to develop in Wiggins. But the 2014 No. 1 pick did finish in the top five in Western Conference voting last season and the game will be in Toronto, the city of his birth, and won't it almost be a national obsession to get out the vote to make sure there is a Canadian represented in the game?
Fran Blinebury has covered the NBA since 1977. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.If you read any political commentary over the last few weeks, you probably heard that Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake has problems. He’s in a feud with a president from his own party. His primary challenger led him in a recent poll. He may have trouble winning the general election in 2018 (if he makes it that far). His state has a large and growing Hispanic population -- which makes it a constant target for Democrats. The list goes on.
So how much do these problems matter? Is Flake really in danger of losing his seat? It’s hard to answer these questions this far out from the midterms and with the little polling available. But we can get an early assessment of the race by looking at his advantages, his disadvantages and how much power he has to change each aspect of his situation. Specifically, I’m going to examine Arizona’s state-level politics, Flake’s own political choices and “the Trump effect.”
Arizona Demographics -- Out of Flake’s Control, But Not a Huge Problem for Him
Flake has a number of very serious problems, but we'll begin with his home state -- a frequently overblown issue for the senator.
According to conventional wisdom, part of Flake’s problem is that he represents a quickly changing state. Arizona’s Hispanic population is growing and the vast majority of residents live in large metro areas. Democrats typically win Hispanics by wide margins and perform well in large cities, so some observers have drawn the conclusion that it's dangerous to be a Republican in the Grand Canyon State.
But the facts don't yet match the conventional wisdom. To see this, simply look at the state's long-term voting trend.
This graphic shows the national popular presidential vote margin, the Arizona popular vote margin and the difference between the two since 1916 (note that lead is calculated as the difference between Republican and Democratic two-party vote share). The latter is signified by the red line -- points farther above the horizontal axis indicate a greater Republican lean in that year, while points below that axis indicate that the state leaned to the left. Arizona's partisanship has changed significantly over time. It initially leaned right, pulled left during the New Deal era, swung sharply to the right when Eisenhower entered the political arena and, to varying degrees, has stayed right since then. The story of these shifts is long and complicated, but migration from the North to the South after the Second World War, the spread of air conditioning and broader partisan realignments all played a role.
Since its Republican zenith in 1980, the state has become less red. But the trend is less sharp than many have reported. In 2016 the state leaned six points more Republican than the nation -- similar to the state’s lean in 1996, 2000 and 2004. In 2008 Arizona voted much more conservatively than the nation, but that might have been due to John McCain's home state advantage there. Donald Trump’s performance does represent a real decline from Mitt Romney's (who outperformed Trump in large cities and may have had a large advantage with Mormon voters), but the point here is that Arizona isn't blue yet and the trend line isn't as clear as it is in a state like Virginia.
That's not to say that Arizona will definitely be out of play in the next cycle or that it won't elect a Democratic senator in 2018. The large shift between 2012 and 2016 in some Midwestern states and the half-dozen Democratic senators from solidly red states disprove both of those notions. But the data show that the baseline presidential partisanship of the state (something Flake has virtually no control over) isn't so unfavorable for Republicans. Moreover, Hispanics and millennials (some of whom are the same people) often turn out in lower rates for midterms than presidential elections. If that happens again in 2018, it could temporarily turn back the clock on Arizona’s demographic changes.
In other words, Flake can't control Arizona demographics, but those don't look so bad for him. In fact, a generic Republican incumbent would have an advantage heading into an Arizona Senate election -- maybe even one big enough to withstand a moderately pro-Democratic midterm.
But that brings up two other key questions -- whether Flake is “generic” and how pro-Democratic this midterm will be.
Flake’s Odd Political Calculus May Have Already Trapped Him
Jeff Flake isn't a generic Republican.
For the last few years, the first-term senator has been carving out a weird niche for himself. He's picked public fights with Trump since the GOP primary, most recently writing some scathing commentary in a book and op-ed. And in 2013, Flake was part of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” that futilely attempted immigration reform.
He isn't the only Republican who has been critical of Trump, and he's not the only one to take public positions that oppose GOP orthodoxy. But, unlike some other party members, Flake has a staunchly conservative voting record. Unlike senior Arizona Sen. John McCain, for example, Flake voted for the failed Republican effort to roll back the Affordable Care Act. And unlike Maine Sen. (and frequent Trump critic) Susan Collins, Flake has -- according to the political science measure known as DW NOMINATE -- one of the most conservative voting records in the chamber.
This reverse triangulation (which has also been pointed out by Sean Trende and Kyle Kondik) means that Flake gets the worst of both worlds. He loses some staunch Trumpish voters by attacking the president and taking a few unorthodox positions, but votes too conservatively on the whole to bring in many Democratic crossover votes.
This isn't just a theoretical problem for Flake -- it shows up in elections and polling. In 2012, Romney won the state by nine points while Flake won his Senate race by only three. I used an RCP Senate model to check if Democrat Richard Carmona was responsible for the difference, and found that he performed almost exactly as we would expect a Democratic non-incumbent to, given Obama's approval rating at the time. Flake, on the other hand, won 49.2 percent of the vote while Romney won 53.5 percent, and earned 129,127 fewer total votes than Romney while Carmona actually earned 11,310 more than Obama.
In other words, Flake underperformed one of the most generic Republican presidential candidates in recent memory by a modest but real margin. Those problems continue today. His approval rating was only 37 percent in July and a recent HighGround poll shows him losing both the primary and the general election to his opponents.
Maybe the most difficult part of Flake’s situation is that he only has so much ability to change these perceptions. If he tries to run toward the right rhetorically and mollify the base, his opponents can fire back by reading quotes from his book. If he tries to run to the left, his Democratic opponents can point out his record on tough votes like Obamacare repeal.
That's not to say Flake has no political moves, or even that he made a strategic error. Flake may have consciously chosen to sacrifice an easier re-election bid so that he could speak and vote in accordance with his best judgment. But his actions have created pressures from multiple angles -- pressures that he may have some trouble alleviating.
The Trump Effect -- a Problem That He Can’t Do Much About
The last key part of this puzzle is, of course, President Trump.
Trump has shown that Flake’s feelings for him are, to put it gently, reciprocated. The president has shown some warmth towards Kelli Ward, Flake’s only declared primary challenger. If Flake were to lose the nomination to her, the race would swing significantly towards Democrats. The GOP would lose any advantage Flake had through incumbency while adding Ward’s liabilities. Trump’s enthusiasm for a primary challenger could backfire by causing multiple Trump-friendly Flake opponents to join the race and split the vote between them. But the point is that Trump may make this primary difficult for Flake.
Maybe more importantly, Trump might unintentionally make the general election difficult for Flake. The president’s job approval rating (something Flake has no control over) is low, and, as our model has shown, a low presidential approval rating is bad news for an Arizona Republican. You can test out the simulations using the link above, but some back-of-the-envelope math makes the point just as well. Suppose Trump’s approval rating is 40 percent on Election Day 2018, Arizona is six points more Republican than the country and Flake gets a three-point boost from incumbency. That puts him at 49 percent without accounting for any third-party-voting Republicans, further decay in Trump’s approval or votes that a strong Democratic challenger might steal.
Obviously many of these factors could move in the opposite direction. Trump’s approval could improve. Flake could draw a weak challenger. Maybe he’ll find a way to win crossover voters or consolidate conservatives. But the larger point is that Trump (over whom Flake exerts little, if any, influence) will likely be responsible for the national political environment. And if Trump’s approval doesn't change, Flake may have a real race on his hands.Photo of Childish Gambino taken by Ibra Ake.
Before we end 2016 to hop into the new year, we’re gonna have to say it: It is OK that you are just now loving you some Donald Glover. The multitalented rapper-creative-showrunner who is backing this new wave of blackness on the big-and-small-screen has dropped another bombshell in the form of a new album, “Awaken, My Love!” We first heard rumblings back when we covered the man better known as Childish Gambino at his secret PHAROS show at Joshua Tree, California.
Amongst the rave reviews + hype, it was said that the deliciously funky, “Me and Your Momma” was played live on stage for all to witness and bask in. If you haven’t heard that down-bottom goodness then you’ve obviously come to the wrong site. Fast forward to a few weeks ago before the release of “Awaken, My Love!“ and yours truly is inside Sunshine Sachs offices in New York City, listening to the full kit-and-kaboodle before anyone else had an opportunity. Now, that wasn’t as much as to brag as it is to let you know that you’re in for a sonic journey.
Yes, “Awaken, My Love!” is 11-tracks fueled by love, lost, edgy black cool and deep, dank funk riffs. This latest iteration of Childish Gambino is serving as a bridge to sounds from back in the day, while being extremely respectful to his growing audience. Throughout this effort, he doesn’t insult us with weak vocal gymnastics or lazy songwriting. Instead, “Awaken, My Love!” has a passionate fire from within that emanates from each play-through. Provided with a once-in-a-season opportunity to get first crack at a new Gambino project, I jotted down my initial thoughts for my own “first take” listening to “Awaken, My Love!”
Below, you’ll see what exactly I was thinking at the moment the songs were playing out loud. Please be sure to support the artist by copping Awaken, My Love! available on all digital marketplaces today. Enjoy!It was a sunny Sunday morning in the summertime of 2006 in Redwood City, California, and the Mrs. was back East with her gal pals for a weekend of recharging her batteries and reconnecting with old friends.
I was holding down the fort with the munchkins (boys 4 and 1 3/4), and in the interest of creating a morning diversion, we began to make preparations for a walk in the local hills. Sunscreen on, snacks loaded, water filled, stroller out - you know the drill.
I grabbed a pair of old shoes from the garage, and hastily threw them on over my bare feet, and continued my charge around the house to build momentum to get out the door. About a minute later, I realized that there was some wiggling in the toes of my right shoe, and just as I was about to take my shoe off, I felt a prick on the tip the 2nd toe of my right foot - not painful, but it got my attention.
I took my shoe off on the outside steps, and dumped it out, discovering a jet black inky spider with a body the size of an engorged pea. I instructed my son to grab his bug-catcher which was conveniently nearby, and I dumped the spider into the clear container for inspection.
Imagine my horror when I rotated the container and got a glimpse of a distinct reddish/brown hourglass figure on the belly of the black spider. OK, I reasoned, I'd lived in those parts for the better part of nearly 4 decades, and I'd NEVER heard of anyone seeing (let alone getting bit by) a black widow spider, so presumably, this is just a copy-cat spider that is harmless.
Well, I suppose before heading out for a walk, I ought to be safe and call the urgent care and see what they think.
After being reassured that there was "no way" a black widow had bitten me, the attending physician confessed that she was looking at information on Google (!!!) and started to ask me questions about what it looked like.
After 20 minutes on the phone (with the boys starting to melt down), and getting on the Internet myself, I began to experience my first tell-tale symptom -- a slight cramping in my lower right leg.
At this point, the doctor changed position, and strongly recommended that I get medical attention immediately.
OK, kids, time to pile into the wagon. We're heading to the ER.
Ten minutes later, I walked through the doors at the ER at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, CA, with holding the hands of my two boys, along with the bug catcher.
"30 minutes ago, THIS spider, bit me on THIS toe, and now THIS leg is cramping."
The otherwise bored doctors and nurses who were numbed by their predictable flow of blunt trauma, heart palpitations, and other mundane dramas rapidly appeared out of the woodworks and collectively shouted a big "Yah!!!". This, they thought, was soooo cool.
Note: Capturing and bringing in the actual spider was by far the smartest thing I did all day, as it brought me instant celebrity and credibility, as the bite itself was completely and somewhat disappointingly unremarkable.
It was delicately but firmly suggested that I make some phone calls and line up some child-care, as soon I'd be all jacked up full of morphine and other things that would make me a less-than-effective-father.
I was able to get ahold of my neighbor friends, who gamely dropped what they were doing, and came to pick up my boys. We had a long discussion about how to orchestrate the movement of cars and car seats, including me driving their car home, which was completely naive given how F-d up I was about to become.
By now the cramping had migrated into my groin area, and I was beginning to wonder what was in store. I was told that an anti-venom does indeed exist, but it's kept in Arizona and is highly toxic in and of itself, so they don't fly that in unless I was otherwise at risk (toddler, elderly, poor immune system). So, my fate was to get jacked up on opiates and survive the onslaught of the neurotoxin from the spider which would otherwise cause tremendous pain and cramping for the next 6 hours.
At this point, I texted (SMS) my wife (who was on her way to the airport to come home from Boston): "Hey there. I'm in the ER. Got bitten by a black widow. Love ya." So much for a relaxing end to her fun getaway.
Several hours of mental bliss later, I was discharged from the ER and picked up by my Dad, who took me to the pharmacy to pick up my meds (Vicodin for pain, muscle relaxants). I was slurring words, and otherwise out of it, and happy to get home to relax.
The next 48 hours were a blur. I barely remember any of that time, and mentally, lost track of days and hours. It freaked my wife out when I said I thought my Mom had spent the night, so I guess I was hallucinating.
We assumed at the time that the meds were the culprit, but now later, we're pretty sure the delirium was a byproduct of the neurotoxins.
The medical literature suggests that recovery happens within 3 to 5 days. Nights 3 and 4 and 5 were complete disasters for me. For some completely unknown reason, I was sweating profusely at night. As in, soaking through my sheets and changing my sheets 3 times on one night and twice the next. Wet, not damp.
Specifically, I was leaking sweat out of my legs. I'd wipe them off, and they'd bead up immediately. It was freaky, to say the least.
Also, I was having trouble concentrating, or being coherent for up to 5 days. Sleep was next to impossible, and I was getting worn down. I later learned my wife was doing her own Google searches to see what the risks were of permanent brain damage. And, I think my life insurance was promptly renewed shortly after that.
The doctors switched me over from vicodin to valium (one makes the pain go away, one makes you not care about the pain). Finally, I got a decent night sleep on Thursday, and a good one on Friday. I awoke on Saturday morning (Day 6) feeling like a human being for the first time and proceeded to clean the garage like a freakin' maniac.
Upon further inspection of my shoe in question, I discovered that the spider was harboring an egg sac inside my shoe. How rude of me to put my foot in there. She was quite restrained in waiting so long to bite me, and it turns out that these deadly creatures are incredibly passive. This is why it's so rare that a bite happens, as in fact, I discovered, these spiders are everywhere in the area where I was living.
If this happens to you, hang in there, and ride it out. You will get better, but it takes some time.
When I returned to work, my co-workers had decorated my cubicle with all sorts of Spiderman memorabilia and delighted in my misery. All in good fun.Baby is vulnerable to diseases and illnesses, so you will want to ensure their bottles are clean and germ free until baby's immune system developed providing a much higher tolerance to bacterias and germs.
Sterilizing bottles can have different ways. Some require more efforts and times and some need more cautions.
There are many ways to sterilize baby bottles.
Use electric steamers
Use Microwave
Use boiling water
Use UV sterilizer
Sterilizing Tablets
Many other ways.
The best and easiest way to sterilize baby bottles at home is use UV sterilizer if you can get one.
Why use UV sterilizer?
It does not use water, so no worry about germ from steamers water. No need to boil. Plastic bottle safe. UV can kill viruses, germs and bacteria (99.9% rate). Some sterilizer offer dryer function, save your time for sleep!
The only con of this method is usually UV sterilizer is a bit expensive compare to other methods.
There are not a lot of options of UV sterilizer in the market. You don't want a products that can only sterilize one bottle or one nipple at a time because you will have more than one bottle need to be sterilized.
If you don't know which one to get, you can consider the Wabi Baby Touch Panel Dual Function UV Sterilizer & Dryer. It is available at Amazon and Wabi's website.
Get one from Amazon: Wabi Baby Touch Panel Dual Function UV Sterilizer & Dryer
Wabi Baby Touch Panel Dual Function UV Sterilizer & Dryer have sterilizer and dryer function so all you need to do is wash the bottles and put them into Wabi UV sterilizer & dryer.
We tested one Wabi Baby Touch Panel Dual Function UV Sterilizer & Dryer and found it is a nice product for family with new baby.
Wabi UV sterilizer & dryer is not the small one you usually see in the market. The box width is about the mid size computer case. But it is lighter than it looks like.
You will find this UV sterilizer looks very well made and nice.
It has touch panel for function control. Very simple and easy to use.
Not too small, but not too big. We use 8oz bottle in our test.
Looks very cool also when it is on.
We tested the UV and dryer function for a set of bottles. After the full cycle complete, all bottles were dry and feels clean. It does left some warm feeling when finish, but that is totally normal."The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there," wrote L.P. Hartley in his terrific novel The Go-Between. But Hartley knew nothing of the Internet when he wrote his novel of adolescent sexual awakening; if he had, he might have been shocked at just how quickly the past became a foreign place. Indeed, from the perspective of the recently introduced Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which would set up US website blacklisting, require search engine censorship, and divide the Internet into "domestic" and "foreign" sites, the sorts of Internet arguments being made in the late 1990s don't sound like something from a foreign country so much as something from a foreign planet.
An important strain of thought in the mid-1990s was "cyberlibertarianism," a view that saw the Internet as something truly novel in world history. This exceptionalist position led to arguments that governments should leave the 'Net alone; existing law stopped at the modem jack, and beyond was a new realm called cyberspace that would solve its own problems.
"You claim there are problems among us that you need to solve," wrote rancher, EFF co-founder, and Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow in a 1996 manifesto to governments. "You use this claim as an excuse to invade our precincts. Many of these problems don't exist. Where there are real conflicts, where there are wrongs, we will identify them and address them by our means." The conflicts would be worked out based on the Golden rule—the only one recognized by "all our constituent cultures." The Internet was its own place, and needed its own government.
As for all the horrific stuff that humans get up to in every place they have so far lived, Barlow downplayed it. "All the sentiments and expressions of humanity, from the debasing to the angelic, are parts of a seamless whole, the global conversation of bits,” Barlow wrote. It simply wasn’t possible to “separate the air |
7 646.5 659.5 13.0 2.0 Tulsa 460.2 471.7 460.5 470.4 9.9 2.1
Oregon 1,898.1 1,942.4 1,904.0 1,939.3 35.3 1.9 Albany 45.2 46.9 45.4 46.8 1.4 3.1 Bend-Redmond 82.5 85.7 82.1 85.6 3.5 4.3 Corvallis 43.6 44.0 43.6 43.8 0.2 0.5 Eugene 161.5 164.1 162.5 163.5 1.0 0.6 Grants Pass 26.3 26.8 26.2 26.8 0.6 2.3 Medford 88.8 90.5 89.0 90.2 1.2 1.3 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro 1,188.8 1,217.5 1,192.4 1,219.9 27.5 2.3 Salem 166.3 171.2 164.9 169.1 4.2 2.5
Pennsylvania 6,039.7 6,117.5 6,037.8 6,116.0 78.2 1.3 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 375.0 379.4 373.0 379.8 6.8 1.8 Altoona 61.7 62.5 61.4 62.2 0.8 1.3 Bloomsburg-Berwick 43.2 43.3 42.7 42.8 0.1 0.2 Chambersburg-Waynesboro 61.3 62.1 61.4 62.5 1.1 1.8 East Stroudsburg 58.4 58.9 58.5 59.0 0.5 0.9 Erie 129.7 129.0 128.7 127.8 -0.9 -0.7 Gettysburg 35.8 36.7 35.9 36.5 0.6 1.7 Harrisburg-Carlisle 344.4 350.3 343.5 351.0 7.5 2.2 Johnstown 56.1 56.3 55.6 56.3 0.7 1.3 Lancaster 255.4 260.3 256.3 260.6 4.3 1.7 Lebanon 52.9 53.1 52.9 53.0 0.1 0.2 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 2,955.7 2,997.9 2,950.9 3,005.8 54.9 1.9 Pittsburgh 1,196.6 1,208.6 1,193.9 1,203.5 9.6 0.8 Reading 180.7 183.7 180.5 183.4 2.9 1.6 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton 269.6 272.8 268.6 270.6 2.0 0.7 State College 81.7 82.1 80.4 80.3 -0.1 -0.1 Williamsport 53.9 52.8 53.3 52.9 -0.4 -0.8 York-Hanover 188.2 192.7 188.0 192.0 4.0 2.1
Rhode Island 502.4 507.4 499.0 506.5 7.5 1.5 Providence-Warwick 598.9 604.5 596.2 603.5 7.3 1.2
South Carolina 2,114.3 2,149.8 2,114.5 2,157.7 43.2 2.0 Charleston-North Charleston 357.9 365.7 355.7 364.9 9.2 2.6 Columbia 397.7 403.4 398.1 405.6 7.5 1.9 Florence 88.8 90.4 89.1 90.5 1.4 1.6 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin 422.0 426.8 423.2 430.5 7.3 1.7 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort 78.9 81.4 78.4 80.9 2.5 3.2 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach 164.5 168.5 160.4 167.4 7.0 4.4 Spartanburg 155.8 157.3 156.8 157.7 0.9 0.6 Sumter 39.6 40.4 39.8 40.5 0.7 1.8
South Dakota 436.5 445.6 435.4 444.7 9.3 2.1 Rapid City 68.2 70.3 67.9 70.3 2.4 3.5 Sioux Falls 156.2 159.3 156.9 160.2 3.3 2.1
Tennessee 3,066.3 3,130.6 3,061.3 3,117.4 56.1 1.8 Chattanooga 262.5 267.1 261.7 265.1 3.4 1.3 Clarksville 91.1 93.4 90.4 93.3 2.9 3.2 Cleveland 49.7 49.8 50.6 50.9 0.3 0.6 Jackson 69.2 70.6 69.4 70.5 1.1 1.6 Johnson City 80.8 81.0 80.7 81.1 0.4 0.5 Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol 122.7 125.0 122.4 124.5 2.1 1.7 Knoxville 403.0 404.6 400.1 403.3 3.2 0.8 Memphis 658.3 670.3 657.6 667.5 9.9 1.5 Morristown 46.7 47.9 46.5 48.0 1.5 3.2 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin 1,000.1 1,023.2 999.1 1,019.5 20.4 2.0
Texas 12,432.0 12,793.1 12,435.6 12,818.5 382.9 3.1 Abilene 69.9 70.8 69.8 70.8 1.0 1.4 Amarillo 121.1 123.4 121.3 123.3 2.0 1.6 Austin-Round Rock 1,052.8 1,087.1 1,053.5 1,090.3 36.8 3.5 Beaumont-Port Arthur 164.2 163.2 164.2 163.3 -0.9 -0.5 Brownsville-Harlingen 141.7 144.6 141.6 144.6 3.0 2.1 College Station-Bryan 122.1 124.4 121.0 123.2 2.2 1.8 Corpus Christi 192.1 196.2 192.0 195.9 3.9 2.0 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 3,671.0 3,769.0 3,666.8 3,783.2 116.4 3.2 El Paso 316.6 322.1 316.6 323.0 6.4 2.0 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land 3,063.4 3,178.0 3,073.4 3,181.7 108.3 3.5 Killeen-Temple 144.6 147.9 144.4 148.2 3.8 2.6 Laredo 105.1 105.4 105.0 105.9 0.9 0.9 Longview 97.4 98.8 97.4 98.4 1.0 1.0 Lubbock 149.6 153.5 149.3 153.8 4.5 3.0 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 261.9 266.6 262.8 268.3 5.5 2.1 Midland 97.6 103.4 97.8 104.4 6.6 6.7 Odessa 75.6 76.4 75.6 76.5 0.9 1.2 San Angelo 49.7 50.6 49.5 50.5 1.0 2.0 San Antonio-New Braunfels 1,051.9 1,065.3 1,056.3 1,065.0 8.7 0.8 Sherman-Denison 47.3 49.1 47.4 49.0 1.6 3.4 Texarkana 60.7 61.3 60.7 61.0 0.3 0.5 Tyler 105.8 110.2 106.6 109.9 3.3 3.1 Victoria 41.2 40.7 41.1 40.6 -0.5 -1.2 Waco 121.3 123.1 121.6 123.2 1.6 1.3 Wichita Falls 59.2 60.0 59.3 60.0 0.7 1.2
Utah 1,499.6 1,543.3 1,500.4 1,547.6 47.2 3.1 Logan 62.9 65.1 62.7 64.5 1.8 2.9 Ogden-Clearfield 257.5 262.7 256.0 262.9 6.9 2.7 Provo-Orem 256.4 265.9 256.2 264.5 8.3 3.2 St. George 65.6 69.0 64.8 68.2 3.4 5.2 Salt Lake City 730.4 747.3 730.1 750.0 19.9 2.7
Vermont 317.5 315.9 319.5 318.4 -1.1 -0.3 Burlington-South Burlington 126.4 125.5 125.4 125.5 0.1 0.1
Virginia 3,986.5 4,060.4 3,976.6 4,049.6 73.0 1.8 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 77.6 79.5 77.5 79.2 1.7 2.2 Charlottesville 119.8 123.4 119.1 122.2 3.1 2.6 Harrisonburg 68.9 69.4 68.8 69.5 0.7 1.0 Lynchburg 105.4 107.2 105.3 107.1 1.8 1.7 Richmond 675.6 688.1 675.2 686.1 10.9 1.6 Roanoke 161.2 165.0 160.8 164.6 3.8 2.4 Staunton-Waynesboro 50.3 51.4 50.3 51.3 1.0 2.0 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News 781.6 793.9 779.5 792.7 13.2 1.7 Winchester 65.1 66.7 64.5 66.4 1.9 2.9
Washington 3,381.2 3,482.2 3,370.8 3,477.0 106.2 3.2 Bellingham 94.5 97.3 94.2 96.9 2.7 2.9 Bremerton-Silverdale 91.7 93.1 92.5 94.3 1.8 1.9 Kennewick-Richland 114.1 116.8 113.5 116.6 3.1 2.7 Longview 40.2 41.1 40.0 41.1 1.1 2.8 Mount Vernon-Anacortes 50.4 51.3 49.9 51.0 1.1 2.2 Olympia-Tumwater 118.1 119.8 117.9 119.8 1.9 1.6 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 2,032.2 2,103.7 2,035.8 2,103.1 67.3 3.3 Spokane-Spokane Valley 248.6 250.4 244.9 250.3 5.4 2.2 Walla Walla 29.0 29.4 28.7 29.3 0.6 2.1 Wenatchee 45.1 46.5 44.7 46.3 1.6 3.6 Yakima 88.4 90.5 87.5 89.4 1.9 2.2
West Virginia 758.4 764.9 756.7 762.4 5.7 0.8 Beckley 45.1 44.5 45.0 44.5 -0.5 -1.1 Charleston 117.7 116.1 117.6 116.2 -1.4 -1.2 Huntington-Ashland 140.7 140.0 139.9 139.4 -0.5 -0.4 Morgantown 73.8 74.9 73.2 74.3 1.1 1.5 Parkersburg-Vienna 40.2 40.0 40.1 40.1 0.0 0.0 Wheeling 67.5 67.5 67.2 67.3 0.1 0.1
Wisconsin 2,975.4 3,018.2 2,957.8 3,007.8 50.0 1.7 Appleton 126.4 128.9 125.9 129.6 3.7 2.9 Eau Claire 87.6 88.8 86.9 88.5 1.6 1.8 Fond du Lac 48.9 49.7 48.5 49.5 1.0 2.1 Green Bay 180.2 183.0 178.3 183.1 4.8 2.7 Janesville-Beloit 68.9 68.8 69.0 68.8 -0.2 -0.3 La Crosse-Onalaska 81.0 81.7 80.3 81.3 1.0 1.2 Madison 408.7 414.4 406.0 412.7 6.7 1.7 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis 874.8 879.0 870.4 877.2 6.8 0.8 Oshkosh-Neenah 99.0 100.0 98.9 99.8 0.9 0.9 Racine 78.1 78.5 77.3 78.6 1.3 1.7 Sheboygan 63.0 64.2 63.2 63.9 0.7 1.1 Wausau 73.4 75.1 73.7 75.5 1.8 2.4
Wyoming 278.9 287.2 280.4 288.6 8.2 2.9 Casper 38.7 39.0 38.6 38.9 0.3 0.8 Cheyenne 46.4 46.8 46.3 46.8 0.5 1.1
Puerto Rico 854.0 861.5 866.8 874.1 7.3 0.8 Aguadilla-Isabela 50.9 50.9 51.7 52.3 0.6 1.2 Arecibo 33.5 33.8 33.9 34.3 0.4 1.2 Guayama 14.3 14.6 14.6 14.8 0.2 1.4 Mayaguez 31.0 30.4 31.7 30.9 -0.8 -2.5 Ponce 67.6 67.6 68.9 69.0 0.1 0.1 San German 19.0 19.1 19.4 19.2 -0.2 -1.0 San Juan-Carolina-Caguas 622.8 629.3 632.7 638.6 5.9 0.9
Virgin Islands 35.8 37.6 35.4 37.7 2.3 6.5 NOTE: Data are counts of jobs by place of work. Estimates subsequent to the current benchmark are preliminary and will be revised when new information becomes available. Area delineations are based on Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 15-01, dated July 15, 2015, and are available on the BLS website at https://www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm. Areas in the six New England states are Metropolitan New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs), while areas in other states are county-based. Some metropolitan areas lie in two or more states. They are listed under the state containing the first principal city, unless otherwise footnoted. Estimates for the latest month are subject to revision the following month.A well-known, outspoken backer of Bernie Sanders for president says she’s now backing Hillary Clinton.
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a Democrat, released this statement Wednesday:
“I’m proud to have been a part of Bernie Sanders’ historic campaign, and was honored to place his name in nomination at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday.
“Now, given the remaining choices, I — like Bernie Sanders — will be casting my vote for Hillary Clinton.
“Moving forward, as a veteran and someone who knows firsthand the cost of war, I will continue to push for an end to counterproductive interventionist wars, and lead our country down a path toward peace.”
Gabbard has been highly critical of the Obama administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East, and has expressed concern that a President Hillary Clinton could lead the country into the wrong war.Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business moved up its first-round deadline for the 2015-2016 admissions season by 10 days today (May 6) to Sept. 22nd, the earliest ever. Stanford, which last year had an Oct. 1 first-round cutoff, said it would notify its early bird candidates of admission decisions on Dec. 9.
Earlier deadlines look like a real trend this year. MIT Sloan pushed its first round up by six days to Sept. 17th this year, with notification by Dec. 16th, from Sept. 23 for the 2014-2015 cycle. MIT’s second round deadline is now Jan. 14, with decisions released on April 4, while its third round cutoff is April 11, with notification by May 18th. That, in and of itself, is new. Before, MIT had been one of the few schools with only two deadlines. An MIT admissions official said the school added the third date after a number of applicants asked for it.
The school, which said its application will go live in July, also changed up its essay questions this year. The one required 500-word essay: “Tell us about a recent success you had: How did you accomplish this? Who else was involved? What hurdles did you encounter? What type of impact did this have?” And a second 250-word question is asked of those invited to interview: “The mission of the MIT Sloan School of Management is to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and to generate ideas that advance management practice. Please share with us something about your past that aligns with this mission.”
The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School also announced that it would move up its round one deadline–but not so dramatically. Instead of Oct. 1, it would be two days earlier on Sept. 29th this year. with a decision release date of Dec. 17th. A Wharton spokesperson told Poets&Quants that it plans to repeat last year’s essay questions and expects its online application to go live in early August.
STANFORD KEPT THE SAME ESSAY QUESTIONS BUT INCREASED WORD LIMITS BY 50 WORDS
A spokesperson for Stanford GSB said the school’s deadline was moved up “to reduce pressure on candidates interviewing in the U.S. around the Thanksgiving holiday and their alumni interviewers.”
In announcing its new deadlines, Stanford also moved back its round-two cutoff by five days for Jan. 12, with a decision notification of March 30. “Since our offices are closed for two weeks at Christmas due to the university shut down, and the holiday season is busy for our applicants, the round two deadline was moved back one week so we can provide support for applicants and recommenders who need questions answered prior to submitting,” the spokesperson said.
Stanford set its final and third-round deadline for April 5, four days later than last year, with notification on May 11th.
Stanford kept the same essay questions applicants were asked to complete last year, but increased the word count slightly by 50 words to a total of 1,150 words, primarily for the second essay with the prompt, “Why Stanford?”, which now has a limit of 400 words. Stanford’s classic essay, “What matters most to you and why?,” will have a word limit of 750 words. “Admissions had decreased the word count last year and decided to increase it for those who need it,” the Stanford spokesperson said.
WHARTON STRONGLY URGES APPLICANTS TO APPLY IN FIRST TWO ROUNDS
Wharton has yet to release its new essay set. Wharton’s round two cutoff will be Jan. 5, with decisions by March 29, while its third and final round ends March 30th, with notification by May 3rd. Wharton strongly urged would-be applicants to apply in its first two rounds, saying that there is no significant difference in the level of rigor of those rounds. “The third round is more competitive, as we will have already selected a good portion of the class,” according to the school. “However, there will be sufficient room in Round 3 for the strongest applicants.”
Derrick Bolton, Stanford’s head of MBA admissions, again advises candidates to apply as early as possible. “If you plan to apply in round one or two, we strongly encourage you to apply in round one,” he says on the school’s website. “Over the last few years, the number of applications we receive in round two has increased, making it more competitive. Do not rush your application, but submitting it earlier is better. While we admit outstanding individuals in all three rounds, there are some advantages to applying in either the first or second round.”
Stanford GSB is the most selective of all the U.S. MBA programs, last year accepting only 7.1% of its applicants. Only 521 of the 7,355 candidates who applied for admission to the school’s prestigious MBA program in the 2014-2015 admissions cycle were admitted Stanford enrolled a class of 410 of those admitted applicants who will graduate in the Class of 2017. The latest enrolled group of students had the highest average GMATs of any business school at 732 and the highest average undergraduate grade point average at 3.74.
So far, four top schools have set their application deadlines. As always, Harvard Business School set the earliest first-round deadline of Sept. 9th, same as last year. Dee Leopold, HBS’s managing director of admissions and financial aid, said the school will push its application for the Class of 2018 live in mid-June. Harvard’s essay and recommender questions will be posted on May 15th.Dershowitz: Mueller "Going Well Beyond His Authority As Prosecutor"; "They Are Not Crimes"
Alan Dershowitz tells FOX News' Melissa Francis that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has gone "well beyond his authority as a prosecutor." He said the people Mueller are investigating may have comitted "political sins if they are sins at all," but "they are not crimes."
MELISSA FRANCIS, 'OUTNUMBERED' HOST: FOX News is also learning that Mueller's team is scheduled to interview more Senior White House officials in the coming weeks, including White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, White House counsel Don McGahn, and a close aide to the White House senior advisor Jared Kushner. You wrote the book on all of this, what is your take on this latest development?
ALAN DERSHOWITZ: I think it is very worrying, it shows that Mueller is going well beyond his authority as a prosecutor and is trying to make a case that the obstruction of justice by engaging in constitutionally protected acts. The president is entitled to fire the head of the FBI, the president is entitled to direct his Attorney General who to investigate and who not to, that is what the law has been since Thomas Jefferson directed his Attorney General to go after Aaron Burr. If we want to change it, we should change it by legislation or constitutional amendment but you can't change the law by having a prosecutor make a crime out of something that is constitutionally protected.K-P tops the list of parliamentarians who failed to submit financial details
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday suspended membership of 261 parliamentarians over their failure to submit statements of assets and liabilities to the electoral watchdog.
The ECP had earlier issued circulars to the lawmakers under Sub-Section 42A of the Representation of People Act (RoPA) to submit their financial details by September 30 or face the music.
Presently, there are a total of 1,174 parliamentarians.
According to details, seven out of 104 senators, 71 of 342 MNAs, 84 of 371 MPAs from Punjab, 50 of 168 MPAs from Sindh, 38 of 124 MPAs from K-P and 11 of 65 MPAs from Balochistan failed to submit their financial details.
Three seats are vacant in the Senate, three in the National Assembly and two in the Punjab Assembly.
Of the total 1,174 parliamentarians, 905 or 77.09% have submitted their yearly statements. They included 94 senators, 268 MNAs, 285 MPAs from Punjab, 118 from Sindh, 86 from K-P and 54 from Balochistan.
An ECP notification named those members of the National Assembly, the Senate and the provincial “who have failed to file statements of assets and liabilities of themselves, their spouses and their dependents”.
The notification said the lawmakers “shall cease to function as such members with immediate effect and till such statements are submitted by them”.
Under RoPA, all parliamentarians are required to submit details of their assets, including those of their spouses and children, to the ECP by September 30.
Section 42A of the RoPA, 1976, states: “Every member shall, on a form prescribed under Clause (f) of Sub-Section (2) of Section 12, submit statements of assets and liabilities of his own, his spouse and dependents annually to the commission by the thirtieth day of September each year.”
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Capt (retd) Safdar, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s estranged MNA Ayesha Gulalai, Interior Minister for State Talal Chaudhry, Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Yousaf and former National Assembly speaker Fehmida Mirza are among the suspended lawmakers.
Moshin Shah Nawaz Ranjha, Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, Maulana Muhammad Gohar Shah, Shehryar Afridi, Muhammad Azhar Khan Jadoon, Shah Je Gul Afridi and Peer Syed Muhammad Saqlain Shah are also among the MNAs who failed to submit financial details.
Senators, including Muhammad Ali Khan Saif, Muhammad Farogh Naseem and Atta-ur-Rehman, are among others whose memberships were suspended by the ECP.
In Punjab, Mian Jahangir Wattoo, Muhmmad Akbar Hayat Harraj and Sardar Jamal Khan Leghari are among the suspended MPAs.
Sindh MPAs whose memberships have been suspended include Ali Nawaz Khan Mahar, Arbab Ghulam Rahim, Makhdoom Khalil-u-Zaman, Muhammad Rauf Siddiqi and Syed Faisal Sabzwari.
Shaukat Ali Yousaf Zai, Qurban Ali Khan and Sultan Muhammad Khan are also among those from K-P whose memberships have been suspended.
Balochistan MPAs, including Mir Zafarullah Khan Zehri, Mir Akber Askaani and Husan Bano are among those whose memberships have been suspended.
Read full storyGraphene-based electrode prototype, inspired by fern leaves, could be the answer to solar energy storage challenge
Inspired by an American fern, researchers have developed a groundbreaking prototype that could be the answer to the storage challenge still holding solar back as a total energy solution.
The new type of electrode created by researchers from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, could boost the capacity of existing integrable storage technologies by 3000 per cent.
But the graphene-based prototype also opens a new path to the development of flexible thin film all-in-one solar capture and storage, bringing us one step closer to self-powering smart phones, laptops, cars and buildings.
The new electrode is designed to work with supercapacitors, which can charge and discharge power much faster than conventional batteries. Supercapacitors have been combined with solar, but their wider use as a storage solution is restricted because of their limited capacity.
RMIT's Professor Min Gu said the new design drew on nature's own genius solution to the challenge of filling a space in the most efficient way possible -- through intricate self-repeating patterns known as "fractals".
"The leaves of the western swordfern are densely crammed with veins, making them extremely efficient for storing energy and transporting water around the plant," said Gu, Leader of the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence Nanophotonics and Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship at RMIT.
"Our electrode is based on these fractal shapes -- which are self-replicating, like the mini structures within snowflakes -- and we've used this naturally-efficient design to improve solar energy storage at a nano level.
"The immediate application is combining this electrode with supercapacitors, as our experiments have shown our prototype can radically increase their storage capacity -- 30 times more than current capacity limits.
"Capacity-boosted supercapacitors would offer both long-term reliability and quick-burst energy release - for when someone wants to use solar energy on a cloudy day for example -- making them ideal alternatives for solar power storage."
Combined with supercapacitors, the fractal-enabled laser-reduced graphene electrodes can hold the stored charge for longer, with minimal leakage. The fractal design reflected the self-repeating shape of the veins of the western swordfern, Polystichum munitum, native to western North America.
Lead author, PhD researcher Litty Thekkekara, said because the prototype was based on flexible thin film technology, its potential applications were countless.
"The most exciting possibility is using this electrode with a solar cell, to provide a total on-chip energy harvesting and storage solution," Thekkekara said.
"We can do that now with existing solar cells but these are bulky and rigid. The real future lies in integrating the prototype with flexible thin film solar - technology that is still in its infancy.
"Flexible thin film solar could be used almost anywhere you can imagine, from building windows to car panels, smart phones to smart watches. We would no longer need batteries to charge our phones or charging stations for our hybrid cars.
"With this flexible electrode prototype we've solved the storage part of the challenge, as well as shown how they can work with solar cells without affecting performance. Now the focus needs to be on flexible solar energy, so we can work towards achieving our vision of fully solar-reliant, self-powering electronics."
The research is published in Scientific Reports on Friday 31 March.
###The September 22 broadcast of�, '' featured Kim Jong Kook and HaHa interacting with fans when HaHa teased the Turbo member for his fashion sense.
"Why do you always wear the same t-shirt?" said HaHa. Kim Jong Kook explained, "I just happen to have a variety of colors. �4 in gray, 4 black, 4 in charcoal and also white too."
Prior to this, the singer appeared on the reality show wearing what appeared to be the same t-shirt in all 21 episodes so far in 9 gray colors and 5 black colored t-shirts, causing many netizens to wonder if he wore the same shirt every time.
Kim Jong Kook's manager commented, "He doesn't shop at all. �I think he wears the same thing every day. �Not sure if he changes clothes either," jokingly.
To refute the statement, Kim Jong Kook added, "I have various types of shirts in grey, black, and white either in long sleeve, short sleeve or no sleeve. I don't want to worry about what to wear in the morning."
What are your thoughts on Kim Jong Kook's distinct style?At WonderCon in March, CyberConnect2 CEO and President Hiroshi Matsuyama revealed Pirate and Cowboy costumes for Naruto. Today, Namco Bandai Games has released those two pieces of downloadable content (DLC) along with five other costumes – Matador Naruto, Gondolier Naruto, Kimono Naruto, Lederhosen Naruto, and Napoleon Sasuke. If you’ve noticed, yes, these have somewhat of an international flavor to them.
A Matador is a bullfighter in Spanish-speaking countries. A Gondolier is a person who steers a boat, like the one seen in Venice, Italy. Kimono is obviously clothing worn in Japan. Lederhosen is a type of clothing often seen in Germany. Lastly, Nepolean is a former French military and political leader.
Note: Currently these are released on Europe’s Xbox Marketplace, with PlayStation Network coming tomorrow. North America will get it both for Xbox 360 and PS3 later today. The price is $2.99 in the USA, so it won’t be free.
Matador Naruto
Pirate Naruto
Cowboy Naruto
Kimono Naruto
Gondolier Naruto
Lederhosen Naruto
Nepolean Sasuke
Related:
Naruto Storm 3: New DLC for Naruto, Ino, Hinata, Kakashi, Sasuke (School Versions)
Naruto Storm 3: New Akatsuki DLC Released
Naruto Storm 3: Five DLC Character Costumes Gameplay
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 is Namco Bandai Games and CyberConnect2’s fourth entry in the Storm series. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 in North America/South America on March 5 and Europe/Australia on March 8, and will be released in Japan on April 18, 2013. The story for the game will begin with the Nine Tailed Fox incident from 16 years ago, continue on to the Five Kage Arc, and go up to the Shinobi War, covering the latest episodes of Naruto Shippuden as they air in Japan.A change in practice has meant 300 more adults with low incomes received emergency dental care this year, the mayor announced Monday. As part of the council-approved poverty reduction strategy, those on Ontario Works now have access to 23 city dental clinics run by Toronto Public Health instead of just five provincially-funded sites — a positive change Mayor John Tory said has no immediate impact on the annual budget.
Dr. Anum Liaque demonstrates proper brushing technique Monday for client Chantel Waterfield at a Toronto Public Health dental clinic at the Scarborough Civic Centre, one of 23 locations where the city is offering dental services to those on Ontario Works. ( Jennifer Pagliaro / Toronto Star )
“This is the kind of collaborative, creative thinking that we’re going to have to use over and over again,” Tory said at one of the city clinics at |
Boost Clock 876 MHz 902 MHz 1085 MHz 1033 MHz Memory Clock 1502 MHz 1502 MHz 1753 MHz 1502 MHz Memory Size 6 GB 3 GB 2 GB/4GB 2 GB Memory Interface 384-bit GDDR5 384-bit GDDR5 256-bit GDDR5 256-bit GDDR5 MAX TDP 250W 250W 230W 170W ROPs 48 48 32 32 TMUs 224 192 128 96 Bandwidth 288.4 288.4 224.4 192.4 Price $1000 $649 $399 $249-$299
Performance wise, the card would be faster than the reference Radeon HD 7950 at a similar cost range but the real challenge would between overclocked models since they are priced along a similar path as the overclocked Radeon graphic cards. Also to note is that this would be the last GeForce 700 series card we would see in some time since the low end GTX 750 Ti/ GTX 750 etc would launch much later around the end of Q3 2013 or Q4 2013.A FOUR-YEAR-OLD schoolboy, who suffered a crush injury to his right index finger while attending a Dublin creche, has been awarded €20,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court.
Barrister John Nolan told the court that Alex Orsi was almost two-years-old in April 2014 when his finger got caught in the hinge of a door at Giraffe Childcare creche, Charlemont Street.
The court heard that Alex’s finger was lacerated in the incident and had been bleeding. His nail had also been damaged.
Mr Nolan said Alex first attended his GP before being taken to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, Dublin, where X-rays revealed no fracture to his finger.
Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke heard that Alex suffered a partial amputation to the pulp of his finger.
Alex Orsi, of Merlyn Park, Ballsbridge, Dublin, had been referred to the plastic surgery team at the hospital and had surgery under general anaesthetic the next day.
Through his father Sebastian Orsi, a stock broker, Alex sued Giraffe Chilcare, with a registered address at Adamstown Avenue, Castlegate, Adamstown, Lucan, Co Dublin, for negligence.
Mr Nolan, who appeared with Peter Morissey & Co solicitors, said the creche had admitted liability and had made a settlement offer of €20,000 damages which he recommended to the court.
Judge Groarke, hearing that Alex had made a full recovery and the wound had left a minor scar on his finger, approved the offer.TennCare wrongly delayed coverage to a woman in a coma for two months, according to a lawsuit filed by the Tennessee Justice Center. (Photo: Getty Images / iStockphoto)
Bradley County has agreed to pay $41,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a national atheist organization over a religious Easter message posted to an official Facebook page for the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office.
American Atheists announced Thursday they had reached a settlement with the East Tennessee county and sheriff’s office. Amanda Knief, the national legal and public policy director for American Atheists, called the settlement a "clear win" for the two anonymous local plaintiffs in a statement and was pleased the sheriff agreed not to promote religion on the official social media account.
"What is unfortunate, is that it took a lawsuit and more than $40,000 in taxpayer money for the county and sheriff to put this common sense policy in place," Knief said.
Court records show the case was dismissed Wednesday because of the settlement agreement. The county and Sheriff Eric Watson, who posted the Easter message, do not have to admit wrongdoing, but the county will pay $15,000 to American Atheists and the two anonymous local plaintiffs, as well as $26,000 in attorney fees, according to a copy of the settlement agreement provided by American Atheists.
The agreement also put restrictions on Facebook use. A new sheriff's office Facebook page will not be allowed to "promote or further any religion, religious organization, religious event or religious belief." Commenting on the Facebook page will no longer be an option. Watson can keep a personal Facebook page as long as it clearly states that it only reflects his personal views and not those of the department.
"Part of my public duty is to enforce the laws of our state and to protect and defend the constitution of our nation and state without regard to anyone’s personal faith, ethnicity, or national origin," said Watson, in a statement. "The case filed against Bradley County and I have been time consuming and reflect the inevitable clash between three clauses of the First Amendment."
Watson also specified in his statement that it was not his decision to pay the amount agreed upon in the settlement. He said it was a business decision made by the Local Government Insurance Pool and the money is not county funds.
In May, the atheists group and a woman named in court documents as "Jane Doe 1" sued the sheriff and county saying that to delete some social media posts violated the woman’s First Amendment rights to speech.
One post at issue: On March 27, Easter Sunday, the sheriff posted on the department's Facebook page under the headline "He is risen," according to the lawsuit.
"Today is one of the most historic days, not only did Jesus die on the cross for our sins, but he rose on this day!" the sheriff wrote on the social media site, according to the lawsuit. A Bradley County woman complained to American Atheists.
But then, when the woman criticized the sheriff’s post on Facebook in her own posts, hers were deleted, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit said that censorship violated the woman’s right to free speech in the public forum of social media.
Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8958 or on Twitter @sbarchenger. Reach Holly Meyer at 615-259-8241 and on Twitter @HollyAMeyer.
Read or Share this story: http://tnne.ws/2b9S75XTrump's Closest Allies Warn President It's Time To Stop Tweeting "The tweeting makes everybody crazy," said Trump's close friend Tom Barrack, chairman of Colony Northstar.
Share EMAIL PRINT Tom Barrack's criticism followed a Trump tweetstorm over the London terrorist attack (File)
"The tweeting makes everybody crazy," said Trump's close friend Tom Barrack, chairman of Colony Northstar, at a Bloomberg conference in New York Tuesday. "There's just no gain in doing it."
The campaign by Trump's closest supporters amounts to a remarkable appeal to a sitting commander-in-chief, a sort of public intervention with the aim of convincing Trump to give up behavior that they believe is doing lasting damage to his presidency.
The tweets do more than simply distract from the administration's attempts to highlight Trump's policies. Across the administration, a sense of mayhem prevails as Trump's staff find themselves unable to plan and are constantly playing defense because of uncertainty over what the president may next say on Twitter or elsewhere, with his positions constantly shifting, one former administration official said. One Washington consultant whose clients work closely with the administration said the tweets feed into a sense that the White House is losing its way.
Barrack's criticism followed a
Trump's allies were so alarmed that several have publicly called for him to stop.
The first public plea came from an unexpected quarter: George Conway, a longtime Trump friend and husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
"The pt cannot be stressed enough that tweets on legal matters seriously undermine Admin agenda and POTUS--and those who support him, as I do, need to reinforce that pt and not be shy about it," Conway wrote on Twitter Monday morning.
Conway was previously an unnoticed and noncontroversial presence on Twitter, causing news organizations to scramble to verify that he controlled the account. (A spokesman confirmed that he does.) His criticism was amplified on Tuesday by Republican members of Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
"Every day that we're talking about tweets that are off message is a bad day," Graham told reporters.
Privately, Trump's allies had already dialed up pleas to Trump to lay off Twitter and focus on efforts to set the agenda in Washington. That effort has had little effect, said one Trump supporter and GOP consultant. That is perhaps because at least one other close Trump confidant, Republican operative Roger Stone, has encouraged Trump to remain unleashed on Twitter, two people close to Trump said.
Trump friend Chris Ruddy, the president and chief executive of NewsMax.com, said he thinks Trump should implement an internal White House review process for his tweets before hitting send. "There's nothing wrong with the tweeting," he said, but a backstop would be smart.
Barrack agreed there is a sense of chaos in the White House and said it was unlikely to abate soon. But he cautioned that the first year of any administration is often marked by disarray and said Americans should give Trump more time to find his way.
It is early in Trump's term to descend into panic over his agenda, but his allies say the clock is fast expiring for his loftiest domestic goals, including repeal of Obamacare and a tax overhaul. In a week that top officials hoped he could focus on his infrastructure plan, Trump instead made the narrative his Twitter feud with the London mayor and an apparent shift in policy toward Qatar, also first aired on the social media site.
The White House may lose control of the message again on Thursday when fired FBI Director James Comey testifies about his investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.
Administration officials felt they had ended last week on a high note after Trump's decision to exit the Paris climate accord. Many of his aides regarded his recently concluded first oversees trip -- during which his personal @realDonaldTrump missives were largely boring -- as a success. They looked forward to a pivot to his domestic agenda, with a focus on infrastructure and improving veterans' health care.
Trump had other ideas. As if demonstrating his disdain for his friends' advice, Trump tweeted again Monday evening -- after Conway's plea -- about his travel ban.
"That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!"
And on Tuesday morning, he had a message for the hectoring media.
"The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media," he said. "They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out." Donald Trump's closest friends and allies have begun to publicly warn the president that his Twitter tirades are fueling mayhem in the White House and risk jeopardizing his presidency."The tweeting makes everybody crazy," said Trump's close friend Tom Barrack, chairman of Colony Northstar, at a Bloomberg conference in New York Tuesday. "There's just no gain in doing it."The campaign by Trump's closest supporters amounts to a remarkable appeal to a sitting commander-in-chief, a sort of public intervention with the aim of convincing Trump to give up behavior that they believe is doing lasting damage to his presidency.The tweets do more than simply distract from the administration's attempts to highlight Trump's policies. Across the administration, a sense of mayhem prevails as Trump's staff find themselves unable to plan and are constantly playing defense because of uncertainty over what the president may next say on Twitter or elsewhere, with his positions constantly shifting, one former administration official said. One Washington consultant whose clients work closely with the administration said the tweets feed into a sense that the White House is losing its way.Barrack's criticism followed a Trump tweetstorm over the weekend, sparked by the London terrorist attack that killed seven people. Trump criticized the city's mayor and the U.S. Department of Justice for its legal defense of his travel ban. The tweets shocked the British and caused days of distraction, overshadowing the White House's public roll-out of a plan to overhaul the U.S. air-traffic control system.Trump's allies were so alarmed that several have publicly called for him to stop.The first public plea came from an unexpected quarter: George Conway, a longtime Trump friend and husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway."The pt cannot be stressed enough that tweets on legal matters seriously undermine Admin agenda and POTUS--and those who support him, as I do, need to reinforce that pt and not be shy about it," Conway wrote on Twitter Monday morning.Conway was previously an unnoticed and noncontroversial presence on Twitter, causing news organizations to scramble to verify that he controlled the account. (A spokesman confirmed that he does.) His criticism was amplified on Tuesday by Republican members of Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina."Every day that we're talking about tweets that are off message is a bad day," Graham told reporters.Privately, Trump's allies had already dialed up pleas to Trump to lay off Twitter and focus on efforts to set the agenda in Washington. That effort has had little effect, said one Trump supporter and GOP consultant. That is perhaps because at least one other close Trump confidant, Republican operative Roger Stone, has encouraged Trump to remain unleashed on Twitter, two people close to Trump said."The president has always said that he wanted to buy a newspaper, and Twitter has filled that void -- in fact, he notes it's a newspaper without the losses," said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign aide who was fired but remains a supporter. "There's a method to the madness."Trump friend Chris Ruddy, the president and chief executive of NewsMax.com, said he thinks Trump should implement an internal White House review process for his tweets before hitting send. "There's nothing wrong with the tweeting," he said, but a backstop would be smart.Barrack agreed there is a sense of chaos in the White House and said it was unlikely to abate soon. But he cautioned that the first year of any administration is often marked by disarray and said Americans should give Trump more time to find his way.It is early in Trump's term to descend into panic over his agenda, but his allies say the clock is fast expiring for his loftiest domestic goals, including repeal of Obamacare and a tax overhaul. In a week that top officials hoped he could focus on his infrastructure plan, Trump instead made the narrative his Twitter feud with the London mayor and an apparent shift in policy toward Qatar, also first aired on the social media site.The White House may lose control of the message again on Thursday when fired FBI Director James Comey testifies about his investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.Administration officials felt they had ended last week on a high note after Trump's decision to exit the Paris climate accord. Many of his aides regarded his recently concluded first oversees trip -- during which his personal @realDonaldTrump missives were largely boring -- as a success. They looked forward to a pivot to his domestic agenda, with a focus on infrastructure and improving veterans' health care.Trump had other ideas. As if demonstrating his disdain for his friends' advice, Trump tweeted again Monday evening -- after Conway's plea -- about his travel ban."That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!"And on Tuesday morning, he had a message for the hectoring media. "The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media," he said. "They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out." NDTV Beeps - your daily newsletterMumbai: Many companies have elevated women relatives of their promoters to their boards to comply with the March 31 deadline of having at least one woman on their boards.
In February 2014, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued a directive asking companies listed on stock exchanges to have at least one woman on the board of directors by October 2014, a deadline that was later extended to March 31 this year. Sebi says its directive is meant to promote gender diversity.
A report compiled by research firm Prime Database shows that over 50 per cent of the companies which have complied with the directive, have got relatives on board - crossing the fence on a mere technicality.
"Several companies have appointed women who are related to the promoter group - wives, sisters and daughters. So we feel that the objective of diversity shall not be met in such scenarios," Pranav Haldea, managing director of Prime Database, told NDTV.
The market regulator has warned of necessary action if companies failed to comply with its directive of appointing at least one woman on their boards. With the deadline about to end, nearly 300 companies are scrambling to appoint a woman director on their boards.
"There are still a number of companies that haven't found competent women to be on the board of directors. Such attitude must be condemned and I hope CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) takes this up, explains why this is happening and looks at what message we are giving to the outside world," Sebi chief, UK Sinha said at a conference addressing the industry body's members.Gita Piramal, who has run a family business and authored books on the corporate landscape of the country, is now on the board of Bajaj Auto as an independent director. She hails the Sebi's directive for promoting gender diversity at the board level. "Companies with male-dominated boards have woken up suddenly that they need to do this. The directive is important. Without that women don't have a chance," she says. According to a 2014 report by Catalyst, a global NGO that works to expand opportunities for women, the share of board seats held by women in India is only 9.5 per cent. Another report by Accounting Firm Grant Thornton lists India in the bottom three countries when it comes to senior management roles held by women.Facebook just showed up to the header bidding party. Facebook confirmed it’s “exploring header bidding with a small set of publishers.” Those partners may include USA Today and Hearst, according to The Information, which was first to report the news. For Facebook, the move could mark a significant expansion of its Audience Network platform, expanding the ad network's access to Facebook and Instagram users across mobile and desktop. For its publishers, the move will mean another source of demand likely to boost yield. And for rivals like Amazon, Criteo and Google, it will mean more competition for high-value publisher ad space. Separately, AdExchanger has learned Facebook is testing another way to quickly scale up native supply for Audience Network. It’s building connections to the mediation layers of native advertising SSPs and ad servers. That cohort includes TripleLift, Sharethrough and Nativo. Connecting to these native platforms gives Audience Network access to native ad templates, its preferred creative format, along with thousands of publisher connections. By contrast, Facebook’s header bidding placement strategy will be geared to both native placements and standard IAB units. Facebook prefers native because it performs better, but it knows it needs banners to achieve scale in Audience Network. The two sell-side initiatives show Facebook is increasingly focused on building out a publisher network, an area from which it had seemed to shrink from last year after the shuttering of LiveRail. And that renewed focus speaks to a key challenge the company faces this year: It needs more supply, stat.
Facebook will run out of room to show ads on its sites next year, as it warned investors on its Q2 earnings call. To continue growing, it needs to put more juice into Audience Network, which reported a $1 billion revenue run rate last Q4.
So why is Facebook specifically targeting the header rather than buying through exchanges? While Facebook could connect instantly to millions of websites through SSPs and exchanges, the header bidding approach cuts out middlemen and tech fees while ensuring broad access to supply.
“If you are a DSP, you really need SSPs to exist. But if you are an advertiser, you don’t need SSPs to exist. You just need publishers to exist,” said Chris Kane, founder of programmatic consultancy Jounce Media.
Facebook's header bidding approach calls to mind that of Criteo, which pioneered an early version of header bidding and used its "first look" access to publisher inventory to cherry pick impressions for its RTB customers before they appeared on open exchanges. As Criteo learned, signing on publishers via header bidding solves a big technical problem for a buyer looking for specific users or data signals.
And publishers loved Criteo's differentiated demand – mostly ecommerce companies seeking to retarget their shopping cart abandoners. Amazon copied that strategy for its A9 business.
In Facebook's case, its differentiated demand is a little different: mobile app-install marketers and, increasingly, brand advertisers and small businesses. Similarly, many publishers prize Google Ad Exchange demand because it includes AdWords, a network of search advertisers and small businesses that buy only through Google.
Additionally, publishers working with Facebook can probably rest assured that the inventory will be safe and in attractive formats like native and video, according to Chris Reid, founder of publisher-focused tech startup Sortable.
Facebook offers “a massive pool of differentiated demand … thus avoiding all the pitfalls of malvertising and mobile redirects,” Reid noted.
But SSPs had better watch out. Facebook partners have a way of becoming road kill.
“Long-term, publishers will be disintermediated because they don’t have a direct relationship with the client and their audience is a commodity,” said Mike Caprio, programmatic GM at Sizmek. “As far as Facebook is concerned, it’s just eyeballs.”
Zach Rodgers contributed.IT’S an ancient tradition with thousands of pilgrims taking part each year.
Participants range from married men to housewives, government officials to prostitutes, all indulging in a mass ritual of adultery and sex.
And all of this takes place in a small corner of the world’s largest Muslim majority country.
Welcome to Indonesia’s Sex Mountain.
SBS Dateline journalist Patrick Abboud was granted rare access to visit the ancient mountain and its religious sexual rituals.
Abboud told news.com.au that thousands of Indonesian pilgrims travel across the archipelago to the Gunung Kemukus to take part in a religious ritual on an mountain top, believing sex out of wedlock at this holy site will bring them good luck and fortune.
Abboud said that the ancient ritual dates back to the 16th century, which in many ways goes against the law of Islam, especially sex out of wedlock, adding people were often reluctant to talk about it.
“It’s unique to Java — it’s an ancient Islamic Javanese tradition that happens every 35 days,” he said.
Legend has it that the ritual started when a young Indonesian Prince, Pangeran Samodro, had an affair with his stepmother.
They ran away and hid on Gunung Kemukus, but were caught and killed during sex and buried on top of the mountain in what is now an Islamic shrine.
Pilgrims believe having sex at the site will not only bring them good fortune but also wealth.
But Abboud reveals there is a catch.
For the magic to work and the wealth to take place, it’s believed the sex partner for the ritual should not be a spouse.
He also said pilgrims must also copulate on the mountain every 35 days, seven consecutive times.
“The majority are poor farmers and workers who believe visiting the site and having sex will bring them more success,” he said.
Abboud said many were also devout Muslims and the pilgrimage wasn’t just about sex.
First they visit a shrine to pray, then are washed in a sacred spring before prayers are held.
“It was really emotional watching lots of people praying,” he said.
“Once that’s over, pilgrims find a partner.”
But if you think it’s all married couples, think again, some men travel without their wives, helping spawn a burgeoning prostitution ring which the government turns a blind eye to because of the fee it charges pilgrims to visit the site.
Abboud said thousands of sex workers were at the site, and sexual health doctors he spoke to said diseases were rampart as many of the men didn’t want to wear condoms.
“It’s such a paradox, and it’s hard to make sense out of,” he said.
“It’s a strange snapshot of an Islamic ritual which really asks how it’s possible to exist given they are devout Muslims.”
Abboud added this ritual doesn’t take place anywhere else in Indonesia or the rest of the Muslim world and is a very Javanese blend of religious ideals — with Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist influences.Ron Medich, who will go on trial for the murder of Michael McGurk, insists he's innocent and should have avoided ex-boxer Lucky Gattellari "like the plague".
The Sydney property tycoon is accused of conscripting Gattellari to arrange the fatal shooting of businessman Mr McGurk outside Mr McGurk's Cremorne home in September 2009.
Gattellari, a former boxing champion, then enlisted Haissam Safetli and Senad Kaminic to help.
All three have been jailed for their parts in the murder.
Of the five men charged, only Medich and alleged trigger man Christopher Estephan, maintain their innocence.
Magistrate Jan Stevenson committed Medich to trial in Sydney's Central Local Court on Friday for murder on the basis of a joint criminal enterprise and for intimidating Mr McGurk's wife.
In a statement read to the court Medich denied he had anything to do with the murder despite being in a financial dispute with Mr McGurk at the time.
He also denied intimidating Mrs McGurk.
The murder of Mr McGurk was a terrible and unwarranted thing, he told the court.
"I am not a violent person. I have never been a violent or physically aggressive man and I did not authorise anyone ever... to harm or hurt or threaten anyone connected with this case," he said.
He said he once regarded Gattellari as friend and supporter but had since discovered he was wrong, admitting that he was not a particularly good judge of character.
Gattellari was a cunning and dishonest person who had stolen and misappropriated money from him, Medich said.
He should have taken the advice of family members with regards to Gattellari, he said.
"With hindsight I should have avoided him like the plague," he said.
Medich said Gattellari was trying to "put me in" so Gattellari's sentence would be reduced.
"I will be vindicated, no matter how long it takes," he said.
The committal trial for Estephan continues and will next be mentioned on October 11.Planned Parenthood Black Community is blaming “toxic masculinity” for the horrific shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
The black community of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund — which says it works to “protect and advance the sexual and reproductive rights of African Americans” — tweeted out that the Orlando massacre, committed by jihadist Omar Mateen, was caused by “toxic masculinity” and “a global culture of imperialist homophobia.”
#Islam doesn't foment the violence alleged gunman Omar Mateen enacted, toxic masculinity & a global culture of imperialist homophobia does — Planned Parenthood Black Community (@PPBlackComm) June 12, 2016
In addition, as MRCTV observes, Planned Parenthood Black Community continued, “Toxic masculinity enables rapists & rape culture, violent heterosexism & attacks on reproductive freedom.”
Toxic masculinity enables rapists & rape culture, violent heterosexism & attacks on reproductive freedom. #AllOfUs must fight for justice — Planned Parenthood Black Community (@PPBlackComm) June 12, 2016
While the black Planned Parenthood activists said, “#Islam doesn’t foment the violence,” ISIS claimed responsibility for the massacre.
As Breitbart News reported Monday, Daniel Gilroy, a former police officer who worked alongside Mateen at the security firm G4S, said he quit his job because of discomfort with Mateen’s persistent threats of violence and hatred toward blacks, women, lesbians, and Jews.
Seddique Mateen, the shooter’s father, is also a known Taliban sympathizer and confirmed that his son hated LGBT individuals.Tilting and Flexing of the Earth's Crust in the Central Andes: Results of a GPS survey of shorelines of Paleolake Minchin
Bruce G. Bills, Geodynamics Branch, Code 921
The topography of the Central Andes is represented in color. The sites at which shoreline height measurements were made are indicated by black dots. The inferred pattern of net vertical motion (rebound plus tilting) is indicated by white contours.
Figure available as PostScript (544k) or GIF (175k)
Paleolimnology is the study of ancient lakes. A burgeoning sub-discipline of this field might be entitled limneotectonics, or the study of deformations of the solid earth as recorded in the shorelines and sediments of lakes. The shorelines of paleolakes provide the unusual combination of unambiguous records of both climatic change and tectonic motions. Changes in the surface area of a closed-basin lake provide direct evidence of climatic change. Departures from horizontality of the shorelines of a lake provide evidence of vertical crustal motions. Together, these disparate types of evidence can be used to establish constraints on the rates and processes responsible for changes above and below the surface of the Earth.
Lakes which occupy hydrologically closed drainage basins respond very sensitively to climatic change. An increase in precipitation or a decrease in evaporation will cause the surface area of the lake to increase until hydrologic balance is re-established. The Altiplano of Bolivia is presently a cold high desert, but at elevations below 3800 m the landscape is dominated by coast geomorphic features. During colder and/or wetter episodes in the past, the hydrologically closed basins of the Altiplano have contained substantial lakes. The largest of these was Lake Minchin, which extended 200 km E-W and 400 km N-S, and attained a depth of 140 m. It was thus roughly comparable in size to the present Lake Michigan.
The sediments and shoreline deposits of Lake Minchin preserve a valuable, but largely untapped record of tropical climatic change. The present climate of the Altiplano represents a region of extremely high precipitation gradients. The western flank of the basin is part of the hyper-arid Peruvian coast desert, with precipitation rates < 100 mm/year. The eastern flank of the basin abuts the Amazon rainforest, with precipitation rates > 1500 mm/year. The potential evaporation rates are less variable, averaging 1400 mm/year. It is clear that even minor lateral shifts in the precipitation zones would produce major shifts in the hydrologic balance. To attain the highest level of Lake Minchin would require an increase in the basin-average precipitation of roughly 300 mm/year. Recent work on this problem by a group lead by Bruce Bills (921) has established that the highest shoreline was formed roughly 17,000 years ago.
As the lake fluctuates in depth, it forms erosional and depostional shorelines which record the positions of the lake surface at various epochs. Each of these shorelines are formed on a horizontal (geoidal) surface. Present departures from horizontality are thus a measure of accumulated net vertical motion since the shoreline formed. For sufficiently large lakes, the crustal load of the water itself is adequate to produce tens of meters of vertical deflection of the crust. The actual amount and spatial pattern of deflection depends on the geometry of the imposed load (which is well known) and on the long-term strength of the sub-strate (which is almost completely unknown). Thus, examination of the spatio-temporal pattern of shoreline deformation provides an opportunity to determine the viscosity of the crust and upper mantle. This approach has been applied for over a century in a few selected locations, but has never before been attempted in the Central Andes.
In a recent application of space geodetic techniques to this problem, a group led by Bruce Bills (921) has measured the amount and spatial pattern of net vertical crustal deformation which has accumulated in the Central Andes during the 17,000 years since formation of the shorelines of paleolake Minchin. The measurement technique relied an a relatively new application of the Global Positioning System, which allows real-time positioning with ~1 m accuracy. The space component of the Global Positioning System (GPS) comprises a constellation of 24 satellites in 6 different orbital planes. Each satellite broadcasts information from which an appropriate ground-based radio receiver can determine its range to the satellite. With a minimum of four satellites in view, a GPS receiver can determine the 3 components of its spatial position, and a clock correction term. Typical real-time positional accuracy is of order 100 m, which is not good enough for our shoreline study. However, many of the error sources are shared between nearby receivers (separations up to several hundred km), and real-time differential positions better than 1 m can be obtained at 1 Hz sampling rates. The strategey used for the Bolivian shoreline measurements included 3 receivers. One was left at a fixed location for the entire campaign. This served as a "fiducial" location for all of the shoreline traverses. The other two receivers were transported by vehicle to the shoreline sites. At each site, one receiver (the "base" station) would stay fixed, with its antenna mounted on a standard surveying tripod. The other receiver (the "rover") was placed in a back-pack and carried along as the team hiked over the sequence of shorelines. Real-time differential positions of the shoreline features were noted, with 1 m precision. The position of the "base" receiver, relative to the "fiducial" was determined later by simultaneously analyzing data from both receivers. The final analysis, which was intended to locate our local array within a global geodetic framework, also included GPS data from true fiducial sites in Santiago (Chile), Bogota (Columbia), and Fortaleza (Brazil).
We determined that the weight of the lake was sufficient to depress the crust of the Earth by (27 + 1) m. Radiocarbon dates on gastropod (snail) shells found at the highest shoreline establish that the lake reached its greatest extent roughly 17,000 years ago. This is somewhat later than the maximum of glacial loading in North America. The pattern and timing of the crustal response to the load implies that the effective lithospheric thickness is less than 40 km, and the effective viscosity of the upper mantle is less than 5 10^(20) Pa s. The lithospheric thickness number is somewhat of a surprise, since seismic observations have established that the crustal thickness in the Central Andes is roughly 70 km. Further observations of the rebound pattern on the lower shorelines, and an improved chronology for the loading will eventually provide better resolution of the strength versus depth profile.
Another surprise was that the pattern of shoreline elevations records a regional-scale tilting down to the NW. When the rebound signal is removed, the residual heights are roughly 40 m greater in the exteme SE corner of the lake basin than they are in the NW extremity. The cause of this tilting is still unknown, but it is presumably related to the ongoing subduction of the Nazca tectonic plate beneath the Andes. The rate of horizontal crustal convergence in that subduction zone is last several million years. The observed tilting on the Lake Minchin shorelines corresponds to an average rate of differential vertical motion of 2 mm/year over the last ~20 thousand years.
Reference: B.G. Bills, S.L. de Silva, D.R. Currey, R.S. Emenger, K.D. Lillquist, A. Donnellan, and B. Worden, Hydro-isostatic deflection and tectonic tilting in the central Andes: Initial results of a GPS survey of Lake Minchin shorelines, Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 293-296, 1994.
Sponsor: Office of Mission to Planet EarthBuy Photo About 100 people gathered at The Building in East Nashville on Feb. 9, 2014, for a meeting of Sunday Assembly sing-along with the band as co-founder Sanderson Jones, right, follows along. (Photo: Sanford Myers / File / The Tennessean)Buy Photo Story Highlights Atheists are the most despised and mistrusted minority in America.
That's unfortunate, especially because we are talking about a fast-growing minority here.
We often fear what we don't understand, and nonbelievers are indeed not understood properly.
There has been an interesting conversation in The Tennessean about atheists and how they are barred from holding public office in many states, including Tennessee.
I've been following this with interest, especially because I have an atheist in my family, and because I'd describe myself as a rational Hindu with agnostic leanings who... never mind, it's complicated.
It reminds me that atheists are the most despised and mistrusted minority in America.
A University of Minnesota study found that atheists and other nonbelievers are despised more than Muslims, recent immigrants, and gays and lesbians, and that's saying something.
In my view, that's unfortunate, especially because we are talking about a fast-growing minority here.
We often fear/despise what we don't understand, and nonbelievers are indeed not understood properly.
First, who are nonbelievers and where do they reside? What are their backgrounds?
The term "nonbelievers" is, of course, a grab-bag that includes atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, New Age practitioners.
They aren't just coastal elites, but reside everywhere, including here in the South in the Bible Belt. They are from every religion and background, and often grew up in devout families, then turned away from religion.
Why they turn away is interesting: Their religion wasn't providing them the answers they wanted; they got more rational and were turned off by the irrationalities inherent in every religion; they grew to dislike the judgment, exclusivity and hypocrisy in most every religion.
But this column isn't about bashing religion and extolling atheism. One of the problems in our discourse is that we tend to make simplistic characterizations, one of which is that religion confers an automatic morality on its followers; conversely, that someone of no religion is immoral.
That is one reason why our politicians wear their religious faith on their sleeve conspicuously, and sometimes falsely.
There are many realities when it comes to both the religious and the nonbeliever communities.
Reality No. 1 is that morality isn't the exclusive preserve of religious people. Looking back at the long parade of prominent "fallen" preachers should remind us of the truth of that.
Fact is, there are religious people who are moral, but nonbelievers are often moral people too. They are often thoughtful people who've pondered the "big" questions of life and come to their own conclusions.
Their morality is "purer" in the sense that its motivation isn't fear of the afterlife, but morality for its own sake.
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============================================================On a recent Sunday, 300 men and women dressed mostly in black met under a radiant blue sky in central Dortmund - the sun reflecting off of some of the participants' shaved heads. Hooligans Against Salafists, abbreviated HoGeSa in German, is the name this group has given itself after coming together by way of social networks.
The meet-up in Dortmund was intended to be a chance for people "to get to know one another" and "have exchanges among each other," according to a video the group put online. "We are Germany," shouts one speaker in the video named Kalle. He's interrupted by clapping and whistling in support before he can manage to get the second sentence out: "We are not right-wing radicals."
Various photos posted online by the group show bulging muscles and many tattoos. Some of the symbols used will be well-known to German intelligence authorities because they suggest affiliation with the far right.
The display in Dortmund was remarkable primarily for peacefully bringing together otherwise sworn enemies drawn from various soccer fan clubs. Neo-Nazi politician and activist Siegfried Borchardt, who also goes by the name SS-Siggi, is believed to have helped bring about the collaboration among the groups, and he was on hand in Dortmund. The 60-year-old founded the soccer fan club Borussenfront in the 80s, which came to notoriety for its violent acts and proximity to the right-wing scene.
Early this year, Borchardt is also said to have invited his old friends - members of various hooligan groups - to a party to discuss current developments in Germany's football fan scene. They're bothered by one development above all: the growing number of left-wing ultras who oppose the political stance of Borchardt and his allies.
Fans hold a sign saying "Gegen Links" (Against the Left) in a German stadium
Using the law, not crowbars
"They decided to put an end to that in order to revive old values in the stadiums," says German sociologist Gunter A. Pilz, who researches soccer fan culture. He says they see those values as being manliness, toughness and assertiveness. Seventeen hooligan groups, Pilz says, reached the agreement along with organized neo-Nazis, forming a coalition of around 300 people.
Who exactly heads up the group Hooligans Against Salafists remains unclear. At the event in Dortmund, Dominik Roeseler of the right-wing extremist party Pro NRW acted as a spokesman for the group. He was removed from the role for a HoGeSa demonstration planned for Sunday, but the new group's political leanings still seem apparent from its members' social media posts. Recently, the far right band Kategorie C - a fixture within the soccer hooligan scene - dedicated a song to the Hooligans Against Salafists.
On Twitter, users tweeting under the #hogesa tag have written, "This movement must never rest until we are finally in charge of our own country again." One woman wrote, "Germany is finally waking up," while another tweet included a German flag bearing the words, "We don't want a theocracy."
Rainer Wendt, chair of the German Police Union, says the hooligan groups and the right-wing scene more generally are merely exploiting the topic of Salafism in Germany in order to mobilize their sympathizers and attract new supporters. Wendt adds that such groups' frequent assertion that the German state is failing in its fight against Islamists is "nonsense," saying, "What these people don't accept is that we're using legal means to address the matter rather than crowbars."
Rainer Wendt warns Sunday's demo will be closely watched
Low tolerance
Pro NRW's demonstration on Sunday afternoon in Cologne will be monitored by domestic intelligence authorities. More than 5,000 people have registered their participation on Facebook, claiming to travel in from around Europe and organizing car shares to do so. Local police are alarmed given the potential for violence among a number of the groups expected to be on hand. Experts have been working to compile information on who and what to expect at the event.
"The law will be on hand in full force, but with appropriate restraint," said the German Police Union's Rainer Wendt. Acts of violence and the shouting of radical right-wing slogans are not to be allowed, and Wendt says that officers on site will have a low threshold when it comes to intervening.AMC’s new zombie drama “Fear the Walking Dead” is pegged to a Los Angeles family with two strikingly different siblings: Nick (Frank Dillane), a wayward junkie, and his sister Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey), a brainy teen bound for
UC Berkeley.
But now that the zombie apocalypse has started to break out in L.A., you have to wonder if Alicia will ever make it to the East Bay.
So why did the writers pick UC Berkeley — and not UCLA, or USC, or even Cal rival Stanford? “Homegrown” put that question to executive producer Dave Erickson.
“Alicia is eager to get away from home, but still cares deeply about her brother,” he replied. “Even though she’s looking to escape Los Angeles, she wants to be close to home for emergencies. She’s ambitious as hell — a model student. So we wanted her to land at a strong West Coast school — ‘Same state, same time zone,’ as she says in the pilot. That led us to Berkeley.”
Alicia isn’t the first TV character to be affiliated with the nation’s top-ranked public university. Jack Bauer of “24” fame, was said to be a Cal grad. More recently, Drew Holt of “Parenthood” studied there.
Erickson added that the locale gives the show a “bonus Easter egg”:
Image Comics, the company that publishes Robert Kirkman’s “Walking Dead” graphic novel, is in Berkeley.
TASTY TV: The latest installment of the documentary series “Bay Area Revelations” (8 p.m. Sunday, Ch. 11) will explore the birth of the local food culture and reveal the “untold stories” of the chefs who transformed the way we cook and eat.
“A Culinary Journey” features interviews with famed Bay Area chefs, historians and food critics, including
Alice Waters,
Michael Mina,
Cecilia Chiang,
Narsai David,
David Kinch,
Nancy Oakes,
Erica J. Peters and
Lou Giraudo.
A DEEP DIVE: One more reminder that “Big Blue Live” launches Monday (8 p.m., PBS). It’s an ambitious three-night nature series that celebrates the environmental rebirth of
Monterey Bay.
“Big Blue Live,” a co-production of PBS and the BBC, will be packed with real-time footage of marine creatures — including whales, dolphins and sharks — that migrate to the bay every summer.
Follow Chuck Barney at Twitter.com/chuckbarney and Facebook.com/bayareanewsgroup.chuckbarney.WHO would have thought that one little car park would create such a public furore?
Cairns MP Gavin King said he had not ruled out taking legal action against the person who posted a picture on Facebook of his car parked in what appeared to be a disabled parking space at The Pier.
The incident took place on Monday while Mr King was attending a Queensland Police Service media event.
While subsequent investigations by Cairns Regional Council have shown Mr King was not in the wrong, the incident has set social media and public debate alight.
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Followers continued to question Mr King’s parking position, particularly after he previously declared on Facebook the spot was instead a loading zone.
“Sign or no sign, the park is clearly painted in yellow diagonal stripes, for whatever reason or none, one should not park in a space with such ambiguity,” one reader said.
Another added: “I have never seen a loading zone with a wheelchair painted on the ground and why are you parking there if you are not loading? Do you not consider those that have to load goods?”
Mr King now claims the post was defamatory, because while there was no text accusing him of committing the act, it could be insinuated from the picture.
“It’s disappointing that unfortunately someone has posted something on social media without checking all the facts,” he said.
“It essentially says or suggests that I was parking illegally in a disabled car park when that’s not the case.
“So I have to have a look at those issues in terms of some legal implications and certainly I’ve got a solicitor looking at those issues.”
He said he was “not particularly” surprised the issue had caused such a stir.
But it “ belittles the political debate”.
Later last night the person responsible for posting the picture issued an apology to Mr King.
In it he said he accepted “unreservedly that this allegation is untrue and that the parking bay in question was not a disabled bay or any kind of regulated parking and that your were within your rights to park where you did”.
What do you think? Leave your comment below or join the conversation on facebook
WHAT’S BEING SAID ON SOCIAL MEDIA
If you ever want to turn a dud park into a full-blown media crisis please hire @gavking #qldpol — Matt Burke (@matttburke) July 2, 2014
So has the disabled parking RT @gavking: JUST ANNOUNCED: the surgical long wait list at Cairns Hospital has been reduced to zero. — Sue Lappeman (@suelapp) July 2, 2014For early adopters, the idea of a fully functional smart home has been somewhat of a techie dream, somewhat intangible up until the past few years. Rewind a few decades, and think about Marty McFly's 2015 kitchen depicted in Back to the Future II. While the film may not have completely hit the nail on the head, one might be surprised about the kind of home innovation we do have -- we may not have hover boards just yet, but we can text our fridges, control heating and light from our phones and use voice commands to cook a meal.
An incredibly prevalent theme at CES 2015 is the Internet of Things, a tech trend that anticipates the integration of technology into everyday items you wouldn't normally think would or could be automated. Indeed, companies like Samsung, LG and Sony envision a future where products in your home -- from alarm clocks to washer dryers -- will talk to one another and naturally work in tandem, where your TV screens and windows sense your movement, and adjust accordingly, where music seamlessly jumps from your headphones to your stereo system. In just a few years, that old shack of yours will truly be all grown up.
Right now we're seeing a myriad of independent smart appliances, but eventually these products will be programmed to work in tandem... hence, the "Smart Home." Yes, there are smart Samsung refrigerators, and yes, there are smart Sony televisions -- but can they, or will they ever, be able to communicate with each other? If and when they do, the adage "If these walls could talk" will take on a whole new meaning.G
etting into a relationship with an INFJ can be challenging. INFJ people are very shrewd and they put careful thought and consideration into personal decisions including who they associate with and open themselves up to. This extends into matters of dating and the process of partner selection where they put their sensitive hearts and emotional well-being on the line.
They do not take romantic relationships lightly and can be very prude and mistrusting of others. They want security and are generally disinterested in casual flings that have no promise for any deep emotional connection. What they want is their special, ideal “forever person” and will patiently hold out until they identify a qualified candidate.
In the MBTI, there is a notion that the ENTP is the best partner in love and friendship for the INFJ. While it is perfectly possible that any pair of Myers Briggs types can build a happy, satisfying relationship, there is reason to believe that certain type matches may fair better than others. Every partnership has it’s strengths and weaknesses and using type theory can shed light on what they are and how to navigate the choppy waters so that the relationship doesn’t end up on the rocks when things get stormy.
Dr. David Keirsey, an American psychologist and author of “Please Understand Me ” believed that Rationals (ENTP, INTP, INTJ, ENTJ) paired best with Idealists types (INFP, INFJ, ENFJ, ENFP). Furthermore, he posited that the best match for each MB type was identified by reversing each letter except for the second one. Hence, the best partner for say, an ENTP, would be the INFJ. Their shared preference for intuition, according to Keirsey, indicates a natural and deep understanding of one another that is integral for communication.
Here is a take on how each Myers Briggs type meshes with the INFJ personality based on MBTI type theory.
INFJ-INTP Relationship
An INFJ and INTP relationship has the potential to be very harmonious if not ideal. The INFJ is likely to be the first to initiate contact or express interest. Although they are both introverted, INTPs are less inclined to admit their feelings for someone because of how awkward they are and their fear of rejection. INTPs experience greater difficulty in connecting with others on an emotional level but the INFJ is able to make the INTP feel more comfortable in doing so. While their areas of focus may differ, the INTP and INFJ will feel a sense of understanding and even admiration in one another.
The INFJ and INTP relationship will be underscored by sensitivity and receptivity to one another’s needs and ideas. They are both independent and private and they will understand each other’s need for space to reflect and recharge. They both possess strong personal principles. but while the INFJ can sometimes be strident and outspoken in their beliefs, they ultimately strive for harmony and are able to compromise where needed. INFJ appreciates the thoughtful insight and suggestions that INTP brings to the table and these insights can often shed light on some of the errors in the INFJ partner’s reasoning or conceptions.
Relationship Problems – Even though both parties are relatively easy going and tolerant, they may become confrontational and inflexible over anything that violates their most important and non-negotiable principles or values. The INTP may be compelled to challenge all ideas or beliefs even the most sacrosanct ones held by the INFJ. This may sometimes offend INFJs although this is typically not the INTPs intention. Also, INFJs may find themselves bearing the lionshare of responsibilities due to INTP’s lack of attention to chores, scheduled commitments and daily tasks.
INFJ-INTJ Relationship
The INFJ and INTJ relationship is liable to be a solid partnership built on similar perspectives and attitudes. INFJs share INTJs interest in connecting the dots and reading into the underlying significance of things. But where the INFJ focuses on the personal (Fe), the INTJ attends to the impersonal (Te). This dynamic is likely to be beneficial in that the two halves are able to compensate for the other’s weaknesses. INFJ can provide some of the warmth and affection that INTJs appreciate but have trouble expressing.
INFJ and INTJ essentially understand one another and they speak a similar language. They have a vision of the future and they spend quality time together ruminating on the meaning of things and what they may represent for the big picture. INFJs are often very concerned with society at large and various social issues and they may become anxious over what they hear in the news. They pick up on the trends and patterns and become either depressed or encouraged by what it indicates to them. INTJs share a similar concern and they both have ideas about the way things ought to be in the world but unfortunately are not. This however, is what motivates them to go out and make an impact and they both work hard towards this end and they likely will be very sympathetic and supportive of one another’s crusades. These two will love cloistering themselves off from the rest of the world much of the time where they can just be introverts together.
Relationship Problems – The INFJ being sensitive to criticism and judgment may find the INTJ’s blunt opinions off-putting at times. INTJ persons do not necessarily regard much of what they say or think as being offensive but as simply being true insofar as they can discern it to be. INFJs may not always appreciate this brutal candor and the INTJ may need to soften the hard edges in how they communicate with the INFJ sometimes. Sometimes, the relationship can run cold and the INFJ may view the INTJ as too ‘unfeeling’ and emotionally distant.
INFJ-ENTP Relationship
According to David Keirsey, INFJs and ENTPs are supposed to be a match made in heaven so to speak. They are like yin and yang, their polar energies are somehow linked in a complementary way thanks to their shared preference for intuition (although they are of different attitudes). INFJs will likely find the ENTP to be an amusing and fun conversationalist. ENTPs can brighten the INFJ’s mood and help them to see the silver lining in any disappointment they face. INFJs can sometimes get caught up in a very narrow gloom and doom mindset and ENTPs are good at shifting perspectives and illuminating different vantage points for the INFJ to consider.
ENTPs tend to have an aversion to commitments be it to a relationship or anything else. INFJs are serious about their relationships and they dislike flaky fickle people who pose a flight risk. But if they see potential in their ENTP mate they will likely be patient and wait for them to come around while doing everything in their power to ensure their devotion such as thoughtful gestures and favors. INFJs enjoy the enthusiasm and energy they get from ENTPs and the lack of judgmental-ness they display.
Relationship Problems – Like all relationships, problems are bound to arise that threaten the love and bliss. ENTP’s with their flirtatious nature and ability to interact with all kinds of people may run the risk of triggering jealousy in their INFJ partners. ENTPs can wax hot and cold much like the INFJ does but for slightly different reasons. They may alternate between periods of engagement and intimacy and periods of emotional distance and inaccessibility. INFJs may have an issue with ENTP’s being messy and disorderly but the ENTP will disapprove of anyone interfering with their mess.
INFJ-ENTJ Relationship
The ENTJ is likely to take the lead in this relationship with the INFJ playing a more supportive role. INFJs may admire the ENTJ’s ability to take charge and take decisive action. ENTJs appreciate that INFJs are affectionate and feeling yet logical and clear thinking. ENTJs however will place less emphasis on the emotional factors that INFJs value as a part of their decision making process. As a result, the ENTJ may be unwilling to listen to and follow much of the advice INFJs give to them at least not to the extent that INFJs would like.
INFJs will likely take pleasure in being helpful and supportive of the ENTJ’s endeavors and pursuits. It is likely that the ENTJ’s outgoing personality may become draining for the INFJ and the ENTJ may have difficulty understanding and accommodating their partner’s emotional and introverted needs. The INFJ will need to retreat periodically and spend time by themselves to replenish their energy and this may sometimes be viewed as selfishness by their partner. The INFJ may begin to feel guilt for being a drag or a burden to the ENTJ, as though they are holding them back somehow or not being exciting enough for them.
Relationship Problems – ENTJs may be critical of the efficiency with which INFJs operate. The ENTJ may often try change around and improve things in their lives but when they attempt to tamper with the INFJ’s personal processes, it will likely not go over well. INFJs have difficulty taking criticism and this may pose an issue since ENTJs do not have many reservations about dispensing it. INFJs may have a tendency to take things too personally leading to a build up of resentments and hurt that the ENTJ may not even be aware of.
INFJ and INFP Relationship
A relationship between INFJ and INFP is likely to provide deep emotional fulfillment and harmony. Both types will share a natural sensitivity for one another that will prevent a lot of offenses from occurring both intended or unintended. Their shared use of intuition allows them to pick up on one another’s non-verbal cues fostering an understanding of each other that is almost psychic. When the INFJ or INFP is upset, the other knows what to say to assuage the situation and make it all better. According to a survey posted at Thought Catalog, ‘Quality Time’ was the most popular love language among both INFPs and INFJs. This suggests that these two are low maintenance lovers who need little more than to simply be together, share experiences and build beautiful memories.
These idealistic personalities will likely enjoy discussing and sharing their deepest feelings, dreams, hopes and visions about the world and what inspires them. They both respect and protect each other’s space but they lovingly welcome their companion into their private introverted bubbles. The INFJ will likely admire the INFP and their artistic and creative soulfulness. INFJs can provide the perfect support and encouragement that give the INFP the push they need to get off the fence and put themselves out there.
Relationship Problems – Complications that might arise in the relationship could stem from perceiver/judger conflicts. The INFP may find the INFJ to be too quick to judgement and fault-finding. The INFJ may sometimes feel upstaged by the INFP’s ability to entertain a multiplicity of possibilities and potentials as opposed to the more singularly focused perspective of the INFJ. The INFP can sometimes be stubborn about doing what they want to and the INFJ can feel slighted when the INFP ignores their advisement and counsel.
INFJ-INFJ Relationship
INFJs pair well with other idealists and so an INFJ with another INFJ seems just about perfect. However, due to the statistical rarity of INFJ in the population, they may have to go out of their way just locate each other. This couple may enjoy a loving cocoon of introverted bliss. Because of all their shared cognitive preferences they are likely to enjoy doing almost all the things they love to do together. There will be clear communication and mutual understanding between them which is something INFJs truly appreciate. In each other they will find a companion who provides an excellent sounding board for abstract thoughts and ideas.
This deeply empathetic couple will be very supportive and understanding of one another’s emotional ups and downs. They are attentive each other’s needs and they want to help wherever they can. They are likely to work together as a solid team and will have little trouble in managing finances, paying bills and keeping abreast with their responsibilities and respective roles.
Relationship Problems – This couple may experience turbulence if their passionate ideals and beliefs happen to be in opposition to one another. Even though INFJs are generally diplomatic, on matters for which they are truly impassioned about, they will duke it out and go to the mat in their defense. This may present a point of contention for which there is no reconciliation unless they can agree to disagree. This is because INFJs have the capacity for martyrdom and their most important values are something they are not likely to compromise.
INFJ-ENFP Relationship
INFJs and ENFPs are likely to be strongly attracted to one another. They share the same judging and perceiving functions but of opposite attitudes. In this sense they are mirror images and may balance out one another’s strengths and weaknesses. ENFPs are fun and full of energy but they crave emotional connection, something that INFJs are able to provide in their quietly impassioned way. These two will likely enjoy many stimulating conversations playing off one another’s intuitive thoughts and ideas. They are interested in people and relationships and humanity in general. INFJ may be slow to ENFP’s advances at first so a little patience may be needed. Even though INFJs are introverted, their extraverted feeling allows them to keep up with the ENFP’s active social life.
This pairing has good prospects supported by a solid groundwork of communication and natural understanding. INFJs may admire the way ENFPs are able to verbalize a lot of what they are thinking but never articulate. Their thinking tends to go in a similar direction but the INFJ is more shy about expressing it. INFJs struggle with being misunderstood and they appreciate ENFP’s almost psychic ability to grasp and empathize with where the INFJ is coming from.
Relationship Problems – ENFPs are naturally flirty and thirsty for interaction with all sorts of hominids. If they don’t get enough affection or attention from their companion, they may get it from other people and INFJ won’t like that. INFJ types can be paranoid as it is and arousing their jealousy is bad news for their relationships.
INFJ-ENFJ Relationship
There is likely to be a lot of potential chemistry between the INFJ and ENFJ couple. The contrasting energies of their extravert/introvert dynamic may make the INFJ and ENFJ more interesting to one another. The ENFJ enjoys the attentive listener they find in the INFJ partner and the INFJ will appreciate the social assertiveness that the ENFJ displays. Both parties will share an interest in people and an empathetic ability to read into their thoughts and feelings. They are sensitive and socially aware and much of their values are likely to be in alignment with one another.
The ENFJ’s fun and flamboyant personality is a nice juxtaposition with the INFJ’s more subdued and restrained manner. They exhibit different temperaments but beneath that they are very much kindred spirits. They may have to work through some issues since they are both inclined to think they know what is best. When they butt heads, they can sometimes say some hurtful things and they know how to really cut each other since they share many of the same insecurities and sensitivities. The INFJ may find the ENFJ to sometimes be a bit too controlling and prone to taking a manipulative and dictative role in the relationship.
Relationship Problems – Both the INFJ and ENFJ are harmony seeking and will be likely able to resolve and work out conflicts that may arise between them. However their extraverted/introverted energies may at times pull them in opposite directions. The ENFJ may desire more social interaction as a couple with other friends and couples than the INFJ is willing to accommodate. The INFJ may be content much of the time to just be with their ENFJ mate exclusively without dealing with other people.
INFJ-ISTJ Relationship
An INFJ relationship with ISTJ is in theory a troublesome match due to the sensing/intuition dichotomy. The ISTJ is busy memorizing pre-established facts and following pre-established procedures that are proven to work while the INFJ is busy questioning the meaning of it all in the grander scheme of things. They will have difficulty relating due to the INFJ’s focus on abstract things of personal and social significance while the ISTJ focuses on the tangible, practical and impersonal. ISTJ can be excellent in helping the INFJ with money management and optimizing their lives for efficiency and stability. ISTJs can provide a lot of what INFJs lack but they may not provide enough emotional depth and understanding that the INFJ desires.
Both types are considered to be good listeners and they share a joint preference for quiet environments and moderate human interaction. INFJs and ISTJs are happy to just chill together and spend “quality time” which by the way was the most popular love language chosen by both types in a Thought Catalog poll. As a team these two can join forces with the ISTJ implementing the INFJ’s ideations in a practical manner. ISTJs are better at taking action and the INFJ can provide the vision and mission for the ISTJ to work towards.
Relationship Problems – The conservative ISTJ is not likely to see eye to eye with the idealistic views of INFJs on many issues. Both parties have very strongly held beliefs and they are likely to be steadfast and stick to their guns when their convictions are challenged. ISTJs can be very anal and the INFJ may find their stoic and unaffectionate manner to be difficult and unsatisfying in their relationship.
INFJ-ISFJ Relationship
In a relationship, the INFJ and ISFJ may get along but they will likely hold very different outlooks and perspectives. INFJs are conceptual and they like to discuss conceptual things that are often of global significance whereas the ISFJ prefers non-theoretical, and mondial matters that affect their lives directly. These two may bore each other to death and when they attempt to speak the other’s language it is typically clumsy and forced. They both enjoy privacy and solitude balanced with a healthy amount of social interaction. The ISFJ is very loving and helpful to the INFJ but the lack of intellectual accord will probably create a rift in the relationship.
These to two types are both diligent and hard-working with perfectionistic tendencies. ISFJs prefer to stay within their comfort zones of their established routines and regimens. The INFJ person feels the need to progress and move towards the attainment of some goal or ideal. They are not content with settling down into a quaint but meaningless existence. ISFJs lack self confidence in their ability to take on new unfamiliar challenges but the INFJ could possibly help them grow in this respect. They may also help the ISFJ to expand their mind to understand and appreciate the importance of the larger picture beyond what they are accustomed to considering.
Relationship Problems – ISFJs can be prone moodiness and are very emotionally reactive to perceived slights and that are often exacerbated by stress. INFJs tend not to react emotionally immediately but may grow increasingly agitated to the point they explode in anger.
INFJ-ESFJ Relationship
According to Thought Catalog’s poll, ESFJs and INFJs both tend to prefer “quality time’ and “words of affirmation’ as their love language of choice. This suggests that this relationship may have some potential despite the sensate/intuition differences. But despite their sociable nature, INFJs are rather private and solemn in temperament something which the ESFJ may have trouble understanding. INFJs tend to have higher developed principles and values that can only be born out of personal analysis and deep reflection. ESFJs lack this and acquire most of their values from society which they try to align much of themselves with. ESFJs are not great at abstract thinking and so the communication style and points of interest between the INFJ and ESFJ are likely to be out of sync.
ESFJs are people pleasers and so are INFJs but to a lesser extent. INFJs are able to withdraw and to take time for themselves but ESFJs seem to have an endless reserve of obsequious energy. INFJs may find that the ESFJ doesn’t have the amount of emotional depth that they’d like. ESFJs operate their relationships like a duty but a duty fulfilled with enthusiasm and verve. But it can sometimes seem like they are more interested in the act of what they are doing than who they are doing it for or why they are doing it. INFJs want more than just the acts of service but to also know the passionate feeling behind it, but ESFJ’s motivations are generally much simpler than that.
Relationship Problems – Both the INFJ and ESFJ are very sensitive to criticism but it may the INFJ who dispenses most of the judging. ESFJs tend to take things personally and the INFJ may have to communicate their observations about their partner in a manner that doesn’t make them feel persecuted. Also ESFJs can be controlling and may infringe on the INFJ’s sense of independence and autonomy.
INFJ-ESTJ Relationship
According to socionic type theory, the INFJ and ESTJ are duals of one another and work together in a harmonious and beneficial union. In theory, the ESTJ and INFJ complete each other and compensate for one another’s weaknesses rather than criticize. They do this willingly and without expecting anything in return. They do what they do best and can be themselves and be loved for who they are.
ESTJs are very direct and blunt with their words and their communication style may run roughshod over the INFJ’s sensitivities. INFJs may appreciate the ESTJ’s ability to take charge and be decisive so long as they don’t turn into a controlling despot in the relationship. ESTJ is generally honest and they can be a valuable asset to the INFJ in helping them take action on their passion projects and heartfelt ambitions. ESTJs are often very knowledgeable and provide a grounding influence and sense of security for the INFJ.
Relationship Problems – As stated above, the INFJ may get their feelings hurt by the tactlessness of their ESTJ companion but in general, the ESTJ does not mean to offend. The INFJ may feel they have to defend or justify themselves against the ESTJ who is inclined to cast judgment and point out what they observe with ruthless insensitivity.
INFJ-ISFP Relationship
The INFJ and ISFP may get along to some extent but unless there are some other attributes beyond type there is likely not a whole lot of compatibility here. INFJs are interested in abstraction and understanding the meaning behind relationships, and people both real and fictional. The ISFP is more interested in their own personal journey experience and place in the world. The ISFP is creative and sensually aware in the here-and-now. They want to have adventures and express themselves authentically. INFJs are not focused of sensory stimulation and they may find keeping up with ISFPs activity exhausting.
Both the INFJ and ISFP are introverted and shy but they are on different wavelengths. They have a different focus and value system. ISFP people don’t want to be restricted or hemmed in by the INFJ’s group based values and want to put their independence and individuality above all or most concerns. ISFPs are hard to pin down and they may not be as open with their feelings as the INFJ would like. INFJ’s attempts to capture them and gain the ISFP’s exclusive devotion will be a challenge.
Relationship Problems – The ISFP may find the INFJ to be self-righteous and judgemental. These two will likely get into arguments where both parties get their feelings hurt. The ISFP may take offense when the INFJ expresses something ‘wrong’ they’ve noticed about them. The ISFP is probably not as inclined to be open to the unsolicited advice INFJ may want to offer them.
INFJ-ESFP Relationship
INFJs may find difficulty relating with the ESFP on a deep level. ESFPs are not into discussions about abstract ideas and concepts or theories. The ESFP wants to talk about fun stuff and high-brow topics are not what they consider “fun” or interesting. This relationship may be exciting and lively at times but the lack of authentic connection in the relationship may become a strain especially for the INFJ. ESFPs want to live in the moment and INFJs want to plan for the future and their different instincts will likely be a source of divisiveness. Each party may have to seek this fulfillment elsewhere through friends and associates.
ESFPs love to gossip and this is not something an INFJ is inclined to enjoy. ESFPs can be a blast to be around however and INFJs may find that they can bring out a competitive side of them they don’t normally show. INFJs may appreciate how genuine their ESFP companion is and spontaneous as well. While they may see differently on many issues there may still be a lot of positive things they can learn from one another.
Relationship Problems – INFJs may be inclined to try and change their ESFP partner to get them to conform with their ideals but this will not likely be successful. INFJs may take issue with the lack of depth and flaring temper exhibited by the ESFP. The ESFP may not understand or respect the INFJ’s need for privacy and might sometimes intrude on their space unthinkingly.
INFJ-ISTP Relationship
INFJ may at first be intrigued by the mysterious ISTP and attempt to crack their impassive shell. INFJs want emotional feedback and responsiveness from a partner and they may unfortunately be hard-pressed to receive sufficient amounts of it from an ISTP. ISTPs are more interested in the physical experience of their relationships and can be very engaging in this respect. But when it comes to matters of divulging what they’re feeling well… good luck with that! ISTP people have difficulty articulating what they feel and oftentimes come across as disinterested and cavalier in attitude. They are usually very talented and creative and skilled in hands-on work and this likely is attractive to the INFJ.
The INFJ and ISTP relationship is bound to be fraught with difficulty and ups and downs. While the INFJ appreciates the ISTP’s calm presence, the ISTP may wax hot and cold and baffle the INFJ as to why. The ISTP sometimes pushes their loved ones away and pretend they don’t care as much as they do. They have issues processing the complexity of their feelings when things get a little too close.
Relationship Problems – ISTPs may find INFJs too clingy and the INFJ will likely view the ISTP as emotionally unavailable and uncaring. It’s likely that communication will the main obstacle in this relationship. Understanding each other’s needs, values and expectations will be important in determining if this partnership can last.
INFJ-ESTP Relationship
This relationship carries some really contrasting energies which can make or break it. ESTPs are gregarious and they thrive on action. They solve problems immediately with little planning or forethought beforehand. The INFJ is no slouch but they are apt to be critical of the ESTP’s improvisational hair-trigger instincts. The INFJ may perceive the ESTP as overconfident and arrogant. Furthermore, they may find the ESTP to be emotionally shallow and might feel a lack of deep connection with them.
ESTPs willingly and openly share their thoughts and opinions but INFJs will have difficulty getting at the heart of what they feel. ESTPs are thick skinned and their comfort with conflict may chafe the INFJ’s sensitivities and insecurities. Being with the ESTP can be fun and never dull for the INFJ. They are spontaneous and keeping up with their activity can be a trip. The INFJ can benefit from the ESTP’s ability to catalyze action and getting the ball rolling on things that need to be done. The ESTP may respect and appreciate the INFJ’s intellect and knowledge and together they can make a formidable team that combines force and compassion.
Relationship Problems – INFJs may be easily hurt or offended by ESTP’s blunt words. The ESTP may not realize the effect of their tendencies on the INFJ and |
fuels over criticism the same land was better used for food.
But climate activists warn the plan does not do enough to ward off deforestation.Your favorite features of Type Systems in one episode! Interfaces, Generics, ADT, Type Classes and Dependent Types. We’ll talk about what they are and how they shape the way we work.
Host: Andrey Salomatin flpvsk.com
Dark side: Michael Beschastnov
Guests
Joseph Abrahamson twitter.com/sdbo
twitter.com/sdbo Radoslav Kirov twitter.com/radokirov
twitter.com/radokirov Erlend Hamberg twitter.com/ehamberg
twitter.com/ehamberg Edwin Brady twitter.com/edwinbrady
Special thanks to our reviewers
Adriano Melo twitter.com/AdrianoMelo
twitter.com/AdrianoMelo Roman Liutikov twitter.com/roman01la
Links: Basics
Benjamin C. Pierce “Types and Programming Languages” www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/tapl/
A draft of the book available for free ropas.snu.ac.kr/~kwang/520/pierce_book.pdf
Rob Nederpelt and Herman Geuvers “Type Theory and formal proof” www.win.tue.nl/~wsinrpn/book_type_theory.htm
Robert Harper “Practical Foundations for Programming Languages” www.cs.cmu.edu/~rwh/pfpl.html
Interview with Jesper Louis Andersen about Erlang, Haskell, OCaml, Go, Idris, the JVM, software and protocol design — PART I notamonadtutorial.com/interview-with…fbd#.rawqi9bvp
Paper by Xavier Leroy “Manifest Types, Modules, and Separate Compilation” (1994) citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summar…10.1.1.14.3950
Paper by Conor McBride and Ross Paterson “FUNCTIONAL PEARL: Applicative programming with effects” strictlypositive.org/IdiomLite.pdf
Links: Idris
Edwin Brady “Type-Driven Development with Idris” tinyurl.com/typedd
Links: TypeScript
www.typescriptlang.org
Links: Haskell
Christopher Allen and Julie Moronuki “Haskell Programming from First Principles” haskellbook.com/
Learn you some Haskell learnyouahaskell.com/
Links: Scala
Paul Chiusano and Rúnar Bjarnason “Functional Programming in Scala” www.manning.com/books/functional-…gramming-in-scala
Links: OCaml
Yaron Minsky, Anil Madhavapeddy, Jason Hickey “Real World Ocaml” realworldocaml.org
A chapter from “Real World Ocaml” about Objects realworldocaml.org/v1/en/html/objects.html
OCaml Documentation caml.inria.fr/pub/docs/manual-ocaml/
Effective ML (video) blogs.janestreet.com/effective-ml-video/
Links: Discussions
What exactly makes the Haskell type system so revered (vs say, Java)? softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questi…y-java
What is a Functor? stackoverflow.com/questions/203086…-functor#2031421
ADTs vs Inheritance stackoverflow.com/questions/327197…heritance-is-bad
Existential vs Universal Typess stackoverflow.com/questions/142996…haskell#14299983
Subclassing vs Subtyping www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archiv…us/node12.html
Why Haskell has no subtyping www.reddit.com/r/haskell/comment…ype_polymorphism/
Haskell vs Java type systems softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questi…y-java
Music
Mid-Air! @mid_airAt just under two years since its last update, the Mac mini seems to have become the forgotten part of Apple's Mac lineup, with a number of fans of the small desktop waiting for any word of a potential update.As they typically are with Mac products, rumors and leaks regarding the Mac mini's future have been relatively rare, with essentially nothing having appeared on the radar since a reference to a "Mid 2014" Mac mini surfaced on an Apple support page as a likely error several months ago.has now received word that Apple is planning a Mac mini update possibly launching next month alongside new iPad models and presumably OS X Yosemite. While we have been unable to obtain corroborating information of an imminent update, the mere possibility of an update as soon as next month is likely to be welcome news to Mac mini fans. The single source has provided no additional details on what to expect in terms of a next-generation Mac mini, but has provided accurate information in the past.The timing of such an update would be a bit odd, as it is unclear what processors Apple would use in these machines. Next-generation Broadwell processors from Intel appropriate for the Mac mini are not scheduled to arrive until early next year, and the current Haswell processors are no longer cutting edge as Intel has been forced to prolong their shelf life due to continued delays with Broadwell.Still, the Mac mini is not generally intended to be a workhorse machine with the fastest processors (although they are popular as servers), so Apple may be willing to launch the updated models with Haswell refresh processors released earlier this year. The Mac mini typically uses the some of the same processors as the MacBook Pro except shifted several months later, meaning that an updated Mac mini released next month could use some of the processors from the late July MacBook Pro update.A tunnel with tracks for mining cars, part of the Nazi Germany "Project Riese" construction, pictured near an area where a Nazi train is believed to be. Reuters The search for a lost Nazi gold train is back on.
Last August, two amateur treasure hunters said they had "irrefutable proof" of the existence of a World War II-era Nazi train, rumored to be filled with stolen gold.
Piotr Koper and Andreas Richter. Screen grab/TVP Andreas Richter and Piotr Koper claimed they used ground-penetrating radar to locate the train, which is somewhere alongside a railway between the towns of Wroclaw and Walbrzych in southwestern Poland.
"The train isn't a needle in a haystack," Andrzej Gaik, a retired teacher and spokesman for the renewed effort to search for the train, told Agence France-Presse.
"If it's there, we'll find it," Gaik said.
'There may be a tunnel. There is no train.'
Journalists visit the underground tunnels. Reuters In December, after analyzing mining data, Polish experts said there was no evidence of the buried train.
Janusz Madej, from Krakow's Academy of Mining, said the geological survey of the site showed that there was no evidence of a train after using magnetic and gravitation methods.
"There may be a tunnel. There is no train," Madej said at a news conference in Walbrzych, according to the BBC.
Koper insists that "there is a tunnel and there is a train," and that the results are skewed because of different technology used, The Telegraph reports.
Local folklore
According to a local myth, the train is believed to have vanished in 1945 with stolen gold, gems, and weapons when the Nazis retreated from the Russia.
Tadeusz Slowikowski. Reuters
During the war, the Germans were building headquarters for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in Walbrzych's medieval Ksiaz Castle, then called the Furstenstein Castle.
Below the castle, the Germans built a system of secret tunnels and bunkers, called "Project Riese."
The train is in one of these hidden passages, says Tadeusz Slowikowski, the main living source of the train legend. Slowikowski, a retired miner who searched for the train in 2001, believes the Nazis blew up the entrance to the train's tunnel.
"I have lived with this mystery for 40 years, but each time I went to the authorities they always silenced it," Slowikowski told The Associated Press. "For so many years. Unbelievable!"
Slowikowski believes it is near the 65th kilometer of railway tracks from Wroclaw to Walbrzych.Posted by CGanimated1227 on Apr 6th, 2014
WARNING: There are major spoilers for those who did not finish the first part of KSBH.
If you are wondering how I came up with the original character in the mod, This may not surprise some of you, but he is me. From beliefs, to personality, background, and mostly everything else. Before I played KS, I Learned of it from a video talking about it and telling me to play it. I felt Bored, Empty, and wanted a purpose like my "character". Also, since I had ESE classes for my "emotional/learning disability", I thought it was a nice coincidence. Even though Lilly says in her original path(which I my get to modding if you guys are in high demand for it, although I didn't finish it because I was emotionally exhausted)that Yamaku doesn't take mentally disabled students, I found that as a continuity error because Hanako's anxiety disorder can count as such and Mutou implies that in a scene in Hanako's path. I will get to a few more continuity errors later, but for now I will list more coincidences. "Risk vs. Reward" was a minor one. I got into Risk at some point before reading the original story and played it occasionally. Besides that chapter and the setting in general, there was more.
Near the end of "Mind your step" in the original story, It's was June 8th, my friend's birthday, but in order to point out more coincidences and to fit the plot near release time, I changed the date of when things happened In act 1. One of the reasons I wanted to play KS was because I didn't know what to do with myself for reasons mentioned in Burning hearts' good ending. So what other coincidences did I find? Lilly in "Antiques and pie" and Mutou in various scenes both in Hanako's and Lilly's paths ask what I wanted to do with my future! In one of the scenes where Mutou mentions the topic(namely "Day by Day" in Lilly's path), Hisao responded that he wanted to do something scientific. My goals mentioned at the end of Burning hearts have to do with science too, and one of those goals I had formed in middle school. Hanako and I share more than a few similarities like survivor guilt and anxiety. My anxiety was more of a concentrational thing when working with people with behavioral disorders in the ESE setting, so I had the ability to leave the classroom to concentrate better on my work or If I felt stressed out. We also both have theripists, although it is not uncommon. But I don't trust my theripist with what I am bringing up here because it's his JOB to do that, so he might not genuinely care.
Before the H-scene in the original Hanako path, Hisao shares his past with her, which made me bring up my own after all of the other scary coincidences that convinced me to feel that what I was doing was real. MY survivor guilt was vast, I felt that way toward any death at all and to me, it showed myself that I failed whoever died and the ones mourning their loss. That is how much I empathized with people. I know how It feels to have a void where something vital to your way of life is gone and no insurance if you could feel the same way again through reason and experience although only a total of 1 immediate family member, countless distant family members and family friends, and 3 pets. I also know It isn't much compared to others, but that's were my reasoning comes in. My reasoning also questions how someone can just "move on" an act like they never knew that person.
I like to think that Hanako and other "fictional" people exist within different realms of existence and/or other universes (which ties into burning hearts a bit). Another one of my goals was to change human nature through DNA and take out the genes that gave ideas of selfish grandeur like greed, bloodlust, and irritability. My friends and family discourage me from setting these "impossible" goals for myself, but I know it requires other people's help to be not impossible. A continuity error that I saw was that that despite the original text being in perfect English, Hisao mentioned that he was horrible at learning English! So I fixed that by having a bit of the dialogue in romanji, but in some cases like the birthday party, not the whole time because the rest of the time with Akira in that scene was meant to be that everyone was speaking Japanese and the text was a translation into English.
I am hoping what I said about people being stupid, aggressive sheep to be proven wrong after you read this and please respond with how you think about this and some help with what I can do with my life. Thanks for reading, and I love you guys!
Edit: I fixed that last gripe with brackets. I originally did not know you could use them in the script like regular text. Silly me.Meanwhile, speculation is mounting that Britain could pull out of the convention all together. The move, expected to be announced by Home Secretary Theresa May, would mean foreign courts could no longer meddle in British justice.
Mrs May’s proposals to include the move in the next Tory manifesto reflect the party’s growing hostility towards Europe.
If agreed, her policy would leave British judges free to interpret the law without interference from the Strasbourg court.
Mrs May wants to withdraw from the convention before the next election in 2015, but Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has made it clear he will veto the plan.
Under Mrs May’s initiative, the final right of appeal would be to the British Supreme Court, not Strasbourg. Tory MP Nick de Bois, a member of the Commons Justice Select Committee, said the move would be hugely significant.
“This would be a crucial pledge that will convince many, many voters to return a Conservative Government at the next election,” he said. “ It is imperative that we have legal decisions made here, not in Strasbourg. With this pledge, no longer will foreign criminals be able to take refuge in this country when they should be deported immediately after being released from prison.”
An attempt to reform the convention last year by Mr Cameron was dismissed as a flop. The Prime Minister said the European court was in danger of being “ swamped” by unimportant cases and had undermined its own reputation by overturning judgments in British courts. Fewer cases should go to Strasbourg and British judges should be left to decide outcomes more often, he said.The Strasbourg court was set up in 1959 to prevent torture and human rights abuses, giving complainants direct access to justice at a European level.
But critics say the court has grown out of all proportion and its judges do not even need to have any judicial experience in their homeland.A few miles out of Port Deneau lie the Malolo islands, a gorgeous complex of reefs and islands surrounded by stunning green and blue waters. On the smaller Malolo island, Malolo Lailai (or “Little Malolo”), hosts several resorts and the famous Musket Cove Yacht Club.
Joining a New Yacht Club
The requirements to join the Musket Cove Yacht Club are stringent – to be eligible one must have sailed to Musket Cove (and Fiji) from a foreign port and pay the onerous $5.00 FJD membership does. This grants the skipper a lifetime membership in the yacht club. Crew memberships are an additional $10 FJD; apparently even a few years ago these charges were $1 and $5 FJD respectively…inflation runs rampant!
As has been pointed out elsewhere joining is both really easy and really hard – easy because all you do is fill out a form and give over your $5.00 (about $2.50 US). Hard because before you do that you have to sail your yacht to Fiji which is out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean so its kind of like getting a merit badge to get your lifetime membership card.
But this could be the deal of the century, because the yacht club is located on the grounds of the Musket Cove Resort. This is a full featured resort with pools, restaurants, a store and water sports. Yacht club members can use many of the facilities for free, and may join in other activities where appropriate for a modest charge so long as we don’t annoy the marina guests. The yacht club itself sits on its own little sandy island and offers reasonably priced drinks, coin operated grills, and an atmosphere that is tough to beat.
Snorkeling and More
By cocktail hour last night pretty much all of us were both starving and about ready to drop off where we were sitting. It had been a busy day.
We started with breakfast on the boat then went in to check out the facilities. When we arrived the day before it was blowing 30 knots in the harbor, not only was it difficult to anchor in those conditions but no one wanted to take the dinghy in for a wet, bumpy ride.
After walking around a bit and finding out where we had to conduct our exhaustive yacht club application process we stopped by Dick’s restaurant in the marina for a well-earned cool drink. After returning to the boat we decided to do some swimming and snorkeling, after dropping the Pudgy in the water for Will.
On the horizon we could see a structure – Cloud9 bar – a two level floating bar and pizza grill anchored a couple of miles off shore on Rooroo Reef. Will set his sights on sailing there for a cold one, and we decided to meet him later by dinghy.
After a couple of false starts we found a nice reef to snorkel on. The challenge is that the water is deep – 50-60 feet around most of the cove, except in close to the reef patches where the water shallows out. Sometimes it gets too shallow, and we didn’t want to anchor the dinghy someplace then come back to find it sitting high and dry on the reefs if the wind changed.
Snorkeling was a success. The huge and complex coral structures were a delight to see. The fish life was varied and plentiful, though we didn’t see any really big fish or sharks there were hundreds and hundreds of colorful reef fish all around. The highlight was a brightly colored Banded Sea Snake that Danielle spotted as we were almost done for the day. Although these are some of the most venomous snakes in the world they do not have a reputation for being aggressive, and are considered quite docile. We kept our distance and took pictures.
Off to Cloud9
A few weeks ago a friend sent me a link to a floating bar in Fiji that looked…enticing. After checking the reviews and the location I realized that we’d be passing in sight of it with our plans to come to Musket Cove. So how can you not stop in for a cold one?
Will started our earlier in the day intending to sail out in the Pudgy. The winds turned out to be light and variable and he did a lot of rowing along with the sailing. It was slow enough so he hadn’t arrived yet by the time we returned from snorkeling and raised him on the radio. After taking a few minutes to clean up and make some way points in the GPS Kathy and I headed out to join him. Danielle declined this time, snorkeling was pretty tiring and I suspect that she preferred some quiet time to visiting another bar with us.
It took Will several hours of sailing and rowing to get out to Cloud9. It took us about twenty minutes to zip out there in the dinghy with just the two of us on board.
We arrived to find the place slowly emptying out, and to find Will enjoying a cold Fiji Bitter beer and chatting with one of the local boat crews.
What can you say about a place like this? Lovely in its simpleness – you are on a floating platform anchored two miles from land. Surrounded by coral reefs, you can spend the day swimming, snorkeling, jumping in from the upper decks, or enjoying the various drinks and pizzas offered at the bar. A few day beds for relaxing, along with chaise lounges and swing chairs complement a few tables on both levels. Crystal clear light blue water surrounds you as gentle music swells and the breezes cool you off.
Are the drinks cheap? Its a floating bar, off a resort island, several miles from the mainland. Of course its not a cheap place to have a beer – but it’s not that expensive either. Its no more expensive than some of the places we walked past in Port Denerau and many other places we’ve visited. But you aren’t buying the beer, you are buying the location. And the atmosphere – that is pretty tough to put a price on.
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Like this: Like Loading...As China ramps up Internet restrictions, companies like Sina Weibo are demonstrating they’ve clearly gotten the message by passing on the consequences to you, the user. Via Tech in Asia:
Users of Sina Weibo that mention things somewhat more controversial than cats or food might find their posts being delayed – by seven whole days. The Twitter-like Sina Weibo is supposed to be a real-time social platform, but that no longer applies to posts that mention ‘sensitive’ terms such as the names of China’s top leaders. The huge delay was spotted by the FeiChangDao blog, which reckons that this Weibo purgatory came into effect earlier this month. At the time it was thought that Sina’s (NASDAQ:SINA) hugely popular social network – which now has over 400 million registered users – was relaxing its censorship after the recent leadership changeover. But now it appears that apparently sensitive terms are being monitored and then delayed, with users not informed that this is happening.
Sina (along with Tencent) has been punished before for lax censorship, and it appears the company wants no part of the government’s doghouse. Then again, it’s unclear at this moment exactly how much of Sina’s new microblog policy is their doing, and how much came at the strong, unassailable behest of its online overlords.
It’s not gonna get better, folks:
Caijing says proposed new china Internet law will include real name registration (Chinese) bad news 4 $sina et al industry.caijing.com.cn/2012-12-24/112… — Bill Bishop (@niubi) December 24, 2012
UPDATE, 12/27, 11:17 am: Via a detailed blog post at Fei Chang Dao:
These screenshots, taken on December 26, show that Sina Weibo was no longer imposing a seven day delay for searches for “Hu Jintao” and “Li Keqiang.” The same was true for the names of all other members of the 18th PBSC. Sina continued, however, to completely censor searches for “Wen Jiabao.”
Welcome to Purgatory: Sina Weibo Now Delaying Mentions of ‘Sensitive’ Words by 7 Days (Tech in Asia)SPRINGFIELD — Talk about poor service.
Police said they arrested a 26-year-old Taco Bell employee early Sunday after he allegedly fired a BB gun at a taco-craving customer who grew irate when he wasn’t able to get anybody to wait on him at the drive-thru window.
The customer never did get his tacos, Sgt. John M. Delaney said. He did, however, allegedly bite the employee several times in the arm when their confrontation grew physical.
Delaney, posting on the department’s Facebook page, said the incident started shortly before 4 a.m. when the male customer, hoping to get some tacos, pulled up to the drive-thru at 633 Liberty St. The restaurant was open for business.
The 26-year-old customer later told police that he waited at the drive-through for "a very long time" and ultimately started to bang on the window. However, nobody came to take his order, Delaney said.
The customer grew angry, parked his vehicle and and went to the door, which was locked. Delaney said the customer then started to bang on the door so he could make a complaint about the poor service.
An employee came to the door and an argument ensued. It turned physical when the employee allegedly shoved the customer.
Delaney said the employee, Steven Noska, 26, of 34 Wait St., then went out to his car and returned with a handgun that turned out to be a BB pistol.
The customer told police that he was shot several times by BBs and then struck with the gun, Delaney said.
Noska then went back into the restaurant and police were summoned by a hold-up alarm. Several witnesses recorded the incident on their cell phones and showed the videos to police.
Police arrested the Noska and confiscated the BB gun.
Noska was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and a single count of assault and battery.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Springfield District Court.Note: Scroll down or click here for a look ahead and weekly summary.
Back in December, the qualification dates for existing tiers of unemployment benefits were extended for an additional two months. Time is up at the end of February.
Now another extension is needed or millions of workers will lose benefits over the next few months.
The National Employment Law Project (NELP) released a new report last week showing that...
1.2 million jobless workers will become ineligible for federal unemployment benefits in March unless Congress extends the unemployment safety net programs from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). By June, this number will swell to nearly 5 million unemployed workers nationally who will be left without any jobless benefits.
...
Currently, 5.6 million people are accessing one of the federal extensions (34-53 weeks of Emergency Unemployment Compensation; 13-20 weeks of Extended Benefits, a program normally funded 50 percent by the states).
Of the almost 1.2 million workers facing a cut off of benefits in March alone:
380,000 workers will exhaust their 26 weeks of state benefits without accessing the temporary EUC extension program or the permanent federal program of Extended Benefits.
Another 814,000 workers will not be eligible to continue receiving EUC past their current tier of benefits.
Click on graph for larger image in new window.The World Is Burning
ROME, Jun 23 2017 (IPS) - Record high temperatures are gripping much of the globe and more hot weather are to come. This implies more drought, more food insecurity, more famine and more massive human displacements.
In fact, extremely high May and June temperatures have broken records in parts of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the United States, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported, adding that the heat-waves have arrived unusually early.
At the same time, average global surface temperatures over land and sea are the second highest on record for the first five months of 2017, according to analyses by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA-Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Europe
In Portugal, extremely high temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius contributed to the severity of the devastating, fast-moving weekend wildfires that ripped through the country’s forested Pedrógão Grande region, some 150 kilometres (95 miles) north-east of Lisbon, leaving dozens dead and more injured.
WMO on 20 June also reported that Portugal is not the only European country experiencing the effects of the extreme weather, as neighbouring Spain – which had its warmest spring in over 50 years – and France, have seen record-breaking temperatures. France is expected to continue see afternoon temperatures more than 10 degrees above the average for this time of year.
Meantime in Spain, spring (from 1 March to 31 May 2017) has been extremely warm, with an average temperature of 15.4 ° C, which is 1.7 ° C above the average of this term (reference period 1981-2010), the UN specialised body informs. Many other parts of Europe, including the United Kingdom, also witnessed above average temperatures into the low to mid 30°s.
United States
On the other side of the Atlantic, the US is also experiencing record or near-record heat, WMO reported. In parts of the desert southwest and into California, temperatures have hovered near a blistering 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius).
Media reports on 20 June suggested that some plane traffic was halted in and out of Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport in Arizona because it was too hot to fly. The flight cancellations came amidst of one of the hottest days in the past 30 years of record keeping in the US state.
Near record-to-record heat has also been reported in the desert South West US and into California, with highs near 120°F (49°C) in places. More than 29 million Californians were under an excessive heat warning or advisory at the weekend. Phoenix recorded 118°C (47.8°C) on 19 June. A number of flights to Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport were reportedly cancelled because it was too hot to fly.
And the so-called Death Valley National Park, California, issued warnings to visitors to expect high temperatures of 100°F to over 120°F (38°C to over 49°C). Death Valley holds the world record for the highest temperature, 56.7°C recorded in 1913.
North Africa, Middle East and Asia
Meantime, temperature in United Arab Emirates topped 50°C on 17 May, while in the centre of Iran’s Kuzestan province in the South-East of the country, neighbouring Iraq, temperatures reached 50°C on 15 June, said the UN specialised agency.
The heat-wave in Morocco peaked on 17 May, when there was a new reported record of 42.9°C Larach Station in northern Morocco.
The high June temperatures follow above average temperatures in parts of the world at the end of May. The town of Turbat in South-Western Pakistan reported a temperature of 54°C. WMO will set up an international committee of experts to verify the temperature and assess whether it equals a reported 54°C temperature recorded in Kuwait last July.
Unprecedented Record of Displacements
Meanwhile, the world has marked New Inhumane Record: One Person Displaced Every Three Second. Nearly 66 million people were forcibly displaced from their homes last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) informed in its report Global Trends, released ahead of the World Refugee Day on June 20.
The figure equates to “one person displaced every three seconds – less than the time it takes to read this sentence.
Such an unprecedented high records of human displacements is not only due to conflicts. In fact, advancing droughts and desertification also lay behind this “tsunami” of displaced persons both out of their own countries and in their own homelands.
On this, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on the occasion of the World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) on June 17, alerted that by 2025 –that’s in less than 8 years from today– 1.8 billion people will experience absolute water scarcity, and two thirds of the world will be living under water-stressed conditions.
Now it is feared that advancing drought and deserts, growing water scarcity and decreasing food security may provoke a huge ‘tsunami” of climate refugees and migrants. See The Relentless March of Drought – That ‘Horseman of the Apocalypse’
Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, reminded that the world’s drought-prone and water scarce regions are often the main sources of refugees. Neither desertification nor drought on its own causes conflict or forced migration, but they can increase the risk of conflict and intensify on-going conflicts, Barbut explained. See: Mideast: Drought to Turn People into Eternal Migrants, Prey to Extremism?
An Urgent, Potentially Irreversible Threat
In Parallel, the United Nations leading agency in the fields of agriculture has issued numerous warnings on the huge impacts that droughts have on agriculture and food security, with poor rural communities among the most hit victims.
As a ways to help mitigate the effects of the on-going heat waves, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 20 June signed with WMO an agreement to deepen cooperation to respond to climate variability and climate change, “represents an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies, natural ecosystems and food security.”
Through this joint work, the two organisations will work on strengthening agro-meteorological services and making them more accessible to farmers and fishers; improve global and region-specific monitoring for early warning and response to high-impact events like droughts.
The agreement was signed on June 19 by FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas on the sidelines of an international seminar on drought organised by Iran, the Netherlands, and FAO in Rome.
“Saving livelihoods means saving lives – this is what building resilience is all about,” said Graziano da Silva.
Recalling the 2011 drought in Somalia that saw over 250,000 people perish from hunger, he said, “People die because they are not prepared to face the impacts of the drought – because their livelihoods are not resilient enough.”
“For years, the focus has been responding to droughts when they happen, rushing to provide emergency assistance and to keep people alive,” he said, noting that while “of course, that is important,” investing in preparedness and resilience is essential.Private First Class Joe M. Nishimoto (February 21, 1919 – November 15, 1944) was a United States Army soldier. He is best known for receiving the Medal of Honor because of his actions in World War II.[1]
Early life [ edit ]
Nishimoto was born in California to Japanese immigrant parents. He was a Nisei, which means that he was a second generation Japanese-American.
He was interned at the Jerome War Relocation Center in Arkansas,[2]
Soldier [ edit ]
Nishimoto joined the US Army in October 1943.[3]
Nishimoto volunteered to be part of the all-Nisei 100th Infantry Battalion.[4] This army unit was mostly made up of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland.[5]
For his actions in November 1944, Nishimoto was awarded the Army's second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross.[6] He was killed in action on November 15, 1944.
Medal of Honor citation [ edit ]
Nishimoto's Medal of Honor recognized his conduct in frontline fighting in France in 1944.[1]
Private First Class Nishimoto's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
Private First Class Joe M. Nishimoto distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 7 November 1944, near La Houssiere, France. After three days of unsuccessful attempts by his company to dislodge the enemy from a strongly defended ridge, Private First Class Nishimoto, as acting squad leader, boldly crawled forward through a heavily mined and booby-trapped area. Spotting a machine gun nest, he hurled a grenade and destroyed the emplacement. Then, circling to the rear of another machine gun position, he fired his submachine gun at point-blank range, killing one gunner and wounding another. Pursuing two enemy riflemen, Private First Class Nishimoto killed one, while the other hastily retreated. Continuing his determined assault, he drove another machine gun crew from its position. The enemy, with their key strong points taken, were forced to withdraw from this sector. Private First Class Nishimoto's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.[7]
See also [ edit ]Manila: The land level of Metro Manila where there are 10 million residents, has been sinking while its sea level has been rising at a fast pace, an expert said, adding that reclamations and over-extraction of water have exacerbated the situation in the capital, an expert said.
The sea level surrounding Metro Manila is rising by almost one centimetre per year because of global warming, Dr Fernando Siringan of the UP Marine Science Institute said during a Senate hearing, the data of which was reported by GMA News.
The entire Metro Manila is sinking by several centimetres per year, estimated as one metre in four years, said Siringan, adding that in northern suburban Malabon, a fishing area compared to Venice, has been sinking by 10 centimetres a year.
Some streets that were elevated by one metre to avoid flood, were flooded again by sea water and not just by rain water in four years, said Siringan, adding, “It only means that Metro Manila’s land level is going down.”
Some places that were never flooded before, have been experiencing floods, said Siringan, adding this is more noticeable in almost all places in Metro Manila.
Scientists suggested that rivers must be widened, not just be de-silted or made deeper. But the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) did not follow this suggestion for flood control, said Siringan.
Instead, the government has continued with its reclamation projects on the coastal areas on the county’s eastern seaboard, to accommodate high-end infrastructure projects, said Siringan.
Over-extraction of ground water has also contributed to the sinking of land level in Metro Manila, said Siringan.
“These conditions should be considered by developers of infrastructure projects,” said Siringan.
All these things should be taken into account in the government’s flood control project, Senator Loren Legarda said in the same hearing on climate change and climate risks in the Philippines.
She also blamed the public works and highways department for insisting not to follow the suggestions of scientists in the government’s flood control projects.
This has resulted in dreadful floods that devastated northern suburban Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela at the height of monsoon-triggered rains for 18 days that started late July, she said.
About 21 typhoons damage the Philippines every year.
The Philippines is part of Asia-Pacific’s Ring of Fire where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions also commonly occur.Veteran AD carry Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng has joined a lagging Team Liquid in a huge mid-season roster move.
The change comes at a tumultuous time for the LCS team, which last week announced it would move longtime ADC Chae "Piglet" Gwang-jin to the mid lane and bring in Jung "Youngbin" Young-bin to the AD carry position. Youngbin was previously the mid laner for Team Liquid Academy in 2015.
Team Liquid's owner Steve "Liquid112" Arhancet announced the news on Facebook Tuesday night.
"In the last week of LCS we saw that Youngbin is not yet ready to deliver the results that were needed in order for us to perform well this split |
cut short a religious debate he’d had with Islamic scholars.
In Nsinze village, Namutumba District, a Muslim beat and left for dead his wife and 18-year-old son on Aug. 11 after learning they had converted to Christianity, area sources said. Issa Kasoono beat and strangled his wife, Jafalan Kadondi, but she survived, said a source who requested anonymity. He said other relatives joined Kasoono in beating her and their two sons, Ibrahim Kasoono, 18, and Ismael Feruza, 16, though the younger son managed to escape with only bruises on his arm.
The wife of a former sheikh was poisoned to death on June 17, 2015 after she and her husband put their faith in Christ in Nabuli village, Kibuku District. Namumbeiza Swabura was the mother of 11 children, including a 5-month-old baby.
In Kiryolo, Kaderuna Sub-County, Budaka District on March 28, 2015, five Muslims gang-raped the 17-year-old daughter of a pastor because the church leader ignored their warnings that he stop worship services, she said.
If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit https://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.
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© 2016 Morning Star News. Articles/photos may be reprinted with credit to Morning Star News.
Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that relies solely on contributions to offer original news reports of persecuted Christians. By providing reliable news on the suffering church, Morning Star News’ mission is to empower those in the free world to help and to encourage persecuted Christians that they are not forgotten or alone. For free subscription or to make tax-deductible donations, contact editor@morningstarnews.org, or send check to Morning Star News, 34281 Doheny Park Rd., # 7022, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624, USA.Three members of a so-called ‘Muslim Patrol’ were today jailed at the Old Bailey for repeatedly trying to enforce Sharia law in East London.
Jordan Horner and another Islamic extremist told one couple they could not hold hands while walking down the street, because it was in a ‘Muslim area’.
The radicals also attacked a group of men drinking in the road, and told a woman she would face ‘hell fire’ because of the way she was dressed.
Horner, 19, Ricardo MacFarlane, 36, and a 23-year-old man who cannot be named for legal reasons were sentenced to 68 weeks, 12 months and 24 weeks in prison respectively.
The court earlier heard that last December Horner and the 23-year-old man drove alongside Joshua Bilton and Anna Reddiford in Bethnal Green, and started yelling at them through a megaphone.
The teenage convert shouted: ‘Let go of each other’s hands. This is a Muslim area!’ – but the couple initially assumed it was a joke.
They stopped holding hands after the men repeated the message – and when they started again, the car blocked their way until they let go.
Two weeks later, Horner and MacFarlane attacked men drinking in Shoreditch, shouting: ‘Kill the non-believers.’
Horner then punched two of the group, hitting James Forward in the jaw and knocking out Patrick Kavanagh with a sucker punch to the head.
On January 13, Horner and the 23-year-old harassed another couple, Clare Coyle and Robert Gray, as they were walking in Stepney – accusing Miss Coyle of being a ‘slag’.
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FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE CLICK LINKBig comet
Comet Hyakutake ( Japanese pronunciation: [çʲakɯ̥take], formally designated C/1996 B2) is a comet, discovered on 31 January 1996,[1] that passed very close to Earth in March of that year. It was dubbed The Great Comet of 1996; its passage near the Earth was one of the closest cometary approaches of the previous 200 years. Hyakutake appeared very bright in the night sky and was widely seen around the world. The comet temporarily upstaged the much anticipated Comet Hale–Bopp, which was approaching the inner Solar System at the time.
Scientific observations of the comet led to several discoveries. Most surprising to cometary scientists was the first discovery of X-ray emission from a comet, believed to have been caused by ionised solar wind particles interacting with neutral atoms in the coma of the comet. The Ulysses spacecraft unexpectedly crossed the comet's tail at a distance of more than 500 million kilometres (3.3 AU or 7011482803200000000♠3×108 mi) from the nucleus, showing that Hyakutake had the longest tail known for a comet.
Hyakutake is a long-period comet. Before its most recent passage through the Solar System, its orbital period was about 17,000 years,[2][5] but the gravitational perturbation of the giant planets has increased this period to 70,000 years.[2][5]
Discovery [ edit ]
The comet was discovered on 30 January 1996,[1] by Yuji Hyakutake, an amateur astronomer from southern Japan.[6] He had been searching for comets for years and had moved to Kagoshima Prefecture partly for the dark skies in nearby rural areas. He was using a powerful set of binoculars with 150 mm (6 in) objective lenses to scan the skies on the night of the discovery.[7]
This comet was actually the second Comet Hyakutake; Hyakutake had discovered comet C/1995 Y1 several weeks earlier.[8] While re-observing his first comet (which never became visible to the naked eye) and the surrounding patch of sky, Hyakutake was surprised to find another comet in almost the same position as the first had been. Hardly believing a second discovery so soon after the first, Hyakutake reported his observation to the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan the following morning.[9] Later that day, the discovery was confirmed by independent observations.[citation needed]
At the time of its discovery, the comet was shining at magnitude 11.0 and had a coma approximately 2.5 arcminutes across. It was approximately 2 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun.[10] Later, a precovery image of the comet was found on a photograph taken on January 1, when the comet was about 2.4 AU from the Sun and had a magnitude of 13.3.[5]
Orbit [ edit ]
Comet Hyakutake's trajectory through the inner solar system, with a high inclination, passed closest to the earth in late March 1996, passing over the earth's north pole. It was at perihelion on May 1.
When the first calculations of the comet's orbit were made, scientists realized that it was going to pass just 0.1 AU from Earth on 25 March.[11] Only four comets in the previous century had passed closer.[12] Comet Hale–Bopp was already being discussed as a possible "great comet"; the astronomical community eventually realised that Hyakutake might also become spectacular because of its close approach.
Moreover, Comet Hyakutake's orbit meant that it had last been to the inner Solar System approximately 17,000 years earlier.[2] Because it had probably passed close to the Sun several times before,[5] the approach in 1996 would not be a maiden arrival from the Oort cloud, a place where comets with orbital periods of millions of years come from. Comets entering the inner Solar System for the first time may brighten rapidly before fading as they near the Sun, because a layer of highly volatile material evaporates. This was the case with Comet Kohoutek in 1973; it was initially touted as potentially spectacular, but only appeared moderately bright. Older comets show a more consistent brightening pattern. Thus, all indications suggested Comet Hyakutake would be bright.[citation needed]
Besides approaching close to Earth, the comet would also be visible throughout the night to northern hemisphere observers at its closest approach because of its path, passing very close to the pole star. This would be an unusual occurrence, because most comets are close to the Sun in the sky when the comets are at their brightest, leading to the comets appearing in a sky not completely dark.[citation needed]
Earth passage [ edit ]
The path of Comet Hyakutake across the sky
Hyakutake became visible to the naked eye in early March 1996. By mid-March, the comet was still fairly unremarkable, shining at 4th magnitude with a tail about 5 degrees long. As it neared its closest approach to Earth, it rapidly became brighter, and its tail grew in length. By March 24, the comet was one of the brightest objects in the night sky, and its tail stretched 35 degrees. The comet had a notably bluish-green colour.[5]
The closest approach occurred on 25 March. Hyakutake was moving so rapidly across the night sky that its movement could be detected against the stars in just a few minutes; it covered the diameter of a full moon (half a degree) every 30 minutes. Observers estimated its magnitude as around 0, and tail lengths of up to 80 degrees were reported.[5] Its coma, now close to the zenith for observers at mid-northern latitudes, appeared approximately 1.5 to 2 degrees across, roughly four times the diameter of the full moon.[5] Even to the naked eye, the comet's head appeared distinctly green, due to strong emissions from diatomic carbon (C 2 ).[citation needed]
Because Hyakutake was at its brightest for only a few days, it did not have time to permeate the public imagination in the way that Comet Hale–Bopp did the following year. Many European observers in particular did not see the comet at its peak because of unfavourable weather conditions.[5]
Perihelion and afterwards [ edit ]
After its close approach to the Earth, the comet faded to about 2nd magnitude. It reached perihelion on 1 May 1996, brightening again and exhibiting a dust tail in addition to the gas tail seen as it passed the Earth. By this time, however, it was close to the Sun and was not seen as easily. It was observed passing perihelion by the SOHO Sun-observing satellite, which also recorded a large coronal mass ejection being formed at the same time. Its distance from the Sun at perihelion was 0.23 AU, well inside the orbit of Mercury.[13]
After its perihelion passage, Hyakutake faded rapidly and was lost to naked-eye visibility by the end of May. Its orbital path carried it rapidly into the southern skies, but following perihelion it became much less monitored. The last known observation of the comet took place on November 2.[14]
Hyakutake had passed through the inner Solar System approximately 17,000 years ago; gravitational interactions with the gas giants during its 1996 passage stretched its orbit greatly, and barycentric fits to the comet's orbit predict it will not return to the inner Solar System again for approximately 70,000[2][5][a] years.
Scientific results [ edit ]
Spacecraft passes through the tail [ edit ]
Ulysses'trajectory from 6 October 1990 to 29 June 2009
Ulysses · Earth · Jupiter · C/2006 P1 · C/1996 B2 · C/1999 T1 Animation oftrajectory from 6 October 1990 to 29 June 2009
The Ulysses spacecraft made an unexpected pass through the tail of the comet on 1 May 1996.[15] Evidence of the encounter was not noticed until 1998. Astronomers analysing old data found that Ulysses' instruments had detected a large drop in the number of protons passing, as well as a change in the direction and strength of the local magnetic field. This implied that the spacecraft had crossed the 'wake' of an object, most likely a comet; the object responsible was not immediately identified.[citation needed]
In 2000, two teams independently analyzed the same event. The magnetometer team realized that the changes in the direction of the magnetic field mentioned above agreed with the "draping" pattern expected in a comet's ion, or plasma tail. The magnetometer team looked for likely suspects. No known comets were located near the satellite, but looking further afield, they found that Hyakutake, 500×10 ^ 6 km (3.3 AU) away, had crossed Ulysses' orbital plane on 23 April 1996. The solar wind had a velocity at the time of about 750 km/s (470 mi/s), at which speed it would have taken eight days for the tail to be carried out to where the spacecraft was situated at 3.73 AU, approximately 45 degrees out of the ecliptic plane. The orientation of the ion tail inferred from the magnetic field measurements agreed with the source lying in Comet Hyakutake's orbital plane.[16]
The other team, working on data from the spacecraft's ion composition spectrometer, discovered a sudden large spike in detected levels of ionised particles at the same time. The relative abundances of chemical elements detected indicated that the object responsible was definitely a comet.[17]
Based on the Ulysses encounter, the comet's tail is known to have been at least 570 million km (360 million miles; 3.8 AU) long. This is almost twice as long as the previous longest-known cometary tail, that of the Great Comet of 1843, which was 2.2 AU long.[citation needed]
Composition [ edit ]
Terrestrial observers found ethane and methane in the comet, the first time either of these gases had been detected in a comet. Chemical analysis showed that the abundances of ethane and methane were roughly equal, which may imply that its ices formed in interstellar space, away from the Sun, which would have evaporated these volatile molecules. Hyakutake's ices must have formed at temperatures of 20 K or less, indicating that it probably formed in a denser-than-average interstellar cloud.[18]
The amount of deuterium in the comet's water ices was determined through spectroscopic observations.[19] It was found that the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen (known as the D/H ratio) was about 3×10−4, which compares to a value in Earth's oceans of about 1.5×10−4. It has been proposed that cometary collisions with Earth might have supplied a large proportion of the water in the oceans, but the high D–H ratio measured in Hyakutake and other comets such as Hale–Bopp and Halley's Comet have caused problems for this theory.[citation needed]
X-ray emission [ edit ]
One of the great surprises of Hyakutake's passage through the inner Solar System was the discovery that it was emitting X-rays, with observations made using the ROSAT satellite revealing very strong X-ray emission.[20] This was the first time a comet had been seen to do so, but astronomers soon found that almost every comet they looked at was emitting X-rays. The emission from Hyakutake was brightest in a crescent shape surrounding the nucleus with the ends of the crescent pointing away from the Sun.[citation needed]
The cause of the X-ray emission is thought to be a combination of two mechanisms. Interactions between energetic solar wind particles and cometary material evaporating from the nucleus is likely to contribute significantly to this effect.[21] Reflection of solar X-rays is seen in other Solar System objects such as the Moon, but a simple calculation assuming even the highest x-ray reflectivity possible per molecule or dust grain is not able to explain the majority of the observed flux from Hyakutake, as the comet's atmosphere is very tenuous and diffuse. Observations of comet C/1999 S4 (LINEAR) with the Chandra satellite in 2000 determined that X-rays observed from that comet were produced predominantly by charge exchange collisions between highly charged carbon, oxygen and nitrogen minor ions in the solar wind, and neutral water, oxygen and hydrogen in the comet's coma.[citation needed]
Nucleus size and activity [ edit ]
The region around the nucleus of Comet Hyakutake, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. Some fragments can be seen breaking off.
Radar results from the Arecibo Observatory indicated that the comet nucleus was about 4.8 km (3.0 mi) across, and surrounded by a flurry of pebble-sized particles ejected at a few metres per second. This size measurement corresponded well with indirect estimates using infrared emission and radio observations.[22][23]
The small size of the nucleus (Halley's Comet is about 15 km (9.3 mi) across, while Comet Hale–Bopp was about 60 km (37 mi) across) implies that Hyakutake must have been very active to become as bright as it did. Most comets undergo outgassing from a small proportion of their surface, but most or all of Hyakutake's surface seemed to have been active. The dust production rate was estimated to be about 2×103 kg/s at the beginning of March, rising to 3×104 kg/s as the comet approached perihelion. During the same period, dust ejection velocities increased from 50 m/s to 500 m/s.[24][25]
Observations of material being ejected from the nucleus allowed astronomers to establish its rotation period. As the comet passed the Earth, a large puff or blob of material was observed being ejected in the sunward direction every 6.23 hours. A second smaller ejection with the same period confirmed this as the rotation period of the nucleus.[26]
Notes [ edit ]
^ Barycenter. For objects at such high eccentricity, the Sun's barycentric coordinates are more stable than heliocentric coordinates.Cross-posted from Climate Progress.
Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann calls the Environmental Protection Agency the “job-killing organization of America” and has threatened to have the agency’s “doors locked and lights turned off.” But before her strong anti-EPA rhetoric aimed at firing up the Tea Party during election season, Bachmann solicited the help of the agency to bring “long-term benefits to the environment and the economy.”
The Huffington Post is reporting that Bachmann asked for direct assistance from the government 16 times — many through the stimulus package, a program that she said made President Obama a “gangster.” On numerous occasions, she urged the EPA to fund projects in her community to realize economic benefits:
In February 2007, well before Obama was in office, Bachmann co-signed a letter to the EPA urging its officials to help fund technical assistance programs and rural water initiatives “in small communities across Minnesota.” The authors of the letter, which included nearly the entire Minnesota congressional delegation at the time, noted that FY 2006 funding for the National Rural Water Association had been set at $11 million. “We need to continue these efforts in 2007,” they wrote. In other communications with the EPA, Bachmann was far colder to agency policy, criticizing spring 2009 federal management standards for coal combustion byproducts and 2008 National Ambient Air Quality standards. But in other instances, Bachmann turned to the EPA for constituent-related problems. In a Feb. 2, 2010, letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, she asked the agency to support a $270,806 grant application (filed with the EPA’s Clean Diesel Grant Program) that would help a St. Cloud bus company replace two older motor coach vehicles. “Voigt’s Bus Service, with Community Transportation, Incorporated, is committed to bringing long-term benefits to the environment and the economy and they wish to accomplish this through the Clean Diesel Grant Program,” she wrote.
Even while railing against government intervention, Bachmann sought funds from the Department of Transportation (DOT) — asking for money to replace half a dozen transit buses with new models that run on compressed natural gas, rather than letting the private sector handle it on its own. She also requested funds from the DOT through the stimulus package for six different transportation-infrastructure upgrade projects in her home state of Minnesota. The agency did not fund any of those requests.
This is not the first contradiction in Bachmann’s environmental record. She has voted against repealing tax subsides in the oil and gas sectors, but in 2008 opted to raise taxes on renewable energy companies by voting against tax credits extensions for wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, and biomass companies.
Bachmann has also been a very vocal opponent of climate science, calling it “voodoo, nonsense, hokum, a hoax.”Share this
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Email You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license. University Penn State
Researchers have created a microbial fuel cell that can convert methane directly to electricity.
The fuel cell could help to solve the problem of moving methane from place to place. Transporting methane from gas wellheads to market provides multiple opportunities for this greenhouse gas to leak into the atmosphere.
“Currently, we have to ship methane via pipelines,” says Thomas K. Wood, professor of chemical engineering at Penn State. “When you ship methane, you release a greenhouse gas. We can’t eliminate all the leakage, but we could cut it in half if we didn’t ship it via pipe long distances.”
The researchers’ goal is to use microbial fuel cells to convert methane into electricity near the wellheads, eliminating long-distance transport. That goal is still far in the future, but they now have created a bacteria-powered fuel cell that can convert the methane into small amounts of electricity.
“People have tried for decades to directly convert methane,” says Wood. “But they haven’t been able to do it with microbial fuel cells. We’ve engineered a strain of bacteria that can.”
Bottom of the sea
Microbial fuel cells convert chemical energy to electrical energy using microorganisms. They can run on most organic material, including wastewater, acetate, and brewing waste. Methane, however, causes some problems for microbial fuel cells because, while there are bacteria that consume methane, they live in the depths of the ocean and are not currently culturable in the laboratory.
“We know of a bacterium that can produce an energy enzyme that grabs methane,” says Wood. “We can’t grow them in captivity, but we looked at the DNA and found something from the bottom of the Black Sea and synthesized it.”
The researchers actually created a consortium of bacteria that produces electricity because each bacterium does its portion of the job. Using synthetic biological approaches, including DNA cloning, the researchers created a bacterium like those in the depths of the Black Sea, but one they can grow in the laboratory. This bacterium uses methane and produces acetate, electrons, and the energy enzyme that grabs electrons.
Shuttles from sludge
The researchers, who report the results in the journal Nature Communications, also added a mixture of bacteria found in sludge from an anaerobic digester—the last step in waste treatment. This sludge contains bacteria that produce compounds that can transport electrons to an electrode, but these bacteria needed to be acclimated to methane to survive in the fuel cell.
“We need electron shuttles in this process,” says Wood. “Bacteria in sludge act as those shuttles.”
Once electrons reach an electrode, the flow of electrons produces electricity. To increase the amount of electricity produced, the researchers used a naturally occurring bacterial genus—Geobacter—which consumes the acetate created by the synthetic bacteria that captures methane to produce electrons.
To show that an electron shuttle was necessary, the researchers ran the fuel cell with only the synthetic bacteria and Geobacter. The fuel cell produced no electricity. They added humic acids—a non-living electron shuttle—and the fuel cells worked. Bacteria from the sludge are better shuttles than humic acids because they are self-sustaining. The researchers have filed provisional patents on this process.
“This process makes a lot of electricity for a microbial fuel cell,” says Wood. “However, at this point that amount is 1,000 times less than the electricity produced by a methanol fuel cell.”
Additional researchers are from Penn State and the National Institute of Cardiology, Mexico City. The US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy supported this work.
Source: Penn StateChanged Legendary Passive Effects, Class Changes, New Strings for Difficulty, Uber Diablo, Callouts, Cursed Chest and Much More
All this can be found below. Note that this is datamining and therefore should not be considered fact. There are many strings for currently unreleased and not-talked-about features of the game.
Changed Legendary Passive Effects
ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_500_x1 - Health Globes picked up release an explosion for 100% weapon damage to enemies within 20 yards. (down from 40 yards)
- Health Globes picked up release an explosion for 100% weapon damage to enemies within 20 yards. (down from 40 yards) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_521_x1 - Shrine effects last for 10 minutes. (down from 1 hour)
- Shrine effects last for 10 minutes. (down from 1 hour) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_530_x1 - Increase the duration of Ignore Pain by 5 seconds. (down from 60 seconds)
- Increase the duration of Ignore Pain by 5 seconds. (down from 60 seconds) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_538_x1 - Reduce the cooldown of Breath of Heaven by 50%. (removed radius increase of 50 yards)
- Reduce the cooldown of Breath of Heaven by 50%. (removed radius increase of 50 yards) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_560_x1 - Chance on hit to create a chaos field at the enemy's location for 2 seconds, causing enemies inside to be Blinded and Slowed. (down from 5 seconds, previously Confused)
ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_571_x1 - Chance on hit to deal 8% of the enemy's current health as Fire damage. (down from 12%, damage type changed from Holy)
- Chance on hit to deal 8% of the enemy's current health as Fire damage. (down from 12%, damage type changed from Holy) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_576_x1 - You Fetishes shoot a Poison Dart every time you do. (previously enhanced only Poison Dart)
- You Fetishes shoot a Poison Dart every time you do. (previously enhanced only Poison Dart) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_607_x1 - 3 additional Explosive Blasts are triggered after casting Explosive Blast. (previously removed cooldown of Explosive Blast)
- 3 additional Explosive Blasts are triggered after casting Explosive Blast. (previously removed cooldown of Explosive Blast) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_624_x1 - Zombie Dogs instead summons a single gargantuan dog with more damage and health than all other dogs combined. (previously was "combined power of all dogs")
ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_625_x1 - Ancient Spear now pulls you to the first enemy hit. This effect replaces the rune effects that pull enemies. (added replace rune effect)
- Ancient Spear now pulls you to the first enemy hit. This effect replaces the rune effects that pull enemies. (added replace rune effect) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_631_x1 - Enables Vault - Rattling Roll. (previously Vault knocked enemies back)
- Enables Vault - Rattling Roll. (previously Vault knocked enemies back) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_651_x1 - Haunt is cast on 5 nearby enemies when you open a chest. (changed from "all")
- Haunt is cast on 5 nearby enemies when you open a chest. (changed from "all") ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_668_x1 - 10% chance to shatter and instantly kill frozen enemies. This chance is reduced for elites. (Elites effect added)
ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_677_x1 - Critical Hits have a 4% chance to spawn a health globe. (changed from Crushing Blows, percentage added)
- Critical Hits have a 4% chance to spawn a health globe. (changed from Crushing Blows, percentage added) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_692_x1 - Every successful block has a 25% chance to reduce all cooldowns by 1 second. (down from 50%)
- Every successful block has a 25% chance to reduce all cooldowns by 1 second. (down from 50%) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_699_x1 - Enables Blessed Hammer - Dominion. (previously read: Killing an enemy while Judgment is active reduces the cooldown of Judgement by 2 seconds)
- Enables Blessed Hammer - Dominion. (previously read: Killing an enemy while Judgment is active reduces the cooldown of Judgement by 2 seconds) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_710_x1 - Damaging enemies with Arcane, Cold, Fire or Lightning will cause a Meteor of the same damage type to fall from the sky. There is an 8 second cooldown for each damage type. (down from 15 seconds)
- Damaging enemies with Arcane, Cold, Fire or Lightning will cause a Meteor of the same damage type to fall from the sky. There is an 8 second cooldown for each damage type. (down from 15 seconds) ItemPassive_Unique_Ring_715_x1 - Whenever a Death's Breath drops, a second one will also drop. (previously read: Doubles the chance to find Demonic Essences)
New Strings for Difficulty, Uber Diablo, Callouts, Cursed Chest and Much More
Bnet_GameSettings.txt
DifficultySelector_Description_3 - *Imperial gems can drop from level 61 and higher monsters (Previously was: *New legendary recipes can drop in this difficulty)
DifficultySelector_Description_4 - *Imperial gems can drop from level 61 and higher monsters (Previously was: *New legendary recipes can drop in this difficulty)
DifficultySelector_Description_4 - *250% bonus legendary drop rate (Has been removed)
Difficulty_4_Locked - This difficulty is locked until you get at least one hero to level 70
Difficulty_1_Locked - This difficulty is locked for Starter Edition players General.txt
Difficulty9_con - Grandmaster Bnet_HeroCreate.txt SeasonCheckbox - {icon:BattleNet_SeasonIcon, 3.0} Seasonal Hero Boss_Strings.txt
Uber_Diablo_Encounter_Name - Boss: Diablo
Uber_Diablo_Taunt_Text - Defeat Diablo, Lord of Terror!
Uber_Diablo_Join_Instruction - T riggered by {s1}
Uber_Diablo_Enter_Instruction - You are about to enter
Uber_Diablo_Info_Text - Your party will teleport in when everyone has accepted. Buff_Tooltips.txt X1_Passive_BountyScroll_BossDamage_0 - Bounty Scroll
X1_Passive_BountyScroll_BossDamage_0_desc - 300% increased damage to bosses.
DestructionStreak_Buff_Run_Speed_0 - Dimensional Speed
DestructionStreak_Buff_Run_Speed_0_desc - Greatly increased run speed. Callouts.txt
Overkill - Overkill!
Massacre_Goal_con - kills!
ExperienceBonus - {s1}X Experience Bonus!
NephalemGloryGained - Power Boost!
Destruction_Goal_con - X!
ConsoleTicker - x{s1}!
NephalemGloryBoost - X Damage!
NephalemGloryMax - Max Damage Reached!
Massacre_Level2 - Vicious Massacre
Massacre_Level3 - Brutal Massacre Gizmos.txt
x1_Global_Chest_CursedChest - Cursed Chest
x1_Event_CursedShrine - Cursed Shrine
x1_Global_Chest_CursedChest_B - Cursed Chest
x1_Catacombs_NephalemShrine_MutantEvent - Nephalem Shrine
x1_Catacombs_NephalemShrine_MutantEvent2 - Nephalem Shrine
x1_Catacombs_NephalemShrine_MutantEvent3 - Nephalem Shrine
x1_Catacombs_NephalemShrine_MutantEvent4 - Nephalem Shrine Items.txt CraftingReagent_Legendary_Unique_InfernalMachine_Diablo_x1 - Key of Evil
DemonOrgan_Diablo_x1 - Heart of Evil
DemonOrgan_Ghom_x1 - Vial of Putridness
DemonOrgan_SiegeBreaker_x1 - Idol of Terror
DemonOrgan_SkeletonKing_x1 - Leoric's Regret
InfernalMachine_Diablo_x1 - Infernal Machine of Evil
InfernalMachine_Ghom_x1 - Infernal Machine of Gluttony
InfernalMachine_SiegeBreaker_x1 - Infernal Machine of War
InfernalMachine_SkeletonKing_x1 - Infernal Machine of Bones
Unique_Helm_Set_07_x1 - Demon Hunter Helm
Unique_Shoulder_Set_07_x1 - Demon Hunter Shoulder
Unique_Chest_Set_07_x1 - Demon Hunter Chest
Unique_Pants_Set_07_x1 - Demon Hunter Pants
Unique_Boots_Set_07_x1 - Demon Hunter Boots
Unique_Gloves_Set_07_x1 - Demon Hunter Gloves
Unique_Helm_Set_08_x1 - Monk Lightning Helm
Unique_Shoulder_Set_08_x1 - Monk Lightning Shoulder
Unique_Chest_Set_08_x1 - Monk Lightning Chest
Unique_Pants_Set_08_x1 - Monk Lightning Pants
Unique_Boots_Set_08_x1 - Monk Lightning Boots
Unique_Gloves_Set_08_x1 - Monk Lightning Gloves
Unique_Helm_Set_09_x1 - Witch Doctor DoT Helm
Unique_Shoulder_Set_09_x1 - Witch Doctor DoT Shoulder
Unique_Chest_Set_09_x1 - Witch Doctor DoT Chest
Unique_Pants_Set_09_x1 - Witch Doctor DoT Pants
Unique_Boots_Set_09_x1 - Witch Doctor DoT Boots
Unique_Gloves_Set_09_x1 - Witch Doctor DoT Gloves ItemSets.txt Golden_Oxen_Set_x1 - Golden Oxen Set
Phoenix_Set_x1 - Phoenix Set
Demon_Hunter_Set_x1 - Demon Hunter Set
Monk_Lightning_Set_x1 - Monk Lightning Set
Dot_Set_x1 - Witch Doctor DoT Set
Crusader_Set_x1 - Crusader Set
Monkey_King_Set_x1 - Monkey King Set
Arcane_Wraps_Set_x1 - Arcane Wraps Set
Istvans_Paired_Blades_Set_x1 - Istvan's Paired Blades Messages.txt CursedChest_Horde_BonusChestInfo - Slay {Param1} monsters to unlock a Bonus Chest!
CursedChest_Horde_KillCount - A total of {Param1} monsters were killed before the timer ended.
CursedChest_Wave_EarnBonusChest - Wave {Param1} cleared! Bonus Chest earned!
CursedChest_Wave_EndEvent - Time has run out! You cleared {Param1} waves{/c) of enemies. MonsterAffixNames.txt Multishot (Ranged Only) - Multishot
Ballista (Ranged Only) - Ballista SkillsUI.txt CanOverkill - Can overkill enemies.
ParagonBonusLabel_Hitpoints_On_Hit - Life On Hit
ParagonBonusLabel_Crushing_Blow_Proc_Chance - Crushing Blow
ParagonBonusLabel_Splash_Damage_Effect_Percent - Area Damage
ParagonBonusLabel_Resource_Cost_Reduction_Percent_All - Resource Cost Reduction
ParagonBonusLabel_Gold_Find - Gold Find
Class Changes
Some of the numbers for the Demon Hunter pet changes seem a little off - keep this in mind.Neil Lennon delivered a glowing post-match appraisal of his Celtic side's performance against Benfica, their first game in the group phase of the competition for more than three years.
He offered the statistic that 10 of his players were making their Champions League debuts as reason to be satisfied with the manner in which they played against a side who have frequented this stage of the competition.
But Lennon's assessment of the goalless draw was a generous one, particularly as Benfica, while decent, will not threaten the latter stages of the tournament.
It is an indictment of how far the Scottish game has fallen in recent years that just about coping with a middle-order European side is seen as grounds for delight.
It may be that Lennon simply wanted to talk up his players after the withering critique of them from the manager in the wake of the defeat by St Johnstone.
Certainly there was none of the malaise, which seemed to affect almost the entire team in Perth, evident on Wednesday.
But the frustration of the supporters in the stands was a more accurate reflection of the performance and the inability to ask a single serious question of Artur in the Benfica goal.
Celtic 0-0 Benfica Possession: Celtic 48% - Benfica 52%
Efforts on target: Celtic 3 - Benfica 2
Four clean sheets in five European games for Celtic
Lennon spoke of the tempo and zest with which Celtic played, but that was only apparent on a handful occasions throughout the match, when it needed to be maintained if Celtic were to have genuine thoughts of winning.
Scott Brown and Kris Commons were the sole contributors in Celtic colours who constantly tried to lift the pace of the game - Brown prowling and snapping into tackles, Commons buzzing in and around the opposition penalty area, looking to create an opening.
This is not to say that Celtic played badly. Rather that there was an ordinariness about them - and Benfica - that failed to build on the tremendous atmosphere created by the fans.
For the home supporters, the return of the Champions League to Celtic Park will, by some stretch, be the highlight of the season.
They, more than anyone, will remember the days of Lennon, Henrik Larsson and company frightening the life out of visiting teams on Champions League nights.
Expectations, as well as financial capabilities, have dipped since then, but surely not to the extent that just being ordinary is worthy of such high praise.
Celtic have players like Joe Ledley, Georgios Samaras and Gary Hooper to come back into the starting XI, but the one key missing ingredient, which might just have made the difference on Wednesday night, was a |
one event, so we need to be conscious of their wellbeing at any stage.”
The purpose of the site is to reduce the stigma around suicide and farmers, and it will assist people in isolation who feel they can’t talk to anyone about their experiences.
“Often they think that if they are going through patterns of suicide thoughts, they are a bad person, who others wouldn’t want to work or associate with,” Ms Kennedy said.
“There hasn’t been a platform where farmers could connect with other farmers about suicide, and that’s what the Ripple Effect will do.
“There’s a cultural element within farming communities that they have to be self reliant. While they are very willing to help others, they tend not to ask help for themselves, which is the problem we want to break.”
The Ripple Effect has been developed by the National Centre for Farmer Health, Deakin University, the Victorian Farmers Federation, AgChatOZ, the Mental Illness Fellowship of North Queensland, Sandpit and Western District Health Service as part of beyondblue’s STRIDE Project with donations from the Movember Foundation.
As part of the project, a full length video was created by Ripple Effect which reflects sentiments shared by farming participants in previous research conducted at the NCFH, and demonstrates the stigma associated with an experience of suicide. Watch the full video herePRAGUE - The Czech Republic is withdrawing from U.S. missile defense plans out of frustration at its diminished role, the Czech defense minister told The Associated Press Wednesday.
The Bush administration first proposed stationing 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and an advanced radar in the Czech Republic, saying the system was aimed at blunting future missile threats from Iran. But Russia angrily objected and warned that it would station its own missiles close to Poland if the plan went through.
In September 2009, the Obama administration shelved that plan and offered a new, reconfigured phased program with a smaller role for the Czechs, who were offered an early warning center that would gather and analyze information from satellites to detect missiles aimed at NATO territory.
Defense Minister Alexander Vondra told the AP that the Czech Republic wanted to participate but "definitely not in this way."
"They gave us an offer and we assessed that," Vondra said. "I would say we've solved it in an elegant way."
Vondra spoke Wednesday after meeting U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn.
The two men said both sides will be looking at possibilities of Czech participation in the future.
"We can return to it at some point but it's premature at the moment," Vondra said. "We have certain ideas but it's too early to speak about them."
Vondra and Lynn told reporters during an earlier news conference that the official reason for the Czech withdrawal was that the center was no longer needed after a bigger role for NATO in the new system was endorsed at a summit in Lisbon last year.
"The offer that we made has been overtaken by events," Lynn said. "The Lisbon summit has changed the nature of the missile defense framework that we're operating in. The offer, while I think an interesting one, a good one, no longer fits either the missile defense framework or Czech needs."
But Vondra called it "a consolation prize" at a meeting of NATO defense ministers last week in Brussels.
"Our ideas about the future cooperation are more colorful than just a room or two with some screens there," Vondra said.
The new U.S. administration's plan calls for placing land- and sea-based radars and interceptors in several European locations, including Romania and Poland, over the next decade and upgrading them over time. As the first part of the plan, the United States in March deployed to the Mediterranean the USS Monterey, a ship equipped to detect and shoot down missiles.
"I'm not surprised by the decision," said Jan Vidim, a lawmaker in the lower house of the Czech Parliament. "The United States has been and will be our crucial strategic partner but the current administration doesn't take the Czech Republic seriously."
Vidim's remarks reflected concern by many in Central and Eastern Europe that the U.S. interest in resetting ties with Moscow could come at their expense.
Others were celebrating.
"That's wonderful news," said Eva Novotna, who helped organized numerous protest against Czech involvement. "I'm really pleased to hear that."A Texas police department terminated an officer who killed an unarmed suspect by shooting at him 41 times following a car chase last summer.
Disgraced cop Patrick Tuter had claimed that he feared for his life while pursuing Michael Vincent Allen, but Garland Police Department officials fired him on Friday. Their investigation revealed that the 7-year veteran had rammed his cruiser into Allen's truck, cornered him and twice reloaded his semi-automatic gun while firing 41 shots at him, KXAS reported.
Three bullets struck Allen and the father of a 4-year-old girl died on a cul-de-sac in Mesquite where the 30-minute chase came to an end, CBS News reported. Allen, 25, was wanted for allegedly fleeing police in Sachse days before the Aug. 31 shooting.
"He did not deserve the death sentence," Allen's mother, Stephanie Allen said to KXAS. "Patrick Tuter was not judge and jury, and that's what he made himself out to be."
A Garland police spokesman said Tuter was fired for violating the department's guidelines for pursuit and use of force, the Dallas Morning News reported.
He had been on administrative leave since the shooting.Who says I'm always negative? Leaving aside the substantial evidence in the form of blog posts, angry Twitter rants and the rages that overtake me when my football team isn't winning, I assure you I'm capable of being reasonable, constructive and even -- make sure you're sitting down for this -- pleasant.
You may be under the impression that I hate men. This is not the case. Men are fine! (Some men are really fine, if you get what I'm saying, which I'm sure you do, because that had all the subtlety of a large-scale trainwreck.) What makes me mad is misogyny. What makes me madder is the appropriation of the feminist movement by men who either don't know what they're doing or are deliberately trying to profit from it.
Let's say you're the first kind -- well-meaning, but just not that well-educated about what being a feminist entails. You've come to the right place! I'm going to stop yelling for long enough to tell you ten things you can do in order to be a better feminist, a better ally and -- let's face it -- a better person.
1. Leave your baggage at the door.
I know you have a bunch of preconceptions about what feminism is and what your place in the grand scheme of things might be. That's perfectly natural -- all of us have preconceived notions about the world based on our prior experiences. But I'm gonna need you to drop all of that when you walk into feminist spaces.
Feminism is a movement that is largely based on female lived experiences. If you're not a woman, you can empathize, but you simply can't say you know what we've been through. And that's fine! There are plenty of causes I support even though I'm not directly linked to them or affected by them. Nobody's saying you can't be a feminist. What we're saying is that you need to follow our lead on this one, because this movement is about the way power structures affect our lives in ways that you may not even be able to perceive from where you're standing.
Come in with an open mind and be ready to learn, and you'll find yourself not only having your eyes opened to a whole new world, but being much more capable of understanding and processing what you'll see and hear.
2. Be prepared to do a lot of listening.
You probably have a lot of insights that you want to share. You want to tell us why men act the way they do and how you think we can change that behavior. And there's room for that in feminism... to an extent. But for the most part, what we need men to do is just to listen.
I want you to think about all the women who are denied a chance to speak by men around the world -- women who are barred from obtaining an education, women who are subjected to genital mutilation, women who aren't allowed to work, women who are survivors of sexual abuse, women of color, trans and queer women, sex workers. Don't they deserve a chance to be heard? Wouldn't you like to be the person to give them that chance?
It seems simple, but it's so, so important. A huge part of being an ally is being prepared to listen to our stories -- and there are a lot of them. A lot. You might want to get out a notepad and start taking notes. There may or may not be a test later.
We have been silenced for so long. Let us speak. Please.
3. Don't expect an automatic welcome.
You're a stand-up guy, right? Here you are, ready to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty fighting the good fight. If only more guys were like you!
The thing is -- and don't take this personally -- we've seen a lot of guys who looked just like you, talked just like you, were just as enthusiastic as you... who proceeded to talk over us, silence us, demean us or use our movement to profit off us. Can you blame us for being a little wary? Can you blame us for being suspicious when men try to enter our spaces, no matter how seemingly good their intentions?
Under the guise of "feminism," men have sexually harassed and raped women whose trust they'd gained, used their positions of influence to bully and silence women (Hugo Schwyzer, anyone?) and even gotten away with murder. No, you probably won't do any of those things-- but we can't be sure of that. So be prepared for a little hostility. We've had to learn the hard way to be suspicious of strangers bearing gifts. If you work hard and do right by us, we'll accept you in time.
4. Don't expect special treatment.
This is something a lot of men struggle with, and with good reason -- they've come from a position of total privilege, where their ideas and opinions are automatically given weight by virtue of their gender. You might not even realize this, but your maleness gives you huge advantages out there in the big, wide world.
If you want to be a feminist, you have to be prepared to give that up.
It's hard. I know how hard it is, because there are times when I've had to do it myself. Sometimes you'll find yourself feeling offended or affronted. You'll find yourself wondering why you even bother if people aren't going to acknowledge your efforts. That's your privilege talking, and you need to learn to set all of that aside if you want to do this right.
Welcome to the new world, friend. Enjoy equality!
5. Don't talk over us.
A lot of men take offense to this, but you need to learn to bite your tongue.
This is our movement. We're glad that you're along for the ride, but you have to learn that you don't get to take center stage. That space is reserved for women with real lived experiences to share. If you find yourself with the urge to talk over a woman who's sharing her story, just...don't. There is no easier way of riling up a feminist than by trying to tell her story for her, or assuming you know it better than she does. I promise you, no matter what the situation is, you don't. You haven't lived her life, you haven't seen what she's seen or felt what she's felt, and there is no way that you, a man, can possibly understand 100 percent of what it's like to be a woman.
I'm not saying you're not allowed to speak. I'm saying you have to wait your turn. In feminist spaces, a woman's lived experience takes precedence over your insights as a man. We're kind of natural experts in this field, you know? Just let us talk.
6. Don't stay silent when you see sexism in action.
Your buddies all tell rape jokes. They make you feel awkward, but you don't say anything because you don't want to be That Guy -- the one who kills the buzz, the one who's the PC Police all the time. You smile awkwardly when your bestie tells women to make him a sandwich even though you think it's not really that funny, and you let yourself be drawn into discussions that degrade women even though that's not your intent.
Yeah, that needs to stop.
If you want to do something concrete -- and I'm guessing you do -- this is the best place to start. Call out sexism when you see it. Tell your buddies those rape jokes aren't cool. Roll your eyes at your friend's sandwich jokes and tell him he's being an ass. When you witness street harassment, step up and say something. Be the guy who doesn't let other guys talk shit about women behind their backs. Be the guy who never lets "she was asking for it" stand.
I can't stress enough how important this is. Your intent means nothing if you don't back it up. Help us out here, dude. Use your voice for good.
7. Never, ever mansplain to us.
You're talking to a sex worker who's sharing her story of what working life is like for her where she lives. You feel like she's getting some of the details wrong -- maybe you've understood a certain law differently from her, or you find it hard to believe the police are so unsupportive. You tell her you don't think that's the way things are and proceed to explain reality the way you've experienced it.
That's mansplaining, and you shouldn't be surprised if that sex worker gets more than a little testy when you do it.
I know some of you do this unintentionally, but you need to catch yourself doing it and stop. Mansplaining derails discussions, trivializes the lived experiences of women and is just outright rude. Do you honestly think you know more about the reality of sex work than the girl who was talking to you about it? She lives it. You've just seen a documentary on TV. She doesn't need you to explain to her what her life is really like.
8. Don't tell us to calm down.
I think I've kept my tone fairly light thus far, but most of the time, if I'm talking about social justice, I'm pretty goddamn angry. This is a natural response to being discriminated against for being a woman for my entire life. I know that anger can be very confronting and a little off-putting, but there are reasons for that, those reasons being that a) the reality of existence as a female in our society is pretty confronting, and b) being faced with brutal, unpleasant truths is naturally very off-putting.
You might be tempted to say something about catching more flies with honey. The thing is, we're not trying to catch flies. We're trying to change the world, and you don't change the world with niceness (believe me, even Gandhi was a manipulative old bastard -- no activist is ever as serene as they may seem). As my dad was fond of saying: the reasonable man adapts himself to the world, whereas the unreasonable man adapts the world to himself; therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
We're the unreasonable women, and we're adapting the world to ourselves, because that's how you get things done. Telling us to calm down is tone policing, and if you'd like an explanation of why that's a terrible thing to do, click that link above and prepare to feel like you've just been slapped in the face repeatedly by several angry women all at once.
Or you could take my word for it and just let us be mad when we need to be. Trust me, it works better this way.
9. Amplify and empathize.
If you find a great blog post about sex worker rights in India, share it with your friends. If someone you know is sharing their experiences as a trans woman going through the medical system, retweet the hell out of her and encourage people to follow her. If, say, a fiery young Muslim woman you know writes a great blog post that you find really useful, spread it around to everyone else you think might find it useful too. Allies are great amplifiers -- they help spread our message so that it reaches audiences it might not have reached otherwise. That's a valuable thing.
And while you might not understand what we've gone through or what it's like to be us, when we share our experiences, listen empathetically. It means a lot to know that even though you might not know how we feel, you care that we've felt pain and it pains you, too. Be there for us. March with us. Listen to us vent. Come along to our seminars and tell all your friends to come too. Be a part of the creation of safe spaces for us because you genuinely care about our safety and well-being. Be the great person I'm sure you're capable of being. This is what allies do.
10. Don't give up when it gets hard.
Not if -- when. Because it will get hard, I promise. You will be forced to re-evaluate almost everything you've ever known about women and feminism. You will learn about experiences that are totally alien to you. You will probably be taken down a peg or two when you mess up. (Don't worry, we all mess up, and we all eat crow afterwards. It's fine, the internet has a pretty short memory.) And once you start doing this, you can't just stop, because even if you want to, you won't be able to shut your eyes to reality once you've had them opened.
This is a war so many of us wish we didn't have to wage. I can't tell you how tiring it is to spend day after day after day having to fight for my fundamental human rights. It's draining and exhausting and, to be quite honest, pretty damn demoralizing sometimes. You won't experience all of that, but you'll experience enough to make you wonder why you got into this in the first place.
Here's why: because equality matters. This stuff isn't some kind of abstract academic debate. This is about the way 50 percent of the world is forced to live because of a system that regards them as second-class citizens. Isn't that wrong? Isn't that hateful? Shouldn't it change?
And wouldn't you rather be one of the people helping to change it?
Feminism is vital work. It's hard, it's messy, and it's often thankless, but it's also very, very necessary. It's necessary for all the reasons I've stated and re-stated on this blog dozens of times. It's necessary because when we don't do this work, people don't just suffer -- they die because of our inaction. And it's not just women who are affected -- it's every man ever criticized for choosing to stay at home with his kids, every man who likes crafts more than sports, every man who's ever cried in public, every man who isn't arrogant and self-assured enough to bluff his way through life as though he owns everything he sees. You might even be one of those men. If you are, this isn't just about us, this is about you. This is about a world in which we can all be free to express our genders however we like without facing judgement or discrimination for simply being who we are.
I want to live to see that world. I'm sure you do, too. So welcome aboard, friend. I'm glad you've decided to join us. Let's save the world together.Australia has suffered devastating weather in recent years — droughts, floods, tropical storms and heat waves that many scientists say are a taste of what climate change will bring many parts of the world in the near future.
Natural disasters like these can leave people emotionally shaken long afterwards. Consider what happened after the worst wildfires in Australia’s history — the 2009 “Black Saturday” fires.
The fires struck the Australian state of Victoria after a long drought. The area had just suffered through a three-day heat wave in which temperatures hit 109 degrees Fahrenheit, drying grasslands and forests into ready fuel. The fires destroyed thousands of homes across a wide swath of rural land, and killed 173 people. Climate experts say droughts are becoming more frequent and severe, too.
Related: Faced with dire climate change, denial may help Aussie farmers cope
Lisa Gibbs, an associate professor of public health at the University of Melbourne, says studies of adults in the area three to four years later show about double the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to the rest of the population. She and others are gathering data now on children.
Darren Scerri, who works for the state of Victoria, has seen firsthand the need for psychological first aid. Scerri owns what Australians call a hobby farm in one of the towns hit by the Black Saturday fires. He and his children fled just before the flames.
Scerri coaches an Australian-rules kids’ football team, and two of the young players died. “The worst thing about Black Saturday, putting aside the fact that we lost so many people, is the impact it’s having on the kids themselves, through their learning difficulties in schools,” he says.
Scerri is starting a nonprofit organization, Smouldering Stump, to counsel children.
But counseling comes after a traumatic event. What about reaching kids before a disaster — preparing them psychologically so they will recover more quickly?
Researchers around the world are working on ways to instill psychological resiliency for all sorts of disasters. And the US military, in response to high rates of PTSD in returning soldiers, has implemented a slew of pre- and post-deployment counseling programs that are intended to prevent or lessen severe psychological reactions. A new report from the Institute of Medicine says that while some of these programs work, many have shown only small effects, if any.
Researcher Lisa Gibbs, who is an advisor to Scerri’s nonprofit, wants to develop and validate resilience programs for kids. “You can have a positive influence on recovery if you’re thinking about what needs to be done before an event,” she says. And she believes what is needed to promote psychological resilience in children is education.
“Our hopes are that children who are actively involved in preparedness and have an understanding of how their local environment is responding to climate change will be in a better position to cope if there are major events that occur,” she says.
As part of her research, Gibbs has been observing a program called the Anglesea Initiative. It is led by a local fire-fighting unit in the seaside town of Anglesea, in partnership with the University of Melbourne. As part of the initiative, firefighter Jamie Mackenzie meets with fifth graders from the local primary school and teaches them about fires. For instance, the children learn that fire travels faster uphill than downhill, and that gullies and valleys change the way the wind blows and the way fire moves.
Mackenzie wants his classes to leave kids feeling in control if a wildfire comes. “If they understand how a fire burns, they can make better decisions,” he says.
“My feeling is if we can get children to have a deep understanding on something that is natural and a part of our world, we’ll have a resilient bunch of kids,” Mackenzie says. They’ll know what a wildfire might do, and thus when to evacuate, and where the best place for shelter is. And if things go badly, they won’t be surprised — they’ve learned that could happen.
The principal of the local primary school, Pamela Sandlant, is pleased with the lessons so far. “Part of building resilience is kids having confidence about what is going on around them,” she says.
A lot remains unknown about resilience, though. If children are trained and prepared as in Mackenzie’s program, will they bounce back more quickly from disasters? Will the same techniques work for adults?
Tony McMichael of Australian National University is a pioneer in studying the health effects of climate change. He wants to see more work on building psychological resilience. “It’s a good thing anyway, in response to all sorts of events which occur naturally,” he says. “But it will become a crucial thing in a world where the risks of physical damage and health disorders increase.”
Support for this story was provided by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.About
The Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) operates from RAF Coningsby, a Typhoon and fighter base, in Lincolnshire.
The mission of the RAF BBMF is to maintain the priceless artefacts of our national heritage in airworthy condition in order to commemorate those who have fallen in the service of this country, to promote the modern day Air Force and to inspire the future generations.
Flown by regular serving RAF Aircrew, the Flight operates six Spitfires, two Hurricane Mk 2Cs, a Lancaster as well as a C47 Dakota and two Chipmunk aircraft (primarily used for training).
From May to September each year, these aircraft can be regularly seen in the skies over the UK celebrating and commemorating public and military events from State occasions such as Trooping the Colour to major air displays and simple flypasts for public events. We are proud to have HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge as our Patron.
The motto of the RAF BBMF reflects our mission and honours the thousands of men and women, in the air and on the ground, that gave their lives for this country in the noble pursuit of freedom.
“Lest We Forget”After more than an hour of oral arguments this morning in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the challenge to the constitutionality of California’s ban on same-sex marriage, it came down to this: attorney Charles Cooper, representing the proponents of that ban, Proposition 8, returned to the lectern for his ten minutes of rebuttal time. He immediately confronted a question from Justice Anthony Kennedy, whom many regard as the critical vote in this case. Kennedy told him bluntly to “address why you think we should take and decide this case.” And with that, the Justice may have confirmed that the real question before the Court is not whether it would strike down Proposition 8, or what the broader effect of such a decision might be, but whether it is going to reach the merits of the case at all – a prospect that would be (to say the least) anticlimactic but seemed to be a real possibility by the end of the morning.
At the beginning of the argument, Cooper was only a sentence or two into his argument on the constitutionality of Proposition 8 before he was interrupted by the Chief Justice, who asked him to address the question that the Court had added to the proceedings: whether Cooper’s clients have a legal right – known as “standing” – to be in the case at all. Cooper then faced a barrage of questions from the Chief Justice and the Court’s four more liberal Justices which strongly suggested that, in their view, the proponents do not. Has the Court ever allowed proponents of ballot initiatives to defend the initiatives in court, asked Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg? No, Cooper conceded, it had not. When Cooper emphasized that state law had assigned the responsibility to defend the initiative to the proponents, Justice Elena Kagan asked whether the state could assign that responsibility to any citizen, or only to the proponents. And Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Cooper to explain what kind of injury – required for standing in federal courts – the proponents of Proposition 8 have suffered due to the failure by California officials to enforce the initiative.
On the question of the proponents’ standing, three of the four conservative Justices – Scalia, Kennedy, and Alito – who chimed in appeared inclined to find that the proponents did have a right to defend the initiative in court. Justice Scalia, for example, asked Cooper a friendly question, noting that although (like the proponents) the Attorney General of California does not have any actual interest in seeing that the law is enforced, state law still says that she can defend it. And later on, when attorney Ted Olson – representing the two same-sex couples challenging Proposition 8 – told the Court that the state can’t create standing by designating whoever it wants to defend the law, Justice Kennedy expressed concern that Olson’s position would give the state a “one-way ratchet” that would allow state officials to block initiatives that they don’t like.
But Chief Justice John Roberts responded, suggesting to Ted Olson – in what could be interpreted as a blueprint for a future challenge to Proposition 8 – that even if the proponents lacked the right to defend the initiative, a state official who doesn’t want to perform same-sex marriage would have such a right.
Eventually the discussion shifted over to the question that has been the focus of the case: whether Proposition 8’s ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional. Here too, however, it became clear that a decision from the Court on that question is hardly a sure thing. At first, questions from the four more liberal Justices left little doubt that they would vote to strike down Proposition 8. Responding to Cooper’s argument that the state’s interest in “responsible procreation” justifies limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples, Justice Kagan asked him to identify the potential harms that would occur if same-sex couples were allowed to marry. And Justice Stephen Breyer pressed him to explain how allowing same-sex couples to marry would be different from allowing opposite-sex couples who cannot have children to marry; Justice Ginsburg later noted that opposite-sex couples in prison were allowed to marry, even though there was no possibility of procreation.
At the same time, comments and questions by the Chief Justice, Justice Scalia, and Justice Alito seemed to place them solidly in support of Proposition 8. (Justice Thomas as usual did not ask any questions, but he presumably provides a fourth vote for that view.) And there was no sign that any Justice was interested in deciding the case based on the reasoning suggested by the United States – that it violates the Constitution for California (and seven other states) to offer the rights and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples through domestic partnerships but prohibit them from actually getting married.
That left, as it so often does, Justice Kennedy as the critical vote in the case. On the one hand, he expressed concern about the forty-thousand-plus children living with their same-sex parents in California, emphasizing that they want their parents to be recognized as married and asking Cooper whether the voices of those children are “important.” On the other hand, he noted that sociological information about the effect of same-sex marriage on children, for example, was still relatively new, and he complained that the lower court’s decision effectively “penalized” California, which had been fairly generous in providing rights to same-sex couples through domestic partnerships, for not going far enough and allowing them to marry. And later he told Ted Olson that Olson was asking the Court to enter “uncharted waters in a case with a very narrow decision” and a “substantial question” regarding whether the case could proceed at all.
Taking those comments by Justice Kennedy to heart, some of the more liberal Justices seemed to shift their focus during Cooper’s rebuttal. Thus, for example, Justice Sonia Sotomayor echoed Kennedy’s comments to Cooper; she asked him to explain why, if the proponents are urging the Court to allow the states to experiment with same-sex marriage – the solution is for the Court to decide the Proposition 8 case now. After all, she told Cooper, the Court allowed the issue of racial segregation to play out in the country for decades before finally stepping in.
Given the shifting alliances on view at the Court today, and the overall lack of enthusiasm on the part of some Justices for deciding the case on the merits, the Justices’ Conference later this week – at which they will vote on the case – promises to be an interesting one. Will at least five Justices join forces to hold that the proponents lack the right to defend the initiative at all? Will they instead decide that even if the proponents have that right, the time is not right to decide the merits of the case? Or will they go ahead and reach the merits after all?
Depending on the answers to those questions, the case could proceed in several different directions. If at least six Justices conclude that now is not the right time to rule on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, they could “DIG” the case – dismiss it as improvidently granted. If that happened, the lower court’s ruling striking down Proposition 8 would stand, but it would have no real significance outside of California. Getting to that result would almost certainly require the Chief Justice to join forces with Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor; nothing that we heard today provided any reason to believe that Justices Scalia, Thomas, or Alito would vote to dismiss the case. In this scenario, Proposition 8 would be invalid, but another lawsuit – for example, brought by a Californian who opposed same-sex marriage – could eventually follow and reach the Court at a later date.
If the Justices do decide the case, they could vote in any number of ways, and so it’s hard to predict how the case will play out: the Court could ultimately rule that Proposition 8 is invalid (for a variety of different reasons), or it could hold that the proponents lack the right to defend the initiative but set the stage for a new challenge later on. Or they could surprise us all and simply send the case back to the lower courts for those courts to weigh in based on the Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, the challenge to the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, in which it will hear arguments tomorrow. But in all events, it is difficult to count five votes in support of an opinion that reverses the court of appeals outright and holds that Proposition 8 is constitutional; Justice Kennedy seemed to be looking for a strategy to avoid that result.
The one thing we can be sure of, however, is that when the Justices finally let the rest of us know how they plan to resolve the case (or not), we’ll be back to report on it in Plain English.
Recommended Citation: Amy Howe, What will the Court do with Proposition 8? Today’s oral argument in Plain English, SCOTUSblog (Mar. 26, 2013, 2:19 PM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2013/03/what-will-the-court-do-with-proposition-8-todays-oral-argument-in-plain-english/Michael Carrick: To follow Moore and Pele with World Cup glory... now that would be truly special
Less than two days on from the biggest night of his season, Michael Carrick was back in the real world. Monday night saw Carrick and Manchester United clinch the Barclays Premier League title — his fifth in seven seasons — but Wednesday found the Old Trafford midfielder six miles or so away at the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research.
Carrick was there with Stephanie Moore, the widow of late England captain Bobby, who died from bowel cancer 20 years ago.
‘Stephanie was telling me Bobby never had a medical in his whole career,’ said Carrick. ‘That’s amazing isn’t it? The extent we are checked out now is incredible. We are monitored in every way. We are very lucky.’
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Back to the real world: Michael Carrick (left) won the league on Monday night then went to the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research on Wednesday Visit: Michael Carrick and Stephanie Moore at the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research
Stephanie's story
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The Bobby Moore Fund is one of three charities to benefit from the England Footballers Foundation in the run up to next year’s World Cup in Brazil. Carrick and Mrs Moore were in South Manchester this week to see the latest research carried out by the Institute.
‘Just speaking to these people, its mind boggling,’ said a clearly moved Carrick. ‘I have had family members go through treatments but I have never come to a place like this. It opens your eyes. Stephanie was talking to me about how important early detection is. It could have saved Bobby. We are constantly told [at United] that if there is anything not right then don’t be afraid to ask about it. Go to the doc. It’s good to come here.
‘There is more to life than football. Some people would argue otherwise but I wouldn’t.’
Icons: Carrick is inspired by images of Bobby Moore and Pele's (below, centre) World Cup successes
Pele (centre) celebrates after winning the World Cup
Incredible: Stephanie told Michael that Moore never had a medical in his whole career
It is pertinent that we should have talked about Bobby Moore this week. The former England captain’s career was defined by winning a World Cup. Carrick is still waiting to make a long-term impression.
‘The images of Bobby and Pele in Mexico and lifting the World Cup at Wembley are iconic images that you don’t forget,’ he said. ‘They make you proud. You just hope that one day England can do that again and that one day you can be part of it.’
At 31, Carrick has more League titles than Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard have between them but less England caps. Currently, he has 27 but hopes to be part of a decent England side in Brazil next summer.
‘A World Cup in Brazil has that special ring to it doesn’t it?’ he said. ‘I just want to get there. This is just an opportunity to do something special.
‘The one World Cup game I have played in [a 1-0 win over Ecuador in 2006] is one of my most special moments so that sums it up.’
Carrick’s reputation within football has always been that of a talented but grounded footballer.
‘There are so many people supporting you with England, that on its own makes it important,’ he added. ‘I know what it’s like to be on the other side of it. The first one I remember is 1990. I was nine.
‘I watched the semi-final at home on the sofa. I no doubt cried when we lost. Euro ‘96 was the same. The way the country reacted was amazing. Only football can do that to a country. That is what we crave isn’t it?
Way back when: Carrick remembers watching England at World Cup 1990 in Italy
'Everyone is so desperate for the team to do well. Maybe that desperation goes over the top at times but I understand it. Now we just have to perform and hopefully I can do my bit.’
In the hurly-burley of a Premier League midfield, Carrick is a serene presence. There are few better sights in the game than a footballer passing the ball properly and this is what he does.
Schooled at the Wallsend Boys Club and then at West Ham’s youth academy, Carrick now creates the tempo, rhythm and angles of Manchester United’s football.
Team-mate Rio Ferdinand called Carrick’s pass for a Javier Hernandez goal against Chelsea in the FA Cup last month ‘the ball of the season from the most under-rated player in the country’. Former United midfielder Bryan |
urium of the sciatic nerve to the dural sleeves of the associated nerve roots and to the dural tube within the spinal canal [22, 26]. Mast cells are distributed throughout the nervous system, including in the dura. Mast cells are also known to degranulate in response to stretch [38, 39]. The release of histamine, prostaglandins, and other biologically active substances in mast cells would have the potential to cause both acute and delayed symptoms in response to SLR. Mast cell activation has been hypothesized to be a pathophysiologic factor in CFS [40], as well as in the pathogenesis of symptoms in subsets of patients with postural tachycardia syndrome [41] and joint hypermobility syndromes [42], two co-morbid conditions with an increased prevalence in CFS [43].
Speculations about the pathophysiology of increased symptoms in response to SLR in CFS In the context of these physiologic correlates of SLR, why would this maneuver be associated with only minimal perturbation in healthy individuals yet cause a significant exacerbation of symptoms in those with CFS? Current theories of the pathogenesis of CFS symptoms implicate heightened sensitivity of the nervous system to physical, orthostatic, and cognitive stressors [44]. Among the hypothesized mechanisms for nervous system sensitivity are (a) a persistent and abnormal stress response to a variety of precipitating and perpetuating conditions [45], (b) reductions in cerebral blood flow [46, 47], a downstream effect of which is an increase in anaerobic metabolism, supported by observations that ventricular lactate levels are higher in CFS patients than in either healthy or depressed controls [48], and (c) neuroinflammation in response to infection, auto-immune inflammation, or other factors [49]. In a small controlled study, Nakatomi and colleagues used PET scanning to identify increased binding of a ligand for an 18 kDa translocator protein (TPSO) that is expressed by activated microglia. Individuals with CFS had significantly higher binding than healthy controls in the midbrain, pons, and thalamus (all P<0.01); binding was closely correlated to the reports of fatigue severity, cognitive impairment, pain, and measures of depression [49]. While mechanisms for microglial activation were not investigated in the Nakatomi study, several of the proposed mechanisms for CFS symptoms would be consistent with changes in microglial activity, including reduced cerebral blood flow, sympathetic activation, mast cell activation, or sustained immunological responses to an initiating infection. In light of these observations, we speculate that the increase in CFS symptoms after the imposition of an otherwise mild mechanical strain like SLR could be consistent with the presence of a non-compliant or mechanically sensitized nervous system. The same strain is well tolerated by those with a non-sensitized nervous system. The development of symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and body pain within 15 minutes of initiating the neuromuscular strain is consistent with SLR provoking an acute physiologic response, likely affecting autonomic tone or cerebral blood flow. The persistence or emergence of increased symptoms over the 24 hours following the neuromuscular strain is analogous to the gene expression changes reported in the 24–48 hours after exercise in CFS [5].
Study limitations This study provides an initial description of the response of those with CFS to SLR. It had several limitations. We are confident that the CFS participants in the SLR and sham strain groups had similar demographic characteristics, illness duration and severity, and health-related quality of life. This suggests that the randomization was successful, and that the results reflect differences in response to the study maneuver rather than differences in the severity of illness. It remains to be seen whether the results we report would be similar in other groups with CFS, in those with different durations of illness, or for individuals with different levels of physical function. Similarly, fibromyalgia is a condition with a substantial overlap with CFS, estimated to affect 30–70% of adults with CFS [50, 51]. Some of our study population met criteria for fibromyalgia, but we made no attempt to differentiate this subset. Because fibromyalgia tender point scores did not differ between the CFS strain and sham groups at baseline, it is unlikely that an unbalanced assignment of those with fibromyalgia to either experimental group occurred. In future studies, the independent impact of fibromyalgia could be evaluated by including groups satisfying the CFS criteria only, fibromyalgia without CFS, or both conditions. The study was randomized, but blinding subjects to the degree of SLR was not possible. The potential for biased reporting of symptom scores among those in the true strain group cannot be excluded. We did not measure symptom changes beyond 24 hours, so we cannot make definitive comments about the duration of post-maneuver symptom exacerbations. Nonetheless, our results suggest that neuromuscular strain is another mechanism for the generation of post-exertional worsening of symptoms, regarded as a defining feature of CFS [2]. We also did not measure changes in biomarkers at 24 or 48 hours, but these would be important to include in future studies. The impact of the neuromuscular strain may have been underestimated because some individuals had symptom intensity scores in the upper part of the 0–10 measurement range at baseline. Without an objective measure of fatigue and pain, we relied on verbal self-report of symptoms as the primary outcome. For those with a high baseline score of 9 or 10, it would have been impossible to measure whether symptoms became substantially worse following the SLR maneuver. In future studies, potential ways to address this problem would be to exclude subjects with the highest baseline symptom ratings, to ask participants to report the degree of improvement or exacerbation of symptoms on a Likert-scale, or to include a patient and clinician global clinical impression of change score at the end of the maneuver that would supplement the symptom intensity scores. Validated measures of symptom change such as the Fatigue and Energy Scale [52] have been published since our study was designed, and have the potential to provide an improved method of measuring change following provocation maneuvers. In a study with randomized assignment to the physiological strain, any measured differences between the CFS strain and sham groups were likely to be related to the study maneuver. The randomization would have reduced the likelihood of marked variability in the degree of orthostatic stress, physical exercise, or cognitive stress in the 24 hours after the study visit. However, in the absence of an activity measure, we cannot exclude some influence of these factors on the 24 hour symptom scores. Individuals with CFS can have impaired range of motion and mechanosensitivity in regions other than the lower limb [11] in which case the SLR maneuver might be insufficient to provoke symptoms. For this study, a simple and straightforward neuromuscular strain familiar to most clinicians was selected as a means of introducing the concept of mechanical strain. Future studies of the phenomenon we have observed could add different sites of neuromuscular strain, or add structural differentiation maneuvers that can better distinguish neural from myofascial sources of symptoms [53, 54]. Methods to refine the maneuver and enhance tissue specificity could include the addition of cervical flexion or ankle dorsiflexion while the limb is maintained in the SLR position [54]. A report of symptom increase or decrease with the addition of joint movement at locations beyond the points of attachment of the challenged muscles would implicate nerve rather than muscle involvement.Law enforcement are vocally backing Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council President Chris Crane following Sen. Marco Rubio’s apparent attempt to discredit Crane, an ICE officer of 13 years and U.S. veteran.
Crane has been described by Senator Jeff Sessions, a renowned leader in the conservative nation-state movement, as “an American hero” for blowing the whistle on immigration corruption.
Following an exclusive interview with Breitbart News in which Crane detailed how law enforcement was treated “like absolute trash” by Sen. Rubio during his effort to ram the Gang of Eight amnesty bill through the Senate, Rubio took to national television to denounce Crane and his service to his country.
“He’s not an ICE official. He’s the head of a union,” Rubio declared on Fox News when asked about the criticism leveled by Crane. “That individual is not an ICE official; he’s the head of a union,” Rubio responded.
Prominent sheriffs throughout the country, however, have rushed to Crane’s aide–praising him for his “courage to tell the truth amidst attacks.”
“ICE Officer Chris Crane is as much a real federal law enforcement officer as Marco Rubio is a real U.S. Senator,” said conservative Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County, Arizona.
Sheriff Babeu was recognized by the National Sheriff’s Associate as “Sheriff of the Year” in 2011, and he has been described as one of nation’s “toughest immigration sheriffs.”
“Officer Crane has helped expose the failures of ICE and President Obama to enforce immigration laws that have compromised the safety of our nation,” Sheriff Babeu continued. “I’m proud of his service to our nation and courage to tell the truth amidst attacks.”
Sheriff Tom Hodgson of Bristol County, Massachusetts similarly defended Crane against Rubio’s attacks.
“I’m not sure what Sen. Rubio is talking about,” the Massachusetts Sheriff said. “I don’t understand why Sen. Rubio would say that about Chris Crane. Anyone who has worked on the immigration issue knows that Crane is a federal ICE agent who is fighting for law enforcement to be able to do its job and protect our borders, so that the people we’re sworn to protect are not victimized financially or criminally.
“I’m really surprised by Rubio’s comment,” Sheriff Hodgson continued. “He knows very well who Chris Crane is. He met with law enforcement at some point [during the Gang of Eight push] when we were telling him that he had the wrong position on this issue.”
“Not only is Chris Crane a dedicated ICE agent, but he has been fighting for all of law enforcement and border patrol for years,” Sheriff Hodgson explained. “He’s fighting to make the people of this country safer… He’s been fighting to allow these immigration officers to do their jobs because the Obama administration has tied their hands. Crane is someone who not only understands law enforcement, he’s someone who has lived it–he knows the job. He knows the difference between doing the job and having your hands tied by people who are more interested in politics than public safety.”
Hogdson also confirmed Crane’s account of his interaction with Sen. Rubio during the Gang of Eight fight. In his interview with Breitbart, Crane explained that after Sen. Rubio introduced his amnesty bill, Rubio oversaw as Crane–an ICE officer and U.S. Marine–was ejected from the Gang of Eight press conference for trying to ask a question on behalf of the nation’s law enforcement. Crane explained:
When the floor was opened to reporters to ask questions, I too politely raised my hand and asked, “Will you take a question from law enforcement?” The amnesty folks immediately started making hateful comments like: you’re not welcome here, you need to leave, you have no right to speak here. A commotion took place on the stage with the Gang of Eight Senators. Sen. Rubio did look directly at me, and it appeared that he told Sen. Flake who I was. Yet, despite having looked directly at me, Sen. Rubio did absolutely nothing to allow me to ask a question on behalf of the nation’s ICE officers, sheriffs and front line law enforcement. I was able to ask the same question approximately two more times, before a Senate staffer accompanied by Capitol Hill police approached— demanding that they escort me out.
Hodgson confirmed Crane’s account: “I was down there when the Gang of Eight did their press conference. I was standing right next to him,” Hodgson said. “He was definitely removed from the event. He wasn’t doing anything inappropriate or anything—he was just trying to ask a question, but they asked him to leave.”
Sheriff Hodgson similarly echoed Crane’s characterization of Rubio’s amnesty bill as “irresponsible and misleading for the American people.”
The bill, Sheriff Hodgson explained, “was revealing. It really showed just how out of touch those who were involved in it really are. Those involved in the bill did not understand the immigration problem.”
Sheriff Sam Page of Rockingham County, North Carolina–who has served as a member of law enforcement for more than 30 years and is himself a military veteran–similarly came to Crane’s defense against the attacks of the Republican presidential hopeful, who is backed by some of the Party’s most powerful and wealthy donors.
“I met Chris Crane in early 2013 when I was working with sheriffs across the country on border security and immigration issues,” Sheriff Page said. “Crane immediately struck me as someone who wanted to do good things to better protect our citizens. As I’ve always said, if we fail to secure our borders, every sheriff in the country is going to become a border sheriff. I think because of Crane’s efforts to do good things, he’s had a rough time of it.”
Sheriff Page similarly confirmed Crane’s account of how law enforcement was treated by Sen. Rubio and the Gang of Eight.
“I actually drove to Washington to meet with Chris [Crane] and Sen. Rubio [after the bill was introduced],” Page said. “I drove 500 miles in one day because I thought it was important for our national security and for our interior enforcement. We met with Sen. Rubio and he had some of his staffers there. I brought one of my deputies with me. Chris was there along with two presidents of the border patrol…
“My interpretation was that we were there to help improve the bill, but we never heard anything back from Sen. Rubio after that meeting. A lot of your local law enforcement was excluded from the process. We thought there would have been some follow up and efforts to communicate with us and an opportunity for us to work on the bill, but nothing ever developed out of it. I thought he was going to give border patrol and ICE an opportunity to have some impact, I later found out that wasn’t so.”
“My concerns with how the Gang of Eight was rolled out,” Page explained, “is that if border patrol has restrictions placed on them, and interior enforcement has restrictions placed on them, and local county officials, who have no authority on immigration enforcement, can’t do their job, then who is protecting Americans? That was Chris’ concern. I love my country, I serve my community, and I’m doing my best to protect my citizens–just like Chris. I would have hoped and would have appreciated if our leadership in Washington would have supported our interior enforcement officers.”
This is not the first time Rubio has found himself on the opposite side of law enforcement. Earlier this week, Sen. Rubio–unprompted–claimed that there is systemic racism amongst America’s law enforcement that is victimizing minorities–insisting, “I happen to have seen this happen.” Rubio’s assertion prompted prominent Sheriff David Clarke to take to Twitter and state, “I must say that Rubio’s anecdotal claims of police racism sound more like something Democrats are falsely claiming.”
Rubio’s apparent tendency to cast himself opposite the nation’s law enforcement may prove problematic as the race continues onward, as it poses a stark contrast from GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. Last night in Trump’s victory speech in South Carolina, Trump made a point to emphasize how mistreated our nation’s law enforcement is. “We love our police. Our police are terrific. We love our police. They are not being treated properly,” Trump said to loud applause.
Despite Rubio’s incredible financial, media, and party support–Rubio had the endorsement of the South Carolina’s Governor, its sitting Senator, and one of its high-profile Congressmen–Donald Trump beat Sen. Rubio in the Palmetto state by ten points.
Conservative columnist and best-selling author Ann Coulter wrote on Twitter: “Has anyone in U.S. history ever had the financial support, party support, & media support — & lost 1st three states as Marco Rubio has?”Photo: Maya Robinson and Photo by Getty
Tonight at 11 p.m., The Approval Matrix — a panel show based on the famous New York magazine feature — premieres on the Sundance Channel, and at the helm is comedian Neal Brennan. Unlike many of his peers, hosting a TV show was never on his radar as a possibility. Brennan got his start in comedy in the early ‘90s not as a stand-up, but as the doorman of a New York comedy club. From there he went on to more and more writing success, co-created Chappelle’s Show, directed a movie produced by Will Ferrell, and gained the respect of just about everyone involved in comedy. Over two decades later, Brennan is ready for the spotlight, so we had him walk Vulture’s Jesse David Fox through his ten defining professional moments.
1991: Doorman at the Boston Comedy Club
I was going to NYU for film school, but I didn’t like film students. I did like comedians. My brother was one, so I started working the door at the Boston Comedy Club. I knew I had to write something. That’s the only way to jump-start a career. I knew just from being around my comedy friends, I could fill jokes out for people. Chappelle always said when I gave him a punch line that it was super fucking annoying, but still, with the first one, he was like, Hmm, he’s right. I honestly don’t remember what it was. But, I did help him with his joke about the origin of the word nigger, which was a popular joke for him. Great joke. A Def Comedy joke.
Around that time, Jerry O’Connell, whom I had went to NYU with, saw me handing out fliers, which is even worse than working the door. He said loudly to his friends, “Guys, this is Neil. He used to go to NYU with me. He’ll be back real soon.”
1995: Singled Out
I met a casting director from L.A., whom I helped videotape comics here. She said I should move to L.A., so I moved to L.A.. She was casting Singled Out for MTV and all the writers quit, if you can believe it, so they were like, “You want to be a writer?” And I was like, “Yep!” So I became a writer for the pilot. The funny thing was that I was the writers’ assistant, but there were no writers. It’s like a patriot without a country. So then the show got picked up and made television history.
1996: All That
Singled Out shared an office with All That. I interviewed there. I pitched “Everyday French With Pierre Escargot,” and even though they didn’t hire me, they took it. The next year, they hired me out of guilt. But I stunk at that job. I was bad. I didn’t get shit on, and they jokingly called me “the boy” — I was like 21 at the time. Still, it was the first time I was in a writers’ room, which was important. At one point, the show’s co-creator Brian Robbins said, “I should’ve fired you when I had the chance.” So, yeah, people were always abusive to me.
1998: Half Baked
I had written a script with a buddy of mine. It wasn’t good, but it had a spirit to it, so I met with Bob Simonds, this producer, and [it] was fucking really funny. Then literally a week later, Chappelle had a completely unrelated meeting with Simonds. They asked him, “Do you have any ideas?” “Yeah, I’m writing this movie with this buddy of mine.” They were like, “Who?” Chappelle said, “You’ve never heard of him, trust me.” (Around this time, Chappelle was telling his agents he wanted to do something with me, and they’d say, “What? What the fuck is wrong with you?”) So they kept on pushing and Chappelle goes, “Fine, Neal Brennan.” And they were like, “Oh, we love Neal.”
The thing is, we had never talked about a movie before, ever. So Chappelle called and was like, “If anyone calls you, say, ‘We’re writing a weed movie.’” And like a shitty sitcom scene, they called and I had to be like, “Yeah … a weed … movie … Sure, coming right up. We’ve been working our butts off on it.”
We had a month to outline it but we waited until the last day. It went well. We pitched in March and we were shooting in July. Then the movie comes out — tanks.
1998: Writing with Parks and Recreation’s Mike Schur
Chappelle and I just had a stink to each other. It was like how couples who have miscarriages don’t survive. So I began writing with Schur, whom I met hanging out at SNL. The scripts didn’t get made, but it was good to sell shit. We wrote a funny movie called The Oldest Man in the World. In it there’s a museum dedicated to the oldest man in the world ever, who lived to be 120. It’s in Wisconsin, and his shitty nephews run it. But then they hear that a guy is 119 and is about to break the record, so one of nephews goes down to prevent that. This is classic Hollywood: We wanted Will Ferrell to play the nephew and Chappelle to play the old man, and everyone was like, “Who?” They kept pitching Tom Green and Orlando Jones. Seriously, two different people in the same week pitched that same team.
2003: Chappelle’s Show
Nothing I was writing got made, and Chappelle and I sort of thawed. Dave was like, “Let’s do Playboy After Dark,” and that became Chappelle’s Show. I talk about how being someone’s deputy is sort of hard, but I never once thought that should be me. I never did. I wasn’t watching Dave, going like, Fucking — this bum. If they only saw my Rick James, then they’d see. I have a blind white supremacist, too! I never thought that. I didn’t want to not work with him anymore — he didn’t want to do the show anymore. I think at that point it dawned on me: In comedy, if you’re not “the guy,” you’re beholden to “the guy.” Also, “the guy” can make any kind of decision he wants, and your entire career is fucked. So I was like, How do I become that person?
2007: Stand-up
I did stand-up during Chappelle, but I don’t even count it because I’d do it a little bit and stop. I started in earnest in ’07. I feel like I didn’t go outside for a year after the show ended. I didn’t do stand-up because I thought people would shout, “Where’s Dave?” But that never happened once. It’s not that they don’t care; they’re just not that rude. Finally, I was like “Eh, I like doing it,” and I accepted I need attention just like all my comedian friends do. I’ve been able to do it on TV a couple of times. [I] got better at it and finally had my first hour special air earlier this year. It did well, ratings-wise, and no one said I sucked or “You were better off with Dave!” I get a couple of those tweets a week. I usually forward them to Dave. He finally was like, “What is the matter with people?” And I’m like, “I don’t know, man.”
2009: The Goods
You get offered so many things as a popular TV director. It’s like being a high-school basketball player, where you get recruited by all these schools, but instead [producers] send you Blades of Glory and Superbad. I was ready to do something, and I knew Will Ferrell a little bit and I loved Adam McKay, I liked how The Goods reminded me of stand-up — all that traveling — so, I picked those guys and I picked that movie and I just picked wrong. And I kind of knew going in, Jeremy’s either going to be able to open a movie or not. And then the sushi thing happens and you are like, Oh, the universe doesn’t want this to work. But having said that, I stand by that movie. I think it’s well directed and it’s funny. I can’t prove it, other than I’ve been to multiple screenings of it and heard it get laughs in the same place every time. You direct a movie and it’s such a big bet and if it doesn’t do well, they’re like, “Fuck you.” And you’re like, “Yeah, but there were mitigating circumstances.” And they’re like, “Fuck you, though.” You can’t talk your way out of a bomb. So I did more stand-up.
2011: “The Champs” Podcast
Questlove always says that the podcast is the only place where black dudes can talk about their emotions in America without fear of judgment or people calling them soft. They can just be like, “This shit’s hard.” It shows black and white people talking in a way that’s not tense. It’s like there’s an episode of The Approval Matrix that’s me, Donnell Rawlings, Hannibal Buress, this British woman Dawn O’Porter, and Lisa Birnbach — she’s actually super funny; she wrote the Preppy Handbook — and it’s cool because it’s two black guys and two white women over 30. That is fucking interesting. I never see that conversation happen on TV. The podcast helped in a way that’s hard to even explain. It also made me realize I like talking and I like hosting a thing.
2014: The Approval Matrix
I don’t get offered to host stuff a lot. And by “a lot” I mean ever. I’m not smart enough for Real Time With Bill Maher and I’m not goofy enough for Chelsea Lately, so it’s like, alright, let me just host a show that’s somewhere in between. But I liked the fact that it’s argumentative in nature. I love arguing. A lot of sketches on Chappelle would come out of Dave and I arguing. And all my experience has helped me host a show where I can say stuff that I believe that’s not necessarily popular. I’ve been around. I’ve seen stuff. This is what I think. Someone said, “You weren’t afraid to argue with Jon Stewart about Donald Sterling?” And I’m like, “No, because I’ve known him since I was 19. He was in Half Baked.” He’s awesome, but I still know him. There are very few shows where I can be as opinionated as this or work at the high end of intelligence, where no joke is too smart. On one of the episodes, I actually referenced Serge Gainsbourg and it got nothing from the audience. I was like, “Guys, this is Sundance. If that joke could work anywhere, it’s here.”Euthanasia: Victorian Deputy Premier James Merlino fails in attempt to block assisted dying legislation
Updated
Victoria's Deputy Premier has failed in his attempt to block the state's proposed euthanasia laws, after pulling a parliamentary move that pit him against Premier Daniel Andrews and much of his Cabinet.
James Merlino proposed a reasoned amendment to the landmark legislation which would have prevented it from proceeding.
Mr Merlino's move put him at odds with Daniel Andrews, who strongly supports the legislation and recently spoke of how his father's death pushed him to change his mind on the issue.
Mr Merlino's reasoned amendment was defeated overnight, 47 votes to 39.
Speaking this morning, Mr Merlino said while the debate was emotional, there was no animosity within the Labor Party between those with differing views.
"Yes I'm disappointed, but that's the nature of democracy and debate. There's still a long way to go," Mr Merlino said.
"I think this is a deeply flawed bill. This euthanasia legislation is a recipe for elder abuse.
"My concern is proponents of this legislation will come back some time in the future and seek to expand it."
Vote on euthanasia laws 'will be tight'
The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill, which is currently being debated in the Lower House, is likely to be voted on tonight.
The bill's second reading was supported 49 votes to 36 overnight.
The reasoned amendment's failure and the support for the second reading indicates the bill is likely to pass the Lower House, but it will also need to pass the Upper House to become law.
Mr Merlino said he believed the vote would be close.
"I still think it's very tight and there are a lot of questions about this legislation, so I expect a pretty long debate in the Upper House as well, and a tight vote."
Under the legislation, people suffering from an advanced and incurable disease, illness or medical condition will be able to choose a doctor-assisted death from 2019.
Patients must be over the age of 18, of sound mind, expected to die within 12 months and suffering in a way that "cannot be relieved in a manner the person deems tolerable".
Doctors, relatives or friends who administer a lethal dose against the rules of a special permit could be jailed for life, under one of more than 60 safeguards the Premier claims would give Victoria the most conservative laws in the world.
Opponents argue the bill is a form of state-sanctioned suicide and there can never be enough checks and balances to ward against abuse and coercion.
Topics: euthanasia, states-and-territories, government-and-politics, parliament, state-parliament, melbourne-3000, vic
First postedPirate Bay and Showtime turned to forcing unknowing visitors to mine cryptocurrency, using computers rather than eyeballs on ads to generate money
With the continuing collapse in online advertising revenues, websites are turning to other methods to pay their hosting bills – including using visitors’ computers and phones to mine cryptocurrency.
It’s a controversial practice, with some likening it to running malware on visitor’s computers, but it is a potentially lucrative endeavour for websites. The downside is that at best it slows down visitors’ machines, and at worst it can also drain their batteries or send their electricity bills soaring.
BitTorrent search engine The Pirate Bay, and US video streaming service Showtime, are two sites that were discovered to be sending mining code to users. The former owned up, posting in mid-September that the code was “just a test” and that the experiment was being done with a view to removing all adverts from the site.
The latter removed the code on Monday, shortly after a user noticed it and specialist press began reporting. But it has yet to answer questions on why the code was there from the Guardian and other media organisations.
Cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and its successors, are backed by a system of “miners”, who race to be the first to solve tricky computing problems in exchange for a reward for doing so. The rewards are large – the bitcoin network, for instance, gives away coins worth $7m to miners every day – but to be in with a chance, miners need to gather an extraordinarily large amount of computing power.
Not only is it expensive to buy those computers, it also consumes a huge amount of electricity to run them. As a result, the most profitable mining companies often have access to cheap energy, or some other efficiency boost - one firm, based in Iceland, saves money by letting the country’s naturally cold climate cool its computers.
Website-based mining short circuits that: the electricity bills are paid by the visitor, but it’s the website that gets the reward.
“Gaming and video sites typically are more resource intensive, so it seems to make little sense to run a miner at the same time without having a noted impact,” says Malwarebytes analyst Jérôme Segura. “Having said that, many people who consume copyrighted content are perhaps less likely to complain about an under-par user experience.
“The question at this point is: how far can publishers push the limits towards a really bad user experience? You may be surprised that for many, this is not really a problem at all and that double dipping is, in fact, a fairly common practice,” he added.
In the long run, such practices may simply push more users to install adblockers, Segura noted. It’s just as easy to block mining as it is to block adverts, using much the same techniques. Segura said: “There’s no question that users are annoyed by a rollout that did not include their opinion, even though many were actually favourable to this alternate solution to online ads.”
Showtime did not respond to a request for comment.EUGENE -- Bad tackling and blown assignments do not a pleased defensive coordinator make.
Especially when they come just nine days before the season opener.
Oregon's Brady Hoke didn't sugarcoat his defense's performance in Thursday's second and final scrimmage of fall camp, saying the Ducks are "not at all" where he hoped eight months after UO allowed a school-record 37.5 points per game.
"We're a long way from being any kind of defense," Hoke said.... "We've got a long way to go to be a defense that's going to be effective in this league."
And this was against an offense that was missing several key players who were held out due to injury or to reduce the chance of one.
Is Hoke, the former Michigan head coach, just a tough grader, or are defensive issues more widespread than anticipated?
"I think it's somewhere in between," coach Mark Helfrich said. "I think we weren't very good today and that was a mentality more than anything.
"If I'm putting on my amateur psychiatrist hat, I think they knew a bunch of offensive guys were out and didn't put their best foot forward, which isn't good. But it isn't some schematic, irreparable thing."
One of those players who appeared to be limited was freshman receiver Dillon Mitchell, who walked past reporters on crutches before practice ended. Reports from last weekend indicated he injured his left knee during a Saturday practice, and he said Tuesday that, "I'm happy it's not worse than it could have been."
But by Hoke's review, the defense was certainly worse than he hoped, even knowing that this rebuild would be tough. Perhaps he's just lowering expectations for a unit that has played under heavy scrutiny or creating a coach-speak smokescreen. His comments Thursday, however, sounded like a frustrated coach.
Hoke was hired in January after a year off from coaching expressly to bring new ideas and energy to a unit that last year ranked 98th in yards allowed per play.
In the months since, players have often spoken of Hoke's habit of cutting to the chase in both his criticism and praise.
"Hoke is a very unique coach," end T.J. Daniel said. "He has a way of getting the best out of people, even though it may be yelling in your face one minute and the next minute he's making a joke or making everyone laugh. The balance there as a coach is really cool to react as a player to. I have no complaints."
Hoke had plenty after Thursday's scrimmage, however.
"We didn't tackle very well, gave up too many big plays and that's something we have to look (at) as coaches, making sure we're being detailed enough and we've got to do a much better job," he said.
Asked about holding UO's young defensive backs accountable, Hoke replied it "isn't a good day to ask that question, because I think as a whole we weren't very good."
The No. 24 Ducks open the 2016 season Sept. 3 at Autzen Stadium against UC Davis of the Championship Subdivision. The Aggies return 23 starters while UO's defense could return just one starter in the front seven of Hoke's new 4-3 scheme in end Henry Mondeaux.
By the time the Ducks practice next on Saturday, their focus will be on UC Davis, not depth chart battles; a depth chart is expected to be released either Thursday evening or Friday.
The toughest decisions could be at linebacker, where only three of 16 players have played extensive minutes at the Division I level but several freshmen are intriguing. Senior "Will" linebacker Johnny Ragin could be in line to start, after he received a good amount of time in 2015 in nickel packages, and Tigard High School grad and junior college transfer AJ Hotchkins appears to be in line to start in the middle.
Hoke prefers to keep a liberal rotation, especially early in the season to work in younger players and test their mettle against live competition.
"I think Johnny plays hard and gets guys lined up but overall him and AJ have been the two guys most of the time with the first group," Hoke said. "But we're a long way from really knowing exactly who's going to be there."
Where Hoke came off as brutally honest, Helfrich chose a mostly glass half-full approach to the scrimmage. Mistakes such as failing to get lined up on time, or missed open-field tackles, are "lapses today that are very, very correctable," Helfrich said.
"At this point in fall camp they're running 800 defenses against 800 offensive sets, which we won't see on a week-to-week basis," Helfrich said. "So when you're a young linebacker lining up against a new look for the first time there's some hesitation.
"It's our job to eliminate that and find out ways to either teach them a little bit better, get a new guy in there or change the scheme. We'll get that dialed in."
-- Andrew Greif
agreif@oregonian.comAs noticed by Zac at WC:
As we reported earlier this year, HP has been working on getting a Verizon model of the Elite x3 out for sale. This is a device that's aimed primarily at business customers, however, consumers or fans are welcome to purchase this device from Microsoft if they wish.
The HP Elite x3 supporting Verizon makes this the first Windows 10 Mobile-shipped device to do so. Previously, the only Windows 10 Mobile handsets to support Verizon were older devices that were upgraded from Windows Phone 8.1...
...What's more, the Elite x3 is old, sporting a Snapdragon 820, 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. While still the most powerful Windows phone, it's no longer the running the latest flagship specs available on other platforms.
If none of this phases you, the HP Elite x3 on Verizon is available right now for $599. Head to the Microsoft Store and check it out if you're crazy enough.This report describes the results of the Law Enforcement Futuring Workshop, which was held at RAND's Washington Office in Arlington, Virginia, from July 22 to 25, 2014. The objective of this workshop was to identify high-priority technology needs for law enforcement based on consideration of current and future trends in society, technology, and law enforcement over a ten- to |
this work:
Seven Golden Quotes from Epictetus
1. “Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.”
2. “The beginning of philosophy is to know the condition of one’s own mind.”
3. “No labour... is good but that which aims at producing courage and strength of the soul rather than of body.”
4. “I am by Nature made for my own good; not for my own evil.”
5. “If you are told that... someone speaks ill of you, make no defense against what was said, but answer, ‘He surely knew not my other faults, else he would not have mentioned those only!’”
6. “At feasts, remember that you are entertaining two guests, body and soul. What you give to the body, you presently lose; what you give to the soul, you keep forever.”
7. “Choose the life that is noblest, for custom can make it sweet to thee.”
Explore more ancient musings on the good life with The Harvard Classics: Plato, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. Get it for free with the coupon code STOIC (but hurry—this deal ends at midnight!).
Never miss a free book! Subscribe to the Noet Freebies list.ROCK HILL, S.C. -- A Rock Hill mother and father were arrested after their 1-year-old son was found with drugs in his system, police said Tuesday.
Robert Anthony Jackson, 23, and 23-year-old Elainie Hargett are both facing charges of unlawful conduct toward their child.
Last month, the Department of Social Services decided to drug test the couple's baby. The baby tested positive for having drugs in his system, according to a redacted police report.
The report did not mention the amount or type of drugs.
DSS contacted Rock Hill police in the middle of May. The couple was arrested last week.
Court records show Jackson has a number of previous criminal charges for prescription and other drug use, and possession.
A DSS spokesperson says the agency cannot comment on this specific case but did say they follow a "drug endangered child protocol" for cases involving children living in a home with drugs or drug use. In some circumstances, DSS opts to test those children as a precaution.
It was unclear Tuesday whether the baby will return to the custody of his parents.
Copyright 2016 WCNCEvery "one of the mass shootings except two in America since 1950 have been" in "gun-free zones."
Dan Patrick of Texas hinted he’d like to ease access to guns, then lofted a historical claim making us wonder.
The Republican lieutenant governor appeared on NBC’s Jan. 3, 2016 edition of Meet the Press as the Texas law permitting licensed individuals to openly carry holstered handguns took effect. Patrick told host Chuck Todd he wants to see a day "when every American citizen can simply have a gun, does not have to go through a long ordeal or pay a high price. We're going to address that in Texas, as well. Because it's the right of every individual under the Second Amendment."
Then came the historical note: "Having law-abiding citizens having guns is a good thing," Patrick said. "In fact, Chuck, every one of the mass shootings except two in America since 1950 have been" in "gun-free zones," his implication being that wrongdoers don’t open fire in places where permitted citizens may have loaded handguns.
That’s at least a disputed analysis. In April 2013, Mother Jones magazine said its review of more than five dozen U.S. "mass shootings" since 1982 hadn’t identified a single case of a killer choosing a target because it barred guns nor had it found an instance of an armed civilian saving the day. "To the contrary, in many of the cases there was clearly another motive for the choice of location. For example, 20 were workplace shootings," the magazine said. "Or consider the 12 school shootings we documented, in which all but one of the killers had personal ties to the school they struck," the story said. Moreover, the magazine said, the majority of mass shootings are murder-suicides, arguably not involving perpetrators "whose priority was identifying the safest place to attack."
So, how did Patrick determine that only two mass shootings since 1950 occurred in places that weren’t gun-free zones? A spokesman, Alejandro Garcia, declined comment on that, but web searches and interviews identified the likely originator of the two-since-1950 claim as economist John Lott Jr., whose books include "More Guns, Less Crime" and "The Bias Against Guns." Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, also is a Fox News columnist.
In a January 2013 blog post, Lott said: "Since at least 1950, with two exceptions, all the multiple victim public shootings in the US in which more than three people have been killed have taken place where guns are banned." In a 2014 web post, the center said: "There are only two mass public shootings since at least 1950 that have not been part of some other crime where at least four people have been killed in an area where civilians are generally allowed to have guns. These are the International House of Pancakes restaurant in Carson City, Nevada, on September 6, 2011 and the Gabrielle Giffords shooting in Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, 2011."
Defining "mass shooting"
Generally we take a gun-free zone to mean a place where civilians can’t legally carry handguns. That’s in the spirit of the Gun-Free School Zones Act, revised by Congress in 1996, which states it’s unlawful for an individual to knowingly carry a firearm that’s been part of interstate or foreign commerce in a school zone or within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a public, parochial or private school.
But "mass shooting" has had a range of definitions.
In a 1996 paper, Lott and a fellow researcher presented a multi-part definition ruling out incidents connected to other crimes and applying other limits. The paper defined "a multiple public shooting as one in which two or more people are killed or wounded in a church, business, bar, street, government buildings, schools, public transit, place of employment, park, health care facility, mall or restaurant. We excluded multiple shootings that were byproducts of other crimes (e.g., a robbery or drug deal) or that involved gang activity (e.g., drive-by shootings), professional hits or organized crime. We also did not count as a multiple shooting serial killings or killings that took place over the span of more than one day," the authors wrote.
There are less restrictive definitions. A 2008 FBI report said that over the previous 30 years, a mass murder was described as four or more murders occurring during the same incident, with no distinctive time period between the murders. A 2013 report by the Congressional Research Service said there’s no agreed-upon definition of "mass shooting," so it would define public mass shootings as "incidents occurring in relatively public places, involving four or more deaths—not including the shooter(s)—and gunmen who select victims somewhat indiscriminately." Meantime, an FBI spokesman, Stephen Fischer, advised us by email that a 2012 law set the threshold for a "mass killing" as three or more people killed.
Mother Jones magazine, in research last updated in December 2015, employed a four-or-more killed definition to conclude that since 1982, there had been at least 73 U.S. mass shootings--meaning public incidents in which four or more people died and the motive appeared to be indiscriminate killing. Still, in an August 2012 story, Mother Jones suggested that classifying a mass murder based on a death count or lack of ties to other crimes could seem arbitrary. "Dropping the number of fatalities by just one, or including motives of armed robbery, gang violence, or domestic violence, would add many, many more cases," the magazine said.
Lott summarizes research
We reached out to Lott, who estimated by phone there had been about 200 mass shootings since 1950. By email, he sent spreadsheets that he said show how he and other researchers catalogued incidents from 1977 to the present. A result, Lott said, is the conclusion that just the two mass shootings occurred where civilians could legally carry handguns. No signs barred people from bringing handguns into the Nevada restaurant or the Tucson parking lot, Lott said, and both states permitted licensed citizens to carry handguns.
We asked Lott about the Aug. 1, 1966, incident when Charles Whitman shot and killed people from atop the University of Texas tower as residents with rifles fired from below; Whitman died after a police officer subdued him from close range.
Civilians wielded weapons that day, no? Lott said he classified UT as a gun-free zone because under Texas law until 1996, residents couldn’t legally carry handguns in public except under limited circumstances.
Lott, asked how he delved into incidents from 1950 to 1977, pointed out an April 2000 New York Times news story on 100 U.S. "rampage killings" from 1949 to 1999. The 100 cases included 20 shootings at schools, 11 at restaurants or shopping malls and 32 at the killer's workplace, the newspaper reported. There were 102 killers, it said, with 425 people killed and 510 injured.
We couldn’t tell if the Times determined whether citizens could carry handguns at the shooting sites. Lott told us his research determined, in each Times-listed instance, if laws allowed civilians in a city or state to get gun permits and to carry handguns. He emailed us a map indicating that as of 1986, 29 states allowed civilians to carry handguns and 21 states (including Texas) did not; by 2003, 44 states allowed civilians to carry handguns.
An alternate analysis
We spotted a short-term breakdown countering Lott’s all-but-two conclusion, though the center headed by Lott maintains it’s wrong. In a 2014 report, Everytown for Gun Safety, a pro-gun control group, said that from 2009 to July 2014, 18 multiple-victim U.S. shootings--meaning any incident where at least four people were killed with a gun--occurred in places where civilian handguns were allowed.
Of 33 incidents in public spaces, the report said, 18 took place wholly or in part where concealed guns could be lawfully carried. Conversely, no more than 15 incidents "took place entirely in public spaces that were so-called ‘gun-free zones,’" the report said. Jack Warner, an Everytown spokesman, told us by email that a 2010 shooting incident in a Hialeah, Florida, restaurant later was removed from its count; the establishment was a gun-free zone.
Seventeen is far more than two, of course, and the Everytown report covered less than six years, far fewer than the 65 years referenced by Lott. Might it be that far more shootings have taken place in locations where a licensed citizen could legally hoist a handgun?
Questioning the report, the Lott-led center charged in a September 2014 web post that nearly half the incidents described as occurring where civilians could carry handguns took place either as parts of other crimes or in non-public locations and so shouldn’t have been deemed mass shootings--or the shootings actually took place in gun-free zones such as a Wisconsin temple where guns weren’t allowed, according to a Fox News report authored by John Lott’s son, Maxim, though Mother Jones in 2013 reported that guns were allowed in the temple.
The center’s critique gives a taste of Lott’s investigatory approach.
According to the post, Lott followed up the March 2009 shooting deaths of eight people in a North Carolina nursing home by calling the home and hearing that neither the home’s residents or staff had been allowed to bring in guns. In another case, after the 2012 shooting deaths of four people at a Georgia spa, Lott "spoke with someone at the spa after the attack and was told that the killer knew ‘nobody there had a gun.’...While the official policy at the spa isn’t clear because the conversation was very short," the center wrote, "the important thing was that the killer knew that there were no guns for people to defend themselves there."
There’s room for quibbling with the center’s critique perhaps in that one of the center’s declared gun-free zones was the Washington Navy Yard, which is fronted by armed guards. We noticed this note in a Lott spreadsheet summarizing that attack: "There were armed guards at the Washington Navy Yard, and the shooter was familiar with the premises, so he did not select it as a target on the presumption he would not face armed resistance. In fact, the shooter reportedly used a gun that he took from a guard after killing him." Regardless, Lott told us by email, the shooter knew that past the guard station, he wouldn’t encounter armed individuals.
Lott’s note in his spreadsheet summarizing an August 2010 incident in Buffalo lays out his contention that even if civilians legally may have handguns, that’s often unlikely to occur; the note quotes a police inspector saying local authorities virtually never give out gun permits other than for sportsmen to carry weapons for hunting. In the same vein, the center’s 2014 critique said several shootings tallied by the Everytown group occurred in places -- such as Boston, East Oakland and Los Angeles -- where authorities rarely if ever grant handgun permits.
By email, Warner gave no ground, saying state and local laws made it legally possible in each of the cited shootings for a civilian to have been present with a handgun. Also, "narrowing the definition of ‘gun-free zone’ to exclude locations where armed police were stationed does not make sense," Warner wrote.
An FBI study
A 2013 FBI review of "active shooter incidents" since 2000 identified five instances when shooting ended after armed individuals who were not law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the shooters; three shooters were killed, one was wounded, one committed suicide. "The individuals involved in these shootings included a citizen with a valid firearms permit and armed security guards at a church, an airline counter, a federally managed museum, and a school board meeting," the report said.
The report gave more detail about a civilian’s intervention in a Nevada incident. In May 2008, the report said, Ernesto Villagomez, 30, armed with a handgun, began firing inside Player’s Bar and Grill in Winnemucca, Nevada. Two people were killed; two were wounded (leaving the results short of the three or four deaths needed to be a mass shooting by most definitions). "The shooter was killed by a citizen with a valid firearm permit before police arrived," the report said.
Our ruling
Patrick said every "one of the mass shootings except two in America since 1950 have been" in "gun-free zones."
The Lott-steered research delivers a basis for this statement. But this all-but-two assessment also rests on how you define a mass shooting or gun-free zone. Change the definitions to take in more events and you end up with more shootings in places that weren’t otherwise free of guns.
On balance, we rate the claim Half True.
HALF TRUE – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.
Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.
CLARIFICATION, 3:35 p.m., Jan. 13, 2016: We clarified Lott's reference to places that rarely grant civilian gun permits to indicate some jurisdictions don't grant them at all. This addition didn't change our rating of the claim.Much of the coverage focusing on elderly queer-identified people highlights the ways in which they are marginalized by mainstream, youth-oriented gay culture. According to an in-depth analysis from the Associated Press however, some of the most difficult challenges facing aging members of the LGBT community are socio-economic. The combined impacts of legacy discriminatory workplace policies, the early AIDS crisis, and slow progress towards marriage equality have created a difficult economic landscape for many gay, “boomer” aged people looking to retire.
According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, same-sex couples save about 25% less for their retirement as compared to their straight counterparts. The analysis, conducted by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that the media amount that straight married couples was about $88,000 while same-sex partners only saved about $66,000. The cause? A lifetime of lower wages and chronic underemployment.
While many corporations have non-discrimination policies now, it is still legal to fire someone for their sexual orientation in 21 states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Two polls, one by Pew Research in 2013 and one by Gallup in 2012, reached the same conclusion: LGBT individuals were more likely to make less money than their straight peers during their careers. Gay men earned as much as 32 percent less than straight men, according to research by the Williams Institute, a California-based think tank that focuses on LGBT issues.
As a result, gay men and women over 65 are more likely to end up in poverty. Lesbians, who face wage discrimination because of both their gender and sexual orientation, are even more vulnerable.
The economic harms inflicted upon elderly LGBT people are further compounded by a fundamental lack of attention being paid to them as a population. The Department of Health and Human Services, which monitors and surveys elderly minority populations, has yet to begin keeping track of queer people. The lack of hard data linked to the population means that funding for programs geared towards aging gays is difficult to secure.
"In the aging world, there has been little regard for even the existence of LGBT older people, let alone their particular social and financial needs," said executive director of Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders Michael Adams.
Click here to read Ken Sweet's article in full.The drying up of the Aral Sea was an environmental and human tragedy, but can Kazakhstan undo this man-made disaster?
Editor's note: Since this film was made, the Small Aral Sea has remained stable although is still only about half its original size. But its salinity has returned to levels that can sustain the pre-1960 ecosystem. Commercial fishing has increased and many people have come back to the coast, reviving their small farming and livestock. The Large Aral Sea has, however, continued its retreat and salinisation.
Filmmaker: Ensar Altay
This is a crime against nature. The drought of the Aral Sea is a man-made tragedy. Sergei Azimov, film producer
The Aral Sea, located between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, was once the fourth-largest lake in the world, an immense body of fresh water covering a surface area of 68,000 square kilometres.
Two port cities were located on it - Aralsk in Kazakhstan and Moynaq in Uzbekistan. Both featured thriving fishing communities and the lake itself held some 22 different varieties of fish, four of which could only be found in the Aral.
But then the Soviet Union decided to boost cotton farming by constructing dams on the two large rivers that flowed into the Aral Sea, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya rivers.
This diverted these two giant rivers away from the sea into the deserts further south to irrigate large tracts of land. It proved disastrous for the Aral Sea.
Soil erosion and evaporation of the waters meant that by the 1970s, the Aral Sea had diminished by 20 percent. By 1980, 30 percent of the sea had vanished.
That figure rose to 40 percent in 1990. And today, 90 percent of the Aral Sea has disappeared, becoming desert.
Fishermen were among those most affected by the drying-up of the Aral Sea. In 1960, total fish production from the sea was 45,000 tonnes.
This dropped to 17,000 tonnes in 1970. The fish stock decreased further over the following years and families who had lived in Aralsk for generations, making their living from fishing, either migrated or had to find new ways to earn money.
Between 1980 and 2000, some 45,000 people who had lived around the lake migrated to different areas of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
"There used to be five factories here.... Boats came here from the Aral Sea to load up with cargo. Times have changed," says Kudaibergen Sarzhanov, a former Soviet minister of fisheries.
"The Aral Sea began to dry up. As it began to dry up, my heart grew heavy. We began to struggle and didn't know what to do. There were days we cried.... The ecological conditions became worse. When the water dried, the salty dust that spread caused deaths," says Sarzhanov.
Many predicted that the sea could never return, but the government of Kazakhstan has set out to reverse this man-made environmental disaster.
Ahmedov Zhangali, a former fisherman, says, "maybe there will be water in the future. If the water returns, neighbours will return to fishing. The return of the water means food for people and for the animals."
As Kazakhs continue to come to terms with the drying up of the Aral Sea and the man-made ecological disaster of epic proportions it represents, Al Jazeera travelled to Kazakhstan and found a faint glimmer of hope on the horizon.
Source: Al JazeeraMitt Romney weighed in on the looming diplomat crisis between the United States and China, calling on Sunday for the Obama administration to “take every measure” to protect a blind dissident and his family after his daring escape from house arrest last week.
Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, did not directly criticize the administration’s handling on the case, but said that the fate of the dissident, Chen Guangcheng, underscored the need for unflinching American support for human rights in China.
“Any serious U.S. policy toward China must confront the facts of the Chinese government’s denial of political liberties, its one-child policy and other violation of human rights,” he said in a statement on Sunday, his first remarks on the issue since Mr. Chen’s escape became known on Friday. Mr. Chen became famous because of his strong opposition to forced abortions and sterilizations conducted as part of China’s policy of limiting families to one child.
“Our country must play a strong role in urging reform in China and supporting those fighting for the freedoms we enjoy,” Mr. Romney added.
The State Department and the White House have repeatedly refused to discuss Mr. Chen’s situation or his exact whereabouts, despite statements by Chinese officials and dissidents indicating that he is in the American Embassy in Beijing.
Mr. Romney’s remarks made it clear that the administration would not be able to remain silent on the matter much longer. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner are scheduled to lead a large delegation to Beijing this week for two days of talks on economic and security issues — matters that will surely be overshadowed by Mr. Chen’s case.
Asked about Mr. Chen on “Fox News Sunday,” the president’s top counterterrorism adviser, John O. Brennan, declined to discuss it in detail, but added that the administration sought “an appropriate balance” with countries like China.
“I think in all instances the president tries to balance our commitment to human rights, making sure that the people throughout the world have the ability to express themselves freely and openly,” he said, “but also that we can continue to carry out our relationships with key countries overseas.”Today, House Republicans voted to block light bulb efficiency standards passed in 2007. For months, conservative media have demonized the standards, portraying them as far-left, nanny state overreach. For instance, Fox's Charles Payne declared this week that the efficiency standards are designed to advance the "tree hugger" ideology: Occasionally, in their hurry to link the efficiency standards with the "tree hugger" left, they've gotten a key fact wrong. A Washington Times column a by Ted Nugent attributes the light bulb standards to "this administration's energy policy," when in fact they were passed by George W. Bush. Indeed, the history of federal efficiency standards is covered in the fingerprints of the last three Republican presidents.
In 1987 Ronald Reagan signed into law efficiency standards for 12 classes of home appliances, including refrigerators, stoves and air conditioners. The Associated Press reported at the time (via Nexis) that only six Senators and two House members voted against the legislation.
In 1992 George H.W. Bush added additional efficiency standards for "lights, shower heads, electric motors, and commercial heating and cooling systems," according to an AP article from the time (via Nexis.)
The Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that these standards save consumers billions of dollars. The lab's analysis of efficiency standards that became effective between 1988 and 2006 concluded that "The standards had saved residential and commercial consumers an estimated $64 billion by the end of 2005" and "The estimated cumulative net present value of consumer benefit amounts to $241 billion by 2030, and grows to $269 billion by 2045."
The most recent standards for light bulbs were passed with wide margins and bipartisan support. Rep. Fred Upton, a Republican who co-authored the provision, said the efficiency standards were simply "common sense" in a December 19, 2007, press release retrieved via Nexis:
"We are pleased that the President mentioned the importance of light bulbs at today's signing ceremony for the Energy Bill. As co-authors of the legislation's lighting efficiency provisions, we note the huge savings that will come from phasing out the antiquated 100-watt incandescent bulb by 2012 and requiring a three-fold increase in bulb efficiency by 2020. The average home produces twice as much greenhouse gases as the average car, and lighting accounts for 20 percent of home energy bills - which average about $1,900 a year. Using so-called 'Energy Star' light bulbs can save consumers hundreds of dollars each year while preventing hundreds of pounds of greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetimes. [...] Added Upton: "Current incandescent bulbs on store shelves are obsolete and highly inefficient - only 10% of the energy consumed by each bulb is for light with 90% wasted on unnecessary heat. Today's incandescent bulbs employ the same technology as the bulbs Thomas Edison first created over 120 years ago - and it is well past time for the light bulb to catch up with 21st century technology. This common sense, bipartisan approach partners with American industry to save energy as well as help foster the creation of new domestic manufacturing jobs. Every home will be on the front lines in the effort to reduce pollution and save energy, and we will be successful one light at a time."
Upton has since changed his mind.‘I put myself in what one calls survival mode. I could not have gone back on foot – it was too far.’
A Frenchman has found fame over 20 years later after pulling off a remarkable escape from the Moroccan desert – by building a motorbike just using parts from his crashed car. His amazing escape from the barren terrain saw Mr Leray single handedly rebuild his Citreon into a makeshift motorbike, in a dramatic escape which has seen him dubbed the most ‘extreme’ mechanic in the world.
In 1993 Emile Leray, then a 43-year-old former electrician, decided to go on an adventure and drive his Citroen 2CV from the city of Tan Ta and cross the Moroccan desert. However, not all went according to plan. After going off road Emile crashed his car and was left stranded in the middle of nowhere. Deciding that he wouldn’t make it out of the desert on foot, Emile decided to build a makeshift motorbike using parts from his now wrecked car.
He had enough supplies of food and water to last him around ten days. After carefully considering all the mechanical and physical hurdles he would have to get over, Emile starts work on his DIY motorbike, the next morning. He starts taking apart his Citroen, by removing the body, he used that as a shelter against the sandstorms. Working under the scorching sun in a shirt with short sleeves, he makes his own sleeves out of a pair of socks, and keeps working away on his ‘bike’.
His ingenious engineering saw him convert the car’s rear bumper into a rudimentary seat, shorten the chassis, and place the engine and gearbox in the middle to create a vehicle which somehow kept going long enough to transport him to safety.
But it’s the 2CV transmission that’s truly surprising – a drum drives the rear wheel by friction, and the laws of physics force Emile to drive it only in reverse. It seems almost impossible for someone to build a motorbike in the middle of the nowhere, in the middle of the desert. With no power tools, just a few basic tools, and no drills, blowtorches or welding equipment. But Emile Leray created his two-wheeler only by screwing the parts together.
The adventurer, and now a survivor began work on his unique project thinking he would complete it in three days time, but it took him three times as long and only succeeded after twelve days of hard work. With only 1/2 liter of water left, he started to ride his motorbike out of the desert. After a day of riding Emile was picked up by the Moroccan police force who took him to the nearest village. They also handed him a big fine because the registration documents for his car no longer corresponded to what he was driving – his car, bike thing.
Although his story appeared in brief on French television in the 1990s, Mr Leray did not publicise his exploits, and they only recently emerged again after appearing on a motoring website. Mr Leray, is living in northwest France.About
GOAL
"The Auxiliaries" kickstarter project aims to fund the production of the artwork for a 160-page graphic novel that explores social and political issues often overlooked in popular culture.
With its diverse cast of characters, "The Auxiliaries" fills a void left by mainstream comics and aspires to start a conversation regarding controversial topics such as racism, genocide, and inequality in a non-threatening, entertaining, and action-packed way.
The entire $11,000 budget, should I reach this goal, will be used to fund the artwork that is essential to the effort to find a publisher to release the book. It's important that the artwork be professional and inspired in order to compete in a crowded marketplace. Anything above the stated goal will be used to help promote and market the book.
Noah Hamilton, AKA Intel
SYNOPSIS
Even with telepathic powers, gay law student Noah Hamilton could never have foreseen his first assignment at his internship at the Department of Justice would be so dangerous. While determining the United States’ legal duty to intervene in the Magallan genocidal civil war, a psychic vision strikes warning him the stakes are much higher than even the United Nations knows. Buried within the ancient ruins of Magalla lies the Saturn Scepter, an alien artifact capable of opening a portal for Malefic and his demonic army, who would invade, conquer, and scorch the earth into its next stage of evolution. Noah must lead a team of covert government super heroes, The Auxiliaries, on a perilous mission to secure the artifact before a gang of power-hungry villains, unaware of its full potential, unleashes devastation upon the entire planet.
The Auxiliaries, Page 1
The story begins with a native of Magalla, a fictional island nation in the Red Sea, being chased through a jungle at night. This man is a homosexual, hunted by his own family and friends. Magalla practices fundamentalist patriarchal beliefs including homosexual genocide and female genital mutilation, leading many Magallan refugees to seek sanctuary in the United States. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to escape.
The Auxiliaries, Page 2
INSPIRATION
While reading comics as a child to escape—at least mentally—from the conservative Midwest, I, like many minorities, unfortunately never found a superhero with whom I could identify, even though I was concealing a secret identity of my own. As a gay man born and raised in Kansas, I appreciated the themes of diversity, tolerance, and equality in the pages of "X-Men," but found it perplexing that considering those themes, not a single main character was gay. And bombarded with ignorance and bigotry even during extended family gatherings, I needed a positive role model more than anyone.
The comics industry has made great strides toward multiculturalism and inclusion since I was a child, especially in recent years, but even today many minorities still have trouble finding superheroes who genuinely represent us. The current seven-member roster of DC Comics’ “Justice League” disproportionately includes five Caucasian males. One Caucasian woman and one black man round out the team. The exact same ratio comprises the latest incarnation of Marvel's "Avengers." Not a single Latino. No Asians. No Italians or Persians. Not one gay or lesbian.
Independent publishers have started offering more stories with characters who reflect the real world, but the A-List rosters of mainstream comics still disproportionately skew toward a small demographic that is rapidly becoming the minority even in the United States. A country that once prided itself on its nickname, "the melting pot."
The LGBT community has encountered and overcome just as much—if not more—adversity than anyone else in our fight for equality. We can save the world, too.
- Austin Caster, writer/creator
Captain Ignacio Moretti, AKA Combat
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Hello, my name is Gulliver Vianei. I'm 32 and I live in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. In 2010 I graduated with a major in film animation from the School of Fine Arts at UFMG. I'm a big comic book fan who has been collecting for more than 15 years and own a small collection of more than 4,000 comics. Working for 14 years with illustration, drawing, and comics, I have produced advertising and editorial illustrations for various publishers, storyboards for television commercials, concepts for games, and animation work for 2D games. I have also performed various jobs as an inker and colorist for diverse U.S. publishers including two colorization jobs for Dabel Brothers / Marvel Comics ("Ptolus" and the graphic novel "Red"). In 2009 I formed the LineArt Studio with some friends, specializing in graphics and animations of which I'm illustrator art director today. Currently, in addition to my work as an art director at LineArt Studio and as an animation supervisor in the illustration and animation department of a large company in my town, I'm the guy who was lucky and fortunate enough to be chosen by Austin Caster to produce "The Auxiliaries," along with the excellent colorist Marta Bonfarte. My biggest influences in comics are masters Mike Deodato, Ivan Reis, Alan Davis, Alfredo Alcala, Scott Williams, and Brian Hitch.
You can check out Gulliver's work here: http://gullivervs.deviantart.com, http://lineartstudiobh.blogspot.com http://gullivervianei.blogspot.com.
Marta coloring page 2.The reasons by now are well understood. Fannie and Freddie, created to increase the availability of mortgage loans, misused the government’s support to enrich shareholders and executives by backing millions of shoddy loans. Taxpayers so far have spent more than $135 billion on the cleanup.
The much more divisive question is whether the government should preserve the benefits that the companies provide to middle-class borrowers, including lower interest rates, lenient terms and the ability to get a mortgage even when banks are not making other kinds of loans.
Douglas J. Elliott, a financial policy fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Congress was being forced for the first time in decades to grapple with the cost of subsidizing middle-class mortgages. The collapse of Fannie and Freddie took with it the pretense that the government could do so at no risk to taxpayers, he said.
“The politicians would like something that provides a deep and wide subsidy for housing that doesn’t show up on the budget as costing anything. That’s what we had” with Fannie and Freddie, Mr. Elliott said. “But going forward there is going to be more honest accounting.”
Some Republicans and Democrats say the price is too high. They want the government to pull back, letting the market dictate price, terms and availability.
“A purely private mortgage finance market is a very serious and very achievable goal,” Representative Scott Garrett, the New Jersey Republican who oversees the subcommittee that oversees Fannie and Freddie, said at a hearing this week. “No one serious in this debate believes our housing market will return to the 1930s.”
Still, powerful interests in both parties want the government instead to construct a system that would preserve many of the same benefits, with changes intended to minimize the risk of future bailouts. They say the recent crisis showed that the market could not stand on its own.
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“The kind of backstop that we have now, if it didn’t exist, we would have had a much more severe recession and a much sharper fall in home values,” said Michael D. Berman, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, which represents the lending industry.
Hanging in the balance are the basic features of a mortgage loan: the interest rate and repayment period.
Fannie and Freddie allow people to borrow at lower rates because investors are so eager to pump money into the two companies that they accept relatively modest returns. The key to that success is the guarantee that investors will be repaid even if borrowers default — a promise ultimately backed by taxpayers.
A long line of studies has found that the benefit to borrowers is relatively modest, less than one percentage point. But that was before the flood. Fannie, Freddie and other federal programs now support roughly 90 percent of new mortgage loans because lenders cannot raise money for mortgages that do not carry government guarantees.
Photo
One prominent investor, William H. Gross, the co-head of Pimco, the major bond investment firm, has estimated that he would demand a premium of three percentage points to buy such loans — a cost that would be passed on to the borrower.
Proponents of a private market want the government gradually to withdraw its support, allowing investors to regain confidence. They argue that interest rates would eventually settle into roughly the same patterns that held before the financial crisis.
Some supporters of government backing also like the idea, believing that it will demonstrate the need for a backstop.
Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.
“I myself am eager to see whether |
a decision rather than taking a sensible course of action). The imagery that comes to mind for critics is of a traditional unimaginative organization rather than a dynamic intelligent one. We are working on streamlining our regulations in the new master documents, and trying to weed out old historical ones. We need to continue to improve the language in them so that every concerned person can understand without much effort the letter and spirit of what we want to say… Unfortunately, our performance evaluation system did not help us identify who needed motivation and improvement, and how they could be helped to do so. Almost everyone was deemed excellent, ranging from those who gave their heart and soul for the Bank to those who shirked all responsibility or duty. We need to change this, to reward those who perform and to help those who do not.
Go after the rich and famous wrong-doer
Not only are we accused of not having the administrative capacity of ferreting out wrong-doing, we do not punish the wrong-doer—unless he is small and weak. This belief feeds on itself. No one wants to go after the rich and well-connected wrong-doer, which means they get away with even more. If we are to have strong sustainable growth, this culture of impunity should stop. Importantly, this does not mean being against riches or business, as some would like to portray, but being against wrong-doing. As the premier and most respected regulator in the country, we should take the lead. We cannot be seen as a paper tiger. We are changing our attitude towards compliance, but this is work in progress.
Thank you Mr Rajan, from every journalist!
We also need to communicate better with the outside. This means that we should get ahead of the press, rather than be reactive. If we want to highlight achievements or regulations, we should prepare a press release to focus the press on what is important—with the release getting to the point quickly rather than starting with pages of irrelevant history. Press releases are best done at or before 5:30pm if we want them to show up in the papers the next day. Beyond that, reporters do not have the time to write copy for the next day, and the news is too old for the day after.
RBI will look outside for talentLiz Smith Dropped from New York Post
Iconic gossip columnisthas been dropped from the New York Post.
This will be the first time in 33 years that Liz won't have a column in a New York paper, but don't think for one minute that means the 86-year-old queen of gossip will be slowing down. Smith is one of the founders of wowowow.com, an online community for women, where she will now be a contributing writer five times a week. She was also just named a contributing editor at Parade magazine.
While no reason has been given for Smith's exit, New York Post Editor Col Allan said, "The Post is grateful to have been able to publish Liz Smith's legendary column for so many years. We wish her the very best for the future."
Liz Smith's final column for the Post will appear in Thursday's paper.
photo: WENNJoin the Fighting Men of the U.S. Merchant Marine
U.S. Maritime Service
Dimensions: 41.75 x 28 inches
1943
U. S. Government Printing Office: 1943--O-504474
National Archives: 44 PA-1149
Inset: "Opportunity for Advancement • If you want a seagoing career, and learn a trade at the same time, enroll now for training with the U.S. Maritime Service. Men of the U.S. Merchant Marine are doing a heroic job delivering supplies and war equipment to our fighting forces overseas.• Some of the thousands of Apprentice Seamen at Sheepshead Bay Training Station, Brooklyn, N.Y." [Posters such as this fooled many young men into thinking were joining a branch of the Navy or Coast Guard]
Calling all seamen!
You are needed at sea now!
If you hold or have held a License as Mate, Engineer, or Radio Operator, or certificate as Able-Bodied Seaman, write or wire collect to --
U.S. Merchant Marine, Washington, D.C. or apply at any U.S. Employment Service Office or any Recruitment and Manning Organization
Port Office of War Shipping Administration... Today
Dimensions: 20 x 14.5 inches
Published [Washington, D.C.] 1944
U. S. Government Printing Office : 1944 O-592816
National Archives: 287-MC-1.25: Se-1
[The poster depicts a Chinese-American seaman in an appeal to minorities and former seamen to return to sea]We are preparing Ubuntu MATE Wily Werewolf (15.10) for distribution on October 22nd, 2015 With this Alpha 2 pre-release, you can see what we are trying out in preparation for our next (stable) version.
What works?
People tell us that Ubuntu MATE is stable. You may, or may not, agree.
Ubuntu MATE Alpha Releases are NOT recommended for:
Regular users who are not aware of pre-release issues
Anyone who needs a stable system
Anyone uncomfortable running a possibly frequently broken system
Anyone in a production environment with data or workflows that need to be reliable
Ubuntu MATE Alpha Releases are recommended for:
Regular users who want to help us test by finding, reporting, and/or fixing bugs
Ubuntu MATE, MATE, and GTK+ developers
What changed since the Ubuntu MATE 15.10 Alpha 1 release?
Here what changed in Ubuntu MATE 15.10 Alpha 2 since Alpha 1.
Added a community contributed wallpaper by David Chadderton from Webspresso.
Added a community contributed wallpaper by quidsup.
Updated Ubuntu MATE Plymouth boot animation by Jack Mohegan.
Added Ubuntu MATE Welcome 1.0.1 Welcome is new utility unique to Ubuntu MATE. Welcome helps orientate users with their new operating system. Welcome guides users through post-install configuration such as installing drivers and adding language support. Welcome provides a one-click installation from a highly curated list of best-in-class software to “get stuff done” or have some fun. The installation options include Steam, Google Chrome, Dropbox, Spotify, Syncthing, Telegram, uGet, Minecraft, Gimp (with CMYK support), InSync, Skype, Google Music Manager, Ubuntu SDK, Codecs, libdvdcss2, VirtualBox 5.0 and many others.
Updated MATE Tweak 3.5.0 Fixed saving/restoring of custom panel layouts. Simplifies the interface for selecting alternative panel layouts.
Removed the Ubuntu Software Center.
Fixed shutdown/restart of the live session in Virtualbox guests. LP: #1447038
Where is MATE 1.10?
It is coming soon, here’s why.
I am an upstream MATE developer, which means I know stuff. There are good reasons why MATE 1.10 is not in Ubuntu MATE 15.10 or other PPAs right now. Here are some of them:
The upstream MATE team planned for MATE 1.10 bug fix point releases. Those are now all released, as of a few days ago, and include significant improvements to the help documentation and many bug fixes.
I have elected to sync MATE packages from Debian into Ubuntu without any modifications. I do this because I am a MATE maintainer for Debian.
The Debian MATE team have uploaded most of the MATE 1.10 packages to Debian experimental about two months ago. Bugs have been found and fixed.
This bug is being crushed and means that most packages need significant modification, it takes time.
In short, I don’t want to release stuff when I know significant changes are coming. But as you can see, lots of work on MATE 1.10 has been going behind the scenes.
Ubuntu MATE 15.10 Download Join the fun and experience a retrospective future. Download
Known Issues
Here are the known issues.
Can’t unlock the lock screen. The work around is to use Switch User and authenticate. This will “log you in” and preserve your desktop session. This bug is fixed in MATE 1.10 which will land in Ubuntu MATE 15.10 soon. LP: #1471454
The cryptsetup password prompt may not be shown. LP: #1359689
password prompt may not be shown. Running Linux on PowerPC can require some tinkering and the following are useful references. PowerPC Known Issues PowerPC FAQ
You’ll also want to check the Ubuntu MATE bug tracker to see what has already been reported. These issues will be addressed in due course.
Feedback
Is there anything you can help with or want to be involved in? Maybe you just want to discuss your experiences or ask the maintainers some questions. Please come and talk to us.The number of seconds in a minute — and minutes in an hour — comes from the base-60 numeral system of ancient Mesopotamia. Developed around 3100 B.C., the sexagesimal system, as it is known, has fallen out of favor but is still used (with slight adjustments) to measure time and angles.
Most modern societies use the base-10 system (also called decimal) of Hindu-Arabic numerals. That system probably comes from counting on our two five-fingered hands, but because it has a limited number of divisors, 10 is actually an inefficient number on which to build a numeral system. Sixty, on the other hand, is eminently divisible — in mathematics, it is considered a “highly composite number” because it has more divisors than any smaller positive integer.
Georges Ifrah, a 20th-century French mathematician, proposed that the sexagesimal system grew out of an alternative method of counting known as the duodecimal system, common throughout Asia. Instead of counting the five digits on each hand, the thumb is used as a pointer, touching each of the four fingers on the right hand, beginning with the pinkie. When the count reaches 12, a digit on the left hand is lowered to mark the place — making “60” when all five digits are balled into a fist.
The Babylonians adopted the base-60 system from the Sumerians. In Babylonian astronomy, a year is 360 days, which is divided into 12 months of 30 days each. By 2000 B.C. the base-60 system had largely disappeared from common use, but it survives in our measures of months, days, hours, minutes and seconds, so called because they are the second division of 60 from the hour. Another vestige of Babylonian mathematics endures in the 360-degree circle.Jared Newman / TIME.com Chrome's app launcher running TextDrive on a Windows PC.
In the near future, using Google’s Chrome web browser on a PC will become a lot more like using a Chromebook.
That’s because the app launcher, which has been a core part of the Chromebook experience, is on its way to Windows. The launcher sits directly on the Windows taskbar, right next to the Start button (or hot corner, if you’re using Windows 8). Click on it, and up pops a list of web apps, just as it does on a Chromebook.
To try the launcher right now, you must install the Chrome dev channel–a pre-beta version of the browser–then install a “packaged app,” such as TextDrive, through the Chrome Web Store. You’ll then see a prompt to start using the launcher.
Many of Chrome’s apps are just glorified web pages. In that sense, opening them from the launcher isn’t much different than typing the address into the browser’s location bar.
But packaged apps, like Text Drive, are different. They can work without an Internet connection and they look more like regular applications, running in their own self-contained windows. And just like on a Chromebook, you can pin these apps to the task bar, so they’re only a click away.
At the moment, these packaged apps aren’t searchable in the Chrome Web Store, but they soon will be, and they’ll help make Chrome feel more like a proper operating system, not just a browser. By extension, the new app launcher turns Chrome into a platform within a platform. It’ll become increasingly likely that you spend all your time using Chrome apps instead of native ones. And in Google’s view, the more time you spend within its platform, the better.
We’re seeing a similar strategy play out now on the iPhone. Google’s Search and Gmail apps for the iPhone allow you to open links directly in Chrome instead of Apple’s Safari browser. Searching for a location in Chrome allows you open Google Maps for turn-by-turn directions. There are still some noticeable gaps–you can’t, for instance, jump into the Gmail iPhone app by clicking an e-mail address in Chrome–but it’s clear that Google is trying to keep people hooked into its own services.
The timing of Google’s Chromebook Pixel, a high-end laptop with a touch screen, doesn’t seem like a coincidence. Google is planning for a future where every computer has a touchscreen, even traditional laptops. The Pixel seems to me like an experiment–a way to get developers to start designing web apps for touchscreens.
But as GigaOM points out, developers don’t have much incentive without a big user base, and at $1,399, the Chromebook Pixel will be a niche product at best. That’s why having the same experience on Chrome for Windows starts to make sense. Lots of Windows 8 PCs are starting to include touchscreens, so between the Chromebook Pixel and Windows 8 devices, developers could find the scale they’re looking for. And Google will have ushered Chrome into the touch era, whether it’s on a Chromebook or not.
MORE:Isaac Brekken/Associated Press
Perhaps the Wonderboy hype was premature when he knocked out Dan Stittgen and signed to fight Matt Brown. Since losing to Brown, however, Thompson has put together three solid wins against opponents who have their own Wikipedia pages (always a solid measure of competition), and looked good doing it.
Today I wanted to take a very brief look at some of the neater tricks which Thompson has shown throughout both his kickboxing and MMA careers.
The Wonderboy Kick
I am dubbing this kick the Wonderboy Kick both for lack of a better name and because Thompson uses it so frequently. Really it's just a rear-leg round kick, but there's something which makes it a little unique in Thompson's application.
Thompson will throw a 1-2 to get his opponent moving. Quite often the opponent will circle past his right straight, thinking they are safe. Here is where the Wonderboy Kick comes in.
WCL
Rather than throwing a 1-2 and a right high kick, Thompson throws a 1-2, then throws his right-leg high kick at almost 90 degrees to his initial angle of attack.
Ordinarily when throwing a high kick, you will pivot on your standing leg as you throw the kick. High kickers will normally pivot their standing leg as far as possible so that it points almost behind them. Thompson's kick, 90 degrees to his right, cuts down on the distance of the kick and means that he only needs to make half the pivot on his standing leg to get into optimum kicking position.
WCL
Many of you will remember Thompson using this kick to starch Dan Stittgen in his UFC debut.
UFC
He also used it in the WCL to knock out James DeCore, and it has appeared plenty of times in his fights if he can get his opponent circling towards it.
Here is Thompson desperately trying to get his opponent to circle into the kick by exaggeratedly cutting off the ring and leaving openings to circle out in that direction.
Thompson's opponent seemed smart enough to not circle into Thompson's well-known right leg, so Thompson simply brought the Brazilian kick to him anyway.
Thompson vs Joles
The Wheel Kick and the Hook Kick
Of course, a lot of the time his opponents aren't daft enough to circle into his trademark right leg. Then he can bring it round and try to wheel kick them.
The wheel kick has proven quite important to Thompson's game, however. He doesn't kick with his left leg nearly so often or so well as he does with his right leg. Consequently he will use his right leg to provide a threat from both sides.
In that match with James DeCore, Thompson misses a wheel kick but follows with a hard straight. The standard procedure for dealing with spinning kicks is to let them fall short and move in through the wake, hopefully catching the opponent while they are recovering. Thompson obviously expected this as he missed his wheel kick and landed in perfect position to counter punch.
WCL
Here's an effective one from Thompson's bout with Jeremy Joles.
Thompson vs Joles
And here's a hook kick. A tricky kick in terms of angle, but one which generally lacks the power of other kicks because of the limited hip movement involved in the kick.
Thompson vs Jole
While we are seeing more hook kicks and wheel kicks coming into MMA —as we should, even the threat of them opens up targets for more orthodox techniques—the danger of the opponent stepping in during one is still ever present.
For an example of that look at Decare missing a kick in the bout with Thompson, putting him in terrible position. All Thompson would need to do was catch the leg and that is an assured takedown, and probably straight into side control.
WCL
There's a ton more stuff we could talk about with Thompson. His switching of stances to land his right-side kick, his low hands to 1-2, his fake side kick to left straight, and so on. But remembering the Matt Brown fight, let's not get carried away just yet. Thompson is back on track, and that is exciting enough as it is.
Pick up Jack's eBooks Advanced Striking and Elementary Striking from his blog, Fights Gone By. Jack can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.This is an amazing insight into the uses of language, the way we say things, and swearing. It reveals more about our nature as humans than we give it credit for. It’s quite lengthy, but to be fair to the topic, I think it deserves this amount of time. So grab a coffee/tea/beer and sit back and enjoy.
WARNING: There is some very crass language in this talk.
From the YouTube page:
“For Steven Pinker, the brilliance of the mind lies in the way it uses just two processes to turn the finite building blocks of our language into infinite meanings. The first is metaphor: we take a concrete idea and use it as a stand-in for abstract thoughts. The second is combination: we combine ideas according to rules, like the syntactic rules of language, to create new thoughts out of old ones”
AdvertisementsPresident Donald Trump called July 31 a "great day" at the White House.
The characterization clashed with news headlines of internal upheaval: July 31 was the 10th and final day of Anthony Scaramucci’s tenure as communications director and John Kelly’s first day as chief of staff after the forced departure of Reince Priebus.
In the past six months, the Trump administration has seen the firing or resignation of its chief of staff, communications director, press secretary, FBI director, ethics director, national security adviser and more.
Pundits and members of the media have remarked on the "chaotic" turnover.
But is the Trump turnover as rapid as it seems?
We compared the length of service of the most high-profile departed Trump staffers with people in the same role in the administrations of President Barack Obama and President George W Bush.
In context, the speed of Trump’s hires and fires have been surprising, but not unprecedented across the board.
Chief of Staff
Bush’s first: 1,911 days
Obama’s first: 620 days
Trump’s first: 189 days
Priebus was in fact the shortest-serving chief of staff in history. He served for 189 days, while the second-shortest stint (Kenneth Duberstein under Ronald Reagan) lasted 203 days.
Pete Rouse served for only 104 days as interim chief of staff for Obama in 2010 after his first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, left to run for Chicago mayor. But Priebus wasn’t in an interim role.
Communications director
Bush’s first: 256 days
Obama’s first: 92 days
Trump’s first: 134 days
The communications director is the newest role on this list, created in 1969 by the Nixon administration. The first director was Herbert Klein, who lasted the longest in office. He was tasked with dealing with the Watergate scandal that eventually led to Nixon’s resignation.
Trump has gone through three communications directors so far, with Scaramucci serving the shortest period as the second person named to the role.
His 10 days as communications director (he was not officially supposed to start until Aug. 15th) almost beat out Jack Koehler for shortest tenure. Koehler worked in the Ronald Reagan administration and stepped down after a week on the job, when news broke that he once belonged to a Nazi youth group.
Trump’s first communications director was Republican operative Michael Dubke. He was on the job for 134 days. Press Secretary Sean Spicer took on his responsibilities for 53 days until Scaramucci came along, at which point he resigned.
There have been other brief tenures in the position in the recent past.
Ellen Moran served for 92 days at the start of the Obama administration, after which she became chief of staff for Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.
George Stephanopoulos, under the Clinton administration, served for 138 days. George W. Bush’s first communications director, Karen Hughes, lasted just over eight months.
Press secretary
Bush’s first: 906 days
Obama’s first: 753 days
Trump’s first: 182 days
Spicer, Trump’s first press secretary, lasted 182 days.
There have been shorter tenures. Jerald Franklin terHorst was in office for one month at the start of Gerald Ford’s presidency and acting press secretary Stephen Early served for 13 days under President Harry Truman.
In more recent history, Bush’s first press secretary, Ari Fleischer, lasted over two and a half years. Obama’s Robert Gibbs worked in the role just over two years.
National Security Adviser
Michael Flynn set another record for shortest tenure as national security adviser, a position established in 1953 amid the Cold War.
Flynn was on the job for 24 days before he resigned (Feb. 13); the average is 2.6 years, according to the Washington Post.
Flynn acknowledged in his resignation that he misled Vice President Mike Pence and others about illegal conversations with a Russian official.
Condoleezza Rice lasted 1465 days, or four years and four days, as Bush’s first national security adviser and James Jones lasted 993 days, or two years and eight months, under Obama.
FBI director
Former FBI director James Comey wasn’t the shortest-serving FBI director in history, but his tenure is on the shorter end at three years and eight months. He is the second FBI director ever to be fired.
The last and only other time this happened was when Clinton fired William Sessions after he refused to step down amid ethical concerns in 1993.
Update: An earlier version of this report incorrectly said Nixon had been impeached. The House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment in 1974 but he resigned before there was a trial. An earlier version of this story also named Stephen Hadley as Bush’s first national security adviser and Thomas Donilon as Obama’s; they were each the second, not first, national security advisers to their respective administrations.Threatened snow leopards found in Afghanistan
BANGKOK (AP) A healthy population of snow leopards, elusive big cats threatened across the mountain ranges of Central Asia, has been found in one of the few peaceful areas of Afghanistan, a wildlife group said.
Camera traps documented the secretive, usually solitary animals at 16 locations across the Wakhan Corridor, a long panhandle in northeastern Afghanistan free from the insurgency that plagues most of the country, the World Conservation Society said in a statement seen Friday.
Listed as globally threatened, only some 4,500 to 7,500 snow leopards live across a dozen nations in the high mountain ranges of Central Asia. The cats are poached for their pelts and killed by shepherds guarding their flocks upon which the leopards sometimes prey.
The sleek, fuzzy-tailed leopards are also captured for the pet trade, while an increasing demand for their penises and bones in China, where some believe they enhance sexual performance, has also led to their decimation.
"This is a wonderful discovery. It shows that there is real hope for snow leopards in Afghanistan. Now our goal is to ensure that these magnificent animals have a secure future as part of Afghanistan's natural heritage," Peter Zahler, the World Conservation Society's deputy Asia director, said in the statement.
The New York-based group has been working in the Wakhan Corridor, which borders China, Pakistan and Tajikistan, since 2006 on protecting wildlife including the Marco Polo sheep and the ibex. George Schaller, a wildlife biologist with the society, has proposed creating a reserve in the region.
The statement, released Wednesday, did not estimate the number of leopards in the corridor, but said the species remained threatened.
The society, which works with the U.S. government's aid arm, USAID, is providing conservation education in every Wakhan school, has trained 59 rangers to monitor wildlife, constructed predator-proof livestock corrals and started an insurance scheme to compensate shepherds for livestock taken by predators, according to the statement.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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.comNEW ORLEANS -- Safety Kenny Vaccaro was benched during the New Orleans Saints' blowout loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday amid reports that the Saints may be looking to trade him.
Vaccaro, a first-round draft pick in 2013, said he was surprised by the benching -- despite his admitted struggles in the Saints' week 1 loss at Minnesota. But coach Sean Payton explained, "Listen, we need to get more consistent play, and that dates back to last weekend."
Vaccaro's benching followed reports by both CBS and NFL Network that the Saints were discussing the fifth-year pro in trade talks this week -- although Payton brushed off the trade question by saying, "It's not unusual early in the season for teams to call about" players at positions where teams have depth.
"I know Gronk had two catches on me, really great catches, and that was about it. That's all that really happened. The next thing I know, I'm sitting next to Coach Payton."
Another source downplayed the trade reports with a similar explanation -- though Vaccaro is in the final year of his contract, so it can't be ruled out as a possibility if the Saints aren't expecting to spend big money on him this offseason. Vaccaro said the trade reports are "a little bit of a distraction, but at the same time, you gotta block that stuff out, be a pro and understand we're trying to win a game."
Vaccaro said he hadn't gotten an explanation for his demotion yet in the aftermath of Sunday's 36-20 loss. Just before he was benched Sunday, he intercepted a pass -- but it was nullified because he was flagged for holding tight end Rob Gronkowski, whom he guarded for most of Sunday's game.
"I know Gronk had two catches on me, really great catches, and that was about it. That's all that really happened. The next thing I know, I'm sitting next to Coach Payton," said Vaccaro, who was not covering Gronkowski during his 53-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the first quarter.
"I took full responsibility [for last week's struggles]. I had bad eyes on a couple plays, and I took responsibility for that. I didn't know that was gonna overflow into this game until all of a sudden I was out," Vaccaro said. "Listen, I've been here for the last four years, and we haven't played up to par on defense. And I understand how it goes. Obviously I've got to be better in my preparation, gotta be more consistent....
"I didn't understand this game what happened at all. But at the same time, I take full responsibility for that and just gotta keep on, gotta keep pushing."
Vaccaro, 26, expressed his desire this summer to finally crack into that Pro Bowl caliber after a career filled with highs and lows. Instead, his rollercoaster career path has hit another sharp turn.
Vaccaro began his career by finishing third in the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2013 on a Saints playoff team that used him as a versatile chess piece as a safety, nickel corner and pseudo-linebacker. But he suffered a broken fibula late that season. Then he was temporarily demoted late in the 2014 season while battling inconsistent play.
Vaccaro's play improved in 2015 and 2016, and he was arguably having his best season last year, with two interceptions and two forced fumbles. But then his season was cut short by a four-game suspension for a positive Adderall test (a substance banned by the NFL).
Vaccaro was replaced in Sunday's lineup by second-year pro Vonn Bell, who started 14 games as a rookie last year. Bell himself lost his starting job this summer to rookie second-round pick Marcus Williams. The Saints also have a veteran backup with starting experience in Rafael Bush.
The Saints have allowed 777 passing yards through two weeks this season -- the most in franchise history, according to ESPN Stats & Information, and the sixth-most of any team since the NFL-AFL merger.
Opponents are 14-of-16 for 398 yards against the Saints on passes thrown 15 or more yards downfield -- with more touchdowns (three) than incompletions.We already know that the Motorola Xoom's pricing structure. The unsubsidized charge for the tablet will be $800 on Verizon Wireless, and a Wi-Fi only version set you back $600.
If you want to pick it up the latter your retail store, however, you'll have to wait a little while longer. Droid Life has leaked the following Staples ad clipping, which includes the words "Arriving in stores beginning March 27!".
The Motorola Xoom ships with Android 3.0 (codenamed Honeycomb) running on Nvidia's Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 32GB of onboard storage (expandable via SD), a 2-megapixel camera on the front, a 5-megapixel camera with dual LED flash on the back, a micro USB 2.0 port, HDMI out, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, as well as Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. The 10.1-inch tablet has a 1280x800 display resolution. Battery life is said to peak at about 10 hours of video playback.
The device launched this quarter with 3G functionality, which will be later upgradeable to LTE 4G. An LTE 4G model will launch in Q2 2011.The A.V. Club is counting down the days leading up to the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 17, with an examination of this year’s major categories. Each day, TV editor Erik Adams is breaking down a category and giving us his picks for who should win, and who will win. Today we’re looking at the nominees for Outstanding Comedy Series:
In a perfect world, Atlanta would be walking home with this award. The A.V. Club’s second favorite show of 2016, Atlanta is exactly the kind of inventive, hilarious series the Emmys should be recognizing. But Emmy voters are creatures a habit. HBO’s Veep is coming off two consecutive wins in this category, and while this season has been a down year, there’s no reason to think it won’t win again. For the rest of Erik’s analysis, check out the video above and stay tuned for more of The A.V. Club’s Emmy Round Up.I don’t like how we talk about privilege. We’re always asking people to apologize for it: “Please excuse my privilege.” You’d think privilege was an annoyance, a bad thing that disrupts an otherwise equitable society. People who speak of privilege in this way have, I believe, good intent. They are certainly right about the injustices created in society. The goal of deprecating privilege is to let people know that there are people out there—a lot of people—who don’t have it so easy. And that’s a good message.
There are a lot of CEOs out there making a lot of money. And for each one, there’s a thousand other people who are just as smart, maybe smarter, who could do the job just as well, maybe better. So how do some people get on top? It’s not just because they’re the best for the job.
From what I can tell, there are three things that get someone to that spot: personal virtue, luck, and privilege.
Here Are the Three Ingredients for Success
Personal virtue describes the intelligence, social graces, skills, and all other traits that someone brings to the table. Of course, even these “natural skills” can be amplified or negated based on the other two aspects of success. The second aspect is luck: being at the right place at the right time. Malcom Gladwell has famously described how Bill Gates was the right age, with the right skills, at the right place when the personal computer revolution took off.
The last factor is privilege. Bill Gates was the son of a wealthy lawyer father and banker mother. He also attended a prestigious private school. You can have all the brains in the world, but if you’re stuck at a dead-end job paying your parent’s medical bills, you’re probably not going to be the next Bill Gates. Privilege is the reality that people don’t normally succeed alone, and not usually on their first try. People succeed because they get help—because someone at some point tips the scale.
But what is the mechanism for this? Who are the people responsible for inequitable treatment? I think when it comes down to it, when we talk about privilege, we are usually talking about parents who try to help their children succeed. They provide safe homes, teach their children social skills, ingratiate them with valuable connections, and submerge them in a culture in which they will learn how to get to and through college, and into the workplace. Of course, it’s more than a one generation phenomena. Parents are enabled to privilege their children in part because of the privileges they themselves have received. Privilege moves from parent to child from generation to generation. And the web gets very thick. But at its heart, privilege is family.
Privilege Actually Starts with Romance
That’s why almost every utopian experiment has attempted to regulate the family. A recent article in The New Yorker by Akash Kapur suggested that “the urge to procreate and nurture a family has proved to be one reliable trip wire” for successful utopias. The thing is that when a man and woman love each other, they begin to privilege each other. Not only does a man have a special affinity for one woman over and above the others, but that man will want an exclusive relationship. He will begin to feel jealous of other men sleeping with that woman. The same is true for the woman. That is the beginning of inequality. Privilege begins with romance: choosing one person over another. Then comes family and, if unchecked, aristocracy.
To avoid the unwanted baggage of privilege, several utopian experiments like Oneidans have attempted to communalize sex so that “private ties” would not trump “communal solidarity.” But the inevitable result is that people are not satisfied with the communal arrangement. They want privileges. Eventually, communal solidarity seems like an empty, meaningless, and unnatural replacement for romance.
To love collectively is not the same as to love individually. Collective love is initially much easier, but ultimately less fulfilling. It is easy to feel wave after wave of generalized love for all mankind, but such love lacks substance. It exists nowhere but in our imagination. The problem is that you cannot make love with humanity. You cannot enjoy a dinner, or watch a show, or tell a joke, or get to know the idiosyncrasies of humanity. We are never confronted with humanity except in the form of individuals. And it is on the individual level that our love is tested, stretched, enhanced, and deepened.
What Would a World Without Privilege Look Like?
If Oneidans believed, as Akash Kapur suggests, that the best way to insure communal love was to destroy private ties, then they were right. When we love humanity in general it often replaces our love for actual individuals. In a marvelously revealing moment in Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov,” Father Zosima says, “The more I love humanity in general the less I love man in particular … the more I hate men individually the more I love humanity.”
Imagine a world without privilege. Instead of helping children through school, parents donate large portions of their income to the general education fund for all children. Rather than a willful contribution, education becomes a mandatory tax. Parents no longer struggle for the success of their children. Instead, money is taken from them to support paid professionals in helping children succeed (but this time with no bias). And these disinterested professionals can finally give the children the fair and equal treatment they deserve. The children succeed and fail based on their own intelligence, and not because they have someone pulling for them. No one succeeds beyond their natural abilities. And the parents, rather than having a single child to worry about, own a tiny fraction of the stock of all children. Would such an economy survive? Prosper?
I doubt it. And not because people aren’t good enough for such a society, but that such a society isn’t good enough for people. We need privilege, as strange as that may sound. We need special people with special places in our lives where we can love not vague ideas but actualities. We need to struggle to raise a child, not send them off to a boarding school or government surrogate. We need committed, privileged relationships—not orgies or open relationships.
The Problem With Our Society Isn’t Privilege
The problem with the world is not privilege. I am sure we are better off with privilege than we would be without it. We are better off with parents personally invested in the success of their children than we are with a generalized, government-run school system where everyone gets a “fair shot.” There’s |
Receipt Checks -- You Can Say 'No'
Over the past few months, I've received several e-mails about bad experiences people have had when they've been stopped by security to check their receipt as they're trying to leave a store. A lot of people find the exercise insulting and invasive, especially if they have to wait in long lines. After all, once you buy something, it's your property, right?
This is what reader Tamu Wright wrote recently:
In general, I think it makes honest customers feel like the store is treating them like a criminal, and in my mind it is a very lazy way of trying to find shoplifters. Also, (I am an African-American woman), I have had friends/family members feel embarrassed or humiliated because their receipt was checked but not others who came through the exit before or after them. I have also noticed in the past (not sure if this is true now) that some stores (i.e. Target) has this receipt-checking policy in Prince George's county, but did not have one went I visited a suburban Va. store. Both of these issues, of course, speak to the issue of race/class profiling.
Well, it turns out retailers are allowed to check your purchases and receipt as long as the search is voluntary and they don't do it in a discriminatory way. Some retailers, such as Costco, spell it out as a condition of membership.
According to a piece on this very issue that ran last fall in the NY Daily News:
Retail loss experts explain that the purpose of the bag check is to make sure the cashier correctly charged for all items in the shopping bag or cart. Once this is done, the bag checker makes a distinctive mark on the receipt to indicate that it was checked.
So theoretically, you don't have to submit to such checks unless you're at Costco and don't mind getting your membership revoked.
Many consumers may not realize this or figure it's just easier to hand over their receipt and open up their bag. One question is, do store clerks and security people respect this?
Are you a shopper who has asserted your right not to be searched? What happened when you did?
By Annys Shin | March 1, 2007; 7:24 AM ET Customer Service
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The comments to this entry are closed.James Jensen was just four years old when he contracted hepatitis C. But it was only 55 years later that the 61-year-old discovered he had the deadly virus.
Jensen underwent various treatments to try to battle the disease, but with little success.
Then came Harvoni. The new drug cures more than 90 percent of cases but comes with a price tag of up to $100,000 for a 12-week course of treatment in the US. Jensen’s health insurer initially refused to pay.
“I felt that I was given a death sentence because that’s what this disease can do,” he told DW. “I was frightened and I still am.”
James Jensen is being treated for hepatitis C with Harvoni in the United States.
Jensen is still undergoing treatment, but now he is considered one of the lucky ones. After months of lobbying his insurer, he is now being treated with the new drug. But with many private health insurers and governments judging the drug too expensive, others have been less fortunate.
The silent killer
Developed by Gilead Sciences, Harvoni is at the center of controversy over skyrocketing drug prices for medications for conditions including cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and heart disease.
While many such high priced drugs target rare diseases with a smaller patient population, up to 150 million people are infected with hepatitis C with around 500,000 dying each year from related liver conditions, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Known as a silent killer for its tendency to remain unnoticed for decades, hepatitis C attacks the liver and can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer. Transmitted through unscreened blood transfusions, injections, and sometimes sexually, in many cases there are no early symptoms, meaning many do not know they have it until their livers are already damaged.
Until recently, treatment of hepatitis C was limited to drugs such as interferon. A course of interferon therapy can last up to a year, or more in some cases, with side effects likened to those of chemotherapy and including tiredness, nausea, depression and hair loss, among others.
WHO's Wiktor says health systems, particularly in middle- and low-income countries, need an overhaul to ensure hepatitis C is detected in patients.
A follow-on drug from the Gilead’s older hepatitis C treatment Sovaldi, the WHO has heralded Harvoni as a “therapeutic revolution” – a one-pill per day treatment that in most cases cures the condition within eight weeks. But the majority of those infected live in middle-income countries in the Middle East and Central and East Asia and the drug’s high price means it is out of reach for many suffering from the disease.
“It’s part of an overall movement to more and more expensive drugs,” said Stefan Wiktor, team leader at the WHO’s Global Hepatitis Program. “It’s rare that you have a drug that is so much better and safer than the one before…but it’s not right that these drug [prices] are so high. People are dying unnecessarily because these drugs are too expensive.”
Pricing reductions ‘not enough’
Gilead, like other drug companies, has responded with a system of tiered pricing, meaning the cost of treatment varies depending on a country’s standing on the economic development index. Drugs cost more in Europe and the United States, while nations lower on the index pay less. In Egypt, which has the highest proportion of sufferers in the world at 14.7 percent of the population, treatment is priced at $900.
“It’s a fraction of what it costs in Europe and the US and we think that’s fair and it’s the right thing to do,” said Norbert W. Bischofberger, chief scientific officer at Gilead.
The US-based biotech has also licensed its drug Sovaldi to generics producers in India to make it available at lower costs in 91 developing countries.
“We do the best to make it available in all countries in the world,” added Bischofberger. “We’re working very hard to make it available everywhere, that’s our philosophy so in the end everyone that needs it has access to it.”
Still, with an average annual income of around $3,140 for those living in Egypt alone, critics say the reductions are not enough, especially when taking into account the production costs of the treatment.
Stefan Wiktor, team leader on the Global Hepatitis Program at the WHO, says drugs are becoming more expensive.
“There have been analyses…taking consideration of even a small margin and it’s less than $200. There’s a lot more room for these drugs to come down in price,” said Wiktor.
Soaring profits
Among the factors drug companies like Gilead blame for such high prices are development costs of such medications. But with increasingly high profits, it is becoming hard to justify such reasoning to a public with ever-waning patience.
Gilead acquired the rights to sofosbuvir, the active ingredient used in both Sovaldi and Harvoni, through its purchase of company Pharmasset for $11 billion in 2011. At the time, it was seen as a gamble, but it has already paid off, at least in part.
In the year since Gilead was granted approval for Sovaldi and later for Harvoni, its sales rose to $24.8 billion in 2014. Meanwhile, company profits soared to $12.1 billion, nearly four times as much as the year before. And in the first quarter of 2015 Harvoni brought sales of antiviral products up to $7 billion.
Eradicating hepatitis C
Gilead has said it would like to see the eradication of hepatitis C within 10 to 15 years and with the development of such a cure, experts say it is biologically feasible, at least in theory.
But in practice, many people don’t even know they are infected and more needs to be done to test for the virus and prevent transmission in the first place.
“This is a really historic point in time – any time you make such dramatic leaps in the effectiveness of treatment, it really raises the visibility of the problem,” said WHO’s Wiktor. “But we really need to scale up testing and get the whole health system trained on how to deliver these drugs, how to evaluate patients and how to use these drugs. That’s what we’re trying to work on, but a lot has to happen and it’s not just about reducing the price of the drugs.”You can opt for pickup or delivery in NYC the day before your cleanse begins, or overnight shipping via FedEx. The cold juice (enough for 3 days of cleansing) arrived to our office in a cardboard box with lots of little ice packs. Well, two of our sets of juices arrived. The third got tracked down pretty quickly; and thus we were all stocked and ready for Juice-and-Only-Juice Day One! Here are our impressions of the first day of the experience.
Carey:
Here's what I didn't expect: these juices are filling. Really filling. And they take an awfully long time to drink. While I wouldn't call the green juice tasty (unless you gnaw on parsley for fun), it's pleasant enough as a meal replacement. I started my first bottle at 6:30am and didn't finish it until 7:30. It's not that they're unappetizing, but they are thick enough that they take some effort to drink. I diluted down Juice #2 (pineapple-mint) by at least 50% with cold water, and actually found it much better (it was quite concentrated-feeling otherwise); sipping at my desk, it lasted me from 11:30 to 12:45. I haven't been hungry, probably because I'm never more than a few minutes away from a sip of something. Strange.
By 5pm, I'd only managed to take down three juices, and it was a struggle to do even that. Not because of how they taste, but because my stomach feels so enormously full. Waterlogged-full, but full. I stared down the fourth bottle but honestly felt as if I might be sick if I had anything else. At the same time, I felt all sorts of what I recognize as my own hunger symptoms: cold hands, a cold nose, a persistent headache, dizziness when I stood up suddenly, zero energy, and total irritability (sorry, officemates!), but I didn't feel hungry—as in, craving food or wanting anything else in my stomach—in the slightest.
I did manage to drink Juice 4 eventually (a reasonably refreshing spicy lemonade) and, around 9pm, the cashew milk, but I failed to get through the rest; one green guy, juice #5, never left my refrigerator. I meant to drink it. I really did. But the thought of it made me feel ill.
I don't get it. This job has turned me into a champion eater. I can visit 22 restaurants in a single day, try 30 po' boys in one long afternoon... but five juices is knocking me out?
Erin:
It was kind of like waking up on the first day of school. Minus the fact that all of those started with solid foods. Heeding BPC's advice, I sipped some room-temp water first to get the body ready—then it was time for breakfast, the first of two green juices that day. In my mind, I was ready to swallow Naked Juice's thick, fruity-sweet Green Machine. But this wasn't that at all. Much more actual green flavors: a ton of celery, cucumber, spinach, kale, parsley, and romaine. Almost like a drinking a salad with sliced apples on top (many of the juices contain apple). Another thing I wasn't ready for: how hard it was to finish this thing.
It went on forever. Is an invisible BPC fairy refilling my bottle? I took it on the rocks, which spaced it out but even after sipping for a good half hour, only half was gone. They're all pretty throat-coatingly thick (except the spicy lemonade to come), somewhere between juice and smoothie texture. When it was time to leave the apartment, I actually had to force-chug the rest of Green to stay on schedule.
At the office, I kept looking at my watch, spacing out the hours in terms of juice o'clocks. Well, if I have PAM (pineapple-apple-mint) then, that would put me at 4 p.m. for the Green #2, which means, OK, I can get to bed by 11 p.m. But not a minute past 9 p.m. for cashew milk dinner! Next up, PAM, a totally refreshing umbrella drink juice (Ed confirmed such). The closest thing to a brunch cocktail on this cleanse.
Is it really time for another? 2:15-ish, I was behind schedule for Green Number Two. (Green again?) I like Green, don't get me wrong, but it's just a lot of juice, especially for someone who's not a big juice person. Could only finish about 70% of it. Before leaving the office it was time for spicy lemonade, by far the easiest to glug back: light, lemony, refreshing, not juicy-thick, with a cayenne kick at the end.
Some anxious shopping anxiety at Target after work made me reach for a stick of Orbit—okay, two sticks. CHEWING. The act of chewing felt good, and it gave me a little rush. The red juice (#5) was in my bag, and if I wanted to be in bed by 11 p.m. at the earliest, I needed to start chugging. Now. This is where my supportive boyfriend Andrew came in.
Please help me drink this! He looked a little nervous, like I'd dissolve into the ether if I shared. But I insisted. Really, please. I wanted to get to that cashew milk finish line. The creamy, fatty (19 grams of fat in this) drink was a bit grainy but the closest thing to the spoonfuls of peanut butter in my pre-cleanse days of yore.
Maggie:
I woke up this morning afraid of the green juice. Would it be impossible to swallow? I don't often eat vegetables in the morning (except occasionally Northern Spy's kale salad with eggs on top) so it just didn't seem that appealing in the abstract. But it's not that bad, if not exactly delicious. I've heard the stuff grows on you...we'll see. The apple juice flavor comes through, and the celery, though it's definitely more vegetal than fruity, with a slight green bitterness from kale and parsley. I am sure parsley is good for you, but I'm not sure it's an appealing flavor in juice.
After finishing the last bit of the green juice around 10:30 and having some green tea, we all brightened up when we tasted juice #2, a pineapple-mint concoction that reminded me of a mojito. Not bad. Around 2, it's time for the second round of green juice. Diluting it brings out the lettuce, apple, and lemon flavors (in a good way) but also makes it...even bigger. I kept looking at my glass and thinking there should be less juice in it.
All day, I feel full of liquid, if not exactly full of food. But the Cayenne Lemonade goes down easy at 4:30. It's neither very tart nor very spicy...I'd be happy drinking this whenever, thought it's a bit more sweet than I'd generally like my lemonade. My hands are a little bit shaky, I'm not sure if it's related to the juice.
I felt clearheaded until about 5, but then I start getting pretty sleepy. Only a super-entertaining SE editorial meeting can keep me awake, and luckily the team delivers. (Stay tuned for some awesome new columns.) I opened the red juice around 7 pm, fearing borscht-in-a-glass. This one is actually pretty sweet (it's a blend of apple, carrot, ginger, and beet, and the ginger does a lot to mask the beet flavors.) Unless you really, really hate beets (or you're allergic to carrots, Carey-Jones-style) you'll likely be ok drinking this. That said, I couldn't finish it on Day 1. Got about ¾ through over the course of 40 minutes and was so full I needed to stop. In part, I'm doing this cleanse as a break from decadent food and drink; I don't feel the need to chug this stuff past the point of discomfort. One more to go.
Around 9, I slowly sip the cashew milk with vanilla, agave, and cinnamon. A little sweet for my taste (think vanilla Ensure) but it satisfies like a mealy-grainy cousin of the milkshake.
Go back to our pre-cleanse post »
Skip ahead to Day 2 »
Skip ahead to Day 3 »
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The House Select Committee on Benghazi is reeling again after a fired GOP investigator accused the Republican majority of conducting a politically motivated probe of Hillary Clinton — accusations the right says are an attempt to get the committee to pay him a settlement.
Major Bradley Podliska, who left the panel in June after about 10 months on the job, told CNN on Sunday he was fired because he refused to conduct a partisan probe of the former secretary of state. He said the panel has veered off its original course to investigate the Sept. 11, 2012, attack that left four Americans dead — instead zeroing in on Clinton following news that she used private email while secretary of state.
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But the Benghazi panel on Sunday contended that Podliska was removed from his job for different reasons. It said he refused to stand down on a "partisan" project that focused on Clinton and the Susan Rice talking points on Benghazi. It also said he has has never raised Clinton as a reason for his termination in talks over the past few weeks.
His allegation is not mentioned in a preliminary Sept. 11 legal document laying out his case against the panel, according to a copy of that document obtained by POLITICO.
"As this process prepares to wrap, he has demanded money from the Committee, the Committee has refused to pay him, and he has now run to the press with his new salacious allegations about Secretary Clinton,” said Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) in a statement. "What the record makes clear is he himself was focused on Clinton and was instructed to stop, and that issues with his conduct and performance were noted on the record as far back as April."
The panel says he was terminated for "cause" and "because he himself manifested improper partiality and animus in his investigative work.” He denied the allegations through a lawyer.
His new accusation is sure to feed the partisan fire surrounding the committee, which has been on defense since Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) bragged almost two weeks ago that the committee’s work has hurt Clinton on the 2016 campaign trail. Clinton is scheduled to testify before the committee Oct. 22.
Podliska is a Republican and believes the Benghazi investigation holds merit, making his criticism of the panel all the more stinging for the committee. A lawyer for Podliska said he was not partisan and never authorized anyone to go after Clinton.
"I'm scared. I'm nervous. I know that this is, you know, I'm going up against powerful people in Washington. But at the end of the day I need to live with myself," he told CNN. "I told my wife, I will view myself as a coward if I don't do the right thing here."
Democrats and the Clinton campaign blasted out the story to reporters as proof that the panel is a political circus.
“These are explosive allegations,” said campaign spokesman Brian Fallon in a statement. “This Republican whistleblower's account from inside the Benghazi Committee may provide the most definitive proof to date that this taxpayer-funded investigation has been a partisan sham from the start.”
Podliska, an Air Force Reserve intelligence officer, plans to file a lawsuit against the panel next month for wrongful termination. Podliska said the termination was twofold: because of his unwillingness to focus his probe solely on Clinton and State but also for taking a leave of absence to fulfill military service obligations.
"I was fired for going on military service, and I was fired for trying to conduct an objective, nonpartisan, thorough investigation," Podliska said.
The military service reprisal accusation is the only one mentioned in his Sept. 11 dispute notice to the panel.
Podliska in the spring informed the panel he was being called up for more than 30 days of active duty in Germany, which he would have to serve in bits and pieces. He said the panel's staff director when informed of the matter simply wrote back "wow," and he says he was never treated the same after he returned from active duty.
The panel also denied what it called an “outlandish” allegation, noting that his former supervisor is an ex-judge advocate general of the United States Army who would hardly be "anti-military."
The committee says Podliska was let go in part because he had classified information on an unsecured system and because he tried to “develop and direct Committee resources to a PowerPoint ‘hit piece’ on members of the Obama Administration — including Secretary Clinton — that bore no relationship whatsoever to the Committee’s current investigative tone, focus or investigative plan.”
Emails obtained by POLITICO suggest that he sought to task interns with obligations, but one of his lawyers, Joe Napiltonia said, said he never authorized the intern to do a “hit piece” on Hillary Clinton.
“Mr. Podliska has always maintained that Secretary Clinton has some answering to do, but he never authorized anyone to disparage Hillary Clinton,” he said in an email.
On Tuesday, June 9, Podliska wrote to the panel's intern coordinator: "I'd like the interns to complete the following tasks for me." He listed three tasks, including creating a PowerPoint on all the talking points that came out of the administration following the attack and a "master video" that incorporated something Clinton said in September, emails from deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes and the controversial "talking points" Rice made on TV.
Conservatives have long accused the administration of trying to cover up the cause of the attack in Benghazi, which Rice blamed on a protest rather than a terrorist attack.
But the panel says Podliska's idea was too partisan and was rejected. When he followed up on the email about a week later, the intern coordinator forwarded the message to the deputy staff director.
All were copied on the deputy staff director's email reply, which added on staff director Phil Kiko: "Not approved for reasons previously explained to Brad [Podliska]."
“Directly contrary to his brand new assertion, the employee actually was terminated, in part, because he himself manifested improper partiality and animus in his investigative work,” the committee statement says.
The Benghazi panel by and large has not been out front on the Clinton emails issue. Rather, Senate Chairmen Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on the Homeland Committee and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on the Judiciary panel have taken the lead subpoenaing documents from Platte River Networks and other IT firms that oversaw Clinton’s server while prodding the intelligence community and the FBI to look into whether classified information was mishandled.
The closest the committee has come to the email probe was in September, when the panel called Clinton’s former top tech adviser, Bryan Pagliano, in for questioning about her email arrangement. The panel said the main focus of that interview was simply ensuring that all Clinton’s work emails were turned over, particularly after uncovering several Clinton undisclosed emails from another source that they say should have been turned over.Someone rings your doorbell, you open the door.
'The handyman!' a man in blue overalls yells. 'That'll be 15,000 dollars!'
'Why?' you ask.
'Why, why...?! Because I say so! That's why!' the man in blue shouts.
'But, why should I pay you?' you ask politely.
'For all the jobs I am going to do for you. Services, let's say.'
'But... what jobs then?' you ask.
'Well, I will decide that! At any rate, very useful jobs!' the man barks.
'Hmm, in that case, no thank you,' you say.
'No no, you don't understand! You're just going to pay me, or else I'll put you in a cage!' the man threatens.
The man explains that he hires people with guns and that he will force you with those weapons, if you refuse his offer.
You give in and pay.
You hear from your neighbors that the same man and other handymen have been at their door as well. They paid the man, too. You decide to gather in the community center.
The people discuss and debate. Some want to hire the blue handyman, while others prefer another handyman in red overalls, and others want the one in yellow. But nobody seems to wonder if those handymen are actually a good idea. Regardless of the possible quality of their work...
Eventually, everyone votes on the matter and after counting the votes, the red handyman wins.
After a while, a new handyman comes ringing at everyone's doorbell.
'That'll be 15,000 dollars!' the man in red shouts. 'And it may be more in the future! Or less, but I will decide that!'
'But,' you say, 'I thought...'
'Yeah yeah thinking thinking!' the handyman says. 'Leave the thinking to me. YOU have chosen me!'
'But, I don't agree,' you tell him.
'That's okay,' the man in red says. 'But you're going to pay me, or I will lock you up!'
You bow your head and pay.
Strange little story, right? But this is what happens to us every day. Your government determines THAT you should pay and WHAT you should pay for. Besides, the same government decides which services you get in return (and whether you get anything in return at all). About all those issues, you have no say. You are only allowed to choose for another frontman, another color. For you, the conditions stay the same: you have to obey, or you'll end up, under the threat of violence, in a cage.
If you like this post, don't forget to upvote, follow @rvanstel and resteem! Have a nice day!It’s lunchtime at the fraternity house. Guys with backpacks, crew socks and crew cuts greet the house mom, fill cups with blue Powerade, eat ham and cheese subs and mostly ignore the salad bar.
A blond-haired, green-eyed member in a red ball cap, Jayhawk sweatshirt and loafers — no socks — intercepts a freshman heading toward the dining room.
“Hey, are you eating right now?”
“Yeah, what’s up?” the freshman says.
“Do you mind feeding me?”
This is a daily ritual for Tom Babb.
And he’s not just heckling the freshman.
Babb, a sophomore from Evergreen, Colo., had just finished his first semester as a Beta Theta Pi fraternity pledge at the University of Kansas when an accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. He spent the following spring and summer recovering in hospitals and at home with his parents.
Babb, determined to return to KU, did so in fall 2016 and is now finishing his first year navigating life as a quadriplegic in a fraternity house.
Babb’s father, an alumnus of the same fraternity at a different college, sees the brotherhood concept playing out in his son’s unusual circumstances.
“He wouldn’t have worked so hard to come back if there wasn’t something so strong and something he loves so much as the house,” Steve Babb said. “And he wouldn’t have been able to fulfill that dream if it wasn’t for the guys in the house welcoming him emotionally, physically and in every way.”
‘Helpless’
Every morning but Saturdays, a nursing assistant gets Tom Babb out of bed, bathes him, dresses him and puts him in his wheelchair.
Other than that, caring for Babb falls primarily to the 90 other men who live with him in the house.
His fraternity brothers — largely his roommates and closest friends, but really whoever’s around — feed him, pick things up for him, change his clothes, unhook his catheter, give him his meds, brush his teeth and put him in bed at night.
If he wants to go to the basement or upstairs, they transfer him to a lighter, non-motorized wheelchair that two or three of them can lift.
They walk with him to class, or drive him in his accessible van. There’s always someone with him when he goes out. They’ve taken him to the hospital a couple times when he’s had medical issues.
Babb can move his arms some, enough to drive his motorized wheelchair with a joystick and tap on his phone screen with one knuckle. Voice-activated technology helps him text, make calls and use his computer.
When Babb moved back to KU in August, his mother, Christa Babb, came with him, and stayed in town almost three months.
“I told him I would like to be out there for a semester. He said a month. I kind of compromised,” she said.
Among Mom’s first orders of business: finding a primary care doctor, getting familiar with the local emergency room and contacting the fire department supervisor in charge of the Beta house’s district.
“I just thought, he’s helpless,” she said. “He can’t get himself out, so I wanted the fire chief to be aware.”
She doesn’t actually think it would come to that, but being 600 miles away, that’s comforting. Babb is capable, his fraternity brothers know how to care for him, and there are medical resources in town.
“It’s the best place for him — I wholeheartedly believe that — and I really wish he could live there for the rest of his life,” she said. “He has constant companionship … The boys have always come through.”
‘You have to be pretty mature’
“I’m a college student, so I don’t really want to, like, feed someone, you know?” laughs Hank Deeter, a sophomore from Fort Collins, Colo., and one of Babb’s good friends. “You have to be pretty mature about it.”
But fraternity members say they’re happy to help Babb. He’s not only their friend, he’s a fellow Beta, and that means something.
“No doubt it’s the brotherhood,” Babb said. “Even a guy I don’t talk to in the house that much … if I say, ‘Hey, dude, I need a ride, can you take me?’ he’ll drop whatever he’s doing.”
Babb is friendly, confident and not afraid to ask for help, though he tries to disperse requests so it doesn’t get “annoying,” especially for his roommates and go-to friends.
“There’s never been a time when I’ve been, like, overwhelmed with Babb needing help,” Deeter said.
Henry Killen, a sophomore from Winona, Minn., and one of Babb’s roommates this semester, agrees.
“Definitely not,” he said. “There’s enough guys.”
There is an exception — blackout-drunk Babb.
That was happening his first semester back.
“He was so excited to get back, and to a certain extent he was almost like a celebrity when he went out,” said Patrick Hullings, a sophomore from Wichita and one of Babb’s roommates in the fall. “He’d get people like, ‘Oh, Tom, let me buy you a drink,’ or, ‘ |
. "A lot of people still believe them, but when there are too many fatwas they lose their force.'
The final of the television show, recorded in Abu Dhabi but shown across the Gulf, was due to be filmed tonight (Wednesday). It has been postponed to next week due to the death of the ruler of Abu Dhabi's younger brother in a microlight accident in Morocco.Government says it has been treated ‘unjustly and unfairly’ amid human rights scrutiny and money laundering rumours
The Maldives has announced it will leave the Commonwealth after mounting pressure from the 53-nation group over corruption and deteriorating human rights in the Indian Ocean state.
The country’s government, which has been fending off rumours of an impending coup and allegations of money laundering, said the decision on Thursday to cancel its membership was “difficult but inevitable”.
Maldives newspaper raided after corruption claims against president Read more
Its foreign ministry said in a statement it had been treated “unjustly and unfairly” by the organisation’s Commonwealth ministerial action group (CMAG), which has been scrutinising the government since the former president, Mohamed Nasheed, was ousted in 2012 in what his supporters say was a coup.
“The CMAG and the Commonwealth secretariat seem to be convinced that the Maldives, because of the high and favourable reputation that the country enjoys internationally, and also perhaps because it is a small state that lacks material power, would be an easy object that can be used,” the statement said.
It added that it was being targeted “in the name of democracy promotion, to increase the [Commonwealth’s] own relevance and leverage in international politics”.
On 23 September the Maldives government was officially put on notice by CMAG and given six months to address concerns including the detention and prosecution of opposition leaders, meddling with the judiciary and undermining democratic institutions.
It was the third time the country had been threatened with partial or full suspension from the Commonwealth since Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected president, was forced out. He was replaced by the current president, Abdulla Yameen, in a 2013 poll widely regarded as dubious.
A September report (pdf) by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), an independent NGO, found “further evidence of curbing fundamental rights, targeted persecution of opposition leaders [and] misuse of state institutions (including the judiciary, legislature and the police) to restrict, crush and punish dissent”.
“It’s a sad day,” said David White, the chief of the CHRI. “We did call for them to be suspended, but that was in order to call for more support for the Commonwealth to push for political reform.”
A spokeswoman from the CHRI’s Delhi office said the decision to end the Maldives’ 34-year Commonwealth membership was a way of “saying you’re no longer committed to democracy and rule of law”.
“It’s a huge setback to civil society and the democracy movement,” she said. “The national institutions are really failing, the entire democratic structure that the country committed to in 2008 is under threat.”
The Commonwealth secretary general, Patricia Scotland, said: “The Commonwealth family at large [will] share my sadness and disappointment at this decision.
“The Commonwealth charter reflects the commitment of our member states to democracy and human rights, development and growth, and diversity. We will continue to champion these values and to support all member states, especially small and developing states.
“Therefore, we hope that this will be a temporary separation and that Maldives will feel able to return to the Commonwealth family and all that it represents in due course.”
The archipelago, best known for its luxury tourist resorts, transitioned to democracy in 2008 after the end of 30 years of autocratic rule by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
But the ascension in 2013 of Yameen – Gayoom’s half-brother – has led to regular political crises and the prosecution of political figures, including Nasheed last year on terrorism charges Amnesty International said were politically motivated. The former president received political asylum in Britain in May.
A former vice-president, Ahmed Adeeb, was convicted in June of trying to assassinate Yameen by planting a bomb on his speedboat.
The government was recently rocked by a documentary, broadcast by al-Jazeera, alleging Yameen and other senior government members had been involved in money laundering and tampering with judges, among other crimes. They have denied the allegations.
Islamic extremism is also thought to be a growing problem, with up to 100 Maldivians – from a population of 300,000 – believed to have left the country for Syria as of January 2015.Engagement Ring Chocolate Diamonds
Chocolate diamonds are just brown diamonds, brown diamonds are the most commonly occurring type of diamond on earth. There are thousands of tons of them. “The most common color is brown and then colorless.” The so-called “fancy” colors — yellow, pink, green and blue — are rarer. (The Hope Diamond, the most famous diamond in the world, is blue.) “Blue diamonds and red diamonds are extremely rare.” Said Dr. George Harlow, a geologist specializing in mineralogy.
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The reason why some people believe that “Chocolate Diamonds” are rare, is because we haven’t seen them on the market before. Various companies have tried to previously market brown diamonds to consumers, but most attempts have failed. The cause of the diamond’s color is due to internal training, which is caused by structural irregularity in a diamond’s crystal. Currently, there is an oversupply of brown diamonds and before Le Vian’s “Chocolate Diamond Rings” marketing campaign, they were only used as a material for making industrial blades. Even though brown diamonds now sell for the same price as white, George Halow says this should not happen, even if the diamonds are the same size, clarity, cut, and carat weight, they are still far more common than any other diamond.
Chocolate Diamond Rings – Who Would Think Chocolate And Diamonds Went Together Like This
Chocolate diamond rings will add a unique richness and elegance to any jewelry collection. Now, let’s not get confused here, chocolate diamond rings are not a fancy product put out by the Hershey factory. This is indeed not an edible food item! They are in fact actual diamonds from the brown diamond group. The name chocolate refers to its brown color that is created from the mixture of nitrogen and nickel that is put into the diamond itself. There are a few distinct types of this diamond: heat treated, synthetic and natural. Natural chocolate diamonds can be made from naturally occurring laths that cause the discoloration of this diamond. If this diamond is heat treated, it will become lighter in color and differ from the rich chocolate color of the natural diamond. Over the years chocolate diamond rings have gained in appeal mainly because of their unique style and cost-effectiveness. Chocolate diamonds are far less expensive than the typical clear, white diamonds, making them a much more attractive and financially friendly gift to buy. While these chocolate diamond rings are commonly used for engagements, they are also marketed for fashion. Many of the rings come with color combinations of rubies, turquoise, and emeralds. If you want to go fancier, you can get a ring that has brown pearls surrounding the brown diamonds. Or, to add a flair, you could get a ring with brown diamonds and gold settings, or a checkerboard pattern that has white and brown diamonds alternating. They also make rings with rows of white and brown diamonds that create a striped pattern, and if you want to go more simple, you can get a ring with a white diamond right in the center that is surrounded by brown diamonds. These bands come in many different styles for men and women alike. Currently, many Hollywood celebrities are sporting these unique chocolate diamond rings as a symbol of fame, beauty, and luxurious taste. These beauties can be purchased in a few jewelry stores all over the country. You can also easily purchase them online by going to specific sites like Amazon. Now, here is the pleasantly shocking surprise: the price range for these chocolate diamond rings ranges from one hundred and fifty dollars to three thousand depending on the luster of the diamonds, how many white diamonds in the piece, and the actual size of the gems. So, if you are looking into surprising your special someone with a unique, elegant and fashionable piece of jewelry, jazz them up with by picking one of the most beautiful chocolate diamond rings that will say I love you- with a flair.
Chocolate Diamonds For Your Engagement Ring
Chocolate diamonds are a lot more interesting title for brown diamonds. One more rather a way of putting it is to contact them cognac diamonds, which are a shade or two lighter than the cognac, but even now officially brown. Some are brown by character, some have the color extra later on. The coloration-extra diamonds have considerably less worth and are typically created from diamonds that begin off as becoming of lower quality, to begin with. This is since the color that is added can conceal any imperfections in a stone that is initially whiter in color, and we all know that a lot more imperfections a diamond have, the significantly less costly it is. The genuine reputation of this wonderful nutrition enthusiastic unique industrialists and capitalists to commence out chocolate companies within different parts of the earth. That’s why any want to be intended for cocoa grains also functioning the true maqui berry farmers from the western to make increasingly more cocoa powder grains. Cacao is the principal factor for making chocolates. Any Western world Africa planet from Cote d’Ivoire (Pale yellow Coast) stands out as the top rated store of powdered cocoa. That supplies 40% of cacao introduced throughout the entire world. This caused ask for competent prospects any cocoa powder provider to activate a developing quantity of youngster laborers inside of the development. When chocolate diamonds are combined with colored or colorless diamonds, they search sophisticated and trendy. Most of the jewelry objects made up of chocolate diamonds are developed with other diamonds, white gold or pure gold. A lot of jewelers utilize these diamonds to create earrings, bracelets, pendants, and rings. For a lot of brides, Le Vian chocolate diamonds symbolize a beautiful, special selection for an engagement ring. LeVian, the entire world-renowned jeweler is primarily liable for the reputation of these stunning brown diamonds. Its Valentines Working day below at the Carina Press blog and I’ve been thinking about the components of romance and, not coincidentally, the components of romance fiction. The other working day on Television set I saw a business for these chocolate diamonds which are meant to be really particular but just reek to me of gimmicky client manipulation. As an alternative to a basic, crisp, sparkling jewel, you get something that looks like it was dropped in coffee also numerous occasions. I get the want to be different, but often a vintage is a basis for a purpose and doesn’t require to be modified.
Talking About the Best Chocolate Diamonds in the World
Anyone who loves jewelry has probably heard of a chocolate diamonds. Of course, these little beauties are not really edible; they just look like they might be because of their rich chocolate brown color. Chocolate diamond jewelry has become very popular in the last decade due to the marketing efforts of a company called Le Vian.
The best chocolate diamonds in the world, from the Le Vian Company, and are a clear medium brown color. In the past, brown diamonds were not thought to be suitable for use in jewelry. They were used extensively for manufacturing, and quite a few of them were actually discarded. Since brown diamonds are the most common color of diamond found, the Le Vian Company wanted to make use of them instead of discarding them.
In the early 2000s, Le Vian designed a collection of jewelry that was given away to celebrities so that they could wear the jewelry during high profile appearances. As more and more celebrity women began wearing chocolate diamonds, women began to notice how beautiful they are. Many requests for the jewelry worn by the celebrities were made to the Le Vian company, but most people could not afford the high prices of the jewelry that was worn on the red carpet. So Le Vian created a collection of high quality, yet more economically priced jewelry. Most of the pieces they market today between $500 and $1000.
One thing most people notice right away about chocolate diamonds it is how versatile they are. They seem to go with just about all other gemstones, such as aquamarines and even yellow diamonds very well. They will even coordinate well with such other jewelry pieces such as Pandora bracelets. Rose gold also coordinates very well with chocolate diamonds, and Le Vian even makes a collection of chocolate diamond and rose gold jewelry that they call their “Strawberry Gold” collection.
Since they use the best chocolate diamonds available and set in very high-quality designer settings, Le Vian has set a very high standard when it comes to chocolate diamond jewelry. No one else seems to quite be able to duplicate the beautiful pieces from Le Vian.
The History Of Chocolate Diamonds
Understanding the history of chocolate diamonds is important if you’re looking to gain an understanding of how and why they have come to be in today’s jewelry industry. Many fail to understand what a true chocolate diamond is and often times are tricked into thinking that colored gemstones are the same thing. Consumers must be fully informed about what chocolate diamonds are if they want to achieve a successful diamond buying experience.
How They Get Their Color
Understanding the history of chocolate diamonds can also help you understand how they have taken on such a unique color. The diamonds have been forming for many years, millions, perhaps even billions of years. During that time the stones have been placed under enormous amounts of pressure which in turn has compacted tiny nitrogen particles that exist within them, creating a concentration of colored particles that essentially changed the entire color of the stone. The result of this process is chocolate diamonds, or brown diamonds, which are sold in jewelry stores around the world.ColorsThe chocolate color isn’t the only color that these diamonds can take on. There are other variations that can exist, and the lightness or darkness of the color simply depends on how concentrated the nitrogen atoms are within the diamond. If a smaller concentration exists, then the diamond might actually be a lighter color almost like a champagne color. Heavier concentrations are signified with the darker chocolate or brown color. The purest of them all and the most expensive of them all is the natural color diamond or the diamond that is completely colorless.
The fact of the matter is that chocolate diamonds have been around for centuries just like any other type of diamond that exists on the market today. It has been reported that chocolate diamonds made an appearance in the diamond market as early as the 1600s, and have been worn by people of many different social statuses over the years. Even today, chocolate diamonds are worn by many including celebrities, high profile individuals, and anyone else who can afford them.
In the more recent history of chocolate diamonds, these gemstones experienced a revival. After a lull period, chocolate colored diamonds started becoming widely popular around the early 2000s when a widely know jeweler, Eddie Le Vian, started offering them for sale. This initial offering, which helped convince consumers of the fact that chocolate diamonds are beautiful and highly unique diamonds, sparked a fury of popularity and admiration for the diamonds which has existed ever since. More chocolate diamond rings.
Why You Will Love Chocolate Diamonds
Anything with the word chocolate in it has to be wonderful, right? Chocolate diamonds certainly live up to the description of wonderful! Beautiful brown diamonds have recently become all the rage. They are being worn on red carpet events all over the world. So why is everyone falling in love with them?
The most common color found in diamonds is brown. These beautiful chocolate-color diamonds come from many places, but most are mined in Australia. Brown diamonds have a crystalline lattice deformation that causes the brown color. By heating and using pressure treatments, lapidary specialists can turn brown diamonds into champagne, yellow and also colorless diamonds. So always remember, before buying any colored diamond, you should inquire whether the diamond has had any treatments that changed the color.
The Le Vian Company began designing jewelry with beautiful golden brown diamonds in the early part of the 2000′s. They loved the way the brown diamonds looked like rich chocolate, and so the name “chocolate diamonds” was born. Movie stars like Halle Berry and Angelina Jolie have been seen wearing Le Vian’s couture chocolate diamonds, which cost many thousands of dollars.
If you have a little sticker shock after hearing that couture chocolate diamonds sell for thousands of dollars, don’t worry. Le Vian and other jewelry companies have made sure that there are lots of more affordable, yet stunningly gorgeous chocolate brown diamond jewelry pieces available. You can find rings, earrings, and pendants and bracelets priced from $300 and up. Rose and yellow gold look especially good with chocolate diamonds, as well as other warm-toned gemstones. Imagine how pretty a chocolate diamond ring or bracelet would look paired with a yellow cushion cut diamond engagement ring, or even a yellow gold Pandora bracelet.
If you have not ever seen a chocolate diamond, I would say you should head out to the nearest jewelry store and take a look at them today! Not all jewelry stores carry them though, so you may have to shop online for them. Shop with a reputable online retailer like Amazon that has a good return policy, and you can shop worry-free for all the chocolate diamonds you can handle!
The Best Online Tips On Chocolate Diamonds
Chocolate diamonds are the wordmark that is registered to the Le Vian Corporation. The term refers to dark brown diamonds found mostly in Australia. Jewelers found that the phrase brown diamonds did not appeal to its clientele and instead coined the saleable name- chocolate diamond. The expression came about because these diamonds have a dark chocolate color intensity and look like diamonds that are covered in chocolate. In the last five to ten years, the popularity and demand for these colored fancy diamonds have increased much fold.
How to Buy Chocolate Diamonds
A diamond is the hardest mineral known. According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), there are four essential Cs to quantifying and grading the quality of a diamond. These 4Cs are carat, color, clarity, and cut. When you are buying any type of colored diamonds, it is important to keep the 4 industry standards of cut, color, clarity, and carat in mind so that you are sure of what you are getting.
Color
The colors of the diamonds are determined by the spacing of nitrogen atoms in them. There are several shades of the sought after brown diamonds that include cognac, champagne, cinnamon, and honey. Their hues range from a reddish brown to golden brown. Champagne is a lighter variant of the brown colored diamond whereas cognac is a darker brown. Although there is a variation in the colors, most chocolate diamonds run fairly dark.
Chocolate diamonds champagne which is a lighter brown color is certainly one of the favorites with buyers. The cognac color is also another very popular choice.
Chocolate Diamonds Colors
Cut
The cut of a diamond is the shape of the diamond. One that has been well cut allows the light to be reflected in facets from the characteristics of the individual diamond such as its fire and brilliance. This is especially highlighted in the chocolate diamond engagement rings that are all the rage today.
Clarity
Opinions vary on the clarity of mocha diamonds. Some people dislike the cloudiness of the darker diamond. However, the darker color is also what makes the chocolate diamond a popular alternative choice from the traditional white diamond. A well-cut natural chocolate diamond has just as much sparkle as the white one. Part of the value depends on the clarity.
Carat
The weight of a diamond is measured in carats. These carats are broken down into smaller units called points. A one-carat diamond has 100 points. A diamond that has fifty points is equal to one-half carat. The value of the diamond is determined by the carat of the diamond along with the cut, clarity, and color.
Chocolate Diamonds Popular Trends
The popularity of chocolate diamonds has increased because people are searching for alternatives to the traditional white diamond. Actually, treating white diamonds to create chocolate colored diamonds is a common practice. This treatment does alter the value of the stone though. Of course, a natural gemstone carries more value because the natural quality is genuine and authentic. That does not, however, mean that you cannot purchase a quality chocolate diamond that has been treated and still have an excellent as well as valuable piece of jewelry. Treatment is also used to enhance the quality of the diamond. The process of extreme heat and irradiation is used to enhance the clarity or to remove imperfections. This process permanently alters the diamond but brings out the color properties in them more brilliantly.
Chocolate Diamonds Set in White Gold
Whether choosing an engagement ring, earrings, a necklace or a bracelet made from chocolate diamonds, there is an array of colors to chose from the dark olive brown referred to as clove or the cinnamon and champagne referred to as light brown. The fashionable option is to combine this jewelry with 14k yellow gold as it compliments various skin tones. Since the look of the diamond on the hand is important, particularly to women, make sure that the setting of the 14k gold is of a very high standard. Diamonds set in white gold, sterling silver or even platinum is also sought after.
Another popular trend with the chocolate diamond is to combine them with other gemstones like white diamonds. Combinations of various gemstones compliment the individual features of the diamond jewelry and bring out the stunning brilliance and style of each stone. Traditional white diamonds can be enhanced to exude a unique brilliance and style that is totally one-of-a-kind.
Where To Buy Chocolate Diamonds
Whether you desire a subdued style or a more overt style, chocolate diamonds give you choices that speak directly to your individual style. Champagne diamonds and other fancy diamonds are a high fashion jewelry trend and should be considered as such. There are many places from high-end to low-end retail shops that sell your favorite chocolate diamond. The high-end retailers like Tiffany’s or Zales have a fabulous collection of the most in-demand colored diamond jewelry, but can be pricey though they come with a certificate of quality. Online diamond retailers are a better option for the budget conscious customer who is also short on time but knows what they want.
Check out the options that are available to you and acquire the chocolate diamonds that are an excellent expression of your own uniqueness and style. Create your own trend with a style that is a combination of this diamond with other gemstones. The options are certainly wide and varied. This is certainly an opportune time to take advantage of the new styles and trends for these diamonds and to look sparkling.
Chocolate Diamonds
Chocolate Diamonds are a wonderful variety of diamond that has recently gained popularity with jewelry wearers everywhere. They fall under the classification of fancy diamonds and are real and authentic. They are found in the same mines and share the same properties as their clear and more expensive counterparts. As the name implies, Chocolate Diamonds are brown in color, usually a deep or dark brown, but they reflect light and shimmer as other diamonds.
Chocolate Diamonds can be set as a single stone or with other stones. Once you start introducing colored stones to your settings, the combinations and possibilities become unlimited. They are perfect for creating a contrasting setting with lighter stones and other jewelry elements.
Brown diamonds at one time were considered undesirable; they were thought of as flawed compared to “normal” diamonds. Diamond retailer Le Vain began marketing them and is credited with coining the phrase Chocolate Diamond. They refer to their line of chocolate jewelry as Le Vian Chocolatier. It includes beautiful pieces that are intricate in design and stunning in appearance.
Chocolate Diamonds can be used for any jewelry where clear diamonds would be used. So they are found in rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, broaches, pendants, cuff links, tie pins, etc. They are becoming very popular because they add a unique accessorizing component that is a genuine diamond, yet not the traditional clear color.
Chocolate diamonds are a great gift for any occasion. Any occasion that you would like to give a diamond, it can be a chocolate diamond. Anniversary, Valentine’s Day, Birthday, Christmas and Mother’s Day are perfect examples. Since they are not very common, it will likely be a unique gift that the receiver will appreciate and welcome to their jewelry collection. Everyone loves diamonds.
A fun idea would be to give a combination gift of chocolate jewelry and chocolate candy. There are many high-end chocolate brands that have the stigma of elegance. You could combine the two for a fun gift that the receiver will enjoy and remember forever.
Prices range from very affordable to very expensive depending on many factors. These factors are many of the same that all diamonds are ranked on. They include size, cut and color. Typically larger stones are rarer and will cost more. A more complicated cut will cost more because it takes more time and skill to craft. Richer shades of brown and certain shades of brown may be rarer than others and will also factor in the prices.
Chocolate Diamonds are a great variation of diamond that should be considered when shopping for your next jewelry purchase. They can be a very affordable way to give the gift of a diamond. They are available in almost every setting and cut a traditional diamond is. They are unique and will be admired by all.
No, they’re not some exotic form of candy, diamonds with a rich brown hue are known as chocolate diamonds and there are two main varieties; natural diamonds chocolate diamonds and manufactured chocolate diamonds. Natural diamonds are rarer, hence they are both more expensive and more valuable.
Most of the natural brown diamonds come from a single location; the Argyle diamond mine in Northwestern Australia. The mine is one of the worlds largest suppliers of diamonds and has been in operation since 1985, since when it has produced more than 760 million carats of diamond. The delicious color of these diamonds is not due to an impurity; it is caused by an irregularity in the lattice structure which makes diamond the hardest substance on Earth. The diamond absorbs light a little differently from a white diamond, and the color is the result. It was world famous jeweler LeVian who first coined the term ‘chocolate diamond’ for a brown diamond, though the term brown diamond encompasses a wide variation in color, from pale to dark. The pale brown diamonds are known as champagne diamonds, darker stones as cognac diamonds and darker still are luscious chocolate diamonds.
There is a view on the web that using the term chocolate is just a clever way to market inferior quality diamonds, but nothing could be further from the truth. These chocolate and champagne diamonds are not simply poor quality white diamonds. Like traditional white stones, they are actually graded for color and clarity, and can not receive a high rating unless they show the same light reflecting fire as white stones do. While it is true that in the past, brown diamonds were not valued, jewelers LeVian have changed all that by designing jewelry to combine colored stones in new ways, creating stunning pieces which are not just beautiful to wear, they are also collectible.
Colored diamonds (like chocolate diamonds) are called ‘fancy’ diamonds and are extremely popular with those who have a taste for the unusual, such as Hollywood movie stars. Recent years have seen very high prices paid for fancy colored diamonds, for example, London Jeweler Laurence Graff paid $24 million for a 35-carat blue diamond in 2008, while the current record is held by a pink diamond which also sold to Mr. Graff for $46 million in 2010.
The fashion for champagne and chocolate diamonds began back in the 1970s with the sale of the ‘Golden Pelican’, a 69.93-carat champagne diamond which unusually, came from South Africa. The diamond was cut in Europe and is a protected diamond with a value of around 3 million.
Chocolate diamonds are diamonds in every sense of the word, and in mineral terms are just the same as white diamonds. Like white diamonds they are valued for their fire and for their hardness; diamond is the hardest substance known, as result when used as a gem, a diamond retains its polish and does not soften and dull when worn constantly, hence its popularity in rings which are worn every day, such as wedding and engagement rings. Using colored stones such as chocolate diamonds it is quite possible to have an exotic ring made entirely from diamond, rather than having to use softer stones such as ruby and emerald.
Diamonds are the most popular of all the gemstones largely because of their ability to refract light, a property which makes them sparkle far more than any other gem. Natural diamonds formed around three billion years ago in conditions of great heat and pressure, almost 150km beneath the surface of the earth. They are brought closer to the surface by volcanic eruptions and magma, which cools into igneous rocks called kimberlites and lamproites.
Manufactured diamonds are made in a high temperature and pressure process which simulates the natural conditions in the Earth. Cheaper than their natural counterparts but still beautiful, especially when paired with white diamonds or chocolate colored pearls.
Time for chocolate 🍫Le Vian Chocolate Diamonds. ❤️ This video showing multiple views of this sweet design!
12 Top Tips for Buying Brown Diamond Bridal Rings | Great Must-read Guide for Buying Brown Diamond Bridal Rings
Your Questions on Brown Diamonds Answered
Modern brides love brown diamonds. If you do, too, these 12 tips will tell you more about those luscious cream, cocoa, and dark chocolate beauties.
Champagne, cognac, chocolate–they’re diamonds with a difference, aren’t they? To help you shop for an engagement ring or wedding band with one or many natural color brown diamonds, take this quick read of questions and answers about the gems that are fast-becoming a popular choice of newlyweds when choosing their rings.
Are brown diamonds real?
Yes, definitely. However, the gem must be called a natural color brown diamond–in the same way that a real yellow diamond is called a natural color yellow diamond or a pink a natural color pink diamond, and so on.
What’s the difference between a natural color brown diamond and one that’s synthetic or simulated?
A natural brown diamond was produced–naturally–from the carbon deep under the earth, over millions of years.
Conversely, a synthetic or simulated diamond is a man-made stimulant, which is typically made of glass, plastic, or cubic zirconia. It’s been created in a lab and, thus, you hear those referred to as lab-grown.
Are natural browns more expensive than synthetics?
Yes, like all natural diamonds–colorless as well as natural colors–because they’re “gifts” from nature and, therefore, more valuable, they’ll cost more than synthetics.
Are natural color brown diamonds less expensive than other natural color diamonds, for example, yellows or pinks?
Usually. The brown colors are viewed as the entry point for a couple looking to buy an engagement or wedding ring with a diamond that has color.
I’ve heard other words used to describe diamonds that are brown.
Yes, the most common being champagne and cognac–the first describing the lighter brown colors and cognac referring to deeper, darker tones.
What about Chocolate Diamonds?
They, too, are natural color brown diamonds, used exclusively in jewelry made by the manufacturer, Le Vian, the company that first coined the term in 2000.
All Le Vian Chocolate Diamonds (R), which are register-trademarked, come from the Argyle Diamond mines of Australia.
Can you get natural color brown diamonds in the same cuts as you can get white diamonds?
Yes, and you’ll, actually, find many larger ones in rose-cuts especially, which modern fine jewelry companies often incorporate. And I’m seeing a lot of engagement rings with natural color brown marquise cuts, too.
Does the shade of brown have to do with the quality of the diamond?
That depends. Natural color diamonds with a deep red-brown hue are the rarest of hues in the browns, so those can cost more than a gem of the same carat weight but in the lightest f brown colors.
Do all brown diamonds have the second hue in it?
Because the saturation of a brown diamond is weak, the answer is yes. Every brown diamond will have another color that’s visible within it, and usually, that other color is yellow, orange, or pink. And the red, of course, as I just mentioned, but that is, as I said, rarer.
Are natural color brown diamonds graded on color?
The Argyle Diamonds’ C1 to C7 color scale is the most-used color scale for brown diamonds.
Do some bridal ring brands specialize in wedding jewelry with brown diamonds?
I’ve found that contemporary jewelry designers, who like using rose-cuts, often offer a large selection of rings with natural brown diamonds. Names that immediately come to mind, for example, are Dawes Design, Rebecca Overmann, Sethi Couture, and Just Jules.
Are natural color brown diamonds known as the King of Crystals?
I’ve heard that–it’s a name, which some have called it because they believe the diamonds have mystical energy within them–like other gem crystals.
How to Care For Diamond Jewelry – The Right Way to Care for Your Diamond Jewelry
Diamonds are extremely resilient, but the metal surrounding these beautiful stones is not. Find out how to properly care for your diamond jewelry.
There are essential steps everyone should take to care for their diamond jewelry. Whether it’s your diamond engagement ring, diamond studs, or a diamond necklace, it is important you protect your investment!
At the Time of Purchase
There very first thing you should do when you purchase a diamond is thoroughly inspect your diamond and the setting with a loupe. You will want to make a note of any characteristics that can set your jewelry apart. For instance, is there a small inclusion in your diamond, or a unique engraving on the inside of the band? Knowing these special aspects of your diamond and setting will help protect you in the event that your ring gets stolen or tampered with. It is also important to inspect for any defect like a loose stone or sharp prong so the jeweler can tend to these issues right away.
Another thing you should do after you purchase a piece of diamond jewelry is insured. Since diamond jewelry can be the most expensive piece of jewelry you own, it is crucial that you protect your purchase against damage, loss, and theft. To have your jewelry properly insured, you will need to have an insurance appraisal which can usually be obtained from the place you purchased the jewelry from. You will also need high-quality photographs of your jewelry.
Everyday
Every morning before putting on your diamond jewelry, you should check that all the stones are tight. That can be done by using your fingernail or a small pin to try and move around the stone. If any are loose, don’t wear the piece and bring it to your jeweler for repair.
Store your diamonds in a safe spot! You should have two places in your home to store your diamond jewelry, especially your diamond rings. The first should be a safe place for storing your jewelry when you are not wearing it for a long period of time. This could be as a simple as buying a safe or as DIY as building your own hidden jewelry storage. The second should be a place you always put your diamond jewelry when you take it off temporarily. That could be a ring holder that is placed next to your sink or in a cabinet. If you take your rings and other jewelry off and put it different places each time, there is a chance you could lose it.
DON’T ever do any of the following things with your diamond jewelry:
Sleep in your jewelry on.
Shower with your jewelry on.
Go swimming, do the dishes or anything else that will involve submerging your jewelry in liquids/chemicals.
Press on the top of your stones when putting on and off diamond rings–hold ring from the sides of the shank instead.
Monthly
For diamond jewelry you love to wear, you should take some time at least once a month to give it a proper cleaning. Rings and earrings will need to be cleaned much more than necklaces and bracelets.
Twice a Year
Jewelry is like a car in that it is a wear item. Many people assume that because they paid so much for their diamond jewelry and since diamonds are known for being extremely durable, that their jewelry is indestructible. This may be partially true, but the part of your jewelry that is most likely to wear down is the metal. Gold wears down considerably over time, especially if you are continually submerging your jewelry in chemicals and liquids. Prongs may need to be re-tipped, and shanks may have to be built up. You should have the diamond jewelry that you wear often professionally cleaned and inspected at least twice a year by a reputable jeweler. Diamond rings will require much more maintenance than a pair of diamond earrings.
Read More: 4 Things Every Jeweler Wants You to Know.
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Author Details Kellie W. Administrator Jewelry Expert at Rings For Women Jewelry Expert: Rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, watches for women. Share Us with your friends on your social media channels! The Best Of Jewelry for Women!.
Summary Article Name The Truth About Chocolate Diamonds Rings Description Looking for Chocolate diamonds? We're here to provide everything you need to know! Where to find them, what sort of jewelry to buy and how to choose it. Author Iskra B. Publisher Name RingsForWomen.org Publisher LogoDanish architect Bjarke Ingels, founder of architectural firm BIG, has completed the near-impossible by fusing heritage with innovation for the final design of the Two World Trade Centre building.
Soon to be the new headquarters of Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox and News Corp, Ingels of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has created a design that satisfies the media mogul.
Larry Silverstein, the 83-year-old New York developer who has long-held the rights to rebuild in this location, previously had Foster + Partners create a design. However, James Murdoch sought out Ingels when it became clear he preferred an innovative and open plan workplace for their future offices similar to Google, who is a client of BIG (in collaboration with Thomas Heatherwick).
Deemed 'Project Gotham', a tentative lease deal was signed early June to confirm the project. Vertical construction of the tower which was previously built to street level, would begin early next year with an expected grand opening in 2020.
View of Two World Trade Centre (2WTC) from the 9/11 Memorial. Image: BIG
This location is one of the most controversial and expensive locations in New York for construction and will always be difficult to build on due to its deep historical significance. Architects can respect the legacy of the site with a stately tower, or take a more risky path with a forward-thinking design. Ingels has successfully found a balance between the two, literally giving the building a double-sided effect.
This diagram shows the combination of old and new, one side of the building is steps while the other is a sheer face. Combined they represent the innovative and the iconic. Diagram by BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group
View from 9/11 Memorial. Image DBOX
Continue for more Two World Trade Centre
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Urban architectureJared Goff's puzzling rookie season doesn't concern his new quarterback coach.
Greg Olson spent plenty of time watching Goff play at Cal and still sees a "really high" ceiling for the second-year pro.
"Nothing that I've watched so far has |
Flash DLC did work, but I wasn't really looking forward to that. Again, this sucks, but it doesn't detract from the game being good.
2. If you play 4-player split screen, you're probably gonna experience some quality sacrifices. This is understandable, but just know it will happen. Frame rate will suffer in certain cases, and the detail quality drops as well. That being said, it still let's you play 4-player RL with your friends in the room, and you can play online while doing so! That's awesome!
I've played about 100 hours of Rocket League on the PC, so coming to this was a very easy process. I changed a few controls to match what I was accustomed to. He game actually runs really well. I recommend the pro controller as it allows more movement with the joysticks, but if all you have are the base joycons, you'll be fine.Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday attributed the slow rate of infrastructure development in Nigeria to lack of synergy between public and the private sector.
Obasanjo, who was the Chairman of the 2017 Annual Seminar of Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture [KADCCIMA], said the Nigerian government had over the years paid very little attention to the private sector.
According to him, it is important to develop deep synergy between the two in order to tackle the wide infrastructure deficit in the country and accelerate national development.
The former president explained that the relationship had not been productive because for some time, the public sector regard those in the private sector as “parasites”, who reap from what they did not saw and only interested in making profit.
He noted that the theme of the seminar, `Promoting Public/Private Partnership, as a Panacea for Accelerated Growth and Development’, stressed the need for the government and private sector to work together for the common good of the country.
Obasanjo noted that the engagement of more people from the private sector in government is helping to encourage a more robust relationship.
He said that for the country to experience any serious development, it must view the public and private sector as two legs necessary for the country to move forward.
“Nothing would work if the emphasis is on the public or private sector, there must be synergy between the two for reasonable growth,” he said. The former president also blamed the country’s retrogressive growth to poor leadership.
“We are not there, is a fraction of leadership. We are where we are not because of God’s design, given our human and natural resources, but because of bad leadership that could not put the resources to good use.
“The countries that are better than us today are better because they are committed, focused and understands what it takes to develop. “Until we get the problem of leadership right, we will not go anywhere,” Obasanjo said.
On his part, the Guest Speaker, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, a former minister of finance, noted that the country has a huge infrastructural gap.
Usman, in a paper, “Promoting Public Private Partnership As a Panacea for Accelerated Growth and Development” said the country need foreign capital and expertise to supplement the resources that the country can afford to generate.
He described the Public/Private Partnership (PPP) as a crucial tool in addressing the infrastructural gap in the country, adding however, that its potential has not been fully tapped.
Usman gave example of countries like India, Malaysia and South Africa among other countries that successfully deployed PPP to achieve accelerated socio-economic growth and development.
He identified the problems of politics, absence of strong legal framework, inconsistency in policy implementation, lack of clear goals and coordinations as hindrances to Nigerians ability to tap the benefits of PPP.
According to him, the country’s legal framework and budgetary approval processes must be review for PPP to work efficiently in the country.
“Similarly, there is the need for high political support, post transaction monitoring and evaluation, alternative dispute resolution mechanism to ensure smooth operation of the PPP strategy, ” he added.
Earlier, the President of the KADCCIMA, Dr Muheeba Dankaka explained that the theme was chosen to highlight the need for collaboration between the public and private sector to enhance the business environment through massive infrastructure development.
“The PPP, if well tapped could maintain and sustain the productive and manufacturing sectors, which would in turn ensure equitable distribution of wealth. “To achieve this, government and the private sector must work together”.Bullets pelted the armored plating of the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle as insurgents surrounded the small convoy. A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) ravaged the lead vehicle, forcing the occupants to dive for cover from the flames and shrapnel. The convoy was outgunned and outnumbered by the well-coordinated insurgent attack. A Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) sprang from his vehicle and scrambled behind a nearby boulder. Over the commotion of the firefight, he relayed the convoy’s position with a request for close air support (CAS). Minutes later the unmistakable sounds of two low-flying A-10 Warthogs caused the insurgents to pause and look warily to the skies. With the help of the JTAC, the A-10s began a series of devastating strafe attacks on the insurgents. The guttural sound of the A-10’s 30mm GAU-8 Avenger Gatling gun was a source of great comfort to the pinned-down soldiers, and a cause for alarm to the assailants. In less than 30 minutes from the moment the JTAC requested air support, the battle was over, and the few surviving insurgents fled the scene.
Scenes similar to this have played out throughout the A-10’s 40-plus years in service. The Warthog is a formidable weapon; however, the Air Force is faced with the difficult challenge of modernizing its fleet in a period of constrained budgets. Retiring the A-10 will save the Air Force $4.2 billion over 5 years. Such savings can then be invested into the next generation of Air Force platforms and help pay the service’s $12.5 billion annual sequestration bill.
Despite the fiscal incentives for this decision, the Air Force’s rationale for retiring the A-10 has been a target for criticism. The F-35, scheduled to replace the A-10 and several other legacy fighters, is over budget, behind schedule, and currently lacks many of the A-10’s capabilities. Some argue that the F-35 is a leap backwards in terms of CAS — simply another example of the Air Force’s obsession with expensive and sophisticated toys, regardless of their utility to the military. In this view, the Air Force sees close air support as a distraction from the high-end missions that it really wants to execute, and oversimplifies CAS with its argument for “trickle-down” capabilities (i.e., if it can do the high-end, it can do the low-end). The F-35, with its impressive 5th generation capabilities, can operate in high-threat environments that would render the A-10 and other legacy platforms ineffective. Amidst this often emotional discussion, it can be difficult to distinguish fact from opinion. This article is an attempt to elevate the debate, to weigh the evidence, and offer a way forward for the future of close air support and the Joint Force.
The A-10 is an undeniably lethal attack aircraft. While there are certainly other highly capable CAS aircraft in the Air Force inventory, the men and women who fly the Warthog pride themselves as CAS experts, and they are extremely proficient at the mission. A-10 pilots frequently refer to CAS as “doing the Lord’s work” — a sentiment that reflects their deep commitment to protecting ground forces. It is entirely understandable for those that have flown, or have been supported by the A-10, to defend the aircraft.
During the Cold War, the U.S. military built and trained itself for large, conventional force-on-force ground campaigns and armored battles. The A-10 was designed for that environment — to find, fix, and kill enemy tanks, armored vehicles, and any other hostile target. The Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States did not go hot, but the Warthog demonstrated its worth over Iraq in the closing battles of Operation Desert Storm. Despite its conventional warfare origins, the Warthog’s precision attack capabilities have also made it an effective weapon in the unconventional fights of the post-9/11 era, especially in Afghanistan.
Yet warfare is competitive and adaptive. Past performance is no guarantee of future success. As Air Force Chief of Staff General Welsh has said, “[O]ur job is to fight and win the nation’s wars. If that’s your job description, you’ll never be good enough at it, and you should never pat yourself on the back. We’ve got to get better every day.” No matter how successful a platform or tactic has been in the past, as our adversaries adapt and evolve, we too must relentlessly adapt and evolve.
If our objective is to continue to provide the best possible support to ground forces now and in the future, we must understand the operating environment, and examine the evolving capabilities and tactics of our current and potential adversaries — the focus of this article. We must also explore the capabilities and tactics that we need to develop to counter these emerging threats (a topic that we will address in Part II).
Close air support through the eyes of ground forces
An Army infantry officer said it best when we asked him about the A-10/F-35 debate: “Look, I don’t care how you do it, or what you do it with — I just need you to find the bad guys that are shooting at me, kill them quickly, don’t hurt or kill me, and help me find more bad guys before they shoot at me!”
Building on his description, any close air support platform should be assessed based on five characteristics. First, CAS should actually be close, or if it is not close, it should be able to arrive quickly. Ideally, close means that air support is persistent, or “always on,” with little or no delay in response. Second, it means CAS aircraft must be able to precisely and rapidly employ weapons in close proximity to friendly forces, killing hostiles while avoiding fratricide or non-combatant casualties. Third, CAS aircraft should have the ability to operate in a variety of different contexts, ranging from highly contested to permissive threat environments, in jungle, forest, desert, and urban landscapes, and against conventional and unconventional adversaries. Fourth, CAS aircraft should have flexible weapons loads with scalable firepower. Some scenarios call for massive firepower, while others require a surgical sniper-like attack. Finally, CAS should provide enhanced situational awareness to ground forces, functioning as a force extension, or another pair of sophisticated eyes. The information CAS aircraft gather over the battlefield must be relayed in a way that is immediately useful for ground forces.
The challenges of keeping the skies empty
The conflicts of the past two decades showcased the U.S. military’s ability to rapidly deploy to a contested environment, and to transform it from a hostile environment to a permissive one. In Operation Allied Force and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Joint Force efficiently deployed to bases or seas conveniently located near the combat zones. While the integrated air defense systems and air forces of both Belgrade and Baghdad initially posed significant threats, the skies of Yugoslavia and Iraq were soon emptied of enemy aircraft and surface-to-air missiles. Likewise, U.S. and Coalition ground forces toppled Baghdad’s military defenses in three weeks. These types of campaigns create an expectation that the U.S. military can always eliminate resistance and create sanctuaries of operation free from any credible threats of enemy fire. However, with the spread of anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities, this expectation may no longer be realistic.
The Joint Concept for Access and Maneuver in the Global Commons (JAM-GC), formerly known as Air Sea Battle, further defines the problems posed by emerging A2/AD threats, and describes how to integrate and equip the services to reduce risk and maintain U.S. freedom of action in contested and degraded environments. Throughout the history of conflict, the balance of power in war has shifted back and forth between the offense and the defense. The advances in precision, electronic warfare, and stealth of the revolution in military affairs empowered the offensive, especially offensive airpower. However, the emerging A2/AD threat suggests that the balance is shifting back; the notion of an uncontested environment may become a quaint memory.
Throughout the post-9/11 era, the U.S. military fought adversaries with limited reach and anti-air capabilities, enabling air assets like tankers and Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS), naval vessels such as aircraft carriers, and ground-based support facilities to be placed wherever we needed them. In a contested A2/AD environment, this is no longer the case. Aircraft basing (both land and sea) must either be located further from the fight, or face increased risk. Likewise, non-stealth support aircraft like tankers and AWACS will be forced to operate at greater ranges to reduce their threat exposure. Let’s take a closer look at emerging threats.
The next generation of cruise, ballistic, air-to-air, and surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) can be employed at much greater ranges, and they are dramatically more accurate and lethal than their predecessors. SAM systems are highly mobile, with the ability to fire and quickly relocate, making them extremely difficult to target. They can also be operated from ships. Even with the best SAM suppression or electronic attack support, legacy aircraft are highly vulnerable to these threats. With the proliferation of the systems, modern SAMs are now in the hands of relatively unsophisticated adversaries, and CAS aircraft may not have the luxury of operating free of enemy surface-to-air threats while supporting ground forces.
The problem is most pronounced in conflicts with a near-peer adversary such as China, which possesses fully integrated air defenses and a 5th generation air threat. Against an advanced military, air superiority will take longer to achieve, and it may only be localized and temporary. It may be impractical or impossible to eradicate the enemy’s air force before friendly ground forces move forward. Thus, CAS aircraft may also have to contend with an air threat.
Finally, unmanned technology is proliferating and changing the nature of air operations, offering reconnaissance and attack capabilities at a very low cost. Likewise, the pervasiveness of computer technology creates the opportunity and the means for a hostile actor to disrupt information networks, which enable the vast majority of U.S. military operations — from deployment to tactical execution.
Capabilities that have been associated with near-peer competitors are proliferating to a wider variety of actors. Clearly, A2/AD capabilities will “challenge and threaten the ability of U.S. and allied forces to both get to the fight and to fight effectively once there.” This spread of A2/AD threats will fundamentally alter the way that the U.S. military and its international partners operate.
Close air support just got a lot harder
In this contested battle space, our approach to CAS must change. What capabilities and platforms will meet the needs that our Army infantry officer outlined?
Persistence of CAS becomes particularly important when enemies do not operate in the open in large formations (an increasingly likely scenario). To counter America’s considerable precision strike capabilities, enemies will often concentrate forces at the time of assault and melt away afterwards. Methodical and persistent sensor coverage is imperative to find, fix, and kill an elusive enemy (and prevent the type of ambush described in the opening vignette). However, persistence and loiter time will be a challenge for all of our current CAS-capable aircraft.
As tankers or land bases are pushed further from the fight, CAS aircraft will also be pushed back. This will delay their arrival, and reduce the amount of time they can support ground forces. Aircraft with greater fuel capacity like the A-10 or AC-130 will have longer endurance than other aircraft, but their slower speed will delay their arrival. An F-16 may reach the fight faster, but its loiter time will be limited. In both cases, there may be delays or gaps in close air support, and even a few minutes can make all the difference for ground forces in a firefight.
The surface to air threat further compounds the problem. Once aircraft reach the fight, operating within the weapon engagement zone or threat rings of modern SAMs in anything other than a stealth aircraft is extremely risky. Thus, our ability to provide persistent CAS will be constrained by aircraft fuel, speed, and the threat environment. The F-35 isn’t immune to these challenges. It may reach the fight faster, and it will be capable of operating within SAM threat rings; however, its loiter time will also be limited, especially with tankers operating at greater distances.
What about precision? The attack capabilities of current CAS platforms, from laser- or GPS-guided munitions to strafe (particularly the A-10’s 30mm cannon) have been well-suited to support ground troops in close proximity to enemy combatants operating in open areas and away from non-combatants. However, in future urban environments, the U.S. military’s advantage in precision may be indecisive, because it is not precise enough.
Urban areas are attractive operating environments to adversaries seeking to offset U.S. precision strike capabilities, and more and more of the world’s population resides in large cities. The United States cannot rely on all of its opponents to be as strategically obtuse as Saddam Hussein. The United States has (appropriately) become more sensitive to collateral damage and non-combatant casualties. An operational victory can become a strategic defeat when our adversaries use traditional and emerging media to spread images of innocent victims. A tactical mistake can have significant strategic impacts. The narrative matters, and every civilian casualty is an opportunity for our opponents to offer an alternative one.
We already operate in an environment where “precise” does not mean what it once did. Hitting the right building used to be enough. We now have to hit the right person. CAS platforms also must be prepared to operate in megacities — an environment where bombs and explosive strafe rounds may be prohibitively destructive. Large buildings complicate tracking and targeting in the urban environment. Thus, the ability to provide support and situational awareness to ground forces in cities is significantly challenged.
Neither the A-10 nor the F-35 alone has the ability to provide the combination of persistence, precision, and augmented situational awareness that will be necessary in the emergent threat environment. Returning to our Army infantry officer’s CAS requirements — “find the bad guys that are shooting at me, kill them quickly, don’t hurt or kill me, and help me find more bad guys before they shoot at me” — our current CAS platforms fail to measure up in several key areas. How exactly should the Joint Force be equipped to succeed? That is the question we will tackle in Part II.
Lt. Col. Derek O’Malley is a resident student at the U.S. Army War College and a member of the Carlisle Scholars Program. He is an Air Force F-16 and F-35 pilot, and former USAF Weapons School instructor. Prior to attending the Army War College, he commanded the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nevada, where he led operational test efforts for the F-16, F-15C, F-15E, A-10, F-22, and F-35. The views expressed here are his own and do not represent those of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.
Andrew Hill is the Director of the Carlisle Scholars Program and Professor of Organization Studies at the U.S. Army War College. He joined the War College after studying under influential innovation theorist Clayton Christensen. He has a Doctorate in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley. The views expressed here are his own and do not represent those of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.The brightest diamonds are often found in the unlikeliest places. Competitive Hearthstone is relatively young, but already rife with examples of players emerging seemingly from nowhere to become big names. In 2014, James “Firebat” Kostesich hoisted the World Championship after spending much of the year under the radar. Two of last year’s best players were Thijs “ThijsNL” Molendijk and Sebastian “Ostkaka” Engwall, both of whom began their careers grinding in the relative obscurity of community cups before finding fame and fortune.
In order to break out like they did, it’s not enough just to be good at the game. Hearthstone’s history shows that the best players needs total discipline and dedication, plus a dash of left-field thinking. Those are subtle qualities, which may not be apparent from watching a player in a tournament or on stream, which is why Hearthstone’s brightest prospects are often hard to pinpoint. Nonetheless, as the 2016 season gets underway, these are six of the players who we think have the potential to join the game’s professional frontrunners...The wisdom of The Queen of the WASPs (and Duchess of REAL America) shines forth as she blames all of the insurance-organized Astroturfed near-riots at Democratic town halls on the Democrats:
We have entered uncharted territory in the fight over national health care. There’s a new tone in the debate, and it’s ugly. At the moment the Democrats are looking like something they haven’t looked like in years, and that is: desperate.
They must know at this point they should not have pushed a national health-care plan.
[….]
You know what would happen if he did this (nixed health care legislation)? His numbers would go up. Even Congress’s would. Because they’d look responsive, deliberative and even wise. Discretion is the better part of valor.Absent that, and let’s assume that won’t happen, the health-care protesters have to make sure they don’t get too hot, or get out of hand. They haven’t so far, they’ve been burly and full of debate, with plenty of booing. This is democracy’s great barbaric yawp. But every day the meetings seem just a little angrier, and people who are afraid—who have been made afraid, and left to be afraid—can get swept up.Sherlock Holmes is the name given to the TV series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by British television company Granada Television between 1984 and 1994, with the first two series bearing the title The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes on screen and being followed by subsequent sub-series bearing the titles of the other short story collections by Arthur Conan Doyle. The series was broadcast on the ITV network in the UK and starred Jeremy Brett as the famous detective. His portrayal remains very popular and is accepted by some as the definitive on-screen version of Sherlock Holmes.
In addition, Holmes's faithful friend and companion Dr. Watson is portrayed as the kind of thoroughly competent sidekick that Holmes would want. Initially, Watson was portrayed by David Burke (who had earlier played the villain in an adaptation of "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" for the 1965 BBC series starring Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock). Burke appeared in the first year of the Adventures series before leaving to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was replaced by Edward Hardwicke, who played Watson for the remainder of the run.**Monthly charges exclude taxes & Sprint Surcharges [incl. USF charge of up to 19.5% (varies quarterly), up to $2.50 Admin. & 40¢ Reg. /line/mo.) & fees by area (approx. 5–20%)]. Surcharges are not taxes. See sprint.com/taxesandfees.
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Other Terms: Offers and coverage not available everywhere or for all phones/networks. May not be combined with other offers. No add’l discounts apply. Sprint reserves the right to change or cancel this offer at any time. Restrictions apply. See store or sprint.com for details.has published new documents revealing that the US National Security Agency (NSA) has spied on world leaders such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi and UN Secretary General
The documents released by the organisation show that the eavesdropped on a meeting between Ban and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who already knew that she had been followed by the USA's intelligence services on other occasions, EFE news reported.
also reported that the had spied on a conversation between Netanyahu and Berlusconi, a meeting between key European Union (EU) and Japanese officials, and a private meeting between Berlusconi, Merkel and former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
In documents obtained by WikiLeaks, Merkel and Ban talk about how to fight climate change, Netanyahu asks Berlusconi for help in dealing with the US administration led by President Barack Obama, and Sarkozy alerts the former Italian prime minister about dangers of the banking system in his country.
"It will be interesting to see the UN's reaction, because if the secretary general can be targeted without consequence then everyone from world leader to street sweeper is at risk," founder Julian Assange said.
WikiLeaks rose to fame between July and October 2010 by publishing secret documents from the war in Afghanistan (2001) and the second Iraq war (2003), based on leaks from US soldier Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning.When some women find out they're pregnant, they start drinking more milk, eating more eggs, and eating leaner cuts of meat so they can get more protein. When I found out I was pregnant with my fourth child, I was a vegan, so I didn't do any of those things. It was a natural decision for me to continue my vegan lifestyle — not only because I love animals, but because I wanted to be healthier, and in turn, have a healthy baby.
I became a vegan in the summer of 2015. I'd always been a picky eater as a kid, and when I became an adult, I hated cooking meat. The smell and feel of raw meat always turned my stomach. When I became a mother, I had to figure out what to cook for my children and figure out what was healthy for all of us. My 7-year-old twins would also turn up their noses every time I cooked a dish with meat, so cooking vegetarian was an easy choice for us.
When I made the decision to go vegan, my health got so much better. My cholesterol had always been low, but I was sure it was something I'd probably never have to worry about. I no longer felt light-headed and overtired by the middle of the day and I was sleeping better. Best of all, my adult acne went away, and I lost 30 pounds.
So when I became pregnant with my son, I really hoped that I didn't have to adjust my diet. I'd been so careful avoiding eggs, meat, cow's milk, and gelatin that I didn't want to have to go back. But I also didn't want to put my baby in jeopardy.
Courtesy of Angie Grace
When I told my friends I was pregnant, they assumed that I'd have to give up on being vegan, even though I didn't know if I could bring myself to do so. I also wasn't sure if my doctor would approve of me continuing to eat vegan during my pregnancy. After all, pregnant women need protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin B12 to help their babies grow and develop, and many vegans are at increased risk of iron and vitamin deficiency. I did some research and found that there actually hasn't been many studies done on vegan diets during pregnancy. But most evidence seems to suggest that as long as you watch your iron and vitamin intake, it should be OK.
I remembered an episode of Friends where Phoebe, who's a vegetarian, starts craving meat while she's pregnant. I was sure that at some point, I would want a burger or a whole meatloaf.
During my first prenatal appointment, I expected my doctor to tell me I'd have to change my diet. At the very beginning of the appointment, I told her I was eating a plant-based diet and had been for about a year. I was shocked to find out that she was also a vegan, and she completely understood that I wanted to maintain my diet during pregnancy. I took prenatal vitamins, watched my soy intake, and made sure to get enough protein, iron and calcium. I ate beans, drank almond milk, and never went anywhere without my water bottle also.
Courtesy of Angie Grace
During my second trimester, I was concerned that I would start having cravings for meat. I remembered an episode of Friends where Phoebe, who's a vegetarian, starts craving meat while she's pregnant. I was sure that at some point, I would want a burger or a whole meatloaf. When I started craving meat, I'd tell my husband what I wanted, and somehow, he always found a way to make me an acceptable substitute. When I craved a burger, he made me a Boca burger, which was quite satisfying with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and pickles. I was also lucky that I live in Los Angeles, where there are lots of restaurant options for those who choose a plant-based lifestyle.
Eating vegan honestly wasn't as challenging as I'd expected.
By the time I hit my third trimester, I was concerned that I wasn't gaining enough weight. I'd only gained 10 pounds. (The recommended weight gain for a woman at a healthy weight is 25 to 35 pounds.) So I started kicking up how much I was eating and added vegan protein shakes to my diet. During my next prenatal appointment, I discussed my concerns with my doctor and she said since I still had some weight on me from my past pregnancies, it was OK if I didn't gain too much, as long as I continued to feel OK and was eating the right amount.
Courtesy of Angie Grace
By the end of my pregnancy, I'd gained 25 pounds. While I was worried that my son would be small, wen I had my baby in January, he was 7 pounds, 6 ounces — a perfectly healthy weight. I often joked that I couldn't understand how I had a 7-pound baby, just from eating lettuce.
Although my friends initially judged me for my dietary choices, I was healthy throughout my entire pregnancy. I had my blood drawn several times and I didn't have anemia or any vitamin deficiencies. I never felt light-headed or like I was going to pass out, and while I did have meat cravings, I was able to eat similar things that were plant-based. Eating vegan honestly wasn't as challenging as I expected, and I had a healthy, beautiful baby.Netflix has given a 10-episode straight-to-series order to hourlong sci-fi, family drama, Raising Dion, based on commercial and music video director Dennis Liu’s short film about an African-American single mother who discovers her young son has multiple, constantly changing abilities. The project comes from Liu, Creed star Michael B. Jordan, who will have a supporting role, veteran showrunner Carol Barbee (UnReal, Judging Amy), writer-producer Michael Green (American Gods, Logan) and Charles D. King’s MACRO (Fences).
Barbee wrote the adaptation of the Liu-directed Raising Dion short film (you can watch it below), which accompanied the comic book of the same name Liu wrote with illustrations by Jason Piperberg. She will serve as showrunner on the series and will executive produce alongside Liu, who will direct; Jordan, through his Outlier Society Productions; MACRO’s King, Kim Roth and Poppy Hanks; Kenny Goodman; and Green.
REX/Shutterstock
Raising Dion, a Netflix production, follows the story of a woman named Nicole Reese, who raises her son Dion after the death of her husband Mark (Jordan). The normal dramas of raising a son as a single mom are amplified when Dion starts to manifest several magical, superhero-like abilities. Nicole must now keep her son’s gifts secret with the help of Mark’s best friend Pat, and protect Dion from antagonists out to exploit him while figuring out the origin of his abilities.
“I started this project many years ago because I wanted to see more diverse representation on film and television and I’m excited to partner with Netflix, who I know shares that commitment,” Liu said. “More than ever, we need more stories told from different points of view and my hope with Raising Dion is to create a cinematic experience for all families that will lift your spirits and make you laugh and cry.”
Macro Ventures
This marks the first TV series order for MACRO, the multi-platform media company founded in 2015 by former WME partner King with the goal of bringing diverse stories to film and TV. The company just raised an additional $150M in equity and debt financing to produce and finance four to six film and TV projects a year. MACRO recently teamed with Van Jones to produce Indivisible (working title), an hourlong political drama set to begin production in 2018.
“We haven’t seen this type of superhero story before — an origin myth full of imagination, wonder and adventure, all grounded in the experiences of a modern single mother,” said Cindy Holland, VP, Original Content for Netflix. “ |
said. He went to use the bathroom. As he exited the bathroom stall, he said “hi” to a large, unfamiliar man with a shaved head.
The man accused Grosh of hitting on him, he said. Before Grosh could respond, the man punched him in the face. He connected with multiple blows before fleeing the bar.
“I walk into the bathroom and come out looking like this,” he said.
Grosh staggered out of the bar and attempted to walk home. En route, he called his husband, who came and picked him up. Soon after getting home, they realized the severity of his injuries and called 911. He was diagnosed with a concussion and severe bruising and cuts to his head and face.
Grosh, 35, said he has been beaten up several times since moving to Saskatoon. He went to high school in Nipawin and was beaten up there as well before moving to Saskatoon two decades ago.
“It’s not the first time. It takes a lot to break me.”The New Orleans Police Department is working to renew the department and better its relationship with the community given its post-Katrina legacy of corruption.
Enlarge By Garrett Hubbard, USA TODAY Officers Sgt. Duralph Hayes and Summer Turner are on call in the French Quarter. With the force's credibility shot, the federal government is making an unprecedented attempt to fix it. NEW ORLEANS The new superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department read the mountain of federal court documents detailing the alleged behavior of his officers with increasing alarm. The papers, Ronal Serpas says, are like a "disgustingly vile novel," outlining the murders of two unarmed civilians, the woundings of four others and a vast coverup involving 11 current and former officers accused in the deadly 2005 shootings in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. So far, five of the officers have pleaded guilty to conspiracy, while the fates of six others — indicted last month on charges ranging from murder to obstruction of justice — are pending in the fatal assaults on Danziger Bridge. Now more than 90 days into his tenure as the city's top cop, Serpas says the reality of his department is even worse than the "insidious" accounts he began reading in the documents just before he was appointed superintendent in May. PHOTOS, VIDEOS: View Katrina's effects 5 years later DANZIGER BRIDGE: More cops charged in post-Katrina shootings KATRINA RECOVERY: Gulf oil spill adds new hurdle CRUISE HUB: New Orleans continues to bounce back The court records accuse officers of killing innocent survivors of the storm, then covering up their actions by creating fictional witnesses and holding a secret meeting to get their stories straight during investigations of the incident. Yet Serpas says the troubles run even deeper: More officers have been linked to other crimes, and new charges are likely. Five years after Hurricane Katrina — when some New Orleans officers deserted their posts and film crews caught others looting stores — police officials, community activists and civil rights advocates say the storm exposed systemic failures in a law enforcement agency that had been decaying for years. Many of the city's institutions have rebounded from the storm, but the police department seems to have sunk to new lows. With the department's credibility in tatters, the federal government has launched an unprecedented intervention to salvage the agency at the urging of the city's new mayor and police superintendent. In a May letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder calling for the Justice Department's help, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said he had inherited "one of the worst police departments in the country." "It is clear that nothing short of a complete transformation is necessary and essential to ensure safety for the citizens of New Orleans," Landrieu wrote. The mayor's unusual candor quickly won endorsement from Serpas. "Deadly accurate," the police superintendent says. "Complete, systemwide failure." Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, chief of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, says Landrieu's entreaty has launched the "widest-ranging review ever" of a local police force by the federal government. Already, the department is the subject of eight federal inquiries into alleged wrongdoing by police. At least 18 current or former officers have been charged with federal crimes so far this year, 11 in connection with the Danziger shootings. Four face possible death sentences if convicted. Apart from the criminal inquiries, Perez said the Justice Department is reviewing the city's police operations to try to reduce crime and restore public trust in an institution shaken to its core. Violent crime, like police corruption, has menaced the city for years, linked in large part to the trafficking of illegal drugs. In the months before Katrina, New Orleans was on pace to rank as one of the deadliest in the nation, according to city crime statistics. Drug-related violent crime surges also have plagued the city since the storm, even as crime throughout much of the nation has declined. "There is a crisis of confidence right now," Perez says. "We are bringing to bear resources in a way never seen before." A crisis-defining incident Along with images of residents stranded on rooftops and of squalid conditions inside the Superdome, the Danziger Bridge shootings helped define the dysfunction of post-Katrina New Orleans five years ago. The ramifications of those shootings reverberate in the department today. The most serious allegations center on the actions of two sergeants and two officers who, six days after the storm, responded to reports that officers were taking gunfire near the bridge. Armed with AK-47 assault rifles, a shotgun and other weapons, the four officers drove to the bridge in a Budget rental truck and, prosecutors allege, opened fire on six unarmed people, killing 17-year-old James Brissette and wounding four others. A short time later, according to court documents, the officers moved to the other side of the span, where they allegedly took aim at two unarmed brothers, Lance Madison, 49, and Ronald Madison, 40, who had been checking on the condition of a relative's property. While trying to flee, Ronald Madison, who was severely mentally disabled, was shot in the back, court papers say. As he lay critically wounded, the documents state, another officer "kicked and stomped" him. He later died. Lance Madison was arrested and accused of attempting to murder police. He was held for three weeks before a judge ordered his release. In the months and years after the shootings, the documents allege, the officers sought to conceal their actions by concocting false reports, referring to fictitious witnesses and planting a gun in an attempt to show the shootings were justified. Five months after the shootings, amid reviews into the incident, prosecutors say some of the officers gathered for a secret meeting in an "abandoned and gutted" police precinct building on the city's east side. During the Jan. 26, 2006, meeting, two sergeants instructed officers to "make sure they had their stories straight" before they gave recorded statements about the incident, the documents allege. Frank DeSalvo, the chief attorney for the New Orleans police association, questions the federal government's case, suggesting prosecutors assembled information to support their "own opinion of what happened." All six officers indicted last month have pleaded not guilty, DeSalvo says. "We're going to trial," the attorney says. "We're optimistic about winning." Civil rights advocates say the allegations reflect a decades-old pattern of corruption and abuse by the department. Attorney Mary Howell, who represents the Madison family and other recent victims of alleged police abuse in New Orleans, says the charges are reminiscent of 1994 and a case involving then-officer Len Davis. Davis was convicted of ordering the assassination of a 32-year-old woman who had filed a brutality complaint against him hours earlier. In shocking detail, FBI recordings of conversations involving Davis revealed in court that he celebrated the killing after learning it had been carried out. Howell says 1994 — marked by additional cases of police abuse and corruption and by surgingviolent crime citywide — was the grim low point in modern department history. The events of the past five years, though, are prompting comparisons to that period. "I had cops calling me even pre-Katrina, saying (the department) was headed back to 1994," she says. Howell says the number and severity of recent allegations has prompted a new urgency for change. "There is a quest for things to change — that this (will) never happen again," Howell says. 'Police culture of corruption' Political leaders and the community have largely welcomed the Justice Department's intervention. Yet the enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that changes initiated by the federal government after the Davis case — including closer tracking of citizen complaints — did not prevent the Danziger shootings or end what community activist Allen James describes as a "police culture of corruption." James says that culture has been heavily influenced over the years by issues of race and class, as much of the abuse was committed by white officers against low-income black residents. "I'm not expecting a rapid or dramatic transformation," says James, executive director of Safe Streets/Strong Communities, a group that proposes overhauling the 1,489-officer agency, down from 1,741 officers before Katrina. "The only way to bring about any sudden transformation is to replace 50% of the officers.... I don't think that's going to happen, but there has to be an emblematic action." Others, including W.C. Johnson, a local community organizer, say Serpas was the wrong choice to lead the department because of his past ties to the agency. Serpas is a former New Orleans police official who retired in 2001, then left the city to head law enforcement agencies in Washington state and Nashville. Any transformation, James says, should begin with an agreement between the Justice Department and the city about what needs to change and how to measure progress. He says it should create a system for tracking police activities — from monitoring use-of-force incidents to auditing routine traffic stops for possible racial bias to revamping training with an emphasis on cultural diversity and racial tolerance. Unlike previous federal interventions here, James says, a judge should enforce any new agreement, in the form of a "consent decree" that has governed troubled police operations in eight other U.S. cities since 1994. Federal and city leaders have not yet settled on a plan for New Orleans. Samuel Walker, a criminal justice professor at the University of Nebraska who has studied the New Orleans Police Department, says New Orleans' problems are deeply entrenched, the product of years of inconsistent oversight. Walker says a consent decree enforced by a federal judge is "the best hope we have for changing this department." Perez says Los Angeles may be the best example of change under a judge's oversight. Allegations of excessive force, racial profiling and a corruption scandal sparked federal intervention there in 2001. Last year, a federal judge finally returned control to the department after then-police chief William Bratton and others overhauled the agency. "Public confidence is up," Perez says. "Crime is down." Bratton, now retired, says New Orleans' troubles appear to be "much worse" because the allegations involve murders and apparent breakdowns in all levels of oversight. Yet, he says, New Orleans has one important advantage that Los Angeles lacked: City leaders are acknowledging the problems and requesting the federal government's help. Before Bratton's appointment, Perez says, Los Angeles was "brought in kicking and screaming." "Here," he says, "we don't have that denial." 'People are starting to open up' Since Serpas' return to the city in May, most of his time has been spent diagnosing and cataloging the department's ills. He faces a dual job of rooting out crime on the streets and in his own agency. He has hired a former prosecutor to head the agency's internal investigations division and has opened to the public his weekly accountability meetings among commanders. Citywide, crime statistics are mixed. Homicides are up 8% to 105 killings during the first six months of this year compared with last year, countering a two-year period in which slayings declined nationally. Property offenses — from petty theft to burglary — are down nearly 10%. Yet crime statistics, the primary measure of most police agencies' effectiveness, have been largely overshadowed by New Orleans' internal problems. "People are starting to open up," Serpas says of his early efforts to build trust in the community. "It's not going to happen overnight." On the beat, officers also are coping with what Sgt. Duralph Hayes, 40, calls the "sad and embarrassing" allegations against his former colleagues. Along the narrow streets of the French Quarter where Hayes patrols, he says, public reaction ranges from disappointment to sympathy. The cloud of the federal investigation is constant. "It's a reflection on everyone," says Hayes, a 17-year veteran who helped train one of the officers facing possible death penalty charges in the Danziger Bridge shootings, Anthony Villavaso. "What happened at Danziger? I don't know. But to read what I read now is like (learning) that your brothers were robbing banks and shooting tellers. Because you are a brother, is that a reflection on you? No, but I feel disgusted." 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 moreNEW YORK ( TheStreet ) -- JPM ) CEO Jamie Dimon said the U.S. should consider pulling out of the Basel group of global regulators because the new international bank capital rules are "anti-American."
Dimon, in an interview with, said he supports forcing banks to have more capital but argued that moves to impose additional charges on the largest global banks, particularly U.S. banks, went too far.
"I'm very close to thinking the United States shouldn't be in Basel any more. I would not have agreed to rules that are blatantly anti-American," Dimon said in the interview. "Our regulators should go there and say: 'If it's not in the interests of the United States, we're not doing it'."
The Basel III agreement calls for banks to hold equity capital equal to at least 7% of risk-weighted assets. The biggest banks, such as JPMorgan, have to reach 9.5%, according to
-- Written by Joseph Woelfel
>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Joseph Woelfel
>To submit a news tip, send an email to: tips@thestreet.comShare. It will take place in one location. It will take place in one location.
Earlier this week it was revealed that The CW is moving forward with their long-planned Supernatural spinoff, which is said to focus on "the clash of hunter and monster cultures in Chicago."
The spinoff is being designed as a backdoor pilot that will run in Supernatural's upcoming ninth season (as The Originals pilot ran as an episode of Vampire Diaries last season). Supernatural supervising producer Andrew Dabb will pen the script, which will feature new characters and, unlike its parent series, take place in the one central location.
This morning, Mark Pedowitz, president of The CW was on hand at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour where he confirmed that there is no plan to cross any existing characters over into the new series at the moment.
"It's a planted spinoff and right now it's the beginning of development. There will be hunters, there will be monsters, it will be set in Chicago, at the moment no one's planning to have continuing characters that are on Supernatural right now."
As to whether the planned spinoff in an indication that Supernatural may be cresting towards a conclusion as is heads into Season 9, Pedowitz again stressed that if the ratings maintain, the network will keep the show alive.
"I would love Supernatural to continue as long is it can continue; from what I've read (of the upcoming season's scripts) there are character arcs that could go longer. As long as the fanbase is there, and the stories are there, there's no reason it can't go longer."
We will keep you updated as details emerge.If you are interested in PDF file analysis we might soon have something for you. We have developed a nifty little application that can not only parse PDF files but also help you analyze them very quickly. The main features include:
The ability to view PDF files as content trees as well as hex data.
Decode and display embedded JavaScript.
Refactoring functionality for JavaScript code, for example for variable renaming.
An integrated JavaScript interpreter for malicious script debugging.
An extensible Adobe Reader emulator to simulate arbitrary versions and configurations of Adobe Reader.
Intercept all called functions to log calls or modify arguments and return values.
Automated exploit recognition.
To see it all in action, you can watch a preview video by clicking this link.
There are a few things to explore in the next weeks:
We will improve the PDF parser.
We will add more JavaScript refactoring functions.
We need to figure out how to limit memory to scripts because if your script gets heap-sprayed, the PDF analysis tool will get heap-sprayed too which is uncool.
We will add a plugin API so that you can automatically process large quantities of files. This should be very useful for everyone who wants to do batch analysis of PDF files.UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is presently embroiled in a battle in London's High Court with former manager and Wolfslair owner Anthony McGann.
As per the Daily Mail's Darren Boyle, Bisping is being sued for £270,000 in unpaid management fees and expenses dating back ten years. Bisping denies these allegations and told the High Court he refused to sign a deal renewal with McGann in 2012 following years of threats and bullying.
Wolfslair MMA Academy was co-founded by McGann in Widnes, situated in England's North West, back in 2004. Thanks to rising star Michael Bisping, and the publicised signings of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Cheick Kongo to dual training and managerial contracts, the gym rose to prominence on the international MMA scene. Other former Wolfslair members include Antonio "Big Foot" Silva, Paul Kelly and Curt Warburton.
According to the report, Michael Bisping first signed with the gym in 2005, shortly before his successful stint on season three of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), which earned him a UFC contract after winning the tournament. He later split with the gym in 2012, alleging they were "violent people" to the court, and moved to the USA on a full-time basis to train and make a clean break from former management.
Giving evidence in court, McGann provided a document signed by Bisping that the fighter claims is not the contract he originally signed in 2005. "I accept that is my signature on that document," he told the judge, Richard Salter. "It appears on a contract that I didn't sign, but it is my signature. That's not the contract that I signed. It didn't have the name put on it and it wasn't this date. Anthony McGann, and the others, they are concocting lies to the invoices and fabricated the entire thing. That's been my stance from day one."
McGann's representative, Nigel Lawrence, said his client had been the figure who negotiated Mr Bisping's entry into The Ultimate Fighter, as well as the UFC discretionary bonuses paid to him in private. Bisping denied McGann's involvement in either activity, saying he participated in the open tryouts in London's Earl's Court for his season of TUF as normal, while the UFC's private bonuses were not negotiated. According to the Liverpool Echo, UFC President Dana White appeared in court via video link in Las Vegas, Nevada, to give evidence for Bisping, saying he only dealt with McGann while he was representing Jackson.
The now UFC middleweight champion claimed McGann and Wolfslair tried to negotiate a contract renewal in 2011 on similar terms to that in 2005, which he did not want to sign—citing breach of contract and violent threats as his reasoning. When questioned by McGann's lawyer as to why he hadn't raised his concerns in those negotiations, Bisping said: "There was no point in bringing it up. I thought I was moving on. The six years were up.
"They were violent people and there had been threats over the years and I was trying to make it a smooth transition. When they get sponsorship money and didn't give it to me. When they threatened to kill me, then that's a reason to move on. There were threats over the years and I would say that was a breach of contract."
Bisping later accused McGann and Wolfslair of similar behaviour in the past to fellow former teammates. "They have sued so many fighters which have left the gym and moved on," he told the judge. "This is what they do—they bully people through the court until they get a settlement. They were trying to swindle money out of me."
The trial continues."He put his hand on his heart and fell down a martyr." Ashraf Al Sousi performs his Gaza monologue. Photo courtesy of Ashtar Theatre
Last month in Palestine, I met a 10-year-old child named Handala. He was barefoot, with his back to everyone. I saw him everywhere — drawn, painted, and sketched — in the West Bank, a symbol of a childhood frozen by war and occupation. I went to Palestine to work with young students of Ramallah-based Ashtar Theatre. Over five weeks, we wrote together in creativity workshops and I documented their international youth theater festival. What struck me and what has lingered is how they are both scarred by al-Ehtelal, the Israeli occupation, and also animated to resist it. They call it their “cause” and they wear it and drink it, sleep it and sing it, speak it and shout it, and as young theater artists, they act, embody and transform it. I landed in Tel Aviv, which is about an hour from Jerusalem, which in turn is about 20 minutes from Ramallah, the de facto capital of the West Bank. There is a checkpoint — a short tower, a wall, Israeli soldiers with guns and a big sign in red: “This road leads to ‘Area A’ under the Palestinian Authority, the entrance for Israeli citizens is forbidden, dangerous to your lives and against the Israeli law.” Going into Ramallah, cars are let through easily. Returning to Jerusalem, though, there are long lines. Protests break out here, in which Palestinians sometimes end up being shot. The landscape is beige and brown valleys, dotted with limestone. The houses are almost uniformly cream or white. Ramallah has some skyscrapers, many grocery stores — one on almost every block — and many coffee shops and shisha bars. Outside the city, you can spot Palestinian villages from a distance because of the black water towers on the roofs; they’re there to prepare for possible water cuts. Israeli settlements are laid out symmetrically with red roofs and encircled by walls, often topped by barbed wire and guard towers. The roads form a maze — some are direct routes specially reserved for settlers, others indirect ones that require Palestinians to go the long way around. There are least five ID cards, including blue Jerusalem cards and green West Bank ones, which give their holders varying degrees of mobility. And there is a wall, between Israel and the West Bank, but also zigzagging through the West Bank itself, dividing some villages and families from arable land and each other. During my time in Palestine, I stayed in Ramallah and East Jerusalem, went north to the Jenin refugee camp, the Galilee, Haifa, and to Acre, through areas that are Israel and Palestine. While I was there, three Israeli teenagers who had been kidnapped were found dead; a Palestinian teenager was kidnapped and killed in retaliation. Israel blamed Hamas and began the assault on Gaza; Hamas sent rockets towards Israel. On July 18, when I left, the Palestinian casualties in Gaza were about 150; that number has since soared to 2,090, with the majority being civilians.
Approaching Qalandia checkpoint that separates Ramallah in the West Bank from Jerusalem. Shebana Coelho
Ashtar Theatre was founded in 1991 by actors Iman Aoun and Edward Muallem. Aoun was raised in Jerusalem where her family has lived for many generations; Muallem, her husband, is from the Galilee. They met while working in the famed El Hakawati (The Storytellers) troupe, which Muallem co-founded. Aoun, whose vision for Ashtar began with children, is short, brown-haired, clear-voiced. “It was at the end of the first intifada,” she says. “There was a generation who had lost their education. The first year, the whole country was paralyzed, no schools, nothing.” With Muallem, she decided to create a drama-training program in schools “to help the children connect to their feelings and help give them a voice to express themselves,” she explains. “We wanted them to find their identity, and also to find a new horizon, a new possibility.” They began with schools in East Jerusalem and Ramallah; the program eventually expanded into other parts of the West Bank, and, for a few years, between 1992 and 1999, to Gaza. The group’s small theater and office occupy the ground floor of a Ramallah side street. The students, 15 to 24 years old, congregate there, showing up for trainings, rehearsals or just to visit. They talk fast, smoke fast, laugh like they mean it and speak their mind, in cadences that are easy and animated. Some have virtually grown up on the stage, starting as early as the third grade in the after-school program; others are recent graduates. All have had the opportunity to learn training and expressive techniques, and to write, improvise, perform and assist with plays on a wide range of themes — the occupation certainly, but also historical, civil and social issues such as domestic violence and developmental disabilities.
The sense of occupation, it’s hard to explain … Like if you want to go to a good hospital, it’s in Jerusalem and you can’t go [without a permit]; if you want to travel to a different country, you can’t if you don't pass the checkpoint. Émile André Student at Ashtar Theatre
Rana Burqan, 21, has a shock of curly hair, an easy laugh. “Being a Palestinian … you have to really know politics; you have to understand what’s happening, because,” she pauses, “we have this cause, this cause!” Burqan is studying journalism in college. She wants to tell every foreigner she meets the whole story about Palestine, from the beginning, from the British Mandate, to the Nakba or Catastrophe, when thousands of Palestinians (more than 700,000, according to some estimates) were expelled as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, to the present day. “We can’t rely on international media to tell our story as it truly is,” she adds. “The sense of occupation,” 24-year-old Émile André says while taking a drag on a cigarette, “it’s hard to explain. For example, here in Ramallah, you don't encounter Israeli soldiers coming in every day.” But overnight inevitably someone is shot or arrested, he says. “And you can’t leave the city without having a permit … Like if you want to go to a good hospital, it’s in Jerusalem and you can’t go [without a permit]; if you want to travel to a different country, you can’t if you don't pass the checkpoint, or you don't get a permit to travel; if you want to visit a relative who is living in a different city, you can’t, easily. It’s very difficult for an outsider to understand.” And that’s why Ashtar organized the youth festival: “to bring the outside in,” says Aoun, “and break the isolation of our students. We wanted to continue connecting them with mentors and peers.” When I attended, the festival participants included Palestinian students from the West Bank, a group of 12th-graders from Tromsø, Norway, actors from the UK, and trainers from Germany, Egypt and Romania who gave workshops in dance, drama, comedy and performance art. The final group performance included a movement piece reflecting the dynamics of street protest, a sketch about Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, Commedia dell’Arte scenes and monologues about self-image and harassment.
It was during the youth festival, on a daytrip to Jenin refugee camp organized by Ashtar, that I first saw Handala. He is a cartoon of a barefoot refugee child created by the Palestinian artist Naji al-Ali but used universally as a symbol of resistance and the fight for self-determination. I saw him drawn on walls and pavements, printed on T-shirts in Old Jerusalem and etched onto key chains in Ramallah. Like Handala, Ali was a refugee child; he lived in Ain al-Hilweh camp in Lebanon after his village was destroyed in the Nakba. “His hands are clasped behind his back as a sign of rejection,” Ali wrote of his character, “at a time when solutions are presented to us the American way.” More than 750,000 registered refugees live in the West Bank, a quarter of them in 19 camps administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. “Why don’t they integrate into the West Bank?” I asked Aoun as a big bus drove us all towards the north. “Why keep their refugee status?” “Because,” she replied, “by maintaining their status as refugees, they maintain their inalienable right to return to their villages …” “… that no longer exist,” I said. “Yes,” she said, “that no longer exist.” The Jenin camp is widely known for its militant resistance to the occupation. By the entrance, one of the first sights is the cemetery where, one of the students said, shahids, or martyrs, form the majority of the dead. It was as we were leaving that I saw Handala standing beside a tire filled with mud from which a single flower grew, sketched in soft dark lines on a wall. Ali was 10 — the same age as Handala — when he left Palestine. More than 20 years later, in 1969, he presented the iconic cartoon in a Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Siyassa. He described Handala as rough and true; a child named for bitterness, frozen in age, who would only grow up when “things will become normal again, when the homeland returns.” Handala’s creator never returned to the homeland; he was assassinated in London in 1987. As we drove back toward Ramallah that evening, we passed a checkpoint near an Israeli settlement without being stopped. “Amazing,” said one of the organizers and blessed the row of fair Norwegian faces against the windows that the soldiers must have seen. But a few minutes later, conversations stopped and a tense silence descended as soldiers on the side of the road flagged the bus down. It had grown dark by then. Two Israeli soldiers walked onto the bus, guns pointed at passengers. Casually, they asked, “Marijuana, Hamas, Fatah, terrorist?” as if someone was going to raise her hand and confess. When no one did, they got off. As the doors closed, one of the Ashtar students stood and said to us, the internationals, “Do you see, do you see how they treat us?” He spoke loudly, and his friends shushed him fiercely, afraid the soldiers would come back. He was a young man from Hebron, near where the Israeli teenagers had gone missing. At the time, Hebron was closed off, and his ID card would have been enough to detain him. (In Palestine, you can be jailed without reason, without a trial, for six months as a special “administrative detainee.” Of the almost 5,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisonsprisons, about 200 are administrative detainees.) The bus drove on, and everyone sighed in relief.
Excerpt from Ashtar Theatre's The Gaza Mono-Logues featuring Émile André, Rana Burqan, Jenin Mer’I and Uday Ju’beh, directed by Mohammad Eid. Shebana Coelho
“Every generation,” André, the Ashtar student, says on another occasion, “has had its war … “Yes,” adds 23-year-old Lamis Shalaldeh, her voice taut, “we have to grow up fast here — and we are born into politics.” “And there is a dilemma between living your age and being a spokesperson helping the cause.” André shrugs. “If you want to listen to music? No … If you want to go to watch cinema? No, it’s not the right time. At the same time, I have to live my own life.” “Which is why,” explains 20-year-old Noor Bosheh on Facebook chat, “we use theater!” Slim and dark-haired, Noor is a beautiful singer who often gets the shebab, the guys, going in song. “This cause has unfolded all that is featureless within myself, it made me become more responsible to DO something!” “For me,” says 17-year-old Uday Jubeh, who has been known to croon Sinatra, “theater was a way to find myself for the first time. By playing different characters, I discovered who I truly am.”
Before the war, I was a child … But after the war, I discovered I’m not a child anymore, and that Gaza, unlike all cities of the world, doesn’t have children in it. The Gaza Mono-Logues
They all speak with reverence of The Gaza Mono-Logues, a play they have been performing since 2010. It recounts the aftermath of Israel’s 2008-09 bombing of Gaza, in which 1,380 Palestinians died, 431 of them children. Each monologue was written by a Gazan teenager as part of a four-month project of healing and creativity organized by Ashtar “because the sound of life is louder than the roar of bombing,” writes Aoun in the play’s introduction. The monologues, she continues, “are a living expression of hope in the face of pain.” When the play was completed, its teenage playwrights performed it in Gaza. But since the region was under blockade in 2010, they couldn't leave to perform it elsewhere. But they found a way to connect: On the morning of October 17 that year, the writers gathered on the beach in Gaza. They recited their monologues and sent small paper boats onto the waves and out into the world. Afterward, the play’s 33 monologues were performed on the same day by more than 1,500 young people in more than 50 cities in 36 different countries. The following month, there was a performance at the United Nations featuring Bosheh and Jubeh from Ashtar’s Ramallah ensemble along with 20 other international actors. The Ramallah students have only seen the Gazan writers on Skype and Facebook. “Whether we are from Gaza or Jaffa, we are all Palestinians,” says Burqan, the journalism student, “but we don't get to meet them.” Jubeh, Bosheh, André and Ashtar graduate Jenin Mer’I performed excerpts of the play during the youth theater festival. They moved around a dark stage with shifting lights, using a wide strip of cloth that bound them and freed them; it was by turns a stretcher, a shroud, a coffin, a sheet in the wind. “Gaza is a matchbox … and we’re the matches inside it.” “The crisis is the whole world is watching us as if there’s nothing going on and they’re still making speeches.” “I feel like running, running, running in the streets till my headscarf flies in the sky and I fly after it.” “Before the war, I was a child … But after the war, I discovered I’m not a child anymore, and that Gaza, unlike all cities of the world, doesn’t have children in it.” Bosheh, one of the two Ramallah actors who performed the play at the United Nations, says she “had such hopes” after presenting it there. “It was improbable, I know, but I thought those monologues will release Gaza and end the occupation on the Strip.”
Sending the monologues out from Gaza and into the world, October 17, 2010. Photo courtesy of Ashtar TheatreThe former head of the German Bundesbank has warned that the European Central Bank (ECB) will not succeed in raising inflation for years to come and is almost powerless to revive the fortunes of the eurozone on its own.
Axel Weber, now chairman of UBS and widely-regarded as Europe's most influential private banker, said Europe's leaders had squandered the chance to rebuild the eurozone's foundations when the going was good and markets were calm.
In an ominous sign, he appeared to lose confidence in the euro altogether, cautioning that monetary union will be tested repeatedly and may not survive unless EMU leaders agree to bite the bullet on full fiscal and political union.
"The ECB has continuously bought time for European policy makers to fix the issue but they didn't do it," he told the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The region is now stuck in a 1pc low-growth trap at best, with dangers looming once again on the horizon. "I really don't see any bold action from governments needed to reach escape velocity. There has been no competitive reform. Europe has lost the opportunity," he said.
Mr Weber warned that the eurozone remains crippled by its failure to share real risk. This leads ineluctably to fresh tensions between the North and South with each spasm of the crisis. The structure has to be transformed. "If this does not happen, there will always be questions about the viability of the project," he said.
Asked whether Europe would be in better shape today if the euro had never been launched, he answered that is "very hard to say", a tactful evasion understood by almost everybody in the room as nostalgia for the stability of the D-Mark.
While there is a little doubt that the ECB will unveil a “sizeable" package of bond purchases at its crucial meeting tomorrow, Mr Weber said it had to make major compromises to hold the ECB council together. The markets have already priced in "very high expectations", leaving no margin for disappointment.
Most experts expect a formula in which each central bank buys only its own national debt in order to avoid any sharing of risk, but this merely underscores the fragmented nature of the system and may ultimately backfire.
Mr Weber said the ECB's Mario Draghi will not succeed in generating much inflation for years to come "however many bonds he buys".
Harvard professor Kenneth Rogoff said he felt a "depressing certainty" that Europe will slide back into crisis, |
, “Dripping” should read “Dipping.”
On page 2·157, in the upper right-hand graph, “Set point = 50 °C / 172 °F” should read “Set point = 50 °C / 122 °F.”
On page 2·164, in the caption for the oven temperature graph, “kitchen-air” should read “kitchen air.”
On page 2·170, the Fahrenheit entry for baking (both combi mode and convection) should read “140-575” and for frying or grilling it should be “355-575.”
On pages 2·174 and 6·2, in step 2 for making bacon in a combi oven “1½ mm /? in” should read “1.5 mm / 1? 16.”
On pages 2·178 and 6·3, in the Program table, “300 °C / 575 °F” should read “285 °C / 550 °F,” and in step 2, “Roast to core temperature of 60 °C / 140 °F, about 3 h” should read “Roast to core temperature of 60 °C / 140 °F, about 4 h.”
On pages 2·179 and 6·3, in step 6 for roasting chicken in a combi oven, “Cook at 64 °C / 147 °F and 0%,” should read “Cook at 62 °C / 144 °F and 0%,” and in step 9, “Cook at 296 °C / 565 °F and 0%,” should read “Cook at 285 °C / 550 °F and 0%.”
On page 2·180, in step 4, “the oven” should read “oven,” and “54 °C” should read “55 °C.”
On page 2·190, in the fourth item on the list of How Not to Do Irresponsible Things with a Microwave, “glasses in the microwave turntable” should read “glasses on the microwave turntable.”
On page 2·191, “meter per second” should read “meters per second.”
On page 2·204, in the sous vide canning section of the Sous Vide Cooking Strategies table, “and and” should read “and.”
On page 2·236, in the introductory paragraph, “and those rely” should read “and those that rely.”
On page 2·238, “The are essential” should read “They are essential.”
On page 2·242, in the cooking to a target temperature section of the Strategies for Sous Vide: A Comprehensive Guide table, “as soon the core” should read “as soon as the core.”
On page 2·244, in the second chart, as well as in the caption below it, “56 °C / 153 °F” should read “56 °C / 133 °F.”
On page 2·245, “whereas we use usually” should read “whereas we usually.”
On page 2·245, “cools as fast, as or faster” should read “cools as fast as, or faster.”
On page 2·257, in the first paragraph, “than the bottom shelves” should read “than the top shelves.”
On page 2·258, in the marginal note, “?150 °C to?60 °C /?238 °F to?76 °F” should read “?70 °C to?60 °C /?94 °F to?76 °F.”
On page 2·260, in step 2 of How to Freeze Food in a Salty Brine, “?15 °C /?5 °F” should read “?15 ° C / 5 °F.”
On page 2·264, “right the temperature” should read “right temperature.”
On page 2·269, in the introductory paragraph, “foods improved” should read “foods improve.”
On page 2·270, in the introductory paragraph, “oe” should read “oil.”
On page 2·276, in the column for 2.0 cm / ¾ in, in the 120 °C / 216 °F row, “54m 21s” should read “53m 21s.”
On pages 2·276-279, the 6.0 cm columns in the tables on pages 276, 277, and 279 are incorrect. The correct times are as follows:
On page 2·278, in step 1, “by subtract the starting” should read “by subtracting the starting.”
On page 2·286, in the top left paragraph, “tories” should read “laboratories.”
On page 2·290, in the first paragraph, “sum is 100 times…a hundred extra little doors” should read “sum is 10 times…ten extra little doors.”
On pages 2·297 and 6·6, in step 1, “200 g of chicken wings” should read “400 g of chicken wings.” For more corrections to the table on 6·6 only, click here.
On pages 2·301 and 6·10, the recipe for Brown Beef Stock should call for 100 g of full-bodied red wine with a scaling of 20%.
On page 2·301, in the recipe for Pressure-Cooked White Chicken Stock, in step 2, “Bring to a boil, and then drain chicken immediately” should read “Bring to a boil, and then drain chicken immediately. Alternatively, for brown stock, roast wings and bones, and fry ground chicken until golden brown.” The step appears correctly in the recipe in the Kitchen Manual (page 6·11).
On pages 2·304 and 6·14, in the recipe for pho in the Best Bets for Broth table, in addition to the roasted beef knuckles, the recipe should also call for oxtail, jointed and seared, with a scaling of 18%.
On page 2·304, in the scaling column for meat in the Best Bets for Broth table, “10” should read “10%.”
On page 2·305, in the recipe for ham broth and pho, in the Best Bets for Broths table, the cooking time should read “1½ h.”
On pages 2·307 and 6·16, in step 6, on the Oxtail Pho recipe, “1 bar / 15 psi for 3 h” should read “1 bar / 15 psi for 1½ h.”
On pages 2·310 and 6·20, in step 1 of infusing flavor into a liquid, “add 10 g of crushed lemongrass for every 100 g of vinegar” should read “add 50 g of thinly sliced lemongrass for every 100 g of vinegar.” For more corrections to the table on 6·20 only, click here.
On page 2·314, in the introductory text on acidifiers, “for determing the right” should read “for determining the right.”
On page 2·316, in the caption, “formulated to exactly to pH values of exactly four” should read “formulated to pH values of exactly four.”
On page 2·320, “solvents include fats” should read “solvents, which include fats.”
On page 2·322, the end of the sentence is cut off; it should read “and then carefully measure out the elixirs with a dropper.”
On page 2·322, “it to replenish” should read “is to replenish.”
On page 2·323, “such coconut fat” should read “such as coconut fat.”
On pages 2·329 and 6·28, in the Best Bets for Infused Fats table, in the “see page” column of the coffee beans entry, page 5·211 should be included along with 4·371.
On page 2·332, “Some cook use” should read “Some cooks use.”
On page 2·334, in the paragraph on using a food press, “once of which” should read “one of which.”
On page 2·335, in the second full paragraph, “bromolain” should read “bromelain.”
On page 2·339, in step 4 of How to Keep Fresh-Squeezed Juice Fresh, “Filter our the pulp” should read “Filter out the pulp.”
On pages 2·340 and 6·31, in the recipe for Melon Water, in the marginal note, “before to serving” should read “before serving.”
On pages 2·340 and 6·31, the recipe for Meyer Lemonade should call for 2 g of water with a scaling of 0.7%.
On page 2·343, “stock in which” should read “stock, in which.”
On page 2·343, “These reaction” should read “These reactions.”
On page 2·344, in the introductory text on jus, “makes it easy” should read “make it easy.”
On page 2·345, in the directions for making jus, in step 1, “for Jus below lists” should read “for Jus at left lists,” step 2 should read “If cooking sous vide, vacuum seal the liquids, proteins, and aromatics together. Otherwise combine ingredients in a pressure cooker. Quantities are proportional to whichever ingredient (usually the protein or the stock) is set to 100%. For example, use 38 g of wine and 13 g of vermouth for every 100 g of heads when making shellfish jus,” and step 3 should read “Cook. Recommended cooking methods, temperatures, and times are indicated in the table. Pressures given are gauge pressures.” These steps are written correctly in the Kitchen Manual (page 6·350).
On pages 2·346 and 6·37, in the recipe for Sous Vide Mussel Juice, step 2, “Steam for 4 min,” should read “Cook in 100 °C / 212 °F steam of boiling water for 4 min.”
On pages 2·348 and 6·37, in the recipe for Mushroom Jus, under mushroom stock, “see page 296” should read “see page 5·129.” Note that in the Kitchen Manual it should read “see page 156.”
On page 2·352, in the Strategies for Filtering Liquids and Clarifying Consummés table, in the see page column for the enzyme clarification entry, “351” should read “372.”
On page 2·353, in the caption for the beakers, “slower the filtration” should read “the slower the filtration.”
On page 2·359, “ladel” should read “ladle.”
On page 2·360, “that rule If you whip” should read “that rule. If you whip.”
On page 2·365, beneath carrot juice in the ingredient column of the Centrifuged Carotene Butter recipe, “see page 365” should read “see page 336.”
On pages 2·367 and 6·41, in the recipe for Centrifuged Pea Juice, in step 5, “Skim off and reserve layer of surface fat, about 50 g,” should read “Skim off and reserve thin, middle layer of pea butter-about 50 g-to spread on bread or blend into sauces.”
On page 2·374, in the Best Bets for Consommé table, in the flavoring column for brown butter consommé, “see page 331” should read “see page 4·213.”
On pages 2·376 and 6·44, the recipe for Pistachio Consommé should call for 100 g of shelled, raw pistachios with a scaling of 33%, 15 g of sugar with a scaling of 5%, 10 g of grapeseed oil with a scaling of 3.3%, 300 g of water with a scaling of 100%, and 20 g of pistachio oil with a scaling of 6.6%.
On page 2·384, “your own spirts” should read “your own spirits.”
On pages 2·388 and 6·47, in step 4 of How to Distill with a Rotavap, “depends the size” should read “depends on the size.” For more corrections to How to Distill with a Rotavap on 6·47 only, click here.
On pages 2·389 and 6·47, the recipe for Vacuum-Concentrated Apple and Cabbage Juice should call for 30 g of honey with a scaling of 20%.”
On page 2·394, “bottles of solution that fit” should read “bottles that fit.”
On page 2·396, “a alcohol content” should read “an alcohol content.”
On page 2·397, in the introductory paragraph to How to Freeze Concentrate, “as possible then” should read “as possible, and then.”
On page 2·423, in the bottom caption, “allows you compensate” should read “allows you to compensate.”
On page 2·424, in the instructions for Making a Smooth Puree, the order of steps 2 and 3 should be reversed, and step 4 should instruct the reader to sieve the mixture after pureeing. The steps do appear correctly in the Kitchen Manual (page 6·55).
On page 2·425, in the recipe for broccoli florets in the Best Bets for Vegetable and Fruit Purees table, in the liquid column, “neutral oil 3%” should read “hazelnut oil 10%.” In the tool column, “Pacojet” should read “commercial blender.” These entries are correct in the Kitchen Manual (page 6·55).
On pages 2·425 and 6·55, in the recipe for artichoke puree in the Best Bets for Vegetable and Fruit Purees, the temperature given should be 90 °C / 194 °F.
On pages 2·425 and 6·55, in the recipe for beet puree in the Best Bets for Vegetable and Fruit Purees, the temperature given should be 90 °C / 194 °F.
On pages 2·427 and 6·57, in the recipe for Celery Root Mousseline, in step 9, “Season puree” should read “Whisk in oil, and season.”
On pages 2·443 and 6·59, the recipe for Spray-Dried Buttermilk should call for 0.4 g of lactic acid with a scaling of 0.02%.
On page 2·458, in the paragraph on dry ice, “?78 °C /?173 °F” should read “?78 °C /?109 °F.”
On page 2·460, in step 1 of the variation directions for cryopoaching an oil, “Tie off the the plastic wrap” should read “Tie off the plastic wrap.”
On page 2·465, in the last line, “a fizzy consumed” should read “a fizzy drink consumed.”
On page 2·467, “into smaller dewar” should read “into a smaller Dewar.”
Volume 3: Animals and Plants
On page 3·12, “legs muscles” should read “leg muscles.”
On page 3·42, in step 3, “41 °F” should read “40 °F.”
On page 3·49, in the caption, “see page 234” should read “see page 220.”
On page 3·51, “the Jaccard tool is the most discrete” should read “the Jaccard tool is the most discreet.”
On pages 3·65 and 6·65, in the recipe for Hanger Steak Tartare, “Glucose” should read “Glucose syrup DE 40.”
On pages 3·68 and 6·67, the recipe for Salmon Tartare Cornets should call for 65 g of all-purpose flour with a scaling of 45%.
On page 3·76, in the second marginal note, “see page 174” should read “see page 190.”
On page 3·79, “might notice” should read “might not notice.”
On page 3·83, in Fat, the Other Tough Cut, “fatty issue” should read “fatty tissue.”
On pages 3·97 and 6·70, the recipe for Rib Eye with Cherry Mustard Marmalade and Porcini should call for 0.5 g of quatre épice with a scaling of 0.06%.
On pages 3·99 and 6·71, in the Best Bets for Cooking Tender Red Poultry Sous Vide, the temperature given for cooking goose breast should be 55 °C / 131 °F for a pink coloring.
On pages 3·99 and 6·70, in the Best Bets for Cooking Tender White Poultry Sous Vide, the temperatures given for cooking pheasant breast should be 54 °C / 129 °F medium rare for a slightly pink coloring and 56 °C / 133 °F for medium.
On pages 3·100 and 6·72, in the recipe for Poulet au Feu d’Enfer, in step 3, “in 60 °C / 140 °F bath” should read “in 59 °C / 138 °F bath” and what is currently “temperature of 59 °C / 138 °F,” should read “temperature of 58 °C / 136 °F.” In step 4, “hold for additional 20 min,” should read “hold for additional 30 min.”
On pages 3·102 and 6·74, in the Best Bets for Cooking Fish Sous Vide table, the recipe for hamachi should suggest cooking at 40 °C / 104 °F for a tender texture. The recipes for cod, escolar, and salmon should suggest cooking at 41 °C / 106 °F for a tender texture. For a flaky texture, it should suggest cooking cod at 49 °C / 120 °F and cooking sea bass at 50 °C / 122 °F. In addition, in the caption to the table, “some of the those for” should read “some of those for.”
On pages 3·108 and 6·83, the recipe for Geoduck in the Best Bets for Cooking Tough Shellfish table should suggest cooking at 88 °C / 190 °F for a tender braised texture. For corrections to the recipe for Sous Vide Guinea Hen on page 6·83, click here.
On pages 3·109 and 6·86, the recipe for beef flatiron in the Best Bets for Cooking Tough Cuts table should suggest cooking at 60 °C / 140 °F for 36 h to obtain a tender, yielding texture. In addition, in step 6, “See see page” should read “See page.”
On pages 3·149 and 6·99, the recipe for Foie Gras Soup should call for 10 g of extra-virgin olive oil with a scaling of 1.7%.
On page 3·161, in the Maximum Concentrations of Curing Salts Permitted by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture table, “curing sales” should read “curing salts.”
On pages 3·168 and 6·101, in the Best Bets for Brines table, the recipe for pink brine should call for a scaling of 1% for the first scaling of salt.
On page 3·171, in the high-concentration variation, step 2 should read “follow steps 3-5.”
On pages 3·177 and 6·105, in the recipe for Shaved Foie Gras, “Glucose” should read “Glucose syrup DE 40.”
On pages 3·179 and 6·106, the recipe for Miso-Cured Black Cod should call for 3 g of lemon zest with a scaling of 0.75% and 500 g of white miso with a scaling of 125%.
On pages 3·179 and 6·107, in the recipe for Grapefruit-Cured Salmon, step 3, “Blend, forming wet cure,” should read “Blend to form dry cure.”
On page 3·184, in the lower left caption, “10” should read “8.”
On page 3·195, “Beyond acids and alkalines” should read “Beyond acids and alkalis.”
On page 3·197, on the map of India, “Bangaluru” should read “Bengaluru.”
On pages 3·200 and 6·114, the recipe for Lutefisk should call for 25 g each of salt and sodium hydroxide. Each should have a scaling of 2.5% and a special scaling of 0.7%.
On pages 3·201 and 6·115, the recipe for Yakitori should call for 200 g of chicken skin with a scaling of 50% and 400 g of coarsely ground chicken thigh meat with a scaling of 100%. In step 6, “Cook sous vide in 88 °C / 190 °F bath for 2 h” should read “Cook sous vide in 88 °C / 190 °F bath for 12 h.”
On pages 3·201 and 6·119, in the recipe for Beet Juice-Fed Oysters, step 4, “Strain juice through fine (500 micron / 0.02 in) sieve” should read “Strain juice through fine (25 micron / #500) sieve.”
On pages 3·201 and 6·119, in the marginal note for the recipe for Beet Juice-Fed Oysters, “Using a 500 micron sieve” should simply read “Using a very fine sieve.”
On pages 3·204 and 6·118, in the recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala, the first marginal note should include as the first sentence “This dish can be made with boneless, skinless chicken meat or with whole chicken legs.” In step 21, “Sear chicken pieces, skin side only, until crisp” should read “Sear chicken pieces until crisp.”
On pages 3·213 and 6·121, we misspelled John Paul Carmona’s name. We apologize for the error.
On page 3·213, “inspired by from” should read “inspired by.”
On pages 3·213 and 6·121, the recipe for Beef Cheek Pastrami should call for 2 g of pink peppercorns with a scaling of 0.2%, 10 g of juniper berries with a scaling of 1%, and 75 g of salt with a scaling of 7.5% (note that this means 75 g of salt with a scaling of 7.5% is called for twice, in both the second block and the last block).
On page 3·222, “see page 334” should read “see page 234.”
On page 3·223, “see page 354” should read “see page 254” and “see page 325” should read “see page 225.”
On page 3·225, in The Poach Test, “see page 353” should read “see page 253” and “see page 328” should read “see page 228.” In the note in the margin, “see page 333” should read “see page 233” and “see page 348” should read “see page 248.”
On page 3·226, the penultimate sentence of the second column reads “These cultures are isolated from successful sausage-making operations.” Should successful be successive? In this particular case, we meant successful. The origin of sausage cultures started by taking samples from traditional sausage makers and then refining them.
On page 3·228, in the bottom note, “page 348” should read “page 248.”
On pages 3·234 and 6·123, in the Best Bets for Burgers table, “fillet mignon” should read “filet mignon” and “hangar” should read “hanger.”
On page 3·236, in steps 1 and 2, “see page 328” should read “see page 228.” Also in step 2, “page 348” should read “page 248.”
On pages 3·237 and 6·125, the Best Bets for Cooking Coarse-Ground Sausages table should suggest cooking breakfast-style sausages at 138 °F.
On page 3·237, in step 5, “see page 325” should read “see page 225,” and in step 6, “page 340” should read “page 240.”
On page 3·238, in step 2, “page 340” should read “page 240.”
On pages 3·239 and 6·129, in the Best Bets for Emulsion-Style Sausages table, in the other ingredients column, in the entry for blood sausage, “chesnut puree” should read “chestnut puree” and in the entry for mortadella, “Micro crystalline” should read “microcrystalline.”
On page 3·239, in step 6, “page 325” should read “225.” This is correct in the Kitchen Manual (page 6·129).
On page 3·243, in the caption, “page 349” should read “page 249.”
On page 3·244, in step 3, “page 328” should read “page 228.”
On pages 3·247 and 6·135, in the recipe for Fast-Cured Pepperoni, in the ingredients column, “Pork backfat” should read “Pork fatback.”
On pages 3·249 and 6·137, the recipe for Fried Chicken Sausage should call for 26 g of salt with a scaling of 2.6% and 400 g of pressure-rendered chicken fat with a scaling of 40%. In the notation, “This temperatures” should read “The temperatures.”
On page 3·250, in the caption, “page 353” should read “page 253.”
On page 3·254, “page 356” should read “page 256.”
On page 3·256, “page 353” should read “page 253.”
On page 3·286, “fall within” should read “falls within.”
On pages 3·289 and 6·139, in the Best Bets for Cooking Vegetables Sous Vide Until Tender table, “onions, cipollini” should read “onions, cipolline.”
On page 3·289, in the Best Bets for Cooking Vegetables Sous Vide Until Tender table, there should be a line between “squash, summer (zucchini, yellow)” and “squash, firm autumn varieties (Hokkaido, kabocha, kuri).” This appears correctly in the Kitchen Manual (page 6·139).
On page 3·292, in the Best Bets for Cooking Vegetables Sous Vide with Fat Until Tender table, there should be a line between “shallots” and “squash, kabocha.” This appears correctly in the Kitchen Manual (page 6 ·143).
On pages 3·301 and 6·150, the recipe for Caramelized Carrot Soup should call for 4 g of young ginger with a scaling of 0.8% and “Carrot juice, brought to boil and centrifuged” should read “Carrot juice, brought to simmer and centrifuged.” In step 4, “50 min” should read “20 min.”
On pages 3·302 and 6·150, the recipe for Autoclaved Onion Soup should call for 80 g of cheese foam with a scaling of 40%.
On pages 3·303 and 6·151, the recipe for Crispy Boiled Peanuts should call for 2 g of Demerara sugar with a scaling of 2%.
On pages 3·305 and 6·152, in the Best Bets for Risotto table, in the “see page” column, the entry for brown rice should be removed and in the space for bomba rice, it should read “see next page.”
On pages 3·308 and 6·154, in the recipe for Sous Vide Clam and Oat Risotto, “Mussel jus” should read “Mussel juice.”
On pages 3·313 and 6·158, in the recipe for Artichoke and Potato Chaat, “Extra, virgin olive oil” should read “Extra-virgin olive oil.”
On pages 3·323 and 6·160, the recipe for Pommes Pont-Neuf should call for 0.75 g of baking soda with a scaling of 0.15%.
On pages 3·324 and 6·160, in the recipe for Pectinase-Steeped Fries, in step 6, “Steam at 100 °C / 212 °F for 15 min” should read “Steam at 100 °C / 212 °F for 20 min,” and in step 8, “Blanch in 170 °C / 340 °F oil” should read “Blanch in 160 °C / 325 °F oil.”
On pages 3·324 and 6·161, in the recipe for Starch-Infused Fries, in step 6, “Steam at 100 °C / 212 °F for 15 min” should read “Steam at 100 °C / 212 °F for 20 min,” and in step 10, “Blanch in 170 °C / 340 °F oil” should read “Blanch in 160 °C / 325 °F oil.”
On pages 3·325 and 6·161, in the recipe for Ultrasonic Fries, in step 3, “Cook at 100 °C / 212 °F for 15 min” should read “Cook at 100 °C / 212 °F for 20 min,” and in step 9, “Blanch in 170 °C / 340 °F oil” should read “Blanch in 160 °C / 325 °F oil.”
On pages 3·325 and 6·161, in the recipe for Starch-Infused Ultrasonic Fries, in step 3, “Cook at 100 °C / 212 °F for 15 min” should read “Cook at 100 °C / 212 °F for 20 min,” and in step 12, “Blanch in 170 °C / 340 °F oil” should read “Blanch in 160 °C / 325 °F oil.”
On pages 3·325 and 6·161, in the marginal note, “Branson 8150” should read “Branson 8510.”
On page 3·325, beneath the picture at right, “14” should read “13.”
On pages 3·328 and 6·162, in the Best Bets for Fried Fruit and Vegetable Chips table, the recipes for apple, celery root, cucumber, eggplant, jalapeño, melon, pineapple, strawberry, tomato, and watermelon should all suggest deep-frying at 150 °C / 300 °F. The recipes for Asian pear, carrot, lotus root, and potato should all suggest deep-frying at 160 °C / 325 °F.
On pages 3·330 and 6·162, in the recipe for Restructured Potato Chips, in step 5, “flip and bake another 2-3 min” should read “flip and bake another 8-10 min.”
On pages 3·333 and 6·163, in the Best Bets for Batters table, the second instance of salt in the seasoning column for Egg Yolk Batter should be deleted.
On pages 3·340 and 6·168, the recipe for Cromesquis should call for 6 g of Ultra-Sperse 3 with a scaling of 1.7% and a special scaling of 0.4%, 2.4 g of iota carrageenan with a scaling of 0.68% and a special scaling of 0.16%, and 1.8 g of low-acyl gellan with a scaling of 0.51% and a special scaling of 0.12%. In the Kitchen Manual, the order of the steps is correct as printed, but the numbering is wrong. The steps are out of order on page 3·340.
On pages 3·341 and 6·169, the recipe for Corn Croquetta should call for 100 g of water with a scaling of 33%, 1.5 g of methylcellulose with a scaling of 0.5%, 5 g of Crisp Coat UC with a scaling of 1.7%, 50 g of freeze-dried corn powder with a scaling of 16.7%, and 50 g of panko with a scaling of 16.7%.
On pages 3·350 and 6·174, the recipe for Preserved Lemons should call for 1.8 g of saffron with a scaling of 0.06%. For corrections to the recipe for Pickled Tapioca Pearl on page 6·174, click here.
On pages 3·352 and 6·175, in the recipe for kimchi, in step 7, “24 wk” should read “2-4 wk.”
On page 3·367 and 6·186, the dehydration temperatures for crisp and airy wafers in the Formulas for Dehydrating Produce table should all be 55 °C / 130 °F.
On page 3·374, in the caption, “that it shatter” should read “that it shatters.”
On pages 3·384 and 6·192, the recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara should call for 20 g of Parmesan with a scaling of 20%, 15 g of thinly sliced garlic with a scaling of 15%, and 10 g of finely minced chives with a scaling of 10%. The overall yield should be 450 g, eight portions.
On pages 3·385 and 6·193, the recipe for Pad Thai should call for 40 g of bean sprouts with a scaling of 13.5%.
On pages 3·392 and 6·196, in the recipe for Compressed Melon Terrine, in step 1, “Disperse calcium lactate gluconate into water” should read “Disperse calcium lactate into water.”
Volume 4: Ingredients and Preparations
On page 4·20, in the last sentence of the second paragraph, “because it produces” should read “because they produce.”
On page 4·30, in the Best Bets for Thickening with Modified Starch table, the reference to page 96 in the N-Zorbit row should be deleted.
On pages 4·32 and 6·203, the recipe for Steamed Cod with Cod Roe Velouté should call for 20 g of pregelatinized starch paste with a scaling of 40%.
On pages 4·33 and 6·204, in the recipe for Turkey Wing, “Yields 450 g (four portions)” should read “Yields 300 g (four portions).”
On page 4·42, in the introduction, “HPMC, and CMC” should read “HPMC, CMC, AND SMC.” In the Hydrocolloid Properties and Uses table, in the product column, “carboxyl” should read “carboxy.”
On page 4·43, in the introduction to the Hydrocolloid Properties and Uses table, “see page 166” should read “see page 129” and in the konjac gum entry in the gels column, “80 °C / 158 °F” should read “70 °C / 158 °F.”
On pages 4·48 and 6·211, in the recipe for Ham Consommé with Melon Beads, in the ingredients list, “Iberico ham consommé” should read “Iberico ham consommé, from above.” In step 6, “Blend with juice until dissolved” should read “Blend together until dissolved.”
On pages 4·49 and 6·220, the recipe for House Barbecue Sauce should call for 20 g of freeze-dried tomato powder with a scaling of 20%.
On pages 4·49 and 6·212, in the recipe for Tomato Whey Broth, the last ingredient (tomato vinegar) is optional.
On pages 4·50 and 6·214, in the recipe for Caramelized Coconut Cream, in step 4, “Blend until sodium alginate is completely dissolved” should read “Blend until PGA is completely dissolved.”
On pages 4·52 and 6·213, the recipe for White Grape Syrup should call for 4.5 g of malic acid with a scaling of 1.1%.
On pages 4·53, and 6·215, in the recipe for Warm Potato and Pistachio Pesto Salad, “Parmiggiano-Reggiano” should read “Parmigiano Reggiano.”
On pages 4·53 and 6·215, in the recipe for Warm Potato and Pistachio Pesto Salad, in step 4, “blanc” should read “blanch.”
On page 4·56, in the Best Bets for Making Milks and Creams table, in the Procedure column for yogurt, “scald milk at 85 °C / 125 °F” should read “scald milk at 85 °C / 185 °F.”
On pages 4·57 and 6·227, the recipe for Herbed Cheese Spread should call for 10 g of garlic confit with a scaling of 13.3%.
On pages 4·59 and 6·228, in the recipe for Horchata (Chufa Milk), in step 6, “Pass milk through fine sieve” |
an agreement with the MTA stipulating that the ads would begin on Monday, October 8.
However, the MTA repeatedly changed the language of the disclaimer on the bottom of the ad. Finally, after stipulating a clear two-line MTA disclaimer at the bottom of the ad, the MTA approved final copy for the anti-racist ad on Oct 3.
The ad was printed and shipped to the MTA distributor and subway stations set for posting the ad. However, on the day the already printed ad was scheduled to be posted in subway stations, the MTA pulled the approved ad. The transit agency then, in breach of contract, re-designed the ad so that the disclaimer took up a full 25% of the ad space (see above).
Flounders noted it would take a struggle to get the MTA to do the right thing, emphasizing that the MTA's actions supporting war propaganda and racism is an extension of its longstanding role in the promotion of militarism and repression.
"With S.W.A.T. teams armed with submachine guns and attack dogs patrolling the subway, the MTA has been a willing accomplice in the bogus 'war on terror,'" said Flounders. "Now with racist anti-Muslim hysteria, the MTA has allowed the war plans of the 1% to take over what should be public transportation for the 99%."File photo of Kerala High Court
Being a Maoist is not a crime and a person cannot be sent to custody for being one, the Kerala High Court said in a significant judgement on Friday."Though the political ideology of a Maoist does not synchronise with constitutional polity, being a Maoist is not a crime," said Justice A Mushtaq."Freedom becomes unlawful when it confronts with laws of the country," he added.The police cannot detain a person "merely because he is a Maoist" unless they find that their activities are unlawful, the judge said.The court was giving its ruling on a petition by a man who was detained on the suspicion that he was a Maoist. Shyam Balakrishnan alleged in his petition that he was harassed by the Thunderbolt team, an elite commando force involved in counter-insurgency operations in Kerala.The court said Mr Balakrishnan should get Rs 1 lakh as compensation. The son of a former high court judge, Mr Balakrishnan was detained in May last year for a few hours and then released.ASICS Managing Director Allan Russell (left) and Western Bulldogs CEO Gary Kent (right) celebrate the five year partmership.
The Western Bulldogs have today announced a new apparel partnership with global sporting goods giant ASICS.
The ASICS logo will adorn Western Bulldogs on-field apparel for the next five years, with the partnership extending to 2021.
The Club’s guernsey will see the traditional red, white and blue hoops remain, along with an additional red detail on the collar.
The 2017 guernsey will also feature the AFL premiers gold logo.
A leading running shoe brand for enthusiasts and professional athletes, ASICS is at the forefront of the world performance sports market and continues its rapid growth in the apparel space, with innovative design, research and technology key features of their range.
Bulldogs CEO Gary Kent said the Club was thrilled to partner with the international sporting goods brand.
“To partner with ASICS, who are such an iconic name in sporting apparel and footwear globally, is another big step forward for our Club.
“It’s important to us that we partner with compatible brands, and ASICS’ focus on people, community, innovation and performance ensure we have some important shared focuses.
“Our players and staff will benefit from ASICS’ high-quality apparel range, while we are also excited about the comprehensive apparel offering for our supporters and members.
ASICS Managing Director Allan Russell said the brand also looked forward to partnering with the Bulldogs.
“ASICS is delighted to partner with the Western Bulldogs Football Club from 2017.
“As a brand driven by innovations in sporting footwear and apparel through sports science, we look for like-minded partners to grow with as we strive to achieve our growth plan in 2020.
“Through their involvement with Victoria University on sports science research and the innovative way the Bulldogs run their club both on-field and off-field, there are many synergies between ASICS and the Western Bulldogs.
“We look forward to working closely with the club for many successful years ahead.”
The new guernsey is now available to purchase from all major sports stores and AFL retailers, as well as online at www.asics.com.au and shop.westernbulldogs.com.auby Brian Jennings
The July 1863 action by the federal government sparked a bloody four-day long riot in Manhattan which took hundreds of lives. In Rockland and Westchester counties, there was a fierce debate in the local newspapers. Tempers were running high everywhere as the Civil War dragged on. One hundred and fifty years ago this week, the U.S government instituted the first draft in American military history.
The editor of the Rockland County Journal speculated on whether this new law could be sustained in an editorial simply called “Conscription.” A letter to the editor of the Journal dated July 20 described a drunken party of 25 men in Tappantown calling themselves “The Society for the Diffusion of Political Knowledge” drinking whiskey and calling President Lincoln a “son of a b—-h.” Dr. Frank Green’s History of Rockland County says there was a mass meeting planned to protest the draft for the local area which was scheduled to begin on July 20. Luckily word reached Tarrytown that a mob was marching from the lower Westchester towns toward the draft office, so preparations were made to secure that office and remove its books and papers in advance. Green recalls the actions of a local resident Michael Murphy who upon hearing of the forming of a mob in Westchester went to Mr. Rutherfurd’s military academy in Nyack, gathered the muskets and concealed them in the cellar of William Voorhis in Upper Nyack who lived in the home just north of the Old Stone Church.
Men who were drafted could buy an exemption at a cost of $300, about $5,000 in today’s money. The towns in Rockland were each required to supply a certain number of men based on their population and in turn they all developed plans to raise money to pay for exemptions. Many charged eligible men $25.
On a less serious note — perhaps — there was a rather stern rebuke by Nellie Gray to young ladies who flirted too much with the opposite sex.
Girls, you want to get married, don’t you? Ah, what a natural thing it is for young ladies who have such a hankering for the sterner sex! It is a weakness that woman has, and for this reason she is called the weaker sex. Well, if you want to get married, don’t for conscience sake act like fools about it. Don’t go into a fit of the nips every time you see a pair of whiskers. Don’t get the idea that you must put yourself in the way of every young man in the neighborhood, in order to attract notice, for if don’t run after the men, they will after you. Mark that. A husband-hunter is the most detestable of all young ladies. She is full of starch and puckers, she puts on many false airs, and she is so nice that she appears ridiculous in the eyes of every decent person… continued
Brian Jennings is the local history librarian and librarian supervisor at the Nyack Library. This article is part of a series extracted from scanned copies of the 1850-1884 Rockland County Journal which include The Civil War and the period in which realist painter Edward Hopper lived in Nyack. They provide us with a snapshot into what life was like in Nyack and Rockland in the late 19th century.
See also: 150 Years Ago In Rockland series on NyackNewsAndViewsCCTV.com
05-12-2016 00:28 BJT
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has welcomed Qatar as a key partner to promote the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative. He made the remarks in Doha while meeting with Qatar’s head of state, Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on Wednesday met at his Emiri Diwan office with Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, Wang Yi, and the delegation accompanying him, on the occasion of their visit to the country to participate in the seventh session of the ministerial meeting of the Arab-Chinese Cooperation Forum, which will be held tomorrow.
During the talks, Wang said the “Belt and Road” initiative shares common cooperative opportunities with Qatar’s National Vision 2030, a roadmap for future development launched by the Qatari government in 2008. The Qatari emir said his country appreciates China’s cooperation, and pledged to support China on sovereignty-related issues.
The Qatari leader added that he hopes Qatar can cooperate with China in many fields and pledged to play an active part in the Belt and Road initiative.
Wang also met separately with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al-Thani.
Qatar's head of state, Emir H H Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani (R) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Doha, Qatar, May 11, 2016. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (1st R) holds talks with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani (1st L) in Doha, Qatar, May 11, 2016. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)When Dustin Wray booked a room for himself and his girlfriend at the Woodlands Resort near Houston last month he decided to test the resort's customer service.
When he came to the "special requests" section of the online reservation form, Wray, 28, requested that the resort provide him with three red M&Ms and a picture of bacon.
"Three red M&Ms on the counter. Not packages, just three single M&Ms. One for me, one for my girlfriend and one to split if we get hungry late at night. And a picture of bacon on the bed. I love pictures of bacon," he wrote in his request for the nearly $200 hotel room.
"I figured real bacon would be too hard to come by," Wray, an account manager for a cloud computing company, told ABCNews.com. "I wrote it so that if they saw it they would laugh because it was stupid but also make it feasible if they actually wanted to fulfill it."
When Wray, of New Braunsels, Texas, arrived at his room at the 440-room resort with his girlfriend, Lauren Taylor, last Friday night, the joke was on him.
"I saw the three red M&M's there and it honestly confused me," he said. "I was staring at them thinking this is weird. And then Lauren started laughing at the picture on the bed [of bacon] and I turned around and looked and that's when it all clicked."
"We celebrated by eating a very small amount of M&Ms," he said. "We laughed about it a bunch and thought it was absolutely cool."
Wray was so surprised that the hotel had matched his request down to the last detail that he didn't bring it up to the hotel staff at the time and didn't even leave a tip when he and Taylor checked out the next day.
"As we were driving home I felt like a jerk," Wray said. "I definitely have to go back to right my wrong."
Wray will have a chance to redeem himself very soon thanks to his decision to s hare the hotel's good deed on Reddit.
Wray posted photos of his request and the bacon and M&Ms in his hotel room on the social sharing site Monday and identified Woodlands by name in hopes it would generate some well-earned good publicity for the resort.
In just four hours, Wray's Reddit post generated 80,000 views and led to coverage on local Houston radio shows and in local blogs and newspapers.
As a thank you, an official from Woodlands reached out to Wray and offered him another stay at the resort, this one on the house.
"I'm definitely going to be going back and I'll right my wrong in the tip department," Wray said. "I included the name of the resort hoping if people saw it they'd think, "I want to stay there.'"
"You never expect something like this to come of it," he said.
The resort's general manager says that guests' special requests tend to center more around marriage proposals than funny whims like Wray's, but that the hotel staff are happy to fulfill them all.
"We want the staff to have fun with the customer," the manager, Greg Parsons, told ABC News.com. "It keeps us on our toes and if we can bring joy to somebody, why not. We have bacon and we have M&Ms in-house."
"I'm glad he didn't ask for us to wrap the bacon around the M&Ms," Parsons joked.
Wray says he will not make Woodlands go through the hoops again with another special request because, "they've already proven their merit."
But other hotels who see Wray pop up on their reservation list, be warned.
"I might do it a little bit," he said. "It's kind of a gauge whether or not the hotel, or any company, cares about you."LONDON & ROTTERDAM, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Unilever scientists have today released the results of a clinical study that suggests meals rich in nutrients and fibre inspired by our Palaeolithic ancestors are better at satisfying the appetite than a regular meal and could also help combat obesity and even type 2 diabetes.
The study compared two meals using readily available ingredients, a healthy modern meal and a Palaeolithic age-inspired meal, so called because its composition mirrors a range of foods our ancestors would have had easy access to. Both contained the same amount of protein, fat, carbohydrates and calories but crucially the second one incorporated a broader range of plant-based foods. These included nuts and spices such as cinnamon in addition to fresh fruit and vegetables.
The metabolism of the volunteers was monitored three hours after eating and those that consumed the modified meal felt much fuller. Furthermore, results showed they had significantly higher levels of PYY, a hormone that tells the brain we have had enough to eat.
Explanatory reasons for the results include that the Palaeolithic-inspired meal had a low energy density resulting in a physically bigger meal for the same amount of calories than the modern meal. This could account for the increased satiety levels. The meal was also designed using plant-based ingredients chosen to be both high in fibre and rich in phytonutrients.
Professor Mark Berry, Senior Scientist at Unilever who is leading the research said: “Initial findings from our study suggest we might do well to get back to basics and eat a diet for which our bodies have evolved. With its mix of lean meat, fresh fish and a very broad variety of plant-based foods, our ancient ancestors’ diet was different from what most of us consume today.
Furthermore, the human genome has not had time to respond to radical recent changes in our diet and therefore human physiology is at odds with the vast majority of modern diets.” Professor Berry added: “The great thing is we didn’t have to invent a time machine to do this study – all the ingredients needed for the Palaeolithic-meal could be readily purchased.” Further potential benefits of the Palaeolithic-inspired meal include a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and a report on the findings is expected later this year.
Professor Gary Frost from Imperial College London said the initial findings could have other profound benefits: “Up to now surgery has often been the only viable solution to tackle chronic obesity but this research has exciting future possibilities of opening up a genuine alternative to gastric surgery. The observation that Palaeolithic diet leads to an increase in PYY raises the possibility of designing a diet that would act as a sort of nutritional bypass.”
Dr Frances Bligh, Lead Scientist at Unilever said the team now plan to work with academic colleagues to investigate some of these effects further. “We want to see if the findings could be applied to foods of the future.”
Notes for the editor
Unilever scientists compared a healthy modern meal comprising fish, rice, 1 portion of fruit and 1 portion of vegetables with a Palaeolithic-inspired meal comprising fish, no rice, a broad variety of different fruit and vegetables, nuts and mushrooms. Both meals contained the same amount of protein, fat, carbohydrates and calories
calories Phytonutrients are bioactive plant-derived compounds often associated with a range of positive health effects
Unilever present their preliminary findings at the 20th European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool this week, May 12th – 15th.
For more information, please contact Adam Fisher, Unilever Corporate Media Relations on +44 (0)207 822 5082 or adam.fisher@unilever.com
About Unilever
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. Our products are present in 7 out of 10 homes globally and are used by over 2 billion people on a daily basis. We work with 173,000 colleagues around the world and generated annual sales of over €50 billion in 2012. Over half of our company’s footprint is in the faster growing developing and emerging markets (55% in 2012). Working to create a better future every day, we help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. Our portfolio includes some of the world’s best known brands such as Knorr, Persil / Omo, Dove, Sunsilk, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Rexona / Sure, Wall’s, Lux, Rama, Ponds and Axe, 14 of which now generate a turnover of €1 billion or more.
Our ambition is to double the size of our business, whilst reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals are more than 50 time-based targets. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/.
Unilever has been recognised in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes for 14 consecutive years. We are included in the FTSE4Good Index Series and attained a top environmental score of 5, leading to inclusion in the FTSE4Good Environmental Leaders Europe 40 Index. In 2012 Unilever led the Climate Counts Company Scorecard and the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the GlobeScan /Sustainability latest annual survey (2012) - both for the second year running. The company is an employer of choice in many of the countries in which it operates and is seen as a symbol for innovation and leadership development.
For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com.
About Unilever R&D
Unilever R&D involves over 6,000 professionals, six strategic centres for global R&D and 31 major product development centres. The strategic centres are located in Trumbull, US, Port Sunlight and Colworth in the UK, Vlaardingen in The Netherlands, Bangalore in India and Shanghai in China. In 2011, our investment in R&D was around €1bn.Security officers Tim Norris and Chuck Kochis were punched in the head and received cuts to the arms and hands in the scuffle, Sheldon said. Kochis was bit on the face, he added.
Both have since been released.
The injuries happened when Norris and Kochis were called into a public commissioner’s meeting at 9:44 a.m. to remove Skidmore for alleged inappropriate behavior.
From what information sheriff’s deputies have gathered, they believe Skidmore was upset commissioners were about to enter into executive session, requiring all attendees to leave. He asked to see the clerk’s name tag, which was turned around. Sheldon said they believe Skidmore grabbed the clerk’s shoulder, causing commissioners to complain the move was inappropriate.
They asked the security officers to remove Skidmore from the room, but he fought back, Sheldon said. In the process, Norris reached for his firearm and it accidentally discharged while out of the holster, he said.
The bullet struck the wall, and did not injure anyone involved, Sheldon said.
“I know Mike; he’s very concrete in his beliefs,” Sheldon said. “I think sometimes he gets maybe a little bit over-zealous.”What follows in the next few posts is a longish essay on CBT as the dominant force within applied psychology, and its place as an ideology which supports various practices of domination.The length of this essay is unwieldy for a blog format, so I have broken the piece into sub-sections, which I will publish one at a time, before eventually assembling the piece into pdf form. As ever, discussion is welcome.
The structure of the piece is as follows:
1. Cleaning the Augean Stables
2. The Founding of CBT,and Beck’s Foundational Errors
3. Psychology, Epistemology, and CBT
3a. A Note on Psychometrics
4. The Ethics and Politics of Intervention
4a. Two Brief Case Studies in Biopolitics
5. Project for an Unscientific Psychology
Cleaning the Augean Stables
It seems to me an urgent task to critique the dominant ideology which has psychology in its grasp, namely Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT). As a general rule of thumb, whenever one sees an acronym in psychotherapy, one can assume the presence of glib, corporate-friendly pseudo-scientific pap, and that is entirely the case here. However, unlike NLP, for instance, (I do not mention more popular doctrines, but I mean them), CBT is taken seriously by many clinicians and patients alike. Despite numerous signs of its weakening, CBT remains strong where it is most influential, namely, in academia, third-party payers, and among regulators.
The widespread influence of CBT has led to it being regarded by some as self-evidently ‘scientific’, ‘empirically-validated’, and above all, effective at relatively low cost. This view is necessarily at odds with slower, non-directive treatments, including my own, namely, psychoanalysis. When it comes to the above entities – academics, third-party payers, and regulators – one should not imagine that a range of treatment options exist harmoniously alongside each other in some therapeutic marketplace. On the contrary, CBT’s predominance comes at the expense of everything else, and many of CBT’s supporters are actively calling for other treatments to be regulated away. Psychoanalysis, in particular, seems to arouse an ire that borders on the irrational, and that should lead any good psychologist to question whether something symptomatic is afoot.
Calling CBT into question is not without some risk for a psychologist. Psychology polices its dogmas all the more fanatically for being beyond the domain of legitimate science. Assumptions underpinning the discipline are largely unquestioned, despite there being no agreed-upon, a priori foundation for psychology in the first place. This is the intellectual and cultural milieu in which CBT has thrived, and this is why there is a pressing need to clean out the Augean stables, or, to put it in Marx’s terms, to wade through psychological filth.
To this end, there are a number of points that I wish to demonstrate, and above all, I wish to show that CBT is not merely useless, but harmful, and more harmful precisely where it is ‘effective’. I shall argue that CBT was begun by Beck on the basis of a series of foundational errors with respect to its schism with psychoanalysis. Further, despite splitting from US-based ego psychology, Beck retained and exacerbated the worst elements of this discipline, and these remain to this day. I will demonstrate also that CBT is an empirical and epistemological failure, and finally, that it is ethically and politically disastrous in its aims, applications and effects. It quite openly makes each individual ‘the principle of his own subjection’, to borrow a phrase from Foucault. Finally, I will suggest some positive alternatives. In what follows, there are few empirical citations, because my emphasis here is on errors of reason or, as they have been rebaptised, ‘cognitive distortions’.
A couple of further points are worth making by way of introduction. First, debates in psychology are not generally resolved through ‘science’, but rather, the triumph of money and institutional power. A case in point is the example of CBT for schizophrenia. CBT is widely promoted as an intervention for psychosis (for instance, by NICE in the UK), despite the lack of one shred of evidence supporting its effectiveness. Even by the warped and pseudoscientific standards of CBT, CBT itself fails to make the grade. None of this, however, seems to disabuse certain zealots and regulators of their faith in it. CBT is eminence-based therapy, evidence be damned, and one can be but pessimistic about the fate of arguments lacking in eminence.
Secondly, in critiquing CBT, I have no intention of besmirching the many psy-practitioners who operate under its banner. I am perfectly aware that many clinicians who notionally regard themselves as practicing CBT do not do so dogmatically. If they did, their patients would not return for a second session. Of course, these notional CBT practitioners incorporate elements from ‘non-empirical’ psychotherapies. Of course they will, at times, put down their standardised manuals, and listen and respond, in vivo and empathically, to a suffering person. Of course, they are careful about implementing the patronising ‘tools’ and advice of their discipline, and of course, many take an ethical stance with regard to their patient’s rights. In short, they do therapy, or something very much like it. Nevertheless, insofar as these notional CBT practitioners are doing these things, they are not doing CBT, and moreover, they are not performing a standardised ‘evidence-based’ treatment. Since this latter is CBT’s great claim to fame, relinquishing the imprimatur of scientific authority also deprives CBT of its sole raison d’etre. CBT either trivialises human relationships where it is not opposed to them; it is not for nothing that CBT is the computerised treatment of choice, abolishing direct human relations altogether. (The primacy of ‘efficiency’ over the relational is a defining feature of CBT). Naturally, this sort of thing is proffered in support the ludicrous notion that the scientificity of a psychological treatment resides in its being ‘standardised’ in the manner of a recipe book. As an aside, the other ‘scientific’ notion of outcome studies, namely, quantifying subjective suffering, is equally absurd, but this absurdity is to the shame of psychometricians rather than CBT per se). As we shall see, CBT (and its friends in the DSM and elsewhere) need to draw on a discourse of public health, in the first instance, to warrant authoritarian interventions into ‘harm’ reduction, and then need to invoke scientific discourse to justify the latter. However, invoking the trappings of scientific discourse is no more a guarantee of scientificity than is invoking alchemical discourse a proof of making gold in one’s basement.
AdvertisementsCytidine 5'-diphosphocholine, CDP-choline or citicoline, is an essential intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway of the structural phospholipids of cell membranes, especially in that of phosphatidylcholine. Upon oral or parenteral administration, CDP-choline releases its two principle components, cytidine and choline. When administered orally, it is absorbed almost completely, and its bioavailability is approximately the same as when administered intravenously. Once absorbed, the cytidine and choline disperse widely throughout the organism, cross the blood-brain barrier and reach the central nervous system (CNS), where they are incorporated into the phospholipid fraction of the membrane and microsomes. CDP-choline activates the biosynthesis of structural phospholipids in the neuronal membranes, increases cerebral metabolism and acts on the levels of various neurotransmitters. Thus, it has been experimentally proven that CDP-choline increases noradrenaline and dopamine levels in the CNS. Due to these pharmacological activities, CDP-choline has a neuroprotective effect in situations of hypoxia and ischemia, as well as improved learning and memory performance in animal models of brain aging. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that CDP-choline restores the activity of mitochondrial ATPase and of membranal Na+/K+ ATPase, inhibits the activation of phospholipase A2 and accelerates the reabsorption of cerebral edema in various experimental models. CDP-choline is a safe drug, as toxicological tests have shown; it has no serious effects on the cholinergic system and it is perfectly tolerated. These pharmacological characteristics, combined with CDP-choline's mechanisms of action, suggest that this drug may be suitable for the treatment of cerebral vascular disease, head trauma of varying severity and cognitive disorders of diverse etiology. In studies carried out on the treatment of patients with head trauma, CDP-choline accelerated the recovery from post-traumatic coma and the recuperation of walking ability, achieved a better final functional result and reduced the hospital stay of these patients, in addition to improving the cognitive and memory disturbances which are observed after a head trauma of lesser severity and which constitute the disorder known as postconcussion syndrome. In the treatment of patients with acute cerebral vascular disease of the ischemic type, CDP-choline accelerated the recovery of consciousness and motor deficit, attaining a better final result and facilitating the rehabilitation of these patients. The other important use for CDP-choline is in the treatment of senile cognitive impairment, which is secondary to degenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's disease) and to chronic cerebral vascular disease. In patients with chronic cerebral ischemia, CDP-choline improves scores on cognitive evaluation scales, while in patients with senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type, it slows the disease's evolution. Beneficial neuroendocrine, neuroimmunomodulatory and neurophysiological effects have been described. CDP-choline has also been shown to be effective as co-therapy for Parkinson's disease. No serious side effects have been found in any of the groups of patients treated with CDP-choline, which demonstrates the safety of the treatment.Citing Pakistan and India's example, official says Saudi Arabia would seriously try to get the bomb if Iran did
RIYADH: One likely Saudi Arabian response to the deal its biggest enemy Iran has struck with world powers is to accelerate its own nuclear power plans, creating an atomic infrastructure it could, one day, seek to weaponise.
But while it has recently made moves to advance its nuclear programme, experts say it is uncertain whether it could realistically build an atomic bomb in secret or withstand the political pressure it would face if such plans were revealed.
“I think Saudi Arabia would seriously try to get the bomb if Iran did. It’s just like India and Pakistan. The Pakistanis said for years they didn’t want one, but when India got it, so did they,” said Jamal Khashoggi, head of a Saudi news channel owned by a prince.
The conservative kingdom is engaged in a contest for power with the Islamic republic stretching across the region and fears the nuclear deal will free Tehran from international pressure and sanctions, giving it more room to back allies in proxy wars.
Read: If negotiations with Iran fail, Saudi may go nuclear
So far its response has been lukewarm public praise for the deal coupled with private condemnation, a reaction that follows a more muscular approach to Iran evident in its war against allies of Tehran in Yemen and more help for Syrian rebels.
However, some Saudis close to the ruling family have also warned that if Iran still manages to weaponise its nuclear programme, then the kingdom will have to follow suit despite the cost of becoming a pariah state and rupturing ties with the US Analysts who follow Saudi Arabia are divided as to whether it really does constitute a proliferation risk, given its newly assertive stance towards the US and the life-and-death import it places on the struggle with Iran, or whether it is bluffing.
They are also split on whether international pressure via meaningful sanctions could be imposed on a country whose economy depends almost entirely on trade, but whose ability to maintain massive oil exports is critical for global energy markets.
Read: Saudi seeks nuclear deals, alliances to counter Iran
What senior Saudis have consistently said about the Iranian nuclear deal is that they will demand exactly the same terms.
That would allow them a nuclear fuel cycle that could produce material for a bomb, but would also impose a tough inspections regime.
16 Saudi reactors
The kingdom’s atomic power plans, like those of Iran, are based on the economic principle that it is better to use crude oil for revenue-generating exports to maintain social benefits than fritter it away on soaring electricity consumption.
Its nuclear body, the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE), recommended in 2012 that Saudi Arabia install 17 gigawatts of nuclear power but it has not yet laid out plans to do so.
Riyadh has signed nuclear energy cooperation agreements with several countries able to build reactors, but recent deals with France, Russia and South Korea go beyond these by including feasibility studies for atomic power plants and fuel cycle work.
Daunting technical obstacles would still hinder any Saudi attempt to build a bomb, something that would most likely be achieved via uranium enrichment process for which technological transfer between countries is closely regulated.
“It’s very technically challenging to obtain the fissile material needed for a weapon and with the enhanced safeguard measures of the model additional protocol, the risk of detection is great,” said Karl Dewey, the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear analyst at IHS Janes.
The additional protocol is part of a stronger regime of inspections and safeguards that Iran has adopted and would likely be a condition of any Saudi nuclear programme.
At present, the United States is so closely entwined with Saudi Arabia’s political and security infrastructure that it would be hard to envisage Riyadh embarking on a nuclear weapons project without Washington finding out.
Read: Former Saudi spy chief says Iran nuclear deal will ‘wreak havoc’
Going behind Washington’s back to build a nuclear bomb would cause massive ruptures in a strategic security relationship that will remain vital to Saudi Arabia despite its efforts to create alternative alliances with other military powers.
The pair’s relationship has weakened in recent years, but while they disagree on what role Washington should take in the Middle East, the US remains Saudi Arabia’s chief security guarantor, so it retains considerable leverage over Riyadh.
Saudi bombast or a Saudi bomb?
Saudi Arabia’s unique place in world energy – it is not only the largest exporter but maintains a large cushion of excess output capacity giving it unparalleled leverage over oil prices at a cost that no other producer appears willing to match – makes sanctions on its crude exports impossible.
But while oil sales accounted for 33 percent of economic activity and 87 percent of revenue in the kingdom last year, its non-oil sector is heavily reliant on imports, including food and consumer goods, which are theoretically vulnerable to sanctions.
Riyadh has for decades avoided using its ability to upset the world economy for political gain, but that could change if it felt threatened enough. It may bet that fears of a repeat of the 1973 oil embargo would stop any real international pressure over its nuclear plans.
“I’m sure Saudi Arabia is ready to withstand pressure. It would have moral standing. If the Iranians and Israelis have it, we would have to have it to,” said Khashoggi, adding that he believed Riyadh’s oil exports would immunise it from pressure.
Testing that theory, however, would represent a huge gamble for Riyadh. Whether the risks involved outweigh those they believe would be incurred by allowing Iran a nuclear advantage is something the kingdom’s ruling Al Saud are doubtless considering.
Read full story(Photo: wired2fish.com)
Who said a fisherman can’t get rich? This is an intriguing story reported on by Wired2Fish contributor David A. Brown for Outdoor Life.
We all know Asian carp can wreak havoc on even the most storied fisheries. They breed at an astonishing rate and eat unbelievable amounts of phytoplankton and zooplankton.
The problem is simple: Everything these Asian carp eat feeds native game fish species. These game fish contribute a lot of money to local economies—$7 billion annually for the Great Lakes. Not to mention, they often jump out of the water and can seriously injure recreational boaters.
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So desperate times call for desperate measures. If you can come up with an effective plan to put a hurt on the Asian carp population, you could become a millionaire. You can contact the MDNR with your idea(s) here.
Check out David A. Brown’s full piece here.The State Integrity Investigation is a comprehensive assessment of state government accountability and transparency done in partnership with Global Integrity.
Introduction
On a sunny, warm August morning, a state senator and a legislative staffer sat in leather armchairs near a fireplace as an espresso machine hissed over shouted orders at SteamDot Coffee. A lobbyist, among the state’s top-earning, sat next to a window, quietly reading a newspaper and watching Anchorage traffic roll by.
And in a corner sat Vic Fischer — among the youngest of 55 delegates elected to the 1955-56 Constitutional Convention — recalling how he and the others were elected as nonpartisans to help transition the territory from federally dominated outpost to 49th state.
“Politics were not allowed to enter into discussions at the convention,” the 91-year old said in a low but determined voice.
That these local power brokers would find themselves together in a café was likely mere coincidence, a common occurrence in a state with fewer residents than San Francisco. The small-town feel of this expansive state means citizens have relatively easy access to their elected leaders, even with the capital city of Juneau accessible only by plane or ferry.
That, together with some relatively forward-thinking ideals instilled into the state’s founding document by Fischer and his fellow delegates, has pushed the Last Frontier to the front of the pack nationally in the State Integrity Investigation, a data-driven assessment of state government accountability and transparency conducted by the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity.
The state’s C grade and numerical mark of 76 are the best score in the nation. The score represents a significant jump from 2012, the first time the project was conducted, when Alaska received a D+.
The scores are not directly comparable, however, due to changes that improve and update the project and methodology, such as eliminating the category for redistricting, a process that generally occurs only once each decade.
But despite Alaska’s place on top, the assessment still reveals a number of areas where |
locking can fail for a wide range of reasons. Some are as simple as memory locking functions that provide misleading functionality. For example, a pair of poorly documented memory locking functions in some versions of Windows, named VirtualLock() and VirtualUnlock(), are simply advisory, but this has been a point of notable confusion [13].
OS hibernation features do not respect memory locking guarantees. If programs have anticipated the need, they can usually request notification before the system hibernates; however, most programs do not.
Virtual machine monitors such as VMware Workstation and ESX [30] have limited knowledge of the memory management policies of their guest OSes. Many VMM features, including virtual memory (i.e. paging), suspending to disk, migration, etc., can write any and all state of a guest operating system to persistent storage in a manner completely transparent to the guest OS and its applications. This undermines any efforts by the guest to keep memory off of storage such as locking pages in memory or encrypting the swap file.
In addition to these system level complications, unexpected interactions between features within or across applications can expose sensitive data. Features such as logging, command histories, session management, crash dumps/crash reporting, interactive error reporting, etc. can easily expose sensitive data to compromise.
Systems are made of many components that application designers did not develop and whose internals they have little a priori knowledge of. Further, poor handling of sensitive data is pervasive. While a few specialized security applications and libraries are quite conservative about their data handling, most applications, language runtimes, libraries and operating system are not. As we discuss later in Section 4, even the most common components such as Mozilla, Apache, Perl, and Emacs and even the Linux kernel are relatively profligate with their handling of sensitive data. This makes building systems which are conservative about sensitive data handling extremely difficult.
TaintBoch's approach of tracking sensitive data of interest via whole system simulation is an attractive platform for tackling this problem. It is practical, relatively simple to implement (given a simulator), and possesses several unique properties that make it particularly well suited to examining data lifetime.
TaintBochs's whole system view allows interactions between components to be analyzed, and the location of sensitive data to be easily identified. Short of this approach, this is a surprisingly difficult problem to solve. Simply grep ing for a sensitive string to see if it is present in system memory will yield limited useful information. In the course of traversing different programs, data will be transformed through a variety of encodings and application specific data formats that make naive identification largely impossible. For example, in section 4 we find that a password passing from keyboard to screen is alternately represented as keyboard scan codes, plain ASCII, and X11 scan codes. It is buffered as a set of single-character strings, and elements in a variety of circular queues.
Because TaintBochs tracks data at an architectural level, it does not require source code for the components that an analysis traverses (although this does aid interpretation). Because analysis is done at an architectural level, it makes no assumptions about the correctness of implementations of higher level semantics. Thus, high level bugs or misfeatures (such as a compiler optimizing away memset() ) are not overlooked.
Comparison of a whole system simulation approach with other techniques is discussed further in the related work, section 5.
3 TaintBochs Design and Implementation
TaintBochs is our tool for measuring data lifetime. At its heart is a hardware simulator that runs the entire software stack being analyzed. This software stack is referred to as the guest system. TaintBochs is based on the open-source IA-32 simulator Bochs v2.0.2 [5]. Bochs itself is a full featured hardware emulator that can emulate a variety of different CPUs (386, 486, or Pentium) and I/O devices (IDE disks, Ethernet card, video card, sound card, etc.) and can run unmodified x86 operating systems including Linux and Windows.
Bochs is a simulator, meaning that guest code never runs directly on the underlying processor--it is merely interpreted, turning guest hardware instructions into appropriate actions in the simulation software. This permits incredible control, allowing us to augment the architecture with taint propagation, extend the instruction set, etc.
We have augmented Bochs with three capabilities to produce TaintBochs. First, we provide the ability to track the propagation of sensitive data through the system at a hardware level, i.e. tainting. Second, we have added logging capabilities that allow system state such as memory and registers at any given time during a system's execution history to be examined. Finally, we developed an analysis framework that allows information about OS internals, debug information for the software that is running, etc. to be utilized in an integrated fashion to allow easy interpretation of tainting information. This allows us to trace tainted data to an exact program variable in an application (or the kernel) in the guest, and code propagating tainting to an exact source file and line number.
Our basic usage model consists of two phases. First, we run a simulation in which sensitive data (e.g. coming from the keyboard, network, etc.) is identified as tainted. The workload consists of normal user interaction, e.g. logging into a website via a browser. In the second phase, the simulation data is analyzed with the analysis framework. This allows us to answer open-ended queries about the simulation, such as where tainted data came from, where it was stored, how it was propagated, etc.
We will begin by looking at the implementation of TaintBochs, focusing on modifications to the simulator to facilitate tainting, logging, etc. We will then move on to examine the analysis framework and how it can be used with other tools to gain a complete picture of data lifetime in a system.
There are two central issues to implementing hardware level tainting: first, tracking the location of sensitive state in the system, and, second, deciding how to evolve that state over time to keep a consistent picture of which state is sensitive. We will examine each of these issues in turn.
To track the location of sensitive data in TaintBochs, we added another memory, set of registers, etc. called a shadow memory. The shadow memory tracks taint status of every byte in the system. Every operation performed on machine state by the processor or devices causes a parallel operation to be performed in shadow memory, e.g. copying a word from register A to location B causes the state in the shadow register A to be copied to shadow location B. Thus to determine if a byte is tainted we need only look in the corresponding location in shadow memory.
If any bit in a byte is tainted, the entire byte is considered tainted. Maintaining taint status at a byte granularity is a conservative approximation, i.e. we do not ever lose track of sensitive data, although some data may be unnecessarily tainted. Bit granularity would take minimal additional effort, but we have not yet encountered a situation where this would noticeably aid our analysis.
For simplicity, TaintBochs only maintains shadow memory for the guest's main memory and the IA-32's eight general-purpose registers. Debug registers, control registers, SIMD (e.g. MMX, SSE) registers, and flags are disregarded, as is chip set and I/O device state. Adding the necessary tracking for other processor or I/O device state (e.g. disk, frame buffer) would be quite straightforward, but the current implementation is sufficient for many kinds of useful analysis. We are not terribly concerned about the guest's ability to launder taint bits through the processor's debug registers, for example, as our assumption is that software under analysis is not intentionally malicious.
We must decide how operations in the system should affect shadow state. If two registers A and B are added, and one of them is tainted, is the register where the result are stored also tainted? We refer to the collective set of policies that decide this as the propagation policy.
In the trivial case where data is simply copied, we perform the same operation in the address space of shadow memory. So, if the assignment executes on normal memory, then is also executed on shadow memory. Consequently, if was tainted then is now also tainted, and if was not tainted, is now also no longer tainted.
The answer is less straightforward when an instruction produces a new value based on a set of inputs. In such cases, our simulator must decide on whether and how to taint the instruction's output(s). Our choices must balance the desire to preserve any possibly interesting taints against the need to minimize spurious reports, i.e. avoid tainting too much data or uninteresting data. This roughly corresponds to the false negatives vs. false positives trade-offs made in other taint analysis tools. As we will see, it is in general impossible to achieve the latter goal perfectly, so some compromises must be made.
Processor instructions typically produce outputs that are some function of their inputs. Our basic propagation policy is simply that if any byte of any input value is tainted, then all bytes of the output are tainted. This policy is clearly conservative and errs on the side of tainting too much. Interestingly though, with the exception of cases noted below, we have not yet encountered any obviously spurious output resulting from our policy.
Lookup Tables. Sometimes tainted values are used by instructions as indexes into non-tainted memory (i.e. as an index into a lookup table). Since the tainted value itself is not used in the final computation, only the lookup value it points to, the propagation policy presented earlier would not classify the output as tainted. This situation arises routinely. For example, Linux routinely remaps keyboard device data through a lookup table before sending keystrokes to user programs. Thus, user programs never directly see the data read in from the keyboard device, only the non-tainted values they index in the kernel's key remapping table. Clearly this is not what we want, so we augmented our propagation policy to handle tainted indexes (i.e. tainted pointers) with the following rule: if any byte of any input value that is involved in the address computation of a source memory operand is tainted, then the output is tainted, regardless of the taint status of the memory operand that is referenced.
. Sometimes tainted values are used by instructions as indexes into non-tainted memory (i.e. as an index into a lookup table). Since the tainted value is not used in the final computation, only the lookup value it points to, the propagation policy presented earlier would not classify the output as tainted. Constant Functions. Tainted values are sometimes used in computations that always produce the same result. We call such computations constant functions. An example of such a computation might be the familiar IA-32 idiom for clearing out a register: xor eax, eax. After execution of this instruction, eax always holds value 0, regardless of its original value. For our purposes, the output of constant functions never pose a security risk, even with tainted inputs, since the input values are not derivable from the output. In the xor example above, it is no less the situation as if the programmer had instead written mov eax, 0. In the xor case, our naive propagation policy taints the output, and in the mov case, our propagation policy does not taint the output (since immediate inputs are never considered tainted). Clearly, our desire is to never taint the output of constant functions. And while this can clearly be done for special cases like xor eax, eax or similar sequences like sub eax, eax, this cannot be done in general since the general case (of which the xor and sub examples are merely degenerate members) is an arbitrary sequence of instructions that ultimately compute a constant function. For example, assuming eax is initially tainted, the sequence: mov ebx, eax ; ebx = eax add ebx, ebx ; ebx = 2 * eax shl eax, 1 ; eax = 2 * eax xor ebx, eax ; ebx = 0 Always computes (albeit circuitously) zero for ebx, regardless of the original value of eax. By the time the instruction simulation reaches the xor, it has no knowledge of whether its operands have the same value because of some deterministic computation or through simple chance; it must decide, therefore, to taint its output. One might imagine a variety of schemes to address this problem. Our approach takes advantage of the semantics of tainted values. For our research, we are interested in tainted data representing secrets like a user-typed password. Therefore, we simply define by fiat that we are only interested in taints on non-zero values. As a result, any operation that produces a zero output value never taints its output, since zero outputs are, by definition, uninteresting. This simple heuristic has the consequence that constant functions producing nonzero values can still be tainted. This has not been a problem in practice since constant functions themselves are fairly rare, except for the degenerate ones that clear out a register. Moreover, tainted inputs find their way into a constant function even more rarely, because tainted memory generally represents a fairly small fraction of the guest's overall memory.
. Tainted values are sometimes used in computations that always produce the same result. We call such computations. An example of such a computation might be the familiar IA-32 idiom for clearing out a register:. After execution of this instruction, always holds value, regardless of its original value. One-way Functions. Constant functions are an interesting special case of a more general class of computations we call one-way functions. A one-way function is characterized by the fact that its input is not easily derived from its output. The problem with one-way functions is that tainted input values generally produce tainted outputs, just as they did for constant functions. But since the output value gives no practical information about the computation's inputs, it is generally uninteresting to flag such data as tainted from the viewpoint of analyzing information leaks, since no practical security risk exists. A concrete example of this situation occurs in Linux, where keyboard input is used as a source of entropy for the kernel's random pool. Data collected into the random pool is passed through various mixing functions, which include cryptographic hashes like SHA-1. Although derivatives of the original keyboard input are used by the kernel when it extracts entropy from the pool, no practical information can be gleaned about the original keyboard input from looking at the random number outputs (at least, not easily). Our system does not currently try to remove tainted outputs resulting from one-way functions, since instances of such taints are few and easily identifiable. Moreover, such taints are often useful for identifying the spread of tainted data, for example, the hash of a password is often used as a cryptographic key.
if (x == 0) y = 0; else if (x == 1) y = 1;... else if (x == 255) y = 255;
effectively copies x to y, but since TaintBochs does not taint comparison flags or the output of instructions that follow a control flow decision based on them, the associated taint for x does not propagate to y. Interestingly, the Windows 2000 kernel illustrates this problem when translating keyboard scancodes into unicode.
Another possible attack comes from the fact that TaintBochs never considers instruction immediates to be tainted. A guest could take advantage of this by dynamically generating code with proper immediate values that constructs a copy of a string.
Because such attacks do exist, TaintBochs can never prove the absence of errors; we don't expect to use it against actively malicious guests. Instead, TaintBochs is primarily focused on being a testing and analysis tool for finding errors.
TaintBochs supports a variety of methods for introducing taints:
Devices. I/O devices present an excellent opportunity to inject taints into the guest, since they represent the earliest point of the system at which data can be introduced. This is a crucial point, since we are interested in the way a whole system handles sensitive data, even the kernel and its device drivers. TaintBochs currently supports tainting of data at the keyboard and network devices. Support for other devices is currently under development. 1 Keyboard tainting simply taints bytes as they are read from the simulated keyboard controller. We use this feature, for example, to taint a user-typed password inside a web browser (see section 4.1.1 for details). This features is essentially binary: keyboard tainting is either on or off. Tainting data at the Ethernet card is a slightly more complicated process. We do not want to simply taint entire Ethernet packets, because Ethernet headers, TCP/IP headers, and most application data are of little interest to us. To address this we provide the network card with one or more patterns before we begin a simulation. TaintBochs scans Ethernet frames for these patterns, and if it finds a match, taints the bytes that match the pattern. These taints are propagated to memory as the frame is read from the card. Although this technique can miss data that should be tainted (e.g. when a string is split between two TCP packets) it has proved sufficient for our needs so far.
. I/O devices present an excellent opportunity to inject taints into the guest, since they represent the earliest point of the system at which data can be introduced. This is a crucial point, since we are interested in the way a whole system handles sensitive data, even the kernel and its device drivers. TaintBochs currently supports tainting of data at the keyboard and network devices. Support for other devices is currently under development. Application-specific. Tainting at the I/O device level has as its chief benefit the fact that it undercuts all software in the system, even the kernel. However this approach has limitations. Consider, for example, the situation where one wants to track the lifetime and reach of a user's password as it is sent over the network to an SSH daemon. As part of the SSH exchange, the user's password is encrypted before being sent over the network, thus our normal approach of pattern matching is at best far more labor intensive, and less precise than we would like. Our current solution to this situation, and others like it, is to allow the application to decide what is interesting or not. Specifically, we added an instruction to our simulated IA-32 environment to allow the guest to taint data: taint eax. Using this we can modify the SSH daemon to taint the user's password as soon as it is first processed. By pushing the taint decision-making up to the application level, we can skirt the thorny issue that stopped us before by tainting the password after it has been decrypted by the SSH server. This approach has the unfortunate property of being invasive, in that it requires modification of guest code. It also fails to taint encrypted data in kernel and user buffers, but such data is less interesting because the session key is also needed to recover sensitive data.
TaintBochs must provide some mechanism for answering the key questions necessary to understand taint propagation: Who has tainted data? How did they get it? and When did that happen?. It achieves this through whole-system logging.
Whole system logging records sufficient data at simulation time to reconstitute a fairly complete image of the state of a guest at any given point in the simulation. This is achieved by recording all changes to interesting system state, e.g. memory and registers, from the system's initial startup state. By combining this information with the initial system image we can ``play'' the log forward to give us the state of the system at any point in time.
Ideally, we would like to log all changes to state, since we can then recreate a perfect image of the guest at a given instant. However, logging requires storage for the log and has runtime overhead from logging. Thus, operations which are logged are limited to those necessary to meet two requirements. First we need to be able to recreate guest memory and its associated taint status at any instruction boundary to provide a complete picture of what was tainted. Second, we would like to have enough register state available to generate a useful backtrace to allow deeper inspection of code which caused tainting.
To provide this information the log includes writes to memory, changes to memory taint state, and changes to the stack pointer register (ESP) and frame pointer register (EBP). Each log entry includes the address (EIP) of the instruction that triggered the log entry, plus the instruction count, which is the number of instructions executed by the virtual CPU since it was initialized.
To assemble a complete picture of system state TaintBochs dumps a full snapshot of system memory to disk each time logging is started or restarted. This ensures that memory contents are fully known at the log's start, allowing subsequent memory states to be reconstructed by combining the log and the initial snapshot.
Logging of this kind is expensive: at its peak, it produces about 500 MB/minute raw log data on our 2.4 GHz P4 machines, which reduces about 70% when we add gzip compression to the logging code. To further reduce log size, we made it possible for the TaintBochs user to disable logging when it is unneeded (e.g. during boot or between tests). Even with these optimizations, logging is still slow and space-consuming. We discuss these overheads further in section 6.
Taint data provided by TaintBochs is available only at the hardware level. To interpret this data in terms of higher level semantics, e.g. at a C code level, hardware level state must be considered in conjunction with additional information about software running on the machine. This task is performed by the analysis framework.
The analysis framework provides us with three major capabilities. First, it answers the question of which data is tainted by giving the file name and line number where a tainted variable is defined. Second, it provides a list of locations and times identifying the code (by file name and line number) which caused a taint to propagate. By browsing through this list the causal chain of operations that resulted in taint propagation can be unraveled. This can be walked through in a text editor in a fashion similar to a list of compiler errors. Finally, it provides the ability to inspect any program that was running in the guest at any point in time in the simulation using gdb. This allows us to answer any questions about tainting that we may not have been able to glean by reading the source code.
The first capability our analysis framework integrates is the ability to scroll back and forth to any time in the programs execution history. This allows the causal relationship between different tainted memory regions to be established, i.e. it allows us to watch taints propagate from one region of memory to the next. This capability is critical as the sources of taints become untainted over time, preventing one from understanding what path data has taken through the system simply by looking at a single point.
We have currently implemented this capability through a tool called replay which can generate a complete and accurate image of a simulated machine at any instruction boundary. It does this by starting from a snapshot and replaying the memory log. It also outputs the physical addresses of all tainted memory bytes and provides the values of EBP and ESP, exactly, and EIP, as of the last logged operation. EBP and ESP make backtraces possible and EIP is identifies the line of code that caused tainting (e.g. copied tainted data). replay is a useful primitive, but it still presents us with only raw machine state. To determine what program or what part of the kernel owns tainted data or what code caused it to be tainted we rely on another tool called x-taints.
A second capability of the analysis framework is matching raw taint data with source-level entities in user code, currently implemented through a tool called x-taints, our primary tool for interpreting tainting information. It combines information from a variety of sources to produce a file name and line number where a tainted variable was defined.
x-taints identifies static kernel data by referring to System.map, a file produced during kernel compilation that lists each kernel symbol and its address. Microsoft distributes similar symbol sets for Windows, and we are working towards integrating their use into our analysis tools as well.
x-taints identifies kernel heap allocated data using a patch we created for Linux guests that appends source file and line number information to each region allocated by the kernel dynamic memory allocator kmalloc(). To implement this we added extra bytes to the end of every allocated region to store this data. When run against a patched kernel, this allows x-taints to display such information in its analysis reports.
x-taints identifies data in user space in several steps. First, x-taints generates a table that maps physical addresses to virtual addresses for each process. We do this using a custom extension to Mission Critical's crash, software for creating and analyzing Linux kernel crash dumps. This table allows us to identify the process or processes that own the tainted data. Once x-taints establishes which process owns the data it is interested in, x-taints turns to a second custom crash extension to obtain more information. This extension extracts a core file for the process from the physical memory image on disk. x-taints applies gdb to the program's binary and the core file and obtains the name of the tainted variable.
For analysis of user-level programs to be effective, the user must have previously copied the program's binary, with debugging symbols, out of the simulated machine into a location known to x-taints. For best results the simulated machine's libraries and their debugging symbols should also be available.
The final capability that the analysis framework provides is the ability to identify which code propagated taints, e.g. if a call to memcpy copies tainted data, then its caller, along with a full backtrace, can be identified by their source file names and line numbers.
x-taints discovers this by replaying a memory log and tracking, for every byte of physical memory, the PID of the program that last modified it, the virtual address of the instruction that last modified it (EIP), and the instruction count at which it was modified.2Using this data, x-taints consults either System.map or a generated core file and reports the function, source file, and line number of the tainting code.
x-taints can also bring up gdb to allow investigation of the state of any program in the simulation at any instruction boundary. Most of the debugger's features can be used, including full backtraces, inspecting local and global variables, and so on. If the process was running at the time of the core dump, then register variables in the top stack frame will be inaccurate because only EBP and ESP are recorded in the log file. For processes that are not running, the entire register set is accurately extracted from where it is saved in the kernel stack.
4 Exploring Data Lifetime with TaintBochs
Scope. Where was sensitive data was being copied to in memory.
. Where was sensitive data was being copied to in memory. Duration. How long did that data persist?
. How long did that data persist? Implications. Beyond the mere presence of problems, we wanted to discover how easy they would be to solve, and what the implications were for implementing systems to minimize data lifetime.
4. 1 Experimental Results
4. 1. 1 Mozilla
3
twm
Kernel random number generator. The Linux kernel has a subsystem that generates cryptographically secure random numbers, by gathering and mixing entropy from a number of sources, including the keyboard. It stores keyboard input temporarily in a circular queue for later batch processing. It also uses a global variable last_scancode to keep track of the previous key press; the keyboard driver also has a similar variable prev_scancode.
. The Linux kernel has a subsystem that generates cryptographically secure random numbers, by gathering and mixing entropy from a number of sources, including the keyboard. It stores keyboard input temporarily in a circular queue for later batch processing. It also uses a global variable to keep track of the previous key press; the keyboard driver also has a similar variable. XFree86 event queue. The X server stores user-input events, including keystrokes, in a circular queue for later dispatch to X clients.
. The X server stores user-input events, including keystrokes, in a circular queue for later dispatch to X clients. Kernel socket buffers. In our experiment, X relays keystrokes to Mozilla and its other clients over Unix domain sockets using the writev system call. Each call causes the kernel to allocate a sk_buff socket structure to hold the data.
. In our experiment, X relays keystrokes to Mozilla and its other clients over Unix domain sockets using the system call. Each call causes the kernel to allocate a socket structure to hold the data. Mozilla strings. Mozilla, written in C++, uses a number of related string classes to process user data. It makes no attempt to curb the lifetime of sensitive data.
. Mozilla, written in C++, uses a number of related string classes to process user data. It makes no attempt to curb the lifetime of sensitive data. Kernel tty buffers. When the user types keyboard characters, they go into a struct tty_struct ``flip buffer'' directly from interrupt context. (A flip buffer is divided into halves, one used only for reading and the other used only for writing. When data that has been written must be read, the halves are ``flipped'' around.) The key codes are then copied into a tty, which X reads.
4. 1. 2 Apache and Perl
Kernel packet buffers. In function ne_block_input, the Linux kernel reads the Ethernet frame from the virtual NE2000 network device into a buffer dynamically allocated with kmalloc. The frame is attached to an sk_buff structure used for network packets. As we found with Unix domain sockets in the Mozilla experiment, the kernel does not zero these bytes when they are freed, and it is difficult to predict how soon they will be reused.
. In function, the Linux kernel reads the Ethernet frame from the virtual NE2000 network device into a buffer dynamically allocated with. The frame is attached to an structure used for network packets. As we found with Unix domain sockets in the Mozilla experiment, the kernel does not zero these bytes when they are freed, and it is difficult to predict how soon they will be reused. Apache input buffers. When Apache reads the HTTP request in the ap_bread function, the kernel copies it from its packet buffer into a buffer dynamically allocated by Apache. The data is then copied to a stack variable by the CGI module in function cgi_handler. Because it is on the stack, the latter buffer is reused for each CGI request made to a given Apache process, so it is likely to be erased quickly except on very low-volume web servers.
. When Apache reads the HTTP request in the function, the kernel copies it from its packet buffer into a buffer dynamically allocated by Apache. The data is then copied to a stack variable by the CGI module in function. Because it is on the stack, the latter buffer is reused for each CGI request made to a given Apache process, so it is likely to be erased quickly except on very low-volume web servers. Apache output buffer. Apache copies the request to a dynamically allocated output buffer before sending it to the CGI child process.
. Apache copies the request to a dynamically allocated output buffer before sending it to the CGI child process. Kernel pipe buffer. Apache flushes its output buffer to the Perl CGI subprocess through a pipe, so tainted data is copied into a kernel pipe buffer.
. Apache flushes its output buffer to the Perl CGI subprocess through a pipe, so tainted data is copied into a kernel pipe buffer. Perl file input buffer. Perl reads from the pipe into a dynamically allocated file buffer, 4 kB in size. The buffer is associated with the file handle and will not be erased as long as the file is open and no additional I/O is done. Because Apache typically sends much less than 4 kB of data through the pipe, the read buffer persists at least as long as the CGI process.
. Perl reads from the pipe into a dynamically allocated file buffer, 4 kB in size. The buffer is associated with the file handle and will not be erased as long as the file is open and no additional I/O is done. Because Apache typically sends much less than 4 kB of data through the pipe, the read buffer persists at least as long as the CGI process. Perl string buffers. Perl copies data from the input buffer into a Perl string, also dynamically allocated. Furthermore, in the process of parsing, the tainted bytes are copied into a second Perl string.
4. 1. 3 Emacs
su
ssh
bash
ssh
su
su
4
su
Kernel random number generator and keyboard data. See the Mozilla experiment (section 4.1.1) for more information.
. See the Mozilla experiment (section 4.1.1) for more information. Global variable kbd_buffer. All Emacs input passes through this buffer, arranged as a circular queue. Each buffer element is only erased after approximately 4,096 further input ``events'' (keyboard or mouse activities) have occurred.
. All Emacs input passes through this buffer, arranged as a circular queue. Each buffer element is only erased after approximately 4,096 further input ``events'' (keyboard or mouse activities) have occurred. Data referenced by global variable recent_keys. This variable keeps track of the user's last 100 keystrokes.
. This variable keeps track of the user's last 100 keystrokes. Each character in the password, as a 1-character Lisp string. Lisp function comint-read-noecho accumulates the password string by converting each character to a 1-character string, then concatenating those strings. These strings are unreferenced and will eventually be recycled by the garbage collector, although when they will be erased is unpredictable (see appendix A for further discussion).
. Lisp function accumulates the password string by converting each character to a 1-character string, then concatenating those strings. These strings are unreferenced and will eventually be recycled by the garbage collector, although when they will be erased is unpredictable (see appendix A for further discussion). The entire password as a Lisp string. The password is not cleared after it is sent to the subprocess. This string is also unreferenced.
. The password is not cleared after it is sent to the subprocess. This string is also unreferenced. Stack. Emacs implements Lisp function calls in terms of C function calls, so the password remains on the process stack until it is overwritten by a later function call that uses as much stack.
. Emacs implements Lisp function calls in terms of C function calls, so the password remains on the process stack until it is overwritten by a later function call that uses as much stack. Three kernel buffers. When the user types keyboard characters, they go into a struct tty_struct ``flip buffer'' directly from interrupt context. The key codes are then copied into a tty that Emacs reads, and then into a second tty when Emacs passes the password to its shell subprocess.
view-lossage
comint-read-noecho
(fillarray STRING 0)
4. 1. 4 Windows 2000 Workloads
4. 2 Analysis of Results
malloc()
glibc
x
4. 2. 3 Strings
nsString
Figure 1: In this example Mozilla needlessly replicates sensitive string data in the heap. nsString's constructor allocates heap space and GetText(&value) taints that data. This extra copy is unnecessary merely to do a comparison.
4. 2. 4 Linux Random Number Generator
last_scancode
batch_entropy_pool
4. 3 Treating the Taints
nsString
nsAutoString
Figure 2: A comparison of the amount of tainted string data in the original Mozilla versus our modified version. Our zero-on-free string remedy reduces tainted string data by half in the steady state.
char*
char*
memset
clear_event
no_event
sweep_strings
5 Related Work
Dynamic binary translators which operate at the single process level instead of the whole system level have demonstrated significant power for doing dynamic analysis of software [8]. These systems work as assembly-to-assembly translators, dynamically instrumenting binaries as they are executed, rather than as complete simulators. For example, Valgrind [19] has been widely deployed in the Linux community and provides a wide range of functionality including memory error detection (� la Purify [15]), data race detection, cache profiling, etc. Somewhere between an full simulator and binary translator is Hobbes [7], a single process x86 interpreter that can detect memory errors and perform runtime type checking. Hobbes and Valgrind both provide frameworks for writing new dynamic analysis tools.
Dynamo [3] is an extremely fast binary translator, akin to an optimizing JIT compiler intended to be run during program deployment. It has been used to perform dynamic checks to enhance security at runtime by detecting deviations from normal execution patterns derived via static analysis. This technique has been called program shepherding [16]. It is particularly interesting in that it combines static analysis with dynamic checking.
These systems have a narrower scope than TaintBochs as they operate on a single program level, but they offer significant performance advantages. That said, binary translators that can operate at the whole system level with very high efficiency have been demonstrated in research [31] and commercial [18] settings. The techniques demonstrated in TaintBochs could certainly be applied in these settings.
The term ``tainting'' has traditionally referred to tagging data to denote that the data comes from an untrusted source. Potential vulnerabilities are then discovered by determining whether tainted data ever reaches a sensitive sink. This of course differs from our use of taint information, but the fundamental mechanism is the same. A tainted tag may be literally be a bit associated with data, as in systems like TaintBochs or Perl's tainting or may simply be an intuitive metaphor for understanding the results of a static analysis.
Perl [20] provides the most well known example of tainting. In Perl, if ``tainting'' is enabled, data read by built-in functions from potentially untrusted sources, i.e. network sockets, environment variables, etc. is tagged as tainted. Regular expression matching clears taint bits and is taken to mean that the programmer is has checked that the input is ``safe.'' Sensitive built-in functions (e.g. exec ) will generate a runtime error if they receive tainted arguments.
Static taint analysis has been applied by a variety of groups with significant success. Shankar et al. [24] used their static analysis tool Percent-S to detect format string vulnerabilities based on a tainting style analysis using type qualifier inference and programmer annotations. Scrash [6], infers which data in a system is sensitive based on programmer annotations to facilitate special handling of that data to allow secure crash dumps, i.e. crash dumps which can be shipped to the application developer without revealing users sensitive data. This work is probably the most similar to ours in spirit as its focus is on making a feature with significant impact on sensitive data lifetime safe. The heart of both of these systems is the CQual [23], a powerful system for supporting user extensible type inference.
Ashcraft et al. [2] successfully applied a tainting style static analysis in the context of their meta-compilation system with extremely notable success. In the context of this work they were able to discover a large number of new bugs in the Linux and OpenBSD kernels. Their system works on a more ad-hoc basis, effectively and efficiently combining programmer written compiler extensions with statistical techniques.
Static analysis and whole system simulation both have significant strengths and can be used in a complementary fashion. Both also present a variety of practical trade-offs. Static analysis can examine all paths in a program. As it need not execute every path in the program to glean information about its properties, this allows it to |
abies defending. Any team that tackles for such a prolonged period of time will be tired later on, regardless of what level you are playing. But when you take into consideration that they are defending against a team as physically draining as South Africa you can understand why that sustained period of pressure is going to take its toll both mentally and physically on the squad.
I believe this is one of the reasons why they fell off so badly towards the end.
Sure there was some industrious play by the Wallabies, moving the ball through multiple phases or wide to the 13 channel but that tended to break down due to basic handling errors resulting in giving possession back to South Africa at key moments. Probably more telling for me though was Australia’s inability to clear their lines when the pressure was mounting. Some people call it “exit strategies”, I call it “hoofing the ball down the other end”. Whatever, the point is in the first 20 minutes alone only one defensive clearing kick manages to hit touch and that’s for a net gain of 10 meters.
That is an issue and in the video below I’ve pulled together some footage to illustrate what I’m seeing with the Wallabies exit strategies.
Exiting your own half is a major part of any game plan, and the first opportunity the Wallabies had to do this was from the kick off. Receiving the ball in his own 22 after it is carried back Foley puts boot to ball. It goes straight to Habana, he passes infield and Vermuleun returns the ball smashing into players and putting Australia straight on the back foot in their own half. Ok, Foley can’t kick directly to touch but the kick chase is so poor they give “Oh Shit!” a good 20 meter run up.
Why not get Phipps to launch a box kick? With a good kick chase Australia would be instantly putting the Bokke players under pressure rather than conceding possession and then letting them run it back at them.
This happens repeatedly throughout the first quarter of the game with Foley, Toomua and Folau all kicking the ball straight down the pitch to the South African back three who gladly run it back putting Australia in defensive mode yet again. Even worse, on multiple occasions the forwards get in and turn over ball only to see their hard work drilled straight down the field for little or no gain in territory or see a penalty kick to the corner miss touch.
Ok, so let’s focus on one of the moments Australia were on top in this period.
The play either side of the Ashley-Cooper Try. Great work by Kuridrani to break the tackle line, and Ashley-Cooper does well to finish it but straight from the kick off Australia kick the ball back to South Africa surrendering possession again. They have been under pressure for 16-17 minutes, have now managed to score a lovely break away try which alleviates the pressure and are receiving the ball. Only to then put themselves straight back on the defensive in their own third of the pitch.
In contrast the one time Australia decide to kick to re-gather, they do so. Phipps hoists a box kick, Le Roux gets caught and the arriving Australians run right over the top of him, they recycle and earn a penalty. Yes, Foley missed the kick but they pressured the Springbok back three and came out on top.
For me these issues indicate a lack of guidance in communicating what is expected of the team when leaving their own third of the pitch. How teams approach their defensive strategies and what to do with possession in defensive positions (which leads back to Exit Strategies) is a collective process and I imagine there will be some serious work done on tactical kicking before the Argentinean test match.
Wallabies Exit Strategy Analysis from thedeadballarea on Vimeo.President Uchtdorf creates first stake in Czech Republic
During a time when refugees are pouring into Europe and despite devastating terrorist attacks in their countries earlier this year, Latter-day Saints in Belgium and France are “joyful and looking forward,” said President Dieter F. Uchtdorf after visiting the countries May 10-12.
The members in Paris and Brussels “are incredible,” said President Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency.
“It is incredible how they reach out to those around [them],” he remarked in a coversation recorded on May 13 by the Church’s Public Affairs Department at the site of the Paris France Temple, which is under construction. “When bad things happen to us, it’s always a time to reach out to those who need help.”
Some of those they have helped are refugees, he said. Serving refugees coming to Europe had little to do with political discussions, but with helping our fellow man, he explained.
One of the highlights of President Uchtdorf’s visit to Brussels was meeting with young men and young women as they prepared hygiene kits for refugees.
President Thomas S. Monson’s heart reaches out to the Saints in Europe in these special circumstances, President Uchtdorf added. “I bring his love and his greetings to this beautiful place of Europe.”
President Uchtdorf and his wife, Sister Harriet R. Uchtdorf, visited France and Belgium as part of an assignment this month to Europe.
Traveling to Brussels and Paris has felt like coming home, President Uchtdorf said.
“We have been blessed with President Uchtdorf’s visit,” said France Paris Mission President Frédéric J. Babin.
President Uchtdorf said recent challenges in Europe have strengthened Latter-day Saints.
“The gospel of Jesus Christ connects us all and teaches us that we’re brothers and sisters. It is wonderful to be here again and feel the Spirit.”
During their visit, President and Sister Uchtdorf addressed Latter-day Saints during member and missionary devotionals held in Paris and Brussels and visited the site of the Paris France Temple.
To have a temple in Paris, France, is a “matter of faith rewarded,” President Uchtdorf said. “Over the many years in which the Saints had to travel long distances, they kept their faith and kept current their temple recommends.”
He said that many years ago, he traveled with President Gordon B. Hinckley to France. “His heart was yearning to have a temple here,” President Uchtdorf said.
Now President Monson, who followed President Hinckley as prophet, is “waiting for the moment that this temple will be dedicated.”
Sister Uchtdorf is also excited for the temple to be completed. She recalled traveling to the Swiss temple with her mother and sister when she was a young woman. “It was amazing to have a temple in Europe,” she said. Now the temple in Paris is “a blessing for the whole country.”
Serge Vandendriessche, the Church’s former National Director of Public Affairs for Belgium, said President Uchdorf’s message to the European Latter-day Saints was one of hope. He told them that every member has all the tools to stay on the path that leads to Christ. “We all speak different languages, but are all brothers and sisters, children of our Heavenly Father, fellow citizens with the Saints in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ,” said Brother Vandendriessche, recounting the message.
He said President Uchtdorf’s visit meant much to the local members.
“In the wake of [recent] terrorist attacks, President Uchtdorf chose to visit Brussels and Paris, sharing his support and delivering a message of hope.”
President Uchtdorf promised the Latter-day Saints that there is no need to fear. “Trust in the Lord and continue on the righteous path of the gospel. There’s hope in Christ,” he told the European members.
[email protected] @SJW_ChurchNewsThe Washington Examiner has transcripts of the Department of Justice’s closing remarks in their case against six protesters and one journalist for their participation in Inauguration Day protests. We all realize that the right wing of our country is working diligently to squash all dissent, even if that means trampling on the Bill of Rights. But Sessions’s DOJ isn’t even pretending that they are trying to prosecute vandalism and violence. They’re attacking people for protesting.
During closing arguments Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rizwan Qureshi offered no evidence that the six committed acts of violence or vandalism, or attended planning meetings for an anti-capitalism march that ended in the arrest of about 240 people in downtown Washington.
If you aren’t going to provide evidence or even argue that these individuals did something actually illegal (destroying private property for example), what is it exactly that you are arguing.
Instead, Qureshi likened the defendants to robbery get-away drivers, guilty because they helped anonymize others in a crowd. “That’s exactly what this sea of black was, it was the getaway car,” he said.
That “sea of black,” is supposed to reference the black outfits that some protesters wear. But, guess what? That argument will work for skin color as well—because it’s a completely unconstitutional attack on our rights to assemble and protest as Americans. But the arguments Qureshi made during the trial were equally odious. Brittne Lawson and Michelle Macchio argued that they—besides not wearing black—served as medics to people that had been hurt.
“Ms. Lawson was prepared for war and she was going to make it succeed,” Qureshi said, saying she planned “to mend them and get them up on their way.” “What do you need a medic with gauze for? I thought this was a protest,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with being a medic, but she was aware there was a riot going on.”
Ummmm. Wow. Considering that the DOJ isn’t interested in the never-ending stream of Second Amendment lunatics carrying GUNS to protests, this line of arguing is not simply transparent in its partisanship, it’s fucking insane. Deliberations are supposed to take place on Thursday and into Friday. I will try to update if anything gets decided.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama remained ahead of Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney in a Reuters/Ipsos released on Sunday, maintaining a boost in popularity that followed the Democratic National Convention.
U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands at a campaign event at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida September 9, 2012. REUTERS/Larry Downing
Of the 1,419 likely voters polled online over the previous four days, 47 percent said they would vote for Obama and 43 percent for Romney if the November 6 U.S. election were held today.
The president’s margin over Romney in the daily rolling poll was unchanged from Saturday’s numbers, turning up the heat on Republican strategists who were hoping for a more muted post-convention “bounce” for Obama in the wake of Friday’s release of weak employment numbers.
“It means (Democrats) are on good footing going into the rest of the election,” Ipsos pollster Julia Clark said.
Obama’s lead already was more sustained than a smaller and shorter-lived boost that Romney enjoyed after the Republican convention finished in Tampa, Florida on August 30, Clark said. The Democratic convention ran through Thursday night in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“The task is now to stay on the message as we’re still quite a ways away from the election,” Clark said, reiterating her prediction that the gap in poll numbers between Obama and Romney is likely to narrow and stay close up to November 6.
Senior advisers to Romney rejected the idea that they would panic after several polls showed the former Massachusetts governor losing in key swing states, saying such results reflected the recent Democratic convention and not the ongoing tight race.
“An incumbent president who is below 50 percent in the polls is in a very bad place,” one senior Romney adviser said.
Another adviser said, “if we’re at 47-45 (with Obama leading) going into the Thursday before the election, I’d be very comfortable we’d win.”
DIRECTION OF JOBS, ECONOMY
What Romney advisers are banking on is Americans’ feelings about Obama’s handling of the U.S. economy.
“Mitt has improved his standing in battleground states and is positioned perfectly on the issue of the economy with swing voters, who are so down on President Obama’s performance in office,” the first senior adviser to Romney said.
Sunday’s Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Romney leading in popularity among registered independent voters, with 35 percent of them saying they would vote for him. Obama had 31 percent.
But asked which of the two “will protect American jobs,” 32 percent of independent registered voters picked Obama, while 27 percent sided with Romney, according to Sunday’s results.
Among all the 1,660 registered voters surveyed, Obama scored 42 percent compared to Romney’s 35 percent.
Obama’s ranking in that category has climbed steadily over the past two weeks of the daily poll, starting with 34 percent on August 28, reaching 40 percent on September 7 and peaking Sunday.
“The public view of the economy is much more about personal perception than reality,” Clark said, explaining that few people pay close attention to numbers or statistics. “The fact that the dialogue is in the public sphere and Obama has been defending his record, it’s possible a little bit of that is sticking.”
At the same time, 72 percent of registered voters surveyed said the national economy and national deficit were on the wrong track, while 66 percent said the same about jobs and unemployment and 57 percent about the direction of things in the country in general, according to Sunday’s poll numbers.
Slideshow (4 Images)
Asked how they felt about Obama, 54 percent of registered voters were favorable. Romney’s favorability trailed at 49 percent.
Sunday’s findings wrap up a series of daily rolling polls aimed at gauging sentiment during the two weeks of party conventions. For the survey, a sample of registered voters was interviewed online from September 5-9.
The precision of Reuters/Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points for all respondents.In lead up to first flight of Falcon Heavy, SpaceX continues conversion of LC-39A
SpaceX is continuing to modify Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A for use with the company's Falcon Heavy rocket. Photo Credit: Bill Jelen / SpaceFlight Insider
Scott Johnson
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla – In April 2014, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX ) signed a 20-year lease with NASA for the use of its historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) located at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. SpaceX president and chief operating officer (COO), Gwynne Shotwell, was on hand and made known that the company intended to redevelop the pad for use by its Falcon Heavy rockets. Shotwell stated that most historical pad elements would remain, but modifications, including the building of a “launch mount,” the installation of new instrumentation / plumbing, and the building of a new hangar, would be made. Almost a year later, the first signs of that redevelopment are visible.
This past week, SpaceFlight Insider was on site at KSC and captured a few photos of the ongoing construction taking place at LC-39A.
The most easily recognizable “modification” are the steel pillars that now rise from the ground just outside the pad perimeter, on what was the “crawler-way” — the gravel track on which NASA’s crawler-transporters transported Saturn V Moon rockets and Space Shuttles to the pad.
The steel pillars represent the early stages of construction of the new hangar, or Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF), that Shotwell referenced in April. It’s anticipated that the HIF will be capable of housing multiple Falcon stages, along with associated hardware and payloads.
In addition, and although not yet visible on site, SpaceX is expected to cover the ramp leading from the HIF to the pad with concrete and install two sets of rails upon which the rockets will be rolled to the pad. The company recently released a video containing animation of its planned Falcon Heavy rocket lifting off from LC-39A which shows the addition of the concrete and rails.
Furthermore, on the pad itself, construction of the launch mount is also underway. The mount will serve as the attachment, or hold-down, point for the rocket. No such mount previously existed at LC-39A as all prior vehicles launched from the pad were attached to a mobile launch platform brought to the pad by a crawler-transporter.
In April 2014, Shotwell stated that the first SpaceX launch from LC-39A would take place during the “first quarter” of 2015 with the first flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket. This launch window now appears to be unmakeable due to the amount of construction and testing yet to be completed.
NASASpaceflight.com is reporting that a Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) of the Falcon Heavy is on the schedule at KSC for July 1, 2015, although there doesn’t appear to be a high degree of confidence in this date. The WDR is a launch readiness test which simulates a launch countdown, including the fueling of the rocket, and typically takes place a relatively short time prior to a scheduled launch.
Last month, John Taylor, a spokesperson for SpaceX, reported to SpaceFlight Insider that the company is planning for the Falcon Heavy launch sometime during the third quarter of 2015.
Whenever the Falcon Heavy finally takes flight from LC-39A, it should be an impressive sight. The “Heavy” will essentially be three of the company’s Falcon 9 cores strapped together. Each core should measure 12-feet in diameter and the total height of the rocket should be around 224-feet. Each of the three cores will have nine first stage Merlin 1D engines, bringing the total to 27. These engines, together, should generate just short of four million pounds of thrust.
Stay tuned to SpaceFlight Insider for continuing updates on SpaceX and the construction taking place at KSC’s LC-39A.
Welcome to SpaceFlight Insider! Be sure to follow us on Facebook: SpaceFlight Insider as well as on Twitter at: @SpaceflightInsWoah!
This Crash Bandicoot fangame (or, a demo of one) was made by Crash fans, for Crash fans. Hopefully you've liked things so far, we hope to keep working on the game as time permits. The ultimate goal, ofcourse, is to make a 25 stage long game with bosses and all, but being a fangame and made by just a few fans, I hope this demo will do for now. Thanks!
Play with power ups!
In the level select, hold down the pause button, then press the jump button to enter the stage like you would normally (don't let go of the pause button)! You can let go when the game starts to load the stage!
Super Body Slam
Double Jump
Super Spin / Death Tornado
Crash Dash
Super Slide
Relic times for time trial.
Access time trial by first clearing the stage with a crystal, then re-enter the stage and collect a yellow clock at the start. Once you then cross the "Start" point, the clock will start ticking. Collect yellow boxes to halt the clock, try to get a good time and aim for the Platinum Relic!
Forest In Peace
Cavern Noots
Construct
???
I noticed players having trouble enabling the power ups, so here we go!Normally, you'd unlock these power ups by beating bosses, but since those aren't in the game yet, you can unlock the power ups by doing the following. Do this each time you enter a stage:Makes the regular body slam have a larger area of effect, basically just making it more powerful. Just perform a body slam like normal - it'll now be powered up.Gives you a double jump. Watch out though, Crash cannot use double jump if he's already falling too fast.Gives you a longer spin which can also be used to float. Rapidly tap the spin button or hold it down after initiating the Super Spin.Hold down the HUD button (L, Y/RB) while moving to go FST.The most technical Power up. A continuation to the regular slide, keep holding the button or tap it again when performing a slide. Crash slides further and through boxes, and can then perform two additional moves from the Super Slide, either a long jump by hitting the jump button, or a slidespin with the usual spin button, which allows Crash to go fast while spinning - Super Spin cancels the speed up though.Sapphire: 0:55Gold: 0:40Platinum: 0:30Sapphire: 1:10Gold: 0:55Platinum: 0:40Sapphire: 1:30Gold: 1:15Platinum: 1:00Sapphire: 0:30Gold: 0:15Platinum: 0:05If you want even more challenge, try to beat these times:Flow Bro, your friendly Flow helper
Daniel Schmidt Blocked Unblock Follow Following Apr 11, 2017
At my current company, Costa Digital, we value the quality of our software a lot. For that reason, we chose to integrate Flow in our React Native application. Flow allows us to integrate type checking information directly into our source code and is a useful tool.
It helps to catch potential bugs before they occur, simply by finding mismatching type through the application. It keeps our test suite up to date by warning us if we haven’t updated our tests yet (having over 700 unit tests it is sometimes a challenge).
Last but not least it also helps to stay clear and precise with the data involved when prototyping a new feature.
With all these advantages in mind, there is only one problem: Not everything is flow-typed.
We imported definitions for most of the libraries we use from the flow-typed project, but our code needs to be typed by ourselves, of course. We chose to introduce flow typing gradually, including it in every new feature, adding it every time we touch a file on our way to a feature. We also improve the flow typing as we see problems arise and also if there is some time left from time to time. Look for good times to improve your flow coverage, such as when you did your first code review in the morning and are not yet a 100% there: add flow typing. You have some spare time before the daily standup: add flow typing. You want to do something while the app gets deployed by the CI: add flow typing.
How Do I Know Where To Best Add Types?
Your time is important and valuable. In conclusion, you want to add type definitions for the least typed files. Flow can use these to interfere types of values or functions in other files and increase the overall coverage by a lot more than you would think (or at least than I expected). But how do you get these files? Flow has a coverage command that allows you to query the percentage of typed versus untyped lines for a single file. I chose to build a tool that gets you the least typed files so that you can use your time in the most efficient way.
Intro: flow-bro
I chose to develop the CLI tool named flow-bro:
The idea is to build a CLI helper that allows you to get every help you need with your application:
get the least typed files: flow-bro get-untyped <number>
get the general coverage: flow-bro project-coverage
The future
I want to make flow-bro an even better bro by helping you with other matters, too. There is a very cool codemod out there in the open source realm that translates your React PropTypes into flow type annotations. It, unfortunately, has some issues and and is not usable in every scenario (e.g. spreading PropTypes of another component). It would be cool if flow-bro could tell you which files are easily translated and which files would not cause any interferences to be resolved. Having this information in an interactive way which allows developers to translate the files on the spot would be awesome. It would reduce the mental overhead by a lot, and it would allow developers to translate to flow type annotations even faster.
Further listeningThe demagogic exaggeration of the "terrorist threat," which was the centerpiece of the last Republican debates, is easily deflated with just a moment's thought. What is the chance that any particular resident of the United States will happen to be in the same place as someone who intends to murder in the name of the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, or some other cause? Less than minuscule. Many commonplace things are likely to kill you long before you encounter an Islamist, white-supremacist, or anti-abortion terrorist in the United States.
Typically, we don't find it worth the money it would take to substantially reduce those other risks. We could cut traffic fatalities considerably by outlawing left turns and reducing the speed limit to 5 MPH. But who would support those measures? So why tolerate the government's spending trillions of dollars (not to mention the violations of liberty) in its futile attempts to save us and our open society from all possible terrorism—especially when it could make us safer by spending less money and respecting our liberty through a noninterventionst foreign policy?
Of course, the assessment of the small risk would change—although not significantly, given the size of the U.S. population and land mass—if we knew that the number of would-be terrorists was growing. But we can be confident, as John Mueller and Mark. G. Stewart note, that the number is tiny. How do we know? We know because we don't see much terrorism in the United States. As Mueller and Stewart note, 9/11 was an obvious outlier and many of the foiled terrorist plots were instigated or at least advanced by FBI informants. (Attacks at military facilities should not be counted as terrorism, a loaded term coined to let the U.S. government and Israel get away with murder.) And what terrorism we've seen has not been terribly sophisticated.
Some forms of terrorism are difficult to pull off. The coordinated hijacking of multiple airplanes by men armed with box cutters (although low-tech) was no simple mission, and with (low-tech) locks on flight-deck doors it has become even more difficult. But other forms are easy if you don't mind dying or, indeed, you wish to die. It is not rocket science to come up with ways to kill lots of innocent people. Sayed Farook and Tashfeen Malik walked into a crowded office party with legally purchased firearms, killed 14 people, and wounded 22. In Israel the other day, a Palestinian drove his car into a group of Israelis waiting for a bus. That sort of activity cannot be foiled unless the perpetrators publicly declare their intentions, which, by the way, Malik did not do. Others are not likely to do so either.
If America were crawling with ISIS cells or self-"radicalized" lone wolves, we'd be seeing far more violence than we've seen. Right after 9/11, officials and analysts said they were certain a "second wave" was coming. It did not happen.
Moreover, as Mueller and Stewart point out, most would-be terrorists appear to be misfits who couldn't bomb their way out of a paper bag and wouldn't even try without goading by an FBI informant. The fear-mongering anti-terrorism complex—which consists of the government-media-"terrorism-expert" industry —portrays would-be terrorists as an invincible force of crack operatives led by "masterminds" who are high-tech wizards. (The fear-mongers would have you believe that encryption was invented by ISIS.) But the record does not support this picture. Just as the Cold Warriors had a financial and power interest in having us think the Russians were 10 feet tall, so the counter-terrorism lobby has the same interest in persuading us that "Islamists" are uniquely and diabolically cunning; they will soon be making suitcase nukes, it is intimated, and bringing them to Times Square.
Republican presidential candidates delight in saying that "we are at war." Indeed, depending on whether you count the Cold War, we're either in World War III or World War IV. Balderdash! The terrorist incidents in the West in fact demonstrate the asymmetrical nature of what's going on between the United States and its targets in the Muslim world. The U.S. government and its accomplices are waging actual war. Even if the ground force is (currently) small and remote-controlled drones are increasingly preferred over conventional bombers and gunships, the war now conducted by the West is not far removed from traditional war.
In contrast, terrorists commit crimes (torts, really) against people in the United States, France, etc. They shoot up parties, concert halls, and restaurants. It's horrible, but it's not war. ISIS and al-Qaeda have no armies capable of invading the United States, no navies, no air forces. They have no ability to conquer the country or bring down the government. In no sense can they defeat us. Only we can do that.
"We" are at war with them. They are not at war with us. The terrorism we've witnessed is resorted to precisely because they, or more precisely their domestic sympathizers, are unable to wage war against American society. Those who insist loudest that we are being warred upon understand that a government on a war footing will be permitted to exercise an intolerable degree of power over us. Presidential candidates drool over the thought of themselves as commanders-in-chief.
When Rick Santorum, echoing his presidential rivals, says that "radical Islam is on the move and their motives are to destroy the western world," he's merely vying for votes by spreading baseless fear. A few "lone wolves" do not constitute "radical Islam," and motives (even if correctly ascertained) are irrelevant when capability is lacking. Mueller and Stewart describe a "terrorist" who aspired to topple the Sears Tower in Chicago, have it slide into Lake Michigan, where it would (he hoped) create a tsunami, which would wash back on the city, and open a jail, springing the inmates. Shall we lose sleep over such plots?
As I've said before, the price exacted from Americans by the cynical anti-terrorism complex consists in lost liberty, lost privacy, lost prosperity, and needless stress. But there's another high price: the social destruction that will result from the suspicion directed at American (and other) Muslims. It's well-established that ISIS and al-Qaeda want to drive a wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims in America and elsewhere. American politicians say they don't want that to happen, but the logic of their rhetoric and authoritarian proposals cannot help but sow hostility toward all Muslims.
This piece originally appeared at Richman's "Free Association" blog.I had the opportunity to go on Al Jazeera English show The Stream Tuesday to discuss online sex-trafficking, U.S. laws, and—especially—the website Backpage, whose executives were subject to a Congressional inquiry earlier this month. My fellow guests on the live, interactive show—hosted by Femi Oke and Malika Bilal—were three women with very personal and political connections to sex trafficking, all advocating for changes to federal law that would allow web publishers and platforms to be held liable for content that users post. This, they submitted, would help protect children and teens from being sexually exploited by giving government the tools to go after Backpage—and, if need be, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and hundreds of other websites next.
My fellow guests were Brooke Axtell, Mary Mazzio, and Kubiiki Pride. Pride is identified by The Stream as the "mother of 'M.A.', sex trafficking survivor," and Axtell as a sex-trafficking survivor and founder of Survivor Healing. Axtell is also the communications director for Austin, Texas-based Allies Against Slavery, and Pride, whose daughter is now in her early 20s, has been championing various legislative causes in her family's name for a few years, most recently before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations inquiry into Backpage. Mazzio is an Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker who most recently directed I am Jane Doe.
Narrated by Jessica Chastain, I am Jane Doe has been getting attention from places like the New Yorker, the Daily Mail, and the McCain Institute. The underlying premise of the film, out in February, is that Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act—the statute more or less responsible for keeping the social, user-driven, free-press-oriented internet as we know it afloat—is an outdated protection that "provides a safe haven for website publishers to advertise underage girls for sex."
At the beginning of the program, I assured the other guests that our fundamental goals were aligned—I, too, want to help prevent and stop sexual exploitation and violence, even though we disagree about the best way to do so. I wasn't there to advocate for the company Backpage or talk about the First Amendment in some abstract way, I said, but rather to argue against policies that will cause even more harms to children, women, and people of all genders involved, voluntarily or not, in prostitution. All constitutional issues aside, being sympathetic to the suffering of those sexually exploited can't mean settling for symbolic victories while ignoring how our policies will materially affect the lives of those we're purporting to help.
Alas, it wasn't just potential solutions I found myself arguing with the other guests about. On several occassions, I was met with accusations of lying simply for stating plain facts about U.S. law. I was also met with skepticism when bringing up information that comes directly from the U.S. Senate's recent investigation into Backpage. So what follows is an attempt to set the record straight about a few of these things.
Yes, the U.S. Has a Law Against Advertising Minors for Sex: Mazzio kept lamenting that it was legal in America to advertise kids for sex. I objected, noting that not only is sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion illegal under federal law, it's also considered sex trafficking to promote the prostitution of a minor in any way, even absent force or threats or personal profit, and regardless of whether the victim's age is known. In addition, anyone soliciting paid sex from someone under age 18 can be charged as a child sex trafficker under federal law. And the same statute explicitly says that advertising a minor for prostitution is also a form of "severe trafficking in persons." It comes with a mandatory minimum federal prison sentence of 10 years and possible life in prison.
Mazzio insisted several times that this was "not true." At first, I assumed Mazzio simply meant that the law would not apply to third-party publishers, like Backpage, because of Section 230. But no—it became clear that her contention was no law even existed.
It does. It was passed in 2015 as part of the massive and much-hyped Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (JVTA), which garnered near-universal support in Congress. The advertising bit was known as the SAVE Amendment, a controversial provision that yielded intense protest from civil liberties, tech policy, and publishing groups and a lot of news-media attention.
A previous version, the "Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation (SAVE) Act" of 2014, would have required web-content platforms that run adult ads to review each one individually before publication, prohibit the use of cryptocurrency or pre-paid debit cards in placing ads, "prohibit the use of euphemism and codewords" in adult ads, get phone numbers and credit-card info from all posters, and require anyone posting adult ads to submit a copy of a government-issued photo-ID which the company would have to keep for seven years and provide to law-enforcement on demand. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives in May but faltered in the Senate.
In 2015, however, the SAVE Act came back, in subdued form, as the SAVE Amendment. This time it passed—again, with much controversy—as part of the bigger trafficking bill. At the end of the year, Backpage sued the U.S. government over the change. This is the law that Mazzio—someone making a feature film explicitly focused on Backpage, sex trafficking, web advertising, and federal law throughout this period—apparently did not know about.
79,000 Trafficked Kids in Texas? Trying to get to the scope of America's human-trafficking problem, Axell mentioned on The Stream that a new study found "79,000 children" were being trafficked for sex in the state of Texas alone. But there are a few important things to note about that study.
First, the 79,000 figure didn't refer exclusively to minors, but rather to people ages 25 and below—something Axtell should have known, considering the organization she works for helped conduct the study (though she did not mention this).
Second, the method used to arrive at this figure is questionable. "It is important to recognize that our approach was not to count [known] cases" of human trafficking, the report states, nor to survey Texas households for an estimation of trafficking victimization rates. Instead, researchers interviewed social-services groups and others who might be likely to encounter trafficked teens and learned that about 25 percent of teens these crisis- and support organizations worked with were trafficking victims. From there, researchers came up with various conditions they believed to put youth at risk of being victimized—including homelessless and being served by the state Department of Family Protective Service—and estimated the total number of Texas minors in those groups, then took 25 percent of each group, and added these numbers together to arrive at the figure of 78,998.
In terms of criminal investigations, the report states that from 2007 through mid-2014, Texas opened 737 criminal inquiries into human trafficking, leading to the arrest of 210 suspects, the conviction of 85 suspects, and the identification of 320 juveniles in the sex trade.
Backpage Stopped Manual Editing Policy in 2012: Backpage's policy of having moderators manually edit some adult ads before their publication occurred between late 2010 and late 2012. Backpage moderators claim that this involved editing out direct references to adult prostitution before allowing them to post, while ads suspected of involving minors would be rejected entirely.
When I mentioned this on The Stream, it was suggested that I couldn't possibly know this because Backpage executives refused to answer any questions about their ad-editing and filtering processes while appearing before the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations earlier this month.
It's true Backpage leadership refused to answer questions. But they were compelled to turn over years worth of internal documents and emails to Senators, and the subcommittee spent 20 months investigating Backpage through these documents and additional interviews with former employees. From this extensive research, the Subcommittee produced a report. And everything I said about the editing and filtering practices—including that they ended manual editing of adult ads in 2012—comes directly from that Senate report. You can read it here.Reshma Begum, trapped for 17 days inside the rubble of a building that collapsed in Bangladesh, said she never thought she would see daylight again.
On Friday, rescue workers found her alive in the basement of the eight-story building. Begum's rescue brought a sense of happiness and hope as workers continue to pull out dozens of bodies every day. The latest estimate puts the death toll above 1,000.
Here are 10 photographs, including of the garment worker rescued Friday, that show the horror and aftermath of one |
fractured and that it may have been two months before the fight. That didn’t make him feel any better. He lost sleep and watched critics come out of the woodwork on Twitter.
So he did what he always did when he was feeling down: He went to the gym. But the doctor told him he had to wait six weeks before training again. When he showed up at American Top Team, his long-running home base in Cococunt Creek, Fla., they kicked him out. Gently.
Lombard was always a guy who showed up to train angry and left angry. Most professional fighters say that the rage they brought with them to the sport dissipates with the day-in, day-out grind of training, but not him.
The feelings were no hindrance to his performance. He won a staggering 24 bouts between 2007 and 2012, which made him one of the hottest commodities outside the UFC. He signed with Bellator in 2009 and ruled the promotion’s middleweight division with an iron fist, though his competition was often suspect.
When Lombard’s contract expired and he signed a deal with the UFC, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said his debut was worth $700,000.
Lombard, though, said he was a mess personally and professionally for his fight against Boetsch. He won’t say what went wrong. But whatever it was, it robbed him of the ability to seize the moment that night. The fractured sternum certainly didn’t help matters.
It took the heartache of loss to make him realize that his love of his craft is stronger than the anger that’s shadowed him all these years.
“You’re not supposed to be that way,” he said. “I love to do what I do, which is fighting. I shouldn’t be angry and upset all the time.
“I felt it was a learning experience. I feel I needed to do some changes in my camp and changes in my life. I thank God every single day for making things that way so I could wake up and say I’m doing things the wrong way. After the loss, I said I have to be radical. So that made me make radical decisions, and now I’m happier. I feel blessed.”
And that feeling is something that he believes can’t be measured in show and win purses.
“Look, let me tell you one thing: Even if I had to fight for peanuts in the UFC, I would,” he said. “Is that good enough?”
A better question at this point is whether Lombard’s contentment is lasting. Bringing up the subject of a previous loss, and the recent news that the man who gave it to him, Gegard Mousasi, is soon likely in the UFC, threatens his peace.
“The funny thing for me is this sport has become a joke,” Lombard said. “And no disrespect, but it’s become a joke with all these fighters trying to copy Chael Sonnen. OK, Chael was the original, right? It’s good for him what he became with all his media trash, which I have respect for him, because he was the first person who came up with the idea. And now, what’s this douchebag that’s always talking s— about me? Michael Bisping. He thinks that he’s funny. Now, he’s just copying him.
“I actually saw him at the elevator, and Michael Bisping has got the smallest hands I’ve ever seen in my life. He says I’m a midget. OK. Fair enough. But I squeeze his hand – I didn’t want to shake his hand, but I said, I don’t want to leave you like that because I have a little bit of education – and he was about to cry, so I let it go.
“But let’s go back to what I was saying to you from before. Now, everyone has become a professional wrestler. It’s just talk, talk, talk. Now, Mousasi says he never trained. Can you believe that? Is that a joke, or what? He used to train with Fedor (Emelianenko). He used to train with M-1. He went to train with [Georges St-Pierre]. Now, here we go, he comes back and says he never trained. I want to put my hands on him before I retire because I need to whoop that kid up.”
Lombard insists he wasn’t training when he fought Mousasi and was tricked into competing in the PRIDE welterweight grand prix. Later, he said he was threatened by a PRIDE official when he told them he wouldn’t compete again for the promotion.
“The Japanese called me up, and they said, ‘We have a fighter for you,'” Lombard said. “And I said, ‘When is that?’ They said, ‘In two weeks. He’s a young guy who doesn’t have any experience, so he’s going to be an easy fight.’ I said, ‘Listen, I know he’s got about 20 free fights. What the hell is going on?’ So I decided to walk away from these Japanese, because they all lie all the time. So I said to PRIDE, ‘Go away. Don’t ever contact me again.’ Then they wanted to intimidate me and s—. They said, ‘We’re going to send the Yakuza. We’re going to kill you.’ I’m like, ‘What the hell is going on with these people?'”
A former PRIDE official had no knowledge of any threats against Lombard.
The now 34-year-old fighter said his career was further obstructed by EliteXC, which folded up shop shortly after he signed a contract. He claims Strikeforce acquired his paper, but Rebney offered him four times the money of the previous deal. Strikeforce then threatened to take him to court, but the Bellator CEO was able to clear the way for a new contract.
A Bellator official declined comment on Lombard’s claims.
Of the events that have brought him to where he is today, Lombard said, “I think there’s always a God up there who’s making judgements, and good things happened to me. It wasn’t easy.”
He is, however, expecting to have no trouble resurrecting his UFC career against Palhares, whose leglocks have won him several turndowns from perspective opponents. Lombard said he didn’t think twice about accepting the bout. After requesting to fight on his home soil, he got a call from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, who proposed the matchup.
“I said, ‘Yeah. Whatever. I’ll fight anyone,'” he said.
For more on UFC on FX 6, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.Following a rejection of his appeal, Katsav becomes the highest-ranking Israeli official to serve prison time [AFP]
Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav has reported to prison to begin a seven-year sentence for rape and other sexual offences.
Before travelling to Maasiyahu prison on Wednesday, Katsav, who was president from 2000 to 2007, once again claimed innocence, telling journalists his incarceration amounted to "executing a man... based on impressions, without real time testimony, without evidence".
The former president also accused authorities of ignoring evidence that could clear him, and predicted he would one day be vindicated.
"One day, consciences will prick and you will see that you buried a man alive."
Katsav, the highest-ranking Israeli official ever to enter prison, was convicted in December 2010 of raping a former female employee when he was a cabinet minister, and of sexually harassing two other women while he was president.
In the absence of forensic evidence, prosecutors built their case almost entirely on witness testimony. Legal experts say the similarities in the accounts of victims who did not know each other likely led to the conviction, in which the judges accused Katsav of lying.
Katsav remained free while he appealed the ruling, but Israel's supreme court rejected his appeal last month.
The case has both capitivated and appalled the nation, with Katsav's conviction hailed as a victory for women's rights and equality under the law.Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF
While some actors insist on performing their own, sometimes dangerous, stunts, many iconic movie action moments were performed by brave stunt doubles. Here are some of the great stunt people of the last hundred years, sometimes captured alongside the actors they've doubled.
Yakima (Yak) Canutt, the man who filmed the iconic scene in John Ford's Stagecoach (1939)
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The former world rodeo champion Canutt worked on dozens of westerns, but he is best known as the stunt double for Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind (1939), and was the second unit director of Ben Hur (1959), too.
(via Criterion and a screenshot from Stagecoach)
Russell Saunders, stuntman on King Kong (1933), Hitchcock's Saboteur (1942), doubling Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain (1952), Shane (1953), Spartacus (1960) and Logan's Run (1976), among others
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By the way, he was Salvador Dalí's model for Christ of St John of the Cross (1951).
(via Znanje, The Vault of Horror, Wikimedia Commons and Encyclopedia of the Great Plains)
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Sally Sage and Bette Davis on the set of Now, Voyager (1942)
(via Plectani)
Bill Hickman, the stunt driver from the best car chases ever, including the legendary ones in Bullitt (1968) and The French Connection (1971)
Frank Sinatra and his stunt double on the set of The Lady In Cement in 1968
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(via Photographers Gallery, photo by Terry O' Neill)
Carey Loftin, the greatest stunt driver ever as a truck driver in Duel (1971)
Other films in which he appeared include It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), The Love Bug (1968), Vanishing Point (1971), THX 1138 (1971), Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), Against All Odds (1984). He appeared in the Star Trek episode The City on the Edge of Forever (1967) and five A-Team episodes between 1983 and 1985, and he drove KITT in 12 Knight Rider stories between 1982 and 1986 as well.
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(via Find A Grave)
Dar Allen Robinson in Highpoint (1979), as the stunt double for Christopher Plummer
Robinson only appeared in 37 movies as a stuntman because of his deadly accident at the age 39, after a thirteen-year career working on films like The Towering Inferno (1974), Rollerball (1975), Logan's Run (1976), Stick (1985), and Lethal Weapon (1987).
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Lynda Carter and Jeannie Epper in the Wonder Woman TV series (1975-1979, created by William M. Marston)
(via Telegraf)
Harrison Ford and Vic Armstrong, on the set of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, dir.: Steven Spielberg) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989, dir.: Steven Spielberg)
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Armstrong doubled actors in other movies, too. The most iconic ones are A Bridge Too Far (1977), Superman (1978), Flash Gordon (1980), Blade Runner (1982), Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), Dune (1984), Brazil (1985) and some James Bond movies, but he was also a stunt coordinator for Rambo 3 (1988), Total Recall (1990), Starship Troopers (1997), Gangs of New York (2002), and War of the Worlds (2005), among others.
(via Reddit and The List)
Carrie Fisher & Tracy Eddon in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983, dir.: Richard Marquand)
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(via RetroJunkie)
Kate Winslet and her double Sarah Franzl on the set of Titanic (1997)
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(via Movietalkies)
Arnold Schwarzenegger and his regular stuntman Billy Lucas on the set of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) and True Lies (1994)
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(via bugaga and doseng)
Bonus: Buster Keaton
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Buster didn't have a stuntman, and he didn't care much about his own physical wellbeing. Once he broke his neck after having a water tower dumped on him during the filming of Steamboat Bill, Jr., but he didn't notice and kept filming. He's not the only actor who performed his deadly stunts, but he had some of the most dangerous ones ever.
(via smirk and Handsome Men Who Are Now Dead)Submitted by John Rubino via DollarCollapse.com,
Peggy Noonan, former Reagan administration speech writer and current Wall Street Journal pundit has, like most of her peers, been wondering what’s gotten into the unwashed masses lately that makes them such unpredictable voters. And she’s come up with a useful conclusion: The rise of Donald Trump (and similar iconoclasts in other countries) is due to the gradual division of society into the protected — that is, people who make the rules and therefore benefit from them — and the unprotected, who don’t make the rules and end up getting screwed. The latter have finally figured this out and have stopped supporting the former. Here’s her latest OpEd piece, in its entirety:
Trump and the Rise of the Unprotected: Why political professionals are struggling to make sense of the world they created.
We’re in a funny moment. Those who do politics for a living, some of them quite brilliant, are struggling to comprehend the central fact of the Republican primary race, while regular people have already absorbed what has happened and is happening. Journalists and politicos have been sharing schemes for how Marco parlays a victory out of winning nowhere, or Ted roars back, or Kasich has to finish second in Ohio. But in my experience any nonpolitical person on the street, when asked who will win, not only knows but gets a look as if you’re teasing him. Trump, they say.
I had such a conversation again Tuesday with a friend who repairs shoes in a shop on Lexington Avenue. Jimmy asked me, conversationally, what was going to happen. I deflected and asked who he thinks is going to win. “Troomp!” He’s a very nice man, an elderly, old-school Italian-American, but I saw impatience flick across his face: Aren’t you supposed to know these things?
In America now only normal people are capable of seeing the obvious.
But actually that’s been true for a while, and is how we got in the position we’re in.
Last October I wrote of the five stages of Trump, based on the Kübler-Ross stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Most of the professionals I know are stuck somewhere between four and five.
But I keep thinking of how Donald Trump got to be the very likely Republican nominee. There are many answers and reasons, but my thoughts keep revolving around the idea of protection. It is a theme that has been something of a preoccupation in this space over the years, but I think I am seeing it now grow into an overall political dynamic throughout the West.
There are the protected and the unprotected. The protected make public policy. The unprotected live in it. The unprotected are starting to push back, powerfully.
The protected are the accomplished, the secure, the successful—those who have power or access to it. They are protected from much of the roughness of the world. More to the point, they are protected from the world they have created. Again, they make public policy and have for some time.
I want to call them the elite to load the rhetorical dice, but let’s stick with the protected.
They are figures in government, politics and media. They live in nice neighborhoods, safe ones. Their families function, their kids go to good schools, they’ve got some money. All of these things tend to isolate them, or provide buffers. Some of them—in Washington it is important officials in the executive branch or on the Hill; in Brussels, significant figures in the European Union—literally have their own security details.
Because they are protected they feel they can do pretty much anything, impose any reality. They’re insulated from many of the effects of their own decisions.
One issue obviously roiling the U.S. and Western Europe is immigration. It is the issue of the moment, a real and concrete one but also a symbolic one: It stands for all the distance between governments and their citizens.
It is of course the issue that made Donald Trump.
Britain will probably leave the European Union over it. In truth immigration is one front in that battle, but it is the most salient because of the European refugee crisis and the failure of the protected class to address it realistically and in a way that offers safety to the unprotected.
If you are an unprotected American—one with limited resources and negligible access to power—you have absorbed some lessons from the past 20 years’ experience of illegal immigration. You know the Democrats won’t protect you and the Republicans won’t help you. Both parties refused to control the border. The Republicans were afraid of being called illiberal, racist, of losing a demographic for a generation. The Democrats wanted to keep the issue alive to use it as a wedge against the Republicans and to establish themselves as owners of the Hispanic vote.
Many Americans suffered from illegal immigration—its impact on labor markets, financial costs, crime, the sense that the rule of law was collapsing. But the protected did fine—more workers at lower wages. No effect of illegal immigration was likely to hurt them personally.
It was good for the protected. But the unprotected watched and saw. They realized the protected were not looking out for them, and they inferred that they were not looking out for the country, either.
The unprotected came to think they owed the establishment—another word for the protected—nothing, no particular loyalty, no old allegiance.
Mr. Trump came from that.
Similarly in Europe, citizens on the ground in member nations came to see the EU apparatus as a racket—an elite that operated in splendid isolation, looking after its own while looking down on the people.
In Germany the incident that tipped public opinion against Chancellor Angela Merkel’s liberal refugee policy happened on New Year’s Eve in the public square of Cologne. Packs of men said to be recent migrants groped and molested groups of young women. It was called a clash of cultures, and it was that, but it was also wholly predictable if any policy maker had cared to think about it. And it was not the protected who were the victims—not a daughter of EU officials or members of the Bundestag. It was middle- and working-class girls—the unprotected, who didn’t even immediately protest what had happened to them. They must have understood that in the general scheme of things they’re nobodies.
What marks this political moment, in Europe and the U.S., is the rise of the unprotected. It is the rise of people who don’t have all that much against those who’ve been given many blessings and seem to believe they have them not because they’re fortunate but because they’re better.
You see the dynamic in many spheres. In Hollywood, as we still call it, where they make our rough culture, they are careful to protect their own children from its ill effects. In places with failing schools, they choose not to help them through the school liberation movement—charter schools, choice, etc.—because they fear to go up against the most reactionary professional group in America, the teachers unions. They let the public schools flounder. But their children go to the best private schools.
This is a terrible feature of our age—that we are governed by protected people who don’t seem to care that much about their unprotected fellow citizens.
And a country really can’t continue this way.
In wise governments the top is attentive to the realities of the lives of normal people, and careful about their anxieties. That’s more or less how America used to be. There didn’t seem to be so much distance between the top and the bottom.
Now is seems the attitude of the top half is: You’re on your own. Get with the program, little racist.
Social philosophers are always saying the underclass must re-moralize. Maybe it is the overclass that must re-moralize.
I don’t know if the protected see how serious this moment is, or their role in it.The great war had ended a long time ago. Yudhisthira had been crowned the chakravarti of the entire bharata khanda. Learning of the emperor’s desire, Maharshi Veda Vyasa had taken them to the remotest part of the himalayas and granted them immense wealth that was hidden there. The five pandavas performed the greatest of Ashwamedha yajnas ever done by man.
Each pandava had performed the yajna for three years! Hastinapura had seen the yajna being performed for fifteen continuous years! Every devata, rishi, pitru and nara had been satisfied in the course of the yajna. Dharmareturned to earth in full glory.
Yudhishthira had then installed a huge drum, a mahabheri, in front of his palace. He had announced to his citizens –
“Anyone who has any desire can come and beat this drum and seek his wish; I shall fulfil the same to the best of my ability”
yaH kashchidarthI hyAsyEta sa hanyAd bhErikAmimAM……pUrayishyAmi tadvAmchAM yAvacchaknOmi nAnyathA ||
Hearing this, one old brahmana, who was in urgent need of some money, proceeded towards the capital. Having travelled a long distance, he managed to reach Yudhisthira’s palace only late in the night. With great eagerness the old brahmana started beating the drum.
His sleep being disturbed, Yudhisthira got up from his bed and realised someone was calling his attention. He sent a few guards to enquire what the drum-beating was for. Soon, the guards returned to the emperor and told him an old man was seeking wealth for some personal use. Yudhisthira, being too drowsy, instructed his guards to send back the old man after telling him to come in the morning. He told the guards to assure the brahmana that his demands would be fully met.
Listening to the message from the King, the old brahmana felt disappointed and decided to test his luck with the yuvaraja. Bhimasena too, like his older brother, had installed a drum in front of his palace for the same purpose. The old man started beating the drum there. Bhima immediately came out and enquired what the old brahmana wanted. Listening to his demand, Bhima said
“It is late at night and the treasury is not open now; But fulfilling your ask cannot wait. Hence please take this”
Saying thus, he removed his precious bracelet and handed it over to the brahmana. Seeing that golden bracelet, studded with precious gems, the brahmana became supremely pleased and headed back to his village.
Bhimasena then proceeded towards the palace of Yudhishthira. Once there, he started to beat the mahabheri incessantly. Listening to the deafening sound of the drums, Yudhisthira got up, again, and was told that it was his brother this time beating the drums. Sensing that something unusual had happened, he sent guard after guard to enquire upon the reason.
The guards, after enquiring with Bhima, came back and repeated his words to the first pandava –
“I am extremely delighted at knowing my elder brother has definite knowledge about his longevity in spite of possessing a mortal body. Due to this certainty he sent away an old man, seeking help, and asked him to come back the next morning. He has postponed his dharma by a day. Only a man who knows he is alive the next day can do so. I am overwhelmed by joy that my brother is such a jnani. Hence I am beating this drum”
iti nishchayamAkarNya dharmarAjasya jIvitE | harshO mahAnabhUdadya tEna bhErImavAdayaM ||
The moment Yudhisthira heard the reason, his face sunk out of guilt. He realised what a great mistake he had made. He rushed down to meet his brother. Embracing him, Yudhisthira thanked his wise sibling repeatedly and said he will never make the mistake of postponing dharma karya ever again.
Bhimasena smiled and consoled his brother. He said — “My intention was only to highlight your folly and bring you back on the right track again. Remember — when it comes to performing dharma, there never must be delay”
dharmE vilambO na kArya
“Delaying dharma causes great harm to people”
dharmasyEha vilambEna vanchitA bahavO narAH
Yudhisthira was truly awakened by the upadesha of Bhima. His mind never deviated from the path of dharma from then on. He truly became dharmarajathen on.
For all of us too, there is a great lesson in this story — The performance of dharma cannot wait for good days. Performance of dharma, in fact, brings good days.
References:
Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya — by Sri Madhwacharya — Chapter 31 Varaha Purana, Chaturmasya Mahatmya, Chapter 23 — Shloka 172 onwards.
(Feature Image: Representational image from haribhakt.com)
Did you like this article? We’re a non-profit. Make a donation and help pay for our journalism.LOS ANGELES (CN) – Clive Barker’s ex-boyfriend claims the horror writer infected him with HIV, then booted him out of a sprawling Beverly Hills estate that they shared for 14 years, according to a lawsuit in Superior Court.
Emilian David Armstrong says he met Barker, the mastermind behind the “Hellraiser” and “Candyman” series, in March 1996, and he and his then 8-year-old daughter moved into Barker’s home four months later.
The pair married in a ceremony attended by friends and family in October 1996, Armstrong says, though the marriage was not legally recognized by the state of California.
That November, Barker told Armstrong that he was HIV positive, and Armstrong tested positive soon after. The exposure, he says, was a result of Barker’s undisclosed, “risky lifestyle.”
“It was not until after plaintiff was diagnosed with HIV that defendant told him that defendant had dated his own cousin who had died of AIDS and that defendant had engaged in forms of sadomasochism that involved syringes in his previous relationships,” the 41-page complaint, filed Tuesday, states.
Armstrong, a photographer by trade, then cared for the pair’s eight dogs and six birds, and oversaw bookkeeping and accounting for their household staff, which included “four gardeners, three housekeepers, a pool maintenance person, dog walkers, and a professional fish tank cleaner.”
The couple vacationed in Hawaii, and traveled to Spain, London, New York City, Ireland and the Netherlands. Armstrong says he also charged up to $12,000 in personal expenses per month to a credit card paid by Barker.
“Defendant promised plaintiff that he would take care of plaintiff for the rest of his life and, in accordance with that promise, in 1997 defendant had his accountant draw up a will stating that if anything were to happen to defendant, plaintiff would inherit defendant’s estate,” the complaint states.
The pair allegedly collaborated on Halloween mazes for Universal Studios; “Hellraiser” action figures; the video games “Undying” and “Jericho;” and MacSkins iPod covers. But, Armstrong “never received any payment for his contributions,” he says.
Barker became addicted to prescription painkillers, including Vicodin, Percocet, Demerol, and Oxycodon, in 2003, and mixed the drugs with alcohol, cocaine and crystal meth, the complaint states.
Armstrong flushed cocaine and meth down the toilet as he found it, he says, but Barker threatened to kick him out of the house in response, and called “plaintiff’s friends and family members ‘stupid cunts’ to their faces.”
Barker also refused to accompany Armstrong, who suffered from skin cancer, to chemotherapy treatments and said, “This is my world, you’re just a visitor here.” And, the writer started to invite young men over to party with him, and called Armstrong: “talentless cunt,” “useless cunt” and “fat cunt.”
On April 21, 2009, the law firm Tropio and Morian served Armstrong with a restraining order “filled with lies and false accusations,” and he says he was escorted off the Beverly Hills estate by an armed security guard.
Armstrong’s credit cards and joint checking accounts were swiftly cancelled, the agreed-upon financial support dried up, and he was not allowed to return to the home to retrieve his possessions, the complaint states. As a result, he says he has been “forced to incur extensive debt.”
Armstrong seeks damages for breach of partnership agreement, emotional distress, and fraud and deceit.
He filed the suit pro se.
Like this: Like Loading...SmashingApps and Poverty posters? I know you are surprised to see this but let me tell you the reason behind this. a few days ago, I got a chance to visit and explore Blog Action Day website and it was really inspiring for me that as a blogger I should help them to spread the word about their mission. I found the way that if I write a post about poverty in a way that my visitors will not get bored as well and I will also get success to convey their message to the millions of visitors coming to SmashingApps.
I really like this statement on Blog Action Day website
“the blogging community effectively changes the conversation on the web and focuses audiences around the globe on that issue”
Tip: You can make sure everything you type is clear, effective, and mistake-free with Grammarly, It scans your text for common and complex grammatical mistakes, spanning everything from subject-verb agreement to article use to modifier placement.
Then I decided to be the part of this campaign. As I told you above that I was searching for the topic that will not make visitors to be bored so I decided to convey Blog Action Day message with the magical images related to poverty. Yes, they are trying to create the awareness about the real problem exists in this world and many of us really do not realize in the way it is.
Here, I listed some collection of images which are posters, photographs, etc and in all of the pictures below you will see the severeness of poverty and how billions of children are effecting with this. It’s a time we should not forget our role and let’s help them or at-least create some awareness from that platform which we have.
I hope at the end of this post you will realize that we live in 2 separate worlds. Spread the word and be a part of this campaign.
Click on the images to go from where the images has been taken. If you know more images which should be listed here, please don’t forget to share with us via comment and tell us what are you feeling when you are watching this collection?
ÂÂA group of 15 men was beaten up by gau rakshaks in Alwar, Rajasthan
A Muslim man beaten up by alleged cow vigilantes in Rajasthan's Alwar district died due to his wounds, local police confirmed on Tuesday.
The man died on Monday night at the hospital where he was admitted for treatment after he, along with a dozen others, was beaten up by gau rakshaks while on a highway. The deceased man has been identified as Pehlu Khan and is said to be in his fifties.
An unknown number of people who were injured in the brutal attack are recuperating at an Alwar hospital.
A murder case has been registered over Khan's death and Rajasthan police has formed three teams to arrest the accused cow vigilantes. A reward of Rs 5,000 has also been announced for anyone who helps nab the six men accused of murder.
Khan was among a group of nearly 15 people that was attacked while transporting cows. The men, who are from Haryana, came under attack by gau rakshaks while transporting the animals on the Behror highway in Alwar on Saturday, police said.
A local cop identified the attackers as cow vigilantes associated with the VHP and the Bajrang Dal.
"Gau rakshaks affiliated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal stopped four vehicles, near Jaguwas crossing on National Highway 8, on Saturday evening, alleging that they were illegally transporting bovines. These vehicles were coming from Jaipur, and were headed towards Nuh district in Haryana," Ramesh Chand Sinsinwar, SHO, Behror police station, was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
#WATCH: 5 men beaten up & their vehicle vandalised by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan's Alwar; later 1 man succumbed to injuries (01.04.2017) pic.twitter.com/almfW9W954 - ANI (@ANI_news) April 5, 2017
The news daily further quoted Sinsiwar to say that police have lodged a case against the attackers under Indian Penal Code sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 147 (destruction of property), 308 (culpable homicide) and 379 (theft).
After Pehlu Khan's death, IPC Section 302 (murder) has been added as well.
Notably, the men who were attacked for transporting cows have also been booked under the Rajasthan Bovine Animals(Prohibition of Slaughter & Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995.
(With inputs from IANS)
Also Watch: Rajasthan: Gau rakshaks beat 50-year-old man to death for smuggling cows
ALSO READ | Rajasthan: Human rights activists slam BJP leaders for falsely implicating hotel over beef
ALSO READ | Two 'beef transporters' forced to eat cow dung by Haryana's Gau Rakshak Dal
ALSO WATCH | BJP's beef dilemma: Different states, different stakes?Socceroo strikers Tim Cahill and Tomi Juric were on target while national team captain Mile Jedinak was a second-half substitute for Crystal Palace in the EPL over the weekend.
UK
As he continues to return to full fitness, the Socceroo skipper’s Eagles were beaten 3-1 at home to early pacesetters West Ham in the English Premier League.
Elsewhere, Adam Federici had a night to forget in goals for Bournemouth against Manchester City. The shot-stopper was at fault for the second goal the Cherries conceded in their 5-1 drubbing away to the EPL leaders.
Massimo Luongo made a substitute appearance for Queens Park Rangers in their 2-1 loss to Birmingham City at St. Andrews in the Championship.
The Blues, who sit fourth in the Championship, had fellow Aussie Shane Lowry on the bench.
Tommy Oar and Jason Davidson also locked horns on matchday 11 of England’s second tier, with Ipswich Town and Huddersfield Town both having to settle for a point after their 0-0 stalemate.
Bailey Wright was also involved in a goalless draw as Preston North End couldn’t find a way past Cardiff City at home. Preston, who also had Neil Kilkenny on the pine, are now winless in six and stuck in the relegation zone.
Chris Herd got through a full match for Chesterfield FC in League One as he continues to put his injury woes behind him. The defender set up the opening goal in his side’s 2-1 away win over Walsall FC.
James Meredith played the duration and Brad Jones was on the bench in Bradford City’s 1-0 win over Doncaster Rovers also in England’s third tier
Alex Cisak got through 90 minutes for Leyton Orient as they came from two goals down to earn a share of the spoils in their 2-2 draw with Oxford United.
Scott McDonald’s Motherwell FC welcomed Tom Rogic’s Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, with the Bhoys shading the contest 1-0 to retain their spot at the top of the league.
Ryan McGowan played the full match, while Adam Taggart was deployed at half-time in Dundee United’s 1-0 loss to Hearts FC.
Europe
Tomi Juric scored Roda JC’s equaliser in their 1-1 draw with FC Utrecht in the Eredivisie.
Rostyn Griffiths also featured from the start, while Daniel De Silva made a late cameo for Roda. Adam Sarota didn’t feature for Utrecht.
Trent Sainsbury was on the end of a 5-1 hammering as PEC Zwolle was humbled by Vitesse Arnhem also in the Netherlands.
Mathew Leckie’s FC Ingolstadt dropped more points in the Bundesliga after being shaded 1-0 by VfB Stuttgart, who had Mitch Langerak and Robbie Kruse both missing through injury. Leckie missed a penalty to compound the misery for his German club.
Ben Halloran’s FC Heidenheim got the better of James Holland’s MSV Duisburg with a 1-0 result in Germany’s second tier.
Aziz Behich was in action for Bursaspor in Turkey but couldn’t prevent his side going down 2-0 to Antalyaspor.
Tomislav Mrcela suffered a defeat in Croatia with his side losing 2-1 at home to HNK Rijeka.
And in Denmark, Mustafa Amini's Randers lost 2-1 to Awer Mabil's Midtjylland. Both came on as subs.
Asia
Tim Cahill scored a brace to help seal Shanghai Shenhua’s 3-0 triumph over Changchun Yatai in China. Shanghai sit seventh in the standings as the league nears its conclusion. The goals bring Cahill’s impressive season tally to eleven, with the Socceroos striker off-contract at the end of the season.
Matthew Spiranovic’s Hangzhou moved up a place in the CSL after their match against Liaoning Whowin petered out to a 0-0 draw.
Alex Wilkinson was on the wrong end of a 1-0 result as Jeonbuk FC went down to the Pohang Steelers in the Korea Republic.
Nathan Burns was withdrawn at half-time in FC Tokyo’s 2-1 loss at the hands of Shonan Bellmare |
develop medical breakthroughs like a cure for Ebola. But Robert Lanford, a scientist at the Texas Biomed and the director of the Southwest National Primate Research Center, says without using the macaques there would be no way to find a vaccine for Ebola.
“It is acutely aware now that we have a virus spreading across Africa and threatening to leave that continent and go to other continents that the public appreciates the work we are doing in non-human primates,” said Lanford.
Lanford says inspections from the U.S. Department of Agriculture have found areas where animal care needed to be improved – but that is the normal process and those issues have been addressed.
“The USDA said this shouldn’t occur, redesign your cages. We redesigned every cage on campus. We use the USDA recommendations as a mechanism to improve our program,” he said.
The World Health Organization is predicting deaths from the Ebola outbreak could exceed 20 thousand in Africa. The Center for Disease Control has a much scarier number -- over a million infections by mid-January. Which prediction becomes true? We’ll have to wait and see. But there’s no doubt that Ebola will now have a permanent presence in West Africa. And it will be a constant threat to every part of the globe. It’s going to cost billions of dollars to fight Ebola. Another cost is the lives of the macaques. That raises the ethical question each of us should address as the urgent search continues for the elusive Ebola vaccine.I’m starting a journey series where you can follow along in my efforts to achieve short term goals. I’ll share the resources I use for help and share the tricks I learn along the way.
This Journey will feature my road to getting proficient in butterfly pull-ups. At four years in I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I have a hard time stringing 4 butterfly’s together. I can easily knock out ten normal kipping pullups but butterfly’s aren’t something I’ve ever focused on. So I finally said enough is enough.
I set a goal of getting a solid 20 butterfly pullups in a row by January. This would be just in time for our next competition, Knockout in the Ok. Here’s my strategy this week.
I figure this skill, like most gymnastic skills comes down to mainly 3 aspects; strength, mobilty, and movement.
STRENGTH: My guess is the heavier my 1-rep max pull-up is, the easier time I’ll have with kipping and butterflys. My strategy here is basic strength training. I do 5-7 sets of weighted pull ups at 5 reps each set. At this point sometimes my body is all the weight I need. My goal is to do this once a week for the first couple weeks. My coach also sent me a link to Dr. Dan Pope’s blog. He suggests doing strict, and progressively larger butterfly circles.
MOBILITY: I’ve spent a lot of time on Mobility Wod’s YouTube channel. Kelly Starret is a genius when it comes to mobility and prepping for movements. My goal here is to do these things daily.
MOVEMENT: The best way to get better at a thing is to do that thing right? Prior to this week I couldn’t do 1 proper butterfly pull-up. Well I made a little trek over to Chris Spealler’s #Weekly Geek videos on his website. Granted he and I have very different body types, Spealler is a technician when it comes to pull-ups. After a few days of flailing around in my garage rig, I finally have something that resembles a butterfly pull-up.
With new wind in my sails this week I’ve been doing 10 min emoms with 5 butterfly’s every min. At first it was more like 4 each min but by Saturday I’m feeling better with 6. It’s not a lot in a row but after ten minutes I’ve done about 60 pull-ups.
This weeks take aways.
This first real breakthrough I had this week was learning to use my hips to gain height. At first I was just trying to swing my legs forward and just muscle my way towards the bar with my arms. After stumbling on a video from Crossfit Jaakarhu in Texas, I realized that the little “hip pop” at the last second can really save my arms from doing all the work.
My second take away is more of an experiment at the moment. After a couple of frustrating sets that were shredding my hands I tried using a suicide grip.
As a guy with big hands I never had an issue getting my fingers around the bar, but I saw how a lot of women used the suicide grip. I tried it and I don’t know why but I was able to get a few more reps in a row.
Problems:
Hands are getting pretty shredded. I feel like a brand new Crossfitter again. After a 10 min emom it’s all I can do to hang from a bar.
I also noticed that if I’m not super careful with my movement, I hurt my shoulders. A tip from Spealler would be to keep elbows down rather than back at the top of the movement.
Next week.
Strength: I want to increase my reps on strict pullups to 6-7 reps a set.
Mobility: Banded Everything! I’m focusing on getting my shoulders into the positions they need to be in for all the butterfly motion.
Movement: Spealler has broken down his #weekly geek series into 3 weeks of help.More options: Share, Mark as favorite
Reuters President Obama, flanked from left to right by 8-year old Hinna Zeejah, 10-year old Taejah Goode, 11-year old Julia Stokes and 8-year old Grant Fritz, signs executive orders on gun control during an event at the White House in Washington, Jan. 16, 2013.
Whenever a politician proposes a policy surrounded by children, skepticism is in order. But skepticism, logic and sound argumentation are the enemies of President Obama in his gun control push, which kicked off Wednesday on a White House stage filled with kids.
After December’s Sandy Hook massacre, Obama has reached deeper than usual into his bag of debater’s tricks and rhetorical ploys. He assigns evil motives to those who disagree with him on policy. He tries to pre-empt cost-benefit analysis with facile assertions that any policy is mandatory if it will save “only one life.” And the most contentious policy he seeks — a ban on so-called assault weapons — has near zero correlation to the problem he claims to be addressing.
Obama on Wednesday told voters to ask their congressman “what’s more important, doing whatever it takes to get an A grade from the gun lobby that funds their campaigns, or giving parents some peace of mind when they drop their child off for first grade?”
Obama’s direct and unmistakable implication: The only reason to oppose an “assault weapons ban” is for campaign contributions. In his press conference, he credited “an economic element” to “those who oppose any common-sense gun control or gun safety measures.”
Obama rules out the possibility that some people deeply value the constitutionally enshrined right to bear arms. Concerns about unintended consequences? Obama doesn’t acknowledge those. Anyone studying the 1994 “assault weapons ban” can see it did little to curb violence. But in Obama’s mind, that argument is just another cover story for “I Want More NRA Contributions!”
Obama engaged in this same sort of argumentation during the health care debate. While he had the full backing of the drug lobby, the President described Obamacare opponents as those who “would maintain a system that works for the insurance and the drug companies.”
Obama’s most facile argument Wednesday was this plea for gun control: “[I]f there’s even one life that can be saved, then we’ve got an obligation to try.” Vice President Biden said a week earlier that “if your actions result in only saving one life, they’re worth taking.”
The flaw in this reasoning is pretty obvious. Thousands of Americans will drown this year in swimming pools. You could save many of those lives by banning swimming pools. That doesn’t mean we have “an obligation to try” banning swimming pools.
We don’t outlaw pools because — however heartless this sounds — we weigh other goods against the good of preventing deaths. In the case of a pool, we weigh the costs to health, fun and liberty against the lifesaving benefits of banning pools. When talking about gun control, we could weigh lives saved by outlawing guns against the costs to recreation, liberty and self-defense. But the Obama-Biden “just one child” rule precludes any two-sided analysis.
Finally, Obama’s policy prescriptions are grounded in what’s politically popular rather than what would effectively address the problem of gun violence. Obama repeatedly called for a ban on “military-style assault weapons.” This is not actual class of weapons — this is a rhetorical device to make some rifles sound scary.
Scariness is what “assault weapons” talk is all about. The 1994 “assault weapons ban” didn’t have a real definition of assault weapon. The law listed a bunch of guns that would be illegal and then laid out some criteria for what could make a gun be an “assault weapon.” The qualifications were mostly cosmetic: A rifle could become illegal if you added a flash suppressor; it could become legal if you removed a bayonet.
And restricting rifle ownership has very little bearing on curbing murders. According to FBI data, rifles are responsible for less than 3 percent of all U.S. murders for which the murder is weapon is known. You are five times more likely to be killed by a knife or a blade than by a rifle. Handguns, the data show, are used in a vast majority of gun murders. But handguns don’t look as scary as the AR-15.
Many on today’s left flatter themselves as being more “reality-based” than the right. Liberals care more about science, data and the empirically proven, you’ll hear from MSNBC or the New Republic.
But Obama’s arguments for gun control aren’t based on data or logic. They are based on aspersions, emotion and popular fears. In other words, it’s politics as usual.
Timothy P.Carney, The Examiner’s senior political columnist, can be contacted at [email protected] His column appears Monday and Thursday, and his stories and blog posts appear on washingtonexaminer.com.In my role as a hockey columnist, I’m constantly looking for worthwhile topics to dig into around the NHL. I keep a notebook nearby, and jot things down as they pop into my head.
Some become articles (sometimes prospects get unlucky in pre-season), and others fall by the wayside as other more deserving topics pop up.
Just because they don’t get the full article treatment doesn’t mean they’re not worthwhile, though. So periodically throughout this season, I thought it’d be fun to dig into my notebook and clean up the bits and bites.
So without further ado, here’s a handful of those.
******
Time to call icing on the penalty kill
I’m fully convinced it’s time to stop allowing short-handed teams to ice the puck.
First, a team just committed an infraction. The game has decided that what they did was illegal, so a player goes to the penalty box and that team has to play a man down. Why are they then rewarded with...Russia and Ukraine failed to resolve a gas pricing dispute during Sunday talks in Kiev. Gazprom says its demands have not changed and Kiev is expected to pay its debt of $1.95 billion by 06:00 GMT on Monday, otherwise the gas supply will be stopped.
Gazprom’s position remained unchanged after EU-brokered negotiations finally ended around 2:30 a.m. Moscow time (10:30 p.m. GMT) on Monday, Gazprom spokesperson Aleksey Kupriyanov told reporters.
If Ukraine’s gas debt is not paid on time, Russia will be switching to an advance payment system, which will essentially stop gas supply to Ukraine, he added.
"We reached no agreement and the chances that we will meet again are slim -- we are already on the plane heading back (to Moscow)," Kupriyanov told AFP. "If we receive no pre-payment by 10:00 am (0600GMT), then we obviously will deliver no gas."
In his turn, Ukrainian Energy Minister Yury Prodan said that Ukraine is prepared for the cut-off of gas supply from Russia.
However, the head of Ukraine’s Naftogaz said that EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger suggested a temporary price of US$300-385, adding that there is a chance that this compromise can be achieved before the deadline.
The talks were attended by Gazprom head Aleksey Miller, Ukrainian PM Arseny Yatsenyuk, and EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger.
The previous round of talks over the price of Russian gas for Ukraine failed to reach a solution to the standing Ukrainian $1.95 billion gas debt. Ukraine have not been paying for most of the gas supplied by Russia this year and demands that the contract on the deliveries be amended.
Russia offered a discount to the price, but Ukraine rejected it, saying it wants the price to be lower.
Ukraine has been pushing for the gas price to be set at $268 per 1,000 cubic meters, Ukrainian Energy Minister Yury Prodan told reporters on Saturday.
The latest price proposed by Russia stands at $385. On Friday, Kiev said it is ready to pay $326 per 1,000 cubic meters.LOS ANGELES (AP) — A SpaceX capsule loaded with space station experiments is back on Earth.
The unmanned Dragon capsule parachuted into the Pacific, west of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, on Saturday.
It departed the International Space Station earlier in the day with 3,300 pounds of gear for NASA, including valuable science samples.
The California-based SpaceX company launched the Dragon from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sept. 21. It was the fifth Dragon shipment. High seas in the recovery area delayed its return by four days.
NASA is paying SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. to make station supply runs. Only SpaceX is capable of bringing cargo back intact.
Orbital’s next launch is scheduled for Monday from Wallops Island, Virginia.
(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)Back in December, documents revealed the NSA had been using Google's ad-tracking cookies to follow browsers across the web, effectively coopting ad networks into surveillance networks. A new paper from computer scientists at Princeton breaks down exactly how easy it is, even without the resources and access of the NSA. The researchers were able to reconstruct as much as 90% of a user's web activity just from monitoring traffic to ad-trackers like Google's DoubleClick. Crucially, the researchers didn't need any special access to the ad data. They just sat back and watched public traffic across the network.
Tor was the only tool that escaped the researchers' dragnet
As it turns out, trackers are displaying a surprising amount of information in public. Each ad system gives a user a unique ID number, but by following the same browser session from system to system, the researchers were able to tie together the vast majority of a given user's web requests. By following those same cookies to identity-based services like Facebook and Google+, the researchers were able to give a name to each user.
The result is, for a given pageview, it's surprisingly easy to trace back to a person's name and the other pages they've visited. Security measures like HTTPS threw researchers off the case a little bit, but the density of ad cookies makes them easy to get around. The only solid protection was the routing network Tor, which scrambled IP addresses thoroughly enough to escape the researchers' impromptu dragnet.Description
This week Sonic Academy proudly welcomes back Techno grand master Kirk Degiorgio for a new course in How To Make Dark Room Techno.
Found in clubs like Room 2 in Fabric, and Berlin's infamous Berghain this is a much sought after genre that may sound minimal but is difficult to get right.
With over 25 years of experience Kirk gives us a real treat over these 15 videos building a dark, minimal, evolving track from the ground up, and with no pre-prepared track, this is an exclusive insight into a master at work.
Starting with the dark, driving beat Kirk layers on tension and atmosphere creating a drone and discordant sequences before sharing his subtractive method of arrangement in Ableton. After clever use of automation to add variety to the minimal elements, we watch Kirk go back to his analog roots using tape saturation before tweaking and perfecting the mix with EQ and compression, ready to be sent on for mastering.
As you go through the tutorials, the course evolves as much as the tune itself, and it's a joy witness it taking shape.
Check it out and take your techno skillz to the next level!Doctor Zhivago star Omar Sharif has died aged 83, his agent confirmed today.
The Hollywood star is understood to have died of a heart attack at a hospital in Cairo, where he was resting after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
In May it emerged that the Egyptian-born actor had been suffering with the illness and was struggling to remember anything about his hugely successful career.
In a frank interview with Spanish media, Tarek El-Sharif, the only child of the star's marriage to ex-wife Faten Hamama, revealed that his father had started mixing up the names of his best-known films - Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia - and often forgot where they were filmed.
Scroll down for video
Tragic: Doctor Zhivago star Omar Sharif is understood to have died of a heart attack at a hospital in his native Cairo where he was resting after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
On-screen success: Born in 1932 the son of a lumber merchant in Egypt's second city Alexandria, Sharif (far right) was nominated for an Academy Award in 1963 for his role as Sherif Ali in 'Lawrence of Arabia'
Known for his charismatic good looks and bridge-playing prowess, Sharif had been resting at his home in Egypt, according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
Tributes have been pouring in from across Hollywood, from stars including Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, German director Roland Emmerich, American actor Josh Gad and Game of Thrones star Eugene Simon.
'My great friend Omar Sharif has passed away. I will always miss him,' wrote Antonio Banderas, who starred alongside Sharif in the 1999 film The 13th Warrior, on Twitter.
'He was one of the best.'
He added: 'He was a great storyteller, a loyal friend and a wise spirit.'
Hospital: Security guards stand outside the Behman Hospital in Cairo, where Omar Sharif died today of a heart attack. He was resting at the hospital after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease
Roland Emmerich, who directed Independence Day and Godzilla, among others, added: 'Very saddened by the passing of Omar Sharif.
'Blessed that I was able to work with such a legend. Love to the family.'
Broadway actor Josh Gad, best known for voicing OIaf the snowman from Disney's Frozen, tweeted: 'Sad to hear about Omar Sharif. I grew up on Lawrence and Zhivago.
Sorely missed: Tributes for Omar Sharif and his career poured in from across Hollywood, after the news of his death
'A legacy with not one but multiple timeless classics.'
Game of Thrones actor Eugene Simon added: 'RIP Omar Sharif, what extraordinary work you brought the world.'
Formerly named Michel Shalhoub, Sharif was born in 1932 in Egypt's second city Alexandria, the son of a lumber merchant.
He started out in the family's lumber business before moving to London to train at world-renowned acting institution, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
His big break came when he was cast in the role of Sherif Ali in the 1962 film 'Lawrence of Arabia', alongside Peter O'Toole, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award in 1963.
The actor, fluent in English, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Greek and French, also won Golden Globes for 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Doctor Zhivago.'
Success: The actor, fluent in English, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Greek and French, won a Golden Globe for his performance in 'Doctor Zhivago' (pictured)
Sharif, who was raised a Roman Catholic but later converted to Islam, started acting in the 1950s and had his most high-profile roles in the 1960s, when he also starred in 'Funny Girl' opposite Barbra Streisand in 1968.
He kept working over the following decades, often in TV movies, while also earning a reputation as one of the world's best known contract bridge players.
Sharif met his wife Faten Hamama, at the time one of the Middle East's most successful female stars, when they were cast together in his debut film, The Blazing Sun in 1954.
They had one son, Tarek, who also appeared in Doctor Zhivago as Yuri, aged eight.
Family: Omar Sharif (right) with his then wife Faten Hamama and his son Tarek, who also appeared in Doctor Zhivago as Yuri, aged eight
But the couple got divorced in 1974 and, despite his reputation as an eligible bachelor, Sharif never remarried, saying he never fell in love with another woman.
Speaking of the actor's illness last month, Sharif's agent Steve Kenis said: 'He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a while ago,'
'It's a serious disease and he hadn't been been able to take any work for many months,' he added.
The agent confirmed news first reported in May by the Spanish daily El Mundo, which cited the actor's son Tarek.
Mr El-Sharif revealed that while his Egyptian-born father knew he was a famous actor, he had started confusing fans who ask him for autographs for people he used to know.
The revelation follows rumours Oscar-nominated Sharif had quit acting because he could not remember his lines.
Sharif himself admitted in an interview in July 2013 that he tended to forget a lot of things but presented it as a positive because it meant he didn't dwell on the past or future and thought purely of the present.There’s only one word for this season’s political advertising…despicable.
I consider my self an expert in the field because of my thirty years of experience building and supporting Cincinnati’s iconic brands. I have created award winning advertising for LaRosa’s Pizzerias, Gold Star Chili, Skyline, Hudepohl Schoenling, it’s a long list. Not one negative ad.
When running a TV spot, I consider that I have been invited into my customer’s living rooms or with radio into their cars. I consider it an honor and not a place to shout or insult.
There’s nothing honorable about political advertising these days. What’s being played out in my living room is deplorable. The back biting, disclaimer riddled, lies and distortions are fatiguing and down right disgusting. Instead of running for an office and outlining their agenda, offering coherent solutions to the problems we all face, todays politicians use negative comparison approaches that literally turn off their constituents.
Crazy Juice
Don’t tell me about the other guy, tell me about you. What is your unique selling point as to why I should vote for you, pay your salary, send you to Washington to represent me? When did distortions become the norm? When did the old adage ” if you don’t have something good to say, don’t say anything” become not i the standard. Just once, I’d like to hear an actual coherent good idea for change not a promise for fundamental redistributive change.
is Monzel the idiot? Or does Tarbell have the solutions?
We live in the best country in the world but every couple of years we forget about that fact and show our ugly underbelly that is the political landscape today. The world is laughing at us. I don’t really care what the rest of the world thinks, but for one, think it stinks. While my President thinks that anyone that disagrees with his agenda is dangerous or that the tea party people are bigoted and says so on TV, he diminishes he’s stature and the office he precariously holds. Can’t we just agree to disagree? Stop calling me names.
Now, to be fair, I must disclose that I am a proud Cincinnati Tea Party member, if they had a card, I would be sporting it. If you look at my site, I do have a political section, it is a ranting, seething conservative dissertation about how President Obama’s policies are poison for my country. I do think that there is “Power” in saying “NO”. BUT, it’s on my site, I’m not beaming it into your living room, you have to go looking for it. And yes, I do stir the pot on Facebook and incite some heated discussion threads. I lose FB friends all the time and gain new ones. Nobody really wants to actually discuss politics in a rational way. It makes Facebook interesting, more interesting than your Farmville or 4Square status.
I think that politicians should knock off the negative crap. Hire a professional advertising creative and craft a positive message. Push a positive agenda, change the same old to look to the future. Be nice and shout down the negative fearmongers in public, not on public airwaves.
Otherwise, you are NOT invited into my living room and I won’t vote for you.This video is no longer available
This video was hosted on Vidme, which is no longer in operation. However, you might find this video at one of these links:
Video title:
8 Bit Belle
Upload date:
May 5 2017
Uploaded by:
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Video description:
This is an 8 bit version of the Belle song from Beauty and the Beast (1991). I basically just used a bunch of video filters on the original footage to make it look 8 bit, then I timed it so it matched with Tadpole's 8 bit version of Belle. I hope you enjoy it. Tadpole's website was recently taken down for some reason, but here's an archived version of it in case you want to give it a visit: https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20150221210604/tadpolemusic.us/music.html And here is a link to his profile on Battle of the Bits: http://battleofthebits.org/barracks/Profile/tadpole/ Thanks for watching. The only real reason I'm uploading this here is that youtube will take it down immediately because of the stupid content ID. Oh, and here's a link to my youtube channel if you want to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOxjjP4os1Ul7dgWpcsN8-w
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245EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Damontre Moore is something of a wild card on the New York Giants' defensive line this year. The 2013 third-round selection played little on defense last year as he worked to pick up the playbook, but he was a terror on special teams, showcasing his athleticism while blocking punts and laying out return men.
If Moore can make a big jump this year as a pass-rushing defensive end, it would be a significant boost to a Giants pass rush that's working to replace stalwart Justin Tuck and the team-leading 11 sacks he had last year. Moore is in the mix with veteran Mathias Kiwanuka and free-agent signee Robert Ayers for the defensive end spot opposite Jason Pierre-Paul, but if Moore develops quickly he offers more explosiveness and a higher ceiling than Kiwanuka and Ayers do.
At least one of Moore's defensive linemates has noticed major progress.
"His athleticism is hard to compare," defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins said. "But from where he was last year, technique-wise and some of the things he was doing to how he's come back in this camp, it's been amazing. How he's setting the edge in the run game. How he's transitioning to the pass, working on some of the techniques that he didn't have last year. He's really working hard and really improving."
That's the key for Moore, who's loaded with natural ability but needs to refine it if he's to be trusted with significant snaps on defense. What Jenkins said about setting the edge in the run game is especially important, since that was a huge part of Tuck's game and is also a strength of Ayers' game. If Moore is getting those techniques down, in addition to being able to fly to the quarterback, that could be a big surprise benefit.
"Yeah, he's taken a major step," Jenkins said. "He's just a lot more physical and holding his ground. You look at him now and he's a completely different player than you saw last year."
Could be just camp hype, but Jenkins volunteered this. He wasn't asked directly about Moore. Jenkins seems to legitimately think Moore stands out in terms of the amount of work he's done and the quality of it. Since those were the lingering questions about Moore after his rookie season, it has to be encouraging for the Giants and their fans to hear it.week in review The "Dump GoDaddy Day" message registered with the domain registrar.
GoDaddy, targeted by online activists in response to its enthusiasm for a pair of Hollywood-backed copyright bills, finally denounced the legislation in response to a scheduled boycott. Warren Adelman, the company's chief executive, said that "GoDaddy opposes SOPA," short for the Stop Online Piracy Act, which is facing a House of Representatives committee vote next month.
The idea of boycotting GoDaddy began with a protest thread on Reddit and was aided by Jimmy Wales' announcement last week that "Wikipedia domain names will move away from GoDaddy." It inspired GoDaddyBoycott.org, which urged Internet users and companies to "boycott GoDaddy until they send a letter to Congress taking back any and all support of the House and Senate versions of the Internet censorship bill, both SOPA and PIPA."
Go Daddy gets name off SOPA supporters list
GoDaddy accused of interfering with anti-SOPA exodus
More headlines
Company confirms that it will soon begin charging customers a $2 fee to process payments made online or by phone. But the company also offers ways to avoid the fee.
Reports that Apple plans to release two new iPad models to join the iPad 2 next month are receiving a lashing around the Web.
Hurd, now president of Oracle, loses an appeal in court this week that would keep the letter accusing him of sexual harassment confidential.
Massachusetts authorities subpoenaed Twitter for information on an Occupy Wall Street figure but ran afoul of Twitter's own privacy policy.
At least 4.2 million iOS devices were activated on Christmas compared with about 2.6 million Android devices, according to rough calculations put together by Fortune.
Search edges social networking for Web users this year, according to data from market researcher Nielsen.
Also of note
New York Times mistakenly e-mails millions about subscriptions
Windows Phone Marketplace hits 50,000-app mark
U.S. takes bite out of Oracle's Google lawsuitA Minnesota man used his bare hands to pry open a passenger-side door of a burning sport utility vehicle and save a trapped motorist from near-certain death, police said Tuesday.
The incident has left police marveling at the actions of Bob Renning, 52, who - apparently fueled by a burst of adrenaline - pried open the door of Minneapolis resident Michael Johannes's 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer on Sunday evening.
"To say his actions were heroic would be putting it lightly," said Lieutenant Eric Roeske, spokesman for the Minnesota State Patrol. "He almost certainly saved Mr. Johannes from a horrible death."
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Renning was driving along an interstate freeway at about 6:30 p.m. CDT when he noticed the SUV on fire in a suburb north of Minneapolis, Roeske said.
After motioning for Johannes to pull over, Renning approached the burning vehicle, Roeske said.
Johannes, 51, tried to get out on his own, but the electrical system was disabled and he could not unlock the doors, Roeske said.
That is when Renning bent open the top of the passenger door, cleared the shattered glass from the window and pulled Johannes to safety, Roeske said. Soon after, the truck was entirely engulfed in flames.
Johannes escaped the incident with minor injuries, and the cause of the fire is not yet clear, Roeske said.
"Vehicle fires get hot incredibly fast and oftentimes the opportunity for rescue is very short," Roeske said. "It was a good thing Mr. Renning was there and able to pry that door open."Sunderland midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini would welcome Chelsea move, says agent
Italy's midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini (centre) scores against Belgium
Sunderland midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini would welcome the opportunity to work under Antonio Conte once again when he takes over at Chelsea, according to the player’s agent.
Giaccherini spent last season on loan at Serie A side Bologna having failed to secure a permanent place in the Black Cats side since signing from Juventus for £6.5m in 2013.
Jermain Defoe tells Sky Sports News HQ he is delighted to have signed a new deal at Sunderland until 2019 Jermain Defoe tells Sky Sports News HQ he is delighted to have signed a new deal at Sunderland until 2019
The 31-year-old was selected by former Juve boss Conte in Italy's Euro 2016 squad and scored the opening goal in the Azzurri's 2-0 win over Belgium in their opening Group E fixture.
Despite struggling in the Premier League, Giaccherini has performed well in his home country and appeared set to continue his career in the Italian top-flight.
But the player's agent - Furio Valcareggi - has suggested his client could be open to a move to Stamford Bridge.
"Giaccherini is a player who played 80 per cent of the games for a Juventus that had Pogba, Pirlo, Vidal and Marchisio in the midfield," Valcareggi told SportItalia.
Giaccherini has hardly featured for Sunderland
"Conte likes him a lot and Chelsea would be a dream.
"It's still too early to talk about his future. After the Euros, whoever wants to buy him will not have to pay a high price to Sunderland."As their leadership campaign powers up this weekend, Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives are going off course again. They’ve lost the last four elections since 2003 — and on current trends they’re destined to lose the next one in 2018. On Sunday, the last of the undeclared leadership candidates is formally launching her campaign. Like her rivals, Ottawa-area MPP Lisa MacLeod rues the dramatic decline of her party from a peak membership of 100,000 in the late 1990s to a mere 10,000 today.
Conservative leadership hopeful Christine Elliott should know that the party can’t count on quasi-survivalists for its own survival. ( Frank Gunn / toronto star ) Lisa MacLeod and a couple of her fellow travellers in the Conservative leadership leadership contest in Ontario couldn’t resist the temptation to turn up at a meeting of the Ontario Landowners Association earlier this month. ( Colin McConnell / toronto star ) After speeches at the Ontario Landowners Association meeting earlier this month, Conservative leadership hopeful Vic Fedeli tweeted: "A packed house at the Ontario Landowners Association in Kanata. Interesting speeches!” ( Rick Madonik / toronto star )
Once a powerhouse in Toronto, the party is now barely visible in most urban centres. When you are hemorrhaging members — and running to be leader — you’re inclined to sign up any new supporters anywhere you can. Which is perhaps why MacLeod and a couple of her fellow travellers in the leadership contest couldn’t resist the temptation to turn up, one fine weekend earlier this month, at a meeting of the Ontario Landowners Association. Oh no. Oh yes. Just when the Tories must re-establish themselves as a modern, Progressive Conservative party, the leading candidates are travelling back in time to the land of the Landowners — a renowned rural rump that has become a footnote to fringe politics.
Article Continued Below
Before we take stock of this month’s incriminating campaign visits, let’s revisit the Landowners’ recent history: They are Ontario’s version of American survivalists — anti-government, anti-regulation, even anti-law. Ultra-libertarian, they worship at the altar of (perceived) property rights and rage against any governmental intrusions on the land they own. Over the last decade, they organized tractor protests, occupied government offices, refused to let building inspectors on their land and goaded the Progressive Conservatives to pick sides. They saw red over the greenbelt, and their rallying cry still resonates: “This land is our land, back off government.” In desperation, then-PC leader John Tory opted to pitch an open tent in 2005 — welcoming the Landowners to his turf on the grounds that “uniting the right” provincially (as federally) would win more seats and cause him less trouble. But co-opting the Landowners’ 15,000 members (larger than the current PC membership) didn’t pacify them. Former Landowners’ president Randy Hillier won a seat in Eastern Ontario, but promptly flouted the rules of the legislature and alienated caucus. Another Landowners leader, Jack MacLaren, toppled a veteran Tory MPP, Norm Sterling, at his riding nomination meeting — prompting former PC premier Ernie Eves to lash out “at those few individuals who decided that the Tea Party version of Ontario politics would be good in that particular riding.” The leading contenders for the PC leadership appear oblivious to that admonition. MacLeod was joined by two other serious rivals — deputy leader Christine Elliott and finance critic Vic Fedeli — at the weekend event hosted by the Landowners in Kanata, outside Ottawa.
In an earlier era the candidates might have quietly dropped in under the radar, but nowadays everyone leaves a trail of tweets. Following them on Twitter, you could read their astonishing shout-outs to the Landowners in real time: “A packed house at the Ontario Landowners Association in Kanata. Interesting speeches!” gushed Fedeli on Oct. 4.
Article Continued Below
“Very informative day at the International Property Rights Conference in Kanata!” echoed Elliott on the same day. MacLeod proudly tweeted a selfie of herself “at the Ontario landowners conference.” Tweets are limited to 140 characters, but a selfie is worth 1,000 words. MacLeod’s beaming self-portrait — beamed across the ether — spoke volumes. How many Landowners did they sign up for their campaigns? How many Twitter followers did they gain? (Hashtag: #RuralRump?) No matter. A resurrected Progressive Conservative party can’t count on |
54am – Halloween II (1981) (Starz Encore)
6:00am – Puppet Master II (El Rey)
6:30am – The Sixth Sense (SyFy)
6:35am – Planet Terror (Starz)
7:15am – Saw II (IFC)
7:25am – Shock (FXM)
7:29am – Halloween III: Season of the Witch (Starz Encore)
7:30am – The Stand: Episode Three (Chiller)
7:30am – Hocus Pocus (Freeform)
7:40am – Species (Cinemax)
8:00am – Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge (El Rey)
8:00am – Paranormal Activity 2 (FX)
8:00am – The Real Story of Halloween (History)
8:22am – P2 (Starz)
8:30am – White Zombie (1932) (TCM)
8:45am – Split (HBO)
9:00am – Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (AMC)
9:00am – Jaws (SHO2)
9:00am – Texas Chainsaw (2013) (SyFy)
9:05am – The Box (More Max)
9:09am – Quarantine (Starz Encore)
9:15am – Saw III (IFC)
9:30am – The Stand: Episode Four (Chiller)
9:30am – The Omen (1976) (Cinemax)
9:30am – The Thing (1982) (Flix)
10:00am – Puppet Master 4 (El Rey)
10:00am – Paranormal Activity 2 (FX)
10:00am – Mad Love (1935) (TCM)
10:02am – Death Proof (Starz)
10:30am – Roseanne: Halloween IV (TV Land)
10:40am – The Fury (FXM)
11:00am – Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (AMC)
11:00am – The Price is Right Halloween Special (CBS)
11:00am – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) (SyFy)
11:00am – Roseanne: Halloween V (TV Land)
11:05am – Jaws 2 (SHO2)
11:25am – As Above, So Below (Cinemax)
11:30am – Snoop Dogg’s Hood of Horror (Chiller)
11:30am – Puppet Master 5 (El Rey)
11:30am – Roseanne: Halloween: The Final Chapter (TV Land)
11:30am – Dementia 13 (1963) (TCM)
11:45am – Saw IV (IFC)
11:57am – Planet Terror (Starz)
12:00pm – Paranormal Activity 3 (FX)
12:00pm – Hocus Pocus Marathon (runs through 11pm) (Freeform)
12:26pm – The Covenant (Starz Encore)
12:30pm – Friends: The One with the Halloween Party (TBS)
12:40pm – The Horror of it All (FXM)
1:00pm – Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (AMC)
1:00pm – Dead Calm (Cinemax)
1:00pm – Beetlejuice (Sundance)
1:00pm – A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (SyFy)
1:00pm – 13 Ghosts (1960) (TCM)
1:00pm – Bloodsucking Bastards (TMC)
1:15pm – 1:15pm – Curse of the Puppet Master (El Rey)
1:30pm – Sleepwalkers (Chiller)
1:45pm – Saw V (IFC)
2:00pm – Spooky Buddies (Disney)
2:00pm – Paranormal Activity 4 (FX)
2:06pm – I Know What You Did Last Summer (Starz Encore)
2:30pm – The Fearless Vampire Killers (1966) (TCM)
2:40pm – Friday the 13th (2009) (Cinemax)
3:00pm – Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (AMC)
3:00pm – Retro Puppet Master (El Rey)
3:00pm – Beetlejuice (Sundance)
3:00pm – A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (SyFy)
3:25pm – The Terminator (HBO Signature)
3:30pm – Fright Night (1985) (Chiller)
3:45pm – Saw (IFC)
3:49pm – I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (Starz Encore)
4:00pm – Dracula Untold (FX)
4:20pm – Morgan (Cinemax)
4:25pm – At the Devil’s Door (TMC)
4:30pm –Puppet Master: The Legacy (El Rey)
4:30pm – The Ring (HBO)
4:30pm – House of Wax (1953) (TCM)
5:00pm – Halloween II (AMC)
5:00pm – Beetlejuice (Sundance)
5:00pm – A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (SyFy)
5:32pm – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Starz Encore)
5:55pm – Orphan (Cinemax)
6:00pm – The Silence of the Lambs (BBC)
6:00pm – The Babadook (Chiller)
6:00pm –Puppet Master: Axis of Evil (El Rey)
6:00pm – The Purge (FX)
6:00pm – Saw II (IFC)
6:00pm – Poltergeist (1982) (TCM)
6:30pm – Rabid (SHO2)
6:35pm – Open Water (Flix)
7:00pm – Beetlejuice (Sundance)
7:00pm – A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: A Dream Child (SyFy)
7:22pm – Friday the 13th (1980) (Starz Encore)
7:30pm – Halloween (1978) (AMC)
8:00pm – Sleepwalkers (Chiller)
8:00pm – American Psycho (Cinemax)
8:00pm –Puppet Master X: Axis Rising (El Rey)
8:00pm – The Purge: Anarchy (FX)
8:00pm – Split (HBO)
8:00pm – Jaws (SHO2)
8:00pm – The Old Dark House (1932) (TCM)
8:00pm – 1408 (TMC)
8:30pm – The Silence of the Lambs (BBC)
9:00pm – Friday the 13th, Part II (Starz Encore)
9:00pm – Beetlejuice (Sundance)
9:00pm – Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (SyFy)
9:30pm – Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (AMC)
9:30pm – The Haunting (1963) (TCM)
9:45pm – American Psycho II: All-American Girl (Cinemax)
9:45pm – The Descent (TMC)
10:00pm – Fright Night (1985) (Chiller)
10:00pm –Puppet Master: Axistermination (El Rey)
10:00pm – American Horror Story: Cult (FX)
10:02pm – Watcher in the Woods (2017) (Lifetime)
10:05pm – Jaws 2 (SHO2)
10:29pm – Halloween II (1981) (Starz Encore)
11:00pm – Beetlejuice (Sundance)
11:00pm – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) (SyFy)
11:30pm – Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (AMC)
11:30pm – House on Haunted Hill (1958) (TCM)
11:30pm – Intruders (TMC)
12:00am – Crow’s Blood Marathon (until 6:00 am) (El Rey)
12:00am – Lights Out (HBO)
12:00am – Halloween: H20 (IFC)
12:05am – Jaws 3 (SHO2)
12:06am – Halloween III: Season of the Witch (Starz Encore)
12:30am – The Babadook (Chiller)
12:30am – Halloween (2007) (Showtime)
Wednesday, November 1st
1:00am – Ominous (SyFy)
1:05am – Pet (TMC)
1:30am – Halloween II (AMC)
1:45am – Jaws: The Revenge (SHO2)
2:00am – Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (IFC)
2:00am – Fright Night (2011) (TBS)
2:04am – Watcher in the Woods (2017) (Lifetime)
2:40am – Girl House (TMC)
3:00am – Dead Still (SyFy)
4:00am – A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) (AMC)
4:00am – Orphan (Cinemax)
4:00am – Halloween: H20 (IFC)
4:00am – Final Destination 5 (TBS)
4:30am – The Bat (1959) (TCM)
4:45am – The Horror of it All (FXM)
6:00am – The Tortured (IFC)
6:05am – Aliens (Cinemax)
6:15am – Death Becomes Her (TMC)
6:30am – Odd Thomas (SyFy)
7:00am – The Purge (FX)
7:45am – Mimic 2 (IFC)
8:00am – Dead Heat (TMC)
9:00am – The Purge: Anarchy (FX)
9:45am – Thinner (AMC)
9:45am – Halloween: H20 (IFC)
10:30am – Tremors 5: Bloodlines (SyFy)
11:05am – The Gift (SHO)
11:45am – A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) (AMC)
11:45am – Mimic 2 (IFC)
12:30pm – Snowpiercer (SyFy)
1:00pm – I Saw the Devil (Chiller)
1:45pm – Cult of Chucky (AMC)
1:45pm – Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (IFC)
3:45pm – Annabelle (AMC)
3:45pm – Halloween: H20 (IFC)
4:00pm – The Drownsman (Chiller)
4:15pm – AVP: Alien vs. Predator (Cinemax)
5:45pm – Resident Evil: Retribution (IFC)
6:00pm – Insidious (AMC)
6:00pm – Wrecked (Chiller)
7:45pm – Resident Evil (IFC)
8:00pm – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (BBC)
8:00pm – I Saw the Devil (Chiller)
8:00pm – Hotel Transylvania (FX)
8:30pm – Insidious: Chapter 2 (AMC)
11:00pm – Insidious: Chapter 3 (AMC)
11:00pm – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (BBC)
11:00pm – The Drownsman (Chiller)
11:00pm – Resident Evil: Retribution (IFC)
11:31pm – From Dusk Till Dawn (Starz Encore)
11:45pm – The Amityville Horror (2005) (HBO)
12:00am – Odd Thomas (SyFy)
12:10am – Misery (POP)
Thursday, November 2nd
1:00am – Annabelle (AMC)
1:15am – The Babadook (SHO)
1:24am – Sleepy Hollow (Starz Encore)
2:00am – Resident Evil (IFC)
2:25am – Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (HBO Signature)
2:50am – Stir of Echoes (HBO)
3:15am – Cult of Chucky (AMC)
4:05am – The Last House on the Left (2009) (Cinemax)
4:15am – The Tortured (IFC)
8:28am – The Faculty (Starz)
9:00am – Resident Evil (IFC)
9:30am – Insidious (AMC)
10:00am – The Babadook (SHO2)
11:15am – Resident Evil: Retribution (IFC)
12:00pm – Insidious: Chapter 2 (AMC)
2:28pm – From Dusk Till Dawn (Starz Encore)
2:30pm – Insidious: Chapter 3 (AMC)
3:30pm – The Gift (SHO2)
4:30pm – The Silence of the Lambs (AMC)
Friday, November 3rd
9:00am – The Silence of the Lambs (AMC)
Saturday, November 4th
2:00am – House of Wax (2005) (AMC)
PREVIOUSLY AIRED
Friday, September 29th
1:00am – Severance (Chiller)
4:00am – Days of Darkness (Chiller)
6:00am – Night of the Living Dead (Chiller)
8:00am – All Cheerleaders Die (Chiller)
8:00am – Cry Wolf (1947) (TCM)
9:30am – The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) (TCM)
10:00am – Days of Darkness (Chiller)
11:23am – Secret Window (Starz)
11:30am – Seven (AMC)
11:45am – The Babadook (Showtime)
11:45am – The Pitfall (1948) (TCM)
12:00pm – Night of the Living Dead (Chiller)
2:00pm – Charlie’s Farm (Chiller)
2:00pm – Unbreakable (HBO2)
2:30pm – The Middle Halloween Episode (Freeform)
2:30pm – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (SHO2e)
4:00pm – Wrecked (Chiller)
5:00pm – Final Destination 2 (Starz Encore)
6:00pm – Cockneys vs Zombies (Chiller)
6:11pm – Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Starz)
8:00pm – Charlie’s Farm (Chiller)
9:00pm – The Exorcist (Fox)
9:00pm – Z Nation (SyFy)
10:00pm – Wrecked (Chiller)
10:00pm – The Strangers (HBO2)
10:00pm – The Stepfather (2009) (Lifetime)
10:30pm – The Silence of the Lambs (AMC)
11:45pm – The Conjuring 2 (HBO2)
12:00am – Cockneys vs Zombies (Chiller)
Saturday, September 30th
2:00am – Black Christmas (1974) (Flix)
2:00am – The Stepfather (2009) (Lifetime)
2:45am – The Lair of the White Worm (SHO2)
2:45am – Cabin Fever (TMC)
3:00am – From Dusk Till Dawn (AMC)
4:00am – I Saw the Devil (Chiller)
4:00am – Scary Movie (MTV)
6:25am – Final Destination 2 (Starz Encore)
7:00am – Tucker & Dale vs Evil (Chiller)
8:30am – The Diabolical (SyFy)
9:00am – Navy Seals vs. Zombies (Chiller)
9:00am – Secret Window (Starz)
10:30am – Tremors 5 (SyFy)
10:30am – The Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) (TCM)
10:39am – Ghostbusters (2016) (Starz)
11:00am – I Saw the Devil (Chiller)
11:25am – That ‘70s Show Halloween Episode (Comedy Central)
1:00pm – The Silence of the Lambs (AMC)
1:00pm – Halloween Baking Championship (Food Network)
1:30pm – Prometheus (FXX)
2:00pm – Tucker & Dale vs Evil (Chiller)
2:42pm – Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Starz)
3:20pm – Alien: Director’s Cut (Cinemax)
4:00pm – Navy Seals vs. Zombies (Chiller)
4:30pm – Lake Placid (SyFy)
5:20pm – Cape Fear (1991) (Cinemax)
6:00pm – We Are What We Are (Chiller)
6:00pm – Ghostbusters (2016) (Starz)
6:00pm – Open Water (TMC)
6:30pm – Lake Placid 2 (SyFy)
6:35pm – Army of Darkness (Flix)
7:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
7:00pm – Hotel Transylvania (FXM)
7:25pm – Open Water 2: Adrift (TMC)
8:00pm – Doom (Flix)
8:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
8:30pm – Maniac Cop 2 (Chiller)
8:50pm – Hotel Transylvania (FXM)
9:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
9:50pm – Pitch Black (Cinemax)
10:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
10:30pm – Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (Chiller)
11:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
11:00pm – Horns (SyFy)
12:00am – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
12:30am – We Are What We Are (Chiller)
Sunday, October 1st
1:00am – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
1:15am – Hannibal (IFC)
1:30am – The Descent (Flix)
1:30am – The Diabolical (SyFy)
2:00am – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
2:00am – Eraserhead (1977) (TCM)
3:00am – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
3:30am – Tremors 5 (SyFy)
4:00am – Phone Booth (HBO2)
4:15am – The Tortured (IFC)
9:30am – Prometheus (FXX)
9:30am – Ominous (SyFy)
11:15am – Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000 (IFC)
11:30am – Scarecrow (SyFy)
12:00pm – 1408 (TMC)
12:00pm – Halloween Craziest (Travel Channel)
1:00pm – Halloween Tricked Out (Travel Channel)
1:30pm – Night of the Wild (SyFy)
2:30pm – Ghostbusters (1984) (CMT)
3:00pm – Predator 2 (AMC)
3:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
3:30pm – Horns (SyFy)
3:47pm – Ghost Town (Starz)
4:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
5:00pm – Ghostbusters II (CMT)
5:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
5:30pm – The Book of Eli (AMC)
6:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
7:30pm – Ghosted (Fox)
8:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network – Season 7 Special)
8:00pm – Dracula (1931) (TCM)
9:00pm – Fear the Walking Dead (AMC)
9:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network – Season 7 Premiere)
9:00pm – The Ninth Gate (HBO2)
9:00pm – The Hills Have Eyes (2006) (Starz Encore)
9:30pm – Dracula’s Daughter (1936) (TCM)
10:00pm – Talking Dead (AMC)
10:00pm – Ghostbusters (1984) (CMT)
10:00pm – Halloween Baking Championship (Food Network)
11:00pm – The Cave (SyFy)
11:00pm – Son of Dracula (1943) (TCM)
11:15pm – The Purge: Election Year (HBO2)
12:00am – Zombie Honeymoon (Flix)
12:00am – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
12:00am – Texas Chainsaw (2013) (Fuse)
12:30am – Ghostbusters II (CMT)
12:30am – Nosferatu (1922) (TCM)
12:35am – Secret Window (Starz)
Monday, October 2nd
1:00am – Halloween Baking Championship (Food Network)
1:00am – Night of the Wild (SyFy)
1:00am – Fear (TMC)
1:05am – Victor Frankenstein (HB02)
1:30am – The Prowler (Flix)
2:55am – Maximum Overdrive (HBO2)
3:00am – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
3:00am – Zombie Night (SyFy)
4:00am – Return to House on Haunted Hill (AMC)
4:05am – Extraterrestrial (TMC)
4:12am – John Carpenter’s They Live (Starz Encore)
6:00am – Ominous (SyFy)
8:00am – Scarecrow (SyFy)
9:24am – Secret Window (Starz)
10:00am – The Lawnmower Man (Showtime)
10:00am – Zombie Night (SyFy)
11:30am – Everybody Hates Chris Halloween Episode (FUSE)
12:00pm – Predator 2 (AMC)
12:00pm – American Horror House (SyFy)
2:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
2:00pm – The Hollow (SyFy)
2:30pm – The Book of Eli (AMC)
3:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
3:50pm – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (SHO2)
4:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
5:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
5:00pm – The Hills Have Eyes (2006) (Starz Encore)
5:50pm – Red Dragon (SHO2)
6:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
6:00pm – The Amityville Horror (2005) (HBO2)
6:00pm – The Thing (1982) (TMC)
7:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
8:30pm – Hollow Man (SyFy)
9:00pm – Halloween Baking Championship (Food Network)
9:00pm – Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Starz)
9:00pm – John Carpenter’s They Live (Starz Encore)
10:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
10:00pm – Texas Chainsaw (2013) (Fuse)
10:40pm – The Darkness (HBO2)
11:00pm – Hollow Man 2 (SyFy)
Tuesday, October 3rd
1:00am – American Horror House (SyFy)
2:30am – The Scarehouse (Showtime)
4:00am – Halloween (2007) (Showtime)
4:40am – The Thing (1982) (TMC)
5:55am – Jaws (Showtime)
6:00am – Jaws 2 (SHO2)
8:00am – Jaws 3 (SHO2)
12:00pm – Salem’s Lot: Part One (2004) (IFC)
12:00pm – The Hollow (SyFy)
12:10pm – From Hell (Cinemax)
1:00pm – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Showtime)
1:40pm – Krampus (HBO2)
2:00pm – Phone Booth (HBO Signature)
2:00pm – Salem’s Lot: Part Two (2004) (IFC)
2:00pm – Hollow Man 2 (SyFy)
3:00pm – Interview with the Vampire (More Max)
4:00pm – Hollow Man (SyFy)
5:05pm – Wrong Turn (More Max)
6:00pm – Chopped: A Very Piggy Halloween (Food Network)
6:30pm – The Exorcism of Emily Rose (SyFy)
7:00pm – Chopped Junior: Halloween Party (Food Network)
8:00pm – Doom (Flix)
8:00pm – Frankenstein (1931) (TCM)
9:00pm – Chopped: Best Halloween Ever (Food Network)
9:00pm – I Know What You Did Last Summer (Starz Encore)
9:30pm – Bride of Frankenstein (1935) (TCM)
10:00pm – American Horror Story: Cult (FX)
10:00pm – Resident Evil: Afterlife (SyFy)
11:00pm – The Mummy (1932) (TCM)
11:15pm – Cape Fear (1991) (More Max)
12:00am – The Mothman Prophecies (SyFy)
12:30am – The Wolf Man (1941) (TCM)
12:35am – The Haunting (1999) (Starz Encore)
Wednesday, October 4th
1:40am – The Other Side of the Door (HBO2)
2:00am – Salem’s Lot: Part One (2004) (IFC)
2:00am – Island of Lost Souls (1933) (TCM)
2:30am – Scream of the Banshee (SyFy)
3:00am – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Showtime)
3:30am – The Black Cat (1934) (TCM)
4:00am – Salem’s Lot: Part Two (2004) (IFC)
4:45am – The Invisible Man (1933) (TCM)
6:00am – Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (SyFy)
6:12am – I Know What You Did Last Summer (Starz Encore)
8:30am – The Mothman Prophecies (SyFy)
8:45am – Resident Evil: Retribution (IFC)
11:00am – Dead Still (SyFy)
12:40pm – Bloodsucking Bastards (TMC)
1:00pm – The Exorcism of Emily Rose (SyFy)
1:30pm – Red Dragon (Showtime)
2:59pm – The Haunting (1999) (Starz Encore)
3:20pm – The Ring (2002) (HBO)
3:30pm – Resident Evil: Afterlife (SyFy)
3:45pm – Resident Evil: Retribution (IFC)
5:00pm – Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (FXX)
7:00pm – Godzilla (2014) (WGN)
7:17pm – I Know What You Did Last Summer (Starz Encore)
8:00pm – Insidious: Chapter 3 (SyFy)
9:00pm – I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (Starz Encore)
10:00pm – Channel Zero: No-End House (SyFy)
10:05pm – Death Becomes Her (Flix)
11:45pm – The Strangers (HBO Signature)
12:00am – The Hills Have Eyes (1977) (Flix)
12:00am – Dead Still (SyFy)
12:46am – Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Starz)
Thursday, October 5th
1:30am – Battle Royale (Flix)
2:00am – Ghost Storm (SyFy)
2:30am – Resident Evil: Retribution (IFC)
2:35am – The Scarehouse (SHO2)
4:00am – Spider (Cinemax)
6:30am – Bram Stoker’s Dracula (SyFy)
9:30am – Ghost Storm (SyFy)
9:50am – The Terminator (HBO Signature)
11:30am – Silent Hill (SyFy)
12:00pm – Halloween’s Most Extreme (Travel Channel)
12:30pm – Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (Showtime)
12:35pm – Stir of Echoes (HBO2)
12:37pm – Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Starz)
1:00pm – Halloween Top 20 (Travel Channel)
2:00pm – Mysteries at the Museum: Halloween Special (Travel Channel)
2:15pm – Stir of Echoes: Homecoming (HBO2)
3:00pm – Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (FXX)
4:27pm – Insidious: Chapter 3 (SyFy)
6:20pm – Dead Calm (Cinemax)
6:40pm – Aliens (More Max)
7:05pm – The Conjuring (HBO Signature)
7:11pm – Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Starz)
8:00pm – Chopped: Extreme Halloween (Food Network)
8:00pm – The Descent (Flix)
9:00pm – The Terminator (HBO Signature)
9:40pm – Captivity (Flix)
11:00pm – Blade Runner (SyFy)
11:36pm – The Shallows (Starz)
11:40pm – Cursed (More Max)
12:30am – Total Recall (1990) (AMC)
Friday, October 6th
1:20am – Chernobyl Diaries (More Max)
1:30am – Silent Hill (SyFy)
3:05am – Black Christmas (1974) (Showtime)
4:55am – The Darkness (HBO)
6:00am – Rabid (Flix)
6:20am – The Shallows (Starz)
7:00am – Saw (IFC)
7:30am – Dead Heat (Flix)
9:15am – Saw II (IFC)
9:22am – Don’t Breathe (Starz)
11:00am – The Lawnmower Man (Showtime)
11:15am – Saw III (IFC)
1:00pm – Total Recall (1990) (AMC)
1:00pm – Joy Ride 3: Roadkill (SyFy)
1:45pm – Saw IV (IFC)
2:00pm – Extraterrestrial (TMC)
3:00pm – Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead (SyFy)
3:45pm – Saw V (IFC)
3:55pm – The Ring (2002) (HBO2)
4:00pm – Suspiria (El Rey)
4:30pm – The Ninth Gate (HBO Signature)
5:00pm – Joy Ride (SyFy)
5:45pm – Saw (IFC)
5:45pm – Red Dragon (SHO2)
6:00pm – Boogeyman (El Rey)
7:00pm – Texas Chainsaw (2013) (SyFy)
7:20pm – Ouija: Origin of Evil (More Max)
8:00pm – Boogeyman 2 (El Rey)
8:00pm – Seven (IFC)
9:00pm – The Exorcist (Fox)
9:00pm – Cape Fear (1991) (More Max)
9:00pm – My Bloody Valentine (1981) (Starz Encore)
10:00pm – Boogeyman 3 (El Rey)
11:00pm – Seven (IFC)
11:00pm – Texas Chainsaw (2013) (SyFy)
12:00am – Boogeyman (El Rey)
Saturday, October 7th
1:30am – The Strangers (HBO2)
2:00am – Boogeyman 2 (El Rey)
2:00am – Silent Hill: Revelation (IFC)
2:00am – Cabin Fever: Patient Zero (SyFy)
2:25am – Pet (TMC)
3:00am – Scream 4 (AMC)
4:00am – Boogeyman 3 (El Rey)
4:00am – Saw II (IFC)
4:00am – Isle of the Dead (SyFy)
4:35am – Phone Booth (HBO Signature)
4:40am – Broken Lizard’s Club Dread (More Max)
4:45am – American Psycho II (Cinemax)
4:50am – Dead Heat (Flix)
5:35am – Krampus (HBO2)
5:46am – My Bloody Valentine (1981) (Starz Encore)
6:25am – Friday the 13th (2009) (More Max)
6:36am – Roseanne: Halloween IV (TV Land)
7:19am – Friday the 13th (1981) (Starz Encore)
8:05am – Wrong Turn (More Max)
8:30am – My Soul to Take (SyFy)
9:30am – Silent Hill: Revelation (IFC)
9:30am – Final Destination (More Max)
10:00am – American Psycho (Cinemax)
10:00am – Wishmaster (El Rey)
10:30am – Joy Ride 3: Roadkill (SyFy)
11:00am – 1408 (TMC)
11:10am – Chernobyl Diaries (More Max)
11:45am – From Hell (Cinemax)
12:00pm – Wishmaster 2 (El Rey)
12:30pm – Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead (SyFy)
1:50pm – Morgan (Cinemax)
2:00pm – Wishmaster 3 (El Rey)
2:17pm – My Bloody Valentine (1981) (Starz Encore)
2:30pm – Joy Ride (SyFy)
3:00pm – The Thing (1982) (TMC)
4:00pm – Wishmaster 4 (El Rey)
4:30pm – The Hills Have Eyes (1977) (Flix)
6:00pm – Wishmaster (El Rey)
7:00pm – Drag Me to Hell (SyFy)
8:00pm – Wishmaster 2 (El Rey)
9:00pm – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Starz Encore)
9:00pm – House of the Witch (SyFy)
10:00pm – Wishmaster 3 (El Rey)
10:15pm – Doom (Flix)
11:00pm – Jennifer’s Body (SyFy)
12:00am – Wishmaster 4 (El Rey)
Sunday, October 8th
1:30am – Carrie (2013) (SyFy)
2:00am – Wishmaster (El Rey)
2:05am – Zombie Honeymoon (Flix)
2:25am – The Purge: Election Year (HBO2)
3:30am – Battle Royale (Flix)
3:30am – My Soul to Take (SyFy)
3:40am – The Conjuring 2 (HBO)
4:00am – Wishmaster 2 (El Rey)
4:00am – Warm Bodies (TBS)
4:30am – Red Eye (TNT)
4:33am – Friday the 13th (1980) (Starz Encore)
6:00am – Paranormal State Marathon (until 10 am) (El Rey)
9:00am – Carrie (2013) (SyFy)
10:35am – Witchcraft (FXM)
11:00pm – Jennifer’s Body (SyFy)
11:55am – The Legend of Hell House (FXM)
1:30pm – The House on Skull Mountain (FXM)
2:15pm – My Blood Runs Cold (1965) (TCM)
3:00pm – Paranormal Activity (FXM)
3:00pm – House of the Witch (SyFy)
4:48pm – Paranormal Activity 2 (FXM)
5:00pm – Drag Me to Hell (SyFy)
5:10pm – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Starz Encore)
5:30pm – Total Recall (1990) (AMC)
6:40pm – Paranormal Activity 3 (FXM)
7:00pm – The Faculty (SyFy)
8:00pm – Fear the Walking Dead (AMC)
8:00pm – The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular (Disney)
8:00pm – The Return of Dracula (1958) (TCM)
8:35pm – Paranormal Activity 4 (FXM)
9:00pm – Halloween Wars (Food Network)
9:00pm – Scream 2 (HBO2)
9:00pm – Alien (More Max)
9:00pm – Rosemary’s Baby (Starz Encore)
9:30pm – House of Dracula (1945) (TCM)
10:25pm – Paranormal Activity (FXM)
10:45pm – Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (1966) (TCM)
11:00pm – Aliens (More Max)
11:01pm – Scream 3 (HBO2)
12:13am – Paranormal Activity 2 (FXM)
12:15am – The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) (TCM)
12:31am – Final Destination 2 (Starz)
Monday, October 9th
1:00am – Krampus (HBO2 |
the first round, Noons had Diaz's elbow dropping tight to his side at any whiff of a punch. Noons only threw two right straights in the fight, compared to dozens right hooks to the body, but they clearly stunned Diaz.
The round ended with the two men fighting over a takedown on the fence, and the fighters returned to their corners. It was here that the doctor, who had been called in once already, deemed Diaz's cuts unsuitable to continue. The crowd didn't know what to think, Noons embraced his corner as he, a 5-2 fighter, had defeated an elite veteran to win a world title.
Diaz had been soundly drubbed through that first round. He looked helpless without his lead hand, and he took punches that winded him so badly that he spent extended periods butt scooting and attempting to pull Noons into his guard.
But crucially, Diaz never stopped moving forward, and by the end of the round, he was connecting punches and actually getting Noons to the fence. It was as if a five act play had been called off at the end of the first act, with the theatre staff ushering you out and telling you “yeah I'm pretty sure Macbeth gets away with it”. No-one knew quite what to make of it.
Fighting has a funny way of punishing a winner, though. K. J. Noons never recaptured the form of that night. In 2008, smoked Yves Edwards in forty eight seconds to defend his title, then he disappeared for a short stint in boxing that didn't go anywhere. When he returned to the cage in 2010, he looked slower, with longer 'playboy' hair which he repeatedly had to remove from his eyes and making more hittable than ever, and where his grappling had been a pleasant surprise before, it now seemed to be lacking for a veteran. He was the perfect example of the old Japanese proverb about being unable to chase two rabbits at the same time.
This is the Path of Diaz though, and if there's one thing we can say about our protagonist (loveable antihero?), it's that he doesn't often learn from his mistakes. He and his brother have experienced public shortcomings in checking kicks and in cutting off the cage, and they have never done anything to alleviate these issues. But over Noons, Diaz seemed driven to better himself. This wasn't one where he could convince himself that he should have won the fight—yes it was stopped early, but he wasn't just getting out maneuvered, he was getting out punched at every turn.
When Nick Diaz and K.J. Noons met again at welterweight, Diaz showed something completely new. Rather than risking Noons taking away his lead right, he switched stances routinely, keeping his right in close and ready to throw. He used every centimeter of his four-inch reach advantage, and instead of it was Noons who left round one with blood on his face.
Diaz fought orthodox throughout the fight, and even introduced kicks, knees, and successfully hidden takedowns into the game. Most had Noons down to lose on his form in recent bouts up to the fight, but for Diaz, it was one of the most thoughtful and complete performances of his career. The bout was a back and forth brawl but remained one of the more technical boxing showings in MMA history. Definitely worth watching if you haven't seen it in a while.
Noons versus Diaz II came amid the greatest streak of performances in Diaz's career—those that led him back into the UFC and into a title eliminator. But Noon's first performance laid the groundwork for one of the more disciplined strikers in the welterweight division to take that title shot away from Diaz. That, however, is a story for the next installment of The Path of Diaz.
Come back tomorrow for the next step in the Path of Silva, where the cracks will begin to show in The Spider's A-game.
Pick up Jack Slack's ebooks at his blog Fights Gone By. Jack can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Check out more of this series:
The Path of Anderson Silva: Buckling The Crippler
The Path of Nick Diaz: Fighting the Hadouken Hitter
The Path of Anderson Silva: Fear the Knee StrikeMirko Cro Cop has been forced out of his co-main event bout with Anthony Hamilton at UFC Fight Night 79 in Seoul, South Korea later this month.
Cro Cop confirmed the news on his Facebook page on Monday evening.
"I tried to save my shoulder injury and repair in all possible ways. Daily therapies, injections of blood plasma and various cocktails of drugs," he said, regarding the injury (all quotes are rough translations). "[Because of] daily training, the injury only worsened. Part of my muscle snapped, my shoulder has a lot of fluid, and the greatest danger is that the tendon ruptured, and then again in the operation."
There has been no word as of now whether or not a replacement will be found for Cro Cop.
Cro Cop (31-11-2, 1 NC) recently made a return to the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 64 in Krakow, Poland in a rematch against Gabriel Gonzaga. He got revenge against the Brazilian, picking up a TKO victory.
After getting knocked out by Todd Duffee last year, Hamilton (14-4) got back into the winning column earlier this year with a lackluster decision win over Daniel Omielanczuk. "Freight Train" is 2-2 in the UFC, which also includes a TKO over Ruan Potts and a debut loss to Oleksiy Oliynyk.
It doesn't look like Cro Cop will be rescheduled to fight a new opponent anytime soon. He is heavily considering retiring from the sport he's been apart of for over a decade. He has realized the constant injuries are taking a toll on his body and it's time for him to step away.
"I am aware that I have come to the end of my martial arts career. [My body has had] nine operations and has become prone to injury," he stated. "My next fight would have been my eightieth and that is a lot. Especially in these competitions: K-1, Pride, IGF and UFC."
Cro Cop pointed out that he will miss training greatly, but not necessarily the amount he has recently trained while preparing for upcoming competition.
"The biggest problem will be my adaptation to the ‘civilian’ life. No two workouts a day and the eternal journey around the world, which won't be tough on me. I train while I’m alive because it is my life but not at this rate and I am glad in a way.
"This is not an immediate decision because I’m unhappy doing all this, but my final decision. And it is best for me. Sooner or later the time comes when one must think about their health. I had a really long and rich career and I believe I left a deep mark in martial arts."
UPDATE at 11:16 AM ET on Tuesday: Cro Cop has confirmed on his official website that he is retiring from MMA again.NSW Waratahs five-eighth Bernard Foley admitted last night his Super Rugby title-winning penalty goal was right on the edge of his range, but he accepted the responsibility to take it.
Foley’s penalty goal from 45 metres in the 79th minute gave the Waratahs a nailbiting 33-32 win against the Crusaders in the final at ANZ Stadium at Homebush in Sydney last night to secure their maiden title after 19 years.
The Waratahs were trailing 32-30 when referee Craig Joubert penalised Crusaders flanker Richie McCaw for entering a ruck from the side.
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Even though inside-centre Kurtley Beale is the Waratahs’ long distance goalkicking specialist, Foley had no hesitation about taking the pressure kick.
“I knew it was right on my distance. I knew I didn’t have much more left in it. I had to give it a lot. I think the rugby gods were smiling. It just snuck over,” Foley said.
“It was just reward for what the team has done this year. We have worked very hard all year. To win like that is a dream come true. It’s not good for the Crusaders, but we’ll take it every day of the week.
“It was my maximum range. Normally I let KB (Beale) take the long ones, but I had been hitting them well tonight. I thought it would be my responsibility.
“That’s why you kick goals, to take that extra responsibility. To do it out here on this stage was something very special.”
Asked whether he was confident it would go mover when he struck the ball, Foley said: ”No, not at all. I thought it was just going to sneak in if anything and it did just exactly that. Very lucky.”
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said Joubert’s decision to penalise McCaw was a 50-50 call, but McCaw said he should have known better in that situation.
“I guess that’s what pressure in those sort of moments come down to, being able to back your D, and perhaps I opened a door for the ref to make a decision,” McCaw said.
“Agree or disagree that’s the way it was and unfortunately he kicked the goal.”
McCaw admitted he was kicking himself after he conceded the penalty.
“Without a doubt, yeah, pretty annoyed, but can’t do much about it now. It’s just one of those things you have to live with.”
It was the Waratahs’ third appearance in the final, but their first at home. The Crusaders had denied them twice in Christchurch in 2005 and 2008. But they finally shrugged off their underachievers tag.
Foley’s 23 points for the game set a new Waratahs points scoring record for the season (252), surpassing Peter Hewat’s mark of 243, which was set in 2005.
Veteran outside-centre Adam Ashley-Cooper, playing in his first play-offs in 10 years, collected the first try double in a final since 2009 and received the man of the match award.
The Crusaders might have thought it a neutral venue, but ANZ Stadium certainly seemed like a home ground with a record Super Rugby final crowd of 61,823, helping the Waratahs to remain the only unbeaten team at home this season.
The crowd gave the Waratahs a standing ovation as they ran onto the field through a guard of honour of NSW legends, including Mark Ella, Simon Poidevin, Nick Farr-Jones and Phil Waugh.
Starting the game at a blistering pace, the Waratahs played expansively in attack and aggressively targeted the Crusaders’ first receiver in defence.
The Waratahs led 20-13 at half-time after both teams scored a try apiece. It was a good sign for the Waratahs, who had won all 13 games when leading or level at the break this season.
Foley opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the second minute after the Crusaders went off their feet at the breakdown.
Ashley-Cooper scored the first try of the game in the fourth minute. From a ruck 10 metres from the Crusaders’ line Beale passed to Ashley-Cooper, who crashed through three attempted tackles. Foley missed the conversion and the score stayed 8-0.
Foley edged the Waratahs further ahead 14-0 with two penalty goals in the 10th and 15th minutes before the Crusaders made their inevitable comeback.
Crusaders openside flanker Matt Todd got the visitors on the scoreboard when he finished a superb counterattacking movement in the 17th minute. Inside-centre Dan Carter added the extras to make it 14-7.
With Carter receiving treatment for what appeared to be an ankle injury, five-eighth Colin Slade slotted a penalty goal in the 26th minute after Waratahs captain Michael Hooper went off his feet at the tackle contest.
The Crusaders suffered a major setback when Carter limped off in the 30th minute, but he was replaced by another All Black, Tom Taylor.
Slade narrowed the gap to 17-13 with a penalty goal in the 35th minute after the Waratahs played a man in the air in a lineout, but Foley regained the seven-point margin with a penalty goal in the 37th minute after Crusaders prop Wyatt Crockett was caught off-side.
Former Waratahs winger Nemani Nadolo levelled the score at 20-all with a converted try in the 43rd minute.
Nadolo was tackled in left hand corner by Beale. The replay showed he went close to putting a foot in touch, but the TMO (video referee) awarded it.
The Waratahs lost hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau in the 43rd minute with a medial ligament injury in his knee, which is expected to rule him out of the first Test against the All Blacks in Sydney in two weeks.
The Crusaders took the lead, 23-20, for the first time in the game when Slade landed a penalty goal in the 49th minute after Waratahs’ tight-head prop Sekope Kepu collapsed a scrum.
Foley evened up the score again at 23-all with a penalty goal in the 53rd minute after the Crusaders were off-side at a ruck, but Slade took them out by three again with a penalty goal in the 56th minute after Kepu tackled Taylor high.
Ashley-Cooper got the Waratahs back in front, 30-26, with his second try in the 62nd minute. From a ruck 15m from the Crusaders’ line Beale threw a long pass to Ashley-Cooper, who beat prop Owen Franks and second rower Dominic Bird to score.
Slade got the Crusaders within one point, 30-29, with a penalty goal in the 67th minute after replacement hooker Tolu Latu went off f his feet at a breakdown and then put them in front 32-30 with a penalty goal in the 75th minute.
It looked as if the Crusaders would deny the Waratahs for a third time until Foley stepped up and booted the matchwinning penalty goal.About Backwoods
My wife offered the image.
She claims the likeness is remarkable.
~
Do I have a slogan? Well, did once and my deer got away.
~
A website! Watch out fer spiders!
~
True happiness can only be achieved with a complete, and total, lack of awareness.
~
When I tweet, birds come. When I yahoo, somethin' good just happened. I threw away my fackbook many years ago, when my wife stole my heart. My weebly is all wobbly, myspace is a mess, and when I google I shut the door and light a match.
~~~~~~~~
●About The Author
We live off grid, hidden amongst hundreds of acres of the deep Ohio backwoods. Our tiny town is loaded with the type of folks that wave when you drive by, and stop when you need help. A quiet existence, far removed from the amenities that a modern life would provide, may seem impossible to some, but the dog loves it and the wife and kids don't seem to mind.
We have no television and no electricity to run it if we had. That said, led lighting and 12v solar kits make off grid life quite modernized. My wife and I often run our portable dvd player at night, catching up on our favorite shows and any new movies that appear worth watching. A car radio provides some noise and a 12v on-demand water pump covers all of our water needs.
I may soon write about our life without power. I may even publish it under my other name, so curious minds can seek out my true identity. However, the 'True Tales from the Backwoods - From Hunting Camp, To Home' is still in the scattered thoughts stage. I have plenty of stories to tidy up and get to you before then.
~Thanks for Reading~
~Backwoods~(Update: check out my updated guide for playing Terran for the maintained version of this post)
Having already written up a few Heart of the Swarm (HotS) build orders for Protoss and Zerg, I thought I would also write up a few Terran builds as well while I’m still waiting for my copy of HotS to arrive tomorrow (if Amazon is to be believed). For this batch, I watched qxc’s stream.
Despite not having many big results in tournaments, I am still a big qxc fan. He’s very thoughtful and shows what you can do with excellent control. The caveat is that these builds are probably more specific and advanced than what I wrote up for Zerg or Protoss. Still, they’re pretty cool builds that he is copying from watching MVP and other Terrans at IEM Hanover.
Before I get into all of that, let me write down a standard Wings of Liberty (WoL) Terran opening. I’m guessing this might not be so standard nowadays, but it’s a starting point for newer players.
Standard WoL Terran Build Order 10 Supply Depot at Ramp
12 Barracks at Ramp (scout with the 12th SCV)
14 Refinery
15 Orbital Command
15 Marine
16 Supply Depot to complete wall
16 Marine
Factory with the builder SCV
Reactor on the Barracks
Swap the Reactor onto the Factory for 2 Hellions
Usual rules of reading build orders apply. I don’t write it in, but you should get Orbitals on your Command Centers as soon as they finish. Also, qxc stops SCV production at quite a few times to squeeze buildings out a little sooner. Just follow the supply counts and fill in the gaps, and you should be fine.
Note that all of the builds go into bio (Barracks units, not Factory or Starport units). qxc likes bio. If someone wants me to write up mech builds, I can find someone else to watch and look at that, too.
Terran Versus Protoss
Like in Wings of Liberty (WoL), bio is still viable against Protoss. Widow Mines, however, are a nice addition to the army for extra map control and damage. To take advantage of that, this build uses an early Factory and Starport for Widow Mine drops. One quirk in the build is that the Refinery is delayed slightly. He makes a point of mentioning it in the video, so I trust him.
qxc/MVP’s TvP Widow Mine Drop into Bio 10 Supply Depot
12 Barracks
14 Scout (look for gas and the 3rd Pylon to guess if there’s a proxy)
15 Refinery
15 Orbital Command
15 Marine
17 Supply Depot
19 Reactor (constant Marine production)
20 Command Center (in base)
21 Factory (constant Widow Mine production)
22 Marine, Marine
24 Supply Depot
30 Starport
30 Widow Mine
33 2nd Refinery
43 ~6:20 Medivac (done around 7:00; load with 2 Mines and Marines to either drop or push. Thanks pball4ever)
Followup with Bio
Terran Versus Zerg
In TvZ, Reapers seem to be the standard opening. If Zerg gets greedy, or has poor Zergling micro, or doesn’t position their Queens well, you can do some damage. Using Reapers, Hellions, and Widow Mine, you can take map control and go up to 3 bases quite quickly. Note that this assumes your opponent is going up to 3 bases quickly, so if they don’t, you can delay the last CC.
I would explain it more, but qxc actually gives a really good explanation of it at the beginning of this video where it uses the build. I’ll shut up, and you can follow the link.
qxc/MVP TvZ Reaper Hellion into 3 CC 10 Supply Depot
12 Barracks
12 Refinery
15 Orbital
16 Reaper (harass)
16 Supply Depot
18 Reaper (harass)
19 Command Center
20 Factory
21 Reactor on Barracks
22 Supply Depot
24 Command Center
25 Hellion, Hellion with Reactor on Facotry
35 Supply Depot
2 more Hellions for 4 total
2 Widow Mines (placed aggressively)
Transition into Bio
Terran Versus Terran
TvT has also been changed by the presence of the Reaper. Similar to TvZ, you can use 2 Reapers to harass for scouting and catching your opponent being lazy. qxc goes for a very similar build to TvZ, except the CC is delayed. I’m not sure how standard this is, but he does this 2 games in a row. Again, watch him for the full effect.
qxc TvT Reaper Hellion (game 1, game 2) 10 Supply Depot
12 Barracks
12 Refinery
15 Scout
15 Orbital Command
15 Reaper (harass)
16 Supply Depot
17 Reaper (harass)
20 Command Center
20 Factory
21 Reactor on Barracks
23 Supply Depot
24 Hellion, Hellion from swapped Reactor
Tech Lab on Barracks
29 Starport
30 2nd Refinery
31 Hellions, Hellion (poke with all of the Hellions and Reapers
37 Supply Depot
Stuff
8:00 3rd Command Center
Transition into bio
I think that’s it for this post. Like the others, let me know if you see any issues, or want me to expand on anything. I’ll note that my knowledge of Terran is far behind that of the other races (which is admittedly still not great), so I’ll need to study more to get you answers.Cannabis appears to have a significant impact on the recognition and processing of human emotions like happiness, sadness and anger, according to research published in the journal PLOS One.
Using marijuana may change how people process emotions. Using marijuana may change how people process emotions.
Scientists are only just starting to understand how cannabis affects the brain.
Cannabis consumption is known to cause immediate, residual and long-term changes in brain activity that can affect appetite and food intake, sleep patterns, executive function and emotional behavior.
Conflicting evidence has suggested that it can intensify both positive and negative mood states.
Lucy Troup, assistant professor of psychology at Colorado State University, and her graduate students wanted to look at how, if at all, cannabis use impacts a person's ability to process emotions.
For nearly 2 years, the team has been conducting experiments using an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure the brain activities of about 70 volunteers.
All the participants identified themselves as chronic, moderate or non-users of cannabis. They were all confirmed to be legal users of marijuana under Colorado Amendment 64, either medical marijuana users aged 18 years and above, or as recreational users aged 21 years or older.
An EEG can record a wide variety of generalized brain activity. In this study, the researchers used it to measure the "P3 event-related potential" of the participants.
P3 refers to the electrical activity in the brain that is triggered by noticing something visually. P3 activity is known to be related to attention in emotional processing.
Marijuana use may reduce ability to empathize
While connected to an EEG, participants responded to faces wearing four separate expressions: neutral, happy, fearful and angry. The team collected P3 data that captured the reactions in certain parts of the brain when subjects focused on the face.
Cannabis users responded more intensely to faces showing negative expression, particularly angry ones, compared with controls. Conversely, their response to positive expressions, represented by happy faces, was smaller than that of the controls.
Little difference was observed between the reactions of cannabis users and non-users when asked to pay attention to and "explicitly" identify the emotion.
However, cannabis users scored lower in a task that asked them to focus on the sex of the face and then to identify the emotion. This suggests a reduced ability to "implicitly" identify emotions and to empathize on a deeper emotional level.
The researchers conclude that cannabis affects the brain's ability to process emotion, but that the brain may be able to counter the effects, depending on whether the emotions are explicitly or implicitly detected.
Troup comments:
"We're not taking a pro or anti stance, but we just want to know, what does it do? It's really about making sense of it."
She explains that the aim of the emotion-processing paradigm was to see if the reactions in people who use cannabis would be different from those who do not.
In further studies, Troup is looking into the effects of cannabis on mood disorders like depression and anxiety, and one of her team members is investigating the effect of cannabis on learning.
Medical News Today recently reported that cannabis use could put young people more at risk of schizophrenia.Often considered one of the finest books of the 20th century, James Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses is akin to the Demon's Souls of English literature wherein only the most dedicated fans of early modern prose have persevered through its approximately 265K words of nearly impenetrable text.
To combat its intimidating notoriety, filmmaker and animator Eoghan Kidney is adapting Joyce's magnum opus into an interactive digital experience for PC, Mac, iOS and Android.
James Joyce, had he lived.
After raising 113 per cent more than its €4K goal on crowdsourcing site FundIt, Kidney's aim with this adaptation, In Ulysses, isn't to mock or trivialise Joyce's work, but rather use it as a means of introducing the dense novel to those otherwise turned off by its stream-of-consciousness writing and challenging reputation.
"Like me, I'm guessing that most readers are put off by Stephen Dedalus's almost impenetrable stream of consciousness in the first three chapters," explained Kidney in his pitch. "Finding your way through these first few chapters might require a little outside assistance, but once unpacked they prove to be a great primer to discovering what makes Ulysses such a special book. This project will provide a new way to experience these chapters and hopefully offer a fresh gateway to new readers."
Much like how From Software expected players to work together to tackle its Souls series, Kidney argues that Joyce intended readers to collaborate to discuss whatever it is that the Irish novelist was getting at.
"It could be said that it takes a little effort on the reader's behalf to seek out the meaning in the words - for me it was unpacked by Frank Delaney in his excellent podcast, in Sam Slote's annotations, Columbia University's online version and a range of other types of media. Ulysses truly is an interactive multimedia experience," Kidney stated.
Kidney's adaptation will place players in Dublin on 16th June 1904, where they can experience scenes from the novel firsthand. This FundIt campaign will only cover the book's third chapter, Proteus, in which act one's protagonist, Stephen Dedalus, mopes about Sandymount Strand pondering the nature of reality.
As such, you'll enjoy a recreation of the coastline in Unreal Engine 3, while hearing Dedalus' thoughts like, "Ineluctable modality of the visible: at least that if no more, thought through my eyes."
One can see why so few are willing to bother with the original text. To make this more accessible, Kidney plans to pepper the virtual experience with images, textual annotations and links.
While this project will only cover the books opening act, Kidney would like to expand the In Ulysses even further and make another chapter about Ulysses' other protagonist, Leopold Bloom.
"A fun experience, a next-gen E-Book and an educational tool exploring the meanings hidden within the language of James Joyce's masterpiece - In Ulysses will be a new way of reading Joyce's work," Kidney stated.Although Direct Brands shut down music mail-order operations in mid-2009, it continued to use the Columbia House brand to market videos in the U.S. and Canada, selling DVDs and Blu-rays via the controversial practice of negative option billing. DB Media's Canadian assets ceased operating on December 10, 2010, and all staff were dismissed, [1] while U.S. operations continue as usual. In December 2012, the company was sold to Pride Tree Holdings, Inc. In 2013, the company changed its name to Filmed Entertainment Inc. [2] The sale of the DVD division at bankruptcy auction was announced August 10, 2015. [3]
The Columbia House brand was introduced in the early 1970s by the Columbia Records division of CBS, Inc. as an umbrella for its mail-order music clubs, the primary incarnation of which was the Columbia Record Club, established in 1955. It had a significant market presence in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 2005, longtime competitor BMG Direct Marketing, Inc. (formerly the RCA Music Service or RCA Victor Record Club) purchased Columbia House and consolidated operations. In 2008, the company (as well as book club operator Bookspan ) was acquired by private investment group Najafi Companies, and its name was changed to Direct Brands, Inc.
Rapid growth Edit
Columbia Record Club was formed in 1955 by CBS/Columbia Records as an experiment to market music directly by mail,[4] spurring sales to rural consumers and heading off competition from mail-order companies from outside the record industry.[5] New members to the club were enticed with a free record just for joining.[4] To appease brick-and-mortar retailers, titles in the club's catalog were only made available six months (later, three months) after retail release, and retailers that helped recruit members got a 20% commission. By the end of that year, the club had 125,175 members who had purchased 700,000 records[4] ($1.174 million net). The operation grew so quickly that, in 1956, it was moved from New York City to a new home base: a distribution center in Terre Haute, Indiana, a railway-accessible city where Columbia had recently opened a record pressing facility.[4] Within a year, the club had 687,652 members and had sold 7 million records[4] ($14.888 million net) and, by 1963, it commanded 10% of the recorded music retail market.[5]
Controversial licensing Edit
In the late 1950s, both RCA Victor and Capitol Records began licensing programs of their own, but the three record clubs rarely allowed any of their own labels' releases to be marketed by rivals. For example, Columbia recordings were not available from the RCA Victor Record Club, and RCA recordings were unavailable through the Columbia Record Club.
In 1958, facing the loss of members who wanted a wider variety of records, the club began manufacturing and marketing records for certain competing labels (including Verve, Mercury, Warner Bros., Kapp, Vanguard, United Artists, and Liberty).[5] Rival clubs operated by RCA and Capitol offered only their own labels' products at the time. Licensors were guaranteed a minimum number of sales, but were held to exclusive, restrictive contracts, which led to price-fixing allegations against the club in 1962, followed by 7 years of mostly ineffective litigation.[5] The licensing program continued and expanded in the 1960s as the music industry grew and changed.[5]
New formats and the rise of the Columbia House brand Edit
The Columbia Record Club began marketing stereo records and equipment in 1959, reel-to-reel recordings (via the Columbia Reel-To-Reel Club) in 1960, 8-track cartridges (via the Columbia Cartridge Club) in 1966, and cassettes (via the Columbia Cassette Club) in 1969.[4]
The Columbia Record Club was also notable in continuing to issue product in formats no longer available on the commercial market. After the major record labels quit releasing albums on reel to reel tape format, Columbia still continued to make select new titles available on reel tape up until 1984. 1982 was the approximate year the 8-track tape disappeared from record stores yet Columbia continued to release new titles in the format until 1988 and finally after the major record labels abandoned the vinyl LP format in 1989, Columbia issued select new titles on vinyl until 1992. In all three cases, the new releases on the abandoned formats were usually limited to the new Selection of the Month title (although the country music Selection of the Month had never been available on reel tape unless the album had possible crossover appeal to the Pop/Rock or Easy Listening club members).
By the early 1970s, "Columbia House" had become an overarching brand for the various divisions, led by the Columbia Record Club, later renamed the Columbia Record & Tape Club.[citation needed] By 1975, membership was over 3 million.[4]
In 1982, the CBS Video Club, which had formed the previous year as the CBS Video Library, became part of the Columbia House family.[4] Also, during that same time period, Columbia House and The Cannon Group founded the UK-exclusive mail-order VHS distribution service Videolog. Sony acquired the CBS Records Group, including Columbia House, in 1988, then at 6 million members. Bertelsmann Music Group had recently acquired RCA Records and changed the name of Columbia House's only surviving rival, RCA Music Service (formerly RCA Victor Record Club), to BMG Music Service.
In 1991, the CBS Records Group was renamed as Sony Music Entertainment and Sony sold half of Columbia House to Time Warner and merged in Time-Life's video and music clubs.[4] Membership was over 10 million at the end of that year.[4] The influence of Columbia House and other music clubs reached its peak in 1994 accounting for 15.1 percent of all CD sales.[6] In 1996, club membership was at 16 million. That year, the Columbia House website was launched.[4]
Meanwhile, a parallel club, the Columbia Record Club of Canada, was operated by the Canadian branch of CBS Records from the late 1950s until membership and financial problems led to its apparent demise in 1977.[7] It was relaunched in 1979 as the Canadian Music Club, attracting 100,000 members by the end of that year.[4]
Market decline Edit
In mid-1999, a merger was announced between Columbia House and struggling online retailer CDNow, an independent, publicly owned company that had funding and other partnerships with Columbia House and its owners Sony and Time-Warner. The merger was abandoned in early 2000, with Columbia House's poor finances and stiff competition from online giant Amazon.com cited as factors.[8][9][10] Within months, CDNow was purchased by Bertelsmann, which partially merged it with BMG Direct into a venture called BeMusic. CDNow was taken over and merged into Amazon the following year. By 2001, music clubs accounted for less than eight percent of all CD sales, coinciding with the ascent of Internet shops and retail outlets such as Amazon and Wal-Mart, which offered music at similar discounts without subscriptions.
Security breach Edit
In 2001, a security breach in the Columbia House website exposed thousands of customer names, addresses and portions of credit card numbers, leaving private information about customers vulnerable to exploitation.[11] The issue involved a particular section of the website, which could easily be accessed by deleting a portion of the website address in the address bar, discovered by customer Mark Alway. Upon the discovery of the breach, he emailed the Columbia House staff who were quick to respond to the problem. This event gave rise to concerns over the website's capability of keeping private information secure from hackers or devastating scams. Although no information was reportedly obtained from the temporary breach according to Columbia House, industry professionals were quick to point out that the simple error was the consequence of negligent handling of customer information.
Consolidation and downsizing Edit
In 2002, Sony and AOL Time Warner sold 85% of Columbia House to The Blackstone Group L.P., a New York-based investment firm. The next year, the possibility of a merger of Columbia House and Blockbuster Inc. was reported in the Wall Street Journal, Associated Press reports, and trade publications. Although the owners were said to be in talks, the merger never materialized.
In 2005, longtime competitor BMG Direct Marketing, Inc., then the current owners of BMG Music Service, acquired Columbia House, renamed the merged company BMG Columbia House, Inc., and consolidated operations under the BMG Music Service name.[12][13]
In 2008, the company, including its Canadian branch,[14] was acquired from Sony BMG by investment firm JMCK Corp., a Najafi Group company based in Phoenix, Arizona, and the name was changed to Direct Brands, Inc.[12][13] Direct Brands consolidated the remaining facilities, and shut down music mail-order operations on June 30, 2009. However, Direct Brands continued to operate a DVD and Blu-ray Disc club under the Columbia House brand in both the U.S. and Canada.[13] The Columbia House name is still owned by Sony Music Entertainment, and is used under license.
In December 2010, the Canadian branch went into bankruptcy, and its websites began redirecting visitors to a letter of explanation from the companies' trustees in bankruptcy.[15][16]
Bankruptcy Edit
The parent of the Columbia House music and DVD clubs announced on August 10, 2015, that it plans to sell its Columbia House DVD Club business, which sells recorded movies and TV series directly to consumers, through a bankruptcy auction.[3]
Return to music sales Edit
In December 2015, Columbia House's owner, John Lippman, announced his intention to begin a vinyl subscription service that will allow subscribers the ability to choose which records and genres of music they receive.[17][18][19]
Current ownership Edit
While Sony Music still owns the Columbia House trademark, Edge Line Ventures LLC is the current licensee of the Columbia House name.[20]Germany has dissolved a fifty-years-old surveillance pact with the United States and Britain in response to a “debate about protecting personal privacy” in the country, which was sparked by revelations of the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
The agreement that dated back to the late 1960s gave the US, Britain and France the right to request German authorities carry out surveillance operations so as to protect their troops stationed within the country.
“The cancellation of the administrative agreements, which we have pushed for in recent weeks, is a necessary and proper consequence of the recent debate about protecting personal privacy,” Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a statement on Friday.
Germany was currently in talks with France to cancel its part of the agreement as well, a German official told AP on condition of anonymity.
Following Snowden’s leaks, which disclosed the span of the NSA surveillance program and revealed that Germany is the most spied on EU country by the US, there has been a heated nationwide debate on whether the alleged massive privacy breach of German citizens should have been allowed.
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give Pakistani sweets to the Indian soldiers.[157][note 18]
Issues [ edit ]
Air pollution [ edit ]
2.5 and PM 10 data for air quality from 1 August to 31 December 2015 in Delhi India.[161] The 5-day Diwali festival in 2015 was observed from 9 to 13 November. The AQI PMand PMdata for air quality from 1 August to 31 December 2015 in Delhi India.The 5-day Diwali festival in 2015 was observed from 9 to 13 November.
The tradition of annual Diwali fireworks has caused widespread coverage in Indian media, where debate has centred on air quality within Indian cities in autumn and winter and the role the fireworks play. On 9 October 2017, the Supreme Court of India banned the sale, but not use, of fireworks in Delhi during the Diwali season,[162] with the assumption that banning the use of fireworks would substantially improve the air quality of Delhi. Critics stated that the ruling was judicial over-reach and a bias against Hindu culture, while supporters stated that it would be beneficial to public health.[162]
Scholars have stated that many factors contribute to the poor air quality in Delhi, and northern India, that accompanies the harvest festival of Diwali. According to Jethva and others, the post-monsoon custom is to prepare the crop fields by deliberately burning the residual stubble between October and November.[163][164] As crop productivity per hectare has increased with mechanised harvesting, this has led to the practice becoming more widespread in the northern and northwestern regions of India in the months when Diwali is observed.[163] The smoke from the burning of the fields is carried by seasonal winds over the floodplain, where it is inverted by the colder winds and spread throughout the region for much of the winter. Other contributors to the poor air quality include daily vehicular and industrial activity along with the burning of other biomass.[163][164]
According to Shivani, the PM 2.5 levels in 2015 and 2016 did rise over Diwali, but these higher levels were "a result of contribution from fireworks on the Diwali night, trans-regional movement of pollutants due to crop residue burning, low wind speed, and high humidity". They also concluded that the contribution of the festival fireworks could lead to a 1.3% increase in the non-carcinogenic hazard index.[165] Other studies have stated that the fireworks of Diwali produce particulates and pollutants with a decay-life time of about one day.[note 19]
Burn injuries [ edit ]
The use of fireworks also causes an increase in the number of burn injuries in India during Diwali. One particular firework called anar (fountain) has been found to be responsible for 65% of such injuries, with adults being the typical victims. Most of the injuries sustained are Group I type burns (minor) requiring only outpatient care.[168][169]
Diwali prayers [ edit ]
The prayers vary widely by region of India. An example vedic prayer from Brhadaranyaka Upanishad celebrating lights is the Pavamana Mantra:[170][171][172][173]
Asato ma sat gamaya | (असतो मा सद्गमय ।)
Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya | (तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।)
Mṛtyor ma amṛtam gamaya | (मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।)
Om shanti shanti shantihi || (ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥)
Translation:[174][175]
From untruth lead us to Truth.
From darkness lead us to Light.
From death lead us to Immortality.
Om Peace, Peace, Peace.
See also [ edit ]
Galungan – the Balinese Hindu festival of dharma's victory over adharma
victory over Hanukkah – the Jewish festival of lights
Lantern Festival – the Chinese festival of lanterns
Saint Lucy's Day – the Christian festival of lights
Walpurgis Night – the German festival of bonfires
Notes [ edit ]
^ Hindus of eastern and northeastern states of India associate the festival with the goddess Durga, or her fierce avatar Kali Shaktism ). According to McDermott, this region too celebrated Lakshmi puja historically, and the Kali puja tradition started in the colonial era, particularly after the 1920s. ^ dipawoli in দীপাৱলী, dipaboli or dipali in দীপাবলি/দীপালি, divāḷi in દિવાળી, divālī in दिवाली, dīpavaḷi in ದೀಪಾವಳಿ, Konkani: दिवाळी, Malayalam: ദീപാവലി, Marathi: दिवाळी, dipābali in ଦିପାବଳୀ, dīvālī in ਦੀਵਾਲੀ, diyārī in दियारी , tīpāvaḷi in தீபாவளி, and దీపావళి, स्वन्ति or tihar in तिहार and Thudar Parba in ತುಡರ್ ಪರ್ಬ. The holiday is known asin Assamese orin Bengali in Gujarati in Hindi in Kannada in Odia in Punjabi in Sindhi ,in Tamil, and Telugu Galungan in Balinese and Swanti in Nepali orin Nepali and Thudar Parba in Tulu ^ [44] Historical records appear inconsistent about the name of the lunar month in which Diwali is observed. One of the earliest reports on this variation was by Wilson in 1847. He explained that though the actual Hindu festival day is the same, it is identified differently in regional calendars because there are two traditions in the Hindu calendar. One tradition starts a new month from the new moon, while the other starts it from the full moon. ^ [59] According to Richards, it was Akbar who abolished the discriminatory taxes on Hindu festivals and pilgrims, and it was Aurangzeb who reinstated the Mughal era discriminatory taxes on festivals and increased other religion-based taxes.[59] According to Audrey Truschke, the Sunni Muslim emperor Aurangzeb did limit "public observation" of many religious holidays such as Hindu Diwali and Holi, but also of Shia observance of Muharram and the Persian holiday of Nauruz. According to Truschke, Aurangzeb did so because he found the festivals "distasteful" and also from "concerns with public safety" lurking in the background. According to Stephen Blake, a part of the reason that led Aurangzeb to ban Diwali was the practice of gambling and drunken celebrations. Truschke states that Aurangzeb did not ban private practices altogether and instead "rescinded taxes previously levied on Hindu festivals" by his Mughal predecessors. John Richards disagrees and states Aurangzeb, in his zeal to revive Islam and introduce strict Sharia in his empire, issued a series of edicts against Hindu festivals and shrines.According to Richards, it was Akbar who abolished the discriminatory taxes on Hindu festivals and pilgrims, and it was Aurangzeb who reinstated the Mughal era discriminatory taxes on festivals and increased other religion-based taxes. ^ Some Muslims joined the Hindu community in celebrating Diwali in the Mughal era. Illustrative Islamic records, states Stephen Blake, include those of 16th-century Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi who wrote, "during Diwali.... the ignorant ones amongst Muslims, particularly women, perform the ceremonies... they celebrate it like their own Id and send presents to their daughters and sisters,.... they attach much importance and weight to this season [of Diwali]." ^ Bhutachaturdasi Yamaterpanam is dedicated to Yama and ancestral spirits, the Lacshmipuja dipanwita to goddess Lakshmi with invocations to Kubera, the Dyuta pratipat Belipuja to Shiva-Parvati and Bali legends, and the Bhratri dwitiya to Yama-Yamuna legend and the Hindus celebrate the brother-sister relationship on this day.[60] Jones also noted that on the Diwali day, the Hindus had a mock cremation ceremony with "torches and flaming brands" called Ulcadanam, where they said goodbye to their colleagues who had died in war or in a foreign country and had never returned home. The ceremony lit the path of the missing to the mansion of Yama.[60] Williams Jones stated that theis dedicated to Yama and ancestral spirits, theto goddess Lakshmi with invocations to Kubera, theto Shiva-Parvati and Bali legends, and theto Yama-Yamuna legend and the Hindus celebrate the brother-sister relationship on this day.Jones also noted that on the Diwali day, the Hindus had a mock cremation ceremony with "torches and flaming brands" called, where they said goodbye to their colleagues who had died in war or in a foreign country and had never returned home. The ceremony lit the path of the missing to the mansion of Yama. ^ Some inscriptions mention the festival of lights in Prakrit terms such as tipa-malai, sara-vilakku and others. ^ prakara in the [65] The Sanskrit inscription is in the Grantha script. It is well preserved on the north wall of the secondin the Ranganatha temple, Srirangam island, Tamil Nadu. ^ [68] The Diwali-related inscription is the 4th inscription and it includes the year Vikrama Era 1268 (c. 1211 CE). ^ Scholars contest the 527 BCE date and consider Mahavira's biographical details as uncertain. Some suggest he lived in the 5th-century BCE contemporaneously with the Buddha. ^ Sikhs historically referred to this festival as Diwali. It was in early 20th-century, states Harjot Oberoi – a scholar of Sikh history, when the Khalsa Tract Society triggered by the Singh Sabha Movement sought to establish a Sikh identity distinct from the Hindus and the Muslims. They launched a sustained campaign to discourage Sikhs from participating in Holi and Diwali, renaming the festivals, publishing the seasonal greeting cards in the Gurmukhi language and relinking their religious significance to Sikh historical events. While some of these efforts have had a lasting impact for the Sikh community, the lighting, feasting together, social bonding, sharing and other ritual grammar of Sikh celebrations during the Diwali season are similar to those of the Hindus and Jains. ^ According to McDermott, while the Durga Puja is the largest Bengali festival and it can be traced to the 16th-century or earlier, the start of Kali puja tradition on Diwali is traceable to no earlier than about the mid-18th-century during the reign of Raja Krishnacandra Ray. McDermott further writes that the older historic documents of the Bengal confirm that the Bengali Hindus have long celebrated the night of Diwali with illuminations, firecrackers, foods, new account books, Lakshmi (not Kali), inviting their friends (including Europeans during the colonial era) and gambling. The Kali sarbajanin tradition on Diwali, with tantric elements in some locations, grew slowly into a popular Bengali tradition after the mid-1920s. ^ [131] According to a Government of Himachal Pradesh and India publication, the Vishvakarma puja is observed on the fourth day of Diwali in the Himalayan state. ^ The Vishwakarma puja day is alternatively observed in other Hindu communities in accordance with the Hindu solar calendar, and this falls in September. ^ melas to which people visited to buy horses, seek pleasure, pray in nearby Amritsar temples for the prosperity of their children and their souls, and some on "errands, more or less worthy or unworthy character". Max Macauliffe, who lived in northwest Punjab area during the colonial era and is known for his work on Sikh literature and history, wrote about Diwalito which people visited to buy horses, seek pleasure, pray in nearby Amritsar temples for the prosperity of their children and their souls, and some on "errands, more or less worthy or unworthy character". ^ [145] As a comparison, Americans explode 134,000 tons (268 million pounds) of fireworks for the 4th of July celebrations in the United States.[146] A 2017 estimate states 50,000 tons (100 million pounds) of fireworks are exploded annually in India over the Diwali festival.As a comparison, Americans explode 134,000 tons (268 million pounds) of fireworks for the 4th of July celebrations in the United States. ^ The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue was founded as Secretariat for non-Christians by Pope Paul VI. It began sending official greetings and message to Muslims in 1967 on Id al-Fitr. About 30 years later, in the mid-1990s the Catholic authorities began sending two additional annual official greetings and message, one to the Hindus on Diwali and the other to the Buddhists on Buddha's birthday. ^ [158][159] Diwali celebrations have been relatively rare in contemporary Pakistan, but observed across religious lines, including by Muslims in cities such as Peshawar.[160] Diwali was not a public holiday in Pakistan from 1947 to 2016. Diwali along with Holi for Hindus, and Easter for Christians, was adopted as public holiday resolution by Pakistan's parliament in 2016, giving the local governments and public institutions the right to declare Holi as a holiday and grant leave for its minority communities, for the first time.Diwali celebrations have been relatively rare in contemporary Pakistan, but observed across religious lines, including by Muslims in cities such as Peshawar. ^ 2.5 ) [166] Another study indicated that ground-level ozone pollution is also generated by fireworks; their dispersal and decay times is also about one day.[167] According to a study done by Barman in Lucknow, India, the amount of fine (PM particulates in the air can worsen following firework celebrations, but not during it. High accumulations of particulates produced from fireworks can remain suspended in the air for around 24 hours after their use.Another study indicated that ground-level ozone pollution is also generated by fireworks; their dispersal and decay times is also about one day.
References [ edit ]"James Galan" is friends with dozens of high-profile and high-powered Albertans — on Facebook, at least — but in real life, no one seems to know him.
Among his Facebook friends are at least 10 current and former MLAs, a half-dozen municipal politicians in Calgary, a few MPs, several journalists and even Kevin Vickers, the sergeant-at-arms who shot the Parliament Hill attacker in 2014.
But CBC News contacted a sampling of those politicians and journalists, and none know who's behind the "James Galan" account — which uses a picture of Chinese actor Chen Dao Ming as its profile photo — or other seemingly fake profiles that follow a similar pattern.
Some of the accounts are more active than others, but "James Galan" seems to be the most prolific at befriending politicians and posting online comments about issues of the day. These types of tactics, experts say, are increasingly popular for their ability to influence public opinion. They've also been mirrored in a recent surge of fake Twitter accounts targeting a Calgary city councillor, Druh Farrell.
As recently as last week, the Galan Facebook account was being used to criticize Farrell in the comments section of news stories about the knife-gesture incident involving her fellow councillor, Ward Sutherland.
But the account's online presence goes back as far as 2015, when it was posting frequently about former Alberta justice minister Jonathan Denis.
Denis denies knowing 'Galan'
"Galan" has appeared especially interested in Denis, commenting on numerous news stories that relate to the former MLA, who now practises law with the firm Guardian Law Group LLP in Calgary.
In addition, "Galan" has commented in defence of Denis personally on stories about the former cabinet minister's divorce, which played out in public view amid the 2015 provincial election in which Denis lost his seat.
While Denis is now out of politics, he maintains a lively political discussion on his own Facebook page, where his thousands of friends engage in almost daily debate — and the Galan account is a frequent contributor.
Denis even mentioned Galan by name in a post last fall, where he mused about starting a blog to replace his Facebook page, as it was approaching the social media site's limit of 5,000 friends.
A post from former justice minister Jonathan Denis mentioning the frequent contributions of 'James Galan' to the political discourse on his Facebook page. (Names of other people mentioned have been greyed out.) (Facebook/Screenshot)
But Denis told CBC News he doesn't actually know "James Galan."
He noted he routinely accepts friend requests from people he doesn't know, so that they can participate in the discussion.
He also said it's possible he mixed up the "James Galan" account with an acquaintance — an actual person named James Galan who works as a personal injury lawyer in Toronto and is also among Denis's Facebook friends.
"Frankly, I presumed that the James Galan [who's been commenting] on my Facebook was the mutual acquaintance, but again have never communicated with him directly," Denis said in an email.
Lawyer James Galan surprised by all this
When contacted by CBC News, the Toronto-based lawyer named James Galan was surprised by the existence of the "James Galan" account that has been commenting on Alberta politics.
The lawyer said he is not behind the account.
He also said he did not write two letters to the editor that ran in the Calgary Herald under the name "James Galan, Calgary" in August 2015 and October 2016, both relating to provincial politics.
The editorial page editor at the Calgary Herald said he found a phone number in the newspaper's email records that was attached to those letter submissions and called it Wednesday, leaving a voicemail on behalf of CBC News. As of publication time, there was no reply.
CBC News also sent a message and a friend request directly to the Galan Facebook account on Tuesday. So far, there has been no reply.
Connections to other seemingly fake accounts
The "James Galan" account is one of several seemingly fake profiles that have been used to comment on the same stories with similar points of view.
There's also "Stacey Colins," who has chimed in with comments of her own criticizing Druh Farrell, the Calgary city councillor.
Reverse image searches reveal her Facebook cover photo is a stock photograph described as a "middle-aged woman."
For her profile photo, she uses a "happy family on the beach" stock image.
The 'Stacey Colins' Facebook account might look like a real person at first glance but actually uses stock images sourced online as its profile and cover photos. (Screenshots/composite image)
Stock images are also used in the online personas of "Stacey Cool" and "Lori Sanders," who have commented in several online forums about Jonathan Denis's divorce.
Denis is also Facebook friends with both of those accounts but denied knowing either of them as real people.
"I do not personally know anyone named Stacey Cool or Lori Sanders to the best of my recollection," he said.
Stolen image of a real person
There was another, similar account that went by the name "Tim Mather" but used a photo of a real person named Adam Mather.
It appears to have been created an hour before commenting on a story about Denis's election loss, alongside a comment from "James Galan."
The 'Tim Mather' account that commented on this story about Jonathan Denis on the Calgary Herald website was taken down after a real person named Adam Mather contacted Facebook about it using his image at its profile photo. (Calgary Herald screenshot)
The "Tim Mather" account had only two listed friends — one of which was "James Galan."
The account was taken down shortly after CBC News contacted Adam Mather, who works for a home-building company in Toronto, and he complained to Facebook about the use of his image.
Provocateurs 'a bit like pirates'
Acting as an online "provocateur" is an increasingly popular political tactic, said Bruce Cameron with Social Media ROI, a consulting firm that specializes in digital communication.
He said the "murky" nature of the agents' identities makes them "a bit like pirates" who used to roam the ocean, attacking ships and plundering gold without a defined allegiance or specific mission.
Sometimes the pirates were acting of their own accord, he said, sometimes at the behest of a particular nation, or sometimes they had overlapping interests.
"It's really like the high seas right now," Cameron said of the world of online politics.
Tom Keenan, a University of Calgary professor and digital security expert, said people on the fringes of politics sometimes have a motivation to act in a deceptive manner online.
Tom Keenan is a University of Calgary professor and the author of Technocreep, a book about digital security and privacy. (CBC)
"I think the political value is for clandestine operatives who maybe aren't in the political world themselves — but think they are — and want to go out there and pull the tail of some politician, but they won't do it face to face," he said.
There is also value, he added, in having seemingly real people comment on news stories and engage in the public discourse.
"Studies have shown that people tend to believe stuff on Facebook that comes from like-minded people," Keenan said.
"So if you're following and linked up to other people who think like you, sure enough, if they say something, even if it's a little bit outrageous, you're probably not going to check it. You're going to go out there and believe it."
Twitter accounts target Farrell, supporters
Meanwhile, a flood of recently created Twitter accounts have been targeting Farrell and her supporters this week.
At least eight accounts that appear to have been created in the past few days have been attacking the city councillor and her supporters, many devolving into name-calling and personal insults.
The criticisms relate largely to a lawsuit recently launched against Farrell by a Calgary family — through the Guardian Law Group — over an application to redevelop their high-end restaurant Osteria de Medici that council rejected in 2015.
None of the allegations in the lawsuit have been proven in court and Farrell has yet to file a statement of defence.
The onslaught of tweets came after a mysterious ad that was posted to online classified site Kijiji over the weekend, offering work to social media users with "Conservative views" and an "interest in municipal and federal politics."
"Project starts Tuesday, May 23," read the ad. "Contractors will be paid per post/share/comment."
It's not clear who posted the ad or whether it was genuine.
Last week, prior to the ad's appearance, Farrell said her staff were kept busy sorting through a host of comments that had started to flood her professional Facebook page regarding the Sutherland spat.
"They were defending the behaviour of councillor Sutherland and calling me out," she said. "There was a general theme against me."
Calgary city councillor Druh Farrell is being sued by Rocco Terrigno and Terrigno Investments Inc. The lawsuit, revealed this week, seeks Farrell's removal from office and more than $200,000 in damages. (CBC)
Farrell's staff also noticed many of the accounts seemed fake and used stock photos as profile pictures.
She said she welcomes public debate and deliberately has an extensive presence on social media for that purpose, but she has "no patience" for people who hide behind fake accounts.
"I don't have the energy to engage with somebody who doesn't have the courage to speak with their own voice," she said.
"But I have endless energy to discuss and debate and talk about issues with people who are brave enough to put their names behind it."Here are two newspaper articles from spring, 1933. They concern the issue of early Nazi policy toward Germany’s Jews. In the first, the German ambassador to the UK maintains that the issue isn’t Jews but Immigrants. In the second, it is clear that only a few weeks later German Jews with citizenship were nevertheless being forced out. Those Jewish residents of Germany with other passports or with no citizenship (like the Palestinians of today) were facing special problems. Many of those with citizenship hoped they could temporarily relocate in Paris or Antwerp until things settled down (big mistake). The Trump regime’s exclusion or expulsion of refugees without regard to the danger awaiting them on their return to their point of origin has some resemblance to this Nazi callousness in expelling stateless people who had nowhere to go and who lacked proper passports, having only a laissez-passer from Geneva.
I draw attention to these two because, of course, of the parallels to what happened this weekend. In particular, I see a similar logic at work, whereby a profound racial and religious animus against a minority was initially publicly denied in favor of a discourse of the nation. It was only non-national members of the minority who were, to begin with, objectionable– flotsam coming in from other countries because of foreign economic collapse. That these immigrants were members of the hated minority was only, it was asserted, an accident. They were hated because foreign, not because national-but-different. Why Fascists in power should have at first been reluctant to speak the truth is an interesting question. Apparently even they initially had some shame about being perceived as mere bigots, and took refuge in the hot issue of immigration (which had been exacerbated by the high joblessness of the Great Depression in the 1930s). Their sense of shame was fleeting.
Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor on January 30, 1933. The day after a fire at the parliament building, on Feb. 28, civil liberties were abolished. Political dissidents began being rounded up in March. On March 5 there were elections in which the National Socialists got 43% of the vote. On March 22, Hitler was made dictator of Germany by a pliant legislature. In early April, Jews were subjected to a boycott and then expelled from the civil service and professions.
I was not kidding when I said that I saw many similarities between the Trump / Bannon inaugural speech and Fascist ideology. We didn’t just elect a new government, Trump said, we provided an opportunity for a revolution in which power would be turned over from corrupt elites to “the people” by the white billionaires.
I suggest that the excerpts of these two newspaper articles below be read as allegories for our own moment, substituting Trumpism for national socialism and Muslims for Jews.
1.
“German Ambassador and the Nazi Terror: Replies to a Deputation; Hostility to Jews Aimed Mainly at ‘Immigrants'” The Manchester Guardian, March 23, 1933.
“Miss G. A. Coombs and mr. R. Bridgeman, representing the Anti-War Council, were recieved at eleven o’clock this morning by the German Ambassador (Herr [Leopold] von Hoesch) in response to a request by the council... “The Ambassador then said that the world must realise that what had taken place in Germany was a complete revolution, or, rather, counter-revolution, and not merely a change of Government. It was the reply to the revolution of 1918 which in sweeping away the monarchy had inaugurated a period of Socialism. Since 1918 Germany had suffered complete national humiliation... While stressing the revolutionary character of the change of Administration in Germany, the Ambassador maintained that it had been supported by a majority of the people*... He said that the election was decisive because 90 per cent of the electors had voted. This was the highest percentage of any previous election in any country... Herr von Hoesch said that very bitter feeling had been caused by the opening of large Jewish stores in all the big towns in Germany, which had swallowed up the small shopkeepers... Herr von Hoesch anticipated that in about a couple of weeks everything would have quietened down in Germany. The Ambassador said that he had no anti-Semitic feeling himself. He regretted that the houses of Jews like Einstein who was his personal friend, should have been raided, and said that Herr Hitler was seeking to restrain his followers from maltreating the Jews... SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts
The Ambassador agreed that those Jews who had been long established in Germany should be treated in every respect as Germans. It was only the Jewish immigrants who had recently come to Germany, chiefly from Poland, who were looked upon as aliens... With regard to the pacifists, particularly Lehmann Russbuldt and General von Schoenaich, he said that he knew them both personally. They had been in prison not because they were pacifists but because they had taken an anti-national line in foreign countries and were therefore considered to be guilty of treason+...”
—
* Ed. note: This was a lie and fake news. The Nazis did not get a majority in the March elections.
+I believe the term Steve Bannon and the alt-Neo-Nazis now use for this is ‘snowflakes’ or perhaps ‘advocates of white genocide’.
2.
“10,000 Jews Flee Nazi Persecution,” New York Times, April 15, 1933.The following article will describe how to properly create accessible tabs in web apps. This is important for both mobile and desktop web applications. Tabs are not native to HTML5, so if you simulate them, you’ll probably use other markup such as lists and list items to generate them. You will have to add WAI-ARIA markup to make these semantically correct. For non-touch-screen interfaces, you’ll also have to add keyboard support manually to make sure the experience is consistent with native apps.
This article assumes that you have at least a basic understanding of what WAI-ARIA is and how to apply attributes. This article will show you which attributes are appropriate for this particular task. If you do not yet know what WAI-ARIA is or want to refresh your memory, go and read, for example, this introduction.
To get tabs to work right, there are a few roles and attributes we’ll need:
tablist This is the list of tabs itself. It indicates to screen readers that child elements are selectable tabs. It is a container role and allows screen readers to count the number of actual tabs inside. tab An actual tab. This must be a keyboard-focusable item. It must be focusable directly, not one of its children. aria-selected a boolean attribute that indicates whether the current tab (in this case) is the selected one. aria-selected is applicable to other types of items such as option items as well. aria-controls Indicates which element is being controlled by this particular item. We’ll use this to connect a single tab to its actual tab panel. tabpanel A single tab panel. This is similar to a dialog page, it contains various controls. aria-labelledby The attribute to indicate where the tabpanel gets its label, its title, so to speak, from. aria-describedby (optional) The element(s) to provide the descriptive text, for example explanatory dialog text, for this tabpanel. presentation A role used to remove certain intermediate objects from the screen reader’s view, but which make semantically sense to keep in the HTML.
The code without WAI-ARIA
<ul id="tabs"> <li><a id="tab1" href="#" onclick="showTab(1);">Tab 1< /a></li> <li><a id="tab2" href="#" onclick="showTab(2);">Tab 2< /a></li> <li><a id="tab3" href="#" onclick="showTab(3);">Tab 3</a></li> </ul>... <div id="panel1">... </div> <div id="panel2">... </div> <div id="panel3">... </div>
Obviously, you’d add logic to that showTab() function to show and hide the tabs and keep track of which one is currently selected, adjust their styling etc.
Adding proper semantics
As it stands, this would render the tabs as a bunch of links in an unordered list, and the tab panels as mere block containers with controls in them. To now add proper semantics to that, so that screen readers recognize these as tabs, we’ll have to change the same code snippet as follows:
<ul id="tabs" role="tablist"> <li role="presentation"><a id="tab1" href="#" onclick="showTab(1);" role="tab" aria-controls="panel1" aria-selected="true">Tab 1< /a></li> <li role="presentation"><a id="tab2" href="#" onclick="showTab(2);" role="tab" aria-controls="panel2" aria-selected="false">Tab 2< /a></li> <li role="presentation"><a id="tab3" href="#" onclick="showTab(3);" role="tab" aria-controls="panel3" aria-selected="false">Tab 3</a></li> </ul>... <div id="panel1" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="tab1">... </div> <div id="panel2" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="tab2">... </div> <div id="panel3" role="tabpanel" aria-labelledby="tab3">... </div>
The above code snippet does the following:
It adds the role of tablist to the ul element, indicating that the children are tabs. Adds the role presentation to each of the li elements, indicating that the screen reader should ignore the list items themselves. Adds role of tab to each link, re-mapping their roles to the intended screen-reader recognizable element type. Adds aria-selected to each of the tabs. When you switch tabs in your JS code, update these to reflect the new state of each. Only one can be selected at any given time, so the values of two should be false, and only one should be true. Adds aria-controls to each, indicating which panel is referenced by the tab. Adds a role of tabpanel to each of the div containers. Adds aria-labelledby referencing the actual tab’s name given to the a elements by the inner text above as labels for the panels.
What your JavaScript now needs to do is:
Hide the old tab, by styling the panel1, panel2, or panel3 container as display:none;. Do not just move the panels out of the visible view port, as this will not hide them from screen readers! Set the tab1, tab2, or tab3’s aria-selected attribute to false. Make the new panel1, panel2, or panel3 visible. Set the tab1, tab2, or tab3’s aria-selected attribute’s value to true.
The best keyboard interaction model is this:
Left and Right arrow keys should move focus to the new tab, but not yet select it. Space should actually perform the hiding and un-hiding of the tab panels and adjust the aria-selected attributes. This is how Mac OS X applications with multiple tabs usually do it, for example many multi-tab panels in the System Preferences. This makes sure the user can change focus multiple times without each focus change triggering a dynamic update and possibly network traffic. Only an explicit step to select a tab should then actually trigger the change, and traffic. Mouse or touch can trigger both at the same time. Tab should immediately move to the first control within the tab panel. It should skip over the remaining tabs.
Common questions
Why links as tabs? Because they give you focusability for free, without you having to fiddle around with tabindex values. Why list items? Because this is still a list, and only list items are valid children of an ordered or unordered list. 😉 And because this gives you more flexibility in styling. Can I use images instead of text? Yes, provided the images have alt attributes with proper labeling text set. Do refrain from using the title attribute. Why hide the unselected panels via display:none;? Because otherwise, they’d be cluttering up the screen reader user’s view even though they weren’t visible. Screen readers would be able to set focus to items they aren’t supposed to at the moment and could totally mess up your app logic. Moreover, many screen reader actions could produce unpredictable results because simulated clicks could end up at random screen coordinates. In addition, truly hidden panels free up memory, which is especially handsome on low-spec mobile devices.
You can use other structural elements if you wish, provided you set the ARIA roles and attributes as described above, and also remove those elements from the screen reader’s view that are not needed.
When to not use tabs semantics
There are many circumstances where tabs are not the appropriate semantics. For example, if you have a web site, not a web application, that has categories such as “Home”, “Products”, “Support” etc., which may look like tabs, but actually load new pages, then these are not tabs in the intended sense, but should in all cases remain links, because that’s what they are. Bryan Garaventa wrote more about this here.
If it were marked up correctly, the mobile Twitter site would be an ideal candidate for appropriate tabs semantics. Specifically, the “Home”, “Connect”, “Discover”, and “Me” items at the top. They don’t open new pages, but switch a view dynamically instead.Image caption There are frequent clashes at the Israeli border with Gaza
Israeli forces have shot dead two Palestinian gunmen who had entered Israel from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said.
The incident occurred across the border from the southern Gaza Strip.
Hamas security officials confirmed that two men were sent on an operation to attack Israel and clashed with soldiers near the border, AP reports.
Separately, Israeli air force jets bombed parts of Gaza in pre-dawn raids, but no-one was killed or injured.
The Israeli army said the raids were a response to the launching of a Qassam rocket earlier this week.
The rocket fell in the Ashkelon region, south of Tel Aviv, without causing any damage, the army said.
Israel launched a an assault on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip in December 2008, aimed, Israel said, at halting the rocket fire from Palestinian militants in Gaza |
consultation of a second physician.107 In 2010, consultation was performed by a SCEN physician in 80% of euthanasia cases.108 In Belgium, the Life End Information Forum (LEIF) was founded in 2003 to provide consultants to physicians with euthanasia requests.107 A 2009 survey found that 30% of consultations surrounding euthanasia were with LEIF physicians109 and in 52% of consulted cases they helped administer medications.110 In the United States, Compassion and Choices promotes access to assisted suicide by providing free end-of-life consultations to dying patients.111
Emotional Distress
A 2011 survey (n = 1456) among Dutch physicians found that 86% of physicians dread the emotional burden of performing euthanasia.73 Interviews of physicians who have participated in euthanasia and PAS indicate that the decision to go through with a procedure is neither easy nor straightforward.112,113 An Oregon study found that only 11% of hospice nurses (n = 397) rated caregivers of patients receiving PAS as more burdened than caregivers of other hospice patients.114
Slippery Slope
The term “slippery slope” is commonly used when referring to the expansion of intentionally ending the life of patients who did not make an explicit request.
In the first study of practices in the Netherlands (1990; n = 5197), death among 0.8% of patients resulted from “administration of lethal drugs without explicit patient consent.” Subsequently, the number has declined to 0.2% in the 2010 assessment (n = 6861).74 Over the years there has also been a decrease in the use of drugs by a physician with the explicit intention to end the life of severely affected newborns. While this occurred in 1% of all deaths (n = 177)among children younger than 1 year in 2010, this occurred in 9% of all deaths in 1995 (n = 299) and 2001 (n = 233) but in 8% in 2005.115 In a study in Belgium prior to legalization (n = 3999), 3.2% of deaths were by administration of lethal drugs without explicit patient consent, but that figure declined to 1.7% in the 2013 assessment (n = 6188).75
There is much debate concerning performing euthanasia, PAS, or other life-ending procedures on patients with dementia or chronic mental illness, who are minors, who are just “tired of life,” or who are socioeconomically vulnerable.23,116 In Oregon and Washington state these cases would be illegal and there are no data on such cases. A 2011 survey (n = 1456) among Dutch physicians found that only 2% of all requests were from patients with a psychiatric disease, 4% from those with dementia, and 3% from those without a serious physical or psychiatric disease.103 Furthermore it is difficult to study such cases because they are rare and may be underreported. For instance, only 5 cases of euthanasia among minors have been reported in the Netherlands since 2002,21 and only a few euthanasia cases concern patients with neuropsychiatric disorders.
In the United States, the concern that minorities, the disabled, the poor, or other socioeconomically marginalized groups might be pressured to accept PAS does not seem to be borne out.117,118 The demographic profile of patients in the United States who have received these interventions is white, well-educated, and well-insured.
Unresolved Issues Needing Additional Research
Data about the practices of assisted dying are limited. Therefore, collecting reliable data to evaluate end-of-life practices should be prioritized in all countries, and not only in countries legalizing euthanasia or PAS. Only such studies can help determine whether and how symptom management differs between patients requesting euthanasia or PAS and those who do not request these interventions.
In the United States, 3 kinds of current and additional data would be useful: (1) survey studies starting from a random selection of death certificates to determine the true frequency of PAS cases and how unreported cases differ from reported cases; (2) physician surveys to determine rates of requests and performance of euthanasia and PAS; and (3) surveys on complications such as how many patients wake up after ingesting medications prescribed for PAS.
All countries that have legalized euthanasia or PAS, such as Luxembourg, Switzerland, Columbia, and Canada, need to perform the same rigorous studies performed in the Netherlands and Belgium of official reporting data and regularly repeated large-scale death certificate studies. Additionally, the monitoring of the practice of euthanasia might further improve if the official declaration forms would include items such as the most important reasons for the request, possible complications that have arisen, and the familial and social situation of the deceased. Also, there is a need for studies that look at the possible influence on society of legalizing euthanasia or PAS, for example on views on how to care for vulnerable groups or on trust in physicians. International studies that compare trends in these views between countries with and without legalization could shed light on this.
Conclusions
In most developed countries there have been high levels of public support for euthanasia and PAS over the last 30 years but more limited support among physicians. Euthanasia and PAS can be legally practiced in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Colombia, and Canada, and physician-assisted suicide, excluding euthanasia, is legal in 5 US states and Switzerland.
The dominant motivations for requesting PAS include loss of autonomy and dignity, inability to enjoy life and regular activities, and other forms of mental distress. Problems and complications with the performance of euthanasia or PAS occur, but the available data make it difficult to determine the precise rates, although they appear to be more common in PAS than euthanasia. In jurisdictions that have legalized euthanasia or PAS, use of these procedures has increased but alleged slippery-slope cases, such as ending the life of patients who are minors or have dementia, appear to be a very small minority of cases.
Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are increasingly being legalized, remain relatively rare, and primarily involve patients with cancer. Existing data do not indicate widespread abuse of these practices.
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Corresponding Author: Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 423 Guardian Dr, Blockley Hall, 11th and 14th Floors, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4884 (MEHPchair@upenn.edu).
Correction: This article was corrected online on September 27, 2016, to correct a label in a figure.
Author Contributions: Dr Emanuel and Mr Urwin had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.
Study concept and design: Emanuel, Urwin, Cohen.
Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: All authors.
Drafting of the manuscript: Emanuel, Urwin, Cohen.
Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors.
Administrative, technical, or material support: Emanuel.
Study supervision: Emanuel, Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Cohen.
Conflict of Interest Disclosures: All authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest and none were reported.Part 1
Time and again it’s the same. A lone gunman or a small group of killers with rifles commits spectacular crimes that seize the attention of the world.
The list reaches back decades: the killing of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972; the school takeover in Beslan, Russia, in 2004; the attacks in Mumbai, India, in 2008; the mall assault in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2013; the killing of more than 100 people in Paris in 2015; the firing into a country music concert in Las Vegas in October 2017, which killed at least 58 people and wounded hundreds more in the most lethal mass shooting in modern American history; the premeditated Valentine’s Day attack by a former student on a high school in Parkland, Fla.
Often the rifles are variants of the AK-47, the world’s most abundant firearm, an affordable and simple-to-use assault rifle of Soviet lineage that allows a few people to kill scores and menace hundreds, and fight head-to-head against modern soldiers and police forces.
In recent years they have also been descendants of the AR-15, the American military’s response to the Kalashnikov’s spread. Semiautomatic versions of the AR-15 were used by sympathizers of the Islamic State in San Bernardino, Calif., in 2015, and by gunmen in school attacks; a Mini-14 and an MCX, rifles that fire the same cartridge as the AR-15 and compete with it for market share, were used in the mass shootings in Norway in 2011 and in Orlando, Fla., in June.
The authorities said the gunman in Las Vegas used semiautomatic AR-15s, including at least one modified with a so-called “bump stock” to rapidly increase its rate of fire and kill 59 people and wound hundreds more. The FBI said the man who killed 11 worshippers in a synagogue in Pittsburgh fired on them with an AR-15.
In the hands of terrorists, military-style rifles have repeatedly been used for swiftly killing on a large scale. How did the Kalashnikov — a disruptive technology that flooded the world almost three generations ago and still retains an outsize role in organized violence — become such a ready amplifier of evil and rage? In what ways did it drive the AR-15 and its competitors to such prominence, too?
A militant aimed an assault rifle during a siege in which dozens of people were killed at the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2013. ReutersThe tech world has always been long on power and short on thinking about the ramifications of this power. If it can be built, there will always be someone who will build it without contemplating a safer, saner way of doing so, let alone whether the technology should even be built in the first place. The software gets written. Who cares where and how it's used? That's a task for somebody in some corner office.
More troubling: While ethics courses have become a staple of physical-world engineering degrees, they remain a begrudging anomaly in computer science pedagogy. Yet as software takes over more of our life, the ethical ramifications of decisions made by programmers only become greater. Now that our code is in refrigerators, thermostats, smoke alarms, and more, the wrong moves, a lack of foresight, or downright dubious decision-making can haunt humanity everywhere it goes.
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What follows are a few of the ethical quandaries confronting developers every day -- whether they know it or not. There are no easy answers, in some measure because the very nature of the work is so abstract. To make matters worse, business has become so inextricably linked with computer technology that it is difficult to balance the needs and motivations of all invested parties in trying to prevent today's business-case feature from becoming tomorrow's Orwellian nightmare.
The trick is to think past the current zeitgeist and anticipate every future utilization of what you build. Pretty simple, huh? Consider this less of a guidebook for making your decisions and more of a starting point for the kind of ethical contemplation we should be doing as a daily part of our jobs.
Ethical dilemma No. 1: Log files -- what to save and how to handle them
Programmers are like pack rats. They keep records of everything, often because it's the only way to debug a system. But log files also track everything users do, and in the wrong hands, they can expose facts users want kept secret.
Many businesses are built on actively protecting log files. Some remote-backup services even promise to keep additional copies in disparate geographic locations. Not every business aspires to such diligence. Snapchat, for example, built its brand on doing a very bad job of backing up data, but its users are attracted by the freedom of the forgetful system.
The mere existence of log files begs several ethical questions. Are they adequately protected? Who has access? When we say we destroy the files, are they truly destroyed?
The crux is ascertaining what information is worth keeping, given the risks of doing so, ethical or otherwise. Here, the future complicates the equation. In the 1960s, smoking was widely embraced. No one would have thought twice about keeping track of people's smoking habits. Today, however, the knowledge of someone's smoking activity can be used to raise health insurance rates or even deny coverage.
Future business deals; future government regulations; an unforeseen, desperate need for new revenue streams -- it may be impossible to predict what seemingly innocent log file will become problematic in the future, but it is essential to consider the ethics of how you handle the logs along the way.
Ethical dilemma No. 2: Whether -- and how -- to transform users into products
It's a well-worn adage of the startup era: If you're not paying for a service, you're not a customer; you're the product.
On the Internet, "free" services abound. In fact, the question of where the money will come from is often put off, being off putting. We just build the amazingness, keep an eye on the adoption metrics, and figure someone else will take care of the dirty work of keeping the server lights on. Worst case, there are always ads.
Developers need to be upfront about who will support their work and where the money will come from. Any changes should be communicated to users in a clear, timely fashion to avoid shock and blowback. Transforming people into products is an ethical shift not to be taken lightly. Shady ad deals, shady ad networks -- we need to be careful how we handle the implicit trust of early adopters.
Ethical dilemma No. 3: How free does content really want to be?
A number of businesses depend on serving up content without paying those who create it. Some turn around and sell ads or even charge for access. These businesses often couldn't survive and couldn't price their material as attractively if they had to shoulder their fair share of the development costs. They develop elaborate rationalizations about "sharing" or "fair use" to cover up an ethically shaky decision.
Developers must ask themselves how their code will support everyone in the food chain, from creators to consumers. Do the people creating the content want their work to be distributed this way? Are they happy to work for exposure or attention alone? Are they given a fair share of the revenue?
Not considering these questions amounts to turning a blind eye to piracy. After all, not all information just "wants to be free."
Ethical dilemma No. 4: How much protection is enough
Some say that everything should be double-encrypted with two different algorithms and locked in a hard disk that is kept in a safe. Alas, the overhead slows the system to a crawl and makes development 10 times more onerous. To make matters worse, if one bit gets flipped or one part of the algorithm is wrong, the data is all lost because the encryption can't be undone.
Others don't want to lift a finger to protect the data. The next team can add special encryption later if it's necessary, the developers might say. Or they might argue that there's nothing sensitive about it. Teams that ignore these responsibilities are usually able to generate plenty of other code and create piles of wonderful features that people crave. Who cares if they're secure?
There's no simple answer to how much protection to apply. There are only guesses. More is always better -- until the data is lost or the product doesn't ship.
Ethical dilemma No. 5: To bug-fix or not to bug-fix?
It's hard enough to negotiate the ethical shoals when they involve active decisions, but it's even harder when the problem can be pushed aside and labeled a bug that will be fixed eventually. How hard should we work to fix the problems that somehow slipped into running code? Do we drop everything? How do we decide whether a bug is serious enough to be fixed?
Isaac Asimov confronted this issue long ago when he wrote his laws of robotics and inserted one that forbid a robot from doing nothing if a human would be harmed through the robot's inaction. Of course his robots had positronic brains that could see all the facets of a problem instantly and solve them. The questions for developers are so complicated that many bugs go ignored and unfixed because no one wants to even think about them.
Can a company prioritize the list fairly? Are some customers more important than others? Can a programmer play favorites by choosing one bug over another? This is even more difficult to contemplate when you realize that it's hard to anticipate how much harm will come from any given bug.
Ethical dilemma No. 6: How much to code -- or compromise -- to prevent misuse
The original Apple Web camera came with a clever mechanical extra, a physical shutter that blocked the lens when it was off. The shutter and the switch were linked together; there was no way to use the camera without opening the shutter yourself.
Some of the newer webcams come with an LED that's supposed to be illuminated when the camera is activated. It usually works, but anyone who has programmed a computer knows there may be a place in the code where the camera and the LED can be decoupled. If that can be found, the camera can be turned into a spying device.
The challenge for the engineer is anticipating misuse and designing to prevent it. The Apple shutter is one of the obvious and effective examples of how it can be done elegantly. When I was working on a book about cheating on the SAT, I met one hacker who was adding networking software to his calculator. After some deliberation, he decided to only support wired protocols because he was afraid kids would sneak a calculator with Wi-Fi into an exam. By supporting only wired protocols, he ensured that anyone in a test would need to run a wire to their neighbor's machine. He hated skipping the wireless protocols, but he felt the risk of abuse was too high.
Ethical dilemma No. 7: How far to defend customers against data requests
If you collect data, it's a safe bet that your organization will someday be caught between serving your customers and serving the government. Requests to deliver data to legal entities are becoming increasingly common, leaving more and more software and services organizations to contemplate to what extent they will betray their customers' privacy before the law. You can scrutinize these requests and even hire your own lawyers to contest whether they are truly lawful, but the reality is that the courts will be debating legalities long after your funding runs out.
There are no easy solutions. Some companies are choosing to leave the business rather than lie to their customers. Others are trying to be more open about requests, which the government often tries to forbid.
Ethical dilemma No. 8: How to deal with the international nature of the Internet
The Internet runs everywhere, avoiding many of the traditional barriers at the borders. This can be a recipe for legal headaches when customers A and B are in different countries. That's only the beginning, because servers C and D are often in entirely different countries as well.
This leads to obvious ethical issues. Europe, for instance, has strict laws about retaining personal information and views privacy breaches as ethical failures. Other countries insist on companies keeping copious records on dealings. Whose laws should a company follow when customers are in different countries? When data is in different counties? When data is transferred across international lines?
Keeping up with every legal contingency can be Herculean, leaving many organizations surely tempted to bury their heads in the sand.
Ethical dilemma No. 9: How much to give back to open source
Everyone knows that open source is free. You don't pay anything and that's what makes it so wonderful and complex. But not everyone contemplates the ethical issues that come with using that free code. All of the open source packages come with licenses and you need to follow them.
Some of the licenses don't require much sacrifice. Licenses like the Apache License or the MIT License require acknowledgement and that's about it. But other licenses, such as the GNU General Public License, ask you to share all your enhancements.
Parsing open sources licenses can present ethical challenges. One manager from a big public company told me, "We don't distribute MySQL, so we don't owe anyone anything." He was keying on the clause, written decades ago, that tied the license's obligations to the act of redistributing software. The company used MySQL for its Web apps, so he felt it could take without giving back.
There are no simple ways to measure the ethical obligations, and many programmers have wasted many keystrokes arguing about what they mean. Still, the entire endeavor will grind to a halt if people stop giving. The good news is that it's often in everyone's best interest to contribute because everyone wants the software to remain compatible with their use of it.
Ethical dilemma No. 10: How much monitoring is really warranted
Maybe your boss wants to make sure the customers aren't ripping off the company. Maybe you want to make sure you get paid for your work. Maybe some spooky guy from the government says you must install a backdoor to catch bad guys. In every case, the argument is filled with assurances that the backdoor will only be used, like Superman's powers, to support truth and justice. It won't be used against political enemies or the less fortunate. It won't be sold to despotic regimes.
But what if the bad guys discover the hidden door and figure out how to use it themselves? What if your backdoor is used to support untruths and injustices? Your code can't make ethical decisions on its own. That's your job.
Ethical dilemma No. 11: How bulletproof should code really be
Sure, the minimal calculation, simple data structure, and brute-force approach works well in demo when the problems are small. The users try out the code and say, "Gosh this works quickly." Several months later, when enough data has been loaded into the system, the cheap algorithm's weaknesses appear and the code slows to a crawl.[Excerpt from the new book by Greg Mitchell, So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits and the President Failed on Iraq (Union Square Press).]
On March 6, 2003, less than two weeks before he ordered the country to war, President Bush conducted a televised press conference, stating in his intro, “We will not wait to see what terrorists or terrorist states could do with weapons of mass destruction.”
Some of the questions from the press were sharp, many others weak, but one asking about his religious strength gave him an opportunity to say, “My faith sustains me because I pray daily. I pray for guidance and wisdom and strength. But it’s a humbling experience to think that people I will never have met have lifted me and my family up in prayer. And for that I’m grateful.”
It was the mood of the affair that was most noteworthy. Bush smiled and made his usual quips, and many of the reporters played the game and did not press him hard. This was how these press gatherings had gone throughout the run-up to war. But this meeting was heavily scripted, with Bush looking at a slip of paper and calling on reporters in a prearranged order. No one challenged him on this.
When it was over, I asked Ari Berman, then an intern with Editor & Publisher and now a talented veteran at The Nation, to come up with a few questions we wished reporters had asked that night. I added a few myself, and published them, under the heading, “Questions We Wish They’d Asked.”
Some of reporters at the press conference appeared to have some second thoughts themselves. ABC’s Terry Moran said the president was not “sufficiently challenged” and that reporters ended up “looking like zombies.”
Elisabeth Bumiller of the New York Times explained, “We were very deferential” because “it’s very intense, it’s frightening to stand up there on primetime live television asking the president of the United States a question when the country’s about to go to war.” She admitted that “no one wanted to get into an argument with the president at this very serious time.”
Here are most of the unasked questions that Berman and I put together then:
Why is the U.S. threatening an optional war if 59 percent of Americans do not support a U.S. invasion without the approval of the UN Security Council, according to a Feb. 24-26 USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll?
If our allies have the same information on WMD and the Iraqi threat is so real why do some of our friends refuse to take part in your coalition?
You praise the Iraqi people, say we have no quarrel with them, pledge to save them from the dictator and give them democracy. Would you tell us how many of them are likely to die in this war?
You say one major reason for taking this action is to protect Americans from terrorism. How do you respond to the warnings of CIA Director George Tenet and others that invading Iraq would in fact likely increase terrorism?
Rather than make us wait for a supplemental budget request after the war has been launched to tell us what it (and its aftermath) will cost, don’t you think the American people, who will pay the bill, deserve to know the latest long-term estimates before the fact?
You say Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction and is evil enough to use them. If not during an American invasion of his country, then when? How many deaths on our side do you expect?
Why, if North Korea has the capability to produce six nuclear warheads by mid-summer, are you letting their very reluctant neighbors take the lead in deterring them while demanding that the U.S. take charge in confronting Saddam?
With the economy shaken and deficits climbing, how do you respond to critics who say you’re ignoring domestic issues and the long-term economic security of this country by focusing so much of your time and resources on Iraq?
Why did the U.S. edit the 12,000-page Iraqi weapons report (as recently revealed) to the UN Security Council, removing all names of U.S. companies that sold weapons materials to the Iraqis in the past?
You claimed tonight that Iraq has started producing new missiles but are these nothing more than less capable versions (fully permitted by the UN) of the missiles being destroyed now?
How do you respond to radio commentator Daniel Schorr’s statement that the “coalition of the willing” is actually a “coalition of the billing”?
Read more by Greg MitchellBloody Elbow has learned that yet another antitrust complaint has been filed against the UFC in the Northern California District Court, this time with former UFC fighters Kyle Kingsbury and Darren Uyenoyama named as the plaintiffs. This brings the total number of complaints filed against the UFC to five with eleven named plaintiffs asking to be class representatives in a class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which was filed on March 20, 2015, claims that "Through a series of anticompetitive, illicit and exclusionary acts, the UFC has illegally acquired, enhanced and maintained dominant position in the markets" for MMA events and fighters.
Kyle Kingsbury made his UFC debut against Tom Lawlor at The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 Finale, after having been a contestant on the reality show. He would have 8 more fights in the promotion, 4 wins and 5 loses, before retiring after a loss to Patrick Cummings on the July 26, 2014 UFC on Fox event.
Darren Uyenoyama fought four times in the UFC, debuting on the prelims of the first FOX event, where he defeated Norifumi Yamamoto. Uyenoyama would win his next bout before losing two in a row and being released.
Worth noting, as the UFC tries to have the venue moved from San Jose, California to Las Vegas, Nevada, is that Uyenoyama is a resident of San Francisco and Kingsbury is a resident of Sunnyvale, California, which is located in the Bay Area
The previously filed complaints, Le et al v. Zuffa, LLC, Vazquez et al v. Zuffa, LLC, Vera et al v. Zuffa, LLC. and Ruediger et al v. Zuffa, LLC named Cung Le, Jon Fitch, Nathan Quarry. Luis Javier Vazquez, Dennis Lloyd Hallman, Brandon Vera, Pablo Garza, Gabe Ruediger, and Mac Danzig as the plaintiffs. Counsel for the plaintiffs have filed a motion to consolidate these complaints and a hearing has been scheduled for June 11. The new case name would be "In Re: Ultimate Fighting Championship Antitrust Litigation."Hiding in Plain Sight
For almost a decade, Osama Bin Laden eluded escape, despite a $25 million bounty on his head. That ended in May 2011, when two American helicopters touched down outside a walled compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. American soldiers stormed Bin Laden’s safehouse, shooting and killing him. Bin Laden’s death raised more questions than it answered. The most glaring question: did the Pakistani government realize that Bin Laden was hiding under their noses?
The Rootclaim analysis of this question looked at extensive evidence. This included information reported about the Bin Laden compound, leaked communications, US behavior following the raid, statements by Pakistani leaders, and the findings of the Abbottabad Commission Report.
Starting Point
It is estimated as most likely that the government wouldn’t have known that Bin Laden was there. There have been cases of governments being aware of fugitives and opting not to pursue them. However, such cases are rare. Moreover, they have never involved anyone as high profile as Bin Laden. There have also been many accusations about the ISI allowing militant groups to remain active in Pakistan and neighboring areas. Therefore, it’s more likely that only the ISI, Pakistan’s most well-resourced intelligence unit, would have known about Bin Laden’s presence. It is least likely that the central government would have known.
Examining the Evidence
However, the hypothesis that the government of Pakistan was unaware of Bin Laden’s presence is more difficult to reconcile with the actual evidence. For example, Bin Laden’s location–close to a military academy, in a major city, is far less likely under the hypothesis that the government was not complicit. Moreover, a number of key figures, including the former head of the ISI, made incriminating statements years later, once leaving their official positions.
Addressing all the Questions
Often, analyzing one question requires addressing several others. In this case, examining the question of whether the government of Pakistan knew about Bin Laden’s presence leads to the question of whether the US suspected the government of Pakistan of complicity.
In order to account for the evidence, under all hypotheses it is assumed that the US suspected Pakistan’s complicity. Of course this assumption is more likely under the hypothesis that Pakistan did in fact know of Bin Laden’s presence. This assumption in turn makes some of the evidence, such as US behavior following the raid, more likely.
Sub-analysis
A second question is also raised: did the US inform Pakistan before undertaking the raid? In this case, a sub-analysis examines related evidence. Factoring in an additional twelve pieces of evidence, Rootclaim concludes that it is likely that Pakistan was informed of the raid in advance (despite the US suspecting Pakistan’s complicity in Ban Laden’s taking up residence in Abbottabad).
The Evidence Outweighs the Prior
After considering all of the evidence, the Rootclaim analysis finds it 84% likely that Pakistani intelligence was aware of Bin Laden’s location and less than 9% likely that the government was totally unaware. This ordering is the reverse of the initial likelihoods. This is because of the cumulative effect of many pieces of evidence, and the assumption that the US suspected Pakistan of complicity. This assumption is far more likely if the Pakistani government actually knew that he was there.You’re looking at one of the best-kept secrets of the year, the 2015 Dodge Challenger SXT. Nobody is paying any attention to this car, what with the arrival of the redesigned Ford Mustang, the continued popularity of the Chevy Camaro, and the new 707-horsepower Dodge Challenger Hellcat painting dark, smoking, black rubber lines across America’s pavement. That’s too bad, because though it might not look like it, Dodge has thoroughly updated and upgraded the 2015 Challenger.
Among the combatants in the so-called pony-car wars, the Dodge has been my favorite as of late, and for a long list of reasons, including the fact that it serves a family better than its competition. Should that even be a factor when selecting a car like this? Unless you’re buying one as a third set of wheels, then the answer for any parent raising children is yes. Honestly, my wife and I could put our two girls in the Challenger’s back seat, pack the 16.2 cu.-ft. trunk full of luggage, and set off on a cross-country trip in this car, the only compromise being the lack of separate rear doors.
There’s no way a family could pull something like that off with a Camaro or a Mustang.
The Challenger's electric steering definitely feels improved, though part of this could be down to the fact that V-6-powered models carry less weight in the nose. (Christian Wardlaw)
Even if you haven’t produced any offspring, or they’ve already left home for a life of their own, the Challenger is an appealing choice. With the arrival of the redesigned Mustang, the Dodge is now the most faithfully retro of its closest competitors, an approach reaffirmed by new styling tweaks that are intended to emulate the 1971 Challenger.
At the same time, this latest rendition is thoroughly modern inside, recipient of the most sophisticated infotainment system that Dodge offers. The company’s top-shelf Uconnect technology features an 8.4-inch color touchscreen with crisp graphics, big virtual buttons, and intuitive navigation. Better yet, it can be upgraded to serve as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, and the Uconnect Access Via Mobile feature allows the driver to use popular smartphone applications right from the in-dash display screen. Unfortunately, the system’s Voice Text Reply functionality does not work with an iPhone, an oversight that is really difficult to understand.
At a glance, most people would be hard pressed to tell the base Challenger from its Hemi-powered and tire-smoking big brothers. (Christian Wardlaw) The rear light bar is gone, replaced by split rear tail-lamps. The design is meant to conjure up images of the 1971 Challenger. (Christian Wardlaw)
Uconnect is nestled into a dashboard that appropriately retains some of its old-school look and feel, most obvious in the new “Tic-Toc-Tach” gauges, hill-sill center console design, and available Houndstooth cloth seats. Beneath this surface layer of early 1970s style, though, the 2015 Challenger is as modern as anything designed by Frank Gehry.
Starting under the Challenger SXT’s hood, a 3.6-liter V-6 engine generates 305 horsepower at 6,350 rpm and 268 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,800 rpm. While those figures certainly pale in comparison to the V-8 engines offered in most Challengers, they’re right in line with what Chevy and Ford supply in the Camaro and Mustang. Plus, the Challenger’s V-6 features a cold-air induction system and dual exhausts from the headers all the way back to ensure that 90 percent of peak torque is on tap from 1,800 rpm to 6,400 rpm, similar to a turbocharged engine.
The new Dodge Challenger features a large Uconnect touch-screen in the center of the dash. The red and black leather in our test car was also a slick touch. (Christian Wardlaw) Could the Challenger serve as an everyday car, one that is even suitable for a (small) family. Believe it or, the answer is yes! Cabin room and luggage space is much better than you think. (Christian Wardlaw)
For 2015, the V-6 is bolted to a new 8-speed automatic transmission with an electronic shifter, bumping the EPA fuel economy rating from 21 mpg in combined driving to 23 mpg. When you want livelier performance, a Sport mode adjusts shift points and a set of paddle shifters gives the driver manual control.
Additional high-tech changes for this year’s Challenger include standard Keyless Enter ‘N Go with push-button engine starting, a customizable 7-inch Thin Film Transistor (TFT) screen tucked between the gauges, and new safety features including 9-1-1 Assist, adaptive cruise control with forward collision warning, and a blind spot warning and rear cross-path detection system. What this car really needed, though, was a reversing camera, and it’s available for 2015.
The 3.6-liter V-6 delivers 305-horsepower at 6,350 rpm and 268 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,800 rpm. That's about what V-8-powered muscle cars offered roughly a decade ago. (Christian Wardlaw)
After Dodge tossed me the keys to a Challenger SXT Plus dipped in Ivory White Tricoat Pearl paint, equipped with a Ruby Red over Black leather interior, and wearing a price tag of $34,675, I definitely appreciated the big Uconnect screen and the reversing camera. It didn’t take long for the Challenger’s mechanical updates to demonstrate a clear dynamic benefit over last year’s model, either.
Granted, I’ve never driven a Challenger with a V-6 engine before. Also, my time behind the wheel was short, about an hour spent on the mountain and coastal roads around Malibu, Calif. Nevertheless, this car impressed me as a compelling alternative not only to a Camaro or Mustang but also to V-8 versions of the Challenger that cost more to buy, own, and maintain.
Performance is quick and the V-6 makes a decent exhaust noise - but yes, any Challenger with a V-8 is faster and sounds better. We'll admit it. (Christian Wardlaw)
Right up front, I’ll say that the best word to describe acceleration is quick. This isn’t a fast car, but it does get up to speed in a fairly short amount of time. What I missed more than momentum was the rumble associated with one of the V-8 engines. The V-6 sounds good, but its note when revved is akin to listening to a cover of a favorite song – it just isn’t as enjoyable.
Where I most noticed the most improvement had to do with the steering, the ride, and the handling. Dodge has done |
and that "just because it happened on the internet," those behind the bullying shouldn't expect to be above those laws. Good points, but they're points Cameron's ignoring. Therelaws in place against this behavior, but those have to be deployed against the offending users, something Cameron talks about, but doesn't seem very inclined to actually pursue.Attacking the nameplate out front is easy and usually results in some very visible, if skin deep, changes by the entities being attacked. And why not? The attack itself is only skin deep. It's easier than dealing with the underlying issues or asking people to take personal responsibility for themselves or their children. It's also easier than explaining to someone post-tragedy that terrible people inhabit the world and it's impossible to prevent all of them from ever harming others.This is Cameron hanging the web in effigy, nothing more. Any perceived effects will only last until the crowd wanders away.
Filed Under: david cameron, free speech, liability, secondary liability, suicide, ukDenis Godbout tugs on the brass knob of the bell, slides the black-handled throttle into position and releases the brake. Amid loud hissing and clanging, the hulking green locomotive begins its slow rumble out of Uxbridge along the 140-year-old rail line that once carried grain to William Gooderham’s distillery in Toronto.
All the tasks and responsibilities of maintaining and operating Uxbridge's heritage railway are done by volunteers. Thomas Muir, a forklift operator by day, helps manoeuvre the gas car onto the tracks for the weekly inspection, which includes clearing sand and muck from the road crossing at a gravel pit. ( Carola Vyhnak / Toronto Star ) Uxbridge's train station, built in 1904, is the starting point of the 20-kilometre run to Stouffville on board the GTA's heritage train, operated solely by volunteers. A 1950s diesel locomotive pulls the train along the railway that was re-opened in 1996 after being closed 10 years earlier. ( Carola Vyhnak / Toronto Star )
This isn’t Godbout’s day job, it’s his unpaid passion. After working weekdays as a financial analyst for a large hospital, the Mississauga resident heads for the hills of the Oak Ridges Moraine — at the controls of a 1950s diesel engine. Godbout is one of 20 volunteers who operate the York-Durham Heritage Railway, which takes tourists on scenic, 20-kilometre rides between Uxbridge and Stouffville. “Most of us don’t have a railway background. It’s a labour of love,” says Godbout, who’s also president of the non-profit railway association.
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Bitten by the bug as a young lad, he worked his way up to his dream of driving a train after joining the heritage railway 10 years ago. “It’s not much to look at, but it runs surprisingly well,” he says of the locomotive he’s piloting with the “second eyes” of engineer’s assistant James Clark. The railway, which reopened the line in 1996 after Canadian National closed it 10 years earlier, owns a variety of rolling stock, including a refurbished 1919 Pullman coach and fire-engine red caboose. “We always need volunteers,” says administrative coordinator Rose Powell, who got involved through her “train nut” husband, Brad. “I don’t know anything about trains, but I like to paint.” Her latest task was the exterior of a 1926 coach. Initially taught by CN professionals years ago, crew members now train each other. Anthony Thompson, a computer programmer/systems analyst by day, has become something of a track jack-of-all-trades during off-hours.
“It’s different and it’s interesting, and it’s part of our heritage,” explains Thompson, who serves as conductor and board member when he’s not tending to crew scheduling and operations. A well-oiled human machine keeps things on track before weekend passengers climb on board. On Friday nights, a two-man crew hauls out a gas-powered rail car to inspect the route, test crossing signals and check for damaged parts.
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“It’s a never-ending story,” says Robbie Robertson, a retired heavy truck mechanic who spends two or three days a week on maintenance and repairs. “Everything around here needs TLC.” Thomas Muir, who works as a forklift operator in Scarborough, didn’t know much about trains before he joined the railway two years ago. “They go ‘toot, ding, ding,’” he offers. But by logging 15 to 20 hours a week with the heritage railway, he’s hoping to join a “real-life version” later. “It’s a great way to learn things you didn’t learn in school,” says Muir, who now knows how to start a locomotive. They don’t call it “training” for nothing. PHOTO GALLERY: Riding the heritage railwayGet the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
METROLINK has been forced to cover up a poster on a tram platform reading: "Take a running jump from here".
The poster, advertising Playstation, was spotted by a railway worker and Metrolink was ordered to take it down for fear it could encourage people to leap on to the line.
Metrolink says the poster was the responsibility of JC Decaux, which is in charge of billboards at the station, and they were told to cover it up as soon it was realised what it said.
The poster, on the platform in the underground station at Piccadilly, was covered over with tape and was due to be taken down today.
A spokesman for Network Rail, which runs Piccadilly station but not the Metrolink platform, said: "An employee spotted it and said it was a bit inappropriate.
Safety
"The message goes completely against all our safety messages, particularly because Playstation is aimed at youngsters and we are constantly telling them not to trespass.
"We don't have this poster anywhere in the station itself because we are very careful about the safety messages we put out and wouldn't want anything to contradict that."
There have been several incidents where people have been hit by Metrolink trams in recent months.
Most recently, a 60-year-old woman needed hospital treatment after being hit by a tram in Piccadilly Gardens.
A spokesman for Metrolink said: "As soon as we were told about this we contacted JC Decaux. We told them the message was inappropriate for that location and they covered it up very quickly."
A spokesman for JC Decaux said: "We leave it to Metrolink and the Advertising Standards Agency to decide whether something is appropriate, that isn't our role."
Sony, which makes Playstation, said they did not want to comment.MADAYA, Syria (Reuters) - An aid convoy entered a besieged Syrian town on Monday where thousands have been trapped without supplies for months and people are reported to have died of starvation.
Residents, who say they have received permission from the Syrian government to leave the besieged town, walk past Syrian Army soldiers as they depart after an aid convoy entered Madaya, Syria January 11, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki
Trucks carrying food and medical supplies reached Madaya near the Lebanese border and began to distribute aid as part of an agreement between warring sides, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
“Offloading of aid expected to last throughout night,” ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek tweeted.
Dozens are said to have died in the town from starvation or a lack of medical care and activists say some inhabitants have been reduced to eating leaves. Images said to be of emaciated residents have appeared widely on social media.
At the same time, another convoy began entering two Shi’ite villages, al Foua and Kefraya in the northwestern province of Idlib 300 km (200 miles) away. Rebel fighters in military fatigues and with scarves covering their faces inspected the aid vehicles in the rain before they entered.
Madaya is besieged by pro-Syrian government forces, while the two villages in Idlib province are encircled by rebels fighting the Syrian government.
A Damascus-based U.N. official who entered Madaya and oversaw the entry of the convoy of 44 trucks gave an eyewitness account of the plight of people in the rebel-held town of around 40,000 people.
“We have seen with our own eyes severely malnourished children... so there is starvation, and I am sure the same is true on the other side in Foua and Kefraya,” Yacoub El Hillo, U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, told Reuters by phone from Madaya.
Women cried out with relief as the first four trucks, carrying the banner of the Syrian Red Crescent crossed into Madaya after sunset, with civilians waiting on the outskirts of the town as the temperature dropped and it began to get dark.
The full aid operation was expected to last several days, the ICRC said.
Images said to be from Madaya and showing skeletal men with protruding ribcages were published by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors the war, while an emaciated baby in a nappy with bulging eyes was shown in other posts.
Dr Mohammed Yousef, who heads a local medical team, said 67 people had died either of starvation or lack of medical aid in the last two months, mostly women, children and the elderly.
“Look at the grotesque starve-or-surrender tactics the Syrian regime is using right now against its own people. Look at the haunting pictures of civilians, including children - even babies - in Madaya, Syria,” Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, said on Monday.
“There are hundreds of thousands of people being deliberately besieged, deliberately starved, right now. And these images, they remind us of World War Two; they shock the conscience. This is what this institution was designed to prevent.”
The United Nations said last Thursday the Syrian government had agreed to allow access to the town. The world body is planning to convene peace talks on Jan. 25 in Geneva in an effort to end nearly five years of civil war that have killed more than a quarter of a million people.
But Syrian opposition coordinator Riad Hijab accused Russia of killing dozens of children in a bombing raid on Monday and said such action meant the opposition could not negotiate with President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
There was no immediate comment from Russia, which denies any targeting of civilians in the conflict.
WATER AND SALT
Madaya residents on the outskirts of the town said they wanted to leave. There was widespread hunger and prices of basic foods such as rice had soared, with some people living off water and salt, they said.
One opposition activist has said people were eating leaves and plants.
The blockade of Madaya has become a focal issue for Syrian opposition leaders, who told a U.N. envoy last week they would not take part in the proposed talks with the government until it and other sieges were lifted.
The siege began six months ago when the Syrian army and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, started a campaign to reestablish Assad’s control over areas along the Syrian-Lebanese border.
Hezbollah responded to accusations it was starving people in Madaya by denying there had been any deaths in the town, and accusing rebel leaders of preventing people from leaving.
SIEGE WARFARE
Blockades have been a common feature of the civil war. Government forces have besieged rebel-held areas near Damascus for several years and more recently rebel groups have blockaded loyalist areas including al Foua and Kefraya.
Aid agencies welcomed Monday’s deliveries but called for regular access to besieged areas.
“Only a complete end to the six-month old siege and guarantees for sustained aid deliveries alongside humanitarian services will alleviate the crisis in these areas,” a joint statement from several international agencies said.
The areas included in the latest agreement were all part of a local ceasefire deal agreed in September, but implementation has been difficult, with some fighting around Madaya despite the truce.
Each side is looking to exert pressure on the other by restricting entry of humanitarian aid, or evacuations, in their areas of control, the Observatory says.
The last aid delivery to Madaya, which took place in October, was synchronized with a similar delivery to the two other villages.
Aid agencies have warned of widespread starvation in Madaya, where 40,000 people are at risk.
Hezbollah has said rebels in the town had taken control of aid, which they were selling to those who could buy. The people of Madaya were being exploited in a propaganda campaign, it said.
Syria’s National Reconciliation Minister Ali Haidar said on Sunday that rebels had “disrupted” the entry of food supplies.
“They wanted to escalate it as a humanitarian issue ahead of the Geneva talks,” he told Al Manar TV.
A U.N. commission of inquiry has said siege warfare has been used “in a ruthlessly coordinated and planned manner” in Syria, with the aim of “forcing a population, collectively, to surrender or suffer starvation.”
One siege is by the Islamic State group, on government-held areas of the city of Deir al-Zor.
Slideshow (12 Images)
A U.N. Security Council on Dec. 18 set out a road map for peace talks calls on the parties to allow aid agencies unhindered access throughout Syria, particularly in besieged and hard-to-reach areas.
A newly formed opposition council set up to oversee negotiations has told U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura that this must happen before the talks he plans to hold on Jan. 25.
They also told him that before negotiations, Assad’s government, which has military support from Russia and Iran, must halt the bombardment of civilian areas and barrel bombing, and release detainees in line with the resolution.Smoking is a major risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The health risk associated with smoking can be exaggerated by obesity. We hypothesize that nicotine when combined with a high-fat diet (HFD) can also cause ectopic lipid accumulation in skeletal muscle, similar to recently observed hepatic steatosis. Adult C57BL6 male mice were fed a normal chow diet or HFD and received twice-daily ip injections of nicotine (0.75 mg/kg body weight) or saline for 10 weeks. Transmission electron microscopy of the gastrocnemius muscle revealed substantial intramyocellular lipid accumulation in close association with intramyofibrillar mitochondria along with intramyofibrillar mitochondrial swelling and vacuolization in nicotine-treated mice on an HFD compared with mice on an HFD treated with saline. These abnormalities were reversed by acipimox, an inhibitor of lipolysis. Mechanistically, the detrimental effect of nicotine plus HFD on skeletal muscle was associated with significantly increased oxidative stress, plasma free fatty acid, and muscle triglyceride levels coupled with inactivation of AMP-activated protein kinase and activation of its downstream target, acetyl-coenzyme A-carboxylase. We conclude that 1) greater oxidative stress together with inactivation of AMP-activated protein kinase mediates the effect of nicotine on skeletal muscle abnormalities in diet-induced obesity and 2) adipose tissue lipolysis is an important contributor of muscle steatosis and mitochondrial abnormalities.Samir es-Sabhan, Saudi Arabia’s minister responsible for relationships with the Gulf countries, and Brett McGurk, an American diplomat, visited Raqqa
Following the failure of jihadists, Saudi Arabia, the greatest sponsor of the jihadist groups in Syria, has been trying to promote relations with Rojava, currently governed by the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing People’s Protection Units (YPG), which have made statements against Iran for a while now.
Lastly, Saudi Arabia’s minister Samir es-Sabhan responsible for the relations of Saudi-Gulf countries has gone to YPG-controlled Raqqa along with Brett McGurk, the U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy for anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition.
It is said that the Saudi minister met the members of the PYD-led 'Raqqa Civil Council' to discuss the reconstruction of almost destroyed Raqqa due to the U.S. bombardments.
ANTI-IRAN AXIS
Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden criticised Saudi Arabia, sponsoring the jihadist groups in Syria, as well as Turkey and Qatar for supporting the IS.
Saudi Arabia has been on the same page with Israel as to the claim that 'Iran has expansionist purposes in the region'. Accordingly, Riyadh occasionally expresses its argument that "a Kurdish state must be founded in the region so as to prevent the Shiite expansionism".
Having met Israeli diplomat Dore Gold in 2015, Saudi Arabia's King Salman's counsellor Anwar Majid Ishqi argued that an independent Kurdish state should be established in order to prevent Iran's expansionism.
The first close contact of Saudi Arabia with YPG came when Riyadh's man Ahmad Jarba's armed group participated the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Synchronically, anti-Iran statements came from the authorities of YPG and PYD. Initially, İlham Amed from PYD interviewed with Saudi Al Riyadh newspaper in June, setting forth that they were ready for cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
Talking to Saudi Okaz newspaper, the head of the Kurdish security police (known as Asayish) in northeast Syria, Ciwan İbrahim said, "Iran's project is more dangerous than the IS," adding that the Kurds in Iran were also preparing for a revolution.
"We have no relation with Iran. Its approach to the Kurdish question is no different than that of the Syrian regime," former PYD co-chair Salih Muslim told Al Riyadh. Indicating to Jarba's tribe, Muslim added, "the tribes having a kinship with Saudi Arabia are involved in their administration, which is why they are proud."
Saudi minister Sabhan was the ambassador to Iraq prior to his current position assigned by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman in 2016. Assigned in 2015 as Saudi Arabia’s first ambassador to Iraq after a quarter century, Sabhan became the target of harsh response when he criticised the Iraqi administration for establishing an armed group with sectarian motives.
Following his sectarian views on Twitter, Baghdad requested Saudi Arabia to assign another envoy to Iraq in the place of Sabhan.So what does Charles Barkley think about the Miami Heat dipping back into the NBA Draft lottery after spending the previous four seasons in the NBA Finals? That this slip and fall from the free-agency loss of LeBron James could take a while to recover from.
Unlike others who see a full season with Goran Dragic (if he re-signs) and Hassan Whiteside, along with the expected returns of Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts, reactivating the Heat, Barkley said on a Thursday conference call in advance of the start of the playoffs that he's not sold on a team that likely will continue to try to feature an aging Dwyane Wade.
"They won't be a top-four team in the Eastern Conference next year," Barkley said. "You don't go from out of the playoffs to being in the top four, unless they can get LeBron to move back there.
"They need some more building blocks, even if they re-sign Goran Dragic."
TNT analyst Kenny Smith, who also was featured on the conference call, was not quite as critical in his analysis of the Heat potentially recovering from their first playoff absence in seven seasons.
Goran Dragic will consider free-agency options, but speaks highly of Heat. Goran Dragic will consider free-agency options, but speaks highly of Heat. SEE MORE VIDEOS
"They definitely would have been a playoff team if Chris Bosh was playing, probably around the sixth seed," Smith said.
iwinderman@tribpub.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat or facebook.com/ira.windermanMoses Maimonides’ Regimen of Health was written in 1198 for the Egyptian sultan Afdal Nur al-Din Ali who suffered from attacks of depression accompanied by physical symptoms. Maimonides teaches that physical convalescence is dependent on psychological well-being and rest.
“... It is known to our sovereign, may God prolong his days, that the passions of the soul greatly alter the body in ways obvious to any observer. Consider a man with a powerful build, booming voice, and radiant face. If he were suddenly to receive news which greatly saddened him, in that instant you would see his complexion become pale, the radiance of his face fade, his bearing slacken, and his voice drop. Even if he were to struggle to raise his voice, he would not be able to. His strength would wane, he might tremble because of weakness, his pulse would diminish, his eyes would become hollow, his lids would become too heavy to move, his skin would turn cold, and his appetite would subside. The cause of all of these effects would be the natural heat and the blood withdrawing deeper into the body.
Conversely, consider an individual with a weak body, pale complexion, and feeble voice. If he were notified about something which greatly delighted him, you would see his body become strong, his voice rise, his face brighten, his movements quicken, his pulse increase, his skin warm up, and joy and delight become so apparent that he would not be able to conceal them. The cause of all of these effects would be the movement of the natural heat and the blood toward the surface of the body.
The characteristics of the fearful, anxious person and of the confident, relaxed person are known; similarly, the characteristics of the vanquished and of the victorious are obvious. Whoever is vanquished can hardly see anythings because his visual spirit is diminished and dissipated. However, the vision of the victorious person increases in such a massive way that the light of the atmosphere appears to have increased and grown. This is so obvious that it is not necessary to dwell on it.
For this reason physicians have recommended constant concern for, and awareness about, the soul’s movements, as well as concern for putting them into equilibrium at the time of health and sickness-giving no other treatment precedence in any way. The physician should desire that every sick person and every healthy person be constantly cheerful and relieved of the passions of the soul causing depression. In this way the health of the healthy will endure. This is foremost in curing every sick person, especially those whose sickness pertains to the soul-like those with hypochondria and morbid melancholia. Indeed, concern about the soul’s movements ought to be strongest for these people, as well as for anyone overwhelmed by worry, obsessive thoughts, apprehension about things not such as to produce apprehension, or anyone who is only slightly cheerful about cheerful things. For all of these people, the skillful physician should place nothing ahead of improving the condition of their souls by removing these passions.
However, insofar as he is a physician, the physician ought not to expect his art to provide knowledge of how to remove these passions. Indeed, this understanding is acquired from practical philosophy and from the admonitions and disciplines of the Law. For just as the philosophers have composed books about the various sciences, so too have they composed many books about improving moral habits and disciplining the soul to acquire the moral virtues so that only good actions stem from it.
They warn against the moral imperfections and teach every man who finds one of these moral habits in his soul the way to eradicate it so that the state of character leading to all evil actions disappears. Similarly, the disciplines of the Law, admonitions, maxims taken from the prophets (may peace be upon them) or from their followers, and knowledge of their virtuous lives improve the moral habits of the soul so that it obtains virtuous dispositions and only good actions stem from it.
Therefore you find these passions have a very great influence only on those individuals having no knowledge of philosophic ethics or the disciplines and admonitions of the Law-such as youths, women, and foolish men. For due to the excessive tenderness of their souls, these people become anxious and despair. If harm touches them and one of the calamities of this world befalls them, anxiety increases and that they cry out, weep, slap their cheeks, and beat their breasts. Sometimes the misfortunes become so great in their eyes that one of them dies, either immediately or after a while, due to the worry and grief which overwhelm him.
Similarly, if these individuals obtain one of the goods of this world, their joy thereby increases. Due to their souls being poorly disciplined, such individuals suppose that they have obtained a very great good, and their wonder and exultation greatly magnify what they have obtained. Because of that, they are greatly moved and their laughter and frivolity increase to the point that some of them die from excessive joy. This is due to exhaustion of the spirit from the intensity of its suddenly tending to be outside of itself, as Galen mentioned. The cause of all this is the soul’s excessive tenderness and its ignorance of the truth of things.
Now it is persons trained in philosophic ethics or in the disciplines and admonitions of the Law whose souls acquire courage. These are the truly courageous; their souls are only swayed and affected in the slightest possible way. The more training an individual has, the less he is affected by either of the two conditions-I mean, the condition of prosperity or of adversity. Even if he obtains one of the greater goods of this world, which are the ones the philosophers call presumed goods, he is not moved by that; nor do those goods become great in his eyes. Similarly, if one of the greater evils of this world befalls him, which are the ones the philosophers call presumed evils, he does not become anxious nor despair, but endures it nobly.
A man acquires this disposition in his soul by considering the truth of things and by knowing the nature of existence. Even if a man possessed the greatest good of this world during his whole life, it would be very insignificant, because it is a perishable thing and because man, like all the other kinds of animals, must die. Similarly, if the greatest evil of this world is contrasted with death, which is inevitable, that evil is undoubtedly inferior to death. Therefore one should be less affected by that evil, since it is inferior to what is inevitable.
It is fitting that the philosophers called the goods and evils of this world, presumed goods and presumed evils. Indeed, how many of those goods are presumed to be good while being in truth evil, and how many of those evils are presumed to be evil while being in truth good? Again, how vast an amount of money and how many vain possessions has a man acquired which caused the corruption of his body, the degeneration of his soul through moral imperfections, the shortening of his life, his drawing away from God (may He be exalted), and separation between him and his Creator? Does that not give him everlasting misery? Moreover, how much money has been stolen from a man or how many possessions wrested away which caused the improvement of his body, the ennobling of his soul with moral virtues, the lengthening of his life, and his coming closer to his Creator by devoting himself to His worship? Does that not give him everlasting happiness?
Now the servant could speak about the length or shortness of life only by relying upon the opinion of the physicians, the philosophers, and some of the adherents of the religious laws prior to Islam. In sum, most of what the multitude presumes to be happiness is in truth misery, while most of what it presumes to be misery is in truth happiness.
It is not the purpose of this treatise to explain the truth of these matters, to comment on them, and to teach the ways to them. Much has already been composed concerning this in every age and by every wise nation which has studied the sciences. The servant only offered this advice as an indication of how to accustom the soul to diminish the passions by studying books on ethics, the disciplines of the Law, the admonitions, and the maxims spoken by intelligent men. In that way the soul will be strengthened and will see the true as true and the false as false. Thus the passions will diminish, (obsessive) thoughts will disappear, apprehension will be removed, and the soul will be cheerful in whatever condition a man happens to be.
Here is a very good thing to reflect upon. By it, bad thoughts, worries, and griefs are diminished. Sometimes they can even be completely destroyed, if a man holds this reflection foremost in his mind: Namely, whenever a man thinks about something that distresses him, and worry, grief, or sadness crop up in him, it can be due only to one of two things: either he is thinking about a matter that has already taken place, like someone who thinks about something that happened to him, such as the loss of his money, or about the death of someone dear to him; or else he is thinking about matters he expects and whose advent he dreads, like someone who thinks and talks about the advent of any disaster he expects. Now intellectual reflection teaches that thinking about what has taken place and has happened is of no benefit at all, and that sadness and grief about matters that have passed and gone are due to faulty understanding. There is no difference between a man’s being grieved because of the loss of his money or similar things and his being grieved because he is a man and not an angel or a planet, or similar thinking about impossible things.
On the basis of this reflection, acts of thinking leading to depression about something that is expected to come to pass in the future ought also to be abandoned. That is because everything that a man expects is within the realm of possibility: it may take place or it may not take place. Hence, just as he becomes distressed and grieves lest what he expects occur, so too he ought to delight his soul with anticipation and hope that perhaps the opposite of what he expects will take place. After all, the expected matter and its opposite are both possible.”
-Maimonides, Regimen of Health, Chapter 3Lazaro Armenteros, 16, hopes to sign with a major league team in 2016. He poses in this photo taken Dec. 5, 2015 in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic. (Photo11: Courtesy of Culture 39)
Lazaro Armenteros, born and raised in Havana, Cuba, wasn't around last week when Major League Baseball's goodwill mission hit the island.
He texts and talks all of the time to fellow Cuban Yasiel Puig, the Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder, but couldn't see him in person during Puig's three-day visit with his fellow major league stars.
Armenteros is projected to be the next up-and-coming Cuban star to reach the big leagues, but couldn't introduce himself to union chief Tony Clark or MLB executives Dan Halem and Joe Torre.
Armenteros, 16, widely known in baseball's international ranks simply as Lazarito, just may be the finest young amateur player to sign a professional baseball contract in 2016.
One veteran American League international scout called him young and raw, but a rare talent with signs of Willie Mays and Bo Jackson, due to his combination of speed and power.
The scout, unauthorized to speak publicly on Armenteros because the player has not yet been cleared to sign by Major League Baseball, said he will be a frontline star.
Armenteros, who even has his own incorporated Lazarito logo, with plans for his own clothing line and bat company, already has a Japanese team willing to pay him about $15 million to come play in the Nippon League.
This kid, possessing a rare combination of dazzling speed, raw power and outfield arm strength, with a future as a corner outfielder, can be that good. Two more scouting directors, speaking to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because of Armenteros' uncertain status, confirmed Armenteros has superstar potential.
If it were up to Armenteros, he would have been more than content to stay in Cuba, earn his $40 a month, and help provide for his mom, three sisters and three brothers.
Yet, this is Cuba.
Politics took away the game of baseball from him. Forced him to defect to keep playing baseball. First, moving to Haiti, where electricity and running water was a luxury. And now, in the Dominican Republic, where he works out six days a week in a remote beach town.
And soon, he hopes, to the United States, where all 30 teams plan to watch his showcase event on Jan. 8 at the San Diego Padres' complex in Cristobal. MLB is expected to rule by the end of January whether he's eligible to sign now, or must wait until the next signing period that begins July 2.
"I have an opportunity to change my life and my family's life,'' Armenteros told USA TODAY Sports, "by playing baseball. That's my dream. That's been my dream since the first day I picked up a bat.''
Armenteros, 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, was last seen in organized baseball in the summer of 2014. He was one of the top young stars at the 15U Baseball World Cup in Sinaloa, Mexico, earning all-tournament honors after hitting.462 with three doubles, five triples and eight RBI in nine games. Really, it was no surprise. He was a star when he was 13, too.
He was hoping one day to play for the 12-time champion Cuba Industriales team, but baseball was taken away at the start of last season when he was sanctioned by the Cuban government. He still doesn't know what happened. Perhaps it was for anti-government beliefs by his father, Lazaro Armenteros Sr., a former Cuban national basketball player. Maybe Cuba feared he was using baseball only to defect? Only the Cuban government knows for sure.
"I would have loved to play in Cuba,'' said Armenteros, who sounded like a military cadet with his vibrancy and graciousness during a 45-minute telephone interview. "But I remember coming home to tell my mother I couldn't play any longer because the comments of my father. She took me by the hand and said 'Lazarito we will find another way'.
"But I believe everything happens for reason. God knows what he does. Maybe I'm supposed to be a professional baseball player in the United States to help more people.
"I know I've been blessed to play baseball.''
While the United States and Cuba have restored diplomatic relations, the trade embargo still is in effect. Armenteros had to defect, and with the financial backing of investors who will collect a percentage of his future earnings, he made three attempts to reach Haiti to establish residency. Finally, he reached his destination on a fourth attempt after a layover flight from Germany.
He remained in Haiti for seven grueling weeks before going to the Dominican Republic.
It was life in Haiti, Armenteros says, that further convinced him how badly he wants to be a big leaguer.
"It really woke me up,'' he said.
He resided in a house where electricity lasted only eight hours a day, and running water stopped for eight hours. If you needed to store water, you had to cover it, making sure it wasn't filled with flies and bugs.
"It was the most deplorable situation I've ever been in or seen,'' said Charles Hairston, whose agency, Culture 39, represents Armenteros. "Every kilometer you'd go, there would be people standing in lines for trash, just trying to pick through the good trash.''
There was no grass, let along baseball fields or gyms to work out. He ran up hills carrying buckets and rice to build up his legs. He threw old tires and did dips between chairs to build up his arms.
"It really helped motivate him,'' said Ariel Nunez, his agent. "It was amazing the kid was able to keep his focus and not get frustrated.
"Once he left, he knew he never wanted to go back to that place.''
The most difficult part now simply is patience, and hiding out from all of the buscones and scouts who want to get a sneak preview. There have been a few scouts who have positioned themselves to get a look, but for the most part, Armenteros trains in privacy. Everyone will have their turn in two weeks when he provides his the first official, no holds-barred tryout.
Hairston, the cousin of former major league players Jerry and Scott Hairston, has been told that 150 to 200 scouts will be on hand.
"Technically, it's illegal for teams to see him now,'' Hairston says, "but every team I've talked to has confirmed they will be there. Everyone is very much aware of him.''
The only teams uninterested in Armenteros are the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay Rays. It's only because they can't have him. They're ineligible after already exceeding their international bonus pool.
Every other team plans to watch the Cuban version of Bryce Harper when he was a 16-year-old phenom out of Las Vegas, with his power, speed and exuberance. Several GMs and high-ranking executives already have stopped in just to talk with him. Armenteros asks questions, too, asking how he can best improve, how he can help take teams to the next level, and what it takes to be a champion.
Let's see, he wants to be the next Albert Pujols, win championships like Derek Jeter and leave a legacy like Roberto Clemente.
"I'm ready to do whatever it takes,'' says Armenteros, who believes he can reach the big leagues by 2018. "It's like Puig tells me, "Please don't take my job. But if you keep working hard, stay focused, and play your game, nothing can stop you.'
"I want to make it to the Hall of Fame, have my numbers retired, and when I'm out of the game, for people to recognize the person I am.
"Even when I die, I don't want my name to ever die.''
The legal name is Lazaro Robersy Armenteros Arango.
Feel free to call him Lazarito.
You may want to remember the name.Extend your storage capabilities with the Seagate HDD st3000dm001. This internal hard drive from Seagate is up to the task in giving you much-needed elbow room for your important files and documents which could mark the end of your space-saving debacles! Boasting with a large 3TB of storage space, the Seagate HDD st3000dm001 could be the main storage of your workstation. It is large enough to be the primary storage device for your office server. With its huge storage space, the Seagate 3TB HDD would be capable of storing large bit files for your offices, thus centralizing your data flow for a more reliable stream of information. Additionally, the Seagate 3TB HDD would give you flexibility when it comes to sheltering the files youve downloaded from the Internet. Itll give much space for your HD videos and music. Furthermore, it could hold up to thousands of basic files such as Word, Excel Spreadsheets and PowerPoint Presentations for documentation.
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2014 with Ghani winning 56.44% of the votes with a lead of one million votes over Abdullah.
Early life [ edit ]
Ghani was born on 19 May 1949[5] in the Logar Province of Afghanistan. He belongs to the Ahmadzai Pashtun tribe.[6][7]
As a foreign exchange student, Ashraf attended Lake Oswego High School in Lake Oswego, Oregon and graduated with the class of 1967. He initially wanted to study Law but then changed his major to Cultural Anthropology. Ghani attended the American University in Beirut where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1973, and after that, attended Columbia University where he earned his master's degree in 1977, and a PhD degree in 1983. He met his future wife, Rula, while studying there.[6]
Academic career [ edit ]
Following his bachelor's degree he served on the faculty of Kabul University (1973–77) and Aarhus University in Denmark (1977). Following his PhD degree, he was invited to teach at University of California, Berkeley in 1983, and then at Johns Hopkins University from 1983 to 1991. He has also attended the Harvard-INSEAD and World Bank-Stanford Graduate School of Business's leadership training program. His academic research was on state-building and social transformation. In 1985, he completed a year of fieldwork researching on Pakistani madrassas as a Fulbright Scholar.[6]
World Bank [ edit ]
He joined the World Bank in 1991, working on projects in East and South Asia through the mid-1990s.[6]
Political career [ edit ]
Returning to Afghanistan after 24 years, in December 2001, Ghani left his posts at the UN and World Bank to join the new Afghan government as the chief advisor to President Hamid Karzai on 1 February 2002.
After leaving Kabul University, Ghani co-founded the Institute for State Effectiveness[8] with Clare Lockhart, of which he was Chairman. The Institute put forward a framework proposing that the state should perform ten functions in order to serve its citizens. This framework was discussed by leaders and managers of post-conflict transitions at a meeting sponsored by the UN and World Bank in September 2005. The program proposed that double compacts between the international community, government and the population of a country could be used as a basis for organizing aid and other interventions, and that an annual sovereignty index to measure state effectiveness be compiled.
Ghani was tipped as a candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as Secretary General of the United Nations at the end of 2006[9] in a front-page report in The Financial Times that quoted him as saying, "I hope to win, through ideas." Carlos Pascual of the Brookings Institution was also quoted, praising Ghani's "tremendous intellect, talent and capacity."[10]
In 2005, Ghani gave keynote speeches for meetings including the American Bar Association's International Rule of Law Symposium, the Trans-Atlantic Policy Network, the annual meeting of the Norwegian Government's development staff, CSIS's meeting on UN reform, the UN–OECD–World Bank's meeting on Fragile States and TEDGlobal.[11] He contributed to the Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
Finance Minister of Afghanistan [ edit ]
Ghani was recognized as the best finance minister of Asia in 2003 by Emerging Markets.[citation needed] He carried out extensive reforms, including issuing a new currency, computerizing treasury operations, instituting a single treasury account, adopting a policy of balanced budgets and using budgets as the central policy instrument, centralizing revenue collection, tariff reform and overhauling customs. He instituted regular reporting to the cabinet, the public and international stakeholders as a tool of transparency and accountability, and required donors to focus their interventions on three sectors, improving accountability with government counterparts and preparing a development strategy that held Afghans more accountable for their own future development.
Poverty eradication through wealth creation and the establishment of citizens' rights is the heart of Ghani's development approach. The National Solidarity Program[12] covers 13,000 of the country's estimated 20,000 villages.
2009 Presidential election [ edit ]
Ghani at a meeting in Panjshir Province in 2011
In January 2009 an article by Ahmad Majidyar of the American Enterprise Institute included Ghani on a list of fifteen possible candidates in the 2009 Afghan presidential election.[13]
On May 7, 2009, Ashraf Ghani registered as a candidate in the Afghan presidential election, 2009. Ghani's campaign emphasized the importance of: a representative administration; good governance; a dynamic economy and employment opportunities for the Afghan people.[14] Unlike other major candidates, Ghani asked the Afghan diaspora to support his campaign and provide financial support.[15] He appointed Mohammed Ayub Rafiqi as one of his vice president candidate deputies, and paid for the noted Clinton campaign chief strategist James Carville as a campaign advisor.[16]
Preliminary results placed Ghani fourth in a field of 38, securing roughly 3% of the votes.[17]
Reconstruction [ edit ]
On 28 January 2010, Ghani attended the International Conference on Afghanistan in London, pledging his support to help rebuild their country. Ghani presented his ideas to Karzai as an example of the importance of cooperation among Afghans and with the international community, supporting Karzai's reconciliation strategy. Ghani said hearing Karzai's second inaugural address in November 2009 and his pledges to fight corruption, promote reconciliation and replace international security forces persuaded him to help.[18]
Presidency [ edit ]
After announcing his candidacy for the 2014 elections, Ghani tapped General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a prominent Uzbek politician and former military official in Karzai's government and Sarwar Danish, an ethnic Hazara, who also served as the Justice Minister in Karzai's cabinet, as his vice presidential candidates.[19]
After none of the candidates managed to win more than 50% of the vote in the first round of the election, Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the two front runners from the first round, contested in a run-off election, which was held on 14 June 2014.
Initial results from the run-off elections showed Ghani as the overwhelming favourite to win the elections. However, allegations of electoral fraud resulted in a stalemate, threats of violence and the formation of a parallel government by the camp of his opponent, Abdullah Abdullah. On 7 August 2014 US Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Kabul to broker a deal that outlined an extensive audit of nearly 8 million votes and formation of a national unity government with a new role for a chief executive officer who would carry out meaningful functions within the president's administration. After a three-month audit process, which was supervised by the United Nations with financial support from the U.S. government, the Independent Election Commission announced Ghani as President after Ghani agreed to a national unity deal. Initially the election commission said it would not formally announce specific results. It later released a statement that said Ghani managed to secure 55.4% and Abdullah Abdullah secured 43.5% of the vote, although it declined to release the individual vote results.
Economy and trade [ edit ]
During his tenure, Ghani has strengthened ties with Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, with which it has made deals to increase mutual trading.[20][21] New trade routes have also been launched within the wider region. The Chabahar Port in Iran allows increased trading with India whilst avoiding Pakistani territory.[22] A railway line from Khaf in Iran to Herat in Afghanistan is set to be opened in late 2018.[23][24] In 2017, a railway line from Turkmenistan was extended to Aqina in Afghanistan, the precursor of the "Lapis Lazuli" transport corridor that was signed by Ghani that same year and would link Afghanistan to the Caucasus and the Black Sea.[25] Other regional projects include the CASA-1000 hydroelectricity transmission from Central Asia, and the TAPI gas pipeline, expected to be completed by 2018 and 2019 respectively.[26] In January 2018 at the inauguration of the Khan Steel iron smelting plant in Kabul, Ghani said that he is aiming for Afghanistan to become a steel exporter.[27]
Relations with Pakistan [ edit ]
Since his election Ghani wanted to improve relations with Pakistan, which in turn could pave the way for peace talks with the Taliban. He made his first visit to Pakistan on November 14, 2014, meeting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.[28] However, after many terror attacks in Afghanistan which were largely blamed on Pakistan, and failed Taliban peace talks, Ghani grew increasingly cold to Pakistan.[29] Ghani claimed that Pakistan had hit an "undeclared war of aggression" against Afghanistan.[30] In 2016 he started a "trade war" by increasing entry taxes for Pakistani trucks, and making trade deals with India and Iran.[31] Following two deadly Taliban/Haqqani attacks in Kabul in January 2018, Ghani called Pakistan the "center of the Taliban".[32] He also refused to take a call from the Pakistani prime minister, instead sending an NDS delegation to hand over evidence that the terrorists were supported by Pakistan.[33] However, Afghan envoy Omar Zakhilwal rejected such reports regarding Ghani’s phone call rejection with Pakistan prime minister. He claimed that that no phone took place between the two leaders. He said that such reports are baseless.[34]
Relations with Taliban [ edit ]
In an interview with Vice News, Ashraf Ghani, said that his 'heart breaks for Talibans'. He further claimed that 'Talibans are Afghans and he is president of all Afghans'.[35][36] Ashraf Ghani also said that he is willing to offer Afghan Passports to Taliban in attempt to strike peace deal with the Taliban. He claimed that he is ready to recognise Talibans as legitimate political group in Afghanistan.[37]
Taliban are also supplied with crops yield from land owned by Ashraf Ghani in Logar province. Ashraf Ghani owns 200 acres of land in Surkhab area of Logar province.[38]
Personal life [ edit ]
President Ghani at a conference in 2014
Ashraf Ghani is married to Rula Saade,[39] a citizen with dual Lebanese and American nationality. Rula Saade Ghani was born in a Lebanese Christian family.[40] The couple married after they met during their studies at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon during the 1970s.[41] They eventually settled in the United States and obtained U.S. citizenship. However, Ghani renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2009 so he could run in Afghan elections.[1]
Ashraf and Rula Ghani have two children, a daughter, Mariam, a Brooklyn-based visual artist,[42] and a son, Tariq. Both were born in the United States and carry U.S. citizenship and passports. In an unusual move for a politician in Afghanistan, Ghani at his presidential inauguration in 2014 publicly thanked his wife, acknowledging her with an Afghan name, Bibi Gul.[41] "I want to thank my partner, Bibi Gul, for supporting me and Afghanistan," he said. "She has always supported Afghan women and I hope she continues to do so."[43]
Ashraf Ghani also owns 200 acres of land in Surkhab area of Logar province. Abdul Baqi Ahmadzai, who is close to Ashraf Ghani, claims that Ashraf Ghani inherited a lot of land from his father. However, Ashraf Ghani bought this 200 acres of land separately in Logar province.[44]
See also [ edit ]This is where the Chip Kelly bandwagon makes a sudden stop on the hard shoulder and half of the occupants wander off in a daze. Thursday became the day when you were either all in with Chip or wondering why you ever had been. Paying Byron Maxwell like he’s Deion Sanders was aggressive and desperate, but understandable for a team that had no cornerbacks. Trading for Sam Bradford was worrisome, but you can understand a team with no quarterbacks taking a risk on a passer who might be a buy-low candidate.
Signing DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews on the same day? At full retail price? That’s a bridge too far. For days, we’ve been looking at the various moves the Eagles have been making while trying to figure out Kelly’s master plan. Now, more than ever, it looks like Kelly is equally in the dark.
The most troubling part about all of this is that it feels like one day’s moves have no relation to the next. On Wednesday, Kelly was describing the LeSean McCoy trade as a move designed to clear out the space needed for Maxwell, and the next day, he signed a running back who will make as much or more money as McCoy would have in 2015. Then, after signing two running backs who usually stick between the tackles and trading for an injury-riddled quarterback, the Eagles reportedly start shopping Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis around the league?
Given their other plans, you have to wonder when the Eagles really decided to make an offer this large to Murray. If they really wanted Murray this badly, why didn’t they go after him at the beginning of free agency? Were they planning on teaming up Murray and Frank Gore as opposed to Murray and Mathews? Or was it going to be Gore and Mathews, and after Gore had second thoughts, did the Eagles get desperate and go after Murray?
It’s hard to imagine that the Eagles were interested over the weekend and managed to sign Murray only after his price tag came down, because it’s also hard to imagine that Murray could have expected more money than this. After rumors that Murray would eventually go back to the Cowboys on a team-friendly contract, he got paid in full. The 2014 rushing champion signed a five-year, $42 million deal with Philly that guarantees him $21 million, a far cry from the four-year, $24 million contract with $12 million guaranteed that Dallas reportedly offered Murray.
In a vacuum, you can’t fault the Eagles for preferring Murray to McCoy in terms of what happens on the field. For whatever McCoy offers in terms of making guys miss in the backfield with his Barry Sanders–esque jukes, Murray is a better fit for the Kelly scheme as a one-cut back. Murray is not as patient as Gore, but he combines the patience needed for his lane to clear with speed and acceleration that Gore can’t reliably match anymore. Murray was also an incredibly effective receiver in Dallas, catching nearly 90 percent of the passes thrown to him last year, the highest rate in the league for a back with more than 50 targets. Bigger than McCoy and faster than Gore is a good combination.
The problem … is just about everything else. You start, naturally, with Murray’s health. Kelly suggested during Wednesday’s press conference that the Eagles had targeted players like Bradford and Walter Thurmond with the idea that they would be undervalued because they had struggled with a recent injury. That makes some sense, and it’s not a bad idea; the Patriots and 49ers do this a fair amount in the draft, hoping to find a talented player who drops a couple of rounds below his draft grade because of an injury that is likely to clear up.
Murray, though, is just the opposite. Last year was his only healthy season in Dallas, and even that included a broken hand. Murray dislocated his patella in college, has had hamstring issues at both the college and professional levels, and has gone through a sprained MCL, a sprained foot, and a broken ankle during his NFL career.
The Eagles could make the argument that they’re getting a reduced price for Murray because teams know about his pre-2014 injury issues, and I’m sure they expect the combination of a decreased workload (due to the presence of Mathews, who himself has made it through only one healthy season) and Kelly’s emphasis on sports science to allow them to keep Murray as healthy as possible. And it’s true, those are two great ways to mitigate some of Murray’s injury risk.
The damage, unfortunately, may have already been done. The Cowboys maxed Murray out last year, giving him a staggering 392 carries during the regular season to go with 44 more in the postseason. Murray recorded 436 carries and 497 touches during the entire 2014 campaign, which is more than he had in the 2012 and 2013 seasons combined. Jason Garrett’s overreliance upon Murray was borderline criminal at times, most notably when he ran or threw the ball to Murray on 18 of Dallas’s 22 second-half plays in a blowout win over Chicago in Week 14.
Statistical analyses of overuse for NFL running backs are controversial. There is the Curse of 370 carries, which may be statistically unsound. In any case, we can observe in a small sample that players with the sort of extreme workload Murray endured in 2014 are unlikely to repeat that same level of performance the following year, with recent high-workload backs like Arian Foster (351 carries in 2012), Chris Johnson (358 carries in 2009), Michael Turner (376 carries in 2008), and Larry Johnson (416 carries in 2006) all either getting injured or suffering a serious drop-off. Only Adrian Peterson (363 carries in 2008) managed to stay healthy and effective the following year.
Even without setting an arbitrary cutoff, the more relevant concept here is our old favorite, regression toward the mean. Everything has to go right for a running back to get that many carries. He has to stay healthy. His team has to be winning regularly so it can run the clock out in the second half in lieu of throwing frantically to try to catch up. He needs a healthy, effective offensive line to clear out his running lanes. More than anything, he has to be productive. Nobody wants to give a running back who is averaging 3.5 yards per carry 350 rush attempts in 2015. It’s extremely difficult to have all of those things come together once for a professional running back, let alone twice in consecutive years.
It’s fair to say that Murray doesn’t seem like the kind of player who is likely to buck those trends. The 2014 perfomance stands out as an outlier for him in a number of ways. The injury history, obviously, suggests that he’s unlikely to last 16 games. His offensive line in Dallas was incredible and was able to make it onto the field for 74 of 80 possible starts. Philadelphia had a similarly impressive line in 2013 stay healthy for 80 of 80 starts, but it was annihilated by injuries last year and appears to be rebuilding, cutting Todd Herremans before shopping Mathis. The Cowboys also won 12 games last year; it would be tough to project any team, let alone these Eagles, to match that before a season begins.
You can argue that the Eagles won’t want Murray to be a workhorse back, that they’re also signing Mathews and they’ll use Darren Sproles in the lineup plenty. That’s true. The aftereffects of Murray’s workload from a year ago might still cause him to slow down on a per-carry basis. He could be more susceptible to injury, even if he has fewer chances to actually collide with a defender or plant at full speed and see that injury occur.
The Eagles gave McCoy, their clear no. 1 running back at the time, 314 carries in 2013 and 312 carries in 2014. I don’t think they want to use Murray that frequently. They’ll likely try to spot his time to have him end up somewhere in the 250- to 300-carry range, with 30 to 40 receptions thrown in for good measure. Philly surely plans on running the ball a ton, but it’s not impossible to imagine a scenario in which Murray takes 275 carries, Mathews gets 125 of his own, Sproles chips in with 50 rushes, and a combination of quarterbacks and other backups gets them to 500 rush attempts. That’s exactly the number of times they ran in 2013.
In terms of keeping Murray healthy, that’s going to be the best way to manage his workload. In terms of maximizing the value of his deal, though, it’s crazy to imagine that the Eagles just gave $21 million guaranteed to a running back who they will constantly be afraid of overworking. Part of why you would give a running back that much money is the idea that you’re going to get a huge chunk of the workload taken care of with a premium back. If the Eagles don’t treat Murray like a workhorse, it will be even harder for him to justify $8.4 million per year.
The structure of Murray’s contract remains a mystery, but if the Maxwell deal is of any relevance, the Eagles will try to shift money into the first few years of the contract by turning some of the signing bonus (which gets spread over the length of the contract for cap purposes) into a first-year roster bonus (which applies only to the first year). Maxwell’s first three base salaries are guaranteed; I wouldn’t be surprised to see Murray’s first two base salaries guaranteed with the Eagles able to get out of this deal without too much pain after 2016.
The track record for running backs who recently received this much money in guarantees is mixed at best. Even the concept of what represents guaranteed money can be up for debate, with different levels of guarantees representing different totals. (Some sources have Murray’s deal guaranteeing $18 million for skill and injury.) In any case, using Spotrac as the primary source, here’s what I could find for comparable running backs who were recently guaranteed $15 million or more:
Player Guaranteed Adrian Peterson $36 million Chris Johnson $30 million LeSean McCoy (new contract) $26.5 million DeMarco Murray $21 million DeAngelo Williams $21 million LeSean McCoy (old contract) $20.8 million Arian Foster $20.8 million Marshawn Lynch (old contract) $17 million Ray Rice $15 million
Matt Forte is just on the fringes, with $13.8 million fully guaranteed and $17.1 million partially guaranteed. Even if you include Forte, the success rate for this list isn’t great. How many of these teams would take back the deals if they could? The Eagles tried to do that with McCoy by trading him away, actually. You would definitely give Lynch that contract extension from 2012 again, and his new deal has only $12 million in guarantees. Peterson had that MVP season, albeit immediately after a lost year when he struggled with a high ankle sprain before tearing his ACL.
That’s about all the positives. The deals for Johnson and Williams were disasters. Foster got injured in 2013, although he had a nice bounce-back in 2014. It would be unfair to use the missing 2014 seasons from Peterson or Rice as proof of anything, but it is fair to mention that Rice was awful post-extension in 2013 while playing through a hip injury. The hit rate on these deals, it’s fair to say, is low. And when they miss badly, they can be franchise-haunting failures.
The Mathews deal isn’t quite as high-stakes, but it raises some of the same questions. The former first-round pick has had a mostly disappointing pro career, only really putting things together at a Pro Bowl level in 2013, the lone season when he wasn’t injured or fumbling. That remains his only full professional campaign, and he missed half of 2014 with knee, shoulder, and ankle maladies.
Again, the Eagles will spot Mathews’s workload so he isn’t overwhelmed and susceptible to injury, trying to avoid what happened when the Chargers gave him 107 carries over the final four weeks in 2013 and saw him suffer an ankle injury that zapped his playoff effectiveness. And again, it’s going to make it much harder to return value on his deal. Mathews will get $11.5 million over three years with $5 million guaranteed, which should make him about the 20th-highest paid back in football.
In all, Kelly is committing a lot of money to his running backs. Let’s assume that Mathews’s deal eats up about $4 million in cap space this year. Assuming that it has a roster bonus, Murray should come in at about $9 million. The Eagles already have Sproles on their cap at $4.1 million. Even if they cut Chris Polk, that means about $17 million in cap space is committed to running backs.
The only team that even comes close to the Eagles on running back spending would be the Vikings, who have $18 million committed to backs this season, but $15.4 million of that money belongs to Peterson, who is likely to be released or traded. Otherwise, nobody else is spending more than $10.9 million on running backs, which leaves the Eagles as an enormous outlier in terms of how they’re choosing to use their cap space.
More Chip Kelly Chip Kelly and the Eagles Are Here to Make Football Fun Again
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The Influencer
Chip Kelly Owes the National Football League an Apology And that doesn’t seem to make sense. If there’s anything that a Kelly offense should be able to generate on the cheap, wouldn’t it be running backs? The uptempo attack requires a quarterback capable of making instant reads at the line of scrimmage before delivering accurate throws, often downfield, in the blink of an eye. That can be tough to find. It requires receivers with ideal speed and size, which Kelly is in the process of finding. It needs big, athletic offensive linemen who can run outside the hashes on screens, and he has those.
Running backs, however, shouldn’t be a premium position in Philly’s scheme. Kelly needs his backs to be versatile, but the league routinely undervalues receiving as a skill for backs, anyway. He needs them to be decisive with their cuts and quick to the hole, but that’s not a hard back to find in the middle-to-late rounds of a draft. Murray was a third-round pick. Foster was an undrafted free agent. Couldn’t the Eagles have drafted somebody like Javorius Allen, plugged him in as part of a rotation with Mathews and Sproles, and used that massive outlay for Murray on players like Mike Iupati or Torrey Smith before they signed elsewhere?
Here’s the simplest way I can put this: Pretend, for a moment, that the Raiders or the Jaguars or the Browns made this exact same pair of moves. They would be the laughingstocks of the league, fools making the same stupid mistakes that bad franchises always make. The Eagles understandably aren’t being painted with that brush because Kelly has earned a certain level of credibility as a forward-thinking coach. With the moves Kelly has made this offseason, that credibility is on the line.
Kelly may very well make these signings work, but the Murray deal is a classic example of what bad teams do in free agency. Two years from now, we may very well look back at the past 72 hours in Eagles history as the moment when Kelly sealed his status as the next Bill Belichick. We also may look back at it as the time when Kelly sealed his fate.Video: Trump sees a plane overhead, says "That could be a Mexican plane up there—they’re getting ready to attack." https://t.co/ryWXqnrMgx
Donald Trump seems so intent on turning Mexico into America's boogeyman that even a passing airplane got incorporated into his stump speech on Thursday.
"I respect Mexico. I respect their leaders, what they've done to us is incredible. Their leaders are so much smarter, so much sharper. And it's incredible," he said, then gestured upward as an aircraft passed. "In fact that could be a Mexican plane up there. They're getting ready to attack."
Trump was speaking in Manchester, New Hampshire -- more than 2,000 miles from the Mexican border.
Not surprisingly, the presumptive GOP nominee for president appeared to have deviated from a prepared speech.
"I don’t really need those notes, because I don’t need notes. Aren’t I lucky?" he said, according to The New York Times. "Nice to have that ability, isn’t it? It’s a good ability to have."SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s recently impeached president, Park Geun-hye, was arrested on Friday, becoming the first South Korean leader to be put behind bars since the mid 1990s, when two former military dictators were imprisoned on corruption and mutiny charges.
Ms. Park’s dramatic downfall capped months of turmoil and intrigue, as huge crowds took to the streets to protest a sprawling corruption scandal that shook the interlocking worlds of government and business — including the leadership of Samsung, the nation’s largest conglomerate.
A judge at the Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant early Friday morning, warning that if Ms. Park were not taken into custody quickly she might “destroy evidence.” The charges against her include bribery, extortion and abuse of power.
In December, the National Assembly voted overwhelmingly to impeach Ms. Park, and she was formally removed from office on March 10.VIDEO: Father murdered in front of kids while buying puppy from Facebook ad Copyright by KRON - All rights reserved Image courtesy of CNN [ + - ] Video
Video courtesy of CNN
Jacksonville, FL. (KRON) -- A Florida father was murdered in front of his children while trying to buy a puppy through a Facebook advertisement.
Last Wednesday Scott Bowman responded to a man on Facebook who claimed he was looking for a new home for his dog.
He reportedly insisted on delivering the puppy straight to Bowman's house.
When he got there, he was invited inside the home.
This is when he started acting volatile and drunk, according to Bowman's fiancée.
With his two children nearby, a fight broke out between the two men, and Bowman was fatally shot in the chest.
Police responded to the scene and took the alleged gunman into custody.
So far, there is no word of any charges.
The incident remains under investigation.
CNN contributed to this article.Tomorrow, the D.C. Council will vote on the D.C. United stadium deal for the final time, at their meeting that starts at 10 AM in Room 500 of the John R. Wilson Building. Should it pass, it will then go to the Mayor for his signature and then it will be implemented (pending a 30 day review by the US Congress). Plainly said, if it passes it legally commits the District to their half of the bargain. But, since this is DC, let's walk through the details of what exactly is going to happen tomorrow.
After the Call to Order, Moment of Silence, and the Determination of a Quorum, the first order of business is the ceremonial resolutions. These are resolutions introduced to commend and recognize people and organizations for their service to the District; for example, there is one to recognize Marion Barry for his service as activist, council member, and mayor.
After that is the consent agenda, which looks massive but will be disposed of quickly. Everything on the consent agenda is supposed to be non-controversial and expected to pass with a unanimous vote. Before that vote happens, members have the chance to remove anything that they want from the consent agenda and move it to the non-consent agenda. Once everyone is satisfied, everything in the block will be voted upon en masse. So, while it looks like 36 bills, they will all be voted upon together.
The Council will then move onto the non-consent agenda, which includes the first (and most important) vote on the D.C. United stadium plan. The third item on the non-consent agenda is B20-805, entitled the "District of Columbia Soccer Stadium Development Act of 2014." The fact that it is on the non-consent agenda should not be cause for too much concern; it just means that it will be given an individual vote. Unlike the last time, I could see some no votes here (especially from people like David Catania), but the deal should not be in any danger. This is the main deal, the one that obliges the District to hold up their part of the bargain, so if this passes it will be time to celebrate.
There are two other bills that concern the D.C. United stadium deal, however. The next bill is the "District of Columbia Soccer Stadium Development Emergency Act of 2014," which is under emergency legislation. This bill is the product of the blowup and then makeup between Vincent Gray and Phil Mendelson over how the stadium was to be funded. Gray has agreed to send this budget bill to the Council, and in exchange Mendelson will make sure it passes without any riders. We still have no details of the funding streams, but this plan seems to be endorsed by Muriel Bowser, Vincent Gray, Phil Mendelson, and Jack Evans so it seems like a slam dunk to pass.
Speaking of that dustup, the last vote is to deal with that very bill that the Council passed to force Gray's hand last meeting. At the very end of tomorrow's meeting there will be a motion to reconsider B20-833, the resurrected budget bill that Mendelson amended to pay for the D.C. United stadium plan his way. This is to withdraw the Council's passage of this bill and to tie up the rest of the loose ends.
Should all of this happen as expected tomorrow, the only outstanding piece of business will be the acquisition of Akridge's part of the stadium footprint. Obviously that is a massive piece of business, but should everything pass tomorrow the District would be legally obligated to do so. We won't celebrate until there are shovels in the ground, but tomorrow could ensure that we are on that path.Image caption Apple's innovations have inspired a vast following
Apple has pushed past arch-rival Microsoft to become the world's biggest technology company.
Changes in the share price values of the two in Wednesday's choppy trading left the total value of Apple at $222bn (£154bn).
Microsoft is now valued by investors at $219bn.
However, Microsoft still enjoys higher profits than Apple. Its most recent annual net profit was $14.6bn (£10bn), compared with $5.7bn for Apple.
Microsoft also reported bigger full-year revenues of $58.4bn, with Apple on $36.5bn.
Apple's shares closed Wednesday trading down 0.4% at $244.11, while Microsoft fell by 4% to $25.01.
iPhone boost
The value of a listed company, known as market capitalisation, is calculated by multiplying the number of shares in a company by the current share price.
MICROSOFT V APPLE Annual revenues: Microsoft $58.4bn, Apple $36.5bn
Annual net profits: Microsoft $14.6bn, Apple $5.7bn
Earnings per share: Microsoft $1.62, Apple $6.29
Price/earnings ratio: Microsoft 12.8, Apple 24.
Apple, which makes computers, iPods, iPhones and now iPads, almost went out of business in the 1990s.
Its growth is partly owing to the launch of the iPod in 2001.
Although the iPod works with computers running Microsoft's Windows operating systems, it encouraged more people to to buy one of Apple's computers.
The big popularity of the iPhone, which has become a big seller since it was first released in 2007, has further boosted Apple's profits and revenues.
It's a long game, we have good competitors... we too are a very good competitor Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive
The handset has brought internet access on the move to the mass market, and led to an explosion in downloadable mobile "apps" - applications that enable a huge range of activities, from map reading to booking restaurants.
A new version of the iPhone is expected to be unveiled next month.
Meanwhile, this week sees the launch in the UK and eight other countries of Apple's iPad tablet computer.
This has already proven to be a big seller in the US, so much so that the UK launch was postponed to enable Apple to keep up with demand in the US.
Heyday
Apple has to look back to late 1989 to see the last time it was a bigger company than Microsoft.
Image caption Microsoft makes most of its money from operating systems and software
Microsoft, whose operating system runs on more than 90% of the world's personal computers, has not been able to match growth rates from its heyday of the 1990s.
Microsoft continues to make the majority of its earnings from its software and operating systems, and has struggled to successfully diversify into other products.
However, Microsoft has achieved success with its XBox games console.
Questioned on the news that Apple was now a bigger company, Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer said his firm would continue to follow a long-term strategy.
"It's a long game, we have good competitors... we too are a very good competitor," he said.
"We are executing very well and that is going to lead to great products and great success."First, let me say that I am totally on board with any woman who thinks Donald Trump’s vulgar words about women are worth protesting. I’m also totally with any woman who thinks his cheating on two wives and marrying a third is not only low class, but mortal sin.
I’m also totally with the women who are protesting Bill Clinton’s sorry record of sexual abuse of women, rape, sexual harassment and victimizing women.
I’m also totally with all women who want to stand up for women’s dignity and reproductive health. I think all women should have excellent health care when they are pregnant, when they are giving birth, and when they are sacrificing themselves for their family and children. Women’s reproductive health care should be available for all pregnant women, all women in crisis pregnancies and all mothers.
I’m also totally supportive of all women who stand up against rape, sexual trafficking, prostitution, artificial contraception, abortion, pornography, sexual videos and films and all other things which denigrate women and treat them like sex objects.
When women are protesting against their continued abuse at the hands of abortionists, pornographers, pimps, traffickers, abusive husbands and boyfriends and family members, bosses and friends who are sexually abusive. I’m on their side.
However, standing back a bit from today’s March for Women, here are — reasons why it is a damp squib–a firecracker that will ultimately fail to go off, a lost cause, an empty show, a shallow howl of rage that will come to nothing.
It is Fake – Don’t believe that what is going on is real. This is a big show put on by people behind the scenes with big money. They’ve organized it and made it happen in order to spark protests and try to achieve the change they could not achieve in the democratic election process. This is not a grass roots movement. It is an orchestrated protest by internationalists who have thrown lots of money at the situation to produce the effect they want |
in Russia, Ukraine, Boston and Southern California.... Senator Yee said, 'Do I think we can make some money? I think we can make some money. Do I think we can get the good? I think we can get the goods.'... Senator Yee said 'Because, I'm getting a little more into this, it's not just Russia; the Muslim countries have sources too'... Senator Yee asked [another person involved] if he wanted 'automatic weapons' as opposed to semi-automatic weapons."
Like Chow, Yee, too, is popular with gun control supporters. In 2006, the Brady Campaign rated Yee an "A+" and named him to the group's so-called "Gun Violence Prevention Honor Roll." In bestowing the "honor," the Brady Campaign noted that Yee had sponsored legislation to require semi-automatic handguns to have micro-stamping features and had supported a variety of other gun control proposals.
Now, gun control advocates join Yee in having other things with which to concern themselves. The Associated Press reports "Gun-control groups (are) trying to find a new legislative leader to champion firearms restrictions after one of their most outspoken supporters was charged in a federal gun-trafficking case."
Until now, Yee had been campaigning to be elected as California's Secretary of State. He has since withdrawn from the race. SF Gate reports that Yee's lawyer sized up his client's situation by saying "The future will hold a lot of work."
No doubt it will.By By Brett Wilkins Jun 28, 2012 in World Cairo - A young British journalist was sexually assaulted in the Egyptian capital by a frenzied mob while filming a documentary about women's rights. The atmosphere was overwhelmingly festive, with jubilant Egyptians smiling, waving and cheering as fireworks burst in the sky above. "Welcome to Egypt!" was a common refrain heard among the thronging crowd as Smith recorded it all for her film. But the mood soon darkened as a large group of men began groping her. She was violently separated from her male colleague as she futilely attempted to safely stow her camera in her rucksack. "I could see what was happening and I saw that I was powerless to stop it," Smith The young journalist said that "hundreds of men" dragged her away kicking and screaming. "Men began to rip off my clothes," she wrote. "I was stripped naked... These men, hundreds of them, had turned from humans to animals." "Hundreds of men pulled my limbs apart and threw me around. They were scratching and clenching my breasts and forcing their fingers inside me in every possible way... All I could see was leering faces, more and more faces sneering and jeering as I was tossed around like fresh meat among starving lions." "Please, God. Please make it stop," she repeated over and over again as the brutal attack continued. A small number among the crowd tried to protect Smith. Some of them managed to escort her to a medical tent where she hurriedly changed into a burka and men's clothes, as the seething mob attempted to enter and drag her back out to what she believed was a certain death. "They wanted my blood," she wrote. Holding the hand of a total stranger and holding back tears while pretending to be his wife, Smith was whisked through the crowd to relative safety and reunion with her male colleague. She then had to endure another humiliating ordeal as multiple local hospitals refused to treat her after making intrusive inquiries about her marital status and virginity. Smith's harrowing ordeal was similar to the mass sexual assault of CBS reporter Despite the horrific nature of the attack, Smith harbors no ill will toward Egyptians. During the assault, she wrote, women were crying and telling her, "this is not Egypt! This is not Islam!" "I knew that was the case," Smith wrote on her blog. "I [love] Egypt and its culture and people... This vicious act was not representative of the place I had come to know and love." The budding journalist offers this advice to women who find themselves in similar situations: "Please, take care... Don't be swept up in a wave of euphoria. Don't let anything cloud your judgement." Smith also says she will return to work and finish the documentary she was working on when her life was turned upside down that fateful Sunday in Tahrir Square. "Nothing, and nobody, will hold me back," she wrote. "When I'm ready, I'll finish this. The show must go on." CNN reports that 21-year-old Natasha Smith, a graduate student in international journalism at University College Falmouth, was attacked in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday amid celebrations marking the announcement of the results of Egypt's historic presidential election The atmosphere was overwhelmingly festive, with jubilant Egyptians smiling, waving and cheering as fireworks burst in the sky above. "Welcome to Egypt!" was a common refrain heard among the thronging crowd as Smith recorded it all for her film.But the mood soon darkened as a large group of men began groping her. She was violently separated from her male colleague as she futilely attempted to safely stow her camera in her rucksack."I could see what was happening and I saw that I was powerless to stop it," Smith wrote on her blog on Tuesday.The young journalist said that "hundreds of men" dragged her away kicking and screaming."Men began to rip off my clothes," she wrote. "I was stripped naked... These men, hundreds of them, had turned from humans to animals.""Hundreds of men pulled my limbs apart and threw me around. They were scratching and clenching my breasts and forcing their fingers inside me in every possible way... All I could see was leering faces, more and more faces sneering and jeering as I was tossed around like fresh meat among starving lions.""Please, God. Please make it stop," she repeated over and over again as the brutal attack continued.A small number among the crowd tried to protect Smith. Some of them managed to escort her to a medical tent where she hurriedly changed into a burka and men's clothes, as the seething mob attempted to enter and drag her back out to what she believed was a certain death."They wanted my blood," she wrote.Holding the hand of a total stranger and holding back tears while pretending to be his wife, Smith was whisked through the crowd to relative safety and reunion with her male colleague. She then had to endure another humiliating ordeal as multiple local hospitals refused to treat her after making intrusive inquiries about her marital status and virginity.Smith's harrowing ordeal was similar to the mass sexual assault of CBS reporter Lara Logan, who was attacked while covering celebrations in Tahrir Square, during the 2011 uprising that ended in the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last February.Despite the horrific nature of the attack, Smith harbors no ill will toward Egyptians. During the assault, she wrote, women were crying and telling her, "this is not Egypt! This is not Islam!""I knew that was the case," Smith wrote on her blog. "I [love] Egypt and its culture and people... This vicious act was not representative of the place I had come to know and love."The budding journalist offers this advice to women who find themselves in similar situations:"Please, take care... Don't be swept up in a wave of euphoria. Don't let anything cloud your judgement."Smith also says she will return to work and finish the documentary she was working on when her life was turned upside down that fateful Sunday in Tahrir Square."Nothing, and nobody, will hold me back," she wrote. "When I'm ready, I'll finish this. The show must go on." More about british journalist sexually assaulted in tahrir sq, Tahrir Square, natasha smith, natasha smith sexual assault, egypt election results More news from british journalist s... Tahrir Square natasha smith natasha smith sexual... egypt election resul... journalist sexually... EgyptItaly's top football teams voted to give Parma a five million-euro ($5.5 million) emergency fund on Friday in order help the club finish the season.
Sixteen of the 20 clubs in Serie A voted in favour of the measure. Roma, Napoli and Sassuolo abstained, and only Cesena voted against the move.
The measure means last-place Parma should be able to play Atalanta on Sunday, after their previous two matches -- at home with Udinese and at Genoa -- were postponed indefinitely because the club couldn't pay for basic services such as security and electricity.
The vote follows Sky television writing a letter to the Lega Serie A demanding that everything be done to ensure that Parma's game with Atalanta, and all of their remaining fixtures this season, go ahead as scheduled.
Parma have been sold twice this season, players have not been paid in months, and a bankruptcy hearing has been set for March 19.
The club's debts are estimated at nearly 100 million euros ($110 million).
The emergency fund will come from money that clubs pay to the league for fines from crowd trouble and other violations.
After the league decision in Milan, Italian football federation president Carlo Tavecchio was traveling to Parma to formally present the plan to the squad's players. The plan requires Parma to play its next two matches before the bankruptcy hearing.
"We're going to Parma to meet the mayor and players with reasonable offers to propose," Tavecchio said.
Earlier, Italy's tax police confiscated records related to Parma from club headquarters and the league and federation offices.
Also, former Parma president Tommaso Ghirardi and former general director Pietro Leonardi were placed under investigation by judicial authorities for suspected bankruptcy fraud.
Last month, Giampietro Manenti took over as Parma's new owner and president from the Russian-Cypriot conglomerate which had taken control in December from Ghirardi. Agreeing to pay off the club's debts, Manenti paid a symbolic price of one euro ($1.12) for the club.Article Summary:
Gluten-Free Labeling: Are Growth Media Containing Wheat, Barley, and Rye Falling through the Cracks?
Tricia Thompson, Melinda Dennis, Luke Emerson. J Acad Nutr Dietet. 2017. In Press.
Background: Bacteria are used in a variety of products, including probiotics. These microorganisms may be grown on media that may include ingredients derived from gluten-containing grain (ie, wheat, barley, and rye). Historically, some concern has been expressed in the celiac disease community that the use of gluten-derived/ gluten-containing growth media may result in residual gluten protein fragments remaining in products containing microorganisms such as bacteria. One obstacle preventing the resolution of whether residual gluten sometimes remains in products containing bacteria is the general lack of readily available information on the growth media used to cultivate these microorganisms. Further study of fermentation media used to produce bacteria is needed to determine whether allergenic or gluten protein remain. This suggestion is based on real-world test results of a commercially available probiotic containing a bacterial strain with known growth media: one formulation gluten free and the other not.
What we tested: Gluten Free Watchdog, LLC, a gluten test reporting service in Manchester, MA, tested a popular probiotic through Bia Diagnostics, LLC on three separate occasions. While the bacterial strain remained the same in all lots, the growth media was different—spent brewer’s yeast or molasses. The probiotic was tested using the R5 ELISA Ridascreen Gliadin Competitive R7021 (R-Biopharm AG). A competitive ELISA is used when assessing food for gluten protein fragments, which occur when gluten protein is hydrolyzed or fermented. Bacteria (and the enzymes they produce) in the probiotic were deactivated before testing to prevent false-positive results. The probiotic containing the bacterial strain grown on spent brewer’s yeast (and likely contaminated with barley malt) tested at > 283.5 ppm gluten. The same probiotic containing the same bacterial strain but this time grown on molasses tested at < 10 ppm gluten on two separate occasions.
What we need in the future: In the United States, the FDA should clarify for industry whether growth media for bacteria (and other microorganisms) are considered ingredients, incidental additives, or processing aids, and whether the use of wheat, barley, or rye precludes the food containing the bacteria from being labeled as gluten free. If the use of gluten-containing growth media does not preclude a gluten-free labeling claim, then the FDA should clarify how products containing bacteria should be tested to ensure safety for gluten-free consumers.
Recommendations: In the meantime, individuals with gluten-related disorders should be encouraged to use only those probiotics labeled as gluten free. Manufacturers labeling probiotics gluten-free should be encouraged to test their products using the competitive R5 ELISA, especially if bacterial strains included in the product are grown in gluten-containing growth media.
Questions? Please contact Tricia Thompson at info@glutenfreewatchdog.org
This article is available free of charge to members of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212267217310663(CNN) North Korea continued its harsh anti-US rhetoric Sunday, calling President Donald Trump a "war merchant and strangler of peace."
The administration of US President Donald Trump is selling weapons to South Korea and Japan with the intent of enriching the makers of US arms while creating "a hair trigger situation" on the Korean Peninsula, said a commentary from state newspaper Rodong Sinmun posted by the Korean Central News Agency.
In September, a week after Pyongyang fired a test missile over Japan, Trump said he would give allies increased access to US weaponry.
I am allowing Japan & South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2017
"I am allowing Japan & South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States," Trump tweeted on September 5.
South Korea was the fourth-largest recipient of American-made arms from 2011 to 2015, according to research compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Read MoreBreaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
July 3, 2013, 7:56 PM GMT By Kiran Moodley
Britain's energy regulator proposed new rules to combat electricity theft on Wednesday, revealing that up to one-third of electricity stolen each year is used to power illegal cannabis farms.
"Theft of electricity increases the costs paid by customers and can have serious safety consequences," Chiara Redaelli, an economist at the regulator, Ofgem, wrote in a report on tackling energy theft.
"It leads to misallocation of costs among suppliers that can distort competition, and hamper the efficient functioning of the market," Redaelli said. "It also has links to organized crime, and in particular cannabis cultivation."
According to Ofgem, up to 25,000 cases of electricity theft take place in Britain each year, costing the industry at least 200 million pounds ($304 million), or around 7 pounds per customer. About one-third of the illegally extracted electricity is used to power the lights under which marijuana is cultivated.
(Read More: Ex-Microsoft Exec to Create First National Marijuana Brand)
Redaelli attributed the high level of cannabis-related electricity theft to the energy-intensive nature of marijuana farming. She said illicit cannabis farms, which run lights 24 hours a day, consumed around 12,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month, 40 times more than the average domestic consumption of 300 kWh per month.
"This consumption is often not paid for, either because it is unrecorded (because of meter tampering) or because the bill is not paid," she said.
In the report, Ofgem proposed new rules requiring energy suppliers to detect, investigate and prevent electricity theft, or face fines. Ofgem also proposed a theft risk assessment service to target suspicious premises.
"Ofgem wants to make sure that consumers are paying no more than they need to for their electricity, and lives are not put at risk. It's critical that suppliers do all they can to clamp down on electricity theft. This is why Ofgem is introducing new rules to encourage better theft detection," said Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wright.The Waikato farm on which hens were found starving and mistreated is owned by the family of Foodstuffs director and former Fonterra chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden.
Supermarket company Countdown announced yesterday it would stop selling eggs from the farm, which was at the centre of an undercover investigation.
But Foodstuffs supermarket chains New World and Pak 'n Save were still selling the eggs.
In a statement, Foodstuffs said it had not yet seen the evidence which would require them to take the eggs off its shelves.
But it said, like any large company, it had processes to manage any conflicts of interest.
A video taken as part of the undercover investigation had revealed hens packed into filthy, overcrowded colony cages and laying eggs on the rotting bodies of others.
Animal advocacy group SAFE (Save Animals From Exploitation), which laid a complaint with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) over the footage, said it was proof the new colony cages were no more humane than battery cages, which would be banned from 2022.
MPI said yesterday it had found some breaches of minimum standards at the farm, but those did not meet the threshold for prosecution.
It said it was satisfied corrective action had been taken and would follow up to make sure of that.
All cage-made eggs must go, protesters say
Countdown said yesterday it did not stock any colony-caged eggs from the farm, but it did sell a small number of conventionally caged eggs supplied by it under the brand Morning Harvest.
It said it would remove those eggs from its shelves until it was satisfied standards were met.
But a small group of protesters from Farmwatch, who gathered outside Countdown stores in Auckland and Wellington this morning, said Countdown's move was not good enough.
One protester, Jasmine Gray, said the supermarket needed to stop selling any cage eggs.
"They've pulled any eggs from that farm at the moment, but I think that this is kind of a red herring, because it is not just about this farm, it's about all cage farms in New Zealand, and we want to see a move away from cages."
She said Countdown's parent company, Woolworths Australia, had committed to going cage-free by 2018.
Countdown said Woolworths Australia operated in a market with a different supply chain, and under a different regulatory environment, than in New Zealand.The Islamic State uses the most advanced Internet technologies in order to inform, indoctrinate and recruit its would-be followers.
MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti), Ekaterina Blinova - The Islamic State uses the most advanced Internet technologies in order to inform, indoctrinate and recruit its would-be followers.
"Terrorists love Twitter. ISIS has emerged as the most sophisticated group yet at using the service to spread its bloodthirsty message. And when ISIS jihadists and tens of thousands of acolytes swarmed Twitter in recent months, it raised the question of how social media sites should respond when unsavory groups colonize their platform," Time reports.
According to the recent research conducted by Quilliam, a London-based counter-terrorism think tank, Islamist radical movement has been using the online tools, such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, chat rooms and discussion forums in order to indoctrinate, recruit and teach its new members.
"The Internet plays a key role in indoctrination because it creates a variety of opportunities for extremist groups to create platforms for their beliefs that are free of any external critique," the researchers emphasize.
The experts point out that social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter have already proved effective as instruments for "decentralized recruitment" of foreign fighters during the Syrian war. In addition, Twitter is used by radical Muslim fighters for real-time organizing, debate and provocation.
"Often the main Twitter feeds of popular Islamist groups are written in perfect English," Quilliam notes, as Islamists direct their tweets at NATO, prominent politicians and international figures as well as Foreign Affairs Ministries.
Although Twitter has recently closed down dozens of Islamists accounts, the social platform still contains myriads of pro-ISIS pages. Some of Islamists' accounts are reporting news from the conflict zone, others are disseminating propaganda.
AFGHANISTAN. Mujahideen eliminate at least 12 American soldiers in single day http://t.co/ZZiOE05HiR — ISIS Media Hub (@ISIS_Media_Hub) September 4, 2014
#Khilafah → Muslims enjoying security & safety in the Euphrates. A media tour by #IslamicState in market of Husaybah pic.twitter.com/VUvaDzfR13 — Shaheen Zaman (@Shazire_Shazam) September 12, 2014
#Islamicstate brings happiness and hope for Muslims and children. The Caliphate is a light in the darkness. pic.twitter.com/aKJ6lCmfrU — Hais (@Hais74) September 12, 2014
The role of social media propaganda should not be underestimated, experts warn. In June 2014, the Daily Mail reported of the disturbing precedent when "using the hash tag #AllEyesOnIsis, extremist fighters flooded the social media site with propaganda, luring vulnerable people to join them in Iraq." The media source underscored that "within minutes, their stunt - which Twitter is powerless to block or moderate - was met with chilling messages of support from countries all over the globe - from Rome to Australia, Switzerland to America, Kenya to Nepal."
Experts confirm that ISIS has become the first Islamist organized group sophisticated at use of all modern social net technologies.
Meanwhile, Russian bloggers report that ISIS has begun to spread its propaganda through Russia's social networks, particularly via Vkontakte. Jihadi fighters have created numerous accounts and online groups aimed at potential Russian followers. Apparat, a Russian online journal, describes how ISIS recruits Russian, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan youths and collects donations for the Islamic State through Vkontakte. Jihadi recruiters also help would-be fighters to travel to the conflict zone through Turkey, train and instruct them.
Earlier this month ISIS terrorists have released a video addressing Russian people and its leadership, which contained a threat to start a war in North Caucasus. In response to this statement, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov claimed that the jihadists would be destroyed.
Although Facebook, Twitter and Vkontakte claim that they are blocking most of pro-Islamist accounts, in reality the social media platforms are unable to effectively filter and close down extremists' profiles, experts say. Furthermore, "the freedom of speech premise that underlies Twitter makes regulation of extremist propaganda almost impossible," notes the Daily Mail.
Time notes that some observers criticize Twitter for the lack of counter-terrorism policies.
"For several years, ISIS followers have been hijacking Twitter to freely promote their jihad with very little to no interference at all. Twitter's lack of action has resulted in a strong and massive pro-ISIS presence on their social media platform, consisting of campaigns to mobilize, recruit and terrorize," says Rita Katz, director of the SITE Intelligence Group, as cited by Time.
However, US intelligence officials point to the fact that ISIS social network accounts contain valuable data regarding the terrorist group's actions and locations. They consider Twitter a "gold mine" of information, underscores Time, citing William McCants, a former State Department senior adviser who directs the Project on US Relations with the Islamic World at the Brookings Institution.WHY SO SERIOUS? THE DARK KNIGHT | WARNER BROS.
“One of the most interactive movie campaigns ever hatched by Hollywood.”
-Los Angeles Times
"Why So Serious?" was designed as a 360° alternate reality experience that played out over 15 months leading up to the release of The Dark Knight. Spilling out over a multitude of different platforms, this deep immersive campaign recruited the audience to become real citizens of Gotham City. Over 11 million unique participants in over 75 countries fueled the rise of the Joker as henchmen, campaigned for Harvey Dent to get elected as District Attorney, and even took the law into their own hands by becoming copycat Batman vigilantes. From calling phone numbers written in the sky, to hunting down GPS coordinates to find mobile phones baked inside of birthday cakes, "Why So Serious?" was an experience like no other. As these fans collectively scoured the globe in search of clues, their incredible passion generated billions of impressions in the press and blogosphere setting a new benchmark for immersive entertainment.Few directors have influenced film as Andrei Tarkovsky. Over the course of only seven feature films, Tarkovsky produced an enigmatic and poetic body of work that has helped revolutionize a wide range of genres, including science fiction, war stories, film essays and historical dramas. Working under censorship and a lack of support in Soviet Russia, Tarkovsky fought fiercely for a vision of cinema as unique medium that could sculpt time. Reconsidering the role of films in an age of increasing technology, Tarkovsky saw cinema as not merely communicating information but as “a moral barometer in a sea of competing narratives.”
Celebrating the legacy of this iconoclast, MAD presents Andrei Tarkovsky, Sculpting in Time. Screening all of Tarkovsky’s feature films on 35 mm as well as behind-the-scenes documentaries, this retrospective reveals the process behind Tarkovsky’s groundbreaking practice and cinematic achievements. His work has helped to reshape cinema, opening up new possibilities to the forming of time and its effects on contemporary life.
Media PartnerTrade restrictions would threaten cross-border production as well as sales, putting farmers out of business, says Dairy UK
Dairy farms in Northern Ireland will “go out of business” after Brexit if barriers to trade with the Republic of Ireland are erected, the government has been warned.
The risk centres not just on the potential loss of exports to the supermarkets in the republic but the loss of a highly successful global business in cross-border production of milk and cheese products, a House of Commons select committee was told on Wednesday.
About a third of milk from cows in Northern Ireland is transported across the border for production into butter, cheese and infant formula, Mike Johnston, the Northern Ireland director for Dairy UK, told the Northern Ireland affairs committee.
PMQs: Theresa May attacks Red Cross description of NHS as 'irresponsible and overblown' - politics live Read more
“Dairy farmers would have to go out of business as a consequence of their milk not being able to be processed,” he said.
He told the committee more than 25% of the region’s raw milk went south of the border to be processed but a hard Brexit would close down that flow, not just because of tariffs and customs checks, but because of the burden of paperwork relating to issues including traceability, animal welfare and food standards.
He said 25% of pasteurised milk went south of the border for use in products such as infant formula.
That business could ultimately be picked up in Northern Ireland after Brexit, but there was not enough time in two years to build facilities to replace those in the republic, he said.
The Brexit evidence-gathering session threw fresh light on the specific challenges facing farmers on both sides of the border in Ireland.
Politicians and business leaders on the island have warned of the “incalculable damage” Brexit threatens but the detail on cross-border agricultural business has until now not been discussed so publicly. Individual farmers and food manufacturers have been reluctant to speak on the record with the media.
Johnston told MPs there had been “significant rationalisation” across the island of Ireland in diary production, driven by the need to compete with farmers in the southern hemisphere.
This had led to “site specialisation” with infant formula plants in the republic, for instance, and the creation of the largest cheese processing facility in Europe in Dunmanbridge in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, said Johnston.
Britain considering £1,000-a-year levy for skilled EU workers Read more
“This goes beyond hard or soft border,” said Johnston. “If we cannot overcome issues around labelling, traceability, common standards, then that business north and south would grind to a halt,” he said unless there was a transition period during which EU regulations “copied and pasted” into UK law would apply.
“In terms of the border, it’s a major, major issue for the dairy industry. We are very, very dependent on what we call an all-island value chain. If we have any interruption in the current practices it is going to affect the longer-term viability of the industry,” he told the committee.
The committee heard that Northern Ireland exported to up to 100 countries, including more than 50 countries which had a trade deal with the EU.
Johnston told MPs that the current 15-16% tariff imposed on their products in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia would “at least double” once the UK withdrew from Europe. “That would kill that business,” he said.
The committee also heard that 40% of lambs went south of the border with much of the meat from sheep going on from the republic to France, a supply route that could also be adversely affected by a hard or soft border.
Barclay Bell, the president of the Ulster Farmers’ Union, highlighted the challenges facing those trying to drum up business outside the EU and called on the government to put more effort into getting access to China.
“We’ve been trying to get pig meat into China for years, it just seems to be a very prolonged process. We feel resources at Westminster need to be expanded in some way … there needs to be a speeding up of the process. Other countries seem to be getting access,” he said.
Of course farmers fear Brexit, but it could save the British countryside | George Monbiot Read more
If future UK exports to Europe were subject to World Trade Organisation tariffs, “quite chunky charges” would be added to agricultural products from the UK.
Current tariffs on bovine products are around the 13% mark, while butter from outside Europe was subject to a tariff ranging from €1.90 to €2.30 a kilo, Bell told the MPs.
The Northern Irish farming industry was also questioned about the heavy reliance on migrant workers, with 65% of the workforce in the food-processing business coming from elsewhere in the EU.
Bell told MPs the industry would be crippled without these workers. “People from the red meat processing centre, they will tell you, local people don’t want to work in the food processing. They have basically said to us if we don’t have access to that migrant labour we’re gone,” he said.LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Doctors and parents involved in female genital mutilation could go to prison for up to 15 years under bills overwhelmingly approved Tuesday by lawmakers in Michigan, who said harsher penalties are needed in a state where the first federal prosecution of the practice is ongoing.
Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to sign the legislation, which would make Michigan the 26th state to ban female genital mutilation. It has been a federal crime for 20 years, punishable by five years in prison.
Legislators said the federal penalty is not severe enough and the Michigan bills would also apply to parents or others who knowingly facilitate genital mutilation, including by transporting girls to another state for the procedure.
“We can’t have Michigan be a destination for this heinous act, this criminal activity, this suppression of women’s rights, this oppression of young girls,” said a bill sponsor, Republican Rep. Klint Kesto of Oakland County’s Commerce Township.
The 13-bill, bipartisan package was introduced after two doctors and one of their wives were indicted in April in an alleged scheme to perform genital mutilation on two girls from Minnesota at a Detroit-area clinic.
Genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision or cutting, has been condemned by the United Nations and outlawed in the United States. But the practice is common for girls in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Under the Michigan legislation, genital mutilation of girls under age 18 would not be a crime if there is a health necessity. Those accused could not defend themselves in court by saying it is a custom or ritual.
The statute of limitations for criminal charges would be 10 years or by the alleged victim’s 21st birthday, whichever is later. Victims would be able to sue for damages until their 28th birthday, which is longer than the two-year window to bring a civil suit after the discovery of harm.
The state Department of Health and Human Services would develop an educational and outreach program targeting populations including girls who may be at risk of being forced to undergo genital mutilation. Teachers, physicians and police also would receive information.
Amanda Parker, senior director of the New York-based AHA Foundation, which works to oppose violence against girls and women, said Michigan lawmakers are “really ticking all the boxes” with the legislation. Of the 25 states with anti-genital mutilation laws, she said, few have enacted education requirements or longer statutes of limitations.
“This is a procedure that happens to little girls who are typically so young that not only do they not know what’s happening to them, they don’t know that it’s wrong. They don’t know that they have the option to stand up for themselves,” she said.
Texas, which already forbade the practice, enacted a law this month making it illegal to facilitate the transportation of girls undergoing genital mutilation. The law also eliminated consent and custom as defenses to prosecution.
“It’s a good thing that it’s being brought to light and that the perpetrators are being brought to justice,” Parker said. “Attention is being raised around this issue, and it’s terrific that legislators are really looking at this and saying, ‘What do we need to do to better protect women and girls around the United States?’”
___
Follow David Eggert on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00. His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/David%20Eggert“The Leica glass,” Mr. Michel said, “adds that special ethereal quality to the image that no D.S.L.R. can match.”
I have tested almost all of the company’s cameras and lenses. The control I have with a manual Leica makes me realize that today’s abundance of buttons and features on most cameras often makes people take poorer pictures.
Leica’s lenses can vary in price from $1,650 for the Leica 50mm f/2.5 Summarit-M, to the Leica 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux-M, which costs $10,950. Once you have recovered from seeing the price of the Noctilux-M, keep in mind it is considered one of the best low-light lenses in the world and has such a wide aperture it can shoot almost in darkness.
The company names all of its lenses based on the amount of light a lens can let in through the aperture; these include the Summilux, Summicron, Summarit and Noctilux.
If you have been doing the math, you might have noticed that the best Leica setup will cost almost $20,000. My personal Leica setup is half that. I own a used Leica M9-P with a Leica 50mm f1.4 Summilux lens, which cost almost $10,000, and although the price might make you choke on your morning coffee, I would give up my iPhone before I’d part with my Leica.
This was true decades ago and is still true today. Henri Cartier-Bresson, considered by many to be the father of photojournalism, said in his biography, “The Mind’s Eye,” that when he discovered the Leica camera in the beginning of his career, “It became the extension of my eye, and I have never been separated from it since I found it.”
But be forewarned: Although Leicas are tough and rugged, if your camera does break, be prepared to wait a couple of months for it to be fixed, because the company’s repair facilities are only in Germany. If you do buy a Leica, it will also take a long time to become completely used to the range finder and manual setup. Leicas are in such high demand that there is a three-month wait to purchase several of the latest models.
“Don’t think that if you buy a Leica you’re going to be taking the same photos as the world’s best photojournalists,” Mr. Rockwell said. “The camera doesn’t take good pictures; the person holding it does.”After the rates of the Iraqi Dinar dramatically declined, most of the shopkeepers in Mosul started dealing with the US dollar, which has angered ISIS.
AhlulBayt News Agency - The extremist group of Daesh (ISIS) on Tuesday flogged dozens of shopkeepers in Mosul city for refusing to deal with Iraqi Dinar, local sources reported.
The militants whipped 90 owners of shops and their workers in the al-Toub district in central Mosul.
“Each shop owner and seller were flogged 50 times in front of hundreds of people on Tuesday,” said a local media activist, speaking on condition of anonymity.
After the rates of the Iraqi Dinar dramatically declined, most of the shopkeepers in Mosul started dealing with the US dollar, which has angered ISIS.
The radical group had imposed a ban on dealing with foreign currencies in territories under its control across Syria and Iraq.
“The group threatened the people of Mosul to be severely punished in case of dealing with US dollar or any other foreign currency. People are forced to deal with the local Dinar despite its deteriorating rates,” the source reported.
/129Megan Leslie slipped back north of the 49th parallel under the cover of darkness Wednesday night.
But to hear the noise from the Conservative side of the House of Commons this week, one would think that the Halifax NDP MP and her colleague from Nickel Belt, Claude Gravelle, were treasonous subversives who should be drawn and quartered at dawn.
No one slapped cuffs on her at the Ottawa airport.
Environment Minister Peter Kent accused them of taking “the treacherous course of leaving the domestic debate and heading abroad to attack a legitimate Canadian resource which is being responsibly developed and regulated.’’
The absurd reaction from the perpetually angry Conservatives immediately raised the profile of the traitorous duo that otherwise might have flown into Washington and back without anyone noticing.
They went to Washington to provide a different point of view on the Keystone XL pipeline project and to tell American legislators that, contrary to the cheerleading of Stephen Harper and his cabinet, not every Canadian was a proponent of Alberta’s tar sands.
“Are the NDP members so star struck by jet-setting Hollywood stars that they are blind to the needs of Canadian workers and their families?”
“The NDP are totally out of touch with ordinary Canadians and economic reality. Send in the clowns,” he thundered to raucous applause and desk-thumping on the government side.
And Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself: “This government does not go to another country to argue against job creation in Canada, but that is what the NDP did, a party that is totally unfit to govern or even comment on the creation of jobs.”
It’s a wonder Leslie had the gall to skulk back into the capital after trying to destroy |
I'm not here to get on my high horse and I'm not here to tell you to give up meat.
Indeed, there are strong arguments that getting rid of meat from our diets entirely could have arguably worse impacts on animals and the environment through increased deforestation and animal deaths from agriculture. Also, by being meat eaters we have the power, through our choices, to promote sustainably reared meat and animal products.
But it seems we do need to start reducing our meat intake because in Australia and the developed world we eat too much. Australia has one of the highest rates of meat consumption in the world. In fact, on average we eat 111kg a year, more than four times the recommended 26kg a year.
Studiessuggest that diets high in meat (particularly processed meat), eggs and dairy can increase the risk of various cancers and even diabetes.
While the debate about the exact amount of carbon emissions created by meat and dairy consumption continues (anywhere from 10 percent to 50 percent in Australia) it seems clear that reducing our meat intake will reduce carbon emissions. (In fact, eating less of everything would really help reduce our carbon footprints.)
Then, of course, there are the animal welfare impacts of factory farming and live transport of livestock that put animal products on our tables but are often far too easily swept under a tasty, 24-hour, slow-cooked, pulled-pork rug.
This is why vegetarians are pretty cool. Almost all of us grow up eating meat and loving it. It's such an ingrained part of our diet and culture that it's hard to change.
But vegetarians and vegans have been persistently paving the way, leading to vegetarian meal options at more and more restaurants, developing and introducing us to vegetarian cuisine and making it easier and increasingly normal to eat less or no meat.
They're also opening up discussions about the impacts of our diets. Campaigns like Meat Free Monday and Meat Free Week as well as diet alternatives like 'flexitarian' are emerging, encouraging people to reduce their meat-eating in a flexible way.
And it seems people are catching on.
While The Simpsons convinced us that "You don't win friends with salad" it seems that, increasingly, in Australia you do. From 2009 to 2013, the number of Australians who identified as fully or mostly vegetarian increased from 1,608,000 to 1,935,000, or 10 percent of the population. That's one in 10 of us. And New Zealand saw a nearly 30 percent increase.
We love it so much that Ben and Jerry's recently launched four vegan ice-cream flavours.
Even former Mr Universe and The Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger are now encouraging people to give up or reduce their meat intake in order to reduce our impact on the planet.
And in case you were thinking that settling on a meat-free diet is the preserve of white, latte sipping, inner-city types, 2013 research from Roy Morgan found that it's actually quite common among people from ethnic backgrounds.
"But hang on," I can hear you saying. "Some vegetarians can be too much to take."
Sure, when dealing with people with strong beliefs some can be quite forceful and they can suffer from the same biases and emotional responses that meat eaters can.
But reducing our meat intake is important for our health and our planet, and vegetarians and vegans alike have, through their choices, fearlessly promoted alternative diets and cuisines (often in the face of much ridicule) and opened up important and necessary debates about the impacts of what we eat.
As a meat-free or reduced-meat diet becomes increasingly appealing as we look for ways to reduce our impact on the planet and the animals who inhabit it, it's our plant-embracing friends we need to thank and support more.
So throw another eggplant on the barbie and let's salute our pioneering vegos.Kilsin said: that is why we want to bring back the social interaction and cooperation in groups, it is missing in many games these days and one minute you can be invited into a group randomly for a kill then kicks a few mins later without even speaking a word, we want groups to be more meaningful than that and bring back the groups you remember and continue grouping with. :)
I hope VR will succeed in creating memorable group experiences
In more recent games I've played,players often do group up spontaneously to take down a worldboss they can't solo
But those groups often last but a moment.
It is difficult to fingerpoint what would create lasting friendships.
What fuels the desire to seek out the players we've grouped with before,to group with again?
As you mention,some random invite to a group for a kill then kicks a few mins later without speaking a word is a very common scenario in these games.
I was glad to see non-combative content topic pop-up a while back
MMOs content has always been heavily oriented towards killing in order to progress
While killing only offers a very brief incentive to group up
When asking people why they stick with someone they often answer with things like -that person brings colour to my life-
-we've been through so much together-wind beneath my wings
As strange as it may sound,if social interaction and cooperation in groups is to be returned I believe
the game has to allow us and provide the opportunities to help out fellow players.
Content that is oriented heavily towards adventure and where you can make a positive difference for other player's progression in the game.
A nice difficult puzzle where several players have to become involved to solve it together are perfect to get to know each other too
unfortunately puzzles are poorly presented in these type of games
So in short,yes,killing-oriented content on itself helps little to create lasting bonds
Adventure holds the key to bring back social interaction and cooperationEmail This Page Your Name Your Email To (separate emails with commas) Message (optional) Send Your email was sent successfully. Close
A flat tire can be a great way to ruin a drive to work, a cruise in the country, or a simple trip to the mall. But it doesn’t have to mean a tow truck and a repair bill. If you keep a well-maintained spare and the proper tools in hand, you can fix a flat tire in under fifteen minutes and be back on your way. Here’s how:
Get safe. When you realize your car is losing pressure in a tire, get to the side of the road as soon as you can do so safely. Don’t pull halfway off a busy road — aim for a spot that’s wide and clearly visible to other motorists. After you put it in park (or in gear, if it’s a manual transmission), set the emergency brake.
Prep for the change. You’ll need the right tools for the job — make sure you have a jack, the right lug nut wrench, and an extension handle for the wrench if necessary. If you have wheel covers, use the tool provided with your car (or a flathead screwdriver) to remove them. Loosen the lug nuts, but don’t take them off just yet.
Lift and separate. Check your owner’s manual to find the jacking points for your car — usually on the frame or a point between the side wheels. Once you find the spot and position the jack securely, raise the car so the tire that needs changing is a few inches off the ground. Now, you can remove the lug nuts, placing them in a safe place where they won’t roll away, and remove the wheel.
Attach the spare. Now, you can put the spare tire in its place. Screw the lug nuts back on firmly with your hands, then lower the car until it just touches the ground. Then, you can tighten the lug nuts with the wrench and lower the car completely. Don’t forget to throw the flat into your trunk or pickup bed, and don’t forget to put the wheel covers back on.Catalan President Artur Mas has pledged to go ahead with the region’s independence vote, defying the Spanish Prime Minister in person. Madrid has branded the referendum as “illegal” and resolved to block the Catalan bid to separate from Spain.
Mas met with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday in their first encounter in over a year. The thorny issue of Catalan independence was high on the agenda and provoked strong statements from both politicians. Both parties reiterated their position on the vote which is scheduled for November, but made no headway in breaking the political deadlock.
"We have the determination and the political strength, but we would like to hold [the vote] in a legal manner and with the backing of the state, British-style," said Mas following the meeting, referring to Scotland’s upcoming independence vote in September, which is being organized with full cooperation between the UK and Scottish governments. "I told him [Rajoy] that we are absolutely determined, as I told him a year ago, to hold the consultation.”
Mas said it was impossible to hold a legal consultation because Rajoy refused to budge on his stance the Catalan vote is a violation of Spanish sovereignty and therefore illegal.
“I thought that Rajoy was going to propose something concrete. I came prepared to listen, but there was no proposal,” said Mas, adding that he believed Madrid’s stance was more to do with politics than the actual legality of the independence vote.
“If we agree to hold a consultation then we will find a way to do it legally,” said Mas.
Rajoy has been unmoving in his dialogue over the Catalan vote from the very beginning, and has resolved to block the referendum. Alicia Sanchez-Camacho, president of Rajoy's party in Catalonia, said the vote would be a violation of Spanish law.
"The referendum isn't encompassed by our democratic laws. This referendum isn't going to happen because it is illegal and is outside the boundaries of our rule of law,” said Camacho, representing Rajoy after Wednesday’s meeting. “The referendum does not, and will not, have legal coverage.”
The Catalan independence movement has grown from strength to strength over the last few years, gathering momentum on the back drop of the EU financial crisis. The autonomous region of Catalonia has a population of 7.5 million and makes up almost a quarter of Spain’s GDP.
There has been growing resentment in the region that their taxes are being redistributing to other parts of the country and 45 percent of Catalans believe the region would be better off on its own, according to an April poll.
Catalonia is not the only region of Spain campaigning for independence. The long-rebellious Basque country has also called for a referendum to decide on their future in Spain. In late May, Basque lawmakers adopted a declaration of self-determination to follow on the footsteps of Catalonia.
Last month, at least 100,000 Basque citizens formed a human chain measuring 123 kilometers in solidarity with the Basque independence movement.In an attempt to promote "efficiency and economy" in the addition of new sports to the Winter Olympics, the International Ski Federation (FIS) has confirmed it is seeking judges who can judge both freeskiing and snowboarding events at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.
"The FIS and IOC (International Olympic Committee) have determined that there will be an integration of some officials' positions" in Sochi, read a recent request for Olympic judging applications sent out by FIS. The request noted that the integration was due to ski halfpipe and slopestyle and snowboard slopestyle being added to the 2014 program.
Joe Fitzgerald, the Switzerland-based freestyle skiing coordinator for FIS, said in a phone interview that it's unlikely there would be any crossover between head judges, which will be unique to each discipline. But between scoring judges and "score verifiers" (officials who make sure each score is recorded correctly), there could be some who, for example, work ski slopestyle as well as snowboard slopestyle.
Fitzgerald emphasized that any shared judges would be "tested and qualified" to judge multiple disciplines and multiple sports. "We're looking for one or two people who can cross over between groups," he said. "Hopefully we can find them."
“ "It would discredit our sport and it would discredit the Olympics if this were to pass. It makes no sense at all... It's like having a figure skating judge on our judging panel. ” -- 2010 Olympic bronze medalist Scotty Lago
The prospect of having a freeskiing judge decide who wins a snowboarding gold medal, or vice versa, isn't sitting well among judges and athletes. "It would discredit our sport and it would discredit the Olympics if this were to pass," said 2010 Olympic halfpipe bronze medalist Scotty Lago. "It makes no sense at all. Gets me incredibly mad, actually. It's like having a figure skating judge on our judging panel."
"I think both the ski and snowboard industries will raise hell," said Association of Freeskiing Professionals co-founder Josh Loubek, who served as head judge for the slope and pipe events at the 2011 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships. Loubek plans to apply for head-judge responsibilities in Sochi, and believes shared judges is a "ridiculous" idea.
"Both sports are progressing so rapidly it's hard to keep up in one sport, let alone two different sports," he said. "I think the Olympics should be focused on getting the absolute best judges, not saving a few hundred bucks. After all, picking the correct gold medalist can make or break the Olympics."
Per standard Olympic protocol, the Sochi Organizing Committee is covering the costs of officials, Fitzgerald said, but the IOC and FIS helped determine how many overall judges would be needed between skiing and snowboarding.
Olympic snowboarder Elena Hight and future Olympic freeskier Kaya Turski are just two of the many snow athletes who will be affected by the FIS decision. ESPN Action Images
Loubek wasn't alone in sharing his point of view. Snowboarding judge Tom Zikas, who has been the head judge at Winter X and the Winter Dew Tour, in addition to working FIS World Cups, won't be applying to judge in Sochi. But he said of the potential crossover system: "There's no reason, with how far skiing's come and how far snowboarding's come, to do this. I think it would compromise the integrity of the results. I enjoy watching ski pipe and ski slope, but do I feel like I should be judging them? Definitely not. If they're trying to save a buck, it seems very unnecessary."
Canadian freeskier Kaya Turski, the early gold medal favorite in women's slopestyle, said: "I don't think it's the best idea because it takes a lot to know both sports, and sometimes things look a lot easier than they actually are."
To wit, Loubek explained that when crossover panels have been used at lower-level events in the past, snowboarding judges deferred to the freeskiing judges during the ski competitions, and vice versa during the snowboarding competitions.
In response to those concerns, Fitzgerald reiterated: "The only way this whole side of skiing and snowboarding can build itself up really fast, is by looking for efficiencies and economy. [Using crossover judges] is sending out a message that this is the efficiency and the economy that we're looking for, but not at the risk of having someone at the highest level who's not qualified.
“ Both sports are progressing so rapidly it's hard to keep up in one sport, let alone two different sports. ” -- Freeski head judge Josh Loubek
"Again, this is 18 months away, and what we are speaking of here is identifying a larger group of people that are prequalified, then running them through some extra educational training and different competitions to try to buff up their skills. Then selecting out of that group people that can do stuff."
Fitzgerald said the crossover judging system worked at the 2010 FIS Junior World Championships in New Zealand, which helped prove to the IOC that the additional sports could be added to the Olympic program in an "efficient manner."
"At the time we were saying, 'Look, we can do this,' and the IOC was going, 'Well, that's pretty efficient and economical,'" Fitzgerald said. "So we jumped through all the hoops to get these sports in the Olympic Games, and you should live by your PowerPoint presentation."In New York on Thursday, 46 people were charged and 39 were arrested for crimes allegedly tied to mafia activity, allegedly including major mob bosses from both New York and Philadelphia.
Several members of the original Sicilian-American Mafia families were implicated in the arrests for a combination of modern and traditional mob crimes including extortion, racketeering, arson, loansharking, casino gambling, firearms trafficking, sports gambling, credit card fraud, and health care fraud.
All of which has people wondering if the clock has been rolled back to decades ago when the Mafia ruled mean city streets. But the Mafia remains a present threat, says US Attorney Preet Bharara.
“Today’s charges against 46 men, including powerful leaders, members, and associates of five different La Cosa Nostra families, demonstrate that the mob remains a scourge on this city and around the country,” Mr. Bharara told the Los Angeles Times.
According to the indictment, the organized crime ring uncovered by investigators reaches from Massachusetts to Florida and included threats to “whack” people or “pipe” their knees – dialogue that seems better suited to a gangster movie than the 21st century.
Pasquale Parrello, a notorious member of the Genovese family, and Joseph Merlino, alleged head of the Philadelphia mob, were both arrested. Mr. Merlino, who has been charged with murder but never convicted, has been described as the closest thing the current day mafia has to a classic Mafia don like John Gotti or Lucky Luciano.
But for the most part, the mob has lost a lot of its power and appeal. Increased security and advances in technology have made mafia members more wary of violence and less likely to bring their children into the “family business.”
“The world changed,” Louis Ferrante, author and former mafia member, told Vice last summer. “At one time, Italian immigrants had few ways to earn a living and provide for their families. Today, Italians have the same opportunities to advance as anyone else.”
Ferrante also said that legal gambling, legal alcohol, and easily available bank loans have eroded public demand for traditional mafia business.
Yet despite all this, the FBI still categorizes La Cosa Nostra – an Italian phrase meaning “our work” and the name for the five original Sicilian-American Mafia families – as “the foremost organized criminal threat to American society.”
"But this is only the surface; behind these lies an enormous and illegally amassed economic power, which is camouflaged and laundered until it becomes legal," Roberto Saviano, a journalist and author of several book on the Mafia, writes in a column for The New York Times. "As difficult as it is to track the routes of drugs, it is even harder to follow a money trail in the era of online banking and cyberfinance."
Today there are an estimated 3,000 active mafia members across the country, still concentrated largely in New York City, Philadelphia, and New Jersey.
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Edward A. McDonald, a former federal prosecutor in charge of organized crime prosecutions in Brooklyn in the 1980s, told The New York Times that the main thing to be taken away from these arrests is how much has changed over the past few decades.
“The Mafia is just not engaging in the significant criminal activities they were involved in the past,” McDonald said “I’m not saying the war has been won, but it’s pretty close.”to pretend to be a scientist anytime soon.
(Alliance Defense Fund) Sad face for Jennifer Keeton, who won't be ableto pretend to be a scientist anytime soon.
Jennifer Keeton failed in 11th Circuit Federal Appeals Court last week in her attempt to coerce Augusta State University (ASU) of Georgia into awarding her a master's degree the school contended she was refusing to earn.
Keeton, a psychology student, refused to do coursework associated with LGBTQ population, which rendered her unable to participate in the required practicum of one-on-one counseling. She was ordered to participate in a remediation plan. From the ruling (pdf) in Keeton v. Anderson-Wiley:
Rather than completing the remediation plan, Keeton filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that requiring her to complete the remediation plan violated her First Amendment free speech and free exercise rights. Along with her verified complaint, Keeton also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction that would prevent ASU’s officials from dismissing her from the program if she did not complete the remediation plan.
So, rather than do the coursework, she filed a lawsuit, with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). According to Southern Poverty Law Center, ADF "trains other attorneys 'to battle the radical homosexual legal agenda' in free, week-long National Litigation Academies, whose participants commit to 'provide 450 hours of pro bono legal work on behalf of the Body of Christ.'" ADF President Alan Sears claims that the ultimate goal of the gay-rights movement is to "silence" Christians.
It was Plaintiff-Appellant's contention that Keeton's views on LGBT people were protected as religious freedom and she was not obliged to consent to ASU presenting her with materials that were challenging to her worldview. The ruling includes this background (emphasis added):
In her brief, Keeton describes herself as a Christian who is committed to the truth of the Bible, including what she believes are its teachings on human nature, the purpose and meaning of life, and the ethical standards that govern human conduct. She holds several beliefs about homosexuality that she views as arising from her Christian faith. She believes that “sexual behavior is the result of personal choice for which individuals are accountable, not inevitable deterministic forces; that gender is fixed and binary (i.e., male or female), not a social construct or personal choice subject to individual change; and that homosexuality is a ‘lifestyle,’ not a ‘state of being.’” ASU’s officials became aware that Keeton held these beliefs when she expressed to professors in class and fellow classmates in and out of class that she believed that the GLBTQ population suffers from identity confusion, and that she intended to attempt to convert students from being homosexual to heterosexual. Keeton also said that it would be difficult for her to work with GLBTQ clients and to separate her views about homosexuality from her clients’ views. Further, in answering a hypothetical posed by a faculty member, Keeton responded that as a high school counselor confronted by a sophomore student in crisis, questioning his sexual orientation, she would tell the student that it was not okay to be gay. Similarly, Keeton told a fellow classmate that, if a client discloses that he is gay, it was her intention to tell the client that his behavior is morally wrong and then try to change the client’s behavior, and if she were unable to help the client change his behavior, she would refer him to someone practicing conversion therapy.
These may well be Jennifer Keeton's views and she certainly has a Constitutional right to hold and express them.
But they are very far from the mainstream views of the medical or psychiatric profession, and also of the psychological profession which she is seeking to be an accredited member. Keeton's faith in "conversion therapy" is among the most glaring antithetical views she holds. The American Psychological Association passed a resolution in 2009 by a vote of 125-to-4, saying psychologists should not tell patients they can "become straight" by therapy or any other means. APA added "efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies."
It is an unfortunate reality that one can lead a student to the class, but one cannot make them learn. Keeton was always free to take the courses and completely disregard all the science and studies that inconveniently contradicted her Christian Fundamentalist worldview. She was free to chew her gum, play with her Blackberry, doodle on her notebook and pass the time disengaged and uninterested, as many, many a college students do with required courses that they'd rather not have to sit through. And having passed the course, degree in hand, there was little that could compel Keeton not to totally disregard the lessons she's been "forced" to endure. She could have gone on to be an ineffective, and even destructive and harmful counselor to LGBT people in crisis with few mechanisms in place to stop her.
But she and Alliance Defense Fund staked out a position that she had the right to the degree, while not complying with the established curriculum that ASU required of her. The very act of requiring she merely be exposed to the knowledge base of her chosen profession was an affront to her religious freedom, they contended.
The court didn't see it that way. They concluded:
Just as a medical school would be permitted to bar a student who refused to administer blood transfusions for religious reasons from participating in clinical rotations, so ASU may prohibit Keeton from participating in its clinical practicum if she refuses to administer the treatment it has deemed appropriate. Every profession has its own ethical codes and dictates. When someone voluntarily chooses to enter a profession, he or she must comply with its rules and ethical requirements. Lawyers must present legal arguments on behalf of their clients, notwithstanding their personal views. Judges must apply the law, even when they disagree with it. So too counselors must refrain from imposing their moral and religious values on their clients.
As this decision makes clear, while we’re all entitled to our own religious beliefs, schools like ASU can mandate that counseling students adhere to professional standards and not use their religion to discriminate against students who come to them for help. This is especially important for LGBT students in crisis, who may have already faced rejection and judgment from their community, and who may not have any other trusted adult to talk to.
The ACLU, who filed an amicus brief on behalf of ASU, has this to say: Georgia? This doesn't make up for Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain, but it helps.Buy Photo Jeffrey Coy of South Starksboro plays a game of Whirlwind at Tilt, a pinball arcade and bar in South Burlington. (Photo: SALLY POLLAK/FREE PRESS FILE)Buy Photo
The Tilt Classic Arcade and Ale House, which opened two years ago near the Palace 9 Cinemas in South Burlington, announced Friday afternoon it will close July 2.
Business partners Joshua Nickerson and Thom Dodge began Tilt off Shelburne Road on Fayette Drive on July 1, 2014.
“We wanted to create a concept that allowed for all walks of life to experience our games in a comfortable environment, with locally sourced organically driven pub fare, amazing craft beers, ciders, and meads, and genuinely friendly service,” Tilt posted on its Facebook page. “We’ve had several bumps in the road in our nearly two years of operation but I believe firmly that in the end, we have become what we set out to be.”
The post said that Tilt “in its current iteration” will close, but “interested parties” might keep something similar to Tilt in operation, though the exact future “is a bit up in the air.” The Facebook post ends, “Thank you friends… be well! Thom.”
The owners of Tilt could not be immediately reached for comment Friday afternoon by phone and messages to their Facebook page.
Despite Tilt’s closing, Burlington still has an arcade that caters to adults. The Archives opened in March at 191 College St., where the Burlington Free Press had its circulation and classified departments before moving its offices in 2014 to South Winooski Avenue and Bank Street.
This story was first posted online on June 17, 2016. Contact Brent Hallenbeck at 660-1844 or bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck.
Do you have a breaking news tip? Call us at 802-660-6500 or send us a post on Facebook or Twitter using #BFPTips.
Read or Share this story: http://bfpne.ws/28LfH1sNews: the Design Museum in London has sold its Thames-side building to architect Zaha Hadid for use as an archive of her studio's architecture.
The former banana warehouse at Shad Thames has been the home of the Design Museum for 24 years but will be handed over to Zaha Hadid Architects in 2015, once the museum moves to its new location at the Commonwealth Institute in west London following a renovation by John Pawson.
In a deal understood to be worth £10 million, Hadid will transform the building into a venue for architecture exhibitions.
"The building will give an opportunity to consolidate our archive in a single location and also engage in a collective dialogue by exhibiting the research and innovation of global collaborations in art, architecture and design," she told UK weekly the Architects' Journal.
Museum director Deyan Sudjic commented: "Whilst we are sad to be leaving Shad Thames we are leaving the building in the best possible hands. The sale is a significant moment in the museum's relocation plans and a substantial contribution towards our new home."
The Design Museum unveiled the plans for its new building at the start of 2012, which will triple its current exhibition areas and provide an auditorium and a library.
See more stories about the Design Museum »
See more stories about Zaha Hadid »U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, waves upon his arrival at the US-ASEAN ministerial meeting in the International Conference Center in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, Monday, July 1, 2013. Kerry's diplomatic portfolio switched from Mideast diplomacy to North Korea and the Syrian crisis when he landed Monday in Brunei for a Southeast Asia security conference. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry swapped his Mideast peace portfolio for issues in emerging Southeast Asia and road bumps in U.S. relations with Russia and China when he landed Monday in Brunei for a regional security conference.
The tiny sultanate in the South China Sea, where he is attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, is the last stop on Kerry's two-week tour of seven countries in Asia and the Middle East.
He landed in Brunei's capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, after flying overnight from Tel Aviv, where he spent four days in long meetings trying to get Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. During the flight, Kerry got an update on the ongoing discussions by phone from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On the sidelines of the ASEAN conference, Kerry is scheduled to have a lengthy chat with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that likely will center on the Syrian crisis. Russia is a key backer of embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is fighting rebel forces that have been being armed by the U.S. and other nations.
"Clearly, part of my conversation with Foreign Minister Lavrov and the Russians will be how we can maximize our efforts together to have an impact on this," Kerry said in Tel Aviv before he left Israel. "I'm not going to go into greater detail with respect to that conversation, but I very much look forward to meeting with Sergey Lavrov when I get there."
In his meetings with both Lavrov and the Chinese minister, the discussion also is likely to include National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, who is wanted in the U.S. on espionage charges.
The White House has said Hong Kong's refusal to detain Snowden has "unquestionably" hurt U.S. relations with China. After Hong Kong's government claimed it had to allow Snowden to flee because the U.S. got Snowden's middle name wrong in documents requesting his arrest, the Justice Department said the U.S. didn't buy that excuse, calling it "a pretext for not acting."
Russia called Snowden a "free man" and also refused to turn him over to Washington. He is believed to be holed up in an airport transit zone in Moscow.
Kerry is also slated to have talks on the sidelines of the meeting with his counterparts in China, Japan, South Korea and other Asian nations.
North Korea's nuclear ambitions are expected to be a hot-button issue throughout the conference. Nations attending are expected to reiterate a call for denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. Many want North Korea to abide by its obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions and commitments it made following six-party talks in 2005.
Another issue that will take center stage at the conference is territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
China has territorial disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia over the South China Sea and its potentially oil- and gas-rich islands. Several claimants want group discussions in order to create a legally binding "code of conduct" to prevent clashes in the sea, but Beijing has not clearly stated when it will sit down with the 10-nation ASEAN bloc to discuss such a nonaggression pact.
"We have a strong interest in the manner in which the disputes of the South China Sea are addressed, and in the conduct of the parties," Kerry said in opening remarks at the conference. "We very much hope to see progress soon on a substantive code of conduct in order to help ensure stability in this vital region."
Kerry reiterated U.S. commitment to the ASEAN region where he said roughly half of the region's 600 million people — a population as large as the United States — will be defined as middle class by the end of the decade. The U.S. commitment is not meant as a counterweight to any specific country in the region, Kerry said in an apparent reference to economic powerhouse, China.
"For any country that questions whether the United States will sustain our greater engagement in the Asia-Pacific, I want to put those concerns to rest — completely — today," Kerry said. "President Obama has made a smart and strategic commitment to rebalance our interests and investments in Asia.
"We have many goals. We have economic and security interests. But I want to emphasize, importantly, our actions are not intended to contain or to counterbalance any one country."Republic of Ireland international Andy Keogh is being heavily linked with a move to Australian side Perth Glory after being released by Millwall earlier this month.
The 28-year-old has family in Perth and is believed to be seeking a new challenge having played for the Lions, Scunthorpe United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United amongst others in England.
With 29 caps to his name, Keogh last played against Spain in New York last year, while one of his two international goals came against Germany in a World Cup qualifier back in 2012.
If the move is completed, he will follow in the footsteps of Liam Miller who played two season with Perth between 2011 and 2013.
Here’s Keogh in action for Wolves against Glory in a preseason friendly that took place five years ago.Like any farmer, Guy Mills Jr. has had his share of equipment trouble. In the past, Mills, who grows corn, soybean and alfalfa on his 3,810-acre farm in Ansley, Neb., would have fixed his machinery himself. But like so many essential tools, Mills’ equipment has become so technologically complex that he needs outside help when it breaks down. Unfortunately for him, that help can eat up time and money, both of which have been in short supply.
“If you have a bad alternator, they connect a computer to your tractor and it tells them the alternator is bad,” says Mills, 57. “Before, there were other signs. Is the battery dead? Do you have lights? Just by looking at it and using deductive reasoning, you figured things out.”
Mills and his fellow farmers say that part of the problem is that equipment manufacturers like Deere & Co., maker of John Deere tractors, make it difficult for consumers and independent repair shops to get the tools needed to fix today’s high-tech tractors and other heavy machinery, which run on copyright-protected software. Instead, customers must often work with company-approved technicians, who can be far-flung and charge expensive rates. So Mills and other farmers nationwide have banded together in support of the so-called Right to Repair legislation. These bills, which have been proposed in at least 12 states, would require equipment manufacturers to offer the diagnostic tools, manuals and other supplies that farmers need to fix their own machines. “Customers, dealers and manufacturers should work together on the issue rather than invite government regulation that could add costs with no associated value,” said Ken Golden, a spokesperson for Deere & Co.
The Right to Repair movement has come up against an unexpected opponent: Apple. The iPhone maker and world’s largest public corporation by market capitalization has been lobbying state lawmakers in opposition to the bills. The argument being made against the proposals is that they could result in subpar repair work or–even worse–make consumers vulnerable to hackers. Right to Repair advocates say that Apple, which offers iPhone repair services at every Apple Store, wants to maintain control of its share of the approximately $4 billion smartphone-fixing business. “The more that they can completely own the repair experience, the more of a profit opportunity there is,” says Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, an online repair-manual repository. Apple makes an estimated $1 billion to $2 billion a year fixing iPhones compared to approximately $120 billion to $200 billion selling them.
The battle has produced some unlikely bedfellows. Farmers like Mills who want to repair their own heavy equipment are banding together with techies like Wiens, who believes consumers should be able to fix their own phones and computers. “There’s a cultural perception that you can’t fix things anymore, but I’m not sure that’s true,” says Wiens, whose website offers nearly 28,000 free manuals and had 94 million visitors last year searching for DIY repair guides on everything from PlayStations to lawn mowers to dishwashers. The issue is cutting across party lines, with support from Republicans in agriculture-heavy states like Nebraska and pro-consumer Democrats in states like New Jersey.
Guy Mills and his son James examine soil depth while hilling a cornfield with a John Deere tractor outside of Ansley, Neb., on June 19 Photograph by Benjamin Rasmussen for TIME
The battle over Right to Repair is about more than malfunctioning tractors or cracked iPhone screens. It’s about a spirit of self-sufficiency that’s baked into the DNA of blue collar America. Mills says he takes pride in farmers’ image as can-do fixers who can keep their own machinery humming, so it’s frustrating when that isn’t possible. “[We] should be able to obtain the necessary tools and access to information necessary to repair our equipment,” he says. Mills stresses that modern farmers are increasingly familiar with high-tech innovations, including everything from GPS to self-driving tractors, and that with the right tools, they would be able to fix even the most complicated machinery.
Some Right to Repair opponents have argued that consumers cannot be trusted to fix or modify their equipment because they might further damage it or hurt themselves in the process. But others say there’s a psychologically important benefit to mucking about with the things we buy. |
collected 16 megabytes of data over the following two days. That was about 90 percent of the data scientists expected to obtain during Philae’s initial operating period, according to Stephan Ulamec, the lander’s manager from the German Aerospace Center, or DLR.
“Philae currently receives about twice as much solar energy as it did in November last year,” Ulamec said in a press release. “It will probably still be too cold for the lander to wake up, but it is worth trying. The prospects will improve with each passing day.”
Officials have not pinpointed Philae’s location on the comet, but they have narrowed its final resting place within an error of 100 meters — about 330 feet — by analyzing radio signals exchanged between the lander and the Rosetta orbiter once the craft settled on the surface of the comet. The lander is about the size of a household washing machine, and it would appear just a few pixels across in imagery taken by Rosetta’s high-resolution science camera — and even then only when illuminated by the sun.
Rosetta, Philae and comet 67P are now about 300 million kilometers (186 million miles) from the sun. The comet is heading for perihelion Aug. 13, when the tiny world reaches the point of its orbit closest to the sun.
Seasonal variations on the comet should also make for a more favorable environment for Philae, giving its solar panels more sunlight over the coming months just as the comet nears the sun.
Engineers estimate Philae currently gets about 1.3 hours of sunlight for every 12.4-hour day on the comet.
When Philae stopped transmitting in November, the lander should have stayed alive. The probe was designed to go into a power-saving mode that directed all available electricity to keep the craft’s internal electronics from getting too cold, ceasing use of its radio and science instruments.
“At this time, we do not yet know that the lander is awake,” Geurts said. “To send us an answer, Philae must also turn its transmitter — and that requires additional power.”
Philae needs 19 watts of power to enable two-way communications with Earth via Rosetta, which continued its mission around comet 67P after dropping off the lander, conducting a series of flybys and observations as surface activity picks up with warmth from the sun.
The lander requires 5.5 watts of power and an internal temperature of at least minus 45 degrees Celsius (minus 49 degrees Fahrenheit) to wake up and listen for signals from Earth, and the control team in Cologne has developed commands to send to Philae to “optimize the heating and provide energy savings to improve its chances of communication with Earth,” DLR officials said in a press release.
Philae may not respond to the blind commands even if it receives the signals.
“At this time, we do not yet know that the lander is awake,” Geurts said. “To send us an answer, Philae must also turn its transmitter — and that requires additional power.”
Rosetta will attempt communications with Philae continuously until March 20, officials said, and the next opportunity to hear from the lander is in April.
If Philae sends a message, ground controllers will first evaluate the lander’s health before issuing orders to restart science operations.
“We will then evaluate the data,” Guerts said. “What is the state of the rechargeable battery? Is everything on the lander still functioning? What is the temperature? How much energy is it receiving?”
Even if the battery was damaged by the cold, Philae might still be able to collect data when it is in daylight. If the battery is functional, Philae could work around-the-clock.
“We are working to ensure that we can operate the lander and its instruments at least during the comet’s daytime, when it is in direct sunlight,” Guerts said.
Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.Press failures, especially massive ones, tend to be right there in plain site and yet totally invisible, entirely ignored. And yet we have a massive one coming out of Wednesday night’s Republican debate that the press seems inclined or insisting on totally ignoring. Commentators are toasting Carly Fiorina as the break-out winner of the debate. And yet she not only made a string of false statements, or claims that showed a willful disregard for or ignorance of reality, she almost certainly manufactured a bogus memory entirely out of whole cloth. And all of this is cast into particularly high relief since Fiorina went into the debate intent on branding Hillary Clinton as a liar. “Her track record of lying about Benghazi, of lying about her e- mails, about lying about her servers,” is something Hillary will have to answer for, Fiorina bellowed in the debate.
Now it may seem odd to call this a press failure when I’m about to cite several press organizations that quickly noted all these distortions and outright lies. But this is always the case with a press failure of this magnitude. Someone is always making the point here or there. But it doesn’t take shape as part of the narrative of what happened in the debate or the campaign. That’s certainly the case here. Vox, ABC News and Esquire have each in one way or another been all over this. But the reality of what Fiorina did in this debate and a number of earlier press encounters is totally absent from the basic themes of the post-debate coverage.
Fiorina has a habit of simply making things up. In the case of the parts of the Planned Parenthood videos, the way she made it up seems to verge on the pathological. Again she says she saw something in these videos that completely wasn’t there. And she doubled down on it the next day. This is just lying through your teeth or just being so indifferent to whether things are true or not that it amounts to the same thing.
Another avenue here is her tenure at HP. I don’t know enough about all the specifics to analyze her defense of her tenure. But I do know enough to remember that long before she entered the political arena and the question became partisanized, it was widely accepted that her time running HP was a disaster. Even from my limited following of these things it’s clear that purchasing Compaq had none of the ‘synergies’ or strategic advantages for HP which were expected of it. And notably, the folks in the minority who say it worked say it was only able to bear fruit after the company ditched Fiorina because “she simply did not have the skills to manage one of the world’s largest technology companies.” All of this makes me think her claims about her tenure at HP could probably bear some probing scrutiny.
Why is the press ignoring or hushing this up? It’s almost always a matter of laziness. Hillary is the shifty-eyed liar, Rick Perry was the dolt, Obama is stand-offish and cerebral. Everybody has their cliche or caricature through which all their actions are understood. Confirmatory news is kept; disconfirmatory news is tossed aside. To an important degree, this is simply human nature. We all do it to some degree in our daily lives. But journalists have special responsibilities to look past caricatures and the familiar. In this case, they’re failing that test. You should not be able to tell a slew of small fibs in a big debate and one mammoth one that not have it become part of the campaign discussion at all.After the surrender of France in June of 1940, exiled Brigadier General Charles de Gaulle, in a broadcast from London, urged his fellow Frenchmen to rally around France Libre to fight the German invaders. While many who answered de Gaulle’s call went on to fight the Germans in North Africa and the Mediterranean, a handful of French fliers eventually ended up in an unexpected theater of war: The Eastern Front. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June of 1941, de Gaulle saw an opportunity for his Free French pilots to fight the Germans. At the same time, de Gaulle hoped the move would garner Moscow’s formal recognition of his government. The few French airmen who arrived in the Soviet Union in September of 1941 would evolve into an effective and deadly air group, which would later be known as the Normandie-Niemen Regiment. By the end of the war, these French volunteers would shoot down 273 German aircraft through major campaigns such as the battle of Kursk and Operation Bagration. While some historians have suggested that their role was exaggerated by Soviet propaganda organs, the regiment’s track record indicates that the regiment, also known as GC 3 (Groupe de Chasse 3), carried out its missions effectively and successfully, thereby aiding the VVS in its crucial role in the victory of Germany.
The core group of 12 French pilots and 47 ground staff arrived in Soviet Azerbaijan, through Iran, on September 1, 1941. The French airmen were given their choice of Soviet aircraft, and eventually settled on the fast and maneuverable Yakovlev Yak-1, one of the Soviet Union’s best fighters at the time of the German invasion on June 22, 1941. Captain Albert Litolff of the CG 3 noted that the Yakovlev was in many ways similar to the French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighter that many of the airmen had flown against the Luftwaffe during Germany’s invasion of France, though the Soviet fighter had a greater speed and could perform sharper turns. Despite the fact that many in the CG 3 were experienced pilots before they left France, the fighter group spent its first six months in the Soviet Union learning the capabilities of their Yak-1s and studying the Soviet Manual of Operations. By the time the group became operational in March of 1943, the French pilots had an average of 857 hours of flight time, more than three times that of their Soviet counterparts.
On March 21st, 1943, the CG 3 was declared fit for duty, and was transferred to the Western Front, stationed outside of Kaluga, as part of the 1st Air Army, where it was tasked with escorting bombers of the 204th Bomber Air Division. Shortly thereafter, on April 5th, the pilots of the Normandie Group scored their first kill. According to an article published on April 8th in the Red Army’s newspaper, Krasnaya Zvezda, the first combat mission of Lt. Duran and Lt. Precios, who had “been waiting for the day when they would rise in the air in Soviet aircraft to shoot down the hated Nazis,” shot down a German Fw-190 fighter.
The French pilots, however, quickly learned firsthand the brutality of the Eastern Front. On April 13th, while escorting bombers of the 204th, three pilots of the CG 3 did not return from the mission. This incident made clear that the language barrier between the Soviet bombers and their French escorts led to a lack of interaction between the twin-engine aircraft and their fighter escorts, and it was something that could not be ignored. The CG 3 was subsequently taken off escort duty and transferred to the 303rd Fighter Division.
Some historians argue that the training of French pilots highlighted individualism and promoted the principle of maximum independence in battle, which in turn made airmen of the CG 3 poor escorts. Many Soviet pilots, however, have discounted this accusation. For example, Sturmovik pilot Nikolay Rumyantsev 70 years later adamantly stressed that rumors suggesting that Normandie pilots were more interested in pursuing individual dog fights than providing cover were simply untrue. “They flew normally,” he emphasized. It was more likely that when issues did arise, it was due to the language barrier between bomber pilots and their escorts. It certainly would not have been the first time that the Normandie Group had to make adjustments because of the language difference.
For example, it was initially hoped that French mechanics would service the aircraft of CG 3, but they were replaced by Soviet air crews before the unit became operational in the spring of 1943. As one Russian mechanic, Yuriy Fedorin, recalled, “In the winter of 1942, the air temperature was -30˚C and below. The French technical staff was unable to prepare the aircraft for combat missions, and it was therefore decided to replace it with Russian [staff].” There was, consequently, a significant and frustrating language barrier between the French pilots and their Soviet ground crews. The pilots of CG 3 did not speak Russian, and Soviet citizens generally did not speak French, and those who did were not aircraft mechanics. The Normandie Group was thus forced to rely on the work of translators, of which there was an acute shortage. Fedorin recalled that, “When a pilot returned from battle, we would ask ‘how is the plane’, and he would say ‘good’ or ‘not good’, and then we would have to look for what was ‘not good’.”
Communication issues notwithstanding, the CG 3 continued to fly combat missions with the 303rd Fighter Division throughout April and into May, when the Normandie group was temporarily grounded due to fears that the French pilots would be executed by the Germans if the airmen were forced to bail out or crash land in enemy territory. The Vichy regime had sentenced the CG 3 pilots to death in absentia, and it was unclear if the Germans on the Eastern Front would carry out the execution orders of the Nazi puppet state in France. Nevertheless, in June, an additional group of eight French pilots led by Major Pierre Pouyade arrived in the Soviet Union, and on July 12, after the VVS had sustained heavy losses during the German offensive at Kursk, the order grounding the CG 3 was lifted, and the Normandie regiment was brought to the front as part of the Soviet counteroffensive, during which the French pilots shot down an impressive 18 German aircraft. Seven CG 3 pilots, however, were killed between July 12th and 17th, including Captain Litolff and Major Tulasne.
Ilyushin Sturmovik pilots recalled how Tulasne died on July 17th while providing air cover for the ground attack aircraft. The French airman “escorted Sturmoviks to the area of Znamenskoye with nine fighters under the command of Major Tulasne… two Fw-190s attacked, clashing with three Yak-9s- Major Tulasne, Captain De Forges, and Second Lieutenant Bon. Soon another six Fw-190s and eight Bf-109s joined the battle, attacking the Sturmoviks from the right rear. Our fighters were forced to leave the Sturmoviks and the nine [Yaks] repulsed the enemy’s attacks. Lieutenant Beguin, when paired with Senior Lieutenant Vermeille, fought a battle with four Fw-190s and was shot down… Major Tulasne, Captain DeVore, and Second Lieutenant Bon, leading the fight against the enemy fighters, entered the clouds. After exiting the clouds, none of the pilots could see Major Tulasne.”
Due to the heavy losses suffered by CG 3 during the battle of Kursk, the French pilots were once again temporarily grounded in an attempt to give the Normandie airmen time to recuperate and recover from the intense and seemingly endless dog fights in which they participated. In early August, the CG 3 received fresh pilots and aircraft, bringing their total number to 40, and in early September the French airmen were ordered to help the Red Army liberate Smolensk, where the CG 3 continued to improve its track record. By the end of October, the Normandie airmen had claimed 72 victories for the loss of 20 French pilots.
The Normandie pilots were then transferred to Tula where they spent the winter of 1943-1944. The airmen, during the brief respite from the front, spent most of their time relaxing and training in their new Yak-9Ts that had just arrived. By spring, their number had increased to 61 pilots, and in May, the Normandie Regiment was transferred back to Smolensk where it was put on operational duty with the 303rd IAD. On June 22, the Normandie regiment participated in Operation Bagration- the Red Army’s largest offensive of the war. By the end of the day, CG 3 pilots had shot down eight German aircraft, losing one of their own.
One Soviet pilot, Valentin Besklubov, later recalled a terrifying run in with the French pilots while flying a Yak-9 during Operation Bagration, saying “The heavy air battles began for us when we participated in Operation Bagration. We had already been flying the Yak-9. There was one case in which I was in combat and ran out of fuel, and I didn’t make it back to the airfield, so I landed in an unfamiliar place. People ran up to me, not speaking Russian. I was scared, I thought it was a German airfield. They sat on the wings, and immediately began looking at the instruments. It turned out to be the Normandie-Niemen French regiment. The next day, when I refueled, I flew to my own airfield.”
The CG 3 continued its work at the front lines throughout the summer and fall of 1944, joining the Red Army and VVS in the gradual push westwards. On October 16th, the regiment had its most successful day, when Normandie pilots shot down 29 German aircraft, losing none of their own. The French pilots continued to pile up convincing numbers, claiming 12 enemy aircraft on the 17th, 11 on the 20th, and 12 on the 22nd. According to Soviet sources, Normandie airmen shot down 129 German aircraft in the summer and fall of 1944, losing 20 aircraft of their own and 15 pilots. In November, due to its contribution in covering Soviet troops crossing the Niemen River, the regiment was renamed the Normandie-Niemen regment, and that same day, two French pilots, Marcel Albert and Roland de La Poype were awarded Gold Star: Hero of the Soviet Union, the USSR’s highest distinction.
Between January of 1945 and the end of the war, Normandie-Niemen pilots carried out a further 1300 sorties, shooting down an additional 67 German aircraft while losing ten of their own. Another two French pilots, Marcel Lefèvre and Jacques André, were awarded Gold Star: Hero of the Soviet Union after the German surrender. By May 9, 1945, the regiment had claimed 273 aerial victories and 37 probables, losing 87 aircraft and 52 pilots. In 5,240 sorties flown, the CG 3 took part in 869 dog fights and also destroyed numerous ground targets including 27 trains, 22 locomotives, two E-boats, 132 trucks, and 24 staff cars. After the war was over, the Soviet government expressed its gratitude to the regiment by offering 37 of the unit’s Yak fighters as a gift to France. The French pilots returned to Paris to a hero’s welcome on June 20, 1945.
The French pilots of the Normandie-Niemen regiment were thus not simply products of Soviet propaganda; they were active at the frontline in decisive battles such as Kursk and Operational Bagration, and had the record to show for it. After the swift defeat of France by the Wehrmacht, several French fliers answered Charles De Gaulle’s call to fight against the Germans in the Soviet Union, not for political purposes, but as a way to fight against the enemy that had invaded their own homeland. These airmen fought in several decisive battles on the Eastern Front, helping the VVS maintain air superiority, thus enabling the Red Army to deliver the crushing offensives against the Germans in the last two years of the war. While welcomed as heroes upon their return to France in 1945, these brave pilots truly were Heroes of the Soviet Union.
-Patrick KinvilleThe 2015 SpaceApps Challenge Adelaide, a space-themed hackathon organised by NASA, has highlighted the growing potential of Australian space exploration startups.
The event’s organiser, Michael Leslie, is also the co-founder and technical manager of a startup called AU Launch Services.
“AU Launch Services provides brokerage services, such as insurance, legal and documentation – to people who want to launch satellites,” Leslie told StartupSmart.
“We were only founded in early December, a couple of guys who wanted to do something in the space industry and found a niche that wasn’t being filled. We found many people have found dealing with the government can be difficult, so we’re a middle-man between startups that want CubeSat satellites and regulators.
“Another Australian startup that’s worth watching is called Launchbox that’s focused on building satellites and is already providing an educational satellite program. But there’s a number of space startups, especially in Adelaide and New South Wales.”
The 2015 SpaceApps Challenge in Adelaide ran from April 10 to 12 at the Majoran Distillery. It is the third time the event has been run in Adelaide, alongside a similar event on the Gold Coast. The Australian events, in turn, were among 133 events run worldwide as part of NASA’s International Space Apps Challenge.
“Space Apps is organised by NASA. It’s a 48 hour global hackathon utilising NASA data on things like government satellites, astronaut physiology and space station sensor data. NASA has set a number of challenges covering outer space, humans, Earth and robotics,” Leslie says.
“There is the option to create a startup – while all the solutions have to be open source, teams can decide to take their idea further. There’s a judging panel, and the top two go through to the global round, and our top two have been offered places in Adelaide incubators.”
One of the two winners from this year’s event used NASA data about Mars’ lava tubes. Lava tubes are subterranean tunnels formed by lava flows that some researchers think could have once been home to life, and could potentially form an advantageous place for exploration or human habitation in the future.
“The winning team – a Mars Lava Tube Sim – takes NASA lab data about lava tubes and used that as the basis for a Mars colonisation simulator game. All the data from the game then goes into a centralised database, so if everyone in the game chooses to build their colonies in the same lava tube or abandons a particular lava tube, researchers get some indication as to where they should focus their attention.
“In second place was an educational multiplayer board game, which didn’t use data, where each player plays as a space agency, such as NASA or the European Space Agency. The game introduces players to the process of planning and the events that take place before a mission launches.
“We then submitted their entries online for global judging, and over the coming weeks the global judging team will pick the best 25, put them online, and then choose the big winner. Last year’s winner won a trip to the major US space facilities, including the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.”
Follow StartupSmart on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.The phrase "taco trucks on every corner" was used by Marco Gutierrez, the co-founder of Latinos for Trump, on September 1, 2016, in comments that received widespread attention during the 2016 United States presidential elections.
During an interview with MSNBC, Gutierrez referred to his Mexican heritage, stating that "My culture is a very dominant culture, and it's imposing and it's causing problems. If you don't do something about it, you're going to have taco trucks on every corner." His remarks subsequently met with both sarcasm and criticism, many mocking the statement on social media and sending #TacosOnEveryCorner to the top of Twitter's list of trending topics.[1] Others expressed concern over his remarks, stating that he was using "coded language that politicians and pundits use to get away with explicitly racist messages — from crime to immigration and terrorism." Taco trucks were used as voter registration-information booths in Houston Texas, and a nationwide Guac the Vote campaign was launched.[2] National Public Radio (NPR) news wrote that taco trucks "now straddle the worlds of political symbol and internet meme".[3]
Origin [ edit ]
The phrase originated with Marco Gutierrez, a co-founder of the group Latinos for Trump, during an interview with Joy Reid on MSNBC on September 1, 2016.
The phrase was used within the context of a warning about the "dominance" of Mexican culture, underscoring Gutierrez's stance that immigration should be more closely regulated.[a]
In an interview with Deutsche Welle on September 8, 2016, Gutierrez explained, "If you don't regulate the immigration, if you don't structure our communities, we are going to do whatever we want. We are going to take over. That is what I'm trying to say and I think what is happening with my culture is that its imposing [itself] on the American culture – and both cultures are reacting."[5]
Reactions [ edit ]
By political figures [ edit ]
By location [ edit ]
In popular culture [ edit ]
Sales of the song I Love You More Than Tacos by the latin music band Carne Cruda increased. The song is about "a man's love so profound that he would give his tacos and burritos to someone else". [53] Univision reported that the song "has become something of an anthem in the wake of the #TacoTruckOnEveryCorner controversy." [53]
by the latin music band Carne Cruda increased. The song is about "a man's love so profound that he would give his tacos and burritos to someone else". Univision reported that the song "has become something of an anthem in the wake of the #TacoTruckOnEveryCorner controversy." On October 21, 2016 American singer and musical theatre actress Leslie Kritzer released a satirical song titled Taco Truck Invasion.[54] Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Kritzer battles the derogatory statement made by Gutierrez, who also founded Latinos for Trump, with humor by embodying her alter-ego Riff-Tina, dancing through the streets with a taco truck by her side."[55]
Polling [ edit ]
In a survey of 1,898 American adults conducted on September 3, 2016, market research firm YouGov reported that 58% would be happy "if there was a taco truck on your corner".[56]
In an opinion poll of 744 likely voters conducted in Florida from September 4 to 6, 2016, polling firm Public Policy Polling reported that "tacos and taco trucks are pretty popular among voters who have opinions on them."[57][58] The firm reported tacos had a +36% net favorability, and taco trucks had a +30% net favorability, with a "pretty significant party divide on the 'issue' of taco trucks".[57]
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
^ [4] "While on All in With Chris Hayes on Thursday evening, Latinos for Trump founder Marco Gutierrez warned of the danger of allowing Mexican culture to enter the United States unabated." ^ [19] "On Tuesday, the Hispanic Chamber, which says it represents 4.1 million Hispanic-owned businesses nationwide, took things a step further, announcing a "Guac the Vote" campaign to encourage taco truck owners to register customers to vote and then to park outside polling sites on Election Day in a symbolic, if tasty, protest of Gutierrez's comments."
References [ edit ]Government's failure to grant key concessions met with anger in the capital, with protests spreading to other parts of country
Opposition leaders begged protesters in Kiev to keep observing a truce with riot police late on Thursday night, after long talks with President Viktor Yanukovych ended without a major breakthrough.
The government's failure to grant key concessions was met with anger by thousands of protesters manning the barricades in the capital, while the anti-government protests that have rocked Ukraine spread to other parts of the country during the day.
On Wednesday, after three people had been killed in clashes with riot police, opposition politician Vitali Klitschko had asked protesters in central Kiev to observe an eight-hour truce while talks went on. Klitschko had promised to "go on the attack" if Yanukovych did not launch snap elections within 24 hours, while Arseniy Yatsenyuk of the Fatherland party said he was ready to take a "bullet in the head".
The protesters duly extinguished the flaming barricade of tyres that had been set up on the frontline, and the two sides stood facing each other down, the carcasses of burned out police buses between them. But when the trio of opposition leaders emerged after gruelling talks with the president that lasted more than four hours, they had changed their tune, asking for more time and a continuation of the ceasefire.
"The only thing we were able to achieve was not much," a grim Klitschko told the crowd. He was booed by some of those at the barricade as he asked for a truce.
Opposition leader and former WBC heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko addresses protesters near the burning barricades in central Kiev. Photograph: Sergei Chuzavkov/AP
The fires were lit again and the capital was set for an uneasy night. On Independence Square nationalist leader Oleh Tyahnybok, who was part of the negotiations, put the idea of continuing discussions with the president to a midnight vote among the crowd, and it was overwhelmingly rejected. There are now difficult decisions for the opposition leaders, who have been unable to achieve their key demand of snap elections from Yanukovych but are uneasy about being held responsible for any further violence.
Earlier in the day Yanukovych suggested holding an emergency parliament session next Tuesday in the hope of ending the standoff, though this alone was unlikely to placate protesters.
There were dramatic developments in the west of the country too on Thursday as hundreds of people forced their way into the office of the regional governor in the city of Lviv, and forced him to sign a resignation letter.
The governor, Oleh Salo, a Yanukovych appointee in a city where support for the president is in low single digits, later said he signed the letter under duress and was rescinding his resignation.
A pro-European integration protester carries tyres at the site of clashes with riot police in Kiev. Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/REUTERS
In the city of Rivne the regional administration building was stormed by thousands rushed in, demanding those detained in protests be freed, while reports of similar events came in from other towns.
Tensions were inflamed by mounting evidence of police brutality against protesters, as photographs and videos, that appearing to show ill treatment of detainees, spread across Ukrainian social media.
In one video a detainee, named by protest organisers as Mikhailo Gavrilyak, was stripped naked and made to walk around in the snow while several riot police officers posed for photographs and one slapped him on the back of the head. The interior ministry apologised for "the impermissible actions of people wearing police uniforms" in a statement about the incident. There were also reports of detainees being arrested then taken not to police stations but out to forests and manhandled.
Andriy Tarasenko, who claims to represent the far-right group Pravy Sektor, which has taken responsibility for much of the violent response to riot police, told the Guardian that the group's members were likely to continue guerilla warfare if Yanukovych did not resign.
Ukraine's prime minister, Mykola Azarov, in Davos at the World Economic Forum, said "a genuine attempt at a coup d'état" was being carried out in Kiev. He had been due to participate in a panel at the forum on Friday but was barred in protest at the clashes in Kiev.
"All those who support this coup should say clearly, 'yes, we are for the overthrow of the legitimate authorities in Ukraine', and not hide behind peaceful protesters," Azarov said. However, he later said that controversial new anti-protest laws, which came into force on Tuesday, could be improved if there was proper dialogue with the opposition.
The interior ministry claimed the bullets that killed two men in clashes on Wednesday were not of a type used by any police or troops. The authorities have suggested the deaths could have been due to provocateurs.
A diplomatic initiative to stop the bloodshed gathered pace on Thursday, as Yanukovych fielded calls from a number of European politicians and US vice president Joseph Biden. Additionally, the former former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called on the US president, Barack Obama, and Russia's Vladimir Putin, to help find a negotiated settlement to Ukraine's conflict.
In a letter published on his website on Thursday Gorbachev, who has Ukrainian heritage, said: "Without the help, without the co-operation of authoritative representatives of our two countries this [situation] could lead to catastrophe … I ask you to seize the opportunity and take a decisive step to help Ukraine return to the path of peaceful development. I am really relying on you."A partner of the Portland Timbers since 2013, the Capital Fútbol Club Timbers have announced a stronger affiliation with the MLS club’s PDL franchise ahead of the 2017 season. The Capital FC Timbers will handle the day-to-day operations of the PDL team, which will still compete as the Portland Timbers U23, while the MLS club will provide resources and assist with player recruitment and selection.
“With our development focus shifting to our academy program and T2, we felt it was important to put the U23 program in a marketplace that will be both beneficial to the Timbers brand and also our alliance club partner, Capital FC Timbers,” said Gavin Wilkinson, general manager and president of soccer for the Timbers. “We are delighted that they have taken the opportunity to further strengthen the partnership and we look forward to working with Capital FC Timbers to maintain a strong U23 program.”
Founded in 1993, the Capital FC Timbers are a member club of the Portland Timbers Alliance, which provides elite local youth clubs with coaching resources to better develop aspiring players. The youth club has had 154 alumni move on to play at the collegiate level, while 27 standouts have been selected to join the Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns FC Academy systems.
”We are excited to expand our relationship with the Portland Timbers and add the Timbers U23 to our club. This is a testament to the hard work put in by our players, coaches and administrative staff. The PDL was part of my soccer life growing up in Salem and I am excited to be able to bring that back to Salem with the Timbers U23,” Capital FC Timbers Executive Director, Collin Box said.
The Timbers U23 have competed in the PDL since 2009, reaching the PDL Playoffs five times. In 2010, the club won a PDL national championship with a 16-0-0 record during the regular season on its way to becoming the first undefeated champion in PDL history.
The PDL, a part of the United Soccer Leagues – which also operates the Division 2 USL as well as the Super Y League – has served as an important stepping stone for aspiring professionals for more than two decades. More than 550 PDL alums have been drafted since 2000, with 59 standouts selected in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. Nearly 70 percent of MLS SuperDraft selections since 2010 have had PDL experience.(CNN) When the Republican-controlled House passed the American Health Care Act last month, GOP members hurried to the White House for a celebratory press event with President Trump.
Those smiles will turn to frowns when Republicans get a look at new numbers on the AHCA in a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll
A majority of people either said the Senate should "make major changes" (26%) to the House bill or not pass the bill at all (29%).
There are other numbers in the poll -- 55% have an unfavorable view of the GOP healthcare law compared to 31% who view it favorably, 75% think the legislation makes good on either none or only some of President Trump's promises -- that suggest the AHCA, unless the Senate can pull a rabbit out of a hat, could be a major anchor weighing down Republicans in 2018.
This will feel like deja vu for close watchers of Congress and Congressional elections. The 2010 midterms, which delivered Republicans control of the House, was, functionally, a referendum on President Obama's healthcare law. Four years later, the botched rollout of the law cost Democrats again.
The reason healthcare is so consistently such a powerful voting issue is simple: It touches everyone in the country on a regular basis.
Things like the debt ceiling or campaign finance are sort of esoteric concepts to the average person. They don't come into contact with them on a daily basis.
Not so health care -- which confronts you every time you or a loved one goes to pick up a prescription, see a doctor or has to make a trip to the emergency room.
Health care is deeply personal. And making changes to anything that is so deeply personal -- and ubiquitous -- comes with massive political peril.
Republicans seemed convinced that the consistent unpopularity of the Affordable Care Act -- particularly within their base -- made scrapping major parts of the law a political no-brainer.
But, as the Kaiser poll shows, changing something people are used to -- even if they don't love it -- is far harder than it looks. It's the "devil you know versus the devil you don't" argument. And the devil you know almost always wins that one.
Even as the AHCA's unpopularity has soared, the ACA has grown more popular. Forty nine percent now view Obamacare favorably while 42 percent regard it unfavorably. And, when it comes to intensity, the ACA has the edge as well. Forty percent(!) have a "very" unfavorable view of the AHCA while 29% feel that away about the ACA; just 12% feel "very" favorably about the AHCA, less than half the 29% of people who say the same of the ACA.
Intensity of feelings about major voting issues tends to be one of the key indicators of base excitement. Judging from these Kaiser numbers, the Democratic base is strongly energized by their dislike of this bill while Republicans are far less invigorated. (Just 67% of Republicans had a favorable view of the AHCA.)
These numbers suggest that Republicans' fate in the 2018 midterms could well depend on what Senate GOPers do with the healthcare legislation. One thing is crystal clear: Simply passing the House bill would be a political death sentence.CALGARY – A denial of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would lead to more oil moving across the continent by rail, an executive with pipeline builder TransCanada Corp. said Tuesday, calling such an outcome a “tragedy.”
“While we view rail as a complementary short-term solution until more pipeline capacity is brought online, more rail terminals will be built to fill the capacity gap if Keystone XL is not approved,” Alex Pourbaix, president of energy and |
’t capture how inept it was.
When not laughing, minimizing, condescending, or trying, in a more serious mode, to sell the kind of clumsy, inconsistent spin that clearly frustrated most of the reporters in the room, Sanders said that ousted FBI director James Comey committed “atrocities.” Many of her remarks — like the varying explanations that have leaked out over the past 24 hours — were clearly nonsense, and reporters found many ways to say so, on social media and in their on-air reports.
Sanders looked like a day player who had wandered in from an unfinished “Parks and Recreation” scene, but hadn’t learned her lines. She was out of her depth, and she yet treated the press corps like unruly kindergartners. In an administration where someone as inept as Spicer — a man who spent part of Tuesday night hiding in the bushes near the White House — was the A team, the performance of Sanders, the untested B team, was laughable.
And maybe that is what will turn the tide: The way the Trumpian story has devolved into farce.
Not that the first hundred-plus days weren’t mostly scary. Not that there haven’t been other moments of surreal comedy scattered throughout the attempts to turn America into the home of an incompetent authoritarian regime. But what’s occurring today is different. The administration is becoming a laughingstock — certainly in the eyes of many who have been covering it for months.
Anderson Cooper, who’d clearly reached his limit with Kellyanne Conway on Tuesday night, is far from alone in his eye-rolls; sighs were even more common on cable TV Tuesday and Wednesday. Asked how the plan to roll out the Comey announcement went, an Axios reporter on MSNBC replied, “There was no real plan.” Then Jonathan Swan sighed, and unleashed a compact indictment of incompetence.
Most people in the administration learned what was happening by looking at TVs or “looking down at their phones,” Swan said. “There was basically a two-hour vacuum where they were running around like headless chickens.”
A day and night spent watching CNN and MSNBC reveals that, if they didn’t before, many people covering the administration, or talking about it, now view it as a very substandard imitation of “Veep.” (If only.) A change had come over the TV coverage: The frequently maddening tendency toward false equivalence — i.e., “got to hear both sides” — was often thrown over in favor of what a reality-TV addict would call a “loser edit.“
And that is a very serious problem — not for democracy, but for a man who wants to come off like the dominant tough guy in every situation. An administration’s legitimacy is partly determined by the media, and on Wednesday, large sections of the commentariat weren’t buying what Trump and his mouthpieces were selling. There’s nothing like that moment when a critical mass of observers — even in the midst of a crisis — realize it’s OK to sigh, shake their heads and even laugh at the schoolyard bully (and that’s the kind of coverage that no doubt fed into the inevitable rage-tweeting from Trump, a voracious consumer of cable news).
Trump is obsessed with his image, and to be pitied is bad. To be laughed at — to be in charge of an administration that prompts reporters to deploy sarcasm, sigh and roll their eyes — is probably an even bigger fear. He’s not the swaggering, conquering TV anti-hero he clearly wants to be in his mind. In his rage-tweets, the most hated thing to be is “weak.”
Trump has always understood that perception matters. (It’s scary that his assumption that perception matters more than reality could be true, but that’s a column for another day.) The president is said to have picked cabinet members in part based on how they looked, as if he were casting his cabinet like a Hollywood movie. His career and businesses have been built on flash, and on smoke and mirrors. His speeches may be full of bile and hate, but he knows how to draw in a crowd and keep them hanging on his every word.
But this image-obsessed man has lost the plot, if he ever had control of it.
On MSNBC Wednesday, John Dean told Brian Williams that the administration had a “stylistic” problem: It had gone about the firing of Comey all wrong. It looked bad. Talking heads from all over the political spectrum regarded with disdain the firing of Comey — who, seeing his own political demise on TV screens at an FBI event in Los Angeles, thought he had been pranked.
The Trump of “The Apprentice” would have staged it better than that. But he’s without competent editors now. The shapers of this story aren’t up to the job. He’s now starring in a badly constructed reality show, or a garish sitcom, in which he himself is the running joke.
Judging by the masterfully deployed contempt that was evident in everyone from John Dean to Rachel Maddow to Pete Williams, Trump — and by extension, the rickety administration constructed around him — has become a familiar TV type. He’s not the star of the narrative, he’s the supporting player who has no choice but to endure the scorn, derision and mockery of other characters. Trump’s not a fearsome villain, and he may be turning into the punchline.
And as any D-lister could tell the president, it’s hard to come back from being a joke.Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
On Tuesday, December 10, 1991, pop veterans George Michael and Elton John were at number one with Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.
Nine places below, at number 10, a group of scruffy Seattle blokes called Nirvana were making their name with a tune called Smells Like Teen Spirit.
That night in Newport, 8,000 miles away from Seattle, another group of dishevelled rockers were getting ready to play in a club called TJ’s. They were called Hole.
Their singer, a woman named Courtney Love, could scream like a banshee. She brought her boyfriend along.
In a moment of punk rock romance he is said to have proposed to her. The couple went on to become two of the most famous people on the planet.
He was Kurt Cobain. And that night has become the stuff of legend.
'I said "Mate, you have to pay to get in". He pulled his fringe to one side and I was like "Oh, s***"'
(Image: Therapy? Archive)
Simon Phillips, of promoters Cheap Sweaty Fun, helped organise the gig. Tickets were £4, or £4.50 on the door.
“There is quite a lot of shakily accurate stuff out there about that night,” the 63-year-old said.
“It was a Hole tour and Therapy? and Daisy Chainsaw were supporting. That night was completely the wrong way around. Daisy Chainsaw were amazing and should have headlined. Therapy? were really good as usual.
“Hole, as a musical outfit, I thought were all right but they left me mildly disappointed.”
Simon, a father-of-two and grandfather, said he “didn’t know what to expect from them” but “was not entirely bowled over”.
“The band turned up to soundcheck without Courtney Love, they came in late afternoon. But Courtney Love turned up very late with Kurt.
“They were both with a guy called Russell Warby who was Hole’s booking agent.
“That night they had a car crash on the Old Green Roundabout, just along from TJ’s.
“I remember Russell’s car being put on a low-loader, because it was a write-off. It was an old sky-blue Skoda and it was a right old mess.
“They came from London with Russell and the band came down separately.
“We had a phone call from Russell saying they would be late and then this crash happened. But as they were playing last we just carried on with the show.
“Shortly before they were due to come on stage Russell came in with Courtney, who I had never met, but anyone would have recognised her.”
Ten minutes later “this scruffy guy” sauntered in.
“He had his hair all over his face so I did not recognise him, which I would have done otherwise,” Simon said.
“I told him, ‘It’s £4.50’”
There was little response.
“So I said ‘Mate, it’s £4.50 tonight, you have to pay to get in.’ He pulled his fringe to one side and I was like ‘Oh, s***.’ And in he came.
“The only other contact I had with them was at the end. I shook Kurt’s hand and he said ‘Hey man, cool venue you’ve got here.’
“There were no minders or any of that b*****ks. He was just milling about on his own.”
But Simon is not convinced Kurt proposed to Courtney that night.
(Image: Dave Wakely)
“I think we knew about it before the gig, I think it had been reported in the NME,” he said.
He heard later that TJ’s owner, the late John Sicolo, came up with a way to make extra cash from the night.
“He considered a scheme to cut up the bedsheets that they used into one inch squares and sell them off,” Simon said.
“I heard that from a well-placed source. That was entirely in keeping with John’s outlook on the world and his place in it.”
'One of the crew started shouting at a bloke getting in the way. It was Kurt Cobain'
(Image: Tom Hoad & Therapy 2014)
Andy Cairns (centre, above) and his band Therapy? were touring with Hole at the time.
Andy, now 51, had been looking forward to the night. They had played the venue before. For them TJ’s was as big a deal as playing New York’s CBGB music club.
“We really loved Daisy Chainsaw and Hole, some of my best memories of all time are from that tour,” the singer said.
He had never seen TJ’s as packed as it was that night.
“It was a nightmare to get our stuff through the crowd, but it was all so good natured there,” he said.
“I remember Johnny Sicolo himself being down the front because it looked like people might start spilling on the stage.
“The word went around that Kurt had turned up, none of us had ever met him.”
One of their crew started shouting at a bloke who was getting in the way as kit was being unloaded from the Therapy? van. It was Kurt.
“Cobain was looking at him and mumbling at the floor,” dad-of-two Andy said.
“Michael the bass player asked him if he knew who he was shouting at. He said ‘No’ and Michael told him. He said he still didn’t know him.”
Andy recalled the reaction when people realised Kurt was in the building.
“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh my God, that bloke from Nirvana is here!’” he said. “It was more like, ‘Oh right, that dude from Nirvana is here.’ That night was amazing.”
(Image: From the collection of Dave Wakely)
(Image: AP/Mark J.Terrill)
He liked Courtney Love.
“I thought she was great, super-intelligent, really interesting to talk to. You never knew what you would get with her, you never knew which Courtney would turn up.
“I can’t remember there being any drama that day, but that might be because we were so happy to be at TJ’s.
“Afterwards when we walked by Cobain, I gave him the muso nod that you give when you know someone is in a band. You know who they are they know who you are.
“That’s as far as our conversation went. I think Michael spoke to him.
“I remember at the end of the night when people realised who he was he was surrounded by people.
“I heard shortly after he had proposed to her that night. I think about two weeks later, someone from Simon Phillips’ crew had told us that was the night.”
Therapy? bassist Michael McKeegan has discovered video footage of the night on his computer.
“It’s just before our set so it’s all a bit hectic onstage, with mics being pushed around but it does nicely sum up the chaos of TJ’s,” he said.
“I spoke to Kurt briefly after our set. He was actually standing on a pile of our guitar cases so he could get a good view.
“I think I said something really mundane about how hot the gig had been and he agreed.
“He was very smiley but seemed shy and completely unassuming. There were no minders, crew, entourage et cetera.”
'I gave him a fag and a light and asked "Are you here to watch Courtney?"'
(Image: supplied pic)
(Image: supplied pic)
Schoolboy Andrew Curran knew all about Nirvana and Hole when he turned up at TJ’s for Cheap Sweaty Fun number 73.
Now he’s a 44-year-old assistant headteacher in Leicester.
“I gave him a fag and a light,” the history tutor, from Newport, said.
“I had seen Nirvana a week or two before at the Bierkeller in Bristol. That was one of their first ever UK gigs. Midway Still supported them.
“About two weeks later Hole played and a big load of us went down and we were all jumping around to Hole.”
Andrew remembered the moments before he handed the singer a Benson and Hedges.
“I said 'Are you here to watch Courtney?'” he said.
“He didn’t say much but he asked for a cigarette and I gave him one.
“He was very quiet and trying to keep himself to himself. Then I left because I was a bit starstruck.
“I don’t think a lot of people really knew who he was because it was still early days. He was not a megastar.
“No one knew they were going to be as big as they were. Now it would be like seeing John Lennon, but at that time it was just that bloke from Nirvana.”
The following year Nirvana headlined the Reading Festival. Twelve months before they had played a daytime slot. They were between Chapterhouse and Silverfish.
Andrew had no idea whether Kurt really proposed to Courtney that night.
“That might be a bit of folklore, but it sounds good,” he said.
But he has told his pupils many times about the night he met the grunge king.
“If any of the kids ever talk about Nirvana, or wear a Nirvana T-shirt or anything, I make sure they hear the story,” he said.
“They think I’m making it up and tell me I was never cool.”
'I told him his girlfriend was nuts and he said "Yeah, I know" and laughed'
(Image: supplied pic)
Graham Edwards was in the lower sixth at Newport’s St Joseph’s RC High School when he attended the show.
He remembered Kurt watching Hole from the left of the stage.
“He was stood on a bench where the toilets were,” the 42-year-old said.
“There was like a little alcove where he was. There were lots of people talking to him and he was talking to everyone.”
Graham went over for a natter too.
“I told him his girlfriend was nuts and he said ‘Yeah, I know’ and laughed,” the dad-of-two said.
“We were talking about Top of the Pops, because he had just done Smells Like Teen Spirit and he was clearly miming his guitar.
“He had changed the lyrics to ‘Load up on drugs and kill your friends’, which are not the lyrics of the original.”
The actual words are “Load up on guns, bring your friends.”
“I said to him, ‘You looked like you were off your face’,” Graham, who works in the pharmaceutical industry, said.
“He said, ‘No, I don’t do drugs’ with a wry smile.”
(Image: Getty Images/Frank Micelotta/Hulton Archive)
On his lapel he was wearing a badge.
“It said ‘Happy eater’ which I told him I liked,” Graham said.
“He said he had got it from a service station, I think a Little Chef.”
At the end of the night he saw Kurt go upstairs to the flat above TJ’s with someone from Rockaway Records, which Simon Phillips ran in Newport Market.
“After that I remember seeing his silhouette walking off down the street, with his blond straggly hair,” Graham said.
“That’s still in my mind because shortly after that he blew his head off.”
Nevermind had been released on September 24, 1991.
“That night was before they had properly peaked but they were on an upward trajectory,” Graham said.
“I heard the proposal happened behind the fruit machine, but I don’t know whether it is an urban myth.
“It’s amazing if he did. Some people go to the top of a mountain. But no, let’s go behind a fruit machine in Newport. Where it stinks. I like it.”
'I remember Courtney trashing her guitar and standing on it like a surfboard'
In 1991, musician Christopher Rees, who now lives in Llwynypia, Rhondda, was a student at UWIC, now Cardiff Metropolitan University.
He made his way from Cardiff to Newport that night.
“Smells like Teen Spirit had just come out and there were a lot of people in the audience wearing Nirvana T-shirts,” he said.
“I was down the front and getting pushed onto the stage, so I ended up standing on the left hand side of the corner of the stage for the duration of the show.
(Image: Macca Collection)
“It was about as close to the band as you could be without being in the band. I remember John holding people back like a human barrier, clomping people on the head if they got out of order.
“Everyone knew who John was and respected him in terms of keeping things under control.”
Christopher, whose new album The Nashville Songs is out on June 30, said: “It was a raucous gig from my memory. I remember Courtney trashing her guitar and standing on it like a surfboard.
“I remember asking Eric, the guitarist, if they were going to keep it. It was in bits and I don’t think it was any good to them.”
He dubbed it “one of the more legendary gigs in TJ’s”.
“There is all that mythology that goes along with it in terms of the fact that Kurt is said to have proposed to Courtney in a Skoda outside, I don’t know if that was true,” he said.
(Image: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
On February 24, 1992, Kurt and Courtney were married on a cliff overlooking a beach in Waikiki, Hawaii.
On August 18 that year they had a daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.
On April 8, 1994, Kurt was found dead at his Seattle home by electrician Gary Smith. He had a shotgun pointed at his chin.
He was just 27.Greeting Citizens!
Vehicle enthusiasts know the name Tumbril. Formed in 2536, the company designed some of the earliest ground-based vehicles for the UPE Army. For centuries, it was a trusted name in dependable, off-road vehicles and HOVs. Although the company was forced to close down in 2862, the reputation of these vehicles lived on.
Now, Tumbril is back.
After carefully considering all the varied and exciting systems in the UEE, Tumbril has chosen Stanton system to extend a special invitation to active pilots around Crusader to pre-purchase this exciting new all-terrain vehicle.
For a limited time in this inaugural sale, Tumbril will be releasing a special edition of the Cyclone called the Dust Devil. Featuring a non-reflective matte black paint, the Dust Devil is perfect for land-based operations that require speed and discretion.
We know that your business is your life, so having dependable and reliable vehicles at your disposal can be the difference between a payday and a blown contract. That’s why we’d like you to consider the Cyclone or one of its dynamic module variants as an addition to your business.
The UEE Department of Transportation & Navigation
With the unveiling of the new Cyclone, Tumbril wanted to remind you that some businesses require a Class-G license to operate vehicles like the Cyclone. To that end, Tumbril has teamed up with the Department of Transportation and Navigation to provide a direct link to the appropriate written exam to get you rolling.
About the Pre-Sale
The Tumbril Cyclone pre-sale will run through July 20. Pre-sale Cyclones include a limited edition Tumbril Stock forum badge and limited skin which will not be available with the standard model. Credit models (including the four role-specific variants) and additional multi-ship packs will be available in the full sale, as will a brochure, holoviewer model, and additional concept material. CCUs from the base Cyclone to the variants will also be available tomorrow.Share this article:
Four men were arrested on suspicion of battery and brandishing a firearm — which turned out to be a pellet gun — following a fight in the parking lot of a Carl’s Jr. restaurant in Glendora, a Glendora Police Department sergeant said Sunday.
Officers were dispatched at 5:30 p.m. Saturday to the eatery at 810 S. Grand Ave., in response to a report of a fight in progress involving a handgun, according to Glendora police Sgt. Michael Henderson.
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The suspects fled prior to the arrival of police, but were found a short time later in a vehicle, in the area of Mauna Loa Avenue and Vecino Drive, Henderson said.
The pellet gun had been thrown from the vehicle when the suspects fled the scene, but was recovered near the traffic stop, Henderson said.
A motive for the fight was unknown, he said. No injuries were reported.
Glendora residents Austin Montes, 18; Aasheer Sharma, 18; Ricardo Loza Jr., 18, and John Bitar, were booked on suspicion of battery and brandishing a firearm, he said.
–City News Service
Pellet gun fight breaks out at Carl’s Jr. in Glendora was last modified: by
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Follow us:BENGALURU: Incarcerated AIADMK leader VK Sasikala has received a barrage of letters from Tamil Nadu, accusing her of killing J Jayalalithaa. Angry letter-writers have said their curses will haunt Sasikala for ever, sources in Parappana Agrahara central prison said.More than 100 letters, written in Tamil and addressed to 'Sasikala, Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara, Bangalore 560100', have reached the jail since February 15, the day Sasikala stepped into the prison after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction in an illegal wealth case."The letters accuse Sasikala of hatching a plot to murder then Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa. The writers believe Jayalalithaa had no reason to die and it was a planned murder," the sources said.A prison source quoted from a letter: "You have killed our Thalaivi, our beloved amma. You are an ungrateful and unfaithful woman and back-stabber. You betrayed a person who gave you life and everything. Remember, you will have to suffer for your bad deeds. You will suffer inch by inch and repay for everything you have done."Prison sources said many letters are political in nature, but don't spell any threat. Sasikala's companion J Ilavarasi filters the letters and destroys the most abusive ones. "In the beginning, Sasikala would read all the letters. Gradually, she stopped reading them as most were abusive," a source said."We found the letters have come from different parts of Tamil Nadu - Salem, Dharmapuri, Madurai, Dindigul, Karur, Tiruchirapalli and Villupuram," the source said, adding: "There are fewer letters from Chennai."After a devastating defeat on the Senate bill to repeal Obamacare early Friday morning, President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday afternoon to send a threatening message to lawmakers and insurance companies.
Early Saturday morning, Trump demanded the Senate kill off the filibuster rule (even though the healthcare bill only needed a simple majority) and said the GOP senators “looked like fools.” Trump’s anger apparently continued on later in the day.
After seven years of "talking" Repeal & Replace, the people of our great country are still being forced to live with imploding ObamaCare! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017
If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017
Though it seems unlikely at this point that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could get an Obamacare repeal passed at this point—he tried three times last week and failed each time—the Trump administration still could hurt Obamacare.
As the Los Angeles Times explained:
Officials could stop marketing and outreach efforts that encourage people to sign up during open enrollment periods. They could refuse to enforce the requirement that people buy insurance or pay a tax — a step that officials already have said they will take. And they could stop trying to keep insurance companies in the markets. None of those actions would cause the markets to collapse overnight, but they would destabilize them over time by driving out healthy people, which causes costs to rise, which in turn drives out more healthy people. That’s what’s known as a death spiral, and it could happen at least in some parts of the country eventually. … The biggest issue involves money that has the bureaucratic-sounding name of cost-sharing reductions. Basically, the government tells insurers that they need to hold down the insurance deductibles and co-payments that they charge low-income people. That costs the insurers money. To make the insurers whole, the government is supposed to reimburse them.
Trump has threatened to stop those payments, which costs about $600 million per month. If he cuts off those reimbursements, insurance companies likely would raise premiums and/or pull out of the individual market. That, observers fear, would send the insurance market into pure chaos.
Trump already has taken to threatening members of his own party. He jokingly wondered if Nevada Sen. Dean Heller wanted to be reelected in 2018, and Heller, who originally showed misgivings about the healthcare bill, eventually voted with the GOP. He also tweeted out a threat to Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, but she still voted to kill the bill.
Whether the Republicans are scared of Trump’s threats or whether they’re scared he might decimate the insurance markets, their response to his latest threats remains to be seen. But a number of key Republicans in Congress have already said the reimbursements need to continue as normal.
“I think they’re going to have to be paid,” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) told Politico earlier this month. “You can’t let people be without basic health care.”**************************************************As a Victorian, where could you turn to find information on curing a nosebleed, making medicines for dogs, entertaining your children, restoring your hair, polishing soldiers’ buttons, concocting salad dressings, soothing a black eye, extracting teeth, and building a cheap aquarium? Your first port of call would probably have been your local pharmacist. One volume in the Archives of The Retreat offers a fascinating insight into the world of the Victorian pharmacist, and his customers. This volume, Medical and Domestic Formulae by a Pharmaceutical Chemist, is a notebook handwritten by a Retreat patient, Alfred Jones, and dedicated to the Medical Superintendent Dr Baker.Mr Jones clearly felt an affinity with Dr Baker, inscribing the first page of of his book with the words “Experientia Docet” - meaning ‘experience teaches’ - and:These lines express a sense of a shared calling and a certain kind of equality between patient and doctor. The book also serves to show the pride a Pharmaceutical Chemist might take in his work and status in the late nineteenth century.Until 1842, chemists and druggists did not have to have a formal qualification. Anyone with sufficient funds could set up a shop and sell potentially lethal concoctions of drugs. Accidents with mis sold or wrongly made-up medicines gave the profession a bad name, leading to the formation of a group of pharmacists who wanted to protect their trade. Jacob Bell, the son of a Quaker pharmacist, quickly emerged as the spokesman for this group. Their greatest successes were the granting of the Royal Charter of Incorporation to the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 1843, and the 1868 Pharmacy Act, which meant that anyone making up medicines had to have taken the Society’s examination, and had to be registered with the Society. For pharmacists like Alfred Jones, registration with the Society was a mark of status as a trusted individual within a local community, and as a privileged member of a wider medical community which would also include the Medical Superintendent of a Mental Hospital like The Retreat. Thus he writes that his book contains:Alfred Jones’ notebook gives us an overview of the kinds of products people required from a pharmacist in the later nineteenth century, and how dangerous some of them might have been! A ‘Carmmative for Infants’ included a large dose of laudanum, while a ‘Mixture for Excited Brain’ (recommended for children as well as adults) contained bromide and chloral hydrate, a sedative. Just as unappealing is an ‘Indigestion Mixture’ containing dilute nitro hydrochloric acid - a substance which can be highly corrosive if not sufficiently diluted.Another page recommends “Chloroform just short of anasthesia [sic] is best treatment of Hydrophobia” in cases of diseases such as rabies. This would be another risky procedure, but probably safer than the alternative, which was to perform a tracheotomy. The Victorian pharmacist walked a fine line indeed!Some of the less harmful recipes in the book give us an insight into the realities of life beyond the pharmacist’s shop, for example:In the nineteenth century, the local pharmacist would also provide cures and tonics for animals, reflecting a world in which working animals were a much greater part of the general public’s everyday lives than they are today. Alfred Jones offers recipes for a ‘Cleansing Drink for Newly Calved Cow,’ consisting of juniper berries, sulphur, aniseed, ginger, cumin seeds, Glaubers salt (sodium sulphate - used as a laxative in crystal form), and Epsom salts. He notes that, ‘some add 1/2 pt Linseed Oil. A different page gives ‘Alterative and Restorative Powder for Horses’ and ‘Cough Balls for Horses,’ reminding us of the ubiquity of the horse for transport at this time.The recipes also show a lighter side of life, however. For example, this idea for a children’s entertainment:‘Magic Designs on a White Sheet Stretch a sheet & draw a design such as the Prince Wales’s Feathers &c with a piece of Chalk & dust thereon lightly a penny packet of Aniline dye Red, Blue, or Any Colour. This is invisible at a distance but on spraying Methylated Spirit onto the sheet with a spray apparatus - it is instantly developed to the amusement of the youngsters.’The pharmacist also held a wealth of knowledge about food and drink, for which ingredients could be supplied. Alfred Jones offered recipes for ‘Sea Side Sauce’, ‘American Cock Tail Bitters’, Doncaster Butter Scotch, Ginger Wine, ‘Currie Powder’ and Salad Dressing, as well as various jams and marmalades. In this book, some of these recipes sit rather incongruously beside much less appetising concoctions, for example ‘Currie Powder’ (nutmeg, turmeric, “cummin seed,” cayenne, coriander, black pepper, ginger and mustard) is followed by ‘Cement for Glass, China &c’ and ‘Insoluble Liquid Glue.”This volume, handwritten by a Retreat patient, is just one of the thousands of documents in the hospital’s archive which can tell us about life outside the walls of the Retreat, as well as within. While there are some unusual additions (a poem entitled ‘Lines addressed to a Kitten’ tucked into a page describing furniture polish and cold cream, for example), this book is a fascinating insight into the world of the Victorian pharmacist, and just one of the documents in the Retreat’s archives which brings a lost world to life.President Trump appears to have had second thoughts about investigating mass voter fraud in the election he won. But that news may in the end be a side note in an era of pitched battles over whether voting in America is too easy or too hard.
A week after Mr. Trump vowed an investigation into his unsubstantiated claim that up to 5 million non-citizens voted in the November election, the White House told CNN it is no longer a priority. One likely reason: Previous investigations have found little evidence of any, let alone mass, instances of in-person voter fraud. Indeed, the bulk of peer-reviewed studies suggest that a potentially bigger problem is legal American voters discouraged, or even barred, from voting because of new restrictions. Another possible reason: Polls show that only 1 in 4 Americans agree that voter fraud is a serious issue.
Whether Trump ultimately orders an investigation, it's clear that, as liberals push to make voting easier, conservatives continue to advocate for stronger fraud defenses.
Ultimately, federal courts will decide, as states faced 13 major voting rights lawsuits going into the 2016 election.
“Voting litigation is increasing, not decreasing,” says Ned Foley, an election law professor at The Ohio State University, in Columbus. Judging by judicial outcomes so far, he says, “The main impression … is that when a law looks like it’s engaging in outright disenfranchisement of a valid voter, even conservative judges have been stopping that. [But] the judiciary is more tolerant with state legislatures adjusting issues of convenience and accessibility, if the adjustment is not outright disenfranchisement.”
Even without a federal investigation, the US is bracing for a new wave of legal and political skirmishes around the sanctity of voter rolls, the need for ID, impacts of redistricting, and, perhaps most critically, where, when, and how Americans can exercise their most fundamental right.
Across the US, there is a growing raft of voting rights cases. They seem likely to increase after new voting restrictions were passed in Michigan in a lame duck session and after Arkansas reintroduced a voter ID bill with language similar to one the state Supreme Court struck down two years ago as unconstitutional.
Some conservatives argue that such steps are legitimate, even necessary. To them, shoring up election procedures is less about fraud than fairness to conservative voters. J. Christian Adams, a former Department of Justice attorney, writes in The Hill that it's Democrats who have used civil rights law to create legal "black-brown" coalitions that "bolster Democratic power." He adds that, when it comes to voting rights, “race, power, federalism, state sovereignty and more race … is the battlespace.”
Views of immigrants play into perceptions of fraud
While just 1 in 4 Americans believes there is widespread voter fraud, research shows that belief is tied directly into negative views of immigrants. A study released this week found that “resenting immigrants is the strongest predictor of believing in rampant voter fraud, even after controlling for conventional political dispositions and socioeconomic characteristics."
The voter fraud push is part of “arousing sentiments against some illegal others who are ‘stealing our country from us,’ ” as Michael Halberstam, a professor at the University at Buffalo Law School, notes in an interview.
Electoral experts say the reality on the ground is very different. Repeated investigations – including by the Bush administration in the wake of the 2000 election – have not yielded anything more than what University of California, Irvine, law professor Rick Hasen has called “isolated, small-scale activities that often have not shown any kind of criminal intent.”
For their part, Democrats say that voter suppression, especially of minorities, is far more prevalent than fraud in the US.
Voting restrictions can sway voting decisions both directly and indirectly. In 2014, a study of a Texas congressional district found that 34,000 people chose not to vote because they didn’t think they had the right credentials under new and stricter voting rules.
"This is all about small percentages of voters,” says Neil Bradley, the former associate director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “But we’re a divided country, and small percentages of voters can determine an election.”
Voter ID trend
Until the most recent spate of voting restrictions were passed at the state level, much of the voting rights debate had taken place in Washington. President Clinton, for example, had to fight hard against Republicans before Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which made it easier for millions of Americans to register. Republicans gained the upper hand by ensuring the passage of the 2002 Help America Vote Act, which, after the contested Bush v. Gore election in 2000, created minimum election administration standards but also introduced voter ID requirements for the first time, opening the door, Democrats said, to disenfranchisement.
More recently, states began to experiment with strengthening voting rules, often with partisan overtones. Arizona and Ohio began the voter ID trend in 2006, followed by Georgia and Indiana, and now another five states. Five of those laws have been at least partially struck down by courts for being too onerous.
The 2013 Supreme Court case, Shelby County v. Holder, in which the court reduced federal oversight of primarily Southern states, also unleashed laws in North Carolina and Texas that sought to add new requirements to the vote. Appellate courts struck parts of those laws down, as well. This week, the city of Pasadena, Texas, became the first to earn federal oversight since that ruling, after city officials drew district lines in ways that disadvantaged Latinos.
A federal judge concluded that new Texas voter ID rules risk excluding some 600,000 legal voters from exercising their right. Though the Supreme Court declined to take that case in January, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts signaled that the court may take the case as early as next fall.
Voter restrictions were put into place in 17 Republican-led states after the 2012 election, including cutbacks on early voting, which is utilized more often by Democrats, studies have found.
The Supreme Court's role
For all the challenge to the right to vote, there are countervailing protections. For one, more states – such as Oregon and Colorado – have passed laws expanding ease of voting rather than constricting it. Another key protector, in fact, could be Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, who, according to colleagues, holds “fairness” as a key judicial barometer. Judges are less prone to be swayed by "alternative facts" than the public, critics note.
By all evidence, “[Judge] Gorsuch will … conceive of his |
competitive, and they held my career in their hands.
I had just been academically f*cked over. And there was nothing I could do about it. The sad thing is, I would have been honored to have been in a mere footnote, a teeny tiny acknowledgement of the work I’d handed to Mao. It all could have been avoided if I had just been mentioned in a footnote that, most likely, only I would have read.
The next day, I called a trusted friend and colleague, Frida. After explaining my discovery, I told her that my suspicions were probably from the mania that comes with sleepless nights and 14-hour work days that are necessary in the final stages of completing a dissertation. I said that I was probably blowing everything out of proportion. I then sent her the two papers to compare.
Frida called me back later that day and told me to sit down. As she said this, I looked over the empty room in which I stood, furnished only with a table and chair, my eyes went down to look at the floor that was completely obscured with stacks of printed PDFs, open books, post-it notes, legal pads. The room felt so isolating, so unreal. I slumped down in the chair, already wishing for another cigarette (a fun hobby I picked up at 24 when I’d began studying for my Ph.D. exams). I told her I was ready. Frida cut straight to the point: she agreed with me, the similarities between the two papers were astounding. Rage turned to horror, and then to nausea. I immediately wished that Frida had outright dismissed my suspicions. Her outrage only fueled my sense of injustice.
She, too, was in the midst of finishing her dissertation, and our late-night phone calls over boxed white wine had become one of my only resources for sanity. Over the next few weeks, I’d call her late at night after a long day spent in isolation furiously writing. I’d sit on the side porch of my parent’s house staring up the stars, and we’d go over what we’d written that day. Quickly, our conversation would turn to what to do about the striking similarity between my work and what Dr. Mao had published. I cherished those phone calls, they were the only thing that made me feel less alone.
Each person that I cautiously chose to tell expressed shock and, ultimately, confusion about what the proper course of action was. Frida, among others, was adamant I report it. She said that it was an ethical issue because, if I failed to report it, Dr. Mao could do it again, to someone else, another graduate student perhaps. At the time, however, reporting it was pure fantasy-- we both knew that I couldn’t do it. My career depended too strongly on recommendation letters. I also had not yet secured my Ph.D., so more immediately, I was at risk of jeopardizing that. If I reported it, not only would I lose Dr. Mao’s rec letter, but there was also a very good chance that the rest of the department would feel less inclined to write one for me as well. Reporting it would be the kiss of death on my seven-year dream of becoming a professor. Yes, recommendation letters were, and still are, that important.
But I couldn’t let it go. As much as I wanted to, I was furious. I had never experienced this level of resentment before; I felt so violated. If I couldn’t send my work to a professor without fear of having it stolen, what exactly, was the point of earning a doctorate? More to the point, if this wasn’t an isolated incident, if it was happening to others, how could one ever expect to succeed in such a rigged system?
A few days before I flew back to my apartment in NYC, I made an appointment to speak with the dean. Or rather, since academia increasingly models itself off corporations (or perhaps, more accurately, after a dysfunctional bureaucratic government), a dean--one of the many deans that now make up the majority of academic hires. It would later be made evident to me that I had turned to the wrong dean.
When I walked into the Wrong Dean’s windowless office, he jovially shook my hand and told me he was curious about what the meeting could possibly be about. He mentioned that he was friends with my department’s administrator, and that he had reached out to her to see if she knew what it was about. Gulping down my horror that the department was potentially already aware of the meeting, I asked for the meeting to be confidential. That what I was about to discuss with him could not leave the confines of his office. He nodded seriously, giving me the adult equivalent of a Boy Scout’s pledge. He then offered me tissues, suggesting that he could already tell I would be emotional.
Shrugging off the gendered insult, I proceeded to lay out my case I had built for about a month, along with counters to the arguments that I knew would be leveled against me if I chose to make it public. In the middle of it, he interrupted me, stating he was so relieved that this wasn’t another issue of a graduate student having an affair with a professor, and that I should feel good about that as well. That I was lucky that wasn’t the case. I remember staring at a film poster of some obscure film I should have recognized that he had hanging on his wall in shock at the comparison.
He then told me that if I reported this, my career would be ruined. My reputation would be irrevocably damaged. I would have to work harder, publish more papers, and wait longer before getting a tenure-track job. He then asked if I could prove anything. I then leaned over to pull out the folder of meticulously labeled emails, a timeline of events, and the two essays in question from my bag. Before I could do so, he waved his hands in a frantic gesture as if to say no, put them away, and said, please don’t tell me anything else, I could be deposed.
Not once during our meeting had I brought up the possibility of legal action. I had no intentions of doing so, I simply wanted to know what the procedure was for reporting a circumstance like this. I needed to have that information so that I could make the best (and most strategic) decision for my career. Sensing I had just made my first mistake in what would turn out to be a long, drawn-out and expensive process, I repeated my desire for this conversation to remain confidential. He then told me, from what I remember, that due to what he had just heard, he was not sure he could keep that promise.
And then I begged him not to tell anyone. I repeated that I wasn’t even sure I wanted to report it, especially after everything that he had just told me. I remember saying please, don’t, I’m scared of Dr. Mao, I have been my entire graduate career. It was the first time I had said it aloud. I told him I was a mere month away from defending my dissertation, and Dr. Mao would be the deciding factor in whether or not I got my Ph.D.
Wrong Dean then told me he would not report it to the hirer-ups if I went to the school’s ombudsperson—a lawyer hired by the school to give free legal advice to students. In-between my conversation with Wrong Dean and speaking with the ombudsperson, I went to my weekly meeting at my graduate Fellowship with my co-workers, fellow graduate students, and our boss, a well-respected professor and publishing powerhouse. All of us were from different departments. Every week we’d begin by sharing what was going on in our lives, and how our research was going. When my turn came, I told them what I suspected. The room fell silent as I made eye-contact with my friend, Tanya, who mouthed from across the table you need a lawyer. My boss was shocked. I handed her the two papers in question. As she looked over the high-lighted parts of each paper that indicated similar content, she said that this was the most egregious thing she’d ever seen a professor do to a graduate student. My boss echoed Frida’s consensus that I needed to report it, and then confirmed Tanya’s declaration that I needed a lawyer. She said she’d reach out to a few people to see what she could do.
The ombudsperson’s office was eerily close to my department. I had begun sweating on my walk across campus, so by the time I sat down in the lobby I was red-faced and shiny, despite the frigid weather. A sulky undergraduate handed me a paper to sign that informed me of my rights to keep whatever was discussed confidential. I signed it and handed it back to him. Then, after walking into the ombudsperson’s office and nervously sitting down, I, for the second time that day, laid out my case. And, for the second time that day, was told that the meeting was no longer legally confidential and that, if deposed, the ombudsperson would have to divulge the contents of our discussion. I felt violated.
Terrified of the school’s Orwellian response, and doubtful that word would not reach Dr. Mao’s ears, I returned to my cramped NYC apartment to finish my dissertation. I reached out to my beloved undergraduate advisor, who kindly met with me for over an hour as I sought out advice about what to do. He had no idea what to tell me, as he had never seen something quite on this level before.
The question that kept obsessively running through my mind was: what if Dr. Mao finds out that I know prior to my defense, and makes up a petty reason not to pass me because of it? Not only would I be robbed of authorship, but my Ph.D. would be in peril.
After hours of calling lawyers and being referred to different lawyers, all on time I didn’t really have, I finally found someone who specialized in intellectual property rights. I barely remember speaking to him on the phone for the first time. I had been up all night formatting my final chapter as I prepared to send it out to Dr. Mao. I was terrified. Absolutely terrified. I knew that if Dr. Mao actually read it, they would see the portion that I suspected to be misappropriated immediately. And what Dr. Mao would do in response was an unknown that made me feel as sick as I been in India after accidentally drinking tap water. The only solace that I could take was that if things went south, at least I had already taken the time to find a lawyer to represent me.
Amidst this blur of uncertainty and long hours, I went about my job, and attended lectures and conferences at school. But so much weighed on me that it was hard to think about anything other than the striking similarities between the two papers. After a speaker series on a black photographer, I walked out to the parking lot with another professor from my department, Dr. Hortense, who had been a true mentor to me. I trusted and respected them deeply. And I valued their opinion. Caught in a vulnerable moment walking along a damp sidewalk lit by orange street lamps, I chose to share with Dr. Hortense what I had discovered. How I had been strong-armed by the school. How I was petrified I wouldn’t pass my defense, especially if Dr. Mao found out. Shocked and appalled, Dr. Hortense was also equally alarmed as to what might happen to the department should this be brought to light. Dr. Hortense begged me to drop it, going as far as to email me the next day to tell me that the best thing for me psychologically and emotionally would be to forget that it had happened and move on.
I had valued the conversation, but I’d left our talk feeling bullied and isolated. Instead of listening to my instincts, I continued to foolishly trust Dr. Hortense, who had expressed outrage and anger towards Dr. Mao. Dr. Hortense had also confided in me aspects of Dr. Mao’s working relationship with the department that I had no business knowing about. It all culminated in a feeling that Dr. Hortense was on my side.
I could not have been more wrong—or naïve.
For Part II of Why I Left Academia, click here
August 2018 Update: Please read and share this story while you still can, I am being sued for speaking out, and while the first amendment is on my side, time and money are not.New Delhi: The Supreme Court-constituted Special Investigation team (SIT) on black money has recommended enacting a law in India to cap cash transactions at ₹ 3 lakh and the cash holding limit at ₹ 15 lakh.
Through this, it hopes to create paper trails for all high-value transactions and effectively curb black money in the domestic economy, especially in the real estate and the jewellery sectors.
But is this feasible?
Many countries have managed to successfully check cash transactions, according to SIT’s report. But some countries like Germany, where use of cash is widespread, are facing a backlash from the public over proposals to cap cash transactions. In India too, cash is still a preferred mode of payment and the National Democratic Alliance may find the going tough if it decides to act on the recommendations of SIT.
A look at some of the other countries that have enforced such limits per transaction to curb money laundering and to clamp down on financing for activities like terrorism.
• France: Cash transactions have been capped at €1,000. This limit was €3,000 till last year and was revised after a spate of terrorist attacks.
• Italy: Cash transactions were allowed only up to €999.99 earlier, but this was revised upwards this year to €2,999.99.
• Spain: Cash transactions are capped at €2,500 for residents and €15,000 for non-residents. Any cash transaction between consumers and traders above permissible limits can attract a fine of up to 25% of the transferred amount.
• Portugal: Cash payments towards goods and services is only allowed up to €1,000. All payments above this limit needs to be done through a bank account or electronically.
• Slovakia: Cash payments for purchases are restricted at €5,000.
• Czech Republic: This country has restricted cash payments, per day, to around €14,000.
• Bulgaria: Cash transactions are capped at around €5,100.
• Belgium: Cash payments are limited to €3,000.
• Greece: Cash payments for the purchase of products and services are allowed up to €1,500 euros.
• Switzerland: The cap on cash transactions in Switzerland is relatively much higher at around €92,000.By Michael Beckwith on April 5, 2016 at 8:34am
"Star Fox Zero" is only a few weeks away from finally being released, and Nintendo have not only revealed a couple of new details for it, but a new trailer has been released as well, which you can check out at the bottom of the article.
According to Nintendo, you'll be able to unlock some cool, little extras should you have a Fox or Falco amiibo. The Fox one will unlock a retro Arwing from the original SNES game. It also changes the background music but it can only be used in the first stage of the game, which is a bit disappointing. The Falco amiibo, however, unlocks a Black Arwing that boasts powerful weapons but weaker defenses.
Nintendo have also confirmed that "Star Fox Zero" includes a demo for the accompanying spin-off title "Star Fox Guard." It can be accessed via the main menu and save data can be transferred to the full version should you buy it. "Star Fox Guard," which has you use the GamePad to defend bases from swarms of enemy robots, can be downloaded via the eShop. You can even save money if you've already purchased "Star Fox Zero." The same offer applies vice-versa.
Both titles will be released on April 22 for the Wii U.For around a year, Shiite villagers have moved to Homs city in areas where fighting has stopped, renovating evacuated homes and expelling returning residents by force
The regime’s policy to systematically change the geographic and demographic nature of the city of Homs could lead to the clearing of its local population, either by forced displacement or the forced repossession of property for Alawites and Shiites.
Sources inside Homs have confirmed to al-Souria Net that the city's population are losing their homes to pro-regime Shiites and Alawites, who have seized the homes of locals, using intimidation and force.
Abu Rami, a resident of the city of Homs, was forced to leave his home after enduring fighting and violent bombing.
Abu Rami said: "I had connections with one of the Alawite shabeeha groups, who allowed me to return home. After repairing my house, I was surprised that some Shiite families were seizing homes in the neighborhood. Later on, one of the Shiite families evicted me from my own home, so I tried to ask for help from those who allowed me to return, but it was in vain, as the Shiites in the neighborhood threatened to kill me if me or my other neighbors claimed their homes".
Abu Rami stressed to al-Souria Net that those who claimed the houses by force of arms are searching for the owners to buy the houses from them, but at unreasonable prices with official contracts of sale and transfer of property. The policy has “long been rejected by Homs residents since the days of Hafez al-Assad", as activists confirmed to al-Souria Net.
Abu Rami said seven cases of sale and transfer of ownership have been documented; three houses in as-Siteen Street, a house in al-Asheera neighborhood and three houses in Jeb al-Jandali on Doha Street. Abu Rami said the "settlers" – as he called them – pay only a quarter of the house value, claiming the majority of those who agree to sell their homes have been motivated by fear of death, or the need for money to keep their families alive.
Activist Abu Omar al-Homsi said: "for around a year, some residents of the Shiite villages in eastern Homs and the countryside of Idleb and Aleppo moved to the city of Homs after fighters left the old neighborhoods of the city. They began to renovate homes there, and when the original people of the neighborhood returned, the new residents expelled them by force of arms".
Homsi added that Hafez Assad also began building suburban houses, whether for laborers or military next to the city’s military sites. People from the countryside of Homs, which are home to dozens of Alawite and Shiite villages, settled in these neighborhoods. So Homs turned into a city with sectarian diversity. The city’s original population was mostly Christian and Sunni Muslim, but hundreds of thousands of Alawites and Shia, who settled in the new neighborhoods built by Hafez Assad, became part of the population. They even managed to overlap in some neighborhoods that are in contact with the new neighborhoods, where they bought even more houses".
Homsi stressed that the sons of the city of Homs "were very careful not to let the Alawites get any property in their original neighborhoods or in the market and industrial areas. So Alawites could not buy any property within ancient Homs from Christians or Muslims, despite offering large sums of money to them. The settlement policy within Homs and its neighborhood continued until Bashar Assad came to power".
Translated and edited by The Syrian ObserverTwo-stage electrolysis releases hydrogen on demand separately from oxygen, enabling cheaper renewable energy production
UK scientists say that they have developed the first widely-useable electrolysis system that splits water and releases hydrogen and oxygen in separate stages Lee Cronin and Mark Symes from the University of Glasgow used a phosphomolybdate anion buffer to store protons and electrons generated when oxidising water to oxygen. Instead of directly producing hydrogen, as electrolysis normally does, the buffer lets the scientists choose where and when they do the second step. That could aid efforts to store renewable energy as hydrogen fuel made by water electrolysis
‘Simultaneous hydrogen and oxygen production is a kind of “elephant in the room” for water splitting,’ Cronin tells Chemistry World. The gases can pass through and degrade expensive Nafion polymer membranes meant to separate them in existing electrolysers, with potentially explosive consequences. ‘We knew that natural photosynthetic systems separated oxygen and hydrogen-equivalent production in time,’ Cronin says. ‘So we thought, “Can we do this, but electrochemically?”’
NPG The polyoxometalate can release the protons and electrons later to produce hydrogen on demand
Though electrolysis usually produces oxygen and hydrogen together, two interlinked half-reactions actually generate the gases. The first oxidises water into oxygen, protons and electrons. In the second, electrons reduce the protons to give hydrogen. To separate the reactions, Cronin and Symes sought chemicals that could be reduced and protonated, but could later release those electrons and protons again. They reasoned that the necessary electron-coupled-proton buffer (ECPB) properties might lie within the transition metal and oxygen-containing networks of polyoxometalate anions
‘Doing tests where you oxidise water, but make absolutely no hydrogen would seem like failure to most people,’ Cronin says. ‘But this was exactly what we were after, as when you reverse the process you get pure hydrogen and no oxygen.’ Of the polyoxometalates they tried, phosphomolybdate anions, [H 2 PMo 12 O 40 ]-, worked best. ‘In one instance, we stored our reduced and protonated ECPB for eight months before we re-oxidised it to liberate hydrogen,’ Cronin notes. But splitting the reaction into two steps imposes an energy penalty, making it 87% as efficient as the one step reaction, at best.
Closer to green hydrogen
Separating water splitting could mean simpler and cheaper electrolysers. A membrane is still needed so protons can move between compartments, but keep the ECPB in place. But the phosphomolybdate anion is so large that cheaper dialysis membranes can be substituted for costly Nafion. Water splitting in such proton-electrolyte membrane electrolysers usually needs a three-electrode system, with two platinum electrodes. Separate gas evolution can be simpler. ‘You can use just one precious metal electrode in the cell instead of two, as it can be used alternately to produce oxygen and hydrogen,’ Cronin says. However, this reduced efficiency to 79%, compared with the single-step process.
These benefits could help to produce hydrogen to store energy from renewable sources like solar and wind, whose output can vary dramatically. Xile Hu, who researches electrocatalytic water splitting at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, underlines this method’s versatility in that context. ‘The spatial and temporal separation of hydrogen and oxygen production, achieved via this original approach, opens up new avenues in chemical energy storage,’ he says. ‘One can imagine electrolysers and photoelectrolysers that are more flexible, employ cheaper membranes, or produce hydrogen on-demand.’
Cronin’s team is now investigating non-polyoxometalate ECPBs that work under different conditions. The scientists also aim to send reduced, protonated ECPB to researchers in Australia, who will do the hydrogen-evolving step. But perhaps most importantly, they are working towards a small-scale prototype electrolyser using this technology. ‘We’re hoping that this will show significant cost advantages over traditional electrolysers, which will help to bring green hydrogen production from water a step closer to reality,’ Cronin says.Donald Trump made a reference to the fact that our social media ghettos were suppressing the ongoing Clinton scandals — when in fact everyone knows this is the number one topic in the world right now — by far.
Wow, Twitter, Google and Facebook are burying the FBI criminal investigation of Clinton. Very dishonest media! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2016
I’ve been talking about this for a long time. And, Zerohedge is all over this topic — getting a top Drudge link.
Top trending on Twitter now “Go Hillary”.
Only now, after a deluge of criticism, does Facebook even list Comey or Weiner in top trending. But, as you can see, American Bison reigns supreme.
Here’s Reuters going full Baghdad Bob today. Hint to Reuters: no one is believing your shit filled misinformation campaign. You’re no longer able to obfuscate and suppress the truth. The internet will set it free.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact the Google’s Eric Schmidt wanted to be a ‘head outside advisor’ to the Clinton campaign?
The most profound interview I’ve heard on the subject of media suppression and the ghettoization of thoughts through social media is by none other than the founder of the Drudge Report, Matt Drudge. Grab a cup of coffee and listen.
If you enjoy the content at iBankCoin, please follow us on TwitterRetired Navy Cmdr. Jeff Hensley cringed when he heard Donald Trump diss Sen. John McCain at an Iowa presidential forum.
“It’s pretty frightening,” said Hensley, a North Texas advocate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. “It’s not just political posturing, but it devalues somebody who was dedicated to selfless service.”
Trump said of McCain: “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
Some fear that as conservatives’ anti-Obama sentiment touches all parts of the federal government, the military may no longer be exempt.
Take the Texas dust-up over the Jade Helm 15 military exercises, which some have called a prelude to martial law.
Gov. Greg Abbott had to reassure residents that everything was fine by ordering the Texas State Guard to monitor the situation, a move that brought criticism from former governor and Air Force veteran Rick Perry.
The Republican Party, especially the most conservative wing, has always revered the military. Polls show that the military vote leans heavily Republican. You cannot win without being right with veterans.
But even Hensley says the military has enjoyed too much “undue deference.”
What’s changed?
Well, Barack Obama was elected president.
“It’s leeriness about the current administration,” said state Rep. Kenneth Sheets, a veteran of the Iraq War. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Sheets, R-Dallas, says that such sentiment against the military wasn’t evident when George W. Bush was president, a man he says has “clear respect and admiration” for the military.
But supporters of Obama, the nation’s commander in chief, say he, too, deeply respects and admires the military.
And the growing number of conservatives questioning the armed forces is part of a pattern of overall disdain for the president and mistrust of anything the federal government touches. Obama has had to deal with criticism and questions that his predecessors have avoided, including being called a liar at a State of the Union address. He’s been called a Muslim, which he’s not. Others have questioned whether he was born in the United States.
So it’s not a stretch that the military under his control is facing questions that didn’t arise when he was not in the White House. There probably wouldn’t have been a Jade Helm controversy with Bush or another president.
Whatever the cause, some conservatives are willing to ignore disagreements on formerly key issues if a candidate is perceived to be a worthy foe against Obama and establishment Republicans.
Trump is soaring in the polls because he speaks to groups of voters who are frustrated with government and politics. They find it refreshing that the business mogul isn’t afraid to verbalize controversial stands and won’t recoil at criticism in the media.
In his short time as an official candidate, Trump has worried Republican leaders who want to win in 2016 with his comments about Mexico and unauthorized Mexican immigrants. But the base of the Republican Party appears to agree with him.
Even his comments about McCain, broadly denounced in the GOP and particularly in the media, don’t seem to be a deal killer for Republican voters. Polls done after his comments still show him at the front of the pack.
Trump is suddenly the champion of the hard right, even though his political history shows a mixed bag of positions.
Trump is riding high, but it’s unlikely he’ll be able to maintain his standing with one controversial comment after another.
At some point, he’ll offend over something that’s sacred even to those who can’t stand Obama.
Follow Gromer Jeffers Jr. on Twitter at @gromerjeffers.NBC, Bill Records / AP
By international TV law, the first thing that must be covered in an interview with Kyle Chandler is the lingering ghost of Friday Night Lights, the dearly departed high-school football drama, and the long-rumored and hoped-for follow-up film. As adherents to the televisual legal code, BuzzFeed asked Chandler about said movie adaptation during an interview about his role in the lovely coming-of-age drama The Spectacular Now. "Friday Night Lights was a great movie, and the TV show. After five shots at it, five seasons, as it went on, it got smaller and smaller and smaller, and it almost got canceled. We were up against American Idol the first year and it got moved," Chandler said, recapping the long saga of the low-rated but critically-adored show, based on the 2004 film adaptation of H.G. Bissinger's book of the same name. "[Producers] Jason Katims and Pete Berg and those guys kept it alive, kept the material so fresh, and ended the thing so perfectly. I think that's a tribute to those guys. I like the ending of the show as much as I like the whole thing in the sense that it was just done so classy, it was just done so well. Hats off to those guys." So, was that a way of saying that he'd rather just preserve the show as is, and not revive it in movie form? "Yep," Chandler said simply. "That was a great experience, I really loved it. I still keep in touch with the people quite closely."
Chandler in Argo
It's hard to blame him; he ended the show on a high note, winning an Emmy for his role as everyone's favorite tough-but-fair high-school football coach Eric Taylor. Chandler has since moved on from "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" to a successful film career with major roles in two Best Picture-nominated CIA dramas last year, Zero Dark Thirty and the ultimate winner, Argo. His director on the latter, Ben Affleck, just signed on as Batman in WB's Man of Steel sequel, and to say there's been backlash is an understatement. Initially, Chandler did not want to comment on the recent piece of news, but when BuzzFeed suggested that it seemed like a fun casting — and that the internet, as is its wont, may have over-reacted — he chimed in a bit. "What I hope is that he nails it and I hope he looks at everyone and says, 'Take that!'" Chandler said. As for his current project, The Spectacular Now, the actor has a small-but-important part as the mysterious father of lost teen soul Sutter Keely (played by Miles Teller) and he turns out to be quite the disappointment once his son tracks him down. It's a complete about-face from the stand-up Coach Taylor and Chandler admits he took the role in part because, upon first reading the script, he had no idea how he could tap into someone who is, as Chandler put it, "that much of a fuck up." "You look at the material and say, 'Wow who the hell is this guy? And if you screw this up, Kyle, you're going to screw up their movie,'" the actor explained. "I don't know fathers like this. I have no basis to put on a father that is that delinquent, that much of a fuck up, but what I did get, when I was 14, I lost my father. He passed away. That's where I sort of delved into, because I knew the kids' loss because basically, his father was dead to him. That kid was going through his trouble. When I was 14, I went through my trouble. For two-to-three years, it was a wild ride. That, I could relate to." Sutter is a heavy drinker for an 18-year-old high-school senior. He's a good kid with a broken compass, headed for a life adrift after he's unmoored by graduation. And Chandler knew the character well. "Just a kid, young with no father, raised by his mom, no guidance and on his own, trying to figure out the rules of everything on his own, making all the mistakes that you make trying to figure it out," the actor remembered. "I think it's pretty clear the kid has a good heart; I think when I was a kid, I had a good sense of what I wanted to be, but I didn't have the knowledge inside of me to know who that was."
Chandler, Teller and co-star Shailene WoodleyThere’s a school of thinking that, right now, we’re going through something of a second golden age of animation. The difference this time, though, is that this isn’t being driven by one company. Rather, that for the first time in the history, the mainstream movie animation industry has at least eleven companies capable of producing a strong animated movie.
If you want proof of that, firstly, take a glance at this year. ILM burst into the animation industry (an area where it’s arguably existed for some time) with the superb Rango (still in my top five films of the year, and still thoroughly awesome), for starters.
We’ve also had Disney going close to its roots with Winnie The Pooh and Tangled, the joy of a new Aardman movie incoming (Arthur Christmas, which it produced in conjunction with Sony’s animation studio), and fun projects out of the blue, such as Gnomeo & Juliet. Throw in two decent-to-very good DreamWorks films, Pixar’s Cars 2, and Fox’s Rio, and it’s hard to remember quite when the schedules were so packed.
But what about next year? Well, there are some massively exciting projects on the cards, and I’m going to list them in order of my personal anticipation of them. It’s one of those lovely lists, though, where most of the films on it are really shaping up to be something quite special (I've kept it to mainstream, English language animated films, incidentally. It gets even better if you look further afield).
Let's start, then, with the film that promises to be the animated treat to beat in 2012...
The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists
You wait five years for an Aardman movie, and then two of them come along at once.
Considering that the firm’s first full-length feature was Chicken Run, released back in 2000, it’s staggering in the modern era that The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists is only its fifth (although there are far more strings to Aardman's bow than films alone).
It’s testament to how much time and craft that goes into an Aardman movie, particularly given that The Pirates! is a stop-motion project, albeit one that's going to blend in some CG background work. Heck, you try making water using stop motion techniques.
The film looks an absolute hoot. Peter Lord, the creator of Morph and co-director of the aforementioned and underrated Chicken Run, is one of two at the helm (Jeff Newitt is the other), and the plot centres around a bunch of pirates trying to win the Pirate Of The Year award. The trouble is, they’re rubbish pirates, which never helps.
Set in Victorian times, and based on the books by Gideon Defoe, the film is known as The Pirates! Band Of Misfits in the US. And already, you can see that it's dripping with the quirky detail that richly permeates Aardman’s movies.
Bonus points, too, for getting a Blue Peter badge onto one of the pirates, and for giving Brian Blessed some voicing work. How he didn’t get the gig on How To Train Your Dragon is one of the mysteries of modern animated movies. In a shout-off, Gerard Butler would not stand a chance.
I’m loathed to say if you only watch one animated film next year to make it this one. Firstly, because there are lots of films that deserve your attention, and secondly, because the quality of them shows so much promise.
But Aardman stop-motion movies in particular are projects to be cherished, and from what we’ve seen of The Pirates!, it might just be the animated movie to beat next year. Need convincing? Take a look at the trailer...
Wreck-It Ralph
Disney is releasing a trio of animated movies next year, and for the first time in a long, long time, it’s the one from Walt Disney Feature Animation itself that’s sounding the most interesting. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Wreck-It Ralph.
Perhaps it’s the nerd in me, but the idea of an animated film based around an 8-bit computer game character who finds himself in the modern gaming world sounds like somebody had tapped a film plot directly into the ticket-buying segment of my brain. It's worked, too.
I suppose the concern here is that the film doesn’t live up to the idea, but that’s a harsh thing to knock a movie for at this stage. From what little we’ve seen, this is a love letter to classic videogames, featuring many familiar characters for those who have been feeding coins into arcade machines for the past few years.
The possibilities this opens up, visually, as old and new graphics clash on screen, are instantly of interest, and I dearly hope that it comes together well. Early signs are positive.
Rich Moore is directing, and he’s cut his teeth on the likes of The Simpsons and Futurama. You’d hardly call that a bad schooling. Walt Disney Feature Animation’s last couple of efforts, Tangled and Winnie The Pooh, I’ve had a lot of time for. Hopefully, Wreck-It Ralph will top them both.
ParaNorman
A stop motion film that may have been off many people’s radar until the recent unveiling of the trailer for it, this one comes out a month prior to Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie (which we’re coming to shortly), but it sounds like the pair could make a perfect double bill.
Directed by Chris Butler (who worked on Coraline and Corpse Bride) and Sam Fell (who directed the brilliant Flushed Away), ParaNorman is the story of a boy who can speak with the dead. And, as a consequence, it’s up to him to save his town from zombies, ghosts and adults.
Thus far, the film looks like it might just capture some of the spirit of the woefully-underappreciated Monster House, and if it can do that, ParaNorman might be one of the geeky sleeper hits of 2012. And, as the trailer points out, it's from the makers of Coraline. And Coraline was and is utterly brilliant...
Frankenweenie
Stop motion animation fans are being |
be committed by those whose motives are to undermine the power and the process of the elected Government.
Then, to sum up and to underscore this terrible fact, Senator Gore repeated: "I was only asking you if you knew that he had reported directly to the President with respect to the approval of this particular program."
And Dulles replied: "No, I don't know that." What Dulles was really saying was that he really didn't know who had sent out that plane. It is fairly common practice to give some of these approvals by telephone. But how did he know who was on the phone?
To verify this procedure I can tell you that I have been called at night by a person who said he was the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, General Thomas D. White. I was told by that voice to go to Allen Dulles' home and follow the Director's orders. I went there and was told that he had immediate need of an airplane for an emergency in Tokyo. Upon receiving this order I had a plane turned around in flight over the Pacific and returned to Tokyo, where it was used for the clandestine mission. The mission was successful, and I received a written commendation from the CIA.
The point is that we did this by telephone. I ordered the action across the Pacific by telephone, and, as it happened, that deft move prevented a coup d'etat in a distant country. Of course, I knew General White's voice. But the fact remains that a clandestine operation run as Dulles and Gore described it is evidence of a very feeble method.
In this ominous byplay, we see the shadow of hands behind the scenes. If Eisenhower did not order the flight, who did? If Dulles didn't know whether the men whom he said authorized the flight had that authority, who knew? If someone had the inside knowledge to get away with launching an unauthorized flight, who was it? And if those people knew that the cameras must be protected, who were they? By the time you answer those questions, even by the time you ask them, you can draw the strings tightly around that very small group who actually did operate the U-2's in 1960. There were only three or four men able to do those things, and their names are in the Pentagon telephone book of 1960. I will not name names as it is not my intention to jeopardize these men's lives.
Later in the hearings the Senators wanted to find out if any orders had gone out suspending overflights because of the summit conference schedule. Dulles waffled that question, so they asked about prior events and learned that flights had been cancelled when Khrushchev met with Eisenhower at Camp David.
Later on Gore said: "One of the big questions before the country in millions of peoples' minds is why this flight was undertaken so near the summit."
In reply to another question Dulles said: "I think the question could be raised, if it was done without the President's knowledge, as to who was directing the ship of state." [author's emphasis]
Now, there it is! This was a most crucial line. Allen Dulles was beginning to have some grave doubts himself about the series of events. His answer supports the notion that he too did not know what really had taken place. Following is a first-hand experience that will prove to even the greatest skeptic that the Director of the CIA does not always know of clandestine activities undertaken by his own organization.
I was with Dulles and Bissell the evening they found out that a plane was missing over the Soviet Union. They knew nothing about it, and they had told the Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, and the President that not a single U.S. aircraft -- military, Government, or commercial -- was missing, as the Soviets claimed. Dulles called me to his house to meet with him and Bissell to see if I could locate a missing plane. I went to the Pentagon Command Center where I was later able to discover and confirm that a plane carrying nine U.S. Air Force men on a CIA mission was shot down over the USSR. It turned out to be Allen Dulles' own CIA VIP airplane! He did not know about that, just as he did not know about the Powers U-2.
During the first six months of 1960, I was the focal-point officer assigned by the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force to provide special Air Force support to certain clandestine CIA overflight operations. In April 1960, a member of the Chief's Pentagon office staff was in Thailand overseeing a major series of long-range overflights into Tibet and far northwestern China. Later that spring, orders came down to stop those overflights. The given reason was that the President wanted nothing to interfere with the success of his forthcoming Paris summit conference. Orders were sent from my office to ground the overflights.
These same orders applied to the U-2 program. We all took our orders from the same authorities. The U-2's were supposed to have been grounded along with the Tibetan overflights. So, when Allen Dulles himself wonders who was directing the ship of state, it becomes apparent that he did not know who was running the country!
The U-2 is nearly forgotten today, and there will perhaps never be any further investigation of this crucial event. Eisenhower and Khrushchev, both old warriors, might have pulled off a real peace agreement. We shall never know. But we do know some things. Many of the top-echelon men who were in the Pentagon during those fateful days of spring 1960 are back there now in the Carter Administration. Others are in top positions throughout Washington. It may be that they know how easy it was to pull the rug out from under Eisenhower, and they know how they could do the same thing again today.Only 630,000 Libyans out of 3.4 million eligible voters turned out to cast their ballot in the 25 June 2014 parliamentary elections, an actual participation rate of 18.52%.
In other words, 81.47% of Libyan voters were not involved in the National General Congress election.
The outcome was dissimulated by the High Electoral Commission which based its calculations on the number of Libyans on the voter registrations lists, i.e. 1.5 million, thereby arriving at an abstract figure of 42% of participation.
Libya had made an effort in 2012 to achieve wider participation in the elections but fell disappointingly short, with a result of 51.17%.
It is clearly a serious mistake to overlook the tribal structure of Libyan society and to try to impose a system of representative democracy. The system of direct democracy based on popular conferences and people’s committees, as set out in the Green Paper of Muammar el-Qaddafi - though deserving of criticism as any political system - was much better suited to the Libyans. He was overthrown in 2011, not by a "revolution," but by a long-planned aggression executed by NATO.Image copyright AFP Image caption Brazil said the cartel operated across the country, with contracts for Sao Paulo's metro among other networks
Brazil has said it is investigating corruption and price-fixing allegations against 18 companies, including Siemens of Germany and Alstom of France.
Brazil's antitrust agency accused the firms of being part of a cartel to fix prices for the construction and upkeep of metro and train networks, including in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
Siemens said it had "zero tolerance for any kind of illegal conduct".
Alstom said it was "taking the allegations very seriously".
Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defence (Cade) said the 18 companies were part of a cartel involved in 15 projects valued at $4 billion (£2.4bn) in total, with contracts in the Brazilian Federal District and the states of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul.
Cade is part of Brazil's justice ministry, responsible for investigating anti-trust cases.
"Cade has started (...) administrative proceedings to investigate alleged cartel conduct in the bidding for trains and metros between at least 1998 and 2013," it said in a statement on its website.
"Eighteen companies and 109 employees of these companies are accused of involvement in illegal (activities)."
'Cooperation'
According to Cade, the companies adopted "several anti-competitive strategies", such as the prearrangement of offers tendered in bidding processes, and bribed dozens of officials to secure the contracts.
At times, it alleged, the cartel would also determine which company would win a bid by putting only one forward to tender an offer.
In a statement sent to the Associated Press (AP) agency, Siemens said it was "collaborating'' with the investigations, which it said would "lead to a more ethical and transparent business environment in Brazil".
In another statement seen by AP, Alstom said it was "taking the allegations very seriously" and "carrying out its own thorough investigation".
Cade has also named companies from Spain, Canada, South Korea and the United States, among other countries.
It said the firms that allegedly formed part of the cartel would be summoned to present their defence.Winning competition entry for the redevelopment of an urban area, including the transformation of an existing bus depot to integrate a mixture of uses including office, retail space and residential units.
This project is part of the Municipality of Rome’s initiative to redevelop a number of transport depots within the city in conjunction with local public transport authority ATAC. It involves the regeneration of a neighbourhood with a weak identity but with good growth potential due to its location at the edge of the city centre. Labics’ aim therefore was to create a new centre for the local community, but also to increase its profile as a place of transition with privileged access to the city centre.
The development of the site has been designed to be porous, allowing good access to and from the site, encouraging the flow of people and demonstrating Labics’ philosophy that cities should be built around systems rather than as a series of objects. Public realm space is not seen as residual but is fully integrated with the built elements – so, for example, the basement space becomes the load-bearing structure for high level walkways as well as a pathway in itself. This creates a complex public space, rich in experience.
The project is articulated over different levels, with commercial activities and the public library at ground level, offices on the first floor and public spaces on top of those. Three buildings are suspended above this public area – one containing more offices and the other two for residential use. The residential buildings contrast in terms of their typology and external treatment. The first is a tower containing small and medium-sized flats, partially enclosed with a horizontal glass brise soleil. The second ‘villa’ building contains luxury duplex apartments and is clad with aluminium panels that provide flexible, adjustable sun shading and a playful, ever-changing envelope.By
Something special happens every third Sunday of the month at the Wadham House Craft and Hobby Centre. Courtesy of the Melbourne Amiga Users Group, the Commodore Club Day (#CommodoreClub) is a love-in of sorts for anyone that is (or was) into the great home computers from Commodore. Even if you aren’t a Commodore fan, you are still most welcome.
The Commodore Club Day is filled with like-minded people, and of course, the hardware – from the Commodore 64 to the Amiga 1200 and CD32. The biggest buzz for us is always the people. It is great to catch-up with our friends and have a yarn about our experiences with the great beige pieces of plastic.
Of course no club day is complete without some friendly gaming rivalry. On this particular occasion, Kevin Tilley from the C64-centric magazine, RESET, created a four-player, four game competition between yours truly, Ant Stiller, Rob Caporetto and Kevin himself. The competition was fierce, but fair. There was adulation and pain in the battle to find out who reigned supreme on the C64. I hate to do this to you all, but you will have to wait for issue 4 of RESET to find out who was hot and who was not!
As they say, all good things must come to an end. It is always sad to wrap things up at the Commodore Club Day, but it is never a goodbye, it is always, till next time!
The Terminator made its presence known!
Bomberland 64 mayhem ensued
Weird and Retro’s Serby was preoccupied while the Doctor kicked ass
Feel the power of the Amiga
Weird and Retro’s RGCD cartridge stash
The C64 4-player competition is ready to go!
Pedro enjoying some Amiga time
Paul’s ever impressive Amiga setup. This is just the tip of the iceberg
Games begging to be played!Check out the unique, intriguing new game from Red Phantom Games
Time for an announcement! Minutes is launching tomorrow, 5th November, first on PS4 and PS Vita.
You know those big AAA titles? The ones with the guns that go “rat-rat-rat!”, “bang!” and “whoosh!”. The ones where you run across a field, or drive a car across a city for 20 minutes, and when you get to your destination a lovely cutscene happens. You know? The ones where even matt-black is shiny and there are more particles on the screen than pixels.
Don’t you ever get bored of that stuff? No? Actually, nor do I. But, once in a while I like to play something different and that’s one of the reasons I’ve designed and developed Minutes.
It’s a unique, abstract action title that’s all about gameplay purity. No messing around with a story, cutscenes or characters here. In Minutes, what we do in games is stripped down to the fundamentals – move, collect, avoid, gauge risk vs. reward, react, think and power up – and is packaged up into a retro/modern sensory assault which will have you saying, “just one more go”. I know that because, even though I’ve been developing the game for over a year, I still keep saying it!
Simply explained, the player controls a circle and moves it around the screen to collect light energy shapes (for points) and avoid dark (which damage the player). The key mechanic is that the size of the circle can be changed. Go small to stay safe and dodge through the dark energy. Go large to collect more light and, critically, boost your score multiplier. Check out the trailer and it should make sense!
Here are some core facts about the game:
60 levels, each one-minute long (hence the title of the game)
Layered score goals and other targets for replayability with the very tough “Perfect” for the more hardcore players
Daily Challenge: A randomly generated level every day – practise as much as you like but you only get one chance to post a real score
Running at an unwavering 60fps at full resolution
Cross-Save provides a “sync” feature that merges (doesn’t overwrite) your best scores and progress
And, of course, there are PSN leaderboards and trophies
Oh, and the music in the game is pretty awesome but, you can override it with your own if you wish
Minutes is a Cross-Buy title across PS4, PS Vita and PlayStation TV and will be available for digital download on PlayStation Store from tomorrow afternoon. For further information and updates please check out www.minutes-game.com.Get the biggest Rangers 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
MIKE ASHLEY has bought the rights to rename Ibrox Stadium for just £1.
We can reveal the astonishing agreement was struck TWO YEARS AGO with the club’s former chief executive Charles Green – and that the Newcastle United owner retains the right to rebrand Rangers’ home “at the drop of a hat” with the name of his retail firm Sports Direct.
The bombshell news of the existence of Ashley’s deal was broken by Rangers director Sandy Easdale in a Q&A with Record Sport.
But while Easdale refused to say how much Ashley paid for the rights we understand Green gave them away for a quid – and later blew £250,000 in legal fees trying to get the contract ripped up.
Read what Rangers fans think in today's Sports Hotline
Easdale is championing Ashley as the club’s potential saviour and has invited him to underwrite a £4m share issue needed to stave off financial collapse.
Sources close to Easdale insist he has urged Ashley not to press the button on renaming Ibrox but admits the contract is watertight.
The news will disgust Rangers fans, especially as the BT Murrayfield Stadium deal in May this year earned Scottish rugby £20m.
In today’s interview Easdale also confirms Ashley has been blocked from buying new shares as SFA rules prohibit him from owning more than 10 per cent of any Scottish club.
Easdale says he’ll plough his own money into the latest round of fundraising but admits if the cash target is not hit the club may be forced to consider raising money against assets such as Murray Park.
While Easdale ruled out selling Ibrox he would not make a similar commitment on Murray Park. And he then went on to reveal Ashley already has a deal in place to rename the stadium.
He said: “Let’s clear this up, the Sports Direct Arena. Charles Green had already done a deal with Mike on that. Sports Direct haven’t taken it up as yet. Mike Ashley could call it the Sport Direct Arena tomorrow.”
When asked to put a cash figure on the value of Ashley’s deal Easdale said: “No, that would be confidential.”
Five of the worst pieces of business in sport's historyMany leading contesters claim the WAEDC to be the most challenging contest of the year. Being a true blue DX contest, only intercontinental QSOs between DX and Europe are counted (exception is the RTTY part). Therefore the number of DX QSOs here may be similar to the amount of DX usually worked in the CQWW.
Moreover, the unique feature of QTC-traffic adds much fun and another operating challenge to the contest. Here the DX stations transfer real telegrams to the European stations. These telegrams contain data of previously logged QSOs. Each of these records counts one additional point for the sender and the receiver, given that the complete record was logged correctly. Thus, a DX station can actually double its score by sending QTCs. Some European stations, and not only the leading ranks, gain more than 70 percent of their score from QTC traffic.
Hovever, like in any other contest you have to take care about the number of multipliers too. From a DX point of view these are the WAE entities. For the European stations multipliers come from DXCC entities worked and the numerical call areas of several big countries (JA, PY, W, VE, VK, ZL, ZS). Because multipliers are counted per band and on the low bands they count more than on the high bands, there ist significant activity also on 40m and 80m. And remember - every contact is a DX QSO! Reflecting on this, you will work lowband DX as well as highband DX even in the CW part in August as well as in the SSB part in September, despite all seasonal problems in the northern hemisphere. Remember, this part of the year is usually good for lowband activities from the southern hemisphere. For a well equipped station and a dedicated operator worldwide DX is possible on 80m. In addition, the nowadays poor 10m band surprisingly often shows short DX openings with good rates and useful multipliers.
From our point of view, the WAEDCs are significant landmarks in the yearly contest calender, providing highest level radiosport for serious contesters and fun for part time entrants and DXers alike. Join the WAEDC!
Logs need to be uploaded in Cabrillo-Format here:
URL: https://www.dxhf.darc.de/~waerttylog/upload.cgi?form=referat&lang=en
By submitting an electronic log, the participant claims to fully accept the rules of the contest. A written declaration is not necessary.
Clarification: WAEDC and IARU Bandplan
Dear fellow contesters and participants of our WAEDC contests.
The rule we are discussing today is part of the WAEDC rules for approximately20+ Years! To my knowledge we never ever disqualified or penalized anyone foroperating outside the IARU recommendations.
I am definitely sure for the time since 2010 when I took over as the contest manager for WAEDC.
We are NOT going to disqualify anyone 2016 in the 62nd edition of the WAEDC contest for this particular rule!
With the CW leg already in the books and SSB this weekend, this would be a huge game changer in the middle of the season, after 20+ years and also in view of the WRTC 2018.
We might be able to remove the QSOs in question from the scoring, what would be a fair approach for everyone. Some participants detected their mistake and already sent the QSOs as XQSO in their Cabrillo log file.
This way it would not be counted towards the score.
For now we suggest to follow the rules and do NOT operate inside the contest free segments.
You are in very high danger losing these QSOs anyway.
According to IARU recommendations operation should be avoided outside contest-preferred segments.
No operation to take place on:
CW : 3560-3800; 7040-7200; 14060-14350 kHz
SSB: 3650-3700; 7050-7060; 7100-7130; 14100-14125; 14300-14350 kHz.
This part of the WAEDC rules will be under review for 2017, so please check the rules before the 2017 WAEDC contest series starts all over again.
Nevertheless it is highly recommended to follow the IARU Bandplans at all times.
73 de
Marco Holleyn (DJ4MH)
WAEDC MangerImage copyright US Dept of Defence Image caption The US has been conducting air strikes against IS since August 2014
Russia is considering whether to follow the US and its allies in conducting air strikes against Islamic State (IS) targets, President Vladimir Putin says.
Mr Putin spoke after meeting Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
But the meeting, and the leaders' speeches at the UNGA, also highlighted splits about how to end the Syrian war.
Russia said it would be an "enormous mistake" not to work with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to tackle IS.
On Monday, the US and France again insisted that President Assad must go. But in response, Mr Putin said: "They aren't citizens of Syria and so should not be involved in choosing the leadership of another country."
Russia would conduct air strikes only if they were approved by the United Nations, he said, while also ruling out Russian troops taking part in a ground operation in Syria.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Vladimir Putin: "Our talks were very constructive, business-like and surprisingly frank"
The two leaders met for 90 minutes on the sidelines of the UNGA in talks that Mr Putin called "very constructive, business-like and frank".
It was their first face-to-face meeting in almost a year, with the Ukraine war also on the agenda.
A senior US government official said neither president was "seeking to score points" in the talks. Both sides agreed to open lines of communication to avoid accidental military conflict in the region, the official added.
Putin's progress - by BBC Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg
He came. He left. But it's unclear what Vladimir Putin achieved in New York.
Pro-Kremlin media are portraying Putin's speech and meeting with President Obama as a victory for Russia.
"Vladimir Putin addressed the world" is Komsomolskaya Pravda's headline, reflecting the Kremlin's attempt to reassert Russia's role on the world stage.
On Russian TV, a pro-Kremlin MP has claimed that the timing of Nasa's announcement about water on Mars was designed by Washington to trump the Putin speech.
As for business daily Vedomosti, it notes that the Kremlin's call for a coalition against Islamic State may be "part of a political strategy to remove sanctions" against Russia. It's unclear whether it'll work.
After his meeting with Obama, Mr Putin admitted US-Russian relations had fallen to a very low level and he left no doubt who was to blame: America.
James Robbins: Obama, Putin and elusive Syrian peace
In his speech to the UNGA, Mr Obama said compromise among powers would be essential to ending the Syrian conflict, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives and forced four million people to flee abroad.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Barack Obama says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must go
"The US is prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict," he said.
"But we must recognise that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the pre-war status quo."
But Mr Putin said it was an "enormous mistake to refuse to co-operate with the Syrian government and its armed forces who are valiantly fighting terrorism face-to-face".
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption After trading barbs on Syria, the two men shook hands before heading to a face-to-face meeting
He also called for the creation of a "broad anti-terror coalition" to fight IS, comparing it to the international forces that fought against Nazi Germany in World War Two.
US and Middle East reaction to Putin
The Washington Post urges the world to "resist this siren song" of President Putin on Syria, insisting there can be no lasting peace anywhere "on the basis of tyranny restored"
Mr Putin has no particular strategy to contain the Syrian conflict, according to the New York Times, which wonders "how much he can afford to invest in a dead-end war in Syria"
In Syria, however, pro-government al-Thawrah argues that Russia is "setting things straight" after the West "messed up"
Lebanese daily al-Nahar suggests the gap between the US and Russia is being bridged despite their differences on President Assad
Iranian daily al-Vefagh argues the war in Syria is a "Russian national security issue"
The US and Russian leaders have long differed on Syria: the US opposes President Assad remaining in power, while Russia has been a staunch ally of the regime in Damascus and has recently stepped up military support.
Some Western leaders have recently softened their stance towards the Syrian president, conceding that he might be able to stay in power during a political transition.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to reflect that in talks this week.
Syria's civil war
Image copyright Reuters
What's the human cost?
More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and one million injured in four and a half years of armed conflict, which began with anti-government protests before escalating into a full-scale civil war.
And the survivors?
More than 11 million others have been forced from their homes, four million of them abroad, as forces loyal to President Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other - as well as jihadist militants from IS. Growing numbers of refugees are going to Europe.
How has the world reacted?
Regional and world powers have also been drawn into the conflict. Iran and Russia, along with Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, are propping up the Alawite-led government. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are backing the Sunni-dominated opposition, along with the US, UK and France.
Syria's civil war explained
Diplomatic goals behind Putin's Syria build-up
Migrant crisis: Fleeing life under Islamic State in Syria
The battle for Syria and Iraq in maps
The threat of IS extremists and the flow of Syrian refugees to Europe has added urgency to the search for a deal to end the civil war.
Observers also continue to report attacks on civilians by government forces.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that regime aircraft fired missiles at a market in the eastern town of Mayadeen on Monday, killing at least 23 people, including eight children.
A US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq for more than a year.
The UK announced this month it had carried out a drone strike against two British citizens in Syria, but has yet to fly manned operations in Syrian airspace.
Over the weekend, France confirmed its first air strikes against IS targets. A number of other countries, including Australia, Canada and Jordan, have also conducted bombing missions.Chatroulette, the anonymous video-chat service sweeping the Internet, has a problem: the penis. Specifically, the abundance of them. But the site's doing something about it.The problem, as Chatroulete users know, is that for every pianist performing on the site, there's a dozen other - well, you know - enjoying their own performances as well. The combination of anonymous chat and male exhibitionism can simply prove too much for some, scandalizing Barnard co-eds and doe-eyed CNET (and former PCMag reporter) Natali Del Conte alike.Fortunately, there's a solution. Chatroulette founder Andrey Ternovskiy told AllThingsD's Drake Martinet that the site is "making some changes to the'reporting people' function, which is designed to cut down on the male genitalia that famously crops up throughout the site." A quick 30-plus sessions proved the point, the article reports. Unfortunately, poor Drake still faced a few upright middle fingers, supposedly an "accepted greeting".Oh, and Martinet also reports on some other Chatroulette 2.0 things, such as Chessroulette (why chat when you can play...chess) and the difficulties of converting the site to an iPad-friendly format. But really, who cares?Security firm F-Secure has discovered a bot that compromises Twitter accounts to help in the generation of Bitcoins.
Bitcoin is a decentralized virtual currency that was formed by programmers in 2009, and is generated by programming computers to calculate highly complex math problems. The more computing power you have, the faster you can create Bitcoins; this is why Bitcoin rigs often look like massive sculptures of connected servers.
According to an F-Secure blog post, the Twitter-based command below generates a bot that can control the Twitter user's computer and add it to a bitcoin mining rig. F-Secure identified bots generated with this command as Trojan.Generic.KD.
Last month Symantec blogged about the potential of creating botnets used to mine bitcoins, without the computer owner ever knowing. This allows the botnet creator to take control of others' computers and add its computing power to his own mining rig.
Bitcoin has found fans in libertarians, hackers of all shades, computer programmers, and more. In its purest form it resolves issues inherent in traditional currencies, like double-spending, inflation, corruption, and inept monetary authorities.
But in reality, it is being undermined by common security issues like exchange breaches, account theft, and FUD. It first gained some mainstream attention in May when hacking posse LulzSec announced it was accepting donations in bitcoin.
For more, see "Which Bitcoin Exchange Can You Trust?"
For more from Sara, follow her on Twitter @sarapyin.
For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.MONTREAL — If you watched Connor McDavid closely in the Edmonton Oilers’ 1-0 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens Sunday, you’d have noticed that Shea Weber was never too far out of the frame.
It was a matchup that brought life to an otherwise dull contest.
Of course, McDavid is always worth watching in isolation.
If the 20-year-old sensation hasn’t quite wrestled the title of ‘best hockey player in the world’ away from Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby yet, it’s only a matter of time that he will. Knowing that, your eyes should be focused on everything he does.
From Weber’s vantage, the challenge of facing the phenom from shift to shift is almost incomparable to that of facing any other top player in the league.
"He’s obviously fast," said the six-foot-four, 230-pounder. "But there’s a lot of guys who are fast, too. His hands are as good as his feet and he’s agile and shifty, too. A lot of guys have maybe one or two things here or there, but he’s as close as it gets to having it all."
That much has been on display through the 100 games McDavid has now played in the NHL.
In this one, it took everything Weber had—and everything his teammates had—to keep the kid off the board.
When McDavid picked up a full head of steam in the neutral zone and was going to burn by Weber at the 8:40 mark of the first period, the big man wedged his stick into the Newmarket, Ont., native’s skate and shamelessly made his way to the penalty box thereafter.
He was one of three Canadiens forced into taking penalties just to slow McDavid down in the game.
Weber resorted to other means, too.
Halfway through the second period, with McDavid notching his seventh controlled zone entry of the game, Weber angled him off and used his entire wingspan to keep McDavid from taking a dangerous shot.
In the third period, as McDavid was charging towards Canadiens goaltender Al Montoya, it took every ounce of strength Weber could summon to knock him just slightly off balance.
"He’s strong, too," said Weber.
From the other side of the matchup, McDavid stood in awe of Sicamous, B.C., native.
"I think he’s one of the hardest guys to play against, if not the hardest guy to play against in the league," he said. "You just try and attack him with speed and try and do what you can. But ultimately he’s a pretty tough guy to play against."
Though McDavid has—by now—torched most of the NHL’s best defencemen, he’s been limited to just one assist in three career contests versus Weber.
It’s no coincidence that his best chances of Sunday’s game came with Weber sitting on the bench.
There was none better than the one in overtime, when McDavid strode in on a breakaway and flubbed a shot into Montoya’s left pad while Weber was sipping Gatorade and catching his breath.
By night’s end the stat sheet revealed a two-second difference in time on ice between both players, with Weber playing 25:09 and McDavid playing 25:07.
That in itself tells you how much of an impact the matchup had on the way the game played out. The Canadiens put so much emphasis on shutting McDavid down, that they couldn’t impose themselves. They were outshot 25-15 through two periods and they spent the better part of 65 minutes rocking back on their heels.
"Obviously that’s something you don’t want to do," said Weber. "You always talk about making other teams play your game, play your pace. There were spurts of [the Canadiens dictating play], but we have to get that consistency where we can have it more than just those spurts."
Meanwhile, McDavid has given the Oilers the breathing room to assert themselves.
The team ranks sixth in the NHL in shots per game (31.5), they’ve drawn 170 penalties (two more would place them in the league’s top-10 in the category), and they have seven players in double digits in the goal category.
McDavid, who leads the NHL with 60 points, has authored Edmonton’s resurgence, helped them to 66 points in the standings and a comfortable 11-point margin on the Western Conference’s ninth-place team.
The Oilers head into their bye week intent on resting up for what they hope will be a long playoff push, which is something they haven’t had to concern themselves with since 2006.
Good luck to the guys in Chicago, who will have to face a re-energized McDavid in Edmonton’s first game back next Saturday. They’ll be hard-pressed to do as well as Weber did against him on Sunday.Using off-the-shelf gaming technology that tracks brain activity, a team of scientists has shown that it's possible to steal passwords and other personal information.
Researchers from the University of Oxford, University of Geneva and the University of California at Berkeley demonstrated the possibility of brain hacking using software built to work with Emotiv Systems' $299 EPOC neuro-headset.
Developers build software today that responds to signals emitted over Bluetooth from EPOC and other so-called brain computer interfaces (BCI), such as MindWave from NeuroSky. Of course, if software developers can build apps for such devices, so can criminals.
"The security risks involved in using consumer-grade BCI devices have never been studied and the impact of malicious software with access to the device is unexplored," the researchers said in a paper presented in July at the USENIX computer conference. "We take a rst step in studying the security implications of such devices and demonstrate that this upcoming technology could be turned against users to reveal their private and secret information."
The researchers found that the software they built to read signals from EPOC significantly improved the chances of guessing personal identification numbers (PINs), the general area participants in the experiment lived, people they knew, their month of birth, and the name of their bank.
[See also:A'A Hackers shift to outflanking the first line of defense]
The Emotiv device, used in gaming and as a hands-free keyboard, uses sensors to record electrical activity along the scalp. Voltage in the brain spikes when people see something they recognize, so tracking the fluctuation makes it possible to gather information about people by showing them series of images.
The researchers conducted their experiments on 28 computer science students. In the PIN experiment, the subjects chose a four-digit number and then watched as the numbers zero to nine were flashed on a computer screen 10 times for each digit. While the images flashed before the subjects, the researchers tracked brain activity through signals from the EPOC neuro-headset.
The same form of repetitive showing of images was used in the other experiments, such as a series of bankcards to determine a subject's bank or images of people to find the one they knew.
In general, the researchers' chance of guessing correctly increased to between 20% and 30%, up from 10% without the brain tracking. The exception was in figuring out people's month of birth. The rate of guessing correctly increased to as much as 60%.
Nevertheless, the overall reliability was not high enough for an attack targeted at a few individuals. "The attack works, but not in a reliable way," Mario Frank, a UC Berkeley researcher in the study, said on Friday. "With the equipment that we used, it's not possible to be sure that you found the true answer."
A criminal would have to build malware that could be distributed to as many people as possible. Such a tactic is used in distributing malware via email, knowing that only a small fraction of recipients will open the attachments. However, that small fraction is enough to |
of Charleroi.
The perpetrator, who could be heard shouting “Allahu Akbar," was shot by a third officer on site and died later in hospital.
Speaking on Sunday, the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel called the attack an “attempted terrorist murder” and added that an investigation has been opened into the case.My match did a perfect job!
I got TWO great books!
The first to arrive was Dancers Among Us, which is a book full of stunning lifestyle photography of dancers in every day situations. I recently picked up photography as a hobby and this was a great inspiration!
The second to arrive was a children's book called Ultraviolet Catastrophe. I'm not familiar with this one, and I can't wait to dive into it was my little girls! I LOVE LOVE LOVED that it was a used library book. It still has the checkout card pocket inside the front cover! It's great imagining who else might have held that book! I've only had an opportunity to glance inside, but the artwork is SO pretty. I know my match mentioned that it was one of their favorites and I appreciate this personal touch!
The last thing was an ACTUAL CARD in my SNAIL MAIL! The best thing (next to packages) is getting an envelope in the mail that doesn't hold a bill or an advertisement!
Thank you! You truly did make my day!Most Americans believe that churches and other houses of worship contribute to negative perceptions of gays and lesbians, a recent study found.
Nearly three-quarters said that religious messages negatively influence views on homosexuality and about two-thirds connect these messages with suicide among gay youth, according to a poll released today by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Religion News Service.
“The survey shows that a significant number of Americans are aware of and concerned about the negative impact of messages about homosexuality from places of worship, particularly with regard to gay and lesbian youth,” said Robert P. Jones, PPRI’s CEO.
This concern has been brought to the forefront of public discourse in the last several weeks. Internet campaigns and activist groups are trying to bring more attention to the issue of anti-homosexual bullying following a string of teen suicides, including one in Houston.
The survey found Democrats and young adults were more likely to say religious messages contribute “a lot” to rates of suicide among gay and lesbian youth, compared to Republicans and people over age 65.
Americans across traditions said they found religious messages on homosexuality generally more negative than positive, but were more likely to consider their own faith’s view of homosexuality favorably. The report said:
Of all religious groups, white evangelicals are most likely to give their own church high marks for handling the issue of homosexuality. Three-quarters of white evangelicals give their church an “A” (48%) or “B” (27%). Among white mainline Protestants and Catholics, only about 4-in-10 give their church an “A” or “B.” Catholics were most likely to give their churches negative marks, with nearly one-third giving their churches a “D” (15%) or an “F” (16%).
Here’s what Houston Belief bloggers had to say about the issue:
On Talking Tolerance, Jill Carroll argues that bullying–over religion, sexuality or anything else–is a much more serious issue than just “kids will be kids.”
On Some Views from a Jew, Rabbi Amy blogged about a Jewish community pledge to end homophobic bullying and harassment and the lessons parents should take away from these tragedies.
On Emmaus Road, Proverbs reminds Catholics that Respect Life month is about more than just abortion; it also compels them to address the brokenness that leads children to take their own lives.
On Lutherant, Rev. St-Onge recalls bullying in his own childhood. Bullying grieves the Lord’s heart and Christians who are faced with its tragic end, he says.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy said today that their countries' economic futures are dependent on a healthy euro and promised to work toward greater European economic integration to protect against a future crisis for the currency.
Their meeting in Paris was aimed at reassuring investors frightened about the future of the euro after bailouts in Ireland, Greece, and Portugal and worried that major economies like Italy or Spain could be next. The two leaders praised the common currency as a force for stability and unity in Europe and promised to work toward harmonizing the spending and taxation polices of euro members to head off another debt blowout.
But investors, hoping for promises of a larger bailout fund and concerned about slowing growth, were disappointed, and stocks fell in the US after the meeting.
“The euro is our future,” said Chancellor Merkel. “It is the source not only of our wealth, but also of our peaceful co-existence in Europe.”
President Sarkozy told reporters that Germany and France were determined to overcome the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, and would take special responsibility for the currency.
The two leaders said they would advocate a single corporate tax structure across the EU, a tax on financial transactions, and the creation of a so-called debt brake – a requirement for EU governments to keep a balanced budget. They also said they want a “true economic government” for the eurozone under the leadership of EU council President Herman van Rompuy, which means a system in which substantially more economic sovereignty is given up to Brussels by eurozone members than has hitherto been the case.
The Franco-German talks came on a day that economic growth figures for Germany and the eurozone as a whole showed a significant slowing. Germany’s GDP grew a meager 0.1 percent in the second quarter of this year, and the eurozone overall grew by only 0.2 percent. Figures in France published last week showed the economy there has ground to a halt completely. But Chancellor Merkel said in Paris she was confident both Germany and the France would enjoy healthy growth for the whole of the year 2011.
Yet the slump adds to the worries of European governments trying to regain control of a crisis that stems from fear of default on sovereign debt in a half-dozen European countries. Those fears are driving up borrowing costs for many nations and driving out investors, threatening a downward spiral that could do lasting damage to major economies like Spain, Italy, and even France, which were thought to be unassailable when Greece's debt woes first came to light.
The political opposition in Germany was as unimpressed as investors were.
“Much ado about nothing,” said Cem Ozdemir, leader of the German Green party. “It is completely obscure what competencies such a so-called economic government would have and whether it could impose sanctions on member states not sticking to the rules.”
The liberal Free Democrats, junior partners in Mrs. Merkel’s coalition government, praised the proposals as a strong signal for European markets, business and citizens.
[Editor's note: The original version of this story was published with the wrong byline.]Big rig crashes kill nearly 4,000 Americans each year and injure more than 85,000. Since 2009, fatalities involving large trucks have increased 17 percent. Injuries have gone up 28 percent.
Given these numbers, you might expect Congress to be agitating for tighter controls on big rigs. In fact, many members are pushing for the opposite – looser restrictions on the trucking industry and its drivers.
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The proposals represent a wish list of the trucking industry, including allowing significantly longer and heavier trucks, and younger drivers. The industry spends heavily on lobbying and campaign contributions, giving largely to Republicans, who control both the House and Senate.
Supporters insist the proposals actually will improve public safety by cutting the number of trucks on the road while also helping the trucking industry address a shortage of drivers. But critics reject the safety claims as ridiculous, saying the proposals would enrich the trucking industry, not protect the public.
Truck safety advocates – many of whom have lost loved ones in big rig crashes – are dismayed over what they describe as the industry’s efforts to use Congress to achieve dangerous policy changes.
“There’s no logical reason why this would make our streets safer,” said Laurie Higginbotham of Memphis, Tenn. She said her 33-year-old son, Michael, was killed when his Jeep Cherokee plowed into a tractor-trailer making an illegal U-turn on a dark stretch of road in November 2014.
One of Higginbotham’s senators, Republican Lamar Alexander, has taken more than $112,000 from trucking interests since the beginning of 2009. Twice this year, he’s voted for bills that include provisions loosening rules on big rigs.
Higginbotham said she tried asking the Tennessee senator’s staff how he thought these changes would help the public, but didn’t get very far. “They didn’t have an answer, other than ‘Well, maybe we’ll have less trucks’” on the road, she said. Alexander didn’t respond to requests for comment.
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One of the proposals he voted for – a measure considered particularly dangerous by safety advocates — would allow trucks nationwide to haul two 33-foot trailers, up from a current limit of 28 feet. That’s the equivalent of an eight-story building turned on its side and rumbling down the highway.
Other changes sought by the industry would:
Raise the top weight of big rigs, including cargo, from 80,000 to 91,000 pounds.
Give states the ability to lower the minimum age of 21 for interstate truck drivers, putting drivers as young as 18 behind the wheel.
Effectively eliminate a requirement that truckers who work long weeks spend two consecutive nights resting before heading back on the road.
Halt efforts to revise 30-year-old minimum requirements for insurance for big rigs.
Remove safety ratings of trucking firms from the Internet, where they are now available for public inspection.
It’s unclear if all, or any, of the proposals will be approved, but several have passed out of the House or Senate as parts of larger appropriations or authorization bills.
What is clear is that the measures have gained traction after concentrated campaign giving by the trucking industry. Since the beginning of 2009, trucking interests — including Federal Express, UPS and the American Trucking Associations — have spent more than $19.6 million on campaign contributions to members of Congress, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
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More than 70 percent of that money went to Republicans.
Trucking interests also spent more than $181 million on lobbying over that period, with FedEx alone accounting for $98 million.
Said Jackie Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety: “We have special trucking interests pushing legislation that will result in overweight, oversized trucks being driven by overworked, underage truck drivers that are inadequately insured. All this with the backdrop of truck crash deaths and injuries climbing significantly and steadily.”
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The trucking industry is divided over some of the proposals. For example, Federal Express and UPS want twin 33-foot trailers to be approved, but small, independent operators oppose the measure because it would require them to purchase new equipment. The rail industry, a competitor of the trucking industry, also opposes some of the proposals.
“We believe that if the [proposals] come to pass that they will improve, not degrade, safety,” said Sean McNally, spokesman for the American Trucking Associations, which formally supports many, but not all, of the proposals before Congress. “Our member carriers are strong on safety,” he said.
Longer trucks, less rest?
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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the branch of the Transportation Department that regulates truck safety, declined to comment on the proposals before Congress. The trucking industry claims the proposals have been vetted, pointing largely to studies funded by the industry itself.
Critics, however, say the proposals have not been subjected to review by impartial experts. They say steamrolling looser restrictions through Congress, with heavy lobbying and contributions, is not the way to regulate public safety. More than one safety advocate compares the struggle to “David versus Goliath.”
“It would be almost easy to give up,” said Kim Telep of Harrisburg, Penn. She said she became a safety advocate after her husband, Brad, was struck and killed by a big rig on the New Jersey turnpike in 2012. Telep says she’s tried lobbying Congress for tougher truck safety laws, but got a chilly response. “Sometimes they sit there with this blank stare on their face. And I’m like, ‘Have you no empathy?’ ” she said.
Telep’s state, Pennsylvania, is home to Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has jurisdiction over road safety. Shuster has taken more than $335,000 from trucking interests since the beginning of 2009.
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In June, he voted for a massive transportation, housing and urban development appropriations bill that includes several of the trucking industry’s proposals. That transportation appropriations bill contains the proposals to allow longer trucks, eliminate the two-night rest period and scuttle a study that could lead to higher big rig insurance rates. Through an aide, Shuster declined to comment.
Thirty-nine states prohibit trucks from hauling double 33-foot trailers. The legislation would preempt those state bans on double 33s, permitting trucks of that length to travel across the country.
“It would eliminate the number of truck trips by about 6.6 million and eliminate miles traveled by 1.3 billion,” said McNally of the American Trucking Associations. “And trips not taken, miles not traveled, means crashes not had,” he added. He put the number of truck crashes likely to be eliminated at 900 a year. McNally’s figures came from research by the Coalition for Efficient and Responsible Trucking, an organization of nine major trucking firms, including FedEx and UPS, pushing authorization of double 33s nationwide.
Critics say authorizing bigger or heavier trucks has never resulted in fewer trucks on the road and there’s no reason to believe that will happen now, especially with the popularity of direct shipping through services like Amazon.
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The same House transportation appropriations bill also would effectively kill a requirement that truckers take two consecutive nights to rest after long work weeks. Federal law requires that a trucker who works 60 hours in seven days, or 70 hours in eight days, rest for a minimum of 34 consecutive hours before going back to work.
Congress in 2014 already temporarily suspended a provision in the rest requirement that assured drivers of getting time off two nights in a row. The appropriations bill would require a study validating the need for the two nights of rest rule before it could be restored. Critics say the requirements for the study are tougher than before and could be impossible to achieve.
Truck safety advocates say the net effect of removing the two-night rest period is to lengthen a trucker’s maximum weekly work from 70 hours to 82, interfering with drivers’ ability to get a quality sleep. Industry supporters say it’s virtually impossible for drivers to work 82 hours under these rules.
The measure approved by Congress that suspended the two-night rest period was introduced in 2014 by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. The senator, who chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, also voted for a version of the appropriations bill that would impose toughened requirements before the suspension can be lifted.
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Collins, who has accepted more than $70,000 from the trucking industry since the beginning of 2009, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
“We’re very dismayed by her. She’s been on trucking’s side for a while,” said Daphne Izer of Lisbon, Maine. In 1993, Izer said her son, who was a senior in high school, and three of his friends were killed when a trucker who had fallen asleep at the wheel smashed into the car they were in.
Another appropriations provision could lead to a cutoff in funding for federal efforts to increase minimum insurance requirements for big rigs.
Since 1985, large trucks have been required to carry a minimum of $750,000 in liability insurance. Safety advocates say it is no longer high enough. However, Scott Grenerth, director of regulatory affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said the costs associated with most truck crashes are actually less than $750,000 while most insurance companies already require trucks to carry liability insurance of $1 million. As a result, the association argues, there is no need to raise the minimum.
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Younger drivers
Tucked into a separate transportation authorization bill, already approved by the Senate, is the pilot program to lower the minimum age of interstate truckers. Current federal rules prohibit truckers under the age of 21 from driving big rigs across state lines. However, 49 states allow truck drivers as young as 18 to operate big rigs within their state borders, even though research shows that young truck drivers have more fatal crashes than more experienced drivers.
Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska has proposed a six-year pilot program that would allow states that border each other to form voluntary compacts permitting truckers as young as 18 to drive from one state to the other. Fischer, who has taken more than $96,000 from trucking interests since the beginning of 2011, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The trucking industry says this proposal is critical because it is facing a shortage of drivers, and many young people who might want to become professional drivers can’t wait until age 21 to start their careers. Safety advocates, however, say the proposal is courting danger.
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“My son at 18, I don’t think he would have been mature enough to drive a truck,” said Dorothy Wert of Montrose, Penn. “It’s not as easy as people think driving those big trucks,” Wert said.
Wert says her husband, David, was a truck driver for 35 years. Early one morning in May 2011, she explained, her husband was driving down a dark highway. Up ahead, an inexperienced truck driver had broken down, leaving his truck in the middle of the road, with no warning signals or flares. Dorothy Wert said her husband, driving 65 miles per hour, didn’t see the other truck until the last moment. He swerved, but hit his gas tank on the other truck, igniting his rig on fire.
When he was pulled from the wreckage, David Wert had lost his feet and his skin was severely burned from the neck down. He later died.
‘I feel betrayed’
As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri voted for the two major bills containing trucking provisions to authorize longer trucks, eliminate the two-night rest period, stop the insurance study and permit younger drivers.
Since the beginning of 2009, he has accepted more than $229,000 in campaign contributions from the trucking industry. But he also took an interest in the story of Lisa Shrum, a Fayette, Mo., resident who says she lost her mother and stepfather in a crash involving a FedEx truck in 2006.
Shrum says she visited the Capitol twice this summer and on both occasions had brief conversations with Blunt about the accident and her opposition to the proposals pushed by trucking firms. During the second conversation, she says, the senator asked her to stop by his office to discuss the matter further. Shortly thereafter, on that very same day, she says Blunt voted for one of the bills containing trucking provisions.
“I feel betrayed,” Shrum says she told a Blunt aide when she went to his office later. “It makes me wonder, if I had $500,000 to throw at him what would he do?”
Blunt did not respond to requests for comment.
Congress has yet to act on other trucking bills. In March, Republican Rep. Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania introduced a bill to remove truck safety ratings from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s website. In September, Republican Rep. Reid Ribble of Wisconsin introduced a bill to increase the maximum allowable weight of trucks from 80,000 to 91,000 pounds, provided the heavier trucks have a sixth axle and that states also authorize their use.
Since the beginning of 2009, Barletta and Ribble have accepted campaign donations from the trucking industry totaling more than $52,000 and $122,000, respectively.
Barletta said in a statement that he introduced his bill because “the safety scores are flawed.” His position was backed up at least partly by the Government Accountability Office. The scores are calculated using data collected from roadside inspections and crash investigations, but the GAO discovered that most carriers’ vehicles are inspected infrequently, yielding too little information to produce reliable scores. The scores are available at https://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms/.
Truck safety advocates, however, say if the scores need to be fixed, they should be fixed while they’re still online. They say they’re afraid if the scores are taken down, it will be impossible to put new ones up later.
Ribble, meanwhile, said in a statement that he introduced his bill to raise allowable weights for loaded trucks to 91,000 pounds because trucks have been forced “to leave dairy farms and paper mills in my district only partially full” to avoid exceeding current weight limits. He said his bill “would allow us to have fewer total trucks vying for space on crowded roads.”
John Runyan, executive director of the Coalition for Transportation Productivity, which includes 200 shippers and other associations promoting Ribble’s bill, said the legislation will improve safety because the heavier trucks will have an extra axle and additional brakes.
In mid-October, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure approved a $325 billion highway bill that includes proposals to take the safety scores off the Internet and permit truck drivers as young as 19½ years old to drive between states.
‘A sad state of affairs’
Officials from several states have urged Congress to reject these proposals.
In June, the Mississippi Transportation Commission passed a resolution opposing the push to preempt the state’s ban on double 33s, to extend truckers’ work weeks to 82 hours and to block higher insurance minimums for big rigs. Even so, four Republican Congressmen from Mississippi – Reps. Trent Kelly, Gregg Harper and Steven Palazzo, and Sen. Thad Cochran – voted for bills including those provisions. (Cochran originally voted against the amendment to authorize double 33s, but later voted in favor of the bill itself when it included that provision.)
Cochran received more than $76,000 from the trucking industry since the beginning of 2009 while Palazzo got $10,000 and Harper, $8,000. Kelly, elected in June, has not received any money from the industry, according to the latest figures from the Center for Responsive Politics. Harper, through a spokesman, declined to comment, while Palazzo and Kelly didn’t respond to requests for comment. A Cochran aide said the appropriations bill included other elements “of interest to Mississippi and the nation” besides double 33s.
Also in June, two state senators in Pennsylvania wrote to all 20 members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to oppose an increase in federal limits on truck size and weight. Nine Pennsylvania representatives voted for an appropriations bill that authorized double 33s and nine voted against, while the state’s two senators have not yet had a chance to vote on the proposal.
In Illinois, state senators approved a resolution rejecting an increase in truck size and weight. But their Republican U.S. senator, Mark Kirk, cast a committee vote for an appropriations bill including a provision for double 33s. Kirk has taken more than $38,000 from the trucking industry since the beginning of 2009. Kirk didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Safety advocates say they’re afraid their message will be ignored. Said Jane Mathis of St. Augustine, Fla., the newly elected vice president of the Truck Safety Coalition: “It’s not looking good for safety people. I think most of this stuff is going to pass.”
Mathis said her 23-year-old son and his new wife were killed in a truck crash on their way home from their honeymoon in 2004. Mathis said the newlyweds were stopped in traffic on the freeway in Florida when a trucker fell asleep at the wheel and rear-ended their car, which became pinned under the truck and exploded.
Mathis, a determined advocate for stronger safety standards, said that in the days after the crash, her home was filled with flowers from both her son’s wedding and funeral. She cries when she remembers visiting her son’s newly purchased home after the crash and finding her daughter-in-law’s wedding dress still laid out on the bed.
“We just have our stories and our facts, but we don’t have any money,” she says. “It’s a sad state of affairs.”Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hit back at criticism that he called the explosion in New York City a ‘bomb’ before there was any official confirmation that it was intentional, saying that he deserved credit for predicting it before the news did.
Trump went on a tear against the media for criticizing his statement while ignoring the fact that his opponent Hillary Clinton also called the blast a ‘bombing’ before official confirmation. He even accused CNN in particular of “editing it out” from Clinton’s statement the same way CBS edited out a damaging gaffe from Bill Clinton.
“They took it out,” Trump complained on Fox & Friends Monday morning. “Do you think if that happened to me, do you think they would take it out? They don’t only take things out, it feels like they add things. These people are the most dishonest people. CNN is so disgusting and dishonest.”
.@realDonaldTrump slams “dishonest” CNN for editing out Clinton reference to NYC explosion as ‘bombing’ pic.twitter.com/EG2Yy63B4y — FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) September 19, 2016
“She used the words ‘bombs’ also, by the way, that’s true” Trump continued. “I heard I was criticized for calling it correctly. What I said was exactly correct. I should be a newscaster because I called it before the news.”
“But what I said was exactly correct and everybody says ‘While he was right, he called it too soon.’ Okay, give me a break,” he complained.
Watch above, via Fox News.
[Image via screengrab]
——
>>Follow Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) on Twitter
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comBriefing highlights
Loonie cracks 76-cent mark
Stephen Poloz’s three options
Global markets mixed so far
Shaw’s cable business grows
Loonie nears 77 cents
The loonie is surging, cracking the 76.5-cent mark amid further signs that the Bank of Canada is nearing the end of ultralow interest rates.
The U.S. dollar is also under pressure, feeling the effects of Washington politics and so-called Fedspeak.
The loonie has led the charge among major currencies, trading as low as 75.77 cents (U.S.) but as high as 76.84 cents.
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While the U.S. currency is troubled, "there also seems to be a large degree of Canadian dollar strength in there," said Elsa Lignos, Royal Bank of Canada's head of foreign exchange strategy in London.
"It started with Stephen Poloz's interview this morning, and has kind of kept going since then."
Ms. Lignos was referring to the central bank governor's interview with CNBC, in which he reiterated that earlier rate cuts, aimed at offsetting the oil shock, have now done their job and that Canada's economy is forecast to moderate, but not "dramatically," and is still "above potential."
Speaking at a gathering in Calgary, Bank of Canada deputy governor Lynn Patterson delivered a message similar to the one from Mr. Poloz, that the oil shock is now pretty much behind us.
"There's not much new in these comments, although the bank is clearly signalling that July is on the table in terms of a rate hike," said Nick Exarhos of CIBC World Markets.
"We're still leaning toward an October move given the recent weakness in the inflation figures, but there's still a few key data points ahead in April GDP this Friday and employment next week which could change our opinion."
There has been a "re-pricing" of Bank of Canada expectations ever since deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins signalled earlier this month that rates may rise sooner than expected, Ms. Lignos added.
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"We don't see Poloz making a strong case for a July hike and the repeat of the line that it is not time 'throw a party' is likely to see the odds of a July move sink again," added Mark McCormick, North American head of foreign exchange strategy at TD Securities.
"Instead, we think Poloz will stick to the bank's recent upbeat narrative but is unlikely to provide guidance on the timing of a rate hike."
Bank of Montreal, however, is now projecting Mr. Poloz will raise his benchmark rate at the mid-July meeting. That would be followed by a second increase in January.
"However, if the BoC continues to beat the drum on rate hikes at the July meeting, we're open to moving that call to October," Benjamin Reitzes, BMO's Canadian rates and macro strategist, said of a second hike.
"Looking further out, the BoC is unlikely to move more aggressively than the Fed, but continued above-potential growth should keep the bank on pace for 50 to 75 basis points more of tightening in 2018."
The U.S. dollar, in turn, is sinking for a couple of reasons.
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"Firstly, late yesterday voting on the U.S. health care bill was delayed until after the July 4 recess, again raising doubts on the pace and extent of reform," said Adam Cole, RBC's chief currency strategist in London and a colleague of Ms. Lignos.
"Secondly, yesterday was a rare example of bond and equity markets both selling off sharply," he added.
"The moves were provoked by Fed vice chair Fischer's call for 'close monitoring' of rising risk appetite. This is the first time since December that equities and bonds have both fallen significantly."
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Poloz's options
As Citigroup sees it, Mr. Poloz has three options on interest rates.
And markets will be watching closely for signs of what the Bank of Canada governor might be thinking over the next three days.
Here's how Citi Research economist Dana M. Peterson sees as the potential routes for Mr. Poloz and his central bank colleagues after they surprised observers earlier in the month by signalling interest rates could rise sooner than expected:
Option 1 (which you'll like most of all if you're one of those vulnerable types who's drowning in debt): The Bank of Canada could officially drop its "easing" bias at its July meeting, leaving its benchmark rate at an emergency low 0.5 per cent for some time yet.
This would allow the central bank to gain "greater confidence" that the economy has rebounded from its oil troubles, allow time for a pickup in wages and inflation, and allow breathing room to see how Toronto's market bubble, infrastructuring spending and U.S. trade tensions play out.
It will also give Mr. Poloz time to see if and when the Federal Reserve raises rates again, "leading to higher global bond yields and possible stress on Canada's heavily indebted households."
Good news for those folks: This is Ms. Peterson's base case scenario, which would see the Bank of Canada hold off until early next year.
Option 2 (which you won't like): Start raising rates next month and "downplay key uncertainties" noted above, and forget about the renewed pressure on crude prices. Oh, and ignore (my word, not Ms. Peterson's) how higher rates could dampen consumer spending among those of us who have borrowed too much.
Option 3 (which you really won't like): Raises interest rates twice over the course of the July, October and December meetings, thus removing the half-a-percentage-point stimulus the central bank brought in to counter the oil shock.
"This scenario is a possibility if the BoC is confident that the 50 basis points of 'insurance' purchased in the wake of the plunge in oil prices is no longer needed, but higher rates are not quite warranted amid still stimulus-fueled economic growth, modest inflation, and a laundry list of uncertainties," Ms. Peterson said.
Mr. Poloz & Co. have a lot to consider, then, the latest being a recent report from the Bank for International Settlements that warned Canada is at risk of a financial crisis, according to its indicators.
Notably for this discussion, the debt service ratio among borrowers would be in the red zone if interest rates were to rise by 2.5 percentage points, according to the indicators published by the BIS, a body made up of central banks around the world.
Douglas Porter, Bank of Montreal's chief economist, thinks Mr. Poloz should wait it out.
"In summary, even to a card-carrying member of the hawkish club, it would make sense for the bank to stand aside and ensure that the latest sag in oil prices doesn't persist and/or deepen before moving on rates," Mr. Porter said.
"While [economic] growth has been a tremendous pleasant upside surprise for Canada this year, inflation is surprising consistently to the downside, reinforcing the message that there's no rush," he added in a recent report.
"And while Home Capital is less of a concern for housing, the 16 measures taken by the Ontario government seem to have effectively calmed the market, also relieving some pressure on the bank to tighten immediately."
On Friday, Statistics Canada reports another piece of the puzzle when it releases its monthly look at how the economy fared.
Economists expect that report to show a slower pace of economic growth in April, possibly of about 0.1 per cent, but potentially enough to still kick off a second quarter that would see an annual rate of 2 to 2.5 per cent.
Later Friday morning, another piece of the puzzle comes in the central bank's business outlook survey.
"This will be the most closely followed [business outlook survey] in some time as market participants look for clues on potential rate hike timing following the BoC's hawkish shift on June 12," Royal Bank of Canada said in a lookahead.
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It looks like this is just a market being jolted out of its complacency Joshua Mahony
Markets at a glance
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Streetwise
Economic Insight
Inside the MarketBy T.P. GrantThe jiu-jitsu scene is nothing if not trendy. A technique, position, or athlete will become the hot, new thing and grapplers, both professional and hobbyist, will look to replicate that success. It will be the talk of the jiu-jitsu world, and then often it will integrated into the metagame and it is on to the next trend. There is no shortage of examples: the deep half guard, the 50/50 guard, the berimbolo, the leg drag, and more recently lapel guards.Currently leg locks are the in thing in the jiu-jitsu world, and there a few reasons behind this. First and foremost, the rule sets of competitions are changing, there are real alternatives to the IBJJF rule set that open the leg lock game and make it a much more viable option.But is it really a trend? There have always been really good leg lockers out there, many of them hailing from other arts but rule sets have historically kept them out of jiu-jitsu competitions. Historically the great leg lockers kept to submission grappling competitions like ADCCs or have competed in MMA but, now some jiu-jitsu competitions have become more accessible to them. Also many of the guards and positions that became popular in the more restricted rule sets are very vulnerable to leg locks as they involved sitting back and extending legs into the air, such as the Spider Guard or De La Riva Guard. For some competitors it is a far more efficient use of energy to attack these guards with leg locks rather than attempt to pass them. And then there is the double guard pull positions, which has already lent itself to a good deal of leg locking even within the IBJJF rule set.This a real positive for the jiu-jitsu community as leg locks have long been something of a blind spot for large sections of the jiu-jitsu world and leg locks catching on will likely have a long term effect of making them far less taboo down the road.As more jiu-jitsu players seek to learn leg locks one of the most important aspects isn t just the submission itself, but the positioning on the way to finding that submission. Controlling a leg to expose it for a leg lock is a position unto itself, and doing so without exposing yourself to counter leg attacks can be very tricky.So this article will seek to cover some of the basics of leg positioning when seeking to start attacking an ankle lock or heel hook, which forms a foundation on which to build a leg lock game. These positions have long histories with many names, some very recent names, have been applied to them, so to cut through the nomenclature confusion this will be a general overview of five key positions. But this is by no means a complete accounting of leg lock positions, it is a deeply technical and nuanced game that could not possibly all be covered in one reading.==Here is a still of Dean Lister demonstrating the position from his video on the BJJ Library YouTube channel. Dean is attacking the left leg of his training partner and has his right foot on the outside driving into her hip, which allows Lister to push her away creating tension for the lock. Lister s left leg is between his training partner s legs and from there he can squeeze his knees together to get excellent control of her left leg, or Lister can use it hamper her movement by hooking it to her right leg, as he is in the image. The position of the leg being attack can be as pictured above or across Lister s body.From here is where the web of footlock possibilities springs from, it is a position that is noteworthy for its versatility and adaptability. Lister s feet are not connected, locked, or in any way hampered from moving, if the need arises he can quickly transition his feet to inside or outside positions with little difficulty, he could disengage entirely and come up to a top position, if his partner were to stand without readjusting his feet he would be in the Single Leg X Guard, made famous by Marcelo Garcia, and work a sweep game.They keys for maintaining this position is a constant, digging pressure from that foot in the hip, tight control of her lower leg with Lister s arms, and the ability to rotate with any attempt to turn. It doesn t provide the highest level of control, this position provides decent protection for counter attacks.Since this position is a foundation for developing a leg lock game here is the full Dean Lister video where he delves into the details of the position, grips, and tips for finishing the straight ankle lock.An outside lockup occurs when the attacker places both his feet outside the defender s legs. This can provide better control than the Single Leg X position, but leaves the feet open for counter leg locks, so careful placement is a must. Traditionally speaking outside lock ups and the single leg X position have been favored by jiu-jitsu players because they are legal in all jiu-jitsu rule sets.The Outside Ash |
an unusual amount of controversy. Some of this results from real differences of opinion or honest confusion, but much of it is due to the fact that certain of my detractors deliberately misrepresent my views. The purpose of this article is to address the most consequential of these distortions.
A general point about the mechanics of defamation: It is impossible to effectively defend oneself against unethical critics. If nothing else, the law of entropy is on their side, because it will always be easier to make a mess than to clean it up. It is, for instance, easier to call a person a “racist,” a “bigot,” a “misogynist,” etc. than it is for one’s target to prove that he isn’t any of these things. In fact, the very act of defending himself against such accusations quickly becomes debasing. Whether or not the original charges can be made to stick, the victim immediately seems thin-skinned and overly concerned about his reputation. And, rebutted or not, the original charges will be repeated in blogs and comment threads, and many readers will assume that where there’s smoke, there must be fire.
Such defamation is made all the easier if one writes and speaks on extremely controversial topics and with a philosopher’s penchant for describing the corner cases—the ticking time bomb, the perfect weapon, the magic wand, the mind-reading machine, etc.—in search of conceptual clarity. It literally becomes child’s play to find quotations that make the author look morally suspect, even depraved.
Whenever I respond to unscrupulous attacks on my work, I inevitably hear from hundreds of smart, supportive readers who say that I needn’t have bothered. In fact, many write to say that any response is counterproductive, because it only draws more attention to the original attack and sullies me by association. These readers think that I should be above caring about, or even noticing, treatment of this kind. Perhaps. I actually do take this line, sometimes for months or years, if for no other reason than that it allows me to get on with more interesting work. But there are now whole websites—Salon, The Guardian, Alternet, etc.—that seem to have made it a policy to maliciously distort my views. I have commented before on the general futility of responding to attacks of this kind. Nevertheless, the purpose of this article is to address the most important misunderstandings of my work. (Parts of these responses have been previously published.) I encourage readers to direct people to this page whenever these issues surface in blog posts and comment threads. And if you come across any charge that you think I really must answer, feel free to let me know through the contact form on this website.
My views on Islam Link
My criticism of faith-based religion focuses on what I consider to be bad ideas, held for bad reasons, leading to bad behavior. Because I am concerned about the logical and behavioral consequences of specific beliefs, I do not treat all religions the same. Not all religious doctrines are mistaken to the same degree, intellectually or ethically, and it is dishonest and ultimately dangerous to pretend otherwise. People in every tradition can be seen making the same errors, of course—e.g. relying on faith instead of evidence in matters of great personal and public concern—but the doctrines and authorities in which they place their faith run the gamut from the quaint to the psychopathic. For instance, a dogmatic belief in the spiritual and ethical necessity of complete nonviolence lies at the very core of Jainism, whereas an equally dogmatic commitment to using violence to defend one’s faith, both from within and without, is similarly central to the doctrine of Islam. These beliefs, though held for identical reasons (faith) and in varying degrees by individual practitioners of these religions, could not be more different. And this difference has consequences in the real world. (Let that be the first barrier to entry into this conversation: If you will not concede this point, you will not understand anything I say about Islam. Unfortunately, many of my most voluble critics cannot clear this bar—and no amount of quotation from the Koran, the hadith, the ravings of modern Islamists, or from the plaints of their victims, makes a bit of difference.)
Facts of this kind demand that we make distinctions among faiths that many confused or dishonest people will interpret as a sign of bigotry. For instance, I have said on more than one occasion that Mormonism is objectively less credible than Christianity, because Mormons are committed to believing nearly all the implausible things that Christians believe plus many additional implausible things. It is mathematically true to say that whatever probability one assigns to Jesus’ returning to earth to judge the living and the dead, one must assign a lesser probability to his doing so from Jackson County, Missouri. The glare of history is likewise unkind to Mormonism, for we simply know much more about Joseph Smith than we do about the twelve Apostles, and we have very good reasons to believe that he was a gifted con man. It is not a sign of bigotry against Mormons as people to honestly discuss these things. And I believe that atheists, secularists, and humanists do the world no favors by insisting that all religions be criticized in precisely the same terms and to the same degree.
Because I consider Islam to be especially belligerent and inimical to the norms of civil discourse, my views are often described as “racist” by my critics. It is said that I am suffering a terrible case of “Islamophobia.” Worse, I am spreading this disease to others and using a veneer of philosophical atheism and scientific skepticism to justify the political oppression, torture, and murder of innocent Muslims around the world. I am a “neo-con goon,” a “war monger,” and a friend to “fascists.” In other words, I have blood on my hands.
It is hard to know where to start untangling these pernicious memes, but let’s begin with the charge of racism. My criticism of the logical and behavioral consequences of certain ideas (e.g. martyrdom, jihad, blasphemy, honor, etc.) impugns white converts to Islam—like Adam Gadahn—every bit as much as it does Arabs like Ayman al-Zawahiri. If anything, I tend to be more critical of converts, whatever the color of their skin, because they were not brainwashed into the faith from birth. I am also in the habit of making invidious comparisons between Islam and other religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Must I point out that most Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains are not white like me? One would hope there is no such need—but the work of several prominent writers suggests that the need is pressing.
It is on the topic of Islam that my critics have truly mastered the art of selective quotation. Here is how the trick is done: Murtaza Hussain writes an abysmally dishonest article on the Al Jazeera website accusing me of a genocidal hatred of Muslims. I am, we are told, a bloodthirsty racist—and my words prove it. Consider:
Harris has stated that the correct policy with regard to Western Muslim populations is in fact that which is currently being pursued by contemporary fascist movements today. In Harris’ view: ‘The people who speak most sensibly about the threat that Islam poses to Europe are actually fascists.’
The author then helpfully links to an article about European fascists—in this case members of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party in Greece—who have threatened to turn immigrants into soap and lampshades. How, the shocked reader is left to wonder, could I admire such people?
But here are my words in their original context:
Increasingly, Americans will come to believe that the only people hard-headed enough to fight the religious lunatics of the Muslim world are the religious lunatics of the West. Indeed, it is telling that the people who speak with the greatest moral clarity about the current wars in the Middle East are members of the Christian right, whose infatuation with biblical prophecy is nearly as troubling as the ideology of our enemies. Religious dogmatism is now playing both sides of the board in a very dangerous game. While liberals should be the ones pointing the way beyond this Iron Age madness, they are rendering themselves increasingly irrelevant. Being generally reasonable and tolerant of diversity, liberals should be especially sensitive to the dangers of religious literalism. But they aren’t. The same failure of liberalism is evident in Western Europe, where the dogma of multiculturalism has left a secular Europe very slow to address the looming problem of religious extremism among its immigrants. The people who speak most sensibly about the threat that Islam poses to Europe are actually fascists. To say that this does not bode well for liberalism is an understatement: It does not bode well for the future of civilization.
The whole purpose of that essay (written in 2006) was to express my concern that the political correctness of the Left has made it taboo to even notice the menace of political Islam, leaving only right-wing fanatics to do the job. Such fanatics are, as I thought I made clear, the wrong people to do this, being nearly as bad as jihadists themselves. I was not praising fascists: I was arguing that liberal confusion and cowardice was empowering them.
Perhaps the point is still not clear (can one ever be sure?). So, imagine: A copy of the Koran gets burned tomorrow—or is merely rumored to have been burned. What will happen if this act of desecration is widely publicized? Well, we can be sure that Muslims by the thousands, or even the tens of thousands, will riot—perhaps in a dozen countries. Scores of people may die as a result. Who can be counted upon to defend free speech in the face of this pious madness? Will the editorial page of The New York Times remind the world that free people should be free to burn the Koran, or any other book, without fear of being murdered? Probably not. But the secular Left will surely denounce the bigot who burned the book for his “religious insensitivity” and hold him largely (if not entirely) responsible for the resulting mayhem and loss of life. It will be left to crackpot pastors, white supremacists, and other jingoists on the far Right—and, of course, “Islamophobes” like me—to remind us that the First Amendment exists, that books don’t feel pain, and that the sensitivities of every other faith are regularly traduced without similar reprisals.
Have I made the job of distorting my views easier than it needed to be? Undoubtedly. And in this particular case, a careful reader was kind enough to take the author’s feet out of my mouth on many other points. The problem, however, is that some critics have no scruples. When I called Glenn Greenwald’s attention to how he had misrepresented me by publicly endorsing Hussain’s article, he wrote a nearly identical article of his own on The Guardian website. Multiply this kind of malicious treatment a thousandfold, and you will understand why many writers, scientists, and public intellectuals who agree with me about Islam and about the failure of the Left have decided that it is simply too much trouble to make the case in public. The term “Islamophobia” is now being used as a kind of intellectual blood libel to protect intrinsically harmful ideas from criticism.
Most religions produce a fair amount of needless suffering. Consider the pedophile-priest scandal in the Catholic Church, which is something I’ve written about before, I hope with sufficient outrage and derision. One can certainly argue, as I have, that Catholic teaching is partly to blame for these crimes against children. By making contraception and abortion taboo, the Church ensured that there would be many out-of-wedlock births among the faithful; by stigmatizing unwed mothers, it further guaranteed that many children would be abandoned to Church-run orphanages where they could be preyed upon by sexually unhealthy men lurking in the life of priestly celibacy. I don’t think any of this was consciously planned—it’s just a grotesque consequence of some very stupid doctrines. And yet the truth is that no direct link exists between Christian scripture and child rape. However, just imagine if the New Testament contained passages promising heaven to any priest who sodomized a child. And then imagine that more or less every journalist and politician denied that the resultant crimes against children had anything whatsoever to do with the “true” teachings of Christianity. That is the uncanny situation we find ourselves in with respect to Islam.
As I wrote in my personal exchange with Greenwald, “Islamophobia” is a term of propaganda. Here is how he responded to me on the Guardian website:
Perhaps the most repellent claim Harris made to me was that Islamophobia is fictitious and non-existent, “a term of propaganda designed to protect Islam from the forces of secularism by conflating all criticism of it with racism and xenophobia”. How anyone can observe post-9/11 political discourse in the west and believe this is truly mystifying. The meaning of “Islamophobia” is every bit as clear as “anti-semitism” or “racism” or “sexism” and all sorts of familiar, related concepts. It signifies (1) irrational condemnations of all members of a group or the group itself based on the bad acts of specific individuals in that group; (2) a disproportionate fixation on that group for sins committed at least to an equal extent by many other groups, especially one’s own; and/or (3) sweeping claims about the members of that group unjustified by their actual individual acts and beliefs.
This is extremely useful, being both clearly stated and clearly wrong. The meaning of “Islamophobia” is not at all like the meanings of those other terms. It is not easy to differentiate prejudice against Muslims from ordinary racism and xenophobia directed at Arabs, Pakistanis, Somalis, and other people who happen to be Muslim. There is no question that such bigotry exists, and it is as odious as Greenwald believes. But inventing a new term does not give us license to say that there is a new form of hatred in the world. How does the term “anti-Semitism” differ? Well, we have a 2000-year-old tradition of religiously inspired hatred against Jews, conceived as a distinct race of people, both by those who hate them and by Jews themselves. Anti-Semitism is, therefore, a specific form of racism that, as everyone knows, has taken many terrible turns over the years (and is now especially prevalent among Muslims, for reasons that can be explicitly traced not merely to recent conflicts over land in the Middle East, but to the doctrine of Islam). “Sexism,” generally speaking, is a bias against women, not because of any doctrines they might espouse, but because they were born without a Y chromosome. The meanings of these terms are clear, and each names a form of hatred and exclusion directed at people, as people, not because of their behavior or beliefs, but because of the mere circumstances of their birth.
Islamophobia is something else entirely. It is, Greenwald tells us in his three points, an “irrational” and “disproportionate” and “unjustified” focus on Muslims. But the only way that Muslims can reasonably be said to exist as a group is in terms of their adherence to the doctrine of Islam. There is no race of Muslims. They are not united by any physical traits or a diaspora. Unlike Judaism, Islam is a vast, missionary faith. The only thing that defines the class of All Muslims—and the only thing that could make this group the possible target of anyone’s “irrational” fear, “disproportionate” focus, or “unjustified” criticism—is their adherence to a set of beliefs and the behaviors that these beliefs inspire.
And, unlike a person’s racial characteristics or gender, beliefs can be argued for, tested, criticized, and changed. In fact, wherever the norms of rational conversation are allowed to do their work, beliefs must earn respect. More important, beliefs are claims about reality and about how human beings should live within it—so they necessarily lead to behavior, and to values, laws, and public institutions that affect the lives of all people, whether they share these beliefs or not. Beliefs end marriages and start wars.
So “Islamophobia” must be—it really can only be—an irrational, disproportionate, and unjustified fear of certain people, regardless of their ethnicity or any other accidental trait, because of what they believe and to the degree to which they believe it. Thus the relevant question to ask is whether a special concern about people who are deeply committed to the actual doctrines of Islam, in the aftermath of September 11th, 2001, is irrational, disproportionate, and unjustified.
Contrary to Greenwald’s assertion, my condemnation of Islam does not apply to “all members of a group or the group itself based on the bad acts of specific individuals in that group.” My condemnation applies to the doctrines of Islam and to the ways in which they reliably produce these “bad acts.” Unfortunately, in the case of Islam, the bad acts of the worst individuals—the jihadists, the murderers of apostates, and the men who treat their wives and daughters like chattel—are the best examples of the doctrine in practice. Those who adhere most strictly to the actual teachings of Islam, those who expound its timeless dogma most honestly, are precisely the people whom Greenwald and other obscurantists want us to believe least represent the faith.
Well, this is a very easy difference of opinion to resolve: One need only study the doctrine of Islam—not merely as it existed in the 7th century, but as it exists today—and ask some very basic questions. What, for instance, is the penalty for apostasy? It isn’t spelled out clearly in the Koran—though verses 2:217 and 4:89 suggest that those who seek to lead others away from the faith must be killed. However, the general sanction is made abundantly clear in the hadith, and in the opinions of Muslim jurists and Muslim mobs everywhere. The year is 2014, and the penalty for apostasy, everywhere under Islam, is death. I have yet to meet an apologist for the religion, however evasive, who could lie about this fact with a straight face. (Perhaps Greenwald would like to be the first.) And I receive emails from former Muslims who are all too aware of what it means to be a former Muslim. Depending on where they live, these people run a real risk of being murdered, perhaps even by members of their own families, for having lost their faith.
Is it really true that the sins for which I hold Islam accountable are “committed at least to an equal extent by many other groups, especially [my] own”? First, I have to say that so much moral confusion lies buried in this statement that it would take a very long essay to respond to all the charges implicit in it. What Greenwald surely means to convey is that the U.S. government is (in some sense that is not merely absurd) the worst terrorist organization on earth. I have argued against this general idea in many places, especially in my first book, The End of Faith, and I won’t repeat that argument here. I will say, however, that nothing about honestly discussing the doctrine of Islam requires that a person not notice all that might be wrong with U.S. foreign policy, capitalism, the vestiges of empire, or anything else that may be contributing to our ongoing conflicts in the Muslim world. Which is to say that even if Noam Chomsky were right about everything, the Islamic doctrines related to martyrdom, jihad, blasphemy, apostasy, the rights of women and homosexuals, etc. would still present huge problems for the emergence of a global civil society (and these are problems quite unlike those presented by similar tenets in other faiths, for reasons that I have explained at length elsewhere and touch on only briefly here). And any way in which I might be biased or blinded by “the religion of the state,” or any other form of cultural indoctrination, has absolutely no relevance to the plight of Shiites who have their mosques, weddings, and funerals bombed by Sunni extremists, or to victims of rape who are beaten, imprisoned, or even killed as “adulteresses” throughout the Muslim world. I hope it goes without saying that the Afghan girls who even now are risking their lives by merely learning to read would not be best compensated for their struggles by being handed copies of Chomsky’s books enumerating the sins of the West.
Western conflict with the Muslim world has arisen, off and on, for centuries. Thomas Jefferson sued for peace with the Barbary Pirates who had enslaved something like 1.5 million Europeans and Americans between 16th and 18th centuries. As Christopher Hitchens once pointed out, the explicit justification for this piracy was the doctrine of Islam. In fact, this collision with Islam helped ensure the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, for it was argued that only a federation of states with a strong navy could stand against such a persistent threat. Consequently, one could argue that the American war on terror formally began in 1801 with the Barbary Wars—waged by the Jefferson and Madison administrations. This is one of the many ways to see that our troubles in the Muslim world are not purely a matter of our lust for oil, our support for dictators, or any aspect of U.S. foreign policy. As the much-maligned Samuel Huntington one said, “Islam has bloody borders.” It always has. But many people seem determined to deny this.
Is it true, as Greenwald insists, that the religiously inspired affronts to reason and civility that I criticize among Muslims are “committed at least to an equal extent by many other groups”?
Let’s take a trip to the real world. Consider: Anyone who wants to draw a cartoon, write a novel, or stage a Broadway play that denigrates Mormonism is free to do it. In the United States, this freedom is ostensibly guaranteed by the First Amendment—but that is not, in fact, what guarantees it. The freedom to poke fun at Mormonism is guaranteed by the fact that Mormons do not dispatch assassins to silence their critics or summon murderous hordes in response to satire. As I have pointed out before, when The Book of Mormon became the most celebrated musical of the year, the LDS Church protested by placing ads for the faith in Playbill. A wasted effort, perhaps: but this was a genuinely charming sign of good humor, given the alternatives. What are the alternatives? Can any reader of this page imagine the staging of a similar play about Islam in the United States, or anywhere else? No you cannot—unless you also imagine the creators of this play being hunted for the rest of their lives by religious maniacs. Yes, there are crazy people in every faith—and I often hear from them. But what is true of Mormonism is true of every other faith, with a single exception. At this moment in history, there is only one religion that systematically stifles free expression with credible threats of violence. The truth is, we have already lost our First Amendment rights with respect to Islam—and because they brand any observation of this fact a symptom of Islamophobia, Muslim apologists like Greenwald are largely to blame.
It is depressing to quote from one’s own work, but it is even more depressing to struggle to find new ways to say something that shouldn’t have needed saying in the first place. Here is how I put it in the immediate aftermath of the Innocence of Muslims debacle, in an article entitled “On the Freedom to Offend an Imaginary God”:
Consider what is actually happening: Some percentage of the world’s Muslims—Five percent? Fifteen? Fifty? It’s not yet clear—are demanding that all non-Muslims conform to the strictures of Islamic law. And where they do not immediately resort to violence in their protests, they threaten it. Carrying a sign that reads “Behead Those Who Insult the Prophet” may still count as an example of peaceful protest, but it is also an assurance that infidel blood would be shed if the imbecile holding the placard only had more power. This grotesque promise is, of course, fulfilled in nearly every Muslim society. To make a film like Innocence of Muslims anywhere in the Middle East would be as sure a method of suicide as the laws of physics allow. What exactly was in the film? Who made it? What were their motives? Was Muhammad really depicted? Was that a Qur’an burning, or some other book? Questions of this kind are obscene. Here is where the line must be drawn and defended without apology: We are free to burn the Qur’an or any other book, and to criticize Muhammad or any other human being. Let no one forget it. At moments like this, we inevitably hear—from people who don’t know what it’s like to believe in paradise—that religion is just a way of channeling popular unrest. The true source of the problem can be found in the history of Western aggression in the region. It is our policies, rather than our freedoms, that they hate. I believe that the future of liberalism—and much else—depends on our overcoming this ruinous self-deception. Religion only works as a pretext for political violence because many millions of people actually believe what they say they believe: that imaginary crimes like blasphemy and apostasy are killing offenses.
I stand by these words and by everything else I have said or written about Islam. And I maintain that anyone who considers my views to be a symptom of irrational fear is ignorant, dishonest, or insane. (I recently suggested to Greenwald on Twitter that we settle our dispute by holding simultaneous cartoon contests. He could use his Guardian blog to solicit cartoons about Islam, and I’d use my website to run a similar contest for any other faith on earth. As will come as no surprise, the man immediately started sputtering non-sequiturs.)
For several years now, whenever I have drawn a link between Islam and violence—especially the tactic of suicide bombing—my critics have urged me to consult the work of Robert A. Pape. Pape is the author of a very influential paper, “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism,” (American Political Science Review 97, no. 3, 2003), and a subsequent book, Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, in which he argues that suicidal terrorism is best understood as a strategic means to achieve certain well-defined nationalist goals and should not be considered a consequence of religious ideology. In March of 2012, Pape agreed to debate these issues with me on my blog. I announced our debate publicly and sent him my first volley by email. Then he disappeared. I have no idea what happened.
I would have made it clear to Pape that I have never argued (and would never argue) that all conflicts are attributable to religion or that all suicide bombing is the product of Islam. I am well aware, for instance, that the Tamil Tigers were avowedly secular. Even in this case, however, it seems only decent to recall that they learned the tactic of suicide bombing from Hezbollah and eventually developed their own quasi-religious cult of martyr worship. One can’t really argue that they were a group of classically rational actors. And even here, in this most secular of cases, always used to exculpate Islam, we find the divisive role of religion—because it seems unreasonable to believe that a civil war would have erupted in Sri Lanka if the Tamils, who are nominal Hindus, had been Sinhalese Buddhists, like the government they were fighting. Again, nothing turns on this point, because I admit that not all terrorism need be religiously inspired.
The general blindness of secular academics to the religious roots of Muslim violence is easily explained. As my friend Jerry Coyne once observed, when confronted with a transparently religious motive (e.g. “I will blow myself up to get into paradise”), secular scholars refuse to take it at face value; they always look for the “deeper” reasons—economic, political, or personal—behind it. However, when given economic, political, or personal motives (e.g. “I did it because they stole my family’s land, and I felt totally hopeless.”), these researchers always seem to take a person at his word. They never dig for the religious motive behind apparently terrestrial concerns. The game is rigged. This is how an anthropologist like Scott Atran can interview dozens of jihadists—each of whom rattles on about God and paradise—and come out thinking that the doctrine of Islam has nothing to do with terrorism.
To describe the principal aims of a group like al Qaeda as “nationalistic,” as Pape does, is simply ludicrous. Al Qaeda’s goal is the establishment of a global caliphate. And even in those cases where a jihadist like Osama bin Laden seemed to voice concern about the fate of a nation, his grievances with its “occupiers” were primarily theological. Osama bin Laden objected to the presence of infidels in proximity to the holy sites on the Arabian Peninsula. And we were not “occupiers” of Saudi Arabia, in any case. We were there by the permission of the Saudi regime—a regime that bin Laden considered insufficiently Islamic. To say that members of al Qaeda have perpetrated terrorist atrocities against U.S. interests and innocent Muslims because of a “nationalistic” agenda is to just play a game with words.
Pape’s narrow focus on suicide terrorism also allows him to ignore all the other barbarism in the Muslim world that has its origins in religion. Was the fatwa against Salman Rushdie the result of foreign occupation? The Danish cartoon controversy? The calls for blood over a poorly named teddy bear? The movement to hang atheist bloggers in Bangladesh? What about the internecine murders of apostates in Pakistan (accomplished, all too often, by suicide bombers)? The ubiquitous abuse of women? Are these problems also the result of western occupation? How do the perpetrators of these crimes explain their own behavior? It is always by reference to their most sacred concern: Islam.
Many peoples have been conquered by foreign powers or otherwise mistreated and show no propensity for the type of violence that is commonplace among Muslims. Where are the Tibetan Buddhist suicide bombers? The Tibetans have suffered an occupation every bit as oppressive as any ever imposed on a Muslim country. At least one million Tibetans have died as a result, and their culture has been systematically eradicated. Even their language has been taken from them. Recently, they have begun to practice self-immolation in protest. The difference between self-immolation and blowing oneself up in a crowd of children, or at the entrance to a hospital, is impossible to overstate, and reveals a great difference in moral attitude between Vajrayana Buddhism and Islam. This is not to say that Tibetan Buddhist suicide bombers couldn’t exist. Tibetans, generally speaking, are not pacifists—nor are most Buddhists elsewhere. In fact, during WWII, the Japanese Kamikaze pilots were influenced by the doctrine of Zen Buddhism. But there are important differences between Zen and Vajrayana that seem relevant here. Vajrayana emphasizes compassion in a way that Zen does not, and Zen generally maintains a more martial and more paradoxical view of ethics.
My point, of course, is that beliefs matter. And it is not an accident that so many Muslims believe that jihad and martyrdom are the highest callings in human life, while many Tibetans believe that compassion and self-transcendence are. This is what Islam and Vajrayana Buddhism, respectively, teach.
Am I saying that Islam is the worst religion across the board? No. Again, one must always focus on the specific consequences of specific ideas. There is, for instance, no reason to mention Islam when criticizing religious opposition to embryonic stem-cell research, because the doctrine allows for it. This is not owing to some biological or ethical insight on the part of Muhammad, obviously. It is simply a happy accident that at least one hadith suggests that the human soul enters the embryo many weeks after conception (either at day 40, 80, or 120, depending on how one interprets it). It would be preposterous and unfair to equate Islam with Christianity when discussing religious impediments to this form of research.
Finally, as I regularly emphasize when discussing Islam, no one is suffering under its doctrine more than Muslims themselves: Muslim jihadists primarily kill other Muslims. And the laws against apostasy, blasphemy, idolatry, and other forms of peaceful expression diminish the freedoms of Muslims far more than those of non-Muslims living in the West. Liberals like Greenwald, who are so eager to swing the flail of Islamophobia, display a sickening insensitivity to the plight of women, homosexuals, and freethinkers throughout the Muslim world. At this moment, millions of women and girls have been abandoned to illiteracy, compulsory marriage, and lives of slavery and abuse under the guise of “multiculturalism” and “religious sensitivity.” And the most liberal Muslim minds are forced into hiding. The best way to address this problem is by no means obvious. But lying about its cause, and defaming those who speak honestly in defense of a global civil society, seems a very unlikely path to a solution.
For further discussion of the “Islamophobia” canard, see my exchange with Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Lifting the Veil of “Islamophobia”.
My position on profiling for the purpose of airline security Link
oneself. I learned this the hard way I once wrote a short essay about airline security that provoked a ferocious backlash from readers. In publishing this piece, I’m afraid that I broke one of my cardinal rules of time (and sanity) management: Not everything worth saying is worth saying. I learned this the hard way once before, in discussing the ethics of torture and collateral damage (see below), but this time the backlash was even more unpleasant and less rational.
One line in my article raised a tsunami of contempt for me in liberal and secular circles:
We should profile Muslims, or anyone who looks like he or she could conceivably be Muslim, and we should be honest about it.
Of course, many of my detractors (like Greenwald) have used this quotation in ways calculated to make readers believe that I want dark-skinned people singled out—and not just in our airports, but everywhere. What my critics always neglect to say, however, is that in the article in which that sentence appears, I explicitly include white, middle-aged men like me in the profile (twice). This still leaves many millions of travelers outside the profile. My point is that we should be giving less scrutiny to people who obviously aren’t jihadists. Whatever the practical constraints are on implementing such a policy, I remain willing to bet my life that the woman in the photo below is not a suicide bomber. Which is, of course, to say that the TSA employee who appears to be searching her body for explosives is not only inconveniencing the woman herself, along with everyone in line behind her, but putting people’s lives in jeopardy by squandering her limited attentional resources.
To assert that ethnicity, gender, age, nationality, dress, traveling companions, behavior in the terminal, and other outward appearances offer no indication of a person’s beliefs or terrorist potential is either quite crazy or totally dishonest. We are paying a very high price for this obscurantism—and the price could grow much higher in an instant. We have limited resources, and every moment spent searching a woman like the one pictured above, or the children seen in the videos I linked to in my original article, is a moment in which someone or something else goes unobserved. Suicidal terrorism is overwhelmingly a Muslim phenomenon. If you grant this, it follows that applying equal scrutiny to Mennonites is a dangerous waste of time.
In the hope of achieving some clarity on the issue of profiling, I let the anti-profiling security expert Bruce Schneier write a guest post on my blog. I then engaged in a long and rather tedious debate with him. It seems that few minds were changed, including my own. I heard from many readers who took my side in the debate—among them some who have worked in airport security, U.S. Customs, the FBI, Delta Force, fraud detection, and other areas where real-time threat assessments must be made. I also received unequivocal support from Saudis, Pakistanis, Indians, Egyptians, and others who are regularly profiled. However, I heard as well from many people who thought that Schneier mopped the floor with me. Some of these readers continue to wonder why I, being ostensibly committed to reason, haven’t publicly conceded defeat and changed my view.
There seems to be a consensus, even among my critics, that no one does airline security better than the Israelis (Schneier himself admits this). But, as I pointed out, and Schneier agreed, the Israelis profile in every sense of the term—racially, ethnically, behaviorally, by nationality and religion, etc. In the end, Schneier’s argument came down to a claim about limited resources: He argued that we are too poor (and, perhaps, too stupid) to effectively copy the Israeli approach. That may be true. But pleading poverty and ineptitude is very different from proving that profiling doesn’t work, or that it is unethical, or that the link between the tenets of Islam and jihadist violence isn’t causal.
Schneier’s opposition to profiling had almost nothing to do with the reasons that many people find it controversial. But none of my critics seemed to notice this. Nor did they notice when Schneier conceded that the most secure system would use a combination of profiling and randomness. He simply argued that profiling for the purpose of airline security is too expensive and impractical. But I was not vilified because I advocated something expensive and impractical. I was vilified because my critics believe that I support a policy that is shockingly unethical, well known to be ineffective, and the product of near-total confusion about the causes of terrorism.
My position on profiling is very simple: We should admit that we know what we are looking for (suicidal terrorists) and that certain people obviously require less scrutiny than others. We should scan everyone’s luggage, of course, because bombs can be placed there without a person’s knowledge. But given scarce resources, we can’t afford to waste our time and attention pretending to think that every traveller is equally likely to be affiliated with al Qaeda.
My position on preemptive nuclear war Link
The journalist Chris Hedges has repeatedly claimed (in print, in public lectures, on the radio, and on television) that I advocate a nuclear first-strike against the Muslim world. His remarks, which have been recycled continually in interviews and blog posts, generally take the following form:
I mean, Sam Harris, at the end of his first book, asks us to consider a nuclear first strike on the Arab world.
(Salon, March 13, 2008”>I don’t believe in atheists, Salon, March 13, 2008)
Sam Harris in his book The End of Faith calls for us to consider a nuclear first-strike on the Arab world. I almost fell out of my chair reading that.
(Q&A at Harvard Divinity School, March 20, 2008)
Harris, echoing the blood lust of Hitchens, calls, in his book The End of Faith, for a nuclear first strike against the Islamic world.
(The Dangerous Atheism of Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris, Alternet, March 22, 2008)
And you have |
a secret?
You just didn’t give anyone the secrets of tattooing, back then. It was a secret society. In the early 90s there were probably 200 tattooers in the whole country! They realized, even then, that it would end up like it has.
What was the process, then, for someone who wanted to join the ranks? You mentioned apprenticeships. Why were they so hard to come by?
It was like being a biker club prospect. Basically, slave for a year or two before you even got to touch a tattoo machine. Sean had to let me go before we were finished because of pressure from some pretty famous tattooers. So, I was left on my own.
I started tattooing (not very well) and went around with a small portfolio to try to get a job at the five or six shops that existed in NYC at the time. All doors slammed in my face, so I did the only thing I could do. I opened a private studio on Avenue C and 4th Street, began tattooing, and it took off. That caused a ruckus.
You admitted that you were inexperienced. What caused your private studio to take off?
I am told I have the gift of gab. At that time most tattooers were tough, rude, curt to say the least. They didn’t have to be “nice” to people. There was no “customer service.” You came, got tattooed, and that was it. Intimidating? Yes, but if you wanted a tattoo you dealt with that. I had amazing customer service. I was nice to people. I talked to them, smiled, and helped them out. That was one part of it.
Also, the spot I picked was a block away from Thom De Vita’s old studio, and he had just left town, so I got his entire clientele. Add to that that I was also a well known musician and, bang! Lines around the corner. I broke the rules and it paid off, but I still respected the art and artists who came before me! I revered them. I still do.
Let’s talk, for a moment, about your parallel career as a musician, which is something you still pursue. How did that get started?
I was always a fan of all types of music, but rock is where my heart is. I started out playing in punk bands at Max’s Kansas City and CBGB in the late 70s.
The scene, then, must have been insane.
It was blowing up. It was the best. The late 70s and early 80s in NYC was absolutely sublime. I’d have drinks with Basquiat after a show. {laughs] The artists, poets, rockers. I shared the stage with Johnny Thunders. It was amazing. I was in Scarecrow (the first goth band in NYC), Chop Shop, Braineaters (with Damien from Samhain), and so many others.
Your tattoo studio was popular. What happened next?
Tattooing had been illegal in NY since 1961. I was approached by some people in the industry to see if we could get it legalized. Since I was the first person to advertise, even though it was illegal, I agreed. This was probably 1995.
We pushed through a bill to lift the tattoo ban and, since I had the inside track on things, I already had my first “street shop” ready to go on Avenue A and 14th St. The day the ban was lifted, I opened the first legal street shop in New York!
How did that change the business for you, and the others working in the city?
Originally, I thought the city would make it hard for new shops to open, and it would be good for us, but I was wrong. It destroyed the city as far as tattooing goes. People from other states flooded in, opened shops, and now its the completely over-saturated tattoo city that exists today. I’m really hoping and praying that Long Beach is more careful in that respect. Now, there’s at least 500+ tattoo shops in NYC. More, probably.
Ace of Hearts Tattoo. Photo by SRW.
Getting back to Long Beach, how did you find your spot?
Elizabeth Kobliha, who owns Long Beach Vintage Etc., kept telling me that there was a spot open next to her, but I didn’t believe it could possibly be zoned correctly. I waited a year and then she finally convinced me to check.
What was the process like? Did it go smoothly, or were there challenges that cropped up?
The city, and the residents of the neighborhood where we are located, have been wonderful to me/us. That being said, it was a long hard road. There were many roadblocks and compliances I had to go through but, instead of getting frustrated, I just kept on keeping on. I persevered, and showed them I was a serious, experienced artist and businessman and that the shop would be a great addition to the North Pine neighborhood. The support was really amazing.
There’s been a cultural shift, in the last decade, where tattooing has become much more socially acceptable, and the information about tattooing has been more widely disseminated in popular culture. How has that affected you, as an artist?
As an artist, not at all. As a shop owner, immensely. I have been a pioneer of American traditional tattooing since the beginning of my career. That hasn’t changed. As a businessman, it has affected the business adversely because, lets face it, too many people are tattooing now. The acceptance of tattooing—because of the media—has helped a lot. I believe it’s part of the reason the City of Long Beach eased up, but they need to still keep the zoning tight! I can’t say that enough.
Ace of Hearts is located at 743 Pine Avenue. To learn more about Ace of Hearts, call 562.685.1320, or visit AceOfHeartsTattoo.com. To learn more about Truck’s current band, Circus of Power, check them out on bandcamp.After years of waiting, the fourth iteration of Doom has been officially unveiled, detailed, and named. Called simply Doom, this game brings the story back to the beginning. It's an origin story.
At this year's QuakeCon conference, id Software showed off the new game, finally detailing what exactly we can expect. It focuses on fast-paced combat and it takes place on Mars, outside of a Union Aerospace Corporation building. You'll be using melee combat a lot, and combat is brutal. Id is designing crazy enemies and weapons, and you'll be able to carry around a large arsenal "all at the same time," executive producer Marty Stratton said.
Doom looks to be especially violent. During one section of the demo id presented, the player ripped an arm off of a guard to get through a biometric scanner. The player proceeded to then wield a chainsaw, wreaking havoc.
In 2008, id announced that it was working on Doom 4, the next installment in the long-running first-person shooter franchise. Publisher Bethesda then revealed in 2011 that the project had been completely scrapped and restarted. Original Doom creator and longtime id Software programmer John Carmack also left the studio last November, joining Rift VR developer Oculus as its Chief Technical Officer.
Finally, when Wolfenstein released in May 2014, we got word of the game again. We learned that there would be a beta for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Now, we know what it's called and how it looks.
No release details have been announced yet, but the game will launch for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. It runs on id Tech 6 at 1080p and 60 frames per second. Are you excited by a new Doom game? Let us know in the comments!
[Information via Polygon and GameTrailers host Geoff Keighley's Twitter account]It’s not exactly the most warming of stories in this economy – one millionaire will still be paid even after a season-long sick day, while another group of millionaires will be able to save money – but it is interesting to note that the Philadelphia 76ers will not be on the hook for Andrew Bynum’s salary should he sit out the entire season. Bynum, who was dealt to the Sixers last August and has missed the entire season with a right knee injury, will still get every penny of his $16.9 million salary even if he doesn’t play a minute this year, and the Sixers are off the hook for that compensation due to the insurance they have on their investment.
[Also: Kobe accuses Dahntay Jones of 'dirty' play after ankle injury]
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That’s right. Andrew Bynum, the guy that has missed 166 games over seven years due to a variety of knee ailments heading into 2012-13, wasn’t considered to have a pre-existing condition. It’s a wonderful world, sickies. From the Philadelphia Inquirer’s John Mitchell:
"There is a leaguewide insurance that he's under," Sixers president Rod Thorn said Wednesday before the team hosted the Miami Heat. "There is some relief along those lines." Thorn did not say how much of Bynum's salary would be covered by the insurance. However, he said that the Sixers would get full relief because there are no preexisting conditions that would prevent Bynum's coverage. "No, he's under the full protection," Thorn said.
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There is some schadenfreude to be enjoyed here. For years insurance companies have either denied claims, refused service, or trumped up bills in order to deny affordable health care to those suffering from even the most minimal of pre-existing conditions. And yet a player in Bynum, known to have troublesome knees since the winter of 2007, will cash $16.9 million worth of insurance company checks this season while sitting out with issues even the most basic of sports fan has known about for a half-decade.
Ha. Ha.
It is just fine to take issue with Andrew Bynum’s absence. He is not a mindful driver, and it’s important to remember that his rehabilitation setback occurred last fall when he injured his knee while bowling – a sport that sounds innocuous enough until you consider the pressure a recovering knee is placed under once you have to stop on a dime in order to fire the ball down the lane.
He’d also, if you wouldn’t mind, like it if you would allow him to return from a significant knee injury at his own pace. Bynum isn’t sure if he’ll play this year because he kind of wants the rest of his life (you know, the part past your mid-30s that most people get to enjoy without crippling pain) to go as normally as possible. He’d like to walk normally for over half of his life. Crazy, I know.
[Also: 'Melo limps out of Denver amid boos from Nuggets fans]
And, in a more cynical take, it’s worth noting that if Bynum returned to play too early on a knee that wasn’t ready, he could re-injure it to a point that would force microfracture surgery. Now, microfracture surgery works, it’s been proven through over a decade’s worth of NBA years, but the procedure would knock a year off of Bynum’s career, and hamstring his attempts on the free agent market this summer. It isn’t fair in the slightest to 76er fans that Bynum has rehabilitated this way, and used their entire season to muse about his future – but it’s his future, and not ours.
Even though we can’t stop rolling our eyes at the guy.
At least, in this lose (Bynum), lose (76ers), lose (coach Doug Collins), lose (most importantly, fans), lose situation, the biggest loser will be the insurance company that has to pay Andrew Bynum $16.9 million for absolutely nothing.
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The folks who published Modernist Cuisine shared a technique from their book online that involves filling a jar with garlic cloves, covering them in olive oil to then pressure cook for two hours.
I don’t have the patience to peel 30 cloves of garlic nor the time to pressure cook a jar for two hours. The pressure cooker should make things faster.
To roast garlic in the oven I would slice off the top, drizzle it with a little olive oil, wrap it in a layer of oven paper and aluminum foil, close it tightly and toss it in – but only when I already had a lasagna or focaccia going.
The pressure cooker can steam the garlic, much like the little oven packet, but in the short time, the garlic softens the cloves cannot caramelize. Enter my favorite pressure cooking partner: the broiler. A quick blast of this intense heat is enough to get the oil to the business of sizzling and caramelizing.
The result: perfectly roasted garlic in about 20 minutes (start to plate), with very little effort and big time and energy savings!
Pressure Cooker Accessories Pr. Cook Time Pr. Level Open 3 L or larger steamer basket 5-6 min. High(2) NaturalFrom healthcare to public debt, pundits are attacking President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address from almost every conceivable angle.
When it comes to Obama transparency, Electronic Frontier Foundation privacy attorney Kurt Opsahl points out that the chief executive told the American public one thing Wednesday night and a federal appeals court another just a few weeks ago.
The issue at hand surrounds lobbying. "It's time to require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf of a client with my administration or Congress," the president said during his televised address.
But, before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month, the Justice Department argued that it should not have to disclose the names of telecommunication industry lobbyists. Those companies successfully lobbied Congress and President George W. Bush in 2008 to approve legislation that provided their companies with retroactive immunity to lawsuits accusing them of funneling, without warrants, all domestic electronic communications to the National Security Agency.
That legislation killed the EFF's case against the telecommunication companies. The EFF then sued the government, seeking the lobbyists' identities. A California federal judge agreed, and then the Obama administration appealed.
"There is no public interest in the compelled disclosure of the representatives' identities" (.pdf), the administration told the federal appeals court in San Francisco Dec. 14.
Opsahl points out that there is no national security concern with disclosing the information.
"What they want to hide will not give some advantage to our adversaries," Opsahl said in a telephone interview. "They want to protect the telecoms and themselves from the embarrassment to be involved in lobbying to deny millions of Americans their day in court."
It remains to be seen, Opsahl added, "whether the administration will file another paper with the court clarifying that their position has changed."
In case you forgot, Obama, as a senator from Illinois, voted for the immunity bill that President George W. Bush signed.
Photo: Tim Sloan/AP
See Also:The BlackBerry Hamburg has leaked out ahead of its official unveiling in a purported press photo posted on Twitter.
The first new Blackberry handset of the year was previously leaked as the Blackberry Hamburg, but now could be released as the BlackBerry Neon, packing some premium specs and BlackBerry’s software pasted on top of Android Marshmallow.
The photo posted by @the_malignant only shows Hamburg from the back, but it looks very similar to Alcatel Idol 4.
The Blackberry Neon hasn’t officially launched yet, so any talk of specs are purely speculative. However, rumours point to Blackberry redesigning the Alcatel Idol 4 handset for its own purposes, tweaking the look and feel while keeping most of the internal specs the same.
In that case, you can expect the Blackberry Neon to pack a 5.2-inch Full HD screen, a Snapdragon 617 processor and you also get a 13-megapixel rear camera, plus a 2610mAh battery.
The BlackBerry Hamburg listed on GFXBench is also running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and has all of the standard connectivity features such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and NFC.
A few weeks ago, BlackBerry announced their Q2 Financial Results and CEO John Chen stated that BlackBerry shall be launching a Android Powered Device soon in the coming months.
We don’t yet know when Neon will make its official debut, but as BlackBerry has already confirmed, its next Androids will be priced between $300 and $400 to make them more competitive.
Source: Twitter via TechnoBuffaloWe are familiar with Donald Trump’s stance on climate change: it’s a “con job” perpetrated by the Chinese. His views on energy policy are strongly pro-coal, but also contradict themselves. The Republican Party’s 2016 platform also describes coal as a “clean” source of energy.
But the Democratic platform might not be meaningfully better. Although Hillary Clinton has a climate change plan, and it is supportive of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan (which is held up in the courts), and makes broad promises to cut subsidies for the oil and gas industry, it leaves out one big thing: a carbon tax.
Under Obama, America has now made promises to have half of its electricity come from carbon-free sources by 2025—an almost unthinkable goal, even though emissions have ebbed in the last few years. The Clean Power Plan would help, if it is ever implemented: the EPA estimates the plan could cut carbon emissions from the energy sector to 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. But it makes almost no attempt to tell states how to cut their emissions, only that they must.
Among the many possible methods states might employ is putting a price on carbon. This can take various forms, such as a cap-and-trade scheme or a straight-up fee for each ton of carbon a power plant emits. Using market forces to reduce pollution from the energy industry works: it has happened before. In fact, it’s the only thing that’s likely to spur the kind of change Obama has promised, and that is needed to curtail global warming. But anything that could be labeled a “tax” is a political third rail.
Until this week, Bernie Sanders was the only presidential candidate who espoused a carbon tax. Now that he has ceded the field to Clinton, the idea is unlikely to come anywhere near conversation for the rest of the 2016 election cycle. And, unfortunately, neither is meaningful action on climate change.
(Read more: Washington Post,"Dear Mr. President: Time to Deal with Climate Change," “Obama’s Ambitious Clean-Energy Goal Will Depend on Nuclear—and the Next President,” “Donald Trump’s “America-First Energy Plan” Shows He Knows Virtually Nothing About the Issue”)Paul Scholes is a huge fan of N’Golo Kante
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes believes Chelsea star N’Golo Kante is the ‘perfect’ midfielder – because he can do everything.
The Frenchman was crowned PFA Player of the Year last season after helping Chelsea to the Premier League title in May.
It was Kante’s second successive league title after a miraculous season with Leicester City in 2015/16 and the midfielder is now a regular in France’s midfield.
Scholes believes the modern day midfielder has have more to his game than in previous years and he says Kante is ‘perfect’ for the Premier League.
Kante won the PFA Player of the Year award last season (Picture: Getty)
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‘The perfect midfielder in the Premier League today is more the style of N’Golo Kante,’ said Scholes.
‘For me, he can do anything — defend, attacking, dictating the tempo, scoring goals, he can bring the game forward.’
Kante is a certainty to start in Chelsea’s clash with Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The Blues are set to be without Alvaro Morata after the Spaniard picked up his fifth yellow card over the season for celebrating a goal against Bournemouth in the League Cup on Wednesday.
MORE: Ryan Giggs told Louis van Gaal not to sell THREE Manchester United starsThe limited-edition Ball Heritage Collection Pint Jars commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Ball brothers’ Perfect Mason Jar, according to a company news release.
Created in 1913 in Muncie, IN, the Perfect Mason jar revolutionized the home canning process providing canners with matching jars and lids sold as a single unit.
The Ball Heritage Collection Pint Jars feature a vintage-inspired blue tint and period correct embossed logo.
They are BPA-free and 100 percent made in America. They come in the heritage blue color and feature a custom-embossed front and back. Regular mouth lids are included.
The Heritage Collection is $9.99 for a case of 6 jars and is sold online at www.freshpreservingstore.com as well as in retailers such as Target and other stores that sell canning supplies.
The jars are ideal for making jams and jellies, as well as canning fresh produce for wintertime enjoyment and good health.
Here is a link to a blueberry jam recipe: http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipe.aspx?r=250
Here is a traditional water bath canning strawberry jam recipe: http://www.freshpreserving.com/strawberry-jam.aspx
Your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office also offers free literature on canning and making preserves and jams. Here is a link to some of those publications online: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/category/food-preservation.html
5 CANNING TIPS COURTESY BALL CANNING
1. Use a trusted, USDA-approved recipe such as one in our Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, Ball Blue Book Guide to Home Canning or from our website, www.FreshPreserving.com. This will ensure your recipe will be canned safely and properly.
2. Use only fresh, ripe fruits and vegetables. Old produce may spoil and is not recommended for preserving.
3. Lay out all of your tools and prep all produce before you get started to make the process as simple as possible.
4. If you have a dishwasher, use it to wash and heat the jars all at once.
5. Clean as you go! It will help you stay organized and keep your workstation clean.
6. Grab a friend! Home canning is even more fun when there’s somebody else to join the fun!
Posted by Kathy Van Mullekom; kvanmullekom@aol.com
FOLLOW KATHY:
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www.roomandyard.com http://www.facebook.com/#!/kathy.vanmullekom www.twitter.com/diggindirtAuthor: Zack Weger
Copyright (c) 2015, Stroz Friedberg, LLC
Status: Alpha
Basic usage:
C:\> ntfs-linker.exe --ntfs-dir.\journals\ --output.\parsed-output\ C:\> ntfs-linker.exe --image MyEvidence.E01 --ntfs-dir.\journals\ --output.\parsed-output\
Input
ntfs-linker operates off of a directory of input containing $UsnJrnl, $Logfile, and $MFT. The $UsnJrnl should be the $J alternate data stream and it can be clipped to avoid copying the sparse portions.
ntfs-linker can also work off of a nested directory structure like the one below. It can process multiple volumes, and each volume can have multiple volume shadow copy directories. If a volume has no volume shadow copies, the intermediate vss_base folder can be omitted.
INPUT └── volume_0 ├── vss_0 │ ├── $J │ ├── $LogFile │ └── $MFT ├── vss_1 │ ├── $J │ ├── $LogFile │ └── $MFT ├── vss_2 │ ├── $J │ ├── $LogFile │ └── $MFT └── vss_base ├── $J ├── $LogFile └── $MFT
When presented with a disk image as input, ntfs-linker will automatically run against all NTFS volumes and retrieve the respective occurrences of $UsnJrnl, $Logfile, and $MFT. If a volume contains Volume Shadow Copies, the NTFS files will be retrieved from each VSC and then the entire collection will be parsed. The files will be copied out into a directory structure like the one above.
Output
The output will look like this:
OUTPUT ├── ntfs.db └── volume_0 ├── events.txt ├── vss_0 │ ├── logfile.txt │ └── usnjrnl.txt ├── vss_1 │ ├── logfile.txt │ └── usnjrnl.txt ├── vss_2 │ ├── logfile.txt │ └── usnjrnl.txt └── vss_base ├── logfile.txt └── usnjrnl.txt
ntfs.db is a SQLite database which contains data from all volume shadow copies on all volumes. events.txt is a tab-separated report on all of the events from a particular volume. If --extra is specified, then logfile.txt and usnjrnl.txt will contain detailed information about the $LogFile and $UsnJrnl for a particular snapshot.
Database schema
The SQLite database created by ntfs-linker will have the following structure:
CREATE TABLE event ( Position int, Timestamp text, EventSource text, EventType text, FileName text, Folder text, Full_Path text, MFT_Record int, Parent_MFT_Record int, USN_LSN int, Old_File_Name text, Old_Folder text, Old_Parent_ Record int, Offset int, Created text, Modified text, Comment text, Snapshot text, Volume text ) CREATE TABLE log ( CurrentLSN int, PrevLSN int, UndoLSN int, ClientID int, RecordType int, RedoOP text, UndoOP text, TargetAttribute int, MFTClusterIndex int, Offset int, Snapshot text, Volume text ) CREATE TABLE usn ( MFTRecNo int, ParRecNo int, USN int, Timestamp text, Reason text, FileName text, PossiblePath text, PossibleParPath text, Offset int, Snapshot text, Volume text )
Useful queries
The following are useful queries.
Get all events
SELECT * FROM EVENT
CCleaner
SELECT * FROM EVENT WHERE filename REGEXP "^[\.zZ]+$"
Daily histogram
SELECT substr(event.Timestamp, 0, 11) AS day, count(*) AS count FROM event GROUP BY day
Understanding the output
All timestamps are in ISO 8601 format, i.e., YYYY-mm-dd HH:MM:SS.1234567. Windows stores timestamps as the number of hundred nanoseconds since 1601 (FILETIME). The routines used by NTFS-Linker to parse the time use standard C++ libraries, which may result in incorrect timestamps in some cases. Specifically, if the time is before 1970 or after 2038, the timestamp will not be displayed properly.
The USN Journal reason code uses a bit packing scheme for each possible reason. From the time a file is opened to the time it is closed, the reasons will be combined. This means that multiple reasons may show up for a particular entry, even though only one operation happens at a time. The order the reasons are printed is completely arbitrary and has no correlation to the order in which they occurred.
USN Journal Example:
USN|FILE_CREATE
USN|CLOSE|FILE_CREATE
USN|DATA_EXTEND
USN|DATA_EXTEND|DATA_OVERWRITE
USN|BASIC_INFO_CHANGE|DATA_EXTEND|DATA_OVERWRITE
USN|BASIC_INFO_CHANGE|CLOSE|DATA_EXTEND|DATA_OVERWRITE
$LogFile event analysis is much more complicated. Each record contains a redo and undo op code, as well as redo and undo data. In the case of data write events, it is possible to recover the data written for resident files, or the file sectors on disc for non-resident files. At this time NTFS-Linker does not recover the data written.
Event Source
This can be $UsnJrnl/$J, $LogFile, or " $UsnJrnl entry in $LogFile ". $LogFile actually contains complete $UsnJrnl entries.
File names and paths
While a file name can be extracted directly from a Log/Usn entry, the paths must be calculated. The "folder" path is the calculated path to the parent directory, and the "Path" column is the calculated path to the MFT record number if available.
gotta come back to this and edit for clarity... maybe an example? NTFS-Linker tracks each record's parent over time. For events where a recordnum and a parent recordnum can be recovered, it's possible that, in ntfs-linker's current conception of the file system, these records are unrelated! In this case the "Folder" and "Full Path" columns of the event will be mismatched. Generally, the "Folder" will represent the path to the parent folder where the event occurred, and "Full Path" will represent the path to the file which NTFS-Linker previously thought was at that record.
Event Ordering
While the exact order of $LogFile and $UsnJrnl events is known, respectively, the combined ordering is not. They must be ordered according to the event timestamps. While the timestamps for all $UsnJrnl events are known, the timestamps for $LogFile rename, move, and delete events is not known. Note that, due to file system tunneling, the event time for a $LogFile creation event is not the $STANDARD_INFORMATION attribute creation time. It is the SIA modified time.
NTFS-Linker performs a "zipper-merge" of these two event sequences, which preserves the relative position of events from the same sequence. This is accomplished by maintaining a cursor at each sequence, and choosing the next event to be the one with the larger timestamp, when both sequences are non-increasing. Since timestamps for $LogFile rename, delete, and move events are not known, they are always placed directly after the preceding $LogFile creation event.
This can leave some uncertainty surrounding the exact time of an event, but in practice there are almost always surrounding events which limit the uncertainty. For example, the $LogFile events in the below snippet will almost certainly have occurred between 2012-04-07 21:40:26.5203196 and 2012-04-07 21:39:07.3474312. Since identical events were found in $UsnJrnl/$J, we suspect these 3 files were deleted at 2012-04-07 21:40:26.5203196.
Timestamp Source Event File 2012-04-07 21:40:26.5359448 $LogFile Create gpt00000.dom 2012-04-07 21:40:26.5359448 $UsnJrnl/$J Create gpt00000.dom 2012-04-07 21:40:26.5203196 $LogFile Create tmpgptfl.inf $LogFile Delete tmpgptfl.inf $LogFile Delete gpt00000.dom $LogFile" Delete 5.tmp 2012-04-07 21:40:26.5203196 $UsnJrnl/$J Create tmpgptfl.inf 2012-04-07 21:40:26.5203196 $UsnJrnl/$J Delete tmpgptfl.inf 2012-04-07 21:40:26.5203196 $UsnJrnl/$J Delete gpt00000.dom 2012-04-07 21:39:07.3474312 $LogFile Create 5.ini
Offset
The actual file offset (in decimal) to the beginning of the event record in the source file.
Created, Modified, Comment
For $LogFile create events, the timestamps from the Standard Information attribute (regardless of the faith NTFS-Linker places in them) and whether those timestamps match the corresponding timestamps in the File Name Attribute. If not, the "Comment" field will say ``. This allows for easy detection of timestomping.
$UsnJrnl event collapsing
$UsnJrnl records are combined in events.txt to display one event for each logical event that actually occurred. For instance, for a rename event, $UsnJrnl will contain at least two records: one containing the old name and one containing the new name (and probably a couple other records, for the same event). In contrast, events.txt displays this event just once. For the $UsnJrnl events embedded in $LogFile, this same deduplication is performed, but only amongst other $UsnJrnl events embedded in $LogFile. Since these embedded events are found less often, for rename and move events, it is generally not possible to retrieve both the file name before and the file name after.
Implementation Details
This section contains notes on the inner-workings of NTFS-Linker. Specifically, we outline the process by which NTFS-Linker recovers events from $LogFile, $UsnJrnl:$J, and $MFT. While the structures of these files are fairly well known, their inter-related meaning requires explanation.
Background: Sequencing
In this document, by sequence, we mean some ordered collection of objects, which could possibly repeat. Given a sequence, we can obtain a subsequence by removing zero or more elements. For example, the following is a sequence:
25 67 38 97 58 94 29 66 23 92 60 8 47 50 98 28 13 91 61 72
And the following are all subsequences of the above sequence:
Subsequence Note S1 25 67 38 97 58 94 29 66 23 92 60 8 47 50 98 28 13 91 61 72 zero elements removed S2 25 38 58 29 23 60 47 98 13 61 (some elements removed) S3 25 38 47 50 72 (some elements removed)
Changes in State
Put simply, a filesystem event implies a change in state of the filesystem. When reporting on an event, it's often desirable to display that in the context of the state of the filesystem. This should be done in the context of the filesystem at the time the event occurred. For instance, suppose we know the state of a filesystem at some point in time (say, from a base image) to be:
Recordnum Full Path 10 /foo/bar 11 /foo/bar/a.txt 12 /foo/bar/b.txt
Suppose that immediately prior to the filesystem being imaged, we know that an entry with recordnum 13, parent recordnum 10 named some_name was deleted. Now suppose that just before that, we know an entry with recordnum 14, parent recordnum 13, named file.txt was deleted. What was the full path of this record at the time it was deleted? We know that it must have been /foo/bar/some_name/file.txt! Thus we observe it's necessary to accumulate changes in state of the filesystem as events are processed, in order to recover the context of each event.
Event Ordering
At some point we arrive at this situation: we have a sequence of events from $UsnJrnl and a sequence of events from $LogFile. For the $UsnJrnl events we know the event timestamps, but for the $LogFile events we have less information. For $LogFile rename, move, and delete events, we are not able to recover an event timestamp. Only for $LogFile create events are we able to recover an event timestamp.
The impact is this: we know the order of events in $UsnJrnl and $LogFile separately, and we have some idea of the times these events occurred, but we don't know exactly how the two sequences fit together. In order to create a unified timeline of events, we do a standard zipper merge of the two sequences, but only considering the $Logfile create event timestamps. Events of other types found in $LogFile will always be output directly after the preceding $LogFile create event.
Volume Shadows and Processing Order
A Volume Shadow Copy represents a snapshot of a filesystem at a particular time. Often, multiple shadow copies may be present which are close together in time (for example, shadow copies created as a result of running system updates). In this situation, $UsnJrnl and $LogFile may actually overlap some between the snapshots. To deduplicate this, we defer to the older snapshot. We grab all events from the oldest snapshot, then only the events not present in the oldest snapshot from the next oldest, etc., until we've processed the base snapshot.
To output events, however, we need to process the Shadow Copies in the reverse order, with the most recent events first, because the most recent events imply a change in state of the file system. Thus we process all the events from the base image (not including events which are found in the most recent shadow copy!), and then the most recent shadow copy, etc. In the end we get a timeline from the present extending into the past of unified events which are mostly in the same order as the events occurred. [ed: mostly???]
Extracting events from $UsnJrnl
When a file is created, renamed, moved, or deleted, $UsnJrnl will contain multiple records for the same logical event. The records contain information such as data being written to the file, security changes, etc. For rename and move events the old name/parent recordnum and new name/parent recordnum will be in separate $UsnJrnl records. NTFS-Linker will compress all of these records into one logical event, depending on the event flags. This compression ends when either the $UsnJrnl Record recordnum changes or a CLOSE flag is signalled. If the flags for a group of records indicate the file was neither created, deleted, moved, or renamed, then the records are discarded.
Extracting events from $LogFile
$LogFile records exist at a lower-level than $UsnJrnl, so extracting logical events is more complicated. A $LogFile record consists of a RedoOp and an UndoOp code each possibly associated with some data.
We break apart the $LogFile records into logical transactions ending with a record with RedoOp=FORGET_TRANSACTION and UndoOp=COMPENSATION_LOG_RECORD. From here, we consider the sequence of OpCodes and check if it has a subsequence which represents a particular event type. We list the subsequences associated with each event type below:
Event |
to websites that gather victims' personal information are the most common con-trick, it said.
It urged people to use many different strong passwords and to ensure security updates are loaded.
"Online safety needs to be part of our everyday routines," said Tony Neate, chief executive of Get Safe Online.
Ransoms
Other tips for staying free from fraud included checking social media settings to ensure posts are only seen by trusted friends.
The group also urges people to back up their information such as documents and photos to hard drives or cloud storage.
Victims have found themselves suffering financial loss after hacks into email and social media. Others find themselves on the end of ransomware - when criminals block access to a device until the victims responds to a demand for money.
In September, bank-funded crime prevention group Financial Fraud Action said that a financial scam was committed once every 15 seconds on average in the first half of the year.This is a series of short, c.500-word posts looking at the underlying theology of the Advices and Queries – forty-two pithy statements that collectively capture the British Quaker faith.
Do you try to set aside times of quiet for openness to the Holy Spirit? All of us need to find a way into silence which allows us to deepen our awareness of the divine and to find the inward source of our strength. Seek to know an inward stillness, even amid the activities of daily life. Do you encourage in yourself and in others a habit of dependence on God’s guidance for each day? Hold yourself and others in the Light, knowing that all are cherished by God.
The previous two A&Qs spoke of God and the spirit of Christ. This third passage adds another word for the Divine mystery to our Quaker vocabulary – the Holy Spirit. It is to this Spirit that we are exhorted to be open to, to be guided by. How are we to do this? In this third A&Q we receive instruction on spiritual practice. We can be open to the Holy Spirit by setting aside times of quiet.
Silence is a central Quaker tool for opening ourselves to the Spirit’s guidance. Note how silence is not valued for its own sake. We do not worship the silence. This is not ‘Silence’ with a capital ‘S’. The purpose of silence is to deepen our awareness of the divine, and to find in that awareness strength that is not our own.
There is no prescribed way to use times of quiet. There’s no set time or posture, and no suggested frequency. There’s no prohibition against using song or movement or birdwatching to reach a place of stillness. All of us need to find a way into inward silence and openness, and we are free to find the way that works best for us. Remember that the aim is to deepen out awareness of the divine. This is the end of all our spiritual practice.
The path of spiritual discipline is one of progress and growth. Can we cultivate through our spiritual practice a continuing and continuous sense of inward stillness? Can we, with Paul of Tarsus, rejoice always and pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:16-17)? The Quaker experience tells us that ‘in time you will find, as did Brother Lawrence, that “those who have the gale of the Holy Spirit go forward even in sleep”‘ (Qf&p 2.22). What begins as a simple suggestion to set aside times of quiet, becomes an exciting and terrifying challenge to live a life of ever-flowing prayer, of continuous connection to God. It suggests that the life of the cloistered contemplative is available to us even in the hubbub of our daily lives.
Such a prayer-filled life is counter-cultural, and can only come through practise and perseverance. Such a life is so challenging, that we can’t do it by ourselves. We need encouragement from our fellow Friends, and they in turn need our encouragement. We must support each other in this Quaker-style monasticism. Our spiritual lives are not private – we have a responsibility to each other for our collective spiritual health.
Again we hear the message that we are not self-sufficient, we are not independent. We need each other, and we are dependent on God. The guidance and strength we receive from God doesn’t just come once a week. One hour on Sunday listening to the promptings of love and truth in our hearts isn’t enough. Like the Israelites in the desert, gathering manner from heaven daily (Exo. 16), and following the pillar of cloud and fire daily (Exo. 13:17-22), the Holy Spirit is present to feed us and lead us every day.
Not only are we to encourage each other outwardly in our spiritual discipleship, we are to hold ourselves and one another before God, in God’s Light, inwardly in prayer. To hold another in the Light strengthens both the one who prays, and the one who is prayed for. I firmly believe in the power of prayer. I also believe it is a great mystery. I don’t understand it, but I don’t think that’s a good enough excuse for not doing it! If we live in a God-centred cosmos, as I believe we do, attending to God and lifting up our fellow creatures before God does not seem a ridiculous way to behave.
With all this talk of spiritual discipline, we could fall into the trap of thinking that our worthiness as Quakers depends on how spiritually disciplined we are. The final line protects against this. We don’t undertake spiritual practices in order to earn the favour of God or our fellow Quakers. We do them because the Holy Spirit cherishes us, and wants to bring us to new life. All are cherished by God, whether we set aside times of quiet or not.
AdvertisementsTrends This is the seventh annual horizon scan. A team of 24 horizon scanners, researchers, practitioners, and journalists identified 15 issues following widespread consultation and a Delphi-like process to select the most suitable. The issues were wide ranging but included artificial superintelligence, changing costs of energy storage and consumptive models, and ecological civilization policies in China.
This paper presents the results of our seventh annual horizon scan, in which we aimed to identify issues that could have substantial effects on global biological diversity in the future, but are not currently widely well known or understood within the conservation community. Fifteen issues were identified by a team that included researchers, practitioners, professional horizon scanners, and journalists. The topics include use of managed bees as transporters of biological control agents, artificial superintelligence, electric pulse trawling, testosterone in the aquatic environment, building artificial oceanic islands, and the incorporation of ecological civilization principles into government policies in China.
Introduction to Horizon Scanning 1 Sutherland W.J.
Woodroof H.J. The need for environmental horizon scanning. Horizon scanning is a systematic process that aims to identify potential threats and opportunities relative to a given set of objectives or phenomena to improve societal preparedness []. In the horizon scan described here, we sought to identify environmental threats and opportunities that are on the margins of mainstream investigation or discussion, but may merit increased attention within the conservation community, either because they have a high likelihood of occurrence or because they could have substantial effects on the world's species, ecosystems, and ecological and evolutionary processes (i.e., biological diversity). In previous years, we identified many issues related to drivers of environmental change such as climate change, food production, energy generation, and toxicants. Issues that are identified in a horizon scan vary with regard to their probability of emergence, pace of transformation from a horizon scan issue into a reality, the time over which they are likely to occur, and the likely extent of their effects. We considered these factors, and the familiarity of environmental professionals with each issue, in our identification process. We aimed to identify issues that previously were known to less than half of the participants. Some may be on the distant horizon whereas others already may be affecting biological diversity. 2 Rudd M.A. How research-prioritization exercises affect conservation policy. 3 Cook C.N.
et al. Strategic foresight: how planning for the unpredictable can improve environmental decision-making. 4 Roy H.E.
et al. Horizon scanning for invasive alien species with the potential to threaten biodiversity in Great Britain. 5 Kennicutt II M.C.
et al. Antarctic and Southern Ocean science in the 21st century. 6 Fox A.D.
et al. Current and potential threats to Nordic duck populations – a horizon scanning exercise. We hope that heightened awareness of these threats and opportunities will encourage researchers, policy makers, and practitioners to consider them, potentially improving the alignment of environmental research and science with policy and practice []. Indeed, horizon scanning is now an increasingly accepted early stage exercise in policy making within entities such as the UK government and the Australasian Joint Agencies Scanning Network. In the 6 years since we conducted the first of this series of annual horizon scans, horizon scanning has been widely applied to ecological issues, polar issues, and environmental decision-making [].
Identification of Issues 7 Sutherland W.J.
et al. A horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2010. 8 Sutherland W.J.
et al. A horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2011. 9 Sutherland W.J.
et al. A horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2012. 10 Sutherland W.J.
et al. A horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2013. 11 Sutherland W.J.
et al. Horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2014. 12 Sutherland W.J.
et al. Horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2015. The methods we used to identify issues were consistent with those used in our preceding horizon scans []. The 24 core participants in the horizon scan (the authors) were affiliated with organizations with diverse research, management, and communications mandates. They included professional horizon scanners and experts in a range of disciplines relevant to conservation. 13 Rowe G.
Wright G. The Delphi technique as a forecasting tool: issues and analysis. 14 Sutherland W.J.
et al. Methods for collaboratively identifying research priorities and emerging issues in science and policy. 15 Mukherjee N.
et al. The Delphi technique in ecology and biological conservation: applications and guidelines. 16 Pang A.S.K. Social scanning: improving futures through Web 2.0; or, finally a use for twitter. 17 Amanatidou E.
et al. On concepts and methods in horizon scanning: lessons from initiating policy dialogues on emerging issues. We used a modified version of the Delphi technique that is inclusive, transparent, and repeatable []. At the start of the process, each participant, either alone or in consultation with others within and beyond their organizations (including scientific specialist groups affiliated with conservation organizations), proposed and described at least two topics that met the criteria of global relevance and limited awareness within the community of scientists, policy makers, and practitioners engaged in conservation and restoration of biodiversity. A total of 422 individuals were consulted. We also monitored a range of environmental and technological Twitter accounts, as recommended by Pang [] and Amanatidou et al. []. Two participants, who collectively have more than 12000 Twitter followers, used Twitter to solicit issues, and one person used Facebook to invite issues. These search efforts collectively led to the identification of 89 topics, which were circulated to the participants. Participants scored each topic on a scale from 1 (well known, or poorly known but unlikely to have substantial environmental effects) to 1000 (poorly known and likely to have substantial environmental effects). From these scores, we produced a ranked list of topics for each participant, and then calculated the median rank for each topic. The 35 topics with the highest median ranks, plus two others that participants thought warranted further consideration, were retained. One additional topic was identified at this stage of the process and retained. Two participants, neither of whom had proposed the topic, further researched the technical details, potential likelihood of realization, and potential effects of each of the 37 original topics that were retained. Three participants researched the additional topic. The participants convened in Cambridge, UK, in mid-September 2015. We discussed each of the 38 topics in turn, with the constraint that the individual who suggested a topic was not among the first three people to contribute to its discussion. The focus and emphasis of some topics were modified during discussion. After each topic was discussed, participants again independently and confidentially scored it as described earlier. The full process, from submitting topics to the final selection of topics, took approximately 4 months. Here, we present the 15 topics that received the highest median ranks after discussion at the meeting. The topics are grouped by subject area rather than presented in rank order.
The Topics Artificial Superintelligence 18 Kaya Y.
et al. Evaluation of texture features for automatic detecting butterfly species using extreme learning machine. 19 Fedor P.
et al. Artificial intelligence in pest insect monitoring. 20 Dounis A.I. Artificial intelligence for energy conservation in buildings. 21 Bostrom N. Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. In the past 5 years, the field of artificial intelligence has become much more sophisticated. Developments include high-level pattern recognition, natural language processing that makes sense of conversational speech, architectures inspired by human brains, and machine learning: programs that extrapolate principles, evaluate mistakes, and rewrite their own code. Artificial intelligence already has many applications in ecology and conservation. For example, machine-learning methods can identify butterfly species with 98% accuracy on the basis of texture features of butterfly images [], raising the possibility of automated identification or verification of photographic biological records. Other established intelligent technologies have proven successful for early detection and control of pests and diseases [] and for conserving energy in buildings []. Artificial intelligence potentially could be applied to management of complex systems, such as regulation of floods and other environmental flows. Although humans initially would direct these applications, management could become more complicated if artificial intelligence overtakes that of humans. Some artificial intelligence experts predict that computers will surpass humans in a variety of cognitive domains, including the ability to improve their function, by 2050. This projection has triggered a call to regulate the directions of artificial superintelligence to ensure that human values are carefully articulated and embedded in the software to prevent societally undesirable outcomes, such as the development of autonomous weapons []. However, it is not clear whether and how environmental considerations are being incorporated into these discussions. The development of artificial superintelligence could have substantial and currently unanticipated effects on biological diversity and conservation. Changing Costs of Energy Storage and Consumption Models 22 AECOM Australia Pty Ltd Energy Storage Study. 23 Anuta O.H.
et al. An international review of the implications of regulatory and electricity market structures on the emergence of grid scale electricity storage. 24 Kahn G. Renewable energy's potential may be understated. 25 Warren R.
et al. Quantifying the benefit of early climate change mitigation in avoiding biodiversity loss. 26 Schuster E.
et al. Consolidating the state of knowledge: a synoptical review of wind energy's wildlife effects. Although the ability to store energy in batteries is not new, it has become increasingly prominent as use of renewable energy increases, consumers seek energy independence, and grid operators strive to increase the predictability of the energy supply provided by renewable technologies. Battery costs are expected to decrease as the market for energy storage grows []. For example, construction of a gigafactory worth US$5 billion is being planned in the USA. Although challenges remain, including managing battery recycling to prevent pollution and ensuring that resources are used sustainably, the widespread commercial availability of reliable home energy storage units may facilitate a substantial increase in renewable energy use. Rapidly changing regulations [], rate structures, and incentives may affect the rate of consumers’ uptake. Other tools may be required to stimulate a transformation, such as software that can control when batteries are charged, or the use of certain appliances during periods of excess energy production []. Electricity suppliers are considering how they can transform their once-predictable market and business models to meet evolving consumer demands. Ultimately, this technology could remove a significant obstacle to large-scale renewable electricity generation. Whilst storage of energy in batteries may reduce the magnitude of future climate change and its effects of biological diversity [], there may be undesirable ecological effects of comprehensive deployment of wind power and other renewable energy technologies (e.g., []). In addition, enhanced battery technologies may also provide opportunities for environmental monitoring: the range of unmanned aerial vehicles, currently limited in flight time in no small part by the weight of their batteries, could become significantly greater. In general, cheaper and longer-lasting energy storage for terrestrial, marine, and aerial observation systems could lead to increased and improved data collection. Ecological Civilization Policies in China 27 Oswald, J.P.F. (2014) What does eco-civilization 生态文明 mean? The China Story (Australian Centre on China in the World) 4 September. (https://www.thechinastory.org/2014/09/what-does-eco-civilization-mean/) 28 Pretty J. The consumption of a finite planet: well-being, convergence, divergence and the nascent green economy. 29 Pretty J.
et al. Improving health and well-being independently of GDP: dividends of greener and prosocial economies. 2 per person; world mean 4.4t), accounts for 50% of worldwide pesticide use, and has serious desertification and high levels of air and soil pollution. It is also home to 420 threatened vertebrate species. Nevertheless, between 1980 and 2008, efficiency and technology advances reduced China's energy intensity from 8kg to 3kg carbon dioxide per $GDP [ 28 Pretty J. The consumption of a finite planet: well-being, convergence, divergence and the nascent green economy. 30 Guerry A.D.
et al. Natural capital and ecosystem services informing decisions: from promise to practice. The principle of ecological civilization is now formally incorporated in Chinese government policy []. China's economy is currently the world's second largest, accounting for US$10 trillion of a $77 trillion global gross domestic product (GDP). Although China's domestic population is relatively stable at 1.36 billion, per capita consumption patterns have changed rapidly and now converge on those of affluent countries []. In many of these countries, conventional economic growth has brought costly environmental externalities that affect public health and economic welfare []. China has higher than mean per capita carbon dioxide emissions (5 t COper person; world mean 4.4t), accounts for 50% of worldwide pesticide use, and has serious desertification and high levels of air and soil pollution. It is also home to 420 threatened vertebrate species. Nevertheless, between 1980 and 2008, efficiency and technology advances reduced China's energy intensity from 8kg to 3kg carbon dioxide per $GDP []. Since 2000, the Chinese government has invested $100 billion in financial incentives for reforestation and water management. It supports 150 ecological demonstration villages countrywide; identified over 8 million agricultural hectares (35% of the land area) that are also intended to meet conservation objectives; instituted so-called Ecosystem Function Conservation Areas, where biological diversity and ecosystem services such as flood and soil retention are protected; and will report ecosystem service metrics in addition to GDP []. If successful, the adoption of ecological civilization principles may have substantial positive effects on environmental protection and conservation in China, and encourage other nations to support and implement the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, particularly if these principles are promoted through China's investments overseas. Electric Pulse Trawling 31 Soetaert M.
et al. Electrotrawling: a promising alternative fishing technique warranting further exploration. 32 WWF Sustainable Brown Shrimp Fishery – Is Pulse Fishing A Promising Option?. 33 Yu C.
et al. The rise and fall of electrical shrimp beam trawling in the East China Sea: technology, fishery, and conservation implications. Electric pulse trawling uses electricity to flush flatfish or shrimp from seabed sediments, and is claimed by proponents to use less fuel, catch more selectively, and cause less seabed damage than traditional beam trawls. It also provides higher catch and profits per trip. However, there is evidence of injury and mortality to some nontarget species of fishes (e.g., cod Gadus morhua) [], and some have questioned how the method may affect benthic species and population sizes of diverse aquatic animals []. The use of electric pulse trawling for shrimps in the East China Sea was banned by China in 2001 as a result of evidence of damage to benthic fauna (including juvenile shrimp) and unsustainable harvest levels; these effects were linked to poor regulation and selection of pulse settings []. Electric fishing in general was banned in European Union sea waters in 1988, but since 1999 the European Union has issued dispensations that permit electric pulse trawling for scientific research. These licenses first were issued to operators in The Netherlands and then to operators in Germany, Belgium, and the UK. Currently, 97 European fishing boats are practicing electric pulse trawling in the North Sea. Use of electric pulse trawling is growing ahead of a full understanding of its ecological effects and with limited regulation and enforcement. Osmotic Power 34 Loeb S. Osmotic power plants. 34 Loeb S. Osmotic power plants. 35 Norman R.S. Water salination: a source of energy. 36 Janssen M.
et al. Boosting capacitive blue-energy and desalination devices with waste heat. 37 Siria A.
et al. Giant osmotic energy conversion measured in a single transmembrane boron nitride nanotube. 38 Montague C.
Ley J.A. Possible effect of salinity fluctuation on abundance of benthic vegetation and associated fauna in Northeastern Florida Bay. Mixing water with two different salinities creates energy known as salinity gradient power or blue energy. A method for harnessing this energy produced where a river meets the sea was developed in the 1970s [], when the global power-generating potential of blue energy was estimated to be sufficient to meet the world's then 2 TW electricity needs []. The first blue energy plant operated in Norway from 2009 to 2013, but closed because it was not economically viable. Technology is now overcoming the previously limited generation capacity, with approaches including the use of supercapacitors and heating the fresh water []. Power generation capacity may be further boosted with the use of nanotubes []. Although blue energy is renewable and relatively clean, the brackish byproduct may lead to salinity fluctuations that exceed natural variability in the surrounding environment, affecting salt-intolerant aquatic species []. The construction of infrastructure in estuaries could also have detrimental environmental effects. Furthermore, it is possible that in the future climate change and increased water extraction will reduce the flow of rivers into the sea, reducing opportunities to generate blue energy. Managed Bees as Vectors 39 Mommaerts V.
Smagghe G. Entomovectoring in plant protection. 40 Reeh K.W.
et al. Potential of bumble bees as bio-vectors of Clonostachys rosea for Botrytis blight management in lowbush blueberry. 41 Brimner T.A.
Boland G.J. A review of the non-target effects of fungi used to biologically control plant diseases. 42 Ushio M.
et al. Microbial communities on flower surfaces act as signatures of pollinator visitation. 43 Mommaerts V.
et al. A laboratory evaluation to determine the compatibility of microbiological control agents with the pollinator Bombus terrestris. Use of managed bees as transporters (vectors) to deliver microbiological control agents (i.e., bacteria, viruses, or fungi) directly to the flowers of agricultural plants is emerging as a method for crop protection. The vector is usually either the honeybee Apis mellifera or a commercially managed bumblebee species Bombus sp. There is evidence that this can control a range of fungal diseases or insect pests on many flowering crops in field or glasshouse conditions []. At least one company is marketing this technology, in which individual bees pick up the control agents by walking through a patch of powder as they leave their colony to forage. The microbial control agents are registered plant protection products, so their potential effects on the environment, including effects on soil and leaf microbiota, have been evaluated []. However, microbes are easily transferred between insects and flowers during foraging []. Therefore, the use of bees as vectors, as opposed to application of biological controls via spraying or application to the soil, may harm both the bee vectors and other wild insects (e.g., hoverflies, solitary bees, butterflies, and moths) that visit the same flowers. The insect pathogens that are being distributed by managed bees have sublethal and, in some cases, lethal effects on bumblebees []. The effects of delivering microbiological control agents directly to flowers on nontarget wild insects and plants have not been evaluated. Unregulated Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean Threaten Expanding Fish Stocks 2. This area is beyond the jurisdiction of its five coastal states (Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the USA). For most of the year, the central Arctic Ocean is covered in sea ice, although the extent of the sea ice is expected to decline as climate continues to change. If sea ice recedes as projected, some fishes, including commercial species such as Atlantic cod Gadus morhua and yellowfin sole Limanda aspera, may extend their ranges into the area [ 44 Wisz M.S.
et al. Arctic warming will promote Atlantic–Pacific fish interchange. 45 Bailey K.M. An empty donut hole: the great collapse of a North American fishery. 46 Hubert A-M. UN General Assembly Resolution to Develop a New Legally Binding Instrument on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction. 47 Cole S.
et al. Games in the Arctic: applying game theory insights to Arctic challenges. The high seas of the central Arctic Ocean cover 2.8 million km. This area is beyond the jurisdiction of its five coastal states (Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the USA). For most of the year, the central Arctic Ocean is covered in sea ice, although the extent of the sea ice is expected to decline as climate continues to change. If sea ice recedes as projected, some fishes, including commercial species such as Atlantic cod Gadus morhua and yellowfin sole Limanda aspera, may extend their ranges into the area []. Because the high seas are beyond national jurisdiction, unregulated fishing could have considerable effects on these stocks, as seen in the collapse of pollock Gadus chalcogrammus stocks in the Bering Sea during the 1980s []. In recognition of this potential, the five Arctic Ocean coastal states signed a declaration in July 2015 to prevent unregulated commercial fishing until mechanisms are established to manage fishing in accordance with international standards. However, the development of an international, legally binding instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea may be protracted given disagreement between member states, including three with coasts along the Arctic Ocean []. Meeting these challenges will require strong actions by the Arctic Council, ensuring the provision of substantive information to all parties and encouraging the payment of compensation to resolve conflict []. If international agreements fail, there is a high likelihood of the development of a new commercial fishery in the Arctic, with uncontrolled and unsustainable levels of harvest. Increasing Extent of Construction of Artificial Oceanic Islands 2. These islands are being built in part on the Spratly Island group of coral atolls and reefs that lie in a disputed part of the South China Sea. Artificial land was created by pumping sand onto live coral reefs and paving the sand with concrete, while wide areas have also been dredged in the development of harbors and shipping lanes [ 48 Larson C. China's island building is destroying reefs. 49 Hughes T.P.
et al. The wicked problem of China's disappearing coral reefs. Although the construction of oceanic artificial islands is not new (e.g., Japan built extensively upon the Okinotori islands from 1987 until 1993), the scale of construction has grown markedly in recent years. For instance, since 2014 China has been creating a group of at least seven artificial islands that collectively cover more than 13km. These islands are being built in part on the Spratly Island group of coral atolls and reefs that lie in a disputed part of the South China Sea. Artificial land was created by pumping sand onto live coral reefs and paving the sand with concrete, while wide areas have also been dredged in the development of harbors and shipping lanes []. These practices compound the effects of coastal development, pollution, and fishing that have led to an estimated decline of coral cover on offshore atolls and archipelagos in the South China Sea from greater than 60% to approximately 20% since about 2000 []. The ecological effects are locally intense, and may interrupt larval supplies throughout the region. Furthermore, it is possible that the degraded reefs will erode more quickly and will no longer buffer wave action. In this case, the artificial islands will be highly likely to erode and collapse during typhoons, especially as sea levels continue to rise. The construction of usable landmass far from a country's shoreline may also set a precedent for creation of new land to increase national territorial claims in disputed waters or international waters, whether for military purposes or for access to natural resources ranging from fish stocks to seabed minerals. Increasing Aquatic Concentrations of Testosterone 50 Spitzer M.
et al. Risks and benefits of testosterone therapy in older men. 51 Basaria S.
et al. Adverse events associated with testosterone administration. 52 Emmelot-Vonk M.H.
et al. Effect of testosterone supplementation on functional mobility, cognition, and other parameters in older men: a randomized controlled trial. 53 Maki P.M.
et al. Intramuscular testosterone treatment in elderly men: evidence of memory decline and altered brain function. 50 Spitzer M.
et al. Risks and benefits of testosterone therapy in older men. 54 Koger C.S.
et al. Determining the sensitive developmental stages of intersex induction in medaka (Oryzias latipes) exposed to 17β-estradiol or testosterone. Increasing numbers of men in affluent countries appear to be taking testosterone supplements to maintain or increase physical fitness or sexual desire or function. The extent to which testosterone supplements achieve those objectives varies substantially among populations [], and they may also have unintended health side effects. Testosterone supplements may increase the likelihood of cardiovascular adverse events in men 65 years of age or older with low testosterone levels and limited mobility []. Testosterone has also been associated with increases in lean body mass [] but decreases in short-term verbal memory [] of healthy, elderly men. Nevertheless, in the USA prescription sales of testosterone alone increased by 25–30% annually between 1993 and 2002, and from US$18 million in 1988 to $1.6 billion in 2011 []. Increasing use of testosterone supplements is likely to increase testosterone concentrations in natural water bodies. The effects on aquatic organisms are uncertain, but some hypothesize that the effects may be similar to those of estrogens. Within a week after hatching, intersex gonadal morphology was observed in medaka Oryzias latipes (a common aquarium fish and model organism in toxicology) that were exposed to testosterone, but sex ratios did not change significantly []. It is unclear whether human use of testosterone supplements will persist and, ultimately, how such use may affect the condition and population dynamics of species throughout the aquatic food chain. Effects of Engineered Nanoparticles on Terrestrial Ecosystems 55 Sun T.Y.
et al. Comprehensive probabilistic modelling of environmental emissions of engineered nanomaterials. 55 Sun T.Y.
et al. Comprehensive probabilistic modelling of environmental emissions of engineered nanomaterials. 56 Neal A.L. What can be inferred from bacterium–nanoparticle interactions about the potential consequences of environmental exposure to nanoparticles?. 57 Simonin M.
Richaume A. Impact of engineered nanoparticles on the activity, abundance, and diversity of soil microbial communities: a review. Engineered nanoparticles are increasingly being incorporated into consumer and agricultural products, and can be released into the environment during the manufacture, use, and disposal of such products. Much of the research associated with unintended biological effects of nanoparticles over the past decade has focused on the aquatic environment. However, contamination of terrestrial ecosystems has received much less attention, despite estimates of exposure suggesting that soil could be a major sink for nanoparticles, through the use of sewage sludge in agriculture, atmospheric deposition, landfills, or accidental spillage []. It is estimated that concentrations of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, widely used in products such as toothpaste and sunscreen, are currently increasing in European sewage sludge-treated agricultural soils by 0.9–3.6mg/kg annually []. There is increasing evidence that nanoparticles can have considerable effects on soil microbial activity []. At least some of these compounds, such as silver nanoparticles, substantially reduce enzyme and respiratory activities at low concentrations and therefore appear highly toxic []. Little is known about the potential effects of engineered nanoparticles on fungal and archaeal biota. Although the potential effects of metal contamination of agricultural soils from sewage sludge are well known and regulated, any risks associated with nanoparticles may create an additional burden for disposal of solid biological waste. These burdens are likely to affect fertilizer costs and biological diversity in and around agricultural areas. Satellite Access to Shipborne Automatic Identification Systems 58 International Maritime Organization (IMO) Third IMO GHG Study 2014. 59 Natale F.
et al. Mapping fishing effort through AIS data. 60 Hess D.
Savitz J. Global Fishing Watch. Free Worldwide Information for Citizens Seeking Effective Enforcement of Ocean Conservation Laws. Rapid advances in systems to track vessels at sea offer substantial opportunities to strengthen environmental protection. Automatic identification systems were originally intended to assist ship operators and maritime agencies in monitoring vessel movements for safety purposes, but their use has since become widespread. Under the Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea it has been mandatory for very large vessels and all passenger vessels to carry these systems since 2004; since May 2014, all fishing vessels over 15 m in length in European Union waters must carry such systems []. Accurate, real-time, berth-to-berth monitoring of vessel movements at sea is becoming a transformative technology. It is possible, for example, to differentiate fishing activities from ordinary vessel transit [], and an application of the technology may be to decrease the incidence of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing []. Satellite-tracked automatic identification systems, in combination with other remotely sensed images, could also be used to identify illegal transits, dumping, or spillage. Even if automatic identification systems are turned off, satellite-based synthetic aperture radar can detect the position of a vessel. As access to ship-tracking data increases, there will be greater potential to regulate market access for goods on the basis of their source vessels’ compliance with emissions or fishing regulations, and to inform consumers about the provenance and environmental footprint of different products. Passive Acoustic Monitoring to Prevent Illegal Activity 61 Farina A.
et al. The soundscape approach for the assessment and conservation of Mediterranean landscapes: principles and case studies. 62 Farina A.
Pieretti N. Sonic environment and vegetation structure: a methodological approach for a soundscape analysis of a Mediterranean maqui. 63 Servick K. Eavesdropping on ecosystems. 64 Greene C.H.
et al. A wave glider approach to fisheries acoustics: transforming how we monitor the nation's commercial fisheries in the 21st century. Passive acoustic monitoring has long been used to monitor wildlife on land and at sea, and now can be used for detecting illegal activities. Technological advances in low-cost digital recorders, coupled with the ability to download data from remote locations, are increasing the potential for relatively cheap and efficient passive acoustic monitoring over large extents []. Passive acoustics can be used to detect not only species and some forms of environmental change [] but also several types of illegal activity, such as logging and hunting, although there are substantial analytical challenges to using and interpreting the volume of data collected []. If these challenges can be overcome, then, in combination with cloud computing, close to real-time information on such illegal activities may be available to enforcement agencies. For example, ‘Rainforest Connection’ has converted recycled mobile phones to solar-powered listening devices for the detection of illegal logging in Sumatra, triggering action by local rangers. If integrated with public, web-based data outputs, information from passive acoustic monitoring could also be used to inform consumer behavior and citizen action. Underwater acoustic monitoring is already highly advanced in sectors from defense to ecological observation. Active use of underwater acoustic monitoring to detect and intercept blast fishing, and to conduct surveillance of illegal fishing and vessel transit in remote ocean areas with autonomous vessels, is also possible [].
Synthetic Body Parts of Endangered Animals 65 Save the Rhino International and the International Rhino Foundation Synthetic Rhino Horn: Will it Save the rhino?. 66 Qian Y. Counterfeiters: Foes or Friends? How Do Counterfeits Affect Different Product Quality Tiers?. 67 Nuwer R. 3D printed horns may put rhinos at greater risk of extinction. Innovation in the synthesis of complex biological materials has made it possible to replicate rhinoceros horn. The resulting product, which incorporates engineered keratin and is extruded on a 3D printer, is almost indistinguishable from authentic horn, and the addition of rhinoceros DNA could make it effectively identical []. The companies developing this process hope the availability of a horn substitute will reduce pressure on wild rhinoceros, which have been driven to near extinction by poaching and the black market in rhinoceros body parts. Synthesis of rhinoceros horn could thus play a major role in destroying markets that are based on rarity of the commodity. However, some conservation groups have questioned whether the synthesis could expose new markets to legal synthetic horn and increase the demand for real horn, ultimately increasing poaching. Evidence suggests that counterfeit luxury consumer goods inflate the price of authentic products []. Real horn might also be presented as synthetic, confounding efforts to curtail trafficking of horn procured from the wild. Although the synthetic replication technique has so far been limited to rhinoceros horn, it could be used to produce elephant ivory, pangolin scales, and tiger bone []. Artificial Glaciers to Regulate Irrigation 68 Bagla P. “Artificial glaciers” aid farmers in Himalayas. 69 Shaheen F.A.
et al. Climate change impact in cold arid desert of North-Western Himalaya: community based adaptations and mitigations. 3 within 15 years [ 69 Shaheen F.A.
et al. Climate change impact in cold arid desert of North-Western Himalaya: community based adaptations and mitigations. 69 Shaheen F.A.
et al. Climate change impact in cold arid desert of North-Western Himalaya: community based adaptations and mitigations. 70 Tewari V.P.
Kapoor K.S. Western Himalayan cold deserts: biodiversity, eco-restoration, ecological concerns and securities. Artificial glaciers have been created in the cold, arid western Himalayas as a mechanism to increase the supply of water for agricultural irrigation in response to climate change (e.g., []). Historically, communities in these high-elevation regions relied on glacial melt and winter snowfall for crop irrigation and drinking water |
this track by Alyssa Menes:
Everyone who contributes gets in the credits.
You get a button of Maya Breaker.
A digital copy of the game. For any computer operating system you like. LInex, Max, Windows or Windows 8.
You get a copy of the game on CD with original box art on it. This art will not be distributed to others. Also, a copy of the Soundtrack on CD.
The CD and soundtrack will be in an original box. The box will be themed after the old SNES boxes.
You get the box, but it will also have an instruction booklet in it. This booklet will have art, story and cheat codes that will not be distributed to anyone else.
All that and a t-shirt! T-shirt design not final.
All that and a 3D printed figure of the game main character! You can even specify the color of plastic you want it printed in. The default is clear.
Get an hour long skype/hangout with the creator. If you're in the New York Metro area, I can even stop by your place.Yesterday’s new peerage appointments attracted almost universal criticism for further adding to the inexorable growth in size of the House of Lords under David Cameron. But could the gradual erosion of the Lords’ reputation actually benefit the government by weakening parliament? Might it even be a deliberate plan? And – given that the Prime Minister holds all the cards – what can be done about it? Meg Russell comments.
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This post has an eye-catching title, but it isn’t a joke – my question is deadly serious. David Cameron’s list of 45 new appointments to the Lords, announced this week, has attracted predictable wails of outrage – from the media, from opposition parties, and indeed from myself. His Lords appointments in the last five years have been completely disproportionate. As I demonstrated in a report earlier this year, he has created new peers at a faster rate than any other Prime Minister since life peerages began in 1958. Although growth in the size of the chamber has always been a problem, since 2010 it has escalated to new proportions. As is clear from my well-rehearsed graph, updated for this week’s appointments, the upward trajectory increased sharply from 2010. In the 11 years of Labour government from 1999-2010 the chamber grew by 40-70 members (depending how you measure it); in the five short years since Cameron took office, it has grown by two to three times as much.
Cameron’s latest list of appointments was long anticipated. A few weeks ago, the Prime Minister appeared to conjure up a new convention, that the Lords should be rebalanced to reflect the politics of the Commons – I pointed out that this was a non-convention, and in an interview on the Today Programme (1hr 15min) explained why it would also be a terrible idea. For the Lords to reflect the Commons politically would make it a far less effective institution. It is precisely because no government since 1999 has had a Lords majority, and ministers have had to justify their policies there on the basis of argument, rather than simply partisan loyalty, that the Upper House has done a good job of holding government to account. The Blair and Brown governments had to navigate policy and negotiate with the Lords, in a chamber where the Conservatives remained the largest party for nine years. It is precisely its ‘no overall control’ character – with the balance of power held by Liberal Democrats and Crossbench independents – which revived the previously moribund Lords post-1999, and in doing so both strengthened parliament and led to better government.
It was widely anticipated that Cameron wanted to use these new appointments to strengthen the Conservatives’ position in the Lords, in line with his comment above. But this is not actually what he has done. His list of 45 new appointees includes 26 Conservatives, 11 Lib Dems and eight Labour nominees – giving him an increased advantage of just seven. It seems quite inexplicable that he would appoint so many Liberal Democrats, given that party’s collapse in the national vote share and in Commons seats, and that before this week it already had 101 seats in the Lords (compared to eight MPs). This makes even less sense when you consider that new Liberal Democrat peers will largely use their positions to vote against the government. This week’s appointments were packaged as ‘resignation honours’, and hence include various former MPs. But several of the Liberal Democrat nominees have never been MPs at all, so why appoint them? In a report supported by numerous senior cross-party figures four years ago I argued that dissolution honours lists were a luxury that could no longer be afforded given the Lords’ growing size. But while Cameron might have felt that he had an obligation, in line with past precedent, to senior retiring figures like William Hague, any such obligation extends to barely a handful on this list. So why not simply appoint seven Conservatives and no others? Or perhaps ten Conservatives, two Labour nominees and one Liberal Democrat? The net outcome in terms of Lords votes would have been the same, and the media outrage could have been avoided.
Given how strange this seems, is it possible that the media outrage is actually part of the strategy? Next week we will publish new research showing definitively that media coverage of the Lords has grown increasingly negative since Cameron became Prime Minister. Such coverage reflects badly on him, but the primary damage done is to the reputation of the Lords. And if the Lords’ reputation is damaged, this weakens its ability to credibly challenge the government. The chamber’s ballooning size is patently becoming absurd, as the newspapers frequently remind us. The 101 Liberal Democrats (40 of them appointed by Cameron himself, by the way) already looked disproportionate. This week’s appointments simply add to the absurdity. The Prime Minister may take a short-term media ‘hit’, but the long-term damage will be to the Lords.
This may sound like an over-elaborate conspiracy theory. That it should be a Conservative Prime Minister, of all things, who would seek to damage the Lords is counterintuitive. But the latest round of appointments (not to mention previous ones) is puzzling, until considered in this light. And these are not simply isolated musings. I have spoken to journalists who claim to have been told by senior Conservative sources that there is indeed a deliberate strategy to undermine the Lords. Such suggestions have started to creep into the newspapers (para 21). Other events in recent years have also contributed to an undermining of the chamber’s reputation. It is notable that the House of Lords Appointments Commission, responsible for proposing expert independent peers, has been invited to make only eight nominations since 2010 – compared to the 31 in the period 2005-10 (in the context of a far smaller total number of peerage appointments). The presence of independent members and experts are among the most popular features of the Lords with the public, and it has previously been widely agreed that Crossbenchers should be maintained at 20%. Instead, this group is being undermined.
Whether by accident or design, David Cameron as Prime Minister is clearly failing in his constitutional duty to appoint responsibly to the Lords, and to protect and maintain the reputation of parliament. No modern Prime Minister has made peerage appointments with this degree of recklessness. There is enormous concern inside the Lords itself about the situation, and there are rumours that this concern is shared in Whitehall as well. But until something is done to constrain his powers, the Prime Minister maintains complete control over the system – in terms of how many peers are appointed, when, and with what party balance. If such powers are abused this becomes extremely serious, given the lack of external constraint – and presents others in the system with a major constitutional challenge. Some may argue that the answer is ‘big’ reform: most obviously the introduction of election. Indeed for some the reaction to my headline could well be “destruction of the Lords: hooray!” But this all depends on what comes in its place. A move to election would require action by government, and this government clearly has absolutely no intention to bring forward a bill. So the risk is instead descent towards a moribund and discredited institution, as existed in the 1950s, with ever weaker ability to hold the government to account. Until some bigger Lords reform happens, the priority must be to maintain the integrity of parliament, and its capacity properly to do its job.
So what can be done? This is a serious crisis for the Lords, and demands serious action. The Lord Speaker has apparently convened a cross-party working group to come up with proposals by October – which could be crucial. The House of Lords Constitution Committee could also step in and express a view. There are options for motions, standing order changes and private members’ bills – to cap the size of the chamber, the numbers coming in, the proportion of party peers against independents, and even completely to overhaul the appointments process. One of the obstacles to second chamber reform – not only in the UK, but around the world – is that it is not in government’s self-interest to strengthen parliament. But when the driver of the bus seems intent on sending it careering out of control and heading for a cliff, there comes a point when the passengers must seize the wheel. In other words, parliament itself now urgently needs to act. The Lords should do so with determination and force – if it is not to simply sit by as a spectator, observing its own destruction.
About the Author
Meg Russell is Professor of British and Comparative Politics, and Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit. She is author of The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived (Oxford University Press, 2013) and numerous other publications about the Lords. Her most recent report Enough is Enough: Regulating Prime Ministerial Appointments to the Lords was published on 9 February 2015 by the Constitution Unit (and is downloadable by clicking the title).
Click here to access a printer-friendly PDF of this post.Sen. Rand Paul is fine with whatever D.C. voters decide to do about marijuana.
“I think there should be a certain amount of discretion for both states and territories and the District, you know,” the Kentucky Republican said outside his polling place in Bowling Green, Ky., according to Roll Call.
District of Columbia voters decide Tuesday on a ballot item which would allow the cultivation and possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.
“I think really that when we set up our country, we intended that most crime or not crime, things that we determined to be crime or not crimes, was really intended to be determined by localities,” he said.
Paul is the ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Emergency Management, Intergovernmental Relations, and the District of Columbia.
Congress is able to regulate local politics in the District of Columbia, but Paul doesn’t want the federal government to get involved should the initiative pass.
“I’m not for having the federal government get involved. I really haven’t taken a stand on … the actual legalization. I haven’t really taken a stand on that, but I’m against the federal government telling them they can’t,” Paul told Roll Call.All three major election forecasting models saw an uptick in the likelihood of Republicans winning the six seats they need to retake the Senate majority over the past week, movement largely due to the party's strengthened chances in Alaska, Colorado and Iowa.
The most bullish model for Republicans is Washington Post's Election Lab, which, as of Monday morning, gives the GOP a 76 percent chance of winning the majority. Leo, the New York Times model, pegs it at 67 percent while FiveThirtyEight shows Republicans with a 60 percent probability. A week ago, Election Lab gave Republicans a 65 percent chance of winning the majority, Leo put it a 55 percent and FiveThirtyEight had it just under 55 percent.
All three models give Republicans very strong odds of winning the open seats in Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia as well as beating Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.). That would net Republicans five seats, one short of the number they need for the majority.
Of the rest of the competitive seats, Alaska is the biggest mover in all three models from a week ago. At that time, the models disagreed -- Election Lab (81 percent chance) and Leo (62 percent) gave Democrats the edge while FiveThirtyEight had Republicans at a 56 percent probability of winning. Today all three models align; Leo gives former state attorney general Dan Sullivan (R) a 72 percent chance of winning while Election Lab puts it at 71 percent and FiveThirty Eight at 68 percent. A series of polls released over the last week have shown Sullivan moving ahead of Sen. Mark Begich (D).
The other big change in Republicans' favor is in Colorado. Seven days ago, FiveThirtyEight's model called the state a true 50-50 tossup while Leo gave Sen. Mark Udall (D) a 55 percent chance of winning and Election Lab was even more optimistic for Udall at 67 percent. All three models today agree that Rep. Cory Gardner (R) is a (slight) favorite; FiveThirtyEight says Gardner has a 56 percent probability of winning while Leo is at 61 percent and Election Lab 66 percent. Like Alaska, several new surveys have show movement in Gardner's direction.
The models are also now in agreement -- unlike last week -- that Iowa's open seat tilts in state Sen. Joni Ernst's (R) favor albeit narrowly. Election Lab shows Ernst with an 83 percent probability of winning but that looks like the outlier as Leo has it at 61 percent and FiveThirtyEight at 56 percent. (The Real Clear Politics poll of polls has Ernst up by two points over Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley.)
Of the 11 most competitive races, the three models all agree on 10 of them. The lone outlier is Kansas where Sen. Pat Roberts (R) is facing off against Greg Orman (I). Both FiveThirtyEight (58 percent chance) and Leo (55 percent) give Orman the advantage while Election Lab says Roberts has a 79 percent chance of victory.
Kansas is by far Democrats' best potential pickup opportunity -- although Orman refuses to say which party he would caucus with in Washington -- according to the models. No model gives Republican businessman David Perdue less than a 73 percent chance of winning the Georgia open seat and Mitch McConnell's (R) probability of winning a sixth term are between 85 percent (FiveThirtyEight) and greater than 99 percent (Election Lab).
Similarly, the models all agree that one-time Republican pickup opportunities in Michigan, New Hampshire and North Carolina are increasingly far-fetched -- though it is worth noting that recent poll data in the former two suggest tightening races.
The overall picture 36 days out from the midterms? Republicans are in an increasingly good place in their march to a six-seat pickup.Alesia Thomas died in police custody last July after having her hands and ankles bound together behind her back and being kicked in the genitals by an officer. On Monday, Thomas’ family announced plans to file a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), seeking the release of dash-cam video taken the night of her death, showing her last moments alive.
“It hasn’t been easy,” Sandra Thomas, the dead woman’s mother, told msnbc.com on Monday, minutes before announcing the lawsuit at a press conference. “We have the right to see how they treated my daughter. And I believe someone is hiding something from us.”
Lawyers for Thomas’ family said video captured by police dashboard cameras could shed light on exactly how the 35-year-old mother of two died. The LAPD acknowledged the existence of the video in August, saying in a statement that it “revealed some questionable tactics and improper comments.”
LAPD Cmd. Andy Smith told the Los Angeles Times Monday afternoon that the tape would not be released until the department’s investigation of the incident is completed, at which point the department will present its findings to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office for possible criminal charges, or internal disciplinary procedures, against the five officers involved. So far, a supervising sergeant and four police officers on the scene the night of Thomas’ death have been reassigned and placed on administrative duty, Smith said.
Earlier public statements from the police described the confrontation between Thomas and a least five police officers in violent and dramatic terms. Just hours before Thomas’ encounter with police, she reportedly dropped off her two children, 12 and 3, at a South Los Angeles police station, saying later that she was a drug addict and struggling to support her family. Officers later tracked down the distraught mother at her home, where police arrested her on Child Endangerment charges.
As officers attempted to take Thomas into custody, they said she began “violently” resisting arrest. One officer then took her down with a “leg sweep.” At some point during the struggle, according to eye-witness reports, officers yelled out profanities and disparaging comments about the woman’s weight.
One female officer then threatened to kick the woman in the genitals if she didn’t calm down and comply, a threat the officer then carried out. Thomas continued to resist, police say, so officers placed her in a “hobble restraint device,” essentially hog-tying her by securing her ankles to her handcuffed hands.
Within minutes Thomas was dead in the backseat of a police cruiser.
“It’s really straightforward and clear,” Benjamin Crump, a Thomas family lawyer, who also represents the family of slain Miami teenager Trayvon Martin, told msnbc.com. “How long before they release this video? What is it they don’t want us to see? That’s the simple crux of the matter here. If this was your family and you lost a loved one in police custody and they tell you they have a video but they don’t want to show it to you, that’s insult to injury.”
Steven B. Effres, another Thomas family lawyer, said he has also filed a notice of claim on behalf of the family in a wrongful death lawsuit they plan to file against the city.
“The video is going to tell us a lot,” Effres said. “[Police Chief] Charlie Beck said right after the LAPD disclosed that they had video, that what he wanted was transparency in this case, and if that’s true and they really want transparency, than the community needs to know and deserves to know what this tape shows and what happened to Alesia. The community deserves that.”
“I take all in-custody death investigations very seriously,” LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said in a statement in late August. “I am confident we will get to the truth no matter where that leads us.”
Thomas’ death was one of a spate of high-profile use-of-force cases to rock the LAPD over the course of just a few months this summer. In August four police officers were captured on a cell phone video tackling a 20-year-old skateboarder who was skating on the wrong side of the street. One of the officers is then seen punching the man in the face.
Weeks later another video emerged in which a pair of LAPD officers was shown body slamming a handcuffed woman to the ground. Moments later, the two officers congratulated each other with a fist bump.
The slammed woman was a nurse who’d been pulled over for holding her cell phone while driving.
Each of these three cases began somewhat routinely but ended dramatically and with what critics called old-school, LAPD violence, evoking the days when department earned a reputation for violence against citizens.
After years of federal oversight following the 1991 Rodney King beating, some said the department seemed to be making strides. But among other cases, the Thomas case has drawn fear of a backslide.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable said Thomas’s death and other violent incidents perpetrated by the LAPD are eroding gains made after the King years when the department stressed diversity and community involvement, and redoubled efforts to enhance its people policies.
“Could this be the first step to reverting to the bad old ways of the LAPD of the past?” Hutchinson asked. “I am deeply concerned about about transparency and the video tape, but also, what kind of discipline do officers accused of [brutality] receive?
He continued: “People need to see the department vigorous, aggressive, and moving with immediacy to essentially get a handle on any acts of abuse by officers. The problem with this case, if that doesn’t happen it sends a subtle message [to officers] that you have a license, not a directive, but it just sends a subtle message that there’s a laxity when it comes to any kind of abuse or misconduct or a violation of policy.”
“It’s very dangerous and slippery,” he said.
Thomas’ mother said the department hasn’t reached out to the family since the episode.
“No one has called me or shown any concern,” Sandra Thomas said of the police.
“What the police are saying is that your daughter, your mother, she died,” Effres, the lawyer, chimed in. “The circumstances are very questionable, we’ve already disclosed as a police department that one officer threatened to kick her in the genital area, followed through with the threat, berated her verbally, put her in a police car handcuffed and with her ankles tied, complaining of chest pain and she lived her last moment in that police car.
“They chose to disclose bits and pieces of that information,” he said. “The rest of the story will be in that video.”It looks like United Front Games, developers of Sleeping Dogs, are to announce a new game titled Smash and Grab. United Front Games teased on twitter on 22nd August that they would have exciting game news coming very soon.
Purely based upon the few leaked images, posted by @ekim_gaf on NeoGAF following the tease, the game looks to be a multiplayer team based Hero battler.
As described by Ekim_gaf his interpretation of these images suggests Smash and Grab has three factions and will be more melee-centric. There seems to be, in this image, 18 characters to choose from. The logo image suggests there are announcers who cover their faces with masks. Ekim_gaf interprets that you smash stuff and grab money or valuable items. That Characters look half The Warriors, half other stuff and there are Katanas, Nailguns and Hammers.
This is also backed up with a trademark filed for the game which became “Approved For Publication” only two days ago.
Of course United Front Games have yet to release images or announce the game officially so there is no information on platform or any dates for release. More details are sure to follow.Hoping to prevent thousands of premature deaths each year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday issued draft, voluntary sodium reduction targets for the food industry.
The targets, which are broken into short-term (two-year) and long-term (10-year) goals, would slowly reduce the average American’s sodium intake to approximately 2,300 mg per day, which is the evidence-based level recommended by experts. The FDA’s draft guidance proposes maximum sodium levels for 150 categories of processed and restaurant foods.
Currently, the average American consumes around 3,400 mg of sodium daily (roughly 1 ½ teaspoons), with 75% coming from processed and restaurant foods. High sodium intake has been linked to increased blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stoke, two leading causes of death. Researchers have estimated that a 40% reduction in sodium intake over the next decade could save 500,000 lives and almost $100 billion in healthcare costs.
Children are of particular concern when it comes to the overconsumption of sodium. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly nine in 10 American kids consume more sodium than recommended, and about one in six children has elevated blood pressure. Reducing sodium intake during childhood could help prevent cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
“Many Americans want to reduce sodium in their diets, but that’s hard to do when much of it is in everyday products we buy in stores and restaurants,” said HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell in a statement. “Today’s announcement is about putting power back in the hands of consumers, so that they can better control how much salt is in the food they eat and improve their health.”
The Salt Institute blasted the FDA’s draft guidance as “malpractice” and questioned the science behind the proposed sodium levels:
The issuance today of new “voluntary” sodium reduction mandates by the FDA is tantamount to malpractice and inexcusable in the face of years of scientific evidence showing that population-wide sodium reduction strategies are unnecessary and could be harmful. This effort will limit the food choices of Americans, not increase them as the FDA claims.
The draft guidance will be open for public commentary for 90 days (two-year targets) and 150 days (10-year targets). It comes 38 years after the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) first petitioned the FDA in 1978 to revoke the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status of salt and set limits on its usage.
CSPI petitioned the agency two more times to reduce excess sodium in the food supply -- in 1991 and 2005. But it wasn’t until the nutrition advocacy group filed a lawsuit in October 2015, arguing that the FDA had broken the law by not responding to the 2005 petition, that the agency finally took action.
“While this is a voluntary approach as opposed to the mandatory approach we asked for and that the Institute of Medicine endorsed, it provides clear goals by which companies can be held accountable,” said CSPI president Michael F. Jacobson. “And, it helps level the playing field for those companies that are already trying to use less salt in their foods.”
Other health experts and some in the food industry also praised yesterday’s FDA announcement.
“These new targets will spark a vital, healthy change in our food supply, a change consumers say they want,” said Nancy Brown, the CEO of the American Heart Association (AHA) in a statement. “Lowering sodium levels could eliminate 1.5 million cases of uncontrolled hypertension and save billions of dollars in healthcare costs over the next decade.”
The AHA recommends a much lower daily intake of sodium for ideal heart health -- 1,500 mg.
Food and candy giant Mars, Incorporated, said in a statement that it "applauds FDA for releasing its draft voluntary guidelines on sodium and we look forward to providing additional comments on the recommendations...The release of the draft voluntary guidance will drive a broader dialogue within the food industry and help inform consumers about the role sodium plays in their diet and overall health."
The Grocery Manufacturer’s Association (GMA), which represents food and beverage companies worldwide, “welcome(d) a dialogue with FDA on its sodium reduction targets.” Hinting at a challenge to the FDA’s proposed sodium reduction target numbers, Leon Bruner, GMA Chief Science Officer, said, “(We) look forward to working with the agency to ensure the best and most recent science is taken into account when determining sodium intake levels for optimal health for all Americans.”
Bruner is likely referring to controversial sodium studies, published in medical journals beginning in 2011 that found that lowering sodium intake below 3,000 mg per day was associated with an increased risk of death. While the debate still rages, numerous researchers have questioned the methodology underlying the newer studies and whether they accurately measure sodium intake. In 2013, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), taking into account some of the latest studies, found that the body of evidence "does not support reduction in sodium intake to below 2,300 mg per day."
While the FDA’s draft guidance, when finalized, would ultimately impact the entire food supply of the nation, sodium reduction initiatives have already been underway in both the public and private sector. The New York City Health Department has been leading the National Salt Reduction Initiative (NSRI), which has set voluntary targets for sodium levels in different categories of packaged and restaurant food. Twenty-seven food corporations have pledged to pursue NSRI targets including Mars Food US, Kraft Foods, Heinz, Campbell’s Soup Company, Subway, Boars Head, Starbucks and Unilever.
New York City also passed the first sodium warning label measure in 2015. Chain restaurants, with 15 or more locations nationwide, are required to post warning labels next to high-sodium menu items that top the recommended daily limit of 2,300 mg. Enforcement will begin June 6, 2016.The Conet Project. Recordings Of Mysterious Numbers Stations, Shortwave International Spy Codes.
kcatfish Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jul 27, 2014
You can purchase this album on iTunes and listen to these spy broadcasts.
Shortwave works by broadcasting carrier waves that bounce between the ionosphere and the earth’s surface. The signals travel over curved surfaces and bounce from continent to continent.
An atavism to Cold War technology and subterfuge, number stations still operate in utter secrecy, except that with a strong enough tuner, you can still pick up their content. Number stations are broadcasting shortwave signals that appear to be encrypted data hidden inside odd musical notes, bars, measures, and anonymous voices reading lists of numbers of letters or words. Stochastic broadcasts containing random and repeating data, or longer pieces of music as well.
The Conet Project is a 5 CD collection of the various add broadcasts from numbers stations around the world. It costs anywhere from hundreds of dollars to sixty dollars.
You can purchase the broadcasts on iTunes. They are fascinating to say the least.
What fascinates is not just the creepy arcane atmosphere around it. What I keep thinking about is that fact that the communications are no doubt someone enacting a violent policy on someone else, or passing secrets that could hurt someone for political reasons alone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg3dsOdRAPEGoing on safari in Africa can be one of the most beautiful trips of your life but sometimes you witness something absolutely terrifying. This driver finds out how terrifying a close encounter with an Africa elephant can be.
Going on safari in Africa can be one of the most beautiful trips of your life but sometimes you witness something absolutely terrifying. This driver finds out how terrifying a close encounter with an Africa elephant can be.
“I’m fine. We can’t do anything”
African elephants are the largest land animals in the world but you don’t realise how big and powerful they actually are until they come close and destroy your car!
“I’m fine. We can’t do anything” are words spoken by the cars driver as he helplessly waits for this elephant to leave.Whether it was Steve Jobs, or now Tim Cook, there may nothing more hyped in the tech world than an Apple event where new products are unveiled. The throng, both attending in person, or hanging on every word as the event is streamed becomes thousands of voices as Twitter and Facebook explode in a chorus of updates through each passing minute. And while the air-tight nature of new products may see an ever-so-slight increase in leaks ahead of an Apple event, there’s still the mystic that surrounds them.
On Wednesday Tim Cook took the stage at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and proclaimed, “We’re about to make some monster announcements across several of our product lines.” There was Apple Watch OS 2.0, the massive iPad Pro, the back to the future feel of the iPencil stylus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and maybe most importantly, the next generation of the Apple TV set top box.
Apple TV has been for years relegated to a "hobby" by the Cupertino tech giant. While the iPhone and iPad have become iconic devices that have built incredible legacies (and dollars in profits) for Apple, the TV set top device has yet to take hold on any level nearing the mobile products.
Apple has gone a different route with the new design, touting what has made the iPhone and iPad so popular, the use of apps.
And as has been the case so many times before, when it comes time to show off some early app development from key partners, who takes the stage but MLB Advanced Media.
By now you have likely heard about MLBAM as not only the digital media company of Major League Baseball, but the spinning off of BAM Tech which will be a separate arm of the company that will build out all forms of content through partners such as HBO, WWE, the PGA, and most recently a content deal with the NHL. Whether it has been the iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, MLBAM has been a key player in showing off how well they provide streaming services, and for sports, live events.
So, the MLBAM demo of what will be called “At Bat for Apple TV” was one of the more wiz-bang moments of the Apple event. One of the biggest differences to the next gen Apple TV is tvOS which is a brand new OS for the set top box that is based off iOS 9. With the power of the new 64-bit A8 chipset and tvOS features, the streaming of live MLB games now doubles from 30 frames a second in 720p to 60 frames a second.
But the most impressive aspect of the At Bat for Apple TV demo was the ability to naively go to split screen in two fashions.
More than one study has shown the more and more, the television experience is being augmented with a second device. Whether it’s a laptop or mobile phone, pulling up stats is often done to enhance the live game experience. As Chad Evans, the senior VP of Mobile Product Development at MLBAM took to the demo, one of the first aspects he showed was how live game stats can be pulled up as the game is being played.
But the biggest feature was being able to go split screen with more than one game, with both in HD at 60 frames a second.
It should be noted that while the core functionality demoed by MLBAM will be available when the product goes live, the interface itself may change. The next gen Apple TV will be released in October, but with that landing toward the end of the 2015 postseason, like other MLBAM offerings for the Apple platforms At Bat for Apple TV will likely see its release just prior to Spring Training with increased functionality for the regular season.
As to cost, the pricing model has not yet been released. However, it’s very possible it will to hold to the current At Bat for iPhone and iPad model of the app being free but the need for an MLB.TV Premium subscription to get the full slate of games on a given day.
And, because of the recent deal in which BAM Tech purchased media rights for NHL games, look for an NHL app for Apple TV to arrive, as well.
All of the news from the MLBAM demo was impressive, but in a larger sense, it highlights the media company of Major League Baseball as a continued powerhouse coupled with Apple. It showcases what MLBAM can do for others, which has been to be early developers for key platforms, and deliver streaming content efficiently in an ever-changing technology ecosystem. With MLBAM providing “white label” solutions for the likes of ESPN, PGA Live, HBO Now, the NHL, and more, the big deal with the demo at the Apple Event isn’t just baseball, it’s the underpinnings of what can potentially be done for others.
There’s a reason MLB Advanced Media is the biggest media company you never heard of. The At Bat for Apple TV demo on Wednesday is one more step in MLBAM’s close relationship with Apple. No other sports league has ever been part of an Apple event. It’s not because it’s “baseball”, although the visibility the game gets at Apple events is a nice side-effect. It is because MLBAM is viewed by Apple as a critical partner that showcases video streaming better than anyone else. That gives MLBAM an advantage in the marketplace as Apple continues to reach out early in product development. So ask yourself, if you’re looking for a media company to do streaming video, wouldn’t you want someone that appears time and time again on stage at Apple events?More than 100 migrant workers across the US have reportedly been fired from their jobs after participating in “Day Without Immigrants” protest last week.
Business owners fired the workers after they skipped a day and stayed at home on Thursday to highlight the contributions of immigrants in the country, amid President Donald Trump’s sweeping measures to curb immigration, US media reported on Monday.
Restaurants, child care centers and construction companies in states like Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma and New York were among the many businesses that axed their employees.
In Commerce City, Colorado, JVS Masonry laid off around 30 bricklayers and showed no remorse.
"They were warned, 'if you do this you're hurting the company, and if you go against the team you're not a member of the team'," said Jim Serowski, an spokesman.
In Pennsylvania, commercial painting company Bradley Coatings, Incorporated fired 18 employees, according to NBC4.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, six more people were fired from a Bahama Breeze restaurant for taking part in the protest.
Robert Peal, the company’s attorney, confirmed the move in a statement to the network, adding that the workers were all warned against skipping work on Thursday.
"Regretfully, and consistent with its prior communication to all its employees, BCI had no choice but to terminate these individuals. The reason these employees missed work — to engage in peaceful demonstrations — had nothing to do with BCI's decision to terminate them," his statement read.
A woman is seen infront of a restaurant with a sign announcing that it is closed for a "Day Without Immigrants" in Washington, DC on February 16, 2017. (Photo by AFP)
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, 12 Latino restaurant workers were fired by I Don’t Care Bar and Grill, according to Fox News.
At least two staff members of Grace Community School in Bonita Springs, Florida, also said they were fired after taking part in the strike. The school has denied the claim.
In Long Island, New York, 25 workers were fired by Ben's Kosher Delicatessen Restaurant & Caterers upon returning to work on Friday, Telemundo 47 reported.
The reports prompted harsh responses on social media, with many users calling on others to boycott the businesses that fire immigrants.Ill start by saying that for me, Id like to see not a game, but a simulation of high-level command with multiple depths. It would begin not with counters and top-down map, but a map like this, that simulates a high command war room. Imagine the game screens below showing the entire world (notice how the graphics don't need to be photo-real):Zoom in for miniatures or NATO symbols and now we have an operational level:There would be mini-games or mini-sims, such as where Art Treasures could be looted. Modders could add art works of art -a simple mod that could allow players to make the game their very own - something that increases playability and ownership, a feature that is often discounted and expands a game's depth at no cost. Whats this got to do with a military game? It's an example of great immersion. How about sending a commando squad to retrieve a national treasure?Want to build a massive navy? Most games you can but what about Treaty regulations or congress saying you cant and every cent must be politically justified? (most strategy games are actually in 'god mode' by default - you can do |
Macs during a more low-key event last week and introduced its Apple Pay mobile payments system. The products are key for Apple's continued growth in the mobile market.
"More important than this earnings report is that we believe Apple is in the midst of another'super cycle' with a new product category expected to launch in early 2015 with Apple Watch, combined with the company's recent entry in the 'phablet' market with the iPhone 6 Plus and the launch of Apple Pay," Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White said.
Apple generates about two-thirds of its sales from the iPhone and iPad, but the markets for those gadgets are becoming saturated, with rivals including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Samsung battling for customers and the billions they spend on mobile devices. Apple's newest iPhones, however, have attracted a record number of buyers since their launch last month. The iPhone 6 has the potential to be the biggest product launch in Apple's 38-year history.
Cook said iPhone 6 and 6 Plus demand and it could stay that way through the end of the calendar year.
"It's unclear, looking at the data, when supply will catch up with demand," Cook said on a conference call. "It's clear, as of today... we're not even close. We're not even on the same planet."
The iPad hasn't done as well. Apple's newest tablets hit the market later this week, but analysts say the incremental changes likely aren't enough to attract buyers in droves. The iPad may be a significant revenue driver, but the device hasn't been selling as well as it used to. Large-screen smartphones are eating away at the need for a tablet, and consumers hold on to their iPads longer than their smartphones. Apple now faces questions over whether the iPad's declining shipments are a temporary hiccup or a troubling trend.
The fiscal fourth quarter marks the third consecutive period that iPad sales have dropped. It's also the first time Mac sales have surpassed iPad sales in several quarters. The iPad, which hit the market in April 2010, first overtook the Mac in terms of revenue in the June 2011 quarter. In the following years, the iPad solidly remained the second-biggest moneymaker for Apple, behind the iPhone smartphone. However, iPad sales have slipped this year, with the Mac segment coming closer and closer to beating its revenue.
Cook, for one, called iPad weakness "a speed bump" and said what while some customers likely are opting for Macs or iPhones over the tablet, iPad has a "great future." He also said it's too early to tell how long consumers will hold onto their tablets before upgrading, though they aren't buying new models as quickly as they upgrade their iPhones.
"There's a popular view that the market is saturated, but we don't see that," Cook said. "Because we've only been in this market four years, we don't really know what the upgrade cycle will be for people."
Now playing: Watch this: Apple Pay demo on iPhone 6 and new iPad
Rather than the consumer, Apple will increasingly lean on emerging markets and its push with business users and in schools to boost iPad sales. Already, most of the Fortune 500 companies use Apple products, but there are still a lot of ways the company could generate more money from business users.
It reached a deal with IBM in July to work together on pushing Apple devices and iOS apps with business users. IBM's cloud-computing services -- such as device management, security and analytics -- also will be optimized for iOS. Apple a year ago also made its iLife and iWork software free with new Mac and iOS purchases. And Microsoft in March finally made its widely used Office software work on iOS.
At the same time, Apple's Mac business remains important to the company, particularly as Apple makes its various devices work better together. While Apple has spoken against hybrid devices that switch between computers and tablets, its new computer operating system, OS X Yosemite, includes features that allow users to "hand off" tasks. That includes letting users start a program -- such as writing an email or composing a text -- on an iPhone and then finish it on an iPad or Mac.
Research firm IDC earlier this month said the company moved into the No. 5 ranking for global PC sales in the calendar third quarter. For the past several years, Apple has controlled a much smaller chunk of the market, but its sleek designs, such as the MacBook Air, have attracted customers.
"On the Mac, it was just an absolutely blowout quarter, our best ever," Cook said. "It's absolutely stunning. The back-to-school season voted, and the Mac won and carried the day."
Apple's overall results stand in contrast to rival Samsung, which earlier this month warned its third-quarter operating profit would tumble 60 percent and it sales would drop 20 percent. The company blamed higher marketing costs and competition for its problems. But the anticipated fourth consecutive quarterly drop in operating profit underscores the continued pressures facing smartphone king Samsung, which has been hit hard by saturation in the high-end market and intensifying pressure on the low end.
The South Korean tech conglomerate believes "new smartphone lineups featuring new materials and innovative designs, as well as a series of new mid- to low-end smartphones with strong competitive positioning on both hardware specifications and price," can help boost its results. But for Samsung, things may get worse before they get better.
Along with boasting about new devices, Apple also has taken steps to return more cash to shareholders. The company in April said it planned to give investors six additional shares of stock for every Apple share they owned as of June 2. Because of the split, shares now trade at a much lower level than in the past, but it also makes the stock more accessible to investors. It's much cheaper to own a chunk of Apple at about $100 versus $600. The split went into effect in June, with shares trading at about $93.
The stock split came as part of Apple's effort to meet the demands of current shareholders, as well as attract a new group of investors. Under the leadership of Cook, Apple started returning some of its massive cash hoard to investors. Shareholders, such as activist Carl Icahn, asked for even more, and Apple earlier this year revealed a big increase to its dividend and share repurchase program, along with the stock split. The company at that time boosted the amount of cash that it's returning to shareholders by about $30 billion to more than $130 billion.
James Martin/CNET
Still, Icahn earlier this month again called for Apple to buy back more of its own stock. He argued that the iPhone maker's shares should be worth twice as much as their current trading level. "You have said before that the company likes to be 'opportunistic' when repurchasing shares and we appreciate that," Icahn said. "With this letter we simply hope to express to you that now is a very opportunistic time to do so."
Luca Maestri, Apple's chief financial officer, on Monday said Apple remains committed to returning cash to investors, and it reviews its plans regularly. The company has gotten feedback from shareholders in the past and will continue to do so.
"We plan to report on our conclusions on a time frame similar to last year," he said.
For the fiscal fourth quarter, Apple posted a profit of $8.47 billion, or $1.42 a share, up from $7.51 billion, or $1.18 a share in the year-earlier period.
Revenue for the period ended September 27 jumped 12 percent to $42.12 billion, a record for the fiscal fourth quarter. International sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter's revenue.
Analysts most recently projected earnings of $1.31 per share on revenue of $39.88 billion. Apple in July said it anticipated revenue of $37 billion to $40 billion, slightly less than the $40.44 billion projected by analysts at the time. It also anticipated a gross margin of 37 percent to 38 percent.
Gross margin grew to 38 percent from 37 percent in the year-ago quarter. The company in July projected a gross margin of 37 percent to 38 percent. Apple's gross margin, a measure of sales after removing costs like manufacturing, has fallen since its high of 47.4 percent in early 2012 as customers opt for lower-cost devices.
Updated at 2:10 and 3:20 p.m. PT with details from conference call.Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles helped with co-anchoring the First Coast News 5 o'clock news program on Thursday night, capping it off with a Q&A hosted by former Jaxson DeVille mascot Curtis Dvorak.
Days like today are for pondering what's truly important in life.
So I figured I'd #AskBlake @BBortles5 https://t.co/2uRnbbbyd0 — Curtis Dvorak (@CurtisDvorak) May 20, 2016
The questions ranged from asking about his favorite places to eat in Jacksonville, the best place to get a taco, whether ketchup should go in the fridge after opening, and if Fireball should be chilled or kept at room temperature in preparation for consumption.
But one of Blake's answers stood out like a sore thumb: "Is a hotdog a sandwich? No."
Personally, I think a hotdog is a sandwich, as does Curtis. There's meat between two pieces of bread. Other players agree... like Ryan Davis and Allen Robinson. But not Blake.
What do you think? Is a hot dog a sandwich?This pattern has been recurring since the state was founded and has again resurfaced in the three years since the latest Shiite-led Bahraini revolt, which mimicked uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and other Arab nations. What started as a legitimate populist movement in Bahrain was soon co-opted by coalitions of young anarchists and so-called human rights activists that are completely beholden to the aging ayatollahs in Bahrain and Iran and are more interested in sectarian religious dominance than humanistic progress.
For nearly 50 years, significant strides toward development and reform have been consistently derailed. From the Shirazi and Sadr Shiite revolutionary movements of the 1960s and 70s to the formation of the Iranian-funded militant group, the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, these movements have all professed deep sectarian ideologies. This mind-set helped propel the Shiite jihadi Sheikh Abdul-Amir al-Jamri to prominence in the 1990s by advocating an extreme, perverted Shiite political program based on the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s writings to wage a holy war on Bahrain’s monarchy.
In 2001, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa promulgated the National Action Charter, launching the process of institutionalizing democracy in Bahrain by promising a new era that would establish a progressive political system and more representative governance. It was hoped that these genuine strides toward reform would prompt radicals to moderate their views, return from exile and participate in reform efforts. But, in the absence of alternative moderate political parties, the radical, Iranian-financed theocratic agenda has become entrenched in domestic Bahraini politics.
The Wefaq Shiite party, the Shiite Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and other sectarian blocs have dominated the nation’s political arena, nearly monopolizing ballots and votes. Not only have these extremists failed to understand and represent their constituencies, their theocratic agenda remains incapable of addressing voters’ genuine economic and social grievances. This was particularly evident in 2004, when the Wefaq party succumbed to a fatwa by Ayatollah Isa Qassim, Bahrain’s most revered Shiite cleric and the party’s spiritual leader. The fatwa denied Shiite women the right to legal, civil and family protections.
Further evidence of the Shiite parties’ hostility to genuine political reform can be found in their lack of support for recently passed reforms geared toward more inclusive governance and empowerment of the legislature.QPR will play Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's former club, Burton Albion, in a pre-season friendly in late July.
The fixture will take place on Tuesday 26th July (7.45pm kick-off) at the Pirelli Stadium.
The Brewers, of course, were promoted to the Championship from League One on the final day of the season, as Nigel Clough's side continued the fine work put in place by Hasselbaink and co. earlier in the campaign by clinching the second automatic promotion spot.
Ticket details for the fixture will be announced in due course.
2016/17 pre-season schedule:
Aldershot Town v QPR - Friday 1st July - 7.45pm kick-off
Wycombe Wanderers v QPR - Friday 22nd July - 7.45pm kick-off
Burton Albion v QPR - Tuesday 26th July - 7.45pm kick-off
QPR v Watford - Saturday 30th July - 3.00pm kick-offU.S. Senator Patrick Leahy is expected to introduce a version of the USA FREEDOM Act (UFA) tomorrow that is far stronger than what the enfeebled House of Representatives managed to pass earlier this year.
According to the New York Times, the bill not only curtails the bulk surveillance of American’s call metadata — the first NSA program detailed by the Edward Snowden leaks — but would also reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to include an opposition voice to the government’s arguments, and force some form of public disclosure of information regarding the court’s decisions.
It also contracts the terms that the government could use to request call metadata from telephone companies.
Given the Times’ summary, it doesn’t appear that the bill would close so-called “backdoor” searches of Americans’ communications. Backdoor searches have come under withering scrutiny due to the use of such techniques by several United States intelligence agencies.
The full text will be the real test, of course, but it does seem that what Leahy has put together is stronger than the bill that the house passed. That bill was infamously shoved through in a hurry, after being so weakened that around half of its original co-sponsors voted against it. What the House passed cannot be called reform.
The proposed Senate bill would at least close the door on the telephony metadata program, but it will be important to look into its ability to more broadly end bulk collection of data relating to the communications of American citizens. The NSA has a wide, diverse set of surveillance tools that range from demanding data from Internet companies through PRISM, to tapping the fiber cables that make up the Internet itself. Merely ending the NSA’s pooling of our call records is not enough — by far — when it comes to shuttering overly intrusive surveillance programs that we currently fund.
The Times’ dismount is worth a moment of meditation:
Over all, the bill represents a breakthrough in the struggle against the growth of government surveillance power. The Senate should pass it without further dilution, putting pressure on the House to do the same.
That’s a mildly sobering reminder that even if the Senate manages to pass something that would have material impact on the NSA, it would only have cleared one chamber. The Senate bill has been put together in collaboration with the executive branch, implying that friction in the House could be less than we might expect. I’ve heard that the House bill was drastically impacted by the current administration’s input. We’ll have to see.
Tomorrow is big day for potential reform. Strap in.Back in February, we reported that HTC was bringing Gingerbread to their HTC Desire line in the second quarter. Well it looks like they’re ahead of schedule, at least in Europe, because a representative from ThreeUK has tweeted that they’ve begun testing Gingerbread today for the HTC Desire and should have it would at the end of the month or early next. That could make a sunny Spring for Brits who were looking to wait until at least summer for their gingy goodness. The update also looks to be coming to Desire owners in Sweden around the same time.
But what may cause some concern is the amount of internal storage space the Desire has to accommodate it. Users who have a lot of apps or games may find they have to make a choice. The solution suggested by some is to root your Desire in order to, install apps directly onto the SD card. Users can also get rid of the junk like the UI and go with a pure Google experience and save some space to boot.
And there’s also the relative age of the Desire. Could it be that while users desire Gingerbread, they may be pushing the hardware past the limits of an enjoyable experience? That was the main beef iPhone 3g users had when iOS 4 came out, rendering the 3g albeit unusable. Sometimes too much of a good thing pushes the envelope too much.
[via Swedroid]The talk radio station LBC has admitted a “regrettable and inexcusable error” after its presenter James O’Brien breached broadcasting rules in the runup to the Clacton byelection, which was won by Ukip.
Although O’Brien did not mention Nigel Farage’s party by name in the broadcast on the day of the election on 9 October, he did refer to “an anti-immigration party is poised to win a seat in a constituency where there aren’t any immigrants”.
Media regulator Ofcom said the reference would have been “clearly understood by listeners as a reference to Ukip” and amounted to “discussion and analysis” of the vote when the polls had opened, which is prohibited under UK broadcasting rules.
O’Brien, who memorably skewered Farage in an unrelated interview earlier this year, made the remarks in a discussion about Isis, or Islamic State.
“We, of course, are living in a country where an anti-immigration party is poised to win a seat in a constituency where there aren’t any immigrants,” said O’Brien.
“So we can’t really start sneering at other civilisations, and other cultures for being defined by division and enmity, when we appear to be rushing headlong into a similar environment ourselves.
“Just as a point of interest, I was looking at the census – yah, I am living the dream! – 2011 census with regard to Clacton, looking at how many immigrants are there. And do you know how many immigrants – there aren’t any in that constituency to speak of, 95.7%, I think, British-born and 95.7% white. It’s perfect, perfect territory in a sense.
“But the tiny number of immigrants who do live there, rather excitingly, the majority of them come from Germany. Who else comes from Germany, I wonder? We’ve just had a little bit of election analysis for you.”
Ofcom, in its ruling published on Monday, said the presenter’s references to “anti-immigration” policies, which he believed had the potential to lead to “division and enmity”, constituted a clear viewpoint on a policy issue that had featured prominently in the run-up to that byelection.
The station, which is owned by Ashley Tabor’s Global Radio, went nationwide earlier this year and has generated huge publicity with Nick Ferrari’s acclaimed weekly phone-in with the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg.
Broadcasting regulations state: “Discussion and analysis of election and referendum issues must finish when the poll opens.”
LBC said it was an “incidental reference, made briefly and intended merely as an observation before James [O’Brien] returned to the main talking point … which concerned what to do about Isis”.
It said the comments did not amount to “a direct political message to his listeners, in that there was never an intention to try and sway a vote nor influence the outcome of the byelection”. It added that the presenter “did not dwell on his observation about Ukip, nor invite calls on it, and he quickly returned to his topic of Isis”.
Ofcom said it took into account the fact that the presenter had apologised and LBC’s acknowledgement that this had been “a regrettable and inexcusable error”.
An Ofcom spokesman said: ““After a detailed investigation, Ofcom found LBC broke broadcasting rules by airing a discussion which contained critical references to Ukip while the while polls were open for the Clacton byelection.”The Robertsons are heading to the theater.
The family, famous for their A&E reality show “Duck Dynasty,” is expanding their brand to a musical in Las Vegas entitled “The Duck Commander Family Musical,” according to the New York Times.
Actors will play the Louisiana family in a 90-minute show following their path to success, paved by their creation of top-of-the-line duck hunting equipment.
The project has lured several Broadway producers, who aim to open in February at the Rio hotel and casino. “Jersey Boys” producer Michael David is developing the show, based on the 2012 book by Willie and Korie Robertson, “The Duck Commander Family: How Faith, Family, and Ducks Built a Dynasty.”
“We’ve enjoyed the process of making a musical alongside the team who is interested in telling the Robertson family story from an outside perspective,” Willie Robertson, chief executive of the Robertson company Duck Commander, told the Times.
“The Robertsons are so unusual, their story so juicy, and theater shouldn’t be limited to telling stories about people you resemble or revere,” said David.
Jeff Calhoun (“Newsies”) serves as the musical’s director, according to the Times, and Steven Morris is a composer.
The news comes nearly a year after the family drew massive criticism — as well as support — for Phil Robertson’s anti-gay comments, made in an interview with GQ in December 2013. A&E suspended him after the remarks went public, though it ended the suspension later that month.
“Duck Dynasty’s” loyal following has brought in huge ratings for A&E, but has recently seen a decline. Its season six opener in June, despite being the No. 1 show on cable, saw a 46% decline in overall viewers from its season five premiere.Primary school students of Gujarat will learn "leadership" lessons from the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, since the state government has decided to include it in the syllabus from next year.
"We have decided to include all important chapters of Modi's life into the syllabus of primary schools," Gujarat Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said while interacting with reporters here today.
"The chapters may include events starting from his birth, his humble family background, school days, how he faced struggle at different stages of his life and what are the circumstances behind his decision to become a monk," he said.
Chudasma said selected important and inspiring events which took place until Modi became prime minister would in included and a process has been initiated to form a committee to prepare the final list of events to be included.
"These events will be included in the syllabus of primary schools, such as fifth, sixth and seventh standard. We will form a committee to prepare the list of all the important and inspiring events to be included in syllabus. Since this initiative is at a primary stage, the new syllabus will come into effect only in 2015-16," the minister said.
Chudasama claimed that this was being done to infuse "virtues of leadership" among children.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat Congress criticised the state government's decision to introduce chapters on Modi for primary school education.
"Instead of working hard to please Modi, the state government should first ensure availability of textbooks to needy children under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan," Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Manish Doshi said.
"Even if you include Modi's life in school syllabus, who will teach that to students? Because, there is an acute shortage of teaching staff in state run schools. We condemn such acts of undue publicity," Doshi said.
Chudasama said that Narendrabhai's life was full of struggle. However, he overcame all the hurdles in life and rose to such a high position due to his ability and high self esteem.
"Usually, youngsters take inspiration from great leaders. Narendrabhai lived a life which can definitely inspire the young generation. Thus, we are exploring ways to include some important events of his life in the state school syllabus," hesaid.
"In the beginning, he proved himself ideal party worker. He proved his mettle as ideal organisational leader, and then as Gujarat chief minister, he proved himself to be an able administrator," he added.Recently I sat down with my Pulldown Project, aiming to rewrite the tests. The problem with them was that they were network dependent. Each test would hit the real API and download the real file. This was not good for a number of reasons:
I couldn’t run the tests without an internet connection
the tests were slow
the tests were unreliable, they would sometimes pass, and other times not
Unreliable tests are worse than no tests, so I ripped them out and started again.
Meet Nock
The solution to this is Nock, a Node module for mocking HTTP requests. With Nock you can mock a HTTP request and make it always return a specific result. Here’s an example:
var nock = require("nock"); var http = require("http"); var api = nock("http://javascriptplayground.com").get("/test/").reply(200, "Hello World"); http.get("http://javascriptplayground.com/test/", function(resp) { var str = ""; resp.on("data", function(data) { str += data; }); resp.on("end", function() { console.log("Got Result: ", str); }); });
In that code we do two things. First, we mock a request to http://javascriptplayground.com/test/ and make it return the string “Hello World” with a 200 status code. Then we use Node’s http library to make a request and log it out. We then get “Got Result: Hello World” outputted when we run the above.
What’s so great about this is that http.get is none-the-wiser about what just happened. You don’t have to change any code to make this work, just mock the request.
There’s no requirement to return a string, either. You can return an object, an array, whatever you’d like.
A Gotcha
When you mock something using nock, it only works once. Once a URL you’ve mocked is hit, the mock is then destroyed. To fix this, you can make a specific mocked URL persist:
var api = nock("http://javascriptplayground.com").persist().get("/test/").reply(200, "Hello World");
Now it will last forever, until you call cleanUp, which I’ll cover shortly.
Asserting
If you need to test thaat a specific URL is called, you can mock that URL and then call isDone() to see if it got called:
var api = nock("http://javascriptplayground.com").get("/test/").reply(200, "Hello World"); // http.get code here api.isDone(); // => true
Clean Up
When you have lots of tests that do this, it’s important to make sure they tidy up after themselves. The best way I’ve found of doing this is calling nock.cleanAll() after each test. cleanAll() removes all mocks completely. If you were using something like Mocha to do your tests, you might like to do this in the afterEach method.
Further Reading
The best place to start is the nock README. There’s a huge amount of documentation and a lot more nock can do that I’ve not covered.
If you’d like to see a real project that uses nock, we use it extensively in the Pulldown tests.
If you’ve ever used an alternative to Nock, or use other tools with it that you think I should mention here, please leave a comment.
Don't miss my latest course, React in Five! This course will help you level up your React skills by covering lesser known parts of the React API. Each video is less than five minutes long, and the first four are free to watch. Get started now.The admission is hugely embarrassing for Germany, which had previously blamed Spanish cucumbers for the bug.
Beansprouts are a common ingredient in salads and stir frys, but have previously been blamed for major health scares. They were held responsible for a serious outbreak of Salmonella in Britain last year and 17 E.coli-related deaths in Japan in 1996.
On Sunday evening, Gert Lindemann, agriculture minister in the northern state of Lower-Saxony, said a company that grew bean sprouts had been shut down and further test results were expected on Monday.
"There was a very clear trail (to this company) as the source of the infection," Mr Lindemann said in a news conference. He urged consumers in northern Germany to refrain from eating all types of sprouts.
"It is the most convincing...source for the E.coli illnesses," he said.
In the face of mounting criticism that it was not acting fast enough of the crisis, which took hold on May 2, German officials have been have been racing to track down the source of the pathogen, which has infected people in 12 countries – all of whom had been travelling in northern Germany.
Many of those infected have developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a potentially deadly complication attacking the kidneys.
The rare strain of E.coli has the ability to stick to intestinal walls where it pumps out toxins, sometimes causing severe bloody diarrhoea and kidney problems. Some patients have needed intensive care, including dialysis.
At least 1,700 people in Germany have been infected, including 520 suffering from a life-threatening complication that can cause kidney failure. Ten other European nations and the US have reported 90 other cases, all but two related to visits in northern Germany. In Britain, the number affected remains at 11, with three of those suffering from HUS, all of whom have travelled to Germany.
In Germany, some patients have complained that the hospitals in Hamburg, the centre of the outbreak, are not coping. Daniel Bahr, the German health minister, said: "The situation in the hospitals is intense," adding that clinics outside of Hamburg should start taking in ill persons from the north.
One E.coli survivor, 41-year-old Nicoletta Pabst, told The Associated Press that sanitary conditions at the Hamburg-Eppendorf hospital were horrendous when she arrived with cramps and bloody diarrhoea. She said at least 20 others had a similar condition in the emergency room.
"All of us had diarrhoea and there was only one bathroom each for men and women — it was a complete mess," she said. "If I hadn't been sick with E. coli by then, I probably would have picked it up over there."
Both Canadian and American health officials have frequently given warnings about the dangers of bean sprouts, which have been responsible for well over 40 food borne illnesses around the world caused by either E.coli or Salmonella bacteria in the last 35 years or so.
The largest outbreak linked to sprouts took place in Japan in 1996, when 6,000 people got sick and 17 died after eating radish sprouts contaminated with E.coli O157: H7.
In Britain, the head of the Health Protection Agency reiterated advice that British travellers to Germany should avoid eating all salad.
More than two million British people travel to Germany each year, according to the Office for National Statistics, making it the fifth most popular destination for Britons.
Justin McCracken, the chief executive of the HPA, said: "We are advising people who travel to Germany to avoid eating raw tomatoes, raw cucumbers and leafy salads, including lettuce," he said, speaking on the Andrew Marr Show on BBC One.But does that really mean anything going into Big Ten play???
The Gophers are 12-1 but there are many things that worry me about this team
Can they figure out their struggles with the three point shot both offensive and defensively?
The Minnesota Golden Gophers finished off their non-conference play with a 4 point victory over North Dakota State and improved to 12-1 on the season. The only loss came in the Old Spice Classic Championship game, the same match-up that F Trevor Mbakwe was lost for the season in, but Minnesota has bounced back to win their last 6 straight games all of which were played in the friendly confines of Williams Arena.
Minnesota has won nearly all of its games and was actually the first team in the Nation to reach 10 wins however they are beating mediocre opponents and still found ways to struggle. Obviously transition forward from losing a player of Mbakwe’s caliber is going to be extremely difficult but at time this Gophers team makes me wonder just how many games we are capable of winning in Big Ten Conference play.
The Gophers have come out of the gate extremely slow in first halves thus far and it is something that they are going to need to start doing to keep competitive with such a dominant conference. The Big Ten has 6 teams ranked in the top 25 and 9 teams in the Big Ten have 10 or more wins, including the Gophers, but Minnesota has arguably played the softest non-conference schedule just the way Head Coach Tubby Smith likes ‘em. I am worried because this team often times looks confused on the court offensively and they have yet to find a replacement to Mbakwe’s role under the hoop.
There has been a lot of pressure put upon F Rodney Williams and C/F Ralph Sampson III to step into that role. Williams has had his moments but flashes of greatness aren’t what you are expecting against defenses like St. Peter College and NDSU.Not to say that Williams is a slouch he has scored over 70 points in the last 6 games, including pulling down 43 rebounds, dealing 13 assists, swatting 14 shots and stealing 13 balls. He has increased his average in every single statistic since dramatically increasing his time on the floor but he has yet to get comfortable with any sort of jump shot. He also continues to struggle at the free throw line going 7-17 in his last 4 games and the Gophers can not leave free points at the line.
Ralph on the other hand is someone that has been completely frustrating to watch over the past few seasons because he has so much potential but at times looks like his lacking the strength and heart required to being an impact player. Sampson has been battling some injury issues this season and has only played in 10 games for a total of 207 minutes but has average over 8 points a game when he does play. He continued to be overpowered and outplayed by men in the low post and he only averages 4.2 rebounds per game and has pulled down just 8 offensive boards. Trevor Mbakwe still leads the team with 27 offensive rebounds and he hasn’t played in nearly two months. Ralph has good touch and ranks 2nd on the team with a.541 field goal percentage but he is more about finesse and less about power which leaves a lot to be desired as a Minnesota Men’s Basketball aficionado.
It’s hard for me to imagine that Williams and Sampson will be completely shut down in Big Ten play but facing the plethora of strong front courts in the conference this team may struggle immensely. They are going to be facing great players like C Meyers Leonard of Illinois, F Cody Zeller of Indiana, F Draymond Green of Michigan State, F Jared Sullinger of Ohio State and F/C Jared Berggren of Wisconsin who are all incredible talents and may exploit the two players who have become key to Minnesota’s success. It is hard for me to look at the conference match-ups and see how well the Gophers stack up but the games have yet to be played.
Minnesota has gotten an incredible shot in the arm by G Julian Welch who has been the Gophers most explosive option offensively. He leads the team in scoring with 129 points averaging nearly 10 points a game and has done so with consistency from the free throw line. Welch had a stretch where he made 25 free throws in a row and has missed just 5 of his 40 free throw attempts. Some of those misses has come at key points in the game, one in particular where he missed two front ends of 1-and-1’s in a game decided by less than 5 points. Welch has also been the most consistent three point shooter making 12 of his 27 attempts and trails team leader Austin Hollins by just 3 made baskets although he has 17 less shots.
The three point line is absolutely KILLING the Minnesota Gophers and it isn’t just offensively although they are a putrid 60-169,.359 % from beyond the arc. They have not found anyone to replace “bullseye” Blake Hoffarber but if I was forced to decide who would take the deep shot I actually feel more comfortable with Austin Hollins. The real trouble for Minnesota is their complete inability to defend the three point shot and multiple teams have burnt the Gophers from three point land. Minnesota has made just 60 three point shots but they have allowed 86 and their opponents average nearly 7 made three pointers per game, thats 21 points! Tubby Smith is a renowned defensive HC but something needs to be done about covering the perimeter and not focusing on collapsing under the hoop.
Minnesota is going to be traveling to Champagne, Illinois to face the Fighting Illini to open up conference play and the Gophers will quickly find out how they stack up against Big Ten foes. I personally think that it doesn’t look good for Minnesota and that their ceiling for victories may be around 8 and their basement as low as 3. This is extremely hard for Gophers fans to swallow after dragging themselves through such a disappointing Football season they were looking forward to BBall season and then Mbakwe got hurt.
There are some analysts and certainly fans who believe that this team still has a chance but I think those people are in for a huge surprise. With our lackadaisical offensive efforts early in games and our inability to shoot or defend the three on top of the fact that we don’t have a single player who can create their own shot the Gophers future looks dreary. I hope that they prove me wrong and Tubby can tap himself on the back for possibly raising another NCAA Tournament entry and hopefully bringing home a victory. But let’s be realistic, that Gophers scenario was likely a conversation between the homeless crackhead at the liquor store trying to impress the naive college kid wearing a Tubby Tee to give him some change or at least a little hope.
Unlike Barry, Obama that is, I am not selling hope and have begun to write this season off just so that it doesn’t hurt as much when it happens. Obviously I still watch every game, even when we BARELY EEK ONE OUT AGAINST NORTH DAKOTA FUCKING STATE!!! Realistically Tubby needs to impress me next season and show us what having a name like Smith can do for a guy’s recruiting class. That and I am sick of him toying with Gopher Nations emotions every god damn off-season by hearing his name come up in multiple other Head Coaching positions. I am going to go get drunk in Mexico and hope that I will be writing a positive article about a Gophers victory in Illinois rather than an I told you so, this is just the beginning, start stabbing your eye’s out now kind of season.
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in Ohio,” Rich said.
But LCV and environmental activists in Ohio believe not only that Strickland would be more on their side than Portman, but that Strickland would be a consistent vote for climate action and clean energy. Their understanding of politics — that an elected official’s actions reflect the changing conditions and incentives in his or her state, not just his or her personal beliefs — is shrewd. And the incentives are moving in a more pro-climate direction for progressive Midwestern politicians.The gaming world is in a bit of a collecting frenzy at the moment, but the desirable physical products disappearing off store shelves are not actually games, they are figures. Amiibo figures to be precise. Nintendo’s profits have been bolstered significantly by sales of over 15 million Amiibo figures, and there isn’t any signs of this craze slowing down.
Nintendo has decided Amiibo figures alone aren’t enough, though, and has decided to try and re-establish the glory days of high-profit Pokemon trading cards by introducing Amiibo cards. Their first outing is for the game Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, which uses the cards to unlock the ability to design homes for major characters in the universe not otherwise available.
The Amiibo figures are highly collectible simply because of the character designs on offer. The cards, of which there are over a hundred, also have the potential to capture the attention of collectors and in so doing earn Nintendo a lot more cash. The cards sell in packs of 3 or 6 for around $9 for a pack of 6, or between $27-$50 for a collected set of 5 packs, which is 15 cards (please don’t pay $50 for 15 cards).
Jenni Lada at Michibiku wrote up a review of the cards concluding that they are of a high quality, but there really isn’t much to them. When Lada ripped apart a duplicate card she had, all she found was a very tiny NFC chip embedded in the card as you can see above. There’s no magic here, no interesting inner-card design, just glue and a tiny chip. Considering Nintendo is charging well over a dollar per card when you break it down, you can see how profitable they are.
If you do intend on collecting Amiibo cards, then some kind of storage box or binder is recommended. While sturdy, it won’t take long for the corners of a card to bend and start to come apart, at which point it will easily split in two revealing the embedded chip. The chip will continue to work of course, but the card will be ruined.Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits, vegetables and sugar, often stored in glass jam jars.
Many varieties of fruit preserves are made globally, including sweet fruit preserves, such as those made from strawberry or apricot, and savory preserves, such as those made from tomatoes or squash. The ingredients used and how they are prepared determine the type of preserves; jams, jellies, and marmalades are all examples of different styles of fruit preserves that vary based upon the fruit used. In English, the word, in plural form, "preserves" is used to describe all types of jams and jellies.
Regional terminology [ edit ]
The term 'preserves' is usually interchangeable with 'jams'. Some cookbooks define preserves as cooked and gelled whole fruit (or vegetable), which includes a significant portion of the fruit.[1] In the English speaking world, the two terms are more strictly differentiated and, when this is not the case, the more usual generic term is 'jam'.[2]
The singular preserve or conserve is used as a collective noun for high fruit content jam, often for marketing purposes. Additionally, the name of the type of fruit preserves will also vary depending on the regional variant of English being used.
Variations [ edit ]
Five varieties of fruit preserves (clockwise from top): apple, quince, plum, squash, orange (in the center)
Chutney [ edit ]
A chutney is a relish of Indian origin made of fruit, spices and herbs. Although originally intended to be eaten soon after production, modern chutneys are often made to be sold, so require preservatives – often sugar and vinegar – to ensure they have a suitable shelf life. Mango chutney, for example, is mangoes reduced with sugar.
Confit [ edit ]
While confit, the past participle of the French verb confire, "to preserve", is most often applied to preservation of meats,[3] it is also used for fruits or vegetables seasoned and cooked with honey or sugar till jam-like.[4] Savory confits, such as ones made with garlic or fennel, may call for a savory oil, such as virgin olive oil, as the preserving agent.[5][6]
Konfyt (Afrikaans: "jam" or "fruit preserve"[7]) is a type of jam eaten in Southern Africa.[clarification needed] It is made by boiling selected fruit or fruits (such as strawberries, apricots, oranges, lemons, water melons, berries, peaches, prickly pears or others) and sugar, and optionally adding a small quantity of ginger to enhance the flavour. The origins of the jam is obscure but it is theorized that it came from the French. The word is also based on the French term confiture via the Dutch confijt (meaning candied fruit).[8]
Conserve [ edit ]
A conserve, or whole fruit jam,[9] is a preserve made of fruit stewed in sugar. Traditional whole fruit preserves are particularly popular in Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus) where they are called varenye, the Baltic region where they're known by a native name in each of the countries (Lithuanian: uogienė, Latvian: ievārījums, Estonian: moos, Romanian: dulceață), as well as in many regions of Western, Central and Southern Asia, where they are referred to as murabba.
Often the making of conserves can be trickier than making a standard jam; it requires cooking or sometimes steeping in the hot sugar mixture for just enough time to allow the flavour to be extracted from the fruit,[10] and sugar to penetrate the fruit; and not cooking too long such that the fruit will break down and liquify. This process can also be achieved by spreading the dry sugar over raw fruit in layers, and leaving for several hours to steep into the fruit, then just heating the resulting mixture only to bring to the setting point.[9][11] As a result of this minimal cooking, some fruits are not particularly suitable for making into conserves, because they require cooking for longer periods to avoid issues such as tough skins.[10] Currants and gooseberries, and a number of plums are among these fruits.
Because of this shorter cooking period, not as much pectin will be released from the fruit, and as such, conserves (particularly home-made conserves) will sometimes be slightly softer set than some jams.[11]
An alternative definition holds that conserves are preserves made from a mixture of fruits or vegetables. Conserves may also include dried fruit or nuts.[12]
Fruit butter [ edit ]
Fruit butter, in this context, refers to a process where the whole fruit is forced through a sieve or blended after the heating process.
"Fruit butters are generally made from larger fruits, such as apples, plums, peaches or grapes. Cook until softened and run through a sieve to give a smooth consistency. After sieving, cook the pulp... add sugar and cook as rapidly as possible with constant stirring.… The finished product should mound up when dropped from a spoon, but should not cut like jelly. Neither should there be any free liquid."—Berolzheimer R (ed) et al. (1959)[13]
Fruit curd [ edit ]
Fruit curd is a dessert topping and spread usually made with lemon, lime, orange, or raspberry.[14] The basic ingredients are beaten egg yolks, sugar, fruit juice and zest which are gently cooked together until thick and then allowed to cool, forming a soft, smooth, intensely flavored spread. Some recipes also include egg whites or butter.[15]
Fruit spread [ edit ]
Although the FDA has Requirements for Specific Standardized Fruit Butters, Jellies, Preserves, and Related Products,[16] there is no specification of the meaning of the term Fruit spread. Although some assert it refers to a jam or preserve with no added sugar,[17][18] there are many fruit spreads by leading manufacturers that do contain added sugar. This can be easily verified by searching the listings under fruit spread on common web sites, such as those of Amazon or Walmart, or to look at the ingredient list[19] and nutritional information[20] on specific fruit spread products.[21]
Jam [ edit ]
"Jam" redirects here. For other uses, see Jam (disambiguation)
"Strawberry jam" redirects here. For the album, see Strawberry Jam
Jam typically contains both the juice and flesh of a fruit or vegetable,[22] although one cookbook defines it as a cooked and jelled puree.[1] The term "jam" refers to a product made of whole fruit cut into pieces or crushed, then heated with water and sugar to activate its pectin before being put into containers:
"Jams are usually made from pulp and juice of one fruit, rather than a combination of several fruits. Berries and other small fruits are most frequently used, though larger fruits such as apricots, peaches, or plums cut into small pieces or crushed are also used for jams. Good jam has a soft even consistency without distinct pieces of fruit, a bright color, a good fruit flavor and a semi-jellied texture that is easy to spread but has no free liquid." – Berolzheimer R (ed) et al. (1959)[notes 1]
Pectin is mainly D-galacturonic acid connected by α (1–4) glycosidic linkages. The side chains of pectin may contain small amounts of other sugars such as L-fructose, D-glucose, D-mannose, and D-xylose. In jams, pectin is what thickens the final product via cross-linking of the large polymer chains.[23]
Freezer jam is uncooked (or cooked less than 5 minutes), then stored frozen. It is popular in parts of North America for its very fresh taste.
Recipes without added pectin use the natural pectin in the fruit to set. Tart apples, sour blackberries, cranberries, currants, gooseberries, Concord grapes, soft plums, and quinces work well in recipes without added pectin.[24]
Other fruits, such as apricots, blueberries, cherries, peaches, pineapple, raspberries, rhubarb, and strawberries are low in pectin. In order to set, or gel, they must be combined with one of the higher pectin fruits or used with commercially produced or homemade pectin.[25][26] Use of added pectin decreases cooking time.
In Canada, fruit jam is categorized into two types: fruit jam and fruit jam with pectin. Both types contain fruit, fruit pulp or canned fruit and are boiled with water and a sweetening ingredient. Both must have 66% water-soluble solids. Fruit jam and fruit jam with pectin may contain a class II preservative, a pH adjusting agent or an antifoaming agent. Both types cannot contain apple or rhubarb fruit.[27]
Though both types of jam are very similar, there are some differences in fruit percent, added pectin and added acidity. Fruit jam must have at least 45% fruit and may contain added pectin to compensate for the natural pectin level found in the fruit. Fruit jam with pectin need only contain 27% fruit and is allowed to contain added acidity to compensate for the natural acidity of the fruit.[27]
Jelly [ edit ]
This drawing depicts a pectin molecule. These molecules combine to form the network responsible for making jelly.
In North America, jelly (from the French gelée)[28] refers exclusively to a clear or translucent fruit spread made from sweetened fruit (or vegetable) juice—thus differing from jam by excluding the fruit's flesh—and is set by using its naturally occurring pectin, whereas outside North America jelly more often refers to a gelatin-based dessert,[29][30][31] though the term is also used to refer to clear jams such as blackcurrant and apple. In the United Kingdom, redcurrant jelly is a condiment often served with lamb, game meat including venison, turkey and goose in a festive or Sunday roast. It is a clear jam, set with pectin from the fruit, and is made in the same way, by adding the redcurrants to sugar, boiling, and straining.
Pectin is essential to the formation of jelly because it acts as a gelling agent, meaning when the pectin chains combine, they create a network that results in a gel. The strength and effectiveness of the side chains and the bonds they form depend on the pH of the pectin, the optimal pH is between 2.8–3.2.[32]
Additional pectin may be added where the original fruit does not supply enough, for example with grapes.[22] Jelly can be made from sweet, savory or hot ingredients. It is made by a process similar to that used for making jam, with the additional step of filtering out the fruit pulp after the initial heating. A muslin or stockinette "jelly bag" is traditionally used as a filter, suspended by string over a bowl to allow the straining to occur gently under gravity. It is important not to attempt to force the straining process, for example by squeezing the mass of fruit in the muslin, or the clarity of the resulting jelly will be compromised. Jelly can come in a variety of flavors such as grape jelly, strawberry jelly, hot chile pepper, and others. It is typically eaten with a variety of foods. This includes jelly with toast, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
"Good jelly is clear and sparkling and has a fresh flavor of the fruit from which it is made. It is tender enough to quiver when moved, but holds angles when cut... Pectin is best extracted from the fruit by heat, therefore cook the fruit until soft before straining to obtain the juice... Pour cooked fruit into a jelly bag which has been wrung out of cold water. Hang up and let drain. When dripping has ceased the bag may be squeezed to remove remaining juice, but this may cause cloudy jelly." – [33][notes 2]
Marmalade [ edit ]
Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. It can be produced from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamots and other citrus fruits, or any combination thereof. Marmalade is generally distinguished from jam by its fruit peel.
The benchmark citrus fruit for marmalade production in Britain is the Spanish Seville orange, Citrus aurantium var. aurantium, prized for its high pectin content, which gives a good set. The peel has a distinctive bitter taste which it imparts to the preserve. In America, marmalade is sweet.
Production [ edit ]
Jam being made in a pot
In general, jam is produced by taking mashed or chopped fruit or vegetable pulp and boiling it with sugar and water. The proportion of sugar and fruit varies according to the type of fruit and its ripeness, but a rough starting point is equal weights of each. When the mixture reaches a temperature of 104 °C (219 °F),[34] the acid and the pectin in the fruit react with the sugar, and the jam will set on cooling. However, most cooks work by trial and error, bringing the mixture to a "fast rolling boil", watching to see if the seething mass changes texture, and dropping small samples on a plate to see if they run or set.[35]
Commercially produced jams are usually produced using one of two methods. The first is the open pan method, which is essentially a larger scale version of the method a home jam maker would use. This gives a traditional flavor, with some caramelization of the sugars. The second commercial process involves the use of a vacuum vessel, where the jam is placed under a vacuum, which has the effect of reducing its boiling temperature to anywhere between 65 and 80 °C depending on the recipe and the end result desired. The lower boiling temperature enables the water to be driven off as it would be when using the traditional open pan method, but with the added benefit of retaining more of the volatile flavor compounds from the fruit, preventing caramelization of the sugars, and of course reducing the overall energy required to make the product. However, once the desired amount of water has been driven off, the jam still needs to be heated briefly to 95 to 100 °C (203 to 212 °F) to kill off any micro-organisms that may be present; the vacuum pan method does not kill them all.
During commercial filling it is common to use a flame to sterilize the rim and lid of jars to destroy any yeasts and molds which may cause spoilage during storage. Steam is commonly injected immediately prior to lidding to create a vacuum, which both helps prevent spoilage and pulls down tamper-evident safety button when used.
Packaging [ edit ]
Glass or plastic jars are an efficient method of storing and preserving jam. Though sugar can keep for exceedingly long times, containing it in a jar is far more useful than older methods. Other methods of packaging jam, especially for industrially produced products, include cans and plastic packets, especially used in the food service industry for individual servings. Fruit preserves typically are of low water activity and can be stored at room temperature after opening, if used within a short period of time.
Legal definitions [ edit ]
US FDA definitions [ edit ]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published standards of identity in 21 CFR 150, and treats jam and preserves as synonymous, but distinguishes jelly from jams and preserves. All of these are cooked and pectin-gelled fruit products, but jellies are based entirely on fruit juice or other liquids, while jams and preserves are gelled fruit that may include the seeds and pulp. The United States Department of Agriculture offers grading service based on these standards.[22]
Canadian regulations [ edit ]
Under the Processed Products Regulations (C.R.C., c. 291), jams, jellies, citrus marmalade and preserves are defined. Each must contain a minimum percentage of the named fruit and a minimum percentage of water-soluble solids. Jams "shall be the product made by boiling fruit, fruit pulp or canned fruit to a suitable consistency with water and a sweetening ingredient", jellies "shall be the product made by boiling fruit juice or concentrated fruit juice that is free from seeds and pulp with water and a sweetening ingredient until it acquires a gelatinous consistency."[36]
European Union directives on jam [ edit ]
In the European Union, the jam directive (Council Directive 79/693/EEC, 24 July 1979)[37] set minimum standards for the amount of "fruit" in jam, but the definition of fruit was expanded to take account of several unusual kinds of jam made in the EU. For this purpose, "fruit" is considered to include fruits that are not usually treated in a culinary sense as fruits, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and pumpkins; fruits that are not normally made into jams; and vegetables that are sometimes made into jams, such as rhubarb (the edible part of the stalks), carrots, and sweet potatoes. This definition continues to apply in the new directive, Council Directive 2001/113/EC of 20 December 2001 relating to fruit jams, jellies and marmalades and sweetened chestnut purée intended for human consumption.[38]
Extra jam is subject to somewhat stricter rules that set higher standards for the minimum fruit content (45% instead of 35% as a general rule, but lower for some fruits such as redcurrants and blackcurrants), as well specifying as the use of unconcentrated fruit pulp, and forbidding the mixture of certain fruits and vegetables with others.[38]
Extra jelly similarly specifies that the quantity of fruit juice or aqueous extracts used to make 1,000 grams of finished product must not be less than that laid down for the manufacture of extra jam.[39]
Jelly worldwide [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Agriculture.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the U.S. Government Publishing Office.The 2000 Alamo Bowl featured the Northwestern Wildcats, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Despite both teams being ranked, it was the biggest blowout in the game's history. Nebraska broke an NCAA bowl record by scoring 66 points, and the Huskers also set ten other Alamo Bowl records, including those for most yards of total offense (636) most rushing yards (476), most first downs (28), and most yards per play (7.7).
Nebraska scored first, following a 15-yard touchdown run by Dan Alexander as Nebraska seized a 7–0 lead. Northwestern got on the board with a 44-yard field goal from Tim Long, to trim the lead to 7–3. Northwestern's defense stopped Nebraska and got the ball back. Quarterback Zak Kustok hit Teddy Johnson for a 10-yard touchdown, and Northwestern got a 10-7 lead.
On the first play after the kickoff, quarterback Eric Crouch used Nebraska's option attack, and ran 50 yards for a touchdown, and Nebraska took a 14-10 lead, one they never relinquished. Two minutes later, Dan Alexander rushed two yards for a touchdown, increasing the lead to 21–10. Correll Buckhalter scored four minutes later on a 2-yard touchdown run, as Nebraska's lead became 28–10.
Kicker Josh Brown kicked a 51-yard field goal with 1:28 left in the half to increase Nebraska's lead to 31–10. Northwestern's Damien Anderson scored on a 65-yard touchdown run with 1:10 left to make it 31–17. Nebraska came right back, capping a 31-point quarter, with a 58-yard screen pass from Eric Crouch to wide receiver Bobby Newcombe stretching their lead to 38–17.
In the third quarter, Crouch hit wide receiver Matt Davison for an 11-yard touchdown pass, increasing the lead to 45–17. Crouch later rushed two yards for a touchdown, and the lead became 52–17. Bobby Newcombe later then threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Matt Davison, making the lead 59–17. Early in the fourth quarter, Dahrran Diedrick rushed 9 yards for a touchdown, making the final margin 66–17.
The Huskers record for points stood until the 2011 Alamo Bowl, when Baylor defeated Washington, 67–56.You know it’s a peculiar election year when Mitt Romney and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) can agree that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is a “fraud.” But that label shouldn’t be reserved for Donald Trump alone. It’s also an apt description of the man Trump supplanted as the de facto leader of the party—Romney’s running mate in 2012, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis). Ad Policy Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s column at the WashingtonPost.com. Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.
Indeed, years before Trump sold Republican primary voters on the myth of his own great success, Ryan sold a credulous Washington establishment on the notion that he was a serious thinker overflowing with political courage—a policy wonk uniquely willing to tackle tough issues such as entitlement reform. In the past month, however, it has become more obvious than ever that Ryan’s reputation is worth about as much as a degree from Trump University. Let’s review.
After a fleeting flirtation with principle, Ryan kicked off June by endorsing Trump for president. Despite his previous indication that Trump would have to change course to earn his support, Ryan’s endorsement came without any public concessions or reassurances from Trump. It also came after the Post reported in late 2013 that Ryan was embarking on a personal crusade to steer Republicans “away from the angry, nativist inclinations of the tea party” and toward a “more inclusive vision.”
Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.The DSCL Open is the flagship among the tournaments hosted by the Dutch StarCraft League. The prize pool is €1619.95 and the finals will take place in front of a live audience on June 20th and 21st 2015 in the Melkweg in Amsterdam.
Tournament Information [ edit ]
Prize Pool [ edit ]
€1619.95* are divided among the players in the following ratio:
Converted USD prizes are based on the currency exchange rate (taken from xe.com) on June 21, 2015: 1 EUR = 1.13565 USD.
The prize pool was brought together through a Kickstarter campaign
Format [ edit ]
The DSCL Open has 3 stages, the first of which consists of 6 online qualifiers which are held in May 2015. These are single-evening (or afternoon) events, where players duke it out in a single-elimination bracket. The top 2 of each qualifier will be seeded into the main tournament, with the winner getting favorable seeding. The last qualifier will only be accessible to players who finished top 8 or higher in earlier qualifiers, and for this qualifier only, the best 3 players will qualify and the brackets will be double elimination. The remaining 3 seeds have been given to Harstem, uThermal and Ret, the winners of previous DSCL events.
A total of 16 players will play in the Main Tournament (played in June).
The 16 players in the Main Tournament will be divided into four separate 4-player groups. These groups will be played in GSL-style, after which there are 8 players left (the top 2 from each group). These 8 players will go through to the Offline Finals, where the winner will be decided in front of a live audience.
Participants [ edit ]
Main Tournament [ edit ]
Finals [ edit ]
Results [ edit ]
Qualifiers [ edit ]
May 2 - Open to show bracket starting at Ro8 Quarterfinals TomikuS 2 Guru 1 Optimus 2 Jona 1 FeaR 2 Gannicus 0 Spazymazy 0 Snovski 2 Semifinals TomikuS 0 Optimus 2 FeaR 2 Snovski 0 Finals Optimus 2 FeaR 1
May 5 - Open to show bracket starting at Ro8 Quarterfinals Snovski 1 GoOdy 2 Multi 1 JackO 2 InZaNe 2 POX 0 Jona 2 DaaX 1 Semifinals GoOdy 1 JackO 2 InZaNe 2 Jona 1 Finals JackO 1 InZaNe 2
May 6 - Open to show bracket starting at Ro8 Quarterfinals White 1 Teetie 2 Hantypen 0 TOPshooter 2 Snovski 2 Strange 0 Guru 2 Ziggy 0 Semifinals Teetie 2 TOPshooter 1 Snovski 0 Guru 2 Finals Teetie 0 Guru 2
May 9 - Open to show bracket starting at Ro8 Quarterfinals Spazymazy 2 Princess 0 TomikuS 2 Snovski 1 Marsman 0 Namshar 2 Switchback 0 Spacemarine 2 Semifinals Spazymazy 0 TomikuS 2 Namshar 0 Spacemarine 2 Finals TomikuS 1 Spacemarine 2
May 12 - Open to show bracket starting at Ro8 Quarterfinals Snovski 2 StrinterN 0 Namshar 2 NEEK 0 Goody 2 Marsman 0 Tarrantius 1 Jade 2 Semifinals Snovski 2 Namshar 1 Goody 1 Jade 2 Finals Snovski 2 Jade 0
May 13 - Open to show bracket starting at Ro16 Round of 16 Namshar W BYE Neek 0 Arnovic 2 GoOdy W BYE Gannicus 0 Tarrantius 2 Hantypen 1 Marsman 2 Switchback 0 StrinterN 2 Princess 1 Spazymazy 2 BYE Jona W Quarterfinals Namshar 2 Arnovic 0 GoOdy 2 Tarrantius 1 Marsman 1 StrinterN 2 Spazymazy 0 Jona 2 Semifinals Namshar 1 GoOdy 2 StrinterN 2 Jona 1 Winners' Finals GoOdy 2 StrinterN 0 Losers' Round 1 BYE Neek W BYE Gannicus W Hantypen 0 Switchback 2 Princess W BYE Losers' Round 2 Marsman 2 Neek 0 Spazymazy 2 Gannicus 0 Arnovic 0 Switchback 2 Tarrantius 2 Princess 0 Losers' Round 3 Marsman 0 Spazymazy 2 Switchback 0 Tarrantius 2 Losers' Round 4 Namshar 2 Spazymazy 1 Jona 2 Tarrantius 0 Losers' Semifinals Namshar 2 Jona 0 Losers' Finals StrinterN 0 Namshar 2 Grand Finals GoOdy 2 Namshar 1
Online Group Stage [ edit ]
Group A [ edit ] Group A June 3, 2015 - 19:00 CEST 1. Ret 2-0 4-1 2. StrinterN 2-1 4-3 3. InZaNe 1-2 3-4 4. Jade 0-2 1-4 Group A Matches Ret 2 1 Jade InZaNe 0 2 StrinterN Ret 2 0 StrinterN Jade 0 2 InZaNe StrinterN 2 1 InZaNe Group B [ edit ] Group B June 4, 2015 - 19:00 CEST 1. uThermal 2-0 4-1 2. SpaceMarine 2-1 4-3 3. TomikuS 1-2 3-5 4. FeaR 0-2 2-4 Group B Matches uThermal 2 1 TomikuS SpaceMarine 2 1 FeaR uThermal 2 0 SpaceMarine TomikuS 2 1 FeaR SpaceMarine 2 0 TomikuS Group C [ edit ] Group C June 6, 2015 - 19:00 CEST 1. Namshar 2-0 4-2 2. GoOdy 2-1 5-2 3. Optimus 1-2 3-4 4. JackO 0-2 0-4 Group C Matches Optimus 2 0 JackO GoOdy 1 2 Namshar Optimus 1 2 Namshar JackO 0 2 GoOdy Optimus 0 2 GoOdy Group D [ edit ] Group D June 10, 2015 - 19:00 CEST 1. Guru 2-0 4-0 2. Jona 2-1 4-3 3. Tarrantius 1-2 3-4 4. Teetie 0-2 0-4 Group D Matches Jona 2 0 Teetie Guru 2 0 Tarrantius Jona 0 2 Guru Teetie 0 2 Tarrantius Jona 2 1 Tarrantius
Snovski could not participate, so after tiebreaker matches Tarrantius earned the spot.
Jona replaces Harstem who won't be able to participate due to personal reasons.
Offline Finals [ edit ]
Group A [ edit ] Group A June 20, 2015 - 12:00 CEST 1. uThermal 2-0 4-0. Namshar 2-1 4-3. Jona 1-2 3-4 4. StrinterN 0-2 0-4 Group A Matches uThermal 2 0 StrinterN Namshar 2 0 Jona uThermal 2 0 Namshar StrinterN 0 2 Jona June 21, 2015 - 12:00 CEST Namshar 2 1 Jona Group B [ edit ] Group B June 20, 2015 - 16:00 CEST 1. Ret 2-0 4-2 2. Guru 2-1 5-2 3. SpaceMarine 1-2 3-4 4. Optimus 0-2 0-4 Group B Matches Guru 2 0 Optimus Ret 2 1 SpaceMarine Guru 1 2 Ret Optimus 0 2 SpaceMarine June 21, 2015 - 13:00 CEST Guru 2 0 SpaceMarine
GoOdy was unable to attend so Optimus took his place as the 3rd in his Group.
Semifinals (Bo5) uThermal 3 Guru 2 Ret 3 Namshar 0 Grand Finals (Bo7) uThermal 4 Ret 1
Racial Distribution [ edit ]
Protoss Terran Zerg Random Round of 16 6 5 5 Quarterfinals 2 2 4 Semifinals 1 3 Finals 1 1 Champion 1
Map Statistics [ edit ]
View Games [ edit ]
Additional Content [ edit ]
Interviews [ edit ]
Other Coverage [ edit ]
See Also [ edit ]Ottawa's chief medical officer of health says it's no surprise that some pharmacies are not yet stocking and distributing free naloxone.
CBC News called 30 Ottawa pharmacies on New Year's Eve to see who carried naloxone — an injectable opioid overdose antidote — and only about a third stocked the kits.
Pharmacists in Ontario have been allowed to provide free naloxone without a prescription to people with an Ontario health card since June.
Dr. Isra Levy told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning Tuesday that CBC's findings are in line with what Ottawa Public Health has expected.
Dr. Isra Levy, Ottawa's medical officer of health, says Ottawa Public Health expected that not all pharmacies would stock and distribute naloxone in the first year of the program. (CBC)
'I found 1 in 3 pharmacies to be a good number'
"My basic reaction is that this is really what we'd expect, that I found one in three pharmacies to be a good number," Levy said.
When pharmacies in Ottawa first started distributing flu vaccines about three or four years ago, Levy said, only about 35 of the city's 150 pharmacies did so in the first year.
He did, however, say that Anglican Rev. Monique Stone's trouble finding a kit was regrettable.
She visited four pharmacies and when she finally found a store that stocked the medication. Stone said the pharmacist was hesitant to give her a kit.
"Of course, this doesn't sound like it went smoothly in this particular situation, but if you keep your eye on the bigger picture, as far as we're aware we didn't see a spike of overdoses over the weekend," Levy said.
Anglican Rev. Monique Stone says she had to visit four pharmacies to find one that was distributing naloxone. (CBC)
'We can always communicate better'
He added that about 230 to 240 people have been trained on naloxone by Ottawa Public Health, and the agency estimates it has averted about 90 overdose deaths thus far.
"Could it work better? We can always communicate better..." he said.
"To some degree it's for me to apologize for that. We have tried very hard to get that information out clearly."
Anyone looking for a list of Ottawa pharmacies that carry naloxone is urged to call the Drug and Alcohol Helpline at 1-800-565-8603. More information about naloxone and overdose prevention can be found at stopoverdoseottawa.ca.Saving the world ain't easy. It takes strategy, preparation, determination and more than a little luck. So don't be thinking you can just fire up XCOM: Enemy Unknown and see alien corpses pile up at your feet. Go in with that attitude and the only corpses you'll see are those of your trusted and highly personalised XCOM soldiers.
Instead, you might want to think about adopting a few of the strategies that got us safely through the game last week. They may not be the best for you, but they worked for us, so they're at least worth considering!
TRY AND KEEP EVERYONE ALIVE
This can't be emphasised enough. As your troops kill aliens and complete missions, they'll level up in rank, unlocking new abilities and perks that become essential later in the game to bringing down more difficult opponents. Let too many of your best men and women die and you'll be stuck with a bunch of rookies, and you don't want that when the really tough guys show up.
You don't need to frantically save your game every turn and keep everyone alive, but you should aim to have at least 10-12 experienced soldiers on-hand at all times.
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CAMPING FOR VICTORY
Take extra special care of your snipers, because the abilities they unlock can alter the shape of an entire battle. An experienced sniper with a good rifle and elevated vantage point will dominate, to the extent they'll easily rack up twice the number of kills compared to your more intimate troops. There's even an ability where they can take two shots per turn (everyone else only gets one), and those shots are usually insta-kills. Handy, that.
So always take a sniper. And make sure it's a good one.
MEDIC!
Support classes, with their high range of motion and (eventual) ability to carry more than one medikit, are crucial. Especially for some of the longer story missions. You'll frequently need to regroup and heal your soldiers, and you don't want to be sweating your health as you draw in |
to use Tor. The Tor Browser Bundle is a customized, portable version of Firefox that comes preconfigured with the ideal settings and extensions for TOr. You can use Tor with other browsers and browser configurations, but this is likely to be unsafe. For example, Flash and other browser plug-ins can reveal your IP address – the Tor Browser Bundle disables plug-ins for you and provides a safe environment, so you don’t have to worry about your browser settings. It also includes the EFF’s HTTPS Everywhere extension, which enables HTTPS on websites with HTTPS support. HTTPS provides encryption between the exit node and destination website.
Tor recommends that you not download document files, such as DOC and PDF files, and open them in external applications. The external application can connect to the Internet to download additional resources, exposing your IP address.
Getting Started
After downloading the Tor Browser Bundle, double-click the downloaded EXE file and extract it to your hard drive. The Tor Browser Bundle requires no installation, so you can extract it to a USB stick and run it from there.
Launch the Start Tor Browser.exe file in the Tor Browser folder.
The EXE file will launch Vidalia, which connects to the Tor network. After connecting, Vidalia will automatically open Tor’s customized Firefox browser.
Vidalia automatically launches the Tor Browser once it connects. When you close the browser, Vidalia automatically disconnects from Tor and closes.
Vidalia creates a local proxy on your system. The Tor Browser Bundle is configured to route all your traffic through it by default, as we can see here in the Tor Browser’s connection settings window. You can configure other programs to access Tor through the proxy, but they may reveal your IP address in other ways.
Use the Tor Browser to browse the web just as you would with a normal browser. It’s pre-configured with Startpage and DuckDuckGo, search engines that respect your privacy.
Remember not to provide any personal information – say, by logging into an account associated with you – while using the Tor browser, or you’ll lose the anonymity."The Ballad of Lost C'Mell" is a science fiction novella by American writer Cordwainer Smith. It was first published in October 1962 in Galaxy Magazine, and since reprinted in several compilations and omnibus editions.
The main characters are Jestocost, a lord of the Instrumentality of Mankind and C'mell, a beautiful cat-derived "underperson" (an animal given human speech and form but no rights, while retaining some of its inherent genetics -- for example, C'mell's father held the long-jump record at the time) who works as a "girly-girl" (similar to an escort) at the main spaceport.
Plot summary [ edit ]
The story revolves around Jestocost's ambition to help the oppressed underpeople gain rights without upsetting the established social order. While debating how to make contact, Jestocost telepathically accesses C'mell's thoughts during the funeral of her athlete father, and overhears her call for help to someone named E-telly-kelly. After awkwardly questioning her later (which she at first mistakes for a crude pass), he is permitted to make contact with the E'telekeli, an eagle-derived underperson unknown to the Instrumentality with immense telepathic powers, who may be the leader of the underpeople.
Jestocost and the E'telekeli agree to a scheme in which C'mell will pretend to be a witness to illegal smuggling. When this case is brought before the assembled Lords of the Instrumentality C'mell provides manufactured evidence which causes the Instrumentality's computer system, the Bank, to display probable smuggling routes and hideouts on the Bell, the Bank's three-dimensional display system. While this is going on, C'mell remains surreptitiously in physical contact with Jestocost. This allows him to telepathically relay the images on the Bell to the E'telekeli. The images appear too quickly for a normal human mind to interpret, but the E'telekeli is able to do so.
Since C'mell's "evidence" proves worthless the Lords dismiss her angrily, but the information stolen from the Bank and Bell provides the underpeople with details about the main human checkpoints and a list of safe havens where they can hide from the Instrumentality while seeking rights.
Their plan has required C'mell and Jestocost to work closely together, and C'mell (working for the first time with a human who respects her intelligence) has fallen in love with Jestocost, but he has suppressed his own feelings as a distraction, and they separate when the plan succeeds. They only meet again once, many years later when the underpeople are well on their way to achieving their rights. Their discussion is friendly, but C'mell is privately saddened by Jestocost's lack of romantic feeling toward her.
Ultimately, during Jestocost's life, underpeople achieve a lower-grade citizenship, for which their efforts were partly responsible. The story of Jestocost and C'mell never becomes public, but a folk song among the underpeople entitled "The Ballad of Lost C'mell" tells a poetic and partial version of the events.
On his deathbed, many years after C'mell has died of old age, Jestocost has a brief telepathic conversation, apparently with the E'telekeli's successor, in which he learns that she never loved anyone but him. The telepathic underperson assures Jestocost that his name will be linked with C'mell's forever in history and folklore.
Connections to other works [ edit ]
Smith's novel Norstrilia is partly a sequel to this story (it is set a few years after the main part of the story, includes all of the main characters, and is concerned with some of the same issues). C'mell also appears in Smith's story "Alpha Ralpha Boulevard", which takes place earlier in terms of chronology and order of publication.[1]
C'mell's adventures take place during the early years of the Rediscovery of Man. According to J. J. Pierce's conjectural timeline of the Instrumentality (included in We, the Underpeople and other collections of Smith's stories) this seems to be some time between AD 15,000 and 16,000.
"The Ballad of Lost C'Mell" was included in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two, a collection of the 22 greatest science fiction novellas published before the introduction of the Nebula Awards in 1965, as selected by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
Note: The M of C'mell is often capitalized in the title of the story (as in this article) but in the text it is uncapitalized.
The name "C'mell" is derived from that of Smith's (real name Paul Linebarger) pet cat, Melanie.
The title was not the one that Smith originally gave the story, but was derived from the text by Galaxy magazine's then-editor Frederik Pohl. This was one of a number of Smith's story-titles that Pohl changed for publication because he disliked the originals. Pohl's replacement titles are all derived from the texts of the stories in order to retain the character of Smith's writing.[2]A floppy disk hardware emulator for a 3½ drive.
The front of an emulator, showing the USB data exchange port.
A floppy disk hardware emulator is a device that emulates a mechanical floppy disk drive with a solid state or network storage device that is plug compatible with the drive it replaces, similar to how solid-state drives replace mechanical hard disk drives.
History [ edit ]
Older models of computers, electronic keyboards and industrial automation often used floppy disk drives for data transfer. Older equipment may be difficult to replace or upgrade because of cost, requirement for continuous availability or unavailable upgrades. Proper operation may require operating system, software and data to be read and written from and to floppies, forcing users to maintain floppy drives on supporting systems.[1]
Floppy disks and floppy drives are gradually going out of production,[2][3][4][5][6] and replacement of malfunctioning drives, and the systems hosting them, is becoming increasingly difficult. Floppy disks themselves are fragile, or may need to be replaced often. An alternative is to use a floppy disk hardware emulator, a device which appears to be a standard floppy drive to the old equipment by interfacing directly to the floppy disk controller, while storing data in another medium such as a USB thumb drive, Secure Digital card, or a shared drive on a computer network. Emulators can also be used as a higher-performance replacement for mechanical floppy disk drives.
Emulation process [ edit ]
A typical floppy disk controller sends an MFM / FM / GCR encoded signal to the drive to write data, and expects a similar signal returned when reading the drive.[7] On a write, a hardware PLL or a software-based filter component undoes the encoding, and stores the sector data as logically written by the host. An inverse mechanism translates the stored data back into an encoded signal when the data is read. Noisy raw data signals are filtered and cleaned up before conversion.
Most FDC interfaces do not directly address tracks; instead they provide "step-in" and "step-out" pulses. Those, and the current sector number virtually rotating under the emulated read/write head, are tracked by the emulator in order to determine which sector is to be accessed.[8][9]
Because the interface to the floppy drive is very low-level, emulators must maintain the approximate timing of floppy disk operations. This may require the emulator to provide buffering, with some delay in updating the permanent storage.
The emulator saves the data written to the floppy in either local storage (stand-alone emulators), or in a remote storage device or data exchange module (stateless emulators).
Data exchange [ edit ]
The floppy disk emulator can provide other systems access to the data on the emulated floppy in a number of ways:
Direct access to some dedicated disk partition (e.g.: a 1.44MB partition on a USB key)
Floppy file system translation (e.g.: FAT12 floppy ↔ USB key folder)
Floppy disk images (e.g.: raw floppy ↔.img/.iso USB key file)
Direct access and floppy image implementations can also emulate system / non-standard floppies, whose file system can't be simply translated.
Floppy image implementation can also be coupled with a virtual drive to seamlessly emulate floppy drives on a computer.
Some devices can store multiple floppy images, and provide a mechanism to select which emulated floppy is mounted on the emulated drive.
References [ edit ]Join Chris and Luke in the North Georgia bunker as they recount the Battle of the Alamo, the famous battle from the Texas Revolution. General Santa Anna, an opium addict and dictator, is bringing an army of 7,000 men to decimate the homes and firesides of Texas. Only 200 men stand in their way – more a citizen-militia than an army. Led by some of the most famous characters in American legend: William Travis, Davie Crockett, and James Bowie – the Texans will break the tide of Santa Anna’s legions on the rocks of the Alamo. Sit back and grab a beer as we tell you the story of a latter-day Thermopylae. It’s all here and it’s all for free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast about the greatest battles in history.
Download this episode here: Download
The beer this episode is Lonestar – 2.5 bullets out of 5.
Map of Battlefield
Isaac Millsap’s letter to his family from the doomed Alamo garrison
The Alamo Today
Come and Take it Flag with Cannon
Book References
Texans in Revolt: The Battle for San Antonio, 1835 by Alwyn Barr
Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans by T.R. Fehrenbach
The Oxford History of Mexico by William Beezley and Michael Meyer
Fire and Blood: A History of Mexico
Music References
“Deguello” by traditional.
AdvertisementsMama Kaze
In Saizo and Kaze’s house, Kaze was putting a sleepy fox (Selkie) to bed.
“Aww do I have to go to bed so soon?” the Kitsune asked.
“Well like they say in Hoshido; early to bed, early to catch the worm… Or, is it rice?”
“Tell me a bedtime story! Tell how Kaze found Selkie and Selkie rescued Kagero!”
“Okay, okay…” Kaze hung his head back in recollection. “It all started when Saizo, Kagero and I went to the Kitsune Hamlet for a vacation.”
“We banished all the Mokushujin from Hoshido, but Kotaro found a way to escape into your father’s village. And when we got there, the place was deserted! Then, ninja football players grabbed Kagero!”
“Wait, nobody equipped a weapon on me, I want a do-over!” Kagero yelled.
“Saizo was attacked by a Nohrian wizard, and a rabid wyvern!”
“…Great.”
“And I found myself face to face with a ninja with a Wolfskin!” The beast charged at Kaze, knocking him off a cliff. “Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaawww!”
“I fell for hours!”
“Wow, hours? Long time!”
“Well, it felt like hours anyway. I was falling. Nothing below me but boiling lava! Good thing I found a Pegasus!” Kaze landed on the Pegasus, and it thrashed in pain, as it plummeted. Kaze leapt over to a solid ledge, heedless of the Pegasus’s fate.
“Oh! Then Kaze pick up items off ground!”
“Okay smarty, what happened next?”
“You found me!” Kaze walked over and found a fox cub with extra tails. “Mama?”
Selkie was giggling to herself. “Hahahaha! I called you ‘Mama!’”
“Yeah well I didn’t think it was that funny…” Kaze muttered.
Kaze carried baby Selkie in his hands through the cave, when the two of them heard the stomping of Wolfskins behind them.
“Yum, Kitsune!”
The ninja warily narrowed his eyes and stepped back. “Stand down, you Wolfskins. You’re dealing with a licensed ninja!”
“Yeah, so?” asked one Wolfskin. “I ate a ninja yesterday!”
Kaze gulped and proceeded to run away from the Wolfskins. They kept clawing at him as they ran, but eventually Kaze lost them in another tunnel, and made his way to the surface.
“Phew. Back in the forest.” He set Selkie down. “Okay, I gotta find Saizo and Kagero. You stay here while I catch my breath.”
With that, Kaze lied down, and Selkie immediately wandered off. Kaze groaned and got back up, following Selkie further into the woods. The Kitsune was smelling a flower, when Kaze picked her right back up.
“Hey. I told you to stay put.”
Selkie’s tails began to wag. “Look Mama Kaze, lizards!”
“Stop calling me…” Kaze turned around and saw that a group of wild wyverns were headed his way. He gulped again. “Saizo, wherever you are, HEEEEEEEEALP!”
“I wanna plaaaay!”
“Well I think these wyverns are playing for keeps, so-”
“I WANNA PLAY NOW!” Selkie then leapt from Kaze’s arms and did a rolling attack right into the lead wyvern. The dragon wailed in pain and retreated before Selkie did the same thing to the others.
“I’M-A COMIN’ KAZE,” Saizo bleated in his monotonous voice. He emerged from sudden smoke, but the danger had passed. He glared at the little Kitsune.
“What, this fox is giving you trouble? Pathetic. But all right, I’ll kill it for you.” Saizo was then jumped by Selkie. “Blaaaah! Great, now I know how a Nohrian feels…”
“Selkie, get off him! That’s my brother, Saizo!”
Kaze managed to get the boisterous fox off his brother, and whom himself managed to regain composure. Kaze chuckled. “I guess that’ll teach you to mess with little Selkie.”
“Mama Kaze!” Selkie nestled herself against Kaze’s chest.
“I already told you, I’m not your-”
“Mama? Mama Kaze?! Heh. Heheheh. …Heh.” Saizo cleared his throat. “Anyway, Kotaro has Kagero tied up in his underground disco palace. I fought my way out, we have to go back for her!”
“Mama Kaze don’t leave Selkie!”
Kaze sighed. “No, I won’t leave you. But you have to behave. And stop calling me ‘mama.’”
“Mama Kaze…” Selkie fell asleep in Kaze’s arms.
“So we jumped into a nearby canyon and made our way to Kotaro’s new palace, where the bright red and blue floors affected our classes.”
“Yikes! Why aren’t we Ninja Masters anymore?” Kaze asked.
Saizo pointed to a glowing spot. “If we use the Dragon Vein over there, we can change which floors do what!”
“But we don’t have our lieges with us!”
“… ARGH! Let’s just go…”
LOOKING FOR YOOOOOOU!
Saizo and Kaze made it to Kotaro’s throne room. From the shadows, Kotaro sent out automata to attack the brothers. They both fled from the robots, until Kaze realized Selkie was not with them. He turned around, and saw the little fox bashing all the automata… after having trashed all the decorations in the throne room.
“Uh… Saizo, I think we’re good.”
“Huh?”
“My throne!” Kotaro yelled. “My throne room!”
Saizo turned to Kaze. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing a secret weapon, Kaze.”
“That’s Mama Kaze to you, Saizo,” Kaze wheezed.
Then Saizo glared at Kotaro. “All right. Tell us where Kagero is, or Selkie will take your castle apart until we find her!”
“I can find another castle, but you’ll never find your friend!” Kotaro boasted, holding a key. “Without this key, you’ll never find her!”
“Not even with Locktouch?” Kaze asked.
“…Drat.”
“And so, we made our way back to Shirasagi after saving Kagero. All thanks to you, Selkie.”
In the present, Selkie was already asleep. Kaze smiled.
“Goodnight, Selkie. Ebebebebebeb.”
“…Night, Mama Kaze…”
To that, Kaze shrugged.
We don’t normally do drabbles anymore in observation of a character’s birthday, but I thought this would be funny. It’s based off the Super Mario World cartoon, because there’ve been jokes comparing the ninja bros to Mario and Luigi. Happy birthday to Kaze and Saizo.
-Mod JakobUsing real-time management policies to regulate fisheries can reduce the accidental bycatch of juvenile fish and endangered species with substantially less economic impact on fishermen, a new Duke University-led study finds.
The study compared results from six different types of fishery closures commonly used to reduce bycatch.
It found that "dynamic closures" -- which typically involve setting smaller portions of the ocean off-limits for shorter periods, based on fine-scale, real-time assessments of changing conditions -- are up to three times more efficient at reducing bycatch with lower costs to fishermen than static measures that close large areas and remain in force longer.
"The ecological patterns that create bycatch don't occur on monthly or 100-square-kilometer-size scales or larger. They occur at much smaller time-space scales," said Daniel C. Dunn, lead author of the study and a research scientist in the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. "Our study provides empirical evidence that if we're not managing the ocean at these smaller scales there is an inherent inefficiency in the system that costs both fishermen and species alike."
The study appeared the week of January 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The success of dynamic fisheries management hinges on recent advances "that extend the real-time technology at our fingertips and take it into the ocean," said Sara M. Maxwell, assistant professor of biological sciences at Old Dominion University, who co-authored the study.
"The speed at which we can now collect and share data means we can communicate in real time, or very near real time, when bycatch species are sighted or conditions are right for their presence," she said. This alerts fishermen to move on to other areas and helps them avoid costs associated with exceeding bycatch quotas or having to lease additional quotas.
Being able to manage catch data and bycatch risks on shorter time frames and at scales as small as 1 to 10 square kilometers allows managers to zero in on transitory hotspots and can reduce the need for large-scale, long-term closures that put more of the fishery's targeted catch off-limits. The new study finds that employing dynamic closures, such as daily "move-on" rules, placed less than 9 percent of the targeted catch off-limits, compared to more than 40 percent that were placed off-limits through static month-long total closures.
"For a while, the speed of communications between fishermen and managers was outpaced by the speed at which fishermen could catch fish and impact the ecosystem," Dunn said. "But now, fishermen and managers can communicate catch data with each other using mobile apps such as eCatch, Digital Deck and Deckhand, or even just emails or texts. It is a real game changer."
The researchers compared results from six types of closures used to reduce bycatch in the 16-species U.S. Northeast Multispecies Fishery. For each option, the researchers calculated the percent of bycatch reduction achieved, the percent of target catch affected, the overall rate of bycatch reduction efficiency, and the duration and size of closures needed to achieve the desired results. Closure types were then ranked from most effective to least effective based on a summary metric that reflected how well they met and balanced human and ecological needs.
The study finds that dynamic ocean management can reduce bycatch in highly mobile long-line fisheries such as bluefin tuna as well as bottom-dwelling fisheries such as scallops. And the costs associated with implementing and enforcing it are not necessarily higher than those for coarser-scale, static ocean management.
"If the incentives are well-placed, you don't need added enforcement," Maxwell said. "With the right information, fishermen are able to better refine where and how they fish."
"Dynamic management is not meant to supplant traditional adaptive management of fisheries or permanent Marine Protected Areas but rather is meant to add another tool to our toolbox to address specific problems such as bycatch," Dunn emphasized.
"Managing at larger time-space scales is, and will likely continue to be, the dominant method for strategic fisheries management," he said. "However, our study reinforces that managers must also develop finer-scale management measures to ensure that the tactical implementation of those strategies is done as efficiently as possible."Turbinado has been making solid progress. See the GitHub repo.
Added a couple of big new features:
HAML and XHTML Templates
While Turbinado used XHTML for templates before, the HSX library (an amazing piece of work) was a real pain to use and threw very strange errors.
HSX (and its associated libraries) has been torn out of Turbinado and has been replaced by a custom preprocessor called ‘trturbinado’. The preprocessor is run by the webserver over any templates (or views) before they’re compiled and loaded. The preprocessor handles XHTML and a limited version of HAML (to be enhanced).
See the example below. After preprocessing, the ‘someHtml’ and ‘someHAML’ functions will yield the exact sasme code as the ‘someTextXHTML’ function.
Note: I’m not great at writing parsers, so I wouldn’t doubt that there are bugs in the preprocessor!
markup :: VHtml markup= <div> <% someTextXHtml %> <% someHtml %> <% someHAML %> </div> -- | These are the raw Turbinado.View.Html style tags someTextXHtml :: VHtml someTextXHtml = do s <- getViewDataValue_u "sample_value" :: View String ((tag "div") ( ((tag "i") (stringToVHtml s)) +++ ((tag "b") (stringToVHtml "some text in Turbinado.View.Html style")) )) someHtml :: VHtml someHtml = do s <- getViewDataValue_u "sample_value" :: View String <div> <i><%= s %></i> <b>some text in XHtml style</b> </div> someHAML :: VHtml someHAML = do s <- getViewDataValue_u "sample_value" :: View String %div %i= s %b some text in HAML style
FastCGI Support
FastCGI has been an often requested feature, so I rewrote the CGI handling and added FastCGI support, too. Much as with CGI, using FastCGI is very simple. Just tell Apache to use ‘dispatch.fcgi’ to handle requests.
<VirtualHost *> DocumentRoot /home/alson/projects/turbinado/static <Directory "/home/alson/projects/turbinado/static"> Options +FollowSymLinks +ExecCGI +Includes AddHandler cgi-script cgi AddHandler fastcgi-script fcgi AllowOverride None Order allow,deny Allow from all </Directory> RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}%{REQUEST_URI} -f RewriteRule (.*) $1 [L] # Use FCGI RewriteRule ^(.*)$ %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/dispatch.fcgi [QSA,L] # Use CGI # RewriteRule ^(.*)$ %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/dispatch.fcgi [QSA,L] </VirtualHost>
Performance of Turbinado’s FastCGI interface is pretty good, but is well short of Turbinado’s HTTP interface, so, if you can live without the benefits of FastCGI, HTTP, which is simpler and faster, is the way to go.This is just a quick update for anyone following the blog. Last Saturday, Kris and I started the Transalpine Race in Ruhpolding, Germany. The challenge: to run across the Alps in 8 days, on a route of 200 miles with over 15,000m of ascent. Day 1 saw us run 50km from Ruhpolding to St Johann in Austria. Day 2 took us to Kitzbuhel in 35km. Day 3 was 46.5km to Neukirchen. Day 4, today, we travelled 43.3km to Prettau in Italy and also hit the highest pass of the race- 2665m.
The race started with 300 teams but as it stands, 82 teams have dropped out. Kris and I, as The Hungry Runners Team, are holding out but it’s a super tough race with some seriously hardcore runners. We’ve currently been running for a total of 26hr30mins and are in 25th place in our category (mixed teams). Kris has some niggles with his knee’s and my toenails are slowly dying on me but we both feel ok so hopefully we will make it through tomorrow. When we’re back I will do a proper blog but in the mean time I’ve got a few photos from my phone. Thanks for following 🙂
AdvertisementsCredit: Thorsten Trotzenberg - http://flickr.com/photos/7404656@N07/436187997
The Forgotten Bridge
There is no shortage of great hikes in Southern California with its desert landscapes and small mountains. Not to mention the area has a lot of hidden secrets out in the wilderness, the Bridge to Nowhere is one of those hidden secrets. The Bridge to Nowhere is much like what it sounds, it is a gorgeous concrete bridge that runs over the East Fork of the San Gabriel River built in the 1930's. The bridge was meant to connect the San Gabriel Valley with Wrightwood, but after a flood the road was washed out and the project scrapped. Now all that is left is a lonely old arch bridge that leads right into the side of a mountain and some bits of asphalt where a road used to be.
The road that once would have connected the San Gabriel Valley with Wrightwood is now used as a popular hiking trail. Located just forty miles north of Downtown Los Angeles, the majority of the hike takes place in the Sheep Mountain Wilderness in the Angeles National Forest right by the town of Azusa, the trail is a summer time favorite for outdoor enthusiasts however it can be difficult for beginners. It is not uncommon to see hundreds of hikers on the trail in the warm summer months hiking, picnicking, camping and swimming. However, for those that want to avoid the crowds and go in the spring or fall months, they should exercise caution. During the spring and fall months when the weather is wetter, the trail can be a bit unstable and actually a bit dangerous. Visitors should only go during the dryer days of the season and never when there is a flood watch for the San Gabriel River.
The Trail Begins at Angeles National Forest
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15779944@N00/3652685645
The hike itself starts deep in the Angeles National Forest along East Fork Road by the campground. The hike is an absolute must for any adventurous trekker. The trail has visitors winding through the forest and along the San Gabriel River. The path itself is windy and refreshing to the hundreds of hikers who visit on those hot summer Southern Californian days. For those who love to hike along the water, the trail has visitors hiking along, through, and above the river. The trail crosses the river around eight to ten times. This means that hikers should wear appropriate hiking shoes that are water resistant at least. The hike spans 10 miles roundtrip and hiking in wet boots is a recipe for a bad time. While there are quite a few places where hikers can rock hop across, on those hot days removing the socks, boots and wading through with bare feet is just a welcome relief from the summer heat. There are points across the trail where visitors can find cool pools in which are deep enough for a good swim or even rock jumping into for the more daring. So while this hike is a bit long to the unseasoned hiker, there are plenty of ways to cool off.
As the trail heads out of the forest and into the Sheep Mountains it will begin to enter beautiful narrow gorges with pink granite walls. At certain points, the granite walls rise around 500 feet, making this one of the deepest gorges in Southern California. Since the area surrounding the gorges is dry and harsh and inside the gorge is a clean, fresh source of water there are numerous opportunities to spot wildlife. Wildlife in the gorge includes coyotes, big horn sheep, deer and more. Though there may be a chance to spot tarantulas in the gorge, but they are more prevalent in the surrounding dryer areas. The mineral rich soil also attracts more than a few amateur miners working in the area to try their luck at finding various precious minerals. While the trail is marked with arrows in this gorge, visitors often find it easy to get lost especially in the sandy bottom, however there is a simple rule of thumb to make it out, just keep to the right-most wall.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33839049@N00/2384131639
This gorge marks the end of the easy portion of the hike, so visitors should be sure not to expend too much energy before it is done. Climbing out of the gorge is a pretty strenuous incline as is the rest of the trail. This path takes hikers above the river running underneath instead of through it like the previous legs. This also means there will be no opportunities to cool off by crossing through the river, so be sure to have plenty of fresh water and find shade when a break is needed.
The last leg of the hike actually has trekkers going through private property so be careful not to stray too far from the path. After five miles of hard hiking, hikers finally reach the Bridge to Nowhere. Don't be alarmed if you should happen to spot a few people jumping off this big old concrete arch bridge. While the Bridge to Nowhere is owned by the Angeles National Forest service, groups from Southern California Bungy Jumping and Bungee America meet up at Heaton Flats Campground in the morning, hike up to the bridge then proceed to jump off of it.
http://withoutbaggage.com/essays/bridge-to-nowhere/
Aside from the crazy people jumping off the bridge, the bridge itself is just very odd to people that do not know the aforementioned history about it. It's just out in the middle of the nowhere, looking expensive to build and leading into the side of a mountain. There were plans to tunnel through that mountain. Visitors that want to hike along the ridge past the bridge can actually see where the tunnel was started, but never finished.
The bridge and the crystal clear water below provide excellent photo opportunities as well as a place to have a swim, lay those cloths and socks out to dry in the sun and enjoy a nice lunch. The hike as a whole though is a serious thrill, especially those who take part in the bungee jumping. However, for those that don't want to jump off a bridge just because everyone else is doing it, they are treated to swimming in fresh, clean water and experiencing some well preserved wilderness. It is especially a good way for Los Angeles locals to get out of that smoggy city and breathe a bit of fresh air.BY: Follow @DavidRutz
White House press secretary Josh Earnest falsely and repeatedly claimed at Thursday's briefing that Barack Obama, not Ronald Reagan, was the first president since Dwight Eisenhower to win consecutive majorities of the popular vote.
Even when he was corrected by a reporter, Earnest insisted Reagan did not get at least 50 percent of the vote twice.
"I don't think it's a coincidence that President Obama is actually the first president since President Eisenhower to win two national elections back-to-back, earning a majority vote from the American people," Earnest said.
"Think you mean the first Democrat," a reporter said.
"Uh, the first one since Eisenhower, is actually the first president, Democrat or Republican, to get more than 50 percent of the vote twice," Earnest said.
"Reagan did it twice, actually," the reporter said.
"Reagan did not do it twice," Earnest said.
"He got 50.7 in 1980, but I digress," the reporter said.
Earnest was wrong and the reporter was right.
Reagan did take 50.7 percent of the vote in 1980, when he delivered a sound defeat to incumbent President Jimmy Carter. In 1984, he was reelected by a landslide, winning nearly 59 percent of the popular vote while claiming victory in every state except Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Although Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were both two-term presidents since Reagan, Bush was the only one to surpass 50 percent of the popular vote, doing it in 2004.The Florida Gators recruiting roller coaster reached another peak on Friday when four-star linebacker Adonis Thomas (Lawrenceville, GA) became the program’s 10th verbal commitment of the 2015 cycle.
Thomas (6-foot-3, 219 pounds), a unanimous four-star prospect and the No. 63 overall player in the nation per ESPN, chose Florida over Alabama during a ceremony at Central Gwinnett High School. Notre Dame was a semi-finalist for his services.
The Gators first offered Thomas back on Nov. 23, 2013. He visited Florida’s campus three times since, attending Junior Day on Feb. 1, stopping by unofficially on March 29 and spending three days in Gainesville, Florida, starting June 9.
Four-star linebacker Adonis Thomas made his commitment to Florida with a custom embroidered hat (@rivalsmike) pic.twitter.com/R1dq9We8Xn — Woody Wommack (@RivalsWoody) August 1, 2014
Since losing four commitments in a 10-day span in July, the Gators have filled each slot, adding pledges from four-star offensive lineman George Brown, Jr. (Cincinnati, OH) on July 25, three-star wide receiver Kalif Jackson (Neptune Beach, FL) on July 29 and three-star OL Mike Horton (Atlanta, GA) on July 31.
Florida also gained a pledge from four-star Jerome Baker (Cleveland, OH) on July 11, giving the Gators a pair of big-time linebackers in their 2015 class.
The additions of Thomas and Baker are especially important for Florida, which did not sign a linebacker during the 2014 recruiting cycle.
Thomas’s commitment was first reported by Woody Wommack of Rivals.com.I was surprised by the controversy that sprang up when Coca-Cola’s thirty-second commercial featuring “America the Beautiful” sung in multiple languages first aired during the Super Bowl.
I was surprised that among of all of the commercials to air during the big game — cute puppies, Stephen Colbert as a pistachio, David Beckham in various states of undress — this was the one that the Internet decided to fixate on. To criticize, to hate, to Tweet, to Facebook, to praise, to share, to comment on, to question. (To blog about). But at the core of the controversy, it was one question, and millions of people’s answers to it, that hung in the balance:
Does this commercial represent the America we live in?
In a country where over 300 non-English languages are spoken, and 20.8 percent of the population speaks a language other than English, it’s easy to dismiss the question with the attitude that more than a few commentators took: “This is the reality of a multilingual America, deal with it.”
But the question is more complex than that.
It took a couple of weeks (and Coca-Cola debuting a ninety-second cut of the commercial during the Olympics Opening Ceremony) for the thought to occur to me: where better to look for answers than the official source on who comprises America, US census data? Here’s how the languages sung in the Coca-Cola commercial, and the languages spoken across the country during the last three decades, break down.A Catholic priest molests a little boy and the Church sits on the issue for years. A communion wafer turns red and they’re on it faster than you can say “cracker.”
The story is that a consecrated wafer fell on the floor. They placed it in water. But it didn’t dissolve. Instead, it turned red.
The archdiocese, which now has the host, is taking a “very cautious stance on the matter,” spokesman Dennis McGrath said. “I make no claims, and the archdi |
of March 2012Source of Wealth: Zara
Ex-wife of fashion executive Amancio Ortega Gaona, and co-founder of Inditex (parent company of Zara retail stores). Rosalia Mera is Spain's richest woman. Mera and Ortega are long-divorced, but she still holds a 5.8% stake in Inditex, plus a pile of cash from its 2001 IPO.
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The story of a Manchester university professor whose secret life as a porn star was revealed has provoked quite a reaction.
Nicholas Goddard - aka adult film star ‘Old Nick’ - is being investigated by university chiefs after his double life was laid bare. Millions have watched the divorced father-of-three in blue movies online.
Prof Goddard made a name for himself after a decade starring in porn films - all the while working as a chemical engineering lecturer at The University of Manchester.
University chiefs say they’re ‘continuing to assess the situation’ following the revelations about Prof Goddard’s second job came to light.
It is not yet known whether he will face action.
(Image: STEVE ALLEN)
When approached by the M.E.N. at his home, minutes away from the university’s Oxford Road campus, Prof Goddard declined to comment but confirmed he is awaiting a decision about his future from university chiefs.
Scores of M.E.N. readers have taken to social media to defend him. Others weren’t so impressed with his secret.
Nicola Munro said: “It’s nothing to do with his job, or the university. There is no need to investigate him, unless he has acted inappropriately.
“Back off is what I say!”
Read more: University of Manchester lecturer investigated after his secret life as a porn star is revealed
Sarah Scooky posted: “Was he married? Did it affect his duties as a professor? Did it affect his relationship with the students? If the answer is ‘no’, then what he does in his own time is his business.”
Michael Kenny added: “As long as it didn’t impact on how he did his job, then what’s the problem?
“What people do outside work is their business and no-one else’s. If he loses his job over this, it’s disgraceful.”
Watch: Spankathon in Manchester to protest pornography laws
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But not everyone has jumped to Prof Goddard’s defence.
Diana Peacock said: “Sadly, this person needs to be removed. He has to educate young people. A life of a porn star doesn’t give the right impression. I would be concerned about the message he would send out.”
Rose Marie Kelly posted: “What a disgrace. What should we expect from those he teaches? What set of values? No thank you.”
And Nwike Anali said: “Bad example to kids who want to be like him. He should be fired sooner rather later.”The average public school student could receive up to $100 less a year in state and federal government funding than a similar independent school student by 2020 without the final two years of Gonski reforms, a new report has revealed.
The "Private school, public cost" report, due to be released on Friday by the former president of the NSW Secondary Principals Council, Chris Bonnor, and education researcher Bernie Shepherd, has found that state and federal government funding for nearly half of the nation's independent schools could outstrip public funding for the average public school within the next five years.
Money for new schools and upgrades... Credit:Photo: Quentin Jones
The reports authors also found that public funding for up to 75 per cent of Catholic schools across the country would outstrip funding for similar public schools by 2016.Justin Parrott has BAs in Physics, English from Otterbein University, MLIS from Kent State University, MRes in Islamic Studies from University of Wales, and is currently Research Librarian for Middle East Studies at NYU in Abu Dhabi.
The mainstream view of jihād in Islam is consistent with modern international norms of non-violence. The Quran and Sunnah permit Muslims to defend themselves from aggression, while also limiting warfare to the purpose of preserving security, freedom, and human rights.
In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful
International just-war theory crystalized after the Second World War with the signing of the United Nations Charter in 1945 and the subsequent Geneva Conventions of 1949. Article 2 of the Charter states:
All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.[1]
This article enshrines a concept of jus ad bellum (“justice to war”), or the principle of war as a last resort, that all non-violent means of conflict resolution must be exhausted before states enter into war with each other. Nevertheless, the Charter does not negate the right of states to defend themselves from attack, as stated in Article 51:
Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.[2]
The Charter was originally ratified in 1945 by a number of Muslim-majority states including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.[3] Other Muslim states would follow until a total of 57 Muslim-majority member states would come together to form the UN-affiliated Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) (formerly Organization of the Islamic Conference) in 1969. The OIC member states pledge to “commit themselves to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter,” part of which is adherence to just-war theory in international conflicts.[4]
The ratification of the Charter was a milestone in the history of humanity as it established rules of war based upon humanitarian values common to nearly all religions and philosophies. At the time, Muslim-majority states and their populations did not see any conflict between the principles of the Charter and traditional conceptions of jihād, the Islamic equivalent of just-war theory.
The view of Islam in some parts of West, however, failed to make this important connection between traditional Islam and modern values. Building upon centuries of bias, some Orientalist scholars in the West portrayed Islam as an inherently expansionist and aggressive ideological religion that rejects the principles of war as a last resort and religious freedom. This misperception is exacerbated by today’s jihādist extremists who repeat the exact same scriptural and legal arguments as the Orientalists. The result is that common Muslims living in Western societies are considered foreign and dangerous members of a transnational, subversive political movement. These negative stereotypes have led to hate crimes, government-sanctioned discrimination, and militarism.
On the contrary, the basic source texts of Islam, the Quran and Sunnah, express the principles of jus ad bellum in a number of ways. Our analysis will demonstrate, God willing, that these key principles had been established by the Prophet ﷺ himself and have continued to be the majority opinion of jurists throughout Islamic history until the present.
Just-war in the Quran and Sunnah
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ received his first divine revelations in Mecca and he peacefully preached the message of Islam to the Meccans for thirteen years until an intolerable level of persecution forced him and his followers to flee to the nearby town of Yathrib (later known as Medina). Despite emigrating outside of Mecca, the Meccans headed by the Quraish aristocracy vowed to exterminate the newly formed religious community.
Within this context, the first verses to mention warfare were revealed:
Those who have been attacked are permitted to take up arms because they have been wronged—God has the power to help them—those who have been driven unjustly from their homes only for saying, ‘Our Lord is God.’ If God did not repel some people by means of others, many monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, where God’s name is much invoked, would have been destroyed. God is sure to help those who help His cause—God is strong and mighty.[5]
According to classical exegete al-Qurṭubī (d. 1273), this was the first verse to be revealed about war.[6] This verse establishes the inherent right of individuals and nations to defend themselves. Moreover, the mention of “monasteries, churches, synagogues,” indicates that the right to self-defense is universal and extends to religions and philosophies besides Islam. The purpose of legal warfare is to repel aggression and protect human rights, not to exterminate other religions.
Another verse revealed early in the Medinan phase reinforces this principle:
Fight in God’s cause against those who fight you, but do not overstep the limits: God does not love those who overstep the limits.[7]
Some of the early authorities considered this the first verse to be revealed about war.[8] In both verses, war is limited to defense of the community. The phrase “do not overstep the limits” or “do not transgress” (wa lā ta’tadū) encompasses jus ad bellum as well as jus in bello (“justice in war”), the law of war that protects civilians and non-combatants.
Abdullah ibn Abbās (d. 687), the cousin of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and one of the earliest authorities in Quranic exegesis, interpreted this verse as prohibiting aggression against all categories of peaceful people:
Do not kill women, children, old men, or whoever comes to you with peace and he restrains his hand [from fighting], for if you did so you would have certainly transgressed.[9]
Umar Abdul Azīz (d. 720), the Umayyad Caliph, interpreted the protected classes of people in a manner consistent with what we call “civilians” today:
[Do not transgress] regarding women, children, and whoever is not waging war against you among them.[10]
The classical exegete al-Bayḍāwī (d. 1286) listed the initiation of hostilities, among other misdeeds, as a form of prohibited transgression:
[Do not transgress] means by initiating the fighting, or by fighting those protected by a peace treaty, or by fighting those who never received the call to Islam, or to commit mutilation or to kill whomever it has been forbidden to kill.[11]
The Prophet ﷺ, in multiple narrations, stated that among the worst sinners are those who initiate hostilities:
Verily, the most tyrannical of people to God the Exalted is he who kills those who did not fight him.[12]
Moreover, the Prophet ﷺ forbade Muslims from desiring to fight the enemy:
Do not wish to meet the enemy [in battle], but if you meet them then be patient.[13]
Unlike other texts that prohibit aggression, this tradition goes deeper to the level of the heart; a Muslim is not allowed to even hope for violent retaliation upon the enemy.
In this vein, the Prophet ﷺ described the leader of the Muslim army as a “shield” and not as a sword:
Verily, the leader is only a shield behind whom they fight and he protects them. If he commands the fear of God the Exalted and justice, then he will have a reward. If he commands something else, then it will be against him.[14]
This defensive imagery is a symbolic way of conveying to Muslims the proper role of an organized army in Islam. Jihād is primarily a means of defense, not conquest.
A key question in just-war theory is the issue of casus belli: what provocations determine if warfare is an appropriate response?
According to classical jurist Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328), jihād is a response to military aggression and not merely religious difference. There is no evidence in the source texts of Islam that permit Muslims to attack or kill civilians or invade non-hostile nations. He asserts that this was the view of the majority of Muslim scholars:
As for the oppressor who does not fight, then there are no texts in which God commands him to be fought. Rather, the unbelievers are only fought on the condition that they wage war, as is practiced by the majority of scholars and as is evident in the Book and Sunnah.[15]
Indeed, a following verse after 2:190 makes clear that warfare in Islam is only a reaction to violent provocation. If the aggressors give up their fight, then there is no just cause for war:
Fight them until there is no more persecution, and worship is devoted to God. If they cease hostilities, there can be no [further] hostility, except towards aggressors.[16]
According to Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī (d. 1566), scholars such as al-Zamakhsharī (d. 1144) considered the obligation of jihād as a means to this end and not an end in itself. If Islam and Muslims can be protected without resort to warfare, the way of non-violence is given preference.[17]
In practice, the early Muslims did not attack their peaceful neighbors. An example of this is the amicable relations the Muslims had with Abyssinia (in present-day Ethiopia). Before the migration to Medina, some Muslims were granted asylum in Abyssinia. Their generosity did not go unappreciated. As a result, the Prophet ﷺ encouraged Muslims to maintain peaceful relations with them and this practice persisted:
Leave the Abyssinians alone as long as they leave you alone, and leave the Turks alone as long as they leave you alone.[18]
The classical jurist Ibn Rushd (d. 1198), known in the West as Averroës, reported that the inhabitants of Medina never attacked the Abyssinians or the Turks:
Mālik was asked about the authenticity of this tradition. He did not acknowledge it, but said: People continue to avoid attacking them.[19]
Several verses express peace as a fundamental value in Islam. In one verse, the word “peace” is used as a synonym for Islam:
You who believe, enter wholeheartedly into submission to God [silm] and do not follow in Satan’s footsteps, for he is your sworn enemy.[20]
Many of the early authorities interpreted silm in this verse to mean Islam itself.[21] Translator Abdel Haleem notes that silm also means peace. Islam, in other words, literally means a state of peace.
Peace itself is one of the attributes of God. The Prophet ﷺ instructed Muslims to pray for peace after every prayer:
O God, you are peace and from you is peace. Blessed are you, the Majestic and Generous.[22]
In fact, the first sermon of the Prophet ﷺ upon arrival in Medina exhorted Muslims to spread peace, as recounted by Abdullah ibn Salām (d. 630):
I came along with the people to see him and when I looked at the face of the Messenger of God, I realized that his face was not the face of a liar. The first thing the Prophet said was this: O people, spread peace, feed the hungry, and pray at night when people are sleeping and you will enter Paradise in peace.[23]
Other verses instruct the Muslims to accept peace offerings from their enemies. If the enemy offers terms of peace, then there is no legal justification for hostilities:
But as for those who seek refuge with people with whom you have a treaty, or who come over to you because their hearts shrink from fighting against you or against their own people, God could have given them power over you, and they would have fought you. So if they withdraw and do not fight you, and offer you peace, then God gives you no way against them.[24]
And in another verse:
But if they incline towards peace, you [Prophet] must also incline towards it, and put your trust in God: He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing.[25]
The Prophet ﷺ instructed Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (d. 661), who would later become the fourth of the righteous Caliphs, to seek peaceful resolutions to conflict whenever possible:
Verily, after me there will be conflicts or affairs, so if you are able to end them in peace then do so.[26]
Ammār ibn Yāsir (d. 657), one of the Prophet’s companions, considered the message of world peace to be integral to Islamic faith:
Whoever has three qualities will have completed the faith: fairness from yourself to others, offering peace to the world, and spending in charity even while poor.[27]
Put differently, the faith of Islam is based on justice, peace, and charity.
Those who imagine an aggressive, expansionist Islam are unable to convincingly explain away these texts. The standard response is to resort to the doctrine of abrogation (naskh) in which it is claimed the “sword verses” cancel everything we have cited to this point. Many classical jurists rejected this view, including Abū Jaʿfar al-Naḥḥās (d. 949), Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 1201), and al-Suyūtī (d. 1505).[28]
According to Ibn Rushd, only a minority of classical jurists appealed to abrogation to justify their opinion that peace with non-Muslims was forbidden unless Muslims were too weak to fight. In contrast, the majority held that peaceful verses restricted verses of war:
Those who upheld the permission of making a truce [ṣulḥ] when the imām saw an interest (of the Muslims) in this are Mālik, al-Shāfi’ī, and Abū Ḥanīfa… Those who maintained that the verse implying peace has restricted [mukhaṣṣaṣah] the other said that truce is permitted if the imām considers it proper. They supported this interpretation with the act of the Prophet, God’s peace and blessings be upon him, in this case because his truce in the year of al-Ḥudaybiya was not based upon necessity.[29]
The advocates of abrogation refer to isolated verses in Surat al-Tawbah, one of the last complete chapters to be revealed, as setting the tone for Muslim and non-Muslim relations. Critical and contextual analysis of this chapter, however, demonstrates that just-war principles in previous verses continued to remain operative
The most commonly cited “sword verse” commands Muslims to fight, in self-defense, against enemies who habitually broke their peace treaties:
When the [four] forbidden months are over, wherever you encounter the idolaters, kill them, seize them, besiege them, wait for them at every lookout post; but if they turn [to God], maintain the prayer, and pay the prescribed alms, let them go on their way, for God is most forgiving and merciful.[30]
The phrase “kill them, seize them,” is often cited alone without reference to surrounding verses or even the second part of the verse that emphasizes God’s mercy. Yet, conversion to Islam is not the reason this command was given. The following verse offers asylum and safe passage to any enemy who requested it, regardless of whether they accepted Islam or not:
If any one of the idolaters should seek your protection [Prophet], grant it to him so that he may hear the word of God, then take him to a place safe for him, for they are people with no knowledge [of it].[31]
Furthermore, the passage immediately following lays out the context in which the command to fight is justified:
How could there be a treaty with God and His Messenger for such idolaters? But as for those with whom you made a treaty at the Sacred Mosque, so long as they remain true to you, be true to them; God loves those who are mindful of Him. [How,] when, if they were to get the upper hand over you, they would not respect any tie with you, of kinship or of treaty? They please you with their tongues, but their hearts are against you and most of them are lawbreakers. They have sold God’s message for a trifling gain, and barred others from His path. How evil their actions are! Where believers are concerned, they respect no tie of kinship or treaty. They are the ones who are committing aggression. If they turn to God, keep up the prayer, and pay the prescribed alms, then they are your brothers in faith: We make the messages clear for people who are willing to learn. But if they break their oath after having made an agreement with you, if they revile your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief—oaths mean nothing to them—so that they may stop. How could you not fight a people who have broken their oaths, who tried to drive the Messenger out, who attacked you first? Do you fear them? It is God you should fear if you are true believers.[32]
It is noted that the offending party honored neither their peace treaties, nor the traditional Arab sense of honor. Only by ignoring this greater context can advocates of abrogation uphold their opinion. M.A.S. Abdul Haleem points out the flaws in this interpretation:
The main clause of the sentence, ‘kill the polytheists,’ is singled out by some non-Muslims as representing the Islamic attitude to war. Even some Muslims takes this view and allege that this verse abrogated many other verses including, ‘There is no compulsion in religion,’ (2:256) and even according to one solitary extremist, ‘God is forgiving and merciful.’ This far-fetched interpretation isolates and decontextualizes a small part of a sentence and of a passage which gives many reasons for the order to fight such polytheists: they continually broke their agreements and aided others against the Muslims, they started hostilities against the Muslims, barred others from becoming Muslims, expelled them from the Holy Mosque and even from their own homes. At least eight times the passage mentions the misdeeds of these people against the Muslims. Moreover, consistent with the restriction of war elsewhere in the Quran, the immediate context of this ‘sword verse’ exempts such polytheists who do not break their agreements and who keep peace with Muslims. It orders that those enemies seeking safe conduct should be protected and delivered to the place of safety they seek. The whole of this context to verse 9:5, with all its restrictions, is ignored by those who simply isolate one part of a sentence to build on it their theory of violence in Islam.[33]
Many jurists and scholars did not accept the argument that sword verses abrogated peaceful verses. Even those who claimed peaceful verses were “abrogated” did not necessarily mean, in their technical terminology, that they were cancelled or negated altogether.
According to classical jurist Ibn Rajab (d. 1393), the use of the word “abrogation” (naskh) by early authorities usually did not mean cancellation. Rather, it was that that later verses clarified, explained, and sometimes provided exceptions to general rules laid down in previous verses:
Their intended meaning of the word ‘abrogation’ is explanation [al-bayān] and clarification [al-īḍāḥ]. Indeed, the righteous predecessors [al-salaf] would often use the word abrogation in this way.[34]
In the case of Surat al-Tawbah, several previous verses encouraged Muslims to forgive and patiently endure their persecution. Only after the persecution became intolerable were these sword verses revealed as exceptions to the general rule of forgiveness, not for war to be the general rule itself.
Answering the proof-texts
As we have seen, a large amount of evidence in Islamic texts can be marshaled in support of the principles of jus ad bellum. More could have been presented here were it not for limitations of space.
The typical rebuttal of this material by anti-Muslim activists and Muslim extremists, we noted, was an appeal to the doctrine of abrogation, by which they incorrectly mean cancellation. Verses, traditions, and statements of jurists are often quoted in isolation, without context, to support their unwarranted claims. A few “proof-texts” used in this manner need to be examined.
One verse, on the surface, appears to encourage warfare against Jews and Christians due to their lack of faith in Islam:
Fight those of the People of the Book who do not [truly] believe in God and the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden, who do not obey the rule of justice, until they pay the tax and agree to submit.[35]
An important principle of Quranic exegesis is to consider the “causes of revelation” (asbāb al-nuzūl) when deriving meaning from the text. In other words, we need to examine the historical context.
According to al-Ṭabarī (d. 923), this verse was revealed prior to the battle of Tabūk.[36] The reason for the Tabūk expedition was due to the assassination of one of the Prophet’s ﷺ ambassadors at the hands of a Roman ally, leading to the battle of Mu’tah.
According to classical jurist Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 1350), the Romans committed the first acts of war that led to the confrontations at Mu’tah and Tabūk:
The cause of the battle was that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, sent Ḥārith ibn Umair al-Azdī of the tribe of Lihb with his letter to Syria for the Roman king or Buṣrā. He presented it to Sharḥabīl ibn ‘Amr al-Ghassaāni and he bound him and struck his neck. Never had an ambassador of the Messenger of God been killed besides him. [The Prophet] was upset by that when news reached him and he dispatched an expedition.[37]
This incident made clear that peaceful relations with the Romans were not possible at the time. Hence, the verse 9:29 was revealed in response, consistent with the rules in previous verses.
Most scholars did not consider unbelief in Islam itself as a casus belli or justification for war. Ibn al-Qayyim reports the view of these jurists:
Fighting is only necessary to confront war and not to confront unbelief. For this reason, women and children are not killed, neither are the elderly, the blind, or monks who do not participate in fighting. Rather, we only fight those who wage war against us. This was the way of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, with the people of the earth. He would fight those who declared war on him until they accepted his religion, or they proposed a peace treaty, or they came under his control by paying tribute.[38]
In light of this, the verse 9:29 cannot be reasonably be used as a proof of a violent Islam.
Another tradition cited to make Islam appear violent is the following:
I have been commanded to fight the people until they say there is no God but Allāh.[39]
Again, a surface reading without context will cause an unsettling misinterpretation. Other versions of this tradition include qualifying aspects that restrict “the people” who should be fought. Who exactly are these people? Why did the Prophet ﷺ say this?
In the narration of Anas ibn Mālik (d. 709), the Prophet ﷺ said he was commanded to fight “the idolaters,” which would exclude Jews, Christians, and people of the Book.[40] According to classical exegete Ibn Kathīr (d. 1373), this statement refers to the idolaters mentioned in verse 9:5, whom we noted were habitually violating the peace.[41] The phrase “the people,” then, does not mean people in general.
In fact, the scholar al-Nasā’ī (d. 915) uses this tradition as evidence for the prohibition of bloodshed (taḥrīm al-damm), as an injunction to end bloodshed and not to initiate it. The “people” to be fought, in this reading, are specifically those who commit aggression and forcibly obstruct others from freely accepting Islam.
This understanding was expressed by Ibn Taymiyyah in his comments on the tradition:
The meaning of this tradition is to fight those who are waging war whom God has called us to fight, and it does not mean to fight those who have made peace with whom God has commanded us to fulfill their peace.[42]
What is more, the narration of Jābir (d. 697) adds that the Prophet ﷺ recited immediately after this statement the following verses:
Your only task is to give warning, you are not there to control them.[43][44]
Early Muslim authorities, such as the companion Sa’īd bin Zayd (d. 671), understood this verse to prohibit compulsion in religion:
You are not an authority over them to coerce them into faith.[45]
The verses mitigate the initial statement and negate the claim that the purpose of fighting is to force conversions to Islam. Ibn Al-Qayyim rejected any claim that the Prophet ﷺ ever coerced someone to accept Islam:
[The Prophet] never forced the religion upon anyone, but rather he only fought those who waged war against him and fought him first. As for those who made peace with him or conducted a truce, then he never fought them and he never compelled them to enter his religion, as his Lord the Almighty had commanded him: There is no compulsion in religion, for right guidance is distinct from error (2:256).[46]
Therefore, the command to fight “the people” refers to specific people in specific circumstances; it does not permit conversion by force. To fight them until they declare the testimony of faith implies the rule that the enemy’s acceptance of Islam would immediately end the battle, among other possible means to cease hostilities.
Finally, we need to understand something about the structure of classical Islamic legal theories and the context in which they operated. In the ancient world, war was the general rule and the norm; peace was the exception. English political theorist Thomas Hobbes (d. 1679) asserted that, without a legal authority to enforce peace, people “are in that condition which is called war, and such a war as is of every man against every man.”[47] In other words, every nation was assumed to be at war with every other nation by default.
As a matter of fact, nation-states today would still be in a default state of war were it not for the United Nations Charter. People born after World War 2 take for granted that it is because of the Charter that nation-states are relatively at peace with each other; in its absence, conflict would become the international norm again.
The founding jurist al-Shāfi’ī (d. 820) constructed his theory of war within this social context. The default state was that, it was assumed, other nations must be considered hostile to Muslims unless an explicit peace treaty has been ratified. According to Ibn Rushd:
The principle of al-Shāfi’ī is the command to fight until they believe or pay jizya [tribute], and this, in his view, was restricted by the act of the Prophet, God’s peace and blessings be upon him, in the year of al-Ḥudaybiya.[48]
In al-Shāfi’ī’s theory, other nations were considered hostile as a rule but this was mitigated by the fact that the Muslim leadership had broad permission to negotiate peace agreements. Nations had to necessarily enter into peace treaties with each other as a means of avoiding war.
Dr. Sherman Jackson explains the context of this early legal thinking:
While the imperial quest for empire invariably informed the policies of every Muslim state, Muslim juristic writings continued to reflect the logic of the ‘state of war’ and the assumption that only Muslims would permit Muslims to remain Muslims. They continued to see jihād not only as a means of guaranteeing the security and freedom of the Muslims but as virtually the only means of doing so. For even peace treaties were usually the result of one’s surrender to demands that had been imposed by a real or anticipated defeat by the sword… The purpose of jihād, in other words, is to provide for the security and freedom of the Muslims in a world that kept them under constant threat.[49]
This is not to say that al-Shāfi’ī and the jurists who followed him encouraged hostility and discouraged peace. On the contrary, many of al-Shāfi’ī’s personal sayings eschew violence:
The most beneficial of provisions is the fear of God, and the most harmful of provisions is aggression (‘udwān).[50]
Rather, the realities of the ancient world forced Muslim jurists to construct a legal framework that accurately depicted the default state of war in which they lived. Even so, the chapters on jihād always incorporated chapters of jurisprudence pertaining to peace treaties. Although some jurists set time limits for peace treaties, others such as Mālik ibn Anas (d. 795) allowed treaties without any limit.[51] The state of war was never viewed as permanent, or even desirable.
To put it another way, the works of early jurists on jihād were describing the constant state of war in which they lived, rather than prescribing it as the preferred state of affairs. The problem with anti-Muslim extremists and jihādists alike is that they mine for quotes in classical legal literature to be cited without an appreciation for this social and historical context.
Conclusion
The mainstream view of jihād in Islam is consistent with modern international norms of non-violence. The Quran and Sunnah permit Muslims to defend themselves from aggression, while also limiting warfare to the purpose of preserving security, freedom, and human rights. Clarity on this issue should help remove the misperception that Islam is, by nature, an aggressive political ideology that threatens the West, as well as reduce the discrimination, suspicion, and hostility experienced by Muslim citizens in Western countries.
Success comes from Allah, and Allah knows best.
References
Abdel Haleem, M. A. The Qur’an: English translation and parallel Arabic text. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Abū Dāwūd. Sunan Abī Dāwūd. Ṣaydā, Lubnān: al-Maktabah al-Aṣrīyah, 1980.
Albānī, Muḥammad N. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʻ al-Ṣaghīr wa Ziyādatihi. [Dimashq]: al-Maktab al-Islāmī, 1969.
al-Bayḍāwī, ‘Abd A. Anwār al-Tanzīl wa-Asrār al-Ta’wīl al-Ma’rūf bi-Tafsīr al-Bayḍāwī. Bayrūt: Dār Iḥyā’ al-Turāth al-‘Arabī, 1998.
al-Bayhaqī. Al-Madkhal ilá al-Sunan al-Kubrá. al-Kuwayt : Dār al-Khulafāʼ lil-Kitāb al-Islāmī, 1983.
al-Bukhārī, Muḥammad I. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Bayrūt: Dār Ṭawq al-Najjāh, [2002].
Hobbes, Thomas, and E M. Curley. Leviathan: with selected variants from the Latin edition of 1668. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co, 1994.
al-Haythamī, Abu Bakr. Majmaʻ al-Zawāʼid Wa Manbaʻ al-Fawāʼid. al-Qāhirah: Maktabat al-Qudsī, 1994.
al-Haytamī, Ibn Ḥajar. Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj bi-Sharḥ al-Minhāj. Miṣr: al-Maktabah al-Tijārīyah al-Kubrá, 1983.
Ibn Ḥanbal, Aḥmad, and Aḥmad Shakir. Al-Musnad. al-Qahirah : Dar al-Hadith, 1995.
Ibn Ḥanbal, Aḥmad. Musnad al-Imām Aḥmad Ibn Ḥanbal. Bayrūt: Mu’assasat al-Risālah, 1993.
Ibn Kathīr. Tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-‘Aẓīm. al-Riyāḍ, al-Mamlakah al-‘Arabīyah al-Sa’ūdīyah: Dār Ṭībah, 1997.
Ibn Mājah, M. Sunan Ibn Mājah. [Bayrūt]: Dār Iḥyā’ al-Kutub al-‘Arabīyah, [1952].
Ibn al-Qayyim. Aḥkām Ahl Al-Dhimmah. al-Dammām: Ramādī lil-Nashr, 1997.
Ibn al-Qayyim. Hidāyat Al-Ḥayārá Fī Ajwibat Al-Yahūd Wa-Al-Naṣārá. Dimashq: Dār al-Qalam, 1996.
Ibn al-Qayyim. Zād al-Ma’ād fī Hadī Khayr al-‘Ibād. Bayru |
own nefarious purposes. Wonderfully bleak in places, this might be the highlight of the entire series, and something that the show should've aspired to from that point onwards.
Season 5: Episode 6, "Timeless" The show's 100th episode doesn't just feature a welcome guest-star in LeVar Burton, reprising his Star Trek: The Next Generation role as Geordi LaForge, but it also offers more time-travel hijinks, as well as a hint that the way home wasn't as far away for the crew of Voyager as it might have seemed earlier.
Season 5: Episode 26 and Season 6: Episode 1, "Equinox" Parts I and II The fifth season finale (and subsequent follow-up) reveals that the Voyager wasn't the first Starfleet ship lost in the Delta Quadrant, with the fate of that crew serving as an uncomfortable sign of what might be lying ahead for the show's stars if they can't get home faster than they'd been planning.
Season 7: Episodes 25 and 26, "Endgame" The show's final episode opens with the Voyager crew back on Earth, only to suggest that maybe things hadn't gone as planned—and that Janeway wanted to change that. Yup, it's time for one last time-travel drama that also manages to bring a number of other plot threads to a surprisingly satisfying close, even if the episode itself has an impressively abrupt conclusion. (No, really; you'll understand what we mean when you get there.)
Why You Should Binge:
Voyager holds a strange place in the Star Trek franchise, being a series that simultaneously goes furthest in exploring the new frontiers that Star Trek should be visiting—they're on the other side of the universe, cut adrift from Starfleet!—while also feeling like the most conservative and safe of all the series to date. Despite that confusion, those that love Star Trek will find a lot to enjoy in Voyager, not least of which is the show's increasing weirdness in the third and fourth seasons as it starts to play with audience expectations and starts to do things that you just know aren't going to last. When Voyager played against its inherent safeness, fun things happened.
Best Scene— 'It's Time We Faced Reality':
At the end of the first half of "Year of Hell," the end is more nigh than it is at any other point in the series... to the point where Janeway gives the order to abandon ship. Considering the show is named after the ship, it was a great cliffhanger that really left the viewer wonder what was going to happen next. (Never expecting what did actually happen next.)
The Takeaway:
Like the Next Generation episode that ended up informing so much of the show's second half, Star Trek: Voyager really is the best of both worlds, feeling as much like a series of missed opportunities as a great Star Trek show. But if you've made it through the three other series up to this point, you'll likely enjoy a lot of what's on offer here.
If You Liked Star Trek: Voyager You'll Love:
Both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are the most obvious suggestions for further viewing if you somehow haven't watched yet. Perhaps a more suitable companion would be Stargate: Universe, a short-lived series based around much the same premise as Voyager, albeit approached from a more realistic point of view, asking all the questions that Voyager didn't, like "What if you run out of food?" and "Wouldn't power be a problem after a while?"By FRANCO PANIZO
The latest images making the rounds online of Orlando City’s proposed soccer-specific stadium may be beautiful, but they are not official or up to date.
Orlando City confirmed to SBI on Sunday that the renderings released last week by architecture firm Woods Bagot that are circulating around the web are not accurate depictions of what the USL PRO club is hoping to call home if it is ever granted entrance into MLS.
Images on Woods Bagot’s website showing the inside and outside of a soccer-specific stadium in Orlando had begun spreading over the weekend before Orlando City released a statement on Sunday afternoon to refute the notion that those renderings were accurate. Woods Bagot has since removed the images from their website.
“The stadium rendering images recently posted on-line by an architecture firm based in Australia were released without knowledge or input from Orlando City Soccer,” said a statement released by Orlando City. “The pictures represent purely prototype drawings developed by an architect not employed by the club who wished to build our potential future stadium.
“Simply put, Orlando City has not yet selected an architect to design the stadium – and will not do so unless both the City & County finalize its portion of funding for the proposed 50/50 percent public-private partnership stadium plan. Orlando City encourages all our fans to learn more, and to express support for the project, at OrlandoBelievesInMLS.com.”
Orlando City are currently still waiting for a final vote from city and county commissioners on their proposed stadium. That city vote is set for Oct. 7 and county vote on Oct. 22. Should both those votes be approved, discussions with MLS would certainly follow.
Orlando City also reportedly need to buy approximately two more acres of land on the proposed downtown site for the stadium, though it might do so through the power of eminent domain.
If those boxes are checked off and if MLS grants Orlando City the expansion franchise they have been seeking for years now, Central Florida could land one of the four expansion slots that are expected to be filled before the end of the decade. MLS commissioner Don Garber recently said that three of those four spots are already spoken for, with many believing that Orlando is a main candidate to fill one of them.
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Bummed to hear that this images are not up-to-date renderings? Think Orlando City will fill one of those four expansion slots?
Share your thoughts below.No Go Zones: How Sharia Law Is Coming to a Neighborhood Near You, the forthcoming release from Breitbart London editor in chief Raheem Kassam has hit the top of the chart in a number of Amazon bestseller lists — despite being three weeks from release.
The book, published by Regnery, is due to be released on August 14 and has hit the top of best sellers lists in categories including terrorism where it took the top two spots with the hardcover and eBook editions, #1 in political radicalism, and #1 in Islamic law.
No Go Zones — which is available for pre-order now — also hit Amazon’s Movers & Shakers list, which according to the global retailer is a summary of “Our biggest gainers in sales rank over the past 24 hours”, peaking at #4 Tuesday midday, with a 2,543% increase in sales.
The book details the links between No Go Zones and terrorism, as well as Islamic sects often under reported on by the establishment media and national security issues across Europe and the United States”.
William Kilpatrick, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Jihad, called Kassam’s book “An important and eye-opening look inside the Islamic enclaves that dot Europe and are now cropping up in America”.
He added: “Kassam takes us on a tour that is both enlightening and frightening. If you want to understand why radical Islam is spreading in the West and why so little is being done to stop it, this is the book to read.”
Kassam revealed the provocative artwork for the new book Monday, showing the iconic Statue of Liberty fully veiled in an Islamic burqa. Remarking on the design, the author said: “It’s an image that some will claim is ‘outrageous’ or ‘hyperbolic,’ but when you look at what is going on regarding the discussion around Islam — as well as what is taking places in areas across the U.S., such as Hamtramck in Michigan — it is both a stark warning about failing to demand assimilation or integration from new migrants, as well as a muzzle effectively placed on Lady Liberty.”
No Go Zones, with its foreword by former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, is available for pre-order now and is published on August 14 by Regnery Publishing.Paul Gilman wants your trash.
Gilman isn't a hoarder, and he maintains an admirable standard of personal cleanliness. But when he passes the dumpsters linked up at the end of driveways on trash day, filled with unwanted garbage to be taken to a landfill, all he sees is waste. To Gilman, chief sustainability officer at Covanta Energy, garbage represents an untapped and surprisingly clean source of energy.
The world is drowning in garbage. Between squalid dumps outside of slums, landfills tucked away into economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, and the tons of plastic endlessly circulating in the ocean, our trash is polluting every last nook and cranny of the planet. At the same time, humanity is using up the world’s fossil fuels at an ever faster clip, throwing tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and depleting reserves of oil and coal. Gilman and advocates of waste-to-energy approaches believe that they can solve both problems simultaneously.
Covanta is one of the world’s biggest companies specializing in waste-to-energy, essentially burning garbage at high temperatures to produce steam and create electricity. Rid your mind of the incinerators of old, Gilman emphasizes. These are no pollution-heavy behemoths belching toxins into the air. Scrubbers remove chemicals like dioxins and furans, and less garbage in landfills means less methane in the atmosphere. It also means fewer carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels.
“This gives us the ability to produce electricity from garbage with fewer emissions than from making electricity from coal,” Gilman says.
Many agree with Gilman and Covanta. Dubai is currently building a waste-to-energy plant valued at $2 billion, and cities around the world are joining in. The U.S. is currently home to 84 waste-to-energy plants, and more are being built, promising a dual solution to both our energy and our trash problem.
Not everyone is buying it. Monica Wilson, program manager at the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, says these claims are, well, rubbish. “I think they’re wrong,” she says. “They’re turning one problem into a host of others,” such as air pollution and a continual reliance on disposable products.
Humans aren’t actually addressing the source of the problem, Wilson says. Only by reducing waste and increasing recycling and composting will we ever be able to manage our garbage issues.
Burning trash is one of humanity’s oldest approaches to garbage, along with flinging unwanted materials aside. When humans were relatively scarce and didn’t produce much trash, these options did the trick. New York City’s solution was to dump its waste into the ocean, which worked well until everything washed back up on shore. Although the city stopped dumping its solid waste in the 1870s, it would continue dumping sewage sludge into the ocean for more than 100 years.
Enter the incinerator. The simple act of lighting a match seemed to give cities around the world the answer to their garbage problem.
Covanta believed that it could use the power of the incinerator to not only address the growing piles of trash being generated each year, but also help create electricity, too. By altering the amount of garbage in the fire and how much oxygen it received, waste-to-energy companies like Covanta were able to increase the efficiency of the burn, generating more energy with less waste. To comply with EPA standards, they worked to clean up emissions, with a special eye towards dioxins, a class of potently toxic chemicals such as those found in Agent Orange that build up in fat cells over a person’s life.
Nicholas Themelis, an emeritus professor of environmental sciences at Columbia University, has spent his career studying waste management, and he believes that the process offers humans some of the best options to date for dealing with trash that can’t be recycled. Each year, humans around the world send enough garbage to dumps to fill a 38-square-mile landfill, roughly the size of metropolitan Paris.
“Landfilling is an unconscionable use of land. And why waste energy?” Themelis says.
GAIA's Wilson has a more straightforward approach to dealing with trash: Stop making it in the first place. Burning toxic garbage doesn’t magically eliminate it. “All you’re doing is converting waste from solid garbage to air pollution. You’re just creating a landfill in the sky, and allowing companies to burn the evidence of how much toxic stuff they’re creating,” Wilson says.
Whereas Gilman ticked off statistics demonstrating the safety of waste-to-energy, Wilson had just as many facts claiming the opposite. If these plants produced so few dioxins, why did the new facility being built outside Toronto have to be closed down 13 times during the testing phase for emitting over the accepted amount? She also cited the 2013 closure of the waste-to-energy plant in Dumfries, Scotland, also for dioxin emissions.
Peter Orris, a physician at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has spent his life studying preventive medicine, especially related to environmental exposures. Some of his first days as a physician were spent caring for Vietnam veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange, and he finds any possibility of increasing a person’s dioxin exposure concerning.
“It’s not just dioxins. It’s also trace metals and particulate matter. All of it is harmful,” Orris says.
Incinerators are also hungry machines. The high temperatures at which they burn require a lot of trash to keep the fire going, creating an ever-expanding market for trash. The more people throw away, the more money companies like Covanta make, Wilson says, because municipalities typically pay them per ton of trash. Therein lies the problem: Even if incineration was a clean way to produce energy, it’s not the best way to deal with trash because it doesn’t discourage the production of garbage in the first place.
Researchers and advocates on both sides of the debate have cited Europe as the future of waste management. To Gilman and Themelis, Europe is a model because it has greatly reduced landfill usage both by increasing recycling and composting, as well as turning to waste-to-energy plants. Wilson and Orris say that it’s the increasing movement towards creating a zero waste culture that is Europe’s true leadership. Orris believes that economic pressures can help push our society closer to this ideal by requiring companies to pay for the entire lifecycle of their products, including later disposal and incentivizing reusable options.
“We need to prevent problems, not cope with them,” Orris says. “Waste-to-energy sounds great, but it’s still combustion. It probably wasn’t a good idea 20 years ago, and it’s not a good idea now.”The government is set to miss the deadline for tabling supporting legislation for the goods and services (GST) tax in the ongoing winter session of Parliament after the GST council on Sunday failed to finalize the draft laws.
This in turn puts the government’s 1 April deadline of rolling out GST under a cloud.
The government wanted to table three draft laws—the central GST bill (CGST), the integrated GST bill (IGST) and the bill for compensating states for revenue losses following the implementation of GST (SGST)—in the winter session ending on 16 December.
But these bills are now likely to be tabled only in the budget session, due to begin in January, as the GST council failed to reach a consensus on any of the bills.
State legislatures also have to pass the state GST bill before the tax can be rolled out, making it even more difficult for the government to push through GST implementation from the beginning of the next fiscal year.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley reiterated that the government is still aiming to meet the 1 April deadline and will evaluate its options once the GST council gives its nod to all three bills.
“The target is 1 April. We stand by our target. The luxury of time is not available to us. The last day to implement GST is also constitutionally defined. Discretion of when to implement GST is only five months and 16 days—that is between 1 April and 16 September (2017)," he said at a press conference after the sixth meeting of the GST council on Sunday.
All existing indirect tax laws of the centre and the states will be void from 16 September 2017—a year after the Constitution amendment for GST was notified in the official gazette.
Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac was sceptical about meeting the deadline: “1 April is not possible. It is likely to be rolled out only from September."
GST is a singular tax reform that will remove barriers across states and integrate the country into a common market.
The meeting of the GST council, which was initially scheduled for two days, ended a day earlier on Sunday, after discussing many sections of the CGST and the SGST bills. Jaitley said substantial headway was made in finalizing the CGST and SGST draft laws with both sides managing to lock down many provisions.
The next meeting will take place on 22 and 23 December which will continue with the discussions on the CGST and SGST bills (including one clause on coercive powers that will be redrafted) and then take up the more controversial integrated GST bill where the contentious issue of sharing of administrative powers between the centre and the states will again come up.
Jaitley said the government has various options ready for discussion on the issue of sharing of administrative powers.
The issue of dual control has been long pending between the centre and the states.
While some states like West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are demanding exclusive control over all traders who have an annual revenue threshold of less than Rs1.5 crore, the centre is unwilling to yield to this demand as it will leave a very small pool of traders under its control.
The central government instead favours dividing traders in a fixed proportion between the centre and the states irrespective of a threshold. Another option being considered is only dividing the traders who are likely to be audited in a GST regime.
It is unfortunate that the GST council was unable to make much headway, said Pratik Jain, partner and leader, indirect tax, at PwC.
“The only silver lining was that substantial progress seems to have been made on discussions with respect to laws and broad consensus was reached for provisions up to Chapter 20 (out of total 27 chapters)," he said in a note. “Having missed the winter session, one would hope that Centre and States would be able to work together to make it happen in the Budget session. 1 April 2017 seems a stretched target now and a minimum of three months delay looks quite imminent," he added.To commemorate the upcoming 15th anniversary of the Marvel vs. DC crossover -- and in keeping with our unofficial motto of "ComicsAlliance: Because We Can" -- the CA editors recently commissioned something that we had long dreamed about: a massive mural of the Marvel and DC characters in the midst of an epic battle (with bonus Amalgam characters) by Ulises Farinas, packed with hidden characters and items for our readers to find in the totally non-copyright infringing spirit of the Where's Waldo books.
Your mission is to find the Invisible Woman, whom we have hidden somewhere in the mural (really). This piece of art is basically insane, and I highly recommend that you click through to the high-res version below in order to appreciate the level of detail involved, and find all of the lost items on the checklist, like the 8 Lantern Corps rings and some very specific pastries.
Checklist of items to find:
4 Cupcakes
7 Twinkies
2 Sno Balls
1 Chocolate Zinger
1 Yodel
1 Metrocard
Captain America's Classic Shield
A Daily Bugle Newspaper
All 6 Infinity Gems
All 8 Green Lantern Rings
Joker's Bang-Gun
1 Daily Planet Newspaper
5 A.I.M. Agents
4 Gotham City Police Officers
The Spidermobile
The Batmobile
The Avengers Quinjet
The Fantastic Four Fantasticar
The X-Men's Blackbird
The Titanic
Wolverine's Weapon-X Helmet
Batman's Robot T-Rex
A Piece of Cheese
The Cosmic Cube
Peter Parker's Camera
3 Comics Longboxes
The Bottle City of Kandor
1 Piece of Kryptonite
Beta Ray Bill's Hammer
The Hall of Doom
The Ultimate Nullifier
Skrull Electra
Skrull Capt America
Skrull Spiderman
Skrull Cyclops
Comic Book Covers:
-Amazing Spiderman #50
-Avengers #4
-Crisis on Infinite Earths #7
-Fantastic Four #1
Drunk Tony Stark & 4 suits of Iron Man Armor:
-Silver Centurion
-Original Steel Grey
-Classic Horned Red & Yellow
-Classic Red & YellowGetty Images
When the Chiefs decided to jump from No. 27 to No. 10, the simplest explanation for the move was that the Chiefs thought the Browns at No. 12 or the Cardinals at No. 13 would take quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Chiefs moved to No. 10 in order to leapfrog the Saints at No. 11.
Per Rapoport, the Chiefs were convinced the Saints would select Mahomes as the eventual heir to Drew Brees. Apparently, PGA golfer Ryan Palmer (who was in the New Orleans draft room on Thursday) has separately said on radio that the Saints would have taken Mahomes.
It would have been interesting to see how Brees would have reacted to the move, given what he said several weeks ago about the prospect of the Saints taking a quarterback.
“[I]f I’m going to start and that quarterback sits, well that’s not helping our team right now,” Brees said. “So, I want somebody who’s going to help our team right now. That’s the only difference.”
That almost didn’t happen, if Palmer and Rapoport are accurate that the Saints wanted Mahomes. That news, if true, also implies that the Saints didn’t feel the same way about DeShaun Watson, who was available when the Saints put in a card at No. 11.If, like me, you’ve ever bought an expensive monitor or TV and found it sporting one or more dead/stuck pixels, you’ll know how the sight of those dark or light spots can make a person apoplectic with rage. Many companies will swap the product with a new one (though it often depends on how many affected pixels there are), but imagine being informed that the issue isn’t a defect, but a “normal” feature. That’s what Nintendo is telling Switch owners.
While fans are enjoying the new console/handheld hybrid, it appears that Nintendo isn’t too concerned about owners who discover their units aren’t working 100 percent correctly. “Small numbers of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD screens. These are normal and should not be considered a defect,” reads Nintendo’s support website. The big question is how many pixels does Nintendo consider “a small number?” And will it replace the unit with a new one if it goes over that amount?
Paying $300 for something that turns out to be defective, then being told the problem isn’t actually a defect, is obviously going to anger a lot of people. There are already several online forums discussing the matter, including this long Reddit post.
Many of Sony’s original PSP handhelds suffered from dead pixels, as did the Nintendo DS when it launched in the US. The Japanese firm eventually offered replacements under warranty for the latter. “We suggest that you use your system for a few weeks to determine whether this interferes with your enjoyment of game play. If, after using your system for awhile, you feel that this tiny dot is too distracting, the Nintendo DS does carry a one-year warranty,” Nintendo wrote at the time. The hope is that it will do the same again if enough Switch owners put pressure on the company. Even one "tiny dot" can be incredibly off-putting.
If you do own a Switch and find it has a pixel problem, don’t worry just yet. There’s a good chance that the retailer you purchased it from will swap it for a different model. But if they refuse, and unless you’ve got enough affected pixels to be classified as a defect, you may have to live with it.Dr. Yeou-Cheng Ma, Executive Director of the Children’s Orchestra Society, poses at the Queens Botanical Garden, in Flushing, New York City, on July 22, 2014. (Benjamin Chasteen/Epoch Times)
This Is New York: The Untold Story of Dr. Yeou-Cheng Ma, Violin Prodigy and Medical Doctor
NEW YORK—Dr. Yeou-Cheng Ma is so dedicated to the Children’s Orchestra Society that when she went into labor, the natural thing for her to do was to carry on with the music lesson. She coped with her sharp pregnancy pangs by taking frequent bathroom breaks to huff and puff.
The orchestra needed a cellist, and a guitar player had agreed to switch to a new instrument at the last minute. Ma, who had sat in on most of her brother Yo-Yo Ma’s cello lessons growing up, took the initiative to give this child his first cello lesson. The child went on to attend the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and play cello professionally.
Over the years the media has portrayed Ma as a sullen character, a lesser-known prodigy hidden by her brother’s shadow. The reality is quite the contrary.
Ma has deeply inspired many young lives through the Children’s Orchestra Society (COS) with her positive energy. Although she did not become the famous violinist she once thought she would be, she is not living a less meaningful life.
Sure, there is a quality of sadness in her almond-shaped, deep set eyes but it is merely the inherent sadness of an introverted and introspective nature.
She was said to be a forgotten violin prodigy, who once studied with the famous Arthur Grumiaux, but her lessons were thwarted after Yo-Yo Ma came along. But the lessons stopped because, after her family moved from France to the United States, they couldn’t find another teacher who taught in the same Franco-Belgian school.
“For a while I thought I was unhappy because I didn’t get lessons,” she said. “But when I visited France at 40, I realized I was just missing France this whole time.”
There is no bitterness, jealousy, or disappointment in her voice. Ma’s point of view is almost always positive, and often humorous.
She tells funny stories of her and Yo-Yo Ma teaming up to trick their parents.
As children, they formed a secret SOS call: la-ti-la-do, la-ti-la-do. One would play those notes when their father was too tough; the other would rush through the door, interrupt, and save the day.
Their father never realized.
The Work Behind Genius
Their father, Dr. Hiao-Tsiun Ma, was a musician who received a doctorate in musicology from the Sorbonne, and studied violin and composition at the Paris Conservatoire. Legend has it that he once taught a dog how to hum Chopin.
He went on to have two genius children—Yo-Yo Ma and his sister, a violin prodigy and a graduate of Harvard medical school.
“Genius is 5 percent inspiration and 95 percent perspiration,” Ma said.
Ma and her brother were home schooled. When preparing for a lesson as short as 10 minutes, their father would work two hours to choose the most relevant parts of the subject to teach them.
She and her brother were always challenged to play harder music.
“My father used to say that nothing is really hard,” she said. “If anything is hard just cut it into four pieces, and if that’s hard cut it into sixteen pieces. Eventually you can conquer it.”
Despite her strict upbringing and high standards for herself and others, Ma values childhood playtime. “Children should have time to be creative,” she said. “In this world, you need to be creative in order to be adaptable.”
She belongs to the Alliance for Childhood, a research and advocacy group that supports children’s healthy development. “Every day there are machines that can do more things,” she said. “In order to be human … we need to have that spark of creativity.”
Believing in Children
“It’s very important to let kids know you believe in them,” she said. “Both my brother and I feel that way. At some point in our lives people believed in us. And we worked hard because of that.”
She and Yo-Yo Ma were born in Paris under modest circumstances. They lived in a small fourth floor apartment, where running water was only available in the hallway. “That was not so bad,” Ma said. “That was better than a painter we knew who had to go out to the courtyard to get running water.”
They didn’t always have money for lessons. Ma and her brother received many lessons for free growing up. “We were moved by how our teachers believed in us,” she said. “That is a very powerful thing for children to feel.”
That is why today, COS charges very little for its programs. For those who cannot pay, they charge nothing. Ma said that teaching music is a community service.
COS requires auditions, but it accepts children regardless of their talent or income. The only requirement is a desire to learn. They challenge children and never tell them that they are not capable. “We say maybe not today, but maybe tomorrow,” she said.
When Ma was 6, she once played with her father’s orchestra. She could only play one note, the last note, and it made her very proud.
As a developmental pediatrician, Ma never tells her patients they can’t do something. She once had a 15-year-old patient with cerebral palsy who wanted to play soccer. He could only move one side of his body, so his chances to play were slim.
She told him if he wanted to play soccer, he would first have to learn how to tie his shoes. She taught him how to tie with one hand. ” At least I moved him one step closer to his goal,” she said.
Children’s Orchestra Society, a Legacy
While working as a full time pediatrician, Ma has worked tirelessly to restart and expand the school that her father started.
Her father founded the nonprofit orchestra in 1962 with the intention of teaching American children discipline. Ma and her brother played in the orchestra growing up.
He had wanted his children to take over, but Yo-Yo Ma was busy performing, and Ma was hard at work as a medical intern at Bellevue Hospital so the orchestra was disbanded for seven years. But restarting the orchestra was always something in the back of Ma’s mind.
In 1984, Ma realized that her husband, Filipino guitarist and conductor Michael Dadap, had always wanted to have an orchestra of his own. They took the plunge and relaunched the orchestra. The timing was not great, but it never would be.
They were newlyweds who had just bought a house and a piano. They had roughly $2,500 in savings, and spent it all on the orchestra. “I smiled to my husband and said, I hope this works, otherwise, we won’t be able to pay next month’s mortgage,” Ma said.
It worked. Ma and her husband transformed an 18-member ensemble into an organization with four orchestras and more than 200 students.
To accommodate students of varying skill levels, the teachers write simplified musical passages so that everyone can participate. Its child-centered music education is rare in today’s schools. School arts programs have become increasingly standards-based, according to a 2010 Americans for the Arts report.
In the case of a student who was bad at taking auditions, judges almost didn’t let her in. Ma insisted that her student get an extra week to practice. She ended up performing with Yo-Yo Ma at a COS concert, and went on to become a neuroscientist.
Interacting With History
Members of COS said that one of the most inspiring aspects of the program is meeting famous musicians.
“One of the special traits of COS that’s different from other local programs is that it provides students the opportunity to perform alongside world-renowned artists,” said Kevin Shue, a former COS student who has returned as a conductor. Shue won the Children’s Orchestra Society Discovery Competition in 2002, which took place at Lincoln Center, topped off by a positive New York Times review.
In 2007, COS made its Carnegie Hall debut with guest artists Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson. The New York Times has reviewed several of its performances. Cho-Liang Lin, Cecile Licad, and David Shifrin have also performed with COS.
“We think it’s very important for children to have a chance to touch history,” Ma said. She recalls how she and her brother met legendary musicians such as Pablo Casals, Bernard Greenhouse, and Isaac Stern, and the effect they had on the two.
The same year that violin prodigy Sarah Chang debuted with the New York Philharmonic, she also played as a guest star in COS.
Ma often tells the second violins and violas that they are vital for an orchestra, even though they play the harmony rather than the main melody. She reminds her students that Chang’s father purposely made her play second violin parts during her first year at Julliard so that she could learn to hear the music.
“My children learn that it’s hard to get good at anything, and this transfers over to their school work,” said Lesley Stackler, who has a child attending COS. “They learn patience, team work, and dedication.”
Over the years, Yo-Yo Ma has only visited COS twice. Emanuel Ax made an appearance at COS before he did. “It’s hard to get him,” Ma said. “I only ask him to do something every five years.”
Continuing the Legacy
During the first week of COS camp this summer, Ma awoke at 4 o’clock each morning to prepare the music. She went to work at the hospital afterward.
Recently, they took in some unexpected saxophone players and had to transcribe notes for them. Her husband stayed up until 4 a.m. to transcribe the music, then Ma got up at 4 a.m. to make copies of the music.
Amid their busy schedules, Ma and her husband worry about funding cuts and potential future replacements. “We are looking for future leaders, constantly training young ones to see if they will stay on and take over,” she said. A stern look grows on her face when she thinks of it.
During a COS concert in June, Ma appeared solemn as she sat in a dark corner of the theater and watched alone. Her active eyes scanned the orchestra, and whatever somber thought had been passing through her head stopped and she smiled. The children have noticeably improved since the beginning of the year.
This Is New York is a weekly feature that delves into the life of an inspiring individual in New York City. Read a new feature every Saturday online, and every Friday in print. See all our TINYs here.The Big Ten is the last major college sports property that will go up for bid this decade. As incumbents ESPN (football and basketball), Fox (Big Ten Network and football championship) and CBS (basketball) hope to retain or increase their hold on the conference, they know that they’ll have company (NBC Sports Group) in the negotiations. Conference commissioner Jim Delany says he expects to have media talks begin either in the fall or the winter depending on which party wants to get started.
The current contract expires in 2016-17 and the conference knows it will gain a hefty financial windfall when the new contracts are finalized. ESPN pays $1 billion over ten years while CBS has a $72 million deal that spans six years. Fox has It also has a 51% stake in the Big Ten Network that pays $2.8 billion in a 25-year contract that runs through the 2031-32 season.
Armed with Fox Sports 1, Fox is hoping that its cable sports network will lure the Big Ten to place games there. And despite the fact that Big East basketball hasn’t been drawing audiences since the 2013-14 season, Fox can point to the recent Women’s World Cup as an example that FS1 can bring viewers into the fold.
ESPN will say that it’s been a loyal partner to the Big Ten back to the days when ABC Sports was airing games in the mid-1980’s. And it will say it has the infrastructure with ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC.
And CBS will point to the fact that it has broadcast basketball since the 1990’s and its conference tournament since its inception.
NBC is a potential wild card knowing that this will be its last chance to get a major sports property until the next decade and it doesn’t want to get shut out.
When the Big Ten signed off on its TV rights, it was before the ACC, SEC and Pac-12 signed their lucrative rights deals and Delany has been pointing to this time to join his conference brethren.
The Big Ten has bided its time as the appetite for live college sports continued to increase and produced wealthier deals for the SEC, Pac-12, ACC and Big 12. How long has this wait been? The last time the Big Ten went up for renewal, the Big Ten Network was just being formed, Urban Meyer had yet to win a national championship and one-third of the FBS schools played in different conferences than they do today.
And after Ohio State winning the first College Football Playoff Championship and conference teams making the Final Four over the last five years, Delany knows that this is the time to strike while the iron is hot and the TV networks will be only happy to oblige with open checkbooks.
[CBS Sports]Navy Senior Chief Edward C. Byers Jr. describes saving the life of an American hostage held by the Taliban which earned him the Medal of Honor. (U.S. Navy)
In the darkness of a single-room building in Afghanistan, Navy Senior Chief Edward C. Byers Jr. had little time to react: A fellow Navy SEAL had just been shot in the head during a hostage rescue mission, and it wasn’t clear who else in the room wanted to kill the American team.
Byers burst in anyway, shooting a Taliban fighter who had an automatic rifle aimed at him. Another man scrambled to the corner of the room where another rifle was stored, so Byers tackled him and then tried to adjust his night-vision goggles to see whether he was the American hostage. The hostage, lying five feet away, called out in English, so Byers killed the insurgent he was straddling and then hurled himself on top of the hostage to protect him from gunfire. At the same time, Byers pinned another enemy fighter to the wall with a hand to the throat until another SEAL shot the militant.
President Obama presents the Medal of Honor to Navy Senior Chief Edward C. Byers Jr., for his actions while serving as part of a team that rescued an American civilian being held hostage in Afghanistan. (The White House)
Byers, 36, received the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony Monday for his actions on Dec. 8-9, 2012. The ceremony forced him to do something else difficult |
up the hype machine for their first album in more than a decade. On Monday, they revealed the title of the follow-up to 2001's Rock Steady, posting a note to fans on their website with the details.
"Hope you are sitting down because we've got some really big news to share with you," they wrote. "While adding the finishing touches to our new album we realized it was time to name it... so we did, and the name is... (drum roll please)... Push and Shove!!!"
The album, due out on September 25, will be preceded by the single "Settle Down," which is slated for release on July 16. The band said they are filming a video for "Down" this week with longtime friend and collaborator Sophie Muller ("Don't Speak," "Underneath It All," "Simple Kind of Life").
"We can't wait to share it all with you. See you out there soon," they added. Gwen Stefani and the boys are expected to make their live performance debut of the song at the July 22 Teen Choice Awards. The appearance will be their first performance since wrapping a summer tour with Paramore in 2009 and a pair of Bridge School benefit shows in October of that year.
In addition to working with producer Mike "Spike" Stent (Madonna, U2, Lady Gaga) they've also hooked up with Diplo and Switch, who helped out on the album's title track. Other tunes that could end up on the album include "Undone," "Heaven" and "One More Summer."On Thursday, the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) suspended former World Series of Fighting welterweight champion Rousimar Palhares for two years due to unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Brazilian, feared for his devastating heel hook submissions, repeatedly gouged Jake Shields' eyes and held onto a kimura after referee Steve Mazzagatti had intervened during his title-defense at WSOF 22. "Toquinho" was also fined $40,000.
Despite repeated foul play in the Jake Shields fight and a history unsportsmanlike conduct in the UFC, Palhares maintains his innocence and believes the NAC were unfair in their conviction.
The 35-year-old released a statement to MMAFighting shortly after the suspension:
"I appeared in front of the commission today to tell the truth and take the responsibilities for my acts. I thank the commission for opening an exception and allowing me the opportunity to participate on the hearing via Skype. I know all the complications that it has caused, but I once again thank them for understanding my current condition.
"Yet, I don't agree with the punishment, both the suspension and the fine. Many untruths were said. They didn't take in consideration the obvious mistake committed by referee Steve Mazzagatti, who was in an inadequate position at the moment of the submission. If the referee was in the correct position, maybe none of this would have happened.
"Unfortunately, I will have to obey this unfair decision, fulfilling my suspension and paying the fine. I'll reflect about everything that happened and, together with my manager Alex Davis, I will make the best decision for the continuation of my career.
"I will never accept to be called a dirty fighter. I'll say this again, I have more than 20 fights in my career and no one will ever say the name of a single fighter that has broken an arm or a leg while fighting me, I never ended no one's career due to injury. I'm a clean and correct athlete, and I know my character and professionalism."
While Palhares claims he's never ended a fighter's career, UFC welterweight contender Mike Pierce has been out of action for over two years. The American suffered a sprained MCL and an ankle injury after Rousimar continued to crank onto a heel hook after multiple taps.
Pierce will make his return against Ryan LaFlare at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale on December 11th in Las Vegas, Nevada.How do I even begin?
This gift has blown me away, and I'm so incredibly thankful for the heart and work put into this. It's beautiful and just exactly what I needed! I am naturally a cold-natured person (F you autocorrect - "natured" is a word. Right?) I spend every night under blankets trying to get warm. I actually fight with my kid and hubby when they steal my blankets! In my line of work (doggie daycare management) I spend a lot of time outdoors during the week and even like to hike on the weekends and so the quest to get warm and stay warm is like a huge battle for me. Add to that the fact that I'm on a weight loss mission still and well, my cold problems just multiply!
So, what does this perfect human being (pooticlesparkle) do? Knit me a blanket, bag to hold it and a neck scarf! It's so literally perfect that I'm struggling to grasp the fact that someone did this - for me. Oh, and add in some unique and organic teas to try and BAM - warmth heaven.
Also, about a week ago I received an e-book to keep me busy while she finished up my gift. And it's from a series I've only read half off, so I'm looking forward to finishing the story.
Jessica, thank you so very much. I truly love it all and appreciate it more than you can imagine!An event for trans students in Tokyo let them have their school photos taken in their true gender.
Japanese trans high school students had the chance to have their school photo taken in the uniform of their true gender.
A group of students set up a booth in Tokyo at a special event for trans people.
‘What to wear involves a decision an individual has to make daily,’ trans student and organizer Yurio Taketani said.
‘We would like schools to allow their students to pick one, even if it is for a male or female, of their choice.’
The event at Tokyo’s famous Yoyogi Park in the Shibuya Ward was put on to raise awareness about the trauma trans students can face when they have to present in the gender assigned to them at birth.
Each student was charged about $13.50 for a photo with younger students being charged less. Proceeds from the day went the ‘Schqueers’, a group who support LGBTI students.
Taketani, 31, wanted young people to attend the event to let them know they are loved and accepted. He also wants to let them know, he understands what they’re going through. Taketani hated wearing the girls’ uniform and would often skip school
‘I would like to convey to them they should consult with adults they trust about their problem,’ he said.
‘It was an effort to get myself to go outdoors, and I felt like my soul was being gradually chipped away.’
While the rate of trans people seeking medical help has increased in Japan, the issue is still very taboo.
To legally update your gender in Japan you must be at least 20 years old and undergo sterilization and gender reassignment surgery. The cost of the surgery is unaffordable for many people at about 1 million yen (USD8,900).Humanoid robots work side by side with employees in the assembly line at a factory of Glory Ltd., a manufacturer of automatic change dispensers, in Kazo, north of Tokyo, Japan, July 1, 2015. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo LONDON — Bank of England Governor Mark Carney thinks the jobs market is experiencing "great disruption" due to technology, and believes governments and corporations have a duty to help people manage the change.
In a wide-ranging speech on the economy in Liverpool on Monday, the governor said the world is "in the midst of a technological revolution that is once again changing the nature of work." He highlighted a past speech from the Bank of England's Andy Haldane in which he said 15 million British jobs could be automated over time.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) believes we are in the midst of a "Fourth Industrial Revolution," with robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) transforming economies around the world. WEF estimates that 5 million jobs will be destroyed by these forced by 2020. Research by Citi and Oxford University earlier this year estimated that 57% of jobs across the OECD are at risk of automation.
Technology optimists argue that developments like AI or robotics will create more jobs than they destroy — someone has to build the robots, train the AI, and there will be new jobs that we can't even image now.
However, Carney told the audience at Liverpool John Moores University: "The fundamental challenge is that, alongside its great benefits, every technological revolution mercilessly destroys jobs and livelihoods - and therefore identities - well before the new ones emerge.
"This was true of the eclipse of agriculture and cottage industry by the industrial revolution, the displacement of manufacturing by the service economy, and now the hollowing out of many of those middle-class services jobs through machine learning and global sourcing."
Carney linked a growing "anxiety about the future" of work to a rejection of globalisation, free trade, and open societies. Others have made similar points: The CEO of Silicon Valley software company Zuora told Business Insider in a recent interview that people are "lashing out" because jobs are being destroyed by new technologies.
Carney said: "The commitment to reskilling all workers must be continual." He said that "lifelong learning, ever-greening skills and cooperative training will become more important than ever" as technology evolves.
Speaking on a panel of global chief executives earlier this year, Stuart Gulliver, the CEO of HSBC, said that it's "unlikely that there will be the same number of jobs in today's skill set in five years time," and said that it is "our responsibility is to manage that transition."
However, Carney also flagged potential economic benefits from the rise of technology in Monday's speech. He said: "In an age where anyone can produce anything anywhere through 3-D printing, where anyone can broadcast their performance globally or sell to China whatever the size of their business, there is an opportunity for mass employment through mass creativity.
"Technology platforms such as taskrabbit, Alibaba, etsy, and Sama can help give smaller-scale producers and service providers a direct stake in global markets. Smaller scale firms can by-pass big corporates and engage in a form of artisanal globalisation; a revolution that could bring cottage industry full circle."
Carney's overall message was firmly downbeat, however. The governor said Britain is in the midst of "the first lost decade since the 1860s" as a result of stagnant real wages and poor productivity growth.Well this certainly doesn’t sound too promising for the morale of the troops in Redmond. During Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s speech to Microsoft employees at the company’s annual retreat, Microsoft employees reportedly began leaving in droves, mid-speech no less.
Compounding matters is that the impetus behind the speech to begin with was to motivate employees and tout upcoming products and technologies.
Stumbling across mini-microsoft, a blog run by an anonymous Microsoft employee, we happened across the following comments purporting to be from those in attendance. Of course, and in the interest of full-disclosure, we hadn’t heard of mini-Microsoft previously and have no gauge as to how reliable the blog tends to be.
What a sad spectacle. While SteveB was yacking away, people were leaving in droves. Back in the good old days when BillG spoke, EVERYONE listened. Steve, you’ve lost the support of your employees – when will you realize that you’re holding this once great company back? Oh and BTW, you can take LB (HR chief Lisa Brummel) and KT (COO Kevin Turner) with you too. They like the taste of your Kool Aid… Now for the unpleasant weeks ahead. Wonder what flaming bag of you know what LB will lay on our doorsteps? She rolled out cuts to our bennies last year just after the company meeting, what’s next??? Great demos and pretty good overall. Only thing is the last part, windows, cannot lose. Sounds a bit defensive from our CEO. Okay it’s been a couple years since I personally attended the company meeting but, wow, I have to say that was the worst one I’ve ever seen by far. I tried, I swear I tried to keep my admittedly sinking attitude in check and be objective. But it was just too much to endure such painfully flat demos and lifeless speakers in their sleepy attempts to show excitement about our products and our future. The train dance thing (the few times they did it) got old fast but it soon became a welcome reprieve from the on-stage monotony. It seemed like almost every demo was something about Win 8 tablet, with a few quick nods to products that are actually doing well in the marketplace, then back to praying to the Windows 8 gods for rain. Is Win 8 tablet all we have left to be excited about? Has the morale across the company slumped so much that 20,000 of us together can’t even generate a decent applause? Please someone tell me I’m wrong. Tell me I’ve just got a bad attitude and I completely misread the meeting. Yep, pretty sad to see all the seats empty out while SteveB was talking…hopefully he gets the hint and bows out in the Win8 timeframe.
Eeek.
Microsoft is certainly trying to make a go of it given its recent partnership with Nokia, not to mention the hype train building for Windows 8, but there seems to be a genuine lack of respect for Microsoft’s leadership at the top.
via WinRumorsWhich is more surprising: that the basement-dwelling Edmonton Oilers smashed the Colorado Avalanche 8-2 Thursday night, or that Taylor Hall turned Rexall Place into a Jonas Brothers concert circa 2009?
One Oilers fan was so enthralled by Hall’s fourth career three-goal night, she went full Mardi Gras and launched a bra onto the ice in celebration:
Hall would add an assist for a four-point night. Fun fact: All four of Hall’s hatties have occurred on home ice. Probably because the fans of the enemy don’t tend to offer up undergarments.
“It’s always a fun night when you get a hat trick, but for us to win in the fashion that we did gives us some confidence,” Hall told reporters. “This home stand could prove to be big for us.”
And big for Hall’s Olympic aspirations. The speedy forward (24 points in 23 games) is battling the likes of Chris Kunitz, James Neal, Rick Nash — and any number of adaptable centres — for a spot on Team Canada’s left wing. He doesn’t want to be shafted like he was for last season’s all-star honours.
Meanwhile… in Nashville, Jeff Skinner scored a hat trick of his own, a career first, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-2 victory.
Great for the game to have two guys under 23 years old shining like this:He is remembered as an "ambassador to the art of sound."
Paul Rodriguez, a well-respected and active member of Hollywood’s sound community who is remembered as an "ambassador to the art of sound," died Tuesday from cardiac arrest after a brief hospitalization. He was 65.
At the time of his passing, Rodriguez was president of South Lake Audio Services and vp audio services and development at its sister company, Roundabout Entertainment.
His background included roles as vp and director of feature sales at Todd-AO/Soundelux, senior vp of Wilshire Stages, director of sound services at 4MC and president of EFX Systems. Rodriguez also was co-owner of the Eagle Eye Film Company, a supplier of picture editing systems, and served as its managing general partner for seven years.
Rodriguez was a longtime board member for the Motion Picture Sound Editors organization and served eight years as its treasurer. He also produced MPSE’s annual Golden Reel Awards ceremony.
Rodriguez’s sudden death left members of Hollywood’s sound community shocked and heartbroken.
"He was an amazing man who gave so much to everybody that had an opportunity to know him," said MPSE president Tom McCarthy. "Paul was an ambassador to the art of sound throughout all aspects of entertainment worldwide. He played an integral role within the board of the MPSE for many years. The success of our organization was supported by his continued efforts to recognize the importance of sound to filmmakers and the studios. Paul has left us with great memories and helped the success of many of those within the MPSE and the Cinema Audio Society as well as sound artists outside of these two organizations. There are so many great and amazing things that Paul did throughout his career and he will be remembered for them as well as the energy, wisdom and true dedication he gave to the sound industry."
Said Cinema Audio Society president Mark Ulano: "A friend and major contributor to the professional film sound community has passed unexpectedly. Paul Rodriguez’s energy, mentoring and enthusiasm will be sorely missed as he was always there as a go-to-guy. His capacity for collaboration and generosity seemed boundless. We at the Cinema Audio Society send our heartfelt condolences to his family and the larger community to which he has so effectively participated as a creative force and a leader. He will be greatly missed."
"People would like him instinctively," Roundabout founder and CEO Craig Clark added, recalling that Rodriguez hired him as a dialogue editor at EFX. "Paul went out on a limb and hired me. I will always be grateful." Years later, Clark would hire Rodriguez.
A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. on Oct. 3 at Montrose Church, 2409 Florencita Drive in Montrose, Calif. Donations in Rodriguez’s name may be made to Montrose Church, Best Friends Animal Society or Alzheimer’s Association.
Rodriguez is survived by his son Hunter, daughter-in-law Abbie and granddaughter Charlie; daughter Rachael and son-in-law Manny Wong; daughter Alexa and her partner James Gill; his former wife, Catheryn Rodriguez; and several sisters.After 12 years on the Belvedere, Abbey Road on the River makes the switch to downtown Jeffersonville this year, with a focus on paying tribute to the 50th anniversary of the seminal Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The festival begins Thursday, May 25, in Big Four Station Park and continues through Monday, May 29.
Promoter Gary Jacob acknowledges that making such a move comes with challenges — not that every version of the festival didn’t, regardless of location.
“Even in the event business, when you think you’re in a routine, you never really are,” Jacob says. “When you make a mistake in a site plan, you have to wait a full year to fix it.”
Installation of the new version of the festival has come with a lot of extra planning and coordination, especially given the urban setting. Whereas in past years the festival had been in an event-ready site bordered by the river, the Galt House and the Kentucky Center for the Arts — with plenty of available parking — this year’s will be surrounded by residential homes and small businesses, with only street parking available.
Following a fallout with the Galt House last year, Jacob decided to move Abbey Road on the River to Jeffersonville in the area surrounding the foot of the Big Four Bridge.
“We’re closing streets, managing parking lots, running bus shuttles,” Jacob says. “On the other hand, we’re able to bring in stages a lot easier than we ever could at the Belvedere because we can literally drive the stages directly to their spots.”
As far as content, however, the festival won’t change much. Expect eight stages and about 50 to 60 bands, including what Jacob terms “house bands” who perform year after year, such as the Steve Sizemore Group, the Newbees, BritBeat, the Nick Peay Band, the Yellow SubMorons, the Norwegian Beatles, Itchycoo Park and others. Five separate concerts during the festival will pay tribute to Sgt. Pepper’s, which gets a re-release on Friday.
Special guest performers this year include Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits, Peter Asher, the Family Stone, the Grass Roots, Ambrosia, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders, and former Wings band members Laurence Juber and Steve Holley.
Other special guests include Beatles experts Scott Freiman and Bruce Spizer, as well as Julia Baird (John Lennon’s half-sister), Tony Bramwell, and “Beatle Brunch” Radio Host Joe Johnson. Spizer will host a discussion forum titled “Pepper at 50,” and a listening party for the release of the new Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band anniversary edition will be held Saturday at 11:45 p.m.
Jacob said there will be three main entrances to the festival, and because of the layout, people will be moving around a lot to the different stages. As usual, attendees can come and go as they please with their wristbands, meaning they’ll be able to take advantage of the local shopping options and restaurants if they so choose.
Asked if he thinks attendance will be affected by the move, Jacob says he believes it might actually help. He points to the setting at the end of the bridge, the downtown amenities, and the park atmosphere just a couple blocks from the Ohio River.
“All that’s missing are some mountains,” he jokes. But he points to previous versions of the festival in Washington, D.C., which he says “blew people away.”
“People are really going to be blown away by this one,” he says, adding, “I think newness always turns people on.”
He credits the city of Jeffersonville for taking advantage of the Big Four Bridge and utilizing that project to bolster downtown development: “Jeffersonville stepped on the gas.”
That the festival falls 50 years to the day of when Sgt. Pepper’s was released is just a happy accident. Not that Jacob needs an excuse to keep putting on the festival.
“There’s always something to celebrate with the Beatles, and the music doesn’t get old,” he says.
Tickets to Abbey Road on the River range from $20 to $34.50 for single-day general admission passes. Those ages 11-21 get in for $15, while kids 10 and under are admitted free of charge. Reserved seating also is available, as well as the five-day Ticket to Ride pass, which costs $219.95.In Part 1 two weeks ago, I looked at how Casey Janssen emerged into an effective high leverage reliever over the past two seasons, after having previously being more of a serviceable middle reliever (apologies for the way longer-than-intended delay; unfortunately, I'm just not a very proficient writer and quality prose come neither quickly nor easily to me). As hinted at towards the end, I saw some commonalities between him and Scott Downs, and what their careers could possibly tell us about Brett Cecil's future as he too in my view shares some of those similarities and appears destined for a future in the bullpen. The conventional wisdom is the Blue Jays blogosphere is that Cecil could make a good LOOGY, but won't contribute much more than that. Consequently, combined with his out-of-options status and other lefty options such as Aaron Loup, this would make him extraneous to the Jays plans going forward. I do not agree with this view, and what follows is my explanation why.
PROFILING JANSSEN
Previously, I focussed by design only on Janssen's performance (and platoon splits) as a reliever, in order to look at his improvement on an apples-to-apples basis. In addition to that, Janssen has also seen time in the starting rotation, consisting of 22 starts in two stints between his rookie season of 2006, and 2009. We can therefore examine his performance and splits as a starter in the manner as was done in Part 1, and compare against his performance as a reliever to see the progression upon conversion:
Brief refresher on the numbers: I measure pitching performance according to both FIP (measuring what the pitcher has most control over) and wOBA (measuring all results on a linear weights basis), and use an average to determine the platoon split. A positive number indicates a typical platoon split given the reliever's handedness, a negative number is a reverse split.
Before digging into the numbers, one quick note. In 2006, Janssen made 17 starts and two relief appearances. Since those relief outings represent an immaterial part of the overall 2006 numbers, and would not affect the relief totals, I have not broken them out and they are counted as part of the starting sample.
The numbers paint a straightforward picture: as a starting pitcher, Janssen was adequate against righties. His FIP of 4.55 and wOBA allowed of.328 are both basically around league average. Against LHB he was very poor, to the point of approaching replacement level, posting a FIP of 5.27 and allowing opposing batters to rack up a.371 wOBA. Overall, his platoon split amounted to around 14%.
In the pen, he was markedly better, even looking only at the 2007-10 period immediately following his first stint as a starter in 2006 (coincident with his second stint as a starter) and prior to his 2011-12 improvement. Against RHB, his FIP improved by 0.89 runs/9, though his wOBA only came down 17 points, compared to a larger reduction against LHB of 1.19 runs in FIP and 52 points of wOBA. Granted, those aren't great numbers against lefties, but whereas he was essentially replacement level as a starter facing them, as a reliever he was competent and closer to average.
Unfortunately, we don't have any Pitchf/x data for 2006, and so it's not possible to look at it to get a better idea of exactly how Janssen's stuff ticked up in the pen, in terms of both raw velocity and ability to generate swings and misses and other positive outcomes (ground balls, more strikes, etc). There is some Pitchf/x data from the five 2009 starts, but it came after missing all of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 to a torn labrum and recovery setback in addition to a DL stint immediately afterwards. Between that and it being a small sample, it would be a poor basis for comparison.
With that said, let's step back and take a broader look at Janssen's career track. Drafted in the 4th round of the 2004 out of UCLA, he signed the same month and was assigned to short season Auburn, making 10 starts. He posted solid peripherals, which are summarized below alongside the other levels. That earned a promotion to low-A Lansing for 2005, and further success earned two further promotions such that he finished the season at AA New Hampshire. Overall, the results were quite positive at this juncture:
Note: BB* = BB + HBP
Underlying these strong peripherals, however, were some yellow flags. In Lansing, he did not allow a HR in 46 IP and yielded only 5.3 H/9. At Dunedin those marks rose to 0.3 HR/9 and 6.9 H/9, and in New Hampshire they crested at 0.6 HR/9 and 10.3 H/9. This pattern indicates increased hitability against better hitters. This is to be expected to some degree, but in my view (with hindsight) the magnitude of such increases is an indication of the quality of the pitcher's stuff and its ability to play at higher levels. One mitigating factor in this case is that Janssen's K/9 was maintained (indeed, increased) from level to level, indicating a continued ability to miss bats.
In 2006, Janssen started at AAA Syracuse and made four starts before being called up to the big league rotation when A.J. Burnett had to miss a start. Across 20 IP in AAA, he tallied similar peripherals as he did the previous season at New Hampshire: 18K (8.1 K/9), 1 BB, 2 HR (0.9 HR/9), and 21 hits (10.5 H/9).
Initially, Janssen had a run of success for the Jays. In his first nine starts across 55.2 IP, he compiled a 5-3 record with solid peripherals: 27 K (4.4 K/9), 12 BB* (1.9 BB*/9), 4 HR (0.65 HR/9), 43 H (7 H/9). Compared to the minor league numbers, Janssen's K rate fell dramatically (due a swinging strike rate of only 7%), while his walk and HR rates were mostly in line. Interestingly, he gave up a lot fewer hits, though this was mostly due to a BABIP of.222, and if that number if normalized the hit rate would increase significantly. Nonetheless, he was quite an effective starter over this time.
Unfortunately, this state of affairs was not to last. From June 12 until being optioned back to AAA at the end of July, the results and most peripherals declined markedly: 4.0 K/9, 3.8 BB*/9, 1.9 HR/9, and 14.1 H/9 (.359 BABIP). Interestingly, the strikeout rate did not change significantly between the splits, as it had already cratered from the minor league levels. The chart below shows the progression of several of Janssen's peripherals from level to level:
Note that all numbers are only through 2006. Overall, Janssen maintained a solid K rate until he hit the major leagues, when it cratered. His BB* rate similarly stayed very good until increasing in the majors. However, in terms of hitability (yielding hits and HR), the rates were consistently increasing from level to level, including at the major league level.
PROFILING DOWNS
Similar to what was done above with Janssen, we can look at Downs' career splits as a reliever and as a starter
I split out the relief innings in 2005-06 from those subsequently, as during this time Downs was essentially a swingman going back and forth between the bullpen and rotation and making multi-inning relief appearances rather than being a one inning reliever. I will not consider those 2005-06 relief innings further, as in my view they consequently do not represent a good basis for comparison. The story is broadly similar to that of Janssen. As a starter, Downs was somewhat better than Janssen against both same handed and opposite handed batters (much better on a FIP basis, slightly worse on a wOBA basis), but with a similar overall platoon split. As a reliever, Downs improved against same handed batters, pulling in his FIP by 0.60 runs and wOBA by 70 points. Again, however, like Janssen the improvement against opposite handed batters was much larger, with Downs reducing his FIP by 1.50 runs and pulling his wOBA in by 100 points. As a result, he eliminated the platoon splits he had as a starter.
Once again, there is no Pitchf/x data for Downs as a starter, so there's no ability to compare the stuff. I won't go into the same level of detail, but once again, let's step back and look at Downs' profile. He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1997 draft, and also moved fairly quickly through the minors, earning a rotation spot for the Cubs out of spring training in 2000 (despite not having pitched above AA). The following chart lays out his peripherals from level to level:
MLB* denotes Downs' numbers in his initial MLB stint (2000), whereas the MLB column denotes all MLB inning as a starting pitcher (to show any changes from initial performance). As with the MLB splits, a similar progression is evident for Downs as for Janssen. In general, the strike out rate was quite good, averaging just under one strikeout per inning though with a significant dip at the high-A level so not as consistent as Janssen. His walk rate ticked up from level to level in a more pronounced manner. Significantly for me, the rate of yielding hits and home runs increased in a very consistent and similar manner. Overall, the similarities in statistical similarities between the two are quite striking to me, even moreso than what I initially expected.
WHAT ARE THE COMMONALITIES?
Stitching some of these similarities to move towards a profile of the failed-starter-to-valuable-reliever convertee:
1) College pitcher drafted fairly early, in the 75th to 125th overall range
2) SP in minors, moved quickly to the major leagues
3) Generally solid or good peripherals in the minors, however negative trends apparent from level to level in terms of hits and HR allowed.
4) Significant platoon splits in the major leagues: competent or better against same handed batters, significantly below average to replacement level against same handed batters.
5) Gopher ball problem in MLB: high HR rate. Additionally, a strikeout rate that plunged at the big league level. Combined, this suggests inferior stuff for a big league starter.
HOW IT APPLIES TO CECIL
1) Cecil was also a college pitcher, drafted in 2007 out of the University of Maryland; however, he was a much higher pick than either Janssen or Downs, chosen 38th overall in the 1st round supplemental round. Interestingly, Cecil was used primarily (and almost exclusively) as a reliever in college, though my understanding is the Jays always intended for him to be a starter. On balance, his pedigree as a prospect coming out of the draft was higher than that of Janssen or Downs. Unlike Janssen and Downs (to my knowledge anyway; he did have elbow issues and ultimately Tommy John surgery), Cecil suffered from a well-documented velocity loss towards the end of 2010 and into 2011 and beyond. The resulting lesser stuff would have reduced his draft status had it occurred prior to turning pro, so overall I think the pedigree/profile is quite similar at all between the three.
2) Until the latter months of 2012, Cecil had been exclusively a starting pitcher as a professional. He moved very quickly through the minors, reaching MLB in 2009, less than 2 years after being drafted and having covered four minor league levels.
3) The following chart shows Cecil's peripherals from level to level
The general story is very similar to Janssen and Downs. Cecil had a consistently high strikeout rate in the minors, but it fell significantly immediately on hitting the majors and stayed at the lower level. His minor league walk rate was higher in the upper minors, however it settled in at a comparable (and acceptable) level in the majors. His home run rate was a little higher overall, however he too experienced a large increase at the big league level and it settled in at a higher level. This is somewhat attributable to Cecil being more of a fly ball pitcher, especially compared to Janssen and Downs who have consistently been ground ball pitchers. Additionally, he was increasingly hittable as he moved up, similar to the others. Overall, Cecil's peripheral progression is very, very similar to Janssen and Downs.
4) Below is a chart detailing Cecil's MLB platoon splits
I have broken out 2009-10 from 2011-12 to try to isolate the effect of the velocity loss, which appears to be a reality going forward. Overall, Cecil has had larger splits as a starter than Janssen and Downs, but the picture is broadly similar: solid against same handed batters, awful against opposite handed batters. But I think it's more instructive to look pre- and post-velocity loss splits. In 2009-10, Cecil had more modest splits that were more in line with Janssen and Downs as starters. He was not a world beater against RHB, but he was playable with an average-ish FIP though decidely below average wOBA. As would be expected, he was much better against lefties. Overall, this version of Cecil was susceptible to line-ups stacked with righties, but would have have had a decent shot at sticking in the backend of a rotation.
In 2011-12 post velocity loss, Cecil's performance was drastically different and in a very interesting way. Against RHB, the results were a trainwreck with a FIP 1.20 runs higher and a wOBA 27 points higher, both numbers well below average. The average RHB hit like 2012 Josh Hamilton against Cecil, that's how bad it was. Conversely and quite surprisingly, against LHB Cecil was much better against LHB, improving his FIP by 0.69 runs and 73 points of wOBA. How to explain this? The next section will look at some Pitchf/x data, but the end result was that his platoon splits blew out to 67%. The final point I want to make is referring back to Cecil's velocity chart: as would be expected, Cecil's velocity ticked up at the end of the year coming out of the bullpen to the 90-92 range from the 87-89 range he sat in as a starter for most of 2011-12. This was on par with where he sat in 2009-10, when he was far more effective against righties. This alone gives me a fair degree of confidence that even barring any other improvements, as a reliever Cecil can be far more effective against RHB than he has the last two seasons when he was not playable against them.
I intentionally did not include in those above numbers his splits as reliever at the end of 2012, since they represent a very small sample size and Cecil was bounced around. In 12 relief appearances, three times he faced just one batter, and three time pitched two innings (facing 7 to 12 batters) and the rest in between. I do want to present it for completeness:
Again, I want to caution against giving this much inferential value going forward, but Cecil handled RHB effectively coming out of the pen. He still exhibited a large split, but that's largely because he continued being very tough on lefties.
5) Anyone who has watched Cecil pitch over the last couple seasons is familiar with his propensity to give up home runs as a starter. The less said about that the better. As detailed above, the K rate fell. In terms of stuff, this is best addressed looking at some PitchF/X data.
WHAT DOES PITCH F/X SAY ABOUT CECIL?
Unlike for Janssen and Downs, Cecil's entire career is covered by the Pitchf/x era. We can't really make any comparative inferences, but I was hoping Pitchf/x could supplement some of the statistical profiling of Cecil, particularly as it relates to things like his 2011-12 improvement against lefties.
Using data from Brooks |
an exercise in doing fundamental corporate tax reform that stripped out loopholes and deductions to lower the rate and broaden the base and make the U.S. more globally competitive.
But it is now a Frankenstein's monster of corporate and individual cuts with very limited base broadening. And this monster could expose all kinds of fissures in the GOP and wind up eating the party's chances of getting anything significant done this year.
— Ben White is Politico's chief economic correspondent and a CNBC contributor. He also authors the daily tip sheet Politico Morning Money. Follow him on Twitter @morningmoneyben.
CORRECTION: The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center weighed in on the Republican tax reform blueprint. The organization's name was misstated in an earlier version of this article.Michael Almereyda is directing the story of famed social psychologist Stanley Milgram.
Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder are starring in Experimenter, The Stanley Milgram Story, an indie drama written and directed by Michael Almereyda.
The movie will start shooting June 5 in New York and is being produced by Uri Singer of B.B. Films, Fabio Golombek of F.J. Productions, and Intrinsic Value’s Aimee Schoof and Isen Robbins.
STORY: Michael Fassbender in Talks for DreamWorks' 'Light Between Oceans'
According to the producers, the script is based on “the true story of famed social psychologist Stanley Milgram, who in 1961 designed the controversial Obedience Experiments at Yale University, observing the responses of ordinary people who believed they were sending harmful electrical shocks to an affable stranger.”
“The experiments were about conformity and authority, and their implications continue to be deeply unsettling and resonant. But this was just the start of a wide-ranging career for Milgram, who also came up with the Small-World Experiment, the basis for Six Degrees of Separation.”
Sarsgaard is playing Milgram, while Ryder is playing one of his students, Sasha Menkin, who helps with the experiments and with whom he falls in love.
STORY: Cannes: Film4 Slate Features Jude Law, Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett Projects
Josh Hamilton (American Horror Story), Jim Gaffigan (Super Troopers), Dennis Haysbert (24) and Danny A. Abeckaser (The Iceman) are also in the movie.
Jeff Rice, Lati Grobman and Christa Campbell are executive producing.
Ryder, repped by Gersh and Hirsch Wallerstein, last appeared in Homefront with Jason Statham and James Franco.
Sarsgaard’s recent credits include Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine and Lovelace. He is repped by CAA, Authentic Talent and Literary, and Peikoff Mahan.French president tells the Russian leader that use of chemical weapons in the conflict would lead to immediate response, while urging cooperation over Isis
Emmanuel Macron, the new French president, has warned that France would respond immediately to any use of chemical weapons in Syria, while urging a closer partnership with Russia in fighting Islamic State (Isis) in the country.
“A very clear red line exists on our side – that is the use of chemical weapons by whomever,” Macron said at a joint news conference after his first meeting with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin.
The highly symbolic meeting in the sumptuous setting of the Palace of Versailles was aimed at defining the two leaders’ personal relationship after tension and mistrust during the French presidential election campaign and suggestions Russia had sought to meddle in the French democratic process.
Emerging with Putin from two hours of talks and lunch in the 2,300-room palace, Macron said he wanted to strengthen cooperation with Russia in seeking a solution to the Syria conflict. He said this involved talking to all parties in a “diplomatic and political framework”.
But Macron said France would show “no weakness” if chemical weapons were used, and would immediately respond.
French spies amassed and publicly released evidence last month that indicated the Assad regime had used toxic sarin gas on the town of Khan Sheikhun, an attack that provoked the US to launch missiles on a Syrian air base in its first targeted attack against the Syrian president’s forces.
Macron said he favoured a democratic transition in Syria that would “preserve the Syrian state”. He said: “Failed states in the region are a threat to our democracies, and we have seen each time they have enabled terrorist groups to advance.”
“Our absolute priority is the fight against terrorism,” he added, calling for the “eradication of terrorist groups” — and Isis in particular — through closer partnership with Russia.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Emmanuel Macron shows Vladimir Putin around the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, during the Russian president’s first visit to the palace. Photograph: Alexei Nikolsky/AP
Macron had not been Putin’s candidate of choice and the Russian leader had handed Macron’s far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, a major publicity coup when he granted her a surprise audience at the Kremlin a month before the French presidential election’s first round.
During the campaign, Macron had harsh words for Moscow, accusing Russia of following a “hybrid strategy combining military intimidation and an information war”.
The Macron camp alleged during the election campaign that Russia had been engaged in disinformation efforts, and at one point refused accreditation to the Russian state-funded Sputnik and Russia Today news outlets, which it said were spreading Russian propaganda and fake news.
In a dramatic announcement two days before the final vote, Macron’s team said thousands of its campaign emails had been released in a major hacking operation. Cybersecurity analysts suggested the operation might have been undertaken by Russia-affiliated groups. Moscow and Russian news outlets had rejected any allegations of interference.
Asked by journalists about alleged Russian efforts to influence the election, Putin rejected outright any allegations of meddling in the French election. He said “that doesn’t exist as a problem”, adding that Macron had not raised the issue at their meeting.
Vladimir Putin is a bigger threat than Isis, John McCain says Read more
He also brushed aside a question on suspected Russian hacking of Macron’s campaign, saying it was just media speculation and therefore not for politicians to comment on. Putin defended meeting Le Pen and said it absolutely did not mean that Moscow had sought to influence the election result.
Macron, however, used the press conference to hit at Russian influence, saying Russia Today and Sputnik had engaged in spreading propaganda and fake news. “When media organs spread slanderous falsehoods, they are no longer journalists,” he said at the joint press conference.
Macron described the two leaders’ conversation as “extremely frank and direct”, saying he had made clear “everything I thought on different subjects”. He said he would be “constantly vigilant” about gay rights in Chechnya, where Russian officials are actively investigating claims of a purge of gay men.
For his part, Putin warned that sanctions against Russia over Ukraine would “in no way” resolve the crisis. Both leaders agreed the time was right for a new round of peace talks on Ukraine.
The body language seemed cordial but cool, although Macron insisted there was “warmth in the room” and patted Putin on the shoulder. The red-carpet handshake was swift and polite; Macron used his recent white-knuckle handshake with US president Donald Trump before the Nato summit to make a point that France would not back down.
The French leader chose to host Putin in the unusual setting of Versailles, a symbol of French monarchy and revolution, which sent two messages.
First, it set out to emphasise historical French dominance on the world stage: when Macron accompanied Putin for a slow walk down the palace’s longest room, the Battles Gallery, the two leaders were pointedly surrounded by massive paintings of 15 centuries of French military successes.
But it was also flattering to Putin in to be hosted amid the grandeur of the palace – in his first visit there – and to open a new exhibition on Tsar Peter the Great’s visit to France in 1717, marking 300 years of Franco-Russian ties. The joint opening of an exhibition was also a way to find more neutrality and less formality, as opposed to a state visit with pomp in the Élysée palace.
Macron and Putin’s personal relationship will be key factor in the difficult issues of Syria and Ukraine. They are a generation apart, with a starkly different world view. Macron, 39, is putting the European project first, while Putin, 64, had banked on the EU crumbling.
Macron said during the French election campaign that he was not “one of those people who are fascinated by Vladimir Putin” whose values he didn’t share.
Relations between France and Russia have been plagued by mistrust in the past few years, particularly over Syria and Ukraine. The two countries are in stark opposition over the Syrian civil war, with Moscow backing Assad and France supporting rebel groups trying to overthrow him.
France also helped spearhead the EU’s economic sanctions on Russia over the seizure of Crimea and Russian backing for insurgents in the east of the former Soviet republic. Putin’s Versailles visit meant Macron was the first western leader to speak to Putin following the G7 summit this weekend, where western leaders agreed to consider new measures against Moscow if the situation in Ukraine did not improve.
Putin had cancelled his last scheduled visit to Paris in October after the Kremlin accused France of seeking to humiliate the Russian leader. Moscow cancelled the October trip hours after the then president François Hollande said Russia could face war crimes charges over its bombardment of Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city.Mother Nature loves a joke. Marine invertebrates that literally puke their guts out at the slightest provocation and hippos that sweat sunscreen are just a few of her favorites. There are vultures that wear leggings made from their own poop. There are alarmingly large bugs that smell like cherry cola, and mammal butts that smell like French vanilla and buttered popcorn. (Go home, nature. You’re drunk.)
So is this the zoo or a candy factory? Your nose can’t tell the difference. These seven animals are olfactory dead ringers for Jelly Belly flavors.
1. BINTURONG (ARCTICTIS BINTURONG) // BUTTERED POPCORN
The back end of the binturong, or bearcat, is legendary. Not for its size, shape, or productivity, but because it smells remarkably like a movie theater lobby. The heavenly scent that wafts across a bearcat habitat originates right in its inhabitants’ anal glands. Like housecats, binturongs are highly territorial and use smell to stake out their turf, but that’s where the similarity ends. While cats will snuggle and rub affectionately to leave their calling cards, a binturong scent-marks by dragging its butt across every object and surface it can find.
2. YELLOW ANTS (LASIUS INTERJECTUS) // LEMON DROP
The yellow ant is kind of a two-for-one deal. Not only do these ants emit an unmistakably lemony aroma, but they also look like little tiny lemons. Or their gasters (behinds) do, anyway.
When a colony of yellow ants is disturbed, its members emit a defensive chemical that smells so much like lemons that some people call these insects citronella ants. If your backyard smells suspiciously like a lemonade stand and there are no enterprising children in sight, take a look—you may have ants.
3. SPADEFOOT TOAD (SPEA MULTIPLICATA) // PEANUT BUTTER
Oh, spadefoot toad, you incredible weirdo. Behind your bulging eyes and claw-tipped hind legs is a gentle soul, a soul that craves solitude. A soul that enjoys a good wallow in the mud. A soul—and a parotoid gland—that will secrete a peanut butter-scented substance that causes sneezing and burning eyes in anyone who touches you. You just want to be left alone, spadefoot toad. We understand.
NOTE: We realize that Peanut Butter is no longer part of Jelly Belly’s 50 Official Flavors collection, but it remains lodged in our memories, our taste buds, and our hearts.
4. AFRICANIZED HONEYBEE (APIS MELLIFERA SCUTELLATA) // TOP BANANA
Their sting is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
Let’s rewind a moment: Bee communication is super complex, and ranges from adorable folk dances to hysteria-inducing chemical signals like the alarm pheromone. When a forager bee feels threatened, it sends the scent of fear out into the hive. Other bees pick up the chemical trail and pass along the message, spreading panic. Africanized bees are both more sensitive to the pheromone than their European cousins and produce more of it, which means more panic, which means more stinging. And what does this alarm pheromone smell like to humans? You guessed it: bananas.
5. CRESTED AUKLET (AETHIA CRISTATELLA) // TANGERINE
So far we’ve seen nutty amphibians, citrusy insects, and buttery mammal butts, but what about fruit-fragranced birds? Yeah, we’ve got those, too.
Crested auklets are so fragrant, wildlife biologist Julie Hagelin told Nature, that “it’s like somebody is peeling a tangerine next to you.” The auklets are the first birds known to signal through scent. The seabirds use their oily bills to apply fragrance to their feathers like humans applying perfume, hoping to attract a mate. Smell is such a turn-on for these birds that their greetings consist of sniffing each other’s neck feathers. Toucan Sam could not be reached for comment.
6. GIANT MILLIPEDE (APHELORIA VIRGINIENSIS) // CHERRY COLA
Giant millipedes are kind of scary. They are, as their name suggests, pretty big—some species can be more than 15 inches long—and they brew all manner of poisons when they’re upset. The American giant millipede (Narceus americanus) secretes a liquid that can cause dermatological burns. But maybe these bugs have a bad name. Sure, Apheloria virginiensis may release cyanide when it’s stressed, but it also “has a nice odor, like cherry cola.”
Again: we’ve strayed from the Jelly Belly top 50, but hear us out. Cherry cola jelly beans, while retired from the American J.B. roster, are still a thing in the UK.
7. BEAVER (GENUS CASTOR) // FRENCH VANILLA
In the science world, the vanilla-scented, molasses-like goo that comes out of a beaver’s butt is known as castoreum. In the world of food science, it’s known as “natural flavoring.” When the news hit a few years back that beaver bum-milk was a legal food additive, consumers hit the fan. Fortunately, milking a beaver bottom is a thankless job and the yield is low, which means that most food-grade vanilla flavoring comes from less extreme sources.
(Most of it.)
AND TWO ANIMALS THAT PROBABLY DON’T SMELL LIKE JELLYBEANS AT ALL:
The old trail wisdom goes that if you smell watermelons and you’re nowhere near a melon patch, rattlesnakes can’t be far away. This is not true. The misconception may have arisen from the Southern melon varietal known as the rattlesnake watermelon. When asked what the snakes do smell like, one experienced woodsman answered, “Rattlesnakes.”
And then there’s elephant pee, which allegedly smells like black licorice. There is no proof that this is true. There’s also no proof that it isn’t. The next time you encounter an elephant urine scholar (or a beaker of elephant urine), find out for yourself and send us an update.
All images courtesy of ThinkstockBy Jean Lotus
Editor
The Village Council of Forest Park voted at Monday night's meeting to reduce the hours alcohol could be sold in retail liquor stores. The village codes did not specify opening times for prepackaged liquor stores, although liquor cannot be sold in Forest Park after 2 a.m. and before 7 a.m.
No liquor can be served in restaurants and full bars with licenses in classes A2, A6, B2 and C before 11 a.m. But some liquor stores open earlier than restaurants, and this led to neighbor complaints of "bottles and bags" left on lawns, Commissioner Chris Harris said at Monday's meeting.
"I'm always very cautious about limiting a business' ability to earn money," Harris said but added that neighbor complaints about "quality of life" made him decide to vote not to allow package good stores to open until 11 a.m. Closing hours are 11 p.m. for carry-out liquor establishments, according to the new ordinance.
Contact:
Email: jlotus@forestparkreview.com Twitter: @FP_ReviewA year and a half ago I wrote an article just after the Marvel Cinematic Universe reached a worldwide gross of 10 Billion dollars in ticket sales. Captain America: Civil War was the film that pushed the franchise over that incredible milestone, making the MCU the very first series to ever reach $10 Billion dollars. It was also the first series to reach 8 and 9 Billion. And since Civil War, three more films have been released under the MCU umbrella bringing the total to over $12 Billion worldwide, and this number shows no signs of slowing. And this lead me to ask the question, can the MCU be stopped?
The answer I gave, based on the growth rate of rival franchises and series at the time was no. It cannot be stopped, and it won’t be topped for another 10-15 years EVEN IF the MCU stops producing films within the next 5 years. By this time next year alone the numbers will likely jump from $12 to around $17 billion at the box office. By averaging the gross of the current Phase 3 films, multiplying that by the number of non-Avenger films coming out, and adding the average of the previous Avengers films together, you’ll find that this next year will be Marvel’s biggest to date. It’s a mighty sum.
In that time Star Wars will overtake J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World films as the number two highest grossing film franchise of all time and it will most likely make it to that coveted $10 Billion box office milestone club. But can Star Wars EVER top what the MCU is amassing at an unprecedented rate? Until the MCU slows down, still no. Even if every Star Wars film rakes in $2 Billion dollars worldwide like The Force Awakens did, which they most certainly cannot, the fact that Marvel has bumped their output from 2 films per year to 3, ensures that their growth will exceed that on an annual basis. And as Star Wars is only putting out 1 film per year, that just won’t happen. But Star Wars just may take that spot some day, because it’s a franchise that’s willing to play the long game.
Now, as impressive as the box office figures are for the MCU, it must be tempered by other figures. If adjusted for the inflation of ticket prices today, the James Bond franchise would sit at the number 1 spot, albeit for only a brief period of time more, with $14 Billion. And as of 2012, Star Wars as a marketing brand was estimated at a worth of over $30 Billion, and I don’t doubt that since Disney has bought it, it’s sitting closer to $40 Billion.
But it is no surprise that since 2012 saw the release of Marvel’s first full team-up in The Avengers, many, many studios have been fast-tracking their own brand of a Cinematic Universe, to varying degrees of success. In our Sunday Geekly Poll we asked you guys whether or not Cinematic Universes were worth it. Over 240 of you voted in and here are your results:The Wellington District Court has determined this afternoon that 63-year-old financial advisor David Ross won’t be sentenced for running a ponzi scheme that affected over a thousand people, as he did not mean to break the law, and only intended to “take everyone’s money.”
Despite pleading guilty to serious charges of account manipulation brought against him by the Financial Markets Authority and Serious Fraud Office, the court found that Ross only intended to “deliberately misrepresent numerous details about investors in his company with intention of securing investments on false premises, effectively stealing money from clients who unknowingly funded his hedonistic lifestyle of excess,” but at no time expressed any intention to violate New Zealand law.
It found that Ross had “not considered the legal ramifications of his actions,” and thus could not be held accountable by the legal system.
One victim of Ross, who wished to remain anonymous, said that she was “heartbroken” by the decision, and felt that the legal system was stacked against her. She believed that something like this would never happen if it “involved the Government or something.”Zidisha is a Y Combinator nonprofit and the first P2P microlending community to connect lenders and borrowers directly across international borders.
People in developing countries support their families with their own small businesses. They need loans in order to grow - but local banks charge exorbitant interest rates: 37% is the global average for microfinance loans, and even Kiva borrowers pay over 35% in fees and interest.
We leverage the recent spread of the internet in developing countries to bypass expensive local banks and connect lenders and borrowers directly via an online P2P lending platform. The result is dramatically more affordable: Zidisha borrowers pay only 5% for each loan to cover money transfer fees. Lower costs mean profits from the loan projects go to the borrowers, instead of to the banks’ administrative expenses.We have four kinds of things in Exp: identifiers, function calls, lambdas and lets, and we have four rules in type inference. Finally, the last recursive rule of the type inference algorithm:
(iv) If e is let x = e 1 in e 2 then let W(A, e 1 ) = (S 1, τ 1 ) and ____ W(S 1 A x ∪ {x:S 1 A(τ 1 ), e 2 ) = (S 2, τ 2 ); then S = S 2 S 1 and τ = τ 2.
Again let’s look at an example. Let’s say we want to infer a type for
let double_it = λx.(plus x x) in double_it foo
where we have plus as before, and foo:int in our set of assumptions. We begin by recursing on λx.(plus x x) with the current set of assumptions. Note that we do not want to remove double_it from our set of assumptions if it is there because the expression might use double_it, meaning some other definition. If it does, then it uses the definition already in the assumptions; the “new” double_it is only in scope after the in.
Type inference tells us that the expression is of type int → int, so we add an assumption double_it:int → int to our set of assumptions, and compute the type of double_it foo under the new set of assumptions, which of course says that it is int. Since the type of a let expression is the type of the second expression, we’re done.
The reason we need the closure is: suppose type inference tells us that the first expression is of type β→β, and β is free in A. (Remember, we always get a type, not a type scheme.) For the purposes of inferring the type of the right side of the in, we want the expression to have type scheme ∀β β→β.
NOTE: When any of the conditions above is not met W fails.
Though this is true, I think it would have been better to call out the two places in the algorithm where the failure can occur. They are in rule (i), which requires that an identifier have a type in the set of assumptions, and in rule (ii) which requires that type unification succeeds. Rules (iii) and (iv) never fail of their own accord; they only fail when the recursive application of W fails.
Next time: more sketch proofs!
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Develop a static website with Jekyll and deploy it automatically to S3 and/or Heroku
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Intro
As a Ruby (on Rails) developer, I sometimes wonder if a web application is always the right solution for all my problems. Most of the time it is not, a simple HTML static website would be enough. But then it would be nice to have some of the nice tools that you can use developing a web application, like templates and partials, an assets pipeline, easy deployment and some sort of intermediate markup or scripting language to dynamically generate pages and assets (like markdown, ERB, SCSS/Less and Coffescript).
To find a viable solution to these needs, I would recommend jekyll: an awesome and really popular gem to build static websites with powerful tools, like markdown syntax, liquid templates, assets pipeline and many more. Github uses it to provide simple to mantain pages to be hosted for free on their servers.
But what if you don’t want to use Github to host your static websites or you want other options instead of hosting them on your own servers?
This tutorial will explain how to use Jekyll and some of its plugins to develop a static website with a Rails-like assets pipeline and deploy it to Amazon S3 and/or Heroku with a Continuous Deployment/Delivery system.
Let’s start by installing and configuring the basics.
Basic setup
Install the Jekyll gem
gem install jekyll
Create a new jekyll project
jekyll new example_website
cd example_website
Run the jekyll server
jekyll serve --watch
and visit http://localhost:4000 : you will see a nice looking page with some examples of the potentialities of Jekyll.
Configure the project
For the pourpose of this tutorial, I want to start from a clean slate. I will remove the boilerplate files created by Jekyll and create a slightly different directory structure. You are free to skip this passage, if you wish to keep the example files.
rm -fr css _posts _layouts/post.html _layouts/page.html about.md feed.xml
mkdir -p _assets/javascripts/ _assets/stylesheets/ _plugins/ _vendors/javascripts/ _vendors/stylesheets/ assets/
touch _assets/javascripts/application.js.coffee _assets/stylesheets/application.css.scss _plugins/ext.rb Gemfile
The project directory structure:
example_website
├── _assets
│ ├── javascripts
│ │ └── application.js.coffee
│ └── stylesheets
│ └── application.css.scss
├── _includes
│ ├── footer.html
│ ├── head.html
│ └── header.html
├── _layouts
│ └── default.html
├── _plugins
│ └── ext.rb
├── _vendors
│ ├── javascripts
│ └── stylesheets
├── assets
├── _config.yml
├── Gemfile
├── Gemfile.lock
└── index.html
Create a Gemfile in the root directory and add these gems.
source 'https://rubygems.org'
gem 'jekyll-assets'
gem 'bootstrap-sass'
gem 'uglifier'
Install the gems
bundle install
Assets Pipeline
Add the jekyll-assets plugin to the _plugins/ext.rb file. This plugin allows to use a Rails-like assets pipeline in a Jekyll project, including using CoffeScript, Sass, Less and ERB as intermediate languages to write your assets and pages, automatic minification of code, cache busting and many other cool features that you can discover on the Github repository of the plugin.
require 'jekyll-assets'
require 'jekyll-assets/bootstrap'
We also added the bootstrap plugin to automatically use the framework in the project. Feel free to skip this if you want to start from scratch or with an other framework/library.
More information about Jekyll plugins can be found in the Jekyll documentation.
To use the assets pipeline, we need to add the assets configuration to the _config.yml file.
# Site settings
title : Your awesome title
email : your-email@domain.com
description : " Write an awesome description for your new site here. You can edit this line in _config.yml. It will appear in your document head meta (for Google search results) and in your feed.xml site description."
baseurl : " "
url : " http://yourdomain.com"
# Build settings
exclude : ['README.md','Gemfile','Gemfile.lock' ]
markdown : kramdown
permalink : pretty
assets :
debug : false
js_compressor : uglifier
css_compressor : sass
sources :
- _assets/javascripts
- _assets/stylesheets
- _vendors/stylesheets
- _vendors/javascripts
If you set the debug flag to true, you skip the minifications of the assets. It can be useful during development to debug the Javascript.
Add some content
JQuery is required to use the bootstrap JS components, so you can download the latest version (1.11.1 at the time of writing) of the library and put the file in _vendors/javascripts/. As a convention, it’s better to put external libraries, stylesheets and files in the _vendors directory and keep your own files separated from them.
curl -o./_vendors/javascripts/jquery.min.js http://code.jquery.com/jquery.min.js
Require both the jquery minified file and bootstrap in the _assets/javascripts/application.js.coffee file. You can add more files and require them in this one.
# = require jquery. min
# = require bootstrap
Similar to the javascripts, we import the main bootstrap stylesheet in the _assets/stylesheets/applications.css.scss file. We added just a little style to account the fact that we use a fixed navigation bar and we need to push the main content a bit down.
@import "bootstrap" ;
body {
padding-top : 70px ;
padding-bottom : 30px ;
}
Finally let’s setup the default layout _layouts/default.html template. As you can see we are using some helpers to include other html files that you can find in the _includes directory. We us also the javascript helper provided by jekyll-assets to include our application javascript file.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
{% include head.html %}
<body>
{% include header.html %}
<div class= "container" role= "main" >
{{ content }}
</div>
{% include footer.html %}
{% javascript application %}
</body>
</html>
Nothing special here apart the usage of the stylesheet helper, always provided by jekyll-assets in order to include the application stylesheet in the _includes/head.html file.
<head>
<meta charset= "utf-8" >
<meta http-equiv= "X-UA-Compatible" content= "IE=edge" >
<title> {% if page.title %}{{ page.title }}{% else %}{{ site.title }}{% endif %} </title>
<meta name= "viewport" content= "width=device-width" >
<meta name= "description" content= "{{ site.description }}" >
<meta name= "robots" content= "noindex, noarchive" >
<link rel= "canonical" href= "{{ page.url | replace:'index.html','' | prepend: site.baseurl | prepend: site.url }}" >
<!-- Custom CSS -->
{% stylesheet application %}
</head>
Our _includes/header.html file with just a basic nav-bar provided by bootstrap.
<nav class= "navbar navbar-inverse navbar-fixed-top" role= "navigation" >
<div class= "container" >
<div class= "navbar-header" >
<a class= "navbar-brand" href= "/" > Example Website </a>
</div>
</div>
</nav>
And a simple _includes/footer.html file.
<footer>
<div class= "container" >
<hr>
<small>
2014 Copyright Example Ltd
</small>
</div>
</footer>
Finally add some content to the index.html file. It will be the default page diplayed when accessing your website.
---
layout: default
---
<h1 class= "page-header" > Example Website </h1>
<p class= "lead" >
An example of using Jekyll with an assets pipeline, automated build and deployment to S3 or Heroku.
</p>
And we are done for this part. Run the server (if you haven’t already).
jekyll serve --watch
Visit localhost:4000 and check the results.
Deploy to S3
Amazon S3 is mostly used as an external storage for assets or files, but can also be configured to serve an entire static website in a scalable, cheap and performant way. To deploy our static website to it, we can use the s3_website. To start using it, add the gem to the Gemfile.
gem's3_website'
and bundle it.
bundle install
We are going to use a YAML file to hold the information that the s3_website gem will use during the deployment process. Create a new file called s3_website.yml in the root dir with this content.
s3_id : <%= ENV['AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID'] %>
s3_secret : <%= ENV['AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY'] %>
s3_bucket : <%= ENV['S3_BUCKET_NAME'] %>
As you can see we are not going to store any sensitive information - like your AWS keys - in the repositories file. Create an.env file in the root dir of the project and add there the credentials that you want to use. Remember to add the.env file to the.gitignore. In this way you can have other environment variables on your servers. More information about storing your variables in the enviroment can be found on the 12factor website.
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID = AKFKSKSDK8DSDSMFJA
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = 0fsd0fdsf0sd9f0fs0dBKmG6BfOVPYoHs
S3_BUCKET_NAME = example-website
More information about setting up a IAM user on AWS for s3_website can be found on the github repository
Create a new bucket in your S3 account. Open the Static Website Hosting menu in the properties for the new bucket and check Enable website hosting and adding index.html as the Index Document.
In order to upload correctly the compiled files with s3_website we need to give the permission to do so to the IAM user we just created. Go to the Permissions tab and click on Add more permissions. Select Authenticated Users and grant at least List and Upload/Delete.
We need also to setup the bucket policy to allow every page to be seen as public. To so click on Add bucket policy in the Permissions tab again and paste this code in the textarea. Remember to substitute BUCKET_NAME with your correct bucket name.
{
"Version" : "2008-10-17",
"Statement" : [
{
"Sid" : "Allow Public Access to All Objects",
"Effect" : "Allow",
"Principal" : {
"AWS" : "*"
},
"Action" : "s3:GetObject",
"Resource" : "arn:aws:s3:::BUCKET_NAME/*"
}
]
}
You can try if your AWS setup and configuration is ok by running
s3_website push --dry-run
It will execute all the commands to build the files from Jekyll and test the permissions to upload them on S3, without actually doing it and cleaning up afterwise.
If everything went ok, you can push your website for real, by removing the --dry-run option.
s3_website push
You can now check on your AWS management console if the files were uploaded and visit the S3 url to see your new shiny pages. The url will be composed by your BUCKET_NAME and the REGION were you created your bucket. More information on the S3 documentation about website endpoints.
http://BUCKET_NAME.s3-website-REGION.amazonaws.com
Deploy the static website to Heroku with Rack
If for whatever reason you don’t want to deploy your static website to S3 (or not only), you have another option by deploying it to Heroku as a simple Rack application.
This tutorial is not about setting up an Heroku app, more information on how to get started with Heroku can be found in the official documentation.
Start by adding these gems to the Gemfile :
gem 'rack'
gem 'rack-contrib'
gem 'thin'
And run the bundle install command.
We are going to render a 404 page for all the requests that don’t exist. Create a 404.html file in the root directory.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<meta charset= "utf-8" >
<meta http-equiv= "X-UA-Compatible" content= "IE=edge" >
<title> Your awesome title </title>
<!-- Custom CSS -->
<link rel= "stylesheet" href= "/assets/application-713ae02b40c09a6a380683ba251607be.css" >
<body>
<nav class= "navbar navbar-inverse navbar-fixed-top" role= "navigation" >
<div class= "container" >
<div class= "navbar-header" >
<a class= "navbar-brand" href= "/" > Example Website </a>
</div>
</div>
</nav>
<div class= "container" role= "main" >
<h1> 404 - Content Not Found </h1>
<a href= "/" > Go back home </a>
</div>
</body>
</html>
To run our static website as a Rack application, we need a config.ru file to specify the configuration. In this case we are going to use Rack::TryStatic from the rack-contrib gem. It similar to the standard Rack::Static middleware, but it allows us to specify which files should be tried to be loaded for a request: for example a url like /about will try to load an about.html, about/index.html file or render the 404 page.
Credits to Matthew Manning for the tutorial on how to deploy a static website to Heroku with Rack::TryStatic.
require 'rack/contrib/try_static'
use Rack :: TryStatic,
urls: %w[/],
root: '_site',
try: [ '.html', 'index.html', '/index.html' ],
header_rules: [
[[ 'html' ], { 'Content-Type' => 'text/html; charset=utf-8' }],
[[ 'css' ], { 'Content-Type' => 'text/css' }],
[[ 'js' ], { 'Content-Type' => 'text/javascript' }],
[[ 'png' ], { 'Content-Type' => 'image/png' }],
[ '/assets', { 'Cache-Control' => 'public, max-age=31536000' }],
]
run lambda { | env |
[ 404, { 'Content-Type' => 'text/html' }, File. open ( '_site/404.html', File :: RDONLY )]
}
Add some new files to the exclude key in your _config.yml file.
#...
exclude : ['README.md','Gemfile','Gemfile.lock','s3_website.yml' |
only having won two championships prior to Seed vs. MC, the idea of the first ever PvP final was something new and exciting on paper. PvP, usually the consensus pick for worst match-up, was starting to see more games enter the late game where it became somewhat more entertaining. Seed vs. MC also featured two of the most outspoken, charismatic players going up against each other with with plenty of trash-talk leading into the match.With a beach stage set up in Busan, GOM had high hopes for a huge crowd to see their Code S final. Sadly, with a PvP final and other factors thrown in, it wasn't the gigantic attendance they would have hoped for. The games themselves were quick and one-sided, Seed proving to be the better player throughout. MC was able to grab a game in the fourth set to bring the match to a 3-1 scoreline, but the composed Seed was able to close it out in five games. With his eyes closed and a relieved look on his face, Seed captured his first championship and became the second Protoss champion in GSL history.The moral of this story is that a PvP final was something new we gave a shot and instantly decided wasn't for us, like that time Wolf decided to dye his hair jet black. Even with HotS, it remains a match-up few fans are interested in and we're glad we've managed to dodge it ever since.The first TvT final in GSL history was also its worst TvT final. Mvp was the strong, defensive-minded player with incredible macro, and MarineKing was the aggressive, offensive-minded player with incredible micro. On paper this should have been a great match, a clash of two distinct styles going head to head in the first final of 2011. Mvp was the slight favorite, but both players had strong fan support heading into the final and everything suggested that this was going to be a good one.Well, it wasn't. MarineKing tried to play a different style than he was used to, not playing his normal bio-centric play and instead tried to go head to head against Mvp at his own game. MarineKing, not knowing what to do to beat Mvp, got rolled over in four straight games and never looked like he had a fighting chance. He betrayed the way he usually played the game, couldn't match up with Mvp's strong defensive style, and was handed his second straight GSL final loss. When the two faced again later, MKP would stay true to his style and give Mvp a much harder challenge.Only watch this series if you're either a really big Mvp fan or you find great pleasure in watching MarineKing get beat up and cry.Looking back at all the GSL seasons from now to the very first one, GSL Open Season 3 is most likely the worst one from top to bottom. Most of the games ended in cheese, MC crushed everyone in his path and made them look bad, and Rain made it to the finals by making everybody mad by cheesing Nestea out of the tournament. Rain got so much hate for his cheese tactics that he had to defend the way he played in interviews. There was the heroic story of Jinro making it to the semifinals before becoming another victim to the MC slaughter, but that was pretty much the only highlight of the season.Rain was expected to get run over by MC, and fans wanted to see the guy who got there by cheesy tactics get crushed by the unstoppable Protoss force. To be fair to Rain, he actually put up a nice fight in the series, making it a lot closer than a lot of people thought he could. He went down with a 4-1 score as MC claimed the championship, but gained a bit of respect from the community for his valiant effort. This final isn't the worst of all-time, but it is one of the most forgettable in possibly the worst season of GSL. We will remember it for Jinro's semifinal run and MC's complete dominance, but that's about it.The third and last MC final on this list, this was the one with the most promise. However, it just didn't live up to the massive hype. July was a Brood War legend with a golden mouse in his possession, and it was his first time in a GSL final. MC was considered one of the best players in the world alongside Nestea and Mvp, winning a championship only two seasons before against Rain. It was the first PvZ final in GSL history, and people were expecting to see a great showing between Starcraft 2's best and one of Brood War's best. The crowd was hyped for the entrances, the trash talk, and were pumped up to see if July could be the first Brood War legend to capture a title.MC embarrassed him. July didn't play his best games, MC was at the peak of his power, and it was the second straight final involving MC that ended in a 4-1 stomping. The fans were left deflated seeing their Brood War hero get beaten up by a player once known as the Suicide Toss. July's championship window in SC2 closed there – even though he stayed around in Code S he was never a title threat again. This was a final with a lot of missed potential, and we will remember it mostly for MC establishing himself as a superpower in the Starcraft 2 world by vanquishing an old Brood War legend.Ah, the season of perfection. This season will always be known as the tournament that Nestea won without dropping a single map. While statistically it was the greatest individual run in GSL history, Nestea didn't have the toughest road. He got a free win over Rain, beat a ZvZ inept July, a Code S survivalist in Ensnare, a ZvZ inept Coca, and then made it to the finals with a 3-0 blowout against the injured and demotivated HongUn. Not the most strenuous journey, but it was still an incredible feat to make the finals without dropping a single game.Nestea faced his teammate Losira in the finals, giving us our first ever ZvZ final. Maybe not getting the same hatred as the PvP mirror or even the TvT mirror at that time, it still wasn't one of the most highly anticipated match-ups. Many expected the undefeated Nestea to take another easy championship against a player who learned under him, and the biggest question heading into the final was if Nestea could pull off the perfect season. Nestea didn't let his fans down, winning without really breaking a sweat after the first game, keeping his record intact and winning his third title.While this was one of the biggest blowouts in GSL history, the games were actually pretty fun if you didn't have high expectations, and we got to see Nestea win his third title in perfect fashion. This final isn't one people will be rushing to watch if they aren't Artosis, but it's way better than the very low expectations that were set for a ZvZ final.This was supposed to be the Super Bowl of the GSL. It pitted the 64 best players from Code S and Code A against each other, with the winner to walk out with $100,000. Having the same format as the old open seasons, this was GSL's idea to create the greatest tournament of all-time and have the biggest final in history.Alas. Throughout the season, big names continued to fall and no-names continued to rise through the ranks. Mvp, Nestea, MC and others dropped out early, with players like TheBest and Line making it all the way to the final eight. Instead of a final that consisted of established stars, the final two players were both newcomers to the spotlight.MMA was coming into his own as one of the best players in the world, helping Slayers win the GSTL championship and capturing a foreign title at MLG Columbus. His opponent was Polt, seen as MarineKing's Terran sidekick, never really breaking out before the Super Tournament. He was known mostly for his astonishing TvP record of 10-0, but was seen as not much of a threat against the heir to Boxer's throne. Most saw this as a clear cut victory for MMA, a mere formality before his official coronation ceremony.The finals went in a direction that no one expected. Polt, the TvP specialist, outplayed MMA in every aspect of the finals, making a statement with a 4-0 victory and shocking the world. Taking the $100,000 check and becoming the first and only Super Tournament champion, Polt pulled off the biggest upset in GSL finals history. Using his early game strategies and superior positioning to beat MMA in the early game, the then-Prime Terran became the first player from his team to win a GSL championship.Both players went on to enjoy success afterward and become top stars in the StarCraft 2 scene, but the Super Tournament was deemed a failure by many. The prize money was too top heavy, the finals didn't pan out like GOM probably hoped, and the tournament was canned after the 2011 season.first game.This series besides the first game? Terrible. People were starting to get sick of TvT finals, TOP wasn't an established enough star to hype up a final, and Mvp was considered the heavy favorite. The games after the first one were dull and the series ended up like expected, Mvp triumphing over TOP in a one-sided 4-1 series to win his third GSL title. If it wasn't for the first game of this series, this might very well be in the bottom three of all-time and have no rewatch value at all except for the Mvp fanboys in the world.the first game was one of the best of 2011, showing the best of the GOMTvT era. Mvp and TOP played an epic game, hitting each other with everything in the Terran arsenal. Mvp dropped nuke after nuke from the sky, covering the map with explosions. TOP and Mvp were the two best macro Terrans at the time, matching each other in economy and being able to give us one of the best TvT games in history. Mvp would eventually edge out the victory, showing why he was the champion and TOP was just the challenger, but it was a game that should be viewed by anyone who wants to see an incredible match.The rest of the series might have been a huge letdown after such an epic first game, but the opener to the series was good enough to rank it just below average.This final wasn't very good game-wise, but neither was the entirety of the first season. This final is ranked this high because the finals behind it weren't all that great either, and because this was the first GSL finals, setting the stage for the dozens to come.The story was perfect, the Zerg hero Fruitdealer conquering the imbalanced maps and giving his race hope at a time when no one thought there was a chance a Zerg could win the first GSL season. Rainbow was a good foil to the hero, a popular Terran player who was good enough to be a champion in his own right.The finals had all the bells and whistles you would expect from the first grand finals. The players were elevated on platforms with smoke machines a plenty, and the casters hyped this up to be one of the biggest matches in e-sports history. The series wasn't very close, but it didn't have to be. People wanted to see FruitDealer beat the odds and become the first champion, and he did just that, winning in five games and giving the perfect ending to a great story.Neither Rainbow or FruitDealer had much success after the finals, and we look back at the first season as a time when no one really knew what they were doing, but that's what made it so great. A guy who had to sell fruits for a living to help out his family had become the first champion of the biggest SC2 league in the world, and he did it by playing the race that no one thought would be able to win the championship. You don't watch this final to see the highest level of play, but to experience the fairytale ending to a great story that will never be replicated.Unfortunately for soO and Dear, their final was one of the least expected of all time and thus one of the least hyped. The entirety of WCS KR Season 3 had been fraught with upsets, with players like Bomber, sOs, DongRaeGu, INnoVation, and Flash all falling out by the time the tournament reached the quarterfinals.The upsets didn't stop coming as the unheralded Dear knocked out defending champion Maru in the semifinals, while soO took out both PartinG and Soulkey to earn his spot in the finals. Despite the fact that Dear and soO had taken out such formidable opponents, the fans seemed less than convinced about their skill, more willing to see their runs as strokes of good fortune than as a sign of anything lasting.Given a chance to prove the doubters wrong by delivering an epic finals, soO and Dear only did a decent job. The series was standard PvZ, and inevitably several of the games simply hinged on the question of "did Dear's all-in work or not." Still, there were a few closely contested macro games that were quite entertaining. In the end, Dear took a convincing 4-2 victory over soO, but not one that was all that convincing about his overall ability.Just a few weeks later, Dear would go on to crush Soulkey 4-0 in the WCS Season 3 Finals, proving that he was the real deal. While that makes us remember the WCS KR Season 3 Finals as the tournament where Dear came into his own, it doesn't stick out as an especially notable final.With Wings of Liberty coming to an end and Heart of the Swarm grabbing everyone's attention with beta tournaments, the last Code S season in Wings of Liberty was also the most overlooked. People were excited at the beginning of the season, thinking that we might get a final consisting of Mvp, Nestea, or MC to end the Wings of Liberty era on a historic note. Mvp and Nestea both fell early, and Stephano, the fan favorite foreigner that everyone tuned in to see, couldn't make it out of the first round. Favorites continued to fall, leaving us with a similar situation to the previous Code S season, where BL-infestor using Zergs toppled their more established peers.The final ended up being between Symbol, a once red hot Zerg player that cooled off with continuous exits in the quarterfinals, and Roro, a KeSPA player that was a solid A-teamer in Brood War, but not the player fans expected to be the first KeSPA player in a GSL final. With another ZvZ final confirmed, the hype for the finale to the Wings era was at an all-time low. IEM was holding their World Championship at the same time with Heart of the Swarm, the game everyone was excited to see end the BL-infestor era.Despite there being a ton of apathy in the West, the venue was surprisingly packed back in Korea. The games the two put forth were, while not the greatest games of all-time, still enjoyable and highly entertaining. Roro went up 3-0, taking a close game on the first map, finally overwhelming Symbol with a superior economy and infestor force, and then took the next two games without much trouble.Symbol fought back, narrowing the gap to 2-3, throwing up manner nydues against his opponent even when down three games in the finals. The tension was high in the sixth map of the final, with everyone wondering if Symbol could take it to a seventh game. Unfortunately for the Azubu player, Roro regained his composure, was able to get the better end of the engagements in the final game, and win the final Wings Code S tournament by a 4-2 score.No, it wasn't the perfect sendoff to Wings, but Roro and Symbol put on a finals performance that was worth watching.The second meeting between Mvp and MarineKing was much better than the first, but Mvp was still able to take out MarineKing in another GSL finals. The special World Championship season was a bit of an anomaly in the GSL line of tournaments, being the shortest season with the weakest players (I mean, they seeded a bunch a foreigners...), but it came out with a good finals nonetheless.This final had some entertaining games, with MarineKing making an epic comeback in the middle of the series to tie it up 2-2 against his rival and give his fans the hope that he could claim his first GSL championship. Unfortunately for MKP and his fans, Mvp didn't let MarineKing overtake him and closed out the series in six games. With a record of 8-2 against MarineKing in finals, Mvp and MarineKing became the only two players to play each other twice in a GSL final. It would also be MarineKing's last GSL final, though he would go on to break his Kong curse at MLG events in 2012.Some may remember the WC as the most fringe GSL tournament that barely qualifies as a GSL championship, but the finals between MarineKing and Mvp were good enough to headline any major tournament.The Blizzard Cup became the Hot6ix Cup in 2013, but it continued its streak of having an amazing finals card. With Soulkey and Rain – two players who exemplified safe, textbook styles – reaching the grand finals it wasn't hard to see why GSL commentator and macro-game fetishist Artosis was practically salivating heading into the series.As it turned out, the final was good but not great. The level of play was extremely high as expected, with both players showing off great blind reads, top class micro, and smart decision making. However, as exquisitely played as the games were, they were nothing special in terms of pure entertainment value. One player would take a lead, and then ruthlessly expand that lead without letting his opponent have even a glimmer of hope.The one exception was Rain's incredible come-from-behind victory in game five, where he recovered from an early zergling rush with an unbelievably successful quadruple attack on all of Soulkey's bases. The comeback was only possible because of a rare lapse in concentration from Soulkey, but that's typically how it is in StarCraft: you can have flawless play or you can back and forth games, but you can't have both.Overall, it was a final that was much like the two players in it: solid and well played, but without much flair.Breaking up the ZvZ streak that seemed to be cursing every major tournament toward the end of 2012, Parting fought through a gauntlet of Zergs to make it to his first GSL final at the Blizzard Cup. The charismatic Startale player had talked big for the past year, telling everyone he would take the mantle as the Protoss President, and he finally got his chance to prove it in Korea. His opponent and teammate, Life, had won the GSL two seasons before, downing Mvp in the finals and becoming the first royal roader in GSL history.Parting, coming off wins at the BWC and WCG, was in the best condition of his career, playing some of the most inspired games against Zerg we saw during the BL-infestor era. With his wide variety of all-in and macro strategies, he was a player that always seemed to have an ace up his sleeve against Zerg. In a time when people were looking for a hero to stop Zerg, Parting was the player that had the best chance of taking them out. Life, on the other hand, was an unstoppable prodigy, having taken titles across the globe and already holding a GSL title at the age of fifteen.The final itself was good, Parting going up 2-0 and taking an early lead over his Zerg teammate. But as expected, Life came back for the umpteenth time in his young career, fighting back with four straight wins to take out PartinG and win his second GSL championship. It became the icing on the cake for Life in a year that he had dominated, even though he had only really started playing well during the summer.Parting, having to lost to his teammate, would then go on to move from Startale not too long after, joining SKT and becoming a KeSPA player.The first thing you remember about this finals is the stage. Kicking off the new year in style, GOM built a special booth layout for the two players to play in, resembling an octagon cage from mixed martial arts. In the finals were the two frenemies DongRaeGu and Genius, having already met once in the first round of the season. Genius was able to upset the heavy favorite DRG in the group stages, making people remember the Protoss of the Open Seasons that was always considered a championship threat.Genius breezed through the knockout rounds, 3-0'ing both MC and aLive in succession, advancing to his first and only grand finals to date. His teammate at the time, DRG, did not have such an easy time, having to come back from a 0-2 deficit to Gumiho to make it to the finals. Winning three straight and setting up the dream match between the two players who constantly made fun of each other in interviews, we were given one of the most hyped up finals of all-time.With the servers being overloaded by the amount of people trying to tune in, the first game actually wasn't seen by many people online live. The series had some solid games, Genius being able to surprise the audience once again by gaining a 2-1 advantage over the favored Zerg with strong timing attacks. The timing attacks didn't work forever, however, with DongRaeGu fighting back to take the next three maps in a row to take home his first GSL championship after coming so close a season before against MMA in the 2011 Blizzard Cup finals.None of the games will standout as a must watch, but the unique stage, the hype surrounding the final, and the ceremonies the two players performed throughout the night, made this a grand final that is worth remembering.With almost every other major final being a ZvZ, Code S saw its first ZvZ final in over a year in 2012's Season 5, reflecting the changing balance toward the end of Wings of Liberty.It was also a special tournament for many other reasons. It was the second GSL tournament to travel overseas, with the semifinals and finals played at IPL5 in Las Vegas. That also made it one of the most rushed tournament in Code S history, with the schedule being condensed to meet the date of the live event.The semifinals featured a rag tag bunch of players that almost no one had picked to get to Vegas. There was Innovation, a KeSPA player that had started his SC2 career with a poor record in Proleague. Ryung, the eternal sidekick to MMA, vital to SlayerS' cause but always overlooked. HyuN, the masterful online player and king of the IPL Fight Club, who always choked when it came to offline events. And finally, Sniper the league breaker, who had knocked out fan favorite after fan favorite.Hyun and Sniper made it to the finals after victories over Innovation and Ryung respectively, but the audience still wasn't convinced. They were both finalists by making it into the grand final, but the nature of the format and the lack of preparation time made people suspect if these two were truly the best players in the world. Adding on top of all that being it was a ZvZ, a match-up that was starting to become redundant in tournaments, and you had a recipe for disaster if the games weren't good.Luckily, they were. It might not be remembered as one of the greatest finals of all-time, but it was enjoyable, going to all seven sets. The seventh game was the best of the entire series, both players tip toeing on disaster and fighting back from big disadvantages. With an unmarked base at the bottom right, Sniper was able to get the final one-up on his opponent, riding his momentum to a crushing final battle victory.On top of that, the crowd in Las Vegas didn't care that it was a ZvZ, or that the players in front of them weren't the biggest stars of the Korean SC2 scene. It was the GSL, the world's greatest tournament, live in the United States. That's what truly mattered to them, and they let everyone know it with their cheers.
Writer https://twitter.com/FionnOnFireThe American official said the team was not to blame. “We have done three investigations down there, and all absolve ISAF forces and Special Forces of all wrongdoing,” the official said, referring to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. “It is simply not true.”
Relatives of the victims and their supporters have staged noisy protests in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. They say the International Committee of the Red Cross has been investigating the disappearances. In keeping with standard practice, the Red Cross has made no public comment on the matter.
In February, President Hamid Karzai ordered all American Special Operations forces to leave Wardak Province, an area near the capital where insurgents have been active. Afghan and American officials then reached a compromise under which the A Team was removed from the Nerkh district but that allowed other Special Operations units to remain in at least four locations in the province. It is not known where the team that left the Nerkh district went.
Afghan officials investigated the events in the Nerkh district, and when they concluded that the accusations of misconduct by the team were true, the head of the Afghan military, Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, personally asked the American commander at the time, Gen. John R. Allen, to hand Mr. Kandahari over to the Afghan authorities.
According to a senior Afghan official, General Allen personally promised General Karimi that the American military would do so within 24 hours, but the promise was not kept, nor was a second promise a day later to hand him over the following morning. “The next morning they said he had escaped from them and they did not know where he was,” the official said.
The American official said the military was not trying to shield Mr. Kandahari. “The S.F. guys tried to pick him up, but he got wind of it and went on the lam, and we lost contact with him,” the official said. “We would have no reason to try to harbor this individual.”
And a spokesman for the American military, David E. Nevers, said General Allen “never had a conversation with General Karimi about this issue.”There’s been a lot of hysterical reaction to I.S.I.S.’s big land-grab in Central Iraq over the last two weeks. But there’s some wonderful bad news—“bad” from I.S.I.S’s perspective -- in the fact that all their gains have been on the very flat, dry plains of Central Iraq. The Northern pincer of their big advance, which was supposed to swing north through Tal Afar, has stalled badly.
And for that small mercy, I give wholehearted thanks to whatever god may be. Although god or gods had very little to do with it. The heroes of this story are the Pesh Merga, the very cool Kurdish militia; and topography. Bless the hills of Kurdistan! I always loved them, especially in Spring when the flowers explode over their slopes. But now those hills and the men and women of the Pesh Merga—the Middle East’s only truly gender-neutral fighting force—are the only thing saving all the terrified, dwindling minority communities of Northern Iraq from the savagery—yeah, savagery; why lie?—of a new zombie generation of Wahhabized Arab/Sunni jihadis.
What the jihadis have accomplished is grim enough, but their showoff videos of beheadings and mass executions are minor surges in what is, like it or not, a rational process: The partition of Iraq into three, rather than the previous two, ethnic/sectarian enclaves. Before I.S.I.S made its big move, Iraq was an unstable, immiscible column divided into Kurdistan and “everything else,” with “everything else” ruled by a weak Shia army.
Now the natural three-term partition is in place again, with the Sunni of the center, Saddam’s tribe, back to doing what they do best. I don’t mean to minimize the brutality of the operation, but this is a fairly bloody part of the world, and we contributed rather significantly to that blood-mush ourselves.
As long as the Sunni jihadis focus their revenge on fellow Sunni Arabs, their truly scary potential for pogroms is limited. What I truly fear, as a fond former resident of Iraqi Kurdistan, is that these creeps should break through to the North, into the hills where what’s left of Iraq’s slaughtered minorities have found a temporary haven. But so far, they’ve failed to do that at all. All their gains have come among their fellow Sunni on the Central Plains, which has muted their bloodlust somewhat. If those jerks ever got loose among the Assyrian, or Yazidi, or Turcoman, or Chaldean, or Kurdish communities hiding in the hills…well, you don’t have to guess about what would happen. They’ve said very clearly what they’d do, and they’ve done it often enough that there’s no reason to doubt their word.
So thank you, plate tectonics, for pushing up the hills along the northwestern borders. Thank you for diverting the Sunni jihadis away from the “kuffar” unbelievers whom they'd would kill with even greater enthusiasm than they show on their own.
Actually, topography has everything to do with what’s gone well or badly for I.S.I.S. in this latest push. If you know the ethnic makeup of the turf they’ve taken, their “shocking gains” don’t seem so shocking, or impressive. After all, we’re talking about a mobile force--mounted on the beloved Toyota Hilux pickup truck, favorite vehicle of every male in the Middle East—advancing over totally flat, dry ground in pursuit of a totally demoralized opponent. In that situation, any force could take a lot of country very quickly. It’s just a matter of putting your foot on the accelerator, moving unopposed on the long stretches of flat desert, then dismounting at the next crossroads town for a small, quick firefight against a few defenders who didn’t get the memo to flee. Once they’re dead, you floor it again until the next little desert town.
So this isn’t the second coming of Erwin Rommel by any means. Everything has conspired to push the Sunni advance, from the lousy opponent they’re up against to the terrain, which is a light mechanized commander’s dream.
Flat and dry is how a mechanized force commander wants his ground—and believe me, you haven’t seen flat and dry until you get to Iraq. Once you’re south of the Kurdish mountains, you’re on a dried mudflat. Iraq is much flatter than the deserts of the US, most of which get much more rain than central Iraq. No rain means little erosion, with few wadis or ravines to slow those Toyotas down. This is, after all, Mesopotamia, a land literally built by the sediment of the Euphrates and Tigris. It’s river mud, but nice and dry because very little rain falls, especially in June (average rainfall in June is 5 mm, the size of the numbers printed on an ATM card).
On ground like that, any force with good morale and enough fuel could advance as quickly as the Sunni have. It’s the Bonneville Salt Flats of insurgency, the place you go to set new speed records.
But in the North? No world records set there. In fact, I.S.I.S. seems to be bogging down badly around Kirkuk. To understand why, you need to consider both ethnography and terrain. And in fact, those two things are linked very tightly here, for some grim historical reasons. If you look at an ethnic map of Northern Iraq, you’ll notice that the minority sects and ethnic groups (those two categories tend to run together in the Middle East) are clustered north of the Central Iraqi plain, where the ground rises toward the serious mountains along the Turkish and Iranian borders.
There’s a reason for that, a simple and cruel one: Minority communities that aren’t protected by the hills tend to get wiped out. All over the world, you’ll find groups described as “hill tribes,” and in almost every case, if you go back a few centuries you’ll find that these aren’t “hill tribes” by choice, but defeated tribes who were forced off the plains and into the hills to survive. In places as far apart as Burma and Kurdistan, that pattern holds very clearly.
The hills of Northern Iraq hold what’s left of some extraordinary, beautiful cultures that have been wiped out in the more accessible parts of the country. And unfortunately, Sunni bigots have been ramping up their efforts to kill the survivors of these groups even in their remote hill towns.
The strangest of all these minorities have to be the Yazidi. When I was living in Kurdistan a few years ago, even the Americans bought into the prevailing Sunni slanders about Yazidis. I remember one Southern gentleman who’d come back from a weekend visit to Sinjar, a Yazidi town near the Syrian border, saying, “They really are devil worshipers! A snake cult!” Of course that dude was a product of Augusta, Georgia, and played golf—far gone, in other words. Not much you can do with someone wrong-headed enough to play golf.
The Kurds, who’d come through a nightmare century with remarkably little hatred for anyone, as far as I could see, didn’t buy this at all. My Kurdish students, as fine a group of people as I’ve ever met, used to say at every opportunity, “I have Christian friends! I have Yazidi friends! I have Turcoman friends! I have Shia friends!”
I guess if you’re a middle-class American, “I have [minority-sect] friends” sounds sort of patronizing. At least, when I told people back home about my students’ boast of inter-community friendships, the kewl leftists among them sneered a little, like “Oh that’s just like whites saying ‘my black friends.’”
Which, frankly, made me want to break a latte glass over their heads and cut their throats with the broken base. No, it isn’t like that slack Berkeley cliché about “my black friends”; it isn’t like that at all. I just wish Americans would stop assuming every place is like us. Let me tell you, for a Sunni Kurd to say, “I have Shia friends, I have Christian friends” is about as brave and radical as it gets, short of suicide, in the Middle East. I never heard any of my Saudi students say anything remotely like it. Well, how could they? By law, Shi’ism and Christianity are banned in the Kingdom. So they didn’t have the opportunity, even if they’d had the mindset (which they didn’t).
Something wonderful came out of the horrors of 20th century Iraq, among the Kurds of the Northern hills. They became the only non-sectarian population in Iraq, and perhaps the only such group between Lebanon and India.
All the hill peoples, the few who’d survived Sunni pogroms, were kind to each other. When violence came into the hills, it came from the plains to the South.
All the vulnerable minorities in the Northern hills had been hit by waves of violence from the Sunni majority to the south: the few remaining Assyrian Christians who held out in little mountain towns like Zakho, a pitiful remnant of the genocides perpetrated against them by the Ottomans, and then by Sunni militias in the 1930s; The Turcoman, who are Sunni but Turkish-speaking—in other words, not Arab—and don’t you ever doubt that Arab chauvinism has a HUGE part in what passes for Sunni jihadism. The Turcoman are the third-biggest ethnic group in the country, and because they’re non-Arabs, often Shi’ites, and just plain “visible minority,” have been subjected to pogroms, discrimination, and mass murder for generations.
The Turcoman towns are in a particularly dangerous position, on the plains at the foot of the northern hills. They’ve been taking a lot of casualties fighting off the northern prong of the Sunni advance. Tal Afar, the most important Turcoman town in the North, seems to have fallen to the I.S.I.S. as of June 23, 2014, though it’s always a good idea to wait a day or two before believing any wartime claim about cities lost or gained.
What makes it easy to believe Tal Afar has fallen is topography. I.S.I.S. is a mobile force, fast and light. Anything on the plain is vulnerable to it at this point, and Tal Afar, unfortunately, is a lowland town, with an official altitude of about 1300 feet/400 meters.
The biggest and strongest of the hill tribes, the Iraqi Kurds, are a little safer. Not only do they have the best fighting force in Iraq in the Pesh Merga, but they are safe behind a wall of high hills. The big Kurdish cities, Erbil and Suleimaniya (my beloved home in 2009-10), are safe behind high hills, far from the Sunni plain. Suleimaniya has an official altitude of about 2900 feet/900 meters, and the hills that surround the city are much higher, with Halgurd, Iraqi Kurdistan’s highest point, reaching 12,000 feet. Terrible, terrible ground for a light, mobile attacker like I.S.I.S—thank god, or tectonics, or whatever.
Of all the hill tribes, the Sunni Kurds are doing best in this chaos. It’s allowed them to take Kirkuk, which they always needed and wanted, and it also just so happens to put the one and only “supergiant” oilfield in the North (5 billion gallons) totally inside Kurdish territory.
I’m happy as Hell for the Kurds. I love them anyway, and miss Suli a lot—but more than that, it’s simple justice that they get a break for once. The Kurds have paid their dues. Saddam’s murderers in uniform killed nearly 200,000 Kurds, and the man from Tikrit was supposedly very disappointed he hadn’t been able to wipe them out completely.
At the moment, I.S.I.S isn’t even trying to pick a fight with the Pesh Merga—a fight they would lose very quickly if it ever did happen. But then Sunni jihadis have always liked softer targets, the softer the better.
Which is why what jihadis like most of all is to kill the Yazidi, the most helpless and vulnerable of all the hill peoples.
The Yazidi are one of the saddest stories in a region full of stories too awful to remember if you want to keep your sanity. These poor, remote mountain people just want to be left alone. They’ve never attacked anyone. They trace cool, weird serpent designs on their beautiful white temples, practice clan-marriage (endogamy), but then so do most Sunni Iraqis; |
is 9.0.2. Our recommendation is to always upgrade to the latest version.
What does the patch do?
The patch updates the registration system to correct the vulnerability. It also creates a test page under Host to verify whether that you are patched.
WHAT versions are supported by the patch?
DNN and Evoq version 6.2 till 9.0.1.
Does the patch fix 3rd party modules?
No. If you are using 3rd party registration module, you should contact the vendor.
Will the vulnerability in 3rd party module automatically be fixed after upgrade to 9.0.2?
Our testing indicates that the 3rd party modules should get automatically resolved. However, you should contact the vendor just to make sure. 9.0.2 certainly fixes the problem when no 3rd party registration module is being used.
How can I access this host page in 9.0.0 and 9.0.1?
Login as a Super User (not Admin), click “DNN Security Hot Fix 1” link under Manage menu in the Persona Bar.
I don’t understand what I am seeing under this new Host page, can you explain?
As noted earlier, the patch creates a page under Host menu. Depending on your site’s configuration, there can be three possible outcomes:
1. You are patched. This is to indicate that we feel your site is patched. However, if you use a 3rd party registration module on your site, then we are not in a position to say for sure. If you are not using a 3rd party registration module, then we are pretty confident that you are patched.
2. You may not be patched. The moment we detect that you have a custom registration page defined and that the page contains a non-standard DNN’s registration module, we flag that as “may not be patched”. We also list the sites where we find use of non-standard registration module. In this case, you should contact your module vendor.
3. You may not be patched. There is another situation where you might not be using a custom registration page, but a 3rd party module might have modified the default entry in the ModuleControls table for “Register” record. We flag this as “may not be patched” as well, and you should contact the vendor as well.
Can I uninstall this patch after the fact?
You may. However, the fix applied still remains in affect.
What happens if my site breaks after application of this patch?
We suggest that you apply this patch in a test environment, run some tests and then apply in production. If your site still breaks, then we recommend that you post a comment here. Also, remember to take a backup of your production site before applying the patch.
Can this patch be overwritten if I upgrade DNN or Evoq at a later day?
As long as you upgrade to DNN or Evoq 9.0.2 and above, you will remain protected. However, if you upgrade to an older version (e.g. 8.5), the patch will be overwritten. We recommend you visit the above host page again to reapply the patch automatically. In any case, you still run the risk if you are using a 3rd party registration module. You should contact the vendor and confirm.
I am an Evoq customer, how can I get more details
Evoq customers can contact DNN Support by either emailing [email protected] or opening a ticket here: https://www.dnnsoftware.com/services/customer-support/success-network/tickets
I am a DNN Community user, how can I get more details
There are a few ways to interact further:
1. Use comments in this blog
Ask a question in the forums: 2.Ask a question in the forums: https://www.dnnsoftware.com/forums
What if I have further security related questions
You are more than welcome to reach out to DNN’s Security team by sending an email to [email protected]
HOW DO I APPLY PATCH?
Patch is a standard DNN module, that can be installed as any other DNN extension. You must be a Super User to do that though.
WHERE CAN I DOWNLOAD 9.0.2 FROM?
You can download Install and Upgrade package of DNN Platform 9.0.2 from GitHub Repository. Evoq customers can download from here.
WHERE CAN I DOWNLOAD Patch from?The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Sindh police on Wednesday recommended that the murder case of famed qawwal Amjad Sabri be presented before a military court for trial, Sindh CTD Additional Inspector General (AIG) Dr Sanaullah Abbasi said.
Amjad Sabri was gunned down in Karachi on June 22, 2016, after unknown assailants fired at his vehicle in the city's Liaquatabad area, critically injuring him. He was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed hospital immediately, where the renowned singer succumbed to his injuries.
Following murder investigations, CTD officials in November 2016 arrested two suspects, Ishaq alias Bobby and Asim alias Capri, from the same neighbourhood. Both the accused were affiliated with the proscribed Lashkar-i-Jhangvi's Naeem Bukhari group, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had told the media at the time the arrests were made. Asim alias Capri was also found to be Sabri's neighbour.
The CTD AIG further told Dawn that eight additional cases involving target killings of army soldiers, Rangers personnel and police officials were also recommended for trial before military courts.
The accused in all of the eight cases, as well as the suspects in Sabri's murder, admitted to the joint investigation teams that they were affiliated with the banned militant Lashkar-i-Jhangvi group.
The recommendations have been submitted to the provincial home department for approval.Red Dwarf XII - 1st Image
The first picture from Red Dwarf XII has been released.
It's an image from an episode in which the storyline sees the crew turned into mechanoids just like Kryten.
The scenes necessitated many hours in makeup for the whole cast. Craig Charles, who plays Lister, explains: "It was so uncomfortable, so hot, I thought I was crying at one point but I wasn't, I was sweating through my eyes! Chris [Barrie] got ill wearing it."
Danny John-Jules, who plays The Cat, adds: "The problem was, the sweat sort of collects under the mask, but outside it was about -5 degrees, so we'd run out to get fresh air and then nearly die of pneumonia!"
Chris Barrie, who plays uptight Rimmer, continues: "It was brilliant in the morning, but over lunch, sitting in it and waiting is always the hardest bit. When you're working I'm not bothered about it, but when you're having to wait, and you're in the mask and you can't do anything, you're thinking 'is this going to come off?!"
Craig Charles admits that they didn't realise how hard Robert Llewellyn who plays Kryten has had it for all these years. "We had a whole new respect for Rob. Yeah, I thought just get on with it, you wuss."
Danny John-Jules continues: "... 28 years of guilt, of calling him a big wuss. We literally went out bowing to Rob, because it was amazing."
Robert Llewellyn, who plays Kryten, concludes: "It was just the weirdest thing, they were absolutely them but they were all mechanoid versions of them, there's no way of describing it."
Red Dwarf XII starts on channel Dave in the Autumn.
Published: Friday 28th July 2017[<a href="//storify.com/cbccommunity/nasa-asks-public-to-vote-on-its-next-generation-sp" target="_blank">View the story "NASA asks public to vote on its next-generation spacesuit design " on Storify</a>]<h1>NASA asks public to vote on its next-generation spacesuit design </h1><h2></h2><p>Storified by <a href="https://storify.com/cbccommunity">CBC News Community</a>· Fri, Mar 28 2014 12:23:55</p><div><div>Met with the opportunity to give a spacesuit "a look unlike any suit ever built before," NASA spacesuit engineers want the public to decide which of three cover layer designs for its newest prototype spacesuit will be built, <a href="http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/z2/" class="">the space agency says</a>.</div><div><br></div><div>Three cover layer designs for NASA's Z-2 Suit -- the newest prototype for its "next-generation spacesuit platform" Z-series -- were devised by the space agency, suit vendor ILC and students at Philadelphia University.</div><div><br></div><div>According to NASA, the cover layer of a prototype suit is critical because it protects the suit from "abrasion and snags during the rigours of testing."</div><div><br></div><div>"The designs were created with the intent to protect the suit and to highlight certain mobility features to aid suit testing."<br></div></div><div>Love spacesuits? You can vote on what NASA's next spacesuit prototype will look like! The agency's Z-2 suit is the newest prototype in its next-generation spacesuit platform, the Z-series. The design options you can vote for were created t...o protect the suit and highlight certain mobility features to aid suit testing. The cover layer of a prototype suit protects the suit against abrasion and snags during the rigors of testing. Read more and vote now: http://go.nasa.gov/1iUn3pMSee More</div><div><div>NASA spokesperson Dan Huot <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/nasa-crowdsources-spacesuit-design/story?id=23065597" class="">told ABC News</a> that the Z-2 prototype spacesuit will be more mobile and easier to put on and take off compared to its predecessor, the Z-1 suit, pictured below. </div></div><div>Nasa</div><div><b><i>(Photo: NASA)</i></b></div><div>Babble</div><div><div>Launched in 2012, the Z-1 suit <a href="http://www.babble.com/celebrity/nasas-new-spacesuit-or-buzz-lightyear-costume/" class="">was often compared to Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear</a><i>.</i></div><div><br></div><div>Huot says the white spacesuits worn by astronauts for some 30 years were appropriate for those missions "where you're floating around, there's no gravity and you don't have to worry about weight," according to ABC News.</div><div><br></div><div>But he says those old suits "won't work very well" on planet surfaces, such as Mars, where there is gravity. </div><div><br><div><p>"We've always known we need a different suit for when we get on Mars," he told ABC News.</p><p><br></p><p>Among the three cover layer designs is the "Technology" pattern, which as of Friday afternoon is leading with 65 per cent of the public vote. </p><p><br></p><p>"The Technology one looks a lot like an old Apollo suit. It kind of has that same general look, except with the addition of the light-emitting patches" Huot told ABC News.</p><p><br></p><p>NASA says Luminex wire and light-emitting patches across the upper and lower torso will allow astronauts to identify their crew members but Huot says they "may or may not be incorporated in the final design."</p></div></div></div><div>Nasa</div><div><b><i>(Photo: NASA)</i></b><div><b><i><br></i></b></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NASA" class="">On the space agency's Facebook page</a>, reaction to "Technology" is mixed. Some have labelled the cover layer design as <i>Tron</i>-esque. </div></div><div> I voted for Technology because I like the amount of light it has on it.Tyler Starke</div><div> Biomimicry and tech is pretty cool though tech looks kinda cheesy if you ask me... as long as it is not "Trendy in society"Patrick Fortier</div><div> Technolgy looks best and has some nice featuresEwan McLaughlin</div><div><p>The "Biomimicry" pattern, according to NASA, takes cues from the world's oceans and is inspired by the bioluminescent features of sea creatures as well as the scaly skin of fish and reptiles. </p><p><br></p><p>"This design reflects the qualities that protect some of Earth's toughest creatures," the space agency says.</p><p><br></p><p>According to NASA, electroluminescent wire across the upper torso become visible in reduced light.</p></div><div>Nasa</div><div><b><i>(Photo: NASA)</i></b></div><div> (y) The Biomimicry!!Carmen Luna</div><div> Biomimicry. Definitely the Biomimicry.Manti S'reli Giosa</div><div>"Trends in Society," the third cover layer design, aims to reflect "what everyday clothes may look like in the not too distant future," NASA says.<div><br></div><div>Electroluminescent wire and a bright colour scheme mirror the design of sportswear and wearable technologies, the space agency says.</div></div><div>Abcnews</div><div><b><i>(Photo: NASA)</i></b><div><b><i><br></i></b></div><div>This design, posted on NASA's Facebook page to promote its public vote, was not received well. As of Friday, the pattern sits in last place with about 13 per cent of the vote.</div></div><div> Whatever that is in the picture.......I hate it.Chris Ebler</div><div> I usually don't care what a space suit looks like... but... this one looks ridiculous.Jacob Mitchell</div><div>The crowd-picked winning design will be used on a Z-2 that is expected to be complete by November, according to NASA, and will be put to the test.<div><br></div><div>But the crowd-sourced pick is not likely to go to space, NASA says on its website. </div><div><br></div><div>The cover layer has differing functions for a non-flight suit versus its spacewalk counterpart, the agency says.</div><p></p><div><br></div><div>"The cover layer of a non-flight suit, which is used for ground-based testing, serves as abrasion/snag protection, a cover for technical details, and to a lesser extent, aesthetics. For a flight suit which is actually used for a spacewalk, the cover layer performs many other important functions such as micrometeorite, thermal and radiation protection."</div><div><br></div><div>"These requirements drive selection of specific high-performance materials and design details that would preclude us from using many of the features you see in these options for the Z-2 suit."</div><div><br></div><div>Still, some liked the idea of a public vote while others cared more about functionality. </div></div><div> I don't care what it looks like, so long as it's safe, cheap, and effective. :PAndrew Jefferies</div><div> Who cares what it looks like? Functionality and ease of use is all that matters.Jon Dornfeld</div><div> Loving this. Great to see NASA asking for public opinions.Martin DeWitt</div><div> bummer, it's just a vote on what texture the suit will have, and not the actual design... still I voted B. Very cool.Steven Lowles</div><div>Voting is open until April 15 and the winning design will be announced April 30, NASA says.<div><br></div><div><b>What do you think of the public vote? Do you agree with the top contender choice by voters?</b></div></div>Japanese gaming company reveals new console, which launches with flagship title Zelda: Breath of the Wild, will cost $299.99 in US and £279.99 in UK
Japanese gaming company Nintendo has unveiled its new Nintendo Switch console at a presentation in Tokyo.
The device, a hybrid that can be used both handheld and with a TV when in a dock, will go on sale on 3 March priced $299.99 in the US and £279.99 in the UK. Other European prices will vary, Nintendo said.
The pricing is higher than had been rumoured and makes the Switch more expensive than rivals Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One S.
The new gaming platform wants to do everything at once, executives said, from the old-school fantasy of its flagship launch title, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, to party games played face-to-face rather than in front of a screen.
The Switch “inherited all of Nintendo’s entertainment DNA” across the company’s broad line of products, said Shinya Takahashi, Nintendo’s head of software development.
The presentation, which was streamed live, ended with a surprise revelation: the long-delayed Breath of the Wild, originally planned as an exclusive to the Wii U platform, will go on sale with the new console.
Nintendo Switch: is this hybrid console the future of gaming? Read more
The first Mario game for the platform will not debut until later in the year: Super Mario Odyssey, “a large Mario sandbox world,” in the words of producer Yoshiaki Koizumi, will exile Mario to an unknown world – our own. Footage from the game shown at the presentation featured Mario leaping through realistic forests and over yellow taxi cabs. Koizumi also produced the Mario Galaxy franchise for the company.
And Nintendo may be mending fences with third-party developers: Electronic Arts executive Patrick Soderland said the game company’s wildly popular Fifa football franchise would return to the Switch after years of refusing to make versions of its games for the Wii U. The hugely popular building game Minecraft will also be coming to the Switch, its makers confirmed
Nintendo is also rolling back its digital rights-management protections slightly: the company will not region-lock its games, Kimishima told the audience, meaning that Switch games will be playable whether or not they were purchased in the same country as the console itself.
The company merged its living-room console and handheld device divisions to create the Switch: the machine has a built-in screen so it can function as a tablet-sized handheld gaming device, but it also plugs into a dock attached to a television. Its single complex controller splits into two simpler controllers for in-person multiplayer.
Nintendo has doubled down on its non-standard hardware design largely in the service of keeping users off the couch. Kouichi Kawamoto, general hardware director for Nintendo, introduced a game called 1, 2 Switch similar to the simple, sometimes acrobatic Wii Sports games that came with the company’s original Wii system. Players quick-draw their controllers like gunslingers in a western or battle with swords, among other activities. 1, 2 Switch “isn’t a game you play facing the screen, it is a game that is primarily played through face-to-face interaction,” Kawamoto said. The executive suggested bringing the game to parties and called it “an icebreaker for all kinds of fun communication.”
A new online multiplayer service debuts with the Switch, but like competitors Sony and Xbox, Nintendo’s service will be subscriber-only by the end of the year, with a grace period of a few months for early adopters.
Among other new game announcements:
Nintendo will make a sequel to its Wii U paint-gun game Splatoon for the Switch
Along the lines of popular 1980s title Punch-Out, Nintendo will release Arms, a boxing game starring creatures with long springs for arms, playable online against other Switchers
The presentation solved a second missing-games case: Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the long-rumored and now-confirmed sequel to the popular 2010 Wii action-RPG, will debut on the Switch
Eccentric developer Suda51 did not quite say a new No More Heroes game was on its way, but he did say “Travis Touchdown is coming to the Nintendo Switch.”
Toshiro Nagoshi of one-time Nintendo nemesis Sega said his company “will consider new games for the Nintendo Switch and present them soon.”
• Is Nintendo’s Switch hybrid console the future of gaming?My argument will proceed in two ways. In the first part of this article, I will present Lovejoy's reading of Bruno in the 1904 essay as overtly written in the tradition of history of philosophy, and I highlight the historiographical tools employed there. In the second part, I will turn to Lovejoy's reading of Bruno in the 1936 study, asking whether he applies the same, or new, historiographical concepts. In the course of this argument, I will discuss aspects of Lovejoy's interpretations of Bruno's works, but this discussion is subordinated to the main purpose, an examination of the historiographical sources to Lovejoy's theory and practice in the history of ideas. In the conclusion, I will draw out a few consequences for his concept of unit-idea, the crucial object to be studied in the history of ideas, and for his idea of interdisciplinarity, a crucial methodological feature in the history of ideas.
This situation may be improved if we look for developments outside such discussions of the method of the history of ideas. Recent research into the history of the history of philosophy allows us to contextualize Lovejoy's methodology for the history of ideas within its immediate historical background, nineteenth-century historiography of philosophy. 13 My own work in this field has made me aware of Lovejoy's indebtedness to this tradition. In this piece I provide a fuller and more detailed contextualization of his place in that tradition. 14 Even though a few historians of ideas have pointed out this background to Lovejoy's methodology, they have not yet explored the potential of this field of research—there are still vast areas to be examined in this respect. Frank Manuel, for instance, has noticed Lovejoy's veneration for nineteenth-century Geistesgeschichte, but without tracing Lovejoy's key concepts within this tradition; Donald R. Kelley has claimed [End Page 95] that Lovejoy's methodology is primarily indebted to Victor Cousin's history of philosophy, a claim with which I disagree. 15 My intention is to identify and articulate some vital, but ignored, historiographical concepts in his methodology for the history of ideas, and to explain their sources in the historiography of nineteenth-century history of philosophy. Such an examination is important in order to get Lovejoy's method right, but also in order to endow future discussions of the methodology of history of ideas with a more adequate, disciplinary self-understanding.
The second and interrelated circumstance is that Lovejoy—in the two above-mentioned writings and in others besides—led his readers to assume that his new method for the history of ideas was free and independent of the method controlling the history of philosophy. A discussion of the methodological core concepts pertinent to the history of ideas should not be based on the historiographical framework specific to the history of philosophy, but on an alternative historiography, based on the notion of unit-ideas. 10 Lovejoy's self-proclaimed detachment from the history of philosophy has been re-affirmed by the fact that George Boas—a co-founder of The History of Ideas Club at Johns Hopkins University in 1923 who later published an article on Lovejoy—has belittled the significance of the historiography of history of philosophy. Boas, in 1948, thus made a juxtaposition, like Lovejoy had done in 1936, between history of philosophy and history of ideas, claiming that "the history of philosophy would be more profitable if it were the history of such unit-ideas [pursued by historians of ideas], rather than the successive exposition of systems [pursued by historians of philosophy]." 11 This second circumstance has resulted in an unfortunate situation where subsequent methodological discussions of the history of ideas have been focused on the linguistic phenomenon of "unit-idea," while ignoring the operative, nineteenth-century historiographical concepts in Lovejoy's 1936 work. 12 In these discussions, attention has been directed [End Page 94] towards the notion of unit-ideas, as formulated in the opening chapter of The Great Chain of Being, whereas his reluctance to use this notion in the remaining part of the book has been neglected. This lapse is especially striking in the studies focusing on Lovejoy's notion of unit-ideas, such as those of Quentin Skinner, Jaakko Hintikka, and Thomas Bredsdorff.
In this essay I argue that a comparison of his early historiographical practice, as exemplified in his Bruno and Spinoza essay of 1904, with his mature historiographical practice, embodied in The Great Chain of Being of 1936, reveals two points of interest in Lovejoy's methodology. The first is that he transposed important historiographical concepts from nineteenth-century history of philosophy to the history of ideas, although his own [End Page 93] programmatic statement at the first page of The Great Chain of Being seems to deny such a move. Daniel J. Wilson has analyzed the thematic continuity between Lovejoy's essay of 1904 and his work of 1936, but not the continuity of historiographical tools employed. 9
Although Lovejoy explained this uneven use of historiographical concepts in the opening chapter, he leaves the reader with the impression that unit-idea is a new and distinct notion in his new approach to the past. This discrepancy between precept ("unit-ideas") and practice ("principles," "systems of philosophy") begs the question whether the methodological statement cited on page 92 above was more of a rhetorical declaration—intended to produce the conviction in the minds of his readers that history of ideas was distinct from history of philosophy and thus deserved institutional independence—than an adequate description of the method actually practiced. It certainly did the trick as a rhetorical device.
The type of "idea" with which we shall be concerned is, however, more definite and explicit, and therefore easier to isolate and identify with confidence, than those of which I have been hitherto speaking. It consists in a single specific proposition or "principle" expressly enunciated by the most influential of early European philosophers, together with some further propositions which are, or have been supposed to be, its corollaries.... The character of this type of ideas, and of the processes which constitute their history, need not be further described in general terms since all that follows will illustrate it. 8
In this passage Lovejoy placed the concept of unit-idea at the center of his method for the history of ideas, and he referred to this notion repeatedly in the remaining part of the introductory chapter. 5 However, in the remaining part of the book, which exemplified the new method for the history of ideas, he did not use the term "unit-idea" at all. 6 Instead, Lovejoy employed historiographical terms traditionally used in nineteenth-century history of philosophy, namely "principles" and "systems of philosophy." 7 Lovejoy [End Page 92] himself resolved this apparent conflict between precept and practice in his opening chapter by explaining that the term "unit-idea" may have different senses, but that in this work it meant "principle":
By the history of ideas I mean something at once more specific and less restricted than the history of philosophy. It is differentiated primarily by the character of the units with which it concerns itself. Though it deals in great part with the same material as the other branches of the history of thought and depends greatly upon their prior labors, it divides that material in a special way, brings the parts of it into new groupings and relations, views it from the standpoint of a distinctive purpose. Its initial procedure may be said—though the parallel has its dangers—to be somewhat analogous to that of analytic chemistry. In dealing with the history of philosophical doctrines, for example, it cuts into the hard-and-fast individual systems and, for its own purposes, breaks them up into their component elements, into what may be called their unit-ideas. 4
Lovejoy's readings of Bruno in these two studies introduced a paradox. On the one hand, he presented The Great Chain as an example of a new discipline, the history of ideas, and he emphasized the methodological innovation of this new discipline as compared to the history of philosophy. On [End Page 91] the other hand, we can observe a high degree of continuity in Lovejoy's practice in these two works. He continued to use the same historiographical terms, in particular, "principles," "deductions" from these "principles," and "system of philosophy," a body of philosophical doctrines so established. Such terms were all conventional historiographical tools in nineteenth-century history of philosophy.
Arthur Oncken Lovejoy (1873–1962) dedicated a considerable amount of work to the Italian Renaissance philosopher Giordano Bruno (1548–1600). His first publication on Bruno was an essay published in 1904, "The Dialectic of Bruno and Spinoza." 1 It appeared only a few years after Lovejoy had finished his philosophical training at the University of California (1891–95) and Harvard University (1895–99). 2 More than thirty years later, in 1936, he returned to Bruno in his famous work illustrating his methodology for the history of ideas, The Great Chain of Being. 3
II. Lovejoy's Historiographical Practice in His Study of 1904
When Lovejoy published "The Dialectic of Bruno and Spinoza" in 1904, he had just turned thirty, and only five years had passed since he had completed his education in philosophy at Harvard University. At Harvard, he had attended William James's lectures on Kant, and George Santayana's lectures on Greek philosophy, including that of Plato.16 This early introduction to the history of philosophy may have stimulated the young Lovejoy to work on historical themes later on. In 1899, when Lovejoy finished his studies at Harvard and was appointed to a position in philosophy at Stanford [End Page 96] University, he sketched a proposal for instruction in philosophy, in which he wrote: "a thorough course in the History of Philosophy should be the basis of all work in the department."17 Precisely which histories of philosophy he had read as a student at Harvard is unknown, just as it is unclear what kind of history of philosophy he intended to teach at Stanford. However, it is evident that at this early stage of his career he had already been initiated into the discipline of history of philosophy and thought highly of it. If we look at his essay of 1904, we find clues that help to clarify these uncertainties. In this piece, he referred to the following historians of philosophy, all writers of general histories: Johann Eduard Erdmann (1805–92), a German historian of philosophy with a Hegelian bent18; Eduard Zeller (1814–1908), the famous nineteenth-century German historian of ancient philosophy19; Kuno Fischer (1824–1907), another German historian of philosophy, who wrote on the history of philosophy from the Renaissance onwards20; and, finally, Harald Høffding (1843–1931), a Danish philosopher.21 In the nineteenth century, German historians of philosophy were at the forefront of international research within this field, and this is reflected in Lovejoy's references in this early essay.
The history of philosophy had been founded as a philosophical discipline by the German Jacob Brucker (1696–1770) in his Historia critica philosophiae22 [End Page 97] which had an enormous influence upon general histories of philosophy produced in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and, in some cases, even the twentieth century.23 The discipline, whose history we have only begun to understand recently, became increasingly important in nineteenth-century European departments of philosophy, in particular in Germany.24 Speaking in general terms, this strain of nineteenth-century intellectual life was one with which the young Lovejoy was familiar, and obviously also one which fascinated him from the outset of his career. Donald Kelley has recently argued that Lovejoy's main historiographical source was the (allegedly) eclectic history of philosophy of Victor Cousin (1792– 1867). Kelley overloooked a much wider tradition of general histories of philosophy composed in Germany in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.25
Giordano Bruno was not just any figure in the narrative frequently told in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century general histories of philosophy. Brucker had presented Bruno as an anti-hero who had turned away from the "sectarian mode of philosophizing" characteristic, according to Brucker, of late medieval and Renaissance philosophy, especially within Aristotelianism. Bruno thereby paved the way to what Brucker called "eclecticism," that is, systems of philosophy based on principles. Bruno was thus credited with having made possible the eclecticism, as Brucker characterized it, manifest in the philosophies of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, René Descartes, and others besides. Bruno, however, was not intellectually equipped to work out a system of philosophy, according to Brucker; his [End Page 98] system was "more like a monster than an apt and rational system" (inde monstrum magis, quam aptum et rationale systema).26 The French philosopher Pierre Bayle had interpreted Bruno's philosophy as a Spinozistic system of philosophy in the 1690s.27 Brucker revised this interpretation of Bayle, pointing out Bruno's synthesis of Epicurean and Pythagorean doctrines, and determined Bruno's system of philosophy, despite its defects, as an "emanative system of philosophy" (systema emanativum), not a Spinozistic one.28 After Brucker, expositions of Bruno's life and thought became standard in general histories of philosophy.29 This frequent treatment of Bruno, and indeed the frequent comparisons with Spinoza, may have elicited the intellectual passions of the young Lovejoy well before 1904. This eighteenth- and nineteenth-century tradition, as well as monographs borrowing the key analytic tools from such general histories of philosophy, formed an important but hitherto unexplored background for Lovejoy's interpretations of Bruno's thought.
In addition to these nineteenth-century historians of philosophy, there was, however, one significant exegete of Bruno in the eyes of the young Lovejoy: James Lewis McIntyre. McIntyre was an American historian of philosophy whose monograph, Giordano Bruno, had been published in London and New York in 1903 and attracted international, scholarly attention. Lovejoy probably alluded to this work of McIntyre in this essay of 1904, when he made the somewhat polemical statement that:
It may be assumed that the close affinity between Bruno's system and Spinoza's is by this time well recognized by all competent students [End Page 99] of the subject; Mr. McIntyre, in his recent study of Bruno, has drawn out the lines of connection in some detail but has, I think, rather understated the case than otherwise.30
One important intention behind Lovejoy's essay of 1904 was to contribute to Bruno scholarship by refuting, heroically, one very recent and prominent interpretation of Bruno's philosophy and its influence. Which alternative conceptual connections did Lovejoy establish between Bruno and Spinoza? To what extent did he draw on traditional, nineteenth-century historiographical tools in his endeavor? Before answering these questions, I shall briefly summarize McIntyre's interpretation.
McIntyre had introduced his readers to Bruno's philosophy by providing lengthy English translations of central passages from Bruno's various Latin and Italian works—translations, which were inserted within his exposition of Bruno's individual works and the problems discussed in them. The motivation behind this procedure was, McIntyre stated, that "Bruno's works are still comparatively unknown to the English reader."31 T. Whittaker applauded McIntyre's book in a review published in Mind in 1904, stating that "Mr. McIntyre has here provided the English reader, for the first time, with an adequate and circumstantial account of the philosophy as well as the life of Giordano Bruno."32 However, McIntyre consciously chose to sidestep the nineteenth-century tradition for exposing past philosophers' so-called systems of philosophy. As he explains: "I have sought to give not a systematic outline of Bruno's philosophy as a whole under the various familiar headings, which would prove an almost impossible task, but a sketch, as nearly as possible in Bruno's own words, of the problems which interested this mind of the sixteenth century, and of the solutions offered."33 Immediately after its publication, he received fierce criticism from reviewers orientated towards nineteenth-century historiography of philosophy, e.g., D. MacCarthy's 1905 review in the International Journal of Ethics. Although MacCarthy praised McIntyre's book as "the first philosophical biography of Bruno of any thoroughness in the English language," he deplored its reluctance to "give a systematic outline of Bruno's philosophy." MacCarthy rejected McIntyre's monograph as "a patchwork of un-reconciled quotations." He concluded, however, on a somewhat more [End Page 100] conciliatory note: "This is more Bruno's fault than his expositors'; but granted that it was impossible to make a system out of theories which Bruno taught as coherent, there was a second alternative to the merely selective method; namely to point out how badly his philosophy hung together." 34 MacCarthy, unlike McIntyre, accepted the assumption that all genuine past philosophers had produced systems of philosophy and scorned Bruno for being unable to produce such a system. He took issue with Mc-Intyre for not explaining the lack of system in Bruno's philosophy. This criticism indicates the historiographical tensions inherent in the scholarly subject with which Lovejoy dealt in 1904: Bruno and his philosophy. Lovejoy agreed with MacCarthy about one methodological assumption, that past philosophers' systems should be exposed, although Lovejoy did not agree with his evaluation of Bruno.
McIntyre noted that there were striking similarities between Bruno's notion of unity and Spinoza's notion of substance, but he nevertheless opted for a cautious line, observing the many differences between the two philosophies. Consequently, he dismissed earlier efforts to depict Bruno as a forerunner to Spinoza, on the grounds that neither internal nor external evidence supported such claims.35 |
a priority, and his victory will give his team a chance to spin the results into proof that their candidate can compete in states far outside his wheelhouse. The problem with that argument, though, is that Oklahoma isn’t nearly as far out of his wheelhouse as he wants you to think. Clinton, meanwhile, notched six quick wins in the rest of the Southern states up for grabs on Super Tuesday.
Read more of Slate’s coverage of the Democratic primary.Siri has interrupted a White House press conference to try – and fail – to answer a question on the Iran nuclear deal.
Press secretary Josh Earnest was being grilled about Barack Obama’s failure to gain Republican support when the voice command service made its timely intervention.
As a journalist asked if the President was “upset” that he could not get even one member of the opposition on board, the distinctive female voice calmly intoned: “Sorry, I’m not sure what you want me to change.”
Join Independent Minds For exclusive articles, events and an advertising-free read for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Get the best of The Independent With an Independent Minds subscription for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Get the best of The Independent Without the ads – for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month
As the assembled journalists burst into laughter, Mr Earnest even cracked a smile on the podium.
“That was on time,” a woman could be heard remarking in the background in footage broadcast by Fox News.
Reporters joked that it was unclear whether the gadget was speaking on behalf of the White House.
“Does Siri make it into the transcript?” wondered Potus Channel correspondent Jared Rizzi, on Twitter.
Siri is Apple’s voice command service on iPhones, iPads and its other devices that lets people send messages, make phone calls and perform other functions, as well as being able to converse.
When activated, it can respond to all detected questions and commands, even if they are not meant for it.This was supposed to be the week the ruling Chinese Communist Party crushed a nascent popular movement that’s pressed for fuller disclosure of the hidden wealth of party leaders.
The crackdown wasn’t very well-timed. As Chinese authorities were launching the closed trial of a prominent leader of the New Citizens Movement, a group of international journalists released investigative reports detailing how many Chinese leaders and their families have hidden some of their vast wealth in the British Virgin Islands and other places offshore.
The reports, compiled by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, reveal a greater scope of offshoring by China’s political elite than had previously been reported. Having spent six months poring over a cache of 2.5 million leaked files, the consortium found that some 22,000 Chinese had taken advantage of offshore tax havens. Among those were Deng Jiagui, brother-in-law of Xi Jinping, China’s president and Communist Party chairman; Wen Yunsong, the son of former Premier Wen Jiabao; and Li Xiaolin, the daughter of former Premier Li Peng.
“Chinese officials aren’t required to disclose their assets publicly and until now citizens have remained largely in the dark about the parallel economy that can allow the powerful and well-connected to avoid taxes and keep their dealings secret,” said the report, a project of the Center for Public Integrity. “By some estimates, between $1 trillion and $4 trillion in untraced assets have left the country since 2000.”
Previous reports by The New York Times and Bloomberg News have opened a window into the riches and lifestyle of Chinese leaders and their families, often referred to as “princelings” here in Beijing. China’s use of tax havens for various financial transactions has long been tracked or reported on by the International Monetary Fund and other groups.
But the investigative journalists’ reports add to the revelations by offering insight into the illicit use of tax havens by the Chinese elite, said Brian LeBlanc, an economist at Global Financial Integrity, a Washington organization that tracks transfers of wealth from developed and developing countries.
“The use of shell corporations and hidden bank accounts suggests that the amount of wealth truly held by Chinese residents in tax havens could be substantially understated,” LeBlanc said in an email. He said numerous questions remained about how such vast amounts of money were able to be transferred to tax havens without catching the attention of Chinese bank regulators.
For China’s ruling party, revelations about elite offshoring of wealth are damaging in several ways. They conflict with official policy that homegrown wealth should be reinvested in China’s infrastructure and development. They also threaten to fan a popular backlash against a party that’s making a big show of cracking down on cronyism.
That fear of unrest is seen as a driving reason China has retaliated against several foreign journalists who write about the wealth of party leaders. It’s blocked the websites of The New York Times and Bloomberg from Chinese viewers. This week, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and The Guardian reported that their websites had been blocked as well after they published reports about the “People’s Republic of Offshore” investigation.
The day before the first report was issued, Internet usage in China was disrupted for hours in an incident that Chinese media initially blamed on hackers. Western experts, however, later disputed that claim. Some accused China’s censors of inadvertently causing the glitch by diverting traffic to – instead of attempting to block traffic from – a website affiliated with the banned Chinese group Falun Gong.
As of Thursday, the government hadn’t announced a verdict in its trial of Xu Zhiyong, a founder of the New Citizens Movement who’s led the call for greater transparency about Chinese officials’ wealth. Xu faces a jail term of up to five years for “creating a public disturbance” by organizing protests on behalf of migrant workers in Beijing and other cities.
As expected, Xu and his lawyer refused to mount a defense in a trial that Xu views as an illegal attempt to muzzle him. He attempted to read a statement at the end of the proceeding, his lawyer said, but the court prevented him from doing so.
That statement, since translated and published on the China Change website and other sites, mocks what Xu calls an “absurd post-totalitarian China” that’s charged him with crimes of “promoting equal education rights for children of migrant workers” and calling on officials to publicly disclose their assets.
“More than 137 countries and territories around the world currently have systems in place for officials to declare assets, so why can’t China? What exactly is it these ‘public servants’ fear so much?” Xu’s statement said.
LeBlanc said much work needed to be done to determine how wealthy Chinese were able to route their riches out of a tightly controlled country into tax havens. One possible way, a form of money laundering, he said, is for well-connected Chinese to obtain false trade invoices with importers and exporters. His group estimates that roughly 90 percent of the $1.08 trillion in illicit financial flows that left China during the decade ending in 2011 were transferred through importers and exporters who’d altered invoices.
“The problem of fake exports and falsified trade invoices has been a problem that the Chinese government has been grappling with for years,” he said.The World Health Organization says there’s enough evidence to suggest that drinking “very hot” beverages “probably” causes cancer, although coffee’s classification as carcinogenic has been downgraded.
In a report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released on Wednesday, the WHO says that any kind of beverage at temperatures above 65 or 70 degrees Celsius (150 or 160 Fahrenheit) are “probably carcinogenic” to humans.
The IARC does note, however, that serving hot drinks at “normal serving temperatures,” under 65 degrees C (150F), carries no risk.
READ MORE: Cure-all vaccine? Scientists trick immune system to attack viruses - and cancer cells
From evidence gathered in China, Iran, and South America, where drinking piping hot tea is a regular occurrence, the group found that “the risk of esophageal cancer increased with the temperature at which the beverage was drunk.”
It’s thought that such hot beverages could cause a “thermal injury” in the throat, which in turn could promote the growth of tumors.
Bacon, hot dogs, processed meats cause cancer – WHO report https://t.co/d44fIUeKESpic.twitter.com/UL1OcI5NHj — RT America (@RT_America) October 27, 2015
“These results suggest that drinking very hot beverages is one probable cause of esophageal cancer and that it is the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, that appears to be responsible,” Christopher Wild, director of the IARC, told AFP.
Although it hasn’t really been much of a deterrent, 25 years after coffee was classified as a carcinogen, its status as such was removed after the IARC reviewed over 1,000 studies showing that coffee doesn’t cause cancer.
I don’t know if coffee causes cancer, but I do know it causes awesomeness. — Yoni Freedhoff, MD (@YoniFreedhoff) June 15, 2016
Thank f#$& for that!!
Cancer risk from coffee downgraded - https://t.co/QU1VgJh2rq — Mark williamson (@Mark_williamson) June 15, 2016
First coffee was fine, then it gave you cancer, now it's fine again. https://t.co/EQBwAMu0jt via @business — James Greiff (@JamesGreiff) June 15, 2016
“I’m not really sure why coffee was in a higher category in the first place,” Owen Yang, an epidemiologist at Oxford University who previously declared the evidence unfounded, told AP. “The best evidence available suggests that coffee does not raise the cancer risk.”
And now, that moment you learn taking 1 month break from drinking could'slash cancer risk' https://t.co/gfNgAmJ5gVpic.twitter.com/8GFADGpKEX — RT (@RT_com) October 26, 2015
The WHO’s declassification follows a study published in November that found those who drink moderate amounts of coffee on a regular basis were less likely to die from type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, and a number of neurological diseases.SOCCER: Montreal dumps Saint Louis FC 5-2
MONTREAL — Saint Louis FC suffered a lopsided defeat in the first of two games in Canada this week, falling 5-2 to FC Montreal at Stade Saputo Wednesday afternoon.
STL FC falls to 4-7-6 (18 pts.) on the season while Montreal moves to 3-11-2 (11 pts.).
James Musa put Saint Louis ahead 1-0 in the fifth minute, scoring off a volley after Bryan Gaul floated a free kick to the back post. STL FC had several quality chances to add to its lead in the opening stages but was unable to do so.
FC Montreal took advantage, with forward Charles Joly scoring a first-half hat trick to put the hosts ahead 3-1 at halftime.
“It’s disappointing that we couldn’t finish our chances and help ourselves get a result,” Head Coach Dale Schilly said. “To give up three goals in the final 25 minutes of the first half is unacceptable. I’m very disappointed with our performance up front in the beginning of the game, and I’m just as disappointed with our performance at the back at the end of the first half.
Saint Louis made a number of substitutions at halftime but Montreal increased its lead to 4-1 early in the second half.
Mike Ambersley scored off a header in the 71st minute to cut the deficit to 4-2, but Montreal regained a three-goal advantage off a counter-attack in the final minutes of the match.
“There is no way we can win at this level without scoring the type of goals we missed early in the game,” Schilly added. “It has to be better. We also need to know that giving up soft goals like we did today will not allow us to win.”
Saint Louis FC will be back in action Saturday when they travel to face Toronto FC II. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM CT.
Information from STLFC and USLAt the East Asia Summit lunch held on the sidelines of the Asean gathering last month in Manila, an additional place was kept at the table for a non-EAS leader - Mr Donald Tusk, president of the European Council.
It was a one-time gesture meant to mark 40 years of Asean-EU dialogue that could also have been the start of a longer journey. There is little question that the European Union would not mind turning that invitation into a permanent seat at the high table.
After all, this, unquestionably, is the Asian century with three large-population nations in the continent - China, India and Indonesia - all set to grow spectacularly at the same time. Since Asean is at the centre of this virtuous triangle, it makes a lot of sense to be in the room as the regional grouping deals with the major powers through the EAS mechanism.
This week, a significant development took place in Brussels that might further the EU cause for what could eventually be an elevated strategic relationship with Asean. The EU Council formally announced plans for 25 EU states to work together on a first set of 17 collaborative defence projects, thus establishing Pesco -which is short for Permanent Structured Cooperation.
"She is awake; the sleeping beauty of the Lisbon Treaty," gushed Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU President, referring to a clause that deals with an eventual military union. "Our security cannot be outsourced."
The countries that have chosen not to take part in Pesco are Malta, Denmark - which has special opt-out status - and Britain, which is set to leave the union in 2019. Pesco's aim, says an EU factsheet, is to "jointly develop defence capabilities and make them available for EU military operations. This will thus enhance the EU's capacity as an international security partner."
ST ILLUSTRATION: MANNY FRANCISCO
Get the meaning?
While we await the emergence of a wide-awake EU it is interesting to recapitulate this region's ties with a still-coalescing Europe.
The economic relationship is undoubtedly robust. The EU is the top investor in Asean, accounting for US$31 billion (S$41.8 billion) in foreign direct investment last year - nearly a third of the total FDI flow into the region. Total trade between Asean and EU amounted to US$230 billion in the same period, making it the second biggest trading partner after China. The trade balance favours Asean.
Given that Asean accepted the European Economic Union, the forerunner to EU, as its first dialogue partner back in 1972 - and the EU itself since 1977 - the strategic relationship notably hasn't kept pace with the economic partnership.
There were reasons; at the time the EAS kicked off in 2005, the EU did not even have a settled security policy. Even recently, the EU didn't have a common platform on some issues critical for Asean, such as the South China Sea.
"It wouldn't have been good for the East Asia Summit to have an EU bloc coming in. What would they add to the discussion?" says a senior Asean diplomatic figure. "Now that the EU is moving towards a common security and foreign policy, there might be a case. But many in Asean also feel the EU will drag in issues of human rights, climate change, migration and all that. For the typical South-east Asian official, there are more pressing things to worry about."
There is a peculiar honesty in that statement. A recent visit to the EU headquarters in Brussels revealed the deep commitment officials in this supranational body (Asean, on the other hand, is a mere inter-governmental organisation) feel towards say, human rights, abolishing the death penalty, democracy and a host of other questions that some in this region may consider "tiresome" or "bleeding heart" issues.
There is no knowing how long Mr Donald Trump will stay in power but it is a fair bet to say that Trumpism isn't easily extinguished from the United States. If this trend were to continue, therefore, there undoubtedly would be some room for a power bloc that thinks of the world in normative terms rather than in purely transactional terms. In other words, Asean could use an adult in the room.
As recently as 2013, the EU suspended free trade agreement talks with Thailand after the military coup there. Regardless of what Asean might think, or say, EU commitment to stand up for some of these issues will never go away.
On the other hand, Asean too must surely know that this is not a stand-still world. Where once its priorities were to find the right balance in ties with China and the US, those were times when the US was fully entrenched in the region and led by people with reasonably set standards of behaviour, not an alarmingly transactional one.
There is no knowing how long Mr Donald Trump will stay in power but it is a fair bet to say that Trumpism isn't easily extinguished from the United States. If this trend were to continue, therefore, there undoubtedly would be some room for a power bloc that thinks of the world in normative terms rather than in purely transactional terms. In other words, Asean could use an adult in the room.
To give the EU dog its due, the organisation is changing as well. Britain's putative exit in 2019 is significant in strategic terms because it removes from the union a key voice that looked poorly on enhanced military cooperation within the fold, partly because of Westminster's emphasis on the transatlantic alliance and Nato.
But there is much that the EU could do, meanwhile, to sew up its relationship with South-east Asia. For instance, when it comes to striking trade deals with Asean, its record has been dismal.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
Talks on an EU-Asean free trade agreement were started in 2007, only to be abandoned two years later as the EU decided to go the bilateral route. Thus, it began negotiations with Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia but none of them has resulted in a working agreement to this day.
FTA talks with Singapore and Vietnam have been concluded, but the agreement is not yet in force. In the Singapore case, it is because the EU requires the assent of each member Parliament, a painstaking exercise. As for Vietnam, one of the reasons for the holdup is that the EU requires the document - which typically could run to as many as 2,000 pages - to be translated into 24 European languages!
As one official admitted to me: "We are big fans of launching FTA talks, but not very good at concluding them."
One low-hanging fruit waiting to be plucked is improved air connectivity between these two regions. Since October last year, four rounds of negotiations have been conducted on an Asean-EU Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (CATA). The next meeting is scheduled for February, in Jakarta.
While there has been progress on safety, security and air traffic management issues, a key sticking point is the so-called "fifth freedom" rights. The EU is willing to countenance Asian carriers picking up passengers in an EU airport and ferrying them to other EU destinations but baulks at extending that privilege to allow passengers to be flown beyond the EU.
It is senseless for the EU to miss the big picture in its quest to protect a few of its carriers that fear tighter competition. Taking the broader view would mean that Asean and EU carriers could both gain from a liberal CATA, perhaps even gaining traffic that now is routed through hubs in the Middle East, such as Dubai and Qatar.
To do so would be not to bestow a favour on Asean but in its own self-interest. In the Asean economy that is taking shape, services - an area where Europe has an edge in so many sectors - are going to be key. Better for Europe to position itself to be in on it. Should the talks go well, a high-quality CATA could be in place by the end of next year.
What of Asean's attitude towards EU? Asean capitals are fully aware that the EU can never replace the US in the region, at least not for the foreseeable future. They also know that unlike the US, which has a sense of security thanks to friendly neighbours north and south and with its flanks protected by two vast oceans, the EU's first priority is its own neighbourhood. That neighbourhood isn't always a pleasant place.
Besides, when it looks to Asia the EU's priorities often seem to be China and India before its gaze turns to South-east Asia.
That said it is indeed being considered whether it makes sense for Asean to invite it to next year's EAS, which will be hosted by Singapore, or even consider giving it a permanent place at the EAS table.
From the middle of next year, Singapore is the coordinating country for Asean-EU ties, a position it will hold for three years, thus giving it some leverage on the collective decision. Asked at a lecture organised by the ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute recently whether Asean would endorse EU participation at EAS summits, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan's response was not reflexively negative, but "wait and see".
"I don't want to get into details about invitations and structures within the EAS," he said. "I just want to tell everyone - look at the question of how Europe has solved war and peace, and follow the money. Look at the trade and investment flows between Europe and Asia."
Not quite enough to call for cakes, at least not yet. These are days when slow dance is back in vogue, gaining on hip hop. So it may just be time to think of moving the champagne from the cellar to the refrigerator.OK. We can all take a breath now. All but you, Curiosity.
Partly that’s because Curiosity is marooned on a planet whose thin, frigid, oxygen-poor atmosphere makes taking a breath all but impossible. But mostly it’s because Curiosity -- like Robbie, R2D2 and other members of the robot pantheon -- is fundamentally incapable of inhaling in the first place
Of course, it was Curiosity that got us in this fine mess to begin with.
For about a week, we here on planet Earth waited with bated breath to find out what historic discovery NASA’s interplanetary probe had dug up -- perhaps literally -- out of the Martian soil.
Well, it turned out the discovery wasn’t historic at all. In fact, it was more reminder than discovery. What’s more, it had little to do with Mars. It was more about the human race -- how easily seduced we are by history and how shabbily seducers can treat their conquests.
It began with a simple interview conducted by a National Public Radio reporter with a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The scientist, John Grotzinger, was talking about the data streaming back from the Martian rover’s Sample Analysis at Mars instrument and how it was going to yield remarkable discovery.
“We’re getting data back from SAM as we sit here and speak, and the data looks very interesting,” Grotzinger said.
And then he added, “This data is going to be one for the history books. It’s looking really good.”
One for the history books. These are words guaranteed to get the global rumor mill churning, especially when they are spoken about a letter home from Mars. Of course, Grotzinger didn’t elaborate, but that’s often the way with scientists, who have learned through cruel, hard experience that they need to be absolutely sure of their findings before they go publicly flapping their gums.
In the meantime, the story went viral among the world’s news organizations. And we the public went on a veritable orgy of speculation on what the discovery might be. Some ground-breaking organic compound? Evidence of past Martian life? An underground reservoir of water in the Martian soil? An extra-planetary Elvis sighting?
The answer turned out to be none of the above. This particular historic discovery was a misunderstanding.
Quote No. 2 was not an elaboration on quote No. 1. When Grotzinger uttered the words “one for the history books,” he was talking about the impact of the entire mission, not one particular soil sample. He was talking about the sum total of Curiosity’s mission. He was waxing exuberant, as scientists are supposed to do.
The question is whether this will turn us off to Curiosity’s future discoveries. Will we be once burned, forever shy. How can Curiosity’s legitimate discoveries compete with the wacky speculations we cooked up out of our unrestrained imaginations?
In the meantime, what has this experience really taught us? Well, for one thing it teaches us to be leery of historic developments packaged in preliminary announcements. History seldom operates that way.
Sometimes history does give us advance warning -- as when we gathered in front of our TV sets to catch the Apollo 11 historic landing on the moon. But more often it insists on catching us by surprise -- as when passenger jets smashed like missiles into the Twin Towers or when Japanese bombers swept down on Pearl Harbor or when a fanatic with a pistol crept into the president’s box at Ford's Theater.
As for Curiosity -- I’ve seen it described variously as explorer, interplanetary ambassador and the ultimate foreign exchange student. In this case, though, I tend to see it more like a kid away at summer camp, writing home every chance it gets.
And naturally the first letters are going to be exercises in hyperbole. No week was ever more miserable, no kid was ever lonelier, and no camp was ever lamer -- it’s one for the history books.
But it’s the latter letters we have to worry about, the ones in which the kid writes us casually not to worry but we might notice a change when he gets home -- and we spend the rest of the month wondering if that will mean a new hairstyle, a new set of tattoos or membership in a gang or cult.If Apple’s naming scheme was starting to bother you (with iOS, tvOS and watchOS working under different naming rules from OS X), fret no more. As the company announced today, OS X is getting a new name that brings order to Apple’s nomenclature.
Behold the new name of OS X: macOS. And because this is a new version of OS X/macOS, too — and Apple decided to stick with its California names — this new version’s full name is macOS Sierra.
As expected, this new version of macOS will finally bring support for Siri to the desktop. To bring up Siri, which is getting its own improvements today, too, all you have to do is say “hey Siri,” and Apple’s modestly useful AI assistant will be at your beck and call.
Siri will be able to help you find files on your Mac and send messages, and because it works in the background, it’ll also help you perform tasks while you are using other apps in full-screen mode, Apple says.
Also new in macOS is the ability to automatically unlock your Mac when your iPhone or Apple Watch is close to it (similar to Google’s Smart Lock on ChromeOS). Apple calls this feature “auto unlock.”
Also new is what Apple calls the universal clipboard. This gives users access to a single clipboard that works across iOS and macOS. In addition, Apple is adding improved support for iCloud Drive, which can now make files more easily available across devices. With this update, Apple now also allows you to easily move older files to the cloud in order to free up space on your local machines.
In addition, if you use multiple macOS machines, Apple will now sync your desktops between them, too. Other new features include support for Apple Pay in the browser. To authenticate, you will be able to use TouchID on your iPhone. Among the minor, but useful features the company announced today is also the addition of Safari-like tabs to virtually every app on macOS.
The update is coming to beta users in July and will be available as a free upgrade to all OS X/macOS users in the fall.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
April 4, 2015, 7:32 PM GMT / Updated April 4, 2015, 7:53 PM GMT / Source: NBC News
Bob Burns, a founding member and one-time drummer of the iconic Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, died in a car crash Friday night in Georgia, according to authorities and the band. He was 64.
Burns' car slipped off the road just before midnight and into a tree after making a tight turn in Bartow County, about 50 miles north of Atlanta, said Tracey Watson, a spokeswoman for the Georgia State Patrol. Burns was not wearing a seat belt and died on the scene, Watson said.
Burns joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1964 before the band shot to fame. The group recorded "Sweet Home Alabama," "I Need You" and "Free Bird" while Burns was the drummer. He left the band in 1974.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's guitarist Gary Rossington continues to tour under the band's name. Rossington wrote on the band's Facebook page Saturday that he coincidentally took a sentimental drive past Burns' old home while visiting Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday. "It was there in the carport where we used to first start to practice with Skynyrd," Rossington wrote.
"I'm at a loss for words, but I just remember Bob being a funny guy," Rossington said. "My heart goes out to his family and God bless him and them in this sad time. He was a great great drummer."By Margaret Kimberley
Black Americans were lost and politically helpless before Election Day in 2016. Having a black Democrat in the presidency hid a multitude of sins. As a group we have lost jobs, the little wealth we had, and literally our lives and freedom from the police state. Donald Trump’s election just made what was already true crystal clear.
The victory of a Republican is always cause for some degree of panic among black people. They are, after all, the white people’s party and their ascension creates anxiety among us.
Donald Trump’s appeal to white nationalism has certainly upped the ante. The people who hold onto the feckless Democrats with a vice-like death grip now believe they have nowhere to turn. The Democrats’ allegiance to neo-liberal deal making instead of meeting the needs of the rank and file resulted in a presidential defeat and Republican control of both houses of Congress. They long ago conceded fighting for control of state legislatures. The result is that the Republicans hold all the electoral cards.
Instead of fear we should be angry that we denounced what we once supported and supported what we once denounced in a losing effort to keep Democrats in office. We made a tacit agreement with the Democrats to follow them, at times blindly and at others with eyes wide open in exchange for protection from the white people’s party.
After supporting mass incarceration, the end of welfare as a right, regime change and austerity, the Democrats didn’t come through. They failed to prop up Hillary Clinton and now most of black America is shocked and fearful of what the Trump presidency will bring.
Every move Trump makes is followed like a sign of Armageddon. Announcements of his appointments and his bizarre ranting tweets are followed with obsessive fixation like watching a monster movie meant to create terror.
It is interesting that there has been no revolt against the Democratic Party and their coterie of black misleaders after this political debacle. Black people came to believe that not only were we supposed to give the Democrats carte blanche but, like domestic violence victims, we had to keep quiet about our humiliation too. Now we are alternately afraid, angry and confused because we still think we must censor ourselves about our bad political decision making.
There should be serious introspection amongst us now. We must ask ourselves how we ended up in this situation. The fault is not ours alone. Our liberation movement was crushed and leaders were imprisoned or killed. We began to err when we accepted the first foolish agreement to be satisfied with the success of a small group of people instead of working for everyone’s freedom. That thinking culminated in the joy of seeing Barack Obama elected president in 2008. In 2016 we watched his hollow legacy go down in flames to the man who said he wasn’t born in the United States.
Black people have always made the greatest strides when unafraid. We speak endlessly of the days of the liberation movement without appreciating what we accomplished. Racism was open as politicians and other “respectable” people had no qualms about using racial slurs and threatening and carrying out violence against us. Sometimes we voted with our feet away from the Jim Crow south and at other times we rose up in open rebellion. We did not allow fear to rule the day.
Now we quake in our boots with every announcement from the Trump transition team. Instead of panicking because Dr. Ben Carson will be secretary of HUD, we should remember that HUD exists at all because of the demands that black people made on our political system. Creating political crisis should be the order of the day. That has always been the game changer, not necessarily getting Democrats into office instead of Republicans.
Should we be able to reverse this fortune through electoral politics just remember who we will be resurrecting. Nancy Pelosi says that the Democratic Party doesn’t want a new direction. Senator Cory Booker is mentioned as a 2020 contender but Ivanka Trump and her husband raised $40,000 for his last campaign.
If Trumpism is to be destroyed it cannot be through the same measures that brought us to this ignominious political end. It also can’t be done with the same faces who brought us here or with bought off progressives. Al Gore and Tulsi Gabbard may stop by to kiss Donald’s ring but that doesn’t mean we must either “give him a chance” or believe the end is nigh.
The desire for self-determination brought people out of slavery and out of Jim Crow segregation. It can certainly save us from the alt-right, Donald Trump and an attorney general named Jefferson Beauregard Sessions. We survived the Confederates and we can survive anyone named after them. That will mean shaking off fear, the Democrats, and the black misleaders all at once. We have never had anyone to depend on except ourselves. We do best when we acknowledge and honor that fact.It cost A$200 million (S$215 million) - and ended in apparent failure - but experts say the two-year search for the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 aircraft was not in vain.
According to marine scientists, the 120,000 sq km search for the Boeing 777 has produced an unequalled trove of vital information about the world deep beneath the ocean's surface.
The information, which could take years to analyse, will assist with tsunami warnings and shipping charts, and is set to drastically improve our understanding of ocean currents, marine biology and the history of the formation of the planet.
Marine geologist Robin Beaman, a research fellow at James Cook University, said the amount of data collected was "globally unprecedented". It includes detailed maps and imagery of parts of the sea floor in the Indian Ocean that are more than 5,000m deep.
"There is nowhere on earth that has had such a large amount of modern technology applied to it," he told The Straits Times.
"You can see detail that has never been revealed before - the volcanoes, the faults that formed as the ocean's crust developed over time. From a scientific perspective, it is astounding."
NEW DISCOVERIES You can see detail that has never been revealed before - the volcanoes, the faults that formed as the ocean's crust developed over time. From a scientific perspective, it is astounding. DR ROBIN BEAMAN, a marine geologist and research fellow at James Cook University, saying that the amount of data collected was "globally unprecedented".
The agency overseeing the search, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), confirmed that the data collected will be made publicly available. A spokesman said the data will first be processed by Geoscience Australia, a national science agency, and will then be released in phases for free download on its website.
"A vast amount of data has been collected throughout the search," the spokesman said.
This huge amount of ocean data was collected during two separate phases of the search operation.
The first phase came soon after the disappearance of the plane, which vanished during a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014.
From May to December 2014, A$20 million was spent on an operation to map the southern Indian Ocean where analysis of satellite contacts suggested it crashed.
This bathymetric survey was necessary because so little was known about this remote stretch of water. It produced high-resolution imagery, modelling and maps, including information on water depth and hardness of the sea floor.
Further data was collected during the more costly next phase from October 2014: an extensive underwater hunt involving vessels equipped with side-scan sonars to survey the seabed. This phase officially ended on Monday when the last search vessel arrived back in Western Australia.
Asked how much area was covered, the ATSB spokesman said: "We are still reviewing all the data, but including the coverage that was gathered during the vessels' transit to and from the search area, over 700,000 sq km."
Dr Beaman said previous mapping of the world's oceans has largely focused on areas where there are tectonic activity and earthquakes, but not across large basins.
"This will help us get a better understanding of the underwater landscape of our earth and how our landscape is preserved," he said.
"It all goes to understanding how the sea floor has changed over time. How did the underwater landscape come to form? Why are there so many volcanoes scattered there? How much sediment develops over the years? What is living down there?
"There will be uses that we haven't even thought of yet."
The underwater search uncovered old shipwrecks and extensively mapped the sea floor around Broken Ridge, a mountainous structure along the margin between two geological plates.
Dr Beaman predicted that the data will prove useful for many years. "It comes off the back of a great tragedy but the data is very valuable for basic understanding of the world," he said.Thousands of live cats destined "for consumption" have been seized in Hanoi after being smuggled from China, police said Thursday, but their fate still hangs in the balance.
Cat meat, known locally as "little tiger", is an increasingly popular delicacy in Vietnam, and although officially banned is widely available in specialist restaurants.
The truck containing "three tons" of live cats was discovered in the Vietnamese capital Tuesday, an officer from Dong Da district police station told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The truck driver told police he had purchased the cats in northeastern Quang Ninh province, which borders China, and that they had all been sourced from the neighbouring country.
He told police the cats were destined "for consumption" in Hanoi, without specifying whether they would be sold to restaurants.
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to clamp down on the vice trade in the town.
In one raid, a 75-year-old pensioner was questioned by gardai after being found in an apartment being rented for use a brothel.
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In a separate raid recently, gardai raided another premises and found €18,000 in Western Union receipts sent to Romania — the profits from prostitution over a two week period over Christmas.BEIRUT – Students in Idlib have been asked to solve a gruesome problem in a math exam based on calculating the probability that a captured regime soldier would be beheaded by one of the Islamist groups in control of the province.
The Syrian opposition Interim Government’s education minister condemned the test—which was administered by the Free Idlib Education Institute in the village of Al-Barra near Jabal al-Zawiyah—while the teacher who wrote up the exam was fired.
The exam, which dealt with a scenario where the Army of Conquest coalition captures regime soldiers, shed light on commonly shared views regarding the rebel groups’ treatment of prisoners in the Idlib province.
The third question in the paper—which bears the stamp of the Syrian National Coalition’s Interim Government—reads as follows:
“[If] a number of Assad’s soldiers were captured in one of the Army of Conquest’s raids each of those fighters would [either] be handed over to Al-Nusra Front with a probability of 4 in 10, to Ahrar al-Sham with a probability of 3 in 10 [or] to Jund al-Aqsa.”
The question went on to state that “each fighter would then be executed by the faction that had received them either by shooting or beheading.”
“If they were handed over to Al-Nusra Front they would be executed by beheading with a probability of 6 in 10, if they were handed over to Ahrar al-Sham they would be executed by shooting with a probability of 7 in 10 and if they were handed over to Jund al-Aqsa they would be executed by beheading with a probability of 8 in 10.”
“So, if they were executed by beheading, what is the probability that they were handed over to the Ahrar al-Sham Islamic Movement?”
“Affront to scholarly principles”
Syrian Interim Government Education Minister Dr. Imad Barq described what happened in the Idlib school as “un-scholarly and un-educational conduct.”
The Education Ministry has taken “all [the necessary] legal and administrative procedures against the teacher who wrote the questions and relieved him of his duties,” Barq confirmed in a statement to the pro-opposition Eqtsad news outlet.
“An individual error by the teacher Mukhlis Ibrahim caused all this clamor, which the media has treated as an outrage for the Interim Government,” he said, adding that “errors happen.”
“As soon as we were informed of the incident, the Ministry investigated and confirmed what had happened.”
“[We concluded] that the writing of that question in the form in which it appeared was an affront to scholarly principles,” Barq told Eqtsad, before saying that the ministry was combating what he called “the politicizing of education.”
He stressed that “the ministry will not allow the repetition of this un-methodological error” and called into question “the interests of the actors who portrayed this individual error as a collective error, in order to destroy all the efforts made by the ministry since its formation.”
Teacher’s “industriousness led him astray”
A local source told Eqtsad that the fired teacher, Mukhlis Ibrahim, was a former Syrian army officer who had defected at the beginning of the uprising.
“He was one of the first people to bear arms against regime forces in northern Syria.”
“Ibrahim began working as a teacher when the institute was founded in Jabal al-Zawiyah’s Al-Barra after leaving military work behind,” the source added.
“The teacher was known for his bravery and trustworthiness locally but it seems that his industriousness has led him astray.”
E-mail account “breached” by Assad thug, teacher claims
After the story began to circulate in the media, the Ministry of Free Education in Idlib issued a video denial in which Ibrahim and the Al-Barra school director appeared, claiming the former had been the victim of a cyber-attack.
“We received the questions from the teacher by e-mail and that is [perfectly] normal,” Free Idlib Education Institute Director Moussa al-Arab told the pro-rebel outlet Step Agency.
After this staff “downloaded the questions and printed the questions without reading them,” Arab said. “I had checked them the day before.”
“We stamped the questions and distributed them to the students,” he went on.
He then claimed that there had been a “breach in the third question.”
“It was [found] irregular after inspection by the teacher.”
Explaining how the “breach” had been discovered, Mukhlis Ibrahim said that he had not realized until the evening after students had completed their exam.
“On the same day in the evening, I saw in the media that there might have been some issue with the questions.”
According to Ibrahim, after checking his e-mail he discovered that “one of Assad’s shabiha had breached the account and forged the third question.”Volunteers in Wakefield who are sponsoring a Syrian refugee family were concerned the newcomers would have trouble communicating with residents in the small Quebec village north of Ottawa. So they organized a language class — for Wakefield residents to learn Arabic.
Nearly 40 people showed up at the lesson held in a café this week, including some children.
“It was total beginner, basic phrases,” said Erin Krekoski, one of the co-ordinators of the Wakefield for Refugees group. ” ‘Hi, how are you? Where’s the bathroom? Are you cold?’ That kind of thing.”
It’s an indication of just how eager Wakefield residents are to welcome the Syrian family — parents and four kids, ranging in age from 3 to 18 — who will arrive from Lebanon.
Most Syrian refugees will settle in cities, where there are settlement services and other Syrians or Arabic speakers, but sponsor groups have also sprung up in small towns across Canada.
The Wakefield group has raised about $30,000, and plans to sponsor a second family.
The first family could arrive in a few days, or a few months, but the group is ready. They found a two-bedroom house in the village, which the landlord made available for a reduced rent, and furnished it with donated goods, from beds to pots and pans.
The offers of help were immediate, said Krekoski. Snowsuit for a three-year-old-girl needed? Done, instantly. “Every time we put something out there, the need is just filled automatically, with this overwhelming, heartwarming response.”
They have few details, such as whether the family is originally from a rural area in Syria or a city.
The family may choose to eventually move to Ottawa or another city. Most people in Wakefield, a rural area a 45-minute drive from Ottawa, have a car, but that might be too expensive for a refugee family on a skimpy budget. There is bus service to Ottawa, but only at rush hours.
“We just don’t know what they are going to want, what they’ll need, and what kind of life they’ll want to lead,” says Krekoski. “We’re going to do our very best and offer them our very best in this community we live in. If that works for them, great, they’ll stay and we’ll welcome them into the community. If they decide they want to move somewhere else, they are totally welcome to, and that’s 100-per-cent success as well.
“The point is to offer them a new life in Canada, a life of safety.”
When the Syrian refugees will arrive in Ottawa
130: Estimated number of Syrian refugees sponsored by private groups expected to arrive before the end of December
29: Number of government-sponsored refugees expected to arrive in Ottawa before the end of December
600 to 800: Number of government-sponsored Syrian refugees expected to arrive in Ottawa in January and February. This is an estimate from settlement agencies, based on historical distribution of refugees across the country.
521: Total number of refugees, sponsored by the government or privately, who arrived in Ottawa in 2014
A Christmas tree for refugees at St. Matthew High School
Fifteen-year-old Jayden Tadiello is a big Pittsburg Penguins fan, and over the years he’s amassed quite a collection of hockey hats. One of his favourite winter ones now sits atop a Christmas tree at St. Matthew High School in Orléans, in lieu of a star, ready to be given to a Syrian refugee.
Jayden and other students from the school organized a campaign to collect winter clothes and boots for the refugees who will be arriving in town during the coldest months of the year.
The coats, hats, mitts, sweaters and boots are piled under a couple of Christmas trees at the school, ready to be sent to the Catholic Centre for Immigrants. The Ottawa Catholic School Board has designated Monday as a fundraising day in support of refugees, but the St. Matthew students are ahead of the curve with their clothing drive.
Their campaign arose out of the school’s Me to We club, which encourages students to pick a global issue to work on. Students visited every classroom in the school to ask for donations, said Jacob Victor, 15. “I felt like (students) really wanted to help, it wasn’t just like, ‘Oh, we have to.’ It made me feel really happy, and kind of warm inside.”
“I feel like everyone has to do their part to make the world a better place,” explains Winnie Moline, 17. Adds Rebecca Bannister, 15: “If we were in their place, wouldn’t we want someone to be as welcoming and caring as we are?”
lMcDonald’s Monopoly Sweepstakes is back, and with it comes worse odds of winning than the lottery. While it’s not to difficult to win a free apple pie or large fries, the chances of winning the $1 million grand prize are one in three billion.
Along with instant food prizes, the game also includes collectible Monopoly property that can be combined for larger prizes. The fast food restaurant explained in a statement about the sweepstakes:
“Our customer’s favorite promotion, Monopoly at McDonald’s, is still going strong. With cash, Fiat vehicles, trips to the Super Bowl, the Beats by Dre Pill, and your chance to win a $1 million prize on a Big Mac, this summer will be more fun than ever at McDonald’s!”
Cash prizes will range from $50 to $1 million and there are 500 Fiat vehicles up for grabs as well. But that doesn’t mean that you have good chances at winning the big prizes. While the odds of winning a prize at the in-store game are one in four, the probabilities of getting all the spaces you need are much smaller.
For example, while a customer has a one in 10 chance of getting Baltic Avenue, they have just a one in 100,000 change of getting Mediterranean Avenue. In essence, that makes most of the property pieces worthless, since only one game piece from each set is needed to win the prize.
If you have your heart set on winning McDonald’s Monopoly this summer, Business Insider has a list of the properties you absolutely shouldn’t trade away. They include Mediterranean Ave, Vermont Ave, Virginia Ave, and others. As for odds? Finding Boardwalk Avenue is one in 600 million. The odds of winning the Powerball are one in 175 million.
The McDonald’s Monopoly pieces will appear on many menu favorites, such as the BicMac, chicken McNuggets, Large Fries, Sausage McMuffin with Egg, and others. The full list is here.
Do you plan on playing this year’s McDonald’s Monopoly Sweepstakes?A second person has been arrested in connection with Tuesday’s shooting of a Cobb County police officer during a traffic stop near Marietta.
The officer was shot about 2:30 a.m. when he stopped a blue Volvo in front of an office building on Powers Ferry Road between Windy Hill Road and I-285.
Officer C.A. Vill was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, where he was in good condition Tuesday afternoon, Cobb police Sgt. Dana Pierce said.
“We now have in custody one individual we believe is going to be the shooter,” Pierce said just after 11 a.m.
The suspected gunman, identified as James A. Phillips, was booked into the Cobb County jail early Tuesday afternoon. He was being held without bond on felony charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, jail records show. He was denied bond at his first court appearance Tuesday night.
Phillips, 36, was released from state prison in October after being convicted of obstruction of a law enforcement officer and methamphetamine possession in Cherokee County, according to state Department of Corrections records.
“We got him in custody south of I-285, about a mile away (from the scene of the shooting),” Pierce said. “He was found in the stairwell of a home near the Chattahoochee River and he surrendered without incident.”
The area where the suspected gunman was found is part of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
“Our officers have been out searching all morning and that’s what the officers were doing when they came across what would be described as a suspicious individual,” the sergeant said. “As they began to question him, he very obviously became suspicious.
Police told Channel 2 Action News that Phillips had been with a woman selling meth just before the shooting.
That woman, Lindsey Morgan Campbell, 26, of Acworth, was booked into the Cobb County jail late Tuesday afternoon on drug and weapons charges, and is being held without bond, according to the jail website.
Pierce said the wounded officer, who has been on the force for about a year and a half, “is in good spirits, he’s in good condition.”
He said Vill had initially noticed “suspicious activity” by the occupants of the Volvo and the Ford Fusion, and that’s what prompted the traffic stop.
Other officers were en route to assist Hill, but had not yet arrived when he was shot, according to Pierce.
Pierce said more than 100 officers took part in the eight-hour manhunt, many staying over after their overnight shifts ended.
Rudy Evenson, the park information officer for the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, said the building where the suspect was found is the “old ranger operation center for the south district” and is slated for demolition.
“We used to use it as an office for the rangers,” Evenson said. “We haven’t used it in about five years since we condensed all our operations up in Sandy Springs.”
Evenson said park visitors occasionally “come down this road and make their way down to the river, but it’s the off-season, so there’s not too many people back here now.”BY: Follow @DavidRutz
The New York Times, despite a front-page editorial advocating for gun control, still failed to live up to the left-wing sensibilities of MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry Saturday because it had a picture of San Bernardino shooter and devout Muslim Tafsheen Malik wearing her hijab.
Now, Harris-Perry complained in the clip first flagged by NewsBusters, the newspaper was problematic for suggesting "this is what terrorism looks like."
Malik pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organization the same day she and husband Syed Farook killed 14 people. The New York Times reported Malik was "visibly devout" with her use of the hijab and face-covering niqab. It is unclear how any other picture of Malik could have been circulated. As NewsBusters suggested, was the newspaper expected to photoshop the hijab off her?
Arab-American activist Linda Sarsour claimed Saturday on Harris-Perry's eponymous show that the media's rhetoric about the massacre shifted when it turned out the perpetrators were Islamic.
"All of a sudden we find out they're Muslim. Bam, gun violence is out of the question," she said. "We start talking about terrorism. And I'm extremely disturbed. I mean, I looked at the New York Times cover today. There, you have a whole op-ed on gun control. Great. Right next to it is pictures from the apartment of things that I have in my house."
"Yes!" Harris-Perry said.
"These are things that all Muslims have in their house," Sarsour said. "There's nothing about that that tells you a story about what terrorism looks like. So you're telling me that when my friends who are not Muslim come into my home and see a Koran on see frames on the wall with a scripture from my religion, is that supposed to tell you something? I mean, it's absolutely outrageous."
Sarsour said there was a clear "double standard" for how Muslims are treated when they are perpetrators.
"Also, right next to it [is] an image of the shooting suspect there in an hijab," Harris-Perry said. "And the idea that, okay, this is what terrorism looks like, I … for me, that is a difference, and it is a material and meaningful difference in how we … so on the one hand again, I want to be able to talk about what the thing is that is terrorism. On the other hand, I have to reflect that this happens only for specific communities."
Harris-Perry, who has also warned against using the term "hard worker" because it's offensive to slaves or something, is known for her serious opinions and nuanced panel discussions.The North recently threatened a nuclear strike against Washington in retaliation for new United Nations sanctions, which were imposed this month to punish North Korea for its most recent tests of a nuclear device and a long-range rocket.
The new video mostly chronicles what it calls “humiliating defeats” suffered by the United States at North Korea’s hands over the years, including the North’s capture in 1968 of an American ship, the Pueblo, and the shooting down of an American helicopter in 1994.
It goes on to depict a barrage of artillery, rockets and missiles — including a submarine-launched ballistic missile, which North Korea recently claimed to have successfully tested — and it ends with the American flag in flames.
Hatred for America has long been a prominent theme in North Korean propaganda, and as the North’s nuclear and missile programs have advanced in recent years, a sense of empowerment through those weapons has become another key element of the messaging.
The video released Saturday is not the first of its kind. North Korea released one in 2013 that showed Lower Manhattan being bombed, and another soon afterward that showed President Obama and American troops in flames.The rainbow papaya is a tasty tropical fruit with a creamy, yellow-orange flesh. Who could possibly not like that?
Meet Jeffrey Smith of the Institute for Responsible Technology, based in Fairfield, Iowa. He readily admits to not being a doctor, or any sort of scientist. But he’s pretty sure eating that kind of papaya will make you more susceptible to colds, hepatitis and HIV.
Despite the lack of any verifiable evidence backing up that assertion, a lot of people believe him.
That’s because rainbow papaya is “genetically modified,” a term that has become vilified in recent years. It means that something has been bred to have more desirable traits — in the case of the rainbow papaya, it has been vaccinated against ringspot, a disease that killed off Hawaii’sconventional papaya trees. To growers on the island, rainbow papaya is not some menacing interloper. It’s their future.
The rising tension between anti-GMO crusaders and researchers striving to improve crops is the focus of “Food Evolution,” a documentary narrated by science superhero Neil deGrasse Tyson.
[Neil deGrasse Tyson explains the big bang — and everything else]
The film is one of more than 180 selections from 32 countries being screened across Washington March 14-26 as part of the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (dceff.org). The largest and longest-running environmental film festival in the country turns 25 this year, and the schedule features a wide range of topics: baby elephants, coral reefs, nuclear power, recent political developments.
Opening night at the National Geographic Society features 2017 Sundance selection “Water & Power: A California Heist,” Oscar-winner Alex Gibney’s exploration of California’s water crisis. Stick around after the show for a discussion with director Marina Zenovich and environmental attorney Adam Keats, who is featured in the film.
There are similar panels of experts after most of the documentaries, including “Food Evolution,” which screens March 17 at the Carnegie Institution for Science. So prepare your papaya questions for filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy, Johns Hopkins University bioethicist Gail Geller and Cornell plant biologist Sarah Davidson Evanega.The organisers of a Muslim protest march in Dublin against an anti-Islamic video and series of cartoons have described the demonstration as “very successful.”
A group of about 200 to 300 demonstrators participated in a peaceful march from St Stephen’s Green to the American and French embassies.
Earlier this month violent protests erupted across the Middle-East after a video depicting the prophet Muhammad as a fraud went viral on the internet.
Subsequent depictions of Muhammad by a French satirical magazine drew widespread condemnation from across the Muslim world.
Khurram Khan, one of the organisers of the Dublin protest, said the demonstration was not political and insisted that the marchers did not represent any Islamic groups.
He added that Muslims in Ireland had been waiting for “someone to take the initiative” and organise a protest. Irish-based Imams refused to organise a demonstration because they feared it would be poorly received, he said.
The organisers intended the demonstration to be silent, but chants of “USA, you must pay!” and “There is no God but Allah!” started almost immediately after the march got under way.
“We tried our best to keep it silent but the people have emotions as well,” Mr Khan said afterwards.
Abdul Haseeb, former editor of Irish Muslim magazine, said he went on the march to ensure it didn’t descend into violence, but added that he disagreed with the protest.
Although he endorsed the message, he said these types of demonstrations alienate wider society. Lobbying politicians and the media, he believed, would have been more effective.
“Pressure would have changed things.”
The demonstration passed by the US embassy without much incident. Some elements of the group made hand gestures at the building and shouted “USA! Shame! Shame!” but were quickly moved on by organisers.
The embassy later released a short statement saying “we respect the right to protest and freedom of expression.”
The scene was much the same outside the French embassy, which later said it welcomed “the spirit of responsibility shown by protestors.”
The marchers were overwhelmingly male, with only a tiny number of women among them.
Mr Khan said “there were lots of women interested but we tried to stop them. The only reason being with the weather conditions and with the women with the children, they might face some problems with the weather.”
One of the few women present, Gulgona Rashid, who was there with her husband, Tahir, said she was very proud to be on the march but admitted it “would be nice to see a few more women coming along.”It is July. It is time for General Synod in York. This is the kick-back Synod. Time for sandals and open-necked shirts, strawberries and ice cream, and clergy not looking clerical, except for the ones who always do. But the external relaxedness masks some serious business.
Three pieces of business around sexuality and gender issues are to come before Synod. GSMisc 1158, the House of Bishops’ proposals replacing the ill-fated report GS2055; A motion from Blackburn Diocese, GS 2071A Welcoming Transgender People; and Jayne Ozanne’s Private Member’s Motion on Conversion Therapy, supported by GS 2070A.
Jayne’s motion asks for Synod to endorse a statement from January this year, signed by a number of significant professional medical bodies, as well as some advocacy groups, describing so-called Conversion Therapy “unethical and harmful”, and proscribing its use by their members. Jayne’s motion also asks for the Archbishops’ Council to become a co-signatory to the statement.
The Blackburn motion, which has been long-delayed, says this:
“That this Synod, recognizing the need for transgender people to be welcomed and affirmed in their parish church, call on the House of Bishops to consider whether some nationally commended liturgical materials might be prepared to mark a person’s gender transition.”
It is the first time trans people’s concerns have ever been debated by General Synod. Interestingly, its focus is on liturgical provision around transition. A most useful background paper by Dr Tina Beardsley, resourcing this debate, can be found here.
The House of Bishops, rocked by the rejection of their previous proposals, found the way ahead was sketched out by the letter of the two Archbishops published on 16th February 2017. In it the Archbishops stated: “we need a radical new Christian inclusion in the Church. This must be founded in scripture, in reason, in tradition, in theology and the Christian faith as the Church of England has received it; it must be based on good, healthy, flourishing relationships, and in a proper 21st century understanding of being human and of being sexual.”
GS Misc 1158 is their attempt to put flesh on the bones of that.
Sometimes the Church of England does some good things, some very good things, in relation to restoring dignity to people. It is not afraid of supporting refugees, both practically and politically. Its best work is seen in the way it responds to a disaster like Grenfell Tower – the local Church of England churches quickly became a centre of support, action, and care for the homeless, bereaved and traumatised people of North Kensington. It works well ecumenically and across all faiths and none, and there is no sense of this help being given conditionally or with strings attached. Among many churches and faith groups it is also Church of England churches that have enthusiastically set up and maintained food banks for those for whom austerity has had a very real practical impact.
These General Synod motions talk, variously, about the restoration of human dignity principally to people who are on the inside. Of course, the Church of England doesn’t have an inside and an outside quite like other churches. It is the established church of the land, and therefore all English citizens have a proper interest in its actions and policies, even in its theologies, however inexplicable they may seem to many. Nevertheless, these motions are really for internal consumption. They deal, as so much Church of England business has over the years, with one of the really intractable difficulties the Church has made for itself, how it is to treat people in their sexual and gendered variety in the Church.
UK society has answered that question. Drawing on the traditions of human rights thinking that arise from very diverse sources, but which find their summation in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, our society has worked its way around, over the last fifty years or so, to thinking that no group should be discriminated against by virtue of its difference. (It is not insignificant that the principal author of that Declaration, John Peters Humphrey, was a Canadian, who, as a disabled and parentless boy, was relentlessly bullied when he was at school.) It has legislated to this effect, and so, while people can be racist or sexist or homophobic at home or in their heads, they can’t behave that way in public.
The Church of England has gone some way towards accepting this social change. And some way to resisting it. There was never any question of the Church of England seeking opt-outs from race discrimination legislation. Why so? Perhaps, because a significant number of prominent English clergy were working in South Africa and were implacably opposed to the doctrine of separate development of the races. They saw and understood the injustice, cruelty and oppression that was the consequence of that doctrine, and had worked with the majority black populations. So, while racism was a danger in the 1960s in England, church leaders supported efforts to end race discrimination here. Its own internal record on supporting and developing ethnic minority leaders has been very poor in the past, but it has the theoretical tools and is making some effort to support doing a better job on that.
It has been less successful with its attitude to women. Resistance to equality between men and women in society is very deep-rooted. There is still a gender pay gap, and women still don’t get paid the same as men for equal work. In the Church of England moves to equalise opportunities for women to offer their gifts and talents in God’s service have come very slowly and rather incompletely. Theological justifications and ecclesiastical arrangements for unequal treatment have been enshrined and solidified rather than being discouraged.
But it is with its attitudes to gender variance and differences of sexual orientation that the Church of England has drifted away dangerously from the ethical moorings of the country as a whole. It isn’t simply that it wishes to act differently. It is that the country now understands the equal treatment of all its citizens to be a foundational moral principle. Doing anything less than this is understood by the vast majority of citizens not simply to be undesirable, but at a profound level, immoral and unethical.
But this ethical thinking does not cut any ice with those who consider homosexual relations to be against the Word of God, or who think that gender dysmorphia is a wicked temptation to be fought against. How then can we frame the debates that are coming in Synod in such a way that they might start to make some sense to that minority of people who are so implacably opposed to change?
I want to suggest that there is in our tradition, and in the Scriptures, an enormously powerful recognition of the significance of the encounter of the individual with the divine. This encounter, from the beginnings of the human story as we have been told it, shapes the sense of self by that encounter. I become who I am through the I-Thou encounter (as Martin Buber put it). Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Mary. But also the unknown and the nameless – the woman who touches Jesus in the crowd, the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Among the great names of Biblical history there is an over-riding sense of the story of God’s action through these encounters, working and changing lives for greater purposes, but there are also two other things worthy of note.
First, it is not always about a great call. It is always first of all a recognition of people’s unique and wonderful personhood. That they are themselves before God, and in that meeting know themselves to be themselves. Sometimes fearful, they are always reassured, but they often simply encounter love, and they know themselves to be loved.
Secondly, no one but God tells them who they are. They find out for themselves what it means to be who they are. Indeed, the attempts by others to shape the identity of individuals is often a disaster for people who think they know best who someone else is. As GS Misc 1158 puts it:
If we would presume to say anything on this subject, we must know that we are talking about and talking to people, with their immense capacities for joy and for pain, created in the divine image and precious in God’s sight in ways we can barely begin to fathom.(my emphasis)
There is an unalienable dignity about being who you are before God. It is deeply rooted in Scripture, and it has been worked out by followers of Christ in human history time and time again. It has not been an uncomplicated matter – and for pioneers it has often been painful and costly, and sometimes lonely. It has been through this process that so many people’s gifts and talents have been liberated for the service of others.
Here is a new way to look at these matters. It is biblical, it is rooted in the Christian tradition, and its ethical foundations arise directly from the value that is in everyone because of their status as a child of God. Out of this essential vocation come all the other possibilities of human becoming.
So, of course we should make provision for trans people to find a way of marking their new identities. They know who they are – they certainly don’t need us to tell them if they are allowed to be themselves. What they need us to do is to support them. They and God know the truth of their personhood – and loving communities around them, marking important moments of transition will start to liberate the potential within them for their own wellbeing, and for the good of their families and communities.
Conversion therapies wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for religious people keen to tell others who they can and can’t be. But that is not their job. They are the most dangerous and damaging example of religious pressure imaginable. Evidence of the harm they do is well-documented. In the matter of human dignity, any solution to a human conundrum that pretends to know the end from the beginning attempts to bypass the relationship of individuals with God, and should be resisted by all those who know the foundational importance of that encounter.
GS Misc 1158 is not a document to make the heart beat faster. It outlines a lengthy process towards a teaching document by 2020. That makes nine years since the establishment of the Group that produced the Pilling Review. This latest document is clear that it wants to be working towards “radical inclusion”. Yet the membership of the group tasked with producing the report has only one person on it who is confidently and openly homosexual. And no one who is transgendered. The Pastoral Advisory Group is hardly better. Notably absent is anyone from the main campaigning groups in this field – OneBodyOneFaith, Inclusive Church, LGBTI Mission. The only person identifiable with a particular perspective is Sam Allberry (who would describe himself as Same-Sex Attracted) from Living Out, – a very small group, who think they know what God wants for all LGBTI people.
It is all very pedestrian, and still very exclusive. Voices that might upset the apple cart are carefully left out of the inner circle. It is still trying to manage a ‘problem’, for all that it says it isn’t. But what it fails to do is to accord to people the dignity that is theirs in Christ, and then to work outwards from that. It feels like an exercise in treading water in the hope that something might come along and save us, but with little expectation. It still reeks of fear and anxiety.
But our faith has told us the way forward. It is to stop trying to tell people who they can and should be, and instead to embrace the dignity that God has already given them. It is to stop boxing them and reducing them and telling them that they cannot exercise their gifts because they don’t come in an acceptable package, and instead to welcome them in all their complexity and beauty, and to accompany them in their discipleship as they respond to the call of God. It is to listen to the divine voice that says, as it always does, “Fear not.”
I shall pray for Synod members. I shall pray for them to welcome and pass The Blackburn and Ozanne motions. And I shall hope that they will try and amend GS Misc 1158, so that it can truly do what it says it wants to do and make a real contribution to the “radical inclusion” our Archbishops set as the goal of our transformation in this area.
I talked this weekend to a young woman who is a member of the Church of England. She is a Millennial – a grouping beloved of our leaders. She is a regular worshipper, someone who is serious about her faith. She has thought about whether or not she might have a vocation to ordained ministry. She talked about the possibility of getting married. What she said was that she wasn’t sure that she wanted to get married in church, because she didn’t want to be married using rites that implied that same-sex couples couldn’t be married as well. I was a little saddened to hear that – but then again, I thought she understood what radical inclusion really means. What it has always meant through the centuries. That human dignity in all its variety comes from God, and we should be fighting to honour it, not to diminish and demean it.The Atlantic
Ian Bogost discusses the influence of SimCity and SimEarth on game design, and argues that games are better when they focus on systems and structure rather than the antics of — commonly — big, burly men.
Maybe the obsession with personal identification and representation in games is why identity politics has risen so forcefully and naively in their service online, while essentially failing to build upon prior theories and practices of social justice. And perhaps it is why some gamers have become so attached to their identity that they've been willing to burn down anything to defend it. Surely a better understanding and appreciation of these underlying systems (not the least of which involves the corporatized Internet that has offered such an effective accelerant for grotesquerie) would have raised the question of how and why the gamer identity became cherished to the point its advocates would be willing to sabotage its progress in the public imagination.Jan Kwasniewski developed his Optimal Diet something like 40 years ago and it has become extremely popular in Poland.
Kwasniewski recommended that adults should eat in the ratio
60 g protein – 180 g fat – 30 g carbohydrate
(Source).
In terms of calories this is roughly 240 calories protein / 1640 calories fat / 120 calories carbohydrate on a 2000 calorie diet.
The Perfect Health Diet proportions are more like 300 calories protein / 1300 calories fat / 400 calories carbohydrate. So the diets would be similar if about 300 calories, or 15% of energy, were moved from fat to carbohydrate in the form of glucose/starch (not fructose/sugar!).
Note that we recommend obtaining at least 600 calories per day from protein and carbs combined. This ensures adequate protein for manufacture of glucose and ketones in the liver. But the Optimal Diet prescribes only 360 calories total (less in women), suggesting that gluconeogenesis cannot, over any long-term period, fully make up for the dietary glucose deficiency.
In the book, we note that a healthy body typically utilizes and needs about 600 glucose calories per day. On the Bellevue All-Meat Trial in 1928 Vilhjalmur Stefansson ate 550 protein calories per day, which is probably a good estimate for the minimum intake needed to prevent lean tissue loss on a zero-carb diet.
With only 360 carb plus protein calories per day, the Optimal Diet forces ketosis if lean tissue is to be preserved. Since at most 200 to 300 calories per day of the glucose requirement can be displaced by ketones, the Optimal Diet is living right on the margin of glucose deficiency.
Gastrointestinal Cancers in Optimal Dieters
I learned over on Peter’s blog that Optimal Dieters have been dying of gastrointestinal cancers at a disturbing rate. Recently Adam Jany, president of the OSBO (the Polish Optimal Dieters’ association), died of stomach cancer at 64 after 17 years on the Optimal Diet. Earlier Karol Br |
Mr. Packer; that would be almost as mean as saying what he just did in conference. But I think he is the ring leader among the octo- and novo-generian leadership of LDS Inc. opposing same-sex marriage. There are probably at least a few younger apostles who are either sympathetic or at the very least indifferent to the issue of same-sex marriage (e.g., Henry Eyring and Dieter Uchtdorf strike me as being possible candidates, though they could probably never say so publicly like Marlin Jensen did recently). I’m guessing the current situation is kind of like the blacks and the priesthood situation – a couple of crotchety old holdouts are keeping the leadership from being just 20 years behind the times. Once those holdouts kick the bucket, progress!
I won’t wish for Boyd Packer to die. But I have to wonder what changes will occur when he finally does kick it.
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P.S. Former Student Review staffer and current friend of Main Street Plaza, Eric Ethington (who links to MSP from his blog, Pride in Utah), talks to FOX13 in the second half of this report (Eric’s interview starts at the 1:35 mark):
‘Tough Talk’ on Homosexuality from an Old and Tired Mormon ‘Apostle’ …
ABC4 reports that more than 400 have signed up on Facebook to protest in Salt Lake City (now over 500 600 1,100 as of this posting):
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Transcript:
We raise an alarm and warn members of the Church to wake up and understand whats going on. Parents be alert, ever watchful, that this wickedness might threaten your family circle. We teach a standard of moral conduct that will protect us from Satans many substitutes and counterfeits for marriage. We must understand that any persuasion to enter into any relationship that is not in harmony with the principles of the Gospel must be wrong. In the Book of Mormon we learn that “wickedness never was happiness.” Some suppose that they were “pre-set” and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn tendencies toward the impure and the unnatural. Not so. Why would our Heavenly Father do that to anyone? Remember, He is our Father. Paul promised, “God will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” You can if you will, break the habits and conquer the addiction and come away from that which is not worthy of any member of the church. As Alma cautioned, we must “watch and pray continually.” Isaiah warned, “Wo unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” Years ago, I visited a school in Albuquerque. The teacher told me about a youngster who brought a kitten to class. As you can imagine, that disrupted everything. She had him hold up the kitten in front of the children. It went well until one of the children asked, “Is it a boy kitty or a girl kitty?” Not wanting to get into that lesson, the teacher said, “It doesnt matter, its just a kitty.” But they persisted. Finally one boy raised his hand and said, “I know how you can tell.” Resigned to face it, the teacher said, “How can you tell?” And the student answered, “You can vote on it.” You may laugh at the story. But, if we’re not alert, there are those today who not only tolerate but advocate voting to change lives that would legalize immorality. As if a vote would somehow alter the designs of God’s laws of nature. A law against nature would be impossible to enforce. For instance, what good would the law against – a vote against – the law of gravity do? There are both moral and physical laws irrevocably decreed in Heaven before the foundation of the world that cannot be changed. History demonstrates over and over again that moral standards cannot be changed by battle and cannot be changed by ballot. To legalize that which is basically wrong or evil will not prevent the pain and penalties that will follow as surely as night follows day. Regardless of the opposition, we are determined to stay on course. We will hold to the principles and laws and ordinances of the Gospel. If they are misunderstood, either innocently or willfully, so be it. We cannot change, we will not change the moral standards. We quickly lose our way when we disobey the laws of God.
Transcript courtesy of BrinkleyBoy @ r/exmormonLike a great scene from “Mad Men,” the razor-sharp juxtaposition of emotions and circumstances was impossible to miss.
On the wall of New York’s Museum of the Moving Image were framed pages from Matthew Weiner’s journal circa 1992-93, written longhand when he was a starving scribe who spent many hours gulping coffee at Norm’s restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard.
As Weiner stood re-reading his meandering thoughts about the nature of art, commerce and television, surprised attendees of the “Matthew Weiner’s Mad Men” exhibit couldn’t stop themselves from approaching “Mad Men’s” creator/executive producer. Weiner was there on March 19 with any fanfare to check out the installation for the first time and to give Variety what amounted to a guided tour through the canyons of his mind.
photo credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image. photo credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image.
“Can I just shake your hand? I seriously want to cry here,” said a young woman who told Weiner she was a film student at USC, his alma mater. (Before they parted, Weiner gave her PR contact info to get her a seat at the March 26 “Mad Men” screening at LACMA.)
Related TV Review: ‘Mad Men,’ Season 7 ‘Mad Men’s’ Matthew Weiner: ‘Trust Me, I’m Going to Miss It More Than You Will’ Jon Hamm Reflects on ‘Mad Men,’ Looks Forward to Funnier Future
“I just want to thank you for creating one of the best shows on TV,” said another breathless twenty-something woman. “I almost lost it when I saw you.”
Renaldo, who described himself as an art student from Italy, simply wanted a hug from Weiner, who was happy to oblige. Another woman was right behind him with a more specific request.
“Can I ask you one thing — Are Peggy and Stan going to end up together? I really want them to.”
Weiner smiled. “You’ll have to watch the show. I’m glad you have strong feelings.”
“I just care so much,” she assured him as they hugged.
The observations he wrote long before he was a rock-star showrunner were put to good use on “Mad Men,” which begins its final seven-episode run on April 5. “I wanted to write something in opposition to what I was seeing in entertainment — a drama without guns that was related to real life,” he said.
As the walk-through continued, Weiner marveled at the level of detail in the expansive installation, which encompasses several key sets transplanted from Los Angeles, a recreation of the writers room and a host of costumes, props and knickknacks small and large that enhanced the period feel of the 1960s drama. “Mad Men” prop master Ellen Freund was recruited to dress the sets to ensure as much authenticity as possible.
Weiner couldn’t believe all of the notes and script material that was excavated from his files to tell the story of show’s decades-long journey from spec to screen.
“It’s so weird — it’s like pulling your pants down in public,” Weiner said.
The material includes pages from his early screenplay “The Horseshoe,” which he realized after the end of “Mad Men’s” first season was essentially the pre-history of Don Draper/Dick Whitman — all of which was mined for the show, he added.
For years, Weiner was constantly jotting down snatches of dialogue and character descriptions, long before “Mad Men” came anywhere near a pilot order. Many of the notes were scribbled on Weiner’s personalized buck slips from his days as a writer on “The Sopranos.”
“I still probably have more (slips) left over from the ‘Sopranos’ than I do ‘Mad Men,’ “ he said.
photo credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image. photo credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image.
Another find that impressed Weiner were script pages from the alternate season-one ending that he wrote out of extreme frustration when AMC, unaccustomed to dealing in scripted series, dragged its feet on renewing the show (the pickup didn’t come for months after the finale aired).
INTERIOR: Don’s car. Don and Betty are driving home from a visit to her shrink, after Betty has outed him to the shrink as having an affair. “Theme From a Summer Place” is playing on the radio.
Don: “Birdie, what do you want?”
Betty (sighing): “Whatever you want.” Betty cuddles up to Don.
“It’s a happy ending even though they are not happy,” Weiner explained.
The exhibit underscores the depth of the artistry and the creative collaboration that went into “Mad Men.”
Costume designer Janie Bryant created “mood board” collages of tonal influences for “Mad Men’s” central characters to help with her work. But those board wound up assisting Weiner and his writers just as much. Images on Don Draper’s early board include Italian star Marcello Mastroianni and legendary ad man David Ogilvy.
photo credit: Jannette Pinson / Museum of the Moving Image. photo credit: Jannette Pinson / Museum of the Moving Image.
One of Bryant’s toughest assignments was creating the blood-splattered dress worn by Joan in the memorable season three episode “Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency” — the one with the lawn-mower mishap. Actress Christina Hendricks had to be careful with it during production as this particular frock was one of a kind.
photo credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image. photo credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image.
Weiner’s famous focus on exacting detail went all the way down to ensuring that desks in the Sterling Cooper offices were cluttered with authentic office supplies of the day. Photographs that were seen only for an instant on screen had to be genuine. The shoebox that held the secret to Don Draper’s true identity had to have pictures of Dick Whitman and his family. That meant a full day of production and costuming. The same was done for the Draper family shots featured in the season-one finale “The Wheel.”
photo credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image. photo credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image.
The re-assembled writers room at the exhibit is complete with the bookshelves stocked with dozens of titles that served as reference material for the era, for the advertising business and for New York City in particular. The memoir “Manhattan, When I Was Young” by Mary Cantwell was an invaluable resource, Weiner noted. So was a collection of bound volumes of Life magazine from 1966-68, scored from a library sale. “The smell of these books makes me nervous about having to work,” Weiner joked.
The writers room was equipped with two white boards for plotting episodes and story arcs. One of the boards featured color-coded index cards with code words (“Carpet pile” “Train” “Toast” “Earring”) to indicate major plot moments. The code was devised to keep actors and others from discovering too much in their visits to the room.
When the writers plotted the suicide of Lane Pryce in season five, the code word was “doorjamb.” They wound up giving that index card to actor Jared Harris. The scribes also had a running gag with actor Rich Sommer, who came to the writers room with his family at the start of every season to deliver a basket of cookies (a Harry Crane-like move, for sure). To coincide with his visit, a card reading “Harry’s Funeral” would be tacked up in a prominent spot. “He fell for it the first year,” Weiner giggled.
photo credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image. photo credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image.
The array of material on display sparked Weiner to reflect on how “Mad Men’s” seven seasons have been life-changing for him and so many others on the show, particularly its core cast members. (To wit, later that night Weiner would cheer for Elisabeth Moss on the opening night of her Broadway revival of “The Heidi Chronicles.”)
But nothing in the showcase touched Weiner quite as deeply as the sight of the Drapers’ kitchen in Ossining. It’d been five years since Weiner had seen the set intact — it went into storage not long after Don and Betty split up in season three. From the curtains to the kitschy decorations to the stray pack of Salems on the table, the recreated room reinforced to Weiner how much time has passed since the pilot was shot in 2006.
“I just remember the kids being so small in here,” he said, quietly, as he pointed to the breakfast table where Betty Draper once reigned supreme.
photo credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image. photo credit: Thanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image.
“Matthew Weiner’s Mad Men” runs through June 14 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York.This story appears in the July 17, 2017, issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. To subscribe, click here.
Before we get to the top-secret projects, or the ghost stories that will make your hair stand on end, or the key to cracking the most baffling puzzle in baseball, let’s begin with the first pitcher chewed up and spit out by the beast.
It was 1993, the first year of major league baseball in Colorado. In front of 67,000 fans at Mile High Stadium, freshly minted Rockies closer Darren Holmes dashed from the bullpen to the mound, unaware that he was heading straight into the teeth of the monster. “I thought I was Lee Smith,” recalls Holmes, then a brash, goateed 27-year-old righthander whom the Rockies regarded so highly that they had taken him with the fifth overall pick in the expansion draft five months earlier.
In his Denver debut Holmes gave up three straight singles, a double and a walk before recording his first out. He threw 24 pitches and allowed seven runs in a 19–9 loss. He took the mound again in the following game, and with the chance to close out a 4–2 win, Holmes—suddenly unable to locate his curveball, his signature pitch—walked the first three hitters he faced, allowed three runs to score, blew the save and took the loss.
The previous season, in Milwaukee, he had been one of the best relievers in the game. It took two weeks in Colorado for him to be banished to the minors, his confidence in pieces.
The list of pitchers who have been crushed by the beast is long—they range from the prominent to the obscure, from high-priced free agents to waiver-wire pickups, from that first Colorado team to members of the 2016 staff, which was among the majors’ worst. Holmes and his 1993 teammates could not pinpoint the reasons for their diminished powers in their home park, but they did begin to notice strange things in the thin air: breaking balls that didn’t break and baseballs that jumped off the bat “like golf balls on the moon,” as Tony Gywnn would put it. “The second season, people started talking about the effects of altitude,” says Holmes. “Then we moved to Coors Field [in 1995], and the mystique of pitching in altitude got bigger and bigger, and the beast has gotten so big now that it’s all people think about.”
Holmes rejoined the big league team later in 1993, and he ended up pitching for the Rockies for five often successful seasons before leaving as a free agent. Three years ago, while enjoying a quiet life in retirement as an independent pitching coach in North Carolina, he got an unexpected phone call. It was the Rockies, coming off a 96-loss season and still trying to solve the puzzle of high-altitude baseball, asking Holmes to return as a coach. “To come back to the scene of the crime,” he says.
As he spoke, Holmes, now in his third season as a bullpen coach, was sitting in the coach’s locker room in Philadelphia one afternoon in late May. Colorado was the surprise of baseball: the leader in the NL West with a young pitching staff that was then on pace to post the lowest ERA in franchise history, in a season in which home run rates across the majors were at a record high. (The team has cooled off since then but still has a 7.5-game wild-card lead with a nearly league-average 4.45 ERA through Sunday.) The start was beginning to prompt questions about whether the Rockies, after all these years, might have finally figured out how to slay the beast.
To those questions, Holmes only laughs. The man knows better. He will tell you: No one will ever kill the beast.
*****
Chris Carlson/AP
This is the 25th season of the Rockies franchise, and there is still something refreshingly singular about baseball in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains: the electric purple uniforms that make traditionalists’ stomachs turn; the breathtaking vistas—a life-sized Bierstadt painting just beyond the outfield—and hail storms that seem to have blown in from north of The Wall in Westeros; a brand of homer-happy baseball that seems controlled by 12-year-olds with joysticks. After years of analysis—physicists across the country have made a second living off Coors Field–related study—there are no more mysteries about why baseball in Colorado is the way it is. It’s no secret that because games are being played at 5,200 feet, where the air density is about 80% of what it is at sea level, air resistance is 20% less, baseballs carry 20% farther and breaking pitches move 20% less. (If you have your doubts, “The Coefficient of Restitution of Baseballs as a Function of Relative Humidity” is available online.) It’s also no secret that pitchers are at a further disadvantage because reduced oxygen levels at altitude tax the body and make recovery after each game and workout more difficult than at sea level.
And it’s no secret that pitching at Coors Field is the toughest and, perhaps, the least desired job in baseball. Any longtime Rockies player will tell you so. They remember what Mike Hampton, still the highest-paid free-agent pitcher in franchise history, said after he left in 2002 with a 6.15 ERA just two seasons into a eight-year, $121 million deal: “I was going to prove it could be done or die trying. I almost died trying.” They remember what venerated pitching coach Dave Duncan said while with the Cardinals: “I don’t think there’s any circumstance I would feel comfortable as a coach in this ballpark. It would challenge me beyond my ability to accept the challenge.” Holmes, who played with the Braves after leaving Colorado, recalls the Atlanta teams of the early 2000s adjusting their all-world rotation so that their best pitchers at the time would be skipped in Colorado. “It was, Which one of the three is going to win the Cy Young?” he says. “Because whoever’s got the best statistics, we’ll hold them out.”
Still, one can find evidence—sporadic, not sustained—of pitchers enjoying success in Colorado. When Dodgers starter Hideo Nomo tossed a no-hitter in 1996 at Coors, the event was hailed like a moon landing. “I’m betting it won’t be done again,” L.A. first baseman Eric Karros said at the time, and 21 years later he’s still waiting. The Rockies, with a better-than-league-average staff, went to the World Series in 2007, and the team made the postseason again in 2009. But they haven’t returned since.
Year after year, while Colorado’s offense consistently ranks among the league’s best, the pitching conundrum remains at the root of the losing. (In all but eight years of the team’s existence, the staff has ranked dead last in the NL in ERA.) To solve the riddle, the Rockies have gone to extreme measures, from the installation of a ball-storing humidor in 2002 to the implementation of a four-man rotation in 2012 to last season’s raising of fences. Five years ago the Rockies held their starters to a 75-pitch limit, with three ‘piggyback’ relievers eating the middle innings. The plan was initiated by then general manager Dan O’Dowd and referred to within the executive offices as Project 5183, in honor of Coors Field’s base elevation. When it was unveiled to the public, it was bold, it was revolutionary—and it was a massive failure: The staff again finished last in ERA as the team lost a franchise-worst 98 games. “You start to think of every freaking thing to not get your ass handed to you year after year,” says one longtime official. “And I mean every freaking thing.”
The Rockies have conducted studies into weather patterns, into heat and humidity on game days. (The Rockies are the only team in baseball with their own weather station at the ballpark.) They have hired a slew of consultants. For every idea that has been put in place, dozens have been discussed but either scrapped or set aside. Years ago officials considered turning the ballpark into a dome and pressurizing it to mitigate the effects of the thin air. More recently the front office and training staff discussed converting the entire home clubhouse at Coors Field into a hyperbaric chamber to help players recover in an environment where there’s a lack of oxygen.
“Every little thing has been studied. One approach was, ‘We’re going to run all the time to be more in shape than the other guys,” says reliever Adam Ottavino, who, in his sixth season, is the longest-tenured pitcher on staff. “But the only thing that happened was that everyone was just tired all the time.”
While the humidor did restore some sanity (scoring dropped by nearly 20% in its first year, before going up again in recent seasons), Coors continues to be by far the most inflated offensive environment in the sport. Since 2001 runs per game are about 33% higher there than the league average.
The franchise that’s undergone more reboots than Spider-Man has hit the reset button again this spring with the hiring of former Padres manager Bud Black, the team’s fourth skipper in nine years. The current organizational shift actually began in 2012, with O’Dowd stepping down as GM to focus on revamping the minor league system and longtime pitching coach Mark Wiley coming on as pitching coordinator. Senior director of player development Jeff Bridich was promoted to GM in 2014 and quickly began stockpiling elite young pitching through the draft: Riley Pint and Robert Tyler (2016), Mike Nikorak (2015), Kyle Freeland (2014) and Jon Gray (2013) were all first-round selections.
David Zalubowski/AP
Beginning last year, despite the club’s posting a 4.92 ERA, there were signs that the investment in development was beginning to pay off: Gray went 10–10 with a 4.61 ERA in his first full season; according to Fangraphs WAR—which adjusts for ballpark—it was the best rookie season in baseball. And this season Colorado has fielded an all-homegrown rotation that is the youngest in the majors, featuring Gray (age 25), Freeland (24), Tyler Anderson (27), Tyler Chatwood (27), German Márquez (22) and Antonio Senzatela (22), who replaced Gray in the rotation after the ace went down with a foot injury in April. It’s a mix of power pitchers (Gray, Márquez), ground ball specialists (Chatwood, Freeland) and command artists (Anderson, Senzatela).
“For a long time there was a belief that sinker-slider was what worked best,” says Steve Foster, who in 2015 took over as Rockies pitching coach, working closely alongside Holmes. “Well, the problem is that sinkers don’t sink as much [at Coors], so you’re essentially going after pitchers who you want to move the ball more to get more ground balls, but it moves less, so you’re handcuffing those guys bringing them here.”
Says front office assistant Bob Apodaca, who was the team’s major league pitching coach for 10 years, “You can look back at the evidence over the years and see that there are no absolutes that might simplify how to win there. Aaron Cook. Pedro Astacio. Jeff Francis. Ubaldo Jiménez. Jorge de la Rosa. Those were my most successful guys—and they were different in the way they succeeded.”
The relievers Bridich acquired over the last two years are all hard throwers with high spin rates on their off-speed stuff: closer Greg Holland and Mike Dunn, signed this off-season, and Jake McGee and Chad Qualls, added a year ago, joined a bullpen that included Ottavino, a power pitcher who has been one of the better relievers in the league over the last six seasons despite pitching at Coors. “Our theory is that we’re looking for guys that have the least amount of contact—power arm, high strikeout guys with high spin rates on their breaking ball,” says Foster.
Colorado’s hurlers take the mound armed with information from the Rockies’ expanded analytics group and also from a staff of veteran coaches, from Apodaca to Holmes, who would be qualified to write a user’s guide to pitching in Coors—one that might begin like this:
Tip No. 1: Change your “sights.” Because breaking balls don’t break as much at home as they do on the road, pitchers should change their aim depending on where they’re pitching. “You typically pick out spots on the catcher, whether it’s his left or right knee, but you make that small adjustment up or down depending on if you’re home or away,” says Freeland. “If you have a big breaking ball and want to get a lot of depth on it, in Colorado you’re going to have to start that pitch a little lower for it to end in the location you want.”
Tip No. 2: Dump your side sessions. The body is taxed more at Coors than at sea level, so to save energy some Rockies cut their side sessions and workouts when they’re on a home stand.
Tip No. 3: Chew gum. “The air is so dry that no matter how much water I drink, I feel like I’m peeing it all out and I’m hungover without drinking any alcohol,” says Ottavino. Dry air results in dry fingers, which changes a pitcher’s grip. Chewing gum allows a pitcher to retain more saliva; pitchers are permitted to lick their fingers on the mound.
Of course, the tricks of the trade can only take a pitcher so far. “Most importantly, you have to be a tough son of a bitch to pitch well in Denver. Mental toughness is the thread that runs through the guys who succeed here,” says Apodaca. Tough—or maybe even a little crazy. Last winter, when Dunn, a longtime Marlin, was on the market and expressed an interest in pitching for Colorado, the sentiment surprised even those inside the Coors Field offices. “The reaction was, Wow, he’s f------ nuts!” says one Rockies official. “That’s the kind of guy we want!”
*****
David Zalubowski/AP
Jon Gray believes in ghosts. He was 10 years old when, in bed in his home in Oklahoma, he looked up and saw a woman walking across the room. Terrified, he crawled into bed with his parents, who at first dismissed his vision but later, after other strange occurrences, believed him enough to have the house blessed and, ultimately, to move out. Gray doesn’t blame anyone for rolling their eyes—“I’d be doing that myself if someone told me about a ghost walking across the room”—but that experience has shaped the way he looks at the world. “Anything unexplained or mysterious has always been very interesting to me,” he says. “I want to know why strange things happen the way they do.”
Gray brought up the story one day at his locker to make a point about facing fears. He’s faced his by embracing them, turning ghost hunting into a hobby: He took his fiancée and dad for two nights to the Colorado hotel that inspired The Shining and had MLB Network follow him on one of his expeditions to Milwaukee’s notoriously spooky Pfister Hotel. When he was drafted by the Rockies No. 3 overall out of Oklahoma, there were plenty of reasons to be scared. “My first year I was at Grand Junction [with the rookie league team, 240 miles from Denver], and I got winded really fast,” he says. “That was a moment when I was like, O.K., pitching here is going to be different. But so what? I liked the challenge.”
To some, the young ace of the Rockies, who gave the team a jolt when he rejoined the rotation in late June and won his first two games back, is Colorado’s great hope—IF JON GRAY CAN’T DO IT FOR THE COLORADO ROCKIES, SHUT IT DOWN, read the headline in the Colorado Springs Gazette on the day of Gray’s 2015 debut. Gray, who last season was actually better at home (4.30 ERA) than on the road (4.91), has the arsenal to succeed anywhere, with a fastball that reaches the high 90s and one of the majors’ most effective sliders. He also represents a room full of pitchers who are undaunted by the Rockies’ haunted past. These players accept that they’ll see strange things in their time as Rockies, that giving up four or even five runs over five innings is more often than not a successful start here.
“Something we talk about is that for every team, there’s something,” says Holmes. “Seattle flies 20,000 miles for a road trip every time. Atlanta plays in dense humidity. If you want to be a Rockie, well, you just have to face different parameters.”
Of course in Colorado more than anywhere else, it’s about how you finish. “I’m the only guy left from the time I came in here, six years ago—every other guy has come and gone,” says Ottavino. “A lot of them are really good pitchers and have gone other places and done well. But half the guys I was with were just defeated by Coors Field. It just got to them eventually. By the end of it you saw them beaten by this place. They got off the plane, and they just didn’t want to show up to face it anymore. Things are going well now, but the true test is going to be what these guys are feeling coming off the plane come August and September.”
After 25 years of baseball in Colorado, a quarter century of madcap experiments and broken souls, this much is clear: There is no magic bullet for conquering the high altitude. If there’s a solution to the greatest puzzle in baseball, the Rockies now understand, it’s simply being better—better at drafting players, better at developing them; better at finding cheap, undervalued pitchers; better at staying strong and healthy, to withstand the inevitable challenges that come with playing in the most unpredictable environment in baseball.
“People think I’m crazy, but I’ve always loved Coors Field,” says Holmes. “There’s nothing like it. It is a great place for baseball. And it is, despite what everyone thinks, a place that can be pitched in.” Holmes thinks back to all the pitchers and coaches who have been shattered by the place. How they all looked for ways to outsmart it, to beat it, to kill it. But it took him more than two decades to understand that they had it all wrong.
You cannot slay the beast. The only thing to do is to learn to live with it.Most Americans approve of President Trump's aggressive response to the Syrian chemical attack last month. The Bash al-Assad regime is expected of authoring the attack, killing nearly 100 Syrians. The U.S., avoiding the empty threats of the Obama administration, responded aggressively, sending 59 tomahawk missiles to the Syrian airbase believed to have launched the attack. Even congressional Democrats commended the Trump administration's swift response. Trump is also receiving support for authorizing the military to drop the "mother of all bombs" on Afghanistan, killing 94 ISIS fighters.
Dan Rather, however, is not so convinced the president is deserving of praise - at least not yet.
“Dropping bombs, having missile strikes, doesn’t make one presidential,” the ex-CBS anchor told CNN's Brian Stelter Sunday.
“Just because a president exerts himself as commander in chief, there’s a natural inclination, and an unhealthy one, to immediately say, ‘boy, that makes him presidential that makes him strong.’”
Rather went on to argue that “it’s easy” to drop bombs and launch missiles, “but dealing with what comes in the wake of that, is much more difficult.”
Until Trump proves his military actions can "keep the peace" in the Middle East, Rather will not be using the adjective “presidential” to describe him.
Stelter also asked Rather whether journalists have a tendency to “rally around the flag” in the wake of U.S. military action. Rather concernedly, he wondered whether that was “detrimental” to the profession and the country at large.
Rather admitted he and his fellow journalists “do have that tendency and should fight it more often.” Instead of being so overly supportive of the president, journalists should be "skeptical," he noted.
I wonder if Rather had so many probing questions about President Obama's foreign policy. In a conversation with CNN’s Piers Morgan in 2012, (apparently a sufficient enough amount of time) to reflect on President Obama’s international efforts, Rather gave the 44th president an "A."
It’s a “difficult job,” Rather said at the time, giving Obama plenty of “credit.”
If the journalist would've waited a couple of more years he would've seen that Obama did more harm than good in Syria, emboldening the Assad regime with his empty "red line" threats. As Matt noted, Syria is a mess that Obama left for Trump.
Yet, don't expect Rather to change his tune on Obama, nor to judge Trump's foreign policy agenda through an unbiased lens."A Christian is one who will sacrifice his life, in martyrdom," says Dunphy, whose intense, religious narration makes up the opening section of the book. "I have long known this, but did not want to acknowledge it for it is far easier to hide within the family, to claim that the love and protection of your own family is your sole responsibility." We never enter Voorhees's point of view — his death occurs on Page 1 — but it becomes obvious that he shares Luther's ardor when it comes to his own beliefs. Though his ultimate sacrifice is less voluntary than Dunphy's, he practices in an atmosphere of terror, over his wife Jenna's strenuous objections. At the time of his assassination, Voorhees is No. 3 on the "WANTED: BABY KILLERS AMONG US" list kept by the extremist group Army of God (the former No. 3 having been killed only a couple months earlier). He and his family are living in different states, Jenna having refused to follow him to his latest dangerous appointment.Harley-Davidson Inc. forecast flat to down motorcycle shipments for 2017. (Photo: Journal Sentinel files)
Harley-Davidson Inc. executives will meet with President Donald Trump on Thursday, at the White House and not in Milwaukee, the company said Wednesday.
"As a proud U.S. manufacturer for more than 114 years, and as a company that values freedom and unity, we look forward to talking with the president about Harley-Davidson and the future of U.S. manufacturing," the company said in a statement.
Earlier, it was speculated that Harley-Davidson canceled a visit that Trump planned for Thursday at the company's Menomonee Falls manufacturing plant.
That was not the case, said Harley spokeswoman Maripat Blankenheim.
The White House considered several options for Harley's executives to meet with Trump, according to Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
"And ultimately, the easiest thing to do in accordance with the president's schedule was to invite them here to Washington to talk about some of the stuff that we've been doing," he said.
Read or Share this story: http://on.jsonl.in/2jZqPFILiquid`Ret Profile Blog Joined October 2002 Netherlands 4475 Posts Last Edited: 2014-01-07 21:23:02 #1
I been playing this game for 14 years my only concern is the quality of the starcraft product and the RTS game gerne overall - SC2 is *** and im not afraid to say that, unlike all the fake people who just ride hype trains and monetize their personalities.
It ended up on reddit for some reason, I don't expect anyone to really care what I say except for those who follow me but I did wanna share some of my thoughts:
As a progamer, it is very difficult to speak about the game. Because I compete in tournaments, play everyday, am always worried about the next qualifier or team match, and recently, lots of losses happening. It's very easy to get frustated and whine about balance, or anything you can find really to feel better about yourself after you've failed. This is something I've done before and do to this day, despite knowing it's detrimental to being a succesfull progamer. So sometimes I'll be harsher than I should be. Come to me at the right time and I can tell you all about how horrible this game is
I obviously don't think StarCraft is shit. I love StarCraft more than most people because this game has literally shaped my life in the most impactfull way possible, the way I make a living. Almost all of my actions in the past 5 years have been StarCraft related in some way shape or form. I owe very much to StarCraft and still play it every single day, with joy. I realize that being a progamer in a videogame is a great honor and it's amazing to be able to play games and somehow people care about your performance and get enjoyment out of seeing you do well. Of course results come into the equasions as well, but I want to leave my personal progaming carreer out of this blog. I just want to express my joy to this day playing this game. I still |
15,000)
As The Guardian details, the latest apparent smuggling attempt follows a series of other incidents this year where people have concealed gold in their bodies. Officials said more than 70 people have been arrested this year for smuggling gold in Sri Lanka.
Smugglers typically buy gold from places where the precious metal is relatively cheap and where there are fewer trade restrictions, such as Dubai and Singapore, aiming to sell it on in India – the largest gold consumer in the world. The import duty for gold in India is high: currently 10% for a 100g bar. Overall consumption was at 642 tonnes in India this year. Chinese consumption stood at 579 tonnes, according to the Thomson Reuters GMFS gold survey. “A fall in prices of gold in the recent months has been one of the reasons for the increased demand for gold in India,” Jayant Sinha, minister of state for finance, told local media. When India first started trying to control gold imports in 2013, in an attempt to tackle a widening trade deficit, smugglers went to the extent of getting human mules to swallow nuggets or hiding gold bars in dead cows. Earlier this year, police in the western state of Gujarat said they had made the single biggest seizure of gold smuggled into India after arresting six people attempting to leave an airport with 60kg of the metal flown in from Dubai. In India, smugglers risk a jail term of up to seven years, although such a penalty is rare and the main deterrent is confiscation of the gold.
And, as we recently noted, while the government continues to wonder why gold-holders aren’t flocking to offload their gold. But not to worry, it will eventually make sure any scheme works:
“A finance ministry official said if banks fail to win over temples, the government could intervene directly as it is looking for a big boost to the scheme to keep both imports and the current account deficit under control.”
Shades of 1933 all over again. One would imagine that outright gold confiscation from Hindu temples would result in massive protests and quite a bit of bloodshed. And while most rational people would assume that the government would be smart enough to avoid doing something so drastically stupid, this is the same government that developed the cockamamie gold monetization scheme in the first place. Never underestimate the idiocy of government bureaucrats, especially when those bureaucrats are trying to save face.
Let’s hope for the sake of the Indian people that their government learns its lesson and quietly shelves its futile attempts to monetize private gold holdings. If it really wanted to monetize gold, it would end any restrictions on the importation, transfer, and use of gold as money and allow markets to determine what money they wanted to use. Control is hard to give up, but the Indian economy would be far better off with gold as money instead of rupees.I haven’t seen anyone mention this yet so I guess I will.
We have the Rose Diamond theory, which you can see HERE (where I first saw it at least.)
It’s short, sweet, and to the point, and if you don’t wanna click that link I will just quote what it says.
“Her Gem looks a lot more like pink diamond than it does rose quartz. When heading to space Pearl wore a pink diamond very similar to the yellow diamond peridot and jasper use to signify their servitude to yellow diamond. Her (Rose’s) gem and pattern allude to the Pink Star, a Pink diamond ring, and the most expensive gem in the world. Pearl, Roses confidant treats her like loyalty. Not just because she admires her, but also takes her hat off when she sees her flag. Suggesting that Rose Quartz was really royalty (a diamond) before she betrayed homeworld.”
We know it is an ancient gem training ground, more ancient than maybe even the Gem Wars. Before Rose Diamond rebelled and was denounced to Rose Quartz.
It would make perfect sense that the area (if not destroyed) would sport the Diamond authority logo. And we know what their symbol is now…
In the triangle (pic on the right) we have Blue, White, and Yellow. The only missing color is Pink. The pink diamond that is revealed in Sworn to the Sword.
ROSE DIAMOND CONFORMED??A lot of people have stories of hunting their white whales in loot-focused games. It might be that the process is long and arduous, so even a 10% drop rate feels far too low, or it might be so low that, no matter how many times you try, it’s like trying to brute force winning the lottery. Warframe is exactly one of those games – and even if you want to cough up some cash, some items seem impossible to get.
Need more of the best free games on PC?
That impossibility has now been quantified as the developers have put out drop rates for every single bit of loot in the game. It’s put together using internal data, and as it’s official, it’s pretty reliable – although even the developers admit that it’s not wholly accurate for the rarest drops.
Anything classed as “Beyond Legendary” has its drop rate “Under review” – it’s possible that the 0.09% drop rate isn’t entirely accurate, but it’s hard to get the data to prove any statistical significance.
If you’re playing, it might be a useful resource to find out which white whales are worth letting go, a 0.09% drop rate is less than one in every thousand drops. One in a thousand isn’t odds I’d typically bet on.
You can check out the full (and extensive) list of drops, plus their drop rates, right here. Be warned: it is a very, very long list.G2 Esports is pleased to announce that it has signed a sponsorship deal with Razer, one of the leading companies in gaming peripherals and accessories in the world. As a result of this agreement, G2 Esports will be joining Team Razer, an elite group featuring top esports organisations and home to hundreds of professional players.
Moving forward, Razer will be equipping G2 Esports’ teams, and we are extremely excited to be working alongside this company on developing new products that will revolutionise the way thousands of gamers worldwide experience their favourite games.
Carlos “ocelote” Rodríguez Santiago, G2 Esports’ founder and CEO, gave the following statement about the partnership with Razer:
“Historically, Razer has been a leading brand of peripherals. Most of our players have been using Razer gear for years now, so it was only normal that we ended up working together. We expect to make this partnership to grow over time as we enjoy the competitive success across G2 Esports’ teams.”
About G2 Esports
G2 Esports is a world premier eSports club founded in November, 2013 by Carlos ‘ocelote’ Rodriguez, of League of Legends fame. Carlos now serves as CEO of the club, which currently includes professional teams in Hearthstone, League of Legends, Counter-Strike:Global Offensive, Heroes of the Storm, Vainglory, Overwatch and FIFA.
G2 club’s headquarters are based in the beautiful city of Madrid, Spain, which also has training facilities in Berlin, Germany and Poznan, Poland.
G2 was built with a true love for bringing innovation to the industry whilst upholding their core values of professionalism, unrivaled dedication and always having the community at the heart of their decisions. The club now has a management team which covers over a decade of industry experience. This allows them to challenge the status quo and be truly innovative. Their ultimate goal is to lift the industry to a new standard and leave a legacy for others to follow.
About Razer
Founded in 2005 in San Diego, California by CEO Min-Liang Tan and Robert Krakoff, Razer began in a tiny shared office of gamers, with a mission to create high quality products designed solely to meet the demanding needs of gamers like themselves.
Today, with hundreds of employees in offices all around the world, Razer is known for its relentless pursuit of perfection, innovating to produce a unified platform of connected devices and software. The use of cutting edge technology, together with contributions by top eSports athletes, followed by constant fine-tuning, has resulted in an interactive, competitive, and immersive experience that is designed for gamers, by gamers.
Over the years, Razer has evolved into the gaming lifestyle brand that connects with all gamers, regardless of age, gaming genre, and console, by staying true to its core values, and continually delivering the best. Razer’s commitment to the gamer community can also be seen in its sponsorship of gaming events, eSports tournaments, and a diverse group of professional eSports athletes – Team Razer. All this, has earned Razer a formidable following of devoted fans, both on- and offline.
As the gaming industry continues to grow, Razer is positioned firmly on the forefront, armed with passion, determination, and gaming innovations that are truly made for gamers, by gamers.In the summer of 2010, I taught Writing Dark Fantasy at the University of Toronto. It was an intensive one-week course, all day, every day. When I’d mentioned it to a fellow novelist, she declared she never teaches writing because she believes it sets up the false expectation that getting published is an easily attainable goal. Later, someone else asked me why I’d do it, when I didn’t “need the work.”
Whenever I teach anything longer than a brief workshop, I do pull out my stats to ensure students realize just how tough getting published is. If you’re writing to make money, you’re in the wrong business. If you’re writing because you love story-telling, then stick around, because it’s an amazing ride.
As for pay, it’s a distant consideration. When I’m asked to teach, I think of myself as a young writer, living in southwestern Ontario, where the only authors I saw were literary ones at readings. I would have loved the opportunity to learn from a published genre novelist. Even to be able to ask questions of someone who’d achieved my goal would have been an amazing experience.
I hope my students learned something in my course—ways to improve pacing, characterization, plot, etc. But what I consider even more important is that they found other writers like themselves. Others who are writing in the same genre, and not only know what a witch or vampire is, but can discuss the folklore of benandanti and wendigo.
What I loved seeing was the birth of a fledgling community of dark fantasy writers. They’d found their place, where no one was going to say “Werewolves? Oh, you’re trying to cash in on those Twilight movies, right?” When they shared their work, the excitement and enthusiasm was palpable. No one pouted or sulked over constructive criticism. They were happy to get feedback from people who understood the genre, and they were determined to eventually beat the odds and get published. And if they don’t? That’s okay too, because they realized what a blast they have telling these stories and exploring their own creativity.
By the time the course ended, my class had created their own Facebook group for socializing as writers, a Google Group for critiquing online and made plans for monthly in-person critiquing. Not everyone will stick with it. For some, the enthusiasm won’t outlast the first slew of rejections. But for others, they’ll have found their writing tribe and, maybe, a long-term critique partner who will help them achieve their goals (and never question why they’re writing about werewolves).
This article was originally published in July 2010.
Kelley Armstrong is the author of the New York Times bestselling Otherworld series, the young adult trilogy Darkest Powers, and many other titles. Rituals, the fifth and final book in the Cainsville series, publishes August 15th with Random House. She lives in rural Ontario with her husband and three children. With her first book, Bitten, Kelley introduced readers to her singular brand of sophisticated, fast-paced storytelling.Sequence of Events
Chernobyl Accident Appendix 1
(Updated November 2009)
During the course of a safety system test being carried out just before a routine maintenance outage, Chernobyl 4 was destroyed as a result of a power transient on 26 April 1986.
The accident at Chernobyl was the product of a lack of safety culture. The reactor design was poor from the point of view of safety and unforgiving for the operators, both of which provoked a dangerous operating state. The operators were not informed of this and were not aware that the test performed could have brought the reactor into an explosive condition. In addition, they did not comply with operational proceduresa. The combination of these factors provoked a nuclear accident of maximum severity in which the reactor was totally destroyed within a few seconds.
The accident
The unit 4 reactor was to be shut down for routine maintenance on 25 April 1986. It was decided to take advantage of this shutdown to determine whether, in the event of a loss of station power, the slowing turbine could provide enough electrical power to operate the main core cooling water circulating pumps, until the diesel emergency power supply became operative. The aim of this test was to determine whether cooling of the core could continue to be ensured in the event of a loss of power. (Adequate coolant circulation following completion of the test was ensured by arranging power supplies to four of the eight pumps from station service power; the other four pumps were supplied by unit service power.)
This type of test had been run the previous year, but the power delivered from the running down turbine fell off too rapidly, so it was decided to repeat the test using the new voltage regulators that had been developed. Unfortunately, this test, which was considered essentially to concern the non-nuclear part of the power plant, was carried out without a proper exchange of information and coordination between the team in charge of the test and the personnel in charge of the safety of the nuclear reactor. Therefore, inadequate safety precautions were included in the test programme and the operating personnel were not alerted to the nuclear safety implications of the electrical test and its potential danger.
The planned programme called for shutting off the reactor's emergency core cooling system (ECCS), which provides water for cooling the core in an emergency. Although subsequent events were not greatly affected by this, the exclusion of this system for the whole duration of the test reflected a lax attitude towards the implementation of safety procedures.
As the shutdown proceeded, the reactor was operating at about half power when the electrical load dispatcher refused to allow further shutdown, as the power was needed for the grid. In accordance with the planned test programme, about an hour later the ECCS was switched off while the reactor continued to operate at half power. It was not until about 23:00 on 25 April that the grid controller agreed to a further reduction in power.
For this test, the reactor should have been stabilised at about 700-1000 MWt prior to shutdown, but possibly due to operational error the power fell to about 30 MWtb at 00:28 on 26 April. Efforts to increase the power to the level originally planned for the test were frustrated by a combination of xenon poisoningc, reduced coolant void and graphite cooldown. Many of the control rods were withdrawn to compensate for these effects, resulting in a violation of the minimum operating reactivity margind (ORM, see Positive void coefficient section in the information page on RBMK Reactors) by 01:00 - although the operators may not have known this. At 01:03, the reactor was stabilised at about 200 MWt and it was decided that the test would be carried out at this power level.
Calculations performed after the accident showed that the ORM at 01:22:30 was equal to eight manual control rods. The minimum permissible ORM stipulated in the operating procedures was 15 rods. The test commenced at 01:23:04; the turbine stop valves were closed and the four pumps powered by the slowing turbine started to run down. The slower flowrate, together with the entry to the core of slightly warmer feedwater, may have caused boiling (void formation) at the bottom of the core. This, along with xenon burnout, could have resulted in a runaway increase in power. An alternative view is that the power excursion was triggered by the insertion of the control rodse after the scram button was pressed (at 01:23:40)f.
At 01:23:43, the power excursion rate emergency protection system signals came on and power exceeded 530 MWt and continued to rise. Fuel elements ruptured, leading to increased steam generation, which in turn further increased power owing to the large positive void coefficient. Damage to even three or four fuel assemblies would have been enough to lead to the destruction of the reactor. The rupture of several fuel channels increased the pressure in the reactor to the extent that the 1000 t reactor support plate became detached, consequently jamming the control rods, which were only halfway down by that time. As the channel pipes began to rupture, mass steam generation occurred as a result of depressurisation of the reactor cooling circuit. A note in the operating log of the Chief Reactor Control Engineer reads: "01:24: Severe shocks; the RCPS rods stopped moving before they reached the lower limit stop switches; power switch of clutch mechanisms is off."
Two explosions were reported, the first being the initial steam explosion, followed two or three seconds later by a second explosion, possibly from the build-up of hydrogen due to zirconium-steam reactions. Fuel, moderator, and structural materials were ejected, starting a number of fires, and the destroyed core was exposed to the atmosphere. One worker, whose body was never recovered, was killed in the explosions, and a second worker died in hospital a few hours later as a result of injuries received in the explosions.
Some media had reported a seismic origin of the accident, however the scientific credibility of the paper at the origin of this rumour has been discarded.
Consequences of the accident
The plume of smoke, radioactive fission products and debris from the core and the building rose up to about 1 km into the air. The heavier debris in the plume was deposited close to the site, but lighter components, including fission products and virtually all of the noble gas inventory were blown by the prevailing wind to the northwest of the plant.
Fires started in what remained of the unit 4 building, giving rise to clouds of steam and dust, and fires also broke out on the adjacent turbine hall roof (bitumen, a flammable material, had been used in its construction). A first group of 14 firemen arrived on the scene of the accident at 01:28. Over 100 fire-fighters from the site and called in from Pripyat were needed, and it was this group that received the highest radiation exposures. Reinforcements were brought in until about 04:00, when 250 firemen were available and 69 firemen participated in fire control activities. The INSAG-1 report4 states: "The fires on the roofs of units 3 and 4 were localized at 02:10 and 02:20 respectively, and the fire was quenched at 05:00." Unit 3, which had continued to operate, was shut down at this time, and units 1 and 2 were shut down in the morning of 27 April.
INSAG-1 continues: "The main challenges were to prevent the fire from spreading to unit 3, to localize the fire on the roof of the common machine hall of units 3 and 4, to protect the undamaged parts of unit 4 (the control room, inside the machine room, the main circulating pump compartments, the cable trays), and to protect the flammable materials stored on-site, such as diesel oil, stored gas and chemicals.
"The fire-fighters were called upon to extinguish burning ejected graphite blocks and segments. The basic techniques used, successfully, were isolation and water quenching of the graphite blocksg... Water was used to extinguish the fires on roofs, cable rooms and on other surfaces, and to put out fires on graphiteg and other material and structural debris. The foam sprays were mainly applied in rooms and areas containing flammable materials such as diesel oil, chemicals, cables, etc."
Initially, attempts to introduce water into the reactor core were unsuccessful. Water fed in by the emergency feedwater pumps injected at a rate of 200-300 tonnes/hr went to other parts of the damaged primary circuit. When it was realised that this water flowed in the direction of units 1 and 2, water injection was stopped after half a day. Steam and white smoke from the reactor well were observed on the first day of the accident, but no steam was seen on the second day.
On 28 April, a massive accident management operation began. This involved involved dropping large amounts of different materials, each one designed to combat a different feature of the fire and the radioactive release. The first measures taken to control fire and the radionuclides releases consisted of dumping neutron-absorbing compounds and fire-control material into the crater that resulted from the destruction of the reactor. The total amount of materials dumped on the reactor was about 5000 t including about 40t of boron carbide, 2400 t of lead, 1800 t of sand and clay, and 800 t of dolomite. About 1800 helicopter flights were carried out to dump materials onto the reactor.
During the first flights, the helicopter remained stationary over the reactor while dumping materials. As the dose rates received by the helicopter pilots during this procedure were too high, it was decide that the materials should be dumped while the helicopters travelled over the reactor. This procedure caused additional destruction of the standing structures and spread the contamination. Boron carbide was dumped in large quantities from helicopters to act as a neutron absorber and prevent any renewed chain reaction. Dolomite was also added to act as heat sink and a source of carbon dioxide to smother the fire. Lead was included as a radiation absorber, as well as sand and clay which it was hoped would prevent the release of particulates. While it was later discovered that many of these compounds were not actually dropped on the target, they may have acted as thermal insulators and precipitated an increase in the temperature of the damaged core leading to a further release of radionuclides a week later.
A system was installed by 5 May to feed cold nitrogen to the reactor space, to provide cooling and to blanket against oxygen. By 6 May the core temperature had fallen and there was sharp reduction in the rate of radionuclide release. In addition, work began on a massive reinforced concrete slab with a built-in cooling system beneath the reactor. This involved digging a tunnel from underneath unit 3. About 400 people worked on this tunnel which was completed in 15 days, allowing the installation of the concrete slab. This slab would not only be of use to cool the core if necessary, it would also act as a barrier to prevent penetration of melted radioactive material into the groundwater.
In addition to the two workers that had died from the explosions on the day of the accident, by the end of July, six firemen and a further 22 plant staff (including one person that was at the site on business) had died of acute radiation poisoning as a result of the accident.
Accident timeline
The sequence of events which follows has been compiled following a review of a large number of reports and it represents what is considered the most likely sequence of events, but there remain some uncertainties.
April 25 01:06 The scheduled shutdown of the reactor started. Gradual lowering of the power level began. 03:47 Lowering of reactor power halted at 1600 MW(thermal). 14:00 The emergency core cooling system (ECCS) was isolated (part of the test procedure) to prevent it from interrupting the test later. The fact that the ECCS was isolated did not contribute to the accident; however, had it been available it might have reduced the impact slightly.
The power was due to be lowered further; however, the controller of the electricity grid in Kiev requested the reactor operator to keep supplying electricity to enable demand to be met. Consequently, the reactor power level was maintained at 1600 MWt and the experiment was delayed. Without this delay, the test would have been conducted during the day shift. 23:10 Power reduction recommenced. 24:00 Shift change. April 26 00:05 Power level had been decreased to 720 MWt and continued to be reduced. Although INSAG-1 stated that operation below 700 MWt was forbidden, sustained operation of the reactor below this level was not proscribed. 00:28 With the power level at about 500 MWt, control was transferred from the local to the automatic regulating system. The operator might have failed to give the 'hold power at required level' signal or the regulating system failed to respond to this signal. This led to an unexpected fall in power, which rapidly dropped to 30 MWt. 00:43:27 Turbogenerator trip signal blocked in accordance with operational and test procedures. INSAG-1 incorrectly reported this event occurring at 01:23:04 and stated: "This trip would have saved the reactor." However, it is more likely that disabling this trip only delayed the onset of the accident by 39 seconds. 01:00 The reactor power had risen to 200 MWt and stabilised. Although the operators may not have known it, the required operating reactivity margin (ORM) of 15 rods had been violated. The decision was made to carry out the turbogenerator rundown tests at a power level of about 200 MWt. 01:03 A standby main circulation pump was switched into the left hand cooling circuit in order to increase the water flow to the core (part of the test procedure). 01:07 An additional cooling pump was switched into the right hand cooling circuit (part of the test procedure). Operation of additional pumps removed heat from the core more quickly leading to decreased reactivity, necessitating further absorber rod removal to prevent power levels falling. The pumps delivered excessive flow to the point where they exceeded their allowed limits. Increased core flow led to problems with the level in the steam drum. 01:19 (approx.) The steam drum level was still near the emergency level. To compensate, the operator increased feedwater flow. This raised the drum level, but further reduced reactivity to the system. The automatic control rods went up to the upper tie plate to compensate but further withdrawal of manual rods was required to maintain the reactivity balance. System pressure began to fall and, to stabilise pressure, the steam turbine bypass valve was shut off. Since the operators were having trouble with the pressure and level control, they deactivated the automatic trip systems to the steam drum around this time. 01:22:30 Calculations performed after the accident found that the ORM at this point proved to be equal to eight control rods. Operating policy required that a minimum ORM of 15 control rods be inserted in the reactor at all times. 01:23 (approx.) Reactor parameters stabilised. The unit shift supervisors considered that preparations for the tests had been completed and, having switched on the oscilloscope, gave the order to close the emergency stop valves. April 26: the test 01:23:04 Turbine feed valves closed to start turbine coasting. This was the beginning of the actual test. According to Annex I of INSAG-7, for the following approximately 30 seconds of rundown of the four coolant pumps, "the parameters of the unit were controlled, remained within the limits expected for the operating conditions concerned, and did not require any intervention on the part of the personnel." 01:23:40 The emergency button (AZ-5) was pressed by the operator. Control rods started to enter the core, increasing the reactivity at the bottom of the core. 01:23:43 Power excursion rate emergency protection system signals on; power exceeded 530 MWt. 01:23:46 Disconnection of the first pair of main circulating pumps (MCPs) being 'run down', followed immediately by disconnection of the second pair. 01:23:47 Sharp reduction in the flow rates of the MCPs not involved in the rundown test and unreliable readings in the MCPs involved in the test; sharp increase of pressure in the steam separator drums; sharp increase in the water level in the steam separator drums. 01:23:48 Restoration of flow rates of MCPs not involved in the rundown test to values close to the initial ones; restoration of flow rates to 15% below the initial rate for the MCPs on the left side which were being run down; restoration of flow rates to 10% below the initial rate for one of the other MCPs involved in the test and unreliable readings for the other one; further increase of pressure in the steam separator drums and of water level in the steam separator drums; triggering of fast acting systems for dumping of steam to condensers. 01:23:49 Emergency protection signal 'Pressure increase in reactor space (rupture of a fuel channel)'; 'No voltage - 48 V' signal (no power supply to the servodrive mechanisms of the EPS); 'Failure of the actuators of automatic power controllers Nos 1 and 2' signals. 01:24 From a note in the chief reactor control engineer's operating log: "01:24: Severe shocks; the RCPS rods stopped moving before they reached the lower limit stop switches; power switch of clutch mechanisms is off."
Further Information
Notes
a. Much of the account in this Appendix is based on the International Atomic Energy Agency's INSAG-7 report (see Reference 1 below), which maintains that the operating rules were violated by the operators. However, there remains considerable uncertainty over whether or not they did comply with procedures, since the operating procedures themselves were ambiguous. The plant's Deputy Chief Engineer at that time, Anatoly Diatlov, acknowledged that he took the decision to run the test at a lower power level than he had originally planned, but argued that the lower power level was permitted by the regulations2. [Back]
b. The drop in power occurred at 00:28 on 26 April during transfer from local to global power control. The INSAG-7 report (see Reference 1 below) states: "The INSAG-1 report describes the precipitous fall in power to 30 MW(th) as being due to an operator error. Recent reports suggest that there was no operator error as such; the SCSSINP Commission report (Annex I, Sections 1-4.6, 1-4.7) refers to an unknown cause and inability to control the power, and A.S. Dyatlov, former Deputy Chief Engineer for Operations at the Chernobyl plant, in a private communication refers to the system not working properly." [Back]
c. Xenon poisoning was a significant contributor to the Chernobyl accident. Xenon-135 is produced in the reactor by the decay of the fission product iodine-135 (I-135). As I-135 has a half-life of 6.7 hours, Xe-135 will continue to build up after a reactor has been shut down. (Xe-135 itself has a half-life of 9.2 hours, so will eventually decay.) Xe-135 is a very strong neutron absorber and is 'burned' in the process of absorbing neutrons. During normal operation, the production of Xe-135 is balanced by the reaction rate. When the power of the Chernobyl 4 reactor dropped at 00:28 on 26 April, Xe-135 would have built up making it difficult to raise the reactor power. Attempts to raise the reactor power at this point led to so many control rods being withdrawn that the emergency protection system was brought to a state where termination of the nuclear reaction could not be guaranteed. [Back]
d. The operating reactivity margin (ORM) is simply the number of equivalent control rods remaining in the core. According to the INSAG-7 report (see Reference 1 below): "The definition is not precise, and the importance of the quantity for the safety of the plant seems to have been poorly understood by the operators... The magnitude of the ORM was not conveniently available to the operator, nor was it incorporated into the reactor's protection system." [Back]
e. It is possible that the design of the RBMK emergency protection system control rods was responsible for triggering the power surge that initiated the accident. A lower graphite 'displacer' is attached to the ends of the boron carbide absorber rods to prevent coolant water from entering the space vacated as the rod is withdrawn, thereby adding to the reactivity worth of the rod. As a fully withdrawn rod is inserted, an area at the bottom of the core that initially contains water (neutron absorbing) is replaced by the graphite displacer, adding to the reactivity in this region. According to the INSAG-7 report (see Reference 1 below): "The dimensions of rod and displacer were such that when the rod was fully extracted the displacer sat centrally within the fuelled region of the core with 1.25 m of water at either end. On receipt of a scram signal causing a fully withdrawn rod to fall, the displacement of water from the lower part of the channel as the rod moved downwards from its upper limit stop position caused a local insertion of positive reactivity in the lower part of the core. The magnitude of this 'positive scram' effect depended on the spatial distribution of the power density and the operating regime of the reactor." This effect had been identified at the Ignalina plant in 1983 and restrictions on the complete withdrawal of control and safety rods were intended to be imposed. However, "such restrictions were never imposed and apparently the matter was forgotten." See also see Post accident changes to the RBMK section in the information page on RBMK Reactors.
The Report by a Commission to the USSR State Committee for the Supervision of Safety in Industry and Nuclear Power (SCSSINP), Annex I of INSAG-7, states: "The event which initiated the accident was the pressing of the EPS-5 [scram] button when the RBMK-1000 reactor was operating at low power with a greater than permissible number of manual control rods withdrawn from the reactor." [Back]
f. It has not been established why the scram button (EPS-5, also referred to as AZ-5) was pressed at 1:23:40. Annex I of the INSAG-7 report (see Reference 1 below), Report by a Commission to the USSR State Committee for the Supervision of Safety in Industry and Nuclear Power (SCSSINP), states: "Neither the reactor power nor the other parameters (pressure and water level in the steam separator drums, coolant and feedwater flow rates, etc.) required any intervention by the personnel or by the engineered safety features from the beginning of the tests until the EPS-5 button was pressed." The report adds: "The Commission was unable to establish why the button was pressed." However, according to Anatoly Diatlov, the plant's Deputy Chief Engineer at that time: "There was actually one reason for dropping the protection rods: a wish to shut down the reactor when work was finished"3. [Back]
g. Most reports refer to a graphite fire. However, it is highly unlikely that the graphite itself burned. According to the General Atomics website (http://gt-mhr.ga.com/safety.php): "It is often incorrectly assumed that the combustion behavior of graphite is similar to that of charcoal and coal. Numerous tests and calculations have shown that it is virtually impossible to burn high-purity, nuclear-grade graphites." On Chernobyl, the same source states: "Graphite played little or no role in the progression or consequences of the accident. The red glow observed during the Chernobyl accident was the expected color of luminescence for graphite at 700°C and not a large-scale graphite fire, as some have incorrectly assumed."
While INSAG-1 states that the fires were extinguished at 05:00 on the day of the accident, many accounts report that the 'graphite fire' burned for nine days before being extinguished. [Back]
References
1. INSAG-7, The Chernobyl Accident: Updating of INSAG-1, A report by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group, International Atomic Energy Agency, Safety Series No. 75-INSAG-7, 1992, (ISBN: 9201046928) [Back]
2. Anatoly Diatlov, Why INSAG has still got it wrong, Nuclear Engineering International (September 1995, republished April 2006) [Back]
3. Ibid. [Back]
4. Summary Report on the Post-Accident Review Meeting on the Chernobyl Accident, Report by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group, Safety Series No. 75-INSAG-1, International Atomic Energy Agency, 1986, (ISBN: 9201231865) [Back]The human-caused Eagle Creek Fire grew from 3,200 acres early Monday to 4,800 acres by the end of the day. It forced the Oregon Department of Transportation to close Interstate 84 in both directions between Hood River and Troutdale. Photo by Tristan Fortsch
The Eagle Creek fire in the Columbia River Gorge has grown to 32,000 acres and has merged with the Indian Creek Fire as of Tuesday, according to fire officials. It is still 0 percent contained.
The fire started at the Eagle Creek Trail Saturday afternoon and was sparked by a 15-year-old boy from Vancouver, Wash. throwing fireworks. Oregon State Police are investigating. More than 450 personnel are fighting the fire, including 5 helicopters.
While brisk east winds contributed to the spread of the fire, by Tuesday evening the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said the spread of the fire had "slowed way down for now."
It has caused Level 3 evacuations in several Gorge towns, including Cascade Locks and portions of east Corbett. Troutdale residents east of 257th and north of Stark are under Level 1 evacuations. Forest lands west of Highway 281 and north of Mount Hood are being put under Level 1 evacuations. No private homes are in this area, but many hikers, campers and hunters may be recreating.
CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST EVACUATION ORDERS
The fire moved quickly overnight Monday into Tuesday, doubling in size and reaching Multnomah Falls. Crews worked overnight to protect the lodge from flames and falling embers, and for now, it appears to be safe.
It has burned some BPA power lines, and all railroad traffic remains closed.
At one point, the fire had spotted across the Columbia River into Washington near Archer Mountain. Several Level 3 evacuations were issued for portions of Skamania County.
Interstate 84 is closed from Exit 35 to Exit 64, and is closed westbound at The Dalles. Crews recommend limited travel along SR-14 in Washington.
Beacon Rock State Park is closed until further notice, Washington State Parks tweeted Tuesday morning.
An emergency declaration was issued for Multnomah County by chair Deborah Kafoury. It includes the unincorportated area of Multnomah County in the Gorge from Gresh |
riolic interchange begins around the 2:27 mark. David was kind enough not to publish this officer’s address, despite their intense exchange.There is an interesting read available today at Heise.de, it is a German based website though so allow me to relay their findings. As you all know 10-bit HDR is one of the emerging technologies that for example you can enjoy on the new Polaris based Playstation and your RX 400 series based graphics card.
As it turns out (and really this is not an issue specific only to AMD) AMD is fighting the HDMI protocol and specification, as even HDMI 2.0 does not have enough bandwidth for 10-bit HDR (over HDMI) in specific at 4K and a 60hz refresh-rate with 4:4:4 YCrBr-sampling (2160p60 / 10bpc).
To stay within the bandwidth limits it turns out that AMD is applying 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 sampling and thus shares red and blue color components to get to a lower bitrate over HDMI. The information itself is not exactly a secret, in fact AMD shared this information already during the Polaris launch. Hower AMD claimed that they supported 10-bit HDR gaming as well, and that is not right. On HDMI 2.0a the color depth is also lowered to 8-bit with dithering. Considering that the Playstation 4 also is Polaris based, we can only assume the same happens there.
In a test at heise they checked out Shadow Warrior 2 in HDR a Radeon RX 480 which showed similar visual results towards a GeForce GTX 1080. So it seems this is the case for Nvidia as well and likely Nvidia is using a similar trick at 8-bit also. Nvidia has not yet shared info on this though. According to heise, they did see a decrease in performance with Nvidia whereas the RX 480 performance remained the same.
The solve if you have a 10-bit compatible HDR-monitor for only to use DisplayPort 1.4 (supported by Polaris), though these will become available in volume early next year. At this time we are not sure what this entails and means for playback HDR supported movies on a HDR compatible Ultra HDTV at HDMI 2.0September 24th: DSA LA is strategically canvassing for singlepayer in the city’s areas with lowest rates of insured. Central Indiana DSA had a brake light clinic and DSA Chattanooga did too!
September 25th: Richmond DSA and YDSA VCU are continuing the struggle to remove Confederate memorials. Whatcom County DSA joined a picket of college administrative workers on strike. Suffolk County DSA trained some new mobilizers.
A story from a NPC member.
September 26th: Spokane DSA had a sign making party the night before their protest of Nigel Farage (a great way to get people committed to turning out to a protest!). YDSA Georgetown protested AG Jeff Sessions.
September 27th: Spokane DSA brought out 100+ people to protest the slime known as Nigel Farage. Meanwhile their comrades in Central Indiana DSA were protesting the visit by Farage buddy and, unfortunately, our current president Donald Trump. DSA Santa Cruz has been canvassing for Medicare For All.
September 28th: DSA San Francisco’s anti-taser campaign has taken on new urgency after a person died by the Oakland Police Department’s use of a taser (San Francisco Police Department is one of the last large city police departments without tasers). The DSA Legal WG responded to the punishment of students for kneeling in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick with a form letter student athletes and their allies can use to fight back. And undeterred by the previous ejection, Miami DSA returned to the county budget hearings to talk about transit cuts and deportations.
September 29th: Saint Louis DSA continued to support the Black Lives Matter protests against the Stockley verdict. DSA North Texas wound up their DACA fundraiser, reaching a total of $20,372, funding 40 scholarships. And the campaign for unionization by lecturers and administrative staff that BU YDSA has been supporting was victorious!
September 30th: Orlando DSA had a call-in to fight back against the stripping of endangered species protections. SW Michigan DSA protested the abduction 10 farm workers by ICE. DSA Fort Worth and DSA Denton had a direct action training (which hopefully they’ll put to use soon!). Quiet Corner DSA did some canvassing for singlepayer at a farmers’ market. Bronx/Uptown DSA did some work in a community garden. RPI YDSA had a screenprinting workshop. DC DSA, W&M YDSA, and other branches supported the March for Racial Justice and the Black Women’s March. DC DSA also continued canvassing for their anti-eviction campaign. And Central Connecticut DSA canvassed about taxing the rich and fighting against Trump’s tax plan.
And I’d like to end with some words from Iowa City DSA: “Theory is wonderful, and helps us grow. Aesthetics get people to pay attention. Relevant, tangible victories is what gets people to stay. The question regarding socialism for most people is ‘what does this organization actually do for me?’ And that’s a rational position to take.” Hopefully the work of these chapters will inspire answers to that question.The NES may have ruled the roost in North America during the '80s and early '90s, but Sega's Master System console was still home to some amazing titles — and in Europe, was incredibly popular.
Keen to keep the memory of the console alive, our old friend Tyler Esposito of Sega Master System.com is putting together a series of "lost" commercials for 8-bit Sega games, and his latest is the hilariously-titled Montezuma's Revenge. No prizes for guessing what the topic of the commercial is, given the visions conjured up by that that humourous name.
Montezuma's Revenge was first released in 1984 by Parker Brothers for a wide range of formats, including the Atari 2600, Apple II and ColecoVision. Creator Robert Jaeger demoed the game when he was just 16, and Parker Brothers quickly snapped up the rights to it. In 1998 a sequel entitled Montezuma's Return! was released for the PC, and was accompanied by a Game Boy Color edition.Technology can be creepy. Remember that scene from the 2002 film "Minority Report"? John Anderton, played by Tom Cruise, walks through a hallway of digital screens that recognize him and shout advertisements: "John Anderton! You could use a Guinness right about now."
Something like that may not be too far off as digital billboards become more popular with advertisers. Research firm PQ Media predicted today that the market for digital out-of-home media in the U.S. would grow 11.2% to $2.43 billion this year. Globally, it's expected to expand 14.5% from 2007 to 2012. That makes digital billboards one of the fastest-growing advertising mediums around.
Companies are jostling to provide ways to make these digital screens even more effective. That includes TruMedia Technologies, a Florida company with research offices in Israel (company motto: "Every Face Counts"). TruMedia provides cameras and software for retail locations so the stores can show different on-screen ads depending on the gender and age of the person watching. The company says it soon will be able to also play different ads based on the race of the person watching.
Dr. Vicki Rabenou, chief measurement officer at TruMedia, presented the technology at the WebbyConnect conference in Dana Point on Friday. Here's how she says it works:
A device placed on, say, a supermarket shelf scans the face of the person standing in front of it. It determines whether the person is a man or a woman and sends that information to a digital screen nearby. The screen will play an ad for women's razors if a woman is watching, Jeeps if a man is watching, or Gap if both a man and woman are watching. "People are not even aware that they are being watched and monitored," Rabenou said.
The video analytics software to do this was developed for the Israeli homeland security department. It can determine, by facial clues, the gender and age of the faces it scans. By next year, the company says, the software will be able to ascertain ethnicity as well.
The device can also track how long people stand in front of a retail display, determining whether the display is clear. In an Israeli trial, it helped advertisers realize that a lot of men were buying Pampers on Thursday nights, so the company started a promotion that gave free razors to shoppers who bought two packs of Pampers. Rabenou said sales skyrocketed after the promotion. "Advertisers will use our systems as a real-life focus group," she said.
Of course, this may make some people a little concerned about the world turning into "Minority Report." Rabenou assured the crowd at WebbyConnect that TruMedia was "fully respectful of audience privacy," and added that "Big Brother is not watching."
The company doesn't track who specifically is watching the screens or standing in front of the displays, she said, just a person's gender and, as the technology develops, race and age. Besides, she said, retailers don't want to be perceived as spying on their customers, so they'll be careful how they use the technology.
Still, the parallels with "Minority Report" weren't lost on one audience member, who referenced the movie in a spiel protesting the technology. "I'm horrified by what you're offering," he said.
-- Alana Semuels
Photo: A woman watching a screen equipped with a TruMedia device will see ads targeted at women. Credit: TruMediaConsider this: If you’ve had a child within the last decade, you might still be suffering some consequences—lethargy, memory disturbances, and poor energy levels, among other symptoms. And according to Dr. Oscar Serrallach, goop-trusted family practitioner (all the way from rural Australia), it’s not just because being a parent is hard—physically, the process of growing a baby exacts a significant toll. Which is why Serrallach developed The Mother Load, a nourishing, goop natal protocol (that is also great pre-conception and while pregnant as well).
As Serrallach explains: The placenta passes nearly 7 grams of fat a day to the growing baby at the end of the pregnancy term, while also tapping into the mom’s “iron, zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin B9, iodine, and selenium stores—along with omega 3 fats like DHA and specific amino acids from proteins.” On average, a mom’s brain shrinks 5 percent in the prenatal period, as it supports the growth of the baby (much of the brain is fat) and is re-engineered for parenthood. Serrallach has spent the majority of his career witnessing this syndrome, which he calls postnatal depletion, first-hand, watching as women fail—hormonally, nutritionally, and emotionally—to get back on their feet after the baby comes. Serrallach became tuned in to it when he encountered a patient named Susan, a mother of five children, who was so emaciated and depleted that she “was visibly running on empty.” After an extensive visit where he ran bloodwork, and proposed nutritional and emotional counseling, she looked at the clock and bolted. And he didn’t see her again: Until she turned up in the emergency room with pneumonia so evolved that she needed intravenous antibiotics. She spent less than a day, before checking herself out against his orders. That image stuck with him—of a woman ripping out an IV to rush back to her family—and its representation of a mother sublimating all of her own needs to serve her children.
Part of the brain shrinkage mentioned above, Dr. Serrallach explains, is reprogramming: “It supports the creation of ‘baby radar,’ where mothers become intuitively aware of their child’s needs, if they are cold or hungry, or if they cry at night.” This hyper-vigilance becomes dangerous for the mother when she, in turn, is not supported. When his own wife had their third child he observed that she too was totally destroyed, and unable to get back to “feeling like herself.” Sound familiar? All the moms at goop have thought we have it. “There is plenty of prenatal support,” he explains, “but as soon as a baby is born, the whole focus goes to the baby. There’s very little focus on the mother. The mother disappears into the shadows of her role.” As in all things, knowledge is power: Below, Dr. Serrallach outlines exactly what you need to do to shake the brain fog, regain your energy, and get back on your feet.
A Q&A with Dr. Oscar Serrallach
Q Can you take us through what happens to a mom physiologically and emotionally as the baby grows? A What is happening in our society is that many mothers-to-be are already depleted leading up to the conception and pregnancy time. Nature’s design is that the developing fetus will take all that it requires from its mother. The go-between to ensure that this happens safely is the placenta. The placenta is unique in humans in terms of how extensively the finger-like projections of the placenta reach into the womb lining, thus creating a massive surface area. The reason for this lies in the fetal brain and its huge requirement for energy and fat (in the form of specific fatty acids such as DHA). Toward the end of the pregnancy, up to 7 grams of fat pass across the placenta each day to feed and build the baby (much higher than any other animal). Also, 60 percent of the total energy that goes to the baby via the placenta is to feed the brain (other primates, including gorillas, have a figure of around 20 percent). The placenta serves two masters: the growing baby AND the mother. During the pregnancy, the mother supplies everything that the growing baby needs, hence why so many mothers become low in iron, zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin B9, iodine, and selenium. They also have much lower reserves in important omega 3 fats like DHA and specific amino acids from proteins. The placenta also tunes the mother to the baby, and the baby to the mother. This is no accident. The placenta develops at the same time as the fetal hypothalamus (a hormone-producing gland in the baby’s brain), and the hormones produced by the placenta look very similar to the hypothalamic hormones—again no accident. A beautiful example of this occurs during birth. What causes labor pains (contractions of the uterus) is oxytocin, which is also known as the “love hormone.” As the baby is squeezed through the birth canal, its hypothalamus produces oxytocin, which ends up in the mother’s bloodstream, causing more contractions. It is as if the baby is assisting the mother in its own birth. Once the baby is born, there are huge amounts of oxytocin in both the mother and the baby, literally creating this love fest they call the “baby bubble.” This needs to be encouraged and respected, and caregivers and fathers need to be aware of the importance of this time post-birth, when the bond between mother and baby is established. Breastfeeding then keeps this bond strong. This is nature’s design, so the further we drift away from this in terms of interventions such as caesarian surgery, and opting not to breastfeed, the more we can expect the “cascade-like” flow of “compromises” in the postpartum period and beyond, for mother and baby. Part of the job of the placenta is to reprogram the mother. It’s as though she gets a “software upgrade,” with some parts of the brain being reinforced and other parts of the brain being lessened. The average brain shrinkage during pregnancy is about 5%, but it is not so much the brain getting smaller, but rather being modified to acquire the skills to become a mother. This is not discussed or respected enough in our society, and I feel mothers need much support and acknowledgement for this new phase of life. Part of this upgrade is the acquisition of the “baby radar,” where mothers become intuitively aware of their child’s needs, if they are cold or hungry, or if they cry at night. This hyper vigilance is obviously vital for the survival of the child but if living in an unsupportive society, it can lead to sleep problems, self doubt, insecurity, and feelings of unworthiness. An extreme example of how this can work to the mother’s detriment is the mother who “discharged” herself from hospital with pneumonia because she needed to get back to her children—without any external support, her upgraded program told her to take care of her children even if it means sacrificing her own health.
Q You’ve identified a syndrome in mothers, which you call postnatal depletion—what is it exactly? A It is the common phenomenon of fatigue and exhaustion, combined with a feeling of “baby brain.” Baby Brain is a term that encompasses the symptoms of poor concentration, poor memory, and emotional lability. Emotional lability is where one’s emotions change up and down much more easily than they would have in the past, e.g. “crying for no reason.” There is often a feeling of isolation, vulnerability, and of not feeling “good enough.” It is experienced by many mothers, and is an understandable and at times predictable outcome associated with the extremely demanding task of being a mother from the perspective of both childbearing and child raising. Along with these features, I have identified a typical associated biochemical “fingerprint” that is partly the cause of and partly the result of postnatal depletion.
Q How many women do you believe it affects? And for how long? A I suspect up to 50 percent of mothers will have some degree of postnatal depletion—possibly more, but because of the focus of our clinic I would have a slanted view. I don’t tend to have mothers seeking my helping who are feeling “amazing.” Postnatal depletion, I feel, can affect mothers from birth until the time the child is seven years of age (possibly longer). There is a lot of overlap between postnatal depletion and depression in terms of symptoms and biochemical findings. For some women postnatal depression occurs at the severe end of the spectrum of postnatal depletion. In Australia, the peak incidence of postnatal depression is four years after the child is born, not in the first six months which was previously thought to be the time of highest incidence of depression. This shows that postnatal depression is an accumulation of factors from the pregnancy, delivery, and post childbirth. This is also the case for postnatal depletion though many mothers with depletion don’t experience depression and it is possible to have postnatal depression without the depletion.
Q What are the symptoms of postnatal depletion? A Fatigue and exhaustion.
Tired on waking.
Falling asleep unintentionally.
Hyper-vigilance (a feeling that the “radar” is constantly on), which is often associated with anxiety or a sense of unease. I often hear the words “tired and wired” describing how mothers feel.
Sense of guilt and shame around the role of being a mother and loss of self esteem. This is often associated with a sense of isolation and apprehension and sometimes even fear about socializing or leaving the house.
Frustration, overwhelm, and a sense of not coping. I often hear mothers say: “There is no time for me.”
As mentioned, brain fog or “baby brain.”
Loss of libido.
Q What are its causes of postnatal depletion? A It is multifactorial: We live in a society of continual ongoing stress and we literally don’t know how to relax or switch off. This has profound effects on hormones, immune function, brain structure, and gut health. Woman are having babies later in life. In Australia the average age for a mother having her first baby is 30.9 years. Women tend to be in a depleted state going into motherhood with careers, demanding social schedules, and the chronic sleep deprivation as the norm in our society. As a society we tend not to allow mothers to fully recover after childbirth before getting pregnant again. It is not uncommon to see the phenomenon of a mother giving birth to two children from separate pregnancies in the same calendar year. Also with assisted reproduction we are seeing higher rates of twins, which will obviously exacerbate any depletion. Sleep deprivation of having a newborn: Some research suggests that in the first year the average sleep debt is 700 hours! Reduced family and societal support is very common, as well. Our food is becoming increasingly nutrient-poor. We are in many cases having “two mouthfuls of food for one mouthful of nutrition.” Though poorly studied, there are specific aspects of the 21st-century lifestyle that are contributory to postnatal depletion. This includes environmental pollutants, such as air pollution, heavy metals, chlorinated water, and “electrosmog,” to name a few. There is a perceived notion that the mother has to be “everything,” and as result many mothers suffer in silence and are not receiving education, information, or support. Multi-generational support groups for mothers have been part of indigenous cultures for millennium though they are sadly absent in our post-industrial culture. The phenomenon of inter-generational epigenetic changes in the expression of our genetics is very complex but explains in part the higher rate of allergic disease and autoimmune disease that we are seeing in our society. In short we cannot do the same as what our parents or grandparents did and expect the same level of health. We literally have to “up our game” just to experience the same level of health as our parents, let alone experience better health.
Q Where should women start in terms of starting to feel like themselves again? A In our clinic we talk about the four pillars of health: sleep, purpose, activity, and nutrition. I use the acronym SPAN to illustrate this, alluding to the fact that while our lifespan is getting longer, our health span (the years of independence and health) in society is getting shorter. We address all four pillars with the repletion, recovery, and realization parts of our program. As a mother graduates from each level we look at each pillar in more depth, knowing we can gain traction with the work that has been done at the previous levels. Giving too much information can be overwhelming and unnecessary but to regain and maintain vitality it is important to continue the journey of improvement. Trying to give a mother information about specific food additives, plastics to avoid, pesticides to be aware of, cleaning products and cosmetics that may be contributing to fatigue and hormonal issues, may be total overwhelm for a mother in the repletion phase of her program when she has fatigue and a foggy brain. But this same information is most necessary in the recovery phase to enable continued ongoing health and wellness not only for herself but for her family and community. We use a three-step program as a guide to help mothers: Step one: repletion and rebuilding of micronutrients and macronutrients. Go see a good functional health practitioner and get a comprehensive assessment of micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals: We often find iron, vitamin B12, zinc, vitamin C, vitamin D, magnesium, and copper are deficient, insufficient, or out of balance.
I universally will start mothers on DHA (an omega 3 fatty acid), which is vital in repairing the nervous system and brain. This can be found in a number of supplements and is typically sourced from fish or algae.
Get a nutritional assessment to identify food sensitivities and food intolerances as these are often created or worsened in the pregnancy.
Nutritional advice often will begin by getting mothers off the “cardboard-hydrates,” i.e. hollow carbohydrates, and focusing on nutrient dense foods.
Get support, get support, get support. You can’t have too much support (and a babysitter is a lot cheaper than a divorce).
Physical therapies that help engage the relaxation response can be very useful in this first part of the repletion program. I particularly recommend restorative yoga and acupuncture.
Having assessments and therapies around hormonal health can be super useful.
Seeing a life coach, counselor, or psychologist around supporting emotional well-being is important.
We have specific recommendations around improving overall energy, sleep quality, and physical activity, which are all equally important parts of the road to recovery.
Hormonal health is obviously very important. What I find fascinating is that often after addressing specific nutrient deficiencies and insufficiencies and giving support around sleep, diet, and lifestyle—hormonal health usually improves. In assessing hormones, I find using questionnaires and salivary hormone tests to be most useful. The most comprehensive test is a urinary steroid hormone screen but it is costly, requires more time to interpret, and takes longer to get the results. Blood tests for hormones are not that useful due to day/night variation in levels and due to binding globulins in the blood which can give a misleading result. The “free” unbound hormone as found in saliva is actually what the body utilizes. Given that, the blood tests for hormones that may have some use are thyroid, DHEAs, and testosterone. In terms of therapies initially it is important to look at lifestyle issues around physical activity, sleep, and stress management. In fact, the most important thing I believe is the “relaxation response” and to ensure that people can indeed relax properly. It sounds strange to say, but many of us don’t know how to relax properly, that when we are “relaxing,” we are in fact stressed. Restorative yoga, acupuncture, sound healing, and biofeedback such as HeartMath can all be useful activities to help teach us to relax properly!
After assessing and addressing lifestyle issues, then the next aspect of hormonal health is individualized herbs and supplements such as Rhodiola, Hypericum, Ashwaganda, and Phosphyltidyl Serine. A big issue around herbs is quality—I’ve found that only good quality herbs work, so I have become somewhat fussy about my brands! Occasionally direct hormonal supplementation is required especially in the case of thyroid dysfunction.
Step two: Recovery is the second step in our program and looks at the important areas below. Optimizing sleep
Optimizing activity and exercise
Education around the healthy home and the healthy kitchen
Recovering and optimizing relationships In the recovery part of the program we look at the same principles of sleep, purpose, activity, and nutrition; but take them to a more in-depth level, especially as mothers are starting to feel better, think more clearly, and take on more in terms of the house, kitchen, and “self time.” Fatigue is the most common symptom in postnatal depletion. Having vitality or boundless energy is the end result of a series of body systems being in sync. Having deep chronic fatigue is the end result of these systems being out of sync. I find a combination of addressing micronutrient deficiencies along with macronutrient imbalances is a good start. The most important initial micronutrients include iron and vitamin B12, zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin D. With macronutrients increasing healthy fats and focusing on quality protein such as organic eggs, fish, and meats, and also knowing which are the healthier carbohydrates. The best quality carbohydrates tend to come from “above-ground” vegetables, such as broccoli and cabbage. Sleep is a conundrum for many mothers as they are too tired and too stressed and busy to sleep well. Sleep hygiene is an important place to start, where what you do in the hour before sleep can make a huge difference. This involves exposing yourself only to soft yellow to orange lighting, a soothing environment with calming music, and as much as children allow, to treat your bedroom as a “temple.” In fact, if there is only one room that you keep tidy in your house it should be the bedroom. Once the lights are out, the room should be cool and as quiet and dark as possible. Computer use, TV, and emotional stress tend to hijack sleep quality and should be avoided in the hour of wind down to sleep. Depending on your personal testing there can be a range of natural sleep enhancers that can be very useful, including: GABA, 5-HTP, melatonin, and magnesium salt foot baths. If “switching off” is the problem, then techniques such as HeartMath HRV-based relaxation and brain entrainment with binaural beats are a couple of the techniques that can be used to help “switch off the computer,” and allow sleep to happen faster. Education around the healthy home and the healthy kitchen usually begins with resources like Healthy Home, Healthy Family by Nicole Bijlsma and the Environmental Working Group. [See more compiled tips from goop on clean living here and extra mom support here.] The best type of exercise is activity, and if it is fun and social, mothers are much more likely to make this a habit. Follow-up with a psychologist, life coach, or mentor: I think this is essential during the recovery phase to help re-evaluate a mother’s direction and purpose in life and to look at how to get a healthy balance between family life and personal self growth and support. This is very much encouraged and we are bringing more and more of this level of therapy within the clinic. This can also shed light and insight onto relationships with partners, families, and friends, which may already be strained and neglected or at times broken leading to even less support in a mother’s world. The primary relationship between mother and other parent (if present) whether it is the father, stepfather or second mother often needs some special attention especially after the battering of the storm of early childhood. There are psychologists and therapists that specialize in this type of “relationship rebuilding.” Step three: Realization is the third step in the program and is about understanding motherhood as part of the heroine’s journey and discovering self-actualization through this process. [Keep an eye out for Serrallach’s book, Mothermorphis, coming in 2018, for additional support. And in the meantime, see his goop piece on The Mother Wound.]
Q Why is this a new thing? Or is it not a new thing and just newly acknowledged? Have women been experiencing this since the beginning of time? A It is certainly much more common these days. Most of the so-called primitive cultures or first people of the world had very specific practices to ensure that mothers made a full recovery from childbirth. This is something that is not much talked about in today’s age. These are called post-partum practices. From China to India, from Aboriginal Australia to the Americas, there have been centuries of very deliberate practices in nutritional recovery, spiritual cleansing, and protection as well as elaborate social supports. In traditional Chinese culture, they observe the sitting month “Zuo Yue Zi,” where the mother would not leave the house for thirty days, would not receive any visitors, and would have no duties apart from breastfeeding the baby. Special “rebuilding” warm foods would be supplied and the mother would not be allowed to get cold or even shower in that time. Ancient cultures have made the realization that Western society unfortunately has not: For society to be well and prosper, the mothers must be fully supported and healthy—in every sense of the word. Oscar Serrallach graduated from Auckland School of Medicine in New Zealand in 1996. He specialized in general practice, family medicine, and did further training in functional medicine, working in a number of hospital and community-based jobs, as well as in an alternative community in Nimbin that exposed him to nutritional medicine, herbalism, and home birth. He has been working in the Byron Bay area of NSW, Australia since 2001, where he lives with his partner, Caroline, and their three children. Serrallach currently practices at the integrative medicine center, The Health Lodge, and his first book, Mothermorphosis, comes out in 2018 from goop Press. He also developed the goop vitamin/supplement protocol, The Mother Load, designed to support moms and moms-to-be. The views expressed in this article intend to highlight alternative studies and induce conversation. They are the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of goop, and are for informational purposes only, even if and to the extent that this article features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice.Nice Hollywood kiss! Former Home and Away star Luke Mitchell films passionate scene for US series
Australian actor Luke Mitchell was all smiles over the weekend as he filmed the final outdoor scenes for season one of The Tomorrow People in Vancouver, Canada.
The 28-year-old former Home and Away star was definitely able to draw on his Summer Bay acting experience, as he filmed kissing scenes with co-star Madeleine Mantock on Sunday afternoon.
Luke who plays John Young and Madeleine who plays Astrid Finch in the futuristic science fiction series locked lips in a romantic balcony scene in the chilly Canadian city.
From Summer Bay to Vancouver: Australian actor Luke Mitchell filmed final outdoor scenes for Season One of his science fiction series The Tomorrow People on Sunday afternoon
Onscreen kiss: Luke and costar Madeleine Mantock locked lips for a balcony scene
Dressed for the cold weather, Luke rocked a black leather jacket teamed with dark pants and tie up black shoes.
With his blonde locks swept to the side, the actor very much looked in character, sporting some made up wounds on his face.
He plays a man with special abilities who lives in a future where those who are different are hunted by sinister forces.
The season finale looks to be one complete with signature supernatural scenes and some romantic ones as well, as Luke held onto Madeleine’s face for the intimate onscreen kiss.
Taking control: Luke is no stranger to kissing scenes after starring on Home and Away and looked quite comfortable as he held Madeleine for the intimate moment
Madeleine donned a trendy street style look, complete with grey skinny jeans and a complementing light shaded jacket.
She accessorised with a purple leopard print scarf and her dark hair was pulled back in a plait.
Other main cast members including Robbie Amell, Peyton List and Aaron Yoo were also on set, and the five stars huddled together, walking arm-in-arm after wrapping up filming.
Whilst Luke and his cast mates finish shooting the first season of the CW drama, the show only just premiered in Australia last week.
In character: Luke sported a black leather jacket along with made up wounds on his face for his role as John Young on the show
That's a wrap! Luke and Madeleine were joined by costars Peyton List, Robbie Amell and Aaroon Yoo and the five stars walked off set arm-in-arm
Luke was excited to share his first big international break with Aussie fans, encouraging them on Twitter to tune into the Fox 8 premiere last Thursday.
‘Australia, this is what I've been doing since #HomeAndAway,’ he captioned a promotional shot of himself pictured next to co-stars Robbie Amell and Peyton List.
The show has been a cult hit, and was nominated for Favourite New TV Drama at the People's Choice Awards in January.
The Tomorrow People: Luke Mitchell tweeted a photo of himself and cast mates Robbie Amell and Peyton List last week ahead of the Australian premiere
And Luke is certainly keeping busy, set to star next in low budget crime film 7 Minutes with Kris Kristofferson and Jason Ritter.
He's married to his former Home and Away co-star Rebecca Breeds, with the pair getting hitched in January 2013 after four years of dating.
Rebecca, 26, is also trying to crack the Hollywood market and currently stars in CBS comedy series We Are Men with Jerry O'Connell and Tony Shalhoub.
Chemistry from the start: Luke and costar Rebecca Breeds developed a romance after meeting on Aussie soap Home and Away
Married couple: Rebecca and Luke hit the 2012 Logie Awards red carpet together before tying the knot the following yearSonic Drive-In, a fast-food chain with nearly 3,600 locations across 45 U.S. states, has acknowledged a breach affecting an unknown number of store payment systems. The ongoing breach may have led to a fire sale on millions of stolen credit and debit card accounts that are now being peddled in shadowy underground cybercrime stores, KrebsOnSecurity has learned.
The first hints of a breach at Oklahoma City-based Sonic came last week when I began hearing from sources at multiple financial institutions who noticed a recent pattern of fraudulent transactions on cards that had all previously been used at Sonic.
I directed several of these banking industry sources to have a look at a brand new batch of some five million credit and debit card accounts that were first put up for sale on Sept. 18 in a credit card theft bazaar previously featured here called Joker’s Stash:
Sure enough, two sources who agreed to purchase a handful of cards from that batch of accounts on sale at Joker’s discovered they all had been recently used at Sonic locations.
Armed with this information, I phoned Sonic, which responded within an hour that it was indeed investigating “a potential incident” at some Sonic locations.
“Our credit card processor informed us last week of unusual activity regarding credit cards used at SONIC,” reads a statement the company issued to KrebsOnSecurity. “The security of our guests’ information is very important to SONIC. We are working to understand the nature and scope of this issue, as we know how important this is to our guests. We immediately engaged third-party forensic experts and law enforcement when we heard from our processor. While law enforcement limits the information we can share, we will communicate additional information as we are able.”
Christi Woodworth, vice president of public relations at Sonic, said the investigation is still in its early stages, and the company does not yet know how many or which of its stores may be impacted.
The accounts apparently stolen from Sonic are part of a batch of cards that Joker’s Stash is calling “Firetigerrr,” and they are indexed by city, state and ZIP code. This geographic specificity allows potential buyers to purchase only cards that were stolen from Sonic customers who live near them, thus avoiding a common anti-fraud defense in which a financial institution might block out-of-state transactions from a known compromised card.
Malicious hackers typically steal credit card data from organizations that accept cards by hacking into point-of-sale systems remotely and seeding those systems with malicious software that can copy account data stored on a card’s magnetic stripe. Thieves can use that data to clone the cards and then use the counterfeits to buy high-priced merchandise from electronics stores and big box retailers.
Prices for the cards advertised in the Firetigerr batch are somewhat higher than for cards stolen in other breaches, likely because this batch is extremely fresh and unlikely to have been canceled by card-issuing banks yet.
Most of the cards range in price from $25 to $50, and the price is influenced by a number of factors, including: the type of card issued (Amex, Visa, MasterCard, etc); the card’s level (classic, standard, signature, platinum, etc.); whether the card is debit or credit; and the issuing bank.
I should note that it remains unclear whether Sonic is the only company whose customers’ cards are being sold in this particular batch |
Why it's good: Broccoli gives you four bone-building nutrients in one convenient package: vitamins C and K, potassium and some calcium. Studies have found that getting enough of vitamins C and K is linked to having high bone density. Potassium (and other compounds found in produce) may reduce bone loss by acting as a buffer against metabolic acids, which some studies suggest contribute to the breakdown of bone tissue.
Eat up! Serve broccoli at least three times a week, and if you need extra incentive to dig in, sprinkle your florets with a bit of grated cheese (which adds more calcium!).
Skim milk
Why it's good: Skim milk is an obvious choice for strong bones, since 1 cup contains 300 mg of calcium — about a third of the daily recommended amount.
Eat up! Work it into your daily diet by making oatmeal with a cup of skim milk instead of water, including 1 cup in a fruit smoothie, or having a mug of low-fat cocoa made with 1 cup of nonfat milk. Feel free to substitute soy or almond milk (as long as the carton says it's fortified with calcium).
Yogurt
Why it's good: If you don't get enough calcium in your diet your body will start "borrowing" what it needs from the calcium stored in your bones. What's great about yogurt is that it's a good source of calcium and protein — and both are necessary for bone strength. Studies show that people who don't get enough protein have lower bone density.
Eat up! Opt for Greek varieties over traditional yogurt to get twice as much protein (and go for non-fat).
What's ailing you: Heart disease
Oatmeal
Why it's good: It's rich in soluble fiber, which latches on to cholesterol compounds and helps carry them out of your body. Research shows that people who eat an average of 2.5 servings of whole grains (like oats) daily have a 21 percent lower risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke than people who hardly eat any.
Eat up! Enjoy oatmeal at least three times a week, and spruce it up with berries, nuts, dried apricots, even peanut butter.
Sweet potato
Why it's good: Sweet potatoes deliver more heart-healthy fiber than their white cousins, along with a hefty dose of potassium, a mineral that helps offset sodium's negative effect on blood pressure.
Eat up! Try to eat at least two of these spuds a week. I like to mash them with a drop of skim milk, a pat of whipped butter and a bit of cinnamon.
Wild salmon
Why it's good: Wild salmon is one of the most concentrated sources of omega-3 fats, which can help lower triglycerides, raise levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol, and help reduce inflammation in the body — a factor that's been linked to an increased risk of diabetes as well as heart disease. What's more, numerous studies have found that people whose diets are high in omega-3s have a substantially lower risk of coronary heart disease, as well as sudden death from arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat).
Eat up! Aim to eat salmon at least twice a week. Although wild and farmed salmon contain similar levels of omega-3s, wild is lower in contaminants and has as much as four times the amount of vitamin D. But wild salmon is more expensive and not as widely available as farmed. If you can't make room for it in your budget, you're better off eating farmed salmon than going without it completely.
What's ailing you: Migraine headaches
Quinoa
Why it's good: Magnesium deficiency has been linked to migraines, and 1 cup of whole grain quinoa, a protein-rich seed, provides 30 percent of the daily recommended amount of magnesium. Getting enough of this mineral seems to be particularly helpful in preventing menstrual migraines.
Eat up! Have a helping at least three times a week in place of rice, pasta or other starches. Turn quinoa into a pilaf with chopped carrots, enjoy it as a hot cereal (like oatmeal), or use it as a base for a stir-fry or chili.
Ground flaxseed
Why it's good: Studies have shown that omega-3s — found in high amounts in flaxseeds — can help reduce the frequency, duration and severity of headaches, probably by reducing inflammation.
Eat up! Add a tablespoon a day to yogurt, oatmeal, cereal or smoothies. You can also mix ground flaxseed into meatballs or combine with whole-wheat bread crumbs for a crispy coating for baked chicken tenders.
Spinach
Why it's good: Spinach contains a good amount of magnesium as well as riboflavin, a B vitamin that may help reduce headache frequency and severity.
Eat up! Squeeze in at least three servings of spinach a week, and try to get more of other riboflavin-rich foods like lean beef, whole-grain cereals, mushrooms and asparagus. Also, speak to your doctor about whether riboflavin supplements might help.
This article was written by Dr. Joy Bauer for WomansDay.com and is republished here with permission.
Photo credits:
Ginger: heymrleej/Flickr
Pumpkin: Veganbaking.net/Flickr
Red pepper: A writer afoot/Flickr
Black beans: cookbookman17/Flickr
Egg: alykat/Flickr
Nuts: s58y/Flickr
Cheese: anneh632/Flickr
Pineapple: iStockphoto
Almonds: HealthAliciousNess/Flickr
Broccoli: La Grande Farmers' Market/Flickr
Milk: www.bluewaikiki.com/Flickr
Yogurt: jenniferworthen/Flickr
Oatmeal: nate steiner/Flickr
Sweet potato: MinimalistPhotography101.com/Flickr
Salmon: gkdavie/Flickr
Quinoa: Chasqui (Luis Tamayo)/Flickr
Ground flaxseed: AlishaV/Flickr
Spinach: woodleywonderworks/Flickr
18 foods that fight common ailments
Discover healthy eats that help fight diabetes, heart disease, insomnia and more. These foods fight some of the most common ailments.Written by Olivia Sudjic Contributors Illustration by Alessandro Gottardo (Shout)
Olivia Sudjic is a London-based novelist. Her debut novel, "Sympathy," looks at the dangers of living our lives online. The opinions in this article belong to the author. Amanda Levete is a RIBA Stirling Prize-winning architect and founding principal of AL_A, an international award-winning design and architecture studio based in London. For her September 2017 CNN Style guest editorship, she explored the theme of thresholds -- both real and imagined -- as applied in architecture and far beyond.Olivia Sudjic is a London-based novelist. Her debut novel, "Sympathy," looks at the dangers of living our lives online. The opinions in this article belong to the author.
I was a few months old when the English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee, dreamed up his vision of universal connectedness: the World Wide Web. That an individual could suddenly situate themselves within a global network, crossing geographical, temporal and cultural borders at will, was, to its techno-utopian pioneers, synonymous with radical, far-out, liberty.
The internet promised transcendence of the physical, but has developed into a no man's land where incomprehension, lack of ethics and insufficient regulation meet. This lawlessness at once part of its appeal and its central problem.
Currently, those who benefit most from the internet are those who run it, and Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg may soon run for president of the United States. His intimate understanding of the digital fabric of our daily lives, not to mention his contribution to the way the last election went, means he'd likely win.
Anyone who still thinks internet culture is superficial can wake up now. After all, what's so superficial about Facebook? It is deeply human to look to others, compare and copy. But to gratify natural drives to the extent social media enables is the same as binge-eating fast food because it is natural to be hungry.
I think of King Midas, and how everything he touched turned to gold. Do we want to be that app-happy? To live with the illusion of mastery over our environment and others, while becoming a prisoner of this power? To live without limits to our greed and selfishness, without personal boundaries, without control over one's selfhood and personal data is, to me, a scary place.
The internet promised transcendence of the physical, but has developed into a no man's land where incomprehension, lack of ethics and insufficient regulation meet.
The idea that the internet's mission is still about connection, making our experience of the world seamless, persists in the names of the digital companies breaking down the divide between two words to make a new one. Social media still professes to support an enhanced empathy for others and a more porous, better-networked self. While this may have been the case for some (arguably people who would have been nice to strangers anyway), there are plenty of racist, sexist, xenophobic, transphobic homophobes coming out of the woodwork every day for whom Instagram has apparently done the opposite. Well, that's life, you might say. And yes, it is: Real life and digital life can no longer be considered separate.
I read a description from the early days of the internet likening a chat room to a room full of people talking to each other while facing the wall. That early dream of anonymity is over. The further our IP address shadows us, the faster our images -- via Facebook, Instagram (owned by Facebook), Snapchat and Periscope -- proliferate, the more our corner of the Internet becomes Plato's allegory of the cave. We grow used to distortion and normalize what once seemed strange. We do not feel the need to leave our cave. Increasingly, it will not occur to us to do so.
And so we are corralled into groups whose ways of thinking and points of reference mirror our own, and we encounter fewer and fewer instances when we are forced to confront this. The rest of the time, we're in the dark, in a delusional kind of unity.
I'm young and my own cave's not so bad, so I'll try to be less gloomy. For three I used a university webmail service called Hermes. For the Greeks, Hermes was the emissary and messenger of the gods, the patron saint of roads and travelers. He was the god of boundaries and the transgression of boundaries, moving freely between the world of mortals and the divine.
I acquired my Hermes email address in 2007, when my relationship to such technology was far less ambivalent than it is now. Back then I rarely thought critically about it, if ever. Now I think about it all the time. I wrote a novel about it. I'm writing this.
And it, too, thinks of me. According to Facebook, for example, I'm very, very fertile, biologically and from a marketer's perspective: female, 28, with depleting ovaries and an insatiable desire to pee on sticks. Facebook has a far more detailed picture than that of course. In certain respects, its targeted advertising and algorithms know more about me, and how I appear to others, than I do.
To gratify natural drives to the extent social media enables is the same as binge-eating fast food because it is natural to be hungry.
This creepy feeling was what inspired me to write fiction. I see the connection between the way fiction writers appropriate and manipulate their material, reaching from the safety of their studies into the minds of those far away. The act of producing a debut novel -- a form of beginning and a staking of identity that requires one to stand on the knife edge between anonymity and exposure -- has played out many of the anxieties that I feel online.
I started writing my novel from the premise that another's mind is unknowable; that we ourselves are unknowable, that knowledge gleaned online is as subjective as our imaginations. Every act of imaginative sympathy has its limits, a source of tension that impels me to write.
But online those limits are forgotten, and so we don't strain against them. We no longer see ourselves or others as earthbound. We float in the cloud as we project our fantasy selves. We can forget to do the real work -- which is messy and dysfunctional, unlike a user-centric app -- of connection.
Connection is manifestly no longer the mission of the internet. The telescope it once presented has swung, casting back on us, the searchers. What we see and how we perceive it is filtered by a medium we imagine to be neutral. Twenty-eight years on, we have crossed over into a place of tension as users attempt to negotiate the trade-off between privacy and convenience. The web is now monopolized by big data, the businesses that run on it, and inch by inch, our governments. Our daily lives, the choices we make, the votes we cast, the news we read and the things we buy, are all traced, nudged, predicted or inhibited based on who the Internet thinks we are. We have rapidly normalized unprecedented access to the lives of others, sanitizing and sanctioning what was previously unthinkable. But what does it do to our self-awareness, our way of seeing our own lives?
This personalization has resulted in a paradoxical feeling of depersonalization. My life, tracked and mediated by social media and internet algorithms in a myriad unseen ways, sometimes feels as if it's not mine at all. I feel like a voyeur pressing my face against the screen of someone else's device, or looking down on myself from above.
My life feels as if it's not mine at all. I feel like a voyeur pressing my face against the screen of someone else's device, or looking down on myself from above.
Until I began being bombarded with pregnancy-related ads, I rarely thought about myself in procreative terms. This is just one explicit example of the way in which web personalization, which underpins surveillance capitalism, has come to manipulate my thoughts. It's shaping my real as well as digital life, though the distinction is merely a revolving door -- a feedback loop that keeps on spinning the more we upload and click, irreversibly implicating ourselves in our own commodification, locking ourselves in to our respective filter bubbles.
This is where my ambivalence about living online, even as I am very much stuck in my own narrow corner of the Internet, gives way to an overriding feeling of fear. Of course, we all have inbuilt prejudices, cultural filters, a lenses of privilege or outsider status, but filter bubbles give us the fantasy of connection, and the illusion of floating through a world without rules. There are rules, but they are as mysterious and unfathomable to the average mortal as the whys and wherefores of Greek gods. Zuckerberg and his fellow Olympians make them up as they go along. All we know is that we must placate them. We make offerings and sacrifices. We trust them with our fates.
In the '80s coming-of-age films I loved as a child, teenagers used music to transport themselves beyond the limits of their lives. My generation is the first to be given a smartphone for this purpose, yet in the so-called age of connectivity, my country has voted to cut itself adrift like a hormonal adolescent marooning themselves in their room, and I watch the news in horror at the increasing visibility of xenophobia and other divides.
Internet access is now serving the rise of populism, seeding mistrust of information and each other. Virtual public spaces increasingly entrench difference and shut down meaningful exchange. Online trolls use the screen both as protective barrier and as a chink in the armor of their victims. If it's hard to sympathize, that's likely thanks to online inoculation to suffering too.Figure Review: Amy Pond
| By
Doctor Who
Amy Pond
5 Inch Scale
By: Character Options
$13.99
So a little while back I did a figure review and apparently it garnered rave reviews of its own, so I figured I would keep it up by doing a few more toy reviews now and then, to intersperse between my DVD reviews. With that shaky premise out of the way, on to the review!
Packaging
Fans of the new Doctor Who series are very familiar with Amy Pond. She is the 11th Doctor’s first companion, and a good deal of the drama of the last season revolved around her life. It’s funny how in the classic series the companion’s own lives never seemed to be so front and center to the stories, while the new seasons all seem to spend a good deal of time tied to how significant the lives the companions are leaving behind are. Oh well, best save that for the DVD reviews, and on to the figures.Amy comes in the same box the new Who figures come in. As I said in my review of the 11th Doctor, I’m not a huge fan of these new boxes. For one thing, they, like the new Daleks, are very squatty and wide looking. I have a shelf of all the single card Doctors in boxes, and the 11th Doctor’s box just looks odd next to the more streamlined boxes the rest come in.
Amy’s box does have a nice, clear window you can see her through. The back shows images of the other figures to collect, without any bio or background.
Also, when you look at the available figures for this first run I have to say it’s a bit disappointing. The last season featured a number of really interesting characters, and this run seems to have focused on only a very scant and odd assortment of them. Why no Rory, or River Song? Or Queen Liz? Were children everywhere clamoring for a Professor Bracewell figure? Hey look kids, he comes with extra wistfulness. But I digress.
Amy is held in with a few twists on her arms and legs, but nothing excessive. And since she has no accessories to speak of, there is no tape to be seen.
Sculpt :
The sculpt on Amy is actually pretty good. Her hair looks as good as any of the other females I have seen done in these lines, and her face is very close the real Karen Gillan. They eyes look a bit vacant, but not in a way that is distracting.
I will say that, I’m not sure if it is the paint or the expression, but Amy does look a little too severe in her expression. I have the follow up figure of Amy in the Police Costume, and for some reasons the face on that figure seems softer somehow. I think they did the eye paint differently on it, which gives her expression more of the vulnerability that Amy has in the series. Regardless, it’s a nice sculpt, just a bit off in the eyes.
Since this is a CO figure, it’s also full of the little details that are so neat. The skirt and belt have texture to them, and all the little ridges and bumps are raised and painted. Her boots look almost like real leather, and have some very nice texture work done on them. Her jacket and shirt are also nicely done. Even her jewelry is raised and painted, including the face on her watch. All in all this is a very nice sculpt with almost no visible paint slop, and very nice detail.
Articulation :
This is the category where this figure loses some points. What’s funny is that, after saying how nice the sculpt was, it is actually the sculpt itself that cost this figure points.
We’ll start with the good. Amy’s arms rotate at the shoulders, her elbows bend, and swivel at the upper arm. Her hands rotate, but not at the wrists. Instead, her hands turn at the point where her arms come out of her jacket. Amy’s waist also turns, although with the way her torso is sculpted she does look a little odd twisted to the side.
Now the bad. Amy’s head can turn a tiny bit, but with the way her hair is sculpted it is impossible to turn it very much at all. I suppose if I really forced it I could get it to turn, but I don’t want to scratch up the paint just to get her to look to the left.
Then there are the legs. Amy has all the standard leg joints of these Who figures, with joints at the knees, swivel at the thigh, and Who crotch hips, but the problem is her skirt. Because it is made of molded rubber (I think) it has a little flex, but because it is so tight it is very hard to move her legs in any real way. Amy cannot sit, or run. She can just kick one leg back and kind of look like she is quickly strolling. Her legs also can’t really do any of the Who crotch bends, and that, coupled with how bad the knee joints actually look, makes me wonder why they just didn’t sculpt solid legs and forget about the articulation.
Value :
The best price I found for this figure was from Entertainment Earth, who wanted about 13 bucks +shipping. Amazon wants 24, which is way too much. Even at 13 this figure is a little pricey.
Still, as a piece to just sit around and look nice this is not a bad figure. It goes well with my 11th Doctor on a shelf over my desk. I just don’t have many posing options because of the skirt.
Score Recap :
Packaging: 8/10
Sculpt: 9/10
Articulation: 6/10
Price: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
If you can get this on the cheap, I recommend it. But if you want a figure you can actually pose and move around I recommend waiting until they do a later Amy release in pants. For now this is something to look nice on a shelf, but not much beyond that.Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) described Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as a guy that supported al Qaeda.
Gohmert’s description came Friday during a panel discussion of Republican lawmakers at the Values Voter Summit. Gohmert mentioned McCain as he discussed the government shutdown.
“I heard just before I came, some senator from Arizona, a guy that liked Gaddafi before he wanted to bomb him,” Gohmert said. “A guy that’s been to Syria and supported al Qaeda and the rebels. But he was saying today the shutdown has been a fools’ errand. And I agree with him, the president and Harry Reid should not have shut this government down.”
Earlier in the day McCain, during an appearance on Fox News, stressed that the government shutdown was a result of a conservative effort to defund Obamacare.
Gohmert’s comment is likely a reference to McCain’s visit to northern Syria where he was escorted by rebels there. According to McClatchy, the rebels escorting McCain were fighting fighters that supported al Qaeda.
McCain’s office said it would not dignify Gohmert’s comment with a response.For unlimited access to the best local, national, and international news and much more, try an All Access Digital subscription:
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*Introductory pricing schedule for 12 month: $0.99/month plus tax for first 3 months, $5.99/month for months 4 - 6, $10.99/month for months 7 - 9, $13.99/month for months 10 - 12. Standard All Access Digital rate of $16.99/month begins after first year.
*Introductory pricing schedule for 12 month: $0.99/month plus tax for first 3 months, $5.99/month for months 4 - 6, $10.99/month for months 7 - 9, $13.99/month for months 10 - 12. Standard All Access Digital rate of $16.99/month begins after first year.
*Introductory pricing schedule for 12 month: $0.99/month plus tax for first 3 months, $5.99/month for months 4 - 6, $10.99/month for months 7 - 9, $13.99/month for months 10 - 12. Standard All Access Digital rate of $16.99/month begins after first year.
For unlimited access to the best local, national, and international news and much more, try an All Access Digital subscription:
We hope you have enjoyed your trial! To continue reading, we recommend our Read Now Pay Later membership. Simply add a form of payment and pay only 27¢ per article.
For unlimited access to the best local, national, and international news and much more, try an All Access Digital subscription:
We hope you have enjoyed your trial! To continue reading, we recommend our Read Now Pay Later membership. Simply add a form of payment and pay only 27¢ per article.
We have all heard someone from outside the province call our city Winterpeg and laugh a derogatory giggle. Imagine if we could transform that word into a badge of honour. It is difficult for a city to reach its full potential as a smart, vibrant, livable place with a resigned attitude we must endure the winter months. If Winnipeg is to be globally competitive, attracting investment, tourism and immigration, we can't simply accept a lower quality of life for half the year. Winter is part of who we are, it defines us. It can be an asset, if we make it one.
In response, over the last 40 years, we have worked to build a city that turns its back on winter. We defend ourselves from it like it's an enemy invader. Our climate-controlled networks sever us from the outside. Portage Avenue was for a century a bustling 12-month, outdoor shopping strip, the retail heart of the city. Then we decided to move to indoor malls, and today we zig-zag in our cars across massive parking lots from one big-box store to the next. We pushed people at our landmark intersection underground, and our sidewalks were emptied by skywalks. The default reaction to everything from segregated bike lanes to active pedestrian sidewalks and great public spaces seems to always be "It's too cold to do that in Winnipeg."
Winnipeg doesn't have many things that can truly be described as world-class, but winter is certainly one of them. For a major city (with a population over 500,000) our January average temperatures are the fourth-coldest on Earth, rivalling cities in Siberia, Mongolia and northern China.
It is mid-January, and through hard crusts of frozen breath on their tightly wrapped scarves, Winnipeggers across the city can be heard muttering to themselves "Why do I live here?"
Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/1/2015 (1500 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/1/2015 (1500 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
It is mid-January, and through hard crusts of frozen breath on their tightly wrapped scarves, Winnipeggers across the city can be heard muttering to themselves "Why do I live here?"
Winnipeg doesn't have many things that can truly be described as world-class, but winter is certainly one of them. For a major city (with a population over 500,000) our January average temperatures are the fourth-coldest on Earth, rivalling cities in Siberia, Mongolia and northern China.
In response, over the last 40 years, we have worked to build a city that turns its back on winter. We defend ourselves from it like it's an enemy invader. Our climate-controlled networks sever us from the outside. Portage Avenue was for a century a bustling 12-month, outdoor shopping strip, the retail heart of the city. Then we decided to move to indoor malls, and today we zig-zag in our cars across massive parking lots from one big-box store to the next. We pushed people at our landmark intersection underground, and our sidewalks were emptied by skywalks. The default reaction to everything from segregated bike lanes to active pedestrian sidewalks and great public spaces seems to always be "It's too cold to do that in Winnipeg."
We have all heard someone from outside the province call our city Winterpeg and laugh a derogatory giggle. Imagine if we could transform that word into a badge of honour. It is difficult for a city to reach its full potential as a smart, vibrant, livable place with a resigned attitude we must endure the winter months. If Winnipeg is to be globally competitive, attracting investment, tourism and immigration, we can't simply accept a lower quality of life for half the year. Winter is part of who we are, it defines us. It can be an asset, if we make it one.
To begin changing our perception of the coldest months, Winnipeg might learn from our friends in Edmonton who have begun taking significant steps toward a long-term cultural shift in their collective perception of winter, beginning to leverage its potential as a social and economic asset that can set them apart in the world. Last year, the city took the bold step of adopting as official policy a Winter City Strategic Plan called For the Love of Winter and have drafted a clear implementation document that is now being executed.
Edmonton's Winter City plan was created through an extensive public consultation process that established four key pillars: Winter Life, Winter Design, Winter Economy and Our Winter Story. Each pillar categorizes a set of strategic goals.
— Winter Life: The goals of this pillar are to improve winter transportation for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users as well as to simply make it easier to go outside. Strategies to implement these goals include: constructing commercial warming kiosks in public parks and plazas; creating regulations for use of fire in outdoor public spaces; encouraging neighbourhood-scale winter carnivals; constructing heated transit shelters and separated bike lanes; and prioritizing snow clearing for cyclist and pedestrian pathways.
BRENT BELLAMY The Red River Mutual Trail regularly attracts skaters to get in some winter activity.
— Winter Design: This pillar focuses on creating a set of enforceable design guidelines that prescribe architectural and urban-planning elements to create more livable outdoor environments. These design standards focus on creating microclimates that maximize outdoor comfort by incorporating such ideas as protective wind shelter, outdoor heat sources and increased access to sunlight. Colour, public art and creative lighting elements are also encouraged.
— Winter Economy: The economic impact of creating a vibrant winter city is seen as a multi-layered opportunity, from tourism and commercial growth to bigger picture issues such as attracting and retaining investment and young people by improving the quality of civic life year-round. Initiatives to achieve this include developing outdoor winter markets, changing zoning and alcohol bylaws to encourage a winter restaurant patio culture, supporting civic-scale festivals and public events as well as establishing educational, business and research centres that focus on winter-related industry and technology.
— Our Winter Story: The final pillar hopes to champion awareness for the winter-city plan within Edmonton and abroad. The goal is to establish local contests, marketing and public-engagement initiatives as well as international branding and tourism campaigns that celebrate Edmonton as a world winter capital.
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Over the past few years, Winnipeg has begun to informally embrace many of the ideals Edmonton has made official policy. If our city were to initiate a similar plan, there would be a strong base from which to build. Festival du Voyageur is the largest winter carnival in Western Canada, attracting approximately 100,000 visitors. Several years ago, the well-publicized battle between The Forks and Ottawa's Rideau Canal for the title of World's Longest Skating Rink raised awareness for winter activity along the rivers. Since then, the warming huts international design competition has become famous worldwide and has spawned the RAW:almond pop-up restaurant, which will again provide the experience of fine dining on the frozen Red River. A competition was held for a new restaurant design this year, won by U.K. architectural firm OS31, which proposed a dramatic tent structure currently under construction.
A great opportunity exists to follow Edmonton's lead by building on these initiatives and establishing a formal plan to transform Winnipeg's winter into an asset that makes us a global model for winter-city living and a world leader in cold-weather design. To most of the world, our frigid isolation is as exotic as any tropical island or rainforest. There is a tourism experience here that can be found in few places in the world. Through good design, we can build a city that embraces what makes it unique, improving our own quality of life and attracting visitors wanting the Winnipeg experience.
Winnipeg explodes with activities in the summer, from the Fringe and Folk festivals to the St. Norbert Farmers' Market and patios of Corydon Avenue. Edmonton is demonstrating with planning and smart design, some level of this can happen in the winter, as well. Setting goals and outlining ways to achieve them in formal policy could transform our perceptions of Winterpeg and make people instead ask themselves, "Why don't I live there?"
Brent Bellamy is senior design architect for Number Ten Architectural Group
bbellamy@numberten.comComing straight from Italy, Gazebox is a revolutionary garage concept, mixing your standard garage, with a carport and a gazebo, all in one! The multifunctional garage comes with a sleek foldable cover system which allows you to park your car easily, with two exit options and manual or automatic opening.
Gazebox is also perfect if you want to show off your precious car or motorcycle, thanks to its high level of transparency. This wonderful structure also features special anti UV polycarbonate panels that will keep your ride safe from bad weather (too much sun, hail, wind or ice) and from pets and bids, just what everyone wants.
According to the developers of this revolutionary garage, Gazebox is extremely easy to install, requiring minimum space, with quick anchorage in the ground and with basically no permissions required. The company also offers the possibility to customize these amazing garages, with different colors and graphics, lighting options, air conditioners, alarms and so on.
The system is extremely durable, with an iron framework that could be powder painted in the color you want and a composite material roof with a brushed aluminum finish. When you don’t want to park your car in it, you can use Gazebox as a modern gazebo, where you can relax in the shade for a nice snack. There’s no word on pricing yet, but I already want it!
[Gazebox]One nearly universal fact of human nature is that if you tell people not to read something, they’ll begin to want to read it. Another fact of human nature is that if a man begins to feel like something’s been hidden from him by the “good guys,” he’ll begin to want to listen to what the bad guys have to say. The unfortunate but expectable result of these is that if you have a kid spend his childhood watching movies with anti-racist themes (the ones where whites are racists, naturally) and send him to a leftist college, and he hears little to nothing in the media about any atrocities committed by anyone but white people, and then suddenly encounters a horrible website like American Renaissance, he might find it extremely interesting.
That an openly white nationalist magazine like American Renaissance could have only a limited impact upon a mixed-breed half-Hispanic like me (although I identify as white) is understandable. Dozens of horror stories throughout the year about Hispanics can go only so far when a man already has a large and industrious and charitable Hispanic family. But the fact that American Renaissance has so many horror stories about them at all is what matters. A nearly total silence from the mainstream media for years involving any atrocities committed by blacks or Arabs or Hispanics, and you suddenly begin to realize you’ve been duped–that everything you’ve ever known about whites being the aggressors against purely unfortunate minorities has been a superseded by something much uglier: a war by everyone, for everyone.
Suddenly, you begin to encounter horror stories in local news pages about white women being tortured and murdered by black men, illegal aliens raping innocent girls, and Muslim fanatics beheading their own children for just desiring to be human. And after a few of these stories, you begin to develop something aside from a general sensation of shock and disgust. You almost immediately begin to carry a burden of anger. Not at the white nationalists who talk about these things, or even simply at the people who did them, but overwhelmingly at the people who purposely hide them. You begin to wonder why any useful racial crime statistics aren’t readily available at the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Victimization Report since Obama took office, or why nobody really knows which races and religions are responsible for the majority of discrimination lawsuits in the nation. You begin to wonder why lynch mobs are being organized on a yearly basis in honor of the few black people (and mostly criminals) shot by cops in bad neighborhoods, and nobody is protesting too openly about the diabolical black crime rates.
The answer is clear. A man who overwhelmingly showcases the atrocities of one race is running a propaganda war against it. And the people in charge of our government and mainstream media believe we’re stupid enough to believe them. On the whole, they are right. Except the problem with Westerners isn’t even so much that we’re stupid; it is that we lack the balls to read papers by the unpopular but intelligent people we disagree with.
The irony of the situation should be plain to everyone. A disgusting (but unfortunately necessary) magazine like American Renaissance is doing what the champions of diversity are supposed to be doing–which is giving us a complete picture of the differences among men, so that we can know what to do with them. If nearly everyone is interested in proclaiming the vices of a single race, American Renaissance is the magazine interested in proclaiming the general vices of the majority of races; for there is no such thing as fairness in an imaginary world where everything evil is committed by white people.
The unfortunate truth about interracial relations in a multiracial society is that there will be more interracial murders and rapes and robberies, not fewer–because murder is what people do. And there certainly won’t be murder in the same proportions–because difference is what happens when races are diverse. Asians for the next hundred years will never have neighborhoods as universally abominable as Ferguson or Compton, which is why Asians have deservedly received favorable mentions by openly racist men such as American Renaissance‘s Jared Taylor (although the last time I checked, he preferred to be called a race realist). Diversity, it turns out, will absolutely mean more black and |
avin Harrison: What was my first reaction? Well, it’s quite a bold idea. I don’t know of any other band that’s got three drummers, setting them up at the front of the stage. But King Crimson is a band that likes breaking the rules. (Laughs) And so to start with that as the idea for this lineup, which was Robert’s idea, is a pretty bold statement. I was very surprised by that, and it got me thinking: How can we make this work?
MG: And how did you make it work?
GH: (Laughs) A lot of contemplation to start with. Obviously I’d played in the band before with Pat Mastelotto, so not being the only drummer in the band is not a new feeling to me. But how can we incorporate three drummers? You know, we’re three very different drummers, and you have three very different drum/percussion setups, so there’s a lot of variety. I suppose it’s a sort of percussion section, if you like. If someone just needs to play the hi-hat, then that’s what they need to do while someone else is doing other parts of the drum kit. And sometimes one or more of us don’t play anything.
So it’s more orchestral in its approach. If you’re playing tuba in an orchestra, you don’t play through every song. You sit there and wait for the right moment that the arranger/composer has chosen for you to play. So that’s the approach we take. Sometimes it’s a drum rhythm split across three drummers, sometimes it’s written as if we’re one enormous drum machine, sometimes one guy might start an eighth note later than the other guy. And sometimes Pat plays electronics, and he has a lot of metallic percussion; sometimes Bill plays keyboards and I play drums. Sometimes there’s moments where Pat will play the start of a song, Bill will play the middle of the song and I’ll play the end of the song, because it suited our styles better and it suited the sounds that we have in our percussion arsenal better.
MG: Can you talk a bit about how your setups are different, aside from Pat using more electronics and Bill having a keyboard?
GH: Yeah, I have a much larger drum set than Bill; Bill has a much more traditional-size drum kit with fewer sound options. But he plays in a less “rock” kind of way than maybe me and Pat do. So if there’s simple, softer passages, they might suit Bill more. If there are some crazy bits that require fast double-bass-drum madness, it might suit me more. Pat has a kit, as I said, with a lot of metallic percussion, so he covers a lot of the Jamie Muir style of percussive playing, if you know who I’m talking about, from the early Crimson days. Which can sound great, with straight drumming and crazy metallic percussion. That can be a good sound.
Sometimes you need to think, more than the parts, how are we going to work this from a sound point of view? You know, start with the sound and work backwards. So we spend a very long time choreographing what we’re going to play — and quite often, more than not, what we’re not going to play. Because as you can imagine, with three drummers, there could be the chance to create a lot of chaos. And occasionally we do create a lot of chaos. That’s a sound as well.
MG: Actually, I spoke to Tony around an hour ago and he said he was kind of concerned when this lineup was activated that with three drummers, there would be no room for him to play. He was talking about how he was very grateful for the fact that you all, like you said, know when not to play.
GH: Yeah, you don’t really want a situation where there’s two guys both hitting the downbeat on the bass drum and both hitting the backbeat on the snare drum. That wouldn’t be much fun if you were the bass player. So the main bass drum and the main snare drum parts, we don’t normally double up on those. Unless that’s a sound we want. But usually there’s never two bass drums and snare drums playing the main rhythm at the same time.
MG: Tony said he has fun watching you three up front, as much as the audience probably does, and that it’s kind of like a circus act, like a lion-tamer routine. Does it feel that way to you too, or are you too deep into it to appreciate the effect it’s having?
GH: No, it’s quite a spectacle. (Laughs) I mean, normally the drummer in a band is doing the most movement, shall we say. And to have three guys who are moving a lot down the front, busy at their workstations, I think is visually quite interesting to watch. Rather than the normal setup of a singer who stands in the middle at the front and the band wrap around him. So in this particular lineup, although Jakko is singing, he’s on a platform behind me. So it doesn’t overemphasize the lead frontman singer thing, which most bands I can think of do. You have the person who sings and plays guitar or whatever standing in the front at the middle, and the band wrap around him. This is good, because it doesn’t emphasize that side of a rock band. This is much more like an orchestral look to the show, with the percussion section at the front.
MG: Yeah, I was trying to think of other so-called rock bands that have … well, not a similar setup to you, because I don’t think anyone does, but ones that de-emphasize the singer, and Tool is the only one that came to mind right away.
GH: That’s right, yeah. Tool don’t do the singer at the front. And plus, no one talks to the audience. There’s no interaction. We don’t say, “Hey folks, here’s one from our last album, thanks for coming, you’ve been a great audience” — there’s none of that. We just play.
MG: But it doesn’t feel to you like you’re disconnected from the audience in that way, does it?
GH: No, not at all. In fact, I feel more connected to the audience than normal, because I can actually see people quite close. Depending on the venue, sometimes people are very close to me. The normal position for a drummer is on a riser at the back of the stage. You can feel more disconnected like that.
MG: Do you find it easy to be connected to the rest of the band as well, not just Pat and Bill?
GH: My particular position, I’m on stage left and I’m turned in towards the centre. So I can see everyone in the band, and I prefer to look at the band as we’re playing, rather than look into the black void, which is normally what you can see of an audience apart from the first couple of rows. That just feels like a black curtain, normally. (Laughs) So it’s more fun to look at the people you’re performing with. And as I say, there’s quite a lot of times when I’m not playing and I just sit and watch King Crimson! I’ve got a really good seat.
MG: Tony was saying that when the lineup first formed, the drummers got together before the entire band did?
GH: Yeah, and we’ve done that last year, we’ve done that this year. I think any year that we’re going to perform, if there’s new pieces to rehearse, we’ll do that. And we play a couple of drum pieces, maybe two or three drum pieces per night, which are written, composed pieces. Carefully choreographed. They might be three or four minutes long, but actually they take three or four weeks to work out. We don’t sit on stage with pieces of paper reading music, so you have to learn it all. So it does require a lot of rehearsals. So obviously it’s better that the three of us get together on our own and work on those things.
In the last couple of years, it started off in a studio with just the three of us and the chance to record what we’re doing. And if we’re rehearsing to songs, then we’ll have a multi-track version of the song on the hard drive, and we can record ourselves and listen to it and decide what we could improve. Maybe if I know someone’s going to play something in a particular place, I can remember to not play at that particular place.
MG: When you three first started playing together, how daunting was it? Did it take a while for form to come out of chaos?
GH: Well, of course I’d worked together with Pat before, and we’d done a lot of work in 2008 on the two drummers playing together, so we were very familiar with the idea that you might play part of a pattern — you might play the hi-hat and snare drum, but not the bass drum. Or you might play the snare drum and bass drum, but not the hi-hat. Parts of what would traditionally be a normal drum kit rhythm. And I don’t know if Bill had done double or triple drumming before, but he’s a very musical guy and it was obvious that it was going to work. The first couple of days, we talked a lot about things we liked, what we wanted to do and what we didn’t want to do, the kind of sounds we wanted to make and the kind of sounds we didn’t want to make. So we had an agreement about the approach to arranging for three drums.
MG: Was there anything you stylistically ruled out, in terms of what elements you could use?
GH: No, there’s no restrictions. I mean, the only restrictions are the ones that you put on yourself mentally. There’s no restrictions in terms of sound. No one has said, “Don’t play double bass drum, don’t play China cymbal” — there’s none of that going on. It’s really what you think is working or not. It would be very easy to overplay with three drummers and make it too much. We’re trying to be one drummer with six arms and six legs, but controlled by one idea, let’s say.
There are moments in the show where all of us have a chance to improvise, so it’s not all every single note written. Like, there’s drum fills in some songs where I’ll take a turn, Bill will take a turn, Pat will take a turn, and then in the fourth time there’s a drum fill we’ll play one that’s choreographed between the three of us. There might be something that I play and then the other two answer, or we all play notes in between each other or something like that. So some of the fills that we play together are choreographed, but there’s plenty of times where you have two bars on your own to play whatever fill you want. And there’s certain sections in certain songs where you can pretty much do what you want and we’ll just see what happens.
MG: In terms of the repertoire for this lineup, was it surprising to you when it was proposed that you play the much older songs?
GH: It wasn’t surprising to me. I expected we’d probably go right back to the beginning, the early albums. And in fact, we do pull quite a lot of material from 1969 to 1974, those first albums in those first five years. There’s quite a lot of that. But Robert always said to me, “Don’t learn the drum parts. Play the song as if it’s the first time you’ve ever heard it. Don’t worry about what they played 40-something years ago.” Which I found quite easy, because I wasn’t a King Crimson diehard fan, and I didn’t have those albums anyway. I didn’t grow up listening to progressive rock music.
In 2008 when Robert came to my house and said, “This is the material I want to play in the 2008 band,” I said, “Listen, I’ve got to confess something, Robert: I don’t have any of your albums, apart from one record” — which I think was maybe Beat, on vinyl — “and I haven’t listened to it in almost 30 years.” He said, “That’s great! I like that, because you’re going to come at it from a fresh angle. You don’t need to copy what any of the previous drummers came up with. I’d prefer that you just played the song as if it was a new song. So here’s the song, forget the drums and just imagine you were in a band and the guy said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a new song, this is how it goes.’ What are you going to do to that song?” And that’s how I personally approach it.
MG: I’m fascinated to hear that you weren’t a King Crimson diehard. I don’t know why I would assume everyone is; even when I was talking to Tony, despite the length of time he’s been in the band, he said he wasn’t an expert.
GH: No, and I’m not. You could probably list some songs now and I couldn’t tell you what albums they’re on or where they come from. Or names of songs that I actually have never heard. So I didn’t personally grow up listening to King Crimson — or any, really, progressive-type music. It came to me much later in my life.
MG: When these older songs came up as possible pieces to play, why is it that you weren’t surprised? I know fans were shocked to see some of these songs had been resurrected.
GH: Well, when Robert invited me into this band, which started in 2014, this seven-piece band with three drummers, right from the first phone call he said, “Look, there’s going to be three drummers, you’re going to be down the front of the stage, we’ll be set up on a riser behind you, we’re going to play lots of old stuff, we’re going to play some new stuff,” and that was that.
I didn’t know what I was expecting. I wasn’t expecting any of it, to be honest. So unless he’s written a new album or something, I assumed it would be calling on older material. In the 2008 band, we didn’t play much of the older material at all. I think we might have played Larks II and Red — maybe two, possibly three songs from the early catalogue. In the 2008 band, we played a lot of the ’80s/’90s material that Adrian was part of.
MG: Now that you’ve been in King Crimson for a while, have you become a fan of the band as well? Would you go back and investigate it on your own time if you had no involvement in it?
GH: Well, what I like about the band is that it’s got a very modern attitude, which is obviously led from Robert, in that anything’s possible. If I woke up in the middle of the night with a mad idea, the craziest idea I could ever come up with, I’m sure I could find a way to use it in King Crimson. You can’t really say that’s true of almost any other band on the planet. So there’s nothing you can’t play. I think the thing that would sound out of context is anything obvious or mundane. That’s the thing that would start to stick out like a sore thumb. But mad, crazy ideas are very welcome in King Crimson. I can’t say I’ve been in a band before where you could just turn up with the craziest of ideas and say, “Hey guys, can I fit this in somewhere?” (Laughs) There’s always opportunity somewhere in some place that you could use whatever your imagination can come up with.
MG: Were you surprised that the 2008 lineup didn’t end up doing more? Did it feel like unfinished business?
GH: Yeah, I think the plan was to play more concerts. We actually only ever did 11 concerts. We rehearsed for about six weeks and we played 11 concerts. I think there was a plan to play the following year, but it fell apart.
MG: Did you have faith back then that the band would come back and that you would be back in it?
GH: Yes. I mean, at that point I was playing in the gaps of Porcupine Tree. So about the first eight months or nine months of 2009, I think there was a large hole in the Porcupine Tree calendar where I could have worked again during that year. But as I said, it fell apart quite soon after we stopped playing in 2008, so it really didn’t become a problem.
MG: Then when the (Jakszyk/Fripp/Collins) Scarcity of Miracles album surfaced, did you have a strong suspicion that King Crimson would follow from it?
GH: No, not at all. No, I thought that was just going to be a little project that came and went. Until Robert called me in I think September 2013, there was no talk of King Crimson coming back. I mean, I was surprised when I got the phone call, because as far as I knew he had virtually retired to deal with the business angle of King Crimson — certain problems he’d had with different companies. He was not working as a guitarist at that point, and therefore King Crimson didn’t exist. But as he resolved his issues I guess he thought, “Why don’t I restart King Crimson, but with a fresh start, with a new idea?”
MG: Yeah, I think it’s the only way King Crimson can come back, right? It never looks or sounds like what came before.
GH: Yeah. I mean, we play old material, but this is nothing like a tribute band. We don’t faithfully reproduce note for note those old songs. They’re our new take on those old pieces.
MG: I feel like I have to ask you about your take on the future of Porcupine Tree, if there is a future. I interviewed Steven Wilson a few months ago, and he made it sound as if the band may be over.
GH: (Laughs) Yeah, I mean, we haven’t split up, is what I can say. I think we’ll come back one day. I don’t know when that day will be. I see Steve … I saw Steve today. We live quite close, we’re good buddies, and it’s not off the menu. But there’s no plan right at this second that I could mention. We’ll be back at some point, I believe. But obviously he’s quite busy with his solo career, and I’m quite busy doing King Crimson. And I believe the other guys are pretty busy doing their thing too, so it couldn’t be something we could put on together very quickly anyway.
The Complete Conversation is an occasional series where the Montreal Gazette publishes full transcripts of interviews with musicians.
jzivitz@montrealgazette.com
twitter.com/jordanzivitzFormed in 1995 (as Umlaut), and filled with a very diverse and revolving group of musicians, Puscifer is a band fronted by veteran hard rock singer Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) and whose touring lineup is comprised of Maynard James Keenan (vocals), Carina Round (Guitar, Banjitar, Tambourine), Mat Mitchell (lead guitar), Jeff Friedl (Drums, Samples), Mahsa Zargaran (Keyboards, Samples, Guitar, Backing Vocals) and Paul Barker (bass).
Labeled by Maynard as a product of his “collective subconscious”, the folks in Puscifer are currently gearing up for Round Two of their Money $hot Tour, bringing their highly stylized and theatric live show across the states for a second time. We recently had an opportunity to speak to the band’s Lead Guitarist, and co-songwriter Mat Mitchell about the tour and his thought’s on the band’s evolution and many other exciting topics. Also, in an AltWire first, we reached out to the band’s fans on Reddit and curated a range of questions to ask Mat during our interview.
Check out what Mat had to say below!
AW: It’s been almost five years since Conditions of my Parole and almost three years since Donkey Punch. Each album seems to take a very measured step forward. Does that come naturally?
Mat: Yeah absolutely I think we’ve learned from each record, and each tour and the relationships have kind of developed over time. It’s a natural progression for sure.
AW: Branching off, do you see “Money Shot” as the progression of the sound that was expressed in “Conditions of My Parole” or something entirely different?
Mat: A progression probably. There are certainly elements that are similar, but it wasn’t intentional. Anything that is similar or different [to Conditions of My Parole] was not intentional or deliberately thought about. It was a natural progression and a very organic step to where we are now.
AW: We’ve seen videos of the band recording in Maynard’s wine cellar. Does this mean that Puscifer writes and records year round?
Mat: It’s definitely year round but it’s not always there. Sometimes it’s in LA, and sometimes it’s at the wine cellar, but it all depends on what’s happening in everyone’s lives. It’s really nice to work in that environment, just because it’s such a different environment than working in a studio. Being up in the mountains and away from a big city just puts you in a different head space and we find that it’s a real creative environment, and that we get a lot done when we’re out there.
AW: Acoustically, what’s it like to record in the Caduceus Wine Cellar?
Mat: In a studio everything is controlled and out there it’s very wide open. It’s made for something completely different, so it comes with benefits and drawbacks. The key is just finding where it benefits and taking advantage of it. The drum sounds are amazing because there are a lot of concrete and round wooden barrels so we get a pretty amazing drum sound out there.
AW: When recording, do you approach the programming with a plan already in mind for how to reproduce certain textures live with other instruments: i.e., guitar, bass, synth, etc.?
Mat: I certainly have thought about it but I try not to write or produce thinking too much about how it’s going to be interpreted live. Because I don’t want to not do something just because of that. I don’t want to put those kinds of restrictions. When we’re making a record we just focus on making it as good as we can and exactly what we want it to be, and then we interpret it later when it comes time to do it live. It becomes a fun challenge and an exciting thing to do to listen to it and figure out how we’re going to interpret it and what things we’re going to try to reproduce and what things we’re going to change to make it more fitting for a live show. I certainly think about it on occasion but usually we try to keep it separate.
AW: During the songwriting process, does the music or lyrics come first usually? How long does it normally take from the initial writing to the final cut of recording?
Mat: It varies. Sometimes I’ll present music and Maynard will write to it, and sometimes he’ll present lyrics, or a line, or a story and then we’ll work together. As far as time it really depends. We’re kind of always throwing ideas down, but it’s not always with the intention of immediately turning it into a song. There’s ideas that may sit for two or three years before they get on the table for any sort of dissection. Then there’s other songs where Maynard will be like ‘oh I’ve got a vocal idea’ or I’ll be like ‘I’ve got a guitar idea’ and then the song is done in a day. So anything from 2-3 years to 24 hours!
“I’m really proud of the show we’re doing now, and I really want to play this show in front of as many people as we can. It seems like people are enjoying it and I couldn’t ask for anything more…”
AW: How does having a revolving line-up of various musicians affect recording in the studio and live performances from the band’s perspective?
Mat: I really enjoy it because we can do whatever we want. If there’s someone that’s going to bring something to the table that’s different than what someone earlier brought to the table, there’s no ego or no feelings that are going to be hurt. We know that it’s all about the bigger picture, so as a producer it’s great. I can call on this person for ‘this thing’ and this person for ‘that thing’ and the palette of artists becomes way bigger. I think it makes for better songs and for a better fuller ‘big picture’, and I think it’s just a lot more interesting that way.
AW: How do you come up with the themes for the videos and live shows? Like the current running Luchador wrestler theme. Who’s the wrestling fan in the band?
Mat: [laughs] Well we all are, and there’s kind of been a recurring theme from the last record and from the EP where we started introducing a bit of that, so we wanted to expand on it. As far as artwork and videos and things like that, Maynard and I both throw in ideas and we brainstorm on what things might be cool, and what stories we want to tell, and how we’d like the flow to go from act to act and how we’d want the show to progress. We just kind of weed it down and go from there. Again, working with other artists and kind of going back to your last question about the different musicians, it’s the same with different visual artists and people working on the different story ideas and with all the different additional talent we have working on the live shows, we kind of have just left our doors open. We’ve always been open to trying different things and we’ve gotten lucky.
AW: What is it like creating a persona to have on stage? How much of yourselves (the band) is coming out?
Mat: I think everyone is pretty much themselves. There’s certainly a bit of theatrical elements that we bring to make it a little more interesting than being ourselves, but I think everyone’s pretty grounded in just doing their thing. Certainly Maynard and Carina have to bring more energy and theatrics because they’re the frontrunners, so there’s more of their personality being displayed.
AW: Can we get a rig rundown of your live setup, specifically which pedals you run through your midi controller, and if you select your Fender and Marshall one at a time or run them simultaneously?
Mat: The main amp is the Fender. A lot of people think ‘Fender clean, Marshall dirty’ and that’s not how I do it. The Fender is 90% of the sound, it’s a Fender Vibro-King and occasionally if I want something a little more ‘mid’ focused I’ll switch to the Marshall or blend the two. As far pedals go, I use a tube screamer and an old Boss Fuzz pedal, and just the normal stuff. A lot of Boss pedals, which kind of surprised me. We were working the Conditions record and over the years I had become a bit of a pedal collector like most guitarists. I’ve got all these boutique fuzz pedals, and all these things that I think are going to be amazing but then I’m finding myself gravitating back towards a lot of the Boss pedals. Some of those things just can’t be beat. Even in my live rig, there’s a couple of ‘boutiquey’ things but the majority of them are Boss pedals. Then I have a Fender Esquire guitar, and a Jerry Jones Bass 6. A lot of people ask what the longhorn black guitar is and it’s Jerry Jones Bass 6. It’s really good for that ‘spaghetti’ kind of stuff, the in-between an a bass and guitar octave ‘noodly’ type stuff. It’s really cool for that.
AW: I hope you don’t mind me doing so, but I’d like to go back to the Bataclan attacks last year. The band performed a show in New Haven, CT shortly after the ISIS attacks in Paris where your bandmate Matt McJunkins was held hostage. During the show Maynard said that he, “barely made it through the show.” Would you be willing to describe what it was like playing that show and performing those songs? Did the band ever consider cancelling the show?
Mat: I don’t mind talking about it. [At first] there was the initial finding out that there is something going on, and knowing that your friends are in the city, and then actually finding out that there are things going on in the building that they are in. It was a roller coaster, because these are your loved ones and you want them to be safe, so we were all on the edge of our seats and trying to get any information that we could. We were very happy to find out that he was safe and that most of the band and their entourage were fine. So you’re happy, but also you’re shocked and it kind of hits you. I don’t think anyone was considering cancelling the show or anything, just because you’ve got to keep moving. You can’t just stop because something bad happened.
During the show there were just certain songs and lyrics, you know, where you’re playing the song and you’re thinking about what your friend went through, or what the people who didn’t make it went through and it’s just an emotional thing. We never considered canceling and it wasn’t something where we went into it thinking about how it was going to affect us. We all just kind of dealt with it how we did, and I think that’s part of the healing too. Getting through it and having those emotions, you know?
AW: Absolutely, and I just wanted to thank you for being willing to revisit that. I know a few of our readers wanted to know your thoughts on the incident, and your openness to discuss it is appreciated. Going back to your own music…will Puscifer continue to try and release something on a fairly regular schedule or do you see future projects coming to fruition if only the time is right for everyone?
Mat: It kind of just revolves around what’s happening at the time, and what’s going on and who’s doing what. We’re constantly being creative and working on things, and it’s usually a year out or a few months out where we’ll be like ‘hey why don’t we put out a record this year’, you know, and then we’ll take all of those ideas and start finalizing and consolidating and developing things. As far as doing it any more regularly, I don’t know. It just depends on what kind of time we have, and what we’re feeling at that point. We don’t really have a schedule outside of this record, or this tour, and we’re kind of going from there. Maynard’s busy with his wine and he has a couple of bands that he does, so he’s super busy and everyone else has their own things too. It just depends on when everything aligns and when it seems like a good time for everybody.
AW: What’s something you would like to accomplish with puscifer? What do you hope to see in the year ahead?
Mat: As far as what I’d like to accomplish, I’m very happy with the record we put out. That’s an accomplishment that I’m really proud of and I just want to keep on making good records, and good music. I’m really proud of the show we’re doing now, and I really want to play this show in front of as many people as we can. It seems like people are enjoying it and I couldn’t ask for anything more. I just want to keep on doing what we’re doing and hopefully people will keep on enjoying it.
UP NEXT ON PAGE 2 – AltWire Reddit Bonus Round: Your Questions Answered…A traditional Korean fan dance was one of the many performances at a gala dinner sponsored by Samsung on Aug. 6 during the IKAA gathering in Seoul, South Korea.
Adopted as a 4-month-old from South Korea and raised by parents of Norwegian and Greek ancestry in Minnesota, Chelsea Katsaros spent most of her life among people who didn't quite look like her.
So when she had the chance to visit the country of her birth a few months ago, she embraced it. It led her to return again earlier this month as part of gathering of more than 500 international adoptees, many looking to dig into their cultural roots, make new friends and share common experiences.
Chelsea Katsaros, 28, of Minneapolis Kaomi Goetz for MPR News
"It feels amazing," said Katsaros, 28, a University of Minnesota genetics student, as she looked over the Seoul skyline from her hotel room. "It feels just like it did when I came the first time, just that instant peace... because everywhere I looked it was people that resembled myself, facial features [and] skin tone."
That sensation of seeing people who look like you is something many adoptees from South Korea say is so special about returning. Many grew up in communities that racially reflected white adoptive parents; they often felt isolated within their families and communities.
"Even though I tried my hardest to fit in with white culture, and act white and be white, the fact at the end of the day was I was still Asian. I was still Korean," Katsaros said. "That caused a lot of identity issues growing up, for sure."
Some 200,000 South Korean children have been adopted internationally since the 1950s. Most were sent to the United States or Europe. University of Minnesota researchers estimate as many as 15,000 adoptees came to Minnesota.
The adoptions first began in post-war South Korea by evangelists who sought to save children from poverty and neglect as a result of displaced families or unwed mothers with children fathered by U.S. servicemen. But the program expanded and adoptions soared. By the mid-1980s, nearly 9,000 children a year were sent overseas for adoption.
Today, that number has been drastically reduced to just a few hundred annually, in part due to a 2012 revision of the country's adoption law that tightened requirements for adoption and ensured more children were registered properly. People trying to eliminate the need for international adoptions from South Korea say there still isn't enough being done to support single mothers who want to be able to keep their children.
Today, more than 90 percent of children adopted internationally are born to single moms. Government support in 2007 for single parents (unmarried or divorced) was only about $70 a child per month, according to the Korean Unwed Mothers Families Association. By contrast, orphanages received $1,050 a child per month, foster parents $250 a child per month.
A group of international Korean adoptees wait in line to buy tickets to see a baseball game in Seoul on Aug. 3. Kaomi Goetz for MPR News
During the height of Korea's adoption program in the 1990s, a critical mass of adoptees became adults in the U.S. and in Europe. They started advocating for a larger voice in how the public portrayed adoption and adoptees. These adult adoptees recognized a need to congregate and be understood by other adoptees. In 1999, about 400 adoptees met for the first time in Washington, D.C.; another 200 met in Oslo, Norway, in 2001.
In 2004, the International Korean Adoptee Association launched what's become a gathering of adoptees every three years, including earlier this month in Seoul. Events include trips to adoption agencies for birth search inquiries and a gala dinner, sponsored by South Korean electronics giant Samsung.
IKAA has its critics. Some wanted a panel where South Korean birth mothers talked of their grief and loss when their children were adopted. Others wanted a discussion on whether an affluent country like South Korea should still be sending children to be adopted internationally. But they weren't allowed to be part of the conference. IKAA declined to comment for this story.
Despite those concerns, the gatherings have become an important place for adoptees to strengthen their South Korean bonds as they work through new challenges as adults.
Katsaros, for instance, realized in her teens that she was gay. The gulf with her deeply religious parents grew as Katsaros learned to accept who she was. Eventually, Katsaros had to sever the relationship altogether.
"Many of us are getting older and as we move through the life course, we have different pertinent issues as adoptees. And then our children and our partners start to take more precedence," said Carleton College adoption scholar and South Korean adoptee Elizabeth Raleigh. "But I think it's amazing now that it's not just international in terms of the gathering, but also [it's] multi-generational."
Ben Nodland, 32, grew up in Lakeville. Kaomi Goetz for MPR News
It's important for adoptees to come together to talk through their experiences "and share the struggles we go through," Ben Nodland, a 32-year old who grew up Lakeville, said he stood outside a baseball stadium in Seoul where he and other adoptees were about to watch a game between the LG Twins and the Doosan Bears.
This most recent gathering gave Margie Rask of Coon Rapids the opportunity to finally come back to South Korea since being adopted in 1971, and to bring her 19-year old daughter. The trip, she said, changed her.
"I'm going to try a little at the language, because it feels so wrong that I'm not able to understand as many words as I think I should," she said. "And I will definitely be back to Seoul."
Kaomi Goetz is a Korean-American journalist living in South Korea as a Fulbright scholar who writes on adoption issues.Wysocki Flies To Third Straight NT Win At Beaver State Fling
Allen's big birdie putt gives her playoff win over Pierce
Fifteen hours.
After a heartbreaking, 18th-hole loss at the European Open, Ricky Wysocki had to pile his discs and his pride in a plane and fly 15 hours back to Portland, Oregon, where the Beaver State Fling waited just a few days later.
As Wysocki tells it, though, that uncomfortable half-day wasn’t just an opportunity to catch up on some sleep or forget about his sorrows amid the drone of a flight cabin. He used it to get better.
“After the [European Open] tournament I was definitely bummed out because of the way it ended,” Wysocki said. “I put myself in that situation and I wanted to capitalize and win, obviously. Coming home, it makes it that much harder having to fly 15 hours back to the States knowing I’d just lost like that. I was using that as motivation to fuel my fire for this weekend and really propel me forward into the tournament that I played this weekend.”
Maybe some |
best if you stopped trying to talk. I'll do the talking for you.
"..."
I'm the storyteller. I can read your mind with ease. Believe me, I wish I couldn't, it's fucking up in there. So, also, no funny business, I'll see. Anyway, Roman, do you know where you are?
"I roughly know where I am. I do not know WHY I'm here though. But what I do know is that this is a dangerous place for someone as well-dressed as me. I hope my clothes don't get dirty or stolen."
First of all, you're in a vision. Nobody can see you and no, your clothes won't get dirty. Secondly, did you forget about the story?"
"Yeah, I... Wait a minute. Are you telling me that Perry lives in this wretched neighborhood?"
Well... yeah! Are you surprised?
"Of course I am! Why doesn't he buy a house in a better neighborhood?"
With what money? You don't give him a lot to start with. He has to take care of 6 children and his wife. His medical bills are through the roof because he's sick all the time because he feels too cold at work and then there's another reason, which Neo would like for you to see for yourself.
Roman noticed that Neo started walking. It started raining and Neo held her parasol up, which was ironic for two reasons. It was just a vision and a parasol... for the rain... They arrived at a house which was even smaller than the rest, way too small to house 8 people.
Roman hesitated to look through the window. Neo saw this, grabbed him by his neck and pushed him to the window. When Roman recovered and looked inside, he couldn't comprehend what he was. He only saw little furniture. A table that was too small, not enough chairs for all of them, only two closets and the tiniest Christmas tree he had ever seen. He was also surprised by the little food they had. He suddenly remembered "Tiny Tim" in Dickens' story and indeed, Perry also had a crippled son. Only... his son did not have one but two legs missing. So he had to go through life in a wheelchair. Roman wondered how they kept paying for this at all.
"I'm so ashamed. I... didn't know. Why didn't he say anything?"
People are afraid of you. They are afraid because they think they'll be killed when they're in your way too much. He was also convinced you'd do nothing anyway.
"Do I really have that effect on people?"
Obviously... Well that was it, time for the last one.
Roman woke up. He was dizzy, but further hand shot up to his forehead, expecting a deep hole dead center between his eyebrows. Still no pain from the stab, not even a wound from it. He stood up and saw that Neo was still there, she bowed. Roman decided that he needed a feminine hug and approached her. However, as soon as he touched her, she shattered.
He had no time to be amazed, for he heard sounds in the fireplace, which had magically extinguished itself. Something fell from the chimney into the fireplace. From a red puff of smoke, which must have been dust, the final guest emerged.
"Hello Roman, I see that your night has been rough already," Cinder said.
"And I see you still traverse the rooftops in a weird fashion."
Cinder looked at him angrily. She took a card and read it: "Good evening, I will be representing the ghost of Christmas yet to come as my plans in the future involve you... UH, I have no time for this shit!"
Well, you know what to do."
Cinder grabbed a bottle of black dust. Roman was afraid and wanted to run away. But before he could do that, he had inhaled the dust already and instantly collapsed on the floor.
His third vision had the worst setting of them all. The trees had no leaves, it was raining and the clouds darkened the sky. It was not helping that he was standing in what appeared to be a graveyard. Cinder was nowhere to be seen. He noticed some people in the distance and decided to investigate.
Once he got closer, he realized it was a funeral. He recognized the local reverend and a few of his "business partners". The reverend was preaching and the other men were discussing who would get what of the deceased person's possessions, if Roman heard correctly. Apparently this person had no loved ones who bothered to show up and/or someone who had the right to claim his inheritance.
"Boy, I'd like to know who this poor person was."
Suddenly, he felt Cinder's hand touch his shoulder. "Take a look. Gravestones usually show the name."
When Roman looked, he immediately regretted he did. For the gravestone displayed "Roman Torchwick" and the date of tomorrow as the date where he died.
"NO! This is impossible! I cannot die so soon!"
"Yes you can, and you will too. You should have been more friendly to people."
"No, I can change, I WILL change. Just give me another chance."
"I'm afraid it's too late for that. See you in hell!" With those words, Cinder pushed Roman.
Roman fell over and into his own grave, which seemed to have opened a gate to the pits of Tartarus itself. He was terrified and screamed: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Roman woke up in his bed, as if it was all a dream. He was even convinced it was one at the start. He was obviously still alive and not in hell. He decided to get up and that's when he noticed the first clue that proved it had all been real. He'd slept with this clothes on, while he normally does that in his pajamas. This activated his curiosity. He went down to his living room. He immediately saw a bit of black dust lying on the floor.. He could only conclude that it was all real, as far as it was real anyway, with the visions and all that. He wished he could verify it somehow.
"Cinder?" No reaction, of course, she was long gone. She would have stood out with her stealth clothes in the light.
"Storyteller? dude?" I decided it would be best not to respond.
"Great, so when I actually need them, they're not here." Roman said, obviously a bit frustrated.
Nonetheless, he actually felt something he had kind of forgotten that it existed, it was that long ago that he felt it. That feeling was cheer. He was glad that he didn't die and decided to not let this second chance go away. He needed some human contact so he decided to hit the town, and, more specifically, his shop. On the way to his destination, he passed his niece's house and remembered the invitation. He got a crazy idea and approached the door. He rang the bell and luckily it was Ruby herself who answered the door.
"Uncle Roman, what are you doing here?" She sounded genuinely surprised because he never visited her.
"I just came by quickly to tell you that I've changed my mind about the party. I'd be delighted to come. Here's money for the extra supplies you need."
"Uncle? Are you alright?" Ruby asked because her uncle was not being himself.
"Yeah, I feel great. In fact, I've never felt greater." He said in his, now, always cheerful voice. "Eh look, I gotta go. See you at the party?"
"Ehm... yeah sure. Don't forget, it starts at 8 pm. Thanks for the money!"
With that done, Roman continued on his path, feeling even better. When he arrived at his shop, he was not surprised to find it open. He had forced that poor Perry to work on Christmas. He needed to set things straight.
"Perry!"
"Yes sir?" Perry, of course, was frightened by his boss. The following took him completely by surprise.
"Why are you working? It's Christmas!"
"Because you said I would get fired if I didn't."
"Did I now? Well... that was foolish of me. Go home, celebrate Christmas. I'll close the shop, I just need to order that heating you wanted."
"Sir...? Are you alright?"
"Why does everyone keep asking that? Of course, I feel perfectly fine"
"Well, it's just, you're not really being yourself."
"Are people not allowed to change?"
""Uh…That sounds Great, sir!". Merry Christmas?"
"Merry Christmas, Perry! Oh wait, before you go I have a few announcements to make. Since business is going so well, I've decided to give you a raise and a Christmas Bonus. Also, how would you feel about me coming to your house to share a proper Christmas lunch? My treat, of course."
"Great!"
"Well, it's settled then. Expect me around noon?"
"Sounds good, I guess I'll see you then." Unsure of what to think but reluctant to pass up this wonderful opportunity, Perry left.
Roman finished doing his business and when he was locking the door, he saw Sun and Neptune walking on the other side of the street. It was very hard to miss a blue-haired boy and his monkey Faunus friend. He ran up to them.
"Hey guys!" Roman yelled to them.
Sun and Neptune looked back to see who it was, but when they realized it was Roman, they continued walking.
"Hey, wait up!"
"What is it that you want from us? Do you want to tell us that charity is 'humbug' again?" Sun snarled.
"No not at all, I would like to donate 10,000 Lien, if that's alright with you."
"10,000 Lien? Of course we're alright with that, Mr Torchwick. Here's the account number where you can deposit the money. Sorry for what I said."
"Oh no need to apologize, I was acting like a jerk earlier. Anyway boys, I've got a lot of shopping to do, so I'll see you later. Check that bank account for the money, in case I forget, Ok? Merry Christmas!
"Certainly Mr. Torchwick. Merry Christmas to you too."
To not forget about the 10,000 lien he immediately went down to the bank and made the transaction. Afterwards, he went shopping. He bought a Turkey and all kinds of other food stuff that was typical for Christmas. Then, he went to the toy store and bought some toys for Perry's 6 children. He also made sure to have a bigger Christmas tree delivered to Perry's house.
When he arrived at Perry's house with the food and the toys, the family was very grateful to Roman. They had the best Christmas ever, thanks to him. They all enjoyed playing with the toys and eating the food. Roman spent some time with Ricky, Perry's equivalent of "Tiny Tim". They became best buddies and Roman decided to financially support the little boy. He also assured Perry that he could rent some money from him, no rates, if he desired to buy a new house. After that day, Roman came to Perry's house many times to play and care for "Tiny Rick."
He also held his promise to Ruby and made it to the party at 8 pm. He made up with her friend Blake, and became a backer for Faunus rights. In the years that followed, Roman became famous for being the most generous man in town. Because he finally saw the error in his way of life, he changed his funeral dramatically. He did not die on Christmas of that year, he actually survived for many more years. And there were no businessmen discussing his inheritance on his funeral, there were people who actually cared about him. Roman finally understood the true meaning of Christmas.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed my fan fiction. I did not originally plan for it to be kinda silly or this long but right now I'm glad that I did. I'm not sure if I can actually win /r/RWBY's Monthly Contest with this but I would be glad if it did. If not, well I'm still glad that I made this. If you indeed enjoyed this, you know what to do.
EDIT: Some improvements to grammar, vocabulary and other bits. Thanks to Falcon for editing.On April 21, Mr. Quint accidentally left a Stradivarius violin, valued at $4 million, in the back seat of a cab that he took from the airport to Manhattan on his return from a performance in Dallas. After several frantic hours, the Newark police told him the violin had been found and was at the airport taxi stand with the cabdriver who had taken him home. The two connected, and the violin was returned.
“Anybody out here would have done the same thing,” said the driver, Mohammed Khalil, waving a hand at his laughing, dancing colleagues.
The city of Newark awarded Mr. Khalil, who has driven a taxi here since 1985, a Medallion, its highest honor. Mr. Quint gave him a $100 tip when the violin was returned, but he wanted to do more, so he arranged for Tuesday’s concert in a parking-lot-turned-theater.
Clad in black, with his dark hair falling over his closed eyes, Mr. Quint dazzled the crowd with a theme from the movie “The Red Violin”; Gershwin’s “It Ain’t Necessarily So”; a Paganini Variation; and the Meditation from Massenet’s opera “Thaïs.” Joined by his friend Michael Bacon, a guitarist (and the brother of the actor Kevin Bacon), Mr. Quint played a piece they had composed, “Seduction Blues.”
On the horizon, there was the blocky spire that was the air traffic control tower. Every now and then a seagull would alight on one of the trailers where the cabbies play dominoes during their wait for fares. Occasionally, a silhouetted plane would glide by overhead, providing a rumbling accompaniment to the music.
But despite the setting — or maybe because of it — Mr. Quint’s audience seemed particularly moved by his gesture.
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“I like that he came here,” Ebenezer Sarpeh, 46, said, in the accent of his native Ghana. “And, yeah, the music, I like it.”
It was Mr. Sarpeh who burst into spontaneous applause on several occasions and started yelling “magic fingers” during one particularly deft moment. Later, he took a turn in front of the stage and his fellow cabdrivers laughed and cheered while he shimmied and moonwalked, the Newark Taxi Cab Association’s answer to Justin Timberlake.
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Like many of the cabdrivers in attendance, Mr. Sarpeh said it was the first recital by a classical violinist that he had ever attended. A few confessed that they had little more than a passing familiarity with such music. But they were proud to surround Mr. Khalil, who sat front row center in a black suit with a pink shirt and matching tie.
“If one cabby does something good, we feel like we all do something good,” said Patrick Cosmeus, 43, who has been driving for a decade and seemed a little sheepish as he admitted that he had seldom found anything more valuable than a forgotten cellphone in his taxi. “But everything we find, we always return it,” he added.
“Everything we find is valuable to someone,” Mr. Khalil pointed out. “If you lost your pen, you would think it was valuable.”
The violin that Mr. Quint left behind, which had been lent by two benefactors, was still being inspected for any problems from its journey, so he played the Tuesday program on a Guarneri.
Afterward, Mr. Quint posed for photographs with Mr. Khalil, whom he has also invited to a September concert at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. As he signed autographs, he retold the story of his lost violin and its triumphant return.
“He saw how distressed I was,” Mr. Quint said of Mr. Khalil. “He just gave it back to me and he noticed I was in no condition to go home by myself. So he said, ‘Why don’t I give you a ride home?’ I said, ‘No, no, it’s OK, I’ll take a bus, I’ll take another taxi. He said, ‘No, I’m happy to give you a ride back, because you’re my last customer.’”
As he had planned for months, Mr. Khalil retired from driving a cab the day he took Mr. Quint home.Share
It sounds like we can all take a breath and forget about robot attacks occurring — at least anytime soon. Robots turning against their makers is a common theme in science fiction. However, there’s “no cause for concern that AI poses an imminent threat to humanity,” according to Fast Company, citing the first report from the One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence (AI100).
The Stanford University-hosted project represents a standing committee of AI scientists. The AI100 project is ongoing but will not issue reports annually — the next one will be published “in a few years.” The first report, Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030, downloadable at this link, looks at how advances in AI will make a difference in the U.S. between now and 2030. Areas of change explored by the report include transportation, healthcare, education, the workplace, and policing and public safety.
Autonomous transportation will be the first experience many people will have with AI in which trust in safety and reliability will be required. That first experience could be key, according to the report. “Autonomous transportation will soon be commonplace and, as most people’s first experience with physically embodied AI systems, will strongly influence the public’s perception of AI.”
AI in heath care will gradually help physicians with data computation tasks. The ability to gain insight from massive amounts of data is a natural application of artificial intelligence. Robots may also deliver supplies to various locations, but humans will still be needed for actual placement in rooms, for at least 15 years, the report says.
Policing and law enforcement use of AI will concentrate on scanning, classifying, and evaluating data from sensors and from communications forms such as social media. Applications will be in crime prevention and prosecution. “There is significant work on crowd simulations to determine how crowds can be controlled. At the same time, legitimate concerns have been raised about the potential for law enforcement agencies to overreach and use such tools to violate people’s privacy.”
The report concludes with the authors’ statement that they see no cause for concern for humanity in the near future. According to University of Texas computer scientist Peter Stone, the lead author of the report, some people get concerned that “All of a sudden robots will now be able to do a lot of things we don’t want them to do and they’ll be able to do them spontaneously.”
However, the ability for robots to be self-determined and concerned with their own longevity is a leap far beyond current interest or capabilities. “Any technology has upsides and potential downsides and can be used by people in evil ways,” Stone said. “On balance, I’m highly optimistic that artificial intelligence technologies are going to improve the world.”Evacuation of most civilians will give commanders leeway to use air-to-ground missiles which have enraged Afghans
Ten of thousands of Afghan civilians are abandoning an area of central Helmland where UK and US forces are set to launch one of the biggest operations of the year.
The evacuation of most civilians from the town of Marjah and surrounding areas will give commanders greater leeway to use mortars-and-air-to ground missiles which have enraged Afghans in the past when responsible for civilian deaths.
US generals have unusually made no secret of their plan for a major onslaught against the town close to Helmand's besieged provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.
Larry Nicholson, commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force which will spearhead the fight, has said he is "not looking for a fair fight".
Marjah is regarded as a stronghold of both Taliban insurgents and drug trafficking networks which must be removed to "protect" the people who live there. But so far the warnings have only had the effect of encouraging civilians to flee.
Abdul Salam, who has an extended family of 14 in the Marjah area, said his village looked almost deserted as most of its families had left for the cities of Lashkar Gah, Kandahar and Herat.
"They just picked up their jewellery and other small valuables and left everything behind," he said.
However, some civilians had remained because they could not afford to leave.
"People know they cannot protect everything, and they are more concerned about saving their lives than their houses. The people cannot protect their country from the infidels, so how can we protect our houses?"
The counterinsurgency plan pushed by Stanley McChrystal, the US commander of all Nato forces in Afghanistan, aims not to alienate the population. But a Marjah resident, an elder reached by phone, who was not prepared to give his name, said he had evacuated his family a week ago because he feared "the worst attack ever".
"Always when they storm a village the foreign troops never care about civilian casualties at all. And at the end of the day they report the deaths of women and children as the deaths of Taliban," he said.
A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, as the Nato troops are known, said that the main reason for publicity for the operation was to encourage insurgents to leave, but if civilians were also encouraged to evacuate that would be "helpful".
Most of the extra 30,000 US troops earmarked for the Afghan campaign will support Nato efforts in areas where the alliance has a presence, in a bid to keep insurgents out of villages. The battle for Marjah will therefore be a relatively rare push into an area not yet cleared of insurgents.
It is regarded as particularly important because an estimated 100,000 people live in the area – a relatively dense population for a largely desert province dotted with rural communities.
Marjah is also on the south-western doorstep of Lashkar Gah, home to the headquarters of the British military and civilian efforts in the province.
The fraught security in Lashkar Gah was highlighted yesterday when a motorbike packed with explosives detonated close to a crowd gathered on the city outskirts to watch a dog fight; it killed at least three people and injured at least 26, including seven children.Deaths among children and adolescents became less common between 1990 and 2015, but not all countries benefited equally from the improvements, according to a new analysis.
Countries with low social and economic statuses shoulder a much larger child and adolescent mortality burden than do countries with better income, education and fertility levels, researchers found.
“The relative difference between the best and the worst is growing,” said Nicholas Kassebaum of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Kassebaum and dozens of other researchers in the Global Burden of Disease Child and Adolescent Health Collaboration analyzed data from 195 countries on children and adolescents through age 19.
The number of deaths in that age group fell from about 14.2 million in 1990 to about 7.2 million in 2015, the researchers write in JAMA Pediatrics.
Countries at all social and economic levels experienced a decline in child and adolescent death rates. But the proportion of those deaths that happened in countries at the lower end of the spectrum grew over time.
Specifically, countries with the lowest social and economic statuses accounted for almost 75 percent of all deaths among children and adolescents in 2015, compared with 61 percent in 1990.
The most common causes of death included complications after premature birth, lower respiratory tract infections and swelling of the brain.
The study can’t say why countries with lower social and economic statuses didn’t benefit as much over the years, but Kassebaum suggested some reasons.
For example, he said, countries made great strides over the years reducing infections and improving neonatal outcomes, but some countries have not been able to make those and other public health interventions universal.
Also, public-health advances in wealthier countries may not reach countries at the other end of the spectrum.
“Those advances haven’t been passed on to middle-income countries and certainly not to low-income countries,” Kassebaum said.
Christopher Sudfeld and Wafaie Fawzi of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health point out in an accompanying editorial that global deaths among children younger than 5 were cut in half between 1990 to 2015 but that the world is lagging in reducing the number of stillbirths and deaths among newborns.
“Additional financial and intellectual investments in adolescent health are also necessary to promote health behaviors and reduce risks that can have lifelong implications for adolescents, their families and their communities,” they write.Get the biggest daily news stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
As the cold winter weather makes many of us dream of escaping to the sun, new research has revealed just what that longed-for break does to your body.
Many of us flee to foreign climes in search of a break from the stresses and strains of everyday life.
But the run up to a holiday can actually put us under more pressure as we scramble to get all our work done in time.
Research from Club Med shows that before a break, adds to your stress levels, which sends more adrenaline into your nervous system, increasing your heart rate and blood pressure.
(Image: Club Med)
This rush to cram in your workload before you leave can reduce the strength of your immune system, meaning you are more likely to catch colds from other passengers when you eventually board the plane for your journey.
For one in 30 holiday makers, the sudden transition from stress to relaxation causes 'leisure sickness', making them complain of colds, stomach aches and high blood pressure.
Upon arriving at your destination, almost half of the UK population feel relaxed, but it takes the other half a little longer to start to wind down.
By day three and with the help of more sunlight, your body will release serotonin, which helps to lower blood pressure.
With the extra rays of sunshine, your body also produces endorphins to lift your mood.
Read more : Why you always get ill on holiday and how to fight it when you do
(Image: Getty)
(Image: REUTERS)
In addition, Brits will get an extra hour’s sleep compared to at home, so for most, feeling completely refreshed will happen by day four at the latest.
By the end of your trip you return happier, more refreshed and sleeping better, but the effects last only four days before you become your usual stressed self again.
Estelle Giraudeau, Managing Director at Club Med UK says: "By day four on holiday your body is completely relaxed, but to get to that point it seems we put our bodies through a lot of stress.
"Holidays are a great mood booster, especially the anticipation of booking.
"When you return from holiday, research shows we keep the feel-good notion for a few weeks, before finally relapsing into our pre-holiday state within four weeks of our return."Jerry Zgoda, yesterday, in response to a question about the Bjelica negotiations:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/tximista64">@tximista64</a> It's done, becomes official on Thursday when moratorium ends</p>— Jerry Zgoda (@JerryZgoda) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryZgoda/status/617385181641453568">July 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Later he tweeted:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">All this $ thrown around last 3 days won't complicate Wolves' negotiations w/ KG & Bjelica, I'm told. They're already well down that road</p>— Jerry Zgoda (@JerryZgoda) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryZgoda/status/617124160259489792">July 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
So "done" or "nearly done" for both of those guys, as we expected. A reminder that signing them puts the roster at 14 guaranteed contracts, with room for only one more player--with Robbie Hummel (to whom the extended a qualifying offer) and Lorenzo Brown (on an unguaranteed contract) still out there.
Elsewhere, the Kings have now made a few signings after a rough start to free agency: getting Rajon Rondo on a one year deal, Marco Belinelli on a 3 year deal, and Kosta Koufos on a 4 year deal (for $33M--a bargain).
I don't love everything they've done--not huge on Rondo, not sure Belinelli looks nearly as good outside of San Antonio. Koufos was a terrific get--Karl loves him. Still, they've put together something resembling a team now, and we'll see if Karl can put it together.
LaMarcus Aldridge is heading to the Spurs, while DeAndre Jordan chose the Mavs, leaving the Clippers in some trouble without a center.
CH favorite Bismack Biyombo signed with Toronto for 2/$6M, which seems like a bargain. And Corey Brewer is headed back to Houston for 3/$24.
The Knicks have also done a couple of smart things, signing Robin Lopez and getting a bargain on Kyle O'Quinn, though they also signed Derrick Williams.
The Women's World Cup Final is today at 6:00 pm CDT. I'll try to get a game thread up for this rematch of both the 2011 WC Final and 2012 Olympic Gold Medal game, Japan vs. U.S. The U.S. has to be the clear favorite today, as it's very difficult to see how Japan is going to score with their dearth of options against a terrific U.S. defense, but you never know.
Have a great Sunday.× Man stiffs taxi driver for $600 fare after 220-mile trip
OMAHA, Neb.– A man who took a 220-mile taxi ride to Omaha has been accused of refusing to pay the driver the nearly $600 fare.
The Omaha World-Herald reports a 58-year-old Yellow Cab driver submitted a report to the Omaha Police Department saying the 30-year-old man didn’t pay his $599.97 fare after the trip from Kansas City, Missouri, to Omaha. Their names haven’t been released.
The driver tells police the man submitted credit card information when the ride was booked online, but the transaction failed. He says the passenger just laughed when he called him seeking more information.
The driver says during the trip, the passenger claimed to be hiding from Kansas City gang members. He says the passenger mentioned intentions to go to Seattle and continue on to Alaska.No cowboy hat. No chaps. Not even a six gun. The latest helper to round up livestock is a robot. What has the world come to? Earlier this month in Sydney, Australia, a team from the University of Sydney’s Australian Centre for Field Robotics tested the four-wheeled remote-controlled robot called Rover.
“The cows readily accepted the robotic herder and were easily controlled by it,” Dan Kara, a research officer for analyst firm ARISPlex, wrote in a report. “Groups of 20 to 150 cows were calmly and efficiently herded.” That’s because cows are stupid. They don’t fear robots they way they should. This robot is working so well that future Rovers will be used to gather data at night to monitor pregnant cows, as well as to detect holes in fences and problems in the soil.
The robot is $1 million right now but it is still basically a prototype. There’s another job taken by robots. Sorry cowboys.
Next they will be herding humans. It won’t be long now.
[via ARISPlex via CNet]The former England defender is so frustrated by the refusal of clubs to give him a manager’s job – or even an interview – that he is willing to ‘start in the gutter’ and work without a salary
During his playing days Sol Campbell went about his business, on and off the pitch, with ice-cold assurance, so it is gripping, on a warm afternoon in west London, to hear him speak with burning desperation about his desire to become a manager. The former England defender may look relaxed as he sips a cappuccino outside an Italian restaurant off the King’s Road but it soon becomes clear that he is at his wits’ end about, as he puts it, “building another career”. Campbell has standing, qualifications and coaching experience but he cannot make the breakthrough and such is his frustration that the 42-year-old is willing to offer his services for free.
Per Mertesacker to take over as Arsenal academy manager in a year’s time Read more
“It’s proving difficult and if I have to start at the bottom, I will,” he says. “People may think that I just want to manage in the Premier League but I’m prepared to go to a non-league club, and if they can’t pay me a salary just pay me a win bonus. I’m up for that. I won’t be up for that four or five years down the line but definitely for the first year, as long as it’s a good club with ambition. I’m itching to start, I just need a chance, even just an interview in which I can say: ‘Take me for free and I’ll show you what I can do.’”
It was in May 2012 that Campbell called time on a playing career that earned him 73 caps and two Premier League titles with Arsenal and he has largely spent the proceeding five years preparing for a life in management. A course with the Football Association of Wales earned Campbell a Uefa pro licence and then in February he took up an invitation to become assistant coach of Trinidad & Tobago, working alongside the former Wrexham, Swansea, Crewe and T&T centre-half Dennis Lawrence as part of the island’s attempt to qualify for next summer’s World Cup.
“It’s going really well given the budget and infrastructure we have is limited,” says Campbell. “With the head coach Dennis, Stern John [a fellow assistant coach and a former T&T striker] and a few others, the quality of training has been excellent and we’ve gone toe to toe with some of the big countries only to have been let down by some interesting decisions from officials.
“I go over in two-and-a-half-week blocks and usually eight days before the game we’re building up for. I mainly work on the defensive side but I’m also there to add a general level of quality to the setup. I’ve enjoyed the challenge.”
Alongside his work in the Caribbean, Campbell has visited Italy to watch training sessions at Sampdoria and Milan and travelled to the United States to observe his former Arsenal team-mate Patrick Vieira manage New York City. Each experience has been enriching and strengthened not only Campbell’s desire to manage but his openness to doing so abroad. To that end he is planning to develop his language skills. “A little bit of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and French,” he says. “Something that gives me a base to work from.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sol Campbell at a Trinidad and Tobago training session in March. He is working with them as an assistant coach. Photograph: Ashley Allen/CON/LatinContent/Getty Images
But the ideal scenario for Campbell would be to secure a job in England, because he has a young family, so he can continue his ambassadorial work with Arsenal and because that is where he spent the entirety of a playing career that began at Tottenham Hotspur in 1992, ended at Newcastle United in May 2011 (he officially called it a day 12 months later) and in between earned him a reputation as one of the finest central defenders of his generation. Familiarity breeds comfort but for Campbell the search for a post on these shores has become increasingly disheartening.
“I’ve spoken to a couple of agents to help get the word out that I’m available but so far there’s only been tentative inquiries,” he says. “Some clubs may be thinking: ‘We don’t want to talk to Sol because of his history,’ but that’s what an interview is for – meet the person and get to know what he’s actually like. If I don’t impress you in an interview then fine, but at least give me that chance. That’s all I want; to talk to a chairman or owner about my philosophy and what I can do for their team. I’m a winner. I love to build. I’ve got great ideas. I’ve got the passion. I’m very diligent, and if given a chance I’ll work my rear end off to be a success.”
Alexandre Lacazette: will the £52.7m signing propel Arsenal to the next level? Read more
Campbell’s passion is emphatic and what also catches the attention is his mention of “history”, which, it becomes obvious, is in reference to his outspokenness on British football’s attitude to race. In an interview with the Guardian in September 2013, Campbell suggested “archaic” attitudes to black players in this country would force him to begin his coaching career abroad and six months later, in an extract from his biography that appeared in the Sunday Times, he accused the Football Association of being “institutionally racist”.
In both instances it can be argued Campbell has a point, and as for opportunities for black coaches the situation has, if anything, got worse. In September 2013 there were four British and Irish BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) managers working across England’s 92 professional clubs – that figure is now down to two: Chris Hughton at Brighton & Hove Albion and Keith Curle at Carlisle United. Last month Heather Rabbatts stood down as a nonexecutive director of the FA because of her frustration at the lack of British black coaches in football.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sol Campbell, in action here against Tottenham, says of how a team coached by him would play: ‘Very defensive but amazing on the counterattack. Like Arsenal of old.’ Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian
Campbell would, then, be within his rights to stand by his views but he is keen to stay away from such controversy. “I don’t want to rub anyone up the wrong way,” he explains. “I’ve got to the stage where I don’t want to keep banging the same drum. I’m a do |
only covered the year up to June, while asylum seekers and people overstaying their original visas were included in the figures for 2007 and 2008 but excluded for 2009. Sir Michael Scholar, the head of independent UK Statistics Authority, said he had written to Mr Brown to point out that the figures he cited for net immigration between 2007 and 2009 were "not comparable". In addition, he said the prime minister's comments had not taken into account the fact that the figure for 2007 had been revised. However, Sir Michael noted that the figures used by Mr Brown in Wednesday's speech were correct. He added: "The Statistics Authority hopes that in the political debate over the coming weeks all parties will be careful in their use of statistics, to protect the integrity of official statistics." Responsibility In response to Sir Michael's letter, a Downing Street spokesman said: "We accept that some of the statistics used in the prime minister's podcast were not strictly comparable and as a result were unclear. "As the chair of the Statistics Authority points out in his letter, the prime minister clarified the position in his speech today [Wednesday]. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. "The figures he used in his speech are consistent with the analysis set out in the accompanying note from Sir Michael Scholar." Immigration Minister Phil Woolas urged people not to "dance on a pin head" when it came to the battle over statistics. "The fact is the figures are down," he told Channel 4 News. "That is what is important." But shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said the prime minister had given an "inaccurate picture of his record on immigration". "Britain should expect better from its prime minister," he said. "No wonder we need change." BBC home affairs editor Mark Easton said that despite the watchdog's desire not to get involved in political controversy, it had found itself in the middle of a pre-election spat. The Statistics Authority was set up by Mr Brown last year to ensure the correct use of official data. It has ticked off both Labour and the Conservatives in recent months about their use of statistics, saying they had a responsibility to ensure their claims were not misleading.
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StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable versionReactions to the verdict in the Bradley Manning trial were swift on Tuesday.
Though some found solace in the fact that the 25-year-old U.S. Army whistleblower was found "not guilty" on the "most outrageous" charge of "aiding the enemy," voices across the progressive community were expressing mixtures of outrage and sadness after Judge Col. Denise Lind found Manning guilty on 19 other counts that could lead to a sentence of more than 100 years in prison.
The Center for Constitutional Rights put out a statement, which read in part:
While the "aiding the enemy" charges (on which Manning was rightly acquitted) received the most attention from the mainstream media, the Espionage Act itself is a discredited relic of the WWI era, created as a tool to suppress political dissent and antiwar activism, and it is outrageous that the government chose to invoke it in the first place against Manning. Government employees who blow the whistle on war crimes, other abuses and government incompetence should be protected under the First Amendment. We now live in a country where someone who exposes war crimes can be sentenced to life even if not found guilty of aiding the enemy, while those responsible for the war crimes remain free. If the government equates being a whistleblower with espionage or aiding the enemy, what is the future of journalism in this country? What is the future of the First Amendment? Manning’s treatment, prosecution, and sentencing have one purpose: to silence potential whistleblowers and the media as well.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange issued a long response which included this assessment of the case:
This is the first ever espionage conviction against a whistleblower. It is a dangerous precedent and an example of national security extremism. It is a short sighted judgment that can not be tolerated and must be reversed. It can never be that conveying true information to the public is ’espionage’. President Obama has initiated more espionage proceedings against whistleblowers and publishers than all previous presidents combined. In 2008 presidential candidate Barack Obama ran on a platform that praised whistleblowing as an act of courage and patriotism. That platform has been comprehensively betrayed. His campaign document described whistleblowers as watchdogs when government abuses its authority. It was removed from the internet last week. Throughout the proceedings there has been a conspicuous absence: the absence of any victim. The prosecution did not present evidence that -- or even claim that -- a single person came to harm as a result of Bradley Manning’s disclosures. The government never claimed Mr. Manning was working for a foreign power. The only 'victim' was the U.S. government's wounded pride, but the abuse of this fine young man was never the way to restore it. Rather, the abuse of Bradley Manning has left the world with a sense of disgust at how low the Obama administration has fallen. It is not a sign of strength, but of weakness.
Journalist Marcy Wheeler writes at Salon:
That Lind found Manning guilty of 20 charges is not a surprise. Manning himself had pled guilty to 10 lesser offenses the day he read his statement, pleading to "unauthorized possession” and “willful communication" of most, but not all of the items he was accused of leaking. On several of the charges -- notably, Manning’s leak of a video of Americans shooting a Reuters journalist -- Lind accepted Manning’s lesser pleas. [...] But the big news -- and very good news -- is that Manning is innocent of the aiding the enemy charge. That ruling averted a potentially catastrophic effect on freedom of speech in this country.
Reporter Without Borders highlighted the important role leaks provided Manning played in exposing war crimes by the US government:
The verdict is warning to all whistleblowers, against whom the Obama administration has been waging an unprecedented offensive that has ignored the public interest in their revelations. It also threatens the future of investigative journalism, which risks finding its sources drying up. "The information that Manning allegedly passed to WikiLeaks -- used by newspapers such as the New York Times, The Guardian, Der Spiegel and Le Monde in coordination with Julian Assange's website -- included revelations of grave abuses in the 'war on terror' launched by the Bush administration," Reporters Without Borders said. “The ‘collateral’ fatal shooting of Reuters employees by a U.S. Army helicopter in Baghdad in July 2007 is a well-known example (see video). Should this reality have been concealed from the U.S. public and international opinion? Which was more serious – committing such crimes or revealing them to the public?
The ACLU's Ben Wizner director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, released this statement:
While we're relieved that Mr. Manning was acquitted of the most dangerous charge, the ACLU has long held the view that leaks to the press in the public interest should not be prosecuted under the Espionage Act. Since Manning already pleaded guilty to charges of leaking information -- which carry significant punishment -- it seems clear that the government was seeking to intimidate anyone who might consider revealing valuable information in the future.
Guardian journalist James Ball writes:
The prosecution of Manning was intended to send a signal. If nothing else, it has done that. It has shown that when faced with evidence of its own wrongdoing, the current U.S. administration focuses on punishing the messenger. It shows the first amendment is easier to honour in the abstract than in reality. And it risks sending a message to nations that routinely imprison, assault or even kill journalists and activists, that when it comes to the crunch, the supposed leader of the free world is not much different. This trial has not been the proudest moment in America's history. It should serve as a warning to those who care about its future. And hopefully, it can also be a turning point.
Amnesty International also released a statement on the verdict:
It undermines accountability when the U.S. government is so selective about who it chooses to investigate and prosecute, Amnesty International said. This is particularly true when they seem intent on punishing those who reveal unlawful government behaviour and protecting those who actually engaged in or ordered such behaviour. "Since the attacks of September 11, we have seen the U.S. government use the issue of national security to defend a whole range of actions that are unlawful under international and domestic law," said Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International. "It's hard not to draw the conclusion that Manning's trial was about sending a message: the U.S. government will come after you, no holds barred, if you're thinking of revealing evidence of its unlawful behaviour."
And the Manning family released a statement, via Manning's aunt, to the Guardian, which thanked those who supported him and expressed a mixture of emotions on the heels of the verdict:
While we are obviously disappointed in today’s verdicts, we are happy that Judge Lind agreed with us that Brad never intended to help America’s enemies in any way. Brad loves his country and was proud to wear its uniform. We want to express our deep thanks to David Coombs, who has dedicated three years of his life to serving as lead counsel in Brad’s case. We also want to thank Brad’s Army defense team, Major Thomas Hurley and Captain Joshua Tooman, for their tireless efforts on Brad’s behalf, and Brad’s first defense counsel, Captain Paul Bouchard, who was so helpful to all of us in those early confusing days and first suggested David Coombs as Brad’s counsel. Most of all, we would like to thank the thousands of people who rallied to Brad’s cause, providing financial and emotional support throughout this long and difficult time, especially Jeff Paterson and Courage to Resist and the Bradley Manning Support Network. Their support has allowed a young Army private to defend himself against the full might of not only the US Army but also the US Government.
Jon Queally is a staff writer with Common Dreams, where this article was originally published. It is reprinted here with permission.Previous Chapter Next Chapter
“A mistake?”
“I worry it’s the case. Time will tell, but I can make educated guesses and I have concerns.”
“I have to admit, I’m not sure how to respond to that,” I said. “I’d say you’re only human or you’re only mortal, but doesn’t that sound condescending, coming from a parahuman?”
“We’re all mortal, Victoria. Even Scion was.”
I nodded.
It was strange to hear that name spoken out loud. Nine out of ten times, people would avoid saying it out loud. As if they couldn’t reconcile the first hero with the thing that had ended the world.
“I’d like to help,” I said. “A couple of things are off the table, obviously, but you know what they are, I think. I wouldn’t be okay if you wanted me to reach out to my sister, or that kind of thing.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to do that, no. This isn’t anything of that scale, but…” she frowned. “Given our relationship, with you having been my patient, there’s a power imbalance. I want to do what I can to ensure I don’t abuse it. I want to be fair to you.”
“Okay,” I said. After a pause, I added, “I appreciate the sentiment.”
“Even if this turns out to be minor, it is hard to do without risking a breach of trust and damage to our friendship.”
“Okay,” I said.
“I want to ensure we’re on the same page, when it comes to expectations. I definitely don’t want you to feel obligated, whether it’s because you feel you owe me something, or because you feel you should. I know there’s a tendency among heroes to want to step forward and help. I’ve counseled many a junior hero that they needed to learn to pick their battles.”
“I have no idea what you mean,” I said. “I pick my battles. Except for the broken trigger last week, the community center, and, oh, everything else.”
“It is a concern,” she said. She matched my smile with a small one of her own, but it was fleeting, more an acknowledgement of the joke than anything. “You’re quick to say you want to help, before you even know what I’m going to ask.”
I nodded. “I don’t think you’d ask if you hadn’t thought over it. I trust you.”
“I’d still be concerned, grateful as I am for your trust in me.”
I swished the ice in my iced tea.
“I am sorry,” she said.
“Sorry?”
“If I’ve upset you, approaching this like I have.”
“Did I give you that impression? That I was upset?” I was pretty sure my face hadn’t betrayed anything. I was reasonably sure my power wasn’t leaking, either.
“You did. And if I’m right about that, please don’t misunderstand me, I am sorry, and I wouldn’t fault you for being upset. I would like to have meetings like the one I think you were anticipating today. You and me, staying in touch to a degree, talking over iced tea and ice coffee. I’d hoped to have one of those meetings before getting around to this topic.”
So it wasn’t too urgent, then.
“Okay,” I said. I took another careful sip of my iced tea.
She drew in a deep breath, reached back to where the damp, folded paper towel was laying against her neck, and set it within the lid of her iced coffee, which she’d put to one side. She stared down at it for a moment.
I waited. I had some ideas about what she was getting around to. I also had things I might have said, but I was worried that, depending on what she was going to say next, they could be things I’d regret. If her reasons were good, if they were personal…
I was so fucking done with regrets. I didn’t want to add more, especially any tied to Jessica.
“I don’t want to compound my mistakes elsewhere with one here. With that in mind, I want to make it absolutely clear that this isn’t an obligation. I’d like a bit of help, if you heard me out and were comfortable giving it. I’d explain the situation as best as I could, but the confidentiality of other patients makes things difficult.”
“What do you need?”
“Before we get into that, touching back on what I said before about wanting to be fair to you, I’ve contacted a colleague. He’ll be your therapist if you still want one. He’s waiting for your call and he’ll make an appointment with you.”
“You didn’t have to do that. I wouldn’t want to burden you guys more. What’s going on, that you’re going to all this?”
“Maybe it’s necessary, maybe not, but it’s my apology and my thanks to you for having this conversation with me, and for any compromise of the relationship. It doesn’t mean you have to hear me out, and it absolutely doesn’t mean you have to say yes. Alright?”
“Alright, but it doesn’t matter,” I said. “I’ll hear you out.”
“It matters to me,” she said, firm.
“Okay,” I said, a little exasperated. It was clear Jessica was stubborn when she was bothered by something. “Fine. You made a mistake, you want my help. I’ll phone your colleague and possibly go see him. I’ll weigh what you’re asking and I’ll try to make an objective decision. Which may be no.”
“Thank you.”
“What do you need?” I asked, again, holding my iced tea in both hands.
⊙
Mrs. Yamada wasn’t ‘Jessica’ anymore, not any more than capes went by their civilian names in costume. She was in her professional attire, a suit jacket over a blouse, a business skirt, minimal jewelry, minimal and tasteful makeup. Papers rustled as she paged through files and as the wind blew into the room.
She had told me to dress in a way that was comfortable for me. It was still hot out and I’d had to travel forty miles to get to a place where Mrs. Yamada could pick me up to drive me the rest of the way. Even though the heat persisted, the weather had broken, the humidity giving way to a light thunderstorm. I wore a white dress with a black hood built into it, the Brockton Bay skyline printed in what looked like black and grey watercolors across the breast, the city’s name below and to the side. There was a scribbling of more watercolor and lettering at the hem. The white fabric was a thin sweatshirt-like material, so the hood hadn’t been much use against the rain.
The windows were open and the blinds closed, periodically clacking against the windowsills. The wind wasn’t blowing in a direction that sent the rain into the room, but droplets still beaded the blinds closer to the bottom. The lights felt artificially bright, in contrast to how dark the clouds and sky were outside. The room was set up like a high school classroom, minus the ‘class’, no students, no mess, no bulletin board with scraps on it or whiteboard with weeks-old marks that hadn’t been wiped away. Eight chairs were arranged in a ring at the center, instead of five columns of six desks.
There was a teacher’s desk at the front, and Mrs. Yamada was there, looking over some files. I’d caught some glimpses of the pictures on the fronts, purely by accident. I could have pried more, maybe caught a name or a heading by reading upside-down, and I’d decided not to. She wouldn’t have wanted me to.
“Do I have a file?” I asked. She startled a little, as if she’d forgotten I was there.
She’d been in the zone, I realized. She might have needed to be. She didn’t wear it on her face or in her body language, but there was a reason she was so immersed in what she was reading.
I could relate to that, in a way. During my hospital stay, I’d delved deep into my studies, struggled with the keyboard as I read everything I could find, while furthering my studies with long-distance education.
“Sorry to interrupt,” I said.
“It’s fine. You did have a file. You don’t now, I’m afraid. Unless it’s somewhere in the rubble.”
I nodded.
She glanced at the clock. “One of the group’s members tends to arrive early. She should be here momentarily.”
I looked up at the clock. One fifty in the afternoon. From how dark it was outside, I might have thought it was five hours later in the day. “Good to know.”
“It will be interesting to see how you two get on.”
“Huh.”
I heard the footsteps and glanced at the clock again. Not even a minute had elapsed. Was this person that punctual?
I wasn’t sure what I’d expected. She wasn’t yet a teenager, or if she was then she was a late bloomer, but she wasn’t wholly a ‘child’ either. ‘Tween’. My first thought was that she was as cute as a button, and not in the pink princess way.
She was black, her arms and legs long and skinny, her eyes large in proportion to her face. She was studying me with just as much or more intensity than I studied her, as we sized each other up.
She was dressed or had been dressed with an eye for modern fashion, fitting to her age. She wore a blue corduroy pinafore dress with metal studs forming a star shape at the leg. Her top was a t-shirt, with an image on it in sequins, the kind that had two different images, depending on the direction the sequins were swept. The image depicted a blue heart if brushed one way, a yellow star if swept the other; I knew because it was a jumbled mix of both.
The reason I thought that she might have been dressed by someone else was that she was so very precise about how she’d put her outfit together. It was freshly ironed or fresh off the rack, and it was color matched from her shoes to the pins and ties in her hair. The star theme too. Kinky black hair had been fixed into place at the side of her head with a star pin, and carefully arranged into two small, tight buns at the back. Glossy and taken care of, not a strand out of place. It would have taken me twenty or thirty minutes to do the same, and my straight hair would have been easier to manage, even being as long as it was.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” I responded.
“Gosh, you’re pretty,” she said.
I was momentarily lost for words. Very direct.
“Thank you,” I said, glancing back at Mrs. Yamada, hoping for a cue. She was focusing on her notes. She briefly met my eye, but communicated nothing.
“I can tell you were a hero. You have that air about you,” the girl said.
“Thank you,” I said, a little caught off guard. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She smiled, her enthusiasm renewed, “It’s amazing to meet you. I’m really interested to hear what you have to say. I really want to be a hero, so I’m trying to learn all I can.”
“That could be good. It’s better than the alternative, at least.”
“Isn’t it? You were probably a good one, weren’t you? You give me that impression. You’re stylish, I really like your dress, and you have that posture, back straight, unyielding. Only the best and the true up-and-comers have that.”
“Kenzie,” Mrs. Yamada said.
“Yes?”
“There’s no pressure.”
Kenzie only smiled in response.
“It’s okay,” I said. I was glad to have a window to speak. “I like your outfit too, Kenzie. Good clothes are so hard to get these days, aren’t they?”
“This outfit was part of a birthday present, but I think it was expensive, yeah. I wanted to look nicer since we had someone new today.”
“There’s no need to go to extra trouble. Not for me.”
“No trouble, no trouble,” she said, very cavalier. She looked at Mrs. Yamada, “How are you today, Mrs. Yamada?”
“I’m doing very well today, Kenzie. How are you this morning?”
“Can’t complain,” Kenzie said. “Does it matter where I sit?”
“Nothing’s changed from the prior sessions. Sit wherever you’re comfortable, it doesn’t matter.”
Kenzie smiled. “I think it matters. It means something. Can I sit here?”
“Sure,” I said.
She seated herself in the chair next to the one I was standing beside.
I snuck a glance at Mrs. Yamada, and I saw concern. Because of the others who were due to arrive?
“You probably caught my name, I’m Kenzie.”
She was extending a hand for me to shake. I shook it, then turned the chair a bit as I sat down. “Victoria. Some call me Vicky, but I’m using that less these days. You can use it if it’s easier.”
“And you’re a heroine?”
“I used to be. I’m on hiatus.”
“That’s the coolest thing,” Kenzie said. “Costumes, fighting bad guys.”
“It had its ups and downs,” I said. I glanced at Mrs. Yamada. Her focus was on her notes.
She noticed me looking and asked, “You used to be her patient?”
“I did.”
“She’s the best,” Kenzie said, leaning over and speaking with a voice quiet enough that Mrs. Yamada wouldn’t necessarily hear.
“Yeah,” I said. Except for her apparent mistake here, which I wasn’t equipped to make a judgment call on. Not quite yet.
“It’s good here; I always look forward to coming. Everyone’s pretty neat. That might not mean a lot coming from me, though.”
“How come?”
“I think everyone’s pretty neat,” she said.
“I see. That’s admirable.”
The papers rustled. Mrs. Yamada put the files in a filing cabinet beside the desk at the end of the room, locking them away. She spoke aloud, “Can I get you two anything? Water?”
“I’m fine, but thank you,” Kenzie said.
“No thank you,” I said.
“The others may be a bit late, with the weather being what it is.”
“I think we’ll survive the wait,” Kenzie said. “Right, Victoria?”
“We’ll survive. Past years have taught me patience, if nothing else,” I said.
“From being a Ward? Were you a Ward?” Kenzie asked.
That wasn’t where or why, I thought, but I said, “Very briefly. My family had a team. Still does, kind of.”
Very kind of.
“Oh, wow, neat.”
I tried to find a diplomatic way to respond to that.
“Or not so neat?” Kenzie said.
“Ups and downs,” I said.
“I was with the PRT, but I wasn’t a Ward exactly,” she said. “They had trouble sticking me anywhere, and then I went into training, and got to do a lot of really neat camps and exercises and travel, because they had to wait until I was old enough before they could put me where they really wanted to put me.”
“Which was?”
“Watchdog, grrr,” she said. She’d made a pretty sad attempt at a growl, mischief in her eyes. “That other branch that worked under the PRT that you almost never hear about. Oversight and investigation, powers, money, and politics.”
“I know of Watchdog.”
“Cubicle superheroes.”
“They’re actually pretty badass from what I heard, and they do- did a lot of fieldwork and investigations, raiding offices, interrogations, talking to politicians, uncovering conspiracies.”
“That’s true.”
“There’s something about getting organized and going after that thinker or that tinker who’s been working behind the scenes, the guy that’s been subverting society for their own gain, when they’ve probably spent months or years making contingency plans and anticipating the day their world and their plans come crashing down around them. I think that dynamic is pretty damn cool, the approach and the complexity of it.”
“Hmm, that is cool,” she said. “Except there aren’t any awesome costumes or monster fighting.”
“Less monster fighting, I’m sure. I’m not sure about the costumes. There are probably masks, I guess?”
“And there’s some cublical- bleh. Cubicle jockeying.”
She spoke so fast she had tripped over the word.
I replied, “Probably a lot, yeah. But from my short stint in the Wards, there was a lot of paperwork there too.”
“That’s so true. I was kind of a Ward, so I had to do some. I think I was good at the paperwork.”
I was starting to feel like she’d been the one who had fussed with her appearance, rather than any parental figure. Someone so fussy would’ve somehow been mentioned in the life story to this point. It was very believable, too, to draw a connection between the fastidious appearance and her pride in the paperwork.
“I think I was too.”
She nodded, the conversation momentarily, almost mercifully pausing, then she found her place, enthusiasm returning. “So yeah. I was bouncing all over the place. The Youth Guard stepped in, I’m not sure if you’ve had to deal with them.”
The Youth Guard or the Y.G. were the group that acted like the union that protected minors in Hollywood. That had protected minors in Hollywood. They were the group that made sure that Wards’ education and options didn’t suffer as a consequence for them being superheroes, that they didn’t dress provocatively, that they were safe and sane, that nobody took advantage, and other stuff. They’d reached out to my parents at one point, because they weren’t limited to the PRT. They were a guillotine that had hung over the heads of any team with under-eighteen heroes or heroines.
“I’ve heard the horror stories,” I said.
“They weren’t a horror story for me. They said I was being moved around too much and I needed to go somewhere to stay. Not going to the fun camps and training sucked, but I went back to Baltimore, and I got to set up my workshop, fi-nuh-ly.”
“Workshop, huh?”
“Kenzie,” Mrs. Yamada spoke up. She still sat at the desk. “You might want to be mindful of what you reveal. I’ll get into that more when things get started, but take a moment and think before revealing things that might tie into your cape identity, or identifying parts of your background.”
“Yes, Mrs. Yamada,” Kenzie said. Then she leaned close to me, whispering, “I took a moment to think and I think I’m safe telling you I’m a tinker.”
“Gotcha,” I said, mimicking her volume and whisper.
“Yep,” she said. She pitched her voice lower, “The Youth Guard was good to me. I liked the people who I worked with there, even if the people in charge of me didn’t. Some of my favorite people next to Mrs. Yamada worked for them. Not that that lasted for long. That was only the spring of twenty-thirteen-”
As she talked, I glanced at Mrs. Yamada. It was clear she heard.
“-and then, well…”
“Yeah,” I said.
Gold Morning.
I was a little caught off guard by Kenzie, on a few fronts. This wasn’t what I’d expected. I glanced at the other chairs.
⊙
I got into a more comfortable position in the little booth, leaning against the window and taking a moment to digest what Mrs. Yamada had shared. Someone else walked into the dark little shop, going straight to the counter, their eyes on the desserts behind the display.
“Group therapy?” I asked.
“With the full-time position I’m taking with the Wardens, I have the chance to help a lot of critical individuals. The people I’ll be helping will be people who can help a lot of people in turn. An incredible number, in some cases. As attached as I am to my current patient caseload, and as much as I would like to take you on as a patient, it made the most sense to go this route.”
“Okay,” I said.
She frowned a little.
“But?” I asked.
“The role I held between Gold Morning and now was always going to be a transient one. My patients and everyone else involved knew I was only seeing the patients I’m seeing now in a temporary way. I’m one of several therapists who are rotating through a patient caseload, and only half were my patients and mine alone. In making a transition, it is and was still my responsibility to look after those exclusive patients.”
“Okay.” I connected that thought to how she’d found a therapist for me. When it was a chore to get therapists to take new patients, it amounted to a pretty meaningful gesture.
“I’m referring the ones I can to other therapists. I’m in touch with twelve people who work with parahumans and a few who are breaking into that field. Not a single one of us is working less than seventy hours a week. Some of my patients didn’t need counseling anymore, and I was only helping them to find their equilibrium after Gold Morning. Others are on their way to a new facility in this world’s Europe, which they’ve been anticipating for over a year now. If you were still in the same condition as you were when I first met you, I would be recommending you go there.”
I nodded. I didn’t like thinking about it.
“I couldn’t find places for everyone, and I’d turn down the job before I abandoned patients in need. With the remainder, I saw common ground among them. Not all of them, but enough of them that it seemed like things could be workable. Some supplied, needed, or were looking into the same kinds of assistance, which is what prompted the line of thinking. I was going to introduce them regardless, I could see them talking, and I thought it would be best to have the initial and deeper talks in a supervised setting.”
“And from there, it was a short jump to thinking about group therapy.”
“Yes. Group therapy, interpersonal group therapy, seemed appropriate for what I wanted them to address with each of them. It meant that in the time before I took on my full-time role with the Wardens, I could devote more time to more of them. In an ideal world, if there were some who still needed attention by the time I was done, I could call in favors or find places for them.”
“Okay,” I said. “Was it group therapy like I was a part of?”
“The therapy you were a part of was encounter-driven. Different. More involved, more simulations, acting and role-playing, confrontation, learning assertiveness as opposed to, say, aggressive behavior, or overly passive behavior. Engaging with peers.”
“I didn’t really do anything except sit there.”
“But you wrote the scripts. You listened to the others, and you visualized ways you wanted the conversations to go. I got the impression it was pretty intense, even when you were a step removed in your participation.”
“Sure,” I said. A large part of what I’d contributed to those sessions had played into my last interaction with my mom.
Not that that interaction had gone well, but I could imagine that if I’d found myself in that same situation without the grounding of knowledge from those sessions, I might not have had the words to articulate as much of what I’d wanted to. It was even possible that, without the conflict resolution skills, I might have hurt someone.
The recollections of the therapy and of my mom were heavy, pressing down on me and my chest. I took a long sip of my iced tea. It was cold and sensory, pulling me away from that rabbit hole of dark thoughts.
“This group was intended to be slower-paced, less intense,” she said.
“Even with the time constraint?”
“Yes, even with. Part of it is that, as I said, it was the most appropriate for what I wanted to address.”
“Part?”
“The other part ties back to what I said about introductions, how the first meetings are the trickiest. It was a delicate balancing act to begin with, compared to your group, where we added someone new once every few weeks or months, while the rest of the group remained fairly stable. With this group, having them all meet at once, I thought it would be best to keep things calmer.”
“Makes sense,” I said.
“My colleagues like to say there is a truism with groups of parahumans. That the larger the group in question, the greater the chance of a schism or disaster. I’m not sure I like exactly how the idea is presented a lot of the time it comes up, but…”
I thought of my sister.
“Groups of capes get pretty volatile,” I finished the sentence for her. “Each person you add is another chance for things to go wrong.”
⊙
Three more members joined the group. An unknown boy and two people I knew, male and female.
When I realized who I was looking at, though, my jaw dropped. I stood from my chair.
She, for her part, was on a similar page. She stared at me, confused at first. Then reality dawned for her as well.
She was pale in a way that skin didn’t tend to be, and she had a mane of black hair. A small black tattoo marked her cheekbone, partially obscured by skin-tone makeup that had streaked in the rain. For all that she was almost monochrome from the neck up, she was a riot of color from the neck down. Sveta.
Her hands went to her mouth.
She closed the distance between us with a half-stagger, half-run kind of movement. I caught a glimpse of her tearing up before she threw her arms around me, colliding with me. I caught my bearings and hugged her back.
“You’re okay,” she mumbled into my shoulder.
“I’m-” I started, lost for words. I looked at Weld, who stood in the doorway, smiling as wide as I’d ever seen him smile.
My arms still around her, I reached out with one hand, groping in Weld’s general direction, as if I could get the words that way.
“Fantastic,” Weld said. “This is perfect.”
He looked a little less neat than he’d been when I’d known him in Brockton Bay, but not as wild or ‘monstrous’ as I’d seen in the pictures online, back when he’d been a member of the Irregulars. His skin was dark iron, his eyes silver, veins of more silver tracing from the corners of the eyes. His hair was wire, made to look more free and unruly. He was wearing a henley shirt, khaki shorts and sandals that looked like they were made of metal and what might’ve been tire rubber. I couldn’t imagine any other material that would hold up when bearing the weight of someone that was heavy metal from head to toe.
Beside him was a guy, brown-skinned, with the sides and back of his hair cut short. The hair on top had to have been painted rather than dyed, because it was magenta, and I couldn’t imagine getting black hair dyed magenta without bleaching it to the point of destroying it, and the rolling curls retained their shape despite the droplets of rain that clung to it. He was smiling, but more because he looked like the type that very much enjoyed others being happy. The magenta-haired guy’s shirt was form-fitting to his upper body, showing off lean muscle, and looked like a surfer’s rash guard. He wore black shorts and sandals.
I turned my attention to the girl of the trio. I couldn’t believe it was Sveta.
Who was practically sobbing now, apparently.
Emotion was welling in my own chest. I put my hand on the back of her head, and I felt the hair stir, the tissues beneath the wig moving.
“Well, I think this has made my everything,” Weld said.
“Your everything?” the magenta-haired guy asked.
“Saying it made my day, my week, or even my month wouldn’t be enough,” Weld said, still smiling. “You’re okay, Victoria?”
“Two arms, two legs,” I said.
“That’s great,” he said. “Sveta was so attached to you, she hated leaving you behind.”
Sveta nodded, head rubbing against my shoulder.
“And we’d thought you’d died,” Weld said. “When G.M. happened. Hearing you were alive was amazing on its own, but you’re… you’re back. Fantastic.”
Sveta made a sound, emotions pouring over, before hiccuping with a sob.
I stroked the back of her head, trusting that someone would tell me not to if it was dangerous.
Then again, I didn’t have my forcefield up.
I could have mentioned it. I didn’t.
“You have a body,” I whispered. I could feel it. |
.StoneKeep takes an in-depth look at the newly released card Barnes!
Introduction
In World of Warcraft, Barnes was the opera master. He introduces players to the encounters, similarly to what he did in the adventure itself. In Hearthstone, he keeps his announcer role, but instead “announces” 1/1 copies of random minions from your deck.
In the initial Karazhan reviews, Barnes was considered one of the strongest cards of the expansion. I rated it as probably the best card in the set and – most likely – meta-defining one. But was the hype right? While it’s not a Dr. Boom level of power (luckily), the card turned out to be very useful in many different decks. So I’ll have to say yes – the hype was right.
I wanted to analyze the potential synergies of our favorite stage manager and talk a bit about the decks that he fits into just right.
Overview
Barnes is a 3/4 minion with an incredibly strong Battlecry. It summons a 1/1 copy of a random minion from your deck. We’ve already seen a very similar effect – Priest’s Legendary Herald Volazj also summons 1/1 copies of minions, but rather of those already present on your side of the board.
In the worst case scenario* it’s a 3/4 minion that summons a vanilla 1/1. Summoning any of a minion that has no effect at all or the effect is Battlecry puts a simple 1/1 on the board. Obviously, 3/4 + 1/1 for 4 wouldn’t ever be played, just like Chillwind Yeti isn’t played (arguably 2 bodies might be better in some decks, but it’s still not enough). But you can’t really say that it’s a terrible card, it’s just average (but card that is “just average” doesn’t have place in Constructed).
What makes Barnes amazing, though, is that the minions keep their effects. So if you summon a minion with a powerful ongoing effect or Deathrattle, the 1/1 copy is going to keep it. So if you play minions with keywords like Taunt, Charge, Divine Shield – it’s already a bonus. But the card starts to shine when you throw in cards like Emperor Thaurissan or Cairne Bloodhoof into your deck. And that’s exactly what I’ll focus on.
*Excluding Doomsayer. Doomsayer is, as far as my experience goes, the only card with “negative” effect that’s commonly played and has anti-synergy with Barnes.
Synergies
In this section I’ll list the commonly played cards that have synergy with Barnes’ Battlecry. The minions that you want to summon through his effect. The truth is that Barnes is just weak in certain decks – if you don’t run those minions or they’re just a small fraction of all the minions you run, it won’t be worth to play it. But the more of them you put into your deck, the better Barnes will perform.
First of all, I’ll bundle up all the cards that have pretty small synergy with Barnes, but it’s a synergy nonetheless. I’m talking about cards with additional keywords like Taunt, Charge, Divine Shield, Stealth or Spell Damage. The bonus you get from those minions is minimal, but it sometimes might make a difference. Having a 1/1 Taunt in the late game might stop enemy from getting a good trade or even save your life. Getting a 1/1 Charge might give you lethal or allow to immediately kill a 1 health minion. Divine Shield makes your minion more sturdy – it basically turn him into Argent Squire (and funnily enough, that’s the most common minion with Divine Shield being played). Stealth makes the minion more likely to survive until your turn, so you can dictate the trade. And Spell Damage might make your removal better. Like I’ve said, those abilities are rarely game-changing, but sometimes even the smallest advantage can make a difference. A few examples of common minions with those effect that you can put into your deck (in a random order): Argent Squire, Azure Drake, Kor'kron Elite, Thing from Below, Argent Horserider, Voidwalker, Cult Sorcerer, Stranglethorn Tiger, C'Thun's Chosen etc.
There are also another kind of effect – small, ongoing effects. Those are the upsides that can give you a slight advantage in certain scenarios, but the effect is pretty small and won’t likely have big impact on the game. Those include cards like Dire Wolf Alpha, Knife Juggler, Tunnel Trogg, Mana Wyrm, Frothing Berserker, Wild Pyromancer, Imp Gang Boss, Twilight Elder, Northshire Cleric etc. While yes, those can gain extra value, the effect is rarely gamebreaking and it’s often kept in check by the fact that those cards are at 1 health or require another cards to really synergize with them.
Barnes gets some extra synergy with Silence cards. Those 1/1 minions are actually full copies, but with the stats changed to 1/1. It means that Silencing them will revert the stats to original. Getting a 1/1 Ragnaros the Firelord is surely good, but it’s very easy to kill it. But if you Silence it, while you’ll lose the effect, you’re going to get a 8/8 vanilla minion on the board. So if you run Silence in your deck, most likely Spellbreaker, there is an extra incentive to run Barnes too (or vice versa – if you want to put in Barnes, you can consider putting in the Silence too).
Then, we move into a much stronger territory – Deathrattles. I’ll start with the small ones and move up to the big guys. I’ve ignored the Deathrattle cards that aren’t commonly used (e.g. Dreadsteed) or the ones that give you a VERY minor advantage (e.g. Possessed Villager, Fiery Bat), because the list would be just too long.
Bloodmage Thalnos, Loot Hoarder and Undercity Huckster – I’ve put those three together, because their Deathrattles are similar. Drawing a card. Bloodmage gets some extra spell synergy, so it’s obviously stronger in the decks that play him, but we’ll focus on the draw. 3/4 + 1/1 + Deathrattle: Draw a card is suddenly much stronger effect. At 4 mana cost, we have 2 neutral card draws – Gnomish Inventor that’s 2/4 (compared to 4/5 stats of Barnes in total) and Polluted Hoarder, who is 4/2. Barnes is much stronger than either of those. It would be one of the most popular card draw mechanics and probably the most commonly played 4-drop if the effect looked that way. P.S. Huckster is slightly weaker, because drawing a card from your deck is most likely better than drawing a random card from opponent’s class, but it’s still on a similar level.
Infested Tauren and Kindly Grandmother – Again, similar effects – Infested Tauren gets a 1/1 with Taunt, but Kindly Grandmother summons a 3/2 instead of a 2/2. It’s not game-winning yet, but it’s definitely a strong thing to get. After summoning one of the two, Barnes already becomes a stronger version of Piloted Shredder and most of us knows how good the card was.
Tomb Pillager – A nod to the Rogue. It might seem that Tomb Pillager’s Deathrattle is pretty mediocre. It would be in most of the other decks. But Coin has really high value in the Rogue class. It activates the combo cards, it has insane synergy with Gadgetzan Auctioneer (not only it draws a card, but also gives you extra mana to e.g. Conceal him) and it can allow Rogue to make a huge Edwin VanCleef.
Sylvanas Windrunner – The card has probably the highest potential among Deathrattles. Because with a little bit of luck, it might STEAL opponent’s biggest threat, so it’s 2 in 1 – he loses a big minion and you gain it. The effect is very good, maybe even the best one to get in the late game, but I didn’t put it on the top of the list for 2 reasons. First one is that you prefer to drop Barnes on turn 4, when her effect won’t be that amazing yet (it might be easy to play around and you won’t likely steal anything big) and then it often relies on the RNG. Still, it’s one of the cards you want to get most.
Cairne Bloodhoof, Twilight Summoner and Savannah Highmane – Once again, I’ve put those three together, because their effects are similar. Mini-Cairne summons one 4/5 minion, mini-Twilight Summoner summons a 5/5, while mini-Highmane summons two 2/2’s. All of the Deathrattles are very strong. Those definitely CAN win the game – from my experience with Barnes, getting a turn 4 1/1 version of Cairne is often too much value for enemy to handle.
Tirion Fordring – Arguably, this one has the strongest Deathrattle. Not only the initial 1/1 gets both Taunt and Divine Shield (almost an Annoy-o-Tron), so enemy can’t ignore it, but when it dies you get a 5/3 weapon. If not countered by the weapon destruction effect, at this stage of the game pretty much everything is in the range of this weapon, so keeping the board control shouldn’t be a very hard task. Or if you don’t want to “waste” charges on minions, it threatens 15 face damage in total. Meaning that no matter what kind of Paladin you’re playing – a 5/3 weapon in the mid game should come really handy.
And finally, we have the last category – minions with ongoing effects. This category is more tricky. Deathrattles are pretty much guaranteed to get you value. Not only is Silence not very common, but most of them are good even if Silenced (because then you get full stats of the minion). Minions in this category are slightly different, because either the effect gets stronger the longer 1/1 copy stays on the board OR you need to perform some extra actions to get that value.
Acolyte of Pain – Starting small again. It’s very similar to Deathrattle card draws, because – in most of cases – it simply draws you 1 card when it dies. But there is some slight extra synergy you can have with Acolyte. If you have a way to buff his health, e.g. Power Word: Shield or Blessing of Kings, then it’s possible to extract more value out of him. Most of the time, however, it’s going to be “draw a card” kind of effect.
Brann Bronzebeard – Leader of the League of Explorers has very good synergy with Battlecries. Them proccing twice means that you can get that sweet value out of heavy Battlecry deck. This is low on this list, because even though this effect is pretty strong, not only it requires you to immediately follow-up with a Battlecry to get the value, but then you also don’t want to put a lot of Battlecry minions into your Barnes deck, because they come out as a vanilla 1/1’s. Getting Brann from Barnes won me the game once in the N’Zoth RenoLock deck, but it’s generally better to get him in the late game when you can immediately follow him up with Battlecry minions.
Cloaked Huntress – A new Hunter card also get some extra synergy with Barnes. It doesn’t matter that it’s 1/1, it still makes your Traps free. The dream is usually a turn 3 Cloaked Huntress buying you some sweet tempo. But I’d say that the REAL dream is turn 3 Eaglehorn Bow followed by turn 4 Barnes into Cloaked Huntress + playing a bunch of Secrets.
Violet Teacher – A vanilla 1/1 if you don’t do anything else. But it can flood the whole board in 1/1’s if you have a bunch of spells you can play on the same turn. It seems especially useful in Rogue, when you can immediately play Backstab or Preparation followed by another spell even if you’re at 0 mana.
Fandral Staghelm – I have to say that Druid might not be the best class to play Barnes in, but getting Fandral might get you some serious value. It’s an auto-include into nearly every Druid deck because of how much value it can get you, while not really putting you behind on the tempo (if anything, it boosts your tempo too most of the time). And as a Druid, you might also be able to immediately get some value with the help of Innervate. Getting Fandral into Innervate into Power of the Wild or Wrath is a very sweet move.
Emperor Thaurissan – One of the most common Legendaries. Outside of the combo decks, the effect isn’t really going to immediately win you the game, but it’s very powerful nonetheless. It builds up the tempo of future turns. You’d think that turn 6 Thaurissan is strong, but turn 4 one is even better. Even with just a few cards in your hand, you’re going into the mid game with a nice tempo advantage and you might even be able to translate it into a rather quick victory. If it somehow stays on the board for more than one turn, your advantage grows considerably.
Ragnaros the Firelord and Ragnaros, Lightlord – The Rag Bros. Both have strong effects and both – just like Emperor – get increased value the longer they stay on the board. 3/4 + 1/1 that deals 8 damage to a random enemy or heals random friendly character for 8 are both very strong. They’re usually good on turn 4, but they can actually save the whole game later in the game. Sure, 1/1 Rag is easy to deal with, but if it already killed opponent’s minion or healed you for 8, the job is done.
Gadgetzan Auctioneer – You know what is stronger than a 6 mana Auctioneer? A 4 mana Auctioneer. You don’t necessarily want to get it on turn 4, but just like with a Violet Teacher, a Rogue can already extract some value. The dream is, though, to get him a few turns later when you have prepared a bunch of Coins, Preps and cheap spells. You get extra 2 mana, compared to the regular auctioneer, to do all the miracles. Sure, concealing a 1/1 version is not the greatest idea, because it’s much easier to kill compared to a 4/4 version, but you still can get enough immediate value.
Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound – One of the strongest effects in the game, I might say. For 4 mana you get a 3/4 + 1/1 + a random minion from your deck. The value is insane. I didn’t put it on the top of the list, however, because it’s slightly inconsistent. The effect has insane potential, but you first need to roll Y’Shaarj (which you most likely play in a minion-heavy deck) and then you need to roll again for a meaningful minion. Don’t get me wrong, even getting out a 4/5 or something similar will put it on a Cairne Bloodhoof level with even more potential if it somehow stays up for another turn. If you play a deck that you can fit Y’Shaarj into, you might want to play the Barnes too. Sometimes you straight up win the game on turn 4, especially if a 1/1 Y’Shaarj pulls out a 10/10 version of Y’Shaarj.
Archmage Antonidas – If you ask yourself a question – “which effect would be strongest on a 4 mana minion”, Archmage Antonidas comes to mind. It’s balanced by the fact that it costs 7 mana, so it’s hard to immediately combo him with stuff. But if you manage to get a 4 mana Antonidas with 10 mana available and a bunch of spells, you’re going to end up with A LOT of Fireballs. Luckily, the effect can’t really be abused, because not only Archmage would need to be the only minion in your deck (besides Barnes) to guarantee getting it, but you’d also need to draw Barnes before Antonidas.
Malygos – And I think we have a winner here. Asking the same question as before, I thought that Malygos would be THE strongest minion on 4 mana. Just think about it – having +5 Spell Damage on a 4 mana body means that you have potentially up to 6 mana to play the spells. You don’t even need any Emperor Thaurissan procs to follow up with let’s say the Frostbolt + Ice Lance OTK combo. You can think of similar combos in other classes too – Shaman, Rogue, Druid. That’s why I can definitely see Barnes going into the Malygos decks. Probably luckily for us, though, the Malygos decks aren’t popular and the Barnes combo wouldn’t be very consistent. Not only you’d need to get Malygos and not something else (most of those decks play more minions), but then you’d need to have all the spells ready and prepared. But even discarding the idea of Barnes/Malygos OTK, the combo can still be very strong. Imagine getting Malygos and following up with any AoE for a full board clear. Or just a small single target removal (like Backstab or Living Roots) to kill some late game minion. I think that Malygos has the highest potential out of all the cards you can get from Barnes.
One card that I haven’t mentioned yet is Evolve. I’m not sure if Evolve decks will ever be competitive (because let’s be honest, they’re pretty inconsistent), but they’re definitely fun to play. Let’s say you get a Fire Elemental from Barnes. In normal scenario it would be pretty bad, vanilla 1/1. But in an Evolve deck, since the 1/1 copies keep their original mana cost, if you Evolve those two you end up with a random 5-drop and a random 7-drop. Basically it’s nearly always a huge upgrade in power.
Decks
While there is still a lot left to figure out, some deck lists seem to have exceptional synergy with Barnes. I’ll list a few decks that Barnes has already found his place in. I suspect that Barnes will be one of the most common Legendaries we’ll see for the next year and a half of Standard. The reason is that it’s a low risk, high reward card and it fits into quite a lot of decks. Here are those decks:
Midrange Hunter
So far, this is probably the archetype that has played Barnes most commonly. For the same reason why some people have played N'Zoth, The Corruptor in Hunter after WoG. Hunter is probably the most Deathrattle-heavy class in the whole game. Most of the minions they play have Deathrattles, even if only small. Like I’ve mentioned before, getting a Fiery Bat isn’t really thrilling, but it’s still an advantage. But the decks also run cards like Kindly Grandmother, Infested Wolf or Savannah Highmane and every one of them has great synergy with Barnes. Some lists also run Cloaked Huntress and a bunch of Secrets, which also gets extra synergy with Barnes. You have another chance to get that Cloaked Huntress and utilize the Secrets that are stuck in your hand (you don’t really want to play them for full mana cost in such a deck). A strong, on-curve 4-drop is also very good in the deck, because before it only had one – Infested Wolf (Houndmaster is situational). Barnes feels really natural in this deck, like it was made exactly to be put in there.
Deck Lists
N’Zoth Decks
Even though N’Zoth decks are different in each class, they share a very common similarity. They are all Deathrattle heavy. And as you already know, Deathrattles are amazing with N’Zoth. Most of the N’Zoth decks play cards like Sylvanas Windrunner and Cairne Bloodhoof as a core, plus they fill rest of Deathrattle slots with stuff that fit the deck or possibly class cards. So in the end Paladin will play Tirion Fordring, Rogue will play Tomb Pillager, Priest will play Shifting Shade etc. But in the end, all of those give Barnes extra value.
Deck Lists
Malygos Decks
Decks that run Malygos as their finisher/win condition will also run the Barnes. It gives them a chance to straightforward win the game by getting a Malygos from Barnes while having the burn in the hand ready. Sure, the chance is not big, but even if it’s just a few % it’s worth taking. Then, those decks usually are cycle heavy so play a lot of card draw, not to mention the Emperor Thaurissan that also gets synergy with Barnes. Probably the most popular Malygos deck right now is Malygos Miracle Rogue, because of all the insane cycling it can do with Gadgetzan Auctioneer (which is another reason to play Barnes). But it’s not the only possible Malygos deck – Malygos has a lot of potential in Druid, Shaman or Mage too. I suspect virtually every deck running that Dragon will be using Barnes too.
Deck Lists
Ramp/Astral Druid
Barnes doesn’t really fit into a lot of Druid decks. Druid lists are usually minion-heavy, but quite a bit of those minions will come out as a vanilla 1/1. For example, stuff like Druid of the Claw or Ancient of War, even though they usually come with additional effect (Taunt/Charge), are just vanilla 1/1’s when Barnes summons them, because the effect is Choose One, it’s not printed on the card itself. But if you alter your deck a bit and play more minions with Deathrattles or ongoing effects, it can definitely work. Barnes works quite well in a slow Ramp Druid or even Astral Communion Druid, because those can afford to play slow, big minions with strong effects. Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound is most likely the best example and one of the best minions you can get with Barnes. Getting an early Barnes into Y’Shaarj often means you just win the game, because you’ve gained insane amounts of tempo. Druid can drop Barnes as soon as turn 1/2 thanks to the Innervate and I already had one turn 2 victory with such a deck. Innervate into Barnes into Y’Shaarj into Ragnaros the Firelord. Enemy just instantly conceded on turn 2, because he had no way to deal with that (and most likely no way to deal with 1/1 Y’Shaarj too). Even though those decks might be slightly inconsistent, they’re definitely fun to play and strong.
Deck Lists
Tempo Mage
Tempo Mage is a heavily synergistic deck. Pretty much every minion synergizes with spells in some way – makes them cheaper, gives you random pings, or just gives you Spell Damage. The good part is that even if they’re 1/1 copies, they still get those spell synergies. It means that Barnes in a deck similar to Tempo Mage can’t choose the wrong target. Most of the minions have some kind of positive effects. They’re mostly small and they don’t have huge impact on the game, but it’s a deck in which Barnes is very consistent. Since the deck is very spell-heavy, there is a huge chance that you will be able to immediately take advantage of whatever you get. Most of the lists also run some sort of card draw like Loot Hoarder or Acolyte of Pain that also gets extra synergy. Barnes might not become a staple in Tempo Mage, but it fits some lists very nicely.
Deck Lists
Evolve Shaman
While Evolve might be a wonky card, there are certainly ways to make it work. And Barnes is definitely one of those ways. Like I’ve mentioned before, a 1/1 minion summoned by Barnes keeps the original cost. So it becomes a really, really juicy Evolve target – it summons 2 bodies and both bodies will (very likely) get upgraded after Evolving. The truth is that Evolve Shaman won’t likely run a lot of cards that synergize with Barnes OUTSIDE of the Evolve part. Maybe Totems like Flametongue Totem or Mana Tide Totem can get some value. Bloodmage Thalnos too. Well, even Tunnel Trogg (you can possibly buff its attack if it survives) and Thing from Below (1/1 Taunt) to some extent. But that’s most likely it. But I’ve seen people playing Pantry Spider in their Evolve Shaman, even though the card itself sucks, just because it summoned two 3 mana bodies, making it a good Evolve target. Barnes is way better and it’s okay-ish even as a vanilla 4-drop if you really need one.
Deck Lists
And more!
Honestly, Barnes is a card that can make cut into A LOT of the decks. I didn’t post more examples, because a lot of them aren’t tested well enough yet. Or I didn’t find a good deck list to share and I don’t like sharing my lists before I get a decent sample size. Here are just a few examples of another decks Barnes might possibly fit into: Zoo Warlock, Midrange Paladin, Control/Resurrect Priest, Control Shaman, Freeze Mage (with Antonidas/Malygos) and possibly even more.
I suspect Barnes being tested in a lot of different lists over the course of next month or so. And I’m fairly certain that he will become staple in certain lists until he rotates out of Standard.
Closing
Barnes is a very interesting card. As you can see, you’re not limited to a deck or two. You can play Barnes in a huge variety of decks, the card is awesome tool for clever deck builders. While you can just throw Barnes into just about any deck, you won’t get the best results this way. You need to plan carefully and think which effects you want to copy in certain deck. You need to analyze the pros and cons of having him in the deck. Is he consistent enough? Will you get a strong effect enough times to negate the disadvantage that playing a vanilla 3/4 + 1/1 (because that’s what it will often be) creates?
Since there are SO MANY potential synergies with Barnes, I might have missed some. Or maybe you know a good deck that Barnes fits into that I haven’t mentioned yet? In any case, feel free to leave any questions or comments in the section below.5 SHARES Facebook
Emily McCaughan, a 22-year-old pre-med student at the University of Arizona, was found dead Monday June 11, 2012 after falling more than 20 stories onto the roof of the Circus Circus hotel in Las Vegas. McCaughan had been in Las Vegas attending Electric Daisy Carnival with friends where they had been taking MDMA pills known as ecstacy before the incident. Mignonne Walstad, the spokeswoman for the family, wanted everyone to know that drugs were responsible for Emily’s death and that she was not a regular drug user.
According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, McCaughan began to experience psychosis after taking ecstacy Sunday night and thought that a man was stalking her at the festival. Her friends alerted security at EDC who arranged transportation for McCaughan back to her hotel. The events upon her return are unknown at this time, with more information to be released following the police investigation.
Walstad contributed a statement to the LVRJ that describes the events following her return to Circus Circus Sunday night. Walstad says that Emily barricaded herself in the room, sent messages to friends begging for their return, removed the SIM card from her phone and then jumped off of the ledge to her death.
The death of Emily McCaughan is a tragedy. Nothing will be able to bring her back or console the McCaughan family who feels Emily was cheated from the beautiful life that she deserved. The emotion of losing a child is unfathomable to me and for what it’s worth I empathize with them.
In issuing a statement decrying Emily’s drug use to defend her legacy, the family looks to place blame anywhere that they can. Blame the drugs, music, Insomniac, Circus Circus or friends. Blame everyone reading this article for creating a culture that lead to her death. However in a situation like this where the outcome could have been avoided, where does the blame fall? Drugs kill people. Music makes people want drugs. Insomniac hosted the rave. Circus Circus needed to check on her. The friends shouldn’t have let her go alone.
Let’s stop blaming all of the parties and look at what really happened. A 22-year-old adult chose to take an illegal substance at Insomniac’s Event on her own free will. This illegal substance caused her hallucinate and she needed to be removed from the situation. McCaughan’s friends contacted security at EDC and security arranged for transportation back to her hotel. Her friends did not go with her.
Answer this question.
You’re at a party with a 100,000 people in an unknown city. Your friend is hallucinating about a stalker chasing them. Your attempts to calm them down fail. Do you…. A.) Go back with them to the hotel and possibly seek medical attention
B.) Put a hallucinating person in a cab by themselves in an unknown city
It took her friends an hour to get back from EDC to the hotel. By the time they had arrived she was missing and already dead. McCaughan was in such a severe state that within a one hour period, the 22 year-old pre-med student decided to kill herself.
Without the influence of drugs Emily McCaughan would still be alive. But drugs are already illegal. As prohibition and the failed drug war have proven, additional enforcement or laws do not curb consumption. McCaughan death wasn’t an overdose. She needed help and was abandoned by those she trusted.
What should have happened.
McCaughan’s friends go back with her to the hotel and take her to the emergency room. Emily is forced to make an awkward phone call home explaining why she’s staying in the ER and not Circus Circus.
I’m not writing this to try and influence your decisions or make you a champion for the drug free movement. But as you travel to different festivals and events this summer, just be mindful and conscious of what’s going on around you. Share some love.
– ben
Notes:
A second death has been confirmed as a man was struck by a vehicle leaving the festival Monday morning died from his injuries Saturday at a Las Vegas hospital.
The official statement from Erika Raney of EDC, “We are deeply saddened by the two tragedies that occurred last week in Las Vegas outside Electric Daisy Carnival. The two tragedies occurred beyond the festival’s walls as well as beyond Insomniac’s control and these incidents will not threaten the future of EDC in Las Vegas.”
All Insomniac festivals have a zero-tolerance policy against drugs and a strictly enforced policy barring those under the age of 18 from entering.
Share OnPope Francis is slated to be the next recipient of the annual award, which is handed out by the German city of Aachen in honor of those who promote European unity.
More specifically, the prize is given to people or institutions "distinguished by their outstanding work toward European unity or cooperation between its states."
The prize committee said Wednesday the leader of 1.2 billion Catholics has acted as a "voice of conscience" urging Europe to put people and values at the center of its politics.
"In these times, in which many citizens in Europe seek orientation, His Holiness Pope Francis sends a message of love and encouragement," the prize committee said in a statement.
The prize is usually given out in Aachen but in 2016 will be delivered in Rome.
The Charlemagne Prize was created by Dr. Kurt Pfeiffer in 1950. In 1969, the Commission of the European Community became the first institution that would eventually become part of the EU to receive the award.
Martin Schultz, a German citizen and President of the European Parliament, was the recipient of the prize in 2015.
blc/jil (KNA, dpa)McLaren boss Zak Brown admits the Woking-based outfit could look'silly' if Honda takes a huge step forward in 2018.
The McLaren-Honda partnership reached its epilogue after a painful three-year unsuccessful period, with the British team parting ways with the Japanese manufacturer and switching its allegiance to Renault.
Honda will subsequently supply its power unit to Toro Rosso next season as it continues its quest for success in Formula 1.
"Obviously if Honda starts to win in 2018 and we're not, we will look silly," Brown told Spanish daily Marca.
"But I think everyone has to make their decisions and then accept the outcome. I think the moment you make any decision there is always an element of 'What if I'm wrong?'
"But I think everyone has done their homework and it was a group decision that was not easy," Brown said.
"It's like Indianapolis. Some said 'What if Alonso is injured?' 'What if we lose a great opportunity in Monaco?' But fortunately he (Alonso) drove perfectly and Jenson (Button) started from the pitlane.
"We have to look forward and not back," Brown added.
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter"We would like the [CBA] package that we put together to the AFL to cover, obviously, the current male players, the current female players and past players," Marsh said. "Hopefully it's something that is reasonably simple for the industry to get its head around." Fairfax revealed on Sunday – the day of the first ever telecast of an AFL women's match, which proved a huge ratings success for Channel Seven – how the league is now convinced there is ample talent to support a six-team women's competition within two years. Marsh, who was instrumental in professionalising women's cricket and oversaw large gains in their payment, watched and was impressed by the weekend's women's AFL curtain raiser. The exhibition game featured the top 50 female footballers in Australia, none of whom is paid. As part of a four-day training and educational camp before Sunday's game – an initiative covered financially by the AFL, along with the travel and accommodation expenses of players – an AFLPA representative outlined to both teams a view that their interests would be well served by aligning with the association that has only ever represented male athletes.
"In my experience with cricket there are probably two key things that we would need. We'd obviously need our current members to agree to support a change of our rules to allow for female players to become members," Marsh said. "Secondly, we would need the AFL to recognise us as a representative body of female players. "We've already had a discussion with the AFL about desire to represent female players, to which they're very supportive. We've met with the female players [who were part of Sunday's AFL teams] and I think it's important that we bring female players into the AFLPA membership as soon as we can. And I think it fits in nicely to this next CBA deal. "The timing of the [women's AFL] league coincides with the timing of the next CBA. And certainly from our perspective, and my preliminary thinking, is that we should be factoring female payments into the overall percentage that we are pushing for. "I think a really key part of this journey is first of all making the female players feel as though they are valued by the sport. And that means properly representing them and making sure they've got the basic protections of entitlements in place. One of the first things we did in cricket was extend the education and training grants that were available to male players to female players. And the support services that we had. I think that's a starting point here. We moved, from there, into getting contracts in place for the females, and gradually the value of those contracts has gone up a point now where the Australian (female) players can pretty much be full time cricketers if they want to be."
One of the many women's football ideas being contemplated by the AFL, which has asked its 18 clubs to submit expressions of interests regarding female teams, is featuring female games in next year's finals series. Sunday's match between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, the fourth occasion women have played for the two AFL clubs, was roundly celebrated and drew more television viewers than Adelaide's clash with Essendon. "I thought the game was terrific. It was a terrific showcase," Marsh said. "I think it shows there is a significant level of talent, and I think everyone marvelled at the skills of the players, so I think the sooner that the AFL gets a women's league up and running the better. We're very excited to hear that it's flagged for 2017.""Women's and Men's Relative Status and Intimate Partner Violence in India," by Abigail Weitzman
NEW YORK (25 March 2014) — A new study has found that women in India who have more education than their husbands, who earn more, or who are the sole earners in their families have a higher likelihood of experiencing frequent and severe intimate partner violence (IPV) than women who are not employed or who are less educated than their spouse. The article is included in the latest issue of Population and Development Review, a journal published by the Population Council.
There are two existing theories that aim to predict what happens when a woman has status and resources that are equal to or greater than her husband’s. One theory, called bargaining theory, posits that a woman who has more relative resources in a relationship should be at a lower risk for IPV. A man in such a relationship would worry that his wife would withhold resources if he behaved violently toward her. The other theory, known as gender deviance neutralization, suggests that a woman's superior resources would be viewed as gender deviant and a man would use violence to gain power or maintain control in the relationship. This study supports the latter theory.
Abigail Weitzman, a graduate student at New York University, looked at data from the female-only module of India's National Family Health Survey (NFHS) collected between 2005 and 2006. This module contains data from a nationally representative sample of women aged 15–49 and includes nine variables pertaining to IPV. It also asks a number of questions about women's current employment, relative earnings, and access to other money. Weitz |
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10107 0 wanderingwotan Trump's Cum Disposal (/r/The_Donald) milo_evacuated_the_tolerant_left_in_action
10108 want_to_trump Trumpette
10109 0 wapsipinicon Trump's Cum Disposal (/r/The_Donald) milo_evacuated_the_tolerant_left_in_action
10110 -1 warbeastpegasus
10111 0 wardenofsuperjail Trumpette (/r/The_Donald) 216145_upvotes_the_most_upvoted_post_in_reddit
10112 0 wardensofthenorth Actual Nazi (/r/altright) mrw_my_ancestrycom_test_revealed_my_jewish
10113 0 warlok480 Trumpette (/r/The_Donald) resignation_projected
10114 1 warm_sweater
10115 1 warmfallout
10116 warmjazz Trumpette
10117 0 warofthefanboys Trumpette Mod (link)
10118 -1 warrenalacarte
10119 0 waste_gate Tipping Le Fedora for Trump (/r/The_Donald) hi_my_name_is_arminas_pileckas_im_a_15year_old
10120 0 wastedurtime "I'm not a racist! It's those violent stupid brown people who are racist!" (/r/The_Donald) trump_helping_my_tinder_game
10121 0 watamellon Trumpette (/r/The_Donald) if_people_want_to_hold_russia_accountable_for
10122 0 watango Shits himself at the sight of a Hijab (/r/The_Donald) what_to_do_when_ice_is_outside_your_door
10123 -1 watchmeswang
10124 0 waterproofthis Donald's Cum Dumpster (/r/The_Donald) remember_jeff_sessions_received_this_award_from
10125 0 wattmangresurrected Lovingly Caressing Donald's Junk (/r/The_Donald) reddit_admins_hide_the_donald_posts_from_rall_if
10126 0 wattmangthesecond "Comet Ping Pong Pizza IS ACTUALLY A GATEWAY TO HELL PEDOPHILES ARE ALIEN CHEMTRAIL DEMONS DONALD SAVE US!!" (/r/The_Donald) so_pizzagate_posts_are_being_downvoted_trying_to
10127 wavrunrx Trumpette
10128 0 wavyca BUT HILLARY DID SOMETHING BAD TOO (/r/The_Donald) a_protrump_rally_has_broken_out_in_nyc_and_its
10129 waxtats Trumpette
10130 0 waystogetaround Actual Nazi (/r/altright) this_is_the_currently_top_treading_article_on
10131 1 we_livin
10132 0 weaponized_fakenews Trumpette (/r/The_Donald) we_now_live_in_a_world_where_the_msm_promotes
10133 0 weaponlord Trumpette (/r/The_Donald) late_night_crew_121116
10134 1 weaquen
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10136 0 wearegonnamaga trumpetal (/r/The_Donald) 4chan_anon_has_an_idea_for_the_wall_we_have_the
10137 -1 wears_sweaters
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10140 weedageddon Trumpette
10141 weepyweepies Trumpette
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10143 0 wegottagetback Trumpette (/r/The_Donald) eric_braverman_former_ceo_of_clinton_foundation
10144 0 wehrmacht_bitches_at Actual Nazi (/r/altright) half_naked_women_get_thousands_of_upvotes_how
10145 1 weirdbiointerests
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10148 weisblattsnut Trumpette
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10150 welliguesssothen Trumpette
10151 0 weltallic Trumpette (/r/The_Donald) reddits_biased_moderating_also_affects_peoples
10152 -1 wendysno1wcheese
10153 0 wendywrightz Actual Nazi (/r/altright) swedish_girl_stabbed_in_the_face_twice_by_a
10154 -1 werewolfalpha
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10158 0 westmantooth79 Trumpette (/r/The_Donald) when_you_see_this_face_you_know_a_tactical_nuke
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10161 wewd Trumpette
10162 0 wewuzgoyim Nazi (/r/altright) why_gun_rights_are_important
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10164 0 wfdeacon88 trumpetal (/r/The_Donald) right_now_rush_limbaugh_is_exposing_correct_the
10165 0 whackytech Still dreams of those nights feeling Trumps apricot colored rod inside him (/r/The_Donald) this_man_trolled_us_all_into_paying_attention_to
10166 whaddup_marge Nazi
10167 0 whaleokaythen Nazi Cunt (/r/altright) a_post_in_old_school_cool_is_on_the_front_page
10168 0 wharfthrowaway Still dreams of those nights feeling Trumps apricot colored rod inside him (/r/The_Donald) theyre_voting_on_jeff_sessions_today_instead_of
10169 0 whata_turkey Trumpo (/r/The_Donald) morning_joe_trump_supporters_arent_happy_with
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10172 whatitdo6 Trumpette
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10177 0 whehdun Still dreams of those nights feeling Trumps apricot colored rod inside him (/r/The_Donald) muslims_protesting_trumps_travel_ban_chant_usa
10178 0 whenfoom Trump's Cum Disposal (/r/The_Donald)A mother has spoken out about how her daughter, 13, was relentlessly bullied and then gang raped by two older boys before committing suicide two years later.
Cassidy Trevan was forced to miss out on her fourth term of Year 7 at a Melbourne high school after she was targeted by a group of bullying girls.
Her mother Linda told 9 News that the girls would slap her on the face, leave banana peels at the front door of their family home and regularly abuse her on social media.
Cassidy finally returned to school two days a week - where she was met with an apology from the girls, who asked her to be their friend and invited her to a festival.
But instead of going to the festival, the very same girls led her to a nearby house where she was subjected to a horrific gang rape that savaged her innocence.
Linda Trevan has opened up on how her teenage daughter Cassidy (pictured together) took her own life after relentless bullying and a horrific gang rape by her tormentors
Cassidy Trevan was forced to miss out on her fourth term of Year 7 at school after she was targeted by a group of bullying girls
'They were older boys that Cass didn't know. Two girls who sat and waited. Two boys who shared her and timed each other. One boy stood guarding the front door,' Ms Trevan told 9 News.
'Cass was scared to make a formal statement for fear of retaliation from the gang, and she also was worried reliving it would 'push her over the edge.'
In a heartbreaking open post on Facebook, Ms Trevan said she spent the next two years 'desperately doing everything' she could to keep Cassidy alive.
'I had to watch my baby suffer for the next 22 months from these demons,' she wrote online.
'She worried you would find her and get her again, she went through continued bullying from some of you who managed to get to her by phone or social media, via others, even after what you'd done to her.'
'She suffered flash backs of the crime, nightmares, insomnia, separation anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD and subsequent worsening mental illness.'
After making a recovery and returning to school, the bullying girls apologised to her and asked to be her friend. They asked her to go to a festival, but instead of taking her there she was led to a house where two older boys raped her, her mother claimed
The event caused Cassidy to suffer 'nightmares, insomnia, separation anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD and subsequent worsening mental illness,' Ms Trevan said. After two years of suffering, Cassidy committed suicide aged 15
The suffering teenager moved schools to escape the bullying, but was subjected to further verbal abuse by the main bully online.
'I had to get an intervention order on the main bully girl when she physically assaulted Cass at the shops, after the rape, and she was even calling my mobile demanding to talk to Cass,' Ms Trevan told 9 News.
Cassidy and her mother met with Detectives from Victoria Police's Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigation Team (SOCIT) over 20 times during a two-year period.
But because Cassidy never made a formal statement to Dandenong police, afraid of the social repercussions, authorities were never able to lay any charges.
Tragically, after years of torment, Cassidy committed suicide on December 12, 2015.
Cassidy never made a formal statement to police so they were never able to lay any charges on the alleged rapists
'I helplessly watched my precious child wither away before my eyes, mentally & physically, until she rarely got out of bed, until she could no longer take the pain and torment you caused her,' Ms Trevan wrote.
'What you did to her was a direct cause of her suicide on 12th December 2015.'
'I know who you are, you know who you are, and the police know who you are. I hope the knowledge of what you did haunts you for the rest of your lives, and one day, if you are lucky enough to have children of your own... remember what you did to my precious only baby, and imagine how you'd feel if someone did that to your baby.'
'I'm not a mean, angry, or vindictive person... but what you kids did... I hope you never forgive yourselves and never forget the name Cassidy Trevan. You all have blood on your hands for as long as you live.'
'Bullying killed my child, bullying must be taken seriously.'
'The death of any young person is an absolute tragedy and our sympathies are with Cassidy's family,' a spokesman for the Victorian Department of Education told Daily Mail Australia in a statement.
'Schools have a range of ways to help students who may be experiencing bullying or mental health issues, including by providing qualified counsellors. School staff work hard to identify and support students who need support and we would encourage any students who need help to talk to staff at their school.'
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Cassidy's school and Linda Trevan for comment.
For confidential support call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14.
Anyone across Australia experiencing a personal crisis or thinking about suicide can contact Lifeline.
Regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation their trained volunteers are ready to listen, provide support and referrals.Just got a tip from a trusted source that NSN has a cluster of commercial 4x2 sites with closed loop MIMO at 2x20 MHz in North Dallas.That's pretty high performance stuff, essentially sites transmitting 4 Streams from the base station onto 2 receive paths on our devices. It's also Transmission Mode 4 (Closed Loop) when in low mobility, with higher chance of spatial multiplexing, and very high data rates.Not to mention that they've been running 20Mhz FDD LTE in North Dallas since last year, so really it's an unmatched setup by any standard, anywhere.NSN T-Mobile markets are Seattle, Portland, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, Phoenix, Tucson, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, to name a few.For those lucky ones in those parts using an iPhone, the easy way to check the amount of Tx Antennas on the site is:1. Fire upby dialing2. Toggleto refresh3. Tap on4. Observe the "Typically, we will see 2 as a regular 2x2 MIMO setup, but if you see 4, that would indicate that your Service Cell Site has a 4x2 cluster. You should also notice more robust LTE signal, better average data rates, and more often seeing very high data rates than usual.2013 is turning out to be a good year for engineers because for the third year in a row salaries have increased, and this year the average salary has broken the six-figure mark.
Job satisfaction stays stagnant this year, but more than half of engineers remain satisfied with their jobs. The only factor that experienced a decrease this year is the average bonus.
Our latest salary survey shows that the average engineering salary has increased to $100,664. This is an increase from last year's average of $96,813. Similar to last year, 69 percent of engineers have had an increase in their base annual salary while only 2 percent have experienced a decrease. The remainder reported their salaries have stayed the same.
The 2013 expected bonus is down to $10,537 from last year's $11, 906. However, it is up from the 2011 bonus average of $9,440. Seventy-two percent of engineers said their bonuses have stayed the same, while 16 percent received an increased bonus and 12 percent experienced a decreased bonus. It is interesting to note that the percentage of bonuses that stayed the same, increased, or decreased were the exact percentages we reported last year, even though the average bonus amount in dollars is down.
Our engineer
This year's survey of design engineers in the US has the average age of 48 and has been an engineer for 18 years. These engineers have been with their present employer for 13 years and have been in their current position for nine years. Forty-six hours is the average workweek and 71 percent say their weekly work hours have stayed the same since last year. More than half of those surveyed work in electrical/electronics engineering or mechanical engineering. Other disciplines include manufacturing, software, and materials. Ninety percent have a degree in engineering. Those with a Master's degree or Ph.D. earn the highest average salary of $115,800 and an average bonus of $13,036.
Salaries by region and discipline
Engineers in the West/Southwest (Calif., Nev., Ariz.) bring in the highest average salaries of $116,227 with an average bonus of $14,015. Coming in second are engineers in the South (Ala., Miss., Ark., La., Okla., Texas) with an average salary of $109,985 and an average bonus of $10,434.
At the bottom of the list are engineers in the Midwest (Mich., OH, Ky., Tenn., Wis., Ill., IA, Mo., ND, SD, Neb., and Kan.) with an average salary of $91,533 and an average bonus of $9,666. The Midwest was also at the bottom last year, but the average salary has increased from $88,838 in 2012.
Your job discipline plays a large role in relation to what you are taking home, and engineers working in controls make the most with a combined salary and bonus of $120,895. Electronic engineers come in second with a combined salary of $117,033. Although electronics was at the top of the list last year, the combined salary has risen from 2012's average of $110,782. The semiconductor industry continues to bring in the highest average salary of $115,290 with an average bonus of $17,990. Computer peripherals come in as a close second with an average salary of $113,370 and a bonus of $16,799.Nico Hulkenberg of Germany and Force India prepares to drive during practice ahead of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit on April 18, 2014 in Shanghai, China. Getty Images
Sahara Force India had a strong start to the 2014 Formula One season and are placed fourth in the Constructors’ Championship after seven races, just behind the big trio Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.
The Wall Street Journal spoke with the team’s driver Nico Hulkenberg of Germany about the season so far, the numerous rule changes this season, the sound of V6 turbo-charged engines and much more.
Here are edited excerpts from the interview.
The Wall Street Journal: This has been a season of change for Formula One. Not only with tire compounds but a lot of new technical rules and regulations have been put in place. How has the sport coped with all the changes?
Nico Hulkenberg: 2014 has been a tough season so far, and it is not only pertaining to any one team. I think that applies to the whole grid, all the teams. But Formula One is always coping and moving ahead. Now everyone is more or less comfortable that these new rules are in place.
Speaking from Force India’s point of view in particular, I think we have made a great start to the season. The team has done a good job in the winter and utilized the resources available to give us a quick car, which we have been able to use and we have been competitive in this early part of the season. But it is a tough sport and we need to keep pushing throughout the year.
WSJ: Force India climbed up to second position in the championship standings in the early part of the season, but Red Bull Racing and Ferrari caught up and moved ahead. Can you compete with these big teams going forward, or are you looking to be the best-of-the-rest in 2014?
Hulkenberg: No, I don’t think our aim is to compete with the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari. They are definitely not our direct competitors. These teams have enormous budgets and superior development capabilities and it becomes difficult to compete with them through the season.
Our direct competition is with other Mercedes-powered teams, such as Williams and McLaren, as also Lotus [powered by Renault]. We have made a good start to the season and we are ahead of them. We can compete with them and stay ahead if we keep bringing updates and developing the car with the resources we have available.
Nico Hulkenberg of Germany and Force India looks on in the garage during final practice ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix at Circuit de Catalunya on May 10, 2014 in Montmelo, Spain. Getty Images
WSJ: How do you intend to achieve this? Target more podiums, like the one in Bahrain?
Hulkenberg: We have scored points in all races so far this season. And that is our target every weekend, to score points. We have got a car capable enough to do that, which we need to keep working on as we go along, and then there will always be some weekends where the car is more tuned in to a particular circuit than others. Even so, we cannot go into a race thinking we will |
the passage of tough new UN Security Council sanctions at the weekend.
In a Facebook Live appearance, Republican Sen. John McCain rebuked Trump for his demeanor.
"I am not exactly sure that the President has fully appreciated that when he speaks," McCain said. "The most powerful person in the world -- his words reverberate all over the world."
Was there a plan?
The White House came under intense pressure Wednesday to answer a fundamental question -- did Trump just talk his way into a deeper confrontation with North Korea -- or was his intervention planned in advance?
Eventually, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that officials, including Kelly were aware that the President would take a tough line if asked about North Korea on Tuesday by reporters.
"The words were his own. The tone and strength of the message were discussed beforehand," Huckabee said.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tried to play down the sense of crisis that Trump's phrasing provoked.
"I think Americans should sleep well at night," Tillerson told reporters as he headed home from Asia, saying he saw no sign the US had moved closer to a military showdown over the last 24 hours.
Part of Tillerson's mission was to finesse what Trump actually said.
One reason why the President caused so much consternation on Tuesday was that he appeared to draw a red line -- not just on North Korea's use of a nuclear weapon, or on constructing an ICBM, but just for continuing to issue the kind of threats that are the daily staple of the communist state.
Tillerson, not for the first time, artfully tried to reframe exactly what the President said: "I think the President just wanted to be clear to the North Korean regime that the US has an unquestionable ability to defend itself, will defend itself and its allies and I think it was important that he deliver that message to avoid any miscalculation on their part."
Mattis redrawing the red line?
Tillerson was not the only Trump official working on cleanup.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis later issued a written statement -- a method of communication that allowed him to spell out a stark message, but in a way that did not add to the sense of crisis.
"It must be noted that the combined allied militaries now possess the most precise, rehearsed, and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth," Mattis said. "The DPRK regime's actions will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates."
Mattis's tough language appeared to be aimed at both North Korea and perhaps his own boss, in order to dispel any sense of disunity in the President's core foreign policy team.
But the defense secretary also appeared to subtly redraw the red line that the President established in his remarks on Tuesday.
While Trump warned of "fire and fury" as a price for North Korea's threats, Mattis said that the DPRK "should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people."
That could be read as a warning that any effort by Pyongyang to send a long-range missile America's way would lead to North Korea being wiped off the map -- a criteria for US action much narrower than Trump established on Tuesday.
State Dept. says everyone's on the same page
At the State Department, spokeswoman Heather Nauert offered a glimpse of the administration's efforts to try to inject some retrospective logic into Trump's Tuesday outburst.
"The President is sending a strong message to North Korea in the kind of language that North Korea understands," Nauert said, and also denied the administration was on different pages on how to deal with North Korea.
One of Nauert's predecessors, John Kirby, who now works as a national security analyst for CNN, said her comments were clear evidence of a crisis communications machine swinging into action.
"I think this is strategy after the fact, this is communications after it is already out," said Kirby. "The President says this crazy thing yesterday and everybody had to figure out how they react to it."MODE bands are versatile—they come in four widths, fit most Android Wear watches, and work on mechanical watches too. This first collection comes in a rainbow of colors, and is available in leather and silicone, so you can easily go from the office to the gym to a night out.
Join the bandwagon
This is just the beginning. We want Android Wear to give you as much choice as possible, so we’ll be sharing the MODE mechanism design and source with other brands to use to create their own snap-and-swap watch bands. To help brands get started, we’ve created a vendor playbook with instructions, requirements and brand guidelines. To find out more, email us at wearMODE@google.com.
MODE bands are now available online at the Google Store (US) Amazon, and Best Buy. We’re excited to see all the ways you wear what you want.Learn more about MODE at g.co/WearMODEAfter taking some time to consider his future, Western Bulldogs Captain Bob Murphy says he has “unfinished business” and will play on for an 18th AFL season in 2017.
Murphy yesterday signed a contract to extend a career that has produced so much, including 295 games, two All-Australian nods including one as captain, AFLPA best captain award and three international rules series.
List Manager Jason McCartney said Murphy’s influence was immeasurable and that his signature was a major boost for the Club.
“The decision to offer Bob another contract was an easy one because of just how much he brings holistically to this place,” McCartney said.
“He is such an important figure here, both from a leadership perspective but what he also offers as a player.”
“It was welcome news for everyone at the Club.”
The 33-year-old made the decision after spending some time away and cited his desire to give more to the Club that drafted him with pick 13 in the 1999 AFL Draft.
“I’ve still got the passion to play and obviously, there’s unfinished business for this team and our Club,” Murphy said.
“To have your Club in your corner, saying that they really want you to play again can’t be underestimated.”
“I feel like I can get back to playing good footy, and I still feel like I’ve got something to offer. I miss it, I miss playing with those boys.”When I was twelve, I came to the conclusion that everyone in the world, including my own family, was against me. I was never a problemed child, but my parents sure treated me like one.
For example, I used to need to be home by 5:00pm every day. This clearly restricted my amount of “play time” outdoors. I wasn’t allowed to have friends over to play at the house, nor was I allowed to go over anyone else’s. I had to finish homework directly after I came home from school, no matter how long it took. My parents refused to buy me video games and forced me to read books and then write a book report on them to prove I actually read it!
Now, even though those rules listed above were quite frustrating to me as a child, they aren’t what upset me most. What really hurt me was the lack of compassion on behalf of my parents. My mother was a bitter woman who always made me feel guilty of accidents or mistakes I’ve made. My father only knew one emotion: frustration. The only time he spoke to me was when he screamed at me for receiving poor test scores or beat me for misbehaving.
But enough about them, let’s talk about my school’s psychologist. For his own privacy, we will call him Dr. Tanner. Like most junior high schools, a psychologist is always available on campus during school hours to assist any students in need of counseling whether it is emotional, academic, social, behavioral, etc.
To be honest, I have never seen any students talking with Dr. Tanner. Every day, I would walk past his office on my way the cafeteria and peek through his door’s little window. He would always be alone in there, working on some paperwork.
I guessed that most kids were too afraid to speak about their problems to an adult who was practically a stranger. For this reason, it took me three weeks to muster enough courage to go into his office. March 2nd, 1993, was the day I decided to voice my troubles to Dr. Tanner. During lunch break, I stood in front of his office door and knocked.
Through the window, I could see him raise his head, smile, and motion for me to come in. I did.
He greeted me by introducing himself and asking for my name. Dr. Tanner was a very soft spoken man who seemed to radiate kindness. In less than thirty minutes, I rambled to Dr. Tanner about how mean my parents were to me and how they didn’t care about me at all. After a while, my voice began to quaver and I stopped speaking. The psychologist listened patiently to my whole spiel, arms folded and head nodding. I half expected him to begin talking about how everything I had just said was untrue and that my parents loved me dearly and blah blah blah. But he didn’t.
Dr. Tanner leaned towards me with a grin on his face and said “You know… I’m the best school psychologist in the world. I promise we will fix this.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, but how?” I asked.
“I have my ways!” he replied. “I’m a man of my word. I promise that within just one month, the relationship between you and your parents will change for the better. Forever.”
After a brief pause, he continued; “Although, I do need you to make me a promise.”
“You have to promise me that you’ll come back to my office after school tomorrow and that you won’t tell anyone that we had this conversation today. It’ll be our little secret.”
I promised.
The following day, I returned to Dr. Tanner after school. It was around 4:00pm when I entered his office. After a warm welcome, he asked me to have a seat in front of his desk once again.
Upon sitting down, I watched Dr. Tanner close the blinds of the door’s tiny window. “There,” he smiled, “now we have all the privacy we need!”
We began to talk about my likes and interests, my favorite subjects in school, my least favorite teachers, and things of the like. About an hour into the conversation, Dr. Tanner offered me a soft drink.
I gladly took the offer, considering my parents never allowed me to drink soda. Dr. Tanner reached over to his mini-fridge and fidgeted around before setting down two open cans of soda on the desk.
Afterwards, we continued to talk about what was going on in my life but it wasn’t long before I passed out from whatever drugs Dr. Tanner placed in my drink.
It took me a minute or so to adjust my blurred vision upon waking…
… And when it did, I had no idea what to think.
I was handcuffed to a bed and my mouth was sealed with duct tape. I immediately began to panic- squirming and tugging at the cuffs- but gave up soon after.
My eyes widened in disbelief after looking around the room. There were posters of superheroes pinned up along the walls and photographs of famous athletes on shelves. In the middle of the room was an old television and Super Nintendo, various game cartridges stacked alongside it.
I didn’t know what to think. Here I am in a room filled with items most kids would die to play with. I would have probably cried from joy hadn’t I been handcuffed to a bed frame.
My stomach sank once again as the door opened and Dr. Tanner walked inside. He sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Now listen,” he said, “remember that I’m here to help you and I would never hurt you, okay?” Dr. Tanner gently removed the tape from my mouth and then the cuffs from my hands.
My first instinct was to begin crying but something about Dr. Tanner made me feel safe. He smiled at me. “You’re going to be staying here for a while,” he continued, “and during this time, you’re allowed to play with any toys in this room while I’m here at home.”
“But when I leave the house, I’ll need to cuff one of your hands back to the bed. You can still watch the television, but I want you to only watch the news channels when I’m away.”
I sat in silence, still trying to process the information he had given me.
“So!” Dr. Tanner yipped, slapping me on the knee. “You go ahead and knock yourself out; I’ll be back when it’s time for dinner.”
He got up from the bed, walked across the room and clicked the TV’s power button before locking the door behind him.
Several more minutes passed before I realized that Dr. Tanner wasn’t joking. All that was left for me to do was boot up the Nintendo and play Mario until nightfall.
At about 7:00pm, Dr. Tanner returned to the room carrying two plates of mashed potatoes and chicken strips. I finally gathered up the courage to ask him how long I’d be staying in this room. “Well, about a month,” he replied, “give or take a few weeks. I just have some work I need to do.”
The following morning, I awoke to Dr. Tanner’s hand patting my head. “Hey bud, you don’t have to wake up right now if you don’t want, but I am going to need to put this back on,” he whispered, clamping the cold steel handcuff onto my wrist.
I gazed up at him. He was wearing a collared shirt and slacks, a coat draped over his shoulder and a suitcase at his side. He looked just how he always did when I saw him around school. Before leaving he placed the TV’s remote next to me and told me to turn it on and watch the news.
The first thing I saw upon turning it on was a “breaking news” segment. An important looking police officer stood at a podium surrounded by people with microphones. I happened to begin viewing half way through his speech.
“A statewide Amber Alert has been issued as of this morning. We have several investigators working towards identifying potential abductors, but as of right now there is not much evidence. Faculty members state that the boy had been last seen around four or five in the evening on-“
I began to feel nauseous as a photograph of me appeared on the screen. It was my yearbook picture from last year. Captions for the photograph displayed my name and age, my school, and my town. Above my picture were alternating titles: FBI BEGINS SEARCH FOR CHILD and KIDNAPPING SUSPECT UNKNOWN and POTENTIAL RUNAWAY.
The live footage continued and two figures I soon recognized as my mom and dad stepped up to the podium. Both appeared to have reddened eyes. Tears streamed down my mother’s face as she took hold of a microphone.
I’d never seen so much emotion come from my mother before as she wept on live television, stuttering on sentences such as “please return my baby back to me” and “I’m so sorry” and “please come home to us”.
When my father took the microphone, I nearly expected his attitude to be stone cold, but he too had tears in his eyes. He pleaded to the world to bring his son home safely and lastly begged for my forgiveness! “I know I haven’t been the best father, but goddamn it do I wish I had been now. Please bring my boy back.”
I turned the power off shortly after. My emotions were mixed for I had never once seen my father cry.
I felt miserable that my parents were being put through so much, but at the same time I felt relief. I now know how much mom and dad love me.
Nearly four weeks have passed and Dr. Tanner has been treating me with the utmost respect. He leaves me in the morning cuffed to the bed frame, but returns in the afternoon to eat lunch and dinner with me, talk, and play games. I never would have guessed how good Dr. Tanner was at Monopoly and Scrabble.
But one morning when Dr. Tanner woke me before heading off to work, I noticed a stern look on his face. I also realized that it was three hours earlier than when he usually wakes me.
“You need to watch the news today. No exceptions. I want you to keep the television on all day and pay close attention to it,” he stated grimly.
I, of course, complied and watched him exit the room.
About two hours later, a breaking news segment interrupted the toothpaste commercial I was watching. The title:
HUMAN REMNANTS FOUND
Two staunch looking men in suits stood aside one another and began speaking:
“We are displeased to bring up such unfortunate news this morning regarding our missing child case from earlier this month.”
One of the men bowed his head while the one speaking shuffled through some papers. He continued:
“Remains of a body have been found in a garbage bag beneath a highway overpass. The body appears to be that of a child, although not much of it is left. The body has been decapitated and much has been burnt to ash and bone.”
The screen shifted over to a helicopter view of the freeway, dozens of police cars gathered near the bottom of a tall overpass. The man’s voice could still be heard:
“Within the bag police found a junior high school identification card labeled as such.” The screen showed the school ID card I always kept in my backpack. The plastic was sort of melted away, but my photograph and name were intact.
After the two men dismissed themselves, the camera panned over to my parents. They were sitting among reporters; my mother’s face held a painful grimace and my father sulked his head down at his knees.
I shut the television off.
Dr. Tanner returned home very late. He hurried into the room, unlocked my cuffs, and placed a bottle of fizzing water into my hand.
He placed his hands onto my shoulders and smiled.
“I made you a promise, didn’t I?”
I nodded, tears squeezing their way out my eyes.
“You need to make me a promise again,” he whispered.
He told me that I needed to drink all the water in the bottle- it would help me sleep- and that from here on, I am never to tell anyone that I ever met him. I promised.
“I told you I’m the best school psychologist in the world, didn’t I?”
And he was right.
I awoke later that night to find myself lying in the middle of a park, stars shining brilliantly across the night sky. I recognized the park; it wasn’t too far from my school.
A mile or so down the road, I saw my house. The lights were off inside, but I could make out my father sitting on the step leading to the front door.
I hesitantly called out to him. He lifted his head slowly, but when he saw it was me, he sprang to his feet, ran towards me arms open, yelling my name. My mother erupted from the house behind him.
Dr. Tanner was right. Things have changed with my family and I. My parents smile more often and treat me lovingly. I could not ask for a more perfect ending.
Every now and then, I see Dr. Tanner on campus- talking to and from his office. Rarely do we ever make eye contact, let alone speak to one another, but sometimes he’ll shoot me a wink and a smile.
I’ll always keep my promise to him and pretend I never met him, but there will always be one question forever floating in my mind: who did Dr. Tanner decapitate and throw off the overpass?The electric eel is one of the many creatures Charles Darwin sliced up and examined in his years aboard the H.M.S. Beagle. When he cut it open, he found that 80 percent of the fish’s body was taken up by three organs made of what looked like muscle tissue, but not quite. This is where the animal makes electricity.
After finding similar organs in other fish, Darwin correctly deduced that the lineages—six in all—came to the same adaptive conclusion independent of one another. Until now, though, no one has known how similar they were. According to a paper published today in Science, at least three of the six lineages evolved their electric organs through the same genetic pathways.
Taxonomically, these lineages were too distantly related to have inherited the organ from a common ancestor. In Origin of Species Darwin wrote that “Natural selection, working for the good of each being and taking advantage of analogous variations, has sometimes modified in very nearly the same manner two parts in two organic beings.” Biologists call this convergent evolution.
“Imagine houses in built different parts of the country. The house in New Mexico may look different from a house in New England, but they’re built using the same basic structural parts,” said co-author Jason Gallant, a biologist at Michigan State University.
The team started with the electric eel—not actually an eel, but a type of knifefish. They took took DNA samples from cells in its electric organ—called electrocytes—and compared it to the DNA from other tissue, including its muscle, kidney, and nerve cells. From about 25,000 genes, about 100 stood out. In muscle cells, which electrocytes evolved from, these genes control the ability to contract. In the eel, these genes were highly suppressed. “We think these are the ones that turn off the ‘muscleness’ of a muscle cell and turn on the current-generating ability,” said co-author Michael Sussman, a geneticist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The electric organ discharge starts when the fish’s brain sends signals that release a neurotransmitter onto the electrocytes. This opens tiny molecular doors that allow positively-charged sodium ions to rush in, creating an electric current. Our brain cells operate by moving ions around in a similar way.
After they’d isolated the genes in electric eels, the researchers looked at the RNA—the acid that encodes genes from DNA—of two other lineages of electric fishes. They found that the same genes were similarly manipulated, all with the same effect: Tweaking the muscle cell genetic code as a blueprint for a little organic battery.
Each electrocyte only turns out about 50 millivolts of electricity, but they are stacked end-to-end in the organ, so their charges accumulate like batteries in a Maglite. The eel’s electric organs (which take up about four-fifths of its body) can generate up to 600 volts. “There’s enough power in the eel’s electric organ to kill anything it wants,” said Sussman.
In each of the six electric fish lineages, there are several to hundreds of species. In Africa, there are over 200 species of electric elephantfish, and Gallant says that number has grown a lot in relatively recent evolutionary history. This is because they use their electric charge to communicate, in addition to helping them navigate the roots and rocks in their murky, river habitats. (Using electricity for predation, like the electric eel does, is a rarity among electric fish species.)
Each species of African elephantfish has its own specific frequency or pattern, a niche that helps it distinguish its own kind from the crowded, muddy water.
“What’s really interesting is that this diversity of electric discharges—really, the invention of new electric discharges—might be driving new species,” said Gallant.
The recording below is the amplified sound of the electrical frequency that the Brienomyrus brachyistus elephantfish uses during courtship.
Sussman believes this research might have practical applications. Someday, he says, scientists might be able to create electrocytes from human stem cells, which could power biomedical devices like pacemakers or insulin pumps. But this, he says, is probably years away.
“I’m not promising people that you’ll have electric organs and be able to charge your cell phones right away,” he said, “but I’m hoping that this paper might inspire research that will be able to create electrocytes.”
However, the air we live in doesn’t conduct electricity like water does, so you probably don’t have to worry about getting shocked by a bio-engineered super villain.But as the country opens up, many people who work in Myanmar, citizens and foreigners alike, say they are worried the country’s underlying problems could stall or limit growth. The list of obstacles is daunting, including both longstanding troubles — the shortage of skilled labor, the absence of a solid legal system, deeply embedded corruption and dilapidated infrastructure — as well as new ones, including surprisingly high prices.
One of the most troubling concerns, businessmen say, is a lack of skilled workers.
Although the government of U Thein Sein, the president of Myanmar and the main driver of liberalization, has been in office only since March 2011, there are already severe shortages of some categories of workers.
“A lot of companies are asking for top managers in sales and marketing,” said U Ko Lin, the director of Career Development Consultancy, a leading recruitment and employment agency in Myanmar. “I can’t find them the right people. It’s very hard.”
Last month, Mr. Ko Lin received a Japanese delegation scouting for business opportunities, and he was told that one of its members’ main concerns was the local pool of labor. “Everyone has the same conclusion: There’s a lack of skills,” Mr. Ko Lin said. “Because of the poor schools, you don’t have quality people.”
Myanmar’s education system was decimated during what the Asian Development Bank calls “50 years of stagnation” under military rule. Universities, once centers of political dissent, were particularly hard hit and strapped for cash.
The South Korean manager of a shoe factory in Yangon said that trying to find even unskilled labor could be challenging. “We have an extremely hard time finding employees,” said the manager, who had been advised by his company’s lawyer not to give his name for fear of jeopardizing the company’s operations in the country.
The manager, who has worked in Myanmar for three years, estimated that about half of his workers were functionally illiterate, much lower than he had anticipated.
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Also a surprise, he said, was the contrast between workers in Myanmar and those his company employs in countries like Vietnam, China or Indonesia. Workers in Myanmar are gentle and friendly, he said, but “not very motivated by money.”
During the years of military rule, there was an exodus of Burmese talent, primarily to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the gulf countries. The government has said it hopes to lure back Burmese who are living abroad. But for Burmese earning relatively good wages abroad, returning to Myanmar may be a question of price.
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Mr. Ko Lin said that Burmese engineers working in Singapore in the oil or natural gas industries could sometimes demand salaries in Myanmar higher than what they were earning in Singapore.
The high wages that companies must pay in Myanmar to attract experienced workers undercuts some of the advantages typically associated with less developed countries.
That is being compounded by prices broadly inflated by a sharp rise in speculation. Myanmar is by some measures more expensive and less efficient than its much more developed neighbor, Thailand.
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The average office rent in Sakura Tower, in the heart of Yangon’s business district, is about $4.65 per square foot. That is twice the average rent for office space in the central business district of Bangkok, said Surachet Kongcheep, senior manager of the Thai branch of Colliers International, a real estate company. But unlike companies in many other large Asian cities, those in Yangon must deal with regular power failures, unreliable Internet service and primitive telephone connections to other countries.
The main problem with the Yangon rental market is a shortage of supply. Colliers estimates that Yangon has a total of 667,000 square feet of office space. By comparison, a single building in Bangkok, the Empire Tower, has more than twice that amount.
There are obvious economic bright spots. The number of foreigners — business people and tourists — visiting the country rose 26 percent last year, according to the Asian Development Bank, a boon for hotels and others who cater to visitors. (That group is likely to grow if economic sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union are lifted, though some Western executives are already visiting to position themselves in anticipation of eased sanctions.) At one of Yangon’s most exclusive hotels, The Strand, the least expensive room this week was $430 a night.
And while the shortage of office space and the generally battered state of the infrastructure are short-term handicaps, they could be long-term opportunities for investors.
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In many ways, Myanmar is a country waiting to be built. Seventy-five percent of the country’s 55 million people do not have access to electricity, according to the Asian Development Bank.
U Soe Aung, the managing director of Aung Thukha, a construction company, said he expected brisk business in the years to come. But he also cautioned that the old political patronage system, in which generals and their business partners dominated the economy, remains partly intact.
Government workers in Myanmar still have enormous sway over who gets permits and licenses, a system ripe with opportunities for corruption.
In the old Myanmar, businessmen without connections to the military always feared the authorities. Doing business “was like hitting your head against a giant stone wall,” Mr. Soe Aung said. “The stone wall is being dismantled — but only to some extent.”
Already, however, there are signs that changes, at least in the short term, are also hurting local businesses. As buildings in Yangon rise from long-neglected vacant lots, for instance, the price of bricks has risen 20 percent over the past year.
With so much at stake, some Burmese businessmen are reaching to tradition to calm their jitters, heading to fortunetellers.
They fear a loss of control if they take on foreign partners, and a loss of business if they do not. They fret over escalating prices and having to learn a new system for getting ahead if their old military patrons step back.
“They don’t believe in the system — they don’t believe it will benefit them in the long run,” said Daw Saw Yu Nwe, a prominent fortuneteller, whose clients in recent months have included hotel owners, gem merchants and shrimp farmers. As she examines their palms in an incense-filled room, she tells them that doing business in the new Myanmar will be like trying to taste “a drop of honey on a sharp knife.”
“The taste of the honey will be very delicious,” she says, “but if you’re not skillful you will cut yourself.”From educational attainment to safety to public health, residents in America's poorest neighborhoods are so often found to be at a disadvantage. And now according to a new study, they're also much more likely to be in physical pain.
Published recently in the Journal of Pain, the study looked at incidences of chronic pain in people aged 18 to 49 and found significantly higher rates among those living in lower income areas as compared to more affluent areas.
The report notes that "[l]iving in a lower [socioeconomic status] neighborhood was associated with increased sensory, affective, and 'other' pain, pain-related disability, and mood disorders."
In a survey of about 3,700 adults, the researchers also found higher rates of chronic pain among African Americans.
These correlations aren't particularly surprising. A large number of factors tend to play into why discrepancies exist between people in low income neighborhoods and those in higher income neighborhoods. As our own Richard Florida explained last fall in his article "America's Great Dental Divide," income is hardly the only data point that explains, in this case, why some people go to the dentist and others don't:
Dental visits closely track socioeconomic class. They are much higher in states where a higher percentage of the workforce is employed in knowledge, professional, and creative work. The creative class is significantly associated with dentist visits (.31). The same is true of the share of college graduates, a measure of the knowledge base and human capital in a state. The correlation between dental visits and college grads is even higher (.65). On the flip side, visits to the dentist are negatively associated with the working class share of a state’s workforce (-.28).
Access to health insurance, for example, also plays a role in who sees a dentist, or any other health professional for that matter. In lower-income areas, there's a higher chance that peoples' jobs don't provide health insurance, which might make someone more likely to simply deal with that bum leg than go get it checked out. And it's often the case that one ailment leads to another, creating a cycle of medical or pain issues that only get worse.What is the speed of sound? It’s a hit song by Coldplay — and, of course, whatever a carpool lane will allow.
Chris Martin will be the next passenger in James Corden’s car in the upcoming “Carpool Karaoke,” EW has learned.
The Coldplay frontman will appear in a road-trip themed installment of the viral bit from CBS’ The Late Late Show with James Corden that will air the week of Feb. 1. (See a first look photo above.)
“It’s more of a road trip than it is a Carpool in many ways,” Corden tells EW. “I’m such a fan of his. I’m a fan of that band — they mean the world to me. It was very funny. He brought a keyboard over, and it involved an overnight stay. It was fun.”
Late Late Show executive producer Ben Winston also dropped a few hints about the installment, which relates to Coldplay performing during the Super Bowl 50 halftime show on Feb. 7. “Usually James gets a lift to work, but this time we thought because Chris was playing the Super Bowl halftime, he was actually in need of a lift this time.”
He also noted that during the drive, the duo paid musical respects to pioneering art rocker David Bowie, who passed away last week. “We did a really beautiful tribute to David Bowie,” he says, “and that was really lovely.”
The most recent ride, which featured Adele singing such hits as her own “Hello” and the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe,” has already tallied almost 50 million YouTube views since its Jan. 13 debut. Previous passengers grabbing a ride with Corden and singing their hits (and unexpected covers) include Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Stevie Wonder, and One Direction.
Elton John has filmed a “Carpool Karaoke” segment that will air Corden’s post-Super Bowl show.On Wednesday, a federal judge struck down a law allowing the indefinite detention of anyone suspected of terrorism on American soil as a violation of free speech and due process. Two days later, the House made it clear it considered those to be petty concerns, voting to keep the repellent practice of indefinite detention on the books.
On a 238-to-182 vote, it rejected a proposal for something so basic that it is hard to believe there was an argument about it: a formal charge and trial for anyone arrested in the United States. You might have thought that was guaranteed in the Constitution, but that right was stripped away in last year’s military policy bill, signed by President Obama, which made an exception for terror suspects. By giving the military the power to deal with domestic terrorists, the bill essentially allowed presidents to brand anyone a terrorist and lock them up for life without a trial.
“That is an extraordinary amount of power to give the executive branch over individual freedom and liberty,” said Adam Smith, a Democrat of Washington, who proposed amending this year’s defense bill to end the exception. “I don’t think it is necessary to keep us safe.” He was joined by Justin Amash, a Republican of Michigan, and several libertarians who feared government abuse.
But they couldn’t persuade the larger Republican majority, along with 19 Democrats. Never mind that hundreds of terrorists have been locked up by civilian courts. Supporters of detention said they were horrified that a police officer might read a terrorist a Miranda warning. “I think the vast majority of people in this body and around the country do not think telling them they have the right to remain silent as the first thing they hear is a wise thing,” said Mac Thornberry, a Republican of Texas.
A federal judge, at least, has recognized that basic rights cannot be arbitrarily removed from an entire class of people so lawmakers can look tough. In her opinion earlier this week, Judge Katherine Forrest of the Southern District of New York blocked the government from enforcing the detention provision because it violated the First and Fifth Amendments. Noting that the law also allows detention for those who support terrorists, she said the language was so vague that it could allow journalists writing about terrorists to be locked up. That has a “chilling impact on First Amendment rights,” she wrote.
The overall defense bill was approved by the House, and President Obama has threatened to veto it — not because it fails to prohibit detention, but because it violates an agreement on the military budget and tries to prohibit same-sex marriages on military property, among other flaws. The Senate has an opportunity to fix this bill to restore the due-process rights found in the Constitution.Prison Planet.com
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The man who filmed a video that appeared to depict gunshots being fired in the immediate aftermath of the Polish plane crash has apparently been stabbed to death in what many are claiming was a deliberate assassination to silence the individual from making public whatever it was he saw.
The following translation appears on numerous websites, with this Polish website being the original source.
Film, który zepewne już wszyscy widzeli, autor
tego filmu Adrij Mendierej, któremu wbito noż w
okolicach Kijowa 15 Kw.2010 roku został
przewieżony w tragicznym stanie do szpitala w
Kijowie, gdzie 16 kwietnia dwóch nieznanych ludzi
odłączyło mu respirator. J po raz kolejny wbito mu
3 razy nóż. Andrij zmarł po południu o15.03 czasu
Moskiewskiego 16 kwietnia 2010 roku. Ale
oczywiście jest to przypadek wg ROSYJSKIEGO RZĄDU
The translation is roughly as follows.
“Author of the video seen by everyone by now has been stabbed near Kijow on 4.15 and transported in critical condition to the hospital in Kijow. On 4.16 three unidentified individuals unplugged him from life support system and stabbed him 3 more times. Andrij was prenounced dead that afternoon. Russian government claims it was a coincidence. ”
The video, which can |
it would be like the Federal Reserve or central bank offering consumer banking services direct to the public. Why would anyone need a Chase account if they can get their FedCoin and its iPhone wallet directly from the Federal Reserve? Furthermore. there would be no way to stop people developing software to send and receive these coins anywhere in the world, and of course, to secure the network, they would have to employ the hash power of people outside the government, which would limit the amount of control they had. The Bitcoin network is the most secure because it is big and mined by different self interested parties. Any network that is small can be attacked; you can’t expose your digital tokens to the public and also maintain complete control. You either have an Intranet where its trusted nodes and users, or you have an Internet where trust is moved from the center to the peers. There is no half way measure in this; its one or the other. Central bank digital currencies are not “a better model” they are a disaster. Just ask the Canadian Royal Bank about their doomed Mint Chip project: Why Mint Chip Died
The Canadian Royal Mint’s attempt to launch its own digital currency has failed. These are the reasons why.medium.com Based on many of the false assumptions and hubris we see in the central bank’s approach to Bitcoin, Mint Chip was doomed from the beginning because it did not take into account the reality of what money should be. They worked from an incorrect set of assumptions, and built a product to a specification that was entirely in error. Bitcoin on the other hand, was built from entirely correct assumptions and observations about how central bank issued fiat currencies work. That is why it is so powerful; it is fundamentally correct. That anyone can claim that a FeCoin is good because it is “backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.” shows they either know nothing about the true nature of government fiat currency or they are being sarcastic. Full faith and credit is meaningless. The destruction of the US Dollar is proof of this This same organization, that oversaw the obliteration of the value of the US Dollar, is now, for no reason, going to be trusted with the creation of an alt-coin that is to replace Bitcoin? Surely this is a joke. All the elements proposed to make this FedCoin digital currency a reality were invented by the free market. From the idea of wallets on phones onward, none of it has come from the State. That everyone should now just give up their Liberty to accept a FedCoin is a risible idea. There is no way this is going to happen, and if it is mandated in the USA, it will be GSM vs CDMA all over again, and the USA will be forced to capitulate. No one on Earth will accept the domination of a US controlled alt-coin as the global reserve currency. Only a neutral, global, ethical, unmalleable, transparent and stateless digital currency, Bitcoin, will be acceptable to everyone as the keystone money of the Earth. What the Esperanto people failed to do with language, Bitcoin will succeed with money! What does the future hold for central bankers and regulators? The answer to this is nothing. This is the explicit purpose of Bitcoin; to eradicate the central banks and put the money function out of reach of regulators permanently. People are asking the wrong questions about Bitcoin. One of these wrong questions is “What role should we (the state) play in the emerging digital asset economy?” The answer is you have no role to play. You are now nothing more than peers on the network at best. You will only be tolerated if you provide a useful service. Any anti-Bitcoin action you take will be rejected by the network’s users. Your only option now is to capitulate gracefully and set up a mining farm. Perhaps you could set one up in Fort Knox, which would be an appropriate site. Or perhaps you could re-purpose your redundant, obsolete and repugnant Internet espionage centre in Utah:
Thanks to Apple and other providers, this espionage den in Utah will soon be made absolutely redundant. Everything is being encrypted; all handsets, email, phone calls and web sessions are going dark with military grade encryption and there is nothing that the NSA can do to stop it. These facilities could however be repurpused to mine Bitcoin, helping to secure the network and earning legitimate money for the US Government.Animation by Slate. Photos by Getty Images, Reuters.
There are years, decades even, in which history slows to a crawl. Then there are weeks that are so eventful that they seem to mark the dissolution of a world order that had once seemed solid and to foretell the rise of one as yet unknowable.
The week of July 11, 2016, has every chance of being remembered as one of those rare flurries of jumbled, inchoate, concentrated significance. The centrifugal forces that are threatening to break political systems across the world may have started to register a decade ago; they may have picked up speed over the last 12 months; but never since the fall of the Berlin Wall have they wreaked havoc in so many places in so short a span of time—showcasing the failures of technocratic rule, the terrifying rise of populist strongmen, and the existential threat posed by Islamist terrorism, all in the span of seven short days.
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At first glance, a political crisis in London; a terrorist attack in Nice, France; a failed putsch in Ankara, Turkey; and a bloviating orator on his way to becoming the Republican nominee for the presidency of the United States look like the dramatic apex of very different, barely connected screenplays. To my eye, they are garish panes of glass that add up to one unified, striking mosaic. Looked at from the right distance, they tell the story of a political system, liberal democracy, that has long dominated the world—and is now in the midst of an epic struggle for its own survival.
A Week Full of Omens
The week started with all eyes on the United Kingdom. Brits had recently voted to leave the European Union in a referendum whose unexpected results sent shock waves across the continent. But when David Cameron resigned as prime minister, when the promises of leading members of the “Leave” campaign went up in smoke, when the pound tanked and the first companies announced layoffs and many voters reportedly began to regret their choice, it seemed as though the country’s elites might engineer some subtle subterfuge. And the woman to engineer that subterfuge was Theresa May, a cautious supporter of the “Remain” campaign who had quickly emerged as one of two candidates to succeed Cameron as the country’s next prime minister.
Those hopes were dashed when May set out her political program in a hastily arranged campaign appearance in the city of Birmingham early on Monday morning. “Brexit,” she vowed in the most significant piece of political tautology of recent times, “means Brexit.” If May became prime minister, she would lead the country out of the EU—throwing the defining political project of Europe’s postwar era into an existential crisis.
Stefan Wermuth/Reuters, Michael Tubi/Corbis via Getty Images
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By the time Big Ben had struck noon, Andrea Leadsom, May’s last remaining rival for the leadership of Britain’s Conservative Party, and the country, had dropped out of the race. Within 48 hours, May kneeled before the Queen, and was named the second female Prime Minister in the country’s history. The cabinet picks she announced on Wednesday evening confirmed that she meant business. With Euroskeptics like Boris Johnson and David Davis in key positions, the last shreds of doubt about her commitment vanished. Britain will leave the European Union. Europe’s postwar order is one step closer to unraveling.
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Thursday, July 14, was Bastille Day. After a brutal 18 months in which France was hit by two major terrorist attacks, the nation took the opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to liberty, equality, and fraternity. In his annual Bastille Day press conference at the Élysée Palace, President François Hollande announced that he would end the state of emergency that had held sway since the bloody attack on the Bataclan last November. On the beaches of Nice, just beyond the storied Promenade des Anglais, a second home to Europe’s rich and famous for the better part of two centuries, tens of thousands gathered to watch a fireworks display resplendent in red, white, and blue.
When the fireworks were over, when the city was teeming with humanity—young and old, rich and poor, French and foreign, Christian, Muslim, and Jew—a truck of death barreled down the Promenade, zigzagging, firing shots, killing indiscriminately, killing avariciously. By the time the truck had come to a standstill, 84 people were dead or dying.
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Eighteen months earlier, when terrorists had stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo and gone on to kill shoppers at a kosher supermarket in the east of Paris, solidarity among the French political class had held for about a week. This time, the jockeying for position started almost immediately.
Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right populist National Front, mocked Hollande for his ill-timed revocation of the state of emergency and accused the government of total failure in its fight again Islamist terrorism. Her broadside resonated. Every attack pushes frightened citizens “a little closer to surrendering to the impulse to embrace an authoritarian response,” warned Art Goldhammer, one of the most astute American observers of France. While it had once seemed unimaginable that Le Pen might become president of France in elections next spring, “it is becoming thinkable” that it will be she who holds the traditional Bastille Day press conference from the Élysée Palace on July 14, 2017.
* * *
Just as tensions began to rise among the French political class, the first explosions pierced a quiet Friday night in sleepy Ankara. Yet another terrorist attack, the good people of Twitter quickly concluded. But what played out in front of the world’s eyes over the next hours was something else entirely: an old-fashioned coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, updated for the age of social media by his desperate FaceTime pleas for Turks to take to the street and come to his rescue.
Both illiberal democracy and undemocratic liberalism may be headed for a remarkably similar fate: a gradual descent into dictatorship.
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Plotters, even ones imminently doomed to be deemed incompetent by CNN’s self-proclaimed coup experts, tend to have the benefit of surprise on their side. In those first hours, tanks secured Atatürk Airport and the offices of the state broadcasting station. Erdogan, infamously vain, was reduced to addressing his nation through the speakers of a TV presenter’s iPhone; rumors already located him en route to political exile in Germany or perhaps the United Kingdom. The country’s secular elite, it seemed, had retained more of its power than observers had thought possible. With the might of the army’s F-16s on their side, they were mounting a last-ditch attempt to resist Erdogan’s creeping Islamicization of the country. The coup looked likely to succeed.
Burak Kara/Getty Images, Gokhan Sahin/Getty Images
Then the tide began to turn. When Erdogan next spoke to the nation, he stood in front of real cameras, looking more self-assured. At his behest, Turks came out in tens of thousands to defend democracy, or to pay allegiance to their tribune, or to claim the right to impose their religion on others, or perhaps all three at once. Most of the army fought the plotters, opposition parties condemned the coup, and—once they could be reasonably confident that Erdogan would stay in power—so did Angela Merkel and Barack Obama.
By daybreak, a military dictatorship had been averted. But liberal democracy seemed to be in no less trouble. Safely returned to Istanbul, Erdogan called the coup “a gift from God” and set about the task of purging the state of anybody whom he suspected of disloyalty. Among the scores of arrests he made, and the thousands of judges he fired, some might plausibly have had a hand in the plot; but for most, their crime was one of thought, not action. And so Turkey had witnessed two coups in 48 hours: first, the failed rebellion of factions of the military against Erdogan’s proto-authoritarian rule, and second, Erdogan’s successful purge of all who might one day challenge his position, whether through the barrel of a gun or the power of the ballot box.
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Never one to allow harrowing events to upstage him or to let propriety stand in the way of his sales pitch, Donald J. Trump cheered every twist and turn in London, Nice, and Ankara from the sidelines. When Brits voted to Brexit, Trump congratulated them on taking “their country back,” promising “to do the exact same thing on Election Day 2016 here in the United States.” When he heard of the terror attack in Nice, he saw, first and foremost, an opportunity to drive home his opposition to Muslim immigration. “When will we learn?” he tweeted that Thursday night. “It’s only getting worse.” Even the coup in Turkey became “further demonstration of the failures of Obama-Clinton. You just have to look,” he said at a Saturday press conference announcing Mike Pence as his running mate, “every single thing they’ve touched has turned to horrible, horrible death-defying problems.”
Trump’s case is straightforward: The challenges facing America are momentous. But they were brought about by incompetence, corruption, or false loyalties. And so they can easily be solved once a strong, incorruptible, patriotic leader—a leader just like Trump—takes power. He, and only he, is the solution to the “death-defying problems” that shaped this terrible week.
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It is this providential fusion of the people and their leader—the belief that collective deliverance from a dark world can only come from a pure, unadulterated conduit for the people’s voice—that defines the core of his appeal. And it is his closely related inability to contemplate that he may at times be mistaken, or that there may be legitimate conflicts of interest in a democracy, or that the power of the presidency needs to be checked by other institutions, that makes him so dangerous.
Never has the egotism at the heart of his appeal been more apparent than during the media blitz to introduce his running mate. During the Saturday press conference at which they first appeared in public together, Trump was barely able to say a few consecutive sentences about Pence. Instead, he passionately spoke about his own views, interlaced with a few perfunctory talking points about his would-be vice president read from a conspicuous cue card.
Sunday brought yet another display of Trump’s egotism. When Pence was asked what kind of vice president he hoped to be during a joint interview on 60 Minutes, Trump answered the question for him. When Pence lauded Trump for speaking from his heart, Trump interrupted again: “Well, I speak from my heart and my brain. Just so we understand.” But the best line of the interview, and the most telling, came when the interviewer suggested that Trump is “not known to be a humble man.”
“I think I am actually a humble man,” Trump responded. “I think I’m much more humble than you would understand.”
Liberal Democracy Under Attack
The truly scary thing about Donald Trump is not that he is unique. It is, rather, that he is far from exceptional. In a rich, raucous republic of 300 million, there will always be a glamorous bully with a taste for the gutter. What is new is not the existence of a populist willing to voice nasty sentiments; it’s that a lot of voters have become so disgusted by the political class, and so disillusioned with the current state of the country’s institutions, that they are willing to vote for someone quite so nasty.
In the long run, Trump’s particular views and quirks matter less than we would like to think. He is ultimately no more than an extra in an unfolding horror show—the most prominent beneficiary of an epochal shift whose roots predate Trump’s entry into politics and whose effects will continue to shape our societies long after he has retired to one of his many estates.
The political establishment is increasingly insulating itself from the people’s demands.
Across the affluent, established democracies of North America and Western Europe, the last years have witnessed a meteoric rise of figures who may not be quite so brash or garish as Trump and yet bear a striking resemblance to him: Marine Le Pen in France, Frauke Petry in Germany, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, and many of the leading Brexiteers in the United Kingdom. They too harness a new level of anger that is quite unlike anything liberal democracies have witnessed in a half-century. They too promise to stand up for ordinary people, to do away with a corrupt political elite, and to put the ethnic and religious minorities who are now (supposedly) being favored in their rightful (subordinate) place. They, too, are willing to do away with liberal political institutions like an independent judiciary or a free, robust press so long as those stand in the way of the people’s will. Together, they are building a new type of political regime that is slowly coming into its own: illiberal democracy.
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Critics often attack Trump, Le Pen, and their cohort for being undemocratic. But that is to misunderstand both their priorities and the reasons for their appeal. For the most part, their belief in the will of the people is real. Their primary objection to the status quo is, quite simply, that institutional roadblocks like independent courts or norms like a “politically correct” concern for the rights of minorities stop the system from channeling the people’s righteous anger into public policy. What they promise, then, is not to move away from popular rule but rather to strip it of its artificial, liberal guise—all the while embodying the only true version of the people’s will.
Places like Hungary and Poland show what this might mean in practice. Once celebrated as examples of successful democratic transition, these countries are now at the forefront of the movement toward illiberal democracy. After Viktor Orbán took power in Budapest six years ago, his Fidesz party undermined the country’s constitutional court, stacked government institutions like the electoral commission with party loyalists, and turned the most important media outlets into uncritical propaganda machines. Over the course of the past year, Poland’s Law and Justice party has accomplished much the same feat in a fraction of the time. In both places, key liberal rights are honored more in the breach than the observance.
Political elites are understandably terrified by the speed with which illiberal democracy is coming into its own. But if the populists are pushing for a political system that does away with one half of liberal democracy, the truth is that a large number of establishment politicians are increasingly tempted to embrace a system that does away with the other half. Where Trump and Le Pen seek to establish an illiberal democracy, a lot of sensible centrists are quietly seeking their salvation in what I call “undemocratic liberalism.” If the people want to violate the rights of unloved minorities, setting up the prospect of democracy without rights, the political establishment is increasingly insulating itself from the people’s demands, opting for a form of rights without democracy.
To be sure, undemocratic liberalism usually retains a democratic sheen. The standard rigmarole of political life in a supposed democracy is jealously observed: There are regular elections and hard-fought campaigns, grand speeches and parliamentary votes. The institutional apparatus that supposedly serves to translate the will of the people into public policy remains in place. And yet, the actual purpose of these institutions—to let the people rule—is increasingly forgotten. To anyone who cares to take a skeptical look, it is obvious how ineffectual representative institutions have become at delivering on the noble task they supposedly serve.
Take the U.S. Congress. Legislators are supposed to represent the people, but the views of ordinary voters now have precious little influence on Capitol Hill. More wealthy, more white, and much more likely to have gone to elite schools than the average American, congressmen and senators don’t resemble the people they are supposed to represent. But the main problem is not who they are but rather what incentives the systems gives them. To get elected, politicians need to prevail in a primary system that emphasizes the voice of a small number of radical ideologues. To bankroll their campaigns, they need to raise contributions at a constant clip, making them dependent on the good will of major funders. And to enjoy a plush retirement, they need to cultivate the corporations and lobbyists that are likely to throw easy money their way once they leave office. Given those conditions, it is hardly surprising that political scientists who study to what degree legislation reflects the preferences of average voters have concluded that there is a deep democratic disconnect, in the United States and in many other supposed democracies across the West as well.
Legislation thus reflects the will of the people less and less. As important, many areas of public policy have been taken out of the legislative process altogether. Congress is not only constrained by traditional balances like the Supreme Court. Increasingly, it is also hamstrung by the expanding influence of experts, an increase in bureaucratic autonomy, and the rise of new international organizations. Economic policy is a case in point: Some of the most essential economic decisions are now made by independent bureaucratic agencies like the Federal Reserve or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, set in stone by far-reaching trade agreements like NAFTA, or adjudicated by international institutions like the World Trade Organization.
Ordinary people are angry at the political system in part because they recognize to what extent they have been shut out of key decisions. But, by the same token, the process is becoming so unresponsive in part because the rise of illiberal populists has given the political establishment a good reason to insulate itself from the people’s anger. A pendulum is swinging from illiberal democracy to undemocratic liberalism, then back again. And its swings are getting wider and wider.
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Britain’s vote to leave the European Union is a perfect illustration of the tension between illiberal democracy and undemocratic liberalism.
Even the most passionate defenders of the EU find it difficult to deny that it suffers from a serious democratic deficit. Most of the power in the institution rests with the European Commission, which is run by career bureaucrats, and the European Council, which represents the governments of member states. While the European Parliament is meant to provide a democratic counterweight to this elite-driven process, it is toothless in practice: elected with a tiny turnout by voters who barely register what it does day to day, the body has few formal powers. For all of its many achievements, the EU is a key exhibit for the existence of undemocratic liberalism.
Resistance to the European Union has long been especially strong among Brits, who have traditionally prided themselves in the unchecked sovereignty enjoyed by their parliament. Under increasing pressure from right-wingers in his own party, David Cameron thus agreed to a referendum on membership in the EU. Giving the people a one-time simulacrum of plebiscitary democracy, he hoped, would “lance the boil” of Euroskepticism once and for all.
Never in history has a wealthy, consolidated democracy collapsed. Not once.
There was only one problem with this plan: When the British people were offered the little finger of plebiscitary democracy, they decided to grab hold of the whole hand. Expected to follow the lead of their betters, they took great pleasure in shocking them with their disobedience. And while there are some perfectly reasonable grounds on which to dislike the EU, opinion polls leave little doubt as to the real reasons why most Brits wound up favoring Brexit. While the hard-line Euroskeptics who forced the referendum may have been concerned with questions of sovereignty, most voters cherished an opportunity to express their illiberal resentments. For all intents and purposes, the referendum turned into a plebiscite against immigration.
In the manner of a parent who tells Little Timmy he can have anything he wants for dinner, then tries to back out of the deal when Little Timmy announces he would like a dozen grasshoppers with a side of vanilla ice cream, a lot of political leaders were tempted to backtrack on Brexit once the results were in. Couldn’t they negotiate a deal that would end formal membership in the European Union while keeping all the important things the way they are now? Or call a second referendum in the hope that it might produce a different result? Faced with a blatant expression of how illiberal the preferences of most people are, the temptation to subvert the democratic procedures that were meant to translate those views into actual public policy was—understandably—strong.
Neil Hall/Reuters
Theresa May ultimately quashed the hope that Brexit might mean something less than Brexit. The people had been allowed the rare luxury of speaking their mind, and she recognized it would have been too embarrassing to renege on so prominent a promise. If Little Timmy insisted, he would be allowed to eat grasshoppers with vanilla ice cream this one time. But just as any prudent parent would learn from the experience and grow much more wary of letting an unruly child make untutored decisions in the future, so too the political class has mostly interpreted Brexit as a warning about the irrationality of popular referenda. By and large, it will serve as a reminder of the importance of holding the illiberal preferences of the average voter at bay.
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Liberal democracy is decomposing into its constitutive parts: Over the next decades, much of the world will face a tragic choice between illiberal democracy, or democracy without rights, and undemocratic liberalism, or rights without democracy.
But if that comes to pass, it is unlikely to be the end point. For when illiberal democrats fall out of favor, they tend not to give up power. What starts as a genuine attempt to channel the voice of the people all too often degenerates into a straightforward dictatorship. A strikingly similar development might well befall undemocratic liberalism: Forced to defend itself against an onslaught of illiberal populists, it may have to resort to increasingly illiberal means to subdue its opponents. In the long run, both illiberal democracy and undemocratic liberalism may thus be headed for a remarkably similar fate: a gradual descent into an unvarnished form of dictatorship.
There could hardly be a more striking illustration of this prediction than recent developments in Turkey. For decades, Turkey was a relatively clear-cut case of undemocratic liberalism: In a deeply religious country, a small, secular elite protected ethnic and religious minorities, resisting any attempt to pass laws inspired by Islam. Whenever a popularly elected government made small steps toward putting religion at the center of public life, the army was waiting in the wings to depose it. Then Erdogan managed to lead a seemingly moderate Islamic movement to political victory and to break the power of the secular elite. For some years, outside observers hoped that he would turn Turkey into a true democracy, allowing pious Muslims fuller participation in social and political life without violating the rights of secularists or religious minorities. But that hope gradually faded. Before long, Erdogan pushed illiberal legislation, from new restrictions on the sale of alcohol to increasingly extreme measures against critical journalists and academics.
The failed coup was no more than a final showdown between the two ugly sides of this coin. If the coup had succeeded, the victorious factions of the army would likely have reestablished some liberal freedoms, in part by reverting to a more secular vision of Turkey. At the same time, they would have done away with any pretense of democracy: The freedom to drink alcohol in the streets of Istanbul would have been purchased by an inability to speak one’s mind about the new military government.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
When the coup failed, the outcome was not all that different. Long desperate to consolidate his rule, Erdogan seized the moment. In the first three days after the coup, he suspended close to 30,000 members of the civil service, revoked the licenses of 21,000 teachers, took over 6,000 soldiers into custody, and commanded all 1,577 deans of Turkish universities to submit their resignations. The purge is continuing apace: All in all, over 26,000 people have been arrested in the weeks since the coup. Elected as a people’s tribune, Erdogan has now amassed so much power that he can well afford to ignore the views of his electorate. The form of illiberal democracy he has instituted for the past decade has finally taken off its mask and revealed the ugly face of dictatorship.
The Roots of the Crisis
By historical standards, liberal democracies have been extraordinarily stable. Poor countries have trouble sustaining democratic rule. Some rich countries, especially those with vast oil wealth, have always been controlled by autocrats. But once a wealthy country has successfully transitioned to democracy, its form of government is locked in. This is about as remarkable a fact as political science has on offer. Never in history has a wealthy, consolidated democracy collapsed. Not once.
That remarkable fact has made it easy to ascribe the stability of the West’s political institutions to its fundamental attributes: universal suffrage, rule of law, checks and balances, individual rights. Each country gives its own spin on the genealogy of its particular political settlement. Americans tend to thank the genius of their founders, the French the principled visionaries on the barricades, Brits the fortuitous rise of pluralistic institutions owed to the blood-soaked compromises struck between lord and liege. But for all of the specificities of national myth and memory, the triumphalist upshot is remarkably similar in every democratic country. The question of the best regime form, which had animated the writings of thinkers from Socrates to Rousseau, has supposedly been solved. The end of history has arrived.
This happy story overlooks a number of facts that have been so formative of our political world that it is easy to forget just how extraordinary they, too, are by historical standards. All through the history of democratic stability, the incomes of ordinary citizens grew rapidly. All through the history of democratic stability, a democracy has been the most powerful country in the world. And all through the history of democratic stability, democracies have been highly homogeneous.
Over the last decades, each of these factors stopped being the case. Living standards stagnated. The rise of China is threatening American hegemony. Democracies in North America and Western Europe are more diverse than they have ever been before.
History cannot tell us how liberal democracies perform under those circumstances, so we are only just starting to gather the first shreds of evidence for what the effects of those transformations might be. What little we know suggests that the answer is not going to be pretty.
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Since the founding of the American republic, the median citizen in every generation could pride himself on being much wealthier than his parents and had strong reason to believe that his children would be even better off. Indeed, ever since the ink dried on the Declaration of Independence, a clear majority of American citizens ended their lives with comforts they could barely have imagined when they were growing up. From 1935 to 1960, the standard of living of the median voter just about doubled. From 1960 to 1985, it just about doubled again. From 1985 to 2010, it flatlined.
Most Americans have not experienced real economic gains since George H.W. Bush was elected.
In the years since then, America’s gross domestic product, the Dow Jones, and the incomes of the rich have all recovered from the depths of the Great Recession. But the incomes of most Americans have barely improved. Most citizens have not experienced real economic gains since George H.W. Bush was elected.
If statistics lie, it’s often because averages hide. The stagnation of living standards conceals the phenomenal increase in income and wealth for the richest Americans. It also conceals the remarkable decline in income and wealth for the poorest Americans. That is true for many Latino and black Americans, who are more likely than other demographic groups to be doing the kinds of blue-collar jobs that have seen wages decrease in real terms. But it is felt especially keenly among white Americans with high expectations, limited qualifications, and declining hourly wages—that is to say, among some of Donald Trump’s most passionate supporters.
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The appeal of illiberal democracy cannot be understood in abstraction from this economic story. The fortunes of the populists do not necessarily rise and fall in step with the business cycle or even the unemployment rate. Nor need it always be the very poorest, or those who stand to suffer the most immediate losses because of globalization, who flock toward them in the greatest numbers. The story that matters is broader than that: The basic deal offered by political elites since the inception of democracy was to provide ordinary people with large increases in their standard of living from one generation to the next. So long as that deal held, the people were willing to defer to the political class. Now that the deal has been broken—broken spectacularly—they no longer feel bound by their side of the bargain. And so many of them are willing to entertain the hope that the illiberal demagogues who are courting them so assiduously will serve them better than the unfaithful lot that is now in power.
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In most parts of Europe, democracy took firm root only after the killings and expulsions of World War II turned countries that had once been home to a large number of minorities deeply homogeneous. Democracy in those places is a creation of the nation state, and for outsiders, membership in those nations has always remained difficult and incomplete. A German or an Italian or a Swede was thought to look a particular way and to descend from a particular ethnic stock. Though not every German is blond, and not every Italian has olive skin, it went without saying that somebody who is black or Asian or Middle Eastern could be neither German nor Italian.
The story was a little more complicated in the United States and in Canada, where membership in the nation had always been based on mutual aspirations for the future rather than descent from common ancestors. But even in the U.S., the lip service to diversity was secretly—and not so secretly—predicated on two important facts: The social and economic superiority of whites was not to be called into question. And particular ethnic or religious groups could not be associated with physical threats to the safety of American citizens. What happened in the brief intervals when these background conditions did not obtain speaks for itself. During World War I, some descendants of German immigrants were suspected of disloyalty; a flourishing German American associational life quickly disappeared. World War II was much worse: In the wake of Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were classified as enemy aliens and promptly interned.
The brittle foundations of ethnic inclusion explain why tensions over immigration and racial identity have been running especially high over the last two decades. In Europe, places like Germany and Italy had to admit to themselves during that period that they were indeed “countries of immigration” and that they would not be able to go on forever denying immigrants of Turkish or Middle Eastern descent full membership in the nation. Meanwhile, in North America, many members of ethnic and religious minorities ascended to unprecedented positions of power and prestige, threatening the majority’s comfortable assumption of perennial dominance.
On both sides of the Atlantic, these transformations—which are cultural as much as they are economic or political—made the ethnic majority deeply resentful. The fuse was now in place, and it was connected to a ton of TNT. The terrorists just had to light it.
This is the most important political effect of the series of spectacular Islamist terror attacks on liberal democracies in the West that began on 9/11 and has continued to wreak havoc since: The constant terror threat gradually transformed a division of “us” versus “them” that had once been one of many important facts of politics into the primary line of political division and mobilization.
Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images
In every country and epoch, political life is defined by the key questions that determine which side you are on. In some countries these questions are socio-economic: Are you for the industrialists or the landowners, for the proletariat or the bourgeoisie? In other countries, the key questions are religious or ethnic: Are you for the Protestants or the Catholics, for the Luo or the Kikuyu?
These political “cleavages” can be a productive element of democratic life, a way of balancing the interests of different groups who mobilize to defend their own. But they always run the risk of turning so deep that people on both sides of the divide can no longer recognize each other as fellow citizens with legitimate interests. That is when victory at the polls starts to provide an excuse for subjugating a minority; when different groups might formally retain citizenship of the same country but the state becomes no more than a committee for advancing the interests of the ascendant faction. This is what the fallout from Islamist terrorism is now threatening to do across North America and Western Europe: A cleavage that was already fraught in most liberal democracies is becoming an instrument of tyranny.
Despite their hatred for each other, the populists and the terrorists thus live in a strange kind of symbiosis.
Despite their hatred for each other, the populists and the terrorists thus live in a strange kind of symbiosis. The more marginalized Muslims feel in Western societies, the easier ISIS finds it to recruit converts to its bloody cause. And the more homegrown terrorists kill innocents in the name of Islam, the easier it becomes for populists to incite voters against liberal democracy’s protections for ethnic and religious minorities. Seen in this light, the terror attack in Nice is yet another weapon in the armory that might allow Marine Le Pen to subvert liberté, egalité, and fraternité: It is yet another cause of fear in the population; yet another excuse to see politics from the vantage point of an ethnic in-group; and yet another example Le Pen can point to in claiming that Muslim immigrants simply do not fit into France.
The terrorists, the pious sentiment goes, will never have enough power to vanquish the principles of liberal democracy. That is true, so far as it goes. But it doesn’t go very far. As the political fallout from the attack in Nice—and the attacks in Orlando and Brussels and Würzburg, Germany—demonstrate, it’s looking increasingly likely that we will let them win by doing their bidding for them.
The most pressing political question of our age is how we can stop that from happening. What reforms are needed to re-establish the social end economic foundations of liberal democracy? And how can we express liberal democratic values convincingly enough to win the battle of ideas against the likes of Donald Trump?
Regaining Our Conviction
Habituation breeds indifference. A turn of phrase that expressed a point with the help of a striking image no longer packs the same punch because we have grown inured to its literal meaning; linguists call this a dead metaphor. Driving to work in the sweet ride we bought a few months ago no longer gives us the same pleasure; economists call this hedonic adaptation. The person who once sent our heart racing enters the room and we barely notice it; grown-ups call this being married.
Something akin to this form of habituation has happened to our most fundamental political values. The ideals of liberal democracy are all around us. |
work on their knife skills. What’s left is a brisket flat with full fat cap and a brisket point with fat coverage on all surfaces, allowing all the more crispy bits to be created over a hot fire.
I needed a hot fire, hotter than was easily maintained in my offset smoker. A big bed of charcoal in a Pit Barrel Cooker raises the heat anywhere from 350 to 500 degrees, depending on how much oxygen you let into the barrel. My target was 400, and the first point I tried went into the pit for three-and-a-half hours at that temperature until it reached 200 degrees internally. The flat took just three hours. After a long rest (it takes about an hour to get back down to 140, my preferred slicing temperature) I sliced into them.
Both were tough. Almost none of the fat between the meat fibers of the point had rendered, and it was still springy. The flat was dry as a board, and still tough. I needed to rethink this experiment, but still make it a quick cook. I wanted tender, juicy brisket that I could start at lunch and eat for dinner.
I never got there with the flat. I even tried a Certified Angus Beef brisket because they were on sale at the store. In a moment of inspiration, I used a Middle Eastern technique of marinating tough meat in pureed onions. I mixed it with pickle juice (get it? Brisket with pickles and onions?) and let it set overnight. The onions gave the bark a unique sweetness and great flavor, but didn’t help with the tenderness. I reverted to a dual cook of smoking then roasting at a low temperature in the oven (and vice versa), but nothing worked. If sliced thin, the flats were good eating, but not a suitable replacement for slow-smoked brisket.
The points, however, seemed made for the smoke/roast technique. I started it in the hot smoker to give it some smokiness and a jumpstart, then transferred it to a 250-degree oven once it reached a 165 internal temperature. I didn’t wrap it or cover it. It just went into a roasting pan and the oven uncovered. It was done in six hours total, and the result was astounding. After resting for about an hour, I sliced into a juicy, tender brisket point. It was salty and smoky with a hefty bark of crisp fat.
Quick aside: I’ve written before about the importance of resting, but I want to revisit that here. When a brisket (or any collagen-rich meat) is sliced into when it’s hot, it releases moisture as steam, and more liquid runs out onto the cutting board. The steam is water that is gone forever, and much of what’s on the board is melted collagen. As the meat cools, so does the collagen. Instead of the molten liquid it has become inside a hot brisket, it gets sticky again inside a cooler brisket (admittedly, this is just my theory). But think about the last time you ate good brisket with your hands: the tips of your fingers were probably sticky, so much so that maybe even some of that cheap paper napkin got stuck to your fingers. That stickiness is cooled collagen. It’s what makes a brisket feel juicy when you’re chewing it. It’s important to hold to as much collagen as possible inside the brisket if you don’t want it to taste dry. So let that brisket rest.
A few weeks later I tried the same method again, this time paying closer attention to the parameters. I bought two briskets, and separated the points out (the flats are in the freezer). Both went into the 400-degree smoker (one was 5 pounds, the other 5.6 pounds), and came out two-and-a-half hours later at 165 internal. After pulling them off of the smoker, one went into the 250-degree oven, and the other into the fridge. If I was using the oven for the final part of the cook, I wanted to see if that second step could be done after being chilled, and possibly stored overnight.
The first came out of the oven after two-and-a-half more hours (five hours total) at 195 internal. It was very good, better than many briskets I’ve been served, but still more chewy than I’d like. After the second brisket was chilled down to 40 degrees, I put it into a roasting pan and into the 250-degree oven. This time it took three-and-a-half hours to completion, which accounts for starting at a much lower internal temperature, and for hitting a target of 205 degrees internal temperature instead of 195.
That’s a lot of numbers, but I’ll summarize it in a moment. The important part was that I had a great smoked brisket point that can be done in six or so hours, and much of the time left unattended in the oven. Even better, it could be smoked at night and finished in the oven the next day for a weeknight dinner. The code had been cracked on the hot-and-fast brisket (or the point, anyway).
RECIPE:
Sprinkle a generous amount of Kosher salt and cracked black pepper on a brisket point (five to six pounds).
Place it into a 400-degree smoker until the internal temperature reaches 165 (about two-and-a-half hours).
Transfer to a roasting pan and place, uncovered, into a 250 degree oven. Roast until the internal temperature reaches 205 degrees (two-and-a-half to three hours or longer if brisket has been chilled after smoking).
Rest at room temperature until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees. This can take an hour, but I’ve had good luck accelerating the cooling process in the refrigerator.
Slice against the grain and serve.Just 12 hours before Kevin Durant would turn the NBA world upside down — announcing in his infamous Players’ Tribune Letter that he would be leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to join forces with the Golden State Warriors, Shams Charania tweet this:
Dallas RFA Dwight Powell has agreed to a four-year, $37-plus million with the Mavericks, league sources tell The Vertical. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 4, 2016
Would you look at that? The Mavericks were proactive last offseason. Donnie Nelson and his team were way out in front of their negotiations with their own restricted free agent. But maybe the Mavericks learned something from last offseason — $37 million dollars to a player that was coming off a season where he averaged 5.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks.
That seems like a little overpay, right?
To top everything off with Powell’s contract negotiations last summer, the Mavericks even decided to throw in the “always coveted” player option for Powell’s fourth year, which amounts to $10.2 million for the 2019–2020 season. With the salary cap leaping from $70 million to $94 million, the Mavs’ front-office may have been bidding against themselves, ultimately miscalculating Powell’s true worth. Last season’s negotiation process looks to have become a cautionary event as the front office seems to be taking the proper steps to ensure that a ‘Dwight Powell’ type of deal does not happen with Nerlens.
Luckily for the team, not all is lost with Dwight. He’s still relatively young at just 26 and the Mavs are betting on his development.
So let’s take a look at what he needs to do as a player in order to validate the $28.9 million left on his contract.
The one big issue with Dwight is that he lacks a true position. He is a tweener big man. Not big enough to efficiently guard the overpowering centers like DeAndre Jordan and Andre Drummond and if you slide Powell to the four, his jumper has not been consistent enough to be respected out on the perimeter.
Non-shooting bigs simply don’t have the same value as they once did, unless they are a threat defensively. In order to find a steady role for the Mavs, Dwight needs to develop a consistent specific skill set to try to find a niche in this league.
Would it be smart for the Mavs to try and convert Dwight Powell to a big man that is a 3-point specialist? It may be a risk the team may have to take.
In his first full season with the Mavs, Powell shot a total of 16 three pointers. The Mavericks viewed him strictly as a rim-running pick-and-roll dive man. It’s worth noting that during Dwight Powell’s first full season with the team he made $845K. After inking what now looks like a massive contract last summer, the Mavericks made the investment hoping that Powell would transform his game and become a playable big man.
Last season, Powell ramped up his 3-point attempts from 16 to 74. Unfortunately for the Mavs sake, Powell only canned 21 of the 74 attempts which comes out to a 28 percent clip. His mechanics are not flawed by any means, although many of attempts looked rushed. If the Mavericks want to make him more of a specialist, they have to do a better job of getting him in better spots to succeed out on the floor.
What’s thought to be the easiest three point shot, the corner three, Powell struggled mightily only hitting 2 of 16 attempts from either corner for the season. Powell and the Mavs need to utilize that shot more this year, to see if he can be a contributor from that spot on the floor.
The NBA has made it clear that players need a variety of qualities out on the court to thrive in today’s game. Dwight has the physical gifts to make things work in Dallas. The question is do the Mavs still believe in Powell’s development? They sure have invested the dollars into the 26-year-old. Becoming a specialist could be the key to unlocking his true value.Among the many challenges that the aid agencies working among the Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh faced, perhaps the most important was how they would operate round-the-clock.
Nearly a million Rohingyas from Myanmar have sought refuge in the border towns of Bangladesh after a spate of violence in their home state of Rakhine in western Myanmar triggered a mass exodus months ago.
The Bangladesh government provided large swathes of land to build makeshift settlements for the incoming refugees. But the cash-stricken developing nation has struggled to build the infrastructure needed to address perhaps the worst refugee crisis in recent human history.
"With close to one million people living in overcrowded settlements in Cox's Bazar, health needs are enormous among Rohingya refugees," said Mariam Abdelkerim-Spijkerman, the IOM Emergency Health Officer in Cox's Bazar. "This is quite evident from the close to 80,000 consultations that IOM's health teams have carried out since 25 August, the start of the current influx of refugees."
The country's regions bordering Myanmar are already deficient in basic amenities like electricity, health clinics, clean water, food supply, proper sanitation systems, roads and transport facilities. The influx of the Rohingya refugees in tens of thousands has further strained the infrastructure, according to International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Migration Agency.
"Thousands of pregnant women and lactating mothers and children need medical care," Abdelkerim-Spijkerman added, noting that skin diseases and acute malnutrition were the most common ailments among the Rohingya Muslims who have fled to Bangladesh. She said that a majority of those affected were children.
According to IOM estimates, more than 620,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh since 25 August and the total now stands at around 833,000, with many more crossing the Mynamar border each day. Most of these migrants have been housed in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar area in Kutupalong and Balukhali refugee camps.
Solar power saving lives
Electricity, or lack of it, was a major problem. The IOM's healthcare teams found it difficult to cater to the needs of the burgeoning number of refugees as they could work only when there was daylight.
The answer lay in solar power, which was used more than two years ago at some health facilities in Cox's Bazar. Dr Mohiuddin Khan, a health official, had initiated the idea of using solar power at health clinics.
Following its success at Kutupalong community clinic, Shamlapur health and family welfare centre, and Ali Akbar Para health centre, the idea was adopted at the IOM health clinic in Leda village in October 2016. More than six months ago, a six kilowatt capacity solar power system was installed at the Balukhali Rohingya refugee camp.
Solevolt — a solar energy company, Kopernik — a non-profit organisation that distributes low-cost technologies to recipients in less-developed countries and BPO Data Exchange — a Bangladeshi social enterprise, contributed recently by providing solar power logistics at other IOM health facilities. Prior to their contribution, the IOM operated six facilities round the clock with the help of solar power systems.
"Prior to the introduction of solar power, IOM's healthcare teams were confined to working during daylight hours, because the lack of lighting made it impossible to provide patient care from dusk to dawn," the UN agency said in a recent statement.
IOM's information officer at Cox's Bazar, Olivia Headon, told IBTimes UK that the solar power system fulfills more than 80% of power needs in the Kutupalong refugee camp's primary health centre. At the health clinic in Leda village, the solar system provided almost 24-hour power supply before the area was connected to the main electricity grid.
"Currently these two are the only 24/7 centres (though the latter serves only until 10 at night), but we are developing a plan to bring more 24/7 care to refugees in the settlements and solar energy will facilitate that," Headon added.
Solar power has also made it possible to provide clean drinking water to refugee camps and the health posts by running water treatment plants. Additionally, effects of power cuts in certain areas have been minimised with the help of solar powered electric supply.
"As the demand for our healthcare services increases, solar-powered lighting means we can provide round the clock emergency consultations and medicine distributions," Abdelkerim-Spijkerman pointed out. She added that 24-hour lighting is helping them save many lives.
The IOM, along with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Bangladeshi Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, have set up health posts to meet basic healthcare needs of the refugees as well as the downtrodden local communities.
"In October alone, over 3,865 women received pregnancy-related care, including 3,030 antenatal care, 525 postnatal care and 310 deliveries," the agency said, noting that the pressure on the health system has steadily increased in the past three months with the rise in influx.
More funds needed
Headon said that their current healthcare activities, including setting up of the solar power system, in Cox's Bazar is being funded by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the United Kingdom's Department for International Development. However, they are in need of more funds to extend aid to the increasing number of refugees.
"IOM has appealed for $120m (£90m) to meet the needs of the most vulnerable refugees and the Bangladeshi communities hosting them through February 2018. This includes $9m for health," the agency said in a statement.
The UN agency has also set up health clinics in villages near Cox's Bazar where newly-arrived Rohingya refugees have started setting up camps, but many such places are inaccessible due to lack of proper roads.
IOM said it currently supports 13 health facilities, seven mobile medical teams and 10 ambulances for transporting urgent and emergency cases in the Cox's Bazar area, and also works with over 350 community health workers and local partners.
There are around 130 IOM staff members currently working in 21 clinics in and around the refugee camps, including nine government health facilities, Headon said. "In general, we have close to 500 staff in Cox's Bazar beyond our healthcare teams."The offshoot of Islamic State (Isis) in Libya is suspected of carrying out a car bomb attack killing five members of the military police with and wounding 14 near the western city of Khoms, some 120km east of the capital Tripoli.
The blast targeted the officials, aligned with the Libya Dawn alliance, which controls vast swathes western Libya and the area around Tripoli, at Khoms western checkpoint with Msallata. The checkpoint is a key strategic position held by Dawn forces on the coastal road between Misrata and Tripoli.
A Tripoli-based activist told IBTimes UK, speaking on condition of anonymity, that IS was expected to claim responsibility for the explosion within the coming hours. The militant group was responsible for a similar, recent car bomb attack in the town. Two weeks ago, three people were killed at an explosion at a checkpoint outside Khoms' air defence division.
The activist added that IS had been focusing more of its attacks against Khoms and Msallata in the wake of a botched prison break in September that left one of the group's senior leaders dead.
IS in Libya, which is split into eastern and western operational groups, has grown within the security vacuum created by Libya's 17-month-long civil war. The international community has put its faith in a unity government to address myriad problems the crisis in Libya has heaped on Europe's doorstep. The country's descent into chaos has fuelled the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean and given IS a launching pad to the continent.
Libya's paralysis has left IS knocking on the door of one of the most oil rich regions in northern Libya. At the beginning of October, IS killed one guard at Libya's Sidra oil terminal and injured two others. The oil port is the largest in Libya and has the potential to ship over 400,000 barrels of crude per day.
From its Sirte stronghold in central Libya, IS has launched tentative attacks across Libya's oil crescent. In March, IS militants kidnapped nine foreign oil workers and beheaded eight guards at al-Ghani oilfield.
Libya's central city of Misrata, one of the main military powers to emerge from the country's liberation war, made some abortive attempts to wrest control of Sirte from IS but a brutal crackdown by the militants in August on a local insurrection seems to have put the central city firmly within their control.The professor began my undergrad number theory class by drawing a distinction between algebra and analysis, two major themes in mathematics. This distinction has been discussed elsewhere, and seems to be rather slippery (to mathematicians at least, because it evades precise definition). My professor seemed to approach it from a synesthetic perspective — it’s about the feel of it. Algebra is rigid, geometric (think polyhedra), perfect. The results are beautiful, compact, and eternal. By contrast, analysis is messy and malleable. Theorems have lots of assumptions which aren’t always satisfied, but analysts use them anyway and hope (and check later) that the assumptions really do hold up. Perelman’s famous proof of Poincare’s conjecture, as I understand, is essentially an example of going back and checking analytic assumptions. Analysis often makes precise and works with the notion of “good enough” — two things don’t have to be equal, they only need to converge toward each other with a sufficiently small error term.
I have been thinking about this distinction in the realm of programming. As a Haskell programmer, most of my focus is in an algebraic-feeling programming. I like to perfect my modules, making them beautiful and eternal, built up from definitions that are compact and each obviously correct. I take care with my modules when I first write them, and then rarely touch them again (except to update them with dependency patches that the community helpfully provides). This is in harmony with the current practice of denotative programming, which strives to give mathematical meaning to programs and thus make them easy to reason about. This meaning has, so far, always been of an algebraic nature.
What a jolt I felt when I began work at Google. The programming that happens here feels quite different — much more like the analytic feeling (I presume — I mostly studied algebraic areas of math in school, so I have less experience). Here the codebase and its dependencies are constantly in motion, gaining requirements, changing direction. “Good enough” is good enough; we don’t need beautiful, eternal results. It’s messy, it’s malleable. We use automated tests to keep things within appropriate error bounds — proofs and obviously-correct code would be intractable. We don’t need perfect abstraction boundaries — we can go dig into a dependency and change its assumptions to fit our needs.
Much of the ideological disagreement within the Haskell community and between nearby communities happens across this line. Unit tests are not good enough for algebraists; proofs are crazy to an analyst. QuickCheck strikes a nice balance; it’s fuzzy unit tests for the algebraist. It gives compact, simple, meaningful specifications for the fuzzy business of testing. I wonder, can we find a dual middle-ground? I have never seen an analytic proof of software correctness. Can we say with mathematical certainty that our software is good enough, and what would such a proof look like?
UPDATE: Here’s a lovely related post via Lu Zeng. Algebra vs. Analysis predicts eating corn?
AdvertisementsAs hemp makes a comeback in the U.S. after a decades-long ban on its cultivation, scientists are reporting that fibers from the plant can pack as much energy and power as graphene, long-touted as the model material for supercapacitors. They're presenting their research, which a Canadian start-up company is working on scaling up, at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in San Fransisco this week.
David Mitlin, Ph.D., explains that supercapacitors are energy storage devices that have huge potential to transform the way future electronics are powered. Unlike today's rechargeable batteries, which sip up energy over several hours, supercapacitors can charge and discharge within seconds. But they normally can't store nearly as much energy as batteries, an important property known as energy density. One approach researchers are taking to boost supercapacitors' energy density is to design better electrodes. Mitlin's team has figured out how to make them from certain hemp fibers -- and they can hold as much energy as the current top contender: graphene.
"Our device's electrochemical performance is on par with or better than graphene-based devices," Mitlin says. "The key advantage is that our electrodes are made from biowaste using a simple process, and therefore, are much cheaper than graphene."
The race toward the ideal supercapacitor has largely focused on graphene -- a strong, light material made of atom-thick layers of carbon, which when stacked, can be made into electrodes. Scientists are investigating how they can take advantage of graphene's unique properties to build better solar cells, water filtration systems, touch-screen technology, as well as batteries and supercapacitors. The problem is it's expensive.
Mitlin's group decided to see if they could make graphene-like carbons from hemp bast fibers. The fibers come from the inner bark of the plant and often are discarded from Canada's fast-growing industries that use hemp for clothing, construction materials and other products. The U.S. could soon become another supplier of bast. It now allows limited cultivation of hemp, which unlike its close cousin, does not induce highs.
Scientists had long suspected there was more value to the hemp bast -- it was just a matter of finding the right way to process the material.
"We've pretty much figured out the secret sauce of it," says Mitlin, who's now with Clarkson University in New York. "The trick is to really understand the structure of a starter material and to tune how it's processed to give you what would rightfully be called amazing properties."
His team found that if they heated the fibers for 24 hours at a little over 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and then blasted the resulting material with more intense heat, it would exfoliate into carbon nanosheets.
Mitlin's team built their supercapacitors using the hemp-derived carbons as electrodes and an ionic liquid as the electrolyte. Fully assembled, the devices performed far better than commercial supercapacitors in both energy density and the range of temperatures over which they can work. The hemp-based devices yielded energy densities as high as 12 Watt-hours per kilogram, two to three times higher than commercial counterparts. They also operate over an impressive temperature range, from freezing to more than 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
"We're past the proof-of-principle stage for the fully functional supercapacitor," he says. "Now we're gearing up for small-scale manufacturing."
Mitlin, who conducted the research while at the University of Alberta, acknowledges funding from Alberta Innovates Technology Futures, National Institute for Nanotechnology (Canada) and Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency.Interrogation of Byron Sonne, Toronto G20 hacker on trumped up charges for mocking G20 security
Here's a video of the interrogation of Byron Sonne ( more on his case here ) by Officer Tam Bui. Sonne is a Toronto hacker who was offended by the security theater associated with the Toronto G20, which involved $1.2 billion worth of "security" measures and thousands of illegal arrests and unprovoked beatings. Sonne is finally on trial, and this footage was released as part of the trial. In it, the officer spends an hour trying to get Sonne to admit to some "sinister plot" by telling him that his wife has been arrested and will not get bail if he isn't more forthcoming (Sonne and his wife later divorced).
Goodwill is on track to be the world's largest provider of MOOCs Goodwill Industries, purveyors of thrift-stores, are currently the second largest provider of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and on track to become the leader, through their GCF Global Online Portal, which provides free courses in English, Spanish and Portuguese with an emphasis on job skills: "reading, math and understanding money and personal finance to computer, […] READ THE REST
Bunnie Huang's tour-de-force explanation of how hardware implants and supply chain hacks work Last October, Bloomberg published a blockbuster story claiming that some of the largest tech companies in the world, as well as sensitive US government and military systems, had been attacked through minute hardware implants that had been inserted at a subcontractor facility during the manufacture of servers from the world's leading server company, Supermicro. READ THE REST
Youtube ignored repeated reports about explicit suicide instructions spliced into cartoons on Youtube Kids [TW: Suicide] A griefer has been reportedly splicing video of himself giving explicit instructions for committing suicide into animated videos on Youtube Kids; he lets the video run for several minutes before breaking in to say "Kids, remember, cut this way for attention, and this way for results"; despite "hundreds of reports" of this in […] READ THE REST
This piano learning technique gets you playing right away If you gave up on playing the piano as a kid, don’t despair. Things have come a long way since those drills that had you playing “Chopsticks” endlessly. Take Pianoforall, for instance. This innovative new system lets students play keys right away, learning the structure of the music by playing rhythm-style hits. The 10-hour course […] READ THE REST
Get certified online in machine learning and data science As big companies wrangle an ever-increasing amount of data, the applications for deep learning grow – and so do the job opportunities. If you’ve got a working knowledge of Python, all you need are the tools to start making data work for you. Get up to speed on the science and code behind the field […] READ THE RESTIvanpah is the world’s largest solar farm located in the Mojave Desert in California. It has been responsible for mass killings of birds since the various mirrors that surround the complex literally fry them out of the sky. Temperatures above the $2.2 billion facility are said to have registered as high as 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. In October of 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported that not only has the site only generated 40 percent of the power it was supposed to generate after 15 months, it’s emitting 46,000 tons of greenhouse gas. Now, the site caught has caught fire (via Associated Press):
A small fire shut down a generating tower Thursday at the world's largest solar power plant, leaving the sprawling facility on the California-Nevada border operating at only a third of its capacity, authorities said. Firefighters had to climb some 300 feet up a boiler tower at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California after fire was reported on an upper level around 9:30 a.m., fire officials said. The plant works by using mirrors to focus sunlight on boilers at the top of three 459-foot towers, creating steam that drive turbines to produce electricity. But some misaligned mirrors instead focused sunbeams on a different level of Unit 3, causing electrical cables to catch fire, San Bernardino County, California fire Capt. Mike McClintock said.
Dead birds, underperformance of power generation, and now a fire—this is the world of so-called green, renewable energy. It’s inefficient power. Period. It has yet to meet its power output projections, but have no fear, Californians—the site has been given an extension until July 31, 2016 to get their act together.The mother of a transgender boy shown crying in a courthouse in a photo that went viralon Wednesday is speaking out about the the state’s proposed “bathroom bill.”
She’s also opening up about the way the transphobic debate as a whole is affecting her child.
Amber Briggle’s 9-year-old son Max uses male pronouns and transitioned to living as his authentic self almost three years ago. The photo of him crying in a courthouse was shot back in March, but it’s making the rounds on the internet this week in light ofanti-trans legislation currently making its waythrough the Texas legal system.
Briggle decided to share the image because, in her mind, her son Max deserves to have a stress-free summer vacation like all other kids ― and shouldn’t have to cope with the anxiety that his right to use the school bathroom that corresponds with his gender identity may be taken away.
“Max deserves a summer break, free from bullies like Governor Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick ― he’s a little boy who shouldn’t have to worry about these sorts of things,” Briggle told HuffPost. “It made my heart break looking at this photo and I hoped it would do the same for others. That’s why I posted it onmy public page, hoping to gain visibility for transgender people across the state, and across the country since this fight is really taking place in every state to some degree.”
The Texas senatepassed SB 3 late last week, a bill thatwould force transgender peopleto use the public restroom that corresponds with the gender they were assigned at birth. While the bill, which hasseen major oppositionfrom activists, business leaders and LGBTQ allies, has yet to be enshrined in law, Texas Governor Greg Abbottsupports the initiative.
Briggle personally can’t believe Abbott supports the bill, especially after seeing how North Carolina’s infamous House Bill 2 largelycost former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory his reelection― andmade it difficultfor him to find a new job after losing.
“Is this really the legacy you want?” Briggle asks of Abbott. “Look ― North Carolina passed a bathroom bill. North Carolina voted for Trump. North Carolina had an incumbent Republican governor who LOST his seat to a Democrat in November. Are you SURE you want to play this game, especially when you’re responsible for making little boys like Max cry? The NFL, NBA, and Boy Scouts are all welcoming to transgender boys ― so what’s taking you so long to figure this out?”Artists Fernando Blanco (pencils & inks) and Romulo Fajardo Jr (colors) alternate between frenetically bananas action sequences (Midnighter's two-page spread of pirate decimation was an absolute treasure), peaceful moments (the intimate time between the eponymous heroes), and spooky shit (any time you see main villain Henry ****ing Bendix).
And yes, it's Bendix returning to rain on the lovebirds' parade, and he's cooking up a doozy: there's a sequence of panels where he's trying to recruit a DC villain with supernatural powers to take on Midnighter, and then he finally finds the right magical assholes to put his plan into action. What's that plan, and how is it tied to the climactic end of the book? You'll just have to see for yourselves, but know that this is going to be a crazy-fun book.
Having ACO doing the covers and Orlando telling the story is a comforting notion for those who were extremely disappointed when Midnighter got the ax, and so far this story continues every bit of snark and violence that made the book so much fun. Now we get to see more about Midnighter as part of a loving couple, we get to see him unlock his emotions and dismantle any threat to him or his boyfriend. And it's all fast-paced and insane. God, I loved this book.
10 out of 10 Half-beards (or 5 out of 5 Full-beards)Memorial Events In Honor Of Military Veteran And Water Protector Killed By Police Last Month
Above Photo: From sabaltrailresistance.wordpress.com
HONORING THE LIFE AND MOURNING THE LOSS OF JIM MARKER
Please join Sabal Trail Resistance (STR), Vets For Peace and other activists in honoring James “Jim” L. Marker by continuing to stand against the oil and gas pipelines that he lost his life fighting on Feb 26, 2017.
Community Remembering on Sunday, March 26, 1pm at the Pruitt Memorial site in Halpata Tastanaki Preserve, on mile north of the Withlacoochee River. Enter at Pruitt Trailhead, off of SR 484. Park in picnic area, hike 0.5 miles to memorial site.(Please bring a song, story or poem to share, along with food or beverage to share.)
Demonstration at Dunnellon Compressor Station construction site on Monday, March 27, 10 a.m. Located along SR 200. Click here for map image. Parking will be on the shoulder of the road. (Please bring signs, banners, drums, etc. with the message “Kill Pipelines NOT People”)
THERE IS AN EVENT PAGE UP ON FACEBOOK, PLEASE SHARE AND INVITE WIDELY.
Those who may be driving from afar, there is a nearby campground in Ross Prairie State Forest for $22 a night. There is also camping at Rainbow Springs State Park for $30 a night. Reservations are required for both, and sites fill up quickly on weekends. There are other options in the vicinity, including Goethe State Forest (which requires requesting a free permit), free “dispersed” camping in the Ocala National Forest, 30 minutes east, or hotels in Dunnellon.
We have set up a memorial page maintained by STR, which can be found here, for those who wish to share condolences, thoughts and stories about Jim’s life.
BACKGROUND
Last month, before finding out the identity of the man killed by the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, STR responded with a vigil at a site of the Sabal Trail pipeline where police indicated there was damage done to equipment that prompted them to initiate a fatal high speed chase.
Upon release of Jim Marker’s identity, we released an initial statement providing context to the area where the pipeline was damaged and what we were able to learn about Jim. Since that time, more information has surfaced.
Initially some media outlets reported a gun battle with the police. Citrus County has since confirmed that no shooting occurred in their direction. It has been near a month and yet there has been no proof presented that any threat was made to the police who killed him. Dash cam footage could explain this, but the sheriff has not indicated any intent to release this.
Everything we have learned about Jim has reinforced the initial position we released indicating that he was known as a passionate, sincere and dedicated individual. He was a military veteran who served overseas as a combat medic. He was a member of multiple environmental, social and cultural organizations, as well as a missionary to a church in the Everglades serving people who struggle with recovery from drugs and alcohol. A neighbor at his previous residency in Fort Pierce noted that his generosity extended almost immediately to all he met, perhaps best exemplified by the power cord he had run from his own home to a homeless encampment nearby.
No one else was involved with the action Jim took on February 26, but neither was he a complete stranger to our movement to stop this pipeline. We now know that he had participated and contributed to this effort. It is believed that he may have chosen the date and location to coincide with a call to action that STR announced to honor the anniversary of the 1973 Wounded Knee Stand-off on the Pine Ridge Reservation and to stop the pipeline from going in the ground through the wetlands and endangered species habitat of Halpata Tastanaki Preserve (a site named after a Seminole leader of the armed resistance that fought U.S. invasion of indigenous communities in the mid-1800s.)
Nothing about the action he took against the pipeline indicated any intent for violence against another person. What it did speak of is someone who was well-trained in military combat skills. Jim most likely learned to shoot as a soldier for the U.S. government. While we may never know his full intentions on February 26, his action spoke volumes: He was killed fighting the global tyranny oil and gas companies in the way that he saw most appropriate and effective. And who among us can judge him for that?
While Jim acted alone last month, he acted in the context of thousands of like-minded veterans who joined the front lines of a pipeline battle at Standing Rock in North Dakota, declaring that their oath to protect this country included standing up for the water and those who protect it. And he was killed in the context of a nationwide epidemic of state violence, where police are able to kill with impunity, despite the steady flow of protests and uprisings that have occurred in response to police killings.
An Amnesty International report from 2015 indicated not a single state in the U.S. has laws that meet international human rights standards for “use of force” by police officers. Though Florida is among the only eight states in the U.S. to require a verbal warning by police officers before shooting, there is no evidence to indicate if this occurred in Markers’ case.
All information available to us at this time indicates that Jim died as an honorable warrior, killed for being a water protector of the Floridan Aquifer, which provides water to millions of people and countless other species. As such, he deserves to be remembered as a lover of humanity and the Earth. In his honor, we continue to escalate our fight against the Sabal Trail pipeline and we demand accountability from the law enforcement agency |
a subsidy that delivers the bulk of its benefits to high-paid workers, incentivizes high spending on health care, discourages self-employment, and encourages companies to get themselves into trouble (GM was the most dramatic example of this) by overpromising on health benefits.
7. We want our affluent fellow citizens to save a lot for retirement. Next up on the tax-expenditure list are the various breaks for retirement savings. Encouraging people to save for retirement seems like a good thing, and it is a good thing, but the current U.S. array of tax incentives for 401(k)s, IRAs, Roth IRAs and the like all share one characteristic — the higher your tax bracket, the clearer the benefits. Yes, there are income cutoffs for some of these tax breaks; in general these programs are designed to benefit the upper middle class, not the wealthy (who have enough other ways to shelter their savings from taxes). And for lower-paid workers, Social Security actually does a pretty good job of replacing income in retirement. But the focus of U.S. retirement-income policymaking over the past few decades has been on encouraging those who already save to save more, not building true retirement security for the middle class. (Sorry, I’ve long been kind of obsessed with this one.)
8. We want our fellow citizens to own homes. Tax expenditure No. 3 is the home mortgage interest deduction. The reasoning here, I guess, is that homeowners make better citizens. More to the point, they vote. But home ownership can be pushed too far, as we learned in the recent real estate meltdown and financial crisis. And even if we want to encourage home ownership, the current tax treatment of mortgage interest is a spectacularly inefficient way to do it, with most of the benefits going to the people with the most expensive homes.
9. We want our fellow citizens to be fat. Corn is the most heavily subsidized crop in the U.S. It’s of limited nutritional value. It’s used to fatten up cattle, in the process making their meat far less healthy to eat. And it’s used to sweeten soft drinks, a big contributor to America’s skyrocketing obesity rates. On the plus side, ethanol subsidies in recent years, whatever their other dubious effects, at least diverted some corn from our guts to our gas tanks. On the whole, though, U.S. farm policy is geared toward encouraging the production of grains, soybeans, cotton, meat, and dairy — not the fruits and vegetables we’re supposed to be eating more of.
10. We want our fellow citizens to start businesses, sort of. The U.S. ranks fourth on the World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business” index, behind only Singapore, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. That’s down from No. 1 when the index was launched almost a decade ago, which may or may not have any significance. But what definitely seems significant is that when you dig into the sub-rankings, the reasons the U.S. scores so high have entirely to do with its strong financial and legal systems. On factors that Congress or state lawmakers could easily affect, like how hard it is to get a construction permit, register property, or figure out your business taxes, the U.S. ranks much lower (17th, 25nd, and 69th, respectively).
Obviously, there are tons of other candidates for this list, and my selections owe much to my own biases and what happened to catch my attention one summer morning. Please feel encouraged to add yours in the comments. Happy 4th!In January 2011, then-CONCACAF president Jack Warner called for his confederation—which comprises FIFA member nations in North and Central America—to receive a maximum of five World Cup spots, one more than the current four.
“We have earned it,” Warner reasoned. “Our teams have proven themselves on the field of play, our administrative capacity has grown on and off the field of play; we have shown that CONCACAF is a powerhouse."
Fans of the sport, even supporters of CONCACAF nations, would be forgiven if they thought Warner was out his mind. After all, though the two powerhouses USA and Mexico went out in the round of 16 in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the only other CONCACAF entrant Honduras earned a single point in a group with Spain, Chile and Switzerland. At the time Warner made his bold request, the United States was ranked 34th in the world by FIFA. Mexico was 21st. Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama were 53rd, 65th, 49th respectively.
Warner however may have seen a vision of the future. Today those same CONCACAF nations—the United States, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama—are respectively ranked 13th, 20th, 28th, 33rd and 31st. That’s a collective jump of 97 spots over a three year period.
While it would take more than a single post to explain the reasons for the overall improvement in the region, we can see some evidence for it in the current World Cup. Costa Rica shocked the bookies after beating former World Cup winners Italy and Uruguay in Group D, earning a spot in the round of 16. Mexico held overwhelming tournament favourites Brazil to a 0-0 draw after winning their opening match against Cameroon. And while Honduras faces an uphill battle with two losses and zero points in Group E, the United States broke a long-running curse against arch-rivals Ghana with an incredible last minute 2-1 win.
If the United States earns a respectable result against Portugal on Sunday, there will be a sense that CONCACAF has truly arrived. Perhaps this is the reason why some American supporters are cheering on their rivals, Tweeting 'CONCACAF!' as Mexico or Costa Rica score. Even the U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann got into the mood by Tweeting out congrats to Costa Rica, a side that beat the U.S. in the final round of World Cup qualifying.
I suspect however the warm and fuzzy feeling comes less out of a selfish desire for another World Cup spot, and instead reflects something more personal. Unlike UEFA (Europe) and CONMEBOL (South America), and to some extent CAF (Africa), the unique nature of World Cup qualifying in Central and North America goes mostly unnoticed by the outside world.
Few players can explain to outsiders what it’s like to travel to broiling stadiums like San Pedro Sula in Honduras, to stay at hotels where home fans camp out for hours on end to disrupt the sleep of their opponents, to train in facilities of wildly varying quality, play in snow for a home game and then in 100 degree heat for the away fixture. Dealing with CONCACAF referees.
There is the fan experience. Searching in vain at the last minute for online streams to monitor other crucial results. Watching your team make it to the brink of qualification for the next round only to see them lose 8-1 in their final match. “Home” stadiums half-filled with rival expats, largely ruining home field advantage. The weird consistency of Dos a Cero. Dealing with CONCACAF referees (and using CONCACAF as a verb whenever these same refs make a bad decision).
Getting through CONCACAF qualifying requires its own unique skill set, one that often doesn’t translate to the Big Show. In 1985, Canadian national team coach Tony Waiters helped his nation qualify for their one and only World Cup by scheduling a crucial home match against Honduras in the blustery cold of St. John’s Newfoundland—Canada won 2-1 and secured their ticket to the World Cup the following year. However, after a qualifying campaign that relied a lot on fitness and set-pieces to silent voracious away crowds, Canada earned zero points in their group in the tournament, failing to score a single goal.
Similarly former U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley was something of a CONCACAF expert, but was deemed tactically naive by some at the World Cup, never getting beyond the round of 16. Jurgen Klinsmann himself received a baptism by fire, drawing with Guatemala and losing to Jamaica in qualifying during his second and third matches in charge. Meanwhile Mexico have long been regarded as perennial World Cup underachievers despite over a half century of CONCACAF dominance.
With the exception of Honduras, that doesn’t seem to be as much of a problem in the current travel heavy, hot and humid World Cup. That’s also why it’s such a joy for long-suffering CONCACAF fans to see elite football nations face off against a team in form like Costa Rica and lose.
All this regional pride has less to do with strategic interest, and more with the schadenfreude of watching the world’s biggest footballing nations finally get CONCACAF’d, for once. It’s your turn, world. Feel the wrath of Costa Rica in the sun. See how you like it.World of Warcraft undoubtedly has its addicted followers. So if you frequently find yourself playing for hours each day, then why not put yourself in the ultimate WoW garden shed?
The WoW Pod: live like a gaming addict
The WoW Pod is essentially a prototype for a dwelling that would provide the addicted WoW gamer with everything he or she require, such as food and water, to ensure that the gameplay need never stop.
Aside from a physical outer construction that’s designed to mimic authentic WoW architecture, the Pod’s innards include a playing throne that doubles as a toilet. So, when nature calls, you wouldn’t even have to leave your seat.
The Pod’s equipped with a monitor, PC and keyboard – of course – and all your nutritional requirements are catered for thanks to an easy to reach water supply and selection of pre-packaged foods.
A hotplate would connect into your PC, allowing you to cook with the minimum of effort. For example, if you select “Beer Basted Ribs” then the hotplate would be told how long to cook the food for.
When your food’s ready, your WoW status would automatically be set to away. Food consumption would also be linked to gameplay, with characters becoming sluggish if, for example, you eat your weight in sugar-coated doughnuts.
No plans to mass produce the WoW Pod have been announced, and we hope they never are. ®by Georgi Stankov, August 4, 2013
www.stankovuniversallaw.com
Hallo George,
what is meant by: “It is a done deal that for the majority of the 7 billion people on this earth nothing will change, even if the whole world is turned upside down and vice versa.“?
http://www. stankovuniversallaw.com/2013/ 08/finish-line-sight/#more- 11191
I thought everything is going to change.
in love and light,
Joe
______________________________ ______________
Dear Joe,
this is a very good question and I have also pondered on this statement, but as I have no contact to Jahn at present because he is off line, I could not ask him.
My personal interpretation is the following and, as this aspect is of key importance for a proper multi-dimensional understanding of the coming events we now discuss, I am very happy that you have raised this question.
The majority of the “walking” (and not thinking and feeling with their soul and mind) human beings currently on this upper 4D earth, or about 5.2 billion people (out of six billion to my estimate and not seven as officially announced), are soulless, empty holographic images. They are reproductions of the original incarnated personalities on the old 3D earth, which no longer exists, since it has been fully separated from the seven 4D earths on May 24th/25th.
Their destiny has already been sealed on the lower six 4D timelines or on the 3D earth, where the huge catastrophes due to the MPR and HAARP-induced Mega-earthquakes by the dark cabal have taken place as announced on our website in previous messages by Jahn, the Elohim and myself (HS).
When these empty holographic images are retrieved from our timeline during the impending and announced MPR, during which most of them will die or simply disappear through dematerialisation in an invisible manner and thus will be considered as lost/missing, their corresponding soul fragments on the lower six 4D earths, or on the 3D earth, will have no memory of this upper 4D earth as they were actually not here. These images were only projections of their souls. Now this is very important to keep in mind for a proper understanding of the multidmensionality of the unfolding events.
Instead, these incarnated personalities will believe that the have always lived on one of the lower 4D timelines, to which they pertain as a soul fragment, according to their personal vibration pattern as reaffirmed by Asana Mahatari in this same message:
“18) Every man will experience the events according to his vibration pattern.”
These people will experience the catastrophes on one of the 4D earths in a linear manner, just as we have experienced our past reality on the old 3D earth or on the upper 4D earth after the 3D earth was severed from our current timeline end of May, when also seven new parallel 4D earths were created from a scratch and the incarnated souls were distributed according to their level of awakening on one of these timelines.
All humans now, even the PAT most of the time when they forget the concept of multidimensionality, are fully subjected to this illusion of ongoing linearity, although it was broken into several parallel earths, as they have no idea of multidmensionality and experience the illusory linearity of this holographic timeline as their only true and persistent reality.
This is for instance what I have failed so far to make my wife understand, although I have tried many different didactic examples to explain the concept of multidimensionality to her. Hence I have currently no common basis to lead any meaningful discussion with her about what is ongoing on this planet at the End Time. The same holds true for the rest of the family.
This is a very profound gnostic problem of human cognition that cannot be easily overcome. This is the actual threshold of awareness between ascension and staying on a lower level of evolution. This is where the wheat is separated from the chaff, and you may guess how many LW will belong to the wheat that will be harvested by heaven very soon.
This is precisely the topic of the latest message of GaiaPortal that tries to convey the imminent importance of a new, immaculate multidimensional thinking:
“Standardized responses” to all situations on all dimensional planes are neutralized as Gaia nodes are requesting Ascended Collaboration. All attempts to utilize commonly-used measures (of linearity, George) will fail to bring in higher frequencies to the planet.
Higher Self knows.
Gaia assists all who are intending to Ascend with Gaia.
All others will be moved to alternate ascension pathways.
Repeat: all standardized response techniques (of linearity) are currently neutralized, and will fail to bring intended results.”
This is what is now happening with respect to the lower catastrophic six 4D earths, as their soul fragments were anchored on one of these timelines immediately after the first split of the 3D earth and the creation of the seven 4D earths. That is to say, their primarily focus of attention in life was a priori set by their souls with regard to their level of awakening on one of these lower timelines, which they continue to experience as a prolongation of the old 3D earth.
Hence this statement by Asama Mahatari is formally and practically correct from a higher vantage point of view and also from the limited subjective point of view of a human being, who will, or has already experienced, the coming catastrophic events on one of the lower six 4D earths. This interpretation is reinforced by this previous statement in this message:
“6) The impression that all of this happens on a world, which you previously knew, remains unaltered, and the one people do not know of the other and how different the levels are, at which they live.”
Now this statement does not apply to the few PAT members, who are in the absolute minority. Most of us have experienced these catastrophes very consciously on the lower six 4D earths, where we have incarnated parallel soul fragments. This has led to huge depressions and dreadful nightmares in many PAT members, as many of us have reported on our website in the last two months since the seven 4d earths scenario was implemented.
Only today Jerry wrote to me the following email:
“George,
I just read your latest article “Update on Evildoers” and your comment that yesterday was a very bad day for you. I started to write an email yesterday or last night because I also experienced a very bad day indeed. Yes I had the normal dizziness and fatigue but I have learned to handle those symptoms unless they get too bad, I can still function. I also had severe intestinal clearings and more than usual noisy ears which usually indicate heightened energies.
I have had almost nonstop physical symptoms most of this year, so I have gotten used them somewhat, but starting yesterday, it was more the terrible dread and foreboding which was so heightened. It was similar, but even worst than what I felt before the earthquake in Japan two years ago. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and just knew something horrendous had happened. My dog paced all night and also would not let me sleep very much. I got up and looked at the Internet and nothing was reported except the heightened security at embassies.
When I awoke this morning the same horrible feeling of impending doom, but still nothing other than the sky here in Arizona looks very odd. It still amazes me how our bodies still continue to function at all in a place where we feel so foreign. I wonder sometimes if I am the empty hologram rather than others, since they seem to go along unscathed. Something new is going on behind the scenes I am sure of that.
Jerry”
And here is what I responded to him:
“Dear Jerry,
exactly. As I wrote in this article, two decisions were made at the same time on August 2. To seal all souls on the lower six 4D earths from our upper 4D earth and thus to ban them from ascension, which was felt at the collective soul level as massive despair, For me this was very similar in dreadfulness to when the MPR on the lowest 4D earth took place on June 8th and billions of people must have died.
Then the decision to enhance the MPR in our timeline, which will be also associated with massive death toll and the souls know this in the higher realms and were also depressed. This decision will also seal the destiny of many potential candidates for ascension, who now still dwell with their segments on the upper 4D earth and have hoped to stay on the 4D earth or even ascend to the 5D.
I think that on August 2 the final decision was made how to proceed with the final scenario until ascension of Gaia and the detonation of the PAT supernova will take place.
Now we must reap the results of this decision and patiently await when they will manifest in this reality. There is nothing else we can do anymore.
George “
In our inner psychological, already multidimensional realms, which are much more real than anything else we experience in the current external, waning reality, we (almost exclusively the PAT as all other LW are unaware of this) fully participate in these parallel 4D timelines and experience these dreadful catastrophes, which are non-existent to the vast majority of the current zombies that only carry the holographic images of humans.
This is a leitmotif, not only of Jahn’s messages in the last two months since this seven earth holographic model was first introduced and discussed by myself on June 10th, but also in all my articles and further discussions of the PAT in the daily reports.
Hence, what we already experience currently, is what Asama Mahatari has now discussed in the above statement leading to your question. And it will continue to be so due to the fundamental manipulation of the memory of the incarnated personalities by their souls, without their deep understanding, as they are not that much evolved as we are to perceive this.
How easily one can be trapped into this linear illusion, illustrates the recent experience of my dual soul, who all of a sudden had the fearful notion that I would die very soon and was very depressed for some time before she dared to share this feeling with me. I, of course, dismissed this idea as absurd and suggested that due to her very pronounced mediality she must have entered emotionally and mentally a parallel timeline on a lower catastrophic 4d earth, where an incarnated fragment of my soul might have experienced such a destiny during the MPR that took place on these timelines at that time, or she must have switched on to a past incarnation.
Then, on the same day her HS confirmed to her in a channeling that my interpretation was correct and that there is no reason for her to be depressed.
This example illustrates how difficult it is to keep our multidimensional experience in different timelines clearly separated and not to get lost in the numerous parallel realities, by interpreting them in a linear fashion.
If we, the PAT, who belong to the most evolved souls on this planet, have such difficulties to catch up with the new multidimensional way of life that awaits us after our ascension and which we have already entered in a telepathic manner, what shall we say about the vast majority of incarnated souls, who have not the faintest idea of multidimensionality and will continue to experience subjectively only one linear timeline, even after the ID split and their ascension to the 4th dimension. Those, who will ascend to the 5th dimension, will open much more easily to the existence of multiple realities, as these entities will have fully functioning crystalline brains and will enjoy a vastly expanded awareness.
We have discussed early last year in conjunction with the three-earth scenario that most incarnated human beings, who will move to the balanced, now upper 4D earth, will wake up there after the ID split with a profoundly altered memory, if you may happen to remember this discussion, which we led for some time.
The reason for this is that their dreadful experiences during the huge catastrophes, associated with the MPR and its deluge, no matter at which 4D timeline, will be a great hindrance (as fearful reminiscences) for their further evolution on this new 4D earth. Hence these dreadful memories will be simply wiped out magnetically from their personal memory.
Please recollect that human memory is entirely magnetically stored in the mind, not in the physiological brain, as I explain extensively in my gnostic book “The Evolutionary Leap of Mankind” and also in the other four gnostic books. This magnetically induced amnesia will be precisely what the MPR will accomplish at the level of human consciousness, in addition to the many other sub-atomic effects on the energetic structure of Gaia and the human body system (e.g. on the DNA).
Only a few future ascended masters and some evolved incarnated souls will choose to remember these events in their totality as a vehicle for their further growth. We, the PAT, as the first ascended masters beyond the 5th dimension (cosmic ascension to the source), will have a full and direct knowledge of all these catastrophic events, as we will be then directly connected to the Akashic chronics. We will be completely relieved from the fear-based matrix, which will still exist on the new ascended 4D earth in a much more milder form than now.
On the 5D earth, this matrix will no longer exist, but some ascended entities may still harbour residual fear-based patterns and may eventually drop out from this timeline if they cannot sustain its higher 5D vibrations. It will be much easier to ascend to the 5th dimension in the coming days than to stay there. There will be a lot of drop-outs from the 5D earth to the higher levels (8th to 12th) of the upper 4D earth, now defined as the 7th level. There will be a lot of fluctuations of souls between these levels and timelines before the ascended entities can stabilize on one particular timeline and begin to slowly ascend through the 5th dimension, which consists of 49 (7X7) such levels.
Now all these entities, who will remain on the ascended 4D earth after the ID split and the MPR, triggered by the PAT supernova, will not only forget their nightmare experiences during the coming MPR deluge, which has served them as an opener and an energetic prerequisite for their ascension to the higher 4th dimension, but they will also forget on the new 4D earth as a rule their current relatives and families from this timeline (if they do not ascend with them), which as we know is a complete illusion. This will be their preference how to start their new life on the new upper 4D earth after the ID split and the MPR. They will believe that they have always lived on this ascended 4D earth. Difficult to imagine this collective form of amnesia, but this idea has been tackled by us for a long time last year.
These people will have a very limited consciousness compared to the ascended entities on the 5D earth, but still much more advanced and expanded brain and mind than currently. The present-day limitations of human intelligence is set by the physiological brain, which is a very slow and ineffective functioning hardware for processing of information and the human spirit, that is linked to this inefficient biological hardware as a specific software function of the omnipresent cosmic spirit, cannot really prosper and evolve.
On the new 4D earth, after the MPR and the ID split, the human brain will be of a more crystalline nature, although still not as effective as on the 5D earth A. On this timeline also the average life expectancy will be automatically augmented to 200 and more years as most present-day, Orion-created diseases will no longer be existent, which also points to a more effective human body and brain / human mind than currently observed.
It could be that some of these people have opted at the soul level to enter the new ascended 4D earth´with a partial or fully preserved memory and will remember what has happened during the MPR and the huge catastrophes on the current upper 4D earth. But the majority of the people have already opted for a complete or partial amnesia at the soul level. Their souls have decided to wipe out these dreadful memories of the coming MPR in their ascending incarnated personalities magnetically after this event has occurred as to begin on a new level playfield with their almost completely rejuvenated incarnation on the newly ascended upper 4D earth.
This will be a very important psychological prerequisite at the collective level in order for us as ascended masters to be able to introduce very quickly new technologies and just social forms of life without these being obstructed and vitiated by obsolete past, Orion tainted thought and gestalt patterns, as we observe currently in the whole New Age movement (the rest of humanity is still in a deep slumber in this respect).
This all has been discussed by the PAT last year in connection with the three-earth scenario, but you might have forgotten it, which also points to the fact, how weak human memory is. Hence this is another indirect proof for the correctness of my interpretation.
This interpretation is further substantiated by the following statement from Asama Mahatari at the end of this message:
“He, who accepts the multidimensionality of his Being, shall understand now, he, who apprehends the holographic structure of the worlds, will gain insight, he, who dismisses all this as nonsense and otherwise lives an arbitrary life, can neither see nor hear, and he shall remain silent and blind for another eternity.”
This is indeed a very complex multidimensional model and one must have the full picture always present in his mind and be able to detach fully from his current linear thinking, which is also underpinning your specific question. There is a basic gnostic truth in the current End Times of ascension: the more our reality changes – the more it acquires its pristine character, which is eternal and immutable.
GeorgeThis girl is on fire -- with makeup or without.
After penning a powerful essay on Lenny Tuesday depicting the struggles and pressures women go through to look a certain way, Alicia Keys vowed to officially stop covering up. "Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing," she said.
Already, in just the few days since the piece was published, the songstress has made good on her promise.
Take, for example, her new breathtaking spread from Fault Magazine:
🌞 I shot Alicia Keys for Fault! #aliciakeys #legend #faultmagazine #zoltantombor A photo posted by Zoltan Tombor (@zoltantombor) on Jun 2, 2016 at 3:43am PDT
And from the looks of images she's posted, Keys has gone makeup-free for her most recent performances, too:
Let's do this! 😘 💜 🎤 #UCLFinal A photo posted by Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) on May 28, 2016 at 11:13am PDT
Ready to bring those good vibes out in Berlin tonight 😉⚡️🎤 You ready?! #InCommon #LidoBerlin #viviennewestwood A photo posted by Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) on May 30, 2016 at 12:22pm PDT
She explained in her essay that this new outlook resulted, in part, from a totally raw and honest photoshoot for her new album with photographer Paola Kudacki.
Keys, who arrived on-set from the gym with no makeup on and a sweatshirt -- a look she called a "quick run-to-the-shoot-so-I-can-get-ready look" -- ended up staying in that exact look for the shoot.
"I swear it is the strongest, most empowered, most free, and most honestly beautiful that I have ever felt," she said of the experience.
@aliciakeys new single is out " I N C O M M O N ❤️ " it was so much fun to work on this project with you! 💥💥💥#incommon #aliciakeys A photo posted by paolakudacki (@paolakudacki) on May 4, 2016 at 8:17am PDT
Keys is hardly the first celebrity to pose bare-faced, but there is something so powerful about the stance she has decided to take -- and it's resonating with fans.
A glance at the #nomakeup hashtag on Instagram produces over 12 million results, showing both women and men posing fresh faced for the camera (some prompted by Keys, others not).
Proudly rocking #NoMakeUp for nearly 10 years now. Been pretty liberating to be honest cc. @aliciakeys pic.twitter.com/q4bKerjuoJ — Imandeep Kaur (@ImmyKaur) June 3, 2016
Literal #nomakeup #nofilter selfie photo. Thanks for my facial session today, @regenestemph 💜 Lovely service, as always 😊 A photo posted by Carmela Tunay (@carmelaloo08) on Jun 3, 2016 at 3:12am PDTYou're not going to believe the new kid Reecie. He looks like he's already a senior.
The buzz was about a rising eighth grader set to enroll at Austintown-Fitch High School located outside of Youngstown in the summer of 1998. As is often the case with grassroots guerrilla publicity, people who had never laid eyes on him were already gushing over how talented he was.
Superlatives were registered, deployed, overshared and ultimately exhausted throughout town. As the school year approached and football season began, man amongst boys steadily rose to the top. And there were whispers about if that could literally be the case.
Three full years before Danny Almonte's age would be questioned following the Little League World Series, many people around Northeast Ohio were not convinced that Maurice Clarett could really be just an incoming high school freshman.
"I remember thinking that he was just going to be some taller, faster guy," said Nate Ortiz, who was also an incoming Fitch freshman in 1998. "Then I saw him and thought there was no way he was in my grade. Way too big. Way too fast. Way too strong. And he did way too many amazing things."
It was evident to those who saw him – or those who had never seen him but still graciously spent the summer spreading his hype – that his physical talent was elite; matched only by his drive, which made him terrifying to defend.
The man amongst boys chatter had checked out once two-a-days began in earnest, and as everyone quickly discovered, Clarett was a true freshman. He was just a boy. But not everyone knew why or how he ended up there.
Clarett was at Fitch because he was getting a second chance. It was the first in a series of second chances.
He should have been in jail his freshman year, serving time for breaking and entering in a burglary attempt that had gone awry. One of the officers working at the detention center where Clarett was locked up was a man named Roland Smith, who convinced the judge that this talented kid (whose skill obviously wasn't in successful burglaries) just needed a change of scenery.
And that's all Fitch was. New surroundings, a new focus and a get-out-of-jail-for-football card.
"Everyone was taken aback by how good he was," said Ortiz of Clarett, who subbed in for varsity games as a freshman and played with the team all season, attracting new fans to the stadium. "He returned kicks, he did amazing things – he was the real deal."
You're not going to believe the new kid Reecie. He plays like he's already in college.
It was more of the same when basketball season started. Clarett made the JV and dressed for varsity games, but not even halfway into the first year of that second chance he decided to transfer to Warren Harding High, 20 miles north on the map but a thousand miles away where elevating his football stature was concerned.
“The feeling (when Clarett transferred to Harding) was that he was such a huge talent that he was just trying to make the best move for himself," said Ortiz. "No one had any ill feelings toward him for leaving. He was always so nice and respectful to everyone. There was nothing arrogant about him."
They were classmates for only about a semester of high school before Clarett departed. Separate directions, multiple lifetimes and 12 years later their paths would cross again.
Clarett found himself in quite a bit of trouble before he arrived at Ohio State, but he got bailed out and landed at Fitch. The trouble continued during his single, resplendent season at Ohio State, but there was no soft landing that time, and his actions cost him his eligibility.
When trouble happened again in the years following his celebrated college career, he landed in federal prison for almost four years. The last time I spoke with Clarett specifically about his time in prison, he had just resumed his professional football career.
We've stayed in touch since then, but not to talk about his past – and definitely not to talk about being behind bars. Mostly we have talked about Ohio State football – that's what you would want to talk about with Maurice Clarett, right? Well, he really likes to talk about the Buckeyes too.
The first text I received after Kenny Guiton led the team to an improbable come-from-behind win against Purdue last October happened to be from Ohio State's most notorious occupant of Guiton's jersey.
Clarett: I had more fun watching #13 than you could imagine. I'm so happy for him. Me: The last time I saw the stadium cheering a #13 that loudly it was because some freshman was running away from Michigan linebackers.
As was the case with Hurricane Irene, the first message I received after my New Jersey neighborhood was walloped by Hurricane Sandy was from Clarett checking to see if if everyone was okay and if I still had a house (they were, and I did). The first text I sent the morning of the Ohio State-Michigan game this past November was to him.
Me: Are you going to be on the field today with the rest of the 2002 team? Clarett: Yeah. Really looking forward to it. Me: Good. Ohio State should win then. You're basically loss-repellant. Clarett: LOL. Yes.
The Buckeyes beat the Wolverines with Clarett on the sideline and finished their perfect season with him there in attendance, just as they had when he had worn Guiton's current jersey ten years earlier.
When we met up in Columbus prior to the Nebraska game for dinner last October, I gleefully announced that I would be ordering a rack of ribs. Clarett, whose t-shirt was stretched tightly around his arms and chest but hung loosely on his midsection deadpanned, "Cool. I don't eat pork."
He proceeded to pick apart and consume an entire roasted chicken instead. He might have accidentally consumed a few bones too.
So there were dozens of conversations and a memorable meal in between our last story and the one you're reading, but they might as well have occurred on the same tape. When we began working together on this story he wasted no time in picking up where we concluded two Augusts ago.
"I just never understood my own circumstances," said Clarett, matter-of-factly, of his recklessness prior to life in Toledo Correctional. "I constantly made bad choices. That's what led to my downfall."
A chorus of easy excuses for Clarett immediately filled my head, shaped by comfortable assumptions. But you had a rough upbringing, grew up in a tough neighborhood, were thrust into different surroundings multiple times, went from a predominantly black school to predominantly white school to Harding to the Ohio State to Los Angeles to Toledo to Omaha to –
"Making bad choices landed me in prison," Clarett emphasized. "I led to my downfall."
He isn't willing to blame circumstance or environment for any of his troubles. Initially the conclusion might be that his position is part of an elaborate contrition play to curry favor with spurned Ohio State stakeholders, Clarett stakeholders and whoever might find a thrill in his penitence. It's a lazy conclusion.
He's both smarter and more complex than such an assumption would suggest. While he hesitates to blame the circumstances around his formative years for his missteps, he still wants to change those circumstances – just not for him. It's way too late to change them for his younger self.
Clarett owns all of his misgivings in part because he owns all of his triumphs as well. All of the credit; all of the blame. He quickly deflected my interrogation.
"What decisions would you tell young people to |
their leaders. Of course that is an immensely important and enjoyable liberty, but is that enough? Is that really all a government needs to offer its citizens to be considered a satisfactory democracy? “A government of the people, by the people, for the people,” but how accurate is that description when the system and processes are not accessible to those same people? A system which is virtually permanent, functionally rigged, and only plastic to a select few is not democratic. More like, “A government of the corrupt, by the lobbyists, for the wealthy.” In order to accomplish true democracy, we need to be able to change the process. Here are just some of those processes in need of reform:
Campaign Finance
Ideally, political campaigns would be sustained independently from financial investment, as this would remove vulnerability to corruption and plutocracy. In such a massive country as America, though, funding quickly becomes a necessity in order for a candidate’s voice to be heard throughout the vast expanse. Even with that need for funding, it’s still crucial to seek a system that removes such vulnerabilities. Currently, corporations’ designation of personhood in America contributes to corporate exploitation of the political system for corporate financial prosperity at the expense of citizens’ well-being. It’s unacceptable. A potential step away from corporatocracy would be the disallowance of corporate contributions to politicians in general, and the abolition of corporate lobbies. This is one of the most dire threats to true democracy, but it’s only one of many.
Press
Clearly biased news coverage by corporations with well known vested interests and ulterior motives? Those controlling the media have a disproportionately titanic impact on the information that reaches the public. Let’s make it illegal for private news corporations to purposefully mislead the public to act against their own self-interests. Instead, fund a completely objective news source with government money, and require those aforementioned entities to broadcast rectifications at prime-time as the alternative to heavy fines and suspensions. Freedom of speech and the press were not intended to allow malicious propagation of lies. If they want to express their opinions, as opposed to facts, they should be required to clearly state those opinions’ inherent subjective nature, and/or publicly disclose their stakeholders’ potential conflicts of interest. Dishonest commercials and misleading statements, good or bad, about, and by, politicians? Legally require the paying party to gain fact-checked certification, on an ad hoc basis, at the benefiting party’s expense, and punish those who fail to do so.
Primaries
Presidents that didn’t get the majority vote? People forgoing their actual vote to be used by delegates and superdelegates? Gerrymandering? Fuck the current primary system, and fuck the electoral college. When the majority vote is ignored, true democracy is abandoned. Superdelegates and gerrymandering are vessels of corrupt, systematic manipulation, disguised as political strategy, and have no place in a modern society. Caucuses? Seriously? People have to drive to high school gyms, and stand in a group to be counted by hardly-vetted randoms with their own subjectivities? And that wins delegates? No, thanks. I think this is one of those situations where it’s safe to abandon tradition.
Loyalty
Dual-party system? Nah, we don’t need parties, we don’t need majority whips, and we don’t need politicians deciding to vote differently than their pre-election promises. Not only do the values of each party change over time, but no candidate fits perfectly into a party, nor should they. It’s a dangerous form of insurance for building loyalty to a group, because it unavoidably comes with conformist pressure on the individual. When one pledges allegiance to a party that doesn’t fully represent one’s own beliefs, one often ends up sacrificing more and more of their values to remain a part of this unnaturally-adopted group identity. It encourages politicians’ loyalty towards other politicians, instead of towards their own constituents.
Parties
How many people have you heard say their fiscal and social preferences don’t fit into one party? That’s because there’s no reason they should. Why don’t we vote for a leader for each? Maybe instead of just voting for President and Vice, we should also/instead vote for each Cabinet member. This way you could dig one candidate’s stance on defense, and another’s stance on education, but not sacrifice one for the other. Do you avoid voting for an independent or third-party candidate, with whom you most passionately side, because your vote is likely to be “wasted?” That’s not fair. Evolve past our current First-Past-the-Post system. There are alternative systems that better represent the populous, and maximize the happiness of the group. CGP Grey has a great series of videos about FPTP’s shortcomings and alternative models(Alternative, MMP, Single Transferable).
Voting
Elections held for less than 48 hours, in some places, on workdays, with required pre-registration? Is any of this bullshit necessary for a contemporary, technologically advanced society? No. Voting via Internet is possible, and potentially more secure than the antiquated physical voting machines, which have systematically been hacked. And televised reporting of projected outcomes by state, before they’re fully processed, not only affects other states’ outcomes, but can even affect the outcome of the state being reported.
Congress
Tri-branch checks and balances? Yeah, that’s cool, except when it ends up being an easy way for a Congressional majority to impede progress. If our elected officials have such a hard time doing their jobs, and representing their constituents, maybe they should let us vote on issues that are constipating them, or maybe they should just be fired. They’ve infamously had time to vote to raise their own salaries. Congressional elections are equally important for this reason, and others, but significantly fewer people vote in them compared to the main event. Furthermore, how can honest, responsible adults seriously try to stall the appointment of the ninth Justice for months, until their homie is possibly the new person to decide? They’re not doing their jobs.
Demographics
Is a specific age group, sex, or income bracket disproportionately represented based on voting participation? Why don’t we have each age group, sex, and income bracket’s votes re-calibrated to actually represent the amount of those people living, and paying taxes, in this country? Just because more retired people can make time to get to the polls, doesn’t mean they should also have more power over our country. Minimum presidential/justice age? Why not also maximum presidential/justice age? And how are Justices chosen by one person who serves 4-8 years, when they get to serve their entire remaining life? Before Scalia died, the average age of our Supreme Court Justices was 70 years old, and the median American age was about half that at 37, but, at least Clinton and Trump average to a vital, representative 69.
War
You’re a Congressman, and you vote for a war? You’re now automatically enlisted, and it has to be on the front lines. That vote shouldn’t be up to Congress, especially while Selective Service is still in use. Not only should Selective Service not single out men 18-25, but it shouldn’t exist. The last confirmation of declaration of war should belong to those who will have to fight in it. Those who have to kill and be killed should only be put in those situations voluntarily.
Tradition
And the Constitution and its Amendments are pretty dope, but they’re not the infallible word of God, y’all. If your only defense for something is that it’s allowed by the Constitution, that it’s legal, or that it’s traditional, you don’t have a substantial defense, and that’s a strong sign that you should reevaluate your stance or go fuck yourself.Now this is interesting. Hillcrest Labs is suing Nintendo, trying to create an import ban on the Wii. They claim that Nintendo is infringing on a number of their patents relating to the Wiimote and the on-screen menu system on the Wii. The whole thing doesn't make a lot of sense to us, as we were under the impression that both Nintendo and Hillcrest Labs licensed their tech from Gyration. We're looking into this now, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that an import ban on the Wii is pretty unlikely. Hit the jump for Hillcrest's full press release. Update: After the jump, a clarification on what Hillcrest is suing over from Gyration.
The Hillcrest patents referenced in the action against Nintendo are secondary patents relating to user interface details and compensation techniques, whereas Movea's Gyration patents are central to the usage model, i.e. using sensors to detect human motion and control graphics on a screen. Gyration was the pioneer in developing fundamental motion sensing technologies and IP, and was a core enabler to Nintendo and Hillcrest, both of whom had entered license arrangements with Gyration to enable their products.
PRESS RELEASE: Hillcrest Labs Issues Statement About Legal Action Against Nintendo and the Wii
August 20, 2008 – Rockville, MD – Hillcrest Labs issued an official statement about legal action that the company has taken today against Nintendo(R) for patent infringement. The statement is as follows:
Hillcrest Labs has filed a complaint for patent infringement with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington, D.C., and a separate patent infringement suit in the U.S. District Court in Maryland against Nintendo(R) related to the Wii(TM) video game system.
Hillcrest's patents at issue are U.S. Patent Nos. 7,158,118, 7,262,760, and 7,414,611, which relate to a handheld three-dimensional pointing device, and U.S. Patent No. 7,139,983, which relates to a navigation interface display system that graphically organizes content for display on a television. Since 2001, Hillcrest Labs has pioneered technology that allows consumers to interact with digital media on television using motion-control and pointing techniques. The company holds 29 patents in this area worldwide, and has filled for more than 100 related patents.
Leading consumer electronics companies, not all of whom have been disclosed publicly, have already licensed Hillcrest's technology for use in their products. While Hillcrest Labs has a great deal of respect for Nintendo and the Wii, Hillcrest Labs believes that Nintendo is in clear violation of its patents and has taken this action to protect its intellectual property rights. Given the current status of the filings, the company will not disclose any additional details about the matter at this time.
Information about Hillcrest Labs and its products are available at www.hillcrestlabs.comThaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand currently living in self-imposed exile in Dubai, received a rock-star like welcoming when he arrived in Laos.
His supporters had travelled from neighbouring Thailand to see a man they have been trying to bring home since he was ousted in a military coup six years ago.
After the coup in 2006, Thaksin was convicted of an abuse of power and handed a two year jail sentence.
With his sister Yingluck Shinawatra now the prime minister, moves are well advanced to clear the way for him to leave his base in Dubai for good, and go back home.
It would be part of a reconciliation process which may include an amnesty for all political offences since the coup, meaning Thaksin would avoid jail.
Wayne Hay spoke with Thaksin in Laos in an Al Jazeera exclusive.Embracing more diversity and getting organised — Swarm 2.0
Wendy De Vries Blocked Unblock Follow Following Dec 10, 2016
Looking at flocks of birds doing their aerial ballet around the trees in autumn is amazing. They are all synchronised without a single leader to be seen. Nature shows us that large groups of individuals can be organised and strive for a common goal without compromising on individual interests, talents, skills and even cultures.
Arcade City acted as a magnet for like-minded people, who all found a common sense of belonging. This new shared culture has gone far beyond Arcade City now and next to the social community on Facebook has also attracted developers from the blockchain space and business entrepreneurs, bringing in more facets to the culture, where expressing core talent is stimulated, and freedom of action is encouraged.
All have one belief: we feel like together we can truly change the world.
This text describes the evolution that is taking place to create a swarm culture that embraces the different types of swarm members and by that gives the overall organisation its own, new culture. Swarm 2.0 gives an idea of how we can continue our amazing journey.
Like every great change in society, Arcade City got started by a couple of people who were fed up with how things are. It grew into what almost became a political movement. Everybody touching the idea and the brand’s advocates felt this in their heart: now is the time to change society. We all feel it’s up to us to try and become the change we want to see in this world.
If you have been connected to the Arcade City project, you came here to change something, but probably things are not evolving fast enough for you. You might even feel a bit disoriented right now. It’s the best indicator telling us we’re really changing something. If we would feel like everything’s a-ok, it would tell us we haven’t changed anything yet.
We’re on a trajectory set out by cryptographic technology. So it’s normal to feel all shook up.
We are in the middle of a cultural change, meaning we are embracing more cultures and need to integrate these without having to change the nature of each culture, but rather give it room to thrive and see it as complementary to the existing cultures.
At the moment, we’re like a pack of kids running behind the same ball, playing soccer for the first time. It’s time to get coached, and make sure we are in tactical positions and start playing for real. As the swarm grows it becomes even more important to have more structure to be able to deliver faster.
How can we embrace diversity and make it complimentary?
We all have a shared vision. That’s what brought us together in the first place. So we can stop talking about our vision and start doing things to make this vision real.
In order to make the vision a reality, we all have the unique talent to spot things that need to be changed. The reason you spot these thing in the first place is because you’re probably the best person to change it.
How we create this change is dependent on the strategy. If the strategy is to build an app, get organised like a developer team. If the strategy is to get a group of people together to form a driver’s guild, get organised to get out and flyer, talk to people in the streets, go into clubs and restaurants soliciting for rides.
Trying to create one, same method of operating for different strategies is impossible.
The right tools for the right job
People get together because it’s fun to be around people with whom they have a shared culture.
Culture is which stories we tell each other, and how we tell them. We use tools to tell stories. One might use his voice and body to express an idea, someone else just wants to act and drive a car. A developer will write code, a graphic designer will create visuals.
The tools create the culture. I think we all experienced how different the same people can be on reddit, twitter or facebook. Again, the tool shapes the culture.
In our project, we currently identify three main cultures:
1 / The Swarm
· Culture: Very open (focus is external), talkative, getting inspired, rallying each other, funny, consensus seekers
· Strategy: Social media communication, real life organising and outreach
· Toolset: Ryver, Facebook, Twitter, mobile, Text, Hangouts, facetime, print
· Goal: Get everyday people using the principles and technological facilities to bring our shared vision to life
· Organisational model: Democracy like
2 / The Developer Team
· Culture: More closed (focus is internal), structured comms (user stories, planning poker), focused on tasks, getting real with each other, nerdy jokes, childlike behaviour
· Strategy: Code (smart contracts, javascript, photoshop, html), Scrum / Agile / rapid prototyping, computers
· Toolset: Atom / Sublime, Mac OS, Ubuntu, Photoshop, Github, Gitter, Netlify
· Goal: Create real life technological tools everyday people can use to create our shared vision
· Organisational model: Technocratic dictatorship
3 / The Business Team
· Culture: Open but factual (focus is internal and external), structured, both feet on the ground, getting things done, result driven, polite, balanced
· Strategy: Spreadsheets, conference calls, legal, KPI’s, status and progress reporting
· Toolset: Google Docs / Spreadsheets, Hangouts, Skype, LinkedIn, Windows, Conferences / Networking
· Goal: Coaching the hives in reaching their goals, keep the hives growing towards the shared vision, focusing on making the token ever more valuable
· Organisational model: Business like, somewhat hierarchical
Three core hives, one swarm.
Most people in each hive will not be very interested in the other hive. That’s a good thing: we want nice tight hives with like-minded people loyal to each other, not to another hive.
In each hive there are some people who are also interested in the bigger picture, in what’s beyond the hive. These people will find each other in sustaining and further imagining our shared vision.
Our greatest value and main selling point are these different cultures. They allow for conflicting interactions, based on trust generated by the shared token. This results in a magical method of creating value.
Letting these cultures blossom and interact requires faith in letting go, setting the prerequisites for a new society to arise, based on a common way of expressing value, resulting in a new peer to peer economy.
Author:
Michael Thuy, System Architect× Patient walks away from Western State Hospital
LAKEWOOD, Wash. — A patient walked away from Western State Hospital on Wednesday, officials said Friday. But the Lakewood Police Department stressed that it is simply an unauthorized leave and not an escape.
Lakewood Police Lt. Chris Lawler said the person had ground privileges and failed to return, which, he added, is a somewhat common occurrence there. “It’s not an escape,” he emphasized.
DSHS said the patient was still missing as of Friday afternoon. Officials have not yet identified that person.
This patient disappeared the same day authorities initiated a statewide search for two men who authorities called “dangerous to others.” Information about this third patient was not released to the media until Friday.
Two others escaped Wednesday
One dangerous man who’d escaped a Washington state psychiatric hospital is now back in custody. But the man he fled with — who’d been committed after being charged with murder — remains on the loose, and a real threat to anyone in his path.
The arrest of 58-year-old Mark Alexander Adams in Des Moines, 15 miles south of downtown Seattle, was cause for relief among police in Lakewood, where Western State Hospital sits.
Still, the fugitive with an even more horrific track record remains on the lam.
That fugitive, Anthony Garver, was first caught in the summer of 2013 for allegedly tying a woman to a bed with electric cords, then stabbing her to death.
Garver bought a bus ticket Wednesday night from Seattle to Spokane under the alias John Anderson, authorities said.
“We have stills of him purchasing the ticket,” said Lt. Chris Lawler, spokesman for the Lakewood Police Department.
Both Garver and Adams had been ruled not competent to stand trial.
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Pair 'got a considerable head start'
Both Garver and Adams had been committed for mental illness treatment to Western State, described on its website as "one of the largest psychiatric hospitals west of the Mississippi," with more than 800 beds.
The two were seen in the facility's dining hall around 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to Lakewood police.
They weren't noticed missing until about 1½ hours later, after having gotten out -- likely through a loose window, which roommates told police was manipulated over five months to open enough to escape from, according to Lakewood police spokesman Chris Lawler.
From there, Garver and Adams apparently walked off together.
"They got a considerable head start," Lawler told CNN affiliate KIRO-TV in Seattle.
Adams took a bus from Lakewood to Federal Way, Washington, arriving there around 10:30 p.m; he asked how to get to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, police said on Facebook. Lawler credited a tipster who'd seen media coverage of the escape with spurring authorities to check surveillance footage from there.
"That makes it very difficult to run, when the public is paying attention," the police spokesman told reporters Thursday.
Considered not competent to stand trial
The two men had been at Western State Hospital since February 2015, but they'd been on authorities' radar long before then.
Adams was arrested for second-degree assault/domestic violence in 2014 for choking someone, according to Lawler.
And the 28-year-old Garver -- who sometimes uses the last name Burke -- was wanted on several outstanding warrants in July 2013 when he was charged with murder in the killing of Phillipa S. Evans-Lopez, 20.
Detectives linked Garver to the woman's death based on evidence from the scene and surveillance video footage showing the two of them together in the days before her death, according to the Snohomish County, Washington, Sheriff's Office.
Lawler, the Lakewood police spokesman, said Garver has ties to Spokane. But it's not known if went there.
He urged the public to be on alert but not to try to approach Garver.
"If you just look at the crime itself," Lawler said of Evans-Lopez's killing, "obviously, we don't want someone who has done something like that free."Johnny Miller
An American used drones to capture the color lines still stark in South African cities.
Johnny Miller was just starting out as a photographer in Seattle in 2011 when he won a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship that took him to Cape Town, South Africa—a country that, like his own, has a long history of institutional racism and segregation. After learning more and more about the history of apartheid in academic settings and encountering its legacy on Cape Town’s streets, Miller decided to engage with the topic in a fresh way: by using a drone to photograph birds-eye views of South African cities and suburbs. The resulting series, called “Unequal Scenes,” shows just how drastically different the urban experience is depending on what side of the color line you are on today, more than 20 years after the end of apartheid. Miller discussed his project and the impact he hopes it has with CityLab. What led you to embark on this project? During my coursework [at the University of Cape Town], we covered a lot of topics, and some of the most interesting to me were spatial planning and the architecture of the city—specifically the particular way that was done under apartheid. For example, there are huge buffer zones that were created to keep different race groups separate. I just thought that was fascinating. So when I got the drone, I had a spark of inspiration that perhaps I could capture those separations from a new perspective.
Drone photography is interesting because it affords people a new perspective on places they thought they knew. Humans have this amazing ability to think we know a situation, having seen it so many times from the same perspective. It becomes routine, almost a pattern. When you fly, you totally change that. So I took the drone to one of the most dramatic examples of informal settlements, which is the boundary between Masiphumelele and Lake Michelle [the first photo in the series below]. I wanted to disrupt that sense of complacency that I felt, and that I knew a lot of privileged people in Cape Town feel. The differences in the built environment are so stark in these photos that it's chilling. Did your understanding of segregation in America inform your approach at all? I agree with you, I think that the images are chilling. And they communicate so well what is otherwise a very complicated and nuanced issue to discuss—separation, segregation, history, disenfranchisement. But the images cut right to the heart of the matter, which is that these separations are not right. Segregation in America is something that always seemed fairly abstract to me. My entire family is from Michigan, and Detroit is almost a poster city for segregation. But I never really engaged with it on any meaningful level. When I moved to South Africa, it was impossible to ignore. I can tell you that [inside Cape Town’s urban settlements] it is desperate. In some cases, it is like an urban hell. There is disease, there is crime, there is unemployment, there is anger, and there is hopelessness. Not in every single case, but in many. And literally, in some cases, next door, there are all the wealthy pleasures of life. Internet. Cars. Comforts. Swimming pools. Access to wealth. Jobs. Hope.
That’s why I think it’s important to start talking about this. The situation is untenable. There are many programs and people working to solve these problems, specifically in this country. But it will take a lot more, and a lot more compassion, I believe, to really make a difference. Do you think being an outsider informed your approach? Yes, I do. It’s something that most expats notice right away when they move here, or visit—this extreme divide between the mountain and the flats, the “haves” and the “have-nots,” and unfortunately, the racial divide, which is part and parcel of that. Cities are changing fast. Keep up with the CityLab Daily newsletter. The best way to follow issues you care about. Subscribe Loading... That’s not to say that native South Africans don’t see those divides, but they have grown up in a very different environment than I did, for example, in the U.S. Perhaps they are complacent, perhaps they are indifferent—but I don’t really think so. I actually think they are overwhelmed with the scale of the problem. And that being overwhelmed sometimes looks like indifference. What do you hope people take away from these images? I have two main hopes for the images: One is that they will force conversations to be had…. [T]he image [being taken from] so high in the sky … takes away that visceral dislike of “the other.” It almost becomes like a mathematical problem that needs to be solved—a design problem. And that is bringing really serious emotions to the surface. Take a look at the comments on my Facebook and my website and see what South Africans are saying. Some are positive, some are negative, but people are talking. That’s a good thing. Secondly, I hope that it inspires people to use technology and creative means to tell these “old stories.” America has its own history of government-endorsed color lines. Do you think such a project would have similarly striking results? I see great scope to collaborate and do comparative studies with areas of the States. I think it will be a huge eye-opener. Not only for Americans, but for Africans. There is a sense that America is so equitable, so open and free [in South Africa]. I think it would be really humanizing, from the African perspective, to see that American cities, to some extent, do resemble their own—that there are similar issues that African Americans and Native Americans are dealing with, and have been dealing with, for hundreds of years. Some of the photos from Miller’s series are below; check out the rest here.
(Johnny Miller)
(Johnny Miller)
(Johnny Miller)
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(Johnny Miller)Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF
If camping seems like fun but you’d prefer if roughing it wasn’t so rough, the Drumi from Yirego is a compact portable washing machine that can clean around six or seven garments without the need for a power outlet, a generator, or even a sunny day to feed a solar panel.
At just 22-inches tall the Drumi can easily be stashed in the trunk of your car alongside sleeping bags and a tent, and with a capacity of around five liters of water it can clean a few days worth of soiled camp clothes as long as you’ve got the energy to operate its foot pump.
A release valve on the underside of the Drumi washer can be activated with a single button press to drain away dirty water, at which point the machine becomes a sort of salad spinner for clothing to help wring out your garments before hanging them to dry.
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It’s great for camping when you simply don’t have access to electricity, but it’s also good for home use during emergencies when the power out. And if you’re a college kid in desperate need of a clean shirt but don’t have any quarters, you can probably easily convince your parents to cough up the $129 needed to pre-order the Drumi giving you an easy way to do laundry when funds are limited at the end of the month. You’ll just need to wait until July of next year to get your hands on one, so hopefully you don’t graduate before then. [Yirego via Taxi]–The Hungary Journal–
Summarising the year, Party for Freedom (PVV) Chairman Geert Wilders also stated, whom he considers the winner and the loser of 2017.
Mijn keuze voor persoon van het jaar 2017 /
My choice for person of the year 2017 Viktor Orbán Patriot met kracht en visie /
Patriot with strength and vision _________________________________ Loser of the year 2017: Jean-Claude Juncker
(Europhile, also while sober) pic.twitter.com/FTMyopETdk — Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) December 30, 2017
According to the Dutch politician, the person of the year is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a “patriot with strength and vision”. Wilders endorsed Hungary’s migration policy on numerous occasions, and his book, Marked for Death, has been recently published in Hungarian.
The loser of the year according to the politician is the head of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.Borussia Dortmund are willing to discuss a deal for centre-back Mats Hummels.
Manchester United have been handed a boost in their pursuit of long-term target Mats Hummels with Borussia Dortmund preparing to listen to offers for the defender at the end of the season, sources have told ESPN FC.
Hummels has been linked with a move to United for some time, with the club having been credited with an interest in the German international in the last two transfer windows.
Dortmund managed to fend off interest in Hummels last summer and in January, but sources say they are now weighing up their options following a disappointing season for the German giants this term.
With Dortmund set to miss out on qualifying for next season's UEFA Champions League they know they may be forced to cash-in on some of their prize assets, including Hummels.
United's hierarchy have continued to keep tabs on Hummels' situation at the Signal Iduna Park, sources say, and they believe they can lure away the commanding centre-back this summer with Van Gaal making the 26-year-old one of his top targets as he looks to shore up his rearguard for next season.
Hummels has two years to run on his deal at Dortmund and the player could be tempted to move on in search of a new challenge.
Dortmund are bracing themselves for offers for Hummels and United are expected to firm up their interest as soon as the season finishes while Van Gaal looks to try and do his transfer business early this summer.
Van Gaal is aware of United's lack of defensive options at centre-back and he will want to add some experience and quality to his backline as he prepares to build a side capable of challenging for the Premier League title next season.By Tristana Moore
BBC News, Berlin
An artist's impression of the Great Pyramid It sounds like an absurd idea. The plan is to build a massive pyramid, filled with human remains, on a windswept field near the city of Dessau, eastern Germany. But the organisers of the project are adamant that this is not a PR stunt. There were pyramids in ancient Egypt, so why not in modern-day Germany, they argue. "We're doing this because the world wants it," said Jens Thiel, one of the initiators of the project. See how the pyramid could grow "The new Great Pyramid would be a very efficient cemetery. It would have a huge capacity. A 150m-high pyramid could contain five million stones, it would be the size of six football fields and millions of people could be buried there." Mr Thiel, an economist, has teamed up with a writer, Ingo Niermann, to develop the project and they have managed to secure a government grant. It's the first cemetery for people of all nationalities and all religious beliefs
Jens Thiel
Friends of The Great Pyramid They say more than 700 people from all over the world have already reserved a stone, keen to have their ashes kept in the giant structure. In the future, these people will be able to buy a stone, which would cost up to 700 euros (£535; $1,070) each. "Lots of people don't like normal cemeteries. In Britain, 50% of people want their ashes to be scattered, in the US it is about 40%," said Mr Thiel. "The new Great Pyramid is a global monument. It's the first cemetery for people of all nationalities and all religious beliefs. It is a very beautiful, peaceful idea." Each concrete block would house an urn containing ashes, or memorabilia of the deceased. Architectural competition The organisers say the pyramid would grow gradually over the years. It's a very graphic way of dealing with the topic of death
Rem Koolhaas
architectural competition chief "I've reserved a stone in the new pyramid because I want to be part of the project. It's very simple, I want to be cremated and I want my ashes to be buried there," said Jonas Obleser, a neuroscientist from Leipzig. "The new pyramid is not a monument built for one king, it will be there for people of all faiths, for atheists, for everyone. It will grow for thousands of years. I would like to be one of the first people to be buried there." The organisers launched an architectural competition for the construction of the pyramid last September. Architecture firms submitted their plans. and the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas headed the jury to select the final concept. On Monday, several hundred people attended a gala evening in Berlin to hear the latest developments. "We have seen four different interpretations of the pyramid - they are all interesting concepts," Rem Koolhaas said. "In the West, we have been very phobic about death, but because of demographics, death will be imposed on all of us. "There is a constant ageing process - it's important that this issue is addressed and it's a very graphic way of dealing with the topic of death. I'm curious to find out what happens in the end," Mr Koolhaas said. 'Taboo' Originally, the plan was to build the pyramid on a derelict site near Dessau. The organisers say the pyramid would act as a catalyst for job creation and economic growth - but many local residents are not so enthusiastic about the project. "Death is such a taboo," said Mr Thiel. "We're looking at different sites. We could build the Great Pyramid anywhere in the world. It would be a kind of theme park about life and death." Supporters are hoping the pyramid will find its resting place in Dessau. "It would be beautiful if the pyramid could be built here in Germany," said Mr Obleser. Sceptics will argue that this is a far-fetched idea and opponents are bound to come up with a reactionary "not-in-my-backyard" response. The odds seem to be stacked against them, but organisers are determined to prove that they can fulfil their dreams.
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StumbleUpon What are these?One of the great schisms in Judaism today is what “rules” we follow to define or identify who is Jewish. This may come as a surprise, but this is actually nothing new. We have been trying to keep people out of the tribe for as long as we stopped actively trying to bring people into the tribe. When and why did such an enormous ideological change happen? About 2,000 years ago, under the Roman empire and then the early Christian empire, where conversion to Judaism became a crime punishable by death. Up until then, we have evidence that conversion to Judaism was widespread and indeed very simple to do. No one in the Jewish community was trying to make it “difficult” for a person to self-identify as Jewish. But let me start this story from a different angle: This post is meant to be a passionate argument in favor of a simple idea: Any person who has ONE Jewish parent (mother or father … doesn’t matter which), and who chooses to identify Jewishly, has a right to call himself or herself a Jew. The notion that a person can inherit Judaism through either matrilineal or patrilineal descent is known as bilineal descent, as in the Latin root bi = two. Organized Jewish movements have different official opinions on this matter. Orthodox groups (and there are many different types of orthodoxy) maintain the post-Roman idea that Jewishness only happens through the mother. The Conservative movement also supports only matrilineal descent. Mixed-marriage families who belong to their movement must give their children an official conversion, in the mikveh, if it is the father, and not the mother, who is Jewish. On the other side of the debate are the Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal and Secular Humanist movements: All recognize patrilineal descent, and hence, are in support of bilineal descent.
What do you believe?
Here is the logic I offer to people who are trying to sort this out. And as you enter the realm of this debate, I have just one request: It doesn’t matter “how you were raised” — what movement you attended as a child, or what the official position of your current movement is. I would like to ask you to think for yourself and make your own decision.
The oldest historical way of identifying Jewishly was through the father. Just look in the Torah. Who is Jewish? Moses is Jewish, but his wife is not. Would anyone say Moses’ grandchildren weren’t Jewish? Of course not. What a crazy thought! What about King David? According to Jewish tradition, one of his descendants will be the messiah — not a descendant of his wife. Would anyone today say HIS children aren’t Jewish? Of course not! So, why then, would we say that the child of a Jewish man living today is not Jewish, if that person is choosing to identify Jewishly?
The question of whether we wish to honor patriline |
employed at a bakery in southern Sweden, together with about 160 others; bakers, cleaners and mechanics included. From the first day of work, I was told that the bakery was under the threat to be closed down, and, indeed, with time, we got dismissed and the bakery shut down. Of course this affected the mood and ways of struggle at the bakery, and may be worth to keep in mind while reading the text. For example, it meant that the turnover of employees was rather big, and that many of the older people went looking for new jobs.
Several of my work pals were also involved in the autonomous movement, or acquaint left-wing activists from other groups. In addition to that, we were engaged in trying to get more comrades inside the bakery. We also arranged lectures with a comrade who was working at a bakery in Stockholm, and one who had been active in a large nucleus several years ago. Together, we constituted a group of friends, which, in a more or less active and regular manner, exchanged experiences and information between the different sections of the bakery. It could be added that there existed similar groupings of other employees acting in a similar way.
The methods of struggle that we used were in most case things that we had learned in other jobs, or from other employees. It was methods of struggle that is seldom written about, since it doesn't appear in such a "big" way as a strike or an occupation. However, I hold that the direct, non-unionist, everyday resistance is the fundamental struggle, and that unionist or representative "struggle" don't have the ability to be successful without it. Through small, disrespectful steps you can transform the general mood on your workplace, from a place without hope to a place with a fighting spirit. This everyday struggle we, in Kämpa Tillsammans!, has chosen to call "the faceless resistance".
Faceless Resistance
We chose this name because it describes the hidden mass militancy that is so widely spread in the workers struggles. It is faceless because it is digging itself underground just like a mole, only to reveal its face on the surface from time to time. It is faceless because there are no official leaders or representatives who can be blamed or take the credit. It is faceless and insidious - you are nodding and listening to the instructions of your boss, only to do as you self please in the end. A prerequisite for making the faceless resistance an important factor is that there are solidarity between the workers. It can sometimes be found on workplaces or sections of workplaces but for the most time it isn't there. And then it has to be created.
The "group of friends" often plays an important part in this effort. Some buddies begin show solidarity with each other. They set a general standard with an element of class struggle, which slowly affects others who eventually, joins up. You back each other up, you take extra breaks in turns and when the boss ask for someone that has taken a extra break, you say that she has gone to fetch a new ear protection to replace her broken pair. In the process of creating this kind of solidarity, the breaks are really essential, but not because you sit down to discuss the "ways to Struggle!" as because the simple fact that you are getting to know each other.
What is to be done?
As everybody else I started at the place with numerous short-time temporary employment's as a "stand in", which all in all lasted for about a year. These were located in very different stations and sections, a fact that soon resulted in a lot of contacts inside the bakery. You quickly got an overview about which section was involving heavier work than others did or which one that had good work pals. A thing that the Left always kept on about was that you should handle all conflicts in a brave and direct manner, and that you always should protest if something is wrong. Maybe it works for someone who has a none-time limited contract but as a "stand in" it is pure fantasy. If you argued too much with the bosses (or the union-representative for that matter) and didn't behave, you had been forced to search for new jobs on the moon. Furthermore, new girls were forced to work extra hard on the sections of the bakery that were dominated by men, in order to be recognised. In this situation the thing is to find methods of struggle that makes the boring and monotonous labour bearable. Then, longer breaks are important. Not only to regain one's forces, but maybe more important, to be able to talk with your work pals.
Breaks
The first day on job you got instructions that all breaks should be timed. These instructions were quickly demented by the bakers who'd been working there for a longer time than we had been. All in all, we had one hour break a day, and if you didn't punch out your break on the clock, the salary-office would take one hour from your paycheque. If you punched out during your break, but stayed longer than one hour, they would take more from your salary, but if you didn't punch out at all they took the hour anyway. In that way, you could only loose if punching out. Instead, we took longer breaks in turns. It worked well and everything was just fine. The boss couldn't argue much, because no one was punching out. If anyone was asked why he or she didn't punch out during the breaks, that person answered that he or she had forgotten it, or that "somebody" had told him or her that it wasn't needed. Then the boss would say that you should punch out in future, and you would say "Yes" and then keep on don't giving a shit about it.
Aikido
This way of pretending getting along with the ideas of the boss, only to do what you want in reality, can be resembled by Aikido. If it isn't really necessary to stand up and argue an opposite view with the boss, you just simply slip away, doing totally different than what he instructed you to do. If it was important for the boss to go around believing that he was in charge, we let him do that - as long as we were in charge in reality.
The idea was that it should be as short time between different kinds of bread as possible. But because we all realised that all our arguments, about this being more stressful and hard for us by the troughs and ovens, and especially in packing, wouldn't change anything at all, we pretended we really tried to do everything as fast as possible. In practice we were saying that there were problems with the old machines, that it was a "wheat stoppage" (something that were impossible for them to investigate), which was sorted out after a while, or we just lagged behind and pretended that we were lousier than we really were. It is always positive not to put a full effort on the job, so that you have some reserves left for an occasion when they are needed.
"Someone" - The Usage of Mythology
For the bread to come out as good as possible it was necessary to set the machines on a mode on which they had to be constantly supervised, something we were supposed to do. Since we, in addition to this, were placed on several lines at the same time, the working conditions became absurd - if the dough got stuck on one line you had to fix it, while the dough on the other line could get stuck as well. Which it mostly got, according to the law of "Everything gets fucked up". Naturally, the solution was to run the machine on a totally different mode on which the dough never got stuck. When the foreman discovered it, we always pretended to be really surprised and complained about the machines: they were probably malfunctioning. Or maybe some "bastard" had changed the settings: there were so many people who had been working at this post earlier on, and when they passed by perhaps they taught they could change the settings the way they wanted them. Of course, no one was pointed out for these misdeeds, but it went so far that the foreman himself went around mumbling about it, trying to figure out who was responsible for running around changing the settings all the time.
We used our knowledge of the labour process in a two-edged way. When there were bosses who knew more or as much as us, we referred to our lack of knowledge. At the same time, we were making up reasons about things they knew nothing of ("the dough was too sticky"), when explaining why the settings were changed for the bosses who lacked the right knowledge. And because they were the bosses they wouldn't ask us further. We also made usage of terms the bosses wouldn't understand. We, for example, called coffee breaks "to pencil". When they asked us how much work there was to be done, we would say that we just had some pencilling left, and then they were tricked to believe that this was the name of some important task.
Other, alien, factors of usage were bosses from other parts of the bakery. The fact was that our boss never spoke too some of the other bosses, whom he was in disagreements with, while we claimed that they had given us other instructions, and that we didn't know better than to obey them, because we were new.
The State Health Department was another great authority. I don't know if they would have said anything, but we said that they had some remarks on the way the bosses said us to do the cleaning up anyway (you got a lot of wheat in your lungs using their procedure). And because the law and the Health Department reasonably stood over the authority of our bosses we couldn't take responsibility for this way of cleaning up.
Solidarity-lacking work pals
As in many other workplaces there was a little traitor and ass licking bastard in our section of the bakery. He refused to show solidarity with the work pals by skipping work himself while the others got more work to do. While we had a common effort for less control and a lesser work burden, him running away from work affected us all. Furthermore, he was licking the boss's arse and got the best working hours and holidays, and at a few occasions he was even acting as an informer for the boss when people took longer breaks than they were supposed too. Especially he had an interest of trying to boss around the newcomers.
There were many ways trying to deal with him; somebody threatened him, we told all new ones not to let him play the chief of and we refused to help him out when he had problems. He was almost totally isolated in the workplace and was disliked by everyone. He was a constant problem, that didn't end before he quit the job, but at a certain point we had developed a kind of balance. For example, he stopped snitching, and then we stopped controlling his acting and when he took his breaks. In a kind of way, we had a use for him, as an intimidating example for the newcomers: in him, they saw what consequence disloyalties to ones work pals brought with itself. Namely, to get mocked, ridiculed and totally frozen out.
Not being on the level (or "No pure wheat in the bag")
At the same time as our work team produced about 3000 breads a hour, that was sold for 15-20 crowns (about 1,5-2,0 Euro or US-Dollar) a piece, the bosses were walking around with the misconception that we should have to pay for the bread we brought home. Kindly enough, we were only obliged to pay half the price. But luckily enough, the people on the floor saw it with a bit clearer perspective. Everyone improved their economy by bringing bread and cookies to their families, friends, neighbours, collectives and people's kitchens, or to sale/exchange with the small stores. In theory we were supposed to write everything down in a book, but this was forgotten when you were on your way home. Anyway, you could just get a key to open the box yourself and take whatever bag of bread you wanted, when you were supposed to buy something. After a while, it went so far that we even provided ourselves with bread when a boss was around. This was motivated with the notion that labour itself was something that were depriving us workers, and anyway, the bosses were probably also stealing. When an angry placard appeared, with the announcement that something big and expensive was missing, and that the boss of that part of the bakery demanded it to be returned, it wasn't a long matter of time before somebody had written "You could always check in your own garage!"
"Stop making a mess, ooooooooooor else the Boss will come!" - To communicate and to ridicule
For those who didn't have a permanent contract it was, as I mentioned earlier, somewhat hard to protest. Then a more anonymous form of communication got an important function, especially scribble on the toilets. There were some brilliant examples of working class culture, for example in the form of poetry, limericks and drawings. Following is a poem, written by Aspes:
Blank lottery ticket
When I got a job I was happy
But probably couldn't have been unluckier at all
For as soon as the next day
The boss came and said
"Toil on, you big bastard,
you have to make more profits"
Yes, the owners get rich and fat
Without being obliged to work themselves
But when the business go back
Then the General Manager attacks
Cuts a couple of thousands of jobs
Just like a fucking snob
And you can hardly trust the employment office
When we at the bakery is forced to quit
No, when we got sacked
Our sole chance is a bingo lottery ticket! Nitlotten
När jag fick jobb blev jag gla'
Men större otur kan man knappast ha
För redan nästa da'
Kom chefen och sa
"Slit, din store skit,
du måste skapa mer profit"
Ja, ägarna blir rika och feta
Utan att själva behöva arbeta
Men när verksamheten går back
Då går VD:n till attack
Slaktar några tusen jobb
Som en annan liten snobb
Och AF kan man knappast lita på
När vi från bageriet tvingas gå
Nej, när vi väl sparken fått
Är vår enda chans en Bingolott!
This poem was so popular that other bakers printed it and spread it in the bakery. Another pearl was a drawing showing the bakery as a concentration camp, with foremen sitting in machine gun turrets. After a while, I started to go too different toilets, just for the fun of looking at the writings on the walls, the mock drawings and the political debates that went on.
Another important aspect of the scribbling on the toilets was how they made fun of the bosses. With the help of this, their authority was undermined and our mood was improved. Instead of asking if the boss had done his daily inspection route, you were instead saying things like: "Has the old bastard shown his fat arse yet?" Once, when I was called down to the boss's office for some reason to have a yelling, some anonymous hero had put in a screen saver that said "The Boss and the foremen = Suckers!" (The boss was no ace in computers and couldn't change it.) This ruined the grave mood that was meant too be prevalent in this particular yelling.
Work morals - a two-edged sword
For keeping your job you better had to learn as much in the shortest time possible. At the same time, it was hard keeping the balance between "showing your feet" and pure arse licking. No sane person wanted to smile his way in to the bosses heart, increase the work pace or to get work assignments that you barley mastered. But at the same time, the older employees were better listeners, when you were talking about your opinions, the better you were (if you weren't cocky that is). Many of those who presented themselves as loyal too the management, and preached themselves warm about work morals, still acted in a totally opposite way. The confession of the lips can be used as a defence mechanism, a smoke curtain and facade for saving one's own skin, making it easier with getting away with things and to be spared from getting shit from those on top. The bosses encouraged the "work morals" and were talking about almost mythological former bakers, who could feel the difference between dough 28,5 degrees Celsius and dough 29 degrees, with their bare hands. The answer was simply to try to show that you could do your job without it affecting anyone else through an increased work pace. If we youngsters would have worked hard, we could have made others unemployed, by opening up the "sacking people"-alternative for the management or the one where they wouldn't have to hire stand ins.
Like a fucking kindergarten…
The labour itself was rather boring and also, in many instances, quite physical demanding. You could be standing on the same spot, packing bread or laying tins on a production line, all day long. Too stand this there was a brutal sense of humour and several kind of pranks. You were warmly poking fun with each other and in a not as warm manner with the bosses ("Let's call the customs and tell them that he has half a kilo amphetamine in his arse!"). Once, when we had many people on learning, we cleared away the dough pots, made a ball out of tape and then had a soccer game with three players in each team. Sometimes we had daily battles with dough as projectiles (of course, we didn't use that dough for bread). Besides being fun, it was hard for the boss to put his foot down, when you are just fooling around and playing all the time.
Nontenured employees as shields
After a while, the comrades that had a nontenured employment or that was educated with a fixed assignment were given the task to act as "shields" for the others. They had too take demands too the boss and could argue more openly against him, because they couldn't get sacked just like that.
When new persons came, the foremen liked to say to them that we were their "bosses", because we had been on the bakery longer than they had. We tried to take this notion out of them, with the quite good argument: we had the same salary as them. The fact that the foremen called us the newcomers' bosses could easily be turned against the management. When they new employees were assigned to do meaningless shit-jobs, we told them that they could do something else, funnier, or take a coffee break instead. And if the foremen complained the new workers could just refer to us - the bosses.
Collective strength
In the final days of the bakery there were not very much to do there, so we wanted leave with a full paycheque before the working day had ended. The boss refused, and told us to do the cleaning up in an extremely minute way instead. Most would think that it would get a proper cleaning when the whole building would be turned down… Some days after they had told us that we couldn't go home before the working day had ended, there was an big breakdown on an other bakery, and the whole of southern Sweden were risking a stoppage on some types of our bread. When the boss declared this, he said that it probably would mean five-hour overtime for us workers. We just nodded in reply, while we all agreed afterwards, to go home by the end of the regular working hours. Soon people began titling-tattling about that we shouldn't finish all the bread, because we had told them in packing, that it would be no overtime when they asked us for how long we should work. Grown-up men, twice as old as us, ran around looking either worried (the bosses) or giggly (the bakers). When the boss of our section of the bakery called to ask us what was happening we just told him that we had quit working for the day and just had do the cleaning to go home. We were expecting the yelling of the year, but instead he got all worked up and all he said was "Ok". It was a wonderful feeling going home that day.
At one occasion the management wanted to change the working hours for some of us, adding three more hours, a three hours earlier working day once a week - something we were absolutely opposed to. The union wanted us to have more salary during that time, the company wanted us to have the same salary as we had, while we demanded extra paid vacancy if we were to accept this at all. When we arrived at work one day we found out that the union representative-bastard had signed papers without our approval (they could and can do that legally - he had right to negotiate even if we didn't want it). When he came to work we went to the room were we had our coffee (were else…) and confronted him. He told us that he had accepted the new working hours, but that he and management wasn't in an agreement (hmm…). All this grew too an argument of gigantic proportions and we got so excited that we didn't notice that more and more workers came along. Anyway, we told him that we refused to show up before our regular working day began - something another worker happily remarked was a wildcat strike. In answer, he suggested that we perhaps were in the wrong business if we couldn't handle this kind of working hours. Others, newly arrived listeners, half-joking began to nominate a new union representative. Finally we left him with the words that he could approve whatever hours he wanted to, but that we would come and go in accordance with our regular hours. It never came any instructions on new hours, so I guess he ran to the boss and that they agreed not to carry it trough. Well, then we agreed not to carry trough the project of painting his car in the yellow colour of the class traitor.
Closing down
Finally the decision to close down the bakery came. It came, as a relief for many who had been walking around waiting and who just wanted to know. Because of the fact that the same company had closed down so many other bakeries in other places without meeting any resistance, there was no one who was ready to pick up the fight for keeping the place. In general we thought that it was a shitty job, and it that case, we could take any shitty job.
Some conclusions
The faceless resistance is very much about small everyday conflicts, and is a form of struggle that anyone can be involved in. Because of this, this way of struggle can also combat the hierarchies within the working class - it gives practical possibilities for struggling together. Instead of waiting an eternity for some big red union guy that will fix everything, you can just get it started yourself. It could be a question of you gaining from it, of acting in solidarity with one's work mates or other workers (for example the workers who bought the bread we were producing), of being driven by a burning political conviction, of wanting to have a vengeance on the management or individual bosses, of simplifying the labour process, or simply because it is fun!
Varg I Veum, a member of Kämpa Tillsammans!For instance, here's how far you could drive in 10 minutes, if you were leaving from Brooklyn Heights at 5 a.m. (the distance calculations are coming from HERE ):
Isoscope is not a service one would use to get from point A to B. It's more of a way to explore mobility in areas where travel conditions change hour by hour. First, set the map to zoom in on any place in the world and click it to site your imaginary traveler. A ghostly, translucent presence will then form, all splotches and tendrils. This cerulean shape is actually 24 different layers representing all the hours of the day. Track the mouse over the hours at the map's bottom, and the shape's outline will expand and contract to show how far you can get in a preselected two-to-ten minute car trip.
For quick info on routes and travel times, there's always Google Maps. But for a traveler wanting more of a beauteous, immersive experience, try Isoscope, a mapping tool that plots possible journeys in what looks like glowing-blue ectoplasm.
That distance shrinks like a jellyfish under a blow dryer at 4 p.m. You can still get into Manhattan, but just barely, and Park Slope and Redhook are off limits:
There's another feature that allows you to set the day of the week. The above maps were for a Monday, but as one would expect you'd be able to travel more extensively on a Sunday. And as a bonus, the map also calculates perimeters for pedestrians. Here are the outer reaches of where you could stroll to in 10 minutes in the Heights:
Isoscope was built by students at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences under the guidance of Till Nagel, a maker of visualizations who's also done a year of biking and trains on the sprawling Shanghai Metro. Regarding this project, they write:
We drive to the closest supermarket, take the bike to the gym or walk to the cafe next door for a nice chat among friends. Getting around — thus mobility — is an essential part of our being. We were especially intrigued by those situations when our mobility is compromised such as in traffic jams or during tough driving conditions. How do those restrictions impact our journeys through the city and who is affected most? Obviously, a car can hardly bypass a traffic jam, whereas a bike is more flexible to continue its journey. Let alone the pedestrian who can stroll wherever he wants to. Isoscope tries to answer the questions above by comparing different means of transport and their sensitivity for disturbances.
For kicks, I've mapped a few more 10-minute slogs around major American cities. This is the landscape of hypothetical mobility driving away from the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art at 1 p.m. on a Saturday:
Departing San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood during late-afternoon rush hour on Monday:
Trying to break free of Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., at 4 p.m. on Friday:
Maps courtesy of the Isoscope team.‘Ender’s Game’ is rapidly approaching its November 1st release date. Directed by Gavin Hood, the movie version of the Orson Scott Card novel stars Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Viola Davis, Nonso Anozie, Stevie Ray Dillmore, Andrea Powell, Moises Arias, Conor Carroll, Aramis Knight, Brandon Soo hoo, Jimmy “Jax” Pinchak, Suraj Parthasarathy and Khylin Rhambo.
Though the title character is portrayed by Butterfield, the young actor isn’t yet am “A-list star” (although this film could change that), so Summit Entertainment is focusing on the more bankable adult stars in its promotions. Sci-Fi legend Harrison Ford is showcased in these eight clips, which also feature Butterfield as well as Academy Award nominee Viola Davis who portrays Major Gwen Anderson and Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley who plays stern taskmaster Mazer Rackham.
The first clip is closer to a traditional trailer:
The following are just short clips from the movie that give you a short glimpse of the acting on display. (Sorry, there is an ad that runs before each one!)
Synopsis: In the near future, a hostile alien race called the Formics has attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to find the future Mazer. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is recruited to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult challenges and simulations, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham himself to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.
Are you excited about this movie? Are you worried about the controversy surrounding it? Comment below!
Source Coming SoonMarch 15, 2013 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
One of the highlights of SXSW Interactive this year was Dr. Shaquille O'Neal (did you know he had a doctorate degree?). He joined me on stage at the Long Center for Performing Arts to a packed theater. Before we took the stage, we spent some time to shoot a special episode of Revolution.
Not only is Shaq an NBA champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and a 15-time All Star, he’s an active investor and self-described geek. His portfolio includes Google (pre-IPO), Five Guys, Vitamin Water, Muscle Milk and a whole slew of traditional businesses and tech startups. While at SXSW, we walked through the Startup Village as part of a “Pitch Shaq” initiative hosted by real-time video network Tout. At the end of our session, Shaq announced that he would take official meetings with two lucky startups, Speakerfy and Beam.
On the technology front, Shaq is always looking for the next big thing. He bypassed traditional media and announced his retirement on Tout, a platform that at the time had only been live for six weeks. Shaq was early to embrace Twitter where he still engages with his now 7 million fans. His mantra for social media is 60% to make you laugh, 30% to inspire you and 10% to let you know about this product.
Related video: Marc Eckō on Entrepreneurship as an Art FormSAVVY Australian shoppers are gearing up for US mega sales as experts say online deals are still much cheaper overseas.
Thousands of Australians bought discounted goods during this week's Click Frenzy sale despite its initial technical failings, but savvier shoppers have been waiting for the sale it was modelled on - the US's Cyber Monday - to grab even bigger bargains.
Cyber Monday will follow the iconic shopping event 'Black Friday' which has just begun in the US.
Each year retailers hold massive sales the day after Thanksgiving in order to kick off the Christmas shopping season.
Major stores like Wal-Mart and Toys R Us have just opened (at 8pm Thanksgiving night EST, 12pm today AEDT) with special deals, hoping Americans will be willing to shop as soon as they finish their Thanksgiving dinners.
The Click Frenzy website had more than 20 million page views, and even though there were good deals to be found Australia's cheapest online prices still don't undercut overseas retailers.
Did you buy anything during Click Frenzy? Or are you waiting for Cyber Monday? Leave a comment below.
Financial comparison website Mozo has compared the lowest prices on popular Christmas presents in Australian bricks and mortar, Australian online and international retailers.
In some cases the items are 46 per cent cheaper at international online stores, even with shipping costs.
The Nigella Bites recipe book costs $55.95 in Dymocks, $38.80 at doubleday.com.au and $33 from Amazon USA.
Marc Jacobs Daisy 100ml perfume, costs $120 at Myer, $116 at fragrancesandcosmetics.com.au, and $65 at Hong Kong-based online retailer cosmeparadise.com.
The calculations for international prices were made using the average currency conversion fee of 2.5 per cent of the purchase price, with the exchange rate from Mastercard.
Mozo director Kirsty Lamont said local retailers simply can't compete.
"The bricks and clicks gap is getting closer for local retailers, but when it comes to online, by far the best bargains are still found overseas," Ms Lamont said.
Ingrid Just, spokeswoman for consumer group Choice, said the hype around Click Frenzy has raised awareness of the US sale among shoppers.
"I don't think your regular person in the street would necessarily be aware of Cyber Monday," Ms Just said.
"I'm sure [the coverage] would have flagged it to people who are shoppers, particularly those who are happy to shop online."
Ms Just said shoppers could buy from participating Cyber Monday retailers that only ship to the US by using parcel forwarding services, but people should do their homework before purchase.
"Look at the terms and conditions around these forwarding services, and especially at this time of year, and check the length of time it will take getting from a to b."Russian president Vladimir Putin ( Reuters )
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an anti-terrorism law, but for the country's many churches, the signature sparked a demand for prayer and fasting.
The bill toughens punishment for acts deemed to be terrorism and for the organization of "mass unrest," according to the Los Angeles Times. It would also introduce prison sentences of up to a year for those who fail to report such crimes.
Furthermore, Great Commission Ministries Chairman Hanny Haukka tells Charisma News the law entails:
Foreign guests are not permitted to speak in churches unless they have a "work permit" from Russian authorities
If a friend or relative from outside Russia wishes to share his/her faith in your home the guest will be fined and expelled from Russia.
Any discussion of God with non-believers is considered missionary activity and will be punishable.
Missionary activity will be permitted by special government permission. Example: If one traveling on a train shares his faith without written permission the offender will be taken into police custody for the duration of the journey and will be fined 50,000 rubles ($1,000).
Offenders from the age of 14-years-old will be subject to prosecution
Religious activity is no longer permitted in private homes. Most churches in Russia meet in homes.
Every citizen is obligated to report religious activity of neighbors to the authorities. Failure to be an informant is punishable by law.
One may pray and read the Bible at home but not in the presence of a non-believing person. You will be breaking the law and be punished.
If the church has purchased property it cannot be converted into a place of worship.
In church buildings, it is not permitted to invite people to turn to God. Worship services are permitted but making a non-believer a follower of Christ is against the law.
In response, thousands of churches across the country have come together to cry out to God.
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"The church is appalled at the news of the new law. About 7,000 evangelical/protestant churches are in fasting and prayer at the moment over the news," Haukka tells Charisma News via email.
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Churches aren't the only residents enraged by the law.
American refugee Edward Snowden tweeted: "#Putin has signed a repressive new law that violates not only human rights, but common sense. Dark day for #Russia."
What's more, critics are now declaring the Yarovaya laws, aka the "Big Brother," laws, as a sign of the end times:
If these amendments come into force, prison sentences for certain non-violent "extremist" crimes will potentially be twice as long as, for example, murder committed in the heat of passion, which carries a maximum sentence of three years.
Despite receiving nearly unanimous support in parliament, the Yarovaya laws have triggered a flood of apocalyptic commentary. Many wonder why Russia's already excessively harsh criminal laws are being made harsher.
The only official criticism of the legislation, however, has come from the Presidential Human Rights Council, which has highlighted ways in which the proposed amendments directly contradict the Constitution and existing laws. This criticism has been almost entirely ignored.
The Duma has already passed a number of laws that have harshened Russian law in the name of fighting terrorism and extremism. It criminalized "public calls for the violation of territorial integrity" and "rehabilitation of Nazism," a direct affront to the freedom of speech. In 2013, it passed a law that allowed the state to confiscate property from individuals affiliated with terrorists, including their relatives.
The government has long used the "fight against terrorism and extremism" to justify repressive laws, no matter how obviously senseless they may be. As a result, Russia's statutory framework can now be effectively used to target not only credible extremist threats, but also political opponents of the state. A large group of prominent Russian lawyers decried this problem in an open letter in 2013, saying that the "parliament's legislative work has acquired a distinctly prohibitive and repressive character."
In response, Haukka pleads with believers around the world to join with Russian churches in prayer and fasting.
"Russia is closing down in an awful way. The new law is in total conflict with the purpose and the task given to the church by the Lord. The law will send the church back into Soviet era Communist persecution," he says.
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Great Resources to help you excel in 2019! #1 John Eckhardt's "Prayers That..." 6-Book Bundle. Prayer helps you overcome anything life throws at you. Get a FREE Bonus with this bundle. #2 Learn to walk in the fullness of your purpose and destiny by living each day with Holy Spirit. Buy a set of Life in the Spirit, get a second set FREE.
See an error in this article? Send us a correctionDo the Sarkeesian Effect dudes — now in the midst of a painful and noisy breakup — not realize how ridiculous they look to the rest of us?
Ok, maybe that’s not the right question to ask. After all, we’re talking about Davis Aurini, a sort of low-budget Anton LaVey with a plastic-skull fetish who actually put this picture of himself on his website on purpose:
Meanwhile, Jordan Owen, his former partner in, er, “filmmaking” is a sort of human-bear hybrid who once recorded an hour-long pro-porn diatribe while sitting naked in his bathtub — and then, instead of taking a few minutes to ponder the choices he’s made in his life, he went and put that online.
At the moment, though, the human-bear hybrid is winning the public relations war, largely due to his strategy of not actually participating in it while his former partner spews out an assortment of accusations and insinuations and probably some other kinds of “ations” I don’t even know about.
Yesterday, Aurini — classy fellow that he is — posted an 8000 word log of two private Skype chats he’d had with Owen right before and right after Owen “fired” him from The Sarkeesian Effect. In the logs, Aurini vehemently defends the honor of his “colleague” Roosh V, whom Owen had criticized in a couple of charateristically loooong videos, and demands (among other things) that Owen retract his accusations that Roosh was unable to get laid in Denmark and Norway.
He also tries to convince Owen that he is having some sort of psychological meltdown and |
our council, mayor and police chief’s lack of action so far in this matter.”
Newhart said Fliszar filed a legal memo/letter with the DA’s office last month. She alleges the officer’s actions warrant charging him with cruelty to animals. The letter was also sent to North Catasauqua Mayor Bill Molchany and Police Chief Kim Moyer.
Newhart is seeking the termination of Pursell’s employment and the filing of charges of animal cruelty. He is also seeking the police chief’s resignation.
According to council President Peter Paone, the district attorney’s office has begun an investigation into the incident.
Paone said Pursell is still on staff, serving as a part-time police officer.
He said no changes in Pursell’s employment status will take place until the borough receives the results from the independent investigation and the DA’s office.
Meanwhile, Newhart awaits justice for his pet cat.
“You can’t shoot your gun off in someone’s back yard, let alone shoot a cat,” he said Tuesday. “There’s just no reason for what happened.”A black girl-child must be the most fearsome thing in the world based on how hard so many adults in the juggernaut of Hollywood/Hollyweird are working to demean and debase her. Whether it's reporters who can't or won't learn to say her name -- "Can I call you Annie?" No. "My name is not Annie. My name is Quvenzhané." (I am not naming the offenders. I refuse to call their names.) Can you imagine a reporter not bothering to learn the name of a world leader because it makes demands on her articulation? Yet some want to call Quvenzhané uppity for insisting on the dignity of her own name. We've seen that before: Grown black women called "Gal," never "Mrs."
And then there was the person and organization who thought it was ok to call a nine-year-old baby girl carrying a stuffed dog a vaginal slur.
I am reminded of the prophetic and prescient bell hooks and her continually relevant essay "Selling Hot Pussy." Black women and girls and our brown sisters are commodities from plantations to picture shows reduced to our urogenital orifices. (Bootylicious, anyone?) The claim of comedic license would be a joke if it were not so feeble and so deadly. The law of this land not so very long ago was that black women and girls could not be raped because we had no ownership of our own bodies no right to withhold consent or access from any white man or any black man to which he wanted to breed us. A black woman or girl who defended herself and her womb against violation and pollution was beyond uppity; she was a criminal.
White privilege and its daughter, White Ladyhood, cover white child-actressess from Jodie Foster and Drew Barrymore to Dakota Fanning in its embrace. They were not and would not be called filth and out of their names on their big night. The actions of these journalists reveal their belief that Miss Quvenzhané Wallis is not deserving of the protections afforded white ladihood, not even at the tender age of nine. Like a slave, she is not afforded the luxury of a childhood.
No baby, we haven't come a long way. Some have never left the plantation. Others are trying desperately to recreate it and impose it on the rest of us. We are not a post-racial society. We are a society in which a few people of color have made extraordinary accomplishments and are then used as shields to defend against claims of racism. We also live in a world in which violence against women and girls is epidemic and cataclysmic. Little Quvenzhané lives at the intersection of black and female and is doubly impacted, doubly marginalized, doubly vulnerable.
That the writer who called Quvenzhané Wallis a word no nine-year-old should hear, know or have to be shielded from should be held professionally accountable and lose his (or her) job must be said. That so many in the Twitterverse and on other social media platforms are outraged is a hopeful sign. The media outlet which posted that comment and later took it down without apology has taken responsibility for its vicious act of sexualized (verbal) violence against a child is reprehensible. That the people who work there don't understand that they feel entitled to treat Quvenzhané the way they are because she is black is the point and the problem.
Quvenzhané, I say your name with pride and respect. You are a gift to this world. You are brilliant and beautiful, made in the image of a loving God whom many cannot or will not recognize because she is a black girl flowering into womanhood. And the world that lynched a Jewish single mother's child simply can't handle God in black female body.A new, road mobile intercontinental ballistic missile may have been sighted (see update at bottom) in a city in northern China. The Dong Feng ("East Wind") -41 missile, or DF-41, can carry up to a dozen nuclear warheads is claimed to have longest range of any nuclear missile in the world. The announcement of the missiles could be a warning to U.S. President Donald Trump, who is known for sharply worded anti-Chinese rhetoric and has announced plans for a new ballistic missile system.
China's Global Times newspaper newspaper cited eyewitness photos culled from Chinese social media by news media in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The photos showed heavy missile launchers, also known as transporter/erector/launchers (TELs) moving through Daqing City in Heilongjiang.
The DF-41 reportedly has a range of 8,699 miles, enough to hit any target on Earth with the exception of South America and parts of Antarctica. It can carry up to 12 nuclear warheads, and travels on China's nationwide network of roads to make it difficult to track down and destroy.
Alleged DF-41 TEL
The location of the missiles and the timing of the release are notable. Heilongjiang Province is in Northern China, near the country's long border with Russia. The DF-41's long range, if accurate, means it could be based anywhere and still hit any useful target on Earth, but the implication is that China considers Russia a friendly country.
While China tends to be low-key regarding nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence, this seems like signaling from one party to another. After all, it was probably completely unnecessary to move strategic nuclear weapons through a city of 2.9 million people, unless you want to get the word out. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has been talking tough about China as well as enhancing America's ballistic missile shield. If China wanted to overwhelm the shield with more missiles, the DF-41 would be the way to do it.
America's ballistic missile shield is provided by the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GBMD) system. The system has 37 Ground-Based Interceptors, 33 at Fort Greeley, Alaska and four at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Each GBI is designed to shoot down enemy warheads passing through space after they have separated from the actual missile, about midway through their flight to their targets.
The third Ground Based Interceptor on its way to the silo, September 2004. Department of Defense photo.
The system isn't perfect. The Pentagon reckons that each GBI has a fifty percent chance of successfully intercepting a warhead, and so it plans to to shoot five GBIs at each warhead. Theoretically, that should be enough to ensure one hundred percent success. Theoretically.
GBMD was always meant to prevent rogue nations—think Iran and North Korea—from launching nuclear missiles at the United States. Developing ICBMs is such an expensive effort that neither country would not be able to launch more than a handful of missiles. With 37 GBIs, the United States would hopefully be able to shoot down up to seven warheads.
The system has worried America's potential nuclear adversaries, Russia and China, for whom nuclear deterrence only works if their missiles can hit U.S. targets. If the U.S. builds more Ground-Based Interceptors, they could theoretically stop a Chinese or Russian nuclear attack.
Alleged DF-41 TEL on the road.
China has a No First Use policy, which states it will never use nuclear weapons first in a conflict—but it does reserve the right to retaliate in kind. China has always maintained a small number of ICBMs--only about 54 are capable of hitting the U.S.—compared to the 400 Minuteman III ICBMs sitting in silos in North Dakota and Wyoming. China has traditionally placed one huge, 5 megaton city-smashing warhead on its older DF-5 missiles. That's 5,000 kilotons of thermonuclear firepower; the "Fat Man" bomb dropped on Hiroshima was only about 17 kilotons.
Ground Based Interceptor launch.
Missiles such as ICBMs are meant to lift nuclear warheads into space, setting them on trajectories that will land them on their targets thousands of miles away. The weakness in the U.S. system is that it strikes warheads only after they have separated from missiles. With the DF-41 ICBM, however, the difficulty of defending against an attack rapidly increases over time. In the first five minutes, you have a one missile problem. After that, you have a twelve warhead problem. So for one missile, you suddenly need sixty GBI interceptors to shoot down all the warheads with total certainty. Fifty four Chinese missiles with 12 warheads each presents the United States with a problem that only 3,240 Ground-Based Interceptors could solve.
China's stockpile of fissile materials--plutonium and highly enriched uranium--is only enough for about 250 nuclear weapons. So each DF-41 would likely carry so-called "penetration aids", fake warheads, radar-confusing chaff, and other payloads meant to confuse and present more targets to U.S. defenses than there are actual warheads. Each DF-41 could carry just one actual warhead and eleven fakes. Unless the U.S. could tell them apart, it would still be forced to shoot all of them down.
China's parading of ICBMs through cities is likely meant as a message to the new administration of President Donald Trump, which has promised to build a new, "state of the art ballistic missile defense system". The message is: "That's not enough."
(Update: Gregory Kulacki, a Chinese nuclear weapons expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists, has debunked the photos as not being of a DF-41 but a smaller missile. Kulacki notes that the wheeled missile transporter is similar in size to the Russian Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile system, but the large size of Chinese warheads, which are not miniaturized to the extent U.S. and Russian warheads are, limits the Chinese missile to 1-2 warheads at most.)The European Union expressed concern on Tuesday over Israels plans to build hundreds of new homes in two Jewish settlements in the West Bank, saying such moves threaten peace efforts in the region.
"We are deeply disappointed about the approval by Israeli authorities of a tender for the construction," a spokeswoman for the EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said in a statement.
EU High Representative Catherine Ashton speaks in Vilnius July 1, 2011. Reuters
"These actions run counter to repeated efforts of the international community to achieving a peaceful solution to the conflict that will preserve Israel's security and realize the Palestinian's right to statehood," Maja Kocijancic said.
Israel announced on Monday plans to build homes in two Jewish settlements in the West Bank, prompting Palestinian Authority officials to say the move hardened their resolve to seek statehood recognition from the United Nations.
Israel's housing ministry linked the new construction to a nation-wide plan to lower housing prices that have skyrocketed in recent years and appease protesters demanding affordable living spaces.
Talks between Israel and the Palestinians hit a standstill last year after the PA pulled out of the negotiations in reaction to Israel's refusal to extend a moratorium on settlement activity.
Since then, the EU, together with Russia, the United States and the U.N., have tried to negotiate a new round of talks.
Despite these efforts, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to return to the negotiating table unless Israel completely freezes settlement activity. The PA leader has instead chosen to focus his attention on a unilateral bid for statehood recognition from the UN in September.
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The EU, which is the largest international donor of aid to the Palestinians, says settlement activities in the West Bank are illegal under international law.Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.
Today we look at everyone’s favorite time traveling mech-merc: Death’s Head
Appearances in Heroclix: Invincible Iron Man
First Appearance: High Noon Tex/Transformers UK #113
Team Affiliations: None
One of Death’s Head’s most prominent bounties was the Decepticon Galvatron, taken out by Rodimus Prime. Death’s Head traveled back in time to 1980 to find and destroy the evil transformer. Rodimus felt that this bounty was dishonorable and forced Death’s Head back to the future, where he was then contracted by the Decepticons to destroy Rodimus Prime. Rodimus avoided the bounty hunter and took out a larger bounty on Cyclonus and Scourge. Death’s Head finally tracked them down on the Planet of Junk only to be thwarted by the mental control of Unicron.
Death’s Head tried to fight the control, but Unicron was still powerful enough to make him kill Shockwave. Death’s Head then went on to help Rodimus seal Unicron within the Matrix of Leadership. Escaping the destruction around him, Death’s Head used Unicron’s time portal and took Cyclonus and Scourge with him, vowing to kill them another time. They were separated in the time stream and Death’s Head encountered the Time Lord known as The Doctor, who shrunk Death’s Head to human size and sent him in another direction in time. Death’s Head arrived on Earth in 8162 where he was heavily damaged and buried under a collapsing building.
Death’s Head was later recovered by the Chain Gang and given a new body. As payment for this rescue, Death’s Head confronted Dragon’s Claws, a government group, and defeated one of their members. He spared the leader of the Dragon’s Claws for an unknown reason and was joined by Spratt, the member of the Chain Gang that had rebuilt him.
The pair relocated to the Los Angeles Resettlement and Death’s Head took up his Freelance Peacekeeping Agent work once more. He went on to attempt to capture the Doctor and his TARDIS, facing the Fantastic Four in the modern day before being sent to 2020 where he met the Iron Man of that era.
It was after this time that Death’s Head learned of his origins for the first time, while feeling like he was beginning to enjoy killing. He was originally built as a host body for a techno-mage Lupex who hunted sentient beings for sport. A foe of his, Pyra, was able to steal Death’s Head and tried to use him against Lupex by programming him to have a business-like mind. A third party stole the body, enlarged it to the size of Transformers and shot him through time. This all came to a head when Lupex was able to track down Death’s Head and nearly defeated him. Death’s Head managed to perservere, however, and killed his “father.”
Death’s Head helped SWORD with the tracking and capture of Abigail Brand’s Brother. He was then hired by the alien race Voldi to battle Tony Stark in gladiatorial combat. After this was completed, Stark hired Death’s Head to track down Unit 451, the being that had killed the Voldi. Unfortunately for Stark, this was all a ruse by 451 who had hired Death’s Head to bring Stark to him. After this, Death’s Head had a run in with the “Superior” Spider-Man.You may think you can’t afford to have children unless you work longer hours or take a second job. So imagine I told you of a financing plan that could let you afford kids without the need to increase your income. Just borrow all the money you need to raise them, for food, clothes, hockey registrations, extra bedrooms, university tuition. Under this plan, when your children grow up and get jobs, their income will help your family pay back the loan. Their income, which your family wouldn’t have if you didn’t invest in having kids, will settle the debt so you don’t have to increase your own income or cut back on expenditures today.
Even if John Tory’s growth projections come true, we’ll still need to pay for the things that property taxes from those new buildings usually fund, things the residents and employees of those new buildings need: libraries, roads, policing, buses, and so on, writes Edward Keenan. ( Lucas Oleniuk / Toronto Star )
Would you think that plan made sense? It’s similar in many ways to how John Tory proposes to pay for transit: his Tax Increment Financing plan borrows money to build, and promises to pay it back using the property taxes from new developments along the line, developments that may not otherwise be built. Tory suggests this avoids a tough choice: “We’re going to finance SmartTrack without increasing property taxes,” he has said, repeatedly. A lot of excellent analysis—including a piece in the Star Sunday by Daniel Dale—has focused on the question of whether the plan will work to generate the $2.5 billion Tory says he needs it to. Much of that analysis, as Dale’s did, leads to the conclusion that it’s possible, but there are good reasons to doubt it. But I think there’s a bigger problem here. Even if TIF “works,” it won’t relieve us of the need to raise taxes to pay these bills.
Article Continued Below
Let’s return to my child-financing plan to see why: many people might ask, What if my kids are unemployed all their lives? What if their incomes are not high enough to cover the debt? What if, God forbid, something happens to them and they don’t live long enough to pay it all back? These are the kinds of questions we’ve been asking about Tory’s plan about whether enough new money will materialize in TIF zones to pay back the debt. And those are valid questions.
But what if it does work? Let’s say your children grow up to be productive employees with enough income to cover all the debt you incurred. There’s still a problem, which is that usually the income those adult children earn will be spent paying for the expenses of their adult lives: they’ll need clothes and cars and food and places to live, and they may have children of their own to pay for. They’ll either need to increase their own incomes to make up the difference, or cut their expenses to the bone and live like hermits to pay off the debt you saddled them with. That’s essentially the problem embedded in TIF. New developments don’t just generate new tax revenue for the city, they also generate new costs. Even if Tory’s growth projections come true, we’ll still need to pay for the things that property taxes from those new buildings usually fund, things the residents and employees of those new buildings need: libraries, roads, policing, buses, and so on.
So if, when Tory’s transit loans come due, we have experienced an explosion of growth along his SmartTrack lines that generates enough money to pay the loans, and we’ve earmarked it to pay those loans, how will we find the money to provide the infrastructure and services those taxes would normally pay for? We’ll raise taxes across the city, or slash services, to make up the difference.
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My child-financing proposal might let you pretend for a while that there’s a magical way to get things without paying for them. But it wouldn’t save your family the need to generate income to pay for the expenses you incur. It would just spend part of your family’s future income now, and pass the tough reckoning with how to handle the bills on to your kids. Tory’s TIF proposal does the same for the future residents of Toronto. They’ll need to pay for their own expenses in addition to whatever debts they inherit from us. They’ll do it by increasing taxes. The hope, I guess, is that by then politicians will have developed the backbone to be upfront about it. MORE More on the Toronto election Transit plan differences are all in the details: Keenan
Read more about:Chinese media representatives have been given a set of detailed guidelines about how to report on President Xi Jinping’s official state visit to Finland from Tuesday to Wednesday. Yle Beijing correspondent Mika Mäkeläinen got his hands on a copy of the instructions sent to Chinese journalists from one of China’s best-known media organisations.
"Publish this article as is in a visible location on your website and mobile applications as well as your special websites and keep it visible until 2.00pm on 5.4," the order reads.
The guidelines originally referenced an article publicised on Chinese Central Television CCTV, which used a prominent graphic to highlight President Xi’s visit to Finland and the United States.
The article mentioned that Xi Jinping’s visit to Finland is his first trip to the Nordics during his term in office. It also emphasised that the visit will deepen ties between China and Finland.
President Xi and his wife arrive in Finland Tuesday evening and will be hosted by President Sauli Niinistö and his wife, Jenni Haukio. The heads will discuss bilateral relations and will also sign a joint statement at 11.30am on Wednesday. President Xi is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and Speaker of Parliament Maria Lohela.
Instructions to be acknowledged in 20 minutes
The decree ends with a reminder that the contents of the message are not to be disclosed.
The email directive is thought to be so important that on a four-tiered scale of importance, it is given the second-highest ranking. Respondents must respond to such orders within 20 minutes.
Any delay in responding would require an exceptionally weighty reason.
Image: Yle
In their response, media organisations need to demonstrate that the order has been immediately complied with. In practice that means that the organisation would send officials a link to their websites showing the recommended article.
Media organisations are generally not allowed to alter the contents of the news item. This ensures the bureaucracy propagates what it regards as ideologically appropriate priorities in the news across the country.
"Ministry of Truth" directs media
Chinese media have come to know such guidelines by the Orwellian name, "Ministry of Truth instructions". They may be issued by different organs of the central government.
The China Digital Times website has compiled samples of similar orders issued to journalists – amounting to 13 so far this year. The contents were leaked by various media organisations. The guidelines listed feature headlines such as "Delete Reports on Call to Ease Internet Control" and "Delete Report on Air Pollution Deaths".
The fact that the website’s list does not include the instructions obtained by Yle suggests that there are other similar orders.
This week Chinese media have widely referenced content in which President Xi has praised Finland. However Yle has no information about whether or not the dissemination of such material was the subject of a separate order.
Play Arts Halo: Reach Action Figure - Noble Six Mark V Red*
Halo 5 Wristwatch
Halo Wars: Definitive Edition digital code
Halo 5: Voices of War REQ Pack
Halo 5: Classic Helmet Collection REQ Pack
343 Unicorn weapon skin 2nd place
Halo Wars: Definitive Edition digital code
Halo 5: Voices of War REQ Pack
Halo 5: Classic Helmet Collection REQ Pack
343 Unicorn weapon skin 3rd place
Halo 5: Voices of War REQ Pack
Halo 5: Classic Helmet Collection REQ Pack
343 Unicorn weapon skin *This figure is a rare collector's item. Fewer than 500 models were manufactured and they were a Square Enix 2011 SDCC & Japan Expo exclusive.
1st place2nd place3rd place*This figure is a rare collector's item. Fewer than 500 models were manufactured and they were a Square Enix 2011 SDCC & Japan Expo exclusive.
Maps must be created in Halo 5: Guardians' or Halo 5: Forge for Windows 10's Forge mode
Maps must work for the provided Battle Golf Mini Game variant at the 4v4 player count with all necessary scripting for scoring to function (see resources below)
Maps do not need to change each round via scripting like the original course does (though creative use of scripting will definitely not go unnoticed)
need to change each round via scripting like the original course does (though creative use of scripting will definitely not go unnoticed) Maps must be submitted before 11:59 PM EST on June 18th, 2017
Maps may be constructed on any canvas in Halo 5
Co-forging is allowed, though physical prizes must be claimed by one Forger only
Multiple submissions per person are allowed
The Game Variant
This variant is the standard Battle Golf mode which appears in Action Sack with two alterations. Firstly, Infinite Ammo is enabled. This prevents players from running out of ammo for their Golf Clubs. Note that you may wish to limit or avoid power weapons on your maps for this reason, however. The second change is that the variant uses three rounds instead of the five currently in matchmaking. This is to keep games a bit shorter and also to lessen the workload for Forgers who do intend to script their maps to change each round.
Scripting
Battle Golf is a Mini Game variant meaning that much of its scoring and other functionality is achieved through on-map scripting. We understand that many Forgers who wish to participate may not enjoy or excel at scripting. To keep things simple, the mode's original creator has kindly provided prefabs which can be dropped onto your map to provide the necessary scripting functionality for the mode to function. We also encourage contestants to partner up with other Forgers who specialize in scripting if they need any assistance or a second pair of eyes. Additionally, we cannot stress enough that no further scripting is required. As long as the core functionality of the mode is in place and not exploitable, the maps are good to go. Of course we encourage contestant to explore all avenues for making their maps stand out. Scripting is just one of these.
It's time to dust off your irons and grab a caddy; Par for the Course is back!Today, it is our pleasure to announce that we have partnered with the fine folks at 343 Industries to bring this event back into the fold. Our new partner was focused on the Ghost in the Shell Forge Contest until recently, but we hope you'll agree that the delay was well-worth it. Read up below for new details on prizes deadlines, and more!In addition to the prizes listed below, we will of course be spotlighting the winners and runner-ups and also putting them through their paces in some community playdates, so don't feel bad if you hit a bogey!That's it! We can't wait to see the crazy, unique courses you all come up with. We hope you'll join us in thanking 343's Community, Forge, and Consumer Products teams for their support in hosting this event! Please don't hesitate to reply below with any questions or concerns you have and we'll be sure to get back to you with answers and clarification.On December 21, 1919, Emma Goldman, along with 248 other radical "aliens," was deported to the Soviet Union on the S.S. Buford under the 1918 Alien Act, which allowed for the expulsion of any alien found to be an anarchist.
Emma Goldman, born in Kovno, Lithuania (then Russia) in 1869, came to the United States in 1885 at age 16. By the time of her deportation, she had made a name for herself as a leading anarchist, public speaker, and crusader for free speech, birth control, and workers' rights.
Goldman first became interested in radical politics in Russia, where she came into contact with populists and political organizers. In the U.S., she was disappointed to learn that instead of streets paved in gold, workers were subject to gross economic inequality and inhumane working conditions. A defining moment for Goldman came in 1886, when eight anarchist radicals were convicted and condemned to death, on flimsy evidence, for setting off a bomb at Chicago's Haymarket rally that caused a riot in which several police officers were killed. Convinced of the defendants' innocence, Goldman resolved to learn all she could about anarchism, and soon became active in the anarchist movement.
Unfortunately for Goldman, the decades of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were difficult ones in which to be an anarchist in America. Federal anti-anarchist laws restricted Goldman's ability to give public speeches and subjected her to frequent harassment and arrests. Still, she had a profound influence on American political activism. Giving hundreds of talks across the country, she became renowned as an inspiring and controversial orator. Mother Earth, the journal she founded in 1906 and ran until 1917, provided an outlet for the writings of radical thinkers. Roger Baldwin, who heard Goldman speak on free speech in 1908, went on to found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Margaret Sanger, a prominent birth control activist, looked on Goldman as her mentor.
Although Goldman was not a pacifist, she believed that governments had no right to wage war, and actively opposed U.S. involvement in World War I. She argued that the war was an imperialist venture that aided capitalists at the expense of workers. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, her anti-draft activism was considered a threat to national security, and she spent 18 months in federal prison. On her release, Goldman was immediately re-arrested on the order of the young J. Edgar Hoover, then director of the Justice Department's General Intelligence Division. Hoover persuaded the courts to deny Goldman's citizenship claims, thus making her eligible for deportation under the 1918 Alien Act, which allowed for the expulsion of any alien found to be an anarchist.
At first excited by the chance to see the workers' republic of Soviet Russia, Goldman was soon disillusioned by the Bolshevik regime. Barred from returning to the U.S., she spent the last two decades of her life wandering through Europe and Canada, giving speeches on radical politics. When she died in Toronto in May 1940, her body was returned to Chicago, where Goldman was buried near the Haymarket anarchists who had first inspired her.
Sources: Emma Goldman Papers, sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/;Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia, pp. 526-530;.Christmas help for needy families, holiday help for low-income families, Christmas help, Holiday Assistance, Help With Toys for Christmas, Holiday Help, what ever you name it, it’s on the page. Whether you need help with food for Thanksgiving or gifts for Christmas. I have taken my time to make a list of different ways you find help for the holidays. Enjoy and I wish you luck in finding the help you need.
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Also, check out these lists I created to help you earn cash for the holidays:
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Many people are in great need during this time of year. So it’s important when signing up to agencies for help that you truly need it. Most places work on a first come first serve basis. So be sure to sign up as early as possible this way the agency will not run out of toys or food baskets before they get to your family. If you are fortunate enough that you don’t need help this holiday season. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to one of the organizations below.
NOTE:
I do not donate gifts to families. I have offered my time to find the resources listed below and update regularly as I find more.
Call Your Child’s School
One of the first and best places to start is your child’s school. If you don’t have children in school skip this paragraph and continue below. For those of you with children in school start by calling the school social worker, school psychologist, or guidance counselor. Tell them your situation, and ask for if they can help or have information on how to find help for Thanksgiving and Christmas in your area. If they don’t they will point you in the right direction. Schools are very giving during the holidays, and tend to have additional resources for school supplies, clothes, help with and electric bills etc all year round. You just have to ask to find out what your school can help with. The are not just going to offer. Most importantly, don’t wait until the last minute.
Call Local Food Banks
Most food banks and pantries have resources for Thanksgiving and Christmas. In the past, I was able to receive a nice Thanksgiving and Christmas basket from a local pantry. Head on over here to find your local food banks or pantries in your area feedingamerica.org/foodbanks and you can also try FoodPantries.org. If you have any trouble finding what your looking for remember you can always call your local Charities, Civic Organizations, Human Services, or D.S.S for information in your area.
Contact Local Charities
Also, contact your local charities and civic organizations to find out about all programs for the needy during Thanksgiving and Christmas time and all year round.
Churches
Ask your own church, call and speak with the pastor about receiving assistance for your family or another needy family you may know. If your church is already collecting food items and toys for Christmas and Thanksgiving for the needy, ask if you qualify to be a receiver. If you don’t go to church that’s fine too, you are still welcome to contact any of your local churches and inquire about their programs if any and apply.
Call a Local TV or Radio Station
Call a local TV or Radio station and ask if they know of any programs helping families for Thanksgiving and Christmas if they themselves can not help you they will know who you can call.
Christmas Angel Tree -Salvation Army
Christmas Angel Tree is a program sponsored by The Salvation Army. Have you ever gone into Walmart or the Mall and seen the little trees with tags on them that have children’s ages gender written on them. Well, that’s part of their program. To get your child’s name on a tree you must register to receive Christmas toys through your local department of social services or call your local Salvation Army to find out where you can apply for it. Most of the time it’s through Salvation Army.
They will require some simple information from you to determine whether you are really in need of the services. Find your local Salvation Army and their contact info salvationarmyusa.org/usn just add your zip code to the top right corner. If you’re having trouble finding yours you can also just look them up in your phone book or call information. Please call right away some places sign-ups have already begun.
Family Christmas Online
Family Christmas Online was formed to help your family to have a joyful and meaningful Christmas, even if your life is going in thirty different directions.Check it out here at www.familychristmasonline.com
Lion’s Club
Lion’s Club also helps with Christmas gifts. Simply contact your local Lions Club branch. But please make sure you do this within 1-2 months in advance of Christmas to request assistance. Assistance is provided on a first-come-first-serve basis and limited to member donations and available volunteers. Click here to find a local Lions Club https://directory.lionsclubs.org/.
Toys For Tots
The US Marines sponsors, Toys for Tots, each year and collect and donate toys to children of families in need. Toys you receive from Toys For Tots are new and unwrapped. To sign up for your children and request Christmas toys from Toys For Tots just contact your local Department of Social Services or Human Services, 2-1-1 or Catholic Charities for information on where they will be holding the event in your town and when.
Again if you’re having any trouble please call your local Charities, Civic Organizations, Human Services, or D.S.S for information in your area. Request a Toy. You can also donate toys here.
The Angel Tree – Prison Fellowship Program
Angel Tree works by connecting parents in prison with their children through the delivery of Christmas gifts. In most cases, local church volunteers purchase and deliver gifts and the Gospel to children in the name of their prisoner-parent. 1-877-478-0100 angeltree.org/angeltreehome
Family Giving Tree
Their Holiday Wish Drive offers a way to directly touch a child’s life. They work with more than 250 Bay Area, California social service agencies that supply them with the names and wishes of the children they serve year-round. A wish card is printed for each child, detailing their age, gender, first name and their wish for a holiday gift. Over 900 Bay Area, California companies, schools and organizations participate in the program by displaying the wish cards, often on trees, in their lobbies and other public areas. It is the generosity of employees, customers and students that makes this program a success. They do not work with individuals, but Social Service Agencies located in northern California, seeking assistance from the Family Giving Tree. So please check with your local Social Services office to ask for more information. Check out their “Who we Help” page before contacting their office. Head on over here for that information http://www.familygivingtree. org
Military Families – Trees For Troops
Part of the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation that provides real trees to families with members in the military. They are based out of Missouri, the foundation does provide National assistance to those in need. This year they are teaming with FedEx to deliver the trees all over the nation. You can contact Christmas SPIRIT for help here christmasspiritfoundation.org.
The National Holiday Project
Sign up with the charity for help and see what kind of assistance they offer in your area. They bring the spirit of a holiday to people who otherwise would not have a celebration http://www.holidayproject.info/.
Make-a-Wish Foundation
The Make-a-Wish Foundation is a charitable foundation that grants wishes of kids throughout the year. Even more importantly, it’s for kids who face life-threatening medical conditions. For children ages 2 1/2 to 18 years old.
Operation Santa
Get a letter from Santa Mailed to your child click here for more information operationlettertosanta.com.
Freecycle
Find a Freecycle in your area. Your trade items with other people that you don’t want. http |
time when BTC price stays in a bearish period. As one of the biggest bitcoin exchange platforms in China, we hold a strong faith in the prospect of bitcoin and its blockchain technology, and aim to build a safe and trustworthy exchange.The new Republican-controlled House seems fascinated with the idea of launching investigations, if Rep. Darrell Issa is any indication of the group mindset. But what do you get when you combine Issa’s love of investigations with the GOP’s newfound fear-mongering Islamophobia?
You get Republican Congressman Peter King’s insistence that Muslim Americans aren’t, in fact, American.
Via Think Progress:
Rep. Peter King (R-NY), the new chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, has promised to launch a series of investigations of Muslim Americans beginning in February. “I’ve made it clear that I’ll focus the committee on counterterrorism and hold hearings on a wide range of issues, including radicalization of the American Muslim community and homegrown terrorism,” he told Newsday. King has repeatedly said that he only wants to single out “Islamic terrorism” in his hearings on domestic security, and has even claimed that there are “too many mosques in this country.”
Joining anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney on Gaffney’s radio program last week, King doubled down on his promise to launch a witch-hunt against Muslims. He repeated a falsehood that he stated earlier — that American Muslims never cooperate to combat terrorism. But in addition to this claim, King made the extraordinary smear that American Muslims aren’t “American” when it comes to war. “[W]hen a war begins,” King said, every ethnic and religious group unites as “Americans.” “But in this case,” King continued, referring to Muslims, “this is not the situation. … Whether it’s cultural tradition, whatever, the fact is the Muslim community does not cooperate anywhere near to the extent that it should.”
Looks like 2011 is going to be yet another year of fanning the flames of bigotry in order to score political points. So much for the GOP’s promise to focus on the economy.
Related Stories:
GOP Plans to Investigate Muslim-Americans
“Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During World Ware II” Now on Exhibit in NYC
Town Wants Muslims Graveyard Gone
Photo credit: wikimedia commonsAmazon is officially an original drama series player. A month after Amazon Studios uploaded five pilots — two dramas and three comedies — for users to watch and comment on, the company has quietly notified the auspices of four of them that they are being picked up to series. That includes Amazon’s first dramas: The After from Chris Carter, marking The X-Files creator’s return to series television, and Eric Overmyer and Michael Connelly’s Bosch, starring Titus Welliver. Newly picked up half-hour comedy series include Gael Garcia Bernal starrer Mozart In The Jungle, from Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers and Paul Weitz, and Jill Soloway’s semi-autobiographical Transparent. Amazon’s fifth pilot, comedy The Rebels, from Ice Cube and Michael Strahan, is being put on hold. Five pilots yielding four series represents a much higher batting average than Amazon’s first pilot season, when it tested eight comedy pilots, picking up two — Alpha House and Betas — to series. Of them, Alpha House has been quietly renewed for a second season to begin film in July, while Betas will not be retuning. (UPDATE: Amazon says no final decision on Betas has been made yet.) Here are descriptions of Amazon’s newly greenlighted series, whose pickup was first reported by Variety:
Related: 2014 Amazon Studios Pilots
Bosch
Based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling Harry Bosch series and written by Eric Overmyer and Michael Connelly, drama pilot Bosch follows a relentless LAPD homicide detective as he pursues the killer of a 13-year-old boy while standing trial in federal court on accusations that he murdered a suspected serial killer in cold blood. Bosch is played by Titus Welliver(Argo, The Good Wife) and stars Annie Wersching, Amy Price-Francis and Jamie Hector. Henrik Bastin of Fabrik Entertainment (The Killing) produced and Jim McKay directed the pilot.
The After
Written and directed by Emmy-nominee Chris Carter (The X-Files) executive produced by Marc Rosen of Georgeville Television and produced by Gabe Rotter, The After follows eight strangers who are thrown together by mysterious forces and must help each other survive in a violent world that defies explanation. Aldis Hodge, Andrew Howard, Arielle Kebbel,Jamie Kennedy, Sharon Lawrence, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Adrian Pasdar, and Louise Monot star in the pilot.
Mozart in the Jungle
Dramatic comedy, Mozart in the Jungle was written by Oscar-nominated writer and director Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom, The Darjeeling Limited), actor and musician Jason Schwartzman (Saving Mr. Banks, Moonrise Kingdom, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), and Tony-nominated writer and director Alex Timbers (Peter and the Starcatcher). The project is based on the memoir Mozart in the Jungle by Blair Tindall. Mozart in the Jungle is all about sex, drugs—and classical music—and shows that what happens behind the curtains at the symphony can be just as captivating as what happens on stage. Paul Weitz (About a Boy, Admission) directed the pilot and executive produced. Gael Garcia Bernal, Saffron Burrows, Lola Kirke, Malcom McDowell, Bernadette Peters and Peter Vack star.
Transparent
Written and directed by Emmy-nominee and 2013 Sundance Best Director winner Jill Soloway (Afternoon Delight, Six Feet Under and United States of Tara), Transparent is a darkly comedic story about an LA family with serious boundary issues. In this exploration of sex, memory, gender and legacy, the past and future unravel when a dramatic admission causes everyone’s secrets to spill out. Jeffrey Tambor, Judith Light, Gaby Hoffmann, Amy Landecker and Jay Duplass star in the pilot.Look: I’m not saying that the Vinci headphones, which puts a full touchscreen interface on wireless headphones, are a good idea. But they are definitely an idea that managed to raise over a million dollars on Indiegogo. The idea is simple: you just want your music on your headphones instead of on your phone, but really you also want Spotify and the only good way to do that is to use a touchscreen. Bam: customize Android a bit and put it on the side of some cans — well they’re more like Altoids tins because they’re rectangular — and away you go.
What can I tell you about the Vinci headphones? I can tell you that they definitely sound like nothing special for on-ear headphones, especially ones that cost $129. I can tell you that once you get over the ridiculousness of having a screen on the side of your face, there is something slightly clever about making a fully self-contained music gadget that nevertheless works with Spotify. I can tell you that you can turn the screen off automatically when they’re on so you don’t look completely insane. I can tell you that you can slap a SIM card in there and use it to stream music without Wi-Fi.
Hell, I can even tell you that although touch controls on headphones are universally bad, the touch controls on the Vinci work halfway decently, because the touch surface on the side is so large that you can just make huge, broad gestures that are easier to pull off. I can tell you that the custom build of Android here is actually well designed, fast and simple. My 2016 Honda Civic has a custom version of Android, too, and it’s garbage compared to how well this works. Go figure!
I can tell you that there’s a custom smart assistant in them so you can use voice control to manage Spotify and SoundCloud — one that didn’t really work all that well for me.
I can tell you they threw Alexa in there, too, because why not?
What I can’t tell you is to buy them, because even though these are much better executed than I would have expected, they’re still executing on a weird idea. And they don’t sound good enough to justify everything that’s going on here. But I like that they exist and I even like that’s there’s a “Pro” version with better sound and more storage coming out later this year.
Some people see a screen on a pair of headphones and ask “Why?” But a better question is “Why not?” They aren’t hurting anybody and some people might actually like this idea and why should we begrudge them their gadget? We should not begrudge them their gadget.IRmep asks appeals court to block Trump transfer of $3.7 billion in US aid to nuclear Israel Washington, DC – On May 8, 2017 IRmep Director Grant F. Smith filed an emergency motion asking the US Court of Appeals for an injunction on the immanent transfer of US foreign military assistance to Israel.
On May 5 President Trump signed into law a temporary spending measure designed to keep the US government running until September. The law included $3.7 billion in foreign aid to Israel.
Appellants argue that Israel’s nuclear weapons program requires either that the aid be withheld, or that long-neglected special procedures under the Arms Export Control Act be followed. The Trump administration has not issued required special waivers, as has been done for Pakistan and other nuclear weapons countries, that would make the aid legal under the Symington & Glenn Amendments.
Senator Stuart Symington (1901-1988), in legislating prohibitions on foreign aid to covert nuclear powers said “if you wish to take the dangerous and costly steps necessary to achieve a nuclear weapons option, you cannot expect the United States to help underwrite that effort indirectly or directly.”
Senator Chuck Schumer recently told reporters at a National Press Club Briefing, “It is a well-known fact that Israel has nuclear weapons, but the Israeli government doesn’t officially talk about what kinds of weapons and where, et cetera.”
Americans favor transparency about Israel’s nuclear weapons. In a major new IRmep survey fielded through Google Analytics Solutions included as evidence to the appeals court, when asked, “Israel & its US lobby want Congress to finance Israel's ‘Qualitative Military Edge’ over rivals without considering Israel is the region's sole nuclear power.” 52% of Americans responded that “Congress should consider Israel’s nukes.”
According to the same survey, Americans are also overwhelmingly opposed (60%) giving foreign aid to Israel, which has received at least $254 billion, far more than any other country. The survey also reveals Americans favor renegotiating or cancelling Israel’s US trade preferences (78% approve), opposing any US embassy move to Jerusalem (56%), and staying away from a “no-daylight” policy with Israel (56% oppose).
Americans also oppose single-issue lobbying for Israel (71%) and favor regulating Israel lobby groups such as AIPAC as foreign agents (66%).
Information about the lawsuit to block aid is available via the IRmep email list.
IRmep is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit researching US Middle East policy formulation.A researcher says spills are happening at a rate of about two per day in Saskatchewan's oil industry.
University of Regina researcher Emily Eaton runs an independent website that tracks oil impact. Eaton said that there have been 8,000 spills in Saskatchewan since 2006 (about 17 per cent involved Husky Energy).
Eaton notes that the spills relate to oil, salt water, natural gas and other fluids used by the oil industry.
Smaller pipelines, she said, are the provincial government's responsibility.
"The province should and could do a lot more," said Eaton.
Eaton said the province does not have enough inspectors.
The reason most of the spills do not get the sort of attention this latest Husky Energy spill into the North Saskatchewan River is receiving, according to Eaton, is that they happen in the oil patch.
"A lot of these spills are smaller than this current one, the Husky one … they often spill into farmer's fields in rural oil producing areas," she said.
"Many spills like this are happening everyday across the province without any awareness from the public."
While Eaton questions whether a spill can ever effectively be cleaned up, in the case of many of the spills in this province, industry fails to even go through the motions. Eaton said she has spoken to a number of landowners about their experience with spills.
"A lot of them are very frustrated; some of them have been waiting for remediation and cleanup for decades sometimes."
Eaton is not alone is casting a critical eye on spills in the oil industry.
Crews work to clean up an oil spill on the North Saskatchewan river near Maidstone, Sask., on Friday July 22, 2016. Husky Energy said between 200,000 and 250,000 litres of crude oil and other material leaked into the river from its pipeline. (Jason Franson/Canadian Press)
Rapid cleanup key to recovery, says environmentalist
Peter Prebble, with the Saskatchewan Environmental Society, is focused squarely on this latest Husky Energy spill.
Peter Prebble was a guest this morning on CBC Radio. (CBC) Prebble shudders at the idea of oil contaminating such a vital waterway as the North Saskatchewan River.
"This mixture is acutely toxic," he said.
"This can negatively impact wildlife. It can lead to reproductive failure, developmental deformities, behavioural impairment, immune function," he said. "I doubt very much that we are really getting the true picture of how wildlife is being impacted all along the North Saskatchewan River."
Prebble is frustrated with the lack of public information about the spill coming from both Husky Energy and the provincial government, and hopes both are taking the clean up seriously.
"It's critical that it be removed from the surface as quickly as possible because it will tend to sink."
Prebble believes that clean up must extend to hundreds of kilometres of shore line along the North Saskatchewan River, and is optimistic that if it is done correctly, the river can recover within a few years.cufón - fonts for the people
What's this? If you're looking for the cufón generator, I'm afraid you're too late. Originally launched in 2008, the online cufón generator was discontinued in early 2017. The source code remains available at github.com/sorccu/cufon for those who may still need it. No support will be provided, however. If you were hotlinking to the cufon.js file on this site (bad you!), consider migrating to the cdnjs hosted cufon.js instead. If you need to generate a font, you'll have to host the generator yourself. Seriously though, you should be using standard web fonts by now.
Why is it gone? The server, while still operational after all these years, was horribly out of date and becoming a security risk. Furthermore, it cost on average $20 a month to keep it running, including the VPS and Route 53 fees, which hasn't been great value for a long time. Unwilling to provision a new server and update the codebase to work with new software, the decision was made to shut it down.
Why did development stop? I've thought about this a lot over the years. It boils down to a few main causes. Inexperience and the inability to say no. Promises that in the end turned out to be empty were made simply due to not wanting to disappoint.
At the peak of cufón's popularity, I spent an average of 2 hours per day just answering emails. At first I found great joy in providing a useful (at the time) tool for other developers, and received intelligent and well thought out feedback in return. Over time as the project gained popularity, these questions slowly became more and more focused of figuring out why the WordPress template they bought from who knows where wasn't working quite right. There was no enjoyment in this work and I began to resent many of these users.
Lack of automated testing and attempting to support every version of every browser. At the time, automated browser testing (especially for a graphical utility) wasn't really a thing at all. It became extremely daunting to make any potentially breaking changes. At the same time, vendors were only accelerating browser development, making the issue even worse to deal with.
Too many things going on at once. In addition to work, I had at least 5 other major projects going on. Combined, these reasons caused me to wake up one day and realize that I was no longer looking forward to returning home from work to continue playing with the project.
Stats Uploaded fonts were anonymously logged since July 8 2010. Since then, 3,316,175 fonts were uploaded to the server for conversion. The recorded data includes dates, filenames, font names, font weights and not much else. No private information whatsoever is included. Any researchers interested in this data (perhaps to understand past font trends) may contact me. Google Analytics was set up in early 2009. The steady decline in popularity over the years is apparent, but you can imagine what it was like running the whole thing as pretty much a one man show during the peak years! Note that aside from a Typekit referral link, the site stayed ad-free till the end.A genome-wide association study of educational attainment was conducted in a discovery sample of 101,069 individuals and a replication sample of 25,490. Three independent SNPs are genome-wide significant (rs9320913, rs11584700, rs4851266), and all three replicate. Estimated effects sizes are small (R 2 ≈ 0.02%), approximately 1 month of schooling per allele. A linear polygenic score from all measured SNPs accounts for ≈ 2% of the variance in both educational attainment and cognitive function. Genes in the region of the loci have previously been associated with health, cognitive, and central nervous system phenotypes, and bioinformatics analyses suggest the involvement of the anterior caudate nucleus. These findings provide promising candidate SNPs for follow-up work, and our effect size estimates can anchor power analyses in social-science genetics.
Twin and family studies suggest that a broad range of psychological traits (1), economic preferences (2–4), and social and economic outcomes (5) are moderately heritable. Discovery of genetic variants associated with such traits leads to insights regarding the biological pathways underlying human behavior. If the predictive power of a set of genetic variants considered jointly is sufficiently large, then a “risk score” that aggregates their effects could be useful to control for genetic factors that are otherwise unobserved, or to identify populations with certain genetic propensities, for example in the context of medical intervention (6).
To date, however, few if any robust associations between specific genetic variants and social-scientific outcomes have been identified likely because existing work [for review see (7)] has relied on samples that are too small [for discussion, see (4, 6, 8, 9)]. In this paper, we apply to a complex behavioral trait—educational attainment—an approach to gene discovery that has been successfully applied to medical and physical phenotypes (10), namely meta-analyzing data from multiple samples. The phenotype of educational attainment is available in many samples with genotyped subjects (5). Educational attainment is influenced by many known environmental factors, including public policies. Educational attainment is strongly associated with social outcomes, and there is a well-documented health-education gradient (5, 11). Estimates suggest that around 40% of the variance in educational attainment is explained by genetic factors (5). Furthermore, educational attainment is moderately correlated with other heritable characteristics (1), including cognitive function (12) and personality traits related to persistence and self-discipline (13).
To create a harmonized measure of educational attainment, we coded study-specific measures using the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 1997) scale (14). We analyzed a quantitative variable defined as an individual’s years of schooling (EduYears) and a binary variable for college completion (College). College may be more comparable across countries, whereas EduYears contains more information about individual differences within countries.
A genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis was performed across 42 cohorts in the discovery phase. The overall discovery sample comprises 101,069 individuals for EduYears and 95,427 for College. Analyses were performed at the cohort level according to a pre-specified analysis plan, which restricted the sample to Caucasians (to help reduce stratification concerns). Educational attainment was measured at an age at which subjects were very likely to have completed their education [over 95% of the sample was at least 30; (5)]. On average, subjects have 13.3 years of schooling, and 23.1% have a college degree. To enable pooling of GWAS results, all studies conducted analyses with data imputed to the HapMap 2 CEU (r22.b36) reference set. To guard against population stratification, the first four principal components of the genotypic data were included as controls in all the cohort-level analyses. All study-specific GWAS results were quality controlled, cross-checked, and meta-analyzed using single genomic control and a sample-size weighting scheme at three independent analysis centers.
At the cohort level, there is little evidence of general inflation of p-values. As in previous GWA studies of complex traits (15), the Q-Q plot of the meta-analysis exhibits strong inflation. This inflation is not driven by specific cohorts and is expected for a highly polygenic phenotype even in the absence of population stratification (16).
From the discovery phase, we identified one genome-wide significant locus (rs9320913, p = 4.2 × 10−9) and three suggestive loci (defined as p < 10−6) for EduYears. For College, we identified two genome-wide significant loci (rs11584700, p = 2.1 × 10−9, and rs4851266, p = 2.2 × 10−9) and an additional four suggestive loci ( ). We conducted replication analyses in 12 additional, independent cohorts that became available after the completion of the discovery meta-analysis, using the same pre-specified analysis plan. For both EduYears and College, the replication sample comprises 25,490 individuals.
Table 1 SNP Chr Position (bp) Nearest gene Effective allele Frequency Discovery stage Replication stage Combined stage Combined stage – sex-specific Beta/OR P-value I2 P het Beta/OR P-value Beta/OR P-value P het Beta/OR (Males) P-value (Males) Beta/OR (Females) P-value (Females) EduYears rs9320913 6 98691454 LOC100129158 A 0.483 0.106 4.19×10−9 18.3 0.097 0.077 0.012 0.101 3.50×10−10 0.350 0.095 1.87×10−4 0.100 1.43×10−6 rs3783006 13 97909210 STK24 C 0.454 0.096 2.29×10−7 0 0.982 0.056 0.055 0.088 8.45×10−8 0.959 0.064 1.44×10−2 0.108 3.35×10−7 rs8049439 16 28745016 ATXN2L T 0.581 0.090 7.12×10−7 10.7 0.229 0.065 0.026 0.086 1.15×10−7 0.205 0.097 1.43×10−4 0.078 1.90×10−4 rs13188378 5 101958587 SLCO6A1 A 0.878 −0.136 7.49×10−7 0 0.791 0.091 0.914 −0.097 1.37×10−4 0.646 −0.134 8.21×10−3 −0.080 5.92×10−3 College rs11584700 1 202843606 LRRN2 A 0.780 0.921 2.07×10−9 13.8 0.179 0.912 4.86×10−4 0.919 8.24×10−12 0.221 0.934 6.11×10−4 0.911 2.12×10−9 rs4851266 2 100184911 LOC150577 T 0.396 1.050 2.20×10−9 23.7 0.049 1.049 0.003 1.050 5.33×10−11 0.072 1.054 1.55×10−5 1.052 6.74×10−8 rs2054125 2 199093966 PLCL1 T 0.064 1.468 5.55×10−8 7 0.325 1.098 0.225 1.376 2.12×10−7 0.268 1.264 1.74×10−2 1.503 1.95×10−7 rs3227 6 33770273 ITPR3 C 0.498 1.043 6.02×10−8 5 0.363 1.010 0.280 1.037 3.24×10−7 0.415 1.046 9.44×10−5 1.029 1.37×10−3 rs4073894 7 104254200 LHFPL3 A 0.207 1.076 4.41×10−7 0 0.765 1.003 0.467 1.062 5.55×10−6 0.513 1.050 2.18×10−2 1.073 1.74×10−5 rs12640626 4 176863266 GPM6A A 0.580 1.041 4.94×10−7 10.9 0.234 1.000 0.495 1.034 7.48×10−6 0.420 1.038 1.59×10−3 1.031 7.61×10−4 Open in a separate window
For each of the ten loci that reached at least suggestive significance, we brought forward for replication the SNP with the lowest p-value. The three genome-wide significant SNPs replicate at the Bonferroni-adjusted 5% level, with point estimates of the same sign and similar magnitude ( and ). The seven loci that did not reach genome-wide significance did not replicate (the effect went in the anticipated direction in 5 out of 7 cases). The meta-analytic findings are not driven by extreme results in a small number of cohorts (see p het in ), by cohorts from a specific geographic region (figs. S7 to S15), or by a single sex (figs. S3 to S6). Given the high correlation between EduYears and College (5), it is unsurprising that the set of SNPs with low p-values exhibit considerable overlap in the two analyses (tables S8 and S9).
The observed effect sizes of the three replicated individual SNPs are small [see (5) for discussion]. For EduYears, the strongest effect identified (rs9320913) explains 0.022% of phenotypic variance in the replication sample. This R2 corresponds to a difference of ~1 months of schooling per allele. For college completion, the SNP with the strongest estimated effect (rs11584700) has an odds ratio of 0.912 in the replication sample, equivalent to a 1.8 percentage-point difference per allele in the frequency of completing college.
We subsequently conducted a “combined stage” meta-analysis, including both the discovery and replication samples. This analysis revealed additional genome-wide significant SNPs: four for EduYears and three for College. Three of these newly genome-wide significant SNPs (rs1487441, rs11584700, rs4851264) are in linkage disequilibrium with the replicated SNPs. The remaining four are located in different loci and warrant replication attempts in future research: rs7309, a 3′UTR variant in TANK; rs11687170, close to GBX2; rs1056667, a 3′UTR variant in BTN1A1; and rs13401104 in ASB18.
Using the results of the combined meta-analyses of discovery and replication cohorts, we conducted a series of complementary and exploratory supplemental analyses to aid in interpreting and contextualizing the results: gene-based association tests; eQTL analyses of brain and blood tissue data; pathway analysis; functional annotation searches; enrichment analysis for cell-type-specific overlap with H3K4me3 chromatin marks; and predictions of likely gene function using gene-expression data. Table S20 summarizes promising candidate loci identified through follow-up analyses (5). Two regions in particular showed convergent evidence from functional annotation, blood cis-eQTL analyses, and gene-based tests: chromosome 1q32 (including LRRN2, MDM4, and PIK3C2B) and chromosome 6 near the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). We also find evidence that in anterior caudate cells, there is enrichment of H3K4me3 chromatin marks (believed to be more common in active regulatory regions) in the genomic regions implicated by our analyses (fig. S20). Many of the implicated genes have previously been associated with health, central nervous system, or cognitive-process phenotypes in either human-GWAS or model-animal studies (table S22). Gene co-expression analysis revealed that several implicated genes (including BSN, GBX2, LRRN2, and PIK3C2B) are likely involved in pathways related to cognitive processes (such as learning and long-term memory) and neuronal development or function (table S21).
Although the effects of individual SNPs on educational attainment are small, many of their potential uses in social science depend on their combined explanatory power. To evaluate the combined explanatory power, we constructed a linear polygenic score (5) for each of our two education measures using the meta-analysis results (combining discovery and replication), excluding one cohort. We tested these scores for association with educational attainment in the excluded cohort. We constructed the scores using SNPs whose nominal p-values fall below a certain threshold, ranging from 5 × 10−8 (only the genome-wide significant SNPs were included) to 1 (all SNPs were included).
We replicated this procedure with two of the largest cohorts in the study, both of which are family-based samples (QIMR and STR). The results suggest that educational attainment is a highly polygenic trait ( and table S23): the amount of variance accounted for increases as the p-value threshold becomes less conservative (i.e., includes more SNPs). The linear polygenic score from all measured SNPs accounts for ≈ 2% (p = 1.0 × 10−29) of the variance in EduYears in the STR sample and ≈ 3% (p = 7.1 × 10−24) in the QIMR sample.
To explore one of the many potential mediating endophenotypes, we examined how much the same polygenic scores (constructed to explain EduYears or College) could explain individual differences in cognitive function. While it would have been preferable to explore a richer set of mediators, this variable was available in STR, a dataset where we had access to the individual-level genotypic data. Cognitive function had been measured in a subset of males using the Swedish Enlistment Battery (used for conscription) (5, 17). The estimated R2 ≈ 2.5% (p < 1.0 × 10−8) for cognitive function is actually slightly larger than the fraction of variance in educational attainment captured by the score in the STR sample. One possible interpretation is that some of the SNPs used to construct the score matter for education through their stronger, more direct effects on cognitive function (5). A mediation analysis (table S24) provides tentative evidence consistent with this interpretation.
The polygenic score remains associated with educational attainment and cognitive function in within-family analyses (table S25). Thus, these results appear robust to possible population stratification.
If the size of the training sample used to estimate the linear polygenic score increased, the explanatory power of the score in the prediction sample would be larger because the coefficients used for constructing the score would be estimated with less error. In (5), we report projections of this increase. We also assess, at various levels of explanatory power, the benefits from using the score as a control variable in a randomized educational intervention (5). An asymptotic upper bound for the explanatory power of a linear polygenic score is the additive genetic variance across individuals captured by current SNP microarrays. Using combined data from STR and QIMR, we estimate that this upper bound is 22.4% (S.E. = 4.2%) in these samples (5) (table S12).
Placed in the context of the GWAS literature (10), our largest estimated SNP effect size of 0.02% is over an order of magnitude smaller than those observed for height and BMI: 0.4% (15) and 0.3% (18) respectively. While our linear polygenic score for education achieves an R2 of 2% estimated from a sample of 120,000, a score for height reached 10% estimated from a sample of 180,000 (15), and a score for BMI using only the top 32 SNPs reached 1.4% (18). Taken together, our findings suggest that the genetic architecture of complex behavioral traits is far more diffuse than that of complex physical traits.
Existing claims of “candidate gene” associations with complex social-science traits have reported widely varying effect sizes—many with R2 values more than one hundred times larger than those we find (4, 6). For complex social-science phenotypes that are likely to have a genetic architecture similar to educational attainment, our estimate of 0.02% can serve as a benchmark for conducting power analyses and evaluating the plausibility of existing findings in the literature.
The few GWAS studies conducted to date in social-science genetics have not found genome-wide significant SNPs that replicate consistently (19, 20). One commonly proposed solution is to gather better measures of the phenotypes in more environmentally homogenous samples. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of a complementary approach: identify a phenotype that, although more distal from genetic influences, is available in a much larger sample [see (5) for a simple theoretical framework and power analysis]. The genetic variants uncovered by this “proxy-phenotype” methodology can then serve as a set of empirically-based candidate genes in follow-up work, such as tests for associations with well-measured endophenotypes (e.g., personality, cognitive function), research on gene-environment interactions, or explorations of biological pathways.
In social-science genetics, researchers must be especially vigilant to avoid misinterpretations. One of the many concerns is that a genetic association will be mischaracterized as “the gene for X,” encouraging misperceptions that genetically influenced phenotypes are immune to environmental intervention [for rebuttals, see (21, 22)] and misperceptions that individual SNPs have large effects (which our evidence contradicts). If properly interpreted, identifying SNPs and constructing polygenic scores are steps toward usefully incorporating genetic data into social-science research.A frustrating season can be mentally and physically taxing for any player, but for Patrick Mullins, 2017 was a year of frustration turned into lessons, as the forward learned how to overcome injury struggles. While Mullins recognizes the challenges 2017 posed, he has embraced the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of his body and how to return to peak performance—lessons he plans to carry with him into next season as he pushes to continue to grow as a player.
"Every MLS season is something new, and this one especially so," Mullins said reflecting on the 2017 campaign. "I was challenged in ways I'd never been, dealing with injuries, not being able to perform how I wanted on the field at times. I think I'm stronger for it."
The New Orleans native battled knee and hamstring injuries that kept him sidelined for much of 2017 and limited his production when he was able to pick up minutes. After starting in United's first three matches of the season, Mullins only started three of the next 23 games, dealing with lingering injuries for the first time in his playing career.
"I think I’ve developed a bit more in terms of how I’d want to come back from an injury if it happens again in the future," Mullins said. "I can make sure there isn’t as much of a learning curve coming back and that I can stay in a rhythm."
As Mullins gradually returned to full health and was able to find his rhythm again, he focused on reigniting the scoring spark that was so prevalent in the second half of 2016. Things finally clicked for the forward on September 23, when he scored his first, second, third, and fourth goals of the season to lead United to a 4-0 win over San Jose at RFK. The striker's performance was historic—Mullins is now the fastest four-goal scorer in MLS history and the first player to score four goals in a single half—but it was also a sigh of relief.
"I produced goals at the end of the year and that was a high point for me, but I now know when you have an injury you have to overcome it and make sure you come back better. I now understand that when you're injured and you come back, you can definitely come back to your original level."
Last year, Mullins was one of the United's primary offensive catalysts, scoring eight times and dishing two assists in 14 appearances to help the Black-and-Red finish the season as one of the hottest teams in the league. While the striker still managed to score five times in the last five games of 2017, he's hungry to return to the sustained levels of offensive production that helped D.C. thrive in the latter half of 2016
"First and foremost, I want to be available for every game next year," Mullins said. "We also need more goals. That's my job, that's something I want to improve on in the next year, and that's something I always want to work on."
And while Mullins wants to up his scoring production, he notes results are still the most important element at the end of the day. Whether United's success is spurred by a wider range of goal scorers, the addition of more attacking pieces this offseason, or another factor entirely, Mullins' focus remains fix |
with a cannibalistic nature, he is the undisputed tyrannical leader of the Kobolds.
Motar the Inventor - Gnomish inventor and self described genius, Motar is founder of a newly forged separatist technocratic government with an unlikely alliance.
The Big Kahuna - A heavy-weight jock who rules the orkish fraternity under the ancient code of Brotical.
Ziegfeld and Rohan - A pair of undead wizards living for all eternity in a domestic partnership. They ward off would be larcenists from stealing their many treasures.
And that's just the first chapter...
Game’s History
2003 - a skit was drafted about a group of misfit adventurers traversing the land, paralleling the quests of the “Heroes of Light and Virtue", while mucking up the lives of local the inhabitants.
2005 - the sketch was transformed into a collection of scripts during an internship with an up and coming studio. The scripts were being developed for a web series that didn't quite manifest when the studio we were in production with changed directions -- literally, they moved to Los Angeles.
2008 - the scripts were rewritten, combined into a game design document, and separated into three chapters for a hilarious episodic gaming epic unlike any the world has ever seen.
2009 - the game entered the official “production phase” of development. This resulted in the early retirement of all social life, thus spending every free moment and dollar on the development of “Dungeons Episode 1: The Eye of Draconus.”
Current state: After two years spent developing the Dungeons game engine, 80% of our required art assets have been obtained, and our sound track is approximately 75% complete.
Estimated time to completion: 6-9 months if our funding goals are met.
Sample art work:
Why do we need your sweet, sweet money? This project has been underway for many years now, going back to our college days. We now stand at a precipice: If we successfully reach our funding goal, we can complete the game, promote it, then expedite our victorious release upon the unsuspecting public. If we fail, we continue to claw our way, pay check by pay check, to the eventual release of Dungeons, and trust that the game isn’t retreading old ground by then.
The money you give us will go toward finishing the remaining art assets needed for Episode 1, completing the soundtrack, and for promotion. Any money we make beyond our goal will go into the art assets required for episode 2 and 3 as well as keeping us warm through this harsh, cold winter.
During our development cycle, we will produce blog entries twice a month in addition to continuing monthly video updates and status reports.
Our ultimate hope is that by Kickstarting this game, you are actually Kickstarting our goal of becoming an established independent game studio. We strive to be known for quality and wonderfully retro games, with a modern twist. This is our opportunity to rise up, complete this masterpiece, and make something to be proud of. We welcome all of you to show us your support. You will be giving us an opportunity to make something truly splendid while earning some neat swag to boot.At the unveiling of Apple’s new flagship smartphone yesterday, the iPhone X, CEO Tim Cook said it was something the company’s staff had been working on for a decade.
The new premium handset with its edge-to-edge display (minus one unfortunate top notch) does away with the physical home button entirely and makes greater use of gestures for controlling the UI.
The new interface for multitasking looks fluid and intuitive. But it also — if you’ve been smartphone watching for long enough — engenders a distinct feeling of déjà vu…
Specifically it looks rather like webOS running on the Palm Pre — a handset that was announced in 2009, after Jon Rubinstein, former SVP of Apple’s iPod division, had been lured out of retirement in Mexico by Palm: A mobile device company with a (very) long history, and enough self-perspective to realize they needed an experienced product designer to help them surf the next wave of mobility: touchscreen computing.
Rubinstein, who had left Apple in spring 2006, clearly possessed the sought for design chops. Palm execs flew down to Mexico to woo and win their man.
By the start of 2009 Rubinstein was on stage at CES to announce the Palm Pre: A high-gloss, pebble-shaped slider smartphone which deployed multiple gestures in the UI making the most of a touch-sensitive area that extended below the display and onto the bezel itself.
It wasn’t just the scroll-flicks and pinch-to-zooms already on the iPhone and Android devices of the time that Palm had brought over to its next-gen smartphone hardware. It had something else up its sleeve: Its webOS UI incorporated a deck-of-cards activity interface to be the driver for low friction mobile multitasking.
Palm showed how users could easily swipe between and tap on the cards to switch apps. How the order of cards could be rearranged with a finger press and drag. And how individual cards could be flicked off the top of the screen when the user was done with a particular app or task. Cards showed fully active apps. It was simple and elegant.
“Now how’s that for some real newness,” said Matías Duarte, Palm’s senior director of human interface and user experience, with a pretty sizable smirk on his face as he wrapped up that part of the Pre’s CES demo.
(Duarte now works on Google’s card-like Material Design design language, which extends the card motif the company first used in Android, for Google Now, in 2012; and he went straight from Palm to being a VP of design at Android when the feature was being developed.)
In an earnings call later the same month in 2009, Cook was pressed by analysts about how quickly the iPhone’s competitors appeared to be elbowing into the market — and asked how Apple would be able to sustain its leadership.
“We don’t mind competition, but if others rip off our intellectual property, we will go after them,” he responded in a comment that was picked up on and interpreted at the time as a pretty stark warning shot across Palm’s bows.
When pressed again specifically on the Palm Pre, and how the device seemed to “directly emulate the iPhone’s innovative interface”, Cook doubled down on his implied accusation of IP theft: “We don’t want to refer to any specific companies, so that was a general statement. We like competition because it makes us better, but we will not stand for companies infringing on our IP.”
Of course this is all water under the bridge now, as Palm’s dreams of successfully surfing the smartphone wave ended in abrupt disaster — burdened by ongoing legacy software challenges, wrong-footed by carriers’ marketing decisions and ultimately saddled with an unloving acquirer in HP — and the Palm Pre had a cruelly short lifespan for such a forward-thinking device.
I remember how fresh the interface felt in 2009. How hugely advanced vs legacy smartphone players like BlackBerry and Nokia — which, although they were still minting huge revenues back then, were also clearly failing to come to terms rapidly enough with the paradigm shift of touchscreen mobility.
Whether the Palm Pre was truly ahead of its time, or whether elements of the interface had been plucked out of a carefully planned Cupertino 10-year roadmap will be a story for Valley historians to unpick.
But in the iPhone X it’s clear you’re looking at a little ghost of the Pre.
https://twitter.com/WhatTheBit/status/907766637008445441Prosecutor who called in Turkish intel chief removed from duty
ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency
Hakan Fidan
Sadrettin Sarıkaya, the Turkish prosecutor who called National Intelligence Agency (MİT) team that held talks with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to testify in an alleged terror case, has been removed from the case, reports have said.İbrahim Işık and Adem Özcan have been chosen to replace Sarıkaya while Bilal Bayrakar will continue his task in the investigation, the reports said.Sarıkaya said that he heard of his removal from the case on the TV. The former prosecutor was responsible for the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) - alleged urban wing of the PKK - investigation and he ordered the Feb 8. detention of four intelligence officers including former MİT chief Emre Taner and other former senior official Afet Güneş, as well as chief assistants, Yaşar Yıldırım and Hüseyin Kuzuoğlu. None of them abided to the order.No other statement was made given on why Sarıkaya was relieved of his position.The framers of the Constitution gave us an Indian Supreme Court with greater powers than any other court of its time. It was a court that the poorest person in the land could approach. For most of its existence, the court has lived up to that promise. Often it has not.
Roughly three years ago the chief justice’s court in the Supreme Court was packed with people. The court was to pronounce on the correctness of the Delhi high court judgement, which had held that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code did not criminalize adult same-sex consensual sexual relations. There was an air of expectation because in recent years the Supreme Court was often seen as a protector of individual rights. All those expectations were dashed when the court read out its verdict in what has come to be known as the Koushal judgement. The Delhi high court judgement was overruled and homosexuals had once again become criminals in their own country.
The reasons behind the judgement were made available the same day. If there was any solace to be had for cogent constitutional reasoning, that hope too was dashed. The judgement was premised on a misplaced deference to Parliament. The court held that if Parliament had made a law, the courts were required to have a hands-off approach. They were to presume that any law was constitutional.
ALSO READ | A city needs queerness
It seems that the court forgot that Section 377 was never enacted by the Indian Parliament. It had been enacted in 1860 by the British Parliament and thrust upon the Indian people without any public discussion or debate.
Equally, the idea of judicial deference to Parliament seems puzzling. Any reader of a newspaper today would be aware of judicial activism. Judges do, as indeed they should, take the government to task on a daily basis. The entire premise of judicial review embodied in our Constitution requires that independent judges protect the constitutional rights of the minority against the possible tyranny of the majority. If any law violates any constitutional provision, let alone a constitutional right, it must be struck down. Indeed, Justice G.S. Singhvi, the author of the Koushal judgement, had himself struck down provisions of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 which gave protection to tenants occupying commercial premises. Perhaps property rights were seen to be more precious than personal liberty.
ALSO READ | Queer Rights: The year I became a criminal again
Three years on, the Koushal judgement continues to be “good" law. It is true that the Supreme Court has given other, more progressive, judgements such as the one recognizing the rights of transgenders. There are also curative petitions and other writ petitions pending that seek a reconsideration of the Koushal judgement. Yet, the judgement has not been stayed or modified and hence holds the field even today.
It is often said that Section 377 has little relevance as it is rarely enforced. Such a view is deeply mistaken. A provision need not be formally enforced when the mere threat of its enforcement can have a chilling effect. There are multiple instances of police and other authorities threatening the invocation of the provision for the purposes of extortion. Affidavits were filed by many persons in the Supreme Court at the time of the hearing of the Koushal case detailing the custodial horrors they had undergone when they had been jailed for suspected violation of Section 377.
Yet the most insidious effect of Section 377 is to warp the relationship between the State and the citizen. In criminalizing the sexual act felt most natural by a class of people, the Section seems to disallow a citizen the freedom to live life to the fullest extent guaranteed by the Constitution. The State has today told us whom we may not love. Tomorrow it may tell whom we have to. The Section also violates basic norms of private sexual conduct. Today the State has been permitted to enter into one bedroom. Tomorrow it may enter all of ours.
ALSO READ | Being LGBT in India: Some home truths
Three years have passed since the Koushal judgement was pronounced. Countless Indians found courage in the Delhi high court judgement decriminalizing sodomy to come out and be proud of themselves. The LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexuals and transgender) community is made up of people some of whom have grappled deeply with themselves, their identities and their families to have the courage to come out of the closet. The Supreme Court judgement has knocked the belief that at least one pillar of the Constitution would always fight for their corner.
The Supreme Court today enjoys a formidable reputation amongst the public. It would do well to remember that this reputation does not stem from how the court rules today. The court today is basking in the reflected glory of its illustrious former judges. The past judgements of the court guaranteeing Constitutional protection to the neediest has given the court the sheen it has today. Regressive judgements only threaten that reputation. The Koushal judgement may yet be overturned, but its presence on the law reports does no service to the court.
It can only be hoped that the court would find time in its busy docket to take up and overrule the Koushal judgement. The hundreds of thousands of people in the closet are waiting for the court to unlock them and guide them to freedom.
A Supreme Court advocate, Saurabh Kirpal is involved in curative petitions on Section 377, currently pending before the top court. Comments are welcome at theirview@livemint.com.Nasdaq plans to launch bitcoin futures as early as the second quarter of 2018, according to exchange officials.
The CBOE and the CME have also announced plans to launch futures tied to the cryptocurrency shortly. A Nasdaq spokesperson said that the exchange's futures would differentiate from CBOE and CME because Nasdaq would base its price off of 50 bitcoin sources from around the world, while CBOE is currently using one and the CME is using four.
One issue facing bitcoin products is the issue of what happens if there is a "hard fork," i.e. what happens if bitcoin splits into competing products. Nasdaq said that both sides of the fork would go in the index for one day, and after that the value of the other fork would be reinvested in bitcoin and the value of the index would be adjusted.
So, for example, if bitcoin at $11,000 split into two forks of $9,000 and $2.000, both would remain in the index for a day, and then the $2,000 fork would be reinvested in the $9,000 bitcoin and the index would be adjusted.
Bitcoin broke above $11,000 for the first time Wednesday and is up more than 1,000 percent in 2017.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the Nasdaq futures launch. The Journal also reported that Cantor Fitzgerald is working to launch a bitcoin derivative next year.
-- With reporting by Fred ImbertAdministration and Research Assistant (PT)
To serve as part of the New York-based team representing the Anglican Communion to the United Nations, providing research and administrative support for the overall UN strategy of the Anglican Communion.
Digital Theological Resources Manager
This is a new role to manage the provision of digital resources which support theological education across the global Anglican Communion. The role will be responsible for identification of existing resources, creation of new resources, and for facilitating access to and support engagement with those resources. The post is part of a five year project, Theological Education in the Anglican Communion (TEAC), which commenced in February 2018 and is funded by the St Augustine’s Foundation.
Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome
and Representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See
The post combines two inter-related strategic and operational responsibilities. Firstly as Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome the role involves leadership of a team ministry of hospitality and prayer, and providing educational opportunities and resources. Secondly, as representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury and of the Anglican Communion to the Holy See, the Director operates in a two-way ambassadorial role. These two responsibilities are multi-layered, binding together representational, educational, pastoral and interpretative elements. It is in the light of this broader context that the work of Director of the Anglican Centre can be understood.
Director for Communications
To lead the communications function of the ACO ensuring that proactive and reactive communications are in line with the agreed strategy; to advise the Secretary General and senior colleagues on communication matters relating to the Anglican Communion and the work of the ACO; and to share in the leadership and management of the ACO as a member of the Management Team.
Director for Unity, Faith and Order
To provide leadership and support for the work of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO); to provide leadership and support for the ecumenical dialogues of the Anglican Communion; to advise the Secretary General on matters relating to Anglican faith and order and ecumenical relations; and to share in the leadership and management of the ACO as a member of the management team.Win McNamee / Getty Images President Barack Obama speaks during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on March 4, 2013 in Washington, DC.
The Obama administration will push to reverse a new prohibition on mobile phone unlocking, after an online White House petition protesting the ban drew more than 100,000 signatures. The ban makes it a federal crime for consumers to “unlock” newly purchased mobile phones in order to use a different wireless network without their current carrier’s permission. Despite the Obama administration’s opposition, however, Congress will most likely need to change federal copyright law for the ban to be reversed.
Public interest groups have opposed the unlocking ban because it frequently means that consumers have to buy new phones if they want to switch networks after their contracts have expired. Unlocking also allows consumers to resell their phones for use on another carrier after their contracts are over, and to use second-hand phones on the carrier of their choice, which may not be the network on which the device was originally activated. These actions are now illegal without the permission of the carrier.
Derek Khanna, a former House Republican Study Committee staffer who is a leading advocate against the ban, argues that it violates the property rights of phone owners. “If you bought a phone then you own it,” Khanna wrote in an email to TIME. “Your contractual relationship with your provider is between you and your provider. But by the federal government coming and saying that unlocking your phone is a federal crime, they are removing your property rights to do what you please with your own device.”
(MORE: As FCC Chief’s Term Nears End, Speculation Grows Over Successor)
In response to the petition, the Obama administration announced Monday that it believes phone unlocking should be legal. “Neither criminal law nor technological locks should prevent consumers from switching carriers when they are no longer bound by a service agreement or other obligation,” wrote R. David Edelman, White House Senior Advisor for Internet, Innovation, & Privacy. “This is particularly important for secondhand or other mobile devices that you might buy or receive as a gift, and want to activate on the wireless network that meets your needs — even if it isn’t the one on which the device was first activated. All consumers deserve that flexibility.”
“The Obama Administration would support a range of approaches to addressing this issue, including narrow legislative fixes in the telecommunications space,” Edelman added. The most straight-forward solution is for Congress to amend a narrow slice of federal copyright law, but it’s unclear how realistic that is given the current divided state of the legislative branch.
The White House response represents a victory for Internet-based activists who are challenging entrenched tech, telecom and entertainment interests. Consumer groups hailed the Obama administration’s statement. “In today’s phone unlocking response, the White House took a strong stance in favor of consumers, competition, and innovation,” Sherwin Siy, VP of Legal Affairs at Public Knowledge, said in a statement. “We’re very glad that the administration recognizes the significant problems created when copyright laws tread upon the rights of consumers to use the products they have bought and owned.”
The mobile phone unlocking ban stems from Section 1201 of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, which states that “no person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected.” As part of that law, Congress gave the Library of Congress the power to issue three-year exemptions to the statute, which it has done since 2006 for mobile phone unlocking.
(MORE: Is Broadband Internet Access a Public Utility?)
Last fall, however, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington decided to end the exemption. Billington put in place a 90-day window from the date of the order for consumers to unlock new phones. That window expired on Jan. 26, 2013, meaning that it is now illegal for consumers to unlock new phones without carrier permission. Violation of the rule carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Wireless companies argue that locking cell phones is an essential part of the industry’s business model. Typically, the carriers subsidize part of the cost of a new mobile phone in exchange for a long-term commitment from the consumer.
Michael Altschul, senior vice president general counsel for the wireless industry group CTIA, suggested there was no need for the ban to be reversed. “Customers have numerous options when purchasing mobile devices,” he said in a statement. “They may choose to purchase devices at full price with no lock, or at a substantially discounted price—typically hundreds of dollars less than the full price—by signing a contract with a carrier.”
(MORE: Comcast’s NBCUniversal Deal: As One Media Era Ends, Another Begins)
Sina Khanifar, the San Francisco-based entrepreneur behind the petition, said in an email that he’s “really glad to see the White House taking action on an issue that’s clearly very important to people. As the White House said in the response, keeping unlocking legal is really ‘common sense,’ and I’m excited to see them recognizing this.”
Khanifar, the founder of cellular signal database company OpenSignal, is well-versed on this issue. In 2005, he was sent a cease-and-desist letter by Motorola for selling software to unlock the company’s phones. Working with attorney Jennifer Granick, a well-known civil liberties advocate and educator, Khanifar challenged Motorola’s interpretation of the DMCA, and the company eventually dropped its campaign against him.
“I think the real culprit here is Section 1201 of the DMCA, the controversial ‘anti-circumvention’ provision,” Khanifar said. “I discussed with the White House the potential of pushing to have that provision amended or removed, and they want to continue the discussion.”Members of a Chinese military honour guard prepare before a welcome ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People on Sept. 13 in Beijing. Etienne Oliveau/Getty Images
The first phase of the Chinese invasion of Taiwan could begin with a naval and air blockade along with a series of cyberattacks, missile strikes, and electronic jamming, followed by round after round of bomber strikes. The second phase could feature amphibious landing operations on some of Taiwan’s smaller islands, a few of which sit just miles from the Chinese mainland. The third and final phase could involve the immensely difficult task of capturing the main island of Taiwan—no easy task given its tight military relationship with America, its professionally trained soldiers, and its rugged mountains and dense jungles.
According to leaked and restricted Chinese military documents gathered and analyzed by scholar Ian Easton for his forthcoming book The Chinese Invasion Threat, published Tuesday, many in Beijing recognize the difficulty of seizing Taiwan. And yet, capturing Taiwan—or ‘reunification,’ in the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s parlance—is one of the main reasons for the extensive military buildup of the Party’s People Liberation Army over the last few decades. “Only by military occupying The Island,” Easton cites a restricted-access PLA field manual as saying, can we “totally end the long military standoff across the Strait.”
One important and little-known element of China’s war plans that Easton stresses is psychological warfare, or political attacks. PLA documents, Easton says, “portray the battle of Taiwan as the final act in an unresolved civil war and place great emphasis on winning (or at least weakening) hearts and minds.” Easton, a research fellow at the D.C. think tank Project 2049, which receives some of its funding from the Taiwanese government, writes, “while it may seem unbelievable to most foreigners, officers in the Chinese military are constantly studying and practicing plans for the invasion of Taiwan.”
Sure, you might say, part of the job of a professional military is to prepare contingency plans for a whole host of conceivable scenarios—which in the PLA’s case probably includes situations like a U.S. invasion of China, the collapse of North Korea, a war prompted by territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, and another border conflict with India, among others. But Taiwan is different. Somewhat similar to the United States’ desire for territorial integrity after the Civil War, or its western expansion earlier in the 19th century, the reunification of Taiwan looms large in China’s vision of its successful future.
If Taiwan dominates China’s regional military plans, you wouldn’t know it from the conversation in Washington. For the last nine months, North Korea has dominated American news coverage about Asia, as Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have escalated tensions by hurling verbal salvos across the Pacific. On Sept. 21, Kim called Trump a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard.” Trump, who earlier that week in a UN speech threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea, on Sept. 24 tweeted a warning that “they won’t be around much longer.” And it’s not just words: On Sept. 3, North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear weapons test. The U.S. responded by stepping up U.N. sanctions, and in a show of force, flew U.S. bombers and fighter jets near North Korea’s east coast on Sept. 23. The public alarm over the potential for war with North Korea is warranted. Depending on how it unfolded, such a war could lead to the death of thousands or even millions of people in North Korea, South Korea, China, and the United States.
But war between China and Taiwan could be equally devastating. There are three reasons to believe this scenario, in the next ten years, is at least as likely as war between the United States and North Korea. For one, the goal of “liberating” Taiwan is the paramount foreign policy concern of Beijing. And it has been a top concern since the end of the 1945–1949 civil war between Mao Zedong’s Communists and Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalists, when Chiang and his people fled to the island, setting up what the West viewed as China’s legitimate government until the 1970s. (Because Beijing insists Taiwan is part of China, it does not call Taiwan an international issue.)
Taiwanese reunification and independence is such a sensitive topic on the mainland that any polling on the issue is suspect. Anecdotally, however, in the dozens of conversations I’ve had with Chinese citizens about Taiwan over the last 15 years, many of them supported reunification—some with force, if necessary. The Communist Party ties some of its legitimacy to its ability to follow through on its long-standing promise to re-absorb Taiwan—it risks a loss of legitimacy if it continues to fail. A healthy democracy of 24 million people, Taiwan belies the party’s implicit argument that Chinese people need an authoritarian government in order to flourish.
Secondly, the benefits to China of successfully absorbing Taiwan far supersede the benefits of the United States of neutralizing North Korea. It’s very unlikely that North Korea would ever strike the United States: Its leaders seem rational enough to realize that an attack on U.S. soil, however small, would be an act of regime suicide. If the United States successfully replaced Kim with a regime more supportive of U.S. interests, or even more advantageously, facilitated the reunification of the Korean peninsula under a Western-friendly government in Seoul, that would improve the United States’ ability to project power in Asia and constrain the rise of China. Still, North Korea is a distraction, not an existential issue, for China.
Beijing’s successful occupation of Taiwan, on the other hand, would greatly improve its prospects for regional domination, and undermine the United States’ position in Asia by removing America’s democratic ally Taiwan and weakening Japan. And it would ensure Beijing’s ability to maintain its trade links in the Western Pacific in the face of a U.S.-organized blockade.
Easton cites a line from the restricted Chinese document on Japanese air defenses: “As soon as Taiwan is reunified with Mainland China, Japan’s maritime lines of communication will fall completely within the striking range of China’s fighters and bombers.” Because of the mutual enmity between Japan and China—and the persistent desire for revenge from the Chinese public for the atrocities Japan committed in China during the 1930s and 1940s—another war between China and Japan over the next few decades is not as far-fetched as it may sound. And if Taiwan were occupied, its strategic location in the East China Sea would greatly aid Beijing’s ability to harry southern Japan. (During World War II, U.S General Douglas MacArthur called the island an “unsinkable aircraft carrier.”)
What could set off a Chinese invasion? Beijing has long threatened to invade if Taiwan declares independence—though what exactly that means, like many issues involving Taiwan’s status, is murky and open to interpretation. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), one of Taiwan’s two main parties, skirts this by claiming in a 1999 resolution there is no need to declare independence because “Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country.” Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen reiterated this phrase in October 2016, prompting China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to retort, “all secessionist attempts to seek ‘Taiwanese independence’ are doomed to failure.” On Sept. 26, Taiwan’s newly appointed Premier William Lai said he “advocates Taiwan independence,” and repeated Taipei’s stance that the Republic of China, as Taiwan is officially known, was already independent, and thus there is no need for him to declare it. If it so chooses, Beijing could start considering statements like Tsai’s and Lai’s as de facto declarations of independence—and respond with military force. Chinese military experts I spoke with said that if war does come, it will likely be after Beijing has at least several more years of improving its military capabilities—possibly sometime around 2021, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. (These experts stress it’s impossible to predict if and when Beijing would actually go to war with Taiwan.)
Or Beijing could wait for a moment of relative calm. PLA doctrine, Easton writes, likely favors “a minimal warning, rapid invasion campaign that employs deception and surprise to land on the island and overrun Taipei, securing the government’s capitulation before U.S.-led coalition forces could decisively engage.”
While the United States, along with nearly all Western powers, doesn’t have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the United States has long had a close relationship with the island. The United States continues to sell Taiwan weapons, including a planned $1.42 billion arms sale announced in June. And it maintains a posture of strategic ambiguity about whether it would defend Taiwan in the face of a Chinese attack.
It’s difficult to know if Trump—who took an unprecedented phone call from Tsai after his election victory—would come to Taiwan’s aid in the event of a military conflict. A former high-ranking Obama administration official once told me “it’s useful” for Beijing to believe the United States would defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack—but he added that it’s “profoundly important” for the United States to manage the relationship so it doesn’t get to that point. His words hold true today.
The Taiwan scenario is so potentially devastating not only because of the potential of sparking a war between the United States and China. Taiwan is a more formidable foe than North Korea, and its geography—an island nation with dense jungles and mountains covering parts of the country—would make it difficult to invade and hold.
Throughout his book, Easton admits two important caveats. “All of the PLA’s internal materials on the invasion of Taiwan are theoretical, and its campaign plan is based on imagined conditions and assumptions,” he writes. He cites Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke’s famous line “no plan survives contact with the enemy.”
The other, most important one, is that although Easton accessed restricted material he couldn’t find the Joint Island Attack Campaign, a document, or series of documents, that “appears to be highly centralized and updated regularly based on the latest intelligence, weapons production, and lessons learned from exercises and training.” The most crucial information about an invasion of Taiwan remains highly classified, and likely inaccessible to all but those at the top of the Party and the PLA—and possibly, depending on how successful foreign intelligence arms have been in China, with the CIA or Taiwan’s National Security Bureau as well. To his two caveats I would add another: The majority of his important PLA source material comes from 2014, early in Party Secretary Xi Jinping’s term. Plans have almost certainly evolved since then. Still, Easton’s book paints a much fuller picture than what is currently available in English about China’s plans for Taiwan. And it’s a reminder of the deadly seriousness with which Beijing views the island. (Easton’s sympathies clearly lie with the Taiwanese. For example, he refers to the date of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan as “Z-Day,” the term Winston Churchill used when discussing Adolf Hitler’s plans for a Nazi invasion of England.)
Plenty of things could derail China’s future plans for a Taiwanese invasion. Public opinion in Taiwan could shift drastically in support of the mainland—or the mainland could evolve into a democratic polity that enables Taiwan to declare independence. China’s economy could crash, and Beijing could decide to shift future resources away from the military, reducing the likelihood of a successful invasion. Or the two sides could maintain the current rickety status quo—punctuated by occasional crises, that don’t lead to war.
And yet, as China’s military continues to strengthen relative to the U.S. and Taiwanese militaries, China’s chance for a successful of invasion grows. On Sept. 27, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford told Congress, “I think China probably poses the greatest threat to our nation by about 2025.” In response, the CSIS China scholar Zack Cooper summed up U.S policy toward China: always important, never urgent.A Nova Scotia woman could have quickly lost her life in a battle against an aggressive raccoon while treading 12 feet of water, but knew that she didn’t have any other choice to keep her dog alive. Because of her bravery, her Star is alive and well.
“It all started when we were getting ready to go to the Canada Day fireworks in Pugwash,” Dawn Simmonds told the Metro News.
“My dog had gone down to the ponds. She’s a hunting dog and she follows a muskrat that goes between ours and our neighbor’s pond. I heard a lot of barking, but she didn’t return when I called her. Just more barking. So I went down to see what was going on.”
Her stomach dropped when she saw her 37-pound Brittany Spaniel staring down a raccoon of nearly the same size. It appeared that Star had backed the raccoon into the neighbor’s pond, but Simmonds knew that the situation was dire.
“My father warned us long ago if a raccoon feels threatened near water it will back into the water to draw the attacker in, and then drown them,” she explained.
She watched in horror as the raccoon backed further into the water, luring Star ever closer. Emboldened by her seeming victory, the dog went after the rapscallion. She circled it twice. Once the trap was set, the raccoon lunged at Star and dragged her to the bottom of the pond.
“I can’t believe what I did to save my dog,” Simmonds said. “My mama bear instincts kicked in. I kicked off my sandals and dove underwater and grabbed the raccoon by the back of the neck and Star in the other and separated them.”
Star sustained only a chomp on the snout, and swam back to the water’s edge. Simmonds was still holding the raccoon in the 12-foot deep pond.
“I didn’t feel the bites at that time. It was pure adrenaline,” Simmonds said. “So, I pushed him down as far as I could into the water before I let him go and I swam up. He swam up away from me, gasping for air, and took off… it was an epic battle in the pond.”
Once out of the water, she called her sister to take her to the hospital. On Friday she began rabies treatment – a needle in every single tooth mark the raccoon left – and Star will spend the next week under observation.
Though she is obviously not happy about having to undergo a series of painful injections, Simmonds doesn’t hold a grudge against her attacker.
“I think he was hunting frogs until Star came along. I was lucky it was not more severe.”
The raccoon survived, but has not been seen in the area since Wednesday.
“I think he learned his lesson.”The University of Western Australia (UWA) scientists have revealed that cannabis use may expose a person to serious illnesses that may be passed on to future generations. According to the study, cannabis alters a person’s DNA structure that causes mutations.
These mutations expose a person to serious illnesses. Although the association between cannabis use and serious illnesses like cancer has been previously documented, researchers had little knowledge on how this occurs and its implications for future generations.
“Through our research we found that cancers and illnesses were likely caused by cell mutations resulting from cannabis properties having a chemical interaction with a person’s DNA. With cannabis use increasing globally in recent years, this has a concerning impact for the population,” Associate Professor Stuart Reece said in a press release.
Associate Professor Stuart Reece from from UWA’s School of Psychiatry and Clinical Sciences. Supplied
Reece and professor Gary Hulse, both from UWA’s School of Psychiatry and Clinical Sciences, uncovered alarming information after an extensive analysis of research and literary material to understand likely causes. A cannabis user may seem healthy from outside, but the cannabis-induced DNA damage may be passed onto his/her children and future generations to come.
Reece also pointed out in the study that when chemicals in cannabis change a person’s DNA structure, it may lead to slow cell growth and have major implications for foetal development of babies. This may in turn cause cancers or underdevelopment of vital organs and limbs.
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sixteen rules were "economically significant," although it typically reviews seventy-five to one hundred economically significant rules. In other cases, the administration has simply failed to comply with the acts dictates.
Paperwork Reduction
According to Thomas Hopkins of the Rochester Institute of Technology, in 1995 the cost of paperwork accounted for approximately one-third ($200 billion) of the total cost of regulation. The cost of paperwork regulations for businesses with fewer than twenty employees is more than $2,000 per employee. Since the passage of the original Paperwork Reduction Act in 1980, the amount of paperwork has continued to increase. That is not surprising since it is difficult to reduce paperwork under a barrage of new federal rules and the Byzantine procedures and reporting processes required by the government.
Because no interest group benefits from burdensome paperwork, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, H.R. 830, passed Congress without a dissenting vote. The act requires that the agencies reduce the burden hours of paperwork 40 percent by 2001. One could expect the act, if honored, to reduce the cost of the paperwork burden by approximately $80 billion annually.
President Clinton signed the act with much fanfare and pledged that the EPA would reduce its paperwork hours 25 percent in the first year. Instead, under the helm of EPA administrator Carol Browner, the paperwork hours imposed by the EPA increased by 4.5 million annually, according to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
So far, the Paperwork Reduction Act has been a disappointment. Senate hearings and General Accounting Office findings indicate that the administration will fall far short of its goal because the OIRA is not enforcing the act. Estimates now show that in the first year of implementation, federal regulators reduced paperwork hours by a mere 1 percent. In response to the criticism, Office of Management and Budget director Frank Raines issued an OMB bulletin in January 1997 that directed agencies to reduce their paperwork hours 25 percent by fiscal year 1998, which would get the administration back on target.
Property Rights
Perhaps the most important procedural and substantive regulatory reform proposed in the 104th Congress was the requirement that the federal government compensate owners for "takings" of private property through regulation. The Fifth Amendment states, "Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." The takings provision in H.R. 9 had its origin in the Freedom and Fairness Restoration Act, introduced by Representative Dick Armey (R-Tex.) in the 103rd Congress. Representative Charles Canady (R-Fla.) reintroduced the concepts embodied in Armeys bill in the Private Property Protection Act of 1995, H.R. 925. That bill required the federal government to compensate property owners if a regulation restricting the lands use reduced the value of the property by more than 10 percent. Later, the bill was changed to include only those properties that had been devalued by more than 20 percent. Many property rights advocates correctly argued that a more appropriate measure would be whether a right had been violated, which would protect property owners against any loss.
The House leadership worked to modify H.R. 925 by allowing an amendment. Introduced by then-Democrat Representative Billy Tauzin (R-La.), the amendment gave the landowner the right to force the government to buy any "portion" of property that it had devalued by 50 percent or more. Tauzin said, "When the federal government owns more of your property than you do, they should have to pay you for it."
A weaker version of H.R. 925 eventually passed the House, but its companion bill died in the Senate. Opponents made the erroneous argument that the bill would require the government to "pay people not to pollute," which eventually kept the Senate bill from receiving serious consideration. In fact, neither bill granted the right to damage another persons property, for example, by dumping pollutants into a river.
Regulatory Budgeting
Title IV would have required the president to submit an annual regulatory budget to Congress with estimates of the costs to be imposed by the various programs and agencies. Each year Congress would have had to approve the regulatory budget the same way it approves appropriations. By making explicit the costs of regulation, supporters believed Congress and the executive branch would be pressured to reduce the regulatory burden.
Title IV did not make it into the final version of the regulatory reform bill voted on by the House. Although Representative Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) reintroduced the concept in the Regulatory Accountability Act, that bill never came up for a vote either. However, one step towards regulatory budgeting was taken with the passage of the Regulatory Accounting Act (see below).
The Regulatory Reform Act
Title III of H.R. 9 became the Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Act, H.R. 1022, which was the flagship regulatory reform bill proposed during the first year of the 104th Congress. H.R. 1022 would have subjected all new rules to cost-benefit analysis and risk assessment. The provision passed the House with a 286-to-141 vote, but it was strongly opposed by the Clinton administration.
Then-Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and Senator J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.) introduced a companion bill out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, S. 343. That bill would have eliminated, for example, the Delaney clause that required a zero cancer risk for additives used in processed foods.
Johnston, however, steadily retreated from his ardent support for enforceable process reforms. In the end, S. 343 was severely watered down. Unable to cut off debate by summoning the sixty votes needed for cloture, Dole pulled the bill from consideration.
One of the contentious points in the bill concerned its enforceability. The administration wanted language that would allow the agencies to assert that benefits justified costs without having to prove it. Most reformers wanted stronger language that would require that benefits outweigh costs. Some even argued that incremental benefits should outweigh incremental costs. A major problem with cost-benefit analysis, as one EPA employee confidentially explained, is that "youre putting me in charge of deciding whether or not a rule should go forward.... Ill tell you, I can make the benefits greater than the costs almost every time."
That bureaucrats remarks explain why another contentious point of debate over S. 343 concerned judicial review. A strong judicial review provision might subject analyses and assessments by regulators to a de novo or another strict judicial review standard. Agencies would have had a strong incentive to put forth reasonably accurate cost estimates or risk having their rules judged invalid. While not ensuring "good" regulations nor wholly unbiased estimates, S. 343 would have minimized the bias problem and given the regulated community a tool with which to challenge regulatory actions. But S. 343 was amended to allow rules to stand as long as the analyses and assessments on which they were based were not "arbitrary and capricious, or an abuse of discretion," which is an almost impossible standard to prove.
Regulatory Moratorium
Reformers in the 104th Congress also sought a regulatory moratorium. When Republicans took control of Congress in January 1995, many feared that the federal agencies would quickly issue harsh regulations in anticipation of a new Congress hostile to red tape. Thus, reformers led by House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and Representative David McIntosh (R-Ind.) introduced the Regulatory Transition Act, H.R. 450. The act imposed a thirteen month freeze on new regulations promulgated from 20 November 1994 to 31 December 1995. The temporary freeze was meant to give the new Congress an opportunity to review new rules. A similar Bush administration freeze on regulations in 1992 had received widespread approval by the business community.
The bill passed the House in late February 1995, with a bipartisan vote of 276 to 146. The Senate version, S. 219, introduced by Senator Don Nickles (R-Okla.), faced tough opposition. Nickless bill contained exceptions to the moratorium, for example, if a delay in implementation would create an "imminent threat of harm to the public." In a letter to Senator John Glenn (D-Ohio), Patrick Griffin, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, outlined President Clintons opposition to the bill saying, "The term imminent is undefined, and it is therefore far from clear whether the bill would permit the administration to take sufficient measures to ensure that the American people are not needlessly put at risk." This was something of a straw-man argument since the bill allowed the president to exclude any regulatory action from the moratorium simply by finding in writing that it responded to an imminent threat.
Opponents claimed, incorrectly, that the moratorium would prevent food inspectors from performing their tasks. While proponents denied that this would be the case, opponents took the offensive, throwing up one scare scenario after another.
As prospects for passage of even a weakened moratorium dimmed, Nickles and Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) offered a substitute bill that established a forty-five day congressional review period after issuance of new rules. That bill was approved unanimously by the Senate. The moratorium died, but its substitute became the forerunner of the Congressional Review Act, which Congress enacted the next year.
Sunset Laws
Automatic sunsets of regulations are appealing because they force lawmakers to vote to renew regulations or to see them expire. Such process reform can result in substantive reformthat is, the termination of regulations.
The sunset bill, H.R. 994, was introduced in the House March 1995 by Representatives John Mica (R-Fla.) and Jim Chapman (D-Tex.). The bill would have terminated all existing regulations within seven years and all new regulations within three years unless they were reauthorized by Congress. The bill was later amended to apply only to regulations that place a burden of $100 million or more on the economy.
Senator Spencer Abraham (R-Mich.) introduced a similar measure in S. 511, but the Senate never seriously considered the issue. Although the sunset provisions were approved by the House in the Debt Limit Extension bill, the effort died with the close of the first session.
Regulatory Accounting
The Regulatory Accounting Act, passed in the final weeks of the 104th Congress, requires the executive branch to produce an annual report for Congress estimating the total benefits and costs of all federal regulations. The act requires that the report separate the quantitative benefits (such as economic benefits of improved fishing due to cleaner water) from the nonquantitative benefits (such as improved visibility over the Grand Canyon). That eliminates one of the agencies favorite tactics to inflate benefits. Moreover, it requires the OMB to report significant public suggestions to correct any part of any regulatory program that is "inefficient, ineffective, or not a sound use of the nations resources."
An interesting aspect of this law, as Glenn stated approvingly in the Congressional Record, is that the "sponsors... intend that the report be based on a compilation of existing formation, rather than new analysis." Thus, agencies cannot easily undermine the intent of the law by concocting new analyses of the benefits of regulation. On the other hand, some cost data already exist for regulations where no benefit analyses were attempted. Thus, a less contrived estimate may emerge from the report than would occur if the data were subject to periodic review, and the result may well show costs exceeding benefits.
The acts cost-benefit requirements will be necessary if Congress ever requires the executive branch to submit annual regulatory budgets. And the law, by providing information on the costs of regulations, could help generate political pressure for reform. But the value of the law might be indicated by the fact that it passed with little legislative effort. Few observers even noted its passage, yet it will modestly advance efforts to curb regulatory excess.
Small Businesses
The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) passed in the final days of the 104th Congress was a sleeper law that seemed to rise from the ashes of the prior years legislative failures. The intent of the law, as Senator Kit Bond (R-Mo.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business said, is to "level the regulatory playing field" for small businesses by giving them a franchise in both the development and enforcement of regulations.
Currently, the Small Business Administration estimates that the combined cost of compliance with regulations, paperwork, and taxes for firms of five hundred or fewer employees is $5,000 per employee50 percent more than the cost for firms with more than five hundred employees. Small businesses complain that government demands and sanctions are excessive, but many are afraid to challenge regulators because they do not have the financial resources or expertise, or they simply fear retaliation.
SBREFA provides small businesses with substantive due process rights enforceable in a court of law. SBREFA passed rather quietly, garnering bipartisan support and the presidents signature. The act contains five subtitles establishing (1) congressional review of certain new rules; (2) judicial review of the bureaucracys compliance with regulatory flexibility; (3) a "plain English" regulatory compliance guide for small businesses; (4) a small business ombudsmans office; and (5) cost recovery for excessive agency actions.
Congressional Review
The Congressional Review Act enables Congress to oversee regulatory agencies by rejecting rules that it considers excessive or inappropriate. But like other reforms, it could be a waste of political effort if specific steps are not taken soon to strengthen its effectiveness.
The act became law without partisan wrangling, which no doubt stems from its origin as an unanimous Senate substitute to the Regulatory Transition Act. President Clinton signed the CRA into law in March 1996 but later expressed regret at having done so. The law does not reduce agency authority in any manner. It does, however, delay implementation of agency actions for sixty days. If a member of Congress objects to a rule, he can send it to the appropriate committee for consideration with no amendments. If the committee does not vote on the rule, thirty members can have it brought to the floor for a vote. Moreover, the CRA requires agencies to report both to Congress and the General Accounting Office whenever they take final actions, providing them with all the relevant information necessary to decide whether an agency action makes sense or is an instance of governmental overreach. Even if Congress disapproves a rule, the president can veto the measure. As with any other bill, the CRA requires a two-thirds majority to override the presidential veto.
A number of agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Transportation, and Health and Human Services already have violated the laws requirements. For example, the DOT refused to conduct a cost-benefit analysis when it issued a new light-truck standard that will have a wide-ranging impact on the economy. The HHS set an effective date for a regulation within the sixty day period when actions are supposed to be delayed. Without strict agency compliance, Congress will be unable to consider and reject rules it finds unreasonable. As Chairman McIntosh of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs says,
Our subcommittee has begun an oversight investigation of the administrations implementation of the act, which has revealed troubling instances where agencies have attempted to evade key provisions of the law. We will be vigilant in ensuring that agencies fully comply with the law.
That resolve is critical to the acts success, but more is necessarythe leadership must take this law seriously.
The 105th Congress could set up an internal mechanism, such as a joint House-Senate committee, to track agency rulemaking, monitor agency compliance, and steer potential disapproval of agency action through the legislative process. If Congress establishes such a committee, agencies likely would learn to adjust their behavior and comply with the law. They probably would write fewer regulations and make them more reasonable, flexible, and cost-effective in order to avoid disapproval. Moreover, a joint House-Senate committee might help shore the political backbone of Congress in tackling complicated issues. If no mechanism is set up to deal with this time-consuming and specialized process, however, the CRA likely will prove a disappointing example of regulatory process legislation.
Regulatory Flexibility
The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 was designed to minimize the burden of regulation on small businesses. The act requires agencies to conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis of the impact of the proposed rule on "small entities." But agencies have been able to escape the analysis requirement simply by certifying that the proposed rule will not have a "significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities." As one Department of Labor official noted, however, this certification merely requires agencies to fill out another form:
We routinely certified [that] proposed rules would have no significant impact on a substantial number of small entities without a second thought. We didnt even bother to decide internally what constituted a small entity, or what significant meant either. But I think [SBREFA] will have a significant impact because of judicial review. Weve had a lot of meetings on it.
SBREFA amended the Regulatory Flexibility Act in four ways. First, the amendments established judicial review, the lack of which had led to disregard for the act. Businesses can now challenge an agency in court for failure to comply with the law. Second, the amendments attempt to plug the acts loopholes by more clearly defining terms such as "small entity." Third, the amendments require that if an agency certifies that its proposed rule has no significant impact on small businesses, it must state in writing the factual basis for its finding. And fourth, if an agency does not certify that there is no significant impact, then it must conduct both an initial flexibility analysis and a final flexibility analysis. The agency must provide a description of what has been done to minimize the impact of the regulation and an explanation of why it did not do more.
SBREFA is not a silver bullet and does not ensure intelligent rulemaking. At least, however, it requires the agencies to grapple with the consequences of their regulations, which could foster a change in agency culture. At most, it will give small enterprises a tool to bring agencies to court over some of their more ill-conceived regulatory plans.
Plain English Guide
Small businesses complain that they are unable to understand the highly technical regulations written in bureaucratese, forcing them to employ expensive consultants or to guess at the regulations meaning. SBREFAs Subtitle A tries to correct that problem by requiring federal agencies to publish "small entity compliance guides" whenever they issue regulations that must be easy to understand. Those guides will be made available to the public and distributed to small businesses through a variety of means.
The act wisely does not define exactly what plain English entails, since that would be impossible. It leaves to courts the task of deciding in disputes if the guides are intelligible. The act also allows agencies to contract out to private organizations to produce the guides, thereby increasing the probability of creating a useful guide for the average person without relieving the agencies of the responsibility of what they say.
If an agency fails in that duty, a small business can use the agencys failure as a defense in actions against it. Thus, the provision serves two important purposes. First, it forces agencies to acknowledge the likely effects of their regulations and to communicate that information in a way that can be easily understood by reporters, policy institutions, and the public at large. And second, the law has a built-in mechanism that gives small businesses an opportunity to escape punishment until the regulating agency itself is in compliance, which greatly encourages agency compliance.
Regulatory Ombudsman
Another chronic problem for small businesses is navigating the bureaucratic maze of federal regulatory agencies. When small businesses make inquiries of regulators, they are often ignored, given vague or unhelpful answers, or routed through an agency without ever being directed to the appropriate person. In enforcement actions against owners, regulators can be equally difficult to deal with. For small business owners who can be held legally liable for the consequences of failing to comply with a regulation, the situation is intolerable and increases incidences of noncompliance.
Subtitle B of the act rectifies that problem by creating the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman at the Small Business Administration. The concept is based on the idea that you get what you measure. Enforcement agencies and their personnel have a vested interest in levying fines for noncompliance. They ostensibly show by that measure that their agency is actively protecting the public. The goal of the ombudsman is to invert the measure and, consequently, the behavior of agencies. Thus, rather than being rewarded merely for fines, agencies will be rewarded for how "nice" they are.
One of the ombudsmans primary duties is to report annually to Congress on how well the agencies treat small businesses. The ombudsman also coordinates with the Regional Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards that SBREFA created to assess the performance of the various agencies in working with small businesses. Those boards will report to the ombudsman instances of excessive enforcement actions. In essence, the ombudsman and the regional boards will act as watchdogs on enforcement agencies, which will encourage the agencies to adopt a business friendly attitude.
Cost Recovery for Excessive Agency Demands
Small businesses are particularly susceptible to the strong-arm tactics used by some unethical enforcement officials. Those agency officials, with enormous resources and armies of government lawyers at their disposal, often seek excessive restitution for alleged regulatory violations in order to secure an admission of guilt in exchange for a less onerous penalty. Small business owners, whose first priority is to meet weekly paychecks, often cannot withstand such tactics.
SBREFA amends the Equal Access to Justice Act by allowing small businesses to recover costs in civil and administrative proceedings when the court determines that an agencys demands or threatened penalties are excessive compared to the final disposition of the case. If an agency loses a case and if the judge finds the agencys demands for restitution on the business to be excessive compared to the outcome, the business may recover up to all of its legal costs from the agency. If an enterprise loses a case but the judge finds the agencys demands excessive, the enterprise can recover part of its legal costs, limited to $125 per hour for attorney fees.
It is unclear at this point what constitutes the agency action that is being evaluated. Representative Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) believes that the governments final demand, usually lower than its initial one, should be used as the benchmark to judge whether a demand is excessive. Bond thinks the worst offer should be the benchmark, or agencies will still be able to intimidate enterprises and drive up their legal bills.
Conclusion
The effort that went into process reform in the 104th Congress is disproportionate to the returns. Hundreds of organizations formed coalitions, such as Project Relief and the Alliance for Reasonable Regulation, spending thousands of hours pushing contentious reform legislation. Yet the successes of the Congress occurred quietly with bipartisan support. Virtually every contentious reform died in the Senate, and most of them were so watered down before they were shelved that it is highly doubtful that they would have been of any real benefit.
The contrast between those laws and substantive process reform is stark. Whereas the watered down regulatory reform bills pushed in the Senate would have done little to rein in runaway bureaucracies, the passage of legislation that affects the underlying laws in the areas of telecommunications, agriculture, drinking water, clean air, and food-quality protection likely will have a significant impact on the kind of restrictions imposed on businesses and the public. That is not to suggest that all of those laws went as far as they should have or that some provisions did not worsen the regulatory environment. But those laws will significantly change the status quo for good or bad, and mostly for the good.
Similarly, some of the most significant failures in the last Congress centered on its inability to enact various substantive reforms. For instance, although Superfund wastes billions of dollars annually and is grossly unfair to those caught in its liability web, the leadership failed to put in the necessary effort and resources to enact fundamental change. Now, during the 105th Congress, proposals for reforming Superfund are anemic compared with those proposed by the 104th Congress.
Some of the regulatory process reforms passed in the 104th Congress were definitely worthwhile. The most powerful reforms expanded the ability of the regulated community to check the power of the agencies regulating them. The key to those reforms is judicial review. For instance, SBREFA provisions on cost recovery and plain English guides provide small businesses with rights they can enforce in court.
Other process reforms also may be significant, but it is too early to tell. Those reforms were bipartisan and rely heavily on congressional oversight as the mechanism to ensure they have the intended impact. While oversight can be a valuable tool for exposing executive branch abuses and pressuring agencies to correct their behavior, it provides a less systematic and reliable outcome than laws enforced by judicial review. Indeed, the benefit of the Regulatory Accounting Act is that it does not require continuous oversight but rather short-term, focused oversight. By the same token, the Paperwork Reduction Act and SBREFAs Congressional Review Act may prove beneficial. Past experience with laws such as the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, however, indicates that more than simple reliance on traditional oversight is neededthe culture of the agencies needs to change.
For process reform, it will require the House and Senate leadership to invest heavily in oversight activities by giving those committees more latitude, authority, and support. For instance, unless the leadership commits to creating the right internal support structure through the creation of a joint House-Senate review committee, the Congressional Review Act likely will be a paper tiger instead of the valuable tool it otherwise promises to be.
Many reformers are too optimistic in believing that process reforms are the silver bullet that will slay the regulatory beast. The regulatory juggernaut cannot be curbed without changing the underlying statutes that grant agencies power. But process reforms that provide the regulated community with the ability to defend itself in a court of law and those that systematically pressure agencies to change are small steps in the right direction.On October 18, 2012 by Jason Rechtman
Mario is a busy guy. When he’s not saving princesses, he’s kart racing, playing tennis, defeating viruses in a lab coat, partaking in giant board game parties – and that’s just in Nintendo’s own games. The Mushroom Kingdom icon has quite the packed schedule and Nintendo is not shy about letting him, or its other franchises, dabble in the world of third-party games. This is most recently evident with yesterday’s news of Mario and Zelda characters in the Wii U edition of Scribblenauts Unlimited, along with the inclusion of Nintendo costumes in Namco Bandai’s Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition. However, this asset sharing with third parties is nothing new. In fact, going back to the GameCube days, Nintendo has often loaned out its key characters as a way to help boost sales of third-party titles on its platforms.
Simply put, everybody loves fan service. When a game includes some of your favorite publisher’s characters, even if that game is not necessarily from the company itself, you will at least be curious. That curiosity can then lead to an increase in sales. Arguably the best example of this was the inclusion of Link in the GameCube version of Soul Calibur II. While each system’s version of the fighter did include an exclusive character, the Hero of Time was by far the most notable addition. Link was arguably not only the most iconic of the console-special characters, but he also had the advantage of perfectly fitting into the world of Soul Calibur. As such, Link’s appearance helped the GameCube version outsell its PlayStation 2 and Xbox siblings, going as far as to make it Namco’s top-selling SKU of its release year (2003). This is particularly impressive when you realize that in 2003, the GameCube was third place in the console wars. Sales of the system were 700,000 units behind the Xbox and a whopping 15 million behind the PlayStation 2.
Seeing the success of Soul Calibur II, Nintendo expanded the idea. The logic was sound: Namco saw huge sales on GameCube, which meant it was more likely to support the system going forward. If other publishers could see similar success, then they too would be more likely to bring their games to Nintendo platforms. By simply throwing other publishers a bone with Nintendo cameos, perhaps the GameCube’s weak third-party support could finally turn around.
For the second go-round, Nintendo teamed up with Electronic Arts. This led to Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach as playable characters in both NBA Street V3 and SSX On Tour, as well as the inclusions of both the full Super Punch-Out!! game and a playable Little Mac in Fight Night Round 2. The additions were certainly goofier than Soul Calibur II, especially when you had moments that sent a plump Mario dunking over the likes of Kobe Bryant. Unfortunately, these tie-ins did not resonate as strongly with gamers. While sales of the GameCube version of NBA Street V3 were significantly higher than the sales of NBA Street Vol. 2 on GameCube, they did not surpass or even match the sales of the PS2 and Xbox versions. Similarly, in their first months on the market, the GameCube versions of both SSX On Tour and Fight Night Round 2 saw weaker sales than the PS2 and Xbox versions.
Whether the lack of success with the EA partnership was a direct reason or not, Nintendo recoiled and ceased sharing its characters with other publishers for a number of years. In fact, even when third-party publishers approached Nintendo with an idea, they ended up not getting their wish. For example, Activision and longtime Nintendo platform supporter Vicarious Visions once approached Nintendo about including Samus and Link in the Wii version of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. As reported by Unseen 64, a beta version featuring the characters did exist, but was ultimately nixed.
Nintendo was similarly tepid about sharing its hot new Mii characters after the successful launch of the Wii. Even though the Wii was released in November 2006, third parties reportedly did not have access to Mii development tools until sometime after March 2007. Luckily, Nintendo came to its senses and realized the benefits of including unified avatars across all Wii games. Sega’s Japan-only Pachinko: Sammy’s Collection was the first third-party Wii game to include Miis when it launched in May 2007. However, North Americans did not begin to see Miis in third-party Wii games until EA’s FIFA Soccer 08 hit stores in September 2007.
Since then, Nintendo’s third-party support has been mixed. Sega saw huge success with the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games franchise on Wii, which was co-developed by Nintendo and clearly leaned heavily on the inclusion of Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants. Perhaps fueled by the success of the series, as well as a desire to bring stronger third-party support to the 3DS and upcoming Wii U, Nintendo is now taking a second crack at allowing its characters in other games. Dead or Alive Dimensions for 3DS included a Metroid-themed stage (complete with a Samus cameo) and the Japan-exclusive 3DS title Dynasty Warriors VS featured Samus and Link costumes.
While neither of these 3DS games saw stellar sales as a result, Nintendo is not deterred. The Wii U launch lineup will include two third-party games with Nintendo character tie-ins. The zaniest can be found in Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition, which will allow for players to battle in a special mode based on various Mario mushrooms, as well as dress all the game’s fighters in ridiculous Nintendo-themed costumes. It’s absurd, yet it also looks awesome (as evident by this trailer). Scribblenauts Unlimited will include Nintendo characters as well, but in a more natural way. First announced yesterday, players will be able to summon Mario and Zelda characters, as well as famous items from each franchise. Naturally, everything will be skinned to match Scribblenauts’ playful graphic style.
Nintendo’s interest in allowing third-party publishers to access its characters has been through its ups and downs. With each great success such as Soul Calibur II on GameCube came sales disappointments such as the EA partnership. Whether Nintendo and third parties will be greeted by success with similar partnerships on Wii U remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: it makes for some very fun fan service.The Senate has passed a 14-month FAA funding extension, H.R. 636, which includes third class medical reforms. The 89-to-4 vote means the legislation now goes to the president for his signature.
“This is the most significant legislative victory for general aviation in decades,” said AOPA President Mark Baker. “These reforms will provide relief to hundreds of thousands of pilots from an outdated, costly, and unnecessarily burdensome system. This legislation will strengthen the private pilot-private physician relationship and improve awareness of medical issues throughout our community. It will help pilots save time, money, and frustration.”
The Senate passed the legislation, also known as the “FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016,” on July 13, two days after the House passed identical legislation. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the measure into law ahead of July 15 when the FAA’s current funding extension expires.
At a Glance Medical reform highlights Aircraft specifications: Up to six seats, up to 6,000 pounds (no limitations on horsepower, number of engines, or gear type) Flight rules: Day and night VFR and IFR Passengers: Up to five passengers Aeromedical training: Pilots must take a free online course every two years Altitude restrictions: Up to 18,000 feet msl Airspeed limitations: 250 knots indicated airspeed Pilot limitations: Cannot operate for compensation or hire
“We are grateful to Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), two general aviation pilots who led the third class medical reform effort in the Senate, along with all of their colleagues who have helped make medical reform a reality,” said Baker. “In addition, we appreciate the hard work of Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) for their tireless work in advancing an FAA reauthorization bill through the Senate and including third class medical reform in the FAA extension.”
The bill authorizes the FAA to continue operations through September 2017 and marks the fourth time the Senate has passed third class medical reform language in the past eight months. The language first passed the Senate unanimously in December 2015 as part of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2, which was introduced in the Senate by Inhofe and Manchin. It was passed again in the Senate’s FAA reauthorization legislation, and for a third time as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.
This is a huge win for general aviation and will ensure that GA pilots across the country are not overburdened by existing medical certification regulations.—Sen. Jim Inhofe“Time and again the Senate has voted to pass the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2, showing the strong bipartisan support there is among my colleagues for the general aviation community and specifically for reforming onerous third class medical regulations,” said Inhofe. “Now we have finally accomplished this goal with third class medical reform included in the FAA extension that has successfully passed both chambers and will be signed into law by the President. This is a huge win for general aviation and will ensure that GA pilots across the country are not overburdened by existing medical certification regulations. I am grateful for the strong and consistent voice of AOPA members who shared why third class medical reform is necessary. I want to thank Mark Baker, the president of AOPA, and his team for their leadership and support from the beginning and all their work to educate my colleagues in Congress on issues that affect pilots."
Manchin, who also has been a steadfast supporter of medical reforms, said passage of the extension is important for pilots, airports, and the aviation community.
“I’m happy the Senate passed this important reauthorization that will support small airports, like the ones in West Virginia, and includes important protections for our nation’s general aviation pilots,” said Manchin. “As a pilot, I have always been passionate about the issues that affect the aviation community and am pleased that this bill includes the important third class medical reforms which reduce the unnecessary bureaucratic barriers that prevent pilots from flying.”
Although the extension only keeps the FAA running through September 2017, the medical reforms are permanent. Once the president signs the legislation, the FAA has up to a year to develop and issue regulations to govern pilots flying under the reforms. If regulations are not in place within one year, the FAA will not be able to take enforcement action against pilots who make a good faith effort to comply with the terms of the reforms.
This is a moment to celebrate what we’ve achieved together, but we know our work isn’t done.—AOPA President Mark Baker
“This is a moment to celebrate what we’ve achieved together,” said Baker, “but we know our work isn’t done. The legislation lays out a clear path forward, but many additional details will be worked out during the regulatory process over the coming months. AOPA will be watching closely and working with the FAA to ensure that the regulations reflect the intent of the legislation and the real-world needs of pilots.”
In addition to medical reforms, the legislation requires the FAA to develop regulations for marking towers between 50 and 200 feet tall to improve their visibility to low flying aircraft and help prevent accidents. Other provisions would expand the Transportation Security Administration's PreCheck program and provide protections to airline passengers, including ensuring families can sit together, allowing passengers to deplane after long waits on the tarmac, and providing fee refunds for lost and delayed baggage. The legislation does not include user fees or provisions to privatize the air traffic control system, both of which were controversial points in the FAA reauthorization process.
What medical reforms mean to pilots
For most pilots who have held a valid FAA medical certificate within 10 years from the date the legislation is signed into law, the reforms mean they will never again need to see an FAA aviation medical examiner (AME). Most other pilots who have never held an FAA medical certificate will need to go through the medical certification process only once. After that, if they meet the other requirements for the exemption, they’ll never need to make another visit to an AME. Even pilots who have a medical condition that requires a special issuance medical certificate will only have to go through the process once in most cases.
“Under the old system, pilots flying on a special issuance medical were often expected to repeat the process year after year. They might have to send reams of documentation to the FAA for evaluation, repeat expensive and medically unnecessary tests for health conditions that are unchanged, and spend weeks or months grounded while they wait for the FAA to review their file,” said Baker. “These reforms put decisions about medical care back into the hands of pilots and their personal physicians, people who know them well and have an ongoing interest in their health and wellbeing.”
Pilots who meet the medical requirements to fly under the reforms will need to take certain steps to continue to do so, including having a thorough exam from a state licensed physician at least once every four years. The doctor will be required to follow an FAA-developed checklist of items to examine and discuss with the patient and certify that he or she has done so and is not aware of any medical reason the pilot the shouldn’t fly. The pilot then needs to keep that signed form in his or her logbook, but does not have to send it to the FAA.
Pilots flying under the reforms also will need |
Maya also faced childhood rape, and as a teen, homelessness and pregnancy. After its release in 1969, Angelou, who was initially reluctant to write the book, became the first African-American woman to have a nonfiction bestseller.
Buy it on Amazon.
18. Babel-17 // Samuel R. Delany
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In 2015, Samuel R. Delany told The Nation that when he first began attending science fiction conferences in the 1960s, he was one of only a few black writers and enthusiasts present. Over the years, with his contributions and the work of others like Octavia Butler—whom he mentored—he opened doors for black writers in the genre. If you're looking for a sci-fi thriller taking place in space and centering a woman leader protagonist, Delany's 1967 Nebula Award-winning Babel-17 is the one. Rydra Wong, a spaceship captain, is intrigued by a mysterious language called Babel-17 that has the power to alter a person's perception of themselves and others, and possibly brainwash her to betray her government.
Buy it on Amazon.
19. Splay Anthem // Nathaniel Mackey
Background: iStock. Book Cover: New Directions Publishing.
Readers of Nathaniel Mackey's poetry are often intrigued by his ability to merge the worlds of music (particularly jazz) and poetry to create soul-grabbing rhythmic prose. Splay Anthem is a masterful work exhibiting his style. The 2006 collection includes two poems Mackey had been writing for more than 20 years: "Song of the Andoumboulou," about a ritual funeral song from the Dogon people of modern-day Mali; and "Mu." Splay Anthem is woven into three sections, "Braid," "Fray," and "Nub," in which two characters travel through space and time and whose final destinations are unclear. Mackey's nonlinear form is deliberate: "There's a lot of emphasis on movement in the poems, and there's a lot of questions about ultimate arrival, about whether there is such a state or place," he said in A Community Writing Itself: Conversations with Vanguard Writers of the Bay Area.
Buy it on Amazon.
20. The Hate U Give // Angie Thomas
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Angie Thomas is part of a new crop of African-American authors bringing fresh new storytelling to bookshelves near you. Her 2017 debut young adult novel, The Hate U Give, was inspired by the protests of the Black Lives Matter movement. It follows Starr Carter, a 16-year-old who has witnessed the police-involved shooting of her best friend Khalil. The book, which topped the New York Times bestseller chart, is a timely fictional tale that humanizes the voices behind one of the largest movements of present times.
Buy it on Amazon.
21. Not Without Laughter // Langston Hughes
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Take it back to where Harlem Renaissance legend Langston Hughes began his novelistic bibliography. In 1930's Not Without Laughter, Sandy Rogers is an African-American boy growing up in Kansas during the early 1900s—a story loosely based on Hughes's own experiences living in Lawrence and Topeka, Kansas. Hughes vividly paints his characters based on the "typical Negro family in the Middle West" he grew up around, he explained in his autobiography The Big Sea. In this way, Hughes paved the way for more storytelling about black life outside of urban, big city settings.
Buy it on Amazon.
22. Salvage the Bones // Jesmyn Ward
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Jesmyn Ward's 2011 novel Salvage the Bones merges fiction with her real life experience surviving Hurricane Katrina as a native of rural Mississippi. Ward tells a new story through the eyes of Esch, a pregnant teenage girl who lives in poverty with her three brothers and a father who is battling alcoholism in a fictional town called Bois Sauvage. Through this National Book Award-winning tale, Ward writes an emotionally intense and deep account about a family who must find a way to overcome differences and stick together to survive the passing storm.
Buy it on Amazon.
23. Don't Call Us Dead // Danez Smith
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Don’t Call Us Dead is a cathartic series of poems that imagine an afterlife where black men can fully be themselves. Danez Smith's poignant words take heartbreaking imagery of violence against the bodies of black men and juxtapose it with scenes of a new plane, one that is much better than the existence those men lived before. Upon arrival, it's a celebration, as men and boys are embraced by their fellow brothers and are able to truly experience being "alive." Smith's prose sticks, and you will think more deeply about the delicacy of life and death long after you've put the book back on the shelf.
Buy it on Amazon.
24. The Underground Railroad // Colson Whitehead
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Colson Whitehead brings a bit of fantasy to historical fiction in his 2016 novel The Underground Railroad. Historically, the underground railroad was a network of safe houses for runaways on their journey to reaching the freed states. But Whitehead invents a literal secret underground railroad with real tracks and trains in his novel. This system takes his main character, Cora, a woman who escaped a Georgia plantation, to different states and stops. Along her journey, she faces a new set of horrific hurdles that could hold her back from obtaining her freedom.
Buy it on Amazon.
25. Devil in a Blue Dress // Walter Mosley
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If you're into mystery but don't know Walter Mosley, it's time to catch up. The crime-fiction author has published more than 40 books, with his Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins series being his most popular. Mosley's 1990 debut (and Easy's debut as well) Devil in a Blue Dress takes the reader to 1940s Watts, a Los Angeles neighborhood where Easy has recently relocated after losing his job in Houston. He finds a new line of work as a detective when a man at a bar wants him to track down a woman named Daphne Monet, kicking off a career that will span 14 novels (and counting).
Buy it on Amazon.First 48 hours with our private release — Amazing Response
Just want to keep everyone updated with our progress, the market response that we had, and when a full rollout to all will be made available.
snapCard Blocked Unblock Follow Following Oct 30, 2013
http://www.joinsnapcard.com
Hey everyone,
We’ve had a lot of people write in about being excited to use our product and really great compliments. So a huge thanks to everyone. I want to thank everyone for being really supportive!
In the first 24 hours we had just over $4,000 in transactions.
In 48 hours it was over $11,000 in transactions requested through our platform.
We were amazed at the response, so thank you.
Amazing the response and support from all the BTC community.
So what are we up to?
It’s still in first version, so we’re using this time to → get feedback → input it → release it → get more feedback → input it → release it → get more feedback → and so on….
What’s next?
Scaling! Big time! We’ve applied for startup accelerator/incubator programs and got interest from the best and brightest minds here in Silicon Valley. Why would we do this?
They offer us money, and connections to more money. This means we can keep our product running ridiculously low costs for our early adopters (if you’re reading this, that means you)
reddit.com went through an incubator program + many other amazing products (airbnb, twilio, sendgrid, dropbox, coinbase, etc…)
Combining their legal resources, along with your feedback and our technical ability to make the product you want,we really can help bring more chances for people to use their bitcoins which will encourage further bitcoin adopters
Giving everyone a chance to use the early version
We’re honestly trying our best to get this in as many peoples hands as possible. If you’re reading this then it means you will have access very soon. We just need time to make sure the product is working smoothly for you as the users, I don’t want to waste your time getting you excited and then let you guys down. Although the really really early adopters were adamant to use it and provide very thorough feedback.
Our roadmap (short-term, in no particular order)
Absorb customer feedback
Input customer feedback
Extended rollout
If you got down this far, thanks so much for reading. We want to keep everything pretty transparent with you guys, so please reach out to us at mail@joinsnapcard.com if you have any questions at all and we can call you and chat, or just email. Whatever is easiest!
Thanks guys!
Kind regards,
Michael.Over an over the top posts on reddit are issues that directly affect the bitcoin network, currency or protocol. Today that top post would be a PSA about the number of bitcoin nodes decreasing. Nodes are the number of computers on the network with a full copy of the blockchain:
A full Bitcoin node is the backbone of the Bitcoin network. Miners are important, but full nodes are too. They spread transactions across the network. They have the only copy of the entire blockchain, and run the memorypool. Without full nodes in operation there is no Bitcoin.
But the blockchain is pretty bulky, taking weeks to download, and it’s only going to get bigger. This has driven traffic to alternative wallets like MultiBit, who’s wallet is operational immediately without having to download the blockchain.
In the past we have seen posts like:
And the list goes on….
Seeing the community come together as a whole and do whats right for everyone is something we don’t see often in today’s markets. I’m not saying it’s perfect, as it’s far from, but so far the Bitcoin community identifies it’s weaknesses and takes action to correct them, almost immediately. The majority of those using bitcoin have a vested interest in seeing it succeed, so it has a very high probability that it will.
Moon!
Don’t have bitcoins? Use Coinbase to get Bitcoins in less than 10 minutes!Why tear out my heart for all the world to see?
Why not paint by numbers
Catchy melody
Burn it up the charts with sweet simplicity
Then do it again
— Self, Paint by Numbers
If you ask experts in the field of mobile game monetization how to make a hit, they’ll give you consistent advice. You should be “free to play” or “freemium,” which means you offer the game at no cost but then ask the user to pay for various things later. They will encourage you to schedule payment prompts at particular intervals, and to offer items that can be bought with cash. It’s probably a good idea to have some sort of energy mechanic that forces players to take a break and wait for energy to “refill” every once in a while. Of course, if they are impatient they can just pay for more energy and continue immediately. You probably want to have some items that are cheap, and some other items that are super expensive, because a small percentage of users will go crazy over your game and end up buying these extremely expensive things. In fact, these “whales,” the users that buy the $60 floppy hat and the $100 crested armor, will be your primary source of revenue. Make sure most of your items are consumable, so the player will have to buy them over and over again. You should give out free, randomized items every once and a while, just to keep the player interested. And if they haven’t played for a few days, why not pop up a notification reminding them that they just earned free gold without even doing anything?
This is what the experts will tell you, and they are clearly right: these types of systems allow you to give a game away for free and still make quite a profit on it. The top grossing games on iOS and Android are, almost without exception, games that employ these schemes.
There’s nothing wrong with any of these ideas. Indeed, most of them predate the current boom of mobile phone games. Once upon a time we called them DLC, or shareware, or subscription fees, or “insert credit to continue.” MMOs have been operating on these systems for more than a decade. You can find some of them in Animal Crossing. Some developers have jumped on these systems as intrinsically evil, designed only to exploit the player, and an assault on game design, but this argument has a big problem: it ignores players who genuinely love these games. Look, Britney Spears might be a singer who’s career is entirely constructed by a corporation for the purposes of selling CDs, but it’s also true that some people genuinely enjoy the songs she sings. You can’t argue that those people are “wrong” for liking Britney Spears, just as you can’t really argue that people who enjoy Farmville are “wrong.” Though some implementations may seem more questionable than others, the schemes for monetizing free games are not intrinsically bad.
In developing Wind-up Knight we spoke to a large number of well-meaining experts, all of which told us the same thing. And we thought about their advice pretty hard. Well, actually, we thought about it really hard. We thought and debated and made plans and then threw them away for the entire course of development. In the end, we ignored almost all of the advice we were given.
It’s not that we think monetization systems are all evil. The problem with the type of advice we were getting is that it assumes that your game design is inconsequential, the “touchy feely bits” between prompts for more free gold. It doesn’t really matter what the player does, just as long as they can do it within the monetization structure that seems to work. Maybe that’s why so many of the top grossing games on iOS and Android feel so empty and soulless–there’s really nothing to do other than walk the monetization state machine in a loop.
Wind-up Knight’s design isn’t something that we sat down and wrote up. If anything, it’s a design that we unearthed, something that already existed and was just waiting to be discovered. Something that we moulded and polished into a full game, but certainly not something that came from a big Word document describing a bunch of play mechanics. It is the product of iteration, a lot of iteration: about 40% of our development period was spent testing ideas and tweaking the results. The game we ended up making is almost nothing like our original concepts.
The thing is, the game we discovered isn’t a game that works with an energy system. Consumables don’t work well in the design. There’s really no justification for an artificial delay in the game loop. The items we have are not worth $60. Almost all of the advice we received about “how to make a game that makes money” was at best inapplicable and at worst outright contrary to our core design.
Wind-up Knight is a hard, skill-based game. The design requires a level of rule transparency and respect for the player that some other games don’t need to concern themselves with. When you die in our game, it must always be because you messed up in an obvious way; unfair deaths would change our rewarding challenge into a recipe for frustration. This respect for the player must also extend to every other element of the game, and that includes item sales and monetization. We felt that to compromise the core design to bolt on some sort of scheme would pretty much ruin the entire game. It would cheapen the experience, and remove the value of a difficult achievement.
We went around and around on our monetization plans. Finding a middle ground that allowed us to make some money without damaging the game design or pulling a fast one on the user took a long, long time.
Here’s the system we came up with in the end.
You can play Wind-up Knight, from start to finish, completely for free.
However, to do so you have to be good. Very good. You must get high ranks on just about every level. But if you are awesome, the game is free.
Playing well will get you Notes, our in-game currency. Notes are paid out at the end of each level depending on your ability to collect all of the items in the level.
Levels are separated into Books, four in all, each with 13 levels apiece. The first Book is free, and subsequent books can be unlocked for free with Notes earned from play.
If you are unable to play well enough to unlock a Book for free, you can unlock it by buying a few Notes or spending $1.99.
If you just want to check out the content and don’t care about mastering the game, buying the Books is an easy way to progress.
If you trust us enough to pay for the game very early (after the third level), we’ll give you the option to unlock all of the levels for a discounted rate. If you decide not to do that, no problem: the game continues normally until you finish the first Book, which is the first 1/4th of the game.
All of the items in the store can be purchased with Notes, which means you can get them all for free as well (if that’s how you decide to spend your earnings). Many of the items make the game significantly easier, and will thus help you acquire more Notes.
(if that’s how you decide to spend your earnings). Many of the items make the game significantly easier, and will thus help you acquire more Notes. Items are priced reasonably based on their in-game effect. The most expensive item is less than $4, and it’s extremely powerful.
With this system you have a choice. If you like a challenge, and you are the type of gamer who enjoys putting his pride on the line, your reward for being awesome is enough Notes to buy all of the Books for free. If you prefer to just speed through the game with upgraded items and you don’t have that completionist streak, you can spend a couple of bucks and access all of the game content. And if you really don’t want to spend a dime, or you live in a country that doesn’t allow in-app purchases, you can choose to earn Notes through Tapjoy, an advertising service (which is otherwise completely hidden until you select it–no popups or ads in our game). The items we sell in the store are cheap and have real gameplay value. Equipping them changes the play significantly–the only “cosmetic” items we have are things we give you for free.
Our goal with is to provide a system that is transparent, has real value, and most importantly, respects the player. We’ve eschewed popular monetization schemes (much to the dismay of some of our friends) because they simply did not fit with the game we were building. We believe that there is room for games with different approaches; if nothing else, Wind-up Knight is an experiment to see if this kind of game can be profitable. If we could have employed some of those tried-and-true systems, we would have, and we may yet in the future. But only when they complement the game design and are done in a way that the user does not feel ripped off. To bolt something on that doesn’t belong in the game is antithetical to our mantra of quality above all else.People smoke a joint during a demonstration for the legalization of the use of marijuana and hashish, on June 18, 2011 at the Parc de la Villette in Paris, France. (Photo: FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)
Why do America’s colleges celebrate drinking alcohol but have no tolerance for marijuana?
The university system has now become a key player shotgunning the oxymoronic "alcohol is acceptable but pot is evil" mentality down the beer-bong-primed throats of America's youth.
In the firmament of celebrated Americana, there is Mom, apple pie, football and beer—but there most certainly is not marijuana. As it relates to drugs, this bizarre culture has us implicitly accepting that people will inevitably use mind-altering substances. But through our statutes, we allow law-abiding citizens to use only one recreational substance—alcohol—that just happens to be way more hazardous than pot.
Such idiocy is the product of many variables. There’s been interest-group maneuvering and temperance-movement hypocrisy. There’s been hippie-hating rage and reefer-madness paranoia. And, most invisibly, there’s been college.
Though little noticed for its role in America’s selective War on Drugs, the university system has now become a key player shotgunning the oxymoronic “alcohol is acceptable but pot is evil” mentality down the beer-bong-primed throats of America’s youth. To see how it all works, consider the University of Colorado (CU).
Both figuratively and literally immersed in alcohol, CU is the higher education gem of a state whose governor famously made his millions on beer breweries. Today, the school’s catering service sells alcohol, and university officials license CU’s logo for use on beer-drinking merchandise. Meanwhile, every school year, CU forces kids to sit through a convocation in a beer-themed arena—the Coors Events Center—to learn about the “meaning and responsibilities” of student life.
Unsurprisingly, CU now has a binge-drinking problem, as evidenced by last week’s news that another CU student died after a night of heavy imbibing.
This headline-grabbing tragedy—CU’s second such fatality in less than a decade—is but one of the 600,000 alcohol-related student injuries each year, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. But because, like other schools, CU is intertwined with alcohol culture, the university has danced around the issue, simultaneously acknowledging the problem and not doing much about it.
“(Alcohol) is the cause or primary factor in (a majority) of suicides, unintentional deaths, physical injuries, distressed personal relationships, legal problems, sexual assault, property damage and academic failure,” admitted Donald Misch, CU’s assistant vice chancellor for health and wellness, in 2010.
Yet, Misch refrained from an abstinence message, imploring students to “drink responsibly.”
This libertarian attitude seems laudable for acknowledging the fact that kids will party regardless of prohibitionist rules. However, it is counterproductive in the context of the school’s no-tolerance posture toward marijuana—a substance that has been connected to far fewer injuries and no overdoses.
In recent years, the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper reports, university regents have been looking to “crack down” on students’ unsanctioned “4/20” pro-pot protest because officials say it gives the school a “party image”—as if CU’s beer-soaked tailgating festivities don’t do that already. While students over 21 may possess alcohol in university residences, according to the Camera, “CU bans marijuana in its dorms, even if students have medical licenses.” And whereas underage drinking typically results in soft punishments from university officials, CU campus police have been increasing citations for marijuana possession, which can result in students losing financial aid.
CU, of course, embodies the norm in our universities, almost all of which issue harsher penalties for marijuana possession than alcohol use. Though students at more than a dozen schools across the country recently voted for referenda demanding administrators equalize punishments, the initiatives have been ignored. Instead, school officials are fighting to instill America’s destructive drug-war mentality in the next generation.
The result is the perpetuation of a destructive ethos that encourages us to party hard—but only with a substance that is far more toxic than marijuana.This essay was first published at the Scandinavian blog Snaphanen, but since some of my readers may not have seen it I republish it here. It was inspired by the book Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction, by James Clackson. The discovery of the Indo-European language family was made by Sir William Jones, a gifted British classical scholar who had mastered French and Italian and some Hebrew and Arabic at an early age. He is said to have known thirteen languages well, and twenty-eight fairly well, at the time of his death. In 1786, Jones elaborated a theory of the common origins of most European languages and those of Iran and northern India. Here is Jones as quoted by Ibn Warraq in his excellent book Defending the West:
"The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and in the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists: there is a similar reason, though not quite so forcible, for supposing that both the Gothic and the Celtic, though blended with a very different idiom, had the same origin with the Sanskrit; and the Old Persian might be added to the same family, if this were the place for discussing any question concerning the antiquities of Persia."
As the linguist Trautman has later said, "The modernity of the formulation is remarkable: the grouping of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Gothic (Germanic), Celtic, and Old Persian; their mutual resemblance in lexicon and grammar; the conception of their relationship as co-descendants of a lost ancestral language – these are exactly the views historical linguists hold today."
Jones was obviously not the first person to notice that various languages showed signs of being related. This was suspected by other scholars before him. But he was the first to connect European languages to non-European ones in this way. According to Nicholas Ostler in Empires of the Word:
"This was the origin of historical comparative linguistics. Applying it to languages all over the world was one of the great intellectual adventures of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; and as a direct result we now know much of the flow of human languages, and so of human history, well before the start of the written documents. To give just three examples, this is how we know that the Hungarians came from northern Siberia, that Madagascar was colonised from Borneo, and that the European Gypsies originated as far away as India. For all the self-generated excellence of Sanskrit's own tradition in linguistics, it could never have gone off in this new direction on its own: what was needed was confrontation with other languages, far beyond the Indian ken, but also the ability to view these languages as somehow on a par with Sanskrit, something else that the tradition would have found simply inconceivable."
Ostler comments on the fact that the Mughal rulers of northern India, largely of Turkish origins but influenced by Persian culture, did not make this connection: "The new Muslim masters, despite their independent knowledge of Arabic, Persian and Turkish, did not distinguish themselves for their linguistic scholarship."
If you believe Mr. Edward Said and his numerous supporters, Sir William Jones was actually a racist pig who invented comparative linguistics in order to establish his dominance over "the Other." It's strange that Muslims didn't think of this when they ruled other peoples for centuries. After all, Persian, which they knew, is an Indo-European language, as is Sanskrit, as well as Greek, Armenian and the tongues of many of their subjects. Muslim scholars had access to a number of Semitic languages, from Arabic and Hebrew to Aramaic, in addition to languages of other Afro-Asiatic branches in North and East Africa. They were thus in a position to discover this linguistic tree, but they didn't. Did they simply lack curiosity?
Why was European civilization the only civilization on earth to invent comparative linguistics? It is interesting to ponder why nobody had made this connection before. The Indians hadn't done so, neither had the Persians, despite their cultural sophistication. Muslims were generally uninterested in other cultures for reasons of religious bigotry and cultural supremacism, and rarely bothered to learn non-Muslim languages. The few translations that were made from non-Muslim cultures, for instance works of the ancient Greeks in the early stages of Islamic rule, were mainly concerned with scientific matters, not with historical events or cultural ideas, and the translations were often made by non-Muslims.
Tracking the spread of the Austronesian languages from Taiwan and Southeast Asia to Madagascar in the west and Pacific islands such as Hawaii and Easter Island in the east was not done independently by Thais, Malays, Indonesians or other Asians. The first serious analyses of the Chinese language were made during the translations of Buddhist scriptures, when a number of gifted Chinese scholars went to India to study, but this did not develop into comparative linguistics as a science. I've seen no indications that the Mayans, the Incas or other American civilizations did anything of this sort, either. Similarly, the creation of archaeology as a true scientific discipline was done by Europeans and people of European origins in North America and elsewhere during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In short, the tools we now use to uncover human prehistory throughout the world were developed by Europeans. Those who think this claim is "Eurocentric" can prove me wrong. As James Clackson says in Indo-European Linguistics: "Indo-European (IE) is the best-studied language family in the world. For much of the past 200 years more scholars have worked on the comparative philology of IE than on all the other areas of linguistics put together. We know more about the history and relationships of the IE languages than about any other group of languages. For some branches of IE – Greek, Sanskrit and Indic, Latin and Romance, Germanic, Celtic – we are fortunate to have records extending over two or more millennia, and excellent scholarly resources such as grammars, dictionaries and text editions that surpass those available for nearly all non-IE languages. The reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European (PIE) and the historical developments of the IE languages have consequently provided the framework for much research on other language families and on historical linguistics in general."
One Indo-European language, Hittite, is attested nearly 4,000 years ago, written on clay tablets in cuneiform script in central Anatolia from the early second millennium BC. We have extensive textual remains of three more IE languages from more than 2,000 years ago: Ancient Greek, Latin and Sanskrit, and the stock of recorded IE languages further increases as we move forward in time. According to Clackson:
"The majority of IE languages currently spoken belong to six large sub-groups of IE. Modern Irish and Old Irish are members of the Celtic sub-group, which also includes Welsh, Scots Gaelic, Breton, Cornish and Manx. Sinhala is part of the large Indic family, comprising most of the languages currently spoken in North India and Pakistan, Sanskrit and the Middle Indian Prakrits. English is a member of the Germanic branch; this includes Dutch, German and the Scandinavian languages among living languages, as well as earlier stages of these languages, such as Old English, Old High German and Old Norse, and other extinct varieties such as Gothic, once spoken in south-east Europe and southern Russia. The other large sub-groups are Romance and Slavic in Europe, and Iranian in Asia. All of these sub-groups of IE were themselves recognised as linguistic families before Jones' identification of the larger IE family cited above."
Two IE sub-groups no longer exist: Anatolian was once widespread in Anatolia (present-day Turkey) before the Christian era, and Tocharian was spoken in Central Asia until the eighth century AD. Lithuanian and Latvian are attested from the early modern period, and together with the now extinct Old Prussian they form the Baltic sub-group. A few Indo-European varieties still spoken are not allocated to sub-groups but constitute separate "branches," notably Greek, Albanian and Armenian. Greek has a long history, whereas Armenian dates from the middle of the first millennium and Albanian from the second millennium of the Christian era. The Indic branch and the Iranian branch are more closely related to each other than to other branches and together constitute one Indo-Iranian sub-group.
As James Clackson puts it: "The IE languages for which we have fairly extensive records from before 1000 AD – Latin, Greek, Germanic, Iranian and Indic – have been the carriers of cultures which have in time predominated over other indigenous groups, with resultant language shift. Populations which once spoke Messapic, Venetic and Lusitanian eventually shifted to speaking Latin, Phrygians adopted Greek and Thracian lost out to overlapping waves of Greek, Latin, Germanic (Gothic) and Slavic. In the Mediterranean area, the early adoption of literacy allows us to know of a range of IE varieties. In northern and eastern Europe, where the first written records appear considerably later, we do not know whether there was a similar diversity in the territories later occupied by speakers of Celtic, Germanic, Slavic and Baltic languages." The parent language of the entire Indo-European family, which is generally labelled Proto-Indo-European (PIE), is lost in prehistory, but we can reconstruct quite a few words it must have contained through comparative linguistics. The question regarding the geographical origins of PIE has been hotly debated since William Jones first proposed his thesis, and has been variously placed in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Iran and northern India. My personal opinion is that the cradle of the Indo-European language family most likely is somewhere close to the Black Sea coast of Russia and the Ukraine, but I will discuss this in later essays.
The primacy of Sanskrit in the early days of research into PIE has left its mark on subsequent analyses. This does have some advantages, as Greek and Vedic Sanskrit are two of the oldest and most conservative branches of IE, but the later decipherment of Hittite and greater understanding of Anatolian languages has modified our understanding of PIE. Sanskrit has eight cases, three genders and three numbers. PIE is often assumed in textbooks to have had eight nominal cases, three numbers (singular, dual and plural), plus an array of nominal declensions, partly corresponding to the three grammatical genders of masculine, feminine and neuter. Generally speaking, most newer IE languages have fewer cases, or none at all.
According to James Clackson, "The dual is lost prehistorically in Germanic (in nouns), Latin, Albanian and Armenian, and although attested in Classical Greek, Old Irish and Old Church Slavonic, it only fully survives today in some Slavic languages. The three separate nominal genders found in Sanskrit, Greek and Latin have been merged in many different branches. Several languages have 'lost' one gender: in Romance, Modern Celtic and Modern Baltic, the neuter has been assimilated into the other two declensions; in Dutch and Scandinavian the distinction between masculine and feminine is lost, the surviving distinction being between common and neuter nouns. Some languages have lost the nominal category of gender completely: in Armenian, gender was lost from both nouns and pronouns before the language is attested in written form in the first millennium of the Christian era, and English retains gender only in pronouns (although vehicles such as boats, cars and motorbikes may still be referred to by feminine pronouns)."
Among the IE sub-families we find the Slavic (Slavonic) languages. East Slavic languages include Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian, West Slavic ones include Czech and Slovak as well as Polish while the South Slavic ones include Serbian, Slovene, Croatian and Bosnian in addition to Bulgarian and Macedonian. The first written Slavic language is called Old Church Slavonic, and was developed by Byzantine missionaries for the purpose of spreading the Gospels among Slavic-speaking peoples. Those in the western regions of the Slavic-speaking area eventually adopted the Western (Catholic) variety of Christianity, while those in the eastern provinces retained the original link with the Orthodox Christianity of Byzantium.
In the Mediterranean zones at the onset of literacy in the first millennium BC a number of different languages are attested, but because of the Roman Empire, during the early centuries of the Christian era these were replaced by Latin and its descendants. The Italic subfamily of IE includes a number of extinct languages, among them Latin, but also the Romance group comprising modern languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, such as Spanish (Castilian), Catalan, Galician and Portuguese in the Iberian Peninsula and its former colonies in Latin America as well as Italian, Romanian, French and a number of smaller languages. The development of these languages is relatively easy to record. Clackson again:
"In the Romance languages, for example, the words for 'bread' and 'water', for'mother' and 'father', and many other lexemes are similar. In the case of the Romance languages, we have the bonus of having records of Classical Latin, which is close enough to the spoken variety from which the Romance group evolves to be considered the sub-group parent. We can see in Latin the word-forms which will eventually evolve to become the shared vocabulary of Romance: aqua 'water' can be considered the earlier form ancestral to Italian acqua and Spanish agua; pater 'father' develops into Italian padre and Spanish padre. For the Romance group, we can unearth the phonological changes which words have undergone in the centuries between Roman times and the present. We can identify which words are borrowings and which stem from Latin."
In some cases, as with the Romance language or the Indic sub-group, we have written records of the sub-group parent or a language which is very close to it (Latin and Sanskrit respectively). However, in other cases, for instance the Germanic languages, which include German, Dutch, Frisian, Afrikaans and English in addition to Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic and Faroese, we do not have a recorded sub-group parent. As with the Slavic languages, the oldest extensive written text we know of in Germanic is a Christian text, the Gothic translation of the New Testament by Ulfilas in the fourth century AD. However, the Germanic languages started splitting apart centuries prior to this, and thus differ from each other more than do the Romance or Slavic languages. The proposed Proto-Germanic language was probably spoken at some point during the first millennium BC. James Clackson explains:
"For the Germanic group, we have no attested sub-group parent, but we hypothesise that there must have been such a language. We can further hypothesise what the vocabulary of the sub-group parent must have been: from the English, Dutch and German words for 'bread', for example, we might guess that the original word was *brod or something like it, and *water the original word for 'water'. (The * before the word highlights the fact that the word is a hypothetical item, and not directly attested.) Yet our reconstructed items here are mere guesswork, worked out on a principle that the form which was found in two languages won out over a variant found in the other. Thus in reconstructing *brod for 'bread' we take the vowel from |
a supplier leaks information.
RELATED: Will Apple’s GT Advanced Technologies deal bring sapphire screens to iPhones?
As the proceedings carry on, more and more information is coming out about Apple’s relationship with GT Advanced Technologies, and many of the revelations will shed light on Apple’s dealings with other companies as well.
In fact, GT Advanced even had to ask for permission to show the details of its agreement with Apple in its court filings, in order “to ensure an open, transparent and fair process.” This was because of the confidentiality agreements between the two companies.
Last year, GT Advanced entered into a $578 million deal with Apple for the scratch-resistant sapphire material used to cover the iPhone’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor and rear camera lenses.
GT Advanced has plans to close plants in Arizona and Massachusetts. These closures could cost 890 jobs even though Apple said it plans to focus on preserving the ones it helped create by building the facility in Mesa, Ariz., and then leased to GT Advanced to manufacture sapphire for the iPhone, Apple Watch and potentially other Apple products.CEDAR RAPIDS — The only people remotely happy with Kyle Schwarber’s struggles this season have to be the Iowa Cubs and the folks of greater Des Moines.
The Chicago Cubs outfielder was sent to Triple-A this past week after an awful first three months that saw him hit.171 in 64 games. It was time to regroup.
Schwarber’s demotion just so happens to come, probably not coincidenally, when the I-Cubs are on a week-long homestand. That’s called good timing for Central Iowa.
“It’s been great,” said Iowa Cubs broadcaster and Director of Media Relations Randy Wehofer. “We are in a unique position for some of these guys that have been here before, so we have at least a surface relationship. Kyle wasn’t here very long in 2015, but he knows what he’s coming back to here and how things are set up, so there is a comfort level there.”
Schwarber hit two home runs in Iowa’s win Friday night over Round Rock. He is 7-for-19 in five games, with nine strikeouts.
“He has handled everything just as you’d have hoped professionally,” Wehofer said. “He’s here to get his work done, get out on the field early and get some swings in and do all of those things. He has been very generous with the fans, with some autographs after the game, especially early in the week. We can’t promise that is going to happen every day, but he has gone above and beyond, probably, of what you could have hoped in the first few days.
“I think he understands that he is an abassador for the Chicago Cubs, in addition to trying to get himself untracked offensively and get himself back to Chicago.”
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Iowa has seen a very nice bump in attendance, as you’d expect. It averages 7,034 fans per game, but has had one crowd near 9,000, two over 9,000 and one Friday that was 13,975.
With this being a holiday weekend, you can expect more five-digit attendance figures. It’s the “Schwarber Effect.”
“People certainly did respond,” Wehofer said. “Kyle has told me and everyone else that he feels really good. Baseball is a hard game. Get some things ironed out away from the microscope of the big-league club and go from there. We’re excited to have him here and hope it doesn’t last long. We’re not waiting for him to fail by any stretch. It’s good for the Iowa Cubs for this to be a place where guys can come to get straightened out and get back (to the big leagues) quickly, because it will happen in the future.”
FORMER KERNEL JORGE MAKES BIG LEAGUE DEBUT
Former Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Felix Jorge was scheduled to make his major league debut Saturday night as the starter for the Minnesota Twins in the back half of their day-nigh double-header at Kansas City.
Jorge was 8-1 with a 3.26 earned run average in 14 starts this season for Double-A Chattanooga.
He pitched all of the 2015 season and made nine starts in 2014 with the Kernels.
Jorge is the ninth former Kernel to play in the big leagues since Cedar Rapids and the Twins became affiliation partners five years ago. The others are pitchers Randy Rosario, Jose Berrios, Tyler Duffey, Taylor Rogers and Trevor Hildenberger, infielder Jorge Polanco and outfielders Byron Buxton and Max Kepler.
POPPEN PROMOTED, JAX COMES IN
The Kernels and Twins announced Saturday that starting pitcher Sean Poppen has been promoted to high-Class A Fort Myers and been replaced on the active roster by pitcher Griffin Jax, who joins the club from Rookie-level Elizabethton.
Poppen was 6-2 with a 2.90 earned run average in 14 starts for Cedar Rapids. He allowed only 76 hits in 87 innings.
Jax, a right-hander, made one start for E-town, striking out seven in 4 2/3 innings. He was a third-round draft pick of the Twins last year out of Air Force and is pitching during a 60-day leave prior to being assigned to Cape Canaveral in Florida as an acquisitions officer.
HOW THEY'RE DOING
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Jake Adams (University of Iowa) — First baseman is hitting.208 (5-for-24) in his first seven pro games with Shortseason-A Tri-City (Astros). He has two home runs and four RBIs.
Joel Booker (University of Iowa) — Outfielder went 4-for-21 in his first week at high-A Winston-Salem (White Sox), with an RBI.
Matt Dermody (University of Iowa) — Relief pitcher is 5-1 in 26 games for Triple-A Buffalo (Blue Jays) with 3.51 ERA.
Ryan Erickson (University of Iowa) — Recent draft pick has pitched in two games for Arizona Rookie League White Sox. Has thrown three innings, allowed five hits and a run, recording a save.
Blake Hickman (University of Iowa) — Right-handed pitcher has made six starts for low-A Kannapolis (White Sox) and has a 1-2 record and 3.50 ERA. Allowed only 28 hits in 36 innings.
Jon Keller (Cedar Rapids Xavier) — Has thrown in four games for Shortseason-A Aberdeen (Orioles) on an official rehab assigment. Has allowed two hits and a run in five innings, striking out six.
Mitch Keller (Cedar Rapids Xavier) — Returned from the disabled list this week with four innings of hitless ball for high-A Bradenton (Orioles). Has a 2.66 ERA in nine starts for the Pirates.
Derrick Loveless (Solon) — Outfielder hitting.257 in 37 games since getting promoted to Double-A New Hampshire (Blue Jays). Also has 10 RBIs.
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Mason McCoy (University of Iowa) — Infielder is 2-for-12 (.167) in four games for Shortseason-A Aberdeen (Orioles). Has driven in two runs.
Tyler Peyton (University of Iowa) — Pitcher is 2-2 with a 4.28 ERA in nine games, one start, for low-A South Bend (Cubs).
A.J. Puk (Cedar Rapids Washington) — Left-hander couldn’t get out of the first inning in his second start for Double-A Midland, allowing three hits, three walks and four runs in one-third of an inning. Was picked to pitch in 2017 Futures Game in a couple of weeks.
Scott Schebler (Cedar Rapids Prairie) — Cincinnati Reds outfielder hitting.259 in 75 games, with 20 home runs and 40 RBIs.
Jake Yacinich (University of Iowa) — Shortstop has eight hits in his last five games for high-A Inland Empire (Angels), boosting batting average to.263 in 51 games.
l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.comINDYCAR announced today a multiyear agreement with United Rentals, the world’s largest equipment rental provider and a team partner with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, to become the official equipment rental company of INDYCAR and the Verizon IndyCar Series.
“This is tremendous news for INDYCAR and the Verizon IndyCar Series and we’re excited to kick off our partnership with United Rentals,” said Rod Davis, chief revenue officer of INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “This is another great partner to add to our series and it’s always great to see trusted brands like United Rentals investing in both our teams and the series. INDYCAR has a lot of positive momentum surrounding the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 and we’re grateful United Rentals is part of that success.”
In April, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that United Rentals would serve as the primary sponsor on Graham Rahal’s No. 15 Honda entry for this weekend’s Chevrolet Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans and as a major associate sponsor on the car for the entire 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season.
“United Rentals looks forward to working with INDYCAR to support world-class racing with our vast equipment fleet and technology platforms,” said Chris Hummel, chief marketing officer of United Rentals. “We are also thrilled to launch the ‘Turns for Troops’ program, continuing our longstanding support for military veterans in partnership with INDYCAR and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.”
The new “Turns for Troops” program, sponsored by United Rentals, will help American military veterans with major injuries sustained while serving their country. The program will fund access to education, state-of-the-art rehabilitation programs and technologies that address a variety of combat-related injuries. Through Turns for Troops, United Rentals will donate $50 to SoldierStrong, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping American military veterans, for every lap completed by Rahal during the 2016 race season.
To learn more about the program and opportunities to directly support SoldierStrong, visit www.turnsfortroops.com.
United Rentals offers expert construction and industrial equipment rental, trench safety, temporary power, climate control, fluid transfer, tool management and technology services through the largest customer service organization of its kind in North America: 897 rental branches in the United States and Canada. For more information, visit www.unitedrentals.com.Though the nation has shone a spotlight in recent years on the economics of the environmental industry, the NAACP has issued a new report claiming that people of color are woefully underrepresented in the energy industry’s workforce—while at the same time most often facing potential health threats caused by the environment and facilities in their neighborhoods.
In the report, the NAACP calls on states to boost their commitment to renewable energy and provide more business and employment opportunities to minorities and low-income people—thus giving those groups more of a role in decision making.
Titled “Just Energy Policies: Reducing Pollution and Creating Jobs,” the 556-page report says people of color tend to spend the largest share of their incomes on energy but hold very few of the industry’s jobs.
Jacqueline Patterson, NAACP environmental and climate justice program director, said in a conference call with reporters yesterday that in 2009, African Americans held just 1.1 percent of energy jobs.
They are not part of the decision making, “but disproportionately experiencing harm,” Patterson said, as she urged states to make changes to reduce energy costs and bring more minorities and low-income people into the industry.
Among the suggestions offered by the civil rights group are for states to:
– Get at least 25% of its energy from renewable sources
– Set a 2% annual reduction target from previous year retail electricity sales
– Set up provisions that would make it easier for local residents to find out about potential jobs and apply for them; provide opportunities for locally owned businesses and minority owned businesses
Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi were singled out for their glaring failures in these areas.
During the conference call, Bernard Simelson, president of the Alabama State NAACP, pointed out that his state has the highest proportion of energy bills compared to average income.
“A crucial component of sustainability in the energy sector is equity. Therefore we must also ensure that workers and entrepreneurs of color are empowered in the transition and growth of the evolving energy market,” the report reads, touting the importance of hiring local and having provisions to ensure that requirements are met.
The report found that zero states had Minority Business Enterprise provisions specific to the industry.“A new ISIS terror video has urged followers to use household goods to conduct jihad against the West….they are told to equip themselves with baseball bats…”
“The dashcam footage shows a group of men standing in between the branches and the lorry, armed with baseball bats and large sticks which they wave at the Flemish trucker.”
What a coincidence.
“Calais truckers fear for their lives as migrants armed with BASEBALL BATS attack them,” by Alix Culbertson, Express, August 24, 2016:
A THRONG of violent armed migrants have been filmed holding up a UK-bound lorry as they battled to scramble onboard vehicles in Calais. Mountains of branches can be seen on the main road into the northern French port, blocking off the essential thoroughfare into Britain. The dashcam footage shows a group of men standing in between the branches and the lorry, armed with baseball bats and large sticks which they wave at the Flemish trucker. As the driver puts his foot down on the accelerator, one of the men hits the lorry’s cab. Driver Marc Lombaerts, told Belgian media: “If I dared put my foot down, they immediately made it clear that they would strike the windshield.” The terrifying incident emerged on the same day as a 37-year-old Ethiopian migrant was murdered and 15 others seriously injured during a “hugely violent” fight between rival UK-bound gangs from Sudan and Afghanistan. The latest figures show the lawless Jungle camp in Calais has now increased its numbers to more than 9,000 migrants attempting to get to Britain, despite the demolition of most of the camp by French authorities…. A source close to the murder probe said: “As two gangs from Sudan and Afghanistan competed to get on to the motorway to stop the lorries a fight broke out. “Weapons including knives and sharpened sticks were used and the situation got very violent. It was a hugely violent fight and there were similar disturbances in other parts of the road system.”…
“‘Use baseball bats, power drills and screwdrivers’: New ISIS propaganda video urges lone wolves to wield household objects to jihad against the West,” by Darren Boyle, MailOnline, August 22, 2016:ANGLO IRISH BANK borrowed €7.9 billion at the end of September to in order to pay off some of its debts to bondholders – on the same day that finance minister Brian Lenihan announced the €29.3 billion total cost of recapitalising the nationalised bank. The initial government bank guarantee ended on the same day.
Anglo repaid the billions in outstanding bonds on September 30, funding the repayment through a number of sources, including the issue of new bonds. The Department of Finance denies it provided Anglo with the €7.9 billion needed to repay bondholders; a spokeswoman said the €7.9bn bond redemption was funded by “a number of funding sources including the issuance of new term debt”.
The bonds are essentially a form of borrowing by Anglo Irish Bank, with lenders investing in Anglo bonds in return for an annual ‘yield’ (interest) on their investment, and for having their investment returned in full on an agreed due date.
When bonds are due for repayment, banks can choose either to ‘roll them over’ by extending the due date, issue new bonds in order to finance the repayment of old ones, or borrow cash from elsewhere.
The massive scale of borrowing by the nationalised bank is likely to have been finalised just as finance minister Brian Lenihan was confirming the final cost of providing the bank with new capital – a massive €29.3bn – to the world’s media on September 30.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Finance stressed that the cost of the Anglo recapitalisation announced on September 30 was an entirely separate matter to that of the bank’s own funding, which is handled by the bank as an independently-managed entity.
She added that the state would not have had any role in funding the redemption of Anglo’s bonds and said that the schedule of repayments had been provided for in Anglo’s 2009 annual accounts and 2010 interim report.
Anglo’s own borrowings were not converted into sovereign debt, for which the state would be responsible, she added.
The Financial Regulator and Anglo declined to comment on the refinancing of the bonds when contacted by TheJournal.ie.What Are The Detroit Lions’ Options For The Left Tackle Position?
With the news that Taylor Decker will miss significant time this season due to a shoulder injury, the Lions have to consider other options at the left tackle position. Decker was one of the most important players for the Lions going into 2017, and now they will have to look elsewhere for protection for Matthew Stafford for at least part of the season.
It is extremely unlikely that they will find someone who can replace Decker’s production, but here are the ways that they can try to do so.
Players Already On The Roster
Joe Dahl
http://gty.im/589535204
Joe Dahl was drafted by the Lions in the fifth round a year ago in the 2016 NFL draft. Dahl sat out for almost his entire rookie year to try and learn how to play offensive line at the NFL level. Dahl played college football at Washington State, where he played the left guard position his first season in 2013. He then played at left tackle for both of the next two seasons.
The biggest reason that the Lions drafted Dahl was because of his versatility, his ability to play both guard and tackle. The hope was that going into this season he would be a back up with a chance to compete for the left guard position, but now it appears that he has a chance to play left tackle until Decker returns from injury. Dahl received reps with the first team at left tackle recently in OTA’s.
Dahl’s strength is in the passing game. In college, he played on an extremely pass heavy team. Part of the reason he barely played in his rookie year was because he needed to learn how to run block, and also needed to adjust to more advanced NFL blocking schemes. Dahl is also smaller than you would want for a tackle, standing at 6’4″. If he is going to start, we need to hope that he has developed a lot over the last season. Dahl was regarded as a project player coming out of college, and it may be time to see if he has what it takes to play in the NFL.
Corey Robinson
http://gty.im/579883582
Corey Robinson was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played left tackle at South Carolina, where he started 35 games. As a Lion, Robinson has started three career games, all of which were last season. He has appeared in 15 career games. At this point, Robinson is in the thick of the competition for the left tackle position.
Robinson made his first start in week nine of last season against the Minnesota Vikings, and he was surprisingly impressive in that game, especially considering that Minnesota has a strong pass rushing defensive line. Here is a link to a breakdown of Robinson’s performance that day. He did a great job of protecting Stafford, allowing only one pressure for the entire game. Robinson would later start two more games, but was less impressive in them.
Cornelius Lucas
http://gty.im/617497830
Cornelius Lucas signed with the Lions as an undrafted free agent out of Kansas State in 2014. He is massive, standing at 6’9″ and weighing 325 pounds. He has played in 30 games with the Lions, with six of those being starts. Most of Lucas’ playing time has been as a swing tackle when the Lions offense needed a sixth offensive lineman in short yardage situations. Early in his career, Lucas played very poorly, but seemed to show some improvement late in the 2016 season. In my opinion, Lucas is behind Robinson and Dahl in the competition for the starting left tackle position, but he could earn the job if he has a good training camp and preseason.
Storm Norton
http://gty.im/495475980
Storm Norton is an undrafted rookie who signed with the Lions on May 12. He is another behemoth of an offensive lineman, standing at 6’8″. Norton played college football at Toledo, where he was teammates with Michael Roberts, the tight end that Detroit drafted in the fourth round of this years draft.
Norton was a good football played at Toledo, excelling in both pass and run blocking. However, going from Toldeo to the NFL is a big jump. At Toledo, Norton used his size to block defenders, and got away with not having great technique. That will not work in the NFL. If Norton shows a lot of improvement, he will have a shot at the left tackle job, but at this point he is a long shot.
Free Agents
Ryan Clady
http://gty.im/459791782
Ryan Clady is a 30 year old veteran left tackle. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos with the 12th overall pick in 2008. Clady had a great start to his career, as he made the Pro Bowl four times in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2014. Clady is also a three time All Pro, making the first team in 2009 and 2012 and making the second team in 2008.
Clady has performed at an extremely high level in his career, but lately has had big issues with injuries. Clady has only played in 27 of 64 possible games in the last four seasons. His injuries have included a Lisfranc (foot) injury, torn ACL and a torn rotator cuff, all of which were season ending injuries. When Clady has played in the last four seasons, he has been alright, but the issue is that he hasn’t been on the field. However, at this point he might be so banged up that he isn’t an effective tackle anymore.
King Dunlap
King Dunlap is yet another giant on this list, at 6’9″ and weighing 330 pounds. Dunlap was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft, and has also spent time with the Chargers. Dunlap has appeared in 98 games, starting 65 of them. Dunlap was flat out a bad player with the Eagles, leading to his departure from the team in 2012.
In 2013, Dunlap signed with the Chargers and proceeded to have the best season of his career. He allowed only three sacks over the entire season, and was voted as the Chargers’ lineman of the year by his teammates. He was rewarded with a big four year $28 million contract, but was released earlier this offseason.
The biggest issue for Dunlap is also health. Dunlap has missed 18 games due to injury in the last four seasons. He missed his entire rookie season with an ankle injury. More recently, Dunlap has suffered ankle and knee injuries and a concussion.
Austin Pasztor
Austin Pasztor started his career with the Minnesota Vikings in 2012, and has since played for the Jaguars and Browns. Pasztor has played in 58 games and started 43 of them. Pasztor is primarily a right tackle, but he has played well at that position, and at this point it couldn’t hurt for the Lions to see if he can play as well at the left tackle spot.
Pasztor saw his first playing time with Jacksonville in 2012 when he started three games. He would start 12 games for them in 2013, and 8 in 2014. Pasztor then spent the next two seasons in Cleveland, where he played in all 32 possible games, and started all 16 last season at right tackle. Pasztor was by no means a superstar, but he did an adequate job. There is no guarantee that he could play left tackle, but it could be worth a shot.
William Beatty
http://gty.im/184149907
William Beatty was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft. He has spent his entire career there until this offseason when he became a free agent. Beatty was a Superbowl champion with the Giants in 2011.
Beatty had a solid first few years of his career with the Giants. In 2012, Pro Football Focus ranked Beatty as the second best left tackle in the entire NFC. However, like many of the other free agent tackles, Beatty has had his career halted by injuries. Beatty has suffered from a detached retina, broken leg and torn pectoral muscle. Beatty had a good peak in 2012, but overall he is the worst player of the free agents on this list.
Cyrus Kouandjio
Cyrus Kouandjio will be visiting the Lions on Wednesday, June 7th, making him the most likely free agent tackle to sign with the Lions. Kouandjio played left tackle for Alabama, starting all games for the Crimson Tide in their 2012 and 2013 seasons. He was projected as one of the top offensive linemen in the 2014 NFL Draft, but fell to the Buffalo Bills in the second round. Kouandjio has had a disappointing NFL career so far, starting only seven games.
Kouandjio has also had injuries in his career, starting with a season ending knee injury in his freshman season of college. He would then remain healthy until his NFL career, when he suffered an ankle injury causing him to miss time in 2016. Kouandjio also had a hip injury after falling in his home earlier this offseason.
Kouandjio was involved in a very strange incident earlier this offseason with the police, in which he was taken to the Erie County Medical Center for examination. Kouandjio parked his car along the shoulder of a highway, and then got out and jumped the guardrail. He proceeded to climb over an electric fence, and started wandering around in a field. A farmer saw him, and called the police. The cops arrived to find Kouandjio in his underwear. When the police went to speak with him, he started saying to them “shoot me!”
Possible Trades
Khalif Barnes
http://gty.im/106622166
Khalif Barnes is a 31 year old tackle that signed with the Saints this offseason. He spent the first four seasons of his career in Jacksonville, before spending the last seven years in Oakland. Barnes has played in 151 NFL games, and started 117 of them and playing at both the left and right tackle positions.
When Barnes signed with the Saints, he was the presumed starter at right tackle for the upcoming 2017 NFL season. However, with one of their two first round picks, the Saints drafted offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk. If the Saints are looking to start their rookie tackle sooner than later, Barnes could be a potential trade target for the Lions.
Joe Staley
http://gty.im/502829654
Joe Staley has been a mainstay on the San Francisco offensive line since he was drafted by them in the first round of the 2007 draft. He has had a good career for the 49ers, earning five pro bowl appearances (from 2011-2015) and making the second team All Pro list three times (from 2011-2013). He has played in 143 games, starting all of them. Staley is easily the best player from any section on this list. So why would the 49ers want to trade him?
The 49ers have arguably the least talented team in the NFL, and are currently in the middle of rebuilding their team. Staley will be 33 years old before the start of the season, and likely only has a few more seasons left in him. He is not in the 49ers future plans. So, to help with the rebuilding process, the 49ers may be interested in trading him for draft picks.
Staley could also be a good fit for the Lions because he is from Michigan. Staley is from Rockford, Michigan and played at the University of Central Michigan. Staley could have the opportunity to return home to finish out his NFL career, much like TJ Lang.
Most Likely Scenario
Bob Quinn has yet to make a flashy move as the general manager of the Detroit Lions, and I don’t think he will start now. He may sign a free agent tackle, but even if he does I doubt it will be a big name. I don’t see him trading for anybody, especially if Decker will return at some point this season. I believe that the Lions will let Dahl, Robinson, Lucas, Norton and possibly a low profile free agent tackle battle it out for the starting position in training camp and the preseason, and will use a combination of them at left tackle along with using the two new tight ends Michael Roberts and Darren Fells to help block until Decker returns.jobs
we're hiring positions for our London office!
If you're ready to become part of our London team being a key part of creating the best world-creation tools around we'd love to hear from you.
Simply send us an email to employment@preliminal.com that includes:
your cv showing relevant experience to the criteria
an introduction about yourself and why you think you're a good fit for team preliminal.
Graphics Programmer
Location: London, UK
Salary: Negotiatble relevent to experience + equity & standard UK benefits
Reports to: CTO
As a Graphics/VFX programmer for Mantle our environment generation toolset and platform, you’ll push the cutting edge visuals created by the very latest multi platform world generation technology. Working closely with other members of our multi-disciplinary team you'll ensure we identify and deliver the very best solutions to bring Mantle to life at the highest possible performance across a range of 3D IDEs such as Unity3d, Unreal and PlayCanvas WebGL.
Key Required Skills
Fluent in C# and strong in JavaScript programming
Expert in 3D rendering, 3D math, and optimisation of the complete rendering pipeline
Experience with Unity3D and WebGL
Experience creating and optimizing shaders in Cg/HLSL/ShaderLab
Work well in a cooperative team environment
Ability to pro-actively identify and address problems
Desirable Skills
Experience working on a large rendering code-base (e.g. AAA game or equivalent) where you planned and delivered fully finished features
Unreal and Maya development experience
Fluency in C++, Assembly and SIMD programming
OpenGL, CUDA, and/or Direct Compute experience
ResponsibilitiesOn July 19, 2015, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Samuel DuBose, an unarmed black man, was fatally shot by Ray Tensing, a white University of Cincinnati police officer, during a traffic stop for a missing front license plate and a suspended driver's license. Tensing fired after DuBose started his car. Tensing stated that DuBose had begun to drive off and that he was being dragged because his arm was caught in the car. Prosecutors alleged that footage from Tensing's bodycam showed that he was not dragged, and a grand jury indicted him on charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter. He was then fired from the police department. He was released on bond before trial. A November 2016 trial ended in mistrial after the jury became deadlocked. A retrial begun in May 2017 also ended in a hung jury. The charges against Tensing were later dismissed with prejudice. Shooting of Samuel DuBose Date July 19, 2015 ( ) Time 6:30 p.m. EDT Location Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. Coordinates Coordinates: Filmed by Tensing's bodycam Death(s) Samuel DuBose Accused Raymond Tensing Charges Murder, voluntary manslaughter Contents
Backgrounds Edit
Shooting Edit
Aftermath Edit
Official reactions Edit On July 29, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Deters stated in a press conference that the shooting was "asinine" and "senseless". He said that DuBose was not acting violently or aggressively.[29] With "an abundance of caution in anticipation" of Deters' announcement, the University of Cincinnati closed its Uptown and Medical campuses at 11:00 a.m. The campuses resumed normal operations the next day.[30] On July 31, the Fraternal Order of Police–Ohio Labor Council, a union that represents UCPD employees, filed a grievance asking that Tensing be reinstated to his position on the police force, asserting that he was terminated "without just cause".[31][32] Resolution of the grievance is postponed pending the outcome of the criminal case.[33] In the wake of the shooting, Deters called for the disbandment of the UCPD force and its replacement with city police officers. The incident also drew attention to the presence of armed law enforcement on college campuses.[34] There was some public and academic criticism of Deters' comments, on the basis that his rhetoric would jeopardize Tensing's right to a fair trial and that they were anti-police.[35] The Chief of the CPD said that the memorandum of understanding, signed in 2009 by his predecessor, which allowed UCPD to patrol areas neighboring the university, should be revoked.[8] He said, "I don't believe their officers have the skill set to police Cincinnati with the same philosophy of fairness and cultural competency that my officers display."[8] Public reactions Edit The body camera recording of Tensing shooting DuBose has garnered considerable attention. The footage has been compared to a first-person-shooter video game[36] and described as so "disturbing" that Cincinnati police prepared for large protests and riots before the footage's release.[37] As of July 30, at least four demonstrations have been held around the country in response to DuBose's death.[38] A Black Lives Matter vigil and rally in support of DuBose was held in Cincinnati on July 31, the third such event since the shooting. The victim's mother said, "As long as we stand up for the righteous, we going to be OK. I would come out here every night, I will go city to city because now I'm involved, my child was involved." Participants chanted "I am Sam DuBose."[39] Around 300 participants subsequently walked through Over-the-Rhine to Fountain Square. Six people were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest during the march.[40] One hundred protesters joined a "United March for Justice" on September 19, linking DuBose's killing with the deaths of Tamir Rice, John Crawford, and Samantha Ramsey.[41] Kroll Report Edit A report, commonly called the "Kroll Report", released in September 2015 by Kroll Inc., a risk consulting firm hired by the university, said that Tensing's bodycam video showed that he was not dragged. It also said that the car had not moved, or had barely moved, before the gunshot was fired. It faulted both men for unnecessarily escalating the situation, DuBose by failing to comply with Tensing's command to get out of the car and starting the engine. The report offered no opinion as to Tensing's guilt or innocence in the criminal case. Tensing's attorney said, "I don't agree with their analysis or their conclusions."[42][43] The report's recommendations include reviewing the scope of the UCPD's jurisdiction, improving relevant training and policies, clarifying reporting requirements following officer-involved shootings, providing cultural diversity training, and assessing the diversity of officers within the UCPD.[18] University reactions Edit Following the shooting the UCPD stopped making off-campus traffic stops.[44] On October 16, a student group, named "Irate 8" for the eight percent of black students at University of Cincinnati campuses, presented a list of demands to the university president. The list includes taking officers Kidd and Lindenschmidt off patrol, conducting full background checks of police and other university employees, and mandating racial sensitivity training for all staff and students. President Santa J. Ono agreed to meet with them and discuss their demands.[45][46][47]
Legal proceedings Edit
Kidd and Lindenschmidt were not indicted by the grand jury. "These officers have been truthful and honest about what happened and no charges are warranted," Deters said. Kidd and Lindenschmidt were placed on administrative leave during a university investigation.[26][48] On July 29, 2015, Tensing was indicted on charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter. The murder charge carries a penalty of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 15 years.[49] As a result of the indictment, he was fired from the UCPD. At his July 30 arraignment, he pleaded not guilty to the charges, and he was released on $1 million bond later that day.[50][6] A trial began on October 31, 2016;[51] on November 12, the judge declared a mistrial after the jury became deadlocked.[52] Ten days later the prosecution announced that they intended to retry Tensing, requesting a change of venue due to the amount of publicity surrounding the case in the Cincinnati area.[53] A judge denied the change of venue, while extending a gag order in the case. A retrial was slated to begin on May 25, 2017.[54] The presiding judge ruled that prosecutors could not present the T-shirt Tensing was wearing at the time of the shooting to the jury. The shirt depicted a Confederate battle flag, and the judge agreed with Tensing's defense that allowing the shirt as evidence would be prejudicial.[55] On June 23, 2017, the second trial also ended in mistrial due to a deadlocked jury.[56] On July 18, 2017, Deters said he was dropping the case against Tensing, as two previous juries could not reach a unanimous agreement on murder and voluntary manslaughter charges.[57] Stew Mathews, Tensing's attorney, said that Tensing was |
wouldn't releasing more information clear the air?
As long as Romney hides his returns, there's really no way to stop the speculation about what might be in them. But if he releases them, then there will be nothing to speculate about: just the facts of what's actually in the returns. And if he thinks that would be politically damaging, it says something about his returns—not the Democratic Party.
The conservative Manchester Union Leader (!) calls on Romney to release his returns.As you may know, all browsers have a set of CSS features that are either considered a vendor extension (e.g. - ms-interpolation-mode ), are partial implementations of properties that are fully defined in the CSS specifications, or are implementation of properties that exist in the CSS specifications, but aren’t completely defined. According to the CSS 2.1 Specification, any of the properties that fall under the categories listed previously must have a vendor specific prefix, such as '-ms-' for Microsoft, '-moz-' for Mozilla, '-o-' for Opera, and so on.
As part of our plan to reach full CSS 2.1 compliance with Internet Explorer 8, we have decided to place all properties that fulfill one of the following conditions behind the '-ms-' prefix:
If the property is a Microsoft extension (not defined in a CSS specification/module)
If the property is part of a CSS specification or module that hasn’t received Candidate Recommendation status from the W3C
If the property is a partial implementation of a property that is defined in a CSS specification or module
This change applies to the following properties, and therefore they should all be prefixed with '-ms-' when writing pages for Internet Explorer 8 (please note that if Internet Explorer 8 users are viewing your site in Compatibility View, they will see your page exactly as it would have been rendered in Internet Explorer 7, and in that case the prefix is neither needed nor acknowledged by the parser):
Property Type W3C Status -ms-accelerator Extension -ms-background-position-x CSS3 Working Draft -ms-background-position-y CSS3 Working Draft -ms-behavior Extension -ms-block-progression CSS3 Editor's Draft -ms-filter Extension -ms-ime-mode Extension -ms-layout-grid CSS3 Editor's Draft -ms-layout-grid-char CSS3 Editor's Draft -ms-layout-grid-line CSS3 Editor's Draft -ms-layout-grid-mode CSS3 Editor's Draft -ms-layout-grid-type CSS3 Editor's Draft -ms-line-break CSS3 Working Draft -ms-line-grid-mode CSS3 Editor's Draft -ms-interpolation-mode Extension -ms-overflow-x CSS3 Working Draft -ms-overflow-y CSS3 Working Draft -ms-scrollbar-3dlight-color Extension -ms-scrollbar-arrow-color Extension -ms-scrollbar-base-color Extension -ms-scrollbar-darkshadow-color Extension -ms-scrollbar-face-color Extension -ms-scrollbar-highlight-color Extension -ms-scrollbar-shadow-color Extension -ms-scrollbar-track-color Extension -ms-text-align-last CSS3 Working Draft -ms-text-autospace CSS3 Working Draft -ms-text-justify CSS3 Working Draft -ms-text-kashida-space CSS3 Working Draft -ms-text-overflow CSS3 Working Draft -ms-text-underline-position Extension -ms-word-break CSS3 Working Draft -ms-word-wrap CSS3 Working Draft -ms-writing-mode CSS3 Editor's Draft -ms-zoom Extension
We understand the work involved in going back to pages you have already written and adding properties with the '-ms-' prefix, but we highly encourage you to do so in order for your page to be written in as compliant a manner as possible. However, in order to ease the transition, the non-prefixed versions of properties that existed in Internet Explorer 7, though considered deprecated, will continue to function in Internet Explorer 8.
Changes in the filter property syntax
Unfortunately, the original filter syntax was not CSS 2.1 compliant. For example, the equals sign, the colon, and the commas (highlighted in red ) are illegal in the following context:
filter: progid : DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity = 80, FinishOpacity = 70, Style = 2);
Since our CSS parser has been re-designed to comply with standards, the old filter syntax will be ignored as it should according to the CSS Specification. Therefore, it is now required that the defined filter is fully quoted. The proper way of writing out the filter defined above (with changes needed highlighted in green ) would be:
-ms- filter: " progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=80, FinishOpacity=70, Style=2) " ;
In order to guarantee that users of both Internet Explorer 7 and 8 experience the filter, you can include both syntaxes listed above. Due to a peculiarity in our parser, you need to include the updated syntax first before the older syntax in order for the filter to work properly in Compatibility View (This is a known bug and will be fixed upon final release of IE8). Here is a CSS stylesheet example:
#transparentDiv {
-ms-filter: "progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=50)";
filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=50);
opacity:.5;
}
Thanks for your time and we are glad to hear your feedback!
Harel M. Williams
Program Manager
edit: modified header(written from a Production point of view Real World article
Casey Patrick Biggs (born 4 April 1955; age 63) is an actor best known for his portrayal of Damar on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as well as several other roles. He is the ex-husband of Roxann Dawson, who played Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres in Star Trek: Voyager.
Casey Biggs was interviewed in the 2005-released docu-comedy Trekkies 2 and for the DS9 documentary What We Left Behind.
He is a member of the Enterprise Blues Band, which writes and performs songs about Star Trek. The other members are Vaughn Armstrong, Richard Herd, Steve Rankin, William Jones, and Ronald B. Moore. Biggs plays the rhythm guitar, and sings some of the back-up vocals.
Biggs once guest-starred in the short-lived series Live Shot. Other Star Trek stars who were cast members include David Birney, Karen Austin, Ron Canada, Jeff Yagher, Bruce McGill, and Sam Anderson. Star Trek stars who also guest-starred include Chase Masterson, Dion Anderson, John Schuck, Lee Arenberg, Hal Landon, Jr., Cully Fredricksen, and Kenneth Tigar.
Biggs also guest starred in The X-Files, Medium, The Good Wife, Elementary and Person of Interest. Biggs appeared in the films Broken Arrow, Shadow Conspiracy, Augie Rose, Dragonfly and The Pelican Brief.
Star Trek appearances EditTBILISI -- China and Georgia agreed here on Friday to conduct deeper cooperation on China's initiatives of building Silk Road Economic Belt, vowing to speed up FTA negotiation.
The consensus was reached during Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli's respective meetings with president and prime minister of the Transcaucasian country.
In the meeting with Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Zhang hailed the traditional friendship with Georgia and the achievements scored on bilateral relationship since the establishment of diplomatic ties 24 years ago.
"It is in line with both countries' fundamental interests to develop bilateral relationship featuring equality, friendliness and mutually beneficial cooperation," Zhang said.
Speaking highly of the good geographical location and sound investment environment of Georgia, Zhang said the two countries are economically complementary to each other.
Georgia's national strategy of turning itself into a logistic and transport hub coincides with China's initiative of building Silk Road Economic Belt, said Zhang, encouraging both sides to take it as an opportunity to synergize each other's strategies so as to provide platforms for expanding substantial cooperation.
He called on both countries to explore cooperation on hydro-electricity, automobile, locomotive, mechanical and electronic products in the hope of cultivating a new growth point of production capacity cooperation.
Margvelashvili said the Silk Road Economic Belt initiated by China is of great significance to Georgia.
Georgia is willing to give full play to its unique geographic location and enhance cooperation with China in areas including railway transportation, port and road construction, the president said, adding that Georgia welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest in the country.
During the talks with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Zhang spoke positively of the progress made in building up Silk Road Economic Belt since the first forum on Silk Road was held in Tbilisi last October.
China would like to see Georgia continue to take the advantage of its location, resources and talents and be more involved in the construction of Silk Road Economic Belt, so as to promote regional cooperation and achieve common development and prosperity, Zhang said.
He called on both sides to strengthen top-level design, focusing on major projects, investment and financing, and enhancing production capacity cooperation.
Kvirikashvili, for his part, said Georgia appreciated China's long-term assistance to its economic development.
Calling China an influential country and one of the major economies in the world, Kvirikashvili said Georgia attaches great importance to developing ties with China.
On the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiation, Zhang urged for an early establishment of FTA and a better trade and investment environment.
The vice premier suggested both countries should focus on cooperation in the fields of transportation infrastructure cooperation, telecommunication, agriculture and wine trade.
Kvirikashvili said his country is ready to speed up negotiation process together with China in order to deepen cooperation in various fields.
After the talks, Zhang and Kvirikashvili witnessed the signing of a series of documents.
A memorandum of understanding was reached by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and the Georgian Economic Department in December 2015 to begin the FTA negotiations.
According to China's MOC, China and Georgia have completed a second round of talks for an FTA on May 13 in Beijing.
The two sides discussed issues including goods and service trade, intellectual property rights and trade facilitation, reaching consensus on parts of the agenda, the MOC said. The third round is scheduled to be held in July in Tbilisi.
On the cultural and people-to-people cooperation, Zhang encouraged both sides to fully explore potentials on tourism, culture, education and science and technology in order to cement the foundation of public support.
The vice premier also called for close communication and cooperation on international and regional issues.
Margvelashvili said Georgia will adhere to the one-China policy.
Zhang arrived in Tbilisi on Thursday from Azerbaijan. He is scheduled to stay here for three days and leave for Armenia on Sunday.Space-based multi-sensor platform will better manage and
increase humanity’s access to natural resources
Redmond, Washington – May 26, 2016 – Planetary Resources, Inc., the asteroid mining company, announced today that it has secured US$21.1 million in Series A funding. The capital will be used to deploy and operate Ceres, an advanced Earth observation business that features the first commercial infrared and hyperspectral sensor platform to better understand and manage humanity’s natural resources. The funding was led by Bryan Johnson and the OS FUND; and joined by Idea Bulb Ventures; Tencent; Vast Ventures; Grishin Robotics; Conversion Capital; The Seraph Group; Space Angels Network, a syndication of investors from Angel.co; and Larry Page. Earth observation will be another aspect of Planetary Resources’ operations in addition to prospecting and mining asteroids.
Conceived from the company’s vision for the exploration and utilization of asteroid resources, Ceres will leverage Planetary Resources’ Arkyd spacecraft to deliver affordable, on-demand Earth intelligence of our natural resources on any spot on the planet. While typical satellite imagery provides only a picture, Ceres will provide actionable data with higher spectral resolutions – going beyond what the human eye can see – by measuring thermographic properties and detecting the composition of materials on Earth’s surface. The midwave-infrared sensor is the first ever commercial capability from space to offer thermographic mapping and night-imaging, and the hyperspectral sensor includes an unprecedented 40 color bands in the visible to near-infrared spectrum.
The imaging technology is integrated onto the Arkyd spacecraft and deployed as a constellation of 10 satellites in low-Earth orbit. The constellation will provide global monitoring capability to benefit multiple industries including agriculture, oil & gas, water quality, financial intelligence and forestry. Ceres can analyze the spectral signatures of crops and provide customized information to growers, identify energy and mineral resources, and monitor pipelines and remote infrastructure. The system can also track toxic algae blooms, monitor global water quality and enable the detection of wildfires in their earliest stages.
Planetary Resources is currently testing Ceres’ sensor platform and will demonstrate the technology in space with an upcoming scheduled launch of the company’s Arkyd 6 spacecraft onboard a Space X Falcon 9 rocket. The mission will validate the thermographic sensor and supporting technologies for the Arkyd series of spacecraft.
“As we continue toward our vision of the expansion of humanity and our economy into the Solar System, our team has been working on the critical technologies required to detect and identify the most commercially viable near-Earth asteroids and their resources,” said Chris Lewicki, President and CEO, Planetary Resources, Inc. “To characterize these resources, it required more than just a picture, and our team has developed advanced spectral sensors to serve this need. We have also created new technologies for onboard computing, low-cost space platforms, and are now applying these transformative technologies in additional markets.”
Bryan Johnson, Founder of OS Fund and Board of Director member at Planetary Resources, Inc., said, “With Ceres, Planetary Resources has leapfrogged traditional imagers for monitoring Earth’s natural resources, creating far-ranging opportunity. It’s a seismic shift for the new space economy.”
James Crawford, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Orbital Insight, Inc. said, “When Planetary Resources’ Ceres constellation is complete, it will transform the ability to monitor, model and manage global commodities and provide visibility across all major industrial supply chains.”
Liam Condon, CEO, Bayer CropScience said, “The highly innovative and cost-effective technology Planetary Resources is deploying has the potential to transform activities that were once confined to the laboratory into everyday use, as growers increasingly rely on data-driven tools and new technologies to inform their business decisions.”
Jim Hollis, CEO, Neos GeoSolutions said, “We are very excited about Planetary Resources’ new infrared and hyperspectral imagery system. This promises to be a powerful new component to our energy exploration system.”
For more information on Planetary Resources’ Ceres, please visit www.planetaryresources.com.
About Planetary Resources
Planetary Resources, Inc., the asteroid mining company, was founded in 2009 by Eric Anderson and Dr. Peter H. Diamandis. The company’s vision is to establish a new paradigm for resource utilization that will bring the Solar System within humanity’s economic sphere of influence. The pathway in identifying the most commercially viable near-Earth water-rich asteroids has led to the development of multiple transformative technologies that are applicable to global markets, including the agriculture, oil & gas, mining and insurance industries.
Planetary Resources is financed by industry-launching visionaries who are committed to expanding the world’s resource base so humanity can continue to grow and prosper for centuries to come. Some of the company’s partners and advisors include 3D Systems, the Bechtel Corporation and Analytical Graphics Incorporated; Sara Seager, Ph.D., professor of Planetary Science & Physics at MIT and TED fellow; Dante Lauretta, Ph.D., professor of Planetary Science at the University of Arizona and principal investigator of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission; Anatoly Gitelson, Ph.D., Emeritus Remote Sensing Specialist, University of Nebraska’s School of Natural Resources, now with Israel Institute of Technology, Technion; and Susan Ustin, Ph.D., professor of Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of California, Davis. Members of the company’s technical staff have worked on every recent U.S. Mars lander including Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity, and include other key non-aerospace and safety-critical disciplines. For more information, please visit www.planetaryresources.com.
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###Modern neuroscience is sharing so many insights into why we do what we do. This expanding field offers the opportunity for all of us to learn about ourselves and others, and how we can better communicate, motivate, inspire and just plain collaborate together.
I'm so excited that our next generations of women will have access to this powerful and applicable knowledge. Using these discoveries, we can all help each other to be simply unstoppable! Here are a few examples of the amazing power of our minds and how we can leverage our minds to create our best life, ever.
We are Humans in Everything We Do
The reality is that we are humans, period. If we think we can separate our humanity from our career - we're only fooling ourselves. We bring all of our humanity to bear on behaviors and decisions in our lives, careers and families. So why not learn what makes us humans "tick" so that we can be better at everything we do? That makes more sense to me than trying to shut down our humanity - which we can't do anyway. Since I started studying practices such as neural linguistic programming, quantum biology, quantum mechanics and more, I've learned so much about how and why we think and behave as we do - especially the seemingly irrational decisions and behaviors. For example, did you know that:
Our unconscious mind directs ~ 95% of our behaviors and decisions. Our minds are designed to automate as much as possible in our lives. The result is we make decisions and take actions based on our mindware programs (the software that runs our brain). We each create our mindware based on our past experiences. No wonder we get stuck in yesterday's news!
Our minds are designed to automate as much as possible in our lives. The result is we make decisions and take actions based on our mindware programs (the software that runs our brain). We each create our mindware based on our past experiences. No wonder we get stuck in yesterday's news! We're programmed to hang onto the status quo until we see that the status quo as being unsafe. It's called the status quo bias and it's a very strong program designed to keep us safe. Whenever we see a change, we sense it as a threat and hunker down in the status quo. Now that certainly explains a lot about behavior, doesn't it?
It's called the status quo bias and it's a very strong program designed to keep us safe. Whenever we see a change, we sense it as a threat and hunker down in the status quo. Now that certainly explains a lot about behavior, doesn't it? We also have a program called the herd instinct. Whenever we agree with a group, our brain sends out a bliss chemical to make us feel good about it. If we begin to stray from the herd, our brain sends out a threat chemical to send us back to the group. That's why we see people following the strongest leader in the team.
There are many other programs that drive our lives. Finally, we know the truth. Life really is all in our minds! The great news is that we can each learn to upgrade our mindware programs to step into new behaviors, beliefs and more choices about our lives.
Upgrading Your Mindware
Here are three steps to begin to upgrade your mindware. Try them for a month and you will see a change!
Ask questions instead of making statements. Statements narrow your unconscious mind's focus onto that single focus and it looks for a program to respond. When you ask a question, your unconscious mind asks your conscious mind to get involved. You see more options for behavior and beliefs, and your world expands.
Statements narrow your unconscious mind's focus onto that single focus and it looks for a program to respond. When you ask a question, your unconscious mind asks your conscious mind to get involved. You see more options for behavior and beliefs, and your world expands. Make the status quo unsafe. That doesn't mean scaring yourself or others...you'll only feed the threat response and hunker down more. What it does mean is to give yourself and others the positive reasons for moving away from the status quo. By making the status quo appear unsafe, you unhook the status quo bias program and free your mind to seek new options.
That doesn't mean scaring yourself or others...you'll only feed the threat response and hunker down more. What it does mean is to give yourself and others the positive reasons for moving away from the status quo. By making the status quo appear unsafe, you unhook the status quo bias program and free your mind to seek new options. Step away from the herd. By simply taking a step away from the herd and making a new observation, you can show others that it's okay to move away. By rewarding those who step away with you, into new ideas and thinking, you unhook the threat chemical and give them a bliss hit instead.
The Bottom Line
What a great time to be alive! We can learn what makes us tick, find the limiting mindware and then upgrade it to step into our best possible selves and lives.
Since I began working with neuroscience, I've reprogrammed everything so many limiting beliefs; from my feelings of unworthiness thanks to childhood abuse to mindware limited how I saw myself in the world. I use it every day to clear away whatever mindware program is in my way. It's simple and it works.
What if you could upgrade every program that bounds your perceptions and your potential? What if you could see new and exciting choices about everything in your life? What would you rewrite?
The power is right there. It's All in Your Mind!Wand of Teleportation The appearance of this wand is randomized each run. Shot Info Min Dmg 0 Max Dmg 0 Avg Dmg 0 Duration Hit only Range Unlimited Extra Effects Teleports target Initial Charges 2 Other Info Sell Price 50 gold Generation Chance 10/113 or 8.85%
The Wand of Teleportation is a wand.
Its class name in the save files is " com.watabou.pixeldungeon.items.wands.WandOfTeleportation ".
Contents show]
Description Edit
Wand of Teleportation A blast from this wand will teleport a creature against its will to a random place on the current level.
Use Edit
Zapping an enemy with this wand will teleport it to a nearby room, leaving your path clear.
Obtaining Edit
The Wand of Teleportation can be found randomly in generated levels. A random wand has a 10/113 or 8.85% chance of being the Wand of Teleportation
Tips
Don't stay in the same room for too long, as teleported enemies tend to come back to this exact room.
Sleeping enemies won't wake up when teleported.
You can use the wand on yourself, by zapping a nearby wall, to teleport the Hero/ine to a random place, hopefully out of trouble.
You can use the wand to teleport Giant Piranhas in the Flooded Vaults to slay them, but if you don't get the message "You hear something died in the distance," it means that the Giant Piranha is still alive somewhere on the depth in a water cell.
Durability rate Edit
This chart displays the rate at which the Wand of Teleportation degrades at each upgrade level.OTTAWA — Every time Canadians sink their teeth into a cheeseburger, step inside an airplane, or simply go for a jog, they face risks worthy of a Hollywood plot — deadly food poisoning, a horrifying crash, terrorism.
Proponents of oilsands pipelines to the West Coast would like those British Columbians who have a zero-risk tolerance for the oilpatch’s megaproject proposals to consider the kinds of risks they take each day. And then consider the safety record of pipelines and tankers.
Canada’s pipeline industry, in a boast echoed regularly by the Harper government, proclaims a “99.999 per cent safety record.”
Shippers, in reply to concerns about the major increase in West Coast tanker traffic if two major pipeline megaprojects to B.C. proceed, argue that oil tankers have a consistently improving record over recent decades.
Industry officials point to “watershed” events that prompted reform — the 1989 Exxon Valdez supertanker disaster off the Alaskan coast, and Calgary-based Enbridge Inc.’s 2010 pipeline rupture that devastated Michigan’s Kalamazoo River.
“The president of Air Canada has to say, ‘there is a risk.’ He cannot guarantee there will not be another airline crash,” said Brenda Kenny, president of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association.
“The RCMP cannot guarantee there won’t be a terrorist attack in Canada. The owner of any major food company cannot guarantee there won’t be a mishap relating to food safety.”
“What we all need to do is ensure we are aware of the risk, and we’re driving it as hard and as quickly as possible to zero risk, and that we understand how to cope with any consequence that might occur should we inadvertently miss something.”
The Canadian pipeline industry’s safety record claim is based on assertions that 99.999 per cent of oil and gas is shipped safely via pipeline to its destination. In 2011, the industry transported 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 5.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
The less flattering spin is that while many of the incidents in 2011 involved amounts as small as a smudge or a teaspoon, one was the kind of public relations nightmare that makes it tougher for proponents advocating Northern Gateway’s proposed $6.5-billion pipeline to Kitimat or Kinder Morgan’s proposed tripling of the capacity of its existing 300,000-barrel-a-day line to Burnaby.
A 28,000-barrel rupture in northern Alberta in 2011 was worse, in terms of volume, than the Kalamazoo River disaster a year earlier in the U.S.
Plains Midstream Canada, the company responsible, is facing up to $1.5 million in fines on top of the estimated $30 million in cleanup costs.
York University environmental historian Sean Kheraj calls the 99.999 per cent claim “flawed and vague,” because it doesn’t capture the frequency of spills and leaks.
He points to statistics from Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board that show there was an average of about 1.5 leaks or ruptures a day in 2011 on the province’s 406,974 kilometres of pipelines.
“The largest pipeline network in Canada is by no means leak-proof, and oil spills on that system occur very frequently,” Kheraj says.
B.C. has a pipeline system roughly a tenth the size of Alberta’s, and thus a lower frequency of leaks, but there was one notable incident in 2011 — the release of 78,300 cubic metres of sour natural gas after heavy rains and the resulting faster current eroded the riverbed under a pipeline. That caused a pipeline rupture under Halfway River, about 75 kilometres northwest of Fort St. John.
On the shipping side, the industry points to an improving track record since the 1989 disaster when the Exxon Valdez tanker, piloted by a man with a history of alcoholism, ran aground off the Alaskan coast and spilled 260,000 barrels of oil in Prince William Sound.
That spill led to tougher U.S. legislation, emulated worldwide, that required double-hulled tankers, tougher financial liability requirements and new rules to deal with alcohol and drug consumption.
Of the 450 “large” tanker spills (more than 5,000 barrels) since 1970, more than half (246) took place in the ’70s, according to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation. The total has declined each decade and in the 2000s there were 33, or just seven per cent of the total since 1970.
Of particular relevance to B.C., since only tankers with double-hulls protecting both storage and engine fuel tanks will be allowed to approach Kitimat, is that only five spills have occurred in the world since 1992 from cargo tanks protected by double hulls, according to Keith Michel, a California-based Enbridge consultant whom the company describes as a world expert on shipping safety.
The average spill volume for those five incidents was 20,000 barrels — significant, but not close to the Exxon nightmare. The closest of those spills to Canada involved an 11,000-barrel spill in 2010 following a tanker’s collision with a barge in the Gulf of Mexico.
Enbridge said tugboat escorts, rules requiring slower speeds, radars and other measures, will dramatically improve safety for the 220 tankers arriving each year at Kitimat.
Yet despite all those precautions, there is still risk.
“The reality is, after you’ve done all that there is some probability you’ll still have a spill, because it’s not possible to eliminate spills entirely,” Michel told The Vancouver Sun.
Det Norske Veritas, a Norwegian company hired by Enbridge to assess risk, concluded there is an 18-per-cent likelihood of a tanker spill incident – minor or major — over a 50-year span. For a spill greater than 31,000 barrels, the odds slide to 8.7 per cent — the equivalent of playing Russian roulette once every 50 years, with a single bullet in a 12-chamber revolver. For an Exxon Valdez-grade spill of 250,000 or more barrels, the odds tumble to just 0.3 per cent over 50 years.
And what about the risk of a land-based, Kalamazoo-scale pipeline disaster along a route that crosses 773 active watercourses in Alberta and B.C., including 83 the company deems to be “high sensitivity” crossings under federal Fisheries Department guidelines? Det Norske Veritas figures showing there’s a 10.2 per cent chance of an uncontrolled land-based rupture in any 50-year period.
“The rupture itself may then hit water or not, hit something sensitive or not, be a large rupture or relatively small, be in Alberta or in B.C.,” according to Enbridge consultant Jack Ruitenbeek.
“The risk of a full-bore rupture, where about 12,600 barrels are released into a specific high-value ecosystem like one of B.C.’s major salmon-bearing waterways, is 0.5 per cent or one in 200 over any 50-year period,” he said.
He said Enbridge has minimized risk by promising to use thicker steel, install more safety control valves near water crossings and other sensitive areas, and base emergency response personnel and equipment along the pipeline route. That equipment will include equipment to scoop up the diluted bitumen and large bladders to store it.
However, Simon Fraser University researchers, using a U.S. government model, say the risks of a tanker spill with Northern Gateway is far higher, between 93 and 99 per cent over 50 years.
Enbridge has questioned the SFU study’s methodology, noting that the projection is based on data involving both single- and double-hull tankers.
Who pays in a grim scenario when all these layers fail and there is a catastrophic spill?
Alberta and B.C. environmental protection legislation and the National Energy Board Act, have established a clear polluter-pay principle, according to John Carruthers, president of Northern Gateway Pipelines, the limited partnership established by Enbridge.
Enbridge has pledged to have $250 million in insurance in place for any pipeline spill, with the company estimating the maximum possible disaster would cost no more than $200 million.
The federal government’s joint review panel, presumably sensitive to the US$725-million bill Enbridge was hit with over Kalamazoo, is calling for a more specific pledge.
The panel’s proposed conditions include the requirement for coverage of $950 million, including at least $100 million in accessible cash to cover cleanup and short-term damages to third parties, at least $600 million in insurance that would include coverage of third party liability, and a further backstopping of guarantees and insurance coverage totalling $250 million.
Ruitenbeek, the Enbridge consultant, said taxpayers are also well-protected from the fallout of shipping incidents. Mandatory corporate tanker insurance, as well as Canadian and international compensation funds, provide up to $1.3 billion to cover any single marine disaster.
Environmentalists say those figures are much too low and their skepticism has been backed up by reports out of Victoria and Ottawa.
The B.C. government’s 2012 report outlining its conditions for accepting heavy-oil pipelines notes that the Exxon Valdez disaster had cleanup and environmental damage costs ranging from $3.4 billion US to $7 billion US.
“Currently, in the event of a major marine or terrestrial spill, the province would be exposed to an enormous amount of financial risk,” the report states.
Scott Vaughan, in his final report earlier this year as Canada’s environment commissioner, questioned whether the $1.3 billion in coverage was adequate, adding that “Transport Canada acknowledges there is a risk that present maritime liability limits and compensation regimes may not be sufficient in the wake of a major spill from a vessel in Canadian waters.”
A Transport Canada review of these limits, he noted, is expected this autumn.
Enbridge consultant Ruitenbeek said Canadians shouldn’t look at the Exxon Valdez costs as typical, given the “sky is the limit” nature of U.S. civil court judgments.
He said damages involving a tanker from any one of the 109 signatory countries of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds agreements have never exceeded $1.3 billion. (The U.S. is not an IOPCF signatory.)
The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, whose membership includes Enbridge and Kinder Morgan, insists taxpayers will never be caught with the bill for a pipeline spill.
“The pipeline industry is fully responsible,” Carruthers said.
“That includes any costs that are a direct result of the spill.
The NEB Act, he said, places no limits on liability for the remediation and cleanup of oil spills, or on damages to “persons, property or the environment.”
Lost habitatsBut Karen Wristen of Living Oceans Society said no amount of insurance or mitigation measures can provide a full assurance to the public.
The environmental effects of the Exxon Valdez spill are still being felt, she said. And, in Michigan, Enbridge was recently told by authorities to resume dredging bitumen from the bottom of the Kalamazoo River.
“The consequences are measured in at least decades of lost economic opportunity for coastal communities and a loss of habitats and species that could prove permanent,” she said.
Vancouver SunDownload raw source
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At the very least, you would need to subdivide it into ranged and melee single target DPS. But in general I would say regarding class passes, is that the impression I get is in the past there was an expectation on the community that we were largely one-and-done on class passes. “This update by given number will be this class pass and then we will never talk about it again”. That is absolutely not our intention, and is not a practical way to go about this. Class balance is an ongoing, and frankly never ending, development thing. So we do plan to do some additional work on Hunter changes to address more than just the DPS issue; to more holistically look at a Hunter. The hope is that we can do that over the next couple of updates, but ultimately what gets done and what gets put into those updates will depend on how the development process goes. How the time to work on “X” and “Y” thing goes and the rest. We do have a list of things for, say, 19.1 and 19.2 and Hunter work is on that list at some point, but there are things above it that MUST be done in order to get 19.1 and 19.2 out the door. Ultimately if Hunter work is not ready for 19.1 but will be ready for 19.2 we may put it there. We will have to figure out as we go through the process of actually working on Hunter changes here, but the goal is to do further improvements over the next couple of updates.
Dadi: Okay, fair enough, that certainly makes sense. I think what the community is looking for: there are two factions of the community as you are well aware; there is one faction that is looking at it from a class balance in terms of a PvP dynamic, and then there is the class balance when it comes to PvE. The questions that I am looking at are more geared towards PvE knowing that PvP is a hot topic and not easily addressed. I don’t envy you, or your team, trying to balance a class that has to function in a PvE and a PvP world. That has got to be something extremely difficult.
Cordovan: It is definitely a challenge, but it is good challenge because that means we have both PvP and PvE players. On the Dungeons and Dragons Online side, which I do some work for, the PvP part of the game exists, but is a very small section of the game, and typically we don’t design around it so much. But on Lotro we do have to have those discussions because we do have enough PvP players to warrant that kind of work. Our hope frankly for PvP is to work on that within the next couple of updates as well. Whether or not we get to that is perhaps more nebulous than the Hunter changes. So I don’t want to really promise anything there. I understand what you are saying. We certainly have a lot of feedback on the Hunter. We have at least several years of threads, and thousands of forum posts, that we have gone through and looked at to put together some bullet points. Frankly, the community has done a great job in recent weeks in re-outlining that stuff for us so we have some sense of perhaps where the community would like us to go with Hunter; which is to further work on some debuffs. Right now, Hunters are largely poison only and that doesn’t necessarily put them on an even playing field with some other classes. There has been some talk about self healing, and further defense. I don’t know where we sit exactly on that, but it is certainly something that we have heard from the community about. In addition, there is the whole question about whether it is a T2 raid issue. Is it a Throne of the Dread Terror issue? Is this a PvP issue, or regarding the power balance between Rune Keepers and Hunter? It sounds like the answer is both a yes and no answer on that. Like a lot of things, there is a spectrum of opinion, and a lot of factors to put into play there. But it does look like Hunters feel like they are falling behind the Rune Keepers. To whatever method we need to do to address that, that is something we want to do.
Dadi: I do have a Hunter. I stopped playing it a while ago simply because I did not enjoy playing it as much as I do some of the other classes. I do have plenty of friends and kin mates that do play a Hunter. The real challenge that they are having is not getting invited to groups simply because their DPS can’t perform to the level of an RK, or a Champ, or some other classes that are out there. Conversely, they don’t have some other ability to help compensate for that. So a Burglar for example doesn’t have tremendous DPS, but their debuffs are invaluable. I guess that’s where the Hunter stands of now. Of all the classes that are out there, by far that’s the one that is the least desirable to have in your group if the focus is for DPS to be important. Certainly Throne comes up with that. Even at a T1; the elite players on the servers will tell you that T1 is a joke, and you can have a bunch of Hunters and complete it, but the reality is that the percentage of elite players on every server is pretty small. So the content at a T1 level for the general masses is still extremely challenging when it comes to Throne, and having more than one hunter in the group is extremely detrimental. That’s where they look at it from a “please include me” sort of approach when you are looking at the development.
Cordovan: Sure that makes a lot of sense. You know, for U19 here we have given Hunters at least a 25 % DPS boost over where they are live in the game at the time of this recording. That was done in addition to the Burglar changes for U19, in part because that’s what we were able to get done given the development time that we had to do that work. But clearly we have more work to do with Hunters at the very least, and probably, like I say, class balance is never ending. As soon as we open this can to say Hunter and Burglar changes, we heard from “now put us next, no us, no us, no us” and none of them are wrong necessarily, it is just a matter of constantly working to balance as many of the classes you can given the current state of the game. That thing will always be in a state of flux. So if any development studio is able to say; “yes we have achieved perfect class balance that will last forever”, then I would be extremely shocked to hear that.
Dadi: That’s certainly not a reality. I think the players, at least the majority of them, realize that….
Cordovan: Sorry to interrupt. To your point then, that is why rather than in the past where there may be a perception of kind of one-and-done on class changes, under the current development team, we are going to be doing perhaps small; sometimes larger, consistent changes over the course of update after update after update. So when you see Update 19 we have done some Burg/Hunter changes, right now we have been hearing on the forums; “well I guess that’s all they are going to do with Hunter”. No, that is not all we are going to do with Hunter. Frankly, you can almost never apply that to a future to a class pass because even the concept of a class pass really doesn’t exist given our current development plans.
Dadi: Speaking of the development of classes and continuing to try to find balance, it seems to me that the dev team is taking an approach where any given class is being made almost into a Swiss Army knife. You know, they are trying to develop them to be survivable, get the DPS in there, have debuffs, be able to almost do anything in the game, and Beorning is a big example of that one. Even some of the other classes, it seems like a lot of the things are melding towards that Swiss Army approach where the class can do almost anything. Does that concern you at all from a developer and a community manager standpoint; that the differentiation between the classes seems to be narrowing?
Cordovan: I don’t know that I am particularly knowledgeable enough to be able to give you a good answer on that question. I guess I would turn that around and ask you a couple of questions regarding it. That is, if we look at say red, blue and yellow skill tree lines, you want to make all of those effective provided you do the investment into them. So to the extent that they offer different things, maybe say one is offense, one is defense, one is utility for example. Then if you do achieve a state where all three of those lines is effective provided you do the work to invest in it, then I think that it does lead to a class that could be seen as able to do anything. But at the same time you are right. You absolutely do want classes that stand out and offer specific benefits from other classes. I guess typically when I see that happen in the Dungeons and Dragons side, it tends to come from people you might call more the min-maxers ; the people that will take the one thing that they can really min-max on a particular class and then run with it, and that is the class. Whereas in reality, there is a large breadth of options if you are willing to go outside of that min-max system. I have only been doing this since July, right, so there is a lot of knowledge that I need to pick up on. Do you feel that if we were to achieve a state where all three of those red, blue, yellow lines excel given a certain level of investment, would that be a Swiss Army knife character or what do you think?
Dadi: Somewhat. I guess if you look at a Warden for example, they can tank, they can crazy DPS, they can heal. Look at an RK, an RK can have outstanding DPS. An RK can be a very viable healer. Minstrels have got some outstanding DPS; they are healers. Beornings can do all three; they can DPS, they can heal, they can tank. It just seems like each of the classes, since the implementation of trait trees anyway, have been converging towards the ability to do either tank, DPS and heal or heal, debuff and survivability, or you know what I mean. They have the three different options that basically overlap all the other classes and really the differentiator is assuming we achieve balance and this classes DPS is comparable to that one’s and so on, then really what we are going to boil down to is which class you prefer playing. There won’t be necessarily an advantage of playing one over another if we continue down that path. I guess that is what is concerning me. I am thrilled that we are looking at class balance and at each update picking a different class and tweaking it and continue to go down these paths to make them better, but it does concern me a bit that we may be converging towards the Swiss Army Knife approach of development.
Cordovan: I think it is absolutely intended that our trait lines offer that kind of diversity you mentioned. So how you would then differentiate the classes would have to be in areas that they can do best. Maybe certain abilities that other classes don’t. Certain things that they bring to the table, whether that’s play style, look and feel, I don’t know. Like I said it gets a little nebulous. You would need to then make sure that it wasn’t just a matter of those trait lines being the defining factor of the class. The defining factor of the class needs to be that in addition to X, Y and Z. As long as they are able to achieve that sort of differentiation between one class and another, I don’t think you could say all classes play the same. Unless of course, all classes play the same in which case that is a different sort of discussion.
Dadi: Yeah they definitely don’t play the same. The question was, is it intended to move towards that system and it seems as though it is, but still allow enough uniqueness to each class that they remain attractive to play. It sounds like we are on the right path in terms of not making is so any class you play pretty much can do exactly what the other classes can.
Cordovan: Yeah hopefully. Class balances is something we are going to be spending a bunch of time on I would imagine. Certainly if the community has their way right! So hopefully we will be able to differentiate those classes and adjust some of those concerns in the future.
Dadi: Excellent. So sticking with the class tweaking and whatnot. EdgeCase had started some work to revamp the Guardian class but then upon his departure, the tweaks to correct the bugs and so on, it seems to have gone by the wayside. Is that something that is currently being worked on? Is that on the table? There are a lot of things that got broken in an attempt to tweak and fix a Guardian.
Cordovan: We are well aware of the bug on bleeds so I know that is something that is high on QAs radar. I would imagine that would be fixed as soon as we can. Otherwise it is going to as well get grouped into the small class changes over time. Currently I think our direction is to work on Hunter and Burglar, also Beorning. I don’t know if I can say next, but certainly high up there. When we get to Guardian, I can’t predict at this point, but it is going to have to be included in that mix as well.
Dadi: I guess what the community is concerned with is that when we do these tweaks, often something will break in the process but then it kind of gets left alone and is thrown by the wayside and then we don’t revisit it to actually fix it. The tweaks and balance is absolutely fantastic to be having but when it breaks in the process – Guardian bleeds for example, it was never intended to break that, but we are now three or four months after the fact and it is still not fixed. That is something that really brings ire to the community, especially those that play that class. I guess the second part of that discussion would be hopefully class changes are not coming about because of folks on forums and the community that are crying that their class can’t do what another class does and a Guardian is a prime example of that. There were plenty of people in the community crying about the fact that Guardians can do X, Y, Z and their class couldn’t so what ended up happening is the Guardian got nerfed rather than looking at the other classes.
Cordovan: I can’t speak to past history so much as I can speak to future expectation. I think you raise some good points. There is some reality of if a guy, or gal, on the development team has deep knowledge of a certain class because they have done the class work and then that person is no longer with the team, someone else is going to have to learn that work and then do the work. If that person is say, already assigned to do X, Y, Z, A, B, C for the next four updates, it is not always possible to say; “oh and by the way you also need to do this”. I think that may be part of what is going on here with Guardian. But yes, you are right, if we have a bug after a class pass and it has sat for four months and it is something that is a significant enough bug to really be a problem for a large number of people who play that class, it is something that we are going to have to prioritize.
Dadi: Sounds like good news and I am not bring it up simply because I have a Guardian. It is one of my main characters. But I will say that I have stopped playing red or yellow line as a DPS role simply because the bleeds aren’t working and the Guardian is much less effective than it was in the past. I still use it for tanking, but that bug has really effected how a Guardian performs.
Cordovan: To the second half of your question about whether or not we essentially make changes based on people’s wanting to get a class nerfed on the forums, the answer is no but we do absolutely need to depend on community feedback to tell us what the community wants us to do. So that is not just the forums, it is through in game data, it is through Bullroarer, Palantir, Facebook, and Twitter and Google Plus and Livestreams, Twitch, YouTube videos, in addition to the forums. Clearly the forums are a big center of conversation for Lord of the Rings Online, but they are not the only center of communication. So no, we typically will not see a handful of vocal people on a community site saying; “you need to nerf Rune Keeper” so we go okay everyone wants Rune Keeper nerfed. But when it comes time to prioritize the community wants and needs, we have to depend on the overall mix of feedback to put together a priority list and get a better understanding of what the community wants us to do about it. It doesn’t mean that we are always going to do that thing, but it is really part of my job to hopefully have a good understanding of what it is people are saying; in some cases what they are REALLY saying, what should we do about it, what do they want us to do about it, and then put that into actionable feedback that we can bring up during developmental prioritization meetings that we can then get these issues addressed.
Stay tuned for Part 2 (coming soon)!!!
If you would like to support my efforts with Dadi’s LOTRO Guides, or maybe just buy me a beer, click the donate button below 🙂The Scharnhorst class was the last traditional class of armored cruisers built by the Kaiserliche Marine. The class comprised two ships, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. They were larger than the Roon-class cruisers that preceded them; the extra size was used primarily to increase the main armament of 21 cm (8.2 inch) guns from four to eight. The ships were the first German cruiser to reach equality with their British counterparts. The ships were named after 19th century Prussian army reformers, Gerhard von Scharnhorst and August von Gneisenau.
Built for overseas service, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were assigned to the East Asia Squadron in 1909 and 1910, respectively. Scharnhorst relieved the old armored cruiser Fürst Bismarck as the squadron flagship, which had been on station since 1900. Both ships had short careers; shortly before the outbreak of World War I, the ships departed the German colony at Tsingtao. On 1 November 1914, the ships destroyed a British force at the Battle of Coronel and inflicted upon the Royal Navy its first defeat since the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814. The East Asia Squadron, including both Scharnhorst-class ships, was subsequently annihilated at the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December.
Design [ edit ]
General characteristics [ edit ]
The ships of the class were 144.60 meters (474 ft 5 in) long overall, and 143.80 m (471 ft 9 in) long at the waterline. They had a beam of 21.60 m (70 ft 10 in), a draft of 8.37 m (27 ft 6 in), and displaced 11,616 tonnes (11,433 long tons) standard, and 12,985 t (12,780 long tons) at full load. The ships' hulls were constructed of transverse and longitudinal steel frames, over which the outer hull plating was riveted. The vessels had 15 watertight compartments and a double bottom that ran for 50% of the length of the hull.
The ships had a standard crew of 38 officers and 726 enlisted men. Scharnhorst, as the squadron flagship, had a larger crew, including an additional 14 officers and 62 men. Gneisenau, when serving as the squadron second command flagship, had an extra staff of 3 officers and 25 men. The ships carried a number of smaller vessels, including two picket boats, two launches, one pinnace, two cutters, three yawls, and one dinghy.
Machinery [ edit ]
The Scharnhorst-class ships used the same powerplant as in the preceding Roon class: three 3-cylinder triple expansion engines. Each engine drove a single propeller; the center shaft on Scharnhorst was 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in) in diameter while the outer two were 5 m (16 ft 5 in) wide. Gneisenau's screws were slightly smaller, at 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in) wide on the center shaft and 4.80 m (15 ft 9 in) on the outer pair. The triple expansion engines were supplied with steam by 18 coal-fired marine-type boilers with 36 fire boxes. The engines were designed to provide 26,000 metric horsepower (19,000 kW; 26,000 ihp), though on trials they achieved higher figures—28,782 ihp for Scharnhorst and 30,396 ihp for Gneisenau. The ships were rated at a top speed of 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h; 25.9 mph), though on trials Scharnhorst steamed at a maximum of 23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph), while Gneisenau ran at 23.6 knots (43.7 km/h; 27.2 mph). The vessels carried 800 t (790 long tons) of coal normally, though they were capable of storing up to 2,000 t (2,000 long tons; 2,200 short tons) of coal. This provided a maximum range of 4,800 nautical miles (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at a cruising speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). The ships had a single rudder.
The vessels also carried the same electrical plant as in the older Roon-class ships. It consisted of four turbo-generators that delivered 260 kilowatts at 110 volts. The Scharnhorst-class ships were the last cruisers built by Germany to be equipped with generators that put out power at 110 volts; the subsequent design, Blücher, had generators that ran at 225 volts.
Armament [ edit ]
Scharnhorst Forward gun turret on
The ships' main battery armament consisted of eight 21 cm (8.3 in) SK L/40 guns,[a] four in twin gun turrets, one fore and one aft of the main superstructure, and the remaining four were mounted in single wing turrets. The 21 cm guns fired a 108 kg (238 lb) armor-piercing projectile at a muzzle velocity of 780 metres per second (2,600 ft/s). The guns had a rate of fire of between 4–5 rounds per minute. The guns were supplied with a total of 700 rounds. The guns mounted in the twin turrets could elevate to 30 degrees, which enabled a maximum range of 16,300 metres (17,800 yd). The single turrets could only elevate to 16 degrees, and so their range was correspondingly lower at 12,400 metres (13,600 yd). The twin turrets could train to approximately 150 degrees in either direction from the centerline.
Secondary armament included six 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/40 guns in MPL casemates.[b] These guns had a fired armor-piercing shells at a rate of 4–5 per minute. The ships carried 170 shells per gun, for a total of 1,020 rounds total. The guns could depress to −7 degrees and elevate to 20 degrees, for a maximum range of 13,700 metres (15,000 yd). They were manually elevated and trained.
The ships were also armed with eighteen 8.8 centimetres (3.46 in) guns mounted in casemates. They fired 10 kg (22 lb) shells at a muzzle velocity of approximately 620 metres per second (2,000 ft/s). The ship carried 150 shells per gun, for a total of 2,700 rounds. They were capable of engaging targets out to 11,000 m (12,000 yd). As with the larger 15 cm guns, the 8.8 cm weapons were manually elevated and trained.
As was customary for warships of the period, the Scharnhorst-class ships were equipped with four 45 cm (18 in) submerged torpedo tubes. One was mounted in the bow, one on each broadside, and the fourth was placed in the stern. The ships were supplied with a total of 11 torpedoes. The weapons were the C/03 type, which weighed 662 kilograms (1,459 lb) and carried a 176 kilograms (388 lb) high-explosive warhead. At a speed of 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph), the torpedoes had an effective range of 1,500 metres (1,600 yd); when set at a slower speed of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph), the weapons could hit targets out to twice the distance, at 3,000 metres (3,300 yd).
Armor [ edit ]
As was the standard for German warships, the ships of the Scharnhorst class were protected by Krupp armor. They had an armor belt that was 150 mm (5.9 in) thick in the central portion of the ship, where the most important areas were located. The belt decreased to 80 mm (3.1 in) on either end of the central citadel, and down to nothing at the bow and stern. The entire belt was backed with teak planking. The main armored deck ranged in thickness from 60 mm (2.4 in) over critical areas and down to 35 mm (1.4 in) elsewhere. The deck sloped down to the belt; this portion was between 40–55 mm (1.6–2.2 in) thick. The forward conning tower had 200 mm (7.9 in) thick sides and a 30 mm (1.2 in) thick roof. The rear conning tower was less well-armored, with sides that were only 50 mm (2.0 in) thick and a roof that was 20 mm (0.79 in) thick. The main battery gun turrets had 170 mm (6.7 in) thick sides and 30 mm (1.2 in) thick roofs, while the amidships guns were protected with 150 mm (5.9 in) thick gun shields and 40 mm (1.6 in) thick roofs. The 15 cm guns were armored with 80 mm (3.1 in) thick shields.
Ships [ edit ]
Service history [ edit ]
Upon commissioning, both ships of the class were assigned to the German East Asia Squadron, with Scharnhorst serving as Admiral Maximilian von Spee's flagship. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were regarded as well-trained vessels; both ships won awards for their excellence at gunnery. At the start of World War I, the two ships were in the Caroline Islands on a routine cruise; the rest of von Spee's squadron was dispersed around the Pacific. The declaration of war by Japan on Germany convinced von Spee to consolidate his force with the cruisers Leipzig and Dresden from the American station, and head for Chile to refuel. The flotilla would then attempt to return to Germany via the Atlantic Ocean. Admiral von Spee also intended to attack the three British cruisers under the command of Admiral Christopher Cradock, and any British shipping encountered. On 22 September, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau approached the island of Papeete in French Polynesia with the intention of seizing the coal stockpiled in the harbor. The ships conducted a short bombardment that resulted in the sinking of the old gunboat Zélée. However, von Spee feared that the harbor had been mined, and decided to avoid the risk. The French had also set fire to the coal stocks to prevent the Germans from using the coal.
Battle of Coronel [ edit ]
At approximately 17:00 on 1 November 1914, the East Asia Squadron encountered Cradock's ships off Coronel. Because the German ships had an advantage in speed, von Spee was able to keep the distance to 18 kilometers, before closing to 12 km (1.2×1013 nm) to engage the British flotilla at 19:00. Scharnhorst hit Good Hope some 34 times; at least one of the shells penetrated Good Hope's ammunition magazines, which resulted in a tremendous explosion that destroyed the ship. The light cruiser Nürnberg closed to point-blank range to attack Monmouth; after a severe pummeling, Monmouth sank as well. The British light cruiser Glasgow and the auxiliary cruiser Otranto both escaped under the cover of darkness. First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher remarked that it was "the saddest naval action of the war." The defeat was the first to be inflicted on the Royal Navy since the 1814 Battle of Plattsburgh. After news of the battle reached Kaiser Wilhelm II in Berlin, he ordered 300 Iron Crosses to be awarded to the men of von Spee's squadron. After refueling in Valparaiso, the East Asia Squadron departed for the Falkland Islands, in order to destroy the British wireless transmitter located there.
Battle of the Falkland Islands [ edit ]
Inflexible picking up survivors from Gneisenau picking up survivors from
Some six hours after news of the battle reached England, Admiral Fisher ordered Admiral John Jellicoe, the commander of the Grand Fleet, to detach the battlecruisers Invincible and Inflexible to hunt down the German ships. Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee was placed in command of the flotilla, which also included the armored cruisers Carnarvon, Cornwall, Defence, and Kent, and the light cruisers Bristol and Glasgow, which had survived Coronel. Sturdee's ships reached the Falklands by the morning of 8 December, shortly before von Spee's squadron arrived. The British spotted the East Asia Squadron at 09:40; von Spee was unaware that the British had sent the two battlecruisers, and when he observed them, he ordered his ships to withdraw. Despite the head start, the fast battlecruisers quickly caught up with the worn-out German ships, which had just completed a 16,000 mile voyage without repairs.
At approximately 13:20, the battlecruisers opened fire at a range of 14 kilometres (8.7 mi). After a two-hour-long battle, Scharnhorst was dead in the water and listing heavily. The ship was sunk shortly thereafter. Gneisenau had been hit more than 50 times at close range; the crew gave three cheers for the Kaiser before the vessel sank. Nürnberg and Leipzig were also sunk, though Dresden managed to escape temporarily, before she too was destroyed off Juan Fernández Island. Some 2,200 men were killed, among them Admiral von Spee.
Notes [ edit ]
^ Schnelladekanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/40 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" () denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/40 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 calibers, meaning that the gun barrel is 40 times as long as it is in diameter. ^ Mittel-Pivot-Lafette (Central pivot mounting). See: MPL stands for(Central pivot mounting). See: NavWeaps (Ammunition, Guns and Mountings)
Citations [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
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US Representative Todd Akin, R-MO (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) Ad Policy
The Twittersphere went nuts yesterday after a video was posted of Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin expressing some jaw-dropping views on rape and abortion in an interview with local news:
“First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare,” Akin told KTVI-TV in an interview Sunday. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
The short-term consequences of such an incendiary remark are predictable: Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill will trumpet the remark to her own political advantage, donations will spike to her campaign and the party committees will offer the remark as one more proof point of the GOP’s war on women. But the impact of Akin’s effort to redefine the terms of this debate reaches beyond this one race. In the multidimensional chess that shapes public opinion, the game is less about individual elections and more about a sustained effort to mainstream radical ideas. In the case of denying women control over their lives, there’s evidence that the bad guys may be winning the long-game.
Akin was Paul Ryan’s co-sponsor on a House bill just last year banning the use of federal funds for abortion except in cases of “forcible rape.” This term seemed laughably redundant since all rape, by definition, is forced. But this redefinition of rape was deceptively sinister. Statutory rapists often use coercion but not physical force. If the measure had passed, a 13-year-old emotionally manipulated into having sex with an older friend or relative would no longer be able to use Medicaid to terminate a resulting pregnancy. Nor would her parents be able to use their tax-exempt health savings fund.
While the measure was defeated, conversation around it introduced skepticism about whether all rape is created equal and what distinctions should be recognized by law. Instead of making him politically toxic, Ryan’s support of the pioneering forcible rape measure likely made him a more attractive vice presidential candidate to a Romney campaign needing to energize the right-wing base.
And whether or not Akin loses this cycle, his comments have already escalated the stakes. In his world view, the rape victim’s body will be the ultimate judge of whether a crime has taken place. If she gets pregnant, by Akin’s standard, her reproductive organs consented to the pregnancy, so she must have consented to the sex. This bizarre standard of innocence is reminiscent of medieval Europe, where the men in authority held the similarly scientific view that women guilty of witchcraft floated in water while innocent women would drown. Being cleared of witchcraft was of course not much consolation to the drowned women, though they at least got to skip being burned at the stake.
Akin’s comments appear an awful lot like step one in the GOP’s favorite two-step tactic to redefine the world around us: first, more extreme figures voice opinions that would never fly from more politically palatable ones. The right-wing echo chamber picks up those opinions in the guise of news coverage. Then, the more politically acceptable candidates shift their rhetoric to acknowledge the newly accepted opinion as reality.
Consider our seemingly uncontrollable slide towards climate catastrophe: in 2006 and 2007, the link between human activity and climate change was almost incontestable. Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth was a breakout hit; and the former VP was rewarded for his leadership on the global issue with a Nobel Prize in 2007. In 2008, both McCain and Obama openly acknowledged the existence of the threat and the need for action. Scientists breathed a collective sigh of relief that the US might finally exert some leadership on this existential issue.
But when the Obama victory made the idea of a clean-energy economy a potential reality, the climate deniers kicked into high gear. Cash from the Koch brothers poured into bogus organizations to promote climate skepticism and cast doubt on the scientific consensus. Senator Inhofe called climate change “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.” A 2009 Chamber of Commerce ad buy brutalized House Democrats who voted for the climate legislation. In the lead up to the climate summit of 2009, someone even hacked into a University server and published highly edited e-mails from climate scientists to make them appear to be fabricating their results. While the scientists were exonerated, the damage was done.
The resulting shift in public opinion was almost immediate. Between 2008 and 2010, the number of Americans who believed media accounts of climate change were exaggerated jumped from 35 percent to 48 percent. Among self-identified Republicans, it went to 66 percent. By last year’s Republican presidential primary, right-wing contenders made seemingly inane statements that flew in the face of scientific consensus, and even the ones like Romney who had previously acknowledged the threat were forced to recant to maintain their viability.
While the political dynamics around these two issues are different, there are striking similarities in the right-wing strategy of capitalizing on extreme statements to shift the spectrum of what’s possible. And the wary will take heed: in the span of four short years, we went from having two presidential candidates who openly advocated action to stop climate change to having no GOP candidates in 2012 who could or would affirm its existence and a Democratic president who seems to wish the issue would magically disappear. The consequences of inaction are already being felt.
The same process is underway to undermine women’s voices in our own destiny. Mitt Romney has already flip-flopped from a pro-choice Senate candidate and a governor who promised to be “a good voice” among Republicans on reproductive health to his new incarnation as |
in general, and this inspection regime in particular, will work, based on a series of misleading or outright dishonest claims about how the deal works.
The truth about the "24-day wait"
Here are a few problems with the idea that inspectors will have to wait 24 days to access undeclared sites in Iran:
Iran deal critics are lying when they present this process as the default way in which every visit to an undeclared site will go. In fact, under an agreement that Iran has accepted called the Additional Protocol, inspectors are required access within 24 hours. This other, multi-day process is meant as a fail-safe in case that doesn't work.
. This other, multi-day process is meant in case that doesn't work. Critics claim that because the process could, in theory, take up to 24 days, it means Iran can force inspectors to wait 24 days. This is false. Iran does not control every step of the process — the US and its allies could force a vote on the international commission right away, for example — so it is nonsense to argue that Iran could unilaterally delay inspection up to 24 full days.
Even if Iran does push for as much delaying as possible, that would be like waving a big, neon-lit invitation over that particular site to Western spy agencies, which have a very good track record of spotting illicit Iranian nuclear activity. If Iran carted out material or bulldozed a test chamber or something, we would spot it, and the jig would be up.
Nuclear radiation lasts a very long time. If Iran wants to enrich uranium, it will produce radioactive isotopes that cannot be scrubbed out. Yes, there are non-radioactive activities that Iran could conduct, but you need the radioactive stuff to build a bomb, and that is detectable long after 24 days.
Iran deal critics pretend that during this process, the US and its allies would be powerless, essentially held hostage by Iranian intransigence. In fact, they have a variety of tools built into the deal by which they can pressure Iran to let in inspectors, and if necessary can blow up the deal by bringing back sanctions.
The bigger lie behind the "24 days" lie
This entire line of criticism fundamentally mischaracterizes how nuclear inspections work. Ultimately, inspections are a set of tools meant to determine whether Iran is holding to its commitments under the nuclear deal. If inspectors try to get access to sites but at every turn are delayed by Iranian stall tactics, guess what: It will be extremely clear from all this stalling that Iran is not adhering to the deal. Inspections will have worked.
It's not as if the deal binds our hands to accept Iranian behavior unless we catch them specifically in the act of illicit nuclear development. Repeatedly delaying inspectors up to the highest possible limit would effectively prove that Iran was cheating, without the world even having to catch them red-handed.
If the US suspects from Iran's delays that the country might be cheating on the deal, it can punish and pressure Iran into stopping the delays, even if those delays are technically within the allowed time frame. Indeed, those tools are built into the process.
David Albright, a nuclear expert who is considered otherwise skeptical of the deal, pointed out to the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler that the deal gives the US leverage to, for example, "slow nuclear cooperation and approvals of exports to Iran via the procurement channel." (He added, "Iran should get a message that prompt access is required under the Additional Protocol, despite the language in the [final nuclear deal].")
And if the US gets fed up, it can always use its veto power to unilaterally "snap back" United Nations Security Council sanctions. That's both a threat it can hold over Iran's head if Iran is delaying too much, and a threat it can actually use if it becomes necessary.
If anything, by codifying such a specific procedure for what happens if Iran refuses inspectors entry, the deal makes it easier to figure out if Iran is attempting to exploit the process to delay inspectors so as to cover up illicit development.
"This arrangement is much, much stronger than the normal safeguards agreement, which requires prompt access in theory but does not place time limits on dickering," Jeffrey Lewis, an arms control expert at Middlebury University, wrote in his typically colorful Foreign Policy column.
Lewis sees this process for getting access as a strength that has been turned into a weakness, and one he goes on to compare to the "death panels" lie of the Obamacare debates:
Some of us might think it’s good that the agreement puts defined limits on how much Iran can stall and explicitly prohibits a long list of weaponization activities. Opponents, like Schumer — apparently for want of anything better — have seized on these details to spin them into objections. A weaker, less detailed agreement might have been easier to defend against this sort of attack, perhaps.... The claim that inspections occur with a 24-day delay is the equivalent of Obamacare "death panels." Remember those? A minor detail has been twisted into a bizarre caricature and repeated over and over until it becomes "true."
Lying about policy has consequences
We all look back on "death panels" now and laugh; 2009 feels so long ago, and Sarah Palin's lie that Obamacare would have bureaucrats decide whether your grandmother's life is worth saving is safely in the past.
But at the time, it felt very significant, and indeed it was. One poll found that 30 percent of Americans, including 47 percent of Republicans, thought it was true. Obamacare became, in the political press, inextricably linked to the "death panels" myth.
It was politically damaging for the health-care act both because it scared people who thought it was true, and because it helped shift the national conversation away from the big picture of what Obamacare did for American health care and refocused it on whatever detail the critics were worked up about that week, whether that detail had significance or not, whether their criticism had merit or not.
Death panels were the boldest of these lies, but they were also the embodiment of a news cycle-driven obsession with whatever the latest controversy happened to be.
We are entering a similar cycle with the Iran nuclear deal. But debunkings never stick as effectively as the lie itself; just ask the 28 percent of voters who still believed as of 2013 that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11. These lies aren't just a way for Sen. Schumer to give himself political cover for voting against the deal; they frighten people, and distort how they see the world. "Death panels" taught Americans to fear health care; "24 days" teaches them to fear even very good diplomatic agreements. Even if the deal passes, these lies have consequences, and we should stop repeating them.Sean Gallup / Getty
Some analysts have been heartened by GM's November sales results and believe they offer a glimmer of hope for the future if the government can help the automaker overcome its current cash crunch with a $12 billion loan.
After all, while GM was down 41.3% for the month, Ford Motor, Toyota and Honda healthier companies all also reported U.S. sales drops of 30% or more. (Read "Why the Big Three Should Fly Corporate Jets.")
In addition, GM had several strikes against it going into November. Its financial problems were well known, so customers may have been worried about a potential bankruptcy and stayed away. Also, GMAC, GM's finance arm that provides credit to car buyers and dealers is practically out of money itself. It has stopped financing leases and lends money only to the most creditworthy customers. A year ago, GMAC provided financing for nearly half of GM's retail sales. Today that figure is 6%.
But a closer look at the numbers reveals some systemic problems that aren't related to the current credit crunch and that GM will have a hard time overcoming. (Read "GM: Death of an American Dream.")
Unlike its Japanese rivals, GM saw its sales decline begin way back at the beginning of the year, when its truck-heavy product lineup began to sag in the face of higher gasoline prices. So for the first 11 months of 2008, GM's sales have fallen 21.9%. While that is comparable to Ford and Chrysler (down 20.6% and 27.7% respectively), it's far worse than Asian competitors. Toyota is down 13.4% this year, Honda has declined just 5.4%, and Nissan has shrunk by 9.1%. They will be far better positioned to rebound once the market recovers.
Worse from a profitability point of view, GM's product line is currently skewed toward pickups and SUVs, unlike Toyota et al. So declining sales in those segments takes a much bigger bite out of GM's bottom line.
Nor is there much hope to be gleaned from the overall market. Auto sales, and with them an opportunity for a strong GM rebound, aren't expected to recover for quite a while. GM is renowned for its optimistic sales forecasts, but its outlook for the next three years is downright dismal. (Read "The Ripple Effect of a Potential GM Bankruptcy.")
GM's baseline projection for 2009 is industry sales of 12 million cars and trucks a steep decline from the 16.5 million units sold in 2007, and even from the 13.7 million expected in 2008. Recovery will come slowly. GM projects that industry sales will reach 14.5 million units in 2011 and 15 million units by 2012. As it points out in its restructuring plan, "This is significantly below the 17 millionunit industry levels averaged over the last nine years."
Its downside outlook is even gloomier: 10.5 million units next year, growing to only 12.8 million in 2012. That's right around break-even for a restructured GM.
Even if sales do rebound, GM's opportunities for significant profits will be sharply reduced. It has shuttered several truck and SUV plants and will be switching production to small cars, where GM has traditionally had trouble making money.
Here's one example of the challenges that GM faces. It is investing $750 million in the Chevrolet Volt, a range-extended electric vehicle that is supposed to get 40 miles on a charge of electricity. It is a major technological achievement, but analysts figure that the cost of the extra batteries in the Volt will raise its price to around $40,000. Since sales volume will be very small, GM will lose money on every one. Volt will be great for corporate egos but lousy for the bottom line. (See the Top 10 Bailout Measures.)
In the old days, $750 million was enough to develop a new Cadillac Escalade that would return a variable profit of $10,000 a vehicle. No more. For a restructured GM, the opportunities to produce a return on investment will be a lot more challenging than in the past.
Alex Taylor III is a senior editor at Fortune magazine, where he has covered the auto industry for 23 years.
See TIME's Pictures of the Week.There are more than 78,000 board games and millions of people scattered around the globe who like to play them. We created Tabletopia to bring the games and the players closer to each other with help of digital technology.
There is Kindle for books, and there is iTunes for music. Board games also need their own platform. So here we are! Tabletopia consists of:
the most advanced virtual table for gaming on PC, Mac, iOS and Android;
a database for matching players, public and private game tables, players ratings and reputation system etc.;
the workshop - a special editor to build your own games from scratch or port from standard graphics (no programming skills are required);
tools for publishers and authors to playtest, demonstrate, promote and monetize their games.
Tabletopia is a sandbox. Players should know the rules of the game to play it. There is no AI or rules enforcement, but at the same time it has the freedom to play the game your way - exactly as if you were playing at a real table. However, we have done a lot to make each play for you a good experience:
automatic game setups, card dealing, drafting etc.
player’s turn control, timers, game phases indication
interactive zones on the table with predefined automatic actions
intelligent counters for tracking victory points and many other in-game parameters
custom surfaces, game room wallpapers, sound effects advanced camera controls … and many other useful features!
Tabletopia is accessible from all perspectives. The basic version is free and is currently available for PC and MAC (browser based). Soon, we will launch a downloadable client on the Steam portal (first quarter of 2016) and then also add access for iOS and Android (second quarter of 2016).
Tabletopia was also featured in:
"Tabletopia is looking very promising, shaping up as the smoothest-looking and smoothest-playing digital board game platform available." - Game Salute
"Easy to setup and really intuitive to use by players. I believe that in a couple of years Tabletopia will be an indispensable tool for every boardgame designer." - Vital Lacerda
"I was very impressed with both the flexibility and intuitiveness of the system. It was slick, easy to operate and made me want to play more of the games, both digitally and in real life." - Crits Happen
“Really impressive… a potential game-changer!” - Rahdo
Rahdo Runs Through Tabletopia
Many well known publishers have already joined us and from day one you will get access to more than a hundred games. Soon there will be thousands of them!
Samurai DEMO Terra Mystica DEMO 5 Seals of Magic DEMO
These are single seat demos. Become a backer and get access to many other demos - including multiplayer games! A video tutorial on how to play is here.
We provide an intuitive and simple process for game creation from standard print-version graphics. Just drag and drop all your files into our database. Then add whatever you need from our extensive library of free game objects and sounds.
You will be able to create a digital implementation of your board game in a few hours without any programming skills. Then, decide what will happen to your game:
put it in private mode (to playtest it only with your test group or demonstrate it to your chosen publishers)
make it public - to show it to the world, gather feedback or promote it
place it in the paid section of the game catalog to earn 70% from revenue generated by users (read more here)
As soon as the project goes to commercial release, there will be three levels of access for Players and three levels of access for Game Designers. Basic access for both groups will be free, but the most interesting games and system features will be for premium accounts. There are no additional fees per game – a silver (4,99) or gold (9,99) membership will give you access to the entire game catalogue (similar to how this is handled for music on Spotify).
Here you can find more information about Virtual Gaming and Testing rooms, advanced Hot Seat mode and other Tabletopia’s concepts.
Please note than you can combine pledges for gamers and designers; just add the appropriate amount to your initial pledge.
And what is for you - our backers?
All our backers will get access to KS only demos, news and updates, during and after the campaign, and a special “founder badge” in Tabletopia forever.
Early access - some of our pledges will allow you to join us directly after the campaign is over (1st week of October) and others will be allowed to join one month before open beta (approx. 1st week of December).
Great discounts for subscriptions - from 17% to 33% less than the standard price. Also, subscriptions will only start from open beta start date - meaning that for the period before, full access to our system for you will be free of charge (additional 1 month for early access or 3 months for access after KS).
KS exclusives! Tiers GameMaster and Titan will give you additional gaming or testing room for 100 years!
And of course, your help will make our projects better - with more games, more cool features and larger amount of players!
There are a lot of cool gaming components and accessories on Tabletopia already implemented but help us make the system even greater. We have hundreds of ideas on how to make your gaming experience unforgettable.
Stretch goals are only the beginning. During our Kickstarter campaign, you can unlock backer achievements by making Tabletopia reviews and help us on social media. You’ll unlock new KS exclusive demos that would be available right now! Help us to spread the word about Tabletopia!
You can also get access to new demos by scoring our achievements. Each achievement will open a new KS exclusive demo that would be ready to play! Just spread the word about Tabletopia and follow us on Twitter and Facebook
The creation of Tabletopia started early in 2014, when Tim Bokarev – author of the concept of digital publishing platform for board games – invited his friends and partners Artem Zinoviev and Dmitry Sergeev to take part in the project. Artem and Dmitry are the creators of Playtox and have a lot of experience in the gaming business. Tim is known in Russia for different projects in the digital field (Promo Interactive, Next Media Group), but also actively participates in a board game business (Igrology game studio and Tesera.ru main boardgame portal in Russia).
By spring 2014 Artem, Dmitry and Tim created a company named Tabletopia Inc USA and started the development. The team was quickly assembled, and the project has been moving rapidly since. The main development team is located in Novosibirsk, Russia, but there are more people working on the project from Russia, Ukraine, USA and Germany.
We have a lot of plans for Tabletopia, and we are constantly strengthening our team. Until now, it has all been financed by the founders directly. And now we need the support from the gaming community to make the project better, and to prepare for the international public launch (December 2015). We have a lot of plans - like advanced game tutorials, PBEM and Hotseat play enhancements, customizable visual effects for game objects and many other features. Your help is essential to make our dream come true. Together, we can make the best digital board game experience ever!
Follow us on Facebook Twitter Tabletopia blogSubmitted to It’s Going Down
by Tom (Philly Antifa) and Bernard and Mollie (NYC Antifa)
For many years, until early 2016, the U.S. antifascist movement was small and relatively stable in numbers, with only occasional national mobilizations. This year, however, new groups started springing up, largely in reaction to Trump’s candidacy. With Trump’s election, the trickle turned into a flood of interest.
Along with renewed interest has also come a flood of commentary by people who seem to consider themselves “experts” on the antifa movement. They are lining up to give us instructions or to criticize us. What’s common to them all—whether from good or bad intentions—is that they know very little about the existing movement, and therefore grossly misrepresent it.
Because the essay “On Antifa: Some Critical Notes” comes from the same political circles as our own, and has been reposted by comrades, we feel obligated to correct how the author paints today’s actual U.S. antifa movement.*
People assure us that “On Antifa” is an honest critique. Of course, we can’t say that it doesn’t accurately represent the people with whom the author is in contact. What we can say with certainly is that, as three long-term participants in the antifascist milieu, who belong to active antifascist groups (Philly Antifa and NYC Antifa)—and who know hundreds of active anti-fascists, including many currently part of the TORCH Antifa Network, the successor to Anti-Racist Action (ARA) Network, which one of us was in—the picture painted in this essay bears little or no relationship to the national antifascist movement as a whole.
1) In the 1980s and early 1990s, some people—especially some members of Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP),and to a lesser extent, ARA—did believe that “racism” was a specific thing embodied in KKK, bonehead groups, and other white supremacist groups, and that smashing it would somehow bring down “the system.” Politically, they were wrong about this, although many of them were coming from a perspective purely of self-defense, having to fight off crews of boneheads invading the punk scene. This is rarely the case anymore, despite Little Black Cart peddling the misrepresentation that:
“Almost 30 years ago the fight against fascism looked almost identical to how it does today…The people who were resisting, who were fighting, used a vocabulary to describe what was happening that was incredibly constrained. That vocabulary, emotional and theoretical, hasn’t improved much since.”
None of us has met anyone active in antifa groups for the last decade or more who believes such simplistic nonsense.
Today, an understanding of structural racism and how white supremacy is woven into the fabric of the U.S. is essentially a requirement to do this work. If a person with these simplistic views wanted to get involved in antifa circles, we would help them develop a deeper critique before we could closely work with them. Similarly, we can’t think of anyone currently in our circles who does not oppose capitalism. In the recent past there has been the occasional person with sympathies for capitalism who has participated; generally they don’t hang around for long.
2) In point #7 of “On Antifa,” the author places “anti-fascists” in opposition to “anarchists and anti-state Marxists.” In practice, the U.S. anti-fascist movement is largely a subset of the anarchist movement, with strong participation by current or former punks and skinheads (which only makes sense since there is constant fascist recruitment in those circles, which makes people particularly sensitive to the issue). There are also a few anti-state Marxists, as well as a handful of Maoists. For the author of the essay to believe otherwise shows that they lack perspective on the national composition of the U.S. antifascist milieu.
3) In point #2, the author writes, “Antifa is not a political project and has no real political content beyond ‘let’s beat up racists.’”
Even a cursory reading of any of the main antifa blogs (such as It’s Going Down, Anti-Fascist News, or Three Way Fight) or the websites of local groups, like NYC Antifa or Rose City Antifa, would show this is not an accurate representation of their politics.The author’s potshot at NYC Antifa only succeeded in misrepresenting the event they referred to. If the author had more closely read NYC Antifa’s webpage, they would see a constant stress on opposition to capitalism and the nation-state. NYC Antifa promotes, and individual members work directly with, a number of other movements that are seen as interwoven with antifascist work: Black Lives Matter, immigrants’ rights, anti-police/anti-structural racism actions (especially opposition to the NYPD’s “stop and frisk”), political prisoner support, and Rojava solidarity work. Similar political positions are common in the U.S. movement.
4) On a political level, anti-fascism has (until recently) been something of a behind-the-scenes practice. While many different kinds of groups across the political spectrum work to monitor and counter the influence of the Far Right, liberals tend to rely on an “anti-extremist” approach that condemns both the Radical Left and Far Right in the same breath—for example, comparing fascists and anti-fascists. They also frequently work with politicians and law enforcement and minimize or thwart direct action. Anti-fascism is instead an engagement in this work from a radical perspective, which utilizes direct action and refuses to rely on the cops or courts to counter the Far Right.
Anti-fascist work is a bulwark against the most ideologically reactionary forms of the Far Right. This work is particularly important when fascists come into radical circles to cross-recruit and gain dominance; for example, we see this activity in the radical environmental and animal rights groups, music subcultures, and soccer supporters clubs. At other times, some Far Right groups position themselves as an independent revolutionary force against the neoliberal state,and try to recruit disenchanted people into their ranks (known as the “Three Way Fight” perspective).
To criticize antifa for not mobilizing against Obama is to misunderstand the movement: anti-fascism is not a comprehensive critique of hierarchical society in and of itself. Anti-fascist work is done as a piece of, and not a replacement for, a larger radical vision. Anti-fascism is comparable to political prisoner work. No one claims that supporting our imprisoned comrades will bring down capitalism, the state, and hierarchy, but it is a necessary piece of background work that we feel must be done. Mobilizing large radical movements against neoliberal (or populist) capitalism is not the focus of anti-fascism; this is the work of the anarchist and anti-capitalist movements as a whole.
5) We don’t mind critiques of our movement—criticisms help reveal our shortcomings and challenge us to do better—but we do ask critics to learn a little more about what it is they are criticizing. There are several good blogs to read and many groups that can be contacted in order to become more informed.
We don’t doubt the author of “On Antifa” has met some people who call themselves anti-fascists and who have the beliefs that are described in the essay; we do, however, very strongly object to this critique passing itself off as representative of the U.S.anti-fascist movement as a whole.
We continue to encourage everyone to engage in the anti-fascist work of exposing and countering organized white nationalist and fascist groups, now and in the future.
* NOTE: “On Antifa” is also influenced by the theoretical approach of Gilles Dauve, who has talked many a comrade out of engaging in the practical, day-to-day work of anti-fascism—instead encouraging them to wait for that “final day” of revolution, or to simply ignore fascist groups as they murder our comrades and oppressed people, try to take over communities, and recruit from the same circles we are in. Dauve’s nonsense deserves a good debunking. Until then, however, comrades should consider whether quietism in the face of the Far Right—the path chosen by Dauve and his mentor Bordiga—is really the response they want to take at this crucial time.Do you love a good steak? Fancy a juicy hamburger or prefer to pile on the bacon?
Congratulations! According to a sociology professor at Pennsylvania State University, you're responsible for perpetuating the "hegemonic masculinity" that sustains the Patriarchy and keeps feminists so angry.
Professor Anne DeLessio-Parson published her article, shaming meat-eaters for their anti-feminism, in this month's "Journal of Feminist Geography" (a publication we're sure Daily Wire readers are just itching to put on their holiday wish lists). In it, she claims that "hegemonic masculinity implies an imperative to eat meat” and that people who follow that imperative reinforce other power hierarchies as well, including the Patriarchy.
DeLessio-Parson interviewed a grand total of 27 vegetarians to get their thoughts on how male oppression and vegetarianism are related, and from those interviews, theorized that women become vegetarians to push back against the “meat-centric” culture and "destabilize" the gender binary.
“The decision to become vegetarian does not itself destabilize gender, but the subsequent social interactions between vegetarian and meat-eater demand gender enactment—or resistance,” DeLessio-Parson wrote. “Refusing meat therefore presents opportunities, in each social interaction, for the binary to be called into question."
According to DeLassio-Parson, men who are vegetarians also take on more traditional domestic duties, like cooking. She suspects this is because being a vegetarian is a "feminist act," and draws the conclusion that male vegetarians are more in touch with their female-ness. It's not clear, though, whether DeLassio-Parson has considered whether it's a chicken-and-egg situation, where feminine men are more likely to choose vegetarianism, out of the evolutionary realization that they are not cut out for hunting and killing.
She also does not seem to correlate feminist anger with the constant ingestion of salad — though that seems to be an obvious conclusion. Instead, she says, we should all be vegetarians, because that would lead, inevitably, to global harmony.
“If we can pay more attention to what we put in our bodies... we can create a better sense of peace in the world. Vegetarianism is a part of that,” she writes, instead.
Frankly, most people would probably prefer a world with steak.Covey was scheduled to start the AFL championship after winning four of his six starts.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Oakland's No. 20 prospect Dylan Covey was perfect through four innings and Frankie Montas, the Athletics' No. 10 prospect, struck out five in three innings of relief, with the duo limiting Surprise to one run on two hits in eight innings in Mesa's 6-1 win in the Arizona Fall League title game.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Oakland's No. 20 prospect Dylan Covey was perfect through four innings and Frankie Montas, the Athletics' No. 10 prospect, struck out five in three innings of relief, with the duo limiting Surprise to one run on two hits in eight innings in Mesa's 6-1 win in the Arizona Fall League title game.
Covey was scheduled to start the AFL championship after winning four of his six starts.
"It was his day to pitch and it kind of worked out good," Mesa Solar Sox manager Ryan Christenson said. "He's been pitching very well for us all year."
:: 2016 Arizona Fall League championship game coverage ::
Covey pitched five innings, fanned three batters and allowed one hit as the Solar Sox won the AFL championship for the first time in 13 years.
"It's not quite the atmosphere like a regular-season championship because it's only one game," said Covey. "We don't get the chance to maybe lose one and then come back and win two or three in a row. It was a must win and we got the job done, scored early, [which] gave me a cushion to pitch."
The Solar Sox scored five runs in the first three innings to back Covey's performance. Marlins' No. 4 prospect Brian Anderson smashed a three-run homer in the first inning and Cubs' No. 1 prospect Ian Happ ripped a two-run shot (his first of two homers) in the third inning.
"That cushion makes it easy to not be as perfect as you need to be in a scoreless game," Covey, who was perfect through four innings, said.
Video: SURP@MESA: Covey coaxes inning-ending double play
Covey, who was not added to the Athletics' 40-man roster Friday, said he wanted to walk off the mound knowing he had proven Oakland wrong, and he felt he did.
"I think I'm good enough and I deserved it, but obviously it's a business and they thought it was the better move for them," Covey said. "So I was out here trying to show them that I think they made a mistake."
Montas allowed two baserunners and one hit in three innings of relief. However, Montas did not close out the game. Cubs farmhand James Farris pitching a scoreless ninth for Mesa.
Video: SURP@MESA: A's prospect Montas fans five over three
"He was on pitch limit and the batter he struck out to end the eighth was gonna be the last batter he faced no matter what," Christenson said of Montas.
The Athletics acquired Montas in a deal with the Dodgers involving Rich Hill and Josh Reddick before the non-waiver Trade Deadline.
"He's gonna be a starter neat year [in Oakland]," Christenson said. "So it was just about him coming out and getting his innings and that's what he did."
Montas posted a 0.53 ERA in the Arizona Fall League as a reliever in 17 innings.Hey guys!! Some of the new artwork is in so we will go on and put it out there.
Here are some new backgrounds also:
With that here is some more news.
Demo is coming along great, we will have it done by the end of this month hopefully. Sorry for the delay in the demo, we have been working our hardest. But expect something great!!!
Here are some in-game screenshots of the new GUI:
We have also been hard at work on the OST, take a look:
Lets see, the new route has been officially decided. But we wont be revealing her till the release because we have very special plans for her.
We have also been looking at possible translations: Japanese, Russian, Spanish. These will most likely come after the initial release.Event Calendar
This is a combined calendar of several different groups in Nashville. Add your game to this calendar by joining our Meetup Group. We're happy to list any active traditional game event in Greater Nashville.
Wednesday, February 27th at 6:00pm Cheshire Hall
Play board and card games at this weekly event, open to gamers of all levels of experience -- feel free to drop in! We have a large library of advanced board games and card games. There are usually a couple games running at any given time, so you'll have plenty of opportunity to jump into a game. Regulars often stop by without RSVPing (but we encourage everybody to).
We're a residence set up for board gaming across the first floor, with multiple rooms of tables and a welcoming group of gamers. If you're looking to discover the modern gaming scene, or if you collect prestige editions, we're happy to have you at our tables.
There is parking in backyard. Please try to park next to each other to make room for everybody. The driveway is a bit steep. Street parking is also available if needed, and while not official, many people park in the back lot of a church one house over and across the street.
Doors open at 5:00pm; games usually get going around 6:00pm and end between 10:00 and Midnight.
Wednesday, February 27th at 6:30pm The Game Keep
We have limited seating, please make sure to RSVP in order to save your seat!
Get your D&D Adventures League Player’s Pack here: http://www.dmsguild.com/product/208178/DD-Adventurers-League-Players-Pack. It contains everything you need to get started playing Adventures League with us!
All new players should visit http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules and download the free player’s handbook and catch up on all the rules.
The D&D Adventurers League is an ongoing official organized play campaign for Dungeons & Dragons. It uses the fifth edition of the Dungeons & Dragons rules, and features the Forgotten Realms setting. You can play D&D Adventurers League games at any place that features adventures bearing the D&D Adventurers League logo. You can create a character and bring that character to games anywhere D&D Adventurers League is supported.
BRING YOUR PENCILS, PAPER, AND LUCKY DICE!
NEW AND VETERAN PLAYERS ARE WELCOME TO JOIN ANYTIME.
Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/827483734063971/)
Friday, March 1st at 5:00pm Cheshire Hall
An evening spent on the more in depth games. These can include tabletop roleplaying games, and strategy or long play board games (like Ogre, Duel of Ages, or Battlestar Galactica). One-shots, campaigns, and long board games or card games are all welcome. New players are always welcome and there are pretty much always a few seats free at a game.
Participants are encouraged to organize together in advance as groups for a particular game to better allocate tables. While there are usually some gamers hanging out for a pick-up game, the idea of the evening is to organize for specific, longer games that aren't as feasible on the more casual Wednesday open gaming night. Which isn't to say that it's a serious tone... we're a friendly group, and there's a bunch of laughter and cheering on most nights.
We encourage people to show up early, so games can get rolling earlier rather than later. If you're planning a particular game, please note when it starts. From Pathfinder to Fiasco, Arkham Horror to Railways of the World, you'll be able to find other people interested in playing just about anything under the sun. Feel free to plan games in the comments section here.
Note: Doors open at 5pm with an eye toward play starting by 7pm. Like every other open event, this is participatory, so feel free to suggest and put forward ideas. This is a Cheshire Hall event, part of NAGA, which includes many different gaming groups.
Cheshire Hall:
The house has a huge pale blue side that we hang a Tennessee flag from as a landmark for new players.
There is ample parking in the backyard: it is one of the reasons we selected the location. The driveway is a semi-steep incline. Street parking is available, and many people informally park at the church across the street.
Friday, March 1st at 7:00pm Cheshire Hall
Table is: CURRENTLY FULL (we have guest openings periodically; watch this space for one to open up)
Classic D&D, the way it was played at the dawn of the 1980s! 3d6 down the line, pit yourselves against the dungeon, with creative thinking and careful planning rewarded with gold and glory. This is very different than modern roleplaying: the table works together as a team of players in collaboration, and you aren't limited to just what is on your sheet -- propose any epic plan of action, and you can do it... if you can roll well enough. And if you can't, well, it's easy to roll up a new character.
We use B/X with a sprinkle of AD&D and modern OSR publications that have expanded and added a new depth to classic play. And yes, that photo is of our table.
Saturday, March 2nd at 12:00pm The Game Keep
The Pathfinder Society is a living campaign. On Golarion, the world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, the Pathfinder Society is an organization of explorers, vagabonds, sages, and treasure hunters determined to plumb the depths of the darkest tombs, and collect relics and lore from bygone ages. In Pathfinder Society Organized Play, you play a member of the Pathfinder Society, seeking fortune and glory all over the face of Golarion. At the same time, your character works for one of eight factions, all with their own motivations and secret agendas. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is an evolution of the 3.5 rules set of the |
0.020) or older siblings (OR = 0.75; p = 0.004) were at a lower risk of developing a glioma (88). All other risk factors tested were not significant.
Another study specifically dealing with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL), investigated the relationship between cancer and direct (i.e. self reported infection exposure) or indirect (i.e. family size, birth order, day care attendance etc.) measures of exposure to infection.
NHL rates were rising by 3-4% in the developed world and it was hypothesized that this increase could be due to delayed infections leading to immune dysregulation (89). To test this, 1388 NHL patients, 354 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma patients, and 1718 healthy controls were recruited in Italy and 19 questioned on their family size and history of acute and chronic infectious diseases as well as autoimmune disease.
This particular study found that individuals were at an increased risk for NHL if exposure to their first bacterial or viral infection was delayed to after the age of four. Smaller family size also appeared to be greater risk factor for NHL (89).
Contracting a live pathogen is not the only way of providing protections against cancer. Vaccination with attenuated pathogens may also lower cancer risk. One group conducted a study on 542 malignant melanoma patients assessing the effect of vaccination practices on survival (90).
The particular childhood vaccinations of interest, BCG and Vaccinia, were common until the late 1970s and 1980s. Although these patients already were dealing with cancer, valuable information was gathered. According to Kaplan-Meier analysis, melanoma patients immunized as children with BCG and/or Vaccinia survived much longer than their unvaccinated counterparts.
At five years following malignant melanoma diagnosis, vaccinated group’s survival was about 75% compared to approximately 50% in the unvaccinated group. Whether BCG and Vaccinia vaccination were considered separately or jointly, the hazard ratio for death in melanoma patients was decreased compared to unvaccinated patients.
The study also analyzed the relationship between the number of reported bouts of infection and length of survival. As number of infections (that included osteomyelitis, mastitis, abscess, or furuncle) increased, the hazard ratio decreased yielding a significant difference in survival irrespective of whether the infections were accompanied by elevated temperature (p-value=0.004).The Kinks' Ray Davies Teams Up With The Jayhawks On 'Poetry' Hear The First Single From His New Album, 'Americana'
Enlarge this image toggle caption Steve Gullick/Courtesy of the Artist Steve Gullick/Courtesy of the Artist
For more than 50 years, the recently knighted Sir Raymond Douglas Davies, CBE, has been fascinated with American music and American culture. In the early 1960s, he and his brother Dave formed The Kinks to play Little Richard songs and original tunes steeped in rock 'n' roll. All these years later, Ray Davies is still making music and still fascinated with our culture, although the new song that we're premiering for you today, recorded with The Jayhawks, looks at a sadder, less soul-filled America.
"Poetry" is the first glimpse of his next album, Americana, his first record in nearly a decade. Where Ray Davies was once enchanted by the black hills of Kentucky, this song looks at America's fascination with materialism. He sings:
"I kneel down and say grace for the comforts the world bestows on me / And the great corporations providing our every need / And those big neon signs telling us what to eat / And every shop window goods are designed to please / Oh but I ask / Where is the poetry?"
Americana the album draws inspiration from Americana the memoir, which included thoughts on The Kinks' ban from America in the '60s and Ray's move to the U.S. later in life. The album also contains a number of spoken-word passages from Davies' autobiography.
It's a thrill to have new songs from Ray Davies, who for the past five decades has been one of rock's great song painters, making music with heart and poetry.
Americana will be released April 21. The tracklist can viewed below.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of the Artist Courtesy of the Artist
Ray Davies, AmericanaRolling Thunder bikers cross Arlington Memorial Bridge into Washington, D.C., May 26, 2013. Thousands of bikers are anticipated in Washington on September 11. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)
Bikers hoping to cruise nonstop through Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 11 received disappointing news over the weekend: the city denied their permit request.
"We find this regretful for the residents and businesses of that great city, and humbly offer our apologies," organizers of the ride said Friday on Facebook. "What could have been a one or two hour ride through will now likely be an all day event."
It's legal for motorcycles to drive through D.C. and participants plan to cross into the capital undeterred after 11 a.m. "For security purposes the final route will not be posted publicly," the organizers added.
It's unclear if law enforcement will take action against what may be a traffic-clogging permitless demonstration on wheels.
Riders plan to abide by all relevant traffic laws, such as yielding to pedestrians and stopping at red lights.
But a member of the D.C. police department's public affairs office told U.S. News officers will act "if there is a crime committed."
It would be a crime for riders to engage in certain activities "if a permit is required" for them, according to the police spokesman.
"2 MILLION BIKERS TO DC" The State of Maine, Chapter had kickstands up yesterday. Heading to D.C.#2MBikers pic.twitter.com/gI41I40Ka1 — HangEmHigh (@HangEmHigh69) September 9, 2013
The Muslim-initiated demonstration received a permit from the National Park Service for use of the National Mall. Its participants will include groups that doubt the official account of the 2001 terror attacks, at least one tea party organization, Princeton professor Cornel West and Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.
Bike riders are already en route from across the country. Local press reports said bikers whizzed through Florida and Texas Sunday on their way to D.C. Photos posted to Twitter show meetups in Phoenix, Knoxville, Tenn., and Maine. Organizers set up Facebook groups to help organize participants from each of the 49 continental states.
Ted Gest, a spokesman for the D.C. attorney general's office, which would prosecute alleged infractions, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More News:ASPEN — The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is set to publicly release — as early as next week — selected and carefully redacted portions of its 6,300 page report on controversial CIA detention, rendition, and interrogation techniques used after 9/11, several administration and intelligence officials said.
The report — the subject of a now-public feud betweenthe CIA and the committee, led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. — containsthe final rounds of administration redactions. The White House, which has beentrying to mediate the bickering, is set to give portions of the report back tothe committee early next week, multiple officials said. The committee will thenhave one more opportunity to protest any redactions they don’t agree withbefore releasing selected excerpts to the public. The release is expected toinclude a long executive summary, a CIA response, and a dissent by thecommittee’s Republican minority staff.
No official release date has been set, but several sourcesfamiliar with the discussion said the release would come in “very earlyAugust.” One official said the committee had an interest in releasing thereport before Congress leaves for its August recess at the end of next week.
Several former CIA officials who could be implicated in thereport for misleading Congress have been preparing for its imminent release,according to multiple officials and several news reports.
The White House arranged this week for several former seniorintelligence officials — including Former CIA Directors Michael Hayden, PorterGoss and George Tenet and former acting directors John McLaughlin and MichaelMorell — to read the committee’s long executive summary of the report in aclassified setting, the Associated Press reported.Morell was spotted entering the headquarters of the Office of the Director ofNational Intelligence on Friday.
Other senior officials, including former CIA Acting GeneralCounsel John Rizzo, who earlier had turned down the chance to read theexecutive summary, were told this week they would now not be given the chancethis to review the report in advance of the imminent release, the AP reported.
"They are accusing people of misleading Congress, ofmisleading the Justice Department, and they never even asked to talk tous," Rizzo told the AP. "And now they won't let us read the reportbefore it is made public."
Behind the scenes, Tenet has “quietly engineered acounterattack against the Senate committee’s voluminous report,” according to TheNew York Times,reflecting the CIA’s belief that their interests were not protected during theCommittee’s long investigation and the White House’s mediation of the feud,which spilled out into public view when Feinstein accused the CIA of spying onher investigative staff.
Feinstein took to the Senate floor to accuse the CIA of monitoring staff performing the investigation and then removingsensitive and incriminating documents from the trove that the committee hadaccess to, in an attempt to thwart the investigation.
The CIA accused Feinstein’s staff of printing out classifieddocuments and taking them back to their Senate offices. Feinstein said that wasdone to keep them safe and ensure they were not destroyed. Among them was aseries of documents called the “Internal Panetta Review.”
“What was unique and interesting about the internaldocuments was not their classification level, but rather their analysis andacknowledgement of significant CIA wrongdoing,” Feinstein said on the floor.
In her floor speech, Feinstein also directly accused the CIAof misleading Congress about the harshness and effectiveness of interrogationtechniques used in the years following the 9/11 attacks.
“The interrogations and the conditions of confinement at theCIA detention sites were far different and far more harsh than the way the CIAhad described them to us,” she said.Updated 11.51
THE DEPARTMENT OF Justice has said that there is “no question” of the President needing permission to visit asylum centres.
The President’s office has confirmed to TheJournal.ie that he plans to visit a centre “shortly”, after an event was cancelled at a centre in Westmeath.
The President had been invited to visit the asylum centre in Athlone by a local radio station, but the plan was nixed by the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA), who act under the aegis of the Department of Justice.
The Department says that the plan hadn’t been cleared with them, so for “logistical and safety reasons”, they had been forced to cancel it.
The event was organised and an invitation was issued directly to the President’s office without having first received permission from RIA to host the event in the centre in question.
“There is no question of the President seeking or needing permission to visit a Direct Provision centre in accordance with the normal protocols of his office. For the avoidance of any misunderstanding he was not refused permission to visit the particular centre in question in Athlone.
“In the particular circumstances, it was decided by RIA that for operational reasons and specifically for reasons of safety that to allow Athlone Community Radio to go ahead with the proposed broadcast would not at that time be in the best interests of the safe running of the centre.”
A spokesperson for the President said that the details of a visit to a centre would be announced in due course, but could not comment further.If you've given Ubuntu Touch a chance, you've probably felt like the platform holds the possibility to be great, but is missing something. Jack Wallen thinks he's solved that confounding enigma.
Image: Jack Wallen
I've been working with the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition for a while now. It's a nice piece of technology that finally offers the Ubuntu Touch platform the power necessary to get the job done. During my time with this device, I had to constantly remind myself that, sadly enough, the platform really isn't ready for prime time.
But it's very close.
Many people have criticized Ubuntu Touch's laggy behavior. And while that is very much front and center on the Pro 5, I accepted that fact, simply because the platform is still in its youth. I hearken back to the first time I set fingers to the Android platform and recall how terrible that experience was (HTC Hero anyone?). If I'm being completely honest, the state of Ubuntu Touch is actually well ahead of where Android was in its infancy. To be fair, however, the developers of Ubuntu Touch have been privy to the ebb and flow of mobility in a way that the Android developers were not. The early days of Android were groundbreaking and Canonical have the benefit of not making those same mistakes that were made while Android was learning to crawl.
If I were asked what I thought of the Ubuntu Touch ecosystem, one word comes to mind:
Lacking.
Now, before anyone starts shaking their head, let me explain.
What it's lacking
Ubuntu Touch isn't missing out of features. In fact, the platform offers everything that users have grown accustomed to...only in a slightly different format. Whereas most mobile platforms offer apps, Ubuntu Touch works with Scopes. If we're being honest, Scopes are really just fancy web pages...which then makes you think that the platform isn't really all that different from Chrome OS. However, as much as I love Chrome OS, it would not make for a viable smartphone platform. But even though Chrome OS wouldn't be suitable as a smartphone OS, it still offers the one thing that the Ubuntu Phone lacks.
A pseudo home screen.
That is the single element Ubuntu Touch lacks...one that it needs if the platform will ever succeed in winning over users. Why? Let me explain.
I've been a Linux user since the late nineties. Since I first started using the open source platform, I've happily hopped around from distribution to distribution, from desktop to desktop. I loved the variety that could be found within the realm of Linux. But no matter how many different desktop environments or window managers I tried, I found there were certain features that were required so that I could find myself productive.
Jump to the mobile environment, and the same thing holds true. The one thing missing from the Ubuntu Touch environment is the home screen. I get where they are going with this, but (for me and many others) it's not working. The idea that your home screen is a Scope (or collection of Scopes) ready to serve up information about Today, News, etc. is fine...if it's not the only option. Sure you can opt to use a different default scope...but the fact is, you are limited to a scope being your home screen. Gone is the idea of customizing your home screen with a wallpaper. Home screen launchers? No. Widgets? Fuggetaboutit.
What Canonical is doing with Ubuntu Touch is great. But if they want to appeal to the masses, they can't simply strip away the neutral area that all mobile platforms share. No matter how long I work with Ubuntu Touch, no matter how familiar I get with the system (and how intuitive it becomes...which it does eventually), I always want to return to a home screen. Every time that Today Scope appears, I want to swipe it away and see a nice wallpaper and clock widget. Why? It's home.
And home is, after all, where the heart is.
Cliché much?
I know, I know...it's cliché, but it's true. The home screen is, in most mobile platforms, a major factor in efficiency. If this wasn't the case, why have so many home screen launchers been developed for Android?
Because people use them
Because people like to customize their devices
Because people like the familiar
"In excess" is not just a band
Although Ubuntu Touch is missing that precious home screen, thanks to Scopes it does an outstanding job of getting information into the hands of the user. And that's a good thing. But as with all things, a touch of moderation would be nice. As it stands, Ubuntu Touch wants to flood you with information. The second you unlock the device, you are presented with the Today Scope (Figure A). You can swipe to the right to get information about anything nearby, swipe again to get to your apps, swipe again to get to the news, again to see music, yet again to see videos, and yet again to see photos.
Figure A
Image: Jack Wallen
The Ubuntu Touch Today Scope.
I would love to see a home screen akin to the Ubuntu desktop. A nice wallpaper, the launcher, and then, when tapping the Ubuntu icon, those Scopes can come out to play. But as it stands, the Ubuntu Touch interface seems a bit forced, a bit backwards in its thinking. Let the user decide what they want to see when their device is unlocked (and adding/rearranging scopes isn't enough). Give us the option to use a home screen like every other mobile platform on the market and you might just have a massive hit on your hands.
Also seeA tragic accident at a Bucharest nightclub resulted in 32 people losing their lives and triggered a series of events that culminated in the resignation of Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta on 4 November. Ponta was already under significant pressure to quit following corruption allegations, but had resisted handing in his resignation until now. Why this change of heart? Dan Brett provides a comprehensive analysis of the situation and points out that, for Ponta, resigning over an accident he could not be blamed for was the easiest way out. Despite Ponta’s resignation, widespread anger at perceived political corruption has ensured protests have continued on the streets of Romanian towns and cities, with even the country’s popular President Klaus Iohannis potentially in the firing line.
Victor Ponta’s resignation as Romania’s Prime Minister on the morning of 4 November, after 20,000 people protested on the streets of Bucharest the day before, came as something of a surprise. Ponta – who had survived protests since becoming Prime Minister, had been accused of plagiarism and corruption, was heavily defeated in the Presidential elections, and was facing court cases for corruption – had so far refused to quit. Now, following the deaths of 32 people in a fire at the Colectiv Club in Bucharest, he has finally resigned.
Despite Ponta’s resignation, more protesters took to the streets on Wednesday night: the newspaper Gândul reported 30,000 people on the streets, with others placing the number as high as 60,000. The protests have not been limited to Bucharest, as is often the case, but have spread to provincial towns and cities including Cluj, Iași, Ploiești, Brașov, Alba Iulia, Miercurea-Ciuc, and Râmnicu-Vâlcea, reflecting the nationwide anger.
The deaths at an unsafe club with no fire protection galvanised the population to take their widespread discontent to the streets. The protests come in the wake of the death of a police motorcyclist in a motorcade for Deputy Prime Minister Gabriel Oprea. Although Oprea was not entitled to a motorcade, he had claimed one anyway, using it for things such as his trips to the hairdresser and restaurants. Following the death, Ponta used his powers of emergency decree to change the law post-factum to entitle Oprea to a motorcade. Oprea has since come under further scrutiny over his military and academic CV.
In the eyes of the population, the tragic accident at the club was the result of corruption, with permits and licenses given out upon receipt of a bribe. Indeed, the recent anti-corruption drive resulted in the Mayor of Bucharest Sorin Oprescu being caught red-handed taking bribes. After the fire, appeals for blood donations and medicine for the victims brought into sharper focus the underfunding of healthcare services and the theft of public money by the elite, who are accused of squandering it on vanity projects.
Corruption and enrichment is such a common feature of Romanian political life that it has become easy to dismiss it as ‘over-stated’ or to say ‘they are all equally corrupt, so why care?’; however, the deaths of 32 people as a direct result of corruption has provoked widespread anger. It is no longer a game played by elite politicians to enrich themselves or their cronies, but rather the cause of the deaths of many innocent people.
Key figures
Ponta came to power on the back of street protests against austerity in 2011-12. Seeing the popular anger, Ponta’s Social Democratic Party (PSD) allied with members of the National Liberal Party (PNL) to form the Social Liberal Union electoral coalition (USL) and positioned themselves as opposed to austerity. In so doing, they successfully captured the sentiments and used them to propel themselves to power. However, once in office Ponta and the USL went back on every promise made. This explains the anger with the system – a political elite that has consistently captured and then betrayed every popular movement from the revolution of 1989.
While Victor Ponta and the allegations against him are relatively well known, his deputy and Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea is less well known. Oprea is a member of the smaller National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) party. The UNPR is in office not because they gained enough votes, but because they agreed to be part of the USL electoral coalition with the PSD, and at the time the PNL, against then President Basescu’s Democratic Liberal Party (PDL).
A part of various governments since the fall of communism, he has frequently switched sides, always claiming that it was ‘in the national interest’. His roots lie in the military and the security apparatus, although his path from waiter in the military restaurant to four-star general has recently come under scrutiny. He is also reported to have threatened critical bloggers by telephone as well. Thus he is seen as a very murky and unpleasant politician.
Cristian Popescu aka Piedone, the mayor of Sector 4 in Bucharest, has also resigned. Bucharest has a mayor, and its 6 districts each have their own mayor as well. Piedone’s sector includes the working class district of Berceni, as well as the southern part of Central Bucharest. Piedone is a member of Oprea’s UNPR, but he had previously been elected as an independent mayor.
A populist, activist mayor, Piedone made his name as a health inspector, going to the markets with a television crew in tow and condemning meat that was unsafe. He maintained a visible profile on the streets of Sector 4; in the winter he could be seen outside directing trucks clearing the snow. In a country where politicians do nothing, he was seen as doing something. Thus he had built up a considerable support base among the population in Sector 4, whose general appearance and infrastructure considerably improved while he was mayor, and hence he was someone that national actors appealed to for support.
An arrogant, vain elite
In addition to anger at politicians, anger has become increasingly directed against the Orthodox Church. Criticism has long been levelled against the church for its self-enrichment and exploitation of the poorest members of the population. The church, exempt from paying many taxes, has launched vanity projects such as the Cathedral for the Salvation of the Romanian People, which will cost approximately 500 million euros, and the Romanian Parliament has given 12 million euros of public money to the project. Moreover, it was recently revealed that the Patriarch, like Oprea, has also been using a police motorcade. Satirical journal Times New Roman portrays the Patriarch’s staff as topped with a dollar sign.
At the same time, the accident has shown the acute pressure under which Romanian hospitals operate. The appeals for help in the aftermath of the fire highlighted that the drugs hospitals need are simply unaffordable, and that the hospitals themselves are under-funded and under-staffed. A state of the art burn unit in Bucharest has never opened due to lack of resources and trained staff. The contrast between the Church taking money from the state and the population and the underfunding of key services has caused further tensions.
The Church and many politicians and commentators have shown a tin ear in their response to the tragedy. Some have explained the accident as the result of people invoking Halloween and evil spirits; the Metropolitan of the Banat claimed that the Church had failed to instil the correct moral values in those who died, suggesting that such values would have saved them. Others, like Christian Democratic National Peasants’ Party (PNȚ-CD) leader Aurelian Pavelescu, rejected the national mourning decreed by the President and accused the victims of being uncultured, drug-taking, promiscuous anarchists.
Akin to an alcoholic denying they have a problem with drinking, apologists for the Church claim that it is being unfairly victimised, that there are many ‘good’ priests and only a few give the church a bad name; apologists for the PSD deploy much the same argument. However, in both cases this argument is based upon a denial of the problem and a desire to play the victim. This is not only in exceptionally poor taste, given the circumstances, but reflects the problems of a Romanian elite that thinks only of itself.
The exception to this response has perhaps been Piedone, who, after initially denying any responsibility and turning up with papers absolving him of any liability, accepted moral responsibility in his resignation.
Where are the intellectuals?
It is significant that these protests have come from below and reflect anger not just at the government but the wider elite. While President Iohannis has shown more political deftness than Ponta, this anger is directed at the whole establishment, and there is a widespread view that swapping the PSD for the PNL will not improve anything, as the PNL is just as corrupt as the PSD.
While some intellectuals have criticised others for failing to take an active role, the Romanian intelligentsia as a whole has been deeply ineffective in providing leadership, let alone working with or for the population. Thus something of a vacuum is emerging without any clear leadership or alternative. This has been evidenced in the protests of Tuesday night where rumours spread of agitators from the security services or other unknown groups attempting to disrupt and divide the protesters.
Other roadblocks to reform
At the same time, it is clear that considerable resistance from the Romanian political elite will remain. Despite the protests and calls for reform, on 4 November a collection of politicians from different parties launched an appeal to the Constitutional Court to challenge the recently passed law allowing the diaspora to vote by post. The diaspora, which is seen as a major force demanding change and supporting the reformists, is seen as an enemy to the political elite.
The timing of the move was deliberate: the cut off for changes to the electoral law is 15 November, and, by waiting until now, the challengers ensured that the Constitutional Court will not be able to make a decision until 18 November. Hence, even if the appeal ends up being rejected, the diaspora will still not be able to vote, and the Romanian political elite will more easily achieve its goal of keeping the rule. These political games and displays of power by the political elite go some way toward explaining why anger has now boiled over.
Why resign?
The cynical view expressed by many Romanians is that Ponta is resigning now, when he is not under direct fire, in order to appear as a martyr. He has no direct responsibility for permits for clubs in Bucharest, nor is the incident connected to allegations of corruption against him. If he had resigned when accused of plagiarism or corruption, this would have been seen as an admission of guilt. By resigning over something for which he is not directly responsible, he is trying to make himself look like a ‘good guy’ – the victim of a baying mob.
Furthermore, by resigning now and taking Oprea and Piedone with him, Ponta has removed the main targets of popular anger. He hopes this will draw the sting out of the protests and that no deeper changes will need to be made. Thus, the resignation of the Ponta government may ensure that no real changes are made in the long run. However, the increase in the size of the protests on the evening of 4 November suggest that this may not happen.
Where to now?
The recent anti-corruption drive that led to criminal charges being levelled against Ponta has also swept up Mayor of Bucharest Sorin Oprescu, as well as several district Mayors. Large parts of the administration have thus been gutted, with temporary replacements in charge.
One reason Ponta held on for so long as Prime Minister is because, under the Romanian constitution, his successor has to be nominated by the President. Thus it was likely that any replacement would be from President Klaus Iohannis’s PNL party rather than Ponta’s PSD or their allies. By refusing to resign, and with a sufficient parliamentary majority to ensure that he could not lose a vote of confidence, Ponta was able to brazen his way out. By resigning now, he puts the pressure on Iohannis and Ponta’s replacement as president of the PSD, Liviu Dragnea (a man convicted of electoral fraud and suspected of widespread corruption), to find a replacement and to deal with the aftermath.
Some have suggested that the new government will be technocratic in character; however, this view is being met with suspicion that such a government would equate to more of the same. Names being floated as potential Prime Ministers include the likes of Monica Macovei, the former Justice Minister whose work started the current anti-corruption drive. Alternatively, Iohannis may push for early parliamentary elections to take advantage of the weakened PSD. However, this assumes that his supporters (especially in the diaspora) will vote and have not been alienated by anger with the situation. More significantly, the question remains whether the fire will result in any meaningful change in Romanian political life – whether corruption and the shirking of responsibility will end, or whether the names will change while the system remains the same.
The chant of the protesters of ‘No PNL, No PSD, No USL, all out’ reflects anger at the whole system, and placards warning Iohannis: “you have one chance – no Securitate guys, no Mafia guys, no corruption, otherwise you’ll end up in the garbage of history just like Ponta, Băsescu, Iliescu”, show that, while Iohannis has an opportunity to reshape Romanian politics for good and is still widely trusted, he also has a serious challenge to face. Any failure will result in further alienation and anger with the system.
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Note: This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of EUROPP – European Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics. Featured image credit: PSD / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).
Shortened URL for this post: http://bit.ly/1Mewex1
Update 11 November 2015:
The blog Prinţesa Urbană has set up a page with information on the most seriously injured and details of how people wish to donate to their care. Several of the victims have been transported abroad, while others remain in Romania for treatment. Access the page here.
_________________________________
About the author
Daniel Brett – Open University
Daniel Brett is an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, he has previously taught at Indiana University and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies. He works on contemporary Romania, rural politics and historical democratisation.When I see children cycling in London (or elsewhere in the UK), they’re almost always on the pavement – except when we have our monthly Play Streets. The Play Streets represent an inversion of the norm: cars are (politely) excluded or – if resident – slowed to walking pace, while people get their space back. It feels like a little carnival: they walk, cycle, run, dance, and draw in the street. Once a month, we put people before motor vehicles.
At a recent session of my MSc Transport course Lucy Saunders did a guest lecture about the new TfL report ‘Improving the Health of Londoners‘, which came out recently. The report’s quite ground-breaking in talking about a transport authority as having a public health role, and needing to ensure that schemes and policies promote health – particularly through enabling walking and cycling, which can make a big difference to healthy life expectancy and quality of life, especially for older people. During the discussion, one of the students spoke about how difficult it was to keep health benefits in view, when planning transport: ‘The time savings benefits appear up here, and health is off down there somewhere’. He was right. At the moment, as with Play Streets, our planning tools are often stuck at the stage of only prioritising people’s lives over motor vehicle convenience every now and then, in exceptional circumstances. Bring out HEAT occasionally if something’s a ‘walking’ or ‘cycling’ scheme, turn people’s lives into money, and weigh the value of a statistical life against motor vehicle flow.
How do we get people back into planning? At one of the Modelling on the Move events that I organised, much reference was made to the ‘data gap’ (in relation to cycling, but it’s not only cycling that’s affected). We don’t have the data, so we can’t put it into the model, so we don’t know what will happen, so we can’t plan for it, so very few people do it, so there’s no policy interest – and no data. Nicely circular. A lot of people are trying to intervene at different points in the circle, but as with any entrenched paradigm, it often feels like there’s no movement: the system has the ability to absorb and marginalise challenges, and keep rolling along in the same old way.
But the right data, at the right time, can help bring about change. Watching The Human Scale, the film about the Danish urbanist Jan Gehl, the role of data was clear. He talked about realising that transport researchers and planners studying streets collected information on what motor vehicles do, but not what people do – and realising that when you have the data about people, you can start to think about planning for people.
So I was thinking about data gaps in planning for cycling, and one area I thought it might be worth looking at is around cycling and children. Cycle Infrastructure Design says (page 12) that children:
Our classic ‘onroad solution’ – as per the cover of Cycle Infrastructure Design – is a narrow painted advisory lane right next to motor traffic, while the ‘segregated, direct largely offroad’ routes has turned into (widespread, but patchy) tolerance of children cycling on pavements. Looking at cycling rates among both adults and kids we can see how successful it’s been. As we seek to move away from these ‘solutions’ towards universal design – see my post on Hills and Huntingdon Road schemes – just how good does it have to be? What kind of segregation – will armadillos work? How quiet does a residential street need to get before parents will let their children ride on the road?
If London’s going to get to 5% mode share, we have to broaden the demographic of cycling, and get people cycling for non-commute trips. One key aim must be to create environments that are good enough for people to choose to ride with their children. This can help gender balance (and we know that seven in ten of London’s cycle commuters are still men), as women are more likely than men to have complex, chained trips that involve escort journeys (e.g. taking kids to school). The tradition of planning separately for the nervous newbie and the hardy commuter forgets that many commuters need to pick up or drop off kids on the way, either sometimes or all the time. If the mainstream cycling infrastructure isn’t good enough for people to ride on with kids, it’s going to create a glass ceiling that severely limits our cycling mode share.
So I’m planning to carry out a survey looking at people’s views on cycle infrastructure, in relation to kids. In other words, asking: would you ride here on your own? With a child on the back? Would you let a 12 year old ride here alone? This can help to quantify the extent to which existing – and planned – schemes and streets include or exclude people. If we’re building stuff that isn’t suitable for children, not only are we marginalising children, but because of the gendered division of labour, we’re also disproportionately excluding women. Failing to enable people with pushchairs to access a service can be indirect gender discrimination, so what about cycling environments that don’t feel safe enough for people with children to use? Maybe being able to pin down a bit more clearly when cycling infrastructure is and isn’t child-friendly can be a tiny step in moving towards cities, and planning tools, that are built around the needs of people in all their diversity.When dry shampoo hit the mass market women went crazy.
Finally, there was a magical elixir to prolong blowouts and keep hair looking and smelling fresh between washes. It was a key to emancipation allowing users to skip the lather, rinse and repeat routine for one more day because contrary to popular belief, "I can't. I have to wash my hair tonight" is actually a thing.
SEE ALSO: Transform your office look from day to night in 5 easy steps
Beauty enthusiasts just might find the same relief.
Cosmetic company Sephora has plans to release an instant cleaning spray specifically for makeup brushes.
Image: Sephora
Cleaning beauty tools is a lot of work for the average makeup wearer, let alone a professional who has cases full of products and applicators.
“Brushes should be washed once a month with a mild non-greasy shampoo," NARS Lead Makeup Stylist Jake Broullard told Mashable. "I recommend baby shampoo because it is mild and doesn't leave a residue. To wash your brushes, simply hold them horizontally only allowing the bristles to get wet. Massage a small amount of shampoo into the bristles and rinse. Wring out and reform the brush hairs to the shape of the brush and lay them flat overnight to dry."
Using a brush spray cuts that process in half.
While brands like Sonia Kashuk, Ulta and Sephora already offer similar cleansers, according to Allure, Sephora Collection's new Dry Clean Instant Dry Brush Cleaner Spray promises to be a miracle product.
Users simply pump the mist directly onto the dirty brush head then rub or blot the bristles on a clean tissue to watch the makeup swipe right off.
Powders dissolve effortlessly while cream-based residue requires slightly more elbow grease.
This is wonderful news for those who dread spending hours properly sanitizing a kit full of brushes. And for those of you who didn't even realize you should be cleaning your beauty tools, this will be an easy way to start.
Sprays might not provide the thorough, deep clean you get with soap and water, but like dry shampoo they |
and we are the richer for it” (Terzian and Bilson 1997).
ReferencesMicrosoft today announced it will host an event Sept. 23 to introduce new Surface tablets, according to online reports.
Invitations went out to some reporters and bloggers today for the event, which will kick off at 10:30 a.m. ET Monday, Sept. 23, or two weeks from today.
Microsoft said nothing else about the event, including what it might unveil or when those devices would go on sale.
Previously, most analysts and industry watchers had pegged Oct. 18, the retail launch date for Windows 8.1 and hardware powered by the update, as the most likely date for Microsoft to strut its newest tablets.
Microsoft could still hew to the October date for new Surface sales, but stage the introduction this month to garner as much media attention as possible.
Rumors of new Surface tablets gained momentum in the last week -- Microsoft has said it was sticking to its guns and would refresh the line, although not when -- as specification claims were made by several prominent Microsoft-centric blogs, including NeoWin and Paul Thurrott's WinSuperSite. Citing unnamed sources, those blogs and others asserted that Microsoft is preparing replacements -- dubbed the Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro -- for the current Surface RT and Surface Pro, respectively.
The Surface Pro 2 will, not surprisingly, feature an Intel Core i5 processor from its battery-sipping Haswell architecture, a change that will lengthen battery life by about two hours to approximately seven hours.
Both new tablets will look identical to their predecessors, the reports have claimed. New peripherals, including a new cover with an additional battery, dubbed "Power Cover," and an enterprise-aimed dock, have also been cited as likely to appear at the Sept. 23 event.
Microsoft has struggled to move the Surface RT or Surface Pro since their introductions in October 2012 and February 2013, respectively. The Surface RT has done especially poorly, as Microsoft was forced to take a $900 million charge against earnings in the quarter that ended June 30 to account for steep discounts and excess inventory.
None of the chatter about the revamped Surface tablets has pinned prices on the new devices, but most experts assume that Microsoft would find it difficult, if not impossible, to boost them from their already-slashed levels.
Two months ago, Microsoft lowered the Surface RT by $150, a 25% to 30% cut depending on the model. The Surface RT now sells for $349 in its 32GB configuration and $449 with 64GB of storage space. Weeks later, Microsoft first ran a limited-time sale by chopping $100 off the Surface Pro, then said the new prices -- $799 for a 64GB device, $899 for the 128GB model -- would be permanent.
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed. His email address is gkeizer@computerworld.com.
See more by Gregg Keizer on Computerworld.com.0 Small plane lands on 316 in Gwinnett County
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A small plane landed on Highway 316 in Gwinnett County on Monday.
The Gwinnett County Police Department tweeted a photo of the aircraft near Harbins Road.
Authorities said the plane landed safely. It was pulled into the median, waiting for FAA response.
Drivers in the area could see delays.
The FAA said the plane was a Sonex experimental, amateur-built aircraft and it made the emergency landing around 12:45 p.m.
The aircraft was about three miles from the Gwinnett County Airport when it made the landing and only the pilot was onboard.
Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes said the pilot was OK as he walked her through his decision to make an emergency landing along the highway.
Pilot Fred Meyer said that when the engine failed, the plane kept gliding so he just steered it to land right on the median in Dacula.
Meyer told Fernandes that he gives God all the credit.
“The engine just quit, it just stopped,” said Meyer, who likes to take the plane out for a nice flight over Gwinnett County often.
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Meyer doesn’t own the plane, but said he built the engine and takes care of the maintenance.
When he took off from Brisco Field in Lawrenceville on Monday, Meyer said he was doing aerobatics and that everything was fine, but then he heard the engine go out.
“I pulled up in a vertical and the engine just stopped. It just stopped just like that,” Meyer said, adding that he was thinking "oops" when it happened.
“You just fall back on your training at that point in time,” Meyer said. “You really think about the circumstance. You think about your training and what to do.”
Fernandes found a swastika insignia on the wing of the plane and asked Meyer about it.
"A lot of people like to paint these small airplanes up top (to) look like the war birds," he said. "They’re more for fun (than) anything else… with the fake bullet holes and everything.”
Meyer said it wasn’t the first time a plane engine has failed on him, claiming he did the same thing in Gwinnett County 15 years ago.
The FAA is investigating what made the engine fail.
Pilot said this isn't the 1st time he's had an engine fail on him - he did the same thing here in GA 15 years ago pic.twitter.com/8kDaI7iaId — Tyisha Fernandes (@TyishaWSB) July 24, 2017
A small aircraft safely landed on 316 near Harbins Road. It was pulled into the median awaiting FAA response. Expect delays. pic.twitter.com/D8DZLj3Rm2 — Gwinnett Police Dept (@GwinnettPd) July 24, 2017
© 2019 Cox Media Group.Microsoft has already told you who will win the men's NCAA basketball tournament. Now, the question is: why?
The Microsoft Bing executives riding herd on Microsoft’s mathematical model of March Madness, Bracket Builder, crunched several quintillion combinations Sunday night, tracking the 68 teams and the various scenarios as they progressed through the tournament. It’s a new level of complexity for Microsoft, and good training for one of its next projects—predicting the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Microsoft’s bracket predictions aren’t over, either. Microsoft executives said they plan to expose what might be called the “keys to the game:” what a team must do to win, based on Microsoft’s mathematical model, so you may talk knowledgeably about which teams will win, and how they will do so.
What’s interesting, however, is Microsoft’s awareness of what March Madness represents: an emotional run for fans of the teams, complete with upsets, buzzer-beating shots, controversial calls, and gut feelings of which team will win, contrasted with the sheer mathematical logic of it all.
Microsoft's Bing Bracket Builder tool.
Bryan Saftler, the senior marketing manager in charge of the Bing Bracket Builder, says that Microsoft’s goal “is not to replace your answer” on which team will win.
“At the end of the day, our job is to remove a little bit of the emotion from the bracket-building experience, and operate more from a place of logic, so you’re going to end up with a smarter, winning bracket,” Saftler said.
Bing's smarts, behind the scenes
Bracket Builder operates like a normal NCAA bracket: It shows which teams are scheduled to play and allows you to pick a winner. You can hover your mouse over a particular team and see some key stats that Microsoft thinks are relevant. Click “autofill,” though, and the magic happens: Microsoft picks the remaining games, using your picks as absolutes. Are you utterly convinced that Duke and Kentucky will be upset early? Then Arizona wins, according to Microsoft.
Saftler said that, behind the scenes, Bing also knows why a team will win a particular matchup—or, conversely, what an underdog needs to do to pull out an upset. “So for Hampton to beat Manhattan, they have to have blocks—more than five—or turnovers, less than ten,” he said. “They have to hold Manhattan to under 25 percent from the three-point line. They have to have more than ten defensive rebounds. And they have to hold their opponent to under 20 points in the paint. Being able to say, with that fidelity, what are the scenarios that need to happen for a predicted upset.”
Microsoft plans to expose that reasoning via social media posts prior to every game, Saftler said. Originally, those justifications were designed to be part of the Bracket Builder UI. It’s probable that as the tournament progresses—and as games wind down into the Sweet Sixteen or Elite Eight, where there's more time between games—Microsoft will release a new version of the Bracket Builder user interface, where bracket players will be able to dig down through some of these keys to the game, Saftler said.
“The moment that we start exposing those statistics, and show how we got there, you’re going to trust [Bing] more and find more value more understanding... We’re helping you make smarter decisions,” Saftler said.
According to Walter Sun, the principal applied science manager overseeing the project, Microsoft also has the capability to adjust the predictions for a game as it progresses. If Kentucky opens its first game by scoring 25 unanswered points, for example, its win probability would climb to almost 100 percent, Sun said.
Microsoft tried real-time predictions for the World Cup, however, and users became confused, Sun noted. So that feature may be left out for now, he said.
A future in politics
Now that Bing's addressed the NCAA men's tournament, plus World Cup and NFL football predictions, you probably don't need the browser's powerful algorithms to guess what's next. When asked whether Microsoft plans to call the 2016 presidential elections, both Sun and Saftler responded with a chorus of yeses. Microsoft already tracks elections and other social and political questions as a matter of course. Microsoft also says it'll add the most popular vacation destinations, whether concert ticket prices are going to go up, and more to the list.
Elections, though, could allow Bing to make predictions on a level of granularity that no analyst firm has before. Microsoft already has access to a wealth of social data, from partnerships with Twitter, Facebook, and more. Typically, analysts like FiveThirtyEight analyze polls—essentially all of that social data, but abstracted. That means Gallup can poll a cross-section of Massachusetts voters, for example, and determine what it thinks might be the most likely candidate.
Why this matters: If Microsoft can obtain all of that social information itself—and remember, all of that aggregated polling information correctly called the 2012 elections—Microsoft might be able to make even more detailed predictions. That’s extremely valuable information to any number of people —especially if Microsoft can track results on the fly. March Madness is one thing, but it pales in comparison to what will take place in November of 2016.Netflix claims traditional television is dying in challenge to rival Foxtel
Updated
Netflix's imminent expansion into the Australian market has seen battlelines drawn, with the international giant warning that traditional television is dying.
In March, Netflix will launch an Australian version of its video on demand service which has 53 million subscribers and involves a fee of about $10 a month in return for new shows and a library of older material.
"I think the model for broadcast TV, where it's this destination stop where you go home at 8 o'clock to watch House Of Cards... that use-by date has probably passed already," Netflix director of corporate communications Cliff Edwards said.
"It's been one of those long-time coming markets.
"We've been dying to get down to both Australia and New Zealand and are looking forward to March."
Netflix's move will trigger fierce competition in the video-on-demand business.
Foxtel has already hit back, planning to expand Presto, its movie-on-demand service, into television.
The company is also believed to be close to announcing a deal with Channel 7.
"There's a lot of hype around Netflix and they have a couple of great fresh shows, but a lot of their content is very, very old library," Foxtel chief Richard Freudenstein said.
If people still want great content to continue to be produced you're going to need to look to the Foxtels and the free-to-airs of the world to be producing and buying that content. Foxtel chief Richard Freudenstein
"Whereas Presto has first-run movies and will have a lot of first-time-on-subscription TV shows as well, so it'll be a very competitive service."
Mr Freudenstein also hit back at the suggestion that the free-to-air and pay television broadcasting models were becoming outdated.
"Netflix is out to get publicity saying things like that. We have a very good business model. We've got very loyal subscribers," he said.
"Our new pricing model has been very well received in the market."
Mr Freudenstein added that subscription video-on-demand would remain to only be a fraction of the overall market.
"If people still want great content to continue to be produced, you're going to need to look to the Foxtels and the free-to-airs of the world to be producing and buying that content, because the subscription and video-on-demand economics just don't work... there's not enough money to have a lot of great fresh new programming," he said.
Netflix steps up promotion
In their first interview since confirming their entry into Australia, Netflix declined to confirm whether the Australian service would include popular shows House Of Cards and Orange Is The New Black.
"Our challenge is to make sure that we give Australians a lot of great content, a lot of great stuff to watch on the Australian service and we think we can do that," Mr Edwards said.
"We have lots of great originals coming.. and there's a lot of other stuff that we'll be announcing as we go along and I think people will be pleased."
Netflix is heavily promoting the series Marco Polo, which is being filmed and has been reported as being the second most expensive show after Game Of Thrones, which is aired on Foxtel.
"We know we're putting a lot of chips behind it - we think it's a great, great show," Mr Edwards said.
"We think people are going to love it - it's very sweeping, it's got scope, it's world-spanning."
Topics: television, arts-and-entertainment, digital-multimedia, internet-technology, computers-and-technology, australia
First postedDETROIT – The Red Wings extended their point streak to seven games (4-0-3) on Sunday, however, six of those contests were decided in overtime after the team failed to protect leads late in the third periods.
The latest collapse occurred in Sunday’s 2-1 overtime loss, which was made possible when Florida forward Reilly Smith scored with 5:22 left in regulation.
“For most of the games we’ve played pretty well in,” defenseman Danny DeKeyser said. “I thought a lot of the second periods is when we brought most of our energy and had the most chances, but then we can’t score enough goals or can’t get that one extra goal that gives us a little more breathing room. It’s then a tighter one-goal game and one mistake and it’s in our net, then it’s a tie game and that’s what’s been going on lately.”
Four other times this season, the opposition has scored with less than 2 ½ minutes left in regulation to force three-on-three overtime.
“We’ve talked about it, but I don’t know,” fourth-line center Luke Glendening said. “It’s been frustrating. I think it’s been my line the last four games or five games here, so we have to figure that one, I mean, find a way to hold on.”
The Red Wings have gone to overtime nine times already this season, which is the most they’ve played in the first two months of any season since the league reintroduced the extra period in 1983.
The most OT games the Red Wings played in a single season is 27, which occurred in the 1997 Stanley Cup championship season when they finished with a 38-26-18 record.
In the past 18 games, the Wings have surrendered seven OT-forcing goals in the third periods, fortunately, they pulled out wins in four of those games.
Still, it’s a disturbing trend that the players can’t seem to put a finger on.
“Maybe we’re taking out foot off the gas a bit, I don’t know,” Glendening said. “I don’t think it’s a work-ethic thing or anything like that. But we have to capitalize on our chances and minimize theirs.”
Despite being on the ice for the last two tying goals in the third period, fourth-line forward Drew Miller thinks it’s a matter of every player performing on every shift.
“We’re getting leads and playing pretty well for most of the game, but we’re not closing it out 60 minute games so that’s something we have to improve on,” Miller said. “I think we have a lot of positives to build off of and play with. Obviously you don’t want to give up leads late in the third period, but I don’t think it’s something we’re going to worry about. Next time we do I don’t think we’re going to be gripping our sticks tight and thinking, ‘Oh no, we’re going to give up a lead’. I don’t think it’s anything like that.”
POWER-PLAY WOES: The Wings placed an extra emphasis on the power play at Monday’s practice at Joe Louis Arena.
The special-teams unit has struggled lately, going 0-for-9 in the past three games, which equals their longest goal-production drought of the season when they went 0-for-11 from Oct. 16-21.
“Obviously hasn’t been good enough here for a while,” Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “We actually worked on it a lot on Saturday as well and it didn’t pay off yesterday unfortunately when we needed it to, but that doesn’t mean you stop working on it. We want to get back to the basics a little bit on our power play and hopefully it has a positive impact come tomorrow night.”
November wasn’t a good month as the power play finished at 4-for-37 in 13 games. Detroit had the second-best power play last season, but now ranks No. 26 in the league with 15.8 percent.
Blashill said he hopes to put Teemu Pulkkinen back in the lineup Tuesday when the Red Wings host the Buffalo Sabres. A natural sniper, Pulkkinen would definitely add a heavy shot to the power play.
“A couple things, he’s had fairly good production and he’s an element on the power play with his shot,” Blashill said. “If we want to deliver more pucks to the net, I think he will and that was part of the through process.”
Blashill indicated that Pulkkinen would replace Tomas Jurco in the lineup and skate on the fourth line with Miller and Glendening.
Teemu Pulkkinen Left Wing - DET Goals: 6 | Assists: 5 | Pts: 11
Shots: 45 | +/-: 2
With Pulkkinen drawing back into the lineup, Blashill has moved Darren Helm to a top-six position on the second line with center Pavel Datsyuk and Brad Richards
Blashill is hoping the reassignment will get Helm more involved offensively. Helm is without a goal in 20 games this season.
“Probably what we did today we’ll do tomorrow,” Blashill said. “We put Helmer with Pav and Richie. Gives a little more speed and net presence, a little more of a role on a specific line. He’s been good at it before. Pav had 65 points in 63 games, and a lot of that was playing with Helm. We’ll see how that goes.”
OTHER LINEUP CHANGES: Blashill said that Petr Mrazek will face the Sabres on Tuesday, and that Jimmy Howard’s next start will come Thursday when the Red Wings host the Arizona Coyotes. … Defenseman Brendan Smith, who was a healthy scratch for Sunday’s OT loss, will return to the lineup Tuesday in place of Jakub Kindl.
Justin Abdelkader Left Wing - DET Goals: 5 | Assists: 7 | Pts: 12
Shots: 39 | +/-: -3
Justin Abdelkader and his parents plan to attend a very special night in Iowa in a few weeks.
Abdelkader’s former USHL team, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders will send his No. 9 to the rafters of the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena on Dec. 12.
“I was really surprised,” Abdelakder said about getting the phone call. “I don’t think they’ve retired any numbers, so it’s really unique.”
The Red Wings’ forward played one season – 2004-05 – with the RoughRiders, producing 27 goals and 52 points before returning to his home state to play for Michigan State.
Back then, Abdelkader got to pick his number, which he said was a tribute to another Michigan-born player.
“I always liked watching Mike Modano with that 9 jersey flying behind him,” he said. “I always liked it.”
Living away from home as a 17-year-old was made easy by his billets – Kelly and Todd Schmidt and their four children.
“It was nice to have a family atmosphere being a senior in high school and being a way for the first year. It was a nice spot to be.”
The first 1,000 fans at the game against the Omaha Lancers will receive an Abdelkader bobblehead.FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Tuesday said he would form a new commission to remove regulatory barriers on broadband internet companies.
In his first press conference since the Trump administration tapped him to serve as the acting chair of Federal Communications Commission, Pai stressed the FCC plans to “close the digital divide” on high-speed internet access between rural and impoverished regions of America.
Pai, a former lawyer for Verizon, was quick to mention his first vote as chairman of the FCC, which would award the state of New York $170 million in Connect America Funding to expand broadband across rural regions.
A 2016 FCC report on broadband found that rural areas have significantly slower internet access compared to cities in America. An estimated 39 percent of rural America lack access to broadband internet of at least 25 Mbps downloads and 4 Mbps uploads, compared to 4 percent for urban areas.
The FCC’s new “Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee,” or BDAC, will begin work on identifying older FCC regulations that it sees as blocking broadband expansion. BDAC plans on holding its first meeting this spring.
“Today, I am excited to announce the formation of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC), which will aim to provide advice and recommendations to the FCC on how to do just that,” wrote Pai in a statement. “The BDAC’s mission will be to identify regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment and to make recommendations to the Commission on reducing and/or removing them.”
The FCC’s senior Republican member, Pai has been a vocal critic of the FCC under the Obama administration, even when the agency’s rules set out to meet his stated goals of expanding high-speed internet access to rural America. Pai voted against the expansion of high-speed municipal broadband internet networks on the grounds that he felt the agency didn’t have the authority to preempt state laws baring these networks.
Former President Barack Obama aimed to expand broadband access to rural America as well, but through a means that is despised by free-market Republicans and private industry: The Obama administration asked the FCC under former Chairman Tom Wheeler to fight state laws that prevent cities from building their own municipal internet services.
Pai believes the FCC under Obama’s plan largely failed. He regularly voted against the Democrat-led FCC’s regulations on broadband, including reclassifying broadband as a publically needed service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act.
“After seven years, $63.6 billion spent, and plenty of talk, this administration’s policies have failed to deliver ‘advanced telecommunications capability’—broadband—to the American people in a reasonable and timely fashion. The standard set forth by Congress is not being met. Rural America is being left behind,” wrote Pai in a concurring FCC statement back in 2016.
One idea to expand internet access to poor regions proposed by Pai involves tax incentives for companies to build high-speed internet networks in rural and impoverished regions of the country. Pai’s proposal would identify areas where average household income is below 75 percent of the national median, known as “gigabit opportunity zones.” State and local lawmakers would then be asked to “adopt streamlined, broadband deployment-friendly policies.” Pai’s plan also includes tax incentives and tax credits for companies building high-speed networks.
Pai was silent Tuesday on the future of net neutrality, which he voted against and continues to publically oppose. Pai said that net neutrality’s “days were numbered” in his first statement as FCC chairman back in December.
Net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers must treat all data delivered to internet customers equally, meaning they may not block or slow down internet traffic from one service or website or increase speed to another.
Pai recently introduced a proposal that would eliminate net neutrality transparency requirements for ISPs with less than 250,000 subscribers.
Critics of Pai warn that he will lead the way for a permissive, regulation-light FCC that will permit high-stakes mergers and deliver major victories for phone and cable companies. The FCC under Obama blocked several mergers between phone companies in recent years, including deals between AT&T and Time Warner, Sprint and T-Mobile USA, and Comcast and Time Warner Cable.
Verizon and Charter are currently in discussions to merge, which would effectively combine two of the country’s biggest internet service providers. Both Pai and Jeff Eisenbach—who steers FCC and telecommunications policy on Trump’s transition team—have worked for Verizon.
Net neutrality and internet freedom advocates protested outside of the FCC during Tuesday’s meeting.
“Net neutrality is not a partisan issue,” Sean Vitka, legislative counsel for internet freedom group Fight for the Future, said in a statement, “it’s a basic technological principle that has made the internet we love into what it is today.”Goal-line technology in football isn’t really a new innovation any more. We’ve seen it at last year’s World Cup Finals in Brazil, it’s been used by FIFA in the Confederations Cup and Club World Cup, along with various club and international competitions across Europe.
That is still a very limited amount of games, considering how much football is played around the world each year, but the use of the technology continues to grow all the time.
And now it’s come to Canada.
The 2015 Women’s World Cup will see goal-line technology used for the first time in the pinnacle of the ladies game. For all the unwanted chatter surrounding FIFA right now, dodgy decisions around whether the ball crossed the line or not for a goal at least won’t be a part of that. Other refereeing controversies, of course, still likely will be.
The campaign to introduce goal-line technology into football was a long one that certainly split opinion.
Purists didn’t want it to change the game or slow it down with referees having to take time to review decisions. Advocates felt that with so much at stake in the modern game, and with the ever increasing and intense scrutiny on referees from television cameras, the introduction of the technology would reduce crucial, and often multi-million dollar costing, wrong decisions, easing pressure on the officials in the process.
After years of arguments, matters came to a head when Frank Lampard wrongly had a goal not awarded for England at the 2010 World Cup against Germany. Replays showed the ball very clearly crossed the goal-line but the goal wasn’t given. England went on to lose the match 4-1, but had the goal been given, it would have levelled the match up at two apiece and changed the whole dynamic of the game.
Now, as a Scot, I found that particular decision to be absolutely fantastic and hilarious! I still do! But it was to be a literal game changer in may ways.
The non goal triggered the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to review the introduction and use of goal-line technology once more in the months after the World Cup. Less than two years later, in July 2012, and after rigorous testing, the IFAB approved, in principle, the use of the technology and in December that year, the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan made history when it used it in competition for the first time.
Since then it’s been used several times by FIFA, UEFA and other governing bodies on the international stage. At club level, goal-line technology has been successfully implemented in the English Premier League for the past two seasons and the Dutch Eredivisie is another top league in Europe to use it.
From next season, you will also find the technology used in the German Bundesliga and Italian Serie A, with “a lot of interest” being shown in the technology from other leagues around the world, including Major League Soccer over here.
There are actually a couple of different providers of goal-line technology systems now, but the best known name is that of Hawk-Eye.
The Hawk-Eye name probably first came to most people’s attention with their instant replay system in tennis, and it is their technology (in association with Acorn) that will be used at this summer’s Women’s World Cup in Canada.
We’ll all remember the television graphics from Brazil showing whether the ball had crossed the line or not, even when it most obviously had! You have to show off your new toys though. But just how does the actual system work?
There are two different technologies in use – a magnetic field system and a camera based system – and it’s the latter that was used in Brazil last year and will be used in Canada this time around.
With the camera based system, there is no technology in the ball, in the goal or on the posts or crossbar. The information is all captured in 3D by 14 cameras placed around the stadium, with seven focused on each goal.
“The goal-line technology system we have is completely optical,” Laurence Upshon, Head of Football Operations at Hawk-Eye Innovations, told reporters at a demonstration at BC Place on Wednesday. “It’s a completely passive system. We use 14 high speed cameras around the field of play, seven looking at each goal, to provide all tracking and triangulation to work out exactly when the ball crosses the goal-line.”
The positions of the cameras are quite flexible. They can be mounted on catwalks, the back of stands and floodlights.
“There’s seven cameras looking at each goal, dotted around the field of play, so that in a close, goal-line scramble the ball is always found in at least two of them to triangulate up to show a goal,” Upshon continued. “We have two, which are typically located behind the goal. We have three on one side, one of them looking down the goal-line. We have two on the reverse side as well looking at each goal.”
The cameras automatically tracks the ball and automatically tells match officials, assistants as well as referees, whether the ball has crossed the line by sending an almost instantaneous decision through to a watch worn by the officiating crew.
That decision comes through in less than a second via a special wristwatch worn by each official. If it’s a goal, the watch vibrates for several seconds and “GOAL” flashes up on the screen. We were given one to wear during the demonstration and it really is impressively instantaneous.
“As soon as the ball crosses the goal-line, it alerts all the match officials by using the goal-line technology watch,” Upshon added. “They’ll have a vibration and an alert [on the watch] to show that it is a goal and they can award the goal.
“The really key thing about vibrating is that the referee, and certainly the rest of the match officials, can keep their eye on the game, watching for fouls and handballs.”
But can the technology be fooled? What if it isn’t the ball that crosses the goal-line? Not an issue.
“A ball is very particular, so it looks for certain characteristics of a ball,” Upshon said. “Not only the shape but how it’s moving, the colour of it, what’s on it. So it uses all of these factors to work out what is a ball and also what is not a ball, so it’s not fooled by a keeper throwing his towel in or a water bottle or a sun cap or something like that. It looks at all these parameters.”
The other aspect in this technological age is just how secure is the entire system? Can it be hacked and could other transmissions in the stadium on gameday interfere with it working?
Again, that turns out not to be an issue.
The watches are not on a public network. Systems are encrypted and very reliable. Even in the most congested stadium with bluetooth, wifi etc all pinging around, the goal message will get through.
Seeing the whole system in action really is quite an eye-opener. Any qualms about it delaying games are far removed, but there is still one big issue we have with goal-line technology and that is the universal accessibility of it.
The beauty of football is that it is the same rules, the same game basics whether you’re playing a match at the Nou Camp in Barcelona or on some gravel pitch in the middle of nowhere. Goal-line technology is not a system that continues that.
It’s fine having it in World Cups and in the top flight leagues around the world, but it will likely be a long time before you see it in say the Scottish lower leagues, the English non-league or USL games at Thunderbird Stadium. And let’s not even look at youth soccer.
It’s a rich man’s toy. The big money leagues and governing bodies can afford it, helped by the huge television revenues that present a growing need for such technology in the first place. But the costs are prohibitive for many leagues and clubs to even contemplate installing the system.
At least for now. But like all technological advancements over the years, whether it be DVD players, mobile phones, tablets or televisions, one thing is a constant. Wait a little bit from when it first comes out and the prices come tumbling down.
“When you look at technology as a whole, systems as a whole, the price is always evolving and getting more attractive and I think it’s only a matter of time,” Upshon told us. “We’ve had a lot of interest from other leagues as well. Two years ago it was a brand new system and over time it will evolve.”Published in 1976—a full six months prior to the release of the film it was adapting—the novelization of Star Wars titled: Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker was billed as “a novel by George Lucas.” We now know (as Lucas freely admits in reprints of the book) that this book was in fact written by Alan Dean Foster, who created several specific aspects of the Star Wars backstory, many of which remain canon to this day. However, despite the wealth of terms and ideas that stuck, there are many, many differences between what we would come to know as Star Wars and what is contained in this book. Here are a few inconsistencies, differences and other curiosities originating from the first glimpse the public ever got of Star Wars.
Palpatine is Not a Sith Lord. Also, Not Even in Charge
In the film, an Imperial officer named General Tagge (didn’t even have to look that up) is moderately freaked out upon hearing that the “senate” has been dissolved. “How will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?” he worries. Well, in the prologue to the novel, the Emperor doesn’t. In a super-brief introductory section of the book (which claims to be taken from something called “The Journal of the Whills”) the death of the Old Republic and rise of the Empire is summarized quickly. Most interestingly, the rise of Palpatine from senator to President and then Emperor dovetails neatly with the events of the movie prequels. That is, until this casual assertion:
“Once secure in office he declared himself Emperor, shutting himself away from the populace. Soon he was controlled by the very assistants and boot-lickers he had appointed to high office, and the cries of the people for justice did not reach his ears.”
Palps is most certainly not a Sith Lord, nor does he even seem all that evil. Instead, he’s more like some creepy historical politician, like a Caesar being betrayed by a bunch of boot-licking Brutuses. Certainly not the cackling, all-knowing lightning-shooting guy we know so well. Also, how do we feel about the fact that the opening lines of the first ever item in the epic Star Wars franchise contains the phrase “boot-lickers?”
Gold Squadron? Never heard of them. Plus, big ups for Biggs!
Much of the rebel assault on the Death Star is depicted in the same manner as you see it in the film, but there are some changes. Superficially, the most noticeable differences are in the color designations. Instead of the Y-Wings being Gold Squadron, they’re Red Squadron, while the X-Wings of Red Squadron are now Blue Squadron. This means Luke is Blue 5 instead of Red 5. The drama of the battle itself plays out pretty much the same as in the film, but carries a slightly more somber tone.
The friendship between Luke and Biggs is actually a big part of the Star Wars novel and, you could argue, helps to make Luke more realistic and relatable. This relationship is introduced in the beginning of the novel with the infamous deleted scene in which Luke observes the capture of the Tantive IV through his nifty space binoculars. Biggs is hanging out on Tatooine, and then shows up again twice more in the book. Right before the big battle they describe their friendship in terms of “two shooting stars,” a sentiment Luke repeats tearfully as Biggs dies tragically in his X-Wing. Further, it is Biggs and NOT Wedge who saves Luke’s ass from a TIE Fighter early in the battle. In the film, we mostly remember Biggs for his moustache. In the novel, he’s a real person.
Chewbacca Gets a Medal!
Extensively parodied and complained about, the lack of a medal for Chewbacca is one of those small inexplicable events in Star Wars, on par with the gunners deciding not to shoot Threepio and Artoo’s escape pod in the beginning of the film. The Falcon requires two people to fly! And really, to run it properly, even more than that. So why didn’t Leia and those folks give Chewbacca a medal? Maybe they got the medals made beforehand and ran a statistical algorithm which told them that two survivors was the most likely outcome. Nobody wanted to spring for the extra medal, so Chewie was screwed. But in the book |
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